Vessels should use caution at Stouts Pass due to shallow depths

Vessels are advised to use extreme caution when navigating the area near Stouts Pass in the Atchafalaya River due to shallow depths, Port of Morgan City U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David McClellan said in a news release.
Recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ surveys showed that channel depths in the Atchafalaya River near Stouts Pass, at Mile Marker 117, are shallower than the 12-foot charted depth, McClellan said.
Stouts Pass is located a few miles north of the intersection of Bayou Teche and the Lower Atchafalaya River, Coast Guard Lt. Jon Scott, director of the Vessel Traffic Service, said.
Shoaling is especially prominent on the green side, or Berwick side, of the river with depths of 3 feet reported, Scott said. Shoaling is the accumulation of sediment on the bottom of the river.
Vessels should use extreme caution in this area until maintenance dredging is performed, the release stated.