Posted on August 1, 2016
The Port of Oswego is again on a record pace for business and a just wrapped up project is helping immensely.
The Army Corps of Engineers has just finished dredging nearly 200,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Oswego Harbor.
Every single day the Oswego River is dumping silt into the harbor while Lake Ontario waves are carrying sediment in from the other side.
As the sediment piles up it makes the Harbor more shallow meaning only smaller boats with less cargo can arrive at the Port of Oswego.
Terry Hammill, Chair of the Board of Directors at the Port of Oswego Authority, says, “If we don’t periodically dredge we go out of business, it’s that simple or we can’t nearly maximize our potential.”
Lt Col. Adam Czekanski of the Army Corp of Engineers in Buffalo tells NewsChannel 9, “Well, we understand the economic importance of the Oswego Harbor to this whole region.”
“Shipping is the most economic way of getting in here. The more you can load that ship and burn the same amount of fuel the more that product is competitive on the market.” Port Executive Director Zelko Kirincich says.
With the dredging done the Port of Oswego can take pretty much any ship coming through the Great Lakes system.
Kirincich says with bigger ships carrying more cargo it creates jobs, from longshoremen to truckers and more.
Port officials say the facility has an economic impact of approximately $50 million on Central New York.
Source: LocalSYR.com
