Page 54: of Marine News Magazine (December 2014)

PEOPLE & COMPANY NEWS NY Watermen to Join MM&P New York-area watermen who op- erate tugboats, dredges, tourist boats and ferries, members of Staten Island- based Local 333, have voted to support a merger between Local 333 and the Maryland-based International Orga- nization of Masters, Mates and Pilots (MM&P). By a more than 2 to 1 mar- gin, 1,300 New York and New Jersey mariners voted to afÞ liate with the larg- er national union of deck ofÞ cers who serve on ocean-going ships, and which also represents captains and crews on inland waterways beyond New York Harbor. Don Marcus, MM&P Presi- dent said, ÒWe are grateful for the con- Þ dence that the membership of Local 333 has placed in our union.ÓCrowley Receives CSA Safety Awards Eighty-nine Crowley Maritime Corp.- owned and operated vessels were hon- ored with CertiÞ cates of Environmental Achievement for years of safe operations during the eleventh-annual Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) awards cer- emony last month. Crowley received an award for each vessel that worked at least two consecutive years without an envi- ronmental incident. The 89 vessels have logged a combined 968 years of service without incident, a testament to Crow- leyÕs commitment to keeping harbors and oceans clean. Forty-seven of Crow- leyÕs vessels have gone without incident for 10 or more consecutive years. Crowley Expedites Panama Canal Expansion Crowley Maritime Corp.Õs heavy lift barge 455 4 last month success-fully delivered the Þ rst in a series of new gates for the ongoing Panama Canal expansion. Crowley is sched- uled to help transport all eight of the gates involved in the PaciÞ c side lock expansion of the Canal Ð a project that when coupled with the Atlantic side expansion will create a new lane of vessel trafÞ c and double the wa- terwayÕs capacity. The 105-foot wide barge, currently the largest capable of transiting the Canal, was towed by Panama Canal Authority (ACP) tugs and made the transit in only one day. Jensen Maritime, CrowleyÕs Seattle- based marine engineering and naval architecture Þ rm, performed a profes- sional peer review of strength and sta- bility calculations related to the barge and voyage. Seaway Crucial for Vital Cargo Ahead of Winter Shipments through the St. Law- rence Seaway remained strong in Oc- tober as North American manufactur- ers and cities stockpiled vital materials in advance of the coming winter and farmers relied on the waterway to ex- port the new harvest. According to the St. Lawrence Seaway, total cargo ton- nage from March 25 to October 31 reached 29.6 million metric tons, up 4.5 per cent over the same period last year. Robust grain and steel shipments have more than offset a drop in iron ore shipments through the Seaway. NOAA?s new Lake Level Viewer aids Great Lakes PlanningA new NOAA online visualization and mapping tool, the Lake Level Viewer, will help communities along the U.S. Great Lakes plan for, and adapt to, climate change and changes in lake water levels. The easy-to-use, interactive tool was developed by the National Ocean ServiceÕs OfÞ ce for Coastal Management as part of its Digital Coast initiative. The viewer uses high-resolution elevation data, enabling users to display and visualize water levels associated with different lake level scenarios with a high degree of accuracyÑranging from zero to six feet above and below average lake level. U.S.-Flag October Great Lakes Cargo Up 15 PCT U.S.-ß ag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) moved 11.3 million tons of dry-bulk cargo in October, an in- crease of 14.7 percent compared to a year ago. The October ß oat was also 19.6 percent above the monthÕs long- term average. The industry continues to beneÞ t from high water levels. Sev- eral ore cargos topped 69,000 tons. Nonetheless, if the Great Lakes Navi- gation System was dredged to project dimensions, loads could have topped St. Lawrence Seaway Crowley Maritime Corp.Ron Tucker, Local 333 & Don Marcus, MM&P December 201454 MNMN Dec14 Layout 50-59.indd 54MN Dec14 Layout 50-59.indd 5411/24/2014 3:54:40 PM11/24/2014 3:54:40 PM