Running head: THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 1
The Importance of Maintaining Access Berths Within Long Island, Manhattan and Its
Surrounding Boroughs
Jason Marchioni
California Maritime Academy
Running head: THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 2
Abstract
The basis of this project is to reinforce the necessity of maintaining access berths within Long
Island, Manhattan and the surrounding New York City boroughs to support the delivery of power generation components by way of water. The region produces the majority of its own electricity at several plants and substations that are managed by two utility providers, Con Edison and
PSE&G Long Island. These companies hire Weeks Marine, the largest marine contractor in the region, to engineer and perform the waterborne portions of the supply chain, which involves careful consideration of availability, costs and access to other modes of transportation. The project details the logistical challenges created by the region’s infrastructure and geography and how gentrification on the New York waterfront threatens to limit commercial access further. In addition, the project identifies several locations on the waterfront that are suitable for the delivery of power generation components and the types of equipment that can transport oversized components to these locations. Finally, the project will incorporate a plan of action that utility companies, along with the appropriate contactors and agencies, could undertake to maintain these areas for present and future use.
Keywords: Weeks Marine, Con Edison, PSE&G Long Island, New York Harbor THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 3
Introduction
Long Island and the five boroughs of New York, which include Manhattan, the Bronx,
Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, are unique in the fact that the majority of their geographical boundaries are surrounded by water. The Bronx is the only borough on the mainland of the
United States while Brooklyn and Queens are part of Long Island. While this type of geography may appear to be lucrative for waterborne projects, the majority of the shorelines are rocky and irregular and do not have sufficient water depth to sustain accessibility. In addition to natural obstacles, many man-made obstacles have been built through the gentrification of the waterfront and shoreline, making these areas, which were once ideal for commercial activities, inaccessible.
Commercial ports and docks that were once considered the lifeline for these communities for receiving imported and domestic products and supporting infrastructure projects have given way to public marinas and recreational piers. While they are suitable for recreational activities they lack sufficient draft for commercial activities. The piers have been lightly built with deck loading ratings that are inadequate for supporting heavy loads, such as transformers and generators used by the region’s power generation companies.
To further complicate these accessibility issues, access to Long Island and most of New
York City’s boroughs must be accomplished by either crossing a bridge or traveling through a tunnel. While this type of access is suitable for pedestrian vehicles and standard trailer loads they are not suitable for transporting heavy or oversized loads due to their limited width, height and restrictions on axle loading. In addition to inadequate road infrastructure for heavy commercial loads, the region has very limited commercial rail access, with Staten Island and
Long Island having limited rail lines available for commercial use. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 4
Due to the geographical, logistical and infrastructure limitations that seem to have the region’s infrastructure bottle-necked, it is imperative that the region identifies and maintains berths that can be accessed for commercial purposes by water. Waterfront access is critical for the region to support commercial activities, maintain the existing infrastructure and provide access to contractors and authorities during times of emergency. Water access to this region played key roles during the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers and Superstorm Sandy by reducing the response times and reducing the extra burden on the already gridlocked streets and highways.
Having participated in both of these critical events in the New York region I can honestly say the recovery operations after 9-11 and Hurricane Sandy would have crippled the roads due to the amount of debris and goods that needed to be moved in a short amount of time.
This paper is broken up in three parts. The Literature Review discusses the transformation of the New York waterfront and details the existing infrastructure. The Creative
Project will identify several locations throughout Long Island, Manhattan and the surrounding
New York City boroughs that Weeks Marine has utilized over the years which are suitable to support waterborne delivery of power generation components (“PGC”) and essential to support the waterborne delivery portion of the supply chain. I will also discuss their importance, physical limitations and identify alternative sites that should be maintained for commercial use.
The Summary concludes with a plan of action for utility companies to work with the governing agencies or owners to preserve the identified locations.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 5
Literature Review
History of Port Infrastructure
The piers of New York have undergone a major transition over the course of the last 50 years. As Life magazine reminded readers in November 1944, “With its seven bays, four river mouths four estuaries, it is by far the world’s best and biggest natural harbor and most of the world’s major ports could easily be tucked into it.” Over time, the majority of manufacturers left the region and most commercial piers became inactive. Piers and warehouses that once bustled with activity now lie dormant. The only reminder of an industry that once flourished is the remnants of rotting piers, abandoned parking lots and industrial sites.
Prior to WWII, cargoes flowed freely in and out of the port of New York. The Hudson
River provided deepwater access to the harbor from the north. Vessels laden with the produce and products of upper mid-west states such as Ohio, Illinois and Michigan navigated their way to
New York via the Great Lakes and through the locks of the Erie Canal, which has since been renamed the New York State Barge Canal. From the north east, vessels calling from New
England utilized Long Island Sound (New York State). Meanwhile, vessels calling from international ports crossed the Atlantic and entered New York Harbor through the Verrazano
Narrows, the body of water that separates the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn, which is now spanned by the Verrazano Bridge (MTA, 2014). Meany (2002) stated the following:
The Port of New York was really eleven ports in one. It boasted a developed shoreline of
over 650 miles comprising the waterfronts of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx,
and Staten Island as well as the New Jersey shoreline from Perth Amboy to Elizabeth,
Bayonne, Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Weehawken. The Port of New York
included some 1,800 docks, piers, and wharves of every conceivable size, condition, and THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 6
state of repair. Some 750 were classified as "active" and 200 were able to berth 425
ocean-going vessels simultaneously in addition to the 600 able to anchor in the harbor.
These docks and piers gave access to 1,100 warehouses containing some 41 million
square feet of enclosed storage space (p.1).
As World War II came to an end, so did the industries that supported the industry of war.
Merchant ships that once carried ammunition and supplies to all theaters of war no longer called in the harbor. Containerization reduced the need to have multiple facilities to berth vessels as cargoes could be unloaded much more efficiently and ships could move in and out of port faster.
Also, trucks began to be the desired mode of transport over waterborne transportation, as containers could be loaded directly to truck chassis and moved over the roads (“Everything
About ISO”).
The drastic decline in ships calling in at the port of New York prompted the development of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (“PANYNJ”) to take over the Port of
Newark in New Jersey and focus its efforts on developing a more viable option that would help secure New York’s shipping commerce in the future. In 1921, the states of New York and New
Jersey signed a compact that created the PANYNJ. The Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey (2014) states their purpose as an agency is to:
Build, operate, and maintain critical transportation and trade assets. Its network of
aviation, rail, surface transportation and seaport facilities annually moves millions of
people and transports vital cargo throughout the New York/New Jersey region.
The agency was given a broad mandate to develop and modernize the entire port district and in
1948 the agency focused its efforts on the development of Port Newark, which was greatly in need of repair (PANYNJ, 2014). In addition to the oversight of Port Newark, the PANYNJ also THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 7 manages and maintains six of the tunnels and bridges that connect New Jersey to New York and its surrounding boroughs. These bridges and tunnels were instrumental in the success of Port
Newark as goods could now be trucked into the New York City. An increasing number of shipping companies began to pull out of Brooklyn and Manhattan and take their business to the modernized port of Newark, New Jersey, which had direct connections to railroads and highways, allowing goods to be moved more efficiently to other parts of the country.
The last of the bridges to be built, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, was completed in
1964. The MTA (2014) states:
Located at the mouth of Upper New York Bay, the bridge not only connects Brooklyn
with Staten Island but is also a major link in the interstate highway system, providing the
shortest route between the Middle Atlantic States and Long Island.
