Port Manatee’s E-Newsletter • September 3, 2010
Berth 12 Dredging Begins in January
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. will begin dredging Berth 12 in January.
Work is set to begin this January after the Manatee County Port Authority announced in July that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. won the contract for Port Manatee's Berth 12 dredging project.
The project, which includes dredging the berth to a depth of 41 feet at mean-low-water and extending it from 1,000 feet to nearly 1,600 feet, is the final piece of Port Manatee's 11-year, $200 million port expansion.
Great Lakes’ $14.8 million bid was accepted just two months after initial bids were rejected by the port authority for exceeding the engineer's estimate for the cost of the project. The re-bid process resulted in a $2.3 million savings for the port — 14 percent less than the original bid. The winning proposal includes the base bid and bid alternate, representing 1.1 million cubic yards of excavation and removal by hydraulic dredge to a certified uplands spoil disposal site.
“Port staff's many years in dealing with dredging issues made us confident that a more favorable outcome was probable by re-bidding the project,” said David L. McDonald PPM®, Port Manatee's executive director. “The savings provided by the lower bid creates a more certain timeline for the project's completion.”
Port Manatee’s new Berth 12 is expected to accommodate containerized shipping and be operational by August 2011. The berth sits adjacent to the port's planned 52-acre container terminal — designed to attract new containerized shipping traffic.
U.S. DOT Selects Port Manatee Project
For America's Marine Highway Initiative
The container-on-barge trans-Gulf service between Port Manatee and the Port of Brownsville, Texas operated by SeaBridge Freight is one of eight initial projects eligible for federal funding under America's Marine Highway Program.
The Manatee County Port Authority received word Aug. 12th that U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the designation of 18 Marine Highway Corridors and eight Marine Highway Projects that are now eligible to compete for federal funding through America's Marine Highway Program.
The Marine Highway initiative aims to move more cargo via America’s waterways, alleviating highway congestion and reducing emissions.
“Making better use of our rivers and coastal routes offers an intelligent way to relieve some of the biggest challenges we face in transportation — congestion on our roads, climate change, fossil fuel energy use and soaring road maintenance costs,” said Secretary LaHood. “There is no better time for us to improve the use of our rivers and coasts for transportation.”
The Cross Gulf Container Expansion Project — an existing container-on-barge service between Port Manatee and the Port of Brownville, Texas is one of only eight Marine Highway Projects selected. The project designation provides the foundation for Port Manatee and its partner, the Port of Brownsville, to compete for $7 million in U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration grants, along with the seven others.
The Cross Gulf Container Expansion Project, operated by SeaBridge Freight, runs along the newly designated M-10 Marine Highway Corridor, a 926-mile, all-water-route spanning five states, ten major metropolitan areas and directly connects Florida with Texas.
Port Manatee’s second mobile harbor container crane was certified operational Aug. 16, 2010.
Port Manatee's second mobile harbor container crane lifts pallets of Fresh Del Monte Produce bananas and pineapples from the M/V Argentina Star at Berth 10 after being certified operational Aug. 16th.
The new $4 million Gottwald HMK 6407 was immediately put to work upon certification.
“The Gottwald German technician team that assembled the crane did a great job and we are happy with the outturn of this new unit,” said Andre Dubois, director of operations for Logistec USA Inc.
The purchase of the second crane is the result of a public private partnership between the Manatee County Port Authority and Logistec. The two also partnered for the purchase of the port's first mobile harbor container crane in 2007.
The port's new switcher locomotive is available 24 hours a day to move rail cars for Port Manatee customers and has been busy since its arrival in July.
Moving hundreds of rail cars since its arrival at Port Manatee in late July, the port’s newly purchased, four-axle diesel locomotive is a welcome addition to the railroad fleet.
The EMD GP9, built by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division, has an 1835 horsepower engine and provides much-needed relief to the port's two 1600 and 1700 horsepower switch engines, which have been rail-fleet workhorses since 1985.
Port Manatee bought the used locomotive from Progressive Rail in Patterson, Ga., thanks in part to a Florida Department of Transportation seaport matching grant, which covered half the purchase price.
The locomotive was manufactured in 1958 and remanufactured in 1982, adding new electronic wiring and an upgraded power assembly. The Canadian National Railway originally owned and operated the switch engine on a Class I railroad.
The locomotive will get a new exterior design this fall featuring reflective graphics and the Port Manatee Railroad logo.
Port Manatee owns and operates its own railroad complete with 300-car capacity, 20 switches and nine miles of on-site and exchange yard tracks connecting to all of North America via CSX Transportation rail lines.
New Conveyor System Nearing Completion
A crane operator lowers a section of 48-inch-wide conveyor belt into place on Martin Marietta's new high-speed, nearly mile-long conveyor system.
Recent heavy rains slowed work on Martin Marietta Materials' new high-speed conveyor system and aggregate yard at Port Manatee, but crews are on target to meet an Oct. 1st opening deadline.
Conveyor testing will begin in September and significant progress has been made on the company’s new office and automated scale house.
Martin Marietta will import granite and limestone from the Bahamas and Canada for a variety of customers, which will be used primarily for road building and to create asphalt and concrete.
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Inside This Issue
Berth 12 Dredging Begins
In January
U.S. DOT Selects
Port Manatee For America’s Marine Highway Project
New Conveyor System
Nearing Completion
Maritime Attorney
Discusses Jones Act At
Propeller Club Meeting
Maritime Attorney Discusses Jones Act At Propeller Club Meeting
H. Clayton Cook, Jr.,
Seward & Kissel LLP
It was a hot topic during the BP oil spill and now one national expert will address the issue.
H. Clayton Cook, Jr., counsel to Seward & Kissel LLP, will discuss the Jones Act and its impact on the BP oil spill and the maritime industry during the Port Manatee Propeller Club's Sept. 9th meeting. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Bradenton Yacht Club. In the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there was much confusion about whether the Jones Act affected clean-up efforts by foreign vessels. The Jones Act, or the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, regulates the use of ships registered to foreign countries in U.S. domestic trade.
Cook served as General Counsel of the Maritime Administration from 1970 through 1973. There he was responsible for the legal aspects of the implementation of the Merchant Marine Act of 1970 and for the drafting of the Federal Ship Financing Act of 1972 which governs MARAD’s current Title XI Program.
Cook has advised clients in the structuring of transactions involving the construction, ownership and financing of U.S. flag vessels totaling in excess of $4 billion, and in related dealings with U.S. government departments and agencies. During his General Counsel service, he had personal responsibility for structuring MARAD’s Capital Construction Fund (CCF) Program, and for drafting the MARAD/Internal Revenue Service joint regulations which govern the Program’s federal income tax aspects.
Cook earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Princeton and a law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was executive editor of the Virginia Law Review. He is a life member of The American Law Institute, a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States (Maritime Finance Committee) and the American and District of Columbia Bar Associations.
Port Manatee Propeller Club 1st Vice President Jill VanderPol, left, and family members Steeve Ann VanderPol and husband Matt VanderPol attended the propeller club’s “Day at the Rays” event Aug. 29th.
The Tampa Bay Rays are one of baseball's most talented teams, and the reasons why were evident Aug. 29th as the Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field.
Nearly 70 members of the Port Manatee Propeller Club were among the 23,000+ fans on hand to see Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford smash homeruns to overtake the Sox in a 5-3 win, which was broadcast live on ESPN.
The game was the first social event hosted by the Port Manatee Propeller Club in conjunction with the Rays, and plans are underway for a future outing. The event gave members a chance to have fun, get to know one another and introduce potential new members to the club.
The Port Manatee Propeller Club is dedicated to the enhancement and well being of all maritime community interests on a local, national and international basis. It aggressively promotes the maritime industry through its many programs and by partnering with similar organizations. And, its goal is to educate legislators and the public as to the importance and necessity of all waterborne commerce.
Ad Space
Available Now
Port Manatee's 2011 Official Directory, currently in production and set for publication in January is now accepting advertising reservations. This will be the 11th edition of Port Manatee's award-winning directory, which is one of the many valuable tools used for marketing the port community worldwide.
The annual directory is a comprehensive guide that includes contact information and helpful articles detailing the advantages of Port Manatee, its tenants and users. Colorful photos and bright graphics highlight the many successes of the port's customers. And, there is an easy-to-read summary of the port's facilities and operational specifications.
The 2011 book will include the business directory and detailed port facilities map. It will also include an expanded section on the Tampa Bay region and an in-depth feature article about the port's history as it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
For more information or to reserve advertising space now, contact Communications Manager Jill VanderPol at
jvanderpol@portmanatee.com.
Sept. 6
Labor Day
Port Offices Closed
Sept. 6-9
Trade Mission to Panama
Sponsored by Enterprise Florida, Manatee EDC, Sarasota EDC and U.S. Commercial Service
Sept. 9
Port Manatee
Propeller Club Meeting
Hideous Hawaiian Shirt Party
Bradenton Yacht Club
5:30 p.m.
Sept. 16
Manatee County
Port Authority Meeting
Port Manatee Intermodal Center 9 a.m.
Sept. 27
Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting
USF Sudakoff Center
Sarasota, Fla., 9:30 a.m.
Oct. 5-8
2010 International
Propeller Club Convention
Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel
Oct. 14
Port Manatee
Propeller Club Meeting
State of the Port
Bradenton Yacht Club
5:30 p.m.
Oct. 21
Manatee County
Port Authority Meeting
Port Manatee Intermodal Center
9 a.m.
Oct. 25
Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization Meeting
USF Sudakoff Center
Sarasota Fla., 9:30 a.m.
300 Tampa Bay Way
Palmetto, FL 34221 U.S.A.
Phone: 941-722-6621
Fax: 941-729-1463
portmanatee.com
