Coastal & Inland Waterways

Interlake Holding purchases two Great Lakes vessels

05.14.14_badger

Interlake Holding Co. announced yesterday it had purchased the assets of Pere Marquette Shipping Co. and Lake Michigan Car Ferry Co. that includes two working Great Lakes vessels — the articulated tug-barge Undaunted-Pere Marquette 41 and the S.S. Badger, a historic passenger-and-car ferry.

The acquisition creates a new business entity, Interlake Maritime Services, which will manage the new businesses along with the Interlake Steamship Co. and its fleet of nine freighters.

“This is an exciting...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/interlake-holding-purchases-two-great-lakes-vessels/

Saltchuk Marine to expand ship assist operations

Saltchuk Marine announced yesterday that it has acquired Centerline Logistics’ harbor ship assist operations in California and the Pacific Northwest.

Eight ship assist tugs currently operated under the Millennium and Starlight brands will join the Saltchuk Marine fleet in early 2021. Operations will be consolidated under the Starlight brand, which will remain independently operated, managing, dispatching, and crewing its own boats.

The acquisition increases the ship assist capacity of Saltchuk...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/saltchuk-marine-to-expand-ship-assist-operations/

Maritime industry scores big wins in year-end bills, but fails to get liability shield

Grain barge traffic was up for the week ending Sept. 8. David Krapf photo

Congress delivered a big win for inland waterways infrastructure this week when it agreed to change the cost-share arrangement for new lock and dam construction, but disappointed the maritime industry by refusing to give businesses liability protection from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

On Monday, both chambers passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 as part of a broader omnibus appropriations and Covid-19 relief funding package. That bill contains two important provisions for...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/maritime-industry-scores-big-wins-in-year-end-bills-but-fails-to-get-liability-shield/

Congress finds money for Great Lakes projects

After weeks of on-again/off-again negotiations, Congress finally reached agreement on a massive legislative package to fund the federal government for FY2021. The legislation was approved by the House and Senate late Monday night.

Among the bill’s many provisions is the entire text of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020, and FY2021 appropriations for key Great Lakes programs.

Water Resources Development Act of 2020

Due to some last-minute tinkering by legislators, the final text of WRDA...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/congress-finds-money-for-great-lakes-projects/

The fourth quarter looks busy for barged grain

Grain barges tied up to a pier near the Port of New Orleans. USDA photo/ Anson Eaglin.

Through Dec. 12, fourth-quarter barge grain volumes have surpassed one million tons for five weeks in 2020, compared to only one week in 2019 and none in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As of Dec. 12, year-to-date barge grain shipments were 37.3 million tons, 32% higher than the same time in 2019.

High barge grain volumes in 2020 are due to unusually high demand from the international export market and an unusually swift harvest this year, the USDA said. From early...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/the-fourth-quarter-looks-busy-for-barged-grain/

Covid-19 exposes maritime industry cyberattack vulnerabilities

With offices locked down to cope with the relentless Covid-19 pandemic and employees forced to work on computers at home or in other remote — and sometimes poorly secured — locations, the risks of cyberattacks increased appreciably this year within the vulnerable maritime community.

Information technology (IT) experts say glitches in many remote communication and teleconference technologies, in combination with advancing digitalization and connectivity, are elevating the risks of companies’...

https://www.workboat.com/news/bluewater/covid-19-exposes-maritime-industry-cyberattack-vulnerabilities/

U.S. grain, project cargo strong as 2020 shipping season nears end

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway ports and ship operators are hoping for a strong finish to an otherwise turbulent year. Cargo totals on the St. Lawrence Seaway hit nearly 32.3 million metric tons (from April 1 to November 30), down 6.6% from 2019.

Compared to previous months, the improvement in total cargo figures in November is due in large part to grain shipments, which have been strong since the fall harvest began. Year-to-date grain shipments via the Seaway (including Canada and the U.S.)...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/u-s-grain-project-cargo-strong-as-2020-shipping-season-nears-end/

Hurricane season 2020 finally, mercifully ends

Workboat operators in the Gulf of Mexico are no strangers to hurricanes that disrupt navigation and human lives, but 2020 was an especially brutal and relentless season of destructive storms.

When Zeta, a Category 2 hurricane barreled through Louisiana on Oct 28, it was the fifth named storm this year to hit the state, surpassing the previous record of four in 2002 and arriving just weeks after two other devastating storms, Laura and Delta.

Laura made landfall in the state’s southwest corner in...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/hurricane-season-2020-finally-mercifully-ends/

Turn Services acquires Bayou Fleet

Turn Services, New Orleans, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets and business of Bayou Fleet. Located at mile marker 125.5 on the Lower Mississippi River in Hahnville, La., Bayou Fleet provides fleeting, shifting and dry cargo and liquid barge cleaning services. The facility is situated on 85 acres of batture and remains operable during high water stages. The transaction is anticipated to close on or before Dec. 31, 2020.

Mario Muñoz, president of Turn...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/turn-services-acquires-bayou-fleet/

Upper Mississippi River 2020 navigation season comes to an end

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul (Minn.) District, locked its last tow of the season on Nov. 30, ending the navigation season on the Upper Mississippi River.

Traditionally, the last tow heading south of Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minn., has marked the unofficial end of the navigation season. The towboat The Colonel locked through Hastings Nov. 30. The R. Clayton McWhorter was the first tow of the 2020 season. It locked through April 6. The Colonel is owned and operated by Southern...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/upper-mississippi-river-2020-navigation-season-comes-to-an-end/

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