Around the Port

Welcoming Rotterdam
A Rotterdam delegation consisting of 10 Port Promotion Council members visited the Port in May as part of a U.S. tour to meet with regional shipping industry, business development and agricultural leaders to discuss worldwide maritime issues — everything from port and vessel security to aquatic nuisance species and governmental subsidies. Paul Mittertreiner (right), commercial director for the Port of Rot-terdam, gave Duluth Port Director Davis Helberg a memento representing the Port of Rotterdam's global reach during a delegation-sponsored dinner.

Middle East visitors
Key traders from the Middle East visited soybean companies AGP, CBG and Harvest States in June. The 13 team members from Syria, Jordan, Dubai, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt visited elevators and processing plants to gain an understanding of the superior quality of soybeans and meal offered here. Ron Johnson, Port of Duluth-Superior trade development director (from left) met with Essa Abdullah Al Ghurair, general manager of Dubai's Gulf Import & Export Co., and Bob Zelenka, executive director of the Minnesota Grain and Feed Association, at a Minnesota Trade Office reception in St. Paul arranged by the American Soybean Association.

Just passing through
Polar adventurers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen paddled into the Port in May during a six-week, 2,000-mile "Explore Great Lakes Adventure." The pair traveled by kayak from Grand Portage, Minn., to Duluth, where they caught a ride onboard American Steamship Company's Walter J. McCarthy, Jr., to Detroit, Mich. From that point they traveled via kayak, fishing boat and other forms of vessel transportation to Cornwall, Ontario, on the St. Lawrence River.

Photo by Kenneth Newhams, Duluth Shipping News

European Union Wheat Trade Team
A U.S. Wheat Associates European Union wheat trade team of seven visited the Port in June. The group included flour millers, grain brokers and grain importer/distributors from Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands, along with team leader Goris van Lit, a frequent Port caller and European market developer for U.S. Wheat, Rotterdam. A harbor tour was the backdrop for discussions with team participants. From left are Joe Meller, administrative assistant, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Grain Regulation; Pasquale Langella, owner-manager, Finagrit SRL, Naples, Italy; Theodore Respet, officer in charge, Federal Grain Inspection Service; Mr. Van Lit; and Guido Bottacini, manager, Mazzotti & C. SRL, Milan, Italy.

Aboard the sunny Sundew
The Port's fourth annual U.S. Coast Guard Industry Day cruise onboard the Cutter Sundew was held in July this year instead of a usually chilling January sailing. More than 50 maritime participants were briefed on the vessel's capabilities by Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Beverly Havlik, shown here with Port Authority Environmental and Government Affairs Director Ray Skelton.

Celebrating Maritime Day
Port Commissioners Sharon Clark, Bill Kron and Janet Nelson (left to right) were among more than 150 waterfront individuals recognizing Maritime Day 2002 in the Port of Duluth-Superior during a May 22 celebration on the Harbor excursion vessel Vista Star. The ceremony included a memorial service by Reverend Terrance Stratton of the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers and a keynote presentation by George J. Ryan, president of Lake Carriers' Association, Cleveland, Ohio.

Humphrey delegation
A group of 15 University of Minnesota Humphrey Fellows visited the Port in April to study how organizations work together to address community issues such as port development. The group included participants from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mexico, Algeria, Turkmenistan, India, Korea, Ghana, Panama, Senegal, Kenya, Peru, South Africa and Turkey.

Change of the Guard — literally
Commander William J. Diehl (right in left photo), U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Duluth-Superior since 1999, was relieved by Commander Hung M. Nguyen (left) during a July Marine Safety Office change of command ceremony. Ninth Coast Guard District Commander Rear Admiral Ronald Silva officiated and presented Commander Diehl with a Meritorious Service Medal for improving maritime safety, heightening response capabilities and fostering a unified effort among numerous law enforcement agencies for homeland security. Port Director Davis Helberg (in right photo) presented Commander Diehl with a reminder of his time spent here in the form of a framed print of a laker — something the commander is unlikely to see while performing his new duties — for the Fourteenth Coast Guard District in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Teaching the teachers about transportation
Twenty-five high school teachers, shown here on a Port of Duluth-uperior harbor excursion, participated in a Minnesota Department of Transportation annual summer program designed to expose teachers to the systems, modes and impacts of all types of transportation. The Port Authority's goal was to show teachers the importance of waterborne commerce and to stimulate interest in the maritime industry.

River Quest
The 10th annual River Quest educational cruises for sixth grade students drew more than 800 participants in May. The program included six half-day cruises onboard the harbor excursion vessel Vista Star. Ten learning stations gave students hands-on experience on the relationships between industry and the environment in the St. Louis River basin.