Fraser Shipyards Inc News

An infrastructure upgrade project is underway on Christian Island, Ontario, and one of the main components of the project is the construction of a new double-ended ferry (DEF) – a so-called “Floating Bridge” from the mainland to the island. Christian Island is located in Canada in Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. Beausoleil First Nation (BFN) will be the owner and operator of the new ferry.The DEF will be constructed at Fraser Shipyards Inc. in Superior, Wisconsin, on Lake Superior…

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…

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.

In his 47-year Congressional career, former Congressman Jim Oberstar has received many honors. But few are as big – literally – as the announcement that The Interlake Steamship Company will rename and rechristen one of its massive ships the MV Hon. James L. Oberstar this spring. The vessel will sail from layup in March as the MV Hon. James L. Oberstar, and will be rechristened in a ceremony at Duluth later this spring. The ship stretches longer than two-and-a-half football fields – 805 ft to be exact – with a beam of 75 ft and a current carrying capacity of 31,000 gross tons.

When the 1,000-ft-long Great Lakes freighter Edwin H. Gott arrived at Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, it marked the beginning of the busiest time of year for Great Lakes shipyards. This project and other annual winter maintenance work on U.S.-flag Great Lakes ships will provide jobs for more than 1,200 men and women at U.S. shipyards around the Great Lakes. The Gott, one of the largest U.S.-flag vessels working the Great Lakes, is having new engines installed this winter that will increase its fuel efficiency and significantly reduce its air emissions. The vessel, built in Sturgeon Bay in 1978, carries iron ore from the Twin Ports of Duluth…

On April 15, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $14.7m in grant awards to help improve 17 small shipyards in 16 states. The funds will help these shipyards become more competitive by purchasing modern equipment and training workers. “These grants will help modernize small shipyards and strengthen our economy by making sure we maintain the ability to build and repair ships in the United States,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Small shipyards are an important part of our nation’s shipbuilding industry,” said David Matsuda, Acting Maritime Administrator. The grants, which are part of the Assistance to Small Shipyards program…

On Feb. 16, Fraser Shipyards Inc. President and COO Jim Korthals, briefed Rep. David Obey, D.-Wis. on how the shipyard will use the $2m the congressman secured for the City of Superior to assist with the shipyard’s continued upgrades and repairs to its facilities. The company will initiate the work as soon as funding is disbursed, ultimately employing an additional 15 to 20 skilled workers throughout the project. “This project will help ensure Fraser remains competitive, so it can continue to employ people long into the future,” said Obey. “This is a great example of private industry working cooperatively with government at every level, federal, state and local.” Obey and Sen.

After successful results with four existing ro-ro vessels, Cobelfret NV ordered the Ecospeed coating of the thruster tunnels of five newbuild vessels, the fourth of which was coated last month. The application of the three newbuild vessels was performed at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft mbH & Co. KG shipyard. In the same period another thruster tunnel, on a vessel owned by the U.S. Coast Guard, was also given Ecospeed protection at the Fraser Shipyards Inc. in Superior, Wis. Grit blasting and application of the two layers is completed in the presence of an Ecospeed inspector.