January 4, 2008
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOTE TO MEDIA:  A press event with U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, at the Midwest Energy Resources Company coal facility in Superior, Wisconsin.  Due to security regulations, we need a list of media representatives and affiliations by noon on Friday, January 4, 2008.  Please RSVP to Anne Mann at 218-727-8525.

Duluth, Minn., U.S.A.—Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton of the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) will make a January stop at the Port of Duluth-Superior, where he will give an address regarding Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system infrastructure.  He will also take this opportunity to meet with regional maritime industry leaders.

Administrator Connaughton will hold the address at the Midwest Energy Resources Company (MERC) coal terminal in Superior, Wis.  MERC provides for the low sulfur western coal transshipment needs of the Detroit Edison Company power plants located in southeastern Michigan, as well as for the western coal transshipment needs of 18 additional electric utilities and industrial firms throughout the Great Lakes and Canadian Maritimes regions.  The state-of-the-art transshipment facility incorporates the economic advantages of both unit train receipt and "superlaker" Great Lakes vessel shipment.

Administrator Connaughton will note the multi-million dollar replacement project of MERC’s rotary railcar unloader barrel.   The barrel is heart of the automatic railcar unloading system that locks railcars into position, then rotates them 160 degrees to discharge the coal onto the facility’s conveyor systems.

This will be the second replacement of the railcar unloader barrel since MERC began operations in 1976.  While the original barrel saw the throughput of 135 million tons of coal before being replaced in the winter of ’94-’95, the present railcar unloader barrel has handled 230 million tons of coal—nearly double the tonnage in approximately half the time—representing the considerable growth the facility has experienced.  The new railcar unloader barrel will likely see more than 400 million tons of coal throughput before needing replacement.

“This replacement of our railcar unloader barrel reaffirms our commitment to providing for the coal needs of our customers well into the future,” said Fred Shusterich, President of MERC.

Sean Connaughton was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the Maritime Administrator on June 28, 2006, and was confirmed by the Senate on August 3, 2006. He was sworn in by Acting Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino on September 6, 2006. The Maritime Administrator is the head of the Maritime Administration and advises and assists the Secretary of Transportation on commercial maritime matters, the U.S. maritime industry, and strategic sealift. The Maritime Administrator also maintains liaison with public and private organizations concerned with the U.S. maritime industry. 
Midwest Energy Resources Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Detroit Edison Company.

Duluth Seaway Port Authority
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