Uncertainty over Security Freezes Winter Port Outlook

By mid-September, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority usually has signed agreements in place for the five winter berths it controls. But not this year.

Jim Sharrow, facilities manager, explained that uncertainty about new security requirements for this year's winter layup has given ship operators cold feet this fall.

"We're hoping that nonoperating vessels would not be required to provide a higher level of security than in past years," Sharrow said. But there has been talk of stricter standards going into effect.

If fencing, guards and periodic inspections become standard requirements, Sharrow said it will drive up costs, and the Port Authority will have no choice but to pass along those expenses to ship operators.

Anything that discourages ships from wintering in the Twin Ports could be detrimental to the local economy. Twelve to 14 vessels usually tie up in the Twin Ports, each spending $500,000 to $800,000 on maintenance and repairs during the off-season, Sharrow said. All told, they cumulatively spend $6 million to $11 million.

The specter of increased security costs has caught the attention of Great Lakes fleets.

"We're in ongoing discussions about winter security with the Coast Guard," said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association in Cleveland. "They're still working on some of the ground rules, but our members are proceeding with their winter layup plans."

Nekvasil said it would be inappropriate to publicly discuss his members' concerns about stricter security regulations until talks with the Coast Guard have been completed.

Sharrow said time is running short.

"I would hope that by the end of this month, we will have a clear policy on how to handle the security of vessels this winter," he said.

Sharrow remains optimistic that if the Coast Guard applies some new rules to winter security, they will be enforced equitably throughout the Great Lakes.

"There's no reason we should be at a disadvantage," he said.

Gene Walroos, general superintendent of Fraser Shipyards Inc. in Superior, said his company has had several inquiries, but so far has received no layup commitments.

"We don't have anything nailed down," he said. "But I'm not too worried."

Walroos said carriers have been so busy of late working to meet the demand for taconite pellets and coal that he suspects they have had little time available to make winter arrangements.

As long as steel mills and power plants remain hungry, Walroos believes chances are good that a decent number of lakers will tie up for the winter in the Twin Ports.

"We're in a good spot here at the head of the lakes with all the ore and coal they haul out of here," he said.