Woodruff Named American Maritime Partnership President
Vice Chairman of the Inland Waterways Users Board. He is a retired Commander for the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he served as an intelligence officer. Joining Woodruff in elected leadership positions on the AMP Board of Directors are Michael Roberts of Crowley Maritime Corp., James (Jim) Weakley of Lake Carriers’ Association, and Matthew Paxton of Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA). Roberts was elected AMP Vice President, continuing his service on the Board of Directors since the organization was founded, including several years as Treasurer. Roberts is also Senior Vice President
Duluth Port Authority Shuffles Management
, effective August 3, 2015. Sharrow will be responsible for overseeing the organization’s capital programs, maritime policy, risk management and security plans, plus its connectivity to regional planning initiatives. Earlier in his career, Sharrow spent 28 years with USS Great Lakes Fleet, serving as that company’s engineering and maintenance director before leaving to work as a consultant in naval architecture and marine engineering. A licensed professional engineer in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, he is a member of the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers and
Rayburn Joins LCA as Environmental, Regulatory Director
Thomas Rayburn has joined Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) in the newly created position of Director of Environmental and Regulatory Affairs. Prior to joining LCA, Rayburn was Program Manager for EnSafe Inc. Before that, he spent seven years with the Great Lakes Commission, rising to Senior Project Manager, and a year as Assistant Branch Chief, Marine Safety Response for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Ninth District. He has over 25 years experience in government and industry consulting. Rayburn received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geosciences from Purdue University. He has
Lakes Defend US Build Requirement of Jones Act
An effort to remove the U.S.-build requirement from the Jones Act is being soundly rejected by Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest labor/management coalition ever assembled to promote shipping on America’s Fourth Sea Coast. The Task Force said it sees no benefit to allowing foreign-built vessels to carry cargo between U.S. ports, but warns that nearly 60,000 jobs in the Great Lakes states will be sacrificed for no good reason if the amendment to the Keystone pipeline bill offered by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) is accepted. “There is no reason to even consider this
Great Lakes Freeze Cost Economy $705m, 3,800 Jobs
The seemingly glacial ice that brought shipping on the Great Lakes to a virtual standstill last winter cost the economy more than $700 million and nearly 4,000 jobs, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported, promting the group to to call for construction of a second heavy icebreaker to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard’s MACKINAW to keep the shipping lanes open in the harshest of conditions. According to LCA, the winter of 2013/2014 was so brutal that U.S.-flag cargo movement between December 1, 2013 and May 30, 2014, plummeted nearly 7 million tons compared the same period
