Great Lakes News

Captain Pat Folan outlines the way forward, especially for the smaller towboat firms. It’s not rocket science, but it does involve common sense. July 20, 2018 came and went, and we are all still here – mostly. The reality of Sub M has begun to sink in and for some it signals the end of a business and career. The AWO RCP members, oil movers and early adopters are going to make it. But for some of the ‘Mom & Pops,’ this is looking like a bridge too far.And some of this group are the ones that needed to be weeded out.

U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) moved 3.1 million tons of cargo in January, an increase of 110 percent compared to a year ago. The January float was also 44 percent above the month’s 5-year average.Iron ore shipments totaled 2.5 million tons, an increase of 84 percent. Coal loadings quadrupled to 137,000 tons. The limestone trade totaled 196,000 tons, an increase of 100 percent.

For Indiana’s state-established, but autonomous Ports of Indiana, 2018 was a record setting year, both for system-wide numbers and among the three individual Ports. These consist of Burns Harbor, on Lake Erie; Jeffersonville, on the Ohio, across from Louisville, KY; and Mount Vernon, also on the Ohio River, about 140 miles downriver from Jeffersonville.Not only were actual numbers robust, but Port officials reported “unprecedented tonnage increases” within the three-port system.

The late Capt. Beau Payne’s two ex-wives, Isabella and Heidi, unite to run P&L Towing to preserve their family legacy.Behind every good man is a good woman. Or two? In the case of the late Capt. Beau Payne, founder of P&L Towing and Transportation in Miami, Fla., there were three: his two ex-wives, Isabella Clark and Heidi Payne, and his sister, Cathy Sedano.A Miami River Rat, Payne’s sudden death at 52 was a shock to his family and friends. Cathy found her big brother, Beau, dead, apparently of arrhythmia, on March 6, 2017. Payne was the type of man who never went to the doctor.

Private investment firm Auxo Investment Partners said it is partnering with the Andrie family with an investment in Andrie LLC, a Michigan-based Jones Act bulk transporter of specialty products including liquid asphalt, cement, light oil petroleum products, and calcium chloride throughout the Great Lakes. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, marks Auxo’s sixth acquisition in 16 months, and builds on the firm’s December 2017 acquisition of M/G Transport Services, a leading dry-bulk transportation and logistics company based in New Orleans.Andrie, founded in 1988, is a company serving the Great Lakes, working extensively with large global customers.

Deal builds on Auxo’s December 2017 acquisition of leading dry-bulk transportation and logistics company, M/G Transport Services. Private investment firm Auxo Investment Partners announced today that it is partnering with the Andrie family with an investment in Andrie LLC, a Michigan-based Jones Act bulk transporter of specialty products including liquid asphalt, cement, light oil petroleum products, and calcium chloride throughout the Great Lakes. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed…

Scienco/FAST, an experienced manufacturer of Marine sewage devices (MSD) recently received an extraordinary service order. Or, maybe it’s not that extraordinary.Scienco/FAST, a St. Louis, Missouri-based manufacturer has, over many years, had plenty of experience in dealing with archived orders. In fact, the firm just had a call from a client that needed to replace a part on a previously installed Scienco/FAST system. So what? Well, it turns out that the system was installed onto a domestic tugboat, way back in 1975. That more-than-43-year-old workhorse is still in service.

Ken Bloch Sørensen has stepped down as president and  CEO of Canadian shipowner Algoma Central Corporation after leading the company for four years. Gregg A. Ruhl, the current Chief Operating Officer, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer and will assume that role immediately.Soerensen is said to want to spend more time with his family in Europe. He joined Algoma in April 2015 and was charged with redefining the strategic focus of the Company to include growth markets beyond North America.

The Port of Indiana Burns-Harbor has extended its partnership with its longtime stevedore and marine terminal operating company, Federal Marine Terminals.A press note from the Ports of Indiana, a statewide port authority operating three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan, said that the deal will run through at least 2023."FMT has been a vital collaborator with the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor since 1999," said Port Director Ian Hirt, "and this consolidated operating agreement…

Moran Iron Works, Inc. (MIW) signed a contract with Pictured Rocks Kayaking (PRK) to build a specialized passenger tour vessel. Together, and in conjunction with DLBA (a division of Gibbs & Cox, Inc.), they are creating a special purpose tour boat that is first of its kind in the Great Lakes region.The 64’ by 19’ vessel will be constructed out of aluminum at Moran Iron Works’ headquarters in Onaway, Michigan. The purpose of this particular unnamed vessel is to escort 72 passengers and 36 kayaks around Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for guided kayak tours.