The construction of this bridge was monumental in the fact that it finally provided a way for trucks to move directly from Staten Island to its surrounding boroughs, which led to the decline in rail car movements by car floats from New Jersey to Brooklyn. A “car float” is a barge that is outfitted with rail track to facilitate the roll-on and roll-off of rail cars onto the barge. At the height of its time the car floats were used to move up to 1000 rail cars a day by water, but as trucking became a cheaper more efficient way to move containers the number declined drastically to about 1000 cars a year (Newman, 2012). Piers on the Brooklyn shoreline that supported this type of operation fell victim to the same vacancy and abandonment that was seen with the culmination of World War II. The New York waterfront was quickly changing at this point and it can be directly attributed to amount of goods that were now being moved over the road rather than water. Newman (2012) stated the following: THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 8
In the 1960s, "car floats" were still skating across the harbor like bugs on a pond. Then
came new superhighways and trucks, trucks, trucks: Now all but 2% of the stuff New
York imports rolls into town on rubber wheels. And nine-tenths of it crosses the
Hudson on the George Washington Bridge (p. 1).
Limitations of Bridges and Tunnels
New York and its surrounding boroughs are connected to the mainland by a maze of bridges and tunnels. The bridges and tunnels, which facilitate vehicular traffic, are operated and maintained by several different agencies which include the PANYNJ, the Metropolitan Transit
Authority (“MTA”), and the New York City Department of Transportation (“NYCDOT”).
While these bridges and tunnels facilitate passenger traffic very well they are limited to the size of trucks and trailers that they can effectively accommodate (NYCDOT, 2014). The majority of the bridges into New York have a height restriction of 13’6” and tunnels vary from 12’6” to 13’.
In addition, any truck that is traveling into New York that is wider than 8’6” requires a permit in order to utilize the crossing (PANYNJ, 2014). Weight restrictions are regulated by the number of axles on which vehicles operate. In order for trucks to enter New York City with loads in excess of 80,000 pounds on bridges and 70,000 pounds in tunnels, operators must obtain a permit from PANYNJ management and pay additional charges (PANYNJ, 2008).
In recent years, incidents involving bridges collapsing, such as the I-35 Bridge in
Minnesota that collapsed into the Missouri River, have bought a heightened sense of concern regarding the integrity of bridges around New York. This has made it increasingly difficult to acquire approval to transport loads that exceed the limitations (Wald, 2008).
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 9
Commercial Rail Service
Interestingly, there is no direct commercial freight line within a reasonable distance from
Manhattan that connects the boroughs to the mainland other than the CSX and Norfolk Southern line that connects New Jersey to the New York Container Terminal (“NYCT”) in Staten Island.
The rail line terminates at NYCT (except for the Fresh Kills rail line that was developed to facilitate trash movements) and while it provides an efficient means of moving boxes in and out of the terminal, they must then be moved by truck to their final destination (New York Container
Terminal). This hurdle is commonly referred to as the Selkirk Hurdle. The Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey describes the Selkirk Hurdle as:
The 280-mile detour necessary for a freight train to travel from New Jersey to New York
City. Selkirk is located just south of Albany, New York, and is the closest freight rail
bridge across the Hudson River to the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut region.
The only other viable option for rail freight to move across the harbor from NJ to New
York would be by means of a car float. The rail cars are loaded by means of a floating barge and transported across the harbor by tug (PANYNJ, 2014). The facility, which is owned by
PANYNJ and operated by New York New Jersey Rail, is the last remaining car float operation in
New York Harbor. The car float operation provides service via the upper bay between Jersey
City, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York (Train Web, 2012). While this service offers a viable service to transport rail cars from New Jersey to Brooklyn, the freight rail connections are limited in Brooklyn and offer no direct freight rail options to Manhattan and very limited service to Queens and Long Island.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 10
Commercial Ports
There are two deepwater commercial ports that remain in operation within Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs: NYCT, which is located in Staten Island and Red Hook Container terminal, which is located in Brooklyn. Both terminals are managed by the PANYNJ and mainly handle containers as well as some roll-on, roll-off bulk cargoes. While these ports are adequate for serving the main boroughs in which they reside, they offer little or no benefit to facilitate the movement of overweight and over-dimensional cargoes to their surrounding boroughs. This can be directly attributed to the fact that, in most cases, a body of water needs to be crossed to reach neighboring boroughs; thereby invoking restrictions mentioned in prior sections on rail, bridges and tunnels. There are currently plans in place to expand New York Container Terminal to accommodate deeper draft ships, including the addition of a 50’ deepwater berth and direct connections with the Staten Island Railroad, a commuter rail (NYCEDC, 2012). These additions would make New NYCT a true intermodal solution serving the borough of Staten Island, which currently receives consumer goods strictly by way of trucks.
Red Hook container terminal has fallen victim to much scrutiny over the years as it lies directly in the center of an area of Brooklyn that is going through major gentrification. A large portion of the original terminal has already been converted to public recreational piers and the warehouses along the piers that once held bulk products such as cocoa, lumber, and sugar have since been knocked down and replaced with condominiums and waterfront shops. Bagli (2008) stated:
The Bloomberg administration had long wanted to oust American Stevedoring and
redevelop the Brooklyn waterfront with distributors, restaurants, luxury housing, marinas THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 11
and other maritime uses, saying that most of the cargo should have been unloaded in the
Port Authority’s bigger port, in New Jersey.
Vision 2020
These infrastructure limitations and loss of public access to the waterfront for recreational and commercial use have not gone unnoticed. Over recent years, there have been acts of terrorism, such as the attacks on the World Trade Center, and severe weather, namely Hurricane
Sandy, which have tested the existing infrastructure. The limited capacity of the roadways, bridges and tunnels raised awareness that waterfront access is critical in times of emergency and something that New York City needs to implement into their planning stages. New York City began working on a plan to sustain and develop the waterfront in 2001. In 2011, the Department of City Planning published Vision 2020, which is a comprehensive blueprint for the future projects of New York City’s waterfront (The City of New York Department of City Planning,
2011). Bloomberg (2011) stated the following:
These projects are part of one of the most sweeping transformations of an urban
waterfront in American history. And as we continue to serve as an engine of economic
growth for America and the world, we will invest in initiatives that will help New
Yorkers green their communities and build a more economically sustainable city. Jobs
and the environment, affordable housing and open space, waterborne transportation and
in-water recreation—all of these priorities have informed Vision 2020’s goals for our
City’s more than 500 miles of shoreline. Our waterfront parks and piers embody the
exciting progress that is driving our economy and enhancing New York City’s natural
beauty. With long-term plans like Vision 2020, we will continue to transform our City, THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 12
and ensure that our once-forgotten waterfront is never forgotten again (Foreword by
Mayor).
Vision 2020 has addressed some very critical components to preserving the working waterfront, such as highlighting the role that tugs and barges play in New York Harbor and revitalizing the car-float service that once thrived. The third goal, “Support the working waterfront”, focuses on projects that will help sustain local consumption through trade. The report recommends deepening the channels in addition to raising the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate the larger
Post-Panamax ships. That said, the report fails to address one issue that is of concern. To date, there have been several city planning board meetings that discussed the lack of locations within
Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs that can receive oversized and overweight cargoes, such as generators and transformers that are necessary for these regions to function. These cargoes can only be transported via waterborne barge service. Over the years, gentrification has replaced the locations that can facilitate these types of operations and the available and appropriate locations continue to disappear at a rapid pace.
It is of utmost importance that the remaining areas that can support this type of operation are identified and preserved so Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs can manage its power infrastructure. In addition to facilitating the delivery of these cargoes, they could also be used in disaster recovery efforts and supporting large bulk movements of materials, as was the case for the cleanup of Ground Zero. Wittich (2002) stated:
The problem in the beginning was that the traffic and commuter situation was almost at a
stand-still,” says Weeks spokesman George Wittich. “Some of the subway tubes were
destroyed … a number of the bridges and tunnels leading into the city were either closed
or very restricted. So the city needed a plan to keep the trucks off the road.”Weeks THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 13
accomplished this by setting up four barge ports to off-load trucks coming from
Ground Zero. Two of the ports are located at Pier 25, formerly a sailboat marina. “We
moved about 20 boats, the moorings and then, because of insufficient depth, we came in
with a clam shell dredge and removed approximately 100,000 cubic yards of material so
we could get barges in there.” (p.1)
Unfortunately the importance of these areas seems to be put on the back burner until they become critical, which results in a scramble to find waterborne solutions to the City’s logistical challenges. The time to identify and preserve accessible berths is now, rather than during a crisis.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 14
Creative Project
Surrounded by Water
Figure 1. PGC delivery sites. This figure illustrates current locations (in red) and potential locations (in green). As discussed in the literature review, due to infrastructural and geographical limitations, firms confront logistical challenges when transporting heavy or out-of-gauge cargoes into Long
Island, Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs as the region is almost entirely surrounded by water. Dimensional limitations, axle loading restrictions or utilities that either impede overhead clearance or create underground obstacles can all complicate the delivery of cargo. While many of these limitations can be circumvented when cargoes are moved over the water, there are several requirements that must be met in order to execute these types of operations. This creative project will discuss why waterborne marine services are needed in the region, identify the customers that use these services and describe the equipment that is necessary to perform them. In addition, it will identify several areas throughout New York City and Long Island that THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 15 play a critical role in this supply chain and why they must be maintained to allow deliveries of power generation equipment by heavy lift floating crane or barge (Figure 1).
Why Does New York Need Heavy Lift Services
In a report recently released by the City of New York (2013) regarding a comprehensive plan for rebuilding the communities that were impacted by Hurricane Sandy, energy was expressly highlighted as vital to every aspect of the City’s economy.
Energy, electricity, natural gas, and steam makes so much that is iconic about New York
City possible. Utility networks not only bring the city’s famous skyline to life, they also
run the subways, keep the city cool in summer and warm in winter, and support every
aspect of the economy (p.107).
Power is big business in Manhattan and its surrounding regions and unfortunately it is not something that most people think about until it fails. The Mayor’s office stated (2013) that New
York City’s electrical system delivers power to over 8.3 million people and 250,000 businesses.
In total, the City of New York consumes 1.4 percent of all electricity that is produced in the
United States, which is almost twice as much as the next largest city, Los Angeles. This power is produced by multiple private and public companies that operate 24 plants, within or directly connected to New York City and its boroughs, which are collectively known as the “in-city fleet”. These generating facilities feed into 24 high-voltage facilities that house switching stations and transformers, also known as transmission substations. Electricity is then sent at lower voltages from these substations to the 50 area substations which again decrease the voltage and supply the distribution system (p.108). The Mayor’s office stated (2013): THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 16
The in-city generation fleet is fueled predominantly by natural gas, with many plants also
able to burn fuel oil. All of the in-city plants are located along the waterfront, with more
than half concentrated in Astoria and Long Island City in Queens (p.108).
The location of these plants did not happen by chance as they were strategically located to:
Receive large and overweight components to construct and support their plants
Use water from the ocean and rivers for cooling their machinery
Receive large amounts of coal or petroleum oil, their primary source of fuel, by barge or
Over the years, the trend of building power plants on the water has been curbed in
Manhattan and its boroughs as the primary fuel of choice is gravitating towards cleaner and more efficient natural gas. Recently, the majority of the coal- and petroleum-fired plants in
Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens have converted over to natural gas. From a logistical perspective, this was accomplished rather easily. Weeks Marine had sufficient equipment, expertise and personnel to support these conversions as the majority of the plants were built on the water. Docks that once berthed the barges that carried coal and petroleum made perfect landing areas for heavy lift crane barges, which unloaded equipment that was received in Port
Elizabeth. While plants powered by natural gas can be built inland, they still require large and heavy components to be able to operate. This equipment is not easily transported through city streets. Huge advancements in trucking over the years, such as self-propelled modular transporters (“SPMTs”) have facilitated the migration inland, as seen in Long Island and the
Rockaways. However, power plant components have a limited life and are oversized and heavy, thus waterborne access must be maintained to deliver spare and replacement parts.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 17
Con Edison and LIPA
As the Mayor’s report states (2013):
Con Edison is the primary electric utility in the city, providing electric distribution
services to all five boroughs. The one exception is the Rockaways, which are served by
the Long Island Power Authority (“LIPA”), a public authority controlled by New York
State (p.109).
Effective Jan 1, 2014 LIPA is operated by Public Service Energy and Gas (PSE&G), and goes under the name PSE&G Long Island. PSE&G Long Island does not own or operate any electrical generation stations or assets on Long Island, but purchases its power from stations on
Long Island that are operated by National Grid, formally known as Keyspan Energy. PSE&G
Long Island is the sole provider of electricity on Long Island and also serves the Rockaways in
Brooklyn; it currently provides electricity to over 1.1 million customers. National Grid owns and operates over 50 fossil fuel-powered stations on Long Island. They sell electricity generated by their plants on Long Island to PSE&G Long Island under a long-standing agreement (National
Grid, 2014).
Helping Con Edison and National Grid keep the lights on in New York is a large part of
Weeks Marines’ business in the area. Weeks has worked closely with their transportation groups to try and locate waterfront access areas that shorten the distance power generation components
(“PGC”) must travel by roadway, lowering transportation costs and reducing the risk of accidents on the roads. Throughout the years, some of the services that have been provided include:
Providing equipment such as heavy lift barge cranes, barges, tugs, and personnel to
receive and facilitate deliveries of power generation equipment THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 18
Performing feasibility studies for practicality of waterborne deliveries for new and
existing plants and substations, and locating potential delivery sites
Storing spare equipment on barges at the Jersey City yard
Where Does PGC Arrive
The majority of the PGC that Weeks handles for Con Edison and PSE&G arrives into
Port Elizabeth in Elizabeth, New Jersey or Global Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey. It is safe to say that over 90 percent of the PGC that is received is manufactured overseas and arrives on a container vessel, Ro-Ro vessel, or geared heavy lift ship. Container vessel or Ro-Ro vessels provide the cheapest means of transport for the utility providers as heavy lift ships or general purpose cargo vessels do not regularly call at Port Elizabeth or Newark. The exception would be if they needed to book an entire vessel to facilitate the new construction of a plant or substation as there is typically over twenty heavy pieces that arrive at once, making it economical to book a dedicated vessel.
Weeks Marine owns several large heavy lift crane barges that can unload cargoes from gearless vessels, a unique service that is not typically found in most ports. Several are kept in the
New York area exclusively for handling PGC, giving utility companies more options when they are booking liner services for their cargo. If the cargo arrives via container vessel, Weeks will go alongside the vessel with heavy lift barge cranes and unload the cargo directly to the deck of the crane (Figure 2). Then, the cargo is taken to an access berth where trucks or SPMTs would receive the cargo and take it to its final destination. This type of operation keeps the number of times cargo must be handled to a minimum, thus reducing the probability of damaging the cargo.
All of the floating cranes used for Weeks Marine Heavy Lift operations have dedicated cargo areas on the deck of the barge. Their carrying capacity is dictated by deck loadings ratings THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 19 and physical dimensions. If required, Weeks may bring a deck barge to load cargo if there is not adequate room on the deck of the crane or the carrying capacity is exceeded. Both the crane and deck barges require a dedicated tug to move them as the crane and deck barges are not self propelled.
If the cargo is being delivered via Ro-Ro vessel, it will be rolled off the vessel onto the quay on a moffi trailer or SPMT and then the cargo would be lifted off of the trailer using a floating crane. Finally if the cargo arrives via a geared lift ship, the cargo may be discharged directly to the floating crane or deck barge depending on the method of the final delivery. There are certain instances when the PGC arrives into the port by heavy haul trailer or by rail car into the berth, which would then be unloaded with the floating crane barge. These types of offloads are rare as most of the cargo that PSE&G or Con Edison purchases is not manufactured domestically, but there are times when they purchase equipment from another utility company, or a unit has been sent out to be repaired.
In any of these scenarios, once the cargo is received it is secured to the deck of the crane or barge by means of chain and binders, wire rope and turnbuckles, or by hardware that is welded to the steel deck of the barge or floating crane. The method of securing depends on the cargo’s final destination, which is always provided to the utility company in a transportation plan prior to receiving the cargo. The cargo would then be delivered by barge or floating crane and offloaded directly onto the facility if the site allows or onto a heavy haul trailer if it must be moved to the site over the road. It is worth mentioning that Con Edison maintains a storage yard in Astoria, Queens on Steinway Creek, which has direct water access to facilitate discharge via
Ro-Ro or floating crane. The majority of the cargo that is received for Con Edison goes to the
Steinway Creek facility and it is held there until needed at a plant or substation. PSE&G does THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 20 not maintain a storage yard, but it is not uncommon for a plant to keep spare transformers on location as the lead time from the manufacture can be up to two years. On average, Weeks typically handles about 50 transformers for both utility companies per year, with weights ranging anywhere from 100 tons to 375 tons.
Figure 2: Weeks 533. Hoisting transformers from Hanjin container vessel.
Summary of Equipment and Services
Possessing such a diverse fleet of equipment, which includes crane barges, deck barges, and tugboats, as well as the centrally located Greenville Yard gives Weeks a critical advantage over the competition and allows them to offer a true turnkey marine transportation service. The barriers of entry are not impossible to overcome, but their reputation and long standing relationship to manufacturers and utility providers makes it difficult for others to compete in this THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 21 business. The sections that follow describe how Weeks Marine accommodates the delivery of
PGC.
Weeks Marine Greenville Yard
Weeks Marine maintains a facility in Jersey City, New Jersey called Greenville Yard. Its main purpose is to support the company’s day-to-day operations and serve as a repair facility for equipment, but it supports other functions as well. The yard has rail access directly next door to the facility and adequate roads and clearances into the yard that connect directly to major highways, allowing Weeks to receive cargoes by truck or rail and load them directly to barge. In the past, the utility companies have used Greenville Yard to store spare equipment either on land or barges as well as holding on to new equipment that a site was not ready to receive. The Yard is a valuable asset when performing these types of services as it is one of the few privately- owned terminals with waterfront access and upland storage in New York Harbor.
Heavy Lift Floating Crane Barges
Weeks Marine currently owns over 100 floating crane barges of different size, capacity and configuration and a large part of Weeks Marine’s success in the PGC transportation business can be attributed to this large and specialized fleet. This part of the creative project will focus specifically on the cranes that service the needs of utility companies in the New York metropolitan area.
The largest crane barge that Weeks Marine owns, the Weeks 533, has a rated lift capacity of 500 short tons (Figure 3). It is manufactured by Clyde Iron Works and is known as a model
52, for the 52- foot wide rail circle where the crane rests and revolves. Unlike a conventional stiff leg derrick, which requires turning the barge to swing a load, the crane is unique in the fact that it can rotate 360 degrees, making it much more desirable when working in tight quarters or THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 22 handling multiple pieces of cargo. There are currently only three such cranes in existence in the
United States; the 533 barge crane is berthed in Jersey City, New Jersey. Its primary function is to support utility companies, local construction projects, salvage work and other project cargo work. In addition to Con Edison and PSE&G, Weeks Marine transports PGC to many different seaports for various customers along the eastern seaboard as far north as Maine and south as
Virginia.
Figure 3: Weeks 533 lifting PGC. Delivering high-pressure steam drum to Bowline Power Plant, Haverstraw, NY. The crane boom is over 248 feet in length and is powered by an independent hoist. This configuration gives the operator precise control when hoisting heavy loads as the boom and falls can be raised or lowered simultaneously. The crane is rigged with three independent falls; the main fall, auxiliary fall and the whip line. The main fall has a capacity of 500 tons, the auxiliary THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 23 fall has a capacity of 100 tons and the whip line’s capacity is 25 tons. To gain an appreciation for how large this crane is, the main fall alone weighs 35 tons or 70,000 pounds and the height of the main fall at the minimum radius is over 210 feet above the water. The barge that the crane is permanently mounted on is 300 feet long by 90 feet wide and the depth of the hull is 20 feet.
The crane has a dedicated cargo area which is located directly in front of the crane. It is approximately 75 feet in width by 75 feet in length, has dedicated hardware on deck for securing cargo and a deck loading rating of 3500 pounds per square foot. The light draft of the crane barge is 7 feet and the deep working draft is 10 feet with a maximum load of 500 tons on the fall.
These draft characteristics allow Weeks to maneuver the crane into many locations when leveraging the tide range in New York Harbor, which averages about 5 feet in the inner harbor and as much as 7 feet in the Rockaways and Long Island.
The crane is held on location by two self-elevating mooring spuds located on the bow of the barge; one on the port and the other on the starboard side. They are each one hundred feet long and constructed of 48 inch diameter 5/8 inch wall pipe. The mooring spuds operate independently of the crane powered by dedicated winches and they work as an anchoring system by sinking into the river or ocean bottom under their own weight, much like a pile. They can be raised and lowered simultaneously or independently, which makes maneuvering the barge in tight quarters very efficient as it allows the barge to rotate while one spud is fetched up in the bottom.
The crane can be towed by a tug boat, pushed from behind or taken alongside. When moving the crane around the harbor, two tugs are always used to transport the crane barge due to its sheer size. One tug boat will usually be in push gear on the stern of the crane and the assist tug will be located just forward of mid ship on either the port or starboard side. When the crane THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 24 barge clears the Verrazano Bridge heading to the south shore of Long Island or Throgs Neck
Bridge heading to the North Shore, the tug usually gets out of push gear and tows the crane on the towing wire to manage the sea swells. The crane pushes or tows very well due to the raked bow and shallow draft. Speed made good typically averages about seven knots in either configuration.
In addition to the Weeks 533 crane barge, Weeks Marine also owns several smaller crane barges in New York that can serve the utility companies. They are basically constructed with the same configuration, but have different capacities. The weight being lifted and radius where the cargo must be placed determines the crane that will be used for the project..
