The Maritime Minute

News from The American Maritime Partnership, February 1, 2012

BARGES TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN EXPANDED EXPORTS OF U.S. COAL: Port Commissioners in St. Helens, Ore., have approved agreements that will potentially lead to as much as 38 million tons of coal being barged annually from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming to St. Helens for export to Asian markets. More than 100 jobs are in the offing and shipments could begin in 2013. Click here to read more. 

TANKER COMPANY’S SAFETY RECORD IMPRESSIVE: Alaska Tanker Company has reached a safety milestone – only one lost-time accident in a period that now stretches more than a decade. The company operates four U.S.-flag tankers and moves petroleum from Alaska’s North Slope to West Coast refineries and Hawaii. 

LAKES CARGOS REBOUND IN 2011: U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters moved 94 million tons of cargo on the Great Lakes in 2011, an increase of nearly 6 percent compared to 2010. The total would have been higher, but a number of storms delayed the fleet in the latter half of December. The iron ore trade on the Lakes rose to 61 million tons, its highest level since 2006.