NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The public was invited to tour one of the largest diesel towboats in the country.
The "Motor Vessel Mississippi" docked on the Riverfront Wednesday morning, and the public was invited to get on board.
This diesel towboat has been the largest flagship of the Mississippi River Commission.
They were here on their annual trip to inspect the waters. The information they have been gathering helps engineers and policy makers, as well as the general public, understand issues such as flooding, navigation, and commerce.
The commission has primarily overseen the Mississippi River, but that's not all.
“It does oversee the Mississippi River, which is the confluent of all the tributaries,” said R.D. James, of the Mississippi River Commission. “We have to handle that water, so therefore we're concerned with the waters of their basins as we go forward. And it's a cross educational process. We're trying to learn up here as well as inform the public.”
The Mississippi River has been the second longest in the country, and the Cumberland River has been one of the Mississippi’s largest basins.
