UW-Superior Business and Economics Department's News and Events

Twin Ports researchers get five-year contract to study Great Lakes environmental issues

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:19:24 +0000

A Twin Ports research institute will study environmental issues facing shipping and Great Lakes marine transportation under a five-year agreement with the federal government.

The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute's first task is to lead a study of whether it's feasible to convert to natural gas 10 bulk carriers that generate steam by burning fuel oil.

"These ships are going to have a problem in their current state with what is coming down the road" for air emission standards, said Michael Parsons, professor emeritus from the University of Michigan's Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department, who will lead the study. "Converting to natural gas would make them some of the cleanest ships on the lakes."

Most of the ships were built during the 1950s.

"So they still have life in fresh water," Parsons said.

Converting the carriers to natural gas also could reduce fuel and crew costs. The study will help determine whether the savings would offset the conversion costs.

"The advantages have to be weighed against the added costs," Parsons said. "There are going to be significant costs to do the conversion. Part of the study is to look at the tradeoffs and the return period on the investment to see if it makes sense."

The U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration - also known as MARAD - is paying for the study by the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute, a consortium of the University of Wisconsin-Superior and the University of Minnesota Duluth with 10 affiliate universities around the Great Lakes.

"Ideally, the results we find could extend to other areas, other waterways," said Carol Wolosz, the institute's executive director.

The institute has conducted research for MARAD before, "but this is the first time we have been set up on a cooperative agreement," Wolosz said.

Though the study is in its early stages, Wolosz said Parsons should have a "good bit of information" to present at back-to-back conferences in Cleveland in late February.

Converting the steamships would require removing their fuel bunkers, boilers and turbines and installing new engines and large insulated tanks to hold liquefied natural gas at minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit. While LNG is cheaper than the bunker fuel the lakers burn, LNG requires 3.5 to four times as much volume as fuel oil containing a similar amount of energy.

"Part of the challenge of the study is to see if you have enough room in a ship to put in enough LNG so that the ships would have the range they need to operate on the Great Lakes," Parsons said. "The ore carriers have routes that are six or seven days long."

While Parsons is looking at the economics of converting the vessels, other researchers will work with gas suppliers and pipeline companies to determine what changes would be necessary to meet the needs of LNG-powered ships.

Using natural gas to help power ships is not new.

LNG bulk carriers began using some of their cargo as fuel in the 1960s. Ferries in Canada, Virginia and Norway use natural gas. The Norwegian company Fjord1 operates 12 gas-powered ferries along the country's coast. On Dec. 13, the company held a naming ceremony for the world's largest gas ferry, the 426-foot-long MF Boknafjord, with a capacity of 242 passenger cars and 600 passengers. Its three LNG motors give the ferry a cruising speed of 20 knots.

Ferries -- with short routes and frequent opportunity to take on fuel -- are natural candidates to use natural gas.

The institute will study the feasibility of converting the last coal-burning ferry on the Great Lakes to natural gas. The Environmental Protection Agency has given the SS Badger until December to stop dumping coal ash into Lake Michigan.

The 410-foot Badger makes daily trips between Ludington, Mich., and Manitowoc, Wis., from mid-May to mid-October, dumping more than 500 tons of ash in the process. The institute will examine the Badger's fuel consumption, routes, engineering and the availability or need for fueling facilities to determine the viability of using natural gas.

"It is the best thing to study right now because of all the circumstances," Wolosz said. "They are under pressure to do something; they need a decision, but they can't convert to natural gas if there isn't going to be gas available. But what would it take to make gas available, and how would this tie to other ships on the Great Lakes?"

T & L Senior Experience presentations

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:09:02 +0000

TLM students give Senior Year Experience presentations

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:45:22 +0000

Students majoring in transportation and logistics management made public presentations Dec. 6-7 describing the internships they held to complete one of the requirements for their major. The presentations are one of the requirements they must complete for the Senior Year Experience.

Students described a wide range of experiences for employers such as a medical products company, a shipping agency, a paper mill, a government transportation agency and more.

Reed Wargin discussed his internship at NewPage, a paper mill in Duluth. He worked in several areas, including the customer service-recyling team and also a warehouse team. He gained first-hand experience in many areas, especially the drive to keep costs low, teamwork and communication.

Dan Lindsey described his work at MedCare Products in Burnsville, Minn., as he completed bills of lading, arranged for trucking companies to pick up orders, and worked with carriers on when trucks would arrive with products. He also conducted research for the company.

"My overall experience was great," he said. "I learned a lot"

GLMRI to lead study of fuel for Great Lakes steamships

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:45:41 +0000

The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI), a consortium of the University of Wisconsin-Superior and the University of Minnesota-Duluth, has received a five-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD), to address environmental issues that face shipping and marine transportation.

GLMRI studies funded by MARAD will address maritime commerce on the Great Lakes. The results of the studies should benefit not only maritime commerce in the Great Lakes region, but other transportation modes along with ports and vessels operating on the inland rivers and coastal waters.

GLMRI's research team is led by Dr. Richard Stewart, director of the Transportation and Logistics Research Center at UW-Superior and co-director of GLMRI, with project management support from UM-Duluth. GLMRI is bringing in additional research expertise from its affiliate universities, industry and government agencies as the cooperative agreement progresses during the coming years.

MARAD, in partnership with industry, has directed that during the first year GLMRI research the feasibility of converting the existing steam-powered vessels to using natural gas, either compressed (CNG) or liquefied (LNG), as their primary fuel source.

One conceptual study will analyze the engineering, financial, environmental and energy issues associated with steamship conversion. The research team for this project is led by Dr. Michael Parsons, professor emeritus from the University of Michigan's Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department.

Another directed study will explore the LNG supply chain needed to support the fuel demand for the fleet with the potential for this fuel to be used by other modes of transportation. GLMRI will be working with the gas suppliers and pipeline companies on this study.

For a decade, Norway has operated natural gas powered ferries and is building natural gas powered Coast Guard vessels. The European Union has embarked on an approximately $14 Million study on converting vessels operating in the Baltic and other Emission Control Areas to using natural gas as a primary fuel.

GLMRI, through the U.S. government, will be engaged in cooperative exchange with the EU research team. GLMRI, working with MARAD, will explore potential collaboration with Canadian researchers in using natural gas as a maritime fuel.

GLMRI and the Great Lakes and Rivers Section of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers will co-host a multi-day education and information transfer session in Cleveland, Ohio, in February 2012 that will bring in academics, industry and government agencies from the U.S., Europe and Canada.

GLMRI is working with the Lake Michigan Carferry Service and marine engineering experts in exploring the feasibility of converting the steamship Badger to run it engines on natural gas.

The team will be modeling the vessel's fuel consumption, routes, shore fueling station(s) and engineering to look at the viability of using natural gas.The demonstration project will also consider training needs and shipyard implications of the power conversions.

The Badger is the only coal-fired steamship in operation in the United States. The 410-foot ferry entered service in 1953 designed specifically to handle the rough conditions that it would likely encounter during year 'round sailing on Lake Michigan.

The Badger sails daily between Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Ludington, Michigan, from mid-May through mid-October. Converting the vessel to natural gas as a primary fuel could have the potential to make the Badger one of the greenest vessels operating on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute was established in 2004 to pursue research efforts in marine transportation, logistics, economics, engineering, environmental planning, and port management. GLMRI is a joint program between UW-Superior and UM-Duluth, with 10 affiliate universities in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute is designated as a National Maritime Enhancement Institute through the U.S. Department of Transportation. GLMRI's mission is: Developing and improving economically and environmentally sustainable maritime commerce on the Great Lakes through applied research.

Kenneth Chong named Wisconsin CFIRE Student of the Year

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:19:19 +0000

Kenneth Chong, a senior majoring in transportation and logistics management at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, has been named the 2011 CFIRE Student of the Year by the Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education at UW-Madison.

Chong was selected from a pool of undergraduate and graduate students who are studying in transportation-related programs at CFIRE's consortium universities. Nominees were judged on academic excellence, research, leadership and involvement in student activities. The winner must be a U.S. citizen.

