MarineLink News Search
Search term • Editor’s-Note
Create an email alert for Editor’s-Note
Working Out the Election’s Impact on the US Workboat Industry
By the time this article is published, voting will have concluded in the 2020 United States presidential election. Based on the possibility of legal challenges to the election, however, it may be some time before we know who will be occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20, 2021. Additional uncertainty may linger with regard to control of the Senate. However, beyond the general spectacle of American politics, an important question remains: What does this election mean for the U.S.
Interview: Todd Fuller, President, Associated Terminals
Associated Terminals runs an impressive mid-stream cargo handling operation on the Lower Mississippi River, unloading bulk carriers with high-efficiency cranes loading a carousel of barges. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News/MarineLink.com spent some time with Todd Fuller, President, Associated Terminals to discuss the operation.For those not in the know, provide an overview of the Associated Terminals…
USCG: Unlicensed Charters - Bad News for Everyone
The Coast Guard is reminding the public that unlicensed vessel charters are both illegal and unsafe to consumers.Hiring an unlicensed charter is dangerous because the charter may not have the proper emergency safety gear, navigation and communication gear, and may not have undergone the proper license exams and inspections which are put in place to ensure passenger and crew safety.Legal passenger vessel…
USCG: Marijuana for Mariners Still Forbidden
Marijuana use remains incompatible with sea service despite changes in state laws.Every year, dangerous drug use disrupts or destroys the careers of hundreds of professional mariners, threatening safety throughout the maritime transportation system at the same time. The ravages of addiction and accidental overdose make headlines daily, yet drug use among both the general population and safety-sensitive workforce continues to increase.
Book Review: Casey the Container
Bringing the world of containerized cargo to young readers.This rhyming children’s book follows Casey the Container, a new shipping container, along her journey on her first day in port. Casey meets new friends, experiences the workings of the waterfront, and learns the important role containers play in our world. The story, as told from Casey’s perspective, provides operational insight about the movement of containerized cargo.
Maritime Welfare Training: More Important than Ever
The shipping industry is facing unprecedented change. With topics such as new environmental regulations and the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation dominating the conversation, seafarers’ welfare has tended to be overlooked.This trend is slowly changing as the industry continues to recognize the need to professionalize its approach to maritime welfare, but there is a long way to go. True…
Op/Ed: AIWA - A National Asset Worth Funding
What does the future hold for infrastructure investment on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in 2018? The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) is a nonprofit, membership organization for one of the nation’s longest water infrastructure projects stretching over 1,100 miles: the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW). We are grateful to serve as the one unified Voice of the Waterway and below is our outlook for 2018.
Op/Ed: Real World Infrastructure Needs
Over the last few months, the inland waterways system has been particularly stressed by both emergency and Mother Nature-inflicted outages at key locks and dams. Lock and Dam (L&D) 52 on the Ohio River was closed September 6-14 when the dam’s low-lift wooden wickets could not be raised to hold a stable pool for navigation, halting shipping on the river. Given the river’s conditions, the wicket gates had to be raised individually, by hand, to impound water to create the pool.
Op/Ed: Making the Mississippi River Mightier
A plan unfolds and support grows for a 50-foot Ship Channel to support economical and efficient grain exports. The Big River Coalition remains at the heart of that collaborative effort to make the Mississippi River Mightier. In 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Institute of Water Resources (IWR) released a report under the direction of Congress to document the status of U.S. Ports to accept post-panamax vessels. The report, entitled, “U.S.
U.S. FMC Unanimously Rejects Proposed Tripartite Pact
U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner William P. Yesterday, I voted to reject the Tripartite Agreement proposed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K Line); Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.
Effective Harassment Prevention Training
When is bad harassment prevention training worse than no training at all? When it comes with a wagging finger shaming employees whose only sin is being a little rough around the edges. When it emboldens opportunistic employees to seek an advantage they do not deserve. When it causes managers to cravenly subordinate legitimate operational considerations to political correctness. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not mandate a general civility code.
Legislators Call for US-flag LNG Carriers
New legislation proposed this week would require up to 30 percent of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to travel on U.S.-flagged vessels. The U.S. is expected to continue ramping up its LNG exports in the coming years and become a net exporter by 2020, yet there are currently no U.S.-flag carriers to carry the cargo. “We’re the most powerful nation in the world, but 99 percent of our trade travels on foreign-flagged ships…
Workboat vs. Jet Ski: A Mysterious Collision and Its Consequences
As summer slowly fades to memory and commercial vessels have less frequent encounters with recreational vessels of all sizes, shapes and descriptions on America’s inland waterways, it might be a good time to review a strange, but not completely unusual incident that occurred in Louisiana on a navigable channel in the lower Mississippi River late last May. A workