LCA has written to Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) to explain the role of barges on the Great Lakes and other deep-draft waterways. Senator Brownback has introduced legislation in the Senate (S. 2390) to repeal the ownership and construction requirements of the Jones Act as he believes there is insufficient U.S.-Flag capacity to move the nation's agricultural goods. At a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington on September 15, Jones Act opponents repeatedly dismissed the viability of barges to meet farmers' needs. The following letter explains that on the Great Lakes, integrated tug/barges such as the PRESQUE ISLE and PATHFINDER equal the hauling power of self-propelled vessels.
Along not discussed in LCA's letter, the same is true on other deep-draft waterways. An integrated tug/barge unit moves 37,000 tons of sugar from the mainland to Hawaii ... 730-foot-long triple-deck trailer barges service Puerto Rico.... Although the self-propelled vessel is far from obsolete, the trend in the maritime industry, especially in niche or specialized trades, is toward the integrated tug/barge.
September 18, 1998
The Honorable Sam Brownback
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Brownback:
Lake Carriers’ Association represents 11 American corporations operating 59 U.S.-flag self-propelled vessels and integrated tug/barge units exclusively on the Great Lakes. In 1997, our members and other Jones Act operators on the Great Lakes moved more than 125 million tons of dry- and liquid-bulk cargo, a modern-day record for our industry.
I attended the September 15 hearing on your bill S.2390 and would like to address what I now realize is a widespread misconception concerning the difference between self-propelled vessels and "barges." I think the word barge evokes the image of a small, shallow draft unit with very limited carrying capacity that requires extensive shoreside equipment to be unloaded. That image is correct for the inland rivers and they offset the smallish carrying capacity of individual barges by combining 15-20 units into one tow.
However, on the Great Lakes (and the U.S coasts and non-contiguous trades), the word barge has a much different meaning. For us, barges are large units with carrying capacities that rival our largest self-propelled units. I am enclosing two photographs. The first is the 1,000-foot-long tug/barge PRESQUE ISLE. This vessel has been serving the Great Lakes iron ore, coal and stone trades since 1973 and routinely carries more than 2.6 million tons of cargo each year.
The second photo is the integrated tug/barge PATHFINDER. This vessel is owned by the Interlake Steamship Company of Cleveland and Interlake’s Chairman, Mr. James R. Barker, testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on September 15. This vessel, shown delivering stone in Cleveland [in the photo that accompanied LCA's letter], is longer than all but one of Cleveland’s skyscrapers are tall! Interlake invested $23 million in this vessel last year to meet increased demand for stone and other cargos on the Great Lakes.
These facts and photos set the stage for my final and most important point - a large tug/barge unit can and does offer customers (such as your Kansas farmers) the same carrying capacity of a self-propelled vessel, and due to differing regulatory regimes, operates at a lower cost than a self-propelled vessel. I will be communicating with you further concerning your legislation as Lake Carriers’ Association sees no need to change any element of the Jones Act, but I did want to first clear up any misunderstanding about the viability of tug/barges to meet the needs of commerce.
Sincerely,
George J. Ryan
President
Photographs courtesy of Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping
