US Corn Belt Ports enabling waterborne commerce

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GordonFellerreports...

he US inland waterways system includes 12,000 miles of commercially navigable channels and some 240 lock sites. America ’ s inland marine highways move commerce to and from 28 states, serve industrial and agricultural centres, and facilitate imports and exports at gateway ports. This extensive infrastructure helps barge transportation move the products used every day - the underpinnings of the US economy. Barges are ideal for hauling bulk commodities and oversized or overweight equipment, including grain, steel, iron, chemicals, cement, petroleum, coal, aggregates, project cargoes, and containers.

In 2019, 514.9 million tonnes of waterborne cargo transited America ’ s inland waterways, a volume equal to roughly 14% of all intercity freight and valued at USD134.1 billion. The national economy benefits from the cost efficiencies barge transport provides over transport by truck or rail. More than 60% of the nation ’ s grain exports move by barge, helping agricultural exports stay competitive in global markets. In fact, more than 22% of domestic petroleum and petroleum products and 20% of the coal used in electricity generation transit inland waterways.All that, at the lowest cost, safest way, and lowest carbon footprint, as barge transport limits road traffic congestion.

New inland ports

It is therefore no surprise that the US inland ports community has welcomed three new members to their team and each of them are located right in the middle of the country. These three ports are important for many reasons, including two simple facts: the vast region which these ports serve has always had a major impact on US exports, and that region has been one of the important parts of the national economy for many decades. More than 600 miles of inland waterways in this region have been a virtual port shadow zone where no federally recognised ports have existed before.The US Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center recently approved three adjacent Principal US Ports in the Tri-State (IL, MO and IA) area above Locks and Dam 26 in the Heart of the Corn Belt. The Illinois Waterway (ILWW) Ports and Terminals, the Mid-America Port Commission (MAPC), and the Mississippi River Ports of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (MRPEIWI) port statistical areas are referred to collectively as the Corn Belt Ports.Together, the three ports include the core of the largest grainproducing and exporting region in the nation.

“This approval elevated the visibility of our region as a global origin for waterborne commerce, ” says Ray Lees, Planning Programme Manager at the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission based in Peoria, Illinois.These new Federally designated ports on the Illinois and Upper Mississippi Rivers will likely individually rank each year as a Top 50 Principal US Port, and collectively they will be the equivalent of the largest inland port in the nation, based on freight tonnage handled, which is anticipated to be at well over 40 million tonnes annually.

New Orleans barge in operation.

Different kind of port

These Corn Belt Ports are a different kind of inland port.First,they are extremely long,linear, narrow multi-modal transportation features; and second,they are both a nationally significant transportation system,and a nationally significant ecosystem. US policy has traditionally defined an inland port as a geographic location, usually identified with a river town or city.Occasionally, a port could also refer to a natural harbour or side channel, or even a wide section of a river with a natural bank or shoreline that was well-suited for loading and unloading ships and boats.

In recent years, this traditional way of viewing ports has begun to change.

* First,roads and rail lines increasingly intersect with narrow inland rivers and waterways.

* Second, large industrial and agricultural terminals, particularly in the US Midwest, are increasingly being built and distributed along narrow waterways outside of cities and towns. As a result, functioning ports have evolved into extended infrastructure operations, sometimes reaching 200 miles in length. Each of the three Corn Belt Ports are roughly 200 miles long, include roughly 12-15 counties, on US Marine Highway segments (M35 and M55). They are serviced by a series of locks and dams. They are also aligned with existing Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs) that are responsible for designing road, rail and barge terminal infrastructure and facilities to maximise the value of this integrated transportation network over large areas.

Environment

In 1986, Congress designated the Upper Mississippi River System (which consists of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and several important tributaries) as both a nationally significant ecosystem and a nationally significant navigation system. It is the only inland river system in the United States to have such a designation.As a result, the Corn Belt Ports have a major environmental component. Ecosystem maintenance and restoration,as well as preserving and improving water quality are an important, routine focus of the Corn Belt Ports.These ports are one of the few ports in the US that have a dedicated Conservation Director in environmental science supporting the effort.

The Corn Belt Ports recruited an experienced environmental scientist that had a strong agriculture background, solid water quality credentials, and someone recognised as a leader in large watersheds and ecosystems to serve as Conservation Director.DrAnshu Singh plays an important role in ensuring that the Corn Belt Ports support the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of the vital Upper Mississippi River Basin ecosystem. “Interagency integrated water resources management is simply a way of life in the Corn Belt Ports and it is my job to help implement it, ” said Dr Singh.

Each of the 3 Corn Belt Ports have many similarities, but they also have their unique characteristics. Illinois is often referred to as the “Freight Hub of North America ” .The state moves 1.2 billion tonnes of freight valued at USD3 trillion dollars annually.Around 90 million tonnes of freight is moved on 1,118 miles of waterways serving the state. ILWW handles over a third of that (34.4 million tonnes of freight in 2019), which is more than is handled at the nearby Port of St Louis.The ILWW Ports and Terminals serve the Illinois River Watershed, which includes nearly half of the state ’ s agricultural land, and 90% of the state ’ s population.The ILWW Ports and Terminals are centred on the notable Illinois River cities of Peoria and Ottawa.

