Inland Port 2013 Issue 4

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2013 Issue IV

Tell City River Port Opening Doors in Indiana An Open Letter to Forbes Magazine Subsurface Corrosion Control PortVision Job Scheduling

IP Editorial Board

Jennifer Carpenter American Waterways Operators Sr. Vice President-National Advocacy, AWO www.americanwaterways.com

INLAND PORT MAGAZINE 2013 Issue IV • Volume V ISSN 2156-7611

www.inlandportmagazine.com @inlandportmag Debra Colbert Waterways Council Senior Vice President, Communications Waterways Council www.waterwayscouncil.org

Michael Gerhardt Dredging Contractors of America Assistant Executive Director, DCA www.dredgingcontractors.org

Amy Larson National Waterways Conference President www.waterway.org

Michael McQuillan Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals Vice President, Hanson Professional Services www.irpt.net

Brad Pickel Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association Executive Director, AIWA www.atlanticintracoastal.org

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Hudson Jones Publications, LLC Houston, Texas • Tulsa, Oklahoma 281-602-5400 EDITOR Daron Jones djones@inlandportmagazine.com DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Jo Anne Hudson jhudson@inlandportmagazine.com

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Indiana’s Tell City River Port: A Beacon for its Community

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Ohio River Bridges Get Barge Service Boost

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Expo Highlights Inland Rivers’ Importance and Cooperation

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You’re Not Our Huckleberry

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Delta Rigging Expands with Acquisitions

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How AMI Consulting Divers Handle Dock Wall Corrosion

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Improving the “Fit” Between Docks and Vessels for Optimal Job Scheduling

Inland Port

Exclusive interview with Operations Manager Kevin Teague

An Open Letter to Forbes Magazine’s Christopher Helman, from CEO Daniel B. Altman and CMO Edward L. Robinson, TPG Marine Enterprises, LLC

Overview of a subsurface corrosion project at the Duluth/Superior Harbor

By Robert Kessler, Director Business Development Enterprise Software with PortVision

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Indiana’s Tell City River Port An Industrial Beacon for its Community

What makes your port facilities unique?

We are unique to other facilities in a number of ways. The Tell City River Port is owned and operated by the Perry County Port Authority, which consists of a five-man board of directors appointed by the Perry County Commissioners. The Port Authority also owns and operates the Hoosier Southern Railroad, which extends 22 miles from Cannelton Indiana to our interchange point with the Norfolk Southern Railroad at Lincoln City Indiana.

The Tell City River Port is served by our railroad and, with our class 1 rail connection at Lincoln City, we have a worldwide reach. Though we are a sub-division of county government, we are also self-sustaining, meaning we do not use local tax dollars to operate. Our purpose is to support and attract industry to Perry & Spencer Counties and the surrounding region.

How long have you been at the port, and in what capacities?

I started with the port in 2011 as the operations manager and continue in that role today. I run the day-to-day operation of the port and railroad, with the exception of track maintenance. Bob Froehlich is our roadmaster, and is responsible for maintenance of way.

IP’s Exclusive Interview with Operations Manager Kevin Teague

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What is new at your facilities? Any new tenants, equipment, or infrastructure to let the industry know about?

We serve five offsite companies with barge/railcar unloading and storage of materials, which are moved to local industry by railcar or truck as requested. We have two port tenants, Tell City Boat Works and MRO Resources. Tell City Boat works builds barges and tug/tow boats. MRO Resources is a supplier for the local Waupaca Foundry. MRO joined us here at the port in 2011. We recently finished a major upgrade in our infrastructure, replacing four rail bridges and 40,000 feet of track on our rail line that serves the port. This $5.8 million dollar project allowed us to increase our rail capacity from 263K rail cars to 286K cars.

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2013 Issue IV

What are your short and long-term expectations for growth? What specific steps will help you achieve these goals?

Short-term, we are looking to add more covered and open storage within the port to maximize the amount of material our customers warehouse here. We are also expanding the port’s footprint outside its current boundaries to provide property that is port- and rail-served for industry to come in, set up their own infrastructure, and go to work.

How has your facility changed over time?

The biggest change over the lifetime of the port and railroad have been the infrastructure improvements. We have invested nearly ten million dollars in upgrades to storage facilities, track, and bridges. We hope to continue making improvements to meet the needs of local industry.

Tell us about the port’s management team and board. What are your strengths? Where do

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you want to improve?

Our board of directors is unique because the members give up their personal time without reward to try to improve our community. It is because of their vision that Waupaca Foundry, Perry County’s largest employer, decided to

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locate one of their foundries here. If the board hadn’t formed, purchased the rail line, and secured the river port, we wouldn’t be here today.

The two-person management team is involved in every aspect of the operation. The

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operations manager knows and accounts for every ton of material that enters and leaves the port, speaks with each customer on a daily basis to make sure their needs are met, and works with the employees in the field to better understand the challenges they face.

The roadmaster oversees all track work within and outside the port. If we have a contractor onsite then he is there with them to make sure the job is done right.

As the operations manager, I feel like I need to improve in every aspect of what I do. It feels good to do your best, but there is always something you can do to improve a process or better serve the customer.

Our real strength lies in our employees. They are out there serving our customers and they care about what they do.

How do you go about recruiting new tenants? Is that an ongoing process?

We work with local and regional community development groups to bring in new industry and, yes, we never stop looking for more. Not every industry may be the right fit for us or the community, but we are always looking to grow the business.

Highlight your maintenance program, particularly underwater maintenance.

Who does your underwater survey work? What about subsurface repairs and maintenance for pilings, etc.?

