John C Baker News

A lack of U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking capacity is hindering shipping on the Great Lakes, a U.S. maritime industry coalition said on Thursday.During this year’s ice season, the U.S.-flag Great Lakes shipping industry lost the equivalent of a month due to delays in ice covered waters, according to the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, which represents U.S.-flag vessel operators, shipboard and longshore unions, port authorities, cargo shippers, terminal operators, shipyards and other Great Lakes interests.

Plans for a second heavy icebreaker for service on the Great Lakes have taken another step toward reality with Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) including $2 million for initial survey and design work for a vessel that is at least as capable as the current icebreaker Mackinaw in the committee report on the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 had previously authorized a new heavy icebreaker for Lakes service. Senator Baldwin’s…

Ohio Congressman David Joyce (R) has been named a 2016 Great Lakes Legislator of the Year by the largest labor/management coalition representing shipping on America’s Fourth Sea Coast. Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) annually presents the award to legislators who have promoted shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Rep. Joyce received his award at a ceremony in Washington on April 12. “Rep. Joyce’s deep appreciation for Great Lakes shipping stems from having two major ports in his district, Ashtabula and Conneaut,” said Thomas Curelli, President of GLMTF in 2016. “Rep.

An effort to remove the U.S.-build requirement from the Jones Act is being soundly rejected by Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest labor/management coalition ever assembled to promote shipping on America’s Fourth Sea Coast. The Task Force said it sees no benefit to allowing foreign-built vessels to carry cargo between U.S. ports, but warns that nearly 60,000 jobs in the Great Lakes states will be sacrificed for no good reason if the amendment to the Keystone pipeline bill offered by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) is accepted.

Great Lakes legislators played a key role in yesterday’s vote in the House of Representatives to increase the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ national budget by nearly $58 million. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), along with Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.), authored the amendment to the House’s FY15 Energy & Water Appropriations bill and Representatives Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Dan Benishek (R-Mich.) and Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) took the floor to support the measure. The additional funds will…

The Great Lakes shipping industry is calling on Congress to quickly pass the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) approved by the House/Senate conference committee. The bill contains provisions that will significantly reduce the dredging backlog on the Great Lakes by increasing the amount of tax dollars the government spends on maintaining deep-draft ports and waterways and designating the Great Lakes a “navigation system” for the purposes of maintenance dredging. “It is critical that Congress move this bill now,” said James H.I Weakley, President of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF), the largest labor/management coalition ever to represent shipping on the Lakes. “More than 18 million cubic yards of sediment clog the Great Lakes Navigation System.

House and Senate Bills Offer Hope for Lakes Dredging Crisis. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have taken up legislation that could end the dredging crisis on the Great Lakes. H.R. 335 and S. 218 would require the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (“HMTF”) to spend what it takes in each year for dredging on dredging. Currently, the HMTF spends only one of every two tax dollars it collects for dredging on dredging. The surplus, now approaching $7 billion, is used to mask the size of the Federal deficit rather than maintain the nation’s ports and waterways.

The end of the Great Lakes dredging crisis took a step closer to reality last week when the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4348 and included a provision that could lead to substantially increased Great Lakes dredging funding. The amendment directs that all funding collected in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund be spent on dredging each year. “Passage of H.R. 4348 with the Boustany amendment represents further progress in requiring that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund monies all be spent on dredging each year…

The Administration’s proposal to slash the Great Lakes dredging budget by 32 percent in FY12 has the Great Lakes shipping industry declaring a State of Emergency. The Administration’s proposed appropriation for Lakes dredging next year will remove the smallest amount of sediment since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started keeping records more than half a century ago. As a result, only 11 of the 83 U.S ports on the Great Lakes will be dredged. “Never in my 51 years in this industry have I seen such a total abandonment of the Federal government’s responsibility to maintain the Great Lakes Navigation System,” said John D. Baker, President of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest labor/management coalition ever to promote shipping on America’s Fourth Sea Coast.

