Page 34: of Marine News Magazine (June 2016)

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SHORTSEA SHIPPING

Credit: Bouchard Transportation

Bouchard Transportation is the largest ? at-deck double-hull petroleum barge company in the United States.

meet those standards and a U.S. manufacturer built it. The

General Electric V250 may be a medium speed engine, but it has become a domestic market leader due to envi- ronmental sustainability issues and we should learn from that lesson. This engine package will not be boxed up and shipped across the Paci? c.

Ballast Water treatment is another example. The IMO regulations have been pending for twelve years and four years have passed since the U.S. Coast Guard provided their guidelines. Few, if any owners comply, as of the Janu- ary 1, 2016 date mostly due to mass confusion. The cost to purchase and install the units has in many cases been quoted well above $1 million. Considering that we are a ‘domestic ? eet,’ has anyone asked what invasive species we are protecting ourselves from on a voyage between Hous- ton and Tampa? Does the international regulation apply to our domestic movements or is this a $1 million dollar cost savings in our construction?

Most see the environmental requirements as disruptive to historical business models. The latest discussions in Eu- rope have looked to de? ne the new challenges as ‘disrup- tive sustainability’ with the belief that shipping will need to face future innovations that will go beyond the aspects of current ? nancial engineering.

June 2016

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