We work to be as environmentally friendly as possible. To date, we have tried to keep the footprint of the port from extending into the river other than our cell. We have not needed underwater survey or subsurface repairs to date.

How secure is your port? Outline your security measures, both above and below the surface.

The Tell City River Port is fenced. In addition, there is a private security service on the property nights and weekends. They patrol the waterline 2013 Issue IV

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and fence line to keep product and equipment where it should be.

What sets your port facilities apart in today’s market?

Our primary purpose is to help grow the local economy by providing logistical support to current and future industry in the area. A very large percentage of our revenue is turned back into infrastructure improvements to help provide the best possible service to our customers.

Our stevedoring service, New Hope Stevedoring, is a locally-owned and operated company.

They work diligently to provide fast, efficient turnaround of barge traffic at a very competitive cost.

I am proud to say it is not all about the dollar here. We want to make sure we are doing our best to make our customers happy with the service we provide and give them a great value for that service. IP You can contact Kevin Teague, Operations Manager, HOSR, at hosrr@psci.net.

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2013 Issue IV

Ohio River Bridges Get Barge Service Boost

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he high profile Ohio River Bridges projects near Louisville are well underway and under the direction of Walsh Construction. The multi-year projects will provide a new Downtown Louisville bridge connecting to Jeffersonville, Indiana, and another upriver, connecting Utica, Indiana, with Prospect, Kentucky. Assisting Walsh at both sites is Mt. Vernon Barge Service and its subsidiary, MVBS Jeffersonville. These companies are better known on the Ohio River for providing harbor services for the Ports of Indiana – Mt. Vernon and Jeffersonville, respectively. For Walsh the MVBS Jeffersonville harbor boats are shuttling barges and equipment between the Downtown and East End build sites; providing hopper and deck barges for staging and materials; and shifting at the East End project. One of Mt. Vernon Barge Service’s drydocks (see photo) is being used for building and staging, currently at the East End site. For detailed descriptions and images of what these beautiful spans will look like when complete, visit www.kyinbrideges.com. IP

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Kids enjoyed the RoverWorks Discovery models at the Expo.

Expo Highlights Inland Rivers’ Importance and Cooperation H

untington, West Virginia’s beautiful David Harris Waterside Park was not only the backdrop for this year’s Huntington Classic Powerboat SuperLeague race weekend, but also the site of the Waterways Expo information and education exhibit sponsored by a group of waterways’ businesses and organizations, including Ingram, Marathon, AEP, Kirby Inland Marine, TPG Marine, HDWA, the Propeller Club (Huntington), Inland Waterways Academy, USACE, and USCG. The effort was spearheaded by TPG Marine’s Ed Robinson and Marathon’s Fred Nyhuis and featured energetic cooperation from the waterways’ participants, the boat racers, and the City of Huntington, including an extended visit from the city’s popular Mayor, Steve Williams, who reaffirmed his support of and appreciation for the waterways industries and efforts. Under a 1,600-square-foot tent at the park’s entrance, visitors viewed exhibits from the sponsors and RiverWorks Discovery. The

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intent was to inform or re-inform the area attendees of the significance of the US Waterways and its industries in environmental responsibility, efficient transportation of goods and materials, job creation and community partnership.

Thousands came to see the racing (and the West Virginia Hot Dog Festival) and hundreds who drifted through the exhibit on Saturday and Sunday were also treated to the event favorite: guided tours of AEP’s beautiful line boat: the MV Mike Weisand.

Additionally, the race event was produced and broadcast by RMG to over five million households, five different times each, on Fox Sports Ohio as a thirty-minute show in late August and early September – and included sponsors tags on the excellent thirty-second TV spot produced and generously provided by the Waterways Council. The show included nice coverage of the Expo and in case you missed it, there is a link to the entire broadcast on Youtube.com. inlandportmagazine.com • @inlandportmag

The Huntington Classic organizers and the mayor have invited the industry back for next year’s event. Companies and organizations interested in participating in 2014 should contact Ed Robinson at erobinson@tpgmarine.com. IP PSL Racers, the Belle of Cincinnati, and AEP’s MV Mike Weisand shared the Phio River over the weekend.

2013 Issue IV

, You re Not Our Huckleberry An Open Letter to Forbes Magazine Columnist, Christopher Helman, from CEO Daniel B. Altman and CMO Edward L. Robinson, TPG Marine Enterprises, LLC

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orbes Magazine columnist, Christopher Helman, penned an article in the magazine’s April 15, 2013 edition that essentially said the Inland Waterways should be closed for cargo transportation because taxpayers are paying too much to subsidize it. His corollary was trucks and trains can transport everything barges were carrying at less taxpayer cost. To arrive at his conclusion Helman compared government subsidies for locks and dams to government contributions for road and rail improvement in relation to industry tax payments. The barge lines apparently are not paying their fair share to use the Mississippi, Ohio and other navigable rivers.

It would appear that Helman ran out of time (deadlines can be killers) or misplaced a large portion of logical and essential research. His poorly informed view is too narrow and wrong.

There are many avenues one could take to expose the fallacy of his thesis.

Three, however, stand out prominently. First, taxpayers have far more invested in roads and rails. Secondly, the environmental impact of each mode of transportation must be considered. Finally, the safety of transportation operators and affected civilians is far more precarious in truck and rail than on our inland rivers.

The Eisenhower administration started the interstate highway system.

Over the decades more than $450,000,000,000 in today’s dollars have been spent just to build highways, 90-95% with federal taxpayer money – the rest comes from the states. And, we’re still paving over farmland and still spending.

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We’re not sure where Helman got the idea that “trucks … pay their own way”.

