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Source: The Detroit News

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt many sectors of the economy, but Great Lakes shipping appears to be mostly staying afloat.

The federal government’s St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. released a report Thursday showing total tonnage of goods down 8.4% in the first half of this year, but U.S. and Canadian grain up 3.3% from a year ago.

Iron ore, steel and iron shipments are down from last year but started to rebound last month with month-over-month increases.

The freighter Algoterra moves up the Detroit River against a vibrant sunrise near Wyandotte in this June 27, 2019, file photo.
“Through June, we saw shipments stabilizing, with traditional Seaway cargos including grain and steel on an uptick,” said Craig H. Middlebrook, deputy administrator of the U.S. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., in a release. “General cargo tonnage continues to be strong, attributable in large part to increasing movement of wind turbine components.”

Overall tonnage was at 11.7 million metric tons, down 8.4% compared to this time last year, according to the report. U.S. and Canadian grain was at 3,554,000 metric tons this year, a 3.3% increase.

Dry bulk cargo was down 9.9% compared to last year and includes coke, stone, cement and clinkers, ores and concentrates and pig iron. Iron ore was down 14% compared to this time last year.

The top-performing commodities were grain, salt, gypsum, steel slab and asphalt.

Sri Talluri, professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, said the report is good news. He said he attributes the freight activity in part to Europe and Asia flattening the curve with respect to COVID-19.

“So certainly recovery is unfolding in those parts of the world,” he said. “Also, given that the trajectory of the disease is quite different in different parts of the U.S., it might be helping as well.”

The Port of Monroe is among eight American ports across five Great Lakes states to handle shiploads of wind-related components. The domestic side of the port had a slow start to the season in April with the temporary shutdown of heavy industry, but picked up in May, said Paul C. LaMarre III, the director of the Port of Monroe, the state’s only seaport on Lake Erie.

The port’s international shipments are largely project-driven. The port is working with Spliethoff Group’s BigLift Shipping and Ventower Industry to move, handle and manufacture wind towers for a General Electric project in Isabella County.

The Port of Monroe is handling the tower section, machine heads and the hubs, LaMarre said, adding that the wind project “has had us exceptionally busy.”

“We’re having the most fruitful season in the port’s history,” he said. “That isn’t necessarily the story that is spanning the entire system, but one thing is for sure is that the Great Lake’s St. Lawrence Seaway System is resilient.”

Work continues on at the port with workers socially distancing, wearing masks, taking temperatures and looking out for one another, LaMarre said.

“That has kept us in a position where we really haven’t missed a beat,” he said. “It’s allowed us to be efficient, safe and to this point, very successful despite some very challenging circumstances.”

Source: Great Lakes Seaway Review – Volume 48 – Number 4 – April-June 2020

As the supply chain goes, DTE Energy in Monroe, Michigan was impacted by the loss of regional manufacturing. Demand for power decreased, leading
the company to reduce operation to one of four generating units. Coal and limestone deliveries to the Port of Monroe were cancelled. Decreased power generation led to a loss of the byproducts synthetic gypsum and bottom ash which export from the port. With the plant now operating at full power, business at the Monroe port has increased, which positively impacts Midwest Energy Resources, Interlake Steamship Company, Grand River Navigation, to name a few. “It is our resilience Paul LaMarre III which will define our 2020 shipping season as a whole,” said Paul LaMarre III, Monroe port Director, noting that the port is already on track to handle the most international/Seaway cargo in its history. “Because the port is home to Ventower Industries, which is one of only four wind tower manufacturers in the United States, we are well positioned to be a multimodal congregation and distribution hub for wind components manufactured at Ventower and elsewhere.” This season, BigLift’s Happy River will call on the port every eight days to deliver wind turbine sections from Becanour, Quebec.

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Source: The Monroe News

The port will be called on 14 times for the project, handling about 560 wind tower segments in total.