Deck Barges Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO)
Weeks Marine currently maintains over 200 barges in the fleet. This section will focus exclusively on deck barges that support project cargo work and can be utilized as barges for
RORO operations. The barges would be classified as the Weeks 290 series deck barge, which is basically 180 feet long by 54 feet wide and has a depth of side of 14 feet. Weeks Marine has modified the traditional 180 by 54 by 12 foot (180x54) design that is seen widely in the barge industry, which better suits the needs of the company. A typical 180x54 deck barge is usually constructed with a raked end on both the bow and stern of the barge and a depth of side of 12 feet. The 290 series barges are constructed with a rake only on the bow end and a square stern.
This is a much more desirable platform for performing RORO operations as you get more buoyancy from the square stern design, reducing the amount the barge squats in the water when rolling cargo off and on. Another benefit is it allows the barge to slide up and down freely on a dock rather than having the risk of the rake end coming on top of the bulkhead during the operation, which can cause substantial damage to the dock. In addition to those characteristics, THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 25 the extra built-in height provides more flexibility when performing a RORO and gives the barge additional carrying capacity.
Figure 4: RORO operations. Roll-off of 240 ton transformer using SPMT and crawler crane for mechanical ballast. The majority of the PGC moves in the region are supported by floating heavy lift cranes, but there are instances when a floating crane is not practical and a deck barge must be utilized to facilitate the delivery. Certain factors that would dictate this are:
Vertical or horizontal clearance restrictions due to bridges or overhead utility wires
Radius where cargo must be placed exceeds the capacity of the floating crane
Insufficient water depth at offload location or approaches
Engineering limitations that prevent the structure from being hoisted by a crane
Manufacture or customer dictates method of delivery THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 26
Weight of cargo exceeds capacity of floating crane
Receiving or delivering PGC by RORO is very common in the industry as there are a limited number of heavy lift cranes that support these types of services in the United States.
Most companies that own heavy lift crane barges dedicate their equipment to salvage or construction work and only deliver PGC when their schedule allows. Alternatively, trucking companies or heavy haulers will rent barges and tugs from marine contractors to facilitate these operations. Over the years, numerous accidents have occurred while performing this type of service, which could be attributed to trucking companies not employing marine experts for the waterborne portion of the delivery. As such, if a floating crane can be utilized, it is usually the preferred method of delivery of PGC by both manufacturers and utility providers. A typical
RORO operation will consist of a deck barge that is outfitted with a truck and a trailer or an
SPMT that is used to move the cargo. Specially designed ramps are placed from the barge onto land and water ballast is pumped on and off the barge by mechanical pumps to adjust for the trim of the barge as the SPMT or trailer is moved forward. In place of water, mechanical ballast is occasionally used, such as a heavy crawler crane on the barge that can move forward and back to maintain the trim on the barge (Figure 4). This is the desired method for performing
ROROs as it is faster and does not require any water ballast to be pumped in and out of the barge, which has recently become a controversy with the new ballast water regulations.
Tugboats
Unlike most marine contractors, Weeks Marine maintains over 40 tugboats in its fleet, ranging anywhere from 20 feet in length with 3 feet of operating draft to 126 feet in length with
14 feet of operating draft. The main propulsion of these tugs varies from 200 to 4000 horsepower and they are all powered by diesel fuel. Owning such a diverse fleet offers many THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 27 different advantages related to the conditions in which the equipment can work and the type of work that can performed. Moreover, it keeps transportation costs down and lets Weeks offer creative solutions to its customers. Every PGC move that is performed has different criteria that dictate what type of tug will be used. Horsepower may be the deciding factor if moving deep draft equipment over long distances or if water depth is the obstacle, several smaller horsepower boats with shallow drafts may be utilized for the final positioning of the floating crane or barge.
Suitable Locations for the Delivery of PGC
There are certain criteria that need to be identified for a location to be deemed satisfactory to facilitate the delivery of PGC (See Table 1). To properly evaluate the criteria,
Weeks Marine relies on in-house experts or subcontractors.
Table 1: Criteria used to determine feasibility of PGC delivery locations
Criteria How determined Who performs survey Adequate water depth for marine Hydrographic survey Weeks Marine or equipment subcontractor Pier, dock or land has adequate loading Pile inspection or core Subcontractor capacity to support trailers and loads boring Upland storage or staging areas Site survey Weeks Marine available Adequate clearances for trucks or Geometric route survey Subcontractor SPMT’s to connect with city streets Access to other modes of transport such Geometric route survey Subcontractor as rail Shortest distance to power station Geometric route survey Weeks Marine and relative to other sites subcontractor
Furthermore, there are a number of requirements that are set by the private owner or government agency, which must be met in order to use the sites. They include:
Payment of fees
A permit
Proof of insurance THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 28
Engineered lift plan by a professional engineer
Certifications on marine equipment by National Cargo Bureau or other third party
Safety plan
Hiring private security or local police for delivery date
Pier 86 Manhattan
Currently, city officials only allow delivery of PGC to one location in Manhattan - Pier
86 on the west side of the city in between 45th and 46th streets (Figure 5). The pier is owned by the City of New York and is managed by Hudson River Park Trust, a partnership between New
York State and City that is tasked with the design, construction and operation of Hudson Park, a five-mile park on the waterfront that includes Pier 86 (Hudson River Park Trust, 2014). Use of the pier requires a formal application be submitted to the Trust, highlighting all equipment and engineering pertaining to the operation. The application is reviewed and approved by an engineering division of the Trust and there is a fee of $10,000 to use the pier for 24 hours. The location offers convenience as it accommodates Weeks Marine’s largest floating crane and allows the crane to set cargo directly onto SPMT’s or trailers on the West Side Highway, but there are several limitations, including:
Heavy Lift operations are restricted to starting at midnight
Two lanes of the West Side Highway need to be shut down to accommodate the
operation
Police, for traffic control, and security, for crowd control, are needed to facilitate the
operation, which increases the cost
As there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, public bike and walking paths must be secured in
order for the cargo to be swung over the area THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 29
Weeks Marine’s liability risk is high due to the terms and requirements set forth by the
Trust
The working radius of the crane at this location is limited to 322 tons
The location cannot facilitate a RORO operation due to the integrity and modifications
that need to be done to the bulkhead, which the Trust refuses to do
Figure 5: Pier 86 Manhattan. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533. While Pier 86 works as a location to support the delivery of PGC, a better alternative exists in Manhattan that would allow Weeks to work at a lower cost and without so many restrictions and risks, namely Pier 42 on the Lower East Side of the island. This alternative location has key benefits. For one, it would reduce Con Edison’s and Weeks Marine’s exposure THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 30 to traffic and pedestrians, as it currently lies within an industrial facility. Secondly, it is a public space, owned by the City of New York and managed and operated by the NYCDOT, who would be more experienced with the City’s infrastructural needs.
Pier 42 Lower East Side Manhattan
Pier 42 is located on the East River at the foot Jackson Street between the Manhattan and
Williamsburg Bridges. It is located in an area on the waterfront that is going through a major gentrification. To the north lies Corlears Hook Park and to the south lies a two mile waterfront area that is undergoing reconstruction. The NYCEDC (2014) states:
This bold and ambitious plan will revitalize the Lower Manhattan waterfront that
currently suffers from weak connections, a lack of amenities, and underutilization. The
project aims to improve the quality of life for local residents, workers, and visitors alike.
Known as “the banana docks”, Pier 42 at one time berthed merchant ships that arrived to
New York City loaded with produce and fruits. It has adequate water to accommodate Weeks
Marines’ equipment and ample upland areas to accommodate trailers and SPMTs, eliminating the need to shut down city streets (Figure 6). It has sufficient access streets with adequate vertical clearances and limited utilities that must be navigated around. Jackson Street passes under the FDR Drive and intersects with major cross-streets that traverse the city. It also intersects with Avenue C, which leads directly to Con Edison’s 14th Street power plant, the largest in the City. The pier has recently received approval to be converted into a park, further compromising the City’s ability to receive PGC. According to Ed Litvak (2013), a community reporter:
After years of inaction, the city has refocused its energies on the greening of Pier 42, just
below East River Park. Thanks to $18 million in new funding, the Parks Department and THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 31
Community Board 3 have begun to engage the public to create a new vision for the eight
acre gap in the East River greenway.
Weeks Marine and Con Edison have been actively attending these planning board meetings at the request of the NYEDC to help demonstrate to the community the importance of commercial access being included in this plan.
Figure 6: Pier 42 Manhattan. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533.
Long Island Hempstead Harbor and Port Jefferson
There are currently two locations in Long Island where Weeks Marine delivers PGC to support power stations that are utilized by PSE&G (See Figures 7&8). Both locations are private facilities that are owned and operated by Tilcon New York, who operates quarries, asphalt THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 32 plants, and material recycling facilities. The materials they sell are transported throughout the region by rail, truck and barge. Both facilities have bulkheads that are ideal for the delivery of
PGC. They have good deep approaches into their facilities from Long Island Sound that are dredged on a regular basis. In addition, there is a minimum of 18 feet of water depth along their bulkheads, used for loading their barges. The piers also have very high loading ratings to support large stockpiles of their aggregates. These attributes allow the floating equipment to deliver a PGC that weighs as much as 500 tons, the maximum load that the Weeks 533 is capable of hoisting. They also have adequate upland staging areas for the trailers or SPMT’s and are willing to make storage areas available if needed. Both locations connect directly with Routes
25 and 25a, which run the entire length of the island. Tilcon does not limit access to their facility day or night, which is a cost savings. As with most operations of this kind, they require submission of an engineered lift plan and the trucking company must provide details on their portion of the operation.
While the locations are ideal for this type of operation, they are also highly-populated and desirable residential areas. The high property value could tempt Tilcon to sell the land to the highest bidding real estate developer. Therefore, there is a risk that these two locations will be inaccessible for commercial use in the future unless PSE&G considers buying a share of the land to guarantee uninterrupted access to the docks that facilitate delivery of their components. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 33
Figure 7: Hempstead Harbor Tilcon. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 34
Figure 8: Port Jefferson. Tilcon discharge site plan showing capacity of Weeks 533.
The Bronx
132nd & Locust
There is currently one location in the Bronx where Weeks Marine delivers PGC to support stations that are utilized by Con Edison, namely the 132nd Street and Locust Street pier
(See Figure 9). It is a state-owned facility that is managed by the New York Power Authority
(“NYPA”). NYPA (2014) aims to “provide clean, low-cost and reliable energy consistent with our commitment to the environment and safety, while promoting economic development and job development, energy efficiency, renewables and innovation, for the benefit of our customers and all New Yorkers.” This location is critical as PGC components delivered to this site service the THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 35
Bronx, Westchester and Putnam Counties, with no other viable alternative within miles. There is no waterfront access to facilitate the deliveries of heavy PGC along the Hudson River until
Indian Point Nuclear Plant, which is owned by a competitor to Con Edison.
Figure 9: 132nd Street and Locust Avenue Pier. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533.
The pier, which is just over 500 feet in length, lies between 132nd and 134th Streets.
There is access to the borough’s streets and good vertical clearance under the Bruckner, Cross
Bronx, and Major Deegan Expressways, the three major highways that bisect the region. The avoidance of bridges along with routes that circumvent underground infrastructure allows the
PGC to be effectively moved over the road to the Bronx and surrounding regions. There is adequate water depth to accommodate Weeks Marine’s equipment and the pier has recently been rehabilitated to be able support heavy loads. There is also sufficient room to stage trailers and equipment. The entire perimeter is surrounded by fence and there is security present at all times THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 36 as it is an active power plant, eliminating the costs that would be associated with hiring private security or police to safeguard the operation. Con Edison handles the permit process directly with NYPA, but Weeks is required to submit the technical specifications, certifications on the equipment and engineering and safety plans to NYPA, which are reviewed by their engineers.
As there are public and private ownership interests in the site, it could be a viable location for commercial use for some time.
Brooklyn
Red Hook Terminal
The Brooklyn borough of New York is unique in the fact that it maintains an active container terminal, located in the Red Hook section. The terminal is managed by the PANYNJ and operated by Red Hook Container Terminal LLC. The terminal currently has six active container cranes and over 5,000 feet of active berth space. The terminal can easily accommodate any of Weeks Marine’s floating equipment as it typically berths cargo ships that are over 500 feet in length and draw over 40 feet of water. It maintains piers that are heavily built, can accommodate trailers and SPMTs that are loaded with heavy PGC and has upland storage with indoor warehousing. The terminal maintains 24-hour security, is well lit and can accommodate the delivery of PGC at any time of day. Access to the terminal from the local streets and highways is adequate as they are used to handling trucks coming in and out of the terminal loaded with containers and break bulk cargo. To use the terminal for PGC operations, an application must be submitted to the PANYNJ, which includes technical specifications and certifications on the equipment and an engineered lift plan, which are reviewed by their engineers. Rates for the facility are published in their tariff and are determined by the number of pieces of cargo being lifted and the applicable weights. Although this terminal appropriately THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 37 facilitates the delivery of PGC to support the energy needs of the majority of the borough, access to the South and South East shore over the road is difficult and its longevity is in question due to gentrification. There are two alternative locations nearby that Weeks Marine has utilized previously for PGC deliveries. The first, New York Sand and Stone, would replace Red Hook terminal as the preferred delivery site if the terminal were to ever close and the second, Emmons
Avenue, located on the south shore of Brooklyn, eases the challenges of road deliveries to the
Southern and Southeastern neighborhoods of the borough.
New York Sand and Stone
The New York Sand and Stone facility is located at the foot of 25th Street in Brooklyn in the Gowanus Bay (See Figure 10). It has deep water approaches into their facility from the upper bay that is dredged on a regular basis. There is a minimum of 30 feet of water depth along their bulkhead as it currently receives and loads ships and large barges. The dock has very high loading ratings to support large stockpiles of sand and gravel, which also make it suitable for supporting trailers or SPMTs with heavy loads. The pier is conveniently located less than a 1/8 of a mile from Con Edison’s Gowanus substation on the south side of the Gowanus Canal, eliminating the need to cross any bridges. It is a secure facility that maintains 24-hour security, has fencing surrounding the entire perimeter and is well lit. Con Edison handles the permit process directly, but Weeks is still required to submit the technical specifications and certifications on the equipment, engineering and safety plans, which are reviewed by their plant engineers. Weeks Marine delivered PGC components to this facility following Hurricane Sandy to assist Con Edison in rebuilding substations that were damaged during the storm and it proved to be a viable location. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 38
Figure 10: New York Sand alternative site to Red Hook. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533.
