McKeil Marine expands its bulker fleet with purchase of M/V Da Shen
Burlington, ON – With the 2022-23 navigation season underway, marine services provider McKeil Marine has announced the expansion of its fleet following the purchase of the M/V Da Shen (IMO 9167681).
This unique shallow-draft, self-discharging vessel, built in 1998 at Shin Kurushima Hiroshima Dockyard, Japan, will complement McKeil’s bulker fleet and further enhance the broad range of services which McKeil offers within its niche markets.
M/V Da Shen (formerly Asia Cement No 7) has four cargo holds and measures 155 metres by 22 metres, with a deadweight of 19,651 MT. Originally designed for the carriage of cement clinker, the vessel is currently docked in China where it will be retrofitted with a new single-point loading system, together with the modifications and upgrades necessary for its intended service. Delivery to Canada is expected in early 2023. Marine Traffic lists her most recent owner as Ocean Grow International Shipmanagement Consu of Taiwan.
“The purchase of the M/V Da Shen reflects our consistent strategy in fleet expansion,” said McKeil’s CEO Scott Bravener, “and that is to build a fleet that remains flexible and versatile. Our goal is to meet the needs of existing and new customers through unique and innovative marine solutions. This vessel acquisition is positive news as we continue our growth trajectory heading into a new shipping season.”
A new name has yet to be announced.
McKeil Marine
The season’s first saltie arrives in the Twin Ports
Duluth, MN – It’s a sure sign of spring. The first oceangoing vessel of the 2022 maritime shipping season has arrived in the Port of Duluth.
Resko, a 624-foot bulk carrier from the Polsteam fleet, earned the 2022 First Ship honor when is sailed in about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13. According to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, the Resko will visit Superior’s Gavilon Grain Connors Point Terminal to load approximately 16,200 short tons of spring wheat and 5,400 short tons of durum wheat destined for Italy.
Despite the wind, rain and snow, people gathered along the canal to watch the ship glide through the ice. The arrival of the first saltie officially kicks off the shipping season in the Twin Ports. The Port Authority’s annual First Ship welcoming event is scheduled for Friday.
According to the Port Authority, Resko’s journey originated in Ijmuiden, Netherlands. It unloaded more than 5,500 short tons of steel skidded coils in Milwaukee and also made a stop in Burns Harbor, Indiana.
“Despite winter’s lingering chill this year, arrival of the season’s first full Seaway transit is a true sign of spring and always of the prosperity these great ships help deliver to our region,” Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority said in a press release. “We’re excited to see it and excited also to share its Midwestern wheat cargo with the world. It’s another example of how Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway shipping delivers the critical goods and raw materials of everyday life.”
Resko is sailing under the Bahamas flag and is captained by Lukasz Pionke of Poland. The ship was built in 2010. Its carrying capacity is approximately 33,000 short tons.
WDIO
Lack of funding sinks dredging project at Port of Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg, N.Y. – A long gestating project to dredge the harbor and expand the Port of Ogdensburg has been called off due to a ballooning budget and severe lack of funding.
The announcement was made during the OBPA board meeting on April 7, following the withdrawal of a $10 million commitment by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The project was originally slated to dredge a large portion of the harbor, to a depth of 27 feet, allowing a second part of the project to proceed that would have allowed for the expansion of the port, officials said.
According to officials, the Army Corps of Engineers first claimed the project would cost $11.3 million. Following a bid process, during which only one company placed a bid, the estimate grew to over $27 million. Officials say the total cost of the project grew to $42.6 million following contingency assessments, rising material costs and a severe labor shortage that drove up the cost of workers.
The sole bid was just for harbor deepening, officials say.
According to officials, the Army Corps of engineers was responsible for 65% of all project overages, with the OBPA being responsible for the remaining 35%.
The Army Corps of Engineers then pulled the plug on their funding, not seeking further assistance from Congress to cover the overages, according to Steven Lawrence, OBPA Executive Director,
Lawrence also stated the project costs were “an extraordinary sum” that the OBPA could not cover themselves. Had the board decided to move forward with the project, the OBPA would have been responsible for over $11 million, he said.
Many officials said the decision to pull the funding and thus end the project were a slap in the face, with OBPA Board Chair Vernon Burns saying it left a bad taste in his mouth. “They let us down, plain and simple. They let down all of Northern New York and the state of New York,” he said.
Many comments seconding the notion could be heard in the meeting, with County Legislator Nicole Terminelli echoing the sentiment.
Though the project is on life support now, officials say they plan to press forward and seek alternative funding and future bids to complete the project. Department of Transportation funding was already in place to supplement the $10 million pledge by the Army Corps of Engineers, according to officials.
North Country Now
