Myrtle Grove’s unloader floats
You are on a floating grain elevator in Plaquemines Parish and the barge unloader or the scale line has quit. Associated Terminals publishes that rig at mile 56.8, with a Heyl Patterson unloader and two certified scales. It is not a shoreside leg.
The answer at Myrtle Grove
Diagnose the floating unloader and the weighing line, not a concrete headhouse upriver. Associated Terminals places a floating grain elevator at mile 56.8 above Head of Passes, barge to ocean vessel. Discharge uses a Heyl Patterson unloader “similar to land-based grain elevators” and built for midstream work. Closed conveyors, two FGIS-certified scales, blend tanks, two samplers, and a shore lab are on the rig. Two more systems sit between miles 56 and 58.1
- The office address published with the terminal is 1725 Engineers Road, Belle Chasse. The river location is mile 56.8, with Braithwaite named on the locations page.2
- A load-cell corrosion story is not on the operator’s page. Do not add it.
- The USDA port profile lists Myrtle Grove at the downriver end of the New Orleans region, separate from the Baton Rouge elevator.4
The rule on a floating unloader
The operator’s comparison is the useful one: the unloader resembles a land leg and is built for midstream. 1910.272(a) applies on top of other parts of 1910, or part 1917 at marine terminals, consistent with CPL 02-00-066.3 If this rig is a grain elevator and the unloader lifts with buckets, (q) applies. If the mechanism is different, (q) may not fit, and (m) still requires inspection of dust collection where it exists. The sales sheet is not a cross-section. Ask which machine is choking.
Closed conveyors do not delete 1910.272(l) if a fabric collector is on a pneumatic system: the pressure-drop device is still required. The operator states that weights come from two certified scales. A scale that will not certify is a commercial failure even when the belt turns. A shoreside tariff does not give you that fact.
If you treat this rig as Destrehan
You bring a concrete-leg procedure to a floating hull and miss the second scale, or you quote ADM’s $2,415 Destrehan buoy rate, which is not this tariff. The operator’s list is the Heyl Patterson unloader, closed conveyors, two scales, two samplers, a shore lab, and two more systems between miles 56 and 58. Salt-air damage to a strain gauge is not a sentence on that page. Verify it on the instrument.
Who signs, who pays, and how long
| Item | Who publishes it | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Unloader | Associated Terminals | Heyl Patterson, midstream design |
| Path to the ship | Same | Closed conveyors, barge to vessel |
| Weights | Same, FGIS-certified scales | Two scales, plus blend tanks |
| Sampling and grade | Same | Two automatic samplers; shore lab adjacent |
| Diagnostic fee | Not published | Verify. Do not copy a shoreside tariff |
How Alabo Street and Destrehan differ
Orleans Parish’s published Alabo plan has no elevator and no silo. St. Charles has shoreside barge unloaders inside export houses, with a Destrehan-only buoy rate. This rig floats, weighs on two certified scales, and sits at mile 56.8. The Alabo note is the refusal of a leg that is not in the plan. The rule page separates the three shoreside machines from this hull. The berthing checks still help if the unloader is a bucket leg; they do not replace the scale check.
| Point | Myrtle Grove | Destrehan ADM house |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Floating elevator | Shoreside export elevator, mile 120.6 |
| Unloader name in print | Heyl Patterson, operator’s page | Barge unloader in the tariff definition; Heyl & Patterson cited for ADM elevators generally |
| Scales | Two FGIS-certified scales on the rig | Not the fact that distinguishes the buoy clause |
| Unique money | Not a $2,415 buoy sentence | $2,415 buoy line handling in ADM Tariff No. 11 |
Checklist for this rig
- Confirm mile 56.8 versus the other systems the operator places between 56 and 58.
- Name the failed part: Heyl Patterson unloader, closed conveyor, scale, or sampler.
- If it is a bucket leg, apply 1910.272(q). If it is not, say so and do not force the motion-switch paragraph.
- Check both certified scales. One working scale is not the published system.
- Do not import a load-cell corrosion finding that the operator’s page does not make.
- Do not use the Destrehan buoy rate on this hull.
What the documents price
The operator’s pages do not print a diagnostic fee, a dockage rate, or an hourly delay charge. Older third-party dockage figures are not repeated, because they were not on the operator’s page on 8 October 2026. FGIS certification is a condition of the scales, not a price. Verify the callout cost.
Questions from the floating rig
Is the Heyl Patterson machine a marine leg under 1910.272(q)?
The operator says it is similar to land-based elevator unloaders and designed for midstream work. Paragraph (q) applies to bucket elevators at grain elevators. If the unloader uses buckets and a belt, the choked-leg, bearing, motion, and alignment rules are the checklist. If it does not, do not pretend it does. The page gives you the name. The cross-section has to come from the machine in front of you.
Why are two scales a diagnostic item?
Because the operator publishes two FGIS-certified scales and blend tanks as the way cargo is weighed and blended. A single unverified scale breaks the description the shipper was given. That failure is local to this rig. A shoreside house with a different scale arrangement is a different work order.
Does salt air get its own finding on this page?
No. High humidity on the lower river is obvious and unhelpful. The operator’s page does not report corroded load cells or a calibration interval. Write the defect you measure. Do not inherit a sentence that was never published.
Which office do I use for the call?
The locations page lists 1725 Engineers Road, Belle Chasse, LA 70037, and a Braithwaite physical location, with the rig at mile 56.8. Belle Chasse is not the hull. Send the technician to the mile, and use the office number on that page for the company, not as a substitute for the rig.
References
- Associated Terminals. “Myrtle Grove / MGMT.” Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- Associated Terminals. “Our locations,” Myrtle Grove Midstream Terminal. Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. “29 CFR 1910.272,” note on marine terminals. Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. “Port Profiles: New Orleans Region.” Accessed 8 October 2026. Document.
How to cite this page
APA: Myrtle Grove’s unloader floats. (2026, October 8). Louisiana Grain Elevator Diagnostics. https://louisianagrainelevator.com/plaquemines-parish-midstream-grain-transfer-diagnostics
MLA: “Myrtle Grove’s unloader floats.” Louisiana Grain Elevator Diagnostics, 8 Oct. 2026, https://louisianagrainelevator.com/plaquemines-parish-midstream-grain-transfer-diagnostics.
Chicago: Louisiana Grain Elevator Diagnostics. “Myrtle Grove’s unloader floats.” Accessed October 8, 2026. https://louisianagrainelevator.com/plaquemines-parish-midstream-grain-transfer-diagnostics.