Mackinac Island Ferry Set for Electric Conversion
A Mackinac Island passenger ferry will be converted to zero-emissions electric power with the help of a $3.06 million award from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Fuel Transformation Program (FTP) Part 2.Star Line, now known as the Mackinac Island Ferry Company (MIFC), will replace two 1988 diesel engines with two brand new electric propulsion motors on a ferry, the Chippewa, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 14,152 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents and 887 metric tons of nitrogen oxides over the boat’s lifetime.
Insights: Margo Marks -President, Beaver Island Boat Company
Margo S. Marks is President/General Manager of Beaver Island Boat Company, Beaver Island, Mich. The company has provided passenger, vehicle and freight services, between Beaver Island and Charlevoix, Mich. since 1984. The first ferry service to the island began in 1890. B.I. Boat Company operates two subchapter K vessels with a capacity of up to 294 passengers and 16 vehicles on the larger vessel, and 172 passengers and 9 vehicles on the smaller vessel. Notably, Margo has deep roots in the Gresat Lakes community and graduated from the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in 1983…
PVA Elects 2016 Leadership
During the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2016 held January 23-26 in Crystal City, Va., members of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) elected Margo Marks of Beaver Island Boat Company, Beaver Island, Mich. as PVA President for 2016. Margo Marks is President/General Manager of Beaver Island Boat Company, Beaver Island, Mich. The company has provided passenger service, vehicle service and freight service between Beaver Island and Charlevoix, Mich. since 1984. The first ferry service to the island began in 1890.
USCG Medevacs 80 Yr-Old Near Lake Michigan
A Coast Guard aircrew medically evacuated an 80-year-old man off Beaver Island in Lake Michigan Sunday night. The man’s name is not being released. At 5:40 p.m., emergency medical personnel on Beaver Island contacted a search and rescue coordinator at the Coast Guard Ninth District command center to request assistance with transporting an 80-year-old man, who was suffering from signs of a stroke, to a hospital in Michigan. A rescue aircrew in an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter launched from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, to assist. The Coast Guard aircrew met EMTs and the man at the Beaver Island Airport, where he was brought aboard the helicopter for transport to the air station. Once there, local EMTs further transported him to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.
PVA Elects President, Officers and Board Members
During the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2014, held January 18-21 in Houston, members of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) elected Terri Bernstein, BB Riverboats Newport, Ky., as PVA President for 2014. Dave Anderson, Fire Island Ferries, Inc., Bay Shore, N.Y. Margo Marks, Beaver Island Boat Company, Charlevoix, Mich. Captain Terri Bernstein is Vice President of Operations of BB Riverboats in Newport, Ky. This third-generation, family-owned business is the oldest riverboat company in the Greater Cincinnati Ohio Region.
