The Between the Levees Podcast

11/26/2025

S3:E171 | Mike O'Neil (Ret.) | Dispatch and Logistics

Retired and tough to pin down, Mr. Mike O'Neil finally joins me on the show. We hear about his early life in the Greater New Orleans area, familial connections to the industry, the development of industry over the years through acquisitions and mergers, Jim Fox, Sonny Ivey, Patrick Morton, Jim Farley, Tom Fisher, Dave Dewey, Cliff Mosby, and Wayne Sanborne.

He reminisces about his time in fleet dispatch working on floating offices, the S/V New Orleans and the M/V Louisiana in the lower harbor, and we hear also about the history of the Missouri River Barge Line, Valley Line, Federal, and about ACBL from which he retired not long ago. We worked together for a brief period following the AEP acquisition, but I knew him only by name back then.

Part 2 with Mr. O'Neil will debut in a couple of days...

https://youtu.be/9dFVnZbdwOo

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WzqsrF0t8i8Bdsbm7vdrg?si=qZtsuyBZQfukHQlKhtnk_Q&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A0u6ePHpgj66hrMkL6XHKXB&t=0&pi=Rc6mUR-STc2gu

Retired and tough to pin down, Mr. Mike O'Neil finally joins me on the show. We hear about his early life in the Greater New Orleans area, familial connecti...

11/25/2025

https://youtu.be/-Da4RgippDk

Career logistics man Mike O'Neil joins me on the show this week to talk through a storied career and some of the history and development of industry since th...

11/19/2025

S3:E170 | Capt. Rusty Ball (Ret.) | Part 2

Humbled by the responses his first visit received, Retired Captain Rusty Ball gets back on the show to talk through a few of the marine incidents with which he played a part over the years. He reminds us of the importance of drills, safety, communication and teamwork out there on the water, he talks through a few rescue operations he and his crews conducted, and we discuss the end of a long career between the levees.

https://youtu.be/mB8Cdnuor3g

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1HCvPHpajRazvjR6UqmAmD?si=KZVdm2YuQimMLOkY7tOEuA&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A0u6ePHpgj66hrMkL6XHKXB&t=0&pi=-65LCIQzR328m

Humbled by the responses his first visit received, Retired Captain Rusty Ball gets back on the show to talk through a few of the marine incidents with which ...

11/12/2025

Southern Devall



We'll be back next week, everybody. Thanks for staying tuned!

11/12/2025

11/06/2025

Thanks everybody 🙂

And thanks again Southern Devall !

We'll be back sometime soon. The schedule is falling back a bit. In the meantime, cheers!

11/01/2025

In 1952, at Burton Shipyard in Port Arthur, Texas, a 32-gross-ton tugboat named the MV Crecow was launched. The MV Crecow was the first steel-hull vessel in Southern Devall’s fleet, marking the beginning of a legacy built on strength, innovation, and forward thinking. It’s a great reminder of where we began — and how far we’ve come as a company.

Every great journey begins with a single vessel — and for us, that vessel was the MV Crecow.

We Work the Waterways The Seamen's Church Institute TZach Towboats American Waterways Operators The Between the Levees Podcast The Waterways Journal Port of Lake Charles

10/31/2025

It continues...