Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute launched

The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and the University of Wisconsin-Superior (UW-S) on June 4 launched the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI). The institute is a joint project between the two universities and was established to pursue research efforts in marine transportation, logistics, economics, engineering, environmental planning and port management. Co-directors of GLMRI are Richard Stewart, Ph.D., director of the UW-S Transportation and Logisitcs Research Center, and Jim Riehl, dean of the College of Science and Engineering at UMD. Representatives James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.) and David R. Obey (D-Wis.) announced in December 2004 an initial $750,000 federal grant for startup of the institute, which will allow for this first-ever institute dedicated to the comprehensive study of Great Lakes maritime commerce.

First woodpulp for export

The Port of Duluth-Superior's first export woodpulp cargo was loaded in July aboard the Norwegian-flagged general cargo vessel Menominee (shown in photo at right). The vessel took about 2,000 metric tons of woodpulp for delivery to the Netherlands.The cargo originated from Sappi Fine Paper in nearby Cloquet, Minn., and was loaded at the Clure Public Marine Terminal.
By any other name …
Photo by Pat Lapinski
Canada Steamship Line's CSL Assiniboine, formerly theJean Parisien, a frequent Port visitor in the past, visited the Port in July for the first time with her new name. Renamed during a ceremony at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., in early March, she is the fourth CSL vessel to undergo a forebody replacement. Her $30 million makeover at the Port Weller Dry Docks was part of a $225-million fleet-renewal by CSL. The Assiniboine is now equipped with two front-end loaders to facilitate unloading, the first vessel of this type in CSL's fleet.

A Grande visit
The Grande Caribe, a 183-foot, 100-passenger U.S. cruise vessel, made her first visit to the Port of Duluth-Superior in July as part of "Lake Superior Grande Tours" offered by American Canadian Caribbean Line. Tours commenced in Chicago and ended in Duluth. They included stops at Manistee, Mackinaw Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Munising, Marquette and Houghton (each in Michigan), Grand Marais, Minn., Bayfield, Wis., and the Apostle Islands. The vessel berthed at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center dock, where it was greeted by a welcoming ceremony including a Duluth Community Band performance. Captain Roy Keith (left, in photo) was welcomed by Ron Johnson, Port Authority trade development director.

Rural leaders visit Port

Thirty-one of rural Minnesota's emerging leaders visited the Port in June as part of a Minnesota Agriculture Rural Leadership Program.

This is their quest

The 13th annual series of River Quest educational cruises for sixth grade students was conducted aboard the harbor excursion vessel Vista Star May 11-13. The Port Authority is the lead sponsor of the program, which is designed to increase students' awareness of how industry and government work together to protect the environment while maintaining a viable economic atmosphere in the St. Louis River basin. More than 600 students participated this year.

Twin Ports mark Maritime Day

The Port of Duluth-Superior's Maritime Day 2005 program featured Minnesota State Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, as the keynote speaker. Mr. Huntley is also chairman of the Great Lakes Commission, a binational agency representing the eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes. National Maritime Day, sponsored by the Propeller Club of the United States, commemorates the first steam vessel crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on May 22, 1819, by the SS Savannah. The day is set aside annually to pay tribute to the benefits that the maritime industry provides this country and all who live here.

Training transportation teachers

The St. Cloud State Transportation Academy sent teachers to the Port in June to learn how to weave the subject of marine transportation into educational programs. The teachers' program is sponsored by St. Cloud State University and the Minnesota Department of Environmental and Technological Studies.

Visitors from West and West-Central Africa
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency brought a group of West and West-Central African delegates to the Port of Duluth-Superior in July as part of an orientation that also included stops in New York City and Houston. The participants, described as "high level decision makers" from nine countries, wanted to learn about port infrastructure and operations in the United States, including bulk operations at Duluth-Superior, the Great Lakes' highest-tonnage port.