Frank Jackson News

The Cleveland-Europe Express Ocean Freight Service will be the only scheduled international container service on the Great Lakes when it kicks off in April 2014. “Currently, local manufacturers use East Coast ports to ship goods to Europe, incurring additional rail and truck costs along the way,” said Will Friedman, president & CEO of the Port of Cleveland. The service will be the fastest and greenest route between Europe and North America’s heartland, allowing regional companies to ship their goods up to four days faster than using water, rail, and truck routes via the U.S. East Coast ports.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s Board of Directors today elected officers to fill one-year terms, effective immediately. The Board re-elected Robert C. Smith, Chair; Marc Krantz, Vice Chair; and Anthony Moore, Secretary. Smith is entering his fifth year of service on the Board, and this marks his second term as Chair. Smith is President and CEO of Spero-Smith Investment Advisers Inc., a registered investment advisory firm. “I’m honored to again serve as Chair and look forward to a very active year as we continue to implement our ambitious strategy to spur job growth and economic vitality on our waterfronts and throughout our region,” said Smith. Krantz was appointed to the Port Board in 2009. He is the managing partner of the Kohrman Jackson & Krantz law firm.

"It's starting to really look like a boat now," said Frank Jackson, the senior inspector on the Snohomish project. The passenger-only ferry is being built at Dakota Creek Shipyard in Anacortes. All the units that were built separately - the hull, the main deck and the pilothouse module - have been assembled. A milestone coming up this month is the loading of the main engines into the new ferry. Workers will also start on modifying Snohomish's bow to enable it to dock at car ferry slips. That feature will give it a slightly different look from its sister ferry, Chinook, which is now in service between Seattle and Bremerton.