FINANCING INFRASTRUCTUREit was welcomed by the mayors of St. James A. Kearns has represented owners, operators, Louis, Grafton, and Alton, and of? -? nancial institutions and end users for more than 30 cials of the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-years in the purchase, construction and ? nancing of vessels neers, MarAd, Ingram, America’s Cen-engaged in both foreign and coastwise trades of the United tral Port, and Inland Rivers, Ports and States. Kearns has earned an LL.M. (in Taxation) from Terminals, Inc. (IRPT).New York University, J.D. cum laude from the University A working group has also been of Notre Dame, and a B.S.E.E., summa cum laude from formed under the auspices of MRCTI the University of Notre Dame.that includes shippers Wal-Mart and Home Depot, the Illinois Soybean As-sociation, Ingram, IRPT, and Chism-Hardy Investments of Memphis to explore the feasibility of container-It’s time to upgrade.on-barge services for cargoes that are heavy, that have low inventory carry-ing costs, or that are seasonal, as initial Samson’s SATURN-12 outlasts and candidates for carriage in containers outperforms other HMPE ropes by 15–20%on the inland waterways.The support of Ingram, the nation’s S Saturn-12 h holds up to the rigors largest barge line, and large shippers fa faced by push boats on such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot, in inland rivers. Proprietary make the prospect credible that con-c coatings at the ?ber level re reduce external and internal tainer-on-barge could become a regu-a abrasion for signi?cantly lar component of freight transporta-lo longer working life.tion on the Illinois and Mississippi L L Li Lightweight, high-strength ba barge lines mean added Rivers. If that happens, then the ports sa safety, easy handling, at which this service will be offered an and more makeups UPGRADEmight need to acquire cranes and an and knockdowns before re retirement. That’s real, other equipment, and to make other m measurable value.capital improvements, in order to be LI LIGHTWEIGHT HIGH able to load, unload, and handle the ST STRENGTHcontainers, with the consequent need ADDED SAFETY & for additional funding to make such EASY HANDLINGacquisitions and improvements.REDUCED ABRASION FOR LONGER For some ports, the possibility of WORKING LIFEbeing part of the M-55/M-35 Con-tainer-on-Barge Project could provide a good occasion for them to become acquainted with MarAd’s Port Plan-ning and Investment Toolkit, includ-UPGRADE UPGRADEing its Funding Strategy Module. Al-ready yielding demonstrable progress and results, the scope and depth of the Toolkit and Funding Strategy Module would make it a worthwhile invest-ment of time in any event for those re-Sales@PaducahRigging.com sponsible for port funding to become PaducahRigging.com familiar with these resources.(270) 443-3863 www.marinelink.com MN Nov15 Layout 32-49.indd 47 10/23/2015 2:18:03 PM