Weekly News Summary for November 5-11, 2007:
Florida Marine Transporters already owns the record for the most new towboats built in succession. The company embarked on a new-build program with Eastern Shipbuilding Group in early 2006 to build what started out to be 25 identical 90-foot towboats. The order was then increased to 30 and was upped again just recently to 35. The boats are being launched at a rate of one a month; this month, Eastern will deliver its 19th vessel.
So it was no surprise when FMT set what is believed to be another record by christening five of the new towboats at once. The Mandeville, La.-based company broke champagne bottles over the bitts of the towboats Ron Hull, Janice Roberts, John P. Pasentine, Monica Means and Billy Burkett September 27 in Houston.
Louis Develle, FMT’s operations manager, said he is waiting to hear from the Guinness Book of World Records to see if the christening qualifies for a world record. The feat is unprecedented as far as the industry is concerned.
What may be just as impressive, though, is just how FMT managed to free up five working vessels at the same time and still meet its customers’ requirements.
“It took an incredible amount of coordination,” Develle said. “Dale Artigue, our chief operating officer, met with all the dispatchers a full month before the christening to see what needed to be done.”
It was like a big jigsaw puzzle. When they had all the pieces in place, using other FMT boats and outside power when necessary, they called their customers to let them know that their barges would be delivered on time, but possibly by a different boat than originally scheduled….
TECO Energy announced October 29 that it has reached an agreement to sell TECO Transport Corporation to an investment group for about $405 million in cash.
The investment group is led by an affiliate of Greenstreet Equity Partners LP, a Miami-based private equity firm founded by Steven Green, the former U.S. ambassador to Singapore, and Jeffrey Safchik.
David O’Neill, TECO Transport president, said the company was committed to making the transition as seamless as possible.
“This is absolutely the perfect outcome for our team members and their families, and for the sustained growth of our companies,” he said. “We will continue to make and grow Metropolis, Ill., as our home for the headquarters for our inland marine businesses.”
The definitive agreement has various conditions that must be satisfied prior to closing, and the parties anticipate closing the transaction before the end of the year.
After estimated transaction-related costs, including state and federal taxes, TECO Energy is expected to net $370 million–$380 million in the deal….
Capt. Lincoln Stroh, the new commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, told the Maritime Navigation and Safety Association (MNSA) that he expected few changes in enforcement operations of the Coast Guard under his command.
He did outline some changes, however, at the meeting held at the Madisonville (La.) Maritime Museum on October 25, including an increased search and rescue emphasis on Lake Pontchartrain north of New Orleans, with the Coast Guard working closely with the Causeway Commission that oversees the 24-mile bridge that runs north/south across the Lake.
The Coast Guard recently participated in an exercise with the New Orleans Fire Department in responding to a simulated bus crash in which victims were thrown from the bridge into the water.
The Coast Guard will work with the Causeway Commission to have a quicker response if boat operators approaching the Causeway Bridge do not respond on the VHF radio, or if runaway barges threaten the bridge.
First responders in several of the communities around New Orleans have been increasing their flood-response capabilities by acquiring shallow-water rescue boats. Stroh credited the volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary with developing a program that is training members of the local fire departments in small boat handling.
An increase in the number of marine safety inspectors has been requested at the district level for Sector New Orleans, which handles almost 20 percent of all vessel inspections nationwide, and more than the entire West Coast, he said.
Realistically, it will take several years to cycle in and train the additional inspectors, Stroh said. Inspections of towing vessels have been mandated by Congress and will require additional personnel once they begin in earnest….
Several western Kentucky towing company executives, educational officials and other marine industry interests were on hand October 29 to receive $250,000 in federal and state funds for improving educational advancement opportunities for employees in area marine industries.
Kentucky Education Secretary Laura E. Owens presented a ceremonial check to the West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board during a brief ceremony at the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce headquarters. Owens said the funds from the state’s Workforce Investment Act will help expand training opportunities in the river and affiliated industries for the 17-county Purchase/Pennryrile Workforce Investment Area.
“The river industry brings in $155 million annually into this local economy,” Owens said, explaining the importance of providing additional training for the local work force.
The West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board will manage the $250,000 funding, working with partners such as West Kentucky Community & Technical College and Seamen’s Church Institute in training workers for river-related employment opportunities….
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