SCHUMER SECURES OVER $750,000 FOR PORT OF OSWEGO TO PURCHASE CRITICAL NEW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY REACH STACKER TO BOLSTER PORT’S CARGO OPERATIONS
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that he has secured a $754,000 U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) Marine Highways Grant for the Port of Oswego Authority to purchase a new low-emission reach stacker. The senator wrote to Transportation Secretary Buttigieg to advocate on the Port of Oswego’s behalf. Schumer said this critical new equipment will help the Port significantly improve its ability to load and unload containers, both on cargo ships and rail, greatly improving local operations and helping ease supply chain disruptions.
"With this new equipment, the Port of Oswego will become an even greater hub for the movement of goods throughout the Eastern Great Lakes,” said Senator Schumer. “This new low emissions reach stacker will allow heavy cargo shipments to more easily unload at Oswego and send their goods off to market across the globe. The world class reputation of the Port of Oswego keeps getting stacked higher and higher, and I proud to deliver the federal funding to help grow the Port’s operations in the region, ease our supply chain issues, and increase the strength of the Port’s infrastructure to keep their presence strong in Central New York for generations to come.”
William Scriber, Executive Director of Port of Oswego said, “The purchase of this critical piece of equipment will allow the Port to create a more resilient transportation system by offering containerized cargo service will help relieve the strain on our landside transportation networks and increase the supply chain resiliency to assure the reliability and capacity for the mobility of goods. We would like to thank Senator Schumer for his support on this award and his continued support of the port and our efforts to create jobs for central New York.”
A copy of Schumer’s original letter of support for the MARAD grant appears below:
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
I am pleased to write in support of the application submitted by the Port of Oswego to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) Marine Highways Grant program.
With funding, the Port of Oswego will move forward with its Container Service Short Sea Shipping project. This project is designed for the Port to reach into the national containerized cargo movement and provide an environmentally sustainable, low-cost alternative to trucking raw materials.
Currently, the Port does not have a reach stacker for container handling and the ship used to transport containers is not geared. The purchase of a reach stacker will allow the Port to create a more resilient transportation system by offering containerized cargo service between the ports of Oswego and Monroe to transport aluminum coils, recycled aluminum and other containerized cargo. I applaud the Port of Oswego for its foresight and sincerely hope the application meets with your approval.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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