Highway creation alone far surpasses any amounts spent to create locks and dams; by comparison, about a third of that Interstate Highway funding amount was spent to create our inland waterways infrastructure.

Combining labor, materials, and land reclamation, it is a little harder to estimate the costs of America’s freight rail system, but the government, Federal and State, spent hundreds of billions to help build the U.S. rail system. Current rail does a great job, but upside capacity is too limited to pick up a significant portion of the cargo moved by barge.

So either the railways have to be expanded which means government subsidies (we can pretend that this is a self-sustaining private industry, but a large expansion would require federal assistance) and land condemnation, or most of the new cargo will have to be transported via truck.

According to Helman, the truck and rail industry have a long way to go before taxpayer investment catches up with taxpayer funds used to build and maintain locks and dams. In reality, the Inland Waterway is a relatively low taxpayer investment for the benefits realized from its use; try getting drinking water for a city of 250,000 from interstate highway asphalt – or replacing hydroelectric power with wind energy tracing off the caboose of a freight train.

Letting the locks and dams deteriorate will also severely impact the recreational use of our rivers (Mr. Finn would have great difficulty floating down the Mississippi). “Freight bottlenecks and other congestion cost businesses, consumers, and the public at large approximately $200 billion per year, according to a report by the Building America’s Future Educational Fund. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce places the annual cost of congestion as high as $1 trillion annually—roughly 7 percent of U.S. economic output. These costs result from higher transportation costs, more expensive everyday goods, and increased levels of pollution. What’s more, delays and backlogs in goods transport systems that are designed to move large volumes of commodities—such as freight rail and waterways—also lead to ever-increasing shares of freight being moved by truck across the nation’s highway system. The more freight is diverted to trucks, the more congested America’s roadways become. In 2010 roadway congestion alone cost American highway commuters an estimated $101 billion in lost productivity and wasted gas—a sum that doesn’t include the cost of increased wear and tear on roadways or the societal cost incurred by higher emissions levels.” CAP, August 2012.

The environmental impact of moving cargo exclusively by truck and train would be dramatic. Helman was correct when he says it takes scores of semis to carry the same cargo as one barge. One does not have to reference a learned study to recognize the adverse impact to our environment and concomitant cost to taxpayers if truck traffic is increased even 20%. Rail expansion is not as bad to the environment, but rail will not be the practical solution for carrying most of the cargo that barges were carrying. The numbers get really crazy when you consider US freight traffic is expected to increase by 50% in the next twenty-five years.

No matter what world Chris Helman thinks he lives in, this new freight is going to happen. There isn’t much additional capacity on the US freight rail system. The highways are not only overcrowded already, but the trucking industry cannot find, train and employ enough competent drivers to man even their current capacity.

The upside capacity is on the US Waterways, alone. That upside is sufficient to get us to the goal of doubling exports by 2015. That capacity is

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2013 Issue IV

available if and when we repair and maintain longneglected critical infrastructure. The country (GDP) and its citizens (affordable goods and services) benefit directly from the investment.

There is also a remarkable safety factor involved in a responsible assessment of current transportation modes. Injury and death incidents among waterways operators are lower than rail and much lower than truck. Even more dramatic are civilian deaths related to accidents involving commercial transportation in the US. The ratio, 117:1, is a dramatic one. There are 117 times as many civilian deaths in trucking-related accidents as in barge-related accidents. There are 22.5 times as many civilian deaths in rail-related accidents as in barge-related accidents.

If you relate those deaths to tonnage moved it’s still about 40:1 or 8:1. Is the citizen taxpayer allowed to consider this measurement?

And if safety includes carbon footprint data: Barge transportation is about five times as fuel efficient as truck – and 20% better than rail, which fairly and effectively brags continuously about how “green” it is.

There are far too many opportunities to complete Mr. Helman’s sophomoric research than this small space will allow, but in summary, Helman’s colossal miss is that he doesn’t get this: “Over time, and with the development of inland population centers, waterborne freight transportation and landside transportation have become a single functional system.

Problems in any part of the system—gateway ports, inland waterways, critical highway corridors, and critical rail corridors—affect the entire system. Every state is now part of the global economy through the waterborne freight system, whether it is served directly by its own ports or indirectly by trucking and rail from other states. Every state will face increasing sustainability challenges. Water is a “green” transportation resource; it can and should meet a larger share of transportation needs.” AASHTO, April 2008.

For those wishing to be better informed on this vital U.S economic and environmental issue we recommend Dr. C. Jake Haulk’s “Inland Waterways as Vital National Infrastructure” and the Center for American Progress’ “Getting America’s Freight Back on the Move” – these two (among many) provide solid research from the right and the left in support of the importance of the U.S. Waterways.

There is one thing to conclude from Helman’s shortsighted article. Christopher, you are the truck industry’s huckleberry!

Winning is Sweet for IP, Sennebogen, and Marketing Firm

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he story, photos and front cover of Inland Port Magazine’s 2012 Issue 3 led to a “sweet” win in the 2013 Summit Creative Awards for London’s Marketing Strategies & Solutions. The IP cover story focused on the centerpiece of Redpath’s new unloading facility is the giant green Sennebogen counterbalance crane now visible from Sugar Beach in downtown Toronto. Purpose-built Sennebogen material handlers are manufactured in Germany and represented in the Americas by Sennebogen, a client of the London advertising and communications firm.

“The huge EQ cranes are a fairly recent development, taking the place of traditional rope cranes in port applications,” he explains. “Redpath was very excited about the technology from the beginning, and their enthusiasm comes through in the story. A harrowing overland delivery through one of the worst blizzards in recent memory was just the icing on the cake,” said Robert Adeland, President of Marketing Strategies & Solutions. Visit them at www.marketingstrategiesandsolutions.com. IP

Respectfully, Daniel B. Altman, CEO, TPG Marine Enterprises, LLC; and Edward L. Robinson, CMO, TPG Marine Enterprises, LLC. We are proud advocates for the safety, responsibility and versatility of the U.S. Waterways. IP 2013 Issue IV

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McCarthy Awarded Wharf Project

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cCarthy Building Companies, a Texas builder for 34 years, was recently awarded the contract for the $35.6 million rehabilitation of Wharf 1 at the Port of Houston Authority’s Barbours Cut Terminal located in Morgan’s Point, Texas. Barbours Cut is considered to be one of the premium container handling facilities in the country.

The project includes the rehabilitation of Wharf 1, which is a 1,333 lineal foot structure used for the receipt and shipment of containerized freight intended for both foreign and domestic trade. The upgrade was proposed by the Port of Houston Authority to allow for the purchase and placement of larger gantry cranes for ship unloading, which is necessary to accommodate Post Panamax container vessels after completion of the New Panamax expansion by the Panama Canal Authority.

“This project is something McCarthy is proud to construct, adding it to our growing list of successful Port projects,” said Kurt Knebel, Vice President of Civil Operations. “We have a strong working relationship with the Port and we look forward to building one of the most efficient and modern freight terminals in the country.”

Knebel continued, “We are working closely with the Port as security is always an utmost priority and our work on this project is no exception.”

As part of the rehabilitation, McCarthy plans to demolish portions of the existing structure and construct new cast-in-place concrete crane beams, supported by drilled shafts. Additionally, McCarthy will upgrade the facilities’ utilities, including potable water and electrical services, in addition to constructing a new Stevedore building.

The project got underway in May 2013 and will be complete in the summer of 2014. IP

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ZIM CGX Service in New Orleans

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IM Integrated Shipping Ltd. formally introduced a new weekly container shipping service to the Port of New Orleans’ Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. The Caribbean Gulf Express, or CGX service, offers weekly service to Caucedo, Dominican Republic; Altamira and Vera Cruz, Mexico; and Kingston, Jamaica.

“We are thrilled to welcome ZIM to the Port of New Orleans,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange.

“This service will enhance options for shippers and importers not only for Central America and the Caribbean markets, but via ZIM’s global network. ZIM’s service now increases the Port’s competitive transit times to Asia and the rest of the world.”

The CGX service serves all major trade routes, including Asia through its hub in Kingston, Jamaica. Haifa, Israelbased ZIM employs five container ships in the CGX service.

“At ZIM we cross oceans for our customers,” said Lea Bogatch-Genossar, ZIM’s Americas, Canada and Caribbean Area President. “We realized that despite proximity within the Gulf’s destinations and origins, each port has its uniqueness and appeal to the market. Our CGX service is the solution for this market’s needs for a variety of customers, especially refrigerated cargo and special project cargo.

We believe in long-term relationships with our stakeholders and the warm welcome ZIM received from the Port of New Orleans and the local shipping community demonstrates we chose the right partners.”

New Orleans Terminal is the terminal operator for ZIM at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. IP

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2013 Issue IV

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Delta Rigging Expands With Acquisitions Delta Rigging & Tools, Inc., one of the largest providers of lifting and rigging products and related services in the United States, recently announced the acquisition of Holloway Wire Rope, supplier of wire rope, below-the-hook lifting devices and rigging supplies headquartered in Tulsa, OK, with a second location in Wichita, KS. The acquisition of Holloway Wire Rope expands Delta Rigging & Tools footprint into the Oklahoma oil & gas fields, along with broadening its reach into the Midwest markets.

Holloway Wire Rope, celebrating its 72nd year in the industry, is proud to be one of the earliest established wire rope and rigging companies in the United States. Through the efforts of its experienced and long-term management team, they have become an internationally recognized supplier specializing in Wire Rope Slings, Rigging, Fall Protection, Nylon Slings, Wire Rope, Chain, Chain Slings, Rope, Hoists, Shackles, Turnbuckles, Eye Bolts, Sheaves, Snatch Blocks, Tie Downs and Cargo Control, Load Binders, Crane Blocks, Winches, Swivels, Pull Testing Safety Belts, Chokers, Round Slings, Rigging Hardware, and Suspended Personnel Platforms.

“We had been looking for a way to expand our footprint deeper into the Oklahoma oil fields and Midwest markets for some time,” said Mitch Hausman, President & CEO of Delta Rigging & Tools. “After a careful review of the Holloway Wire Rope operations, it became clear that taking a well-established business with great customer and vendor relationships was a strong strategic move for us, and the best way to serve our existing and new customers working in the Midwest.”

Curt Tuggle, owner of Holloway Wire Rope, is joining the Delta Rigging & Tools management team and will continue as General Manager of the Tulsa and Wichita operations. “We are very pleased that a company with Delta Rigging & Tools national stature and reputation for quality and value is acquiring Holloway Wire Rope” said Curt. “Holloway Wire Rope is recognized for the high quality products we offer, customer satisfaction and safety. We believe that joining Delta Rigging & Tools will help us continue to grow by bringing us access to tremendous purchasing power and distribution of some of the best brands in our industry.”

DELTA RIGGING & TOOLS ACQUIRES MORGAN CITY RENTALS Delta Rigging also announced the acquisition of Morgan City Rentals, a leading provider of offshore rental equipment and rigging supply in the Gulf of Mexico. Established in 1970, Morgan City Rentals is headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana, with additional locations in Golden Meadow and Broussard, Louisiana. Morgan City Rentals provides a wide range of offshore rental equipment, wire rope, rigging hardware & supplies, sling fabrication, and compliance load testing to the offshore oil and gas industry. Combined with Delta Rigging & Tools’ existing operations in Broussard and Houma, the acquisition of Morgan City Rentals establishes Delta Rigging & Tools as the leading offshore rental and rigging company in the Louisiana gulf coast market.

“One of our key strategic initiatives has been increasing our Louisiana rental and rigging business, and to go deeper into the offshore oil and gas drilling and production markets,” said Mitch Hausman, President and CEO of Delta Rigging & Tools. “We were very familiar with the outstanding reputation of Morgan City Rentals. Once we began discussions, it was clear that combining with a large and growing operation like Morgan City Rentals would be transformational for both companies, and the best way to serve our existing and new customers with expanded rigging and rental services.”

“Morgan City Rentals has grown its business with the same customer focus as Delta Rigging & Tools – consistently delivering safety, service, quality, and value. We believe that both companies’ existing customer bases will benefit from the combination of market-leading products, services, and support that the Delta Rigging & Tools and Morgan City Rentals teams bring to the table,” continued Hausman.

Joe Sanford, Jr., President and owner of Morgan City Rentals added, “I am very pleased to have found a partner like Delta Rigging & Tools that provides such a compelling fit for our employees and customers. We are excited to join forces with the talented management team of Delta Rigging & Tools. Both Morgan City Rentals and Delta Rigging & Tools are well-known companies managed by executives with decades of experience in the rental equipment and rigging business. We now have the nation’s most extensive fleet of pipe slings, hoists, winches, compressors, pumps and related rigging equipment.” IP 16

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2013 Issue IV

How AMI Consulting Divers Handle Dock Wall Corrosion

thority with complete rehabilitation design and recommendations that included detailed cost estimates.

AMI assisted the DSPA in obtaining state and federal funding for the large scale rehabilitation project. AMI filed for all the required construction permits and worked with the DNR, Army Corps of Engineers and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to authorize the project AMI performed an extensive analysis and R&D on various protection and remediation systems including coatings, repair jackets, and plating systems before designing the port authority a unique coated steel panel system utilizing an equally unique fastening system. This system utilized specialty sealing materials, closure plates and steel studs to contain concrete and create a composite section by filling the voids on the in-pan sections of the sheet piling. The design included all construction drawings, specifications and other construction documents. The system protected a 10 foot zone of corrosion over the entire length of existing dock.

During the construction phase of the rehabilitation, AMI was involved and assisted in the coating application assessment and thickness testing, panel installation torque testing, shop drawing review, final topside and underwater inspections and payment approval. The project’s 6200 lineal feet of repair and protection was completed ahead of time in one season due to work shifts scheduled around the clock in the summer and fall months.

The new installed panel system was a great success, and provided complete remediation. This system will provide corrosion protection for a minimum 30 to 50 years at a fraction of the costs of a new sheet pile wall. The design extended the design life and improved the safety of the existing facility, allows for easy repairs to damaged coatings due to mechanical damage, and reduces long term maintenance. The project was completed within budget for 6.5 million dollars.

Longer term in-situ testing and monitoring is still on going, and over time will better determine the best value of coatings and protection technologies that will prevent corrosion in the Duluth-Superior Harbor as well as other fresh water harbors experiencing similar deterioration. IP

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MI Consulting Engineer’s lead diver Chad Scott, P.E. discovered an accelerated corrosion problem in the Duluth/ Superior harbor in 1998. This area is the highest tonnage port in the Great Lakes, with 19 square miles of land and water in a naturally protected harbor. There are more than 12 miles of submerged steel dock structure, plus many miles of old wooden structures, navigation cells, and Wharfs.

In 2006, AMI performed detailed underwater corrosion inspections for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority (DSPA).

These inspections revealed severe pitting and penetrations that appeared generally on the upper 10 feet of submerged structures. AMI partnered with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the Naval Research Laboratories to conduct a biological study to determine why this corrosion was occurring in a clean, fresh water river and lake system.

The study discovered this corrosion was occurring due to a process called Microbiological Induced Corrosion (MIC), which appears as small tubercle on the surface of the steel.

Additionally, when copper that is dissolved in the lake water precipitates under the tubercles, it forms a layer on the carbon steel structure. When ice scour breaks the tubercles open, the copper covered iron is exposed to oxygen and accelerates the level of corrosion until the tubercle can reform. When the tubercle is removed, a pitted area is present. The depth and size of the pitted area is dependent on the time of exposure. AMI’s detailed corrosion evaluation, assessments, and R&D lead the way to providing the port au-

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2013 Issue IV

Improving the “Fit” Between Docks and Vessels For Optimal Job Scheduling

By Robert Kessler Director Business Development Enterprise Software with PortVision

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he challenge of matching the right vessel to the right dock has become increasingly difficult with higher barge and ship traffic volumes, the growing variety of liquid petroleum products that must be transferred, and increasing cost pressures. This challenge can now be alleviated with the advent of enterprise terminal management tools that streamline the jetty or dock scheduling process and enable tighter collaboration among stakeholders. This article will explore vessel scheduling best practices using tools that match existing ship and cargo characteristics with the terminal’s dock restrictions, warn schedulers when there is a dock fit conflict, and support all of the key processes associated with dock fit, berth scheduling, and berth activity logging.

