New rankings place Indiana No. 1 in inland ports, 2nd in Great Lakes
INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time, Indiana ports rank first among inland ports and second among Great Lakes ports for cargo shipments. Recent changes to federal port rankings caused Indiana to move from having multiple small port districts and many shipments not counted to having two top-ranked ports on the inland rivers and Great Lakes.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) most recent rankings, the Southern Indiana Port District handled 24.2 million tons in 2021, which ranked first among all inland ports and ahead of second-ranked Port of Pittsburgh’s 16.4 million tons.
The rankings are produced by the USCACE Navigation and Civil Works Decision Support Center, and are based on total tons shipped in 2021, the most recent data available.
“It’s extremely gratifying to see the new rankings reflect Indiana’s sizable impact on this country’s maritime commerce and the importance of our ports,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb.
“As governor of Indiana, my mission is to increase Indiana’s global competitiveness and our ports play a critical role by bringing the world to Indiana and connecting Indiana to the world. I am grateful to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its ongoing efforts to modernize cargo data collection and recognizing the significance of our ports.”
For many years, Indiana has ranked among the top 15 states for waterborne shipments but due to the statistical boundaries used to qualify ports, many of Indiana’s shipments were not counted in the same way as other region’s ports. Changes proposed by Holcomb and Ports of Indiana allowed for the Corps of Engineers to reclassify Indiana’s Lake Michigan and Ohio River terminals as north and south districts that now include all tons shipped by Indiana businesses.
“This is the culmination of a decade-long effort to ensure Indiana’s robust maritime shipping industry is properly recognized on a national level,” said Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock. “Indiana ranks 12th in the nation for waterborne shipping but we have never had any ports ranked among the national leaders until now. These rankings now fully recognize how much cargo is shipped through Indiana and elevate the ability of our ports to compete for new business, grant funding and global opportunities for Indiana.”
Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority created by Indiana Code 8-10-1, and its Commission formally approved the establishment of two districts in 2020.
The southern district includes Ports of Indiana facilities in Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville, and private terminals along the 350 miles of the state’s Ohio River shoreline from Posey County to Dearborn County.
The northern district includes Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor, private terminals, and multiple steel mills along Indiana’s 43 miles of Lake Michigan coastline.
Thunder Bay’s ready for busy cruise ship season with more ships on the horizon
Thunder Bay has said goodbye to the first cruise ship that docked for the 2023 season, but there are plenty left to come. The Viking Octantis opened the season with a multi-day stop at Pool 6 last weekend. And city tourism manager Paul Pepe said a total of 15 cruise ship stops by four different ships have been booked for this season.
“The Octantis and the sister ship the Polaris are both here in port throughout the year, and then we have Hapag-Lloyd’s Hanseatic Inspiration arriving for the first of two visits on June 5,” he said. “And then we have American Queen Voyages returning with the Ocean Navigator on June 10.”
And next year is looking even better: Pepe said so far, 24 stops by five ships have been booked for the 2024 cruise season.
“Definitely we’re seeing a huge increase in activity amongst the global discovery cruising industry,” Pepe said. “They’re discovering the Great Lakes, and more specifically, they’re discovering Lake Superior and Thunder Bay.”
“That market is definitely picking up, and judging by what we hear in terms of the occupancy rates on board these vessels, they’re all selling well, and people are really interested to learn more about the Great Lakes. So the future is looking optimistic for for this new brand of tourism.”
And when the next ship arrives on June 5, passengers will have another attraction to visit: the Transportation Museum of Thunder Bay plans to have its new dockside market up-and-running by then. The market, which was announced earlier this month, will be located in a fenced-off area west of the cruise ship dock, near the Alexander Henry museum ship. The market will pop-up when cruise ships are docked there, giving local businesses and artisans a chance to sell their wares directly to passengers.
“We’ve brought in a load of earth and levelled out the area,” museum chair Wally Peterson said. “We’ve put down sod on the area, and we’re watering it and getting it all set down and ready. All I’m waiting for now is the gravel … to put the path in that we’re going to have, and we’re expecting that in the next couple of days.”
Culinary masters aboard Great Lakes freighters: Navigating the high seas of flavor
Freighters are mysterious creatures, grazing the horizon at what seems a glacier’s pace, laden with commodities like coal or iron ore. We accept them as part of the Great Lakes’ landscape, but we don’t often think about what it takes to run them.
It turns out, it takes a sizable team. Freighters double as home and workspace for two dozen or more crew during long stretches away from shore. And, of course, everyone needs to eat. The idea of serving that many people may conjure up images of industrial food in tin pans or a mess hall with as much charm as a military barracks. But on many freighters sailing the Great Lakes, there are cooks known as galley stewards who are on a mission to elevate the onboard dining experience, while also creating a sense of community.
Sissy Payment, chief steward of the M/V Mesabi Miner, is one of them. Payment got the sailing bug from her brother and decided to make a career on Great Lakes freighters as a chef. She’s not classically trained but rather honed her cooking skills on the job.
“I started as the second cook and I’ve learned a lot from working with other stewards,” Payment says. “I just paid attention.”
Read more here: https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/culinary-masters-great-lakes-freighters-navigating-high-seas-flavor/
Now Is Your Chance To Own A Michigan Lighthouse
Many Michiganders dream of owning a cottage on one of the Great Lakes, sitting on the outdoor deck, gazing across the wide-open waters. Now is your chance to purchase a Great Lakes getaway, and it actually sits in one of the Great Lakes. It’s a lighthouse.
The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light is located at the end of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers breakwater in Houghton County, Michigan, and overlooks the mighty Lake Superior. The Federal Government says that due to the previous steward’s inability to comply with the requirements of the National Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the light is now available for purchase through public auction.”
So Just How Much Is This Going To Cost Me? The General Services Administration has placed the lonely lighthouse on the auction block and the opening bid is $10,000. Interested bidders must place a bid deposit of $2,500 to enter the bidding process.
In October of 2016 the North Manitou Shoal Light, which sits in Lake Michigan, 8 miles off-shore from Leland, Michigan, had four bidders and the winner paid $73,000. In September of that same year, the White Shoal Light, which sits west of the Mackinac Bridge, sold for $110,009. That’s not bad if you don’t mind sitting in the middle of one of the Great Lakes.
Read More: Now Is Your Chance To Own A Michigan Lighthouse | https://wbckfm.com/now-is-your-chance-to-own-a-michigan-lighthouse/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
