Dredging Crisis Halts Cargo Tonnage Growth
The Editors
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This March, the U.S.-Flag Great Lakes fleet carried approximately 2.5 million net tons of cargo – a figure at rough parity with last year’s number. The lack of growth can be traced directly to the dredging crisis which continues to bedevil the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway shipping industry. As a result, the U.S.-Flag Great Lakes fleet is likely to continue to operate below capacity until this problem is addressed.
Estimates indicate that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must eliminate 18 million cubic yards of sediment in order to restore the Great Lakes navigation system to project dimensions, at a cost of some $230 million. Unfortunately, whereas Congress FY08 budget increased funding for this project to $138 million, the FY09 budget will cut this number to $90 million. This funding level is hardly adequate to accomplish the task at hand.
If there are those that doubt the negative impact the dredging issue continues to have upon the industry, consider some of the March statistics:
- The largest iron ore cargo in March was 59,930 tons in a vessel rated for a capacity of nearly 70,000 tons – a hauling power negation of 14%
- The top coal load cargo in March was 58,994 in a vessel rated for a capacity of roughly 69,000 tons – a hauling power negation of 14%
These are disturbing figures for the industries which depend on Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway shipping to provide them with such critical raw materials; iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, limestone and cement for the construction industry, coal for the energy industry – all underserved.
Congress must increase budgetary funding for dredging over the next several years if it has any concern in helping these American industries compete in a global market place.
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