Wind energy components are breezing through ports across the Great Lakes this shipping season.

The trend is benefiting the Port of Monroe, which is in the midst of handling one of its largest cargo endeavors.

A partnership between the port, Monroe-based Ventower Industries — a company that specializes in fabricating wind turbine towers — and Spliethoff Group’s BigLift Shipping is supporting General Electric’s wind energy efforts in the state.

Every eight days, the port handles a shipment of forty wind tower segments, according to Port Director Paul LaMarre III.

“The port has come a long way,” LaMarre said. “We have become a congregation and distribution hub for wind tower segments … It is the largest project in our history.”

The shipments, which take off from Becancour, Quebec, traverse the St. Lawrence Sea, the 2,300-mile marine highway that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. They are being handled by the M/V Happy River, a BigLift ship.

The port will be called on 14 times for the project, handling about 560 wind tower segments in total.

“It comes down to relationships,” LaMarre said. “If you build relationships, the cargo will come.”

General Electric has a partnership with Ventower, which has produced several wind energy components for the company, according to LaMarre. Ventower has long used the port to move its products, he added.

That relationship drew the attention of General Electric, which saw the port’s logistics capabilities as advantageous, LaMarre said.

“At a time when other great lakes port are struggling to find any cargo, the relationships and business the port has built will ultimately provide to our sustainability,” he said.

The project is particularly important to the port due to a slow start to the shipping season, which usually begins in March.

COVID-19 had an impact on the port, LaMarre said, adding that cargo was scarce during the early days of the pandemic.

Limestone and coal account for a large part of the port’s business. There was less of a demand for the two as heavy industry and businesses were closed or restricted in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant also was impacted, LaMarre said. The utility generates a lot of business for the port, he added.

“When industry is nonoperational, little electricity is being used,” LaMarre said. “Humanity by itself doesn’t place place as much demand on the electrical grid as heavy industry does.”

For the first two months of the season, the port had no cargo to handle. It started receiving shipments in early May and coal shipments to the power plant have returned to a near-weekly basis, according to LaMarre.

The size and weight of the wind tower segments will help keep the port on track to beat its tonnage from last season, LaMarre said. Last month the port received a Pacesetter Award, which is given to ports that annually increase their handling of international shipping tonnage.

The pandemic also has changed operations at the port, which is taking extra precautions, LaMarre said. No COVID cases have been reported to the agency, he added.

All workers wear masks when on the dock. Port workers also stay on the dock when handling cargo while workers on vessels remain on their ships.

“It’s been challenging, to say the least,” LaMarre said. ”… we continue to count our blessings every day. Without this project this year, we would be facing significant challenges.”

The local port has once again received the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, a recognition given to domestic shipping industry leaders by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.

Regulations and shifting industry demands haven’t turned the tide against the Port of Monroe.

The local port has once again received the Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, a recognition given to domestic shipping industry leaders by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.

The award was for 2019 shipping season, which saw some of the port’s most diverse cargo handlings, said director Paul LaMarre III.

“To be one of the ports to receive this award. I feel an immense sense of pride …” LaMarre said. “I am proud of the relationships we have built, the vessels that have touched our dock … and the men and women who breathe life into our facility.”

The Pacesetter is given to American ports along the St. Lawrence Seaway that increase their international tonnage compared to the previous year.

This is the fifth time in seven years that the port has received the award. It also was recognized for its 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018 shipping seasons.

The streak shows how far the port has come in recent years, according to LaMarre. He has led efforts to attract more international business since he came to the port in 2012.

Before then, the port had not handled international cargo since the 1960s, he said. He credits the growth to partnerships with Spliethoff and Big Lift, international shipping businesses, and the work of its terminal operator, DRM Terminal Services.

“In 2012, the Port of Monroe was an overgrown industrial site,” LaMarre said. “Today, it is one of the most prosperous seaports on the Great Lakes.”

The 2019 shipping season was the most active for the port when it came to handling international vessels, according to LaMarre.

What was most notable about it was the port’s reach, including routes that touched Egypt, the Netherlands, Peru and Canada, he added.

The last season saw the Happy Ranger call on the port to deliver a new stator to Fermi 2 nuclear power plant, boasting one of the heaviest and most valuable shipments to travel the seaway, LaMarre said.

After the Happy Ranger delivered the stator from the Netherlands, it then turned around and loaded wind tower segments from Ventower, which were delivered to Peru.

“It was sheer logistics perfection … it extended our community’s reach on a global scale,” LaMarre said. “It’s proof positive that our port and its partners are making our mark on global logistics.”

Other international vessels handled liquid asphalt and salt, which accounted for the largest increase in tonnage.

“You can move countless specialized components, but nothing equals the volume of bulk cargo and the tonnage that generates,” LaMarre said.

The other ports to receive the designation are the Port of Chicago; the Duluth Seaway Port Authority in Minnesota; the Port of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the Port of Oswego Authority, New York.

SLSDC’s Deputy Administrator Craig Middlebrook congratulated this year’s award recipients in a press statement.

“The dedicated team of professionals at our ports work hard to move increasing amounts of cargo safely and efficiently,” he said.

Despite a slow start to the shipping season because of the impact of COVID-19, LaMarre said the port is on track to receive the award again next year.

“The award is a testament to our growth and resilience,” LaMarre said. “We have had countless challenges — it is the resilience of the port’s team … that made this possible.”

American ports in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system record particularly noteworthy increases in project cargo as they advance the global supply chain, trading with 22 countries during the first two months of the navigation season. Year-to-date total tonnage—from the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway on April 1, 2020 through May 31, 2020—is situated at 7.7 million metric tons (mt), down 10.2 percent compared to this time last year.

“In times like these, it is reassuring to see our ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System working hard to keep the supply chain moving. The Great Lakes Seaway marine transportation system is critical infrastructure, and remains vital to keeping commerce flowing without disruption in order to support North America’s agricultural, manufacturing, construction, energy, and mining industries,” said Craig H. Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

Wind Energy Components Soaring at American Great Lakes Ports

With an increased focus on commodity diversification through project cargo, international shipments of wind energy components in the Great Lakes region are taking off. During the first two months of the 2020 navigation season, shiploads of wind-related components were handled across five Great Lakes states at eight American ports, including: Port of Monroe, Port of Erie, Port of Buffalo, Port of Ogdensburg, Port of Bay City, Port of Menominee, Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and Port of Chicago.

Attracting new business through wind-related cargos and Seaway activity, both Port of Monroe and Port of Buffalo are benefiting from notable increases in shipping traffic.

“If there was a single word to describe the Port of Monroe, it would be resilient,” said Paul C. LaMarre III, Port Director, Port of Monroe. “Everything we have done puts relationships and the broader industry as a whole first. I believe, if you build the relationships, the cargo will follow it.”

Of these relationships, this navigation season brings to light a particularly impactful partnership between the Port of Monroe, Spliethoff Group’s BigLift Shipping, and Ventower Industry—one of four wind tower manufacturers in the United States—all working together to move, handle and manufacture wind towers for a General Electric project based in Michigan.

The Port of Monroe, serving the project as an advantageous congregation point for high value wind components coming by rail and vessel, now welcomes BigLift’s M/V Happy River on a nonstop shuttle delivering wind tower sections manufactured in Bécancour, Quebec every eight days.

In addition to logistical advantages due to the Port’s geographical location, BigLift’s vessels are particularly well suited for the Port of Monroe due to their size and the Port’s draft restrictions. To date, the M/V Happy River completed three voyages to Monroe—with eleven more planned—carrying forty wind tower sections per trip.

“The wind project and the tower sections are the lifeblood of our port this season,” said LaMarre. “Not only is this project impactful from the number of vessel calls, which will be the highest in our history for Seaway cargo, it’s with a partner that we’ve been in the trenches with for five years, has the majority of the Port’s laydown area being utilized, is using multiple modes of transportation, and sustaining our port workforce and partners in challenging times.”

Similarly, the Port of Buffalo is off to a strong start, filling their docks a total of thirty-two days since their navigation season began on April 12, 2020. To date, the Port of Buffalo welcomed three Seaway shipments of wind turbine components—two from Germany and one from Korea—and are expecting two more in the coming week.

“To the Port of Buffalo, handling these wind turbines means a full dock for the season. Not only are we unloading the vessels, but we’re also loading the trucks that take them to site. So, this is an opportunity to keep us busy all the way into fall,” said Patricia C. Schreiber, Port Director, Port of Buffalo.

Source: MarineLog

While St. Lawrence Seaway cargo volumes decreased during the past two months due to economic shifts related to COVID-19, the Chamber of Marine Commerce reports industry leaders as saying that the Seaway is ready to play its part in the economic recovery efforts in the coming months.

Overall, St. Lawrence Seaway tonnage from March 15 through May 31 totaled 7.7 million metric tons, down 10% compared to the same time period in 2019. Road salt and project cargo shipments such as wind turbine components have remained strong throughout the last two months. However, cargo volumes of steel-related materials, construction materials, and petroleum declined.

“Great Lakes-Seaway shipping has continued to get the job done during these challenging times, safely delivering vital grain, renewable energy supplies and manufacturing inputs for domestic needs and world markets,” says Bruce Burrows, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce. “Ship operators, ports, suppliers and the Seaway operators have really pulled together to put protective measures in place for our workers and the public and to ensure our transportation system has continued to operate throughout the pandemic without interruption or delay for our customers. Moving forward, Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway shipping is ready to support ongoing efforts to restart the U.S. economy.”

DRY BULK DOWN, GENERAL CARGO UP

Dry bulk cargo shipments on the Seaway were down 5%. However, one of the first areas of improvement expected in cargo volumes are construction materials as pandemic-related restrictions continue to be lifted.

Year-to-date general cargo shipments via the St. Lawrence Seaway, including project cargo like wind turbine components and aluminum, were up 3.5%.

The Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor has received 15 shipments of wind turbine components over the last two months. “We expect at least 10 more shipments of U.S.-built wind tower sections moving by deck barge from Manitowoc, Wis., down to Burns Harbor. These will be coupled with nacelles, hubs and blades being produced in Europe that are arriving into Burns Harbor via the Seaway,” says Ian Hirt, Port Director for the Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor. “We are also expecting several vessels containing components for gas-powered electrical generation stations that are being constructed in the area. These are emblematic of a shift in energy production in the region away from coal-powered electricity.”

Tonnage at the Port of Toledo was down 12% in May compared to May 2019 which is attributed to COVID-19, flooding and poor grain harvest last fall.

“Our grain shipments are down significantly, but we’re hoping a good 2020 harvest will help us make up for some of the loss at the end of the season,” says Joseph Cappel, vice president of business development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted construction and manufacturing and the associated demand for raw material and petroleum products. We expect that as the economy continues to recover, the recovery will be reflected in our tonnage numbers.”

The bright spot for Toledo in May was general cargo, which is up over 225% from last year. “We have handled a tremendous amount of aluminum at the general cargo facility so far in 2020,” says Cappel. “Smelters continue to produce aluminum and the Port of Toledo is a strategic location where metals can be stored and rapidly deployed into the marketplace when conditions are right.”

At the Port of Duluth-Superior, general cargo and grain had strong showings, but other tonnage categories were impacted by the pandemic.

“May was an especially difficult month in the Port of Duluth-Superior, with effects of the coronavirus slowing the tonnage pace in each major cargo category,” says Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “Through May 31, total tonnage trailed the 2019 pace by 28.5%, led by a sharp decline in coal tonnage due primarily to diminished demand from power plants on the lower Great Lakes. Iron ore, the port’s perennial tonnage leader, also slipped in May, ended the month 6% behind last season’s pace.

On a brighter note, grain tonnage finished May almost 26% ahead of the 2019 pace and 39% ahead of the five-season average. General cargo tonnage also registered an increase, closing the month approximately 9% ahead of last season and 11.5% above the five-season average.”

TRADE WITH 22 COUNTRIES

The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation said that U.S. Seaway ports traded with 22 countries during the first two months of the navigation season, recording particularly noteworthy increases in project cargo, even though overall tonnage was down 10.2% compared to this time last year.

“In times like these, it is reassuring to see our ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System working hard to keep the supply chain moving. The Great Lakes Seaway marine transportation system is critical infrastructure, and remains vital to keeping commerce flowing without disruption in order to support North America’s agricultural, manufacturing, construction, energy, and mining industries,” said Craig H. Middlebrook, deputy administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

WIND ENERGY COMPONENTS SOARING

With an increased focus on commodity diversification through project cargo, international shipments of wind energy components in the Great Lakes region are taking off. During the first two months of the 2020 navigation season, shiploads of wind-related components were handled across five Great Lakes states at eight American ports, including: Port of Monroe, Port of Erie, Port of Buffalo, Port of Ogdensburg, Port of Bay City, Port of Menominee, Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and Port of Chicago.

Attracting new business through wind-related cargos and Seaway activity, both Port of Monroe and Port of Buffalo are benefiting from notable increases in shipping traffic.

“If there was a single word to describe the Port of Monroe, it would be resilient,” said Paul C. LaMarre III, Port Director, Port of Monroe. “Everything we have done puts relationships and the broader industry as a whole first. I believe, if you build the relationships, the cargo will follow it.”

Of these relationships, this navigation season brings to light a particularly impactful partnership between the Port of Monroe, Spliethoff Group’s BigLift Shipping, and Ventower Industry—one of four wind tower manufacturers in the United States—all working together to move, handle and manufacture wind towers for a General Electric project based in Michigan.

The Port of Monroe now welcomes BigLift’s M/V Happy River on a nonstop shuttle delivering wind tower sections manufactured in Bécancour, Quebec every eight days. To date, the M/V Happy River has completed three voyages to Monroe—with eleven more planned—carrying forty wind tower sections per trip.

“The wind project and the tower sections are the lifeblood of our port this season,” said LaMarre.

Similarly, the Port of Buffalo is off to a strong start, filling its docks a total of 32 days since its navigation season began on April 12. To date, the port has welcomed three Seaway shipments of wind turbine components—two from Germany and one from Korea—and is expecting two more in the coming week.

Source: Maritime Magazine

The U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation(SLSDC) has announced that five U.S. ports in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System received the agency’s Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award for registering increases in international cargo tonnage shipped through their ports during the 2019 navigation season. The winners are the Port of Chicago, Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Port of Green Bay, Port of Oswego and Michigan’s Port of Monroe (pictured in photo).

“The St. Lawrence Seaway and its ports are vital to America’s freight transportation network, job creation and economic growth,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

“Congratulations to the five Great Lakes ports being recognized as Pacesetter Award recipients for their achievements during the 2019 Seaway navigation season,” said SLSDC’s Deputy Administrator Craig H. Middlebrook. “The dedicated teams of professionals at our ports work hard to move increasing amounts of cargo safely and efficiently.”

The SLSDC Pacesetter Award was established in 1992 to recognize the achievements of U.S. ports whose activities resulted in increasing international tonnage shipped through the St. Lawrence Seaway, excluding Canada, in comparison to the previous year. More than 237,000 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity are supported annually by movement of various cargoes on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System. (photo Port of Monroe)

Source: mLIVE

How do you practice social distancing in this era of coronavirus when you’re part of a Great Lakes freighter crew? With a special set of rules, shipping leaders say.

New protocols and precautionary measures are taking place on ships across the Great Lakes where crews are moving through more than 100 ports this shipping season, according to the Associated Press.

James Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers Association, said the shipping industry has rolled out its own set of safeguards aimed at prevention. Freighter crews are following hygiene and social distancing guidelines set by health experts.

“Not only are there formal ramifications, but there is a very informal peer pressure among our sailors that will keep people from doing anything that is unsafe and potentially cause spread,” Weakley said, according to the AP.

The Lake Carriers Association is made up of 46 American vessels that each year haul 90 million tons of cargo annually across the Great Lakes.

A few week ago, at the start of the 2020 shipping season, Weakley talked about the preparations being made. His comments were put on the LCA website:

“Since February, a tremendous team focus has gone into getting the fleet outfitted and sailing safely with healthy crews. This has been a truly concerted effort by the sailors, the vessel operators, U.S. Coast Guard, Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, public health officials, the Great Lakes dock and port operators, and service providers that keep our fleet sailing. Our first priority is the men and women sailing the vessels. Our efforts are focused on preparedness, prevention, and response to ensure their safety from the impacts of COVID-19. We’ve tried to anticipate as many contingencies as possible and prescribe the actions to counter them. This is a community effort and the partnerships we have forged are strong. The best plans are comprehensive and nimble.”

The U.S. Coast Guard is monitoring these ships as well as any international cargo vessels, especially if they’ve been in an area of the world affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in the last couple weeks.

Petty Officer Brian McCrum, spokesman for the Coast Guard’s 9th District which oversees the Great Lakes region, said these ships will be allowed to enter the U.S. only if they are not carrying sick crew members.

In addition, all crew members must stay on board these ships unless they are involved in loading or unloading cargo, or getting provisions, the AP reported.

M/V HONORABLE JAMES L. OBERSTAR ON A PELLET RUN 32

Source: Great Lakes Seaway Review – Volume 48 – Number 3 – January-March

The most common view of vessels sailing the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway is from the shore. But sailing shows both the beauty and economic impact of these vessels. Here is an excerpt of Paul C. LaMarre III’s recent pellet run. Thanks to my friends at The Interlake Steamship Company, I was able to take a shipboard retreat on the M/V Honorable James L. Oberstar, or the “Honorable,” as she is sometimes called. This fine ship’s existence is a floating testament to an age of industrial beauty when man and steel united in a form that can only be described as “iron elegance.” The pride with which she was built is apparent in the care she continues to receive today. Boarding during the final hours of October 12, the glowing lights of AK Steel illuminate the Oberstar as she unloads taconite pellets onto the same dock Henry Ford constructed for receiving similar shipments at the turn of the century. Holds emptied, she heads out the winding Rouge River at daybreak under the command of Captain Joseph C. Ruch, on one of the final voyages of his 30-year sailing career. Heading north past industrial Detroit, across Lake St. Clair, toward Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, Honorable is at home, echoing each shoreside wave with a master’s solute. All’s quiet as she plies the blue water expanse of Lake Huron. When the sun peeks through the clouds October 14 following a morning storm, Detour Reed Light passes port side, marking entrance to the St. Marys River. Sliding past mission point where shipwatchers abound, we turn for the locks where the 806-foot ship raises 21 feet. Within a short time, we were passing Gros Cap Reef Light and entering the “Big Lake.” Squalling weather breaks to a rainbow. Soon the moon is lighting our way to Marquette, where we’ll load the next 31,000 tons of iron ore pellets and depart for the downbound return to offload what will make the steel that helps build our toasters, cars, offices and parking decks. While my personal holds are filled for another year, a picture is worth a thousand words. May these images provoke the inspiration that keeps your engine turning.

Paul C. LaMarre III, Port Director, Port of Monroe

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