Emmons Avenue Sheepshead Bay
The Emmons Avenue site is located at the foot of Brigham Street in Sheepshead Bay. It is owned by the City of New York and maintained by the New York City Department of
Sanitation (NYCDOS). This site was originally a wastewater treatment facility and berthed
NYC sanitation tankers that would offload sludge material to be treated (See Figure 11). The plant has been inactive for years and the pier now allows for public access for recreation and fishing. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 39
Figure 11: Emmons Avenue site. Alternative discharge site South Brooklyn showing capacity of Weeks 533. The location is not ideal as it is exposed to the ocean and weather out of the south and southeast and the sea state condition can build rather quickly. This requires proper planning, namely monitoring the marine weather forecast until it is favorable to work. There is access to local roads and unlike the other Brooklyn sites, delivery to this site reduces the amount of distance that must be traveled when delivering PGC components to the South Shore of Brooklyn.
A permit is required to access the site. The application requires specifications and certifications on equipment and engineering and safety plans, which are reviewed by NYCDOS engineers.
Local police must be hired for security and crowd control when performing commercial activities. Weeks Marine recently hired a consulting company to evaluate the pier’s condition THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 40 and water depths and it proved to be satisfactory for the floating equipment and supporting trailers and SPMTs loaded with PGC. Weeks used this facility in 2013 to deliver 14 relief stations that needed to be replaced on Coney Island after Hurricane Sandy. The stations were manufactured in Pennsylvania, trucked to Port Newark and ultimately delivered by floating crane barge to this site as they were too heavy to move over New York City roads and bridges.
Staten Island
New York Container Terminal (NYCT)
The borough of Staten Island has several facilities than can accommodate the delivery of
PGC’s. In addition, the largest power plant on Staten Island, the Arthur Kill Generating Station, maintains a suitable dock for delivery of PGC by water. NYCT, a full service container facility, is located on the North Shore of the island. It has good access to major highways in the region and is the only port in the local region other than Port Elizabeth that has on-dock rail service that is connected to the North American Intermodal rail network. It occupies over 187 acres of upland area and has indoor warehousing as well. All of the amenities that can be found at larger container ports, such as deep water berths, security, and piers that have suitable access for trucks and SPMTs, can be found here. To utilize the terminal for PGC operations, an application must be submitted to the PANYNJ that includes technical specifications and certifications on the equipment and an engineered lift plan, which are reviewed by their engineers. Rates for the facility are published in their tariff and are determined by the number of pieces of cargo being lifted and the applicable weights. While NYCT is a suitable location, there is another location in
Staten Island that can support PGC deliveries, which came in handy following Hurricane Sandy.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 41
Homeport Pier
The Homeport Pier lies on the South East part of Staten Island. It was originally opened in the 1980’s and operated as a United States Naval Station (See Figure 13). Ironically, the pier was one of the first large marine construction projects that Weeks Marine undertook. It was closed in 1994 and administered as part of the Gateway National Recreational Area. Recently
Weeks Marine completed the construction of a platform that supports the new barracks for the
New York City Fire Department and a pier that berths the City’s fire boat. The facility consists of a heavily constructed pier designed to support trucks with heavy loads that fed supplies to
Navy Vessels berthed there. It has deep water access into the facility and along the piers and has excellent access to the local streets and highways. The upland area consists of over 266 acres that at one time housed office spaces and warehouses that supported the base.
As with many other waterfront locations throughout the boroughs, this area is going through a gentrification. According to the NYEDC’s website (2014):
The former Navy Homeport will be transformed into a vibrant, sustainable, and livable
addition to the Stapleton community and the Staten Island waterfront. The Homeport, a
35-acre decommissioned U.S. Naval Base in Staten Island, is poised to become a new,
mixed-use residential community in accordance with the community-driven New
Stapleton Waterfront Development Plan. The first phase of the development will activate
and reconnect an underutilized waterfront through new housing opportunities, retail and
significant improvements in public infrastructure.
Weeks used this location multiple times after Hurricane Sandy to deliver PGC to substations that were damaged during the storm as well as delivering six relief stations to local beaches to replace those that were lost. Cargo could not be delivered to NYCT as its infrastructure and area roads THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 42 were badly damaged during the storm. Homeport proved a viable location to support these types of operations. Ideally, the gentrification plan would preserve an area for commercial use.
Figure 13: Homeport Pier. Alternative discharge site plan to NYCT showing capacity of Weeks 533.
Queens
The borough of Queens operates and maintains nine plants and substations that have water access in the region, and as such, is the most prepared for PGC delivery. Con Edison maintains their storage and service facility on Steinway Creek. The dock at Steinway is heavily built and is designed specifically for the delivery of PGC by floating equipment. The Weeks 533 can handle loads up to 455 tons at this location (See Figure14). Weeks Marine’s personnel worked directly with Con Edison’s staff to come up with a design that would accommodate their THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 43 floating cranes and serve as a RORO pier if the need arose. The majority of the PGC that Con
Edison purchases for the region arrives at this location to be prepared for final delivery to a plant or substation or to be stored until a replacement is needed. There is deep water access from the main shipping channel to the facility and the water along the entire length of the dock has a depth of 24 feet, more than adequate to berth the equipment. The roads leading to the storage area are wide and heavily constructed to accommodate heavy axle loadings and offer unrestricted vertical clearance. The site maintains 24-hour security, is well lit and is secured around the entire perimeter by a fence and motion activated security cameras. The storage facility has direct access to the surrounding city streets and was strategically located in this area as it has good road access to many plants and substations in the area. Due to the fact that the storage facility lies within the borough and the majority of plants are on the water, Queens has multiple options to receive PGC components. Therefore, there is no need to identify alternative locations as Con
Edison seems to have taken steps to make sure access in this borough is preserved.
The Rockaway peninsula is a unique section of the borough of Queens. To access the 14 neighborhoods that are locally called the Rockaways, cargo must traverse a bridge from either
Brooklyn or Queens. This limits the types of cargo that can be transported over roads given weight restrictions on local bridges. Also, unlike the borough of Queens, responsibility of the utilities in the region falls to PSE& G Long Island. Due to its geographical limitations and the vulnerability the peninsula faces to the ocean, it is necessary to identify and preserve an area exclusively to serve this region. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 44
Figure 14: Con Edison Astoria storage facility. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533.
Rockaway
The Rockaway facility is located on Beach Channel Drive between 104th and 108th streets
(See Figure 12). It is owned by the city of New York and maintained by the NYCDOS. The pier is currently used as a wastewater treatment plant and berths NYC sanitation tankers that are used to transport sludge material that is treated at the plant. There are adequate water depths for access to the dock as the main shipping channel for Jamaica Bay is frequently used and dredged.
The pier can easily accommodate all of Weeks Marine’s floating equipment and has a depth of
22 feet at low water along its entire length. The plant maintains good access to the local roads and it lies on the East Side of Jamaica Bay, eliminating the need to cross either of the two THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 45 bridges that connect the Rockaways with Brooklyn. The plant maintains 24-hour security, is well lit and has fencing around the entire perimeter. There is limited room for upland equipment, such as trucks and SPMT’s, but there is adequate room to accommodate one trailer at a time and
NYDOS maintains property nearby that could be used as a staging or storage area. Use of the facility requires a permit. The application requires specifications and certifications on the equipment and engineering and safety plans, which are reviewed by NYCDOS engineers. This facility was also used following Hurricane Sandy to deliver PCG components for PSE&G and 13 relief stations that were destined for the Rockaway beaches. In the third quarter, Weeks Marine plans to use the location for several deliveries of PGC for a new CoGen facility that is being constructed, if awarded the contract.