On December 4, President Trump signed into law the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 (S. 140). Title IX of the legislation is the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act of 2018 (VIDA). VIDA will largely cut through a morass of conflicting and confusing requirements that have developed over a number of years relating to discharges into US waters. This purpose of this new legislation is to: (1) provide for the establishment of uniform and environmentally sound standards and requirements for the management of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel…

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding has delivered the newly-converted barge Commander to Port City Marine Services (PCMS) of Muskegon, Michigan. The Commander is a 495 x 72-ft. freight barge that underwent extensive conversion, including the installation of new cargo holds, trunk deck and bow, and a new cargo unloading system. Combined with its tug, the vessel operates as an Articulated Tug Barge unit.Port City Marine Services is experienced in the management, conversion and operation…

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced a toll rate increase of 1.0% for the 2019 navigation season.Tariffs:The new revised tariff will be posted and available on the Seaway website today.Wharfage Charges:The St. Lawrence Seaway Wharfage and Storage Charges have been revised for the 2019 navigation season. Effective with the commencement of the 2019 navigation season, Wharfage Charges will increase 1%.The revised Tariff will be available today on the Web…

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie commenced Operation Taconite, the Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation, Monday, in response to expanded ice growth in the commercial ports of Western Lake Superior and the St. Marys River.Operation Taconite encompasses Lake Superior, St. Marys River, Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay, Green Bay, northern Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan. Ice breaking operations are based on the following order of priorities: search and rescue…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced the receipt of a $93 million contract award for the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.Dredging to deepen the entrance channel will commence during the second quarter of 2019 with completion expected in early 2020 said Great Lakes, the largest provider of dredging services in the United States and a major provider of environmental and infrastructure services.It said that the overall ship channel deepening effort will be comprised of multiple phases, expected to be competitively bid and worked over the next five years.

U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) moved 8.6 million tons of cargo in November, a virtual repeat of a year ago. The November float was also a near carbon copy of the month’s 5-year average.Iron ore cargos for steel production totaled 4.6 million tons, an increase of 9.6 percent compared to a year ago.Coal loads totaled 1.3 million tons, again little changed from a year ago. Shipments of aggregate, fluxstone, chemical stone and scrubber stone totaled 2.3 million tons, a decrease of 8 percent compared to a year ago.Year-to-date U.S.-flag cargo movement stands at 75.3 million tons…

Spanish engineering and technology group SENER has contracted the basic design of a 1,200-passenger ferry for Tanzanian shipping line Kampuni ya Huduma za Meli (Marine Services Co., Ltd.) to the Korean company GAS Entec."With this new engineering contract, SENER has the experience from having built over 1,200 ships and offshore artifacts worldwide under its own designs. With more than 60 years working in the Marine sector, nowadays SENER provides professional services to shipyards…

As commercial shipping and energy activities picks up in the Arctic region, the prospect of accidental oil spills in this pristine environment remain a concern. In response, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking the lead – through the U.S. Coast Guard – to develop a subsea robotic system to map and report on spills.“Because of ice coverage and the tyranny of distance, it is difficult to get resources and assets up in the Arctic in a quick manner,” said Kirsten Trego, Executive Director of the Coast Guard’s Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research.

Dr. Lorry Wagner has served as president of the Cleveland-based Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) since May of 2010.LEEDCo is the public private partnership behind the effort to construct Icebreaker Wind, a 6 turbine 20.7 megawatt offshore wind energy demonstration project in Lake Erie, 8 miles off the shore of Cleveland. LEEDCo has received funding from the U.S. DOE under its Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects award and has partnered with Fred. Olsen Renewables of Norway. Dr.

MarineNews showcases the ten best of North America’s 2018 workboat deliveries. Domestic shipyard production is robust, innovative and getting greener. And, that translates into two kinds of ‘green.’As the domestic offshore energy support sector slowly awakens, other sectors have been happy to take the spotlight in its absence. As always, and if a hull was delivered in 2018, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For my part, I’m always excited when the U.S. boatbuilding sector can deliver for a foreign buyer. We’ve checked that box here.

Optimarin signed a contract to supply seven of its USCG-approved Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS) to Fednav, Canada's largest ocean-going dry-bulk shipowning and chartering group. Five of the units will be fitted on existing vessels within the 63-strong Fednav fleet, with two deliveries set for newbuilds. The order comes on top of agreements for five units made last year, signaling a growing relationship between the two market leaders.With recent orders for multiple systems from Höegh Autoliners…

SunStone Ships, Inc. sold Victory Cruise Lines to the American Queen Steamboat Company (AQSC). After rapidly expanding market share in the Great Lakes, French Canada, and St. Lawrence Seaway, Victory became the market leader in these regions. Having recently added the VICTORY II, afforded AQSC the opportunity to acquire the largest capacity in the region.AQSC will acquire the VICTORY I and VICTORY II cruise vessels, as well as some assets in connection herewith, among them being the Victory brand, all Great Lakes charters, group bookings, individual passenger reservations, and related assets.

Canadian dry-bulk shipper Algoma Central Corporation announced the purchase of a 2008 built product tanker which will become the seventh tanker within the Algoma Tankers Limited fleet.A press release from the provider of marine transportation services said that the purchase demonstrates Algoma’s commitment to continuing to safely and efficiently ship petroleum products on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway and East Coast.“We are extremely pleased to add a vessel to our Algoma Tankers Limited fleet as customer demand continues to strengthen in this segment…