Port OKs plan to replace dock fenders

2/29/2008

Fenders with impact-absorbing capability are to be installed on part of the dock face at the Port of Toledo's primary international cargo terminal under a contract approved by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority's board of directors.

The $127,300 bid from Blue Water Marine of Houston was the only one the port authority received, but it was within the $140,000 estimate the agency had received for the work. Port directors voted 8-0, with five board members absent, to approve the contract yesterday.

The current dock fendering at the port authority-owned international cargo dock, managed by Midwest Terminals of Toledo International, is made of white-oak timber "that is rigid and has minimal energy absorption capability," according to a staff report to the port directors. Installed in 1994, the timbers are due for replacement, the report states.

The 35 engineered fenders Blue Water will install are designed to better absorb impacts from ships and are of a design "typically found at overseas shipping docks that accommodate large vessels."

A $71,000 contract with Legacy Commercial Flooring, which has an office in Holland, Ohio, to install carpet on the ground floor at Toledo Express Airport's passenger terminal, also was approved. Ninety-five percent of the installation cost will be federally funded.