Great Lakes, Looking to the Future
Seasnake:
Ahead of the Curve, Green by Design
James H. Hartung, Partner Exec V.P.
Chairman of the Board
Seasnake World-Wide Marketing LLC
is the Marketing Affiliate for
Seasnake LLC, which holds majority
ownership, rights and proprietary
patents for the Seasnake design and
associated technologies.
Paradigm shifting Technologies
• Create new building and operating cost
efficiencies
• Further enhance environmental
advantages of maritime transport
• Expand cargo carrying diversity
Cargo Types
• Liquid Bulk
• Dry Bulk
• Break Bulk
• Containers
• RO/RO (Currently in R&D phase)
Applications for
• Commercial Shipping
• Military
• FEMA
• Homeland Security
SEASNAKE
Vessel Configuration
Consists of a Traction Unit, a series of cargomodules and a caboose that are linked in an
articulated arrangement that allow each unit to
move independently thus dramatically reducing
hull stress. Seasnake design and operating
characteristics are more comparable to that of a
train than any maritime transport system
currently in use.
SEASNAKE
• Originally designed as a tanker
• Initial review by naval architects and continued
research and development concluded that design
variation and function applications were “almost
unlimited”
• Great Lakes design and operating concepts were
developed by Seasnake World-Wide Marketing, LLC
in cooperation with Seasnake, LLC
Video Presentation
Seasnake…As a contributing factor to
revitalize maritime shipping on the
Great Lakes to:
• Restore Viability
• Expand economic impacts
• Protect Great Lakes Eco-Systems
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway
Past
Present
Future
1959 – OFFICAL OPENING OF THE ST.
LAWRENCE SEAWAY
“Not since the building of the pyramids has
a public works project of such magnitude
been conceived let alone built”
Jacques LesStrang
Bi-National in Scope, Engineering,
Planning and Execution:
Cutting and blasting a maritime highway that penetrated
2300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean into the agricultural and
industrial heartland of North America.
While much lesser known than either the Suez Canal or the
Panama Canal, the St. Lawrence Seaway was worthy of it’s
1959 claim as the 8th Wonder of the modern engineering
world.
Suez Canal
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Opened 1869
French Developer Ferdinand de Lesseps
Impact- Dramatically reduced time and
distance for trade between India, the Far East
and Europe. Remains a vital passage for
maritime trade
• Engineering -119-mile artificial sea level
waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to
the Red Sea.
Suez Canal
Panama Canal
Teddy Roosevelt’s Miracle,
and it was a miracle made of:
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Big thinking vision
Political will
Technological Innovation
Tenacity
Courage
Human Spirit
Panama Canal
• 40-mile passageway from coastline to coastling
• Step Up/Step Down series of 3 sets of locks
• Raise and lower vessels in transit 85 feet
Panama Canal
St. Lawrence Seaway
• 2,300 Mile Passageway
• 16 locks
• Lifting vessels 610 feet
When President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II
sailed into the Lakes on the Royal Yacht Britannia in
1959, expectations of the economic impact were
extraordinary for United States and Canadian Great
Lakes coastal cities
Circumstantial evidence of
• Time
• Location
• Economic Prosperity
• World Politics
Who could deny the excitement?
St. Lawrence Seaway
50 Years Later
The Seaway has fallen far short of
expectation…explosive growth did not
occur.
Reasons?
Too numerous, but any list would begin with
• Shift in world agricultural sourcing
• Deindustrialization of America
• Growth of world economic competition
Systemic Issues/Challenges to Growth
SEASONALITY
• Nine month operating system inhibits Seaway growth
• Customers need uninterrupted reliability
• GL Trade routes only allow 75% operating time for a vessel
TOLLS:
Artificially imposed costs added to total voyage cost
• There is always an additional cost no matter how
competitive
• Originally viewed as an irritant by shippers and vessel
operators, but when profit margins are compressed tolls
have become increasingly impactful.
• U.S. tolls were eliminated in the 90’s but continue in
Canada
Capacity – Size Limitations
• System was built too small
• Seaway Maximum 730’x78’x26’3”
The enormous impact of the “Container
Revolution” in the 70’s brought about continual
growth in ship size.
The Seaway could not compete in a maritime
market dominated by the practice of stuffing cargo
into boxes, stacking them into and onto
humungous ships and delivering them to select
ports.
Invasive Species
Seasonality, tolls and size restrictions are
historic, but the greatest immediate danger is
invasive species.
Species not indigenous to the Great Lakes
that have been introduced through the
discharge of ballast water from international
vessels that enter the system.
Ballast Water
Ships take in a certain amount of water for
stability and trim before a voyage. Once
the ship arrives at its destination ballast
waters are normally released. The water
taken in at a foreign location my carry living
species that when introduced into a new
environment can disrupt the eco-system of
the host waters.
YES…
There are issues---serious issues—
but they are not insurmountable.
There is a necessity to reinvent how we
view and use the Seaway System.
There needs to be unified Industry commitment that
Will initiate Zero-Based Thinking – No Assumptions…
No Preconceived Notions.
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To clearly and candidly identify problems and limitations
To craft potential solutions or adaptations
To explore ALL options
To seek new initiatives or
Review old initiative that had been set aside
Explore new technologies and new cargo opportunities
To end the decline and restore the optimism of 1959
To develop and invest in a plan supported by a unified industry
and political will (local, State and Federal) to sustain energy and
work the plan
Seasnake
An Important Technology with strong
applications to Great Lakes Shipping but it is no
Panacea and cannot replace the process I’ve just
described.
However, Seasnake can:
• Enhance GL opportunities for Container
Feeder Services/Short Sea Shipping
• Dramatically impact the issue of invasive
species.
Short Sea Shipping
The movement of waterborne-freight while
remaining in the same continent without crossing
the ocean. Short sea shipping includes the
movement of liquid bulk, dry bulk, break-bulk
containers and passengers.
Primary advantages of Short Sea Shipping:
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Alleviation of congestion
Decrease of air pollution
Reduction of theft and damage to cargo
Increased highway safety
Overall reduction in transportation cost
Seasnake: Ideally suited for Great LakesShort Sea Shipping
• Seasnake SS 26.5 specifically designed for
Seaway Passage
• Cargo-modular design; Seasnake-Train can
carry vast diversity of cargo types to different
ports
• Seasnake train can move through system
delivering cargo-modules and picking up cargo
modules without delays at port waiting for
cargo to be unloaded or loaded.
Ballast Free:
Seasnake, Green by Design
• Seasnake’s modular cargo handling design
dramatically reduces potential environmental impacts
caused by accident, collision or acts of terrorism
• Seasnake’s propulsion/hull design further improves
the air emission reduction and fuel economy
advantages of maritime shinning over other
transportation modes.
• Seasnake has been designed as a Ballast-Free vessel
thus eliminating the danger of invasive species being
introduced into the eco-system of any venue in which
Seasnake will operate.
Ballast Free
“Due to the low length – height ratio of the
Seasnake units, trim control is of little
importance. The propellers in the traction
unit are placed centrally and sufficiently low
to prevent undesirable propeller emergence.
By the same token steering and bending
stress in the hull due to uneven loading is
not an issue”.
Carlos Kountz Wiernic
Seasnake- A well conceived,
researched vessel design
• Invented by Carlos Kountz Wiernic, an
international recognized industrial engineer
• Patented worldwide for it’s hull design and
bumper and module connection systems
• Structural Design Analysis, Rosenblatt & Son
• American Bureau of Shipping, Advanced Analysis
and girder load stress
• Tank tested at University of Michigan for
resistance and powering, course-keeping stability
and Seaworthiness under unlimited ocean
conditions
Tank Testing
“I have been associated with maritime shipping on the
Great Lakes for almost 30 years. I have defined my
professional life in the work to promote the Lakes and I
believe that maritime shipping will play an important
role in the economic recovery of the Great Lakes region
and in discovering an exciting future for America’s
heartland in a Global economy”
]tÅxá [A [tÜàâÇz
Throughout my career I’ve been both praised and
condemned for being a visionary and I am guilty of that.
But in response, for as long as I can remember. I’ve used
a quote by Henry David Thoreau
“Don’t stop building your castles in the air, that’s where
they belong, now build the foundations beneath them”.
Questions and Answers