October 16, 2001
TOLEDO, OH-The Great Lakes shipping community is praising the award of a contract to build an icebreaking buoy tender
to replace the Cutter MACKINAW when the latter is decommissioned in 2006. "The letting of this contract ensures that
Great Lakes carriers will be able to reliably deliver cargo during periods of ice cover," said Daniel L. Smith, President of the
Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest coalition representing maritime interests on the fourth seacoast. "To meet the
needs of commerce, vessels operate from early March until late January," continued Smith, who is also Great Lakes Vice
President of American Maritime Officers, "but unless the U.S. Coast Guard has a heavy icebreaker stationed on the Great
Lakes, a harsh winter could stop that commerce in its tracks. This icebreaking buoy tender will ensure a steady flow of iron
ore, coal, stone and other cargos during the ice season."
The ice that forms on the Great Lakes rivals that found anywhere in the Continental United States. Ice thickness can easily
approach one foot even in a mild winter. Windrows (slabs of broken ice piled atop on another by the wind) can be 15 feet
thick. While modern lakers have the hull strength and horsepower to operate in such conditions, only a vessel designed to
break ice can open and then maintain the shipping lanes.
Since 1944, the Coast Guard's primary icebreaking asset on the Great Lakes has been the Cutter MACKINAW. However,
a dated engine room and other internal inadequacies that contributed to the high cost of operation prompted the Coast Guard
to seek a replacement vessel that could perform both icebreaking and other Coast Guard missions at a lower cost.
The contract for the $82 million vessel was awarded to Manitowoc Marine Group. The ship, also to be named
MACKINAW, will be 240 feet long and 60 feet wide and built by Manitowoc's Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin. It
is being designed to perform all Coast Guard missions, so in addition to icebreaking, the vessel will service floating aids to
navigation, and conduct search and rescue missions, law enforcement, environmental protection, and national defense
missions. The vessel should be completed in 2005.
"We are grateful that our Great Lakes delegation fought tirelessly for this new icebreaking buoy tender," said George J. Ryan,
1st Vice President of GLMTF and President of Lake Carriers' Association. "In particular, I must thank Wisconsin
Congressman David R. Obey and Minnesota Congressman James L. Oberstar for their commitment to this project. Many
other House members and our Senate delegation was with us every step of the way too."
Iron ore for the steel industry is the primary cargo moved during periods of ice cover. In some years, iron ore carried in the
ice season (mid-December through mid-April) can total 15 million tons, or 20 percent of what moves that season. At the
same time, the fleet can move as much as 4 million tons of coal, or 10 percent of that trade. Significant amounts of stone,
cement, salt and liquid-bulk products also move during periods of ice cover.
"The normal competitive pressures facing our customers, coupled with the continued high level of unfair steel imports, demand
that steel companies and others reduce stockpiling costs to the bare minimum," Ryan continued. "Furthermore, vessel
operators are in fierce competition with the railroads, so every day that navigation is possible must be used to the fullest. A
fixed navigation season of March 25 - January 15 through the Soo Locks is crucial to the continued viability of Great Lakes
shipping and its customers and cannot be reliably achieved without this new icebreaking buoy tender."
The new MACKINAW will also encourage full utilization of international shipping via the St. Lawrence Seaway. "Ocean
carriers need the assurance that their vessels won't be trapped on the Lakes by a harsh winter," said John D. Baker, 2nd Vice
President of GLMTF and President of the ILA's Great Lakes District Council. "This new icebreaking buoy tender means the
Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system will remain a key component of our country's marine transportation system."
Selection of Manitowoc Marine Group is a strong endorsement of the Great Lakes shipbuilding industry. "Shipyards across
the nation bid on this contract," said James J. Driscoll, 3rd Vice President of GLMTF and Marketing Manager, Manitowoc
Marine Group. "The skills and dedication of our workers enabled us to make the winning bid."
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For further information, contact Glen G. Nekvasil, Secretary, Great Lakes Maritime Task Force
Phone: 216- 861-0592 s Fax: 216-241-8262 s E-mail: ggn@lcaships.com