Shippers, activists clash over cargo sweeping
September 13, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
By JOHN FLESHER | Source: Chicago Tribune
Day after day, ships longer than three football fields depart Great Lakes ports after picking up or delivering loads of iron ore, coal and other cargo. Reaching open water, crews wash the decks with high-powered hoses.
It’s called “cargo sweeping,” because residues that spill onto decks during loading and unloading are swept overboard. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that 1 million pounds of such debris is washed into the lakes every year.
… But shippers say requiring them to collect the residue, move it onshore for treatment and flush it into municipal wastewater systems would impose ruinous costs. A Coast Guard report last month estimated the price tag at $51.8 million up front, plus $35.7 million a year — more than the annual profit for the entire industry.
“What some are proposing could mean the end of Great Lakes shipping and the movement of cargo by more expensive and less eco-friendly modes of transportation,” said Glen Nekvasil, spokesman for the Lake Carriers Association, which represents U.S.-flagged freighters on the Great Lakes.
Nice analysis of the conflict, quotes from both sides at the Chicago Tribune >>
01 • Brenda Says: 15.09.08 at 5:53 am
The potential of this regulation to affect Great Lakes Shipping is enormous. What can an ordinary citizen do to become involved in advocating for the shipping industry?