The ILWW Waterway Ports and Terminals are a critical component of the transportation infrastructure supporting and servicing the nation ’ s third largest city, Chicago. Illinois accounts for 6% of all US exports and is a top 5 exporting state. Illinois is the top producer and exporter of soybeans in the US and is second only to Iowa in corn production. “We bring in a tremendous amount of fertiliser, and we also ship out a tremendous amount of corn and soybeans, ” said Sally Hanley, the Business Assistance Manager at the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council.

Dan Silverthorn, the Chairman of the Board for Heart of Illinois Regional Port District, says that before the Corn Belt Port was formed, “they don ’t know who we are.They don ’t know we exist. ”This summarises the situation that all three Corn Belt Ports faced prior to Federal approval and ranking in the fall of 2020.

MAPC was created largely in response to the devastating 1993 Midwest Flood to support regional economic development and is located at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. It is one of the largest inland ports on the Mississippi River, second only to St Louis, and is the northern most all-season port on the Mississippi. It handled 12 million tonnes of freight in 2019 and is associated with the historic Mississippi River cities of Quincy, IL and Hannibal, MO.

According to Kyle Moore, the President of the Great River Economic Development Foundation, MAPC “ gives our region huge economic advantages, and is the fundamental cornerstone of the economy in the MAPC area. ”

MRPEIWI is centered on the Quad Cities (Davenport is the largest city) and includes the Upper Mississippi River Port City of Dubuque in the northeastern part of the state. The Iowa side of the river alone routinely handles over 10 million tonnes of freight each year. Corn has been the top crop in Iowa for more than 150 years running and the state is regarded as the best place on the planet to grow corn. Iowa is first in the nation

US inland waterways system (courtesy USACE).

in corn exports (USD1.58 billion) and feed grain exports (USD1.22 billion).The state is second to Illinois in soybean exports (USD3.05 billion) and, in an average year, Iowa produces more corn than most counties and three times as much corn as the country of Mexico. All indications are that the Corn Belt Ports will continue to grow in value to both US waterborne commerce, and to the national and global economies.A recent Illinois Marine Transportation System Planning Study points to steady increases in freight tonnage in the Tri-State (IL, MO and IA) area above Locks and Dam 26 in the Heart of the Corn Belt.

The regional identity and unity of the Corn Belt and its ports and terminals will be very important to effectively compete as a regional entity for Federal recognition and resources, and market the region to a wide range of investors, businesses, and trading partners. The State of Louisiana is the Corn Belt Ports ’ largest trading partner, and that relationship will be a very important one moving forward.

The Corn Belt Ports consist of 40 riverfront counties, a dozen regional planning agencies, 11 city and county ports, and parts of 3 states. These were roughly equally divided into three 200-mile port statistical areas without creating any new governance bodies.A Corn Belt Ports coordinating team was formed, with a focus on attracting direct and indirect investment, promoting and marketing commercial use, economic development, and ensuring environmental sustainability of the region. Chris Smith, the Operations Director for the Corn Belt Ports, who grew up in Chillicothe on the Illinois River stated, “My primary focus is keeping the Corn Belt Ports team together as a single regional,economic and resource identity. That is what will be needed for the Corn Belt Ports to achieve full regional multi-modal transportation infrastructure potential. ”

Port investments

Robert Sinkler, Senior Advisor at environmental permitting firm Dawson & Associates, the Water Resources Infrastructure Director for the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District, and the Executive Coordinating Director for the Corn Belt Ports, said at the very start of this initiative: “You can ’t invest in a port that doesn ’t exist.We have no choice but to create the Corn Belt Ports. ”

Investment opportunities generally fall within two major categories for the Corn Belt Ports. First is the waterway itself, involving the navigation channel and locks and dams; and second, the literally hundreds of micro multi-modal transportation facilities serviced by road, rail, waterways and frequently by air along the narrow river corridors.The Corn Belt Ports existing infrastructure is well beyond its 50-year design life.Aggressive annual operations and maintenance for the existing infrastructure, routine rehabilitation of exiting locks and dams every 10-15 years to keep them operational, and new construction will all be required to ensure the Corn Belt Ports have reliable access to global markets. New construction will be needed for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Programme (NESP).The programme was authorised for construction by Congress in the 2007 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). But, the programme has stalled, and after 14 years, construction still has not begun. NESP includes construction of seven 1,200-foot locks at the most congested locations.

Congress further authorised smaller-scale navigation efficiency improvements that will provide immediate benefits upon their implementation. NESP’ s authorisation includes USD1.948 billion for seven new locks and USD256 million for small-scale navigation efficiency measures. NESP’ s authorisation also includes USD1.717 billion for a 15-year effort to restore the river ’ s ecological integrity and ability to support fish and wildlife, plus USD10.42 million annually for aquatic habitat monitoring.

