Page 6. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2013 PORT SAFETY FORUM - MARCH MEETING
AUGUSTA – One of the best meetings I attend is the Port Safety Forum, which discusses what is going on along the coast of Maine and New Hampshire and a little beyond. We meet at least three times a year and cover subjects pertaining to commercial shipping, commercial fi shing, cruise lines and other coastal projects all held with the various government agencies that oversee these areas. The last meeting was held at the DOT headquarters in Augusta on 26 March. The fi rst item up the cruise industry. Amy Powers of CruiseMaine gave an update of the upcoming cruise season. In 2013 the State of Maine will be hosting 35,000 more visitors from cruise vessels than last year. Most of these will be arriving at Bar Harbor. As far as the number of vessels that number
Publisher's Note Continued from Page 4.
seum’s history symposium on 6 April. I have always spent way too much time researching a topic, but when you have a fi rm deadline you fortunately have to draw a line. What I am fi nding interesting is the relationship of shipbuilding to the health of the merchant marine, the developments in technology and subsidies. Some did not read the writing on the wall very well! There are several things that are interesting: the merchant marine was already in decline before the Civil War; ship- building died because we did not embrace the changes in technology and the clippers were really not that fast, it was the men driv- ing them. This is a fascinating subject, but trying to keep it interesting for the general public could be a challenge. Hopefully I do not put too many to sleep.
is not up much however the size of the vessel is. She explained that presently the cruise industry is doing well and that there are 14 new builds underway. The big question is whether Maine is equipped to handle the increased traffi c. There will be 135 vessels visiting Bar Harbor and some of these are coming from a foreign port. Holland Amer- ica will be making 24 visits to Bar Harbor this season. Each of these foreign vessels will need to be cleared through customs and the question is whether they can handle that. Presently on the schedule are foreign vessels visiting Portland and Eastport and all arriving at the same time which could be a problem. The question is whether they will be shifted to another port that can better handle customs. Portland has not increased signifi cantly but they are trying to entice more cruise ships to visit that port. CruiseMaine is marketing a number of ports on the Maine coast, which is part of their three year strategy. They are partnering with other ports, both foreign and domestic, to increase traffi c and them aware what Maine has to offer.
Next was NERACOOS update, which is the overseer of the weather buoys in the Gulf of Maine. It was stated that the same buoys are in this years as last, but there are a few special ones that were used for collect- ing data for wind turbines and ocean energy statistics.
It was announced that Buoy M in Jordan Basin had broken free during the winter and was drifting south. She is now located on the southeast side of Georges Bank and they are trying to get a vessel to go and recover it. Due to cuts in 2007, a number of the buoys were eliminated. They are now get- ting a fl at fund, but they are trying to get more
CHASE, LEAVITT & CO. The Chart Room
Flags · Books · Chart Kit · Paper Charts ·Navigation Tools Life Service Station
Abandon Ship · Floatation Gear ·Distress Signals · Overboard Rescue Inlatable Boats
Sales: Achilles, Caribe, & Highield Large Supply of Spare Parts Repair Professionals
144 Fore St., Portland (207) 772-6383 218 Bucksport Rd., Ellsworth (207) 667-9390
www.chaseleavitt.com Welcome
· Expert Repair & Restoration
Jonesport Peapod Elegant · Functional · Fun
· Showers - Laundry · Moorings · Storage · DIY - In/Out
Cruise Downeast
Access Fundy Bay & Nova Scotia Leave Your Boat with Us
www.jonesportshipyard.com POB 214 Jonesport, ME 04649
207-497-2701
Bob Turcotte Yacht Design translating dreams into yacht designs since 1982. Designing yachts that have a contemporary look using modern day technology in the down east tradition. We design yachts of power and sail as well as catamarans. We offer design, engineering, project management, and surveying services.
12 Hagar Dr., Topsham, ME, 207-729-7486 office 207-485-7486 cell
BobTurcotteYachtDesign.com
turcotte2@gwi.net
Moose Island 853-6058
MARINE
Commercial and Recreational Boat Supplies Boat Storage
INDOOR · OUTDOOR · POWER · SAIL 16 to 45 ft. Haul out to 40 tons
Boat Winterization
INBOARD · OUTBOARD · STERNDRIVE Boat Repair ·Restoration WOOD · FIBERGLASS Boat Repowering Save on winter jobs. Shrink Wrap
Hours: M-F 8:00-5:00 Online store:
www.mooseislandmarine.com
funding so that they can increase the number of buoys. The buoys C, L and J, were elimi- nated due to funding cuts. Buoy J which was located off Cobscook Bay was advocated for by the Eastport Port Authority. It was pointed out that they had lost 14 fi shermen in this area over a short period of time. The cost of this buoy would be approximately $150,000 to monitor and another $150,000 in maintenance fees. The Port of Eastport asked to know the exact dollar amount and that they might assist to make sure that this buoy is put back online.
It was also announced that they have made some technological changes to the NERACOOS website because it was not usable by smart phones and tablets. They are currently making a change over and are working on a demo. It was also said that they at one point had texting ability and they are trying to set this up again. They did have questions for the general public, which include what else would you like to access on smart phones and what cellular coverage is in your area.
The Port of Eastport discussed their issues at the Eastport breakwater, which is located in the centre of town. They showed a six minute fi lm of the decaying structure. The problem was discovered after a sinkhole formed back in the fall. They were hoping to make repairs this spring when another sinkhole appeared due to a major blowout in the bulkhead. They put a diver in the water and fi lmed the damage which was found to be extensive.
This breakwater was built in 1962 and
was modifi ed again in 1985. In 1985 they created as cement piling pier. Its lifespan was only to be 20 years so it has far outlived its expectations.
Eastport is the deepest port on the East Coast of the United States and over the last
several years they have been using Estes Head as the commercial port. However there is a need at times to use the breakwater, which was the former dock used in Eastport. The breakwater is also used by the cruise in- dustry fi shing vessels and the United States Coast Guard. They have also been using it at times to ship cattle to Europe so that a commercial ship does not have to wait. Eastport now is in the drawing board phase in trying to fi gure out what can be done to make repairs to the facility. One of the big problems is that the Coast Guard uses this and thus needs to be repaired as soon as possible. Senator Collins has been asked to help. One solution could be the new technology developed at the University of Maine at Orono and Harbor Technologies in Brunswick. They have been contacted to see if this new technology could be used to make these repairs at a more affordable cost. Presently the breakwater is closed. At Lubec a Safe Fisherman’s Party was held after the last fi shing vessel arrived back in port for the season. Over a fi ve-year period 17 fi shermen lost their lives in a 14 mile area. Bob Peacock, who is an Eastport pilot, stated that many parts of Cobscook Bay had not been surveyed since 1839 and he thanked NOAA for coming up and re-surveying the area at the request of Senators Collins and Snowe. Due to this survey they were able to create accurate charts of the area. He also thanked the media for bringing attention to the issue as well as the fi sherman for making changes in the way and where they fi sh. For the fi rst time in a number of years draggers were allowed above the reversing falls and had a fantastic year. Many of the boats would reach their quota by 0900 to 1000. It was announced that Eimskip of
Continued on Page 23.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32