Once again, Ergon Marine and Industrial Supply has stepped up to go beyond in helping Vicksburg and Warren County on the Mississippi River.

Rounding up breakaway barges during high water on the Mississippi River and, when occasions warrant, scrambling boats to rescue those who fall into the water isn’t something that is Ergon’s primary responsibility. But, it does it. It does it well. And it deserves the credit — and kudos.

On March 23, a towboat pushing 30 loaded barges on the rising river had passed the dangerous curve at Delta Point by only a smidgen when Ergon fleet officials contacted the office at the old U.S. 80 bridge warning of a likely strike. It happened, and Ergon was there.

Through the following weekend, a pair of delivery boats — the “Big Valleys,” as the company calls them — provided a platform for several Coast Guard officials to monitor towboats trying to free the 35-foot-wide barge stuck beneath the Interstate 20 bridge. Those same boats have proved vital in the past when the object of the scramble wasn’t a soybean container, but a human being.

In the days following the crash of the bean barge into the bridge, crowds of tourists and locals along riverfront perches thinned when the salvage mission became more complex.

But Ergon Marine was still there.

Its Lee Street marine division base served as an information center where Coast Guard, towing industry, transportation and other officials put their heads together to keep marine commerce afloat safely.

Ergon earned special recognition from the Coast Guard for outstanding response and assistance during the 2008 river floods, when the river rose to heights not seen in Vicksburg in 35 years. Then, too, company boats had helped round up loose barges after five tows hit the old bridge in 40 days. For two months, the information center set barge restrictions and became a staging area and a vital source for pilots needing the latest river conditions.

Helping on the river is not the refiner’s primary business, but it steps up knowing the Coast Guard’s office at the Port of Vicksburg is only a maintenance unit and its closest response base, the Sector Lower Mississippi River unit, is in Memphis. Headquarters for the Eighth District, which covers all or part of 26 states including Mississippi, is in New Orleans.

So Ergon steps up. It takes care of Vicksburg and Warren County on the river. It is appreciated.