Issue link: https://jocdigital.uberflip.com/i/957444
22 The Journal of Commerce | April 2018 www.joc.com Breakbulk & Project Cargo breakbulk, bulk, project, and con- tainerized cargoes. Gulf Stream's equipment includes the Hous- ton-based Big John, a floating crane with 500-ton lifting capacity. Logistec said Gulf Stream's parent company, GSM Maritime Holdings, had revenue of US$68.7 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $8.2 million. The acquisition involved the merger of a Logistec subsidiary with GSM, resulting in Logistec's acquisi- tion of the merged entity's shares. In addition to its bulk, breakbulk, and containerized cargo services, Logistec provides marine transpor- tation geared primarily to the Arctic coastal trade, along with short-line rail services and marine agency ser- vices to foreign shipowners and oper- ators serving the Canadian market. Logistec also provides envi- ronmental services to industrial, municipal, and governmental customers for the trenchless struc- tural rehabilitation of underground water mains and regulated materials management, site remediation, risk assessment, and manufacturing of woven hoses. l email: joseph.bonney@ihsmarkit.com twitter: @josephbonney MONTREAL-BASED LOGISTEC CORP. has expanded its footprint in the US Gulf market by acquiring Gulf Stream Marine, a nonunion steve- dore and terminal operator, for $65.7 million (C$84.4 million). With Gulf Stream's 10 termi- nals in five ports, Logistec now has cargo-handling activities at 58 ter- minals in 35 ports in North America. Logistec's previous operations were centered in Canada and on the US East Coast. "Combining Logistec and Gulf Stream Marine will bring togeth- er two highly complementary businesses to deliver greater value, service, and innovation to custom- ers," said Madeleine Paquin, Logistec president and CEO. "We see great synergies in join- ing forces. It provides an excellent platform for growth and develop- ment," said Kevin Bourbonnais, president and CEO at Gulf Stream. Since its founding in 1990, Houston-based Gulf Stream has become one of the largest stevedores and terminal operators in the Gulf. It operates at several Houston-area locations, including Manchester Terminal and Industrial Terminal, and at Corpus Christi, Freeport, and Brownsville, Texas, as well as Lake Charles, Louisiana, and handles Blooming in Gulf Canada's Logistec expands in US Gulf market with acquisition of Gulf Stream Marine By Joseph Bonney annually for the three pilots' asso- ciations whose members work on different sections of the Great Lakes. Canadian pilots, who also guide inter- national ships, are regulated by their country's federal government. In its proposed 2018 schedule, the Coast Guard said it responded to last November's court ruling by reverting to a previously used benchmark — compensation of US-flag Lakes ship captains represented by the Ameri- can Maritime Officers (AMO) union. Pilots said the AMO pay scales are outdated and don't reflect overtime pay that AMO captains receive, and said a fairer benchmark would be that of pilots' organizations on other coasts, where annual target compen- sation often exceeds $450,000. A benchmark based on other pilots' pay scales "would result in tar- get compensation of about $350,000 rather than the $319,000 in the proposed rule," the three US Great Lakes pilotage associations said in comments to the Coast Guard. "The pilots cannot be sure why the Coast Guard refuses to consider a US pilot- age benchmark, but suspect it might be because it would prefer to set a lower number to minimize criticism from litigious industry groups." The American Great Lakes Ports Association, the Shipping Federation of Canada, and the US Great Lakes Shipping Association told the Coast Guard they support use of the AMO benchmark and the weighting factor, but that "chronic shortcomings" in Coast Guard rate-making has provided pilot associations with excess revenue. They said the Coast Guard "tends to accept uncritically complaints from pilot sources that pilots work - ing approximately 200 days per year need average annual compensation in excess of $320,000 to entice them into the profession or to prevent them from prematurely retiring or seeking alternative employment." The industry associations also said the Coast Guard's rate proposal gave short shrift to a Coast Guard-commis- sioned study by consultant Martin & Associates that said hefty pilotage increases could drive cargo to other coasts. Pilots' groups have criticized the study as "biased and flawed." L email: joseph.bonney@ihsmarkit.com twitter: @JosephBonney Rickmers Shanghai freighter passing under the Harbor Bridge at sunset assisted by a tugboat in the Port of Corpus Christi. robertwcoy / Shutterstock.com