MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION SET TO START LOW WATER TOUR

The Leviathan towboat now moored at the foot of Themis Street in Cape Girardeau is the Motor Vessel Mississippi, the largest diesel towboat ever built in the United States.

Its captain is John Dugger, a Caruthersville native who now lives near Memphis.

Dugger and his crew of 24 have come to Cape Girardeau to pick up the members of the Mississippi River Commission, who on Sunday will head south on its annual low-water tour of the Lower Mississippi River Valley.

A similar tour is made in the spring when the river is high.

Composed of three civilian and four military members, the commission will hold public meetings at various stops along the river's southern districts. One of the stops will be in Vicksburg, Miss., where the commission is headquartered. The tour will conclude Friday at Morgan City, La.

Though at a little higher stage than normal, Dugger said the river is in relatively good shape right now. "There are not any real bad spots. There are some that could get bad at lower stages," he said.

The river is predicted to continue falling.

The Mississippi is the fifth in a line of Corps boats to bear the name since 1882. It serves two functions: as a working towboat that tows barges and assists in construction, and as a public relations vessel.

It houses a hearing room that can accommodate up to 200 people, and the boat can accommodate 78 passengers and crew members.

The Mississippi is 241 feet long and weighs 2,823 tons. Its three diesel engines generate 6,300 horsepower. Together with the three main generators they consume 6,270 gallons of fuel per day with a 16-barge tow.

The height of the vessel from the water line to the pilothouse is 52 feet.

Dugger is no stranger to Cape Girardeau. Earlier in his career he worked under now-retired Capt. Woody Rushing at the Missouri Barge Lines.