A commitment to ending the dredging crisis on the Great Lakes has earned Congresswoman Candice Miller (R-MI) an award as 2011 Great Lakes Legislator of the Year from the largest labor/management coalition representing workers and industries dependent on shipping on America’s Fourth Sea Coast. Rep. Miller, who represents Michigan’s 10th District in the House of Representatives, will formally receive the award from Great Lakes Maritime Task orce (“GLMTF”) in Washington on February 9.

According to the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, Russia’s decision to suspend grain exports has ships throughout the world steering for the Great Lakes to load wheat and other staples. However, the Great Lakes Navigation System has unused capacity and can meet this unexpected demand. “Grain shipments through the Seaway in September increased 68 percent compared to a year ago,” said James H.I. Weakley, President of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest labor/management coalition ever to promote waterborne commerce via the Lakes/Seaway system. The surge in grain shipments is forecast to last until the St. Lawrence Seaway closes toward the end of December, and then could well resume in the spring.

The end of the dredging crisis on the Great Lakes moved a giant step closer today when a key House committee approved legislation requiring the federal government to spend all the tax dollars it collects for dredging on dredging rather than use nearly half to balance the budget - at least on paper. Section 2007 of H.R. 5892, the Water Resources Development Act of 2010, mandates that all tax revenues annually deposited in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) be used to dredge the nation’s deep-draft ports and waterways. Because the government does not spend all the tax dollars it raises for dredging, the HMTF currently has a surplus of more than $5b.

Bisso Marine, provider of energy and maritime support services, announced the addition of John C. Baker as director of Quality and Compliance. Baker directs and manages the company’s ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System and AWO RCP Safety Management System, including procedural development and auditing for compliance. Before joining BISSO MARINE, Baker served as manager of Corporate Quality and Compliance for Kirby Corporation, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of a formal employee involvement system aboard 260 vessels.

The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) has expressed its disappointment that the second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan did not receive any Federal stimulus dollars. GLMTF stated that Congress has strongly supported the project, authorizing the lock at full Federal expense in 2007, and approving tens of millions of dollars in Federal construction funding, including $17 million recently in the FY09 Appropriations Bill. “It is incomprehensible that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not include the new Soo lock in projects that will be funded from its share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),” said Donald Cree, President of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest coalition promoting waterborne commerce on the Great Lakes.

Congressman Brian M. Higgins (D-NY) has been honored for his support of Great Lakes shipping by the largest coalition representing the industry. The Congressman was named Great Lakes Legislator of the Year by Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF). Rep. Higgins will formally receive the award at GLMTF’s 14th Annual Briefing for the Great Lakes Delegation in Washington on April 2, 2009. “As a native of Buffalo, Congressman Higgins has long understood that Great Lakes shipping is an asset to be treasured,” said Don Cree, President of GLMTF and President of the Toledo (Ohio) Port Council.

Legislation authorizing construction of a new icebreaker for the Great Lakes is being applauded by the Great Lakes shipping community as key to the industry’s future. H.R. 1747, the Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement Act of 2009, was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 26 by Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-MN). “The Great Lakes are in desperate need of another modern icebreaker,” said Don Cree, President of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) and President of the Toledo (Ohio) Port Council. “Most of the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking assets are nearing the end of their productive lives. As a result, freighters have been experiencing significant delays and even suffering extensive damage.

Congress is considering the possible funding of the construction of a new lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a half-billion dollar undertaking that would rank as the largest navigation infrastructure project on the Great Lakes in a generation. Construction of a new lock at “the Soo” would bring up to 250 jobs annually to northern Michigan and continue for a decade. Estimated cost of the lock is about $475m. One economist has likened the economic impact of lock construction to opening an automobile plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Funding could come either through a massive stimulus bill or appropriations bills that will be considered by Congress as early as January. The new lock has been in the planning stage for two decades, but now is ready to move forward once funding is secured.