Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2020)

“The port is moving forward on our Capital Assets Renewal Plan (CARP), which will be the plan, the process and the strategic funding road map for the port, our tenants, our operators and our customers to modernize our facilities for its continued growth over the next generation.” – Adam Tindall-Schlicht,

Director, Port Milwaukee

Port Milwaukee

Finally Tindall-Schlicht noted that the cruise industry will HFM at the Snell Lock and Eisenhower Lock. The project become an increasingly important part of the Port Milwau- marked the ? rst use of the technology on an inland waterway, kee mix, as Viking Cruise Lines, which will start operations according to the SLSDC, which said it has prepared its work- on the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, in April 2022, force with the skills necessary to implement the system.

have selected Port Milwaukee for its turnaround service and The vacuum pads each provide up to 20 tons of holding homeport. force. They are mounted on vertical rails inside the lock chamber wall to secure a ship as it is raised or lowered, keep-

Technology ing it a ? xed distance from the wall. The last step in the lock-

Tindall-Schlicht noted that it was cooperation between the age operation consists of releasing the vacuum and retracting

U.S. and Canada that arguably will lead to the greatest in? ux the pads so that the vessel can sail safely out of the lock. The of commerce on the Great Lakes waterways system since the SLSDC said full implementation of the HFM system was im-

St. Lawrence Seaway opened, investing “hundreds of millions portant to the future of the Seaway. of dollars” in the refurbishment of Seaway locks, introduc- ing ‘Hands Free Mooring’. It’s an automated system with no COVID-19 need for human interaction to secure the vessel against the While COVID-19 has had a serious impact on global com- lock wall, Tindall-Schlicht said. merce, Tindall-Schlicht reports that, to date, Port Milwaukee

The signi? cance is not only ease of operation and safety, but has fared comparatively well. “It really surprised us. While also the removal of costly vessel enhancements traditionally we are still cautious on the economy in 2021/22, our tonnage needed on ships to access the Great Lakes system. and activity to date is on par with where we were at this point “This lock modernization opens the system to thousands of in 2019.”

Handy-size and Seaway Max vessels that (traditionally) have At the outset of the pandemic, the port implemented an op- not come into the Great Lakes System because of the cost erational shift model to minimize or eliminate altogether re- of speci? c ship out? tting,” a joint U.S. and Canadian invest- dundancy of human interaction. In effect the port took on an ment that has helped to open new markets for all ports in the “at-call” versus a “shift” model, with personnel coming in as system. needed to both protect employees and ensure good customer

Hands-free mooring (HFM) technology uses vacuum pads service. While it is dif? cult to see the silver lining during the instead of lines to hold ships in place as they transit locks, and storm, Tindall-Schlicht hopes that the importance of seafarers is now fully deployed throughout the St. Lawrence Seaway. and dock workers, in fact all essential employees throughout

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Saint Lawrence the logistics chain, are recognized as the backbone of local

Seaway Development Corp. (SLSDC) called HFM the most and global economies. “Despite it being the age of uncertainty important technological advance on the Seaway since it with COVID-19, you have a trusted and reliable partner in opened in 1959. The agency invested $23 million to install Port Milwaukee.” www.marinelink.com 43

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