How does a cargo scheduler select the best vessel for the job, and a dock scheduler select the best dock for a specific ship? Typically, a cargo scheduler uses many tools to evaluate the vessel’s history, safety record, and configuration. One of the first questions asked is whether the vessel has all required documentation and certifications, in order to avoid lengthy inspections and the possibility of non-compliance issues that will delay the discharging process.

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Vessels also must have all necessary equipment, such as vapor recovery systems in the case of gasoline cargo, without which they will be turned away from the dock. Additionally, the age of the ship comes into play, and there is a separate set of criteria for vessel vetting, which can be an annual process for older ships, or a two-to-four year process for younger ones.

Vessels also must meet all necessary docking criteria. Not all berths can handle each type of vessel including ships and ocean or inland barges. There are dock restrictions related to the overall length and beam of the ship, the maximum distance from the bow to the center of the manifold, and the vessel’s ability to accommodate the maximum safe draft of the dock. Vessel owners may also have their own associated requirements related to under-keel clearance which, if not met, might require short loading and result in dead freight penalties.

The Army Corps of Engineers also publishes information about dock depth permits, which dock owners and managers must renew on a periodic basis. Some vessels might violate these permits if they are brought in to dock. Meanwhile, tidal movements will affect permitted depth on a daily basis. The tide window is calculated and published each month and, depending on the day and time, a vessel with, say, a 40-foot draft might not be authorized to proceed inbound to a dock with a 42-foot depth until there have been two hours of flood tide. Dock Schedulers also must take into account the most recent sounding survey, which is generally taken every six months at high-density, hightraffic docks.

Vessel cargo is another factor. There are hundreds of types of liquid cargo, each with different viscosity levels that can affect pumping speed and discharge efficiency. In a busy terminal operating at high capacity, the efficiency benchmark might

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typically be one hour for tying up, two hours each for connecting and disconnecting the hoses, and a total of 24 hours for the entire transfer process from the start of pumping to completion.

A vessel that pumps at a slower rate than average would need to be scheduled at dock for a correspondingly longer period. And yet any such delay affects other traffic that is waiting to dock and transfer.

There also are physical dock criteria to consider. For instance, each dock with loading arms will have a different maximum height, and the associated air draft between the water line and vessel’s manifold, both of which are tied to the loading arm’s warranty. Some ships have masts that are too high to clear the loading arms. While they may be able to come into dock, they might not be able to exit without reducing ballast, which many docks will not allow. If a dock doesn’t have mooring winches, vessels must guarantee they have soft lines rather than wires that might harm barges loading on the other side of the dock, and that they can meet the requirements for movement fore, aft and off the dock so as not to harm the loading arms or cause a spill.

Hose configurations are also important. For instance, a ship arriving with a gasoline cargo might have prepared its 8-inch lines with reducers in order to adapt them to connect with the dock’s 12- or 16-inch lines. If all of this has been done on the starboard side and the dock scheduler requests the vessel to arrive portside alongside, then the crew will have to disconnect and reconfigure, causing delays. Worse, the ship might not have reducers, at all, which in some cases can lead to a 24-hour delay while the proper parts are fabricated and installed. Gangways are also important: if a ship doesn’t have its own gangway, the terminal will need to provide a shore gangway, which may not be available if and when it’s needed.

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2013 Issue IV

Clearly, there are a large number of complex issues to consider and evaluate, and each terminal has unique restrictions.

For instance, it may be that dock one cannot be used if there is a ship at dock two. Or that dock three can handle two barge movements, or only one ship job at any given time. All relevant ship characteristics must be compared with current terminal condition and restrictions. Plus, there are additional vessel fit criteria related to third party services. As an example, some pilots operate in daylight only, and in many case tugs must be ordered well in advance of bringing ships in, as part of the inbounding pilot notification process. It’s also important to know whether the vessel is using an approved local agent or its own, out-of-town agent. Many dock operators prefer a local agent who is familiar with the area’s rules and customers, and this can become part of the vessel fit criteria.

The cost of poor vessel fit can be extremely high. The cost to anchor one vessel during a delay, can be as much as $25,000 to $30,000 a day, which covers the pilots, tugs, and cargo transportation delay. Few refineries keep more than three to four weeks of crude inventory in their shore tanks, because of the lost income resulting from idling that much product, so any delay in transportation very quickly impacts the refinery production flow.

All of these issues can create a complex decision matrix when scheduling dock jobs. To mitigate these risks, dock schedulers generally maintain a database containing all of these details.

They use this information to choose vessels, and also consult the data during day-to-day scheduling tasks. It can be difficult to access this information, however, in a quick and efficient way during a busy day with many vessels to schedule and expedite.

There are additional challenges, other than dock fit, that face schedulers. Often, dock schedulers rely on experience and several spreadsheets and references to make decisions about what job goes on what dock. This cumbersome and error-prone process can now be eliminated with the advent of enterprise-class terminal management systems that include dock management tools.

These systems offer an end-to-end marine terminal optimization 2013 Issue IV

solution that dramatically improves the visibility, speed, productivity and efficiency of marine dock operations, by combining vessel tracking, job scheduling, activity logging, and high-value business intelligence, utilization, and demurrage reporting into a single integrated platform.

PortVision’s TerminalSmart Platform provides a comprehensive set of dock fit rules that, once configured, allow the dock scheduler to be notified of any violations to the rules when scheduling ships, and this warning continues to be displayed collaboratively throughout the scheduling process until it is corrected. The TerminalSmart dock fit feature supplants those complex spreadsheets that may not be accurate, and Word documents that schedulers must reference on a daily basis. Now, with TerminalSmart data, all information is input into the system, so anyone can manage the schedule. All information is always up to date, and all information is collaborative. Anyone with access authorization can see it at any time. At one TerminalSmart company, there are over 500 people who have access in any given 24-hour period and over 100 people using it at any one time.

