In all the years since, I have visited her when I could and always looked forward to the time when she came home to Cincinnati — which was her home port for many, many years. She is an icon of the time that made the Queen City THE queen city of the west. I pray that the legislature will come to her rescue and to save the 150 jobs of the talented and dedicated folks who man her.How permanent is “permanently moored”?
I think there is a misconception about the word "permanent" in the context of the Army Corps of Engineers permit to moore the Delta Queen "permanently". We’re talking about a bureacratic act; one of many permits necessary to operate a hotel business on the Delta Queen. "Permanent" here doesn’t mean "for the rest of our lives", it’s just the contrary of just having two or three loose lines for a temporary port stop for a few hours.
Very understandable, authorities will not allow a hotel business on a boat that’s not moored very tightly to make sure it doesn’t turn loose in a storm or flood. We’ve talked to the construction firm who is building this mooring facility – what they’re doing is just welding a few mooring rings or such to the DQ so she can be connected to the mooring facilities tightly, i.e. in bureaucrat’s language "permanent". This easy to be removed and doesn’t touch the DQ’s integrity as a cruise vessel at all.
Also, don’t mix up this permit to permanently moor the Delta Queen with the official status of a Permanently Moored Vessel (PMV), assigned by the Coast Guard. (see: Maritime Safety Manual, Vol. II Chapter B4-44; PDF file)
April 29th, 2009 at 8:24 am
[...] Corps of Engineers, commenting on that public note announcing the plans to give permission for a permanent moorage facility for the Delta Queen at Chattanooga. So what ever concern anyone has, he can express this [...]