The Great Lakes must look beyond its traditional shipping industries and look to benefit from the new wave of investment in US defense, shipbuilding, autonomy, software, electric vessels and cyber, according to maritime communications firm Polaris Media.
Ben Pinnington, Managing Partner of Polaris Media, said the region has a major opportunity as the United States rebuilds its maritime industrial base through initiatives including the Maritime Action Plan and SHIPS Act.
Speaking to more than 100 senior maritime figures at Chicago Yacht Club, Pinnington said the Great Lakes has the infrastructure, expertise and location to play a central role in the resurgence of the US maritime industry.
“There is no room for nostalgia about what Great Lakes shipping used to be,” he said. “We have to look to the future to attract the best businesses.
“When I look at my business’s growth, and what is driving the future of maritime, I see defense, shipbuilding, autonomy, software, electric ships and cyber. That’s where the Great Lakes needs to be or we risk missing the boat.
“We want the Great Lakes to be part of the Maritime Action Plan, being home to 12,000 shipyard businesses and nearly 40 shipyard facilities, plus all the ports and professional services businesses here. We have so much to offer.
“Chicago is the only Great Lakes port offering direct access by vessel to the Atlantic, Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico.”
Pinnington, who is also President of Chicago Propeller Club, was welcoming guests to a reception staged by the club ahead of the American Great Lakes Ports Association conference.
The event brought together senior maritime figures from across North America, including Great Lakes port directors and representatives from government, the U.S. Coast Guard and the private sector.
His message was reinforced by keynote speaker Captain Stephen Carmel, Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), who said the Great Lakes would be an integral part of efforts to restore America’s maritime industry.
“The whole MARAD team is here. We hear a lot about maritime dominance, we are really stepping out on it, it’s not some paper program. We’re not here to whine about what used to be, we are here to build what we’re going to be.
“The Maritime Action Plan and the SHIPS Act have an awful lot of stuff in it that’s great. But it is not focused 100 per cent on salt water activity, it applies as much to the Great Lakes, which is why we are here.
“We’re here to tell you where we can help you and listen to you and what you need. But most of all we’re here to make sure that as we rebuild the maritime industrial base and return our country to maritime industry prominence that is rightfully ours, the Great Lakes and inland waterways system comes with us.
“We all survive or fail together. The Great Lakes, the Coast and the Inland rivers, we rise and fall together.”
The evening concluded with a blessing from Father Mike Enright of Stella Maris Great Lakes, who appealed for support for the charity’s work supporting visiting seafarers.