Chong, from Mountain Lake, N.J., came to UW-Superior in 2009 to enroll in the Transportation and Logistics Management program offered through the Department of Business and Economics. He is pursuing an internship and plans to graduate in May 2012. He's interested in a career in warehousing and distribution, and may pursue a customs brokers license.

CFIRE is a national University Transportation Center led by Dr. Teresa Adams. UW-Superior's Transportation and Logistics Research Center is a partner university of the center.

As CFIRE Student of the Year, Chong's expenses will be paid to the 91st annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board from Jan. 22 to 26 in Washington, D.C. This renowned conference attracts more than 10,000 transportation professionals from around the world.

The Transportation Research Board annual meeting covers all transportation modes, with more than 3,000 presentations in nearly 600 sessions addressing topics of interest to all attendees -- policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, students, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions.

Dr. Richard Stewart, director of the Transportation and Logistics Research Center at UW-Superior is a member of two Transportation Research Board committees. He and Dr. Mei Cao, assistant professor of transportation and logistics management at UW-Superior, regularly attend the annual meeting.

Chong is vice president of UW-Superior's Transportation and Logistics Club and will become president the spring 2012 semester. He's also worked with Stewart as a research assistant, focusing on a study that examined the policies and issues that affect the growth of the cruising market on the Great Lakes.

"Having virtually no knowledge about cruising on the Great Lakes when I started, I was able to learn that the issues faced by the cruise market are far more intricate and complicated than I could ever imagine," he said. "Working for Dr. Stewart has expanded my knowledge about transportation and (related) issues."

Chong also said being involved in research and with transportation-related activities on campus helped his grades "a ton."

Chong also will receive a $1,000 award from the Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education. He and CFIRE Students of the Year from other states will be formally recognized at the Council of University Transportation Centers' annual banquet in Washington, D.C. Brad Peot, a UW-Superior student who graduated with a major in transportation and logistics management, was named the 2008 CFIRE Student of the Year.

Dr. Richard Stewart speaks at international marine conference in Chile

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:50:25 +0000

Dr. Richard Stewart, a professor in UW-Superior's Department of Business and Economics, presented a peer-reviewed paper about the Great Lakes cruise ship market at the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) annual conference in Santiago, Chile.

The IAME 2011 conference WAS hosted by UNECLAC - Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division, at the UNECLAC Headquarters in Santiago de Chile. The conference was held Oct. 25-28.

Stewart presented a paper titled "Regulations and Policies that Limit the Growth of U.S. Great Lakes Cruise Market."

The worldwide overnight cruise industry has seen remarkable growth since the 1990s. However, the cruise market on the Great Lakes has significantly lagged global market expansion.

The paper reviews the history of the cruise industry on the Great Lakes with particular focus on the U.S. flag segment Research into the historical records indicate that the overnight cruise industry on the Lakes is operating at small fraction of its full potential.

The specific impacts of current and future cabotage, gambling, security, pilotage and environmental policies and laws on Great Lakes cruise ship operations are examined. Recommendations are made regarding policy changes to improve the business climate for U.S. flag cruise ships to expand operations on the Great Lakes.

On October 29, Stewart toured the Pacific Ocean port of Valparaiso, Chile. Funding for the paper's research and presentation is provided by the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute www.glmri.org

Stewart teaches transportation and logistics management courses at UW-Superior. He also directs the Transportation and Logistics Research Center and is co-director of the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute.

T & L Senior Experience Presentations

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:53:09 +0000

DBE Department Meeting

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:46:21 +0000

T & L senior Experience Presentations

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:45:09 +0000

T & L Senior Experience Presentations

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:44:00 +0000

DBE Department Meeting

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:41:59 +0000

DBE Spring Awards Banquet

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:40:56 +0000

DBE Pot Luck - Mexican & South American

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:39:33 +0000

DBE Department Meeting

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:37:54 +0000

DBE - Tour of Lienies

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:36:41 +0000