Research Focus Areas

  • Evaluate short sea shipping market opportunities on the Great Lakes
  • Evaluate export and import markets for foreign trade between ports on the Great Lakes and foreign ports such as those located in Europe and Africa
  • Evaluate the environmental benefits of waterborne transportation in the Great Lakes region and assist in developing sustainable solutions to the environmental effects of maritime transportation and port operations
  • Analyze the methods and effects of taxes and fees imposed on Great Lakes shipping
  • Evaluate the state of shipbuilding and repair bases on the Great Lakes and the impact to the industry and national security
  • Analyze the origin-to-destination flow of freight in the Great Lakes
  • Analyze the economic viability of establishing transshipment facilities and intermodal for ocean-going and intra-lake cargoes on the Great Lakes, which may include the evaluation of 12-month operations of the locks and shipping lanes
  • Evaluate new vessel designs for domestic and international shipping on the Great Lakes
  • Develop new products and technologies to enhance port security and port operations
  • Provide education and outreach activities to the public on Great Lakes maritime shipping, port security and intermodal operations
  • Identify ways to improve the integration of the Great Lakes Marine Transportation System (MTS) into the national transportation system
  • Examine the potential of expanded seasonal operations on the Great Lakes MTS
  • Identify ways to include intelligent transportation applications into the Great Lakes MTS
  • Analyze the effects and impacts of aging infrastructure and port corrosion on the Great Lakes MTS
  • Establish and maintain a model Great Lakes MTS database
  • Identify market opportunities for, and impediments to, the use of United States-flag vessels in trade with Canada on the Great Lakes

Latest News:

$750,000 Clean Diesel Initiative Grant Awarded

The Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute (GLMRI) has been awarded a $750,000 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative Grant to help reduce air emissions from a 1,000-foot Great Lakes ore carrier.

GLMRI Sponsors Summer Maritime Education Workshops

GLMRI and the UW-Madison’s Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (C-FIRE) are co-sponsoring Joan Chadde’s workshops through Michigan Technological University for K-12 teachers to learn about shipping and commerce on the Great Lakes. This summer’s program centers in Toledo, Ohio, and focuses on the lower Lakes. Also this summer,there is a separate program at Houghton, MI for teachers to learn about navigation.

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