Whiskey Island Marina News

Great Lakes Shipyard announced the installation of a new state-of-the-art plasma cutting machine, the Plate Pro Extreme 3100. The addition of this cutting table expands the range of services available to its customers and improves the efficiency of Great Lakes Shipyard operations, while also enhancing the quality and precision of the work being produced. Bringing this capability in-house allows the Shipyard to make more of its own parts without relying on outside vendors or subcontractors.

Miller Boat Line’s ferry, M/V South Bass, is receiving its routine five-year drydocking and USCG inspection at Great Lakes Shipyard. The vessel was hauled out using the Marine Travelift, and the work on the vessel will be completed in two to three weeks. This marks the first time Great Lakes Shipyard has performed work on the M/V South Bass. Since 2010, repairs have been performed on all of the other ferries in the Miller Boat Line fleet, including routine five-year drydockings…

Great Lakes Shipyard is completing the replacement of the main propulsion control system on the United States Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay. This work marks the final installation under a five-year contract with the USCG’s Engineering Logistics Center, Baltimore, Md. This contract included installation of new main propulsion control systems for the entire fleet of nine 140-foot Bay Class of Ice Breaking tugs. The Shipyard’s mobile vessel crew is conducting the work on-site in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and is to be completed in early October.

Great Lakes Shipyard was awarded a contract by Whiskey Island Marina to fabricate a new floating breakwater. The Shipyard will fabricate two 150’ long steel cylindrical modules that will be bolted together and anchored in the lake bottom in front of the marina. The project is to be completed by mid-November. The 10-foot diameter breakwater is used for wake attenuation to protect the boats and docks in the marina basin from heavy weather and is ballasted to the 6.5’ waterline. The Shipyard built a similar floating breakwater for Perry’s Landing Marina, Erie PAin 2010.

Marine Travelift dealer increases local marine economy sales. Two Ohio marinas purchased new Marine Travelift Mariner Forklifts from Interstate Lift Truck, an established Marine Travelift dealer for 20 years. The sales are a positive indication that the marina economy is growing from its 2008 economic decline. Since then, vessels have continued to develop in size and weight; and Foxhaven Marina and Whiskey Island Marina remain invested in the future of the industry. Rack storage has been a primary source of revenue for Foxhaven Marina since 1973.

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has received a capacity study identifying options for sustaining the Port's position as an engine for manufacturing jobs, while the City of Cleveland is opening up the lakefront for greater public access and economic development. The study's main finding was that as the Port vacates key docks and storage areas, then those maritime facilities would need replacement given any reasonable future business projection. The Port of Cleveland is a destination port, meaning it produces local jobs because 90 percent of the Port's cargo is produced or consumed within a 75-mile radius. For example, the Cleveland Cliffs iron ore brought here from Minnesota by Oglebay Norton is used for manufacturing steel at ISG.