Van der Naillen Named AWO Board Chairman

Ralph E. Van der Naillen, vice president of Cargo Carriers, Inc., Minneapolis, has been installed as chairman of the board of The American Waterways Operators, Inc. (AWO). He has served as vice chairman of the board for the past year. Mr. Van der Naillen, in an address to the AWO annual meeting, said: "We are indeed facing most unusual times.

Our government is now embarked on a project of 'economic engineering' the likes of which we have not seen before." He added that the key issue facing the industry in 1981 is the Administration's proposal to increase the user tax on barge fuel by 240 percent over the levels already mandated by Congress. "Increases of this magnitude would have a profound effect on the competitiveness of barge transportation," he said. "Fuel costs already account for 50 percent of our operating expenses; increasing the tax by the proposed amounts would cause a substantial loss of cargo to other modes of transportation, thus jeopardizing the health of an important part of the nation's transportation system." Mr. Van der Naillen succeeds John M. Donnelly Jr., president of Ingram Barge Co., Nashville, as AWO chairman. Mr. Donnelly was honored by the board for his "outstanding leadership and guidance on key issues" during the year.

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.