62 Million in Grants go to Port Improvement

From IFW-Logistics
20 December 2011


The US Department of Transportation (DoT) has announced $62 million in port-related grants as part of the third round of funding in its TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) programme.

Four of the 46 awards go directly to US port-related infrastructure, comprising around 12% of the total $511 million available for capital grants.

South Jersey Port received $18.5 million to repair the DelAir Bridge (pictured), which links the rail networks of Pennsylvania and New Jersey and enhances freight movement throughout the north-east.

Port of Long Beach got $17 million to improve tracks to two rail yards and relieve a rail chokepoint, improving efficiency, reducing the environmental impact of freight movements and enabling the port to move 35% of goods by on-dock rail by 2035.

Port of Jacksonville received $10 million for the Dames Point Intermodal Container Facility that will be used by CSX railroad.

In addition, Port of New Orleans received US$16 million, as previously reported in IFW.

A number of TIGER-funded projects also address key congestion points along main rail lines, inland port facilities and highway trade corridors, making a positive impact on freight mobility and the movement of goods to and from US seaports.

TIGER grants are awarded to transport projects that contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the US, improve existing transport facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve safety.

In the first round of TIGER grant awards, port-related infrastructure projects received 8% of the original $1.5 billion. In the second round of grants, port-related infrastructure received 17%.

Like the Railroads, but better.

From Professional Mariner
08 December 2011
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) -- America's barge industry is entering the spotlight in an effort to win more federal dollars, National Public Radio reported. Waterborne infrastructure needs an estimated $8 billion worth of work. The industry said barge transportation is "like railroads but better." One critic argues that private business should pay for the improvements.    For the original NPR broadcast click here.

New amendment passes to boost transparency of Jones Act waivers

Press Release From US Representatives Elijah E Cummings and Jeff Landry
Cummings, Landry say measure will help preserve U.S. mariners' jobs
(11/15/2011)
(WASHINGTON) -- Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, today joined Rep. Jeff Landry (R, LA-03), Vice Chairman of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, in applauding their colleagues in the House of Representatives who approved the Cummings-Landry amendment to the Coast Guard reauthorization bill that passed the House on Tuesday. The amendment will increase government transparency surrounding the issuance of waivers allowing non-Jones Act-qualified vessels to carry cargo between U.S. ports. It is nearly identical to the American Mariners Job Protection Act (H.R. 3202), a bill with bipartisan support that was introduced by Reps. Landry and Cummings earlier this year. “Americans are desperate for jobs,” said Cummings. “In this time of economic turmoil, we owe it to the people we represent to make full use of American maritime capabilities by adhering firmly to the Jones Act. Every single ship that can carry cargo under the Jones Act should be full and every American mariner should be able to work a fair day’s work for a fair paycheck. Congressman Landry has stood resolutely beside me as we protect the jobs of American mariners and I thank him for his support.” Under current law, when the head of the agency responsible for the administration of the Jones Act believes it necessary to waive the Act’s requirements in the interest of national defense, the agency must request the Maritime Administration to assess whether Jones Act-qualified vessels are available to carry the cargo under consideration. “I came to Congress to increase government transparency and get America back to work; today we took another step in that direction,” said Landry, whose district has the most domestic maritime industry jobs in the nation and transports much of the nation’s energy-based resources. Excited by today’s passage, Landry continued: “American mariners are the most qualified and safest workers in the world, and I am grateful my colleagues voted today to put them back to work. I thank Congressman Cummings for his leadership on this issue and thank him for working to ensure that the American mariner is always the first option.” The Cummings-Landry amendment will require the Maritime Administration to include in such assessments information on the actions that could be taken to enable Jones Act-qualified vessels to carry the cargo for which the Jones Act waiver is sought. The Maritime Administration would also be required to publish its determinations on its website. Further, the amendment would require notification to be provided to Congress when a waiver is requested or issued.

Holiday Parade Warnings from the Coast Guard.

Risks include illegal charters, overloaded vessels, Christmas lights

(11/8/2011)

The following is the text of a press release issued by the U.S. Coast Guard: (SAN PEDRO, Calif.) -- With the holiday boat parade season upon us, the Coast Guard wants to remind boaters and observers of certain safety pointers. General safety hazards for ALL boat operations: Illegal charters Overloaded or unsafe electrical systems due to Christmas lights Too many passengers affect stability of vessels – ensure compliance with maximum capacity Recreational boats cannot charge passengers to board their vessels – illegal, resulting in fines 5 knot speed limit strictly enforced during all boat parades Spot checks may be conducted on certified T-Boats: Adequate number of lifejackets Merchant Mariner licenses onboard Adequate number of crewmembers Compliance with vessel security plans Just like in past years, Coast Guard marine inspectors will be conducting additional inspections of vessels involved in the parades and evening trips.

House prepares to vote on ship ballast standard.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Environmentalists tried to rally opposition Thursday to a proposed national policy for cleansing ship ballast water to kill invasive species, contending it is too weak and would pre-empt stronger state and federal rules.
The U.S. House was expected to vote as early as Friday on the measure, which comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release its own regulations of ship ballast — a leading culprit in the spread of invaders such as zebra and quagga mussels in the Great Lakes and ocean coastal waters.
Sponsored by Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a New Jersey Republican, the bill would adopt a standard proposed by the International Maritime Organization limiting the number of live organisms that would be permitted in ballast water. Vessel operators would have to install technology to meet the standard.
The shipping industry has pushed for a single nationwide policy, saying the current patchwork of more than two dozen state and tribal regulatory systems is unworkable because vessels move constantly from one jurisdiction to another.
Great Lakes shippers are particularly unhappy about New York rules that set live-organism limits 100 times tougher for existing ships than those under the international standard. For newly built ships, New York's standards would be 1,000 times stronger. State officials have postponed the effective date to 2013, giving shippers more time to comply.
The industry says technology to meet the New York requirements doesn't exist. Shippers say the state's strict limits could close the Great Lakes to oceangoing vessels, since they must pass through New York waters to reach the rest of the system.
"While individual state standards and those set by the Clean Water Act function well for factories that are fixed in one location, it simply does not work for vessels engaged in interstate or international commerce," LoBiondo said.
Environmental groups said the bill would prevent EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard, which is also developing ballast rules, from imposing standards tough enough to make sure no more exotic species reach the Great Lakes. About two-thirds of the 185 invasive species in the lakes are believed to have arrived in ballast water. They've done billions in damages and are implicated in a variety of ecological problems, from runaway algae blooms to a shortage of plankton crucial for the aquatic food web.
"This bill is designed to keep the shipping industry off the hook and violates states' right to protect their waters from invasive species," said Marc Smith, senior policy manager for the Naional Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes office.
The measure would allow EPA to strengthen the federal standard beginning in 2016, or earlier if a state requests it, according to LoBiondo's office.
But the wildlife group said the bill would make it "difficult, if not impossible, to add new protections, even if the EPA and other agencies determine that the (international) standard is not doing the job."

JOHN FLESHER, AP Environmental Writer

Updated 12:28 p.m., Friday, November 4, 2011

Coast Guard Reccomends Changing Shipping Lanes For Blue Whales.

From the Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2011:

The U.S. Coast Guard has recommended shifting the shipping lanes in the Santa Barbara Channel to move cargo ships out of the way of whales feeding in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

A proposal published Tuesday would narrow the lanes and move one of them north of a steep, underwater drop-off near Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands where endangered blue, fin and humpback whales have been congregating to feed on krill, saying it would “help in preserving the marine environment.”

Federal wildlife officials and environmental groups have been alarmed by the presence of whales in shipping lanes, which they worry puts the giant marine mammals at greater risk of being struck and killed by the hulking vessels that ferry goods in and out of the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex.

Four blue whales were struck and killed by vessels near the Channel Islands sanctuary in 2007, prompting authorities to start issuing notices asking large vessels to slow down when whales are in the area.

The threat of collisions also has been of growing concern outside Los Angeles Harbor, where blue whales have been gathering to feed in dense concentrations in the path of a major shipping lane.

The Coast Guard proposal also calls for establishing new shipping lanes south of the Channel Islands, where some freighters have been navigating to avoid the state's strict air pollution curbs, prompting complaints from the Navy that they were getting too close to military testing ranges.

Unbounded ship traffic, the Coast Guard says, is a safety concern and a defined route would ensure more predictability.

Environmental groups, who have petitioned the Obama administration to establish a ship speed limit through California's four national marine sanctuaries to protect whales, praised the idea to move the lanes away from feeding areas. But they expressed disappointment that the Coast Guard’s proposal did not include speed restrictions.

 --Tony Barboza

Photo: A blue whale feeding on krill outside Los Angeles Harbor in October surfaces near a shipping lane. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times

New Fees for Inland Water Way Being Considered

As reported by Professional Mariner, Congress recently began considering an Inland Waterways Development Plan to improve the United States inland waterways transportation system and infrastructure over the next 20 years.

Agreed, the inland waterway system is in need of some major maintenance and upgrades, however the idea of another tax submitted under the radar of most media is a bit unsettling. The most troubling aspect, is that there have been numerous expenditures by the Federal Government earmarked for the "Nation's Infrastructure" that have funded projects such as wildlife repopulating, tunnels for turtles, beach erosion repair and countless others. The term "Shovel-ready" has been used a lot in the interest of political posturing with regards to the current unemployment situation.

I get the feeling that a six to nine cent increase per gallon of diesel assessed on commercial carriers may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people. I suggest we dissect what is happening here. First for every 1000 gallons of fuel sold to commercial carriers as a "user fee," this means a 90 dollar fee (tax). Commercial carriers use 10's of thousands of gallons of fuel per month. Next, they (the Government) is redefining the scope of what constitutes U.S. Waterways, more than doubling the covered area to include the Intercoastal Waterways (ICW). What's the big deal? The ICW commercial operators will now be assessed this fee, which means no matter the size of your boat, if you use it commercially you will pay this additional money.

The most important thing to remember about these fees charged to the commercial carriers are passed down to the end consumer. Costs of goods that are transported on the inland waterways as well as the intercoastal waterways will go up. Who's paying for the upgrades, not the commercial carrier, but the every American who struggles to pay for the goods they already buy.

I will end this by comparing this whole situation to the revision of banking regulations Early on, many critics said there would be unintended consequences. Two years later, everyone is up in arms about the fact banks are charging customers to use debit cards. (Most notably Bank of America.) I don't blame the banks, they are a business and are simply passing on the cost of operations to the consumers. Long story short, if you spend money on any product or service you will be contributing to this increased user fee for inland waterways and the expansion to cover the ICW.

K. Swanson

Mystery Bay Marine, LLC