The Mr. Pat sits in dry dock for repairs during a months long major maintenance project on the vessel. The work is being performed at the Memphis District Ensley Engineer Yard on the Mississippi River near Memphis. Mr. Pat left its permanent home near Sallisaw Oklahoma on January 3 and arrived in Memphis on January 12.

The Tulsa District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigation maintenance vessel, Mr. Pat sits on the Mississippi River at Ensley Engineer Yard in Memphis where major maintenance to the vessel is being performed by Tulsa District staff along with Ensley Engineer personnel. Mr. Pat was christened and put into service at the District on June 28, 1996, and has been instrumental in the facilitation of maintenance along Tulsa District's portion of the MKARNS for over 20 years.

New signage for the Mr. Pat will be installed on the vessel at the end of the major maintenance which is currently being conducted at Memphis District Ensley Engineer Yard on the Mississippi River near Memphis. Mr. Pat left its permanent home near Sallisaw Oklahoma on January 3 and arrived in Memphis on January 12.

Kaleb Kepler, river harbor maintenance worker and part of the Tulsa District floating plant crew checks over one of the vessel’s generators that is part of the major maintenance work currently being performed at Memphis District Ensley Engineer Yard on the Mississippi River near Memphis. Mr. Pat left its permanent home near Sallisaw Oklahoma on January 3 and arrived in Memphis on January 12.

TULSA, Okla. – The Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers motor vessel, Mr. Pat, is nearing the end of major refurbishment upgrades at the Memphis District Ensley Engineer Yard on the Mississippi River.

The vessel, which is permanently housed out of the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Terminal, near the navigation project office in Sallisaw, Okla. began its journey to its current location on Jan. 3 and arrived on Jan. 12.

“The speed of the vessel depends on river current and whether we are going up or down river,’ said Michael Bush who is the pilot of the vessel. “On the trip to Memphis, the current on the Mississippi River had us down to about four miles per hour.”

Both Mister Pat generators are in the process of being rebuilt and a U.S. Coast Guard inspection is scheduled for July 19.

“Mr. Pat has undergone an extensive amount of work in the last several months,” said David Hutain, captain of the vessel. “The crew along with Ensley personnel has performed welding repairs to the bulkheads, reworked items with water damage, repaired a cracked brake rotor and installed new shaft seals among other things.”

The Mr. Pat is a 2000 horsepower vessel measuring 83 feet X 34 feet that pushes a crane barge with a 200-ton Manitowoc crane.

“The primary mission for this vessel is to perform heavy maintenance on locks, dams, and channels,” said Rodney Beard, navigation project manager. “This floating plant also performs clamming for Hydropower and Navigation, debris removal, bank, and dike revetment and can also called upon at times for emergency response operations, for example the Interstate 40 bridge collapse.”

This craft along with two other smaller craft help maintain the reliability of the system and prevent unscheduled closures in the SWT area of responsibility. The impacts for unscheduled closures are estimated to be in the millions of dollars per day affecting multiple states that use this river system to transport their commodities.

Major maintenance work on the vessel is done every five years ensuring SWT’s floating plant crew is able to perform any needed major maintenance or repairs along the SWT district portion of the McClellan Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

Mr. Pat is named for Robert D. Patterson, a native Oklahoman and a registered professional engineer. He had more than 43 years of service with USACE and was involved in construction of army air bases and flood control projects.

He became assistant resident engineer for construction of W.D. Mayo and Robert S. Kerr locks and dams in 1964 and stayed on to become assistant area engineer at Robert S. Kerr once construction was complete.

In that capacity, he shared responsibility for operations and maintenance of the five locks and dams and 150 miles of navigation channel under Tulsa District’s area of responsibility.