For nearly 20 years, leaders of the tug and barge industry in the region have converged on SUNY Maritime College in the spring to discuss current issues and initiatives facing the industry. This year will be no different; the 18th annual Towing Industry Forum will include presentations about safety management systems, wind farms and their impact on marine traffic, and a federal study regarding route planning and access to East Coast ports, among other topics.
The forum, organized by the college’s Department of Professional Education and Training, will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14, in the Maritime Academic Center on campus. After the conference ends, there will be an optional demonstration for attendees in the Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc., Tug and Barge Simulation Center.
“The tug barge industry is a vital component of the marine traffic in the Port of New York and New Jersey,” said Capt. Eric Johansson, founder of the conference and professor of professional education and training. “Yet as an industry we must be flexible as the volume of marine traffic increases and as we look to our waterways to supply energy through wind farms. This conference has been planned with these modern questions in mind.”
The conference will include presentations by the American Bureau of Shipping, the U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York, the American P&I Club, the National Transportation Safety Board’s Office of Marine Safety, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
The conference breakfast is sponsored by Tug and Barge Committee Port of New York and New Jersey. The American Bureau of Shipping is the lunch sponsor. The conference break is sponsored by the American P&I Club.