Andrew Goodall is the NESP Regional Programme Manager working out of the US Army Corps of Engineers office in Rock Island, Illinois. He says that upon receipt of the construction new start, NESP is ready to move into the construction phase focusing on Lock 25 in the MPAC area, a project that will modify the existing lock wall to prepare it for the future and will take 3-5 years to construct.Additional projects include the Lock 14 mooring cell in the MRPEIWI area, and Moore ’ s Towhead systemic mitigation the MAPC area.

Investing in the hundreds of micro multi-modal transportation facilities serviced by road, rail, waterways and frequently by air along the narrow river corridors of the Corn Belt Ports, has traditionally fallen upon private businesses, the counties, and the cities and small towns along the waterway.The recent Illinois Marine Transportation System Planning Study found that nearly one third of the terminals fell outside of a state recognised county or city port district.

The Corn Belt Ports help correct that, and will work to provide opportunities for additional investment to these micro multi-modal transportation facilities. In the Spring of 2019, the “Rebuild Illinois Capital Bill” appropriated USD150 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the Illinois Port Capital Investment Grant Programme which is a great start to meeting the needs of the Corn Belt Ports.

Copyright Yara International ASA

World’s first fully emission-free container ship

SheilaMoloneyreports…

The world’ s first electric and self-propelled container ship - Yara Birkeland - recently departed for its maiden voyage in the Oslo fjord.The vessel, which has already received wide coverage in Norwegian and international media, has been developed in collaboration with the Kongsberg Group (KONGSBERG).The ship was built byVARD with financial support from Enova, and will be in commercial operation from 2022.

“We are proud to be able to showcase the world’ s first fully electric and self-propelled container ship. It will cut 1,000 tonnes of CO2 and replace 40,000 trips by diesel-powered trucks a year, exclaims Svein Tore Holsether, CEO ofYara. In recent weeks the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Policy Bjørnar Skjæran were welcomed aboard Yara Birkeland,after the ship had completed its maiden voyage to Oslo.

“We have been looking forward to this day for a long time.The Yara Birkeland will transport mineral fertiliser between Porsgrunn and Brevik and will contribute to significant emission cuts during transport.This an excellent example of green transition in practice, and we hope this ship will be the start of a new type of emission-free container ships.There are a lot of places in the world with congested roads that will benefit from a high-tech solution like this, ” said Holsether.

Now begins a two-year testing period of the technology that will make the ship self-propelled, and finally certified as an autonomous, all-electric container ship.

A shared ambition

Yara Birkeland is a collaborative project between several partners, where KONGSBERG is responsible for the development and delivery of all newly developed technology on the ship including the sensors and integration required for remote and autonomous ship operations, in addition to the electric drive, battery and propulsion control systems. The ship will be operated from Maasterlys ’ monitoring and operation ’ s center in Horten. Massterly is a joint venture between KONGSBERG and Wilhelmsen.

“Norway is a major maritime nation, and other countries look to Norway for green solutions at sea. Yara Birkeland is the result of the extensive knowledge and experience we have available in the Norwegian maritime cluster and industry.The project demonstrates how we have developed world-leading innovation that contributes to the green transition and provides great export opportunities for Norwegian technology and industry, ” said Geir Håøy, CEO of the Kongsberg Group.

Enova,a government enterprise responsible for promotion of renewable energy, has allocated up to NOK 133.5 million to build the world’ s first electric and autonomous container ship.

“On the way to a low-emission society, transport emissions must come down to almost zero.To achieve that, we need projects that can transform the market - projects that have the potential to pave the way for others and increase the pace of change in their sector. This is exactly what we believe the world’ s first autonomous and all-electric container ship will do, ” said Nils Kristian Nakstad, CEO, Enova.

Green shipping is the future

In parallel with the construction of Yara Birkeland,Yara has initiated the development of green ammonia as an emission-free fuel for shipping, through the newly started Yara Clean Ammonia. “Renewable energy was our starting point in 1905. Now, ammonia can bring us back to our roots. Our large shipping network and existing infrastructure means that ammonia has the potential to become the leading fuel for long-distance shipping globally, ” said Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, CEO of Yara Clean Ammonia.

As the world’ s largest producer of fertilisers, Yara relies on ammonia for manufacture, and to help feed an ever-growing population. At the same time, current ammonia production represents 2% of the world’ s fossil energy consumption.This corresponds to about 1.2% of the world’ s total greenhouse gas emissions. “As the world’ s largest producer of ammonia,Yara has launched an aggressive plan of international scale, both to remove current emissions and to establish the production of new, clean ammonia, ” said Ankarstrand.

Yara Birkeland is a 120 TEU open top autonomous container ship which will sail within 12 nautical miles from the coast, between three ports in southern Norway. This is an exciting step towards the shipping industry ’ s ambition to become fully environmentally sustainable and achieve net-zero pollution.As stated byYara on their website: “To deliver on the climate objectives by 2030, we need to do more, faster. ” It is encouraging to see the sector making its way towards a green future.