First U.S.-flagged ship to carry overseas cargo from Port of Milwaukee
Last month a United States-flagged ocean cargo ship arrived at the Port of Milwaukee to transport two P&H mining shovels to Russia. The Maersk-Illinois is the first U.S.-flagged vessel to carry cargo overseas from Milwaukee since the 1980’s, the Port of Milwaukee press release said.
It is common for cargo to be transported through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Europe on foreign-flagged vessels, but in this case, because of a financing arrangement involving the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a U.S.-flagged ship was needed to carry the P&H 2800XPC shovels to a Siberian coal mine.
Federal Marine Terminals will start the process of loading the shovels on the Maersk-Illinois Thursday, May 31st and will continue through the end of the week. Also scheduled late this week, Federal Marine Terminals will load a mining shovel on a different ship, the BBC Sjard, and wind blades will be arriving at the Port of Milwaukee aboard the Federal Hudson.
The Port of Milwaukee is an economic entity of city government that is governed by the sevenmember Board of Harbor Commissioners, a panel appointed by Mayor Tom Barrett and confirmed by the Common Council. It administers operations on the 467 acres that make up the Port. In addition to promoting shipping and commerce, the Port of Milwaukee is the grantee of Foreign Trade Zone #41 which adds economic benefits to companies involved in international trade.
