William D Friedman News

Port of Cleveland President & CEO and newly elected Board Chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities William Friedman weighs in this month on the Port of Cleveland and its role in the all important Great Lakes trades.When the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) announced the election of Port of Cleveland President and CEO, William D. Friedman, to serve as chairman for the 2018-19 year, beginning this October, it was perhaps a conscious decision to tap someone who has a broad range of experience and skills in myriad ports, large and small. That’s Friedman in a nutshell. AAPA represents 140 of the leading maritime port authorities in this hemisphere. If you’ve seen one port; well, you’ve seen one port.

President and CEO of the Port of Cleveland, William D. Friedman, was elected chairman of the Green Marine’s Board of Directors following the corporation’s Annual General Meeting on May 31, during GreenTech 2018, in Vancouver B.C. Friedman has been sitting on the Green Marine Board since 2013.The Port of Cleveland is one of the environmental program’s founding members. “I’ve been engaged on the Green Marine board for the last five years, and the Port of Cleveland has adopted a similar commitment as a member.

Friedman is Port of Cleveland's President & CEO. At its 2018 Spring Conference on March 20, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas—elected William D. Friedman, president and chief executive officer for Northeast Ohio’s Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, to serve as the association’s chairman of the board for the 2018-19 activity year that begins in October. Mr. Friedman is slated to be installed as chairman for a one-year term on the final day of AAPA’s 2018 Annual Convention, set for Oct. 7-10, in Valparaiso, Chile. He will assume the AAPA chairmanship from Steve Cernak, chief executive and port director for Broward County, Fla.’s Port Everglades, who began his one-year term on Oct. 4, 2017.

Green Marine, an environmental certification program for the North American marine industry, elected Port of New Orleans Chief Operating Officer Brandy Christian to its Board of Directors during its annual conference last month. “Brandy Christian’s nomination shows a high-level of commitment to sustainability from the Port of New Orleans,” said Green Marine Executive Director David Bolduc. “We are pleased to have an administrator with her level of expertise sitting on our Board.

The Port of Cleveland announced that its Cleveland-Europe Express, the dedicated monthly liner service that launched in April, had its best month to date in June. This start-up service doubled its revenues in June when compared to either April or May. “The Port of Cleveland is booming and we are very encouraged by the performance of the new Cleveland-Europe Express service, which is still in its infancy,” said William D. Friedman, president and CEO. “The large increase in volume in June bodes well for the remainder of the year as we continue to offer companies and shippers throughout the interior U.S. The Port’s traditional maritime and development finance services are also seeing increased demand and are forecasted to have a record year.

U.S. Senator Rob Portman supports legislation to help ensure funds for harbor maintenance etc. are used as intended. The Senator co-sponsored the Harbor Maintenance Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Carl Levin (D-MI) to help ensure that funds collected for maintaining and operating federal ports, harbors, and channels are fully used for their intended purposes. “Ohio’s many ports and harbors, including those in Cleveland, Toledo, and across the Great Lakes, are critical to ensuring robust commerce,” said Portman. “We commend Senator Portman and his co-sponsors, and urge their colleagues to support this bill to help continue our nation’s economic recovery,” said William D. Friedman, President and CEO of the Port of Cleveland.

MarineNews is pleased again this year to showcase the thoughts and opinions of workboat industry luminaries and executives, including: Terry Becker, President, Riverway Co.; Larry Daily, President, Alter Barge Line, Inc.; Cherrie Felder, Vice President, Channel Shipyard Companies; William D. Friedman, Executive Director, Ports of Indiana; Berdon Lawrence, Chairman, Kirby and Peter H. Stephaich, Chairman of Campbell Transportation Company, Inc., and C&C Marine Maintenance, Inc. President Riverway Co. For those who may not be familiar with Riverway Co., we are a "medium" sized barge line that operates approximately 500 barges and eight line haul towboats, moving dry bulk commodities primarily on the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.

The Ports of Indiana today announced new key initiatives to expand its economic development role. After a year-long strategic planning process involving in-depth research and interviews with industry stakeholders, the organization made the decision to expand its current role and aggressively grow its core business. The Ports of Indiana's new initiatives include spearheading the evaluation of an inland intermodal rail port in Indiana and pursuing increased development financing authority. Indiana's three-port system serves the world's most productive industrial and agricultural region through a combination of strategic locations, intermodal connections and specialized facilities.