Economic Development Corporation News

New York City is looking at ways to help shift freight transportation off of its busy roads and onto the waterways.The city's Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) on Wednesday jointly released a Request for Information and Expressions of Interest (RFEI) seeking private sector feedback to help it gauge industry challenges and opportunities, and explore ways to implement and support businesses to engage in waterfront freight operations.The initiative is part of NYC's "Blue Highways" program, launched under the city's previous mayor, Bill de Blasio.

New York City has awarded Hornblower Group a new contract to continue as operator of the NYC Ferry service after the deal was put up for rebid.The 38-vessel NYC Ferry system is the nation's largest passenger-only ferry fleet, serving about 7 million riders annually with six routes that collectively span 70 nautical miles and touch all five city boroughs.Hornblower, which has served as NYC Ferry's operator since the service was launched in 2017, was awarded the new contract from…

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, together with the state's Department of Transportation (WisDOT), announced grants totaling $5.3 million for seven harbor maintenance and improvement projects to promote waterborne freight and economic development.“From the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, Wisconsin’s unique geography provides our state opportunities to grow our economy and help our businesses reach markets worldwide,” said Gov. Evers. “These grants will help maintain our harbors and ensure our ports are secure and reliable…

Equinor and BP on Thursday announced the launch of a New York-based Offshore Wind Innovation Hub that they say will facilitate partnerships with start-ups that bring new technological solutions to the growing US offshore wind industry"The initiative springs from a new three-year partnership between Equinor, the Urban Future Lab (UFL) at the NY Tandon School of Engineering, and the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium (NOWRDC), supported by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)…

Civil, environmental, marine engineering, and surveying firm, MidAtlantic Engineering Partners announced Joseph Mele, P.E., P.P., P.L.S. has joined its team as part of their growth initiative for northern New Jersey and an expansion of services in New York.According to company officials, adding Mele’s strong experience in Hudson, Essex, and Bergen Counties will enable MidAtlantic’s civil engineering, surveying, environmental, and marine engineering services, which clients have engaged throughout northern New Jersey, to become a key focus of growth.

The storied South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) complex in Brooklyn, N.Y. will be transformed into a major regional hub for offshore wind under a new agreement signed Thursday.Energy companies Equinor and bp said they reached a deal with terminal operator Sustainable South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SSBMT) and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to transform the terminal into an offshore wind port for staging and assembling offshore wind technology components for the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects and for the growing U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $9.5 million in grants to eight marine highways projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program. The funding supports the enhancement of navigable waterways and expands existing waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and American Samoa.“This Federal assistance will provide additional options to reduce congestion on the roads and help the surrounding local communities’ and the regions’ economic recovery…

U.S. carrier Matson announced it promoted three executives to the company's senior leadership team, effective immediately.Branton "Bal" Dreyfus, Vice President, Alaska, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Alaska in recognition of Matson's growing scope of operations, continuing investment in and long-term commitment to serving Alaska. Dreyfus will continue to report directly to Matt Cox, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.Capt. John "Jack" Sullivan, Vice President, Vessel Operations and Engineering…

Marine Highways Gain Traction in the Intermodal Supply Chain.In the United States, landside infrastructure is at a crisis point. Congestion at the big hub ports, exacerbated by imperfect intermodal interfaces with surface transport serving cargo hinterlands is at the heart of the matter. As politicians bicker over a possible infrastructure package, the Highway Trust Fund, funded by taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, has continued its downward journey towards further deficits (now $144 billion). And, where countless U.S.

NYC Economic Development Corp. Signs on as Event Sponsor.The Center of Excellence for Offshore Renewable Energy at the State University of New York Maritime College and the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler, proudly announce their partnership in hosting of the Ocean Wind Energy Conference on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9 a.m. in the Maritime Academic Center, SUNY Maritime College. Featured presentations by industry leaders such as Keynote Speaker Dr. Alana Duerr, Director of DNV GL…

Nearly $5 million in grant funding awarded this week will help enhance existing marine highways serving ports in Louisiana, Virginia, New York and Connecticut, and support the development of new container-on-barge services in Kentucky and Rhode Island.On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced $4,872,000 in grants for six projects through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Marine Highway program, works with public and private stakeholders to support the expanded use of navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion…

Two more routes will be added to New York City's popular new ferry service, connecting millions of New Yorkers to new neighborhoods, growing job centers, housing and more.The new Soundview and Lower East Side routes will be launched later this month, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and NYC Ferry operated by Hornblower.The Soundview Route will launch on August 15, running from the Soundview section of the Bronx (Clason Point Park), to E.90th Street on the Upper East Side, to East 34th Street, ending its run at Wall Street/Pier 11.

Ridership on the new NYC Ferry system has far exceeded expectations, serving 5 million passengers since the service was launched in May 2017. Now, in response to the record-breaking demand, new larger-capacity ferries are being built for New York waters, the first of which, Ocean Queen Rockstar, has arrived in New York this week.Ocean Queen Rockstar, the first in a series of six new 350-passenger capacity vessels being built for the NYC Ferry fleet, completed sea trials and journeyed 2,200 nautical miles from builder Metal Shark’s Gulf Coast shipyard to New York Harbor earlier this week.

The Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority, established in 1963, which operates three ports: two on the Ohio River, one on Lake Michigan. Port officials refer to the three as “America’s Premier Inland Port System.” They cite location, location, location, providing access via two critical freight arteries – the Great Lakes and the Inland Waterway System and proximity to the world’s most productive industrial and agricultural regions. The Ports is the only statewide port authority in the Midwest.

Plucked from the headlines, the top stories of 2017 were compelling, and each provided impact to the domestic waterfront and in particular – the workboat sector. Follow along as Marine News recaps the highlights, drama and significant events that shaped the past 12 months. When Elaine Chao was sworn in to be the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the Washington veteran brought a welcome burst of competence to the position. Her wide-ranging experience across the maritime sector and prior service at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, and the Federal Maritime Commission uniquely positions her to understand the critical role that the waterfront plays in the intermodal equation. Soon after taking her chair, she was joined by another familiar face at Marad. Rear Adm.

“2017 may be the global breakout year for ferries,” says Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, Chief Executive of the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA). She takes this viewpoint because of the tremendous expansion of ferries in India, Philippines, Thailand, new beginnings in West Africa, and the high profile expansion of the Citywide ferry service in New York City, where the  WFSA’s third conference on International Ferry Safety and Technology conference will be held on May 11-12, 2017.

Innovative boats, unusual collaboration: Hornblower, Horizon, Incat Crowther and Metal Shark team up on one of the most significant newbuilding projects of the year. When New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this year announced the selection of Hornblower to operate as many as 20 ferries to connect a similar number of New York City neighborhoods, the magnitude of the award immediately outweighed the details of the contract. The vessels, intended to eventually form the backbone of a modern, comfortable and efficient urban ferry fleet, will also be New York City’s first city-wide ferry system in over 100 years. Now on track to launch in 2017, the news service is predicated on the on-time delivery of high tech, newbuild hulls now being constructed on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

BRP today marked the opening of its state-of-the-art technician training institute within its Sturtevant, Wisconsin manufacturing facility. This new institute will train dealers and their employees to maintain and repair all BRP vehicles, engines and accessories. Alain Villemure, vice president and general manager of BRP’s Marine Propulsion Systems division and Martin Soucy, vice president of its global after-sales function, participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony before employees, media and the general public. “BRP’s seven product lines are sold in over 100 countries through 4,200 dealers,” said Soucy.“We continue to implement a series of initiatives that allow BRP to remain a reference in the powersports industry worldwide.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the Citywide Ferry Service is on track to launch in 2017, with the selection of Hornblower, Inc. as its operator. The new service, which will include up to 20 boats and connect 21 New York City eighborhoods for the price of a single subway ride ($2.75) is scheduled to be fully operational by 2018, and is estimated to carry 4.6 million trips per year across six routes. “For the price of a single subway ride, tens-of-thousands of New Yorkers are going to have a new public transit option linking them to jobs…

POSCO, a multinational company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea, and the fifth-largest steel producer in the world, has announced plans to build a wire rod processing center at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville, creating up to 60 high-wage jobs by 2018. POSCO is South Korea's fourth largest company, behind Samsung Electronics, SK Holdings and Hyundai Motors, and is ranked No. 162 in Fortune's Global 500. "Although we are located on different continents, South Korea and Indiana both share a reputation of excellence when it comes to advanced manufacturing," said Governor Mike Pence. "Having a globally-focused company like POSCO select Indiana to grow its business is a strong endorsement of our state's low-cost…

Monitoring efforts along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada have detected the presence of small amounts of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 100 miles (150 km) due west of Eureka, California. Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found the trace amounts of telltale radioactive compounds as part of their ongoing monitoring of natural and human sources of radioactivity in the ocean. In the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami off Japan, the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant released cesium-134 and other radioactive elements into the ocean at unprecedented levels. Since then, the radioactive plume has traveled west across the Pacific, propelled largely by ocean currents and being diluted along the way.

Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB) announced plans today to expand its operations at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, investing more than $31 million to increase its soybean processing capabilities in southwest Indiana. “Indiana is a state known around the world for building things and growing things, and because CGB plays a key role in both, this soybean processor is helping advance our economy,” said Governor Mike Pence. “After processing soybeans in southwest Indiana for nearly twenty years, CGB knows firsthand the benefits of operating in a state that works for business. CGB’s processing plant was constructed in 1997, at that time processing 65,000 bushels of soybeans each day into soybean meal, soybean oil and soy hull pellets for both food and industrial uses.

Officials from Hornblower and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) toured the Horizon Shipyard facility Wednesday morning and received an update on construction, which is on schedule, and inspected the first completed citywide ferry superstructure. Completion of the superstructure marks a significant milestone in what will become New York City’s first citywide ferry service and one of the largest commuter ferry operations in the United States. Phase 1 of Citywide Ferry will launch in summer 2017.