Terminal operators have smaller and smaller margin for error as they manage day-to-day workflow in an increasingly complex environment. Vessel fit is a key element that, when managed well, can make a big difference in expediting traffic flow, reducing cost and management headaches, and avoiding costly delays.

Today’s enterprise terminal management systems offer important dock and berth management tools that significantly enhance vessel fit effectiveness and all other aspects of operating waterborne terminal docks. IP

THE AUTHOR Robert Kessler, Director Business Development Enterprise Software with PortVision, a leading provider of business intelligence solutions for the maritime industry. For more information about TerminalSmart go to: www.portvision.com, email alavorgna@portvision.com.

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115th Anniversary for Great Lakes Towing

More Orders for Liebher Around the World

he Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard will celebrate their 115th anniversary with the delivery of two new 4,640HP FIFI 1 ASD tugs. Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultant, Inc., Seattle, Washington, the tugs AURA and ATLAS are built to the highest standards of the American Bureau of Shipping, the U.S. vessel classification society.

The tugs were launched using the Shipyard’s 770-ton Travelift.

Founded by John D. Rockefeller on July 7, 1899, the company’s founding shareholders were the major industrialists at the turn of the century. Great Lakes Shipyard is a full-service state-of-the-art shipyard specializing in every kind of marine construction, fabrications, conversions, refits, and repairs.

The Great Lakes Towing Company, of which the Shipyard is a part, is a full service transportation company that provides tugboat and towing services, ship assist, logistics and cargo transportation, ice breaking, and emergency assistance of every kind of vessel, barge, and marine structure in 40 U.S. Great Lakes ports are located on all five Great Lakes and in all eight U.S. Great Lakes States. The Company’s tugboat services cover more than 8,300 miles of shoreline and a water surface area of roughly 100,000 square miles. IP

his has been a good year for Liebherr Maritime Cranes around the world.

The crane manufacturer is represented in the US by Heavy Machines in Tennessee, and American State Equipment in Wisconsin.

This year has been exceptionally strong in the Oceania region, with deliveries of mobile harbor cranes, ship-to-shore container cranes, and straddle carriers to the area. Ship to shore container cranes have been delivered in Tauranga, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia, while Liebherr straddle carriers are now operational in ports at Lyttelton and Tauranga, New Zealand.

And when it comes to state-of-the-art mobile harbor cranes, Latin America has a clear preference for the Liebherr 600 series. In total 10 units have been sold in the last 12 months in the Latin American market. These results clearly show the popularity of the LHM 600 and also the trend towards larger cranes in Latin America. With a maximum outreach of 58m and twin lift capability, the Liebherr Mobile Harbor Crane LHM 600 is capable of servicing vessels up to 19 container rows.

In Latin America the deployment of the strongest mobile harbor crane model is impressive. The first LHM 600 was delivered in 2009, followed by two further deliveries in 2010. In 2011 the number of units rose to three. In 2012, the number of annual LHM 600 deliveries reached a short-lived record high of 5 units which will be easily topped in 2013. Visit www.heavymachinesinc.com for more. IP

T

T

BARGES: The Greener Way to Go Inland barges produce less carbon dioxide while moving America’s important cargoes.

Inland barge transportation has the lowest carbon footprint of the other major modes. Moving identical amounts of cargo by rail generates 30% more carbon dioxide than by barge, and 1,000% more emissions by trucks than by barge. Learn more at www.nationalwaterwaysfoundation.org.

Waterways Council, Inc. 801 N. Quincy St., Suite 200 | Arlington, Virginia 22203 703-224-8007 | www.waterwayscouncil.org 22

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2013 Issue IV

2013 Issue IV

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Industry Notebook In testimony before the US Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Tom Allegretti, President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators, urged Congress to push for the expeditious publication of U.S. Coast Guard regulations on towing vessel inspections, also known as Subchapter M. Noting that Congress directed the Coast Guard to undertake this rulemaking more than nine years ago and that the deadline for issuing a final rule has long passed, Mr. Allegretti stated, “we need to get the towing vessel inspection rule done, and done right, right away to advance our shared goals of improving safety, security and environmental stewardship.”

Mr. Allegretti detailed for Subcommittee members milestones in the long history of cooperation between Congress, the Coast Guard and the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, specifically mentioning the many positive accomplishments that have occurred over the past two decades to improve vessel safety.

“For more than 20 years, we have been engaged on a journey of continuous improvement. The Coast Guard, Congress, and our industry’s shippercustomers have been active partners, demanding that we strive daily to achieve the goal of zero harm to human life, to the environment, and to property as we transport the nation’s waterborne commerce.”

With a $10 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority embarks on an exciting new project along Duluth’s waterfront – undertaking a major adaptive reuse and redevelopment project on Garfield Pier (Dock C&D) that will not only re-establish the dock’s structural integrity, but also connect the 28-acre site to existing road access and rail infrastructure. Once complete, the new platform will markedly expand the Port’s general cargo handling capacity.

“The award represents a major investment in this region’s multimodal transportation system,” said Adolph Ojard, Port Authority executive director. “The Port of Duluth-Superior is strategically positioned to serve the heartland of North America. Returning this valuable parcel of land to the development stream allows it to once again become a productive community asset – offering strategic support to serve expansions in multiple core industries in the years ahead from the region’s nonferrous, iron mining and steel industries to the pulp and papermaking sectors, while further incentivizing new entrepreneurial 24

investment.”

