Thank you, Denny¹, for that kind introduction, and thank you, Capt. Harrop² , for offering to host us today.

This certificate recognizes local and regional innovators from throughout the United States who have introduced a new product or service into the market during the last 12 months.

Exchange President Dennis Rochford (left) is presented the “Excellence in Innovation” certificate from U.S. Department of Commerce Under Secretary for Technology Robert Cresanti

When my staff learned about the Maritime Exchange and its candidacy as a possible local company to recognize, I asked them to find out more about the Exchange.

Once they informed me about the all the various programs and services the Maritime Exchange provides to its members and to the maritime community as a whole, it became immediately apparent to me that this organization, particularly given its non-profit status, epitomizes exactly the type of innovative and creative thinking we want to showcase. You made our job very easy.

Most of us outside the port industry have never heard of the Maritime Exchange. It strikes me as a sort of “unsung hero” of the port. But there’s a lot going on in this small, progressive organization.

The Maritime Exchange has been recording ship movements on the Delaware River since 1872.

In the early 1980s, the Exchange created its first electronic database for maritime ship information.

By 1989, the Exchange had developed an electronic cargo manifesting and release system, which eliminated the need for shippers to present paper manifests to U.S. Customs and convey cargo status information by phone, fax, and/or courier.

In early 1990s, the Exchange added a sensitive cargo tracking system to its network, which provided specific product information to be used by the Coast Guard and emergency responders in the event of an oil spill or other casualty.

And through the next decade, the Exchange worked with public and private partners to add real-time tide and weather information and an electronic Advance Notice of Vessel Arrival/Departure system.

Most recently, in May of 2007, the Exchange added an Automatic Identification System (AIS) to Maritime On-Line. This system provides access to real-time vessel position information through a network of receivers installed throughout the waterway in partnership between the Maritime Exchange, the Delaware River Port Authority, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With the addition of AIS to the Maritime Exchange network, ship and tug operators, law enforcement, public safety personnel, shippers, importers, port authorities, terminal operators, and a host of others now have access through a single portal to all the information they need to process vessels and their cargoes in safer, more secure, efficient, and environmentally healthy manner. Maritime On-Line has become the single most comprehensive-based maritime information system in the United States.

We appreciate your taking time out of your busy schedules to join us this afternoon. Congratulations to the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay, Inc., for your achievement in innovation in this area.

Maritime Exchange Press Release and photos: http://www.maritimedelriv.com/Publications/press/press_release.htm

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