Figure 12: Beach Channel Drive Rockaways. Discharge plan showing capacity of Weeks 533. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 46
Summary of Creative Project
In order for utility companies to provide power continuously to the residents of New
York City and Long Island, viable commercial delivery sites must be maintained. Few locations remain and the future of most of the alternative locations identified above is uncertain given plans to turn them into parks. Though all of the locations identified are suitable for the delivery of PGC, some are more desirable than others due to certain physical characteristics, the flexibility of the owners or agencies that regulate them and their usage fees (See Table 2).
It is typically easier to perform these operations at private facilities that operate as terminals, plants or substations as they are isolated from public access and have dedicated areas to support commercial activities. They do not require the streets to be closed or police to be present to control pedestrians or vehicular traffic. They have heavily constructed piers with high deck loadings and deep water along them, which easily accommodates Weeks Marine’s floating equipment. They also have good access to the surrounding roads for the trucks and SPMTs that move the cargo once received.
Manhattan is by far the most difficult region to work in due to the amount of vehicular and pedestrian traffic that the locations face. It offers no other viable options to support the delivery of PGC components other than Piers 42 and 86. It is quite disturbing that one of the most advanced cities in the world has nearly isolated itself from commercial access as a result of the gentrification and waterfront development that has take place over the last couple decades.
It is my recommendation that the utility companies and their respective local government work together to preserve some key areas that support deliveries of PGC. Weeks Marine would be willing to provide the necessary engineering expertise to these agencies to ensure the sites accommodate waterborne deliveries. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 47
Table 2: Delivery Locations Regulating Authorities and Accessibility
Location Borough Public Controlling Permit Usage Floating RoRo Suitability Feasibility Access or Authority Required Fee Crane Discharge for PGC For by Private or Owner USD Discharge Deliveries Commercial truck or Use SPMT Pier 86 Manhattan Public Hudson Yes 15,000/24 Yes No Fair Poor Good River Trust hrs. Pier 42 Manhattan Public NYC DOS Yes None Yes Yes Good Fair Good Hempstead Long Private Tilcon Yes 25,000/24 Yes Yes Excellent Good Excellent Island hrs. Port Long Private Tilcon Yes 25,000/24 Yes Yes Excellent Good Excellent Jefferson Island hrs. 132nd Street Bronx Private NYPA Yes None Yes Yes Excellent Good Good Red Hook Brooklyn Public NYNJPA Yes Per Tariff Yes Yes Excellent Good Good NY Sand Brooklyn Private NY Sand & Yes 25,000/24 Yes Yes Excellent Good Good Stone hrs. Emmons Ave Brooklyn NYC NYC DOS Yes None Yes Yes Fair Fair Good DOS NYCT Staten Public NYNJPA Yes Per Tariff Yes Yes Excellent Good Excellent Island also has access to rail Homeport Staten Public Billybey Yes 5,000/24 Yes Yes Excellent Good Excellent Island Ferry Co. hrs. Lyster Creek Queens Private Con Edison Yes None Yes Yes Excellent Good Excellent Rockaways Queens Private NYC DOS Yes None Yes Yes Good Fair Good
THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 48
Summary
Identifying areas that are suitable for the delivery of PGC components in the New York region gave me a heightened sense of awareness of not only how important it is to preserve existing locations but also the need to establish and preserve alternative sites. The majority of power that is produced in the region is non-renewable. Statistics show that there is high demand for electricity by residential and commercial users, which can only be satisfied by power plants that require heavy, oversized components to operate. Waterborne transportation seems to be the most viable option to facilitate the deliveries of these large components as it has never been and will never be practical to transport these cargoes over the road due to geographical and infrastructural limitations. Therefore it is paramount that local agencies along with the utility companies develop a plan that will preserve these locations so they will always be available for use.
The two main variables identified that would seem to have the most impact on the locations’ future availability are the transformation of the locations into parks and recreational areas and the sale of privatively owned facilities. Mitigating these risks is feasible, but would require the participation of marine experts such as Weeks Marine, transportation specialists from the utility companies and the cooperation of the appropriate government agencies.
Plan of Action for City Owned Facilities
For locations that are City-owned and have plans in place for gentrification, a suitable plan of action would include working with the appropriate agencies to:
Identify waterfront and upland areas needed to support operations THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 49
Perform hydrographic, geotechnical and pier condition surveys to assess limitations and
identify upgrades, if needed. Budgets would then be developed based on findings
Work with engineers and designers to develop a plan to preserve an area that can still be
used for commercial use but does not interfere physically or cosmetically with
gentrification plan
With proper planning and participation from the appropriate contractors, development of a delivery site could be done at a minimum expense. Any additional costs that result in the preservation of this access could be paid for by the utility companies. The upland design would require the most attention in the design and development process. One thought is to design an area that would serve both recreational and commercial purposes simultaneously, with components, such as park benches, statues and fences that could be easily relocated temporarily without any major construction. PGC deliveries do not require large permanent staging areas; just enough unobstructed space to accommodate a truck and trailer or SPMT. Sufficient vertical clearance and access to a city street are also required to transport the load once received at the location. The availability of Weeks Marine’s equipment along with the characteristics of its floating cranes greatly reduces the need and cost of implementing upland improvements. The floating equipment has its own mooring capabilities so it does not need a conventional pier or dock in order to operate. Everything needed to accommodate the waterborne portion of the operation is contained within the footprint of the floating equipment and is temporary.
Plan of Action for Privately Owned Facilities
For locations that are privately owned, the plan of action would be very similar. All of the aforementioned steps to assess the physical feasibility would be required to determine if they are suitable delivery locations. The private areas identified are highly desirable waterfront areas in THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 50
Long Island, as reflected by the price of nearby real estate. As with other commercial areas that were recently sold in Long Island, those identified would most likely be developed into waterfront communities with private recreational marinas. The most viable plan of action for the utility companies is to approach the private owners and purchase or lease a portion of their property for their use. The ideal arrangement would allow owners to continue operating their facility, but grant access as needed to the utility companies for PGC deliveries. For leases, the utility company could negotiate including a first right of refusal clause in the event of a sale of the land, giving the utilities an option to construct a new power plant at a later date.
Conclusion
It took catastrophic events such as the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center to raise the public’s awareness to the region’s limited accessibility as high-traffic bridges and tunnels were closed. Years later, Superstorm Sandy proved how critical it is for the region to produce its own fuel and power. The region was crippled because people had limited access to power vehicles and generators. Meanwhile, worst-hit areas such as the Rockaways and Staten Island went weeks without electricity. As time passes and the region returns to normal, society once again will become complacent and forget about these shortcomings of the infrastructure. Electricity is one of the necessities that are taken for granted until it is no longer available. Maintaining access for the delivery of PGC components can help rectify some of the shortcomings. Neither of the solutions proposed are easily attained, but they can and should be pursued as they benefit the public interest as well as the private industry. Therefore it is imperative that steps be taken and a plan implemented to make sure the lights stay on in New York City going forward. THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ACCESS BERTHS FOR PGC DELIVERY 51
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