In essence, this is a capacitybuilding project. “This site represents the largest of just a handful of remaining parcels of land situated on Seaway-draft channels in this harbor,” added Ojard. “We’re rehabbing the platform of what was once a grain elevator…setting the table, so to speak, for future growth and development.

Once complete, the Port will have a new, competitive platform from which to address future business opportunities as they present themselves.”

This redevelopment project represents a major undertaking for the Duluth Port. The total price tag is $16 million. In addition to the $10 million in federal funding awarded, project costs will be covered by nearly $3 million in funds forthcoming from the Minnesota Port Development Assistance Program with the balance committed by the Port Authority itself.

“We could conceivably bid the project yet this fall and be ready to start construction next spring,” noted Ojard, referencing the site plan and artist’s rendering included in the grant application. He also stressed the competitiveness of the TIGER grant process. “The Port Authority submitted a proposal in each of the four previous years and rose quite high in final rankings, but never made the final cut… until now. It seems the fifth time’s the charm.”

The Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and The American Waterways Operators (AWO) expressed their support of the bipartisan process to move a long overdue Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). House efforts, led

by House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), along with Ranking Member Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), as well as Water Resources and Environment Committee Chairman Bob Gibbs (R-OH) and Ranking Member Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), culminated in this week’s introduction of H.R. 3080, the Water Resources Reform Development Act (WRRDA).

WCI and AWO are urging the inclusion of provisions in H.R. 1149, the WAVE 4 Act, in a final House WRRDA bill, including language addressing an industry-supported increased user fee into the Inland Waterways Trust Fund as a way to responsibly reinvest in the critically important component of the U.S. transportation supply chain. With 30 bi-partisan co-sponsors, WAVE 4 was authored by Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Congressman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) and contains elements to modernize inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure.

Fifty-seven percent of the locks and

Let us spread your message! Email your port, company, or group news to us at djones@inlandportmagazine.com dams on the nation’s inland waterways system have exceeded their economic design life expectancy, and funding for needed maintenance and modernization has been flat or decreasing over the years. Inland waterways operators, along with stakeholders from the agriculture, labor, business and manufacturing sectors, depend upon a reliable and efficient waterways system to transport their goods to domestic and international marketplaces in the most cost-competitive, fuel-efficient, environmentally sound way.

“Bipartisan WRRDA legislation is vitally needed for the economic wellbeing of our nation. We have waited six long years for the opportunity to address reforms necessary to achieve modernization of our inland waterways transportation system. But a critical part of our reform package is an increased user fee that is strongly supported by operators and stakeholder users of the system,” said Michael Toohey, WCI President/CEO. Representatives from Wisconsin’s 14 ports shared information on current trends in the commercial port industry at the Wisconsin Commercial Ports Association (WCPA) annual meeting September 12-13. The meeting took place during Wisconsin Ports Week, which recognizes the state’s port related industries. Topics included water quality, water levels, port infrastructure, port cargo volumes and available funding for port projects.

“Low water levels have impacted tonnage numbers for all of us, so being able to come together and develop possible solutions was valuable,” stated Dean Haen, Director of Port and Resource Recovery for Brown County and past WCPA president. “Its discussions like these that are so vital to the continued growth of Wisconsin’s shipping industry.”

The annual meeting also included a presentation on the reuse of dredging material. “Storage for clean dredged materials from our harbors continues to be an issue for Wisconsin ports,” said Haen. “If we can find a way to reuse these materials for things like road construction projects or fill for landscaping, or how the Port of Green Bay is using materials for the habitat restoration of the Cat Islands, then we are not only solving the storage issue, but repurposing a valuable natural resource.”

Now in its sixth year, the America’s Transportation Awards competition – sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – recognizes the very best of America’s transportation projects in three main categories: Ahead of Schedule, Under Budget, and Best Use of Innovation.

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Seven transportation projects from six southeastern states were nominated in those categories.

Two states took home awards in the Ahead of Schedule category. Georgia Department of Transportation won in the small category (projects that cost less than $25 million) for its I-285 & Ashford Dunwoody Divergent Diamond Interchange project. Mississippi Department of Transportation was awarded with the win in the medium category (projects costing between $25 million and $200 million) for its State Route 9—Mississippi’s Road to Toyota project.

On November 12, 2013, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) and SafeMARINER will host “Zero Incidents through Training, Competency & Continual Improvement,” an industry conference for key players in inland American maritime transportation. The forum at SCI’s training center in Houston, TX invites mariners, industry executives and regulators to the table to discuss critical issues surrounding safe transportation on the water.

Tonnage numbers are keeping the Port of Green Bay ahead of last year’s pace. Tonnage for July was up nine percent when compared to July 2012 and year to date totals have the Port up 11 percent from last year. “We saw an increase of about 22,000 metric tons of cargo in July,” said Dean Haen, Port and Resource Recovery Director.

“Those increases came from salt, pig iron and cement.”

After evaluating 585 applications for FY 2013 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that 52 transportation projects have been selected to receive approximately $474 million for the fifth round of this multimodal, discretionary grant program. Of those, 12 awards totaling $103,709,745, or about 21.9 percent of total funding, are going to projects that aid the movement of goods through America’s seaports.

Applauding the announcement, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President and CEO Kurt Nagle lauded DOT’s recognition of the critical role America’s ports play and the federal support provided in TIGER V grants for seaports. He also noted that the 21.9 percent funding for port-related infrastructure projects in this round of TIGER is the closest yet to reaching AAPA’s stated goal of 25 percent. The Canaveral Port Authority will serve as host of the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) annual convention, which takes place Oct. 13-17. IP 2013 Issue IV