Weekly News Summary For May 26 - June 1, 2008:
The current barge-building boom has kept shipyards humming. But evidence suggests that a recent series of steep rises in the price of steel might slow the boom.
On May 13, leading U.S. steel producer Nucor added $90 to a previously announced increase of $180 per short ton, for a total increase of $270 or a total price of $1,300 per short ton for A36 plate steel. That increase alone would add $54,000 to the cost of a barge using 200 tons of plate steel, or $81,000 for 300 tons.
That was only the latest of a series of steel price increases that have totaled about $600 a ton since January.
One plate steel company that sells to shipyards, among other customers, says barge builders are paying them double what they paid just four months ago. The company used to quote three-month and six-month prices, but now will only quote month to month.
A barge industry source who didn’t want to be named said he knew of at least one yard whose barge backlog has gone down from two years to one, largely because of steel price uncertainty.
The unprecedented rise in steel prices has many causes that come down to one word: demand.
U.S. barge builders have to compete for steel with strong demand from many places—not only from China’s expanding economy, which now supplies much of its own steel needs, but from the rest of Asia, the Middle East’s building boom, South America and Russia….
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen presented the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Performance Plan to a maritime audience in Baltimore on May 22.
The plan will be available for public comment for 60 days on the Coast Guard’s “Homeport” website. It will create six “Centers of Expertise” and promises to add 230 marine inspectors.
The plan comes in response to years of criticism of the Coast Guard’s marine safety performance, including from among its own ranks.
Members of Congress reacted this week to a May 9 report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s Office on failings in the Coast Guard’s handling of marine casualty inspections.
The report (#OIG-08-51) was originally requested in 2005 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
In a May 20 press release, Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said, “In a sampling of five Coast Guard units, the Inspector General’s report found that only six out of 22 billeted marine casualty investigator personnel met the standard training requirements—68 percent did not meet even the Coast Guard’s minimal casualty investigator standards.”…
In April, the Louisiana State Bond Commission gave approval to Sea Point LLC to issue up to $300 million in tax-free bonds to help finance a container transshipment port on the Mississippi Delta.
The approval was a key step that brings the proposed deep-water container port closer to completion. The port will be located at Mile 12 of the Mississippi River, near Venice in Plaquemines Parish.
The normal state cap on such bonds is $100 million, but a letter of support from the Plaquemines Parish Council helped persuade the state to lift the cap, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
The bonds will be Gulf Opportunity Zone or Go Zone bonds, created by the federal government to help rebuild southern Louisiana’s infrastructure after Hurricane Katrina.
Sea Point is designed to accept new, mega-sized deep-draft containerships. Supporters of deepwater port projects in the Gulf argue that more such ships will find the Gulf attractive after the Panama Canal completes its expansion in 2014. …
Events were held all across the country to celebrate Maritime Day, but perhaps the largest of the celebrations—at least on the inland rivers—was hosted by the Paducah Propeller Club May 17.
Paducah’s annual Maritime Day commemorative ceremony had some very notable attendees including Rear Adm. Joel Whitehead, commander of the 8th Coast Guard District, U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, and the Rev. David Rider, executive director of The Seamen’s Church Institute. There were also several top executives representing the industry.
Whitehead keynoted the ceremony, highlighting the advantages of barge transportation and the important role of Paducah. A few comments were made on some of the hot issues of the day, including the Transportation Worker’s Identification Credential (TWIC). Whitehead suggested that TWIC will run much smoother when the initial phase is over.
The awards ceremony took on a special meaning for The Waterways Journal, as Jeff L. Yates, long time contributor, was recognized as Maritime Person of the Year for his service to the industry. John Crivello, with West Kentucky Drug & Alcohol Screen Inc., was named Port Person of the Year….
Strictly by coincidence, exactly 10 years following its original debut, the former 8,000 hp. Patricia Gail was rededicated in Greenville, Miss. on April 24 as the Robert D. Byrd in honor of its veteran captain, who retires this month.
The twin-screw vessel was originally named in honor of the wife of Richard Korpan, president and chief executive officer of Florida Progress Corporation, which at that time owned MEMCO Barge Line. MEMCO now operates as AEP River Operations, division of American Electric Power.
Capt. Robert D. Byrd of Greenville, Miss., was the vessel’s captain on its maiden trip, and he has worked aboard the boat ever since. The dedication event was staged at the Greenville Yacht Club with the freshly scrubbed line haul work horse, laying alongside the fuel dock, dwarfing the nearby houseboats and cruisers.
Crew members, sporting fresh white shirts with the AEP River Operations logo, were staged at critical safety points throughout the shining vessel during the hour-long open house prior to the dedication ceremonies….
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