Methinks the problem is that government has given itself the responsibility to do this. These shippers ought to get together and do it themselves.
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Posted on 04/17/2006 5:24:55 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Shippers on the Great Lakes are decreasing their loads or taking detours because channel waters haven't been dredged.
From delivering salt up Michigan's Saginaw River to hauling iron ore to steel mills in Cleveland and East Chicago, Ind., the carriers say the lack of removing mud and sediment is limiting the strength of heavy industry on the lakes.
Shippers say the situation is getting worse as lake water levels decline and federal budget constraints are felt at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for dredging the nation's ports and waterways.
When a tug pushing a barge lost its rudders recently in the Saginaw River, it was another troubling sign for Jim Weakley and other shipping officials worried about inadequate dredging on the Great Lakes. The rudders snapped off in the river's turning basin - an area that has not been dredged since the mid-1990s.
The river is so shallow that the cement carrier Alpena recently struggled against strong currents as it rode high in the water, trying to avoid hitting bottom, said Weakley, who heads the Lake Carriers Association, a shipowners group in Cleveland.
Some shipping firms say they no longer will send boats up the Saginaw because of the increased silting.
The shipping channel at the port of Green Bay, Wis., has narrowed in recent years to a third of its designated width, threatening the shipping of construction materials, coal, wood pulp and salt, while boats have been turned away at St. Joseph, Mich., because of the lower draft.
Because vessels have to carry lighter loads per trip, Weakley said, the industry estimates that 75 percent of the cargoes carried in U.S. lakers in the past five years were less than full loads.
Last year, the 1,000-foot long boats that loaded coal at Midwest Energy Resources Co.'s coal docks at Superior, Wis., could have loaded nearly 1.5 million more tons if the St. Mary's River - the channel connecting Lake Superior with the lower lakes - were dredged to its authorized depth, said Fred Shusterich, president of Midwest.
"We've been light loading for some years," said Dave Allen, a spokesman for Mittal Steel USA, which has steelmaking operations on the Indiana Harbor Canal in East Chicago.
"When you have reduced efficiency in a transportation system, it affects everything - coal-burning power plants, the steel and construction industries - everyone is going to pay a higher price," Weakley said.
Weakley's group is launching an effort to draw attention to the problem beginning with a breakfast meeting May 3 in Washington, hosted by the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, a coalition that promotes lakes shipping. Weakley's group said it would cost nearly $200 million to restore deep-draft ports and waterways to their designed depth.
Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers acknowledge the risks posed by silting in channels, but they say there's no easy solution. Bill Harder, a corps official in Cincinnati, said the corps' budget has not kept pace with inflation for many years.
"It's a constrained funding environment, and we're making very tough decisions," said Harder, who is navigation business manager for the corps' Great Lakes and Ohio River system division.
He said the corps is not mandated to keep channels at their authorized depths.
Corps officials said the corps' annual budget has not been affected much by the rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina or the war in Iraq because those events are funded mainly by supplemental appropriations.
Of interest to the Midwest Ping List?
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I generally accept that there is a certain level of infrastructure that justifiably falls into the realm of government duties, though I'm loath to put anything into that category.
I'd be curious to know what the cost of dredging would be spread across the shipping companies that use the waterway. If it is ridiculously high then I have to wonder if it is worth the cost to keep them open in the first place.
If the cost can not amortized by adding a weight surcharge to cargo shipping prices and makes shipping across the lake uncompetitive against shipping by truck then perhaps it's time to let the silt build up. Then again, the roadways are subsidized too so maybe we need to stop that just to be fair :)
Are there any UAE companies doing this work?
Are they available?
Could not the state governments step in and take action in some of these locations?
ya, those are some interesting questions. I'd think if it is worth more than the shippers would be willing to pay than it isn't worth doing with taxpayer money. Of course, even if it is less than the shippers would be willing to pay it still wouldn't be worth it to use tax money for it. :)
btw, you might find this interesting:
http://www.neoperspectives.com/transportation_socialism.htm
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