Weekly News Summary For January 25, 2010:
In a one-sentence ruling on January 19, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant the preliminary injunction sought by Michigan and other Great Lakes states to close locks connecting Chicago area inland waterways with Lake Michigan in order to keep Asian carp out of the lakes.
The decision was hailed by The American Waterways Operators, which had vigorously opposed the closures, submitting an affidavit on January 6 as part of Illinois’ response to the December 21 suit by Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and the Canadian province of Ontario.
AWO president and chief executive officer Thomas Allegretti commented, “We are gratified that the U.S. Supreme Court has taken action to prevent disastrous consequences to Midwest consumers and to the hard-working Americans employed in the towing industry and in all the industries and companies that rely on the essential commodities shipped by barge…. Our industry will continue the work we have done for over the past six years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, and other officials to ensure a balance between preventing the spread of Asian carp while ensuring the free flow of commerce essential to our nation.”
In the ruling’s wake, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle called on the White House to hold an immediate summit on the carp issue. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who filed the original lawsuit, has argued that President Obama has the authority to close the locks by executive order, no matter what happens in the courts….
Signal is a leading Gulf Coast fabricator and provider of marine services, mostly for the offshore industry and the U.S. Navy, with two shipyards in Mississippi and two in Texas. The Bender assets will be organized into a new entity within Signal to be known as Signal Ship Repair.
Bender sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2009, after three unsecured creditors sued to force the company into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Bender hired Global Hunter Securities LLP to handle the sale of 80 percent of its Mobile property.
The 91-year-old company has 3,300 feet of deep-water frontage and six repair and construction yards with three steel floating drydocks and other equipment on 26 acres. According to the Mobile Press-Register, court documents showed Bender to have assets of $98.3 million and liabilities of $110.7 million at the time of the filing. Bender assets still to be sold include a steel plate shop in Mobile and a shipyard in Mexico.
Signal’s bid topped a December 15 offer of $21 million in cash by VISION Technologies Marine, which controls the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. As recently as January 5, a bankruptcy judge cleared the sale to VT Halter while extending the bidding deadline from January 11 to January 14….
Dennis Michael Egan and Egan Marine Corporation were charged January 13 in an indictment by a federal grand jury in Chicago with three counts relating to a fire and explosion aboard a tank barge in the Chicago and Sanitary Ship Canal in 2005. The fire and explosion resulted on one crewman’s death and the spilling of thousands of gallons of oil into the canal. The announcement came in a release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago. The charges were filed a week before the statute of limitations in the case was set to expire.
Dennis M. Egan faces more than 10 years in prison and fines of more than $350,000 if convicted, while the company faces fines of more than $700,000.
Dennis M. Egan, 32, was captain of the towboat and tank barge at the time. He is the nephew of Dennis Egan, owner of Egan Marine. Dennis M. Egan and Egan Marine were each charged with one count of negligence by a ship’s officer or owner resulting in death. Both together were charged with one count of causing oil to pollute a navigable waterway, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The indictment states that at the time of the incident, January 19, 2005, Dennis M. Egan was captain of the Lisa E, a towboat pushing the EMC-423 tank barge loaded with clarified slurry oil, a refining byproduct used as fuel. At about 4:40 p.m., a large explosion erupted on the barge, which sank, releasing thousands of gallons of oil into the canal….
The Maritime Administration published the rules for applying to its Small Shipyard Grant Program January 13, in the Federal Register and on its Web site. “Small” is being defined this year as having fewer than 1,200 production employees. The yard must repair, build or reconfigure vessels greater then 40 feet in length for commercial or government use.
However, the application clock began December 13, leaving only one month for applicants to file for the grants. The application period closes 5 p.m. EST, February 16.
The program, which granted just under $10 million in its first year, has $14.7 million to spend in its third year on grants for small shipyards, with $300,000 reserved for program administration.
A separate, one-time grant of $100 million was provided to small shipyards last year as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Small Shipyard Grant money cannot be used to construct buildings or purchase land, only to upgrade equipment, or to provide “maritime training programs to foster technical skill and operational productivity in communities whose economies are related to or dependent upon the maritime industry.” The grants will normally not total more than 75 percent of a project’s cost, but MarAd can waive this matching requirement in some cases. Projects that require environmental assessment, such as dredging or pier work, are not eligible. MarAd can choose to fund part of a project….
Thirty-one years ago, before the name Walter Blessey was associated with one of the top towing companies on the inland waterways, he was a successful oil trader working for a utility company in Louisiana. To get his towing company started, he needed a line of credit from a banker who could see his vision. It was not an easy task and Blessey suffered through many refusals.
Cleland Powell was a young corporate banker working at Whitney Bank in New Orleans when Blessey approached him. Powell believed in Blessey from the beginning, and Blessey rewarded Powell with loyalty, keeping Blessey Marine Services’ banking business with Powell even when Powell recently changed to IberiBank, where he is now an executive vice president.
“It was one of the two most important times I heard yes in my life,” Blessey said. “The other time was when I asked Jane Ann to marry me.”
Further honoring Powell for helping Blessey Marine when it was just a vision, Blessey named his newest boat the Cleland Powell. Christening was held December 7, 2009, at the Riverfront Hilton on the Mississippi River.
This was the wettest December in the history of New Orleans. But the skies cleared, if only for the christening. In keeping with the weather, Powell shattered the champagne bottle with one of the biggest splashes in recent memory….
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