Historic International Shipments Earn Port of Monroe 2019 Pacesetter Award

The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership applauds the Port of Monroe for earning a 2019 navigation season Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, which recognizes their efforts in increasing international Seaway cargo during the 2019 navigation season. The Port of Monroe received the Pacesetter Award five times out of the last seven seasons beginning in 2012.

“Above all else, it is important to the Port of Monroe and myself to be a leader and contributor in the broader Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. We are proud to receive the award, but we’re also proud of the other Great Lakes ports receiving the award because we will succeed or fail as a system,” said Paul C. LaMarre III, director of the Port of Monroe. “The 2019 Pacesetter Award is truly a testament to the Port of Monroe’s resilience. We’re exceptionally proud to receive the Pacesetter Award because it is symbolic of the work ethic and professionalism of the people who breathe life into this place.”

“If you build the relationship, the cargo will come”

The Port of Monroe’s noteworthy international inbound and outbound cargo handlings during the 2019 navigation season were crowned by a historic shipment. In October 2019, the Port of Monroe handled a generator stator, which is the single most valuable piece of project cargo that ever moved through the Seaway system.

For almost two years, the Port of Monroe worked hand in hand with General Electric and DTE to plan the move and construct a new on-dock, heavy lift rail spur before the M/V Happy Ranger delivered the stator from Rotterdam, Netherlands to Monroe, Michigan. That very same ship was then loaded with 42 wind tower segments manufactured at Ventower, a wind energy manufacturing company based in Monroe, and shipped to Peru, exemplifying what can only be described as “logistics perfection.”

Port of Monroe generator move in 1976

For LaMarre, the movement of the component represents the Port of Monroe coming full circle, paying homage to the Port’s movement of similar cargoes in the late 1970s. “It was a win on all levels. It achieved an investment in port infrastructure, the development of new and valuable cargo through the Seaway and benefited the community that we call home,” said LaMarre.

 

In addition to the Seaway-wide historic shipment, the Port of Monroe also celebrated their own momentous achievement. For the first time ever, three vessels unloaded at the same time on three separate docks. The “Queen of the Lakes”, the M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA, unloaded at DTE’s Monroe Powerplant, the M/V GAGLIARDA unloaded Egyptian salt at the Port’s Riverfront Dock, and the Barge DELAWARE and Tug CALUSA COAST unloaded liquid asphalt at the Port’s Turning Basin Dock.

 

 

 

 

Source: Great Lakes Seaway Partnership

Worth A Thousand Words

Port director shares passion with award-winning photographs.

Paul LaMarre III, director of the Port of Monroe, captured this photo of the Interlake Steamship Company’s M/ V Hon. James L. Oberstar. The photo is part of a package of LaMarre’s pictures that was awarded first place in the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership’s second annual photo contest. [COURTESY PHOTOS BY PAUL LAMARRE III]

 

Paul LaMarre III knows that a picture really is worth a thousand words.

The director of the Port of Monroe has a passion for the freighters, tugboats and barges that traverse the unforgiving waters of the Great Lakes. It’s a love that he inherited from his father, Paul LaMarre Jr. It’s an affection that was fostered by a lifetime around the water.

Like his father, LaMarre also has a passion for sharing his love of these vessels through his artwork. The port director was honored recently by the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership, which awarded a package of his photos with the first- place prize in their second annual photo contest.

Two of the winning photos were of the Interlake Steamship Company’s M/ V. Hon. James L. Oberstar, while the third was a picture of the M/ V. Gagliarda unloading at the Port of Monroe on her maiden Seaway voyage. Several other photos taken by LaMarre received honorable mention recognition.

“ It’s a blessing to have the access that allows me the opportunity to try to bring people closer to the action, let’s say,” LaMarre said. “ Everybody has their own unique niche. My niche has been getting vessels underway, open lake, which nobody else has really been doing.”

LaMarre has been photographing ships since he was 5. His father is a renowned figure in the Great Lakes maritime industry and an accomplished painter and photographer of the lakes and the vessels that call them home.

“ I always say to this day, even at the port, I just want to be like my dad when I grow up and make him proud,” LaMarre said. “ I can tell you that I am as excited to show my dad a good boat picture that I have captured today as I was when I was a little kid.”

The tools LaMarre uses today to capture his breathtaking images are a far cry from the clunky cameras of his childhood. LaMarre uses a drone- mounted camera to capture photos of vessels underway.

“ Right now there’s only myself and one other guy who are getting the pictures with the drone off of a moving platform,” he said. “I was the first one to do it, fly it off a moving ship or tug and then have to recover it when you’re still on your way.”

 

Paul LaMarre III was just 5 when he started photographing boats. The director of the Port of Monroe recently won first place in the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership’s second annual photo contest.

 

While LaMarre’s unique technique allows him the opportunity to obtain truly one of- a- kind images, it’s not without its risks. LaMarre said he’s on his fifth drone and he’s ruined countless sets of propeller blades as he’s worked to fine- tune the process.

“ Some SD cards are at the bottom of Lake Erie and Lake Huron at this point,” he said. “ It is nerve- wracking every time that you recover the drone when you’re in the middle of the lake and you just had it out hundreds, if not thousands of feet from the ship. To get it back aboard has not come without a very challenging learning curve, which could include almost taking your finger off or almost taking your head off and going through a lot of propeller blades.

“ In the beginning, the best bet was to just get the drone above the vessel and drop it.”

The first time LaMarre successfully utilized his drone system was aboard the Oberstar in 2018. The ship holds a special place in his heart. He and his wife are good friends with not only its current owner, captain and crew, but also William Snyder III, the man who in 1959 was commissioned to build the vessel that was then known as the Shenango II.

LaMarre and his wife have taken two leisure trips on the Oberstar, which is when he took his award-winning photographs of the vessel.

 

Paul LaMarre III’s award-winning photograph of the M/ V Gagliarda as it unloads at the Port of Monroe on its maiden Seaway voyage. [COURTESY PHOTOS BY PAUL LAMARRE III]

 

“That boat is so special to me,” he said “It means a great deal, and I hope to capture the best images of her sailing career. She’s the only ship that I’d really take a trip on that was, quite frankly, for my own enjoyment because that connection to that vessel is so special. She’s the one.”

Through his photography, LaMarre hopes to share his passion for ships with people who are not able to have the intimate relationship with the Great Lakes that he has enjoyed his entire life. To that end, he posts at least one photo a day to his Facebook page to continue to engage residents interested in the Port of Monroe.

“ We are very limited in our ability to grant access to interested and enthusiastic members of the community, because of security restrictions now more than ever,” he said. “ Ultimately it’s Monroe’s port, and my goal is to consistently operate a purely public agency as a nonprofit, and to do it in a manner that we drive transportation- related cargo and commerce that creates jobs and generates tax revenue that will hopefully lead to a better quality of life for the citizens of Monroe.

“ I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to lead this organization, (and) to do something I feel is upholding family tradition and history and then at the same time serve (the) community.”

“ It’s a very humbling and fortunate position to be in,” he added.

 

Paul LaMarre III, director of the Port of Monroe, captured this photo of the Interlake Steamship Company’s M/ V Hon. James L. Oberstar. The photo is part of a package of LaMarre’s pictures that was awarded first place in the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership’s second annual photo contest.

 

 

Source: Monroe Evening News

Port Of Monroe Earns Award For Cargo Work

The Port of Monroe received a Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, which is awarded by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

The Port of Monroe has once again been honored for its work with handling international cargo.

The local port received a Robert J. Lewis Pacesetter Award, which is awarded by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, for the 2018 navigation season. The Port of Monroe was one of eight ports to receive the recognition.

Paul LaMarre III, the director of the Port of Monroe, received the award recently during the SLSDC’s summer meeting. It was presented by Tom Lavigne, associate administrator of the SLSDC which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

LaMarre said the recognition wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of his team members.

“I wish the award could be chopped up into tiny pieces and that they could be given to everyone who has been a part of our success,” LaMarre said. “It is the daily grind of our team that has taken the Port of Monroe from a vacant field to a bustling seaport.”

The award is given to ports on the Great Lakes that register an increase in handling international tonnage. This is the fourth year that the Port of Monroe has received the honor. It was awarded one for its works during the 2017 and 2015 navigation seasons, as well as 2013.

“The fact that this is our fourth award in 6 years is not only representative of our growth, but also our resilience and diversity,” LaMarre said.

Though the 2019 season is still underway, LaMarre said the port has already completed the requirements to be on track to receive the award again next year.

A major component of the award was the port’s work with the Iver Bright, a ship that made its first Great Lakes voyage during the last season. The ship carried more than 4,000 tons of liquid asphalt for Suncor, a Canadian-based energy company.

The fact that the Iver Bright’s maiden seaway trip involved the Port of Monroe was highly impactful, LaMarre said, adding that the ship stayed on the Great Lakes during the winter months as it was an ice-class vessel. Its integration was a new development for the port, and the ship continues to work out of the Port of Monroe this season, according to LaMarre.

″(The ship) has essentially become one of our staple carriers,” LaMarre said.

The SLSDC’s also recognized the port’s use of its new state-funded dock. It was used for the handling of steel coils from Stelco, a steel company based in Ontario, Canada. The coils were for products in the automotive industry. The intermodal dock, a $3.6 million investment, saw its first ship, The Huron Spirit, in April 2018.

Although the coils didn’t factor into the port’s international tonnage, they were the first cargo handled at the dock, which will help with the port’s mission to grow its tonnage handling. It was a new cargo development, LaMarre said.

Tariffs on foreign steel caused that business to cease, LaMarre said, but the port is actively looking for ways to increase its opportunities in the steel market.

“The major benefit was not economics, but that we had the opportunity to prove ourselves with a new cargo that we handled very efficiently and safely,” LaMarre said. “Without the new dock, we wouldn’t have been able to handle that opportunity.”

 

Source: The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership

U.S. Wind Energy and Construction Supported by Great Lakes Seaway Shipping with Large Increases in Project Cargo During May

The St. Lawrence Seaway, North America’s binational marine highway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, reported overall gains in project cargo, agriculture and iron ore. These notable increases, specifically in project cargo, indicate that shippers view the Great Lakes Seaway system as way to ship to America’s heartland faster and more efficiently. Year-to-date (YTD) total cargo shipments for the period from the opening of the navigation season on March 22, 2019 through May 31, 2019 were 8.27 million metric tons (mt).

Top Performing Cargoes for May 2019 YTD:

Cargo Metric Tons Handled Growth YOY*
Grain 2,329,000 mt 3.6 percent*
Iron Ore 1,542,000 mt 8.1 percent*
Salt 621,000 mt 62.1 percent*
Liquid Chemicals 178,000 mt 9.9 percent*
Ores & Concentrates 70,000 mt 20.5 percent*

*Percentage indicates year-over-year (YOY) rounded to nearest tenth

 

Craig H. Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation said, “Tonnage moving on the Seaway is running at about the same level as this time last year.  Shipments of project cargo are particularly noteworthy, and a number of U.S. Great Lakes ports are reporting an outlook for continued movement of these high value cargoes such as windmill components, cranes, and heavy machinery.”

The U.S. Great Lakes ports of Milwaukee, Monroe, Duluth-Superior, Indiana and Toledo showed strong activity congruent with overall Seaway growth, especially in project cargo — large, heavy, high value, or complex pieces of equipment, like windmills.

 

Great Lakes Seaway: Project Cargo Hub

BigLift Happy River delivering a load of wind energy cargo to the Duluth Cargo Connect facilities in May 2019

Anchored by domestic trade, the Port of Duluth-Superior operates as a global gateway for bulk cargo entering the system. “After a slow start in March due to ice, the pace picked up considerably in April and May. Overall tonnage for the Port of Duluth-Superior increased 9 percent over April 2018,” said Jayson Hron, Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s Director of Communications and Marketing.

 “We also welcomed the first of numerous wind energy cargo shipments scheduled to arrive throughout the summer,” said Hron. The Port of Duluth-Superior is expecting at least 15 shipments to their Duluth Cargo Connect facilities in 2019. So far, they’ve welcomed two, both carrying towers, with a third, carrying blades, scheduled to arrive soon.

Iron ore, petroleum products and dry bulk led the way for an 8 percent tonnage increase compared to May 2018 for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. “So far this year, we’ve had more “salties” calling on Toledo than any year since 2006,” said Joseph Cappel, VP of Business Development for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. A combination of grain, salt, pig iron and other bulk products along with project cargo for the Cleveland Cliffs HBI Facility already have accounted for 14 ocean vessel calls in Toledo this year.

Port Milwaukee has seen a 220% increase in project cargo. “Port Milwaukee has maintained its momentum through the early part of the international shipping season on the Great Lakes,” Municipal Port Director Adam Schlicht said. “Overall tonnage via the Port’s commercial tenants is up 10% compared to this time last year. Total cargo via Milwaukee Harbor remains sturdy, averaging a 2% increase in overall economic activity when compared to May 2018.”

Port Milwaukee’s ship-to-rail supply chain initiatives have already taken almost 500 trucks off of Wisconsin’s roads in 2018 and its leadership is optimistic about tonnage for the rest of the navigation season. Inbound steel, cement, and salt traffic will most likely lead the way.

 

Salt Shipments on the Great Lakes Seaway

M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA, M/V GAGLIARDA and the Barge DELAWARE and Tug CALUSA COAST unloading at Port of Monroe’s docks. Photo Credit: Paul C. LaMarre III

“The Port of Monroe has had a strong start to the 2019 shipping season,” says Paul LaMarre, Port Director at Port of Monroe. Port of Monroe continues to move interlake cargoes such as coal, limestone, synthetic gypsum, bottom ash and others at a consistent pace. “We were also pleased to welcome our first international vessel of the season in late May, the newly acquired M/V GAGLIARDA.”

For the first time in the Port of Monroe’s history, three vessels unloaded at the same time on three separate docks. The “Queen of the Lakes”, the M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA, unloaded at DTE’s Monroe Powerplant, the M/V GAGLIARDA unloaded Egyptian salt at the Port’s Riverfront Dock, and the Barge DELAWARE and Tug CALUSA COAST unloaded liquid asphalt at the Port’s Turning Basin Dock.

Ports of Indiana report an overall YTD 7.2 percent increase, noting one significant project cargo shipment — rubber-tire gantry cranes bound for a CSX container yard in Illinois.

Ports of Indiana continue to support economic growth in Indiana and throughout the Great Lakes region with an excellent start. We continue to grow, as has been seen the past four years, with increases in salt, export grain shipments, limestone and coal,” said Vanta E. Coda II, Chief Executive Officer for Ports of Indiana.

 

 

HC MELINA unloading at Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor

 

Source: The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership

LaMarre Named to Federal Maritime Panel

 

Port of Monroe Director Paul C. LaMarre III has been appointed to the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee.

 

The two-year appointment was made by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao last month.

The panel provides advice and recommendations to the secretary of transportation on matters relating to the U. S. maritime transportation and its integration into other aspects of the country’s transportation system.

It’s composed of up to 30 leaders from commercial transportation firms, port and water stakeholders, labor, and federal, state and local public entities.

LaMarre, who has been port director since July, 2012, was supported in the appointment by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, and U. S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

“Given Paul’s extensive work experience and military background, he is extremely well qualified and understands the complex issues surrounding maritime transportation,” said Walberg.

“The Great Lakes maritime industry is an important driver of good-paying jobs and economic growth, and I look forward to continuing to work with Paul to advocate for our state and region,” he said.

Peters, too, praised LaMarre.

“From his service as a U.S. Navy pilot to his superb management of the Port of Monroe, Paul LaMarre is a distinguished representative of Michigan’s rich maritime heritage,” said Peters.

″(He will be) a key voice on the federal level for the Great Lakes’ ports and waterways,” he said.

LaMarre called the appointment “a humbling honor.”

He praised both lawmakers’ support of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system shipping and its maritime industry

He called their work “priceless to us.”

LaMarre called the Great Lakes sustainability “industrially and environmentally at the foundation of the Port of Monroe’s continued growth and resilience.”

 

SOURCE: The Monroe News

Peters Applauds Appointment of Monroe Port Director to Key Federal Maritime Transportation Committee

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today applauded the Department of Transportation’s decision to appoint Director of the Port of Monroe Paul LaMarre to the U.S. Marine and Transportation System National Advisory Committee (MTSNAC) for a term of two years. Last year, Peters supported LaMarre’s application, writing a letter to the Department of Transportation.

“From his service as a U.S. Navy pilot to his superb management of the Port of Monroe, Paul LaMarre is a distinguished representative of Michigan’s rich maritime heritage,” said Senator Peters. “I was proud to support his application, and I believe that he will not only be a tremendous asset to the Marine and Transportation System National Advisory Committee, but also a key voice on the federal level for the Great Lakes’ ports and waterways.”

“Receiving Senator Peters’ nomination to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee (MTSNAC) and subsequent appointment by Secretary Elaine L. Chao is truly a humbling honor,” said LaMarre. “Senator Peters’ unrelenting support of the Great Lakes maritime industry is indisputable and his support for the opportunity to advocate for the broader interests of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system as a whole is priceless. The Senator’s ongoing efforts to ensure the Great Lakes are sustainable both industrially and environmentally are at the foundation of the Port of Monroe’s continued growth and resilience.”

MTSNAC was commissioned by the Department of Transportation to identify issues and develop solutions to various impediments to effective management of short sea transportation. The Committee works directly with the Secretary of Transportation on various issues relating to maritime transportation, and to ensure that our waterways are seamless integrated within the nation’s larger transportation system.

 

Source: The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership