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Green Bay: Three-level security system installed in response to attacks

Nathan Phelps | Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette

The Green Bay Press-Gazette visits with newsmakers in the business world each week in its Monday Conversation feature. This week, Dean Haen, Port of Green Bay manager, talks about changes in operations since 9/11.

Q. Since 9/11, what have been the biggest changes in port operations from both an administrative and an enforcement standpoint? What kind of impact have these had on day-to-day operations for the port ?

A. The federal government implemented a three-level maritime security system called Marsec in response to the 9/11 attack. The levels are color-coded based on the current level of threats. Any increase in the Marsec level requires the implementation of stricter security measures by the port businesses, local law enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard. The highest level is red and indicates a serious threat and results in complete port closure.

The impacts and repercussions on the Port of Green Bay from 9/11 have significantly changed business practices. The biggest local change has been Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Baltimore Sun

LUXEMBOURG //  Arcelor SA will try to complete its acquisition by Mittal Steel Co. NV by this summer, Chairman Joseph Kinsch told shareholders yesterday, but he refused to set a precise end date on the creation of the world’s largest steelmaker.

Kinsch also said the company plans to announce the exchange ratio for remaining shares by the end of next month, as shareholders at the annual meeting complained that the rate might be too low. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dennis Cauchon | Source: USA TODAY | USA TODAY RSS Feed

A deadly Ebola-like virus is killing fish of all types in the Great Lakes, a development some scientists fear could trigger disaster for the USA’s freshwater fish.

Because of a lack of genetic resistance to viral hemorrhagic septicemia, fish populations could be damaged in the same way the smallpox virus struck Native Americans and Dutch elm disease decimated elm trees, says Jim Winton, chief of fish health at the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle.

The disease has been found in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Niagara River and an inland lake in New York. The aggressive virus, which causes fish to hemorrhage, was unexpectedly found in the Great Lakes in 2005. Last year, Read the rest of this entry »

Coastal communities see benefits of Great Lakes history.

by ERIK ADAMS | Source: South Bend Tribune

LANSING — Joe Sobczak, owner of Thunder Bay Scuba in Alpena, Mich., describes trolling the depths of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary as “a slow-motion adrenaline rush.

“As you’re going down, you don’t see the wreck on the bottom yet, and as you get closer you think you see this gray outline,” he said. “You don’t know how far away it is. You get closer and closer and then — bam! — it opens up below you, and there’s a shipwreck. You can see it from bow to stern.”

Maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and located just inside Lake Huron’s “Shipwreck Alley,” the sanctuary holds more than 150 known wrecks within its 448 square miles. Sobczak said the sanctuary — along with NOAA’s Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center — has only recently begun to lure nautically minded tourists to Alpena.

“The first three years I was up here, NOAA worked out of a real tiny office, and they really didn’t have much to intrigue non-divers,” he said.

Now across the state, coastal communities like Alpena are enjoying the economic benefits of maritime heritage tourism. Read the rest of this entry »

By Brian Lysaght and Matthew Craze | Source: Bloomberg.com U.K.

April 29 (Bloomberg) — Lakshmi Mittal, the 56-year-owner of the world’s largest steel company, increased his personal fortune by 29 percent in the last year and remained atop Britain’s Sunday Times Rich List after he acquired rival Arcelor SA. Read the rest of this entry »

by Bruce Johnstone | Source: CanWest News Service / Regina Leader-Post

REGINA -While North American steelmakers are hamstrung by onerous environmental regulations, developing countries are using government subsidies and lax environmental controls to achieve dominance in the global steel industry, the head of Ipsco Inc. warned Thursday.

But David Sutherland, president and CEO of North America’s largest maker of steel plate and second-largest producer of energy tubular products, conceded there is a “widespread consensus” on the need to deal with climate change.

“But why should North American government and industry tackle it alone, while other so-called developing countries like China and India are free to expand with little concern for the environmental consequences?” Sutherland told the company’s annual meeting. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kevin Naze | Source: Green Bay Press Gazette

[Wisconsin] Gov. Jim Doyle will talk about steps needed to preserve and protect Wisconsin’s 15,000-plus lakes during a keynote address at noon today during the 29th annual Wisconsin Lakes Convention in Green Bay.

University of Wisconsin Extension Lakes Program office manager Kim Becken said more than
500 people from across Wisconsin are registered for the three-day event at the KI Convention Center. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Business North 

The shipping season started right on schedule, but the industry’s worst fears regarding record low lake-levels are already taking hold. Jay Stephenson reports.

Lower lake-levels means less cargo, and that’s bad news for the Twin Ports shipping industry. According to Glen Nekvasil with the Lake Carrier’s Association, the levels are already too low for the thousand foot “Supercarriers” to carry their normal cargo through Lake Superior’s channels. “The first coal cargo of the season loaded on Lake Superior was only 55,000 tons, and the ship in question last August when it was hauling coal from the same port to the same port was doing almost 60,000 tons. So you can see there that ship was losing Read the rest of this entry »

by John Myers | Duluth News Tribune

When a lake is more than 1,300 feet deep in spots, losing 18 inches of water doesn’t seem like much of a problem.

But close to shore, especially in harbors and back bays, the lowest water levels in more than 80 years are causing headaches and hardship for boaters. And low water is causing concern for some natural resources.

Low water levels are restricting access to Lake Superior for Read the rest of this entry »

Source: PRNewsWire (Cleveland-Cliffs Inc News Release)

CLEVELAND, April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Cleveland-Cliffs Inc
(NYSE: CLF) today announced selected operating information for the three
months ended March 31, 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Press Release

Richfield, OH - The Board of Directors of The Interlake Steamship Company announced today that Mark W. Barker has been elected President, effective immediately. He succeeds James R. Barker, who will remain as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. (continued)

Read the rest of this entry »

Source: The Mining Journal

PARADISE — The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point opens for the season Friday.

The museum, which is one of the most popular travel destinations in the Upper Peninsula, is located at the historic Whitefish Point Light Station and is operated by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Society.

The museum will be open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. through Monday. Regular 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. hours begin next Tuesday and will continue until the end of the season on Oct. 31.

Visitors to the museum experience a self-guided tour of the museum, which includes exhibits about Lake Superior’s shipwrecks, history of Whitefish Point, U.S. Lighthouse Service and the Edmund Fitzgerald. Read the rest of this entry »

Provincial funding spurs state-on-the-art training centre at Georgian College

Bill Henry | Source: Owen Sound Sun Times

Georgian College marine programs got a $3 million lifeline Thursday.

Without it, the Great Lakes International Marine Training Centre in Owen Sound would have floundered and eventually died. Instead, Georgian will soon build Canada’s finest marine training facility.

Unable to now meet new, much higher Transport Canada training standards with its outdated equipment, the program could not have accepted new students next September without the funding promised Thursday afternoon, campus dean Jay Notay said.

“We would have been forced to shut down the program,” Notay said. “That’s how significant this is. We wouldn’t have had any choice. We wouldn’t have been certified to deliver our programs, period.” Read the rest of this entry »

by Tom Troy | Source: Toledo Blade

The SS Willis B. Boyer museum ship is looking for safe harbor, and it has until June 30 to get there.

Paul LaMarre III, the executive director of the floating freighter museum at International Park, will make a pitch tomorrow to the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board of directors to take over ownership from the cash-strapped city of Toledo.

Mr. LaMarre’s goal is to have the ship placed under the port authority’s control and then leased, for $1 a year, to a nonprofit board of maritime enthusiasts and historians who would raise money and provide volunteer labor. Read the rest of this entry »

George Weeks Column | Source: Daily Press

DETROIT — Northern Michigan’s congressmen deserve credit for pushing commendable House action last week to correct a federal policy on harbor dredging that discriminates against smaller cities along the Great Lakes with ports that receive commercial cargo.

But a troubling problem still looms this boating season for recreational boaters and some commercial interests in shallow-draft harbors like Leland on Lake Michigan that face a no-dredge season because of budget “earmarks” power politics during this year’s transition from GOP to Democratic rule on Capitol Hill.

The good news: Read the rest of this entry »

• Editorial, “Shipping ban not answer to invasive species in Great Lakes” from Sheboygan Press
• Op/Ed rebuttal to the editorial, “Take the pain, we can’t hurt business” from Sky Blue Waters Environmental Resources Blog

Source: The Fabricator

Mittal Steel USA has begun to export steel. The company said this is being done to take advantage of the strength of the global market and the resources of Arcelor Mittal Intl., the company’s global trading arm.

Sales initially are targeted at 200,000 tons during the second quarter from several of the company’s Eastern and Midwestern U.S. plants.

“Traditionally, Mittal Steel USA and its predecessor companies have not been active exporters,” said Michael G. Rippey, president and CEO of Mittal Steel USA. “However, with the continuing strength in the global market, we plan to aggressively seek new opportunities that fit our capabilities.”

Source: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

University of Pittsburgh, Edinboro University to Offer Courses

ERIE, Pa., April 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Students of history and
sailing will have the perfect opportunity to learn both this summer through
a special arrangement with the Erie Maritime Museum and the University of Pittsburgh and Edinboro University.

Two college-level history courses with credit are being offered aboard
the U. S. Brig Niagara. The courses will offer a unique perspective on the
history of the War of 1812 because the students will live, work and sail
onboard a traditional, 19th-century replica naval warship.

Edinboro’s three-credit course, “Maritime History,” runs May 31 - June
21. The Pitt class, “Maritime History of the Great Lakes,” is a four-credit
offering and runs July 12 - Aug. 2. History professors will lead the
academic portion of the program, with the ship’s crew taking on seamanship training so students can safely climb the masts, work the sails, run the rigging and sail the ship. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Ironore Company of Canada Press Release

(Canada) Labrador City, Sept- Îles, Montreal, April 24, 2007 – IOC is pleased to inform all employees and interested parties that an agreement has been reached in Sept- Îles today and the 9344 union will unanimously recommend this offer to their members. This agreement, also for five years, includes base wage increases in each year, increases in pensions, medical and a substantial signing bonus.

The Metallos will be calling a membership meeting to present the agreement for ratification and are expected to vote shortly there after. The strike by the Metallos commenced on March 19th, 2007 and is currently entering its sixth week.

by Frank Dobrovnik | Source: The Sault Star

• Related article: U.S. House OKs construction of new Soo shipping lock 

Bart Stupak has helped steer a planned “super-lock” for the Great Lakes past some obstacles.

The Michigan Congressman and his peers passed a bill late Thursday removing some long-standing barriers to a Soo Locks expansion that Congress first authorized in 1986.

Stupak blamed much of the delay on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A 2005 cost-benefit analysis by the corps needed an endorsement that never came from its assistant defence secretary for civil works, he said.

“I have constantly been riding the Army Corps of Engineers for years for this study on the Soo Locks. They have been promising me this study for years, and I finally told the corps it’s time to step up and (say), ‘Where are we with this project?’” said Stupak Monday from Washington, D.C. Read the rest of this entry »