Waterways Contribute to National Security
America’s waterways have historically made, and continue to make important contributions to a competitive economy and energy conservation. They also continue to make valuable contributions to America’s national security and defense.
During World War II, the Atlantic Intracostal Waterway functioned as a critical transportation route for military supplies bound for Europe, secure from the threat posed by German U-boats that patrolled off the Atlantic coast. At the same time, the Tennessee River provided navigation to the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in eastern Tennessee, a facility that was integral to the success of the Manhattan Project. The 1960’s saw components of the Saturn V, the vehicle that successfully carried the first man to the moon, transported by barge to and from design and test facilities at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
One current example of the nations’ waterways valuable contributions to America’s national security and defense is their efficient use by the Delta Mariner. Designed and built to safely transport sensitive high value cargo on both inland rivers and open oceans, the 312 feet long by 85 feet wide 8,000 horsepower Mariner is the largest vessel to operate on America’s Inland Waterway System. The Delta Mariner transports Atlas and Delta rocket components that are too large to efficiently transport by highway or rail, and are critical to the nations’ space program and national security. Common Booster Cores that propel payloads into orbit are shipped from the United Launch Alliance 1.5 million square feet assembly facility on the Tennessee River in Decatur, Alabama to launch sites in Florida and California via the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
During its voyages, the Mariner efficiently transits four navigation locks on the Tennessee River and two on the Ohio. Once in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mariner is capable of transiting the Panama Canal in route to launch facilities on the Pacific Ocean at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California, or navigating around the Florida Peninsula to deliver its “most valuable cargo in the world” to Cape Canaveral on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
The Tennessee River Valley Association is engaged in an effort that encourages Members of Congress and their staff to visit United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama where they can learn more about the nations’ launch vehicles and their capabilities, and when available, tour the versatile Delta Mariner. The TRVA goal is to raise lawmaker awareness of the role America’s Inland Waterways play as an important mode of transportation that continues to make valuable contributions to America’s national security and defense.
