For many years, Lower Manhattan was home to most of the U.S.-based companies in the shipping industry. Today, most of them are headquartered in Fairfield County CT. For the past seventeen years, the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) has been hosting what is now styled as "North America's Largest International Maritime Event". This year's event, a three day series of conferences combined with a trade show, was held at the Westin Hotel in Stamford CT in March.
The importance of the shipping industry to Connecticut was demonstrated by letters of support from Senators Lieberman and Dodd, Representative Shays, Governor Rowland and Stamford's Mayor Dannel P. Malloy. A summary of the conference and seminar topics follows. Details are available from Synergistic Dynamics, Inc., a member of the CMA.
MARKETS
INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES
HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES
LEGAL & REGULATORY ISSUES
SPEAKERS
The Market Forecasts and Infrastructure issue discussions are of the most interest to the EWG, so this briefing focuses on them.
There was general agreement by all panelists that world trade will
continue to grow at a rapid rate regardless of what may happen in the Middle East, and
that it will at least double by 2020. Frank Tsao, who was born in China, made a number of
interesting observations in his keynote address. China's GDP and the surge in demand for
products related to life-style improvements (cars, light trucks, household appliances,
consumer electronics, etc.) is grossly underestimated in the West because measures of
Chinese GDP are expressed in US dollars. He also said that the shipping industry has
gotten slightly ahead of the demand curve in placing orders for mega-container ships,
resulting in an oversupply for current economic conditions. He emphasized, however, that
this is only a temporary situation.
Following up on the mega-ship theme, Blair Garcia of TranSystems stated that 62% of all new-build orders are currently for so-called mega-ships, and that the fifth generation, with capacities of 7,590 TEUs or more are now entering the world fleet. He defined such ships as being in the 150,000 dwt class with fully loaded drafts of 47.6 feet.
This is the topic area that members of the SEG and EWG may not be
thrilled to hear discussed, but is a major concern to everyone in the shipping industry,
not just in the United States, but world-wide.
Rod Volovic of American Ship Management defined the "ideal
port" as one that is close to the ocean, has a wide, deep approach channel,
sufficient channel width two accommodate two large ships passing, and a harbor deep enough
so that ships are not constrained by tidal conditions. Although a few such ports exist in
the world, he said that the is no such port in the United States, at least not at the
present time.
The pilots' perspective was particularly interesting. Captain Coti of
the Port of Portsmouth NH made the observation that the pilot has a very limited amount of
time to learn the maneuvering characteristics of a ship from the time he boards it to the
time it reaches the entrance channel. Maneuvering a large ship in a narrow channel has
always been a highly stressful experience; made even more so as ships get larger, deeper
and wider.
Alex Landsberg, a naval architect said that under-keel clearances are a
growing concern and that the minimum clearances currently being approved by the Coast
Guard may not be sufficient as ships get larger and wider. He introduced a concern that
has not been widely discussed --- heeling. A large, wide ship that just meets the minimum
under-keel clearance requirements of a given port could heel enough in a cross wind or
when making a sharp turn to put the turn of the bilge into the bottom.
In this writer's opinion, Landsberg's observations should be taken
seriously by GPA, the USACE and the SEG/EWG because the current Savannah Harbor
Improvement Plan calls for a deeper channel, but not a wider one. This means that the
maximum depth at the bottom of the cross-section diagram will extend over a narrower
width.
The Nation's Maritime Transportation System is still the step-child
of transportation when it comes to funding by Congress and by the States. MGEN Robert
Griffin resigned as head of the Civil Works Division of the USACE in protest over a
proposed 10% budget cut by the Bush Administration. Senator Breaux has ordered the GAO to
make a study of the relative funding for the MTS compared with highways and airports. One
has only to look at the massive amounts of concrete being spread all over Georgia to get a
rough idea of what the GAO's study will show.
There was general consensus at CMA that the public doesn't understand
the importance of the MTS, much less the need to improve the Nation's harbors, ports and
inland waterways, and therefore, members of Congress do not either because most members
only react to what they hear from their constituents. EDUCATION is desperately needed.
The growing congestion on segments of the Interstate Highways - particularly in the Northeast corridor from New England to Richmond - has prompted several municipalities, such as Bridgeport CT, and companies in the maritime industry to sponsor an initiative called "Water 95" that will encourage shippers to make greater use of the MTS by deploying more container barges and by constructing advanced technology ships to carry both vehicles and passengers.
Synergistic Dynamics, Inc.