TULSA, Okla. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District offers the public two opportunities to tour the Motor Vessel Mississippi, the largest diesel towboat operating on the Mississippi River. Tours are free and open to the public.

Public open houses aboard the Motor Vessel Mississippi will take place:

·       Friday, Aug. 8 from 6-7 p.m. at the Kerr Lock & Dam, in Sallisaw, OK

·       Saturday, Aug. 9 from 6-7 p.m. at the Port of Muskogee, in Muskogee, OK

Please note that backpacks are not permitted on board the vessel.

The M/V Mississippi, which will host the Mississippi River Commission’s annual low-water inspection trip on the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, is 241-feet long and 58-feet wide. The 6,300 horsepower vessel serves as a working towboat 90 percent of the time.

Also a passenger boat, the vessel houses 22 staterooms, a dining room that seats 85 and a conference room that seats 115 people. The MRC flagship can accommodate 150 passengers.

The vessel’s primary mission is to move barges in support of bank stabilization work on the lower Mississippi River. Each spring and late summer, the MRC conducts a series of public meetings aboard the vessel.

The MRC, established in 1879, uses the M/V Mississippi to host public hearings, a process unique to the Mississippi River Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This allows the public a greater voice in shaping federal policy by discussing their concerns with those individuals responsible for improving the condition of the river, fostering navigation, promoting commerce, and reducing flood risk along the watershed.

For additional information on the M/V Mississippi or the Mississippi River Commission, visit the Mississippi Valley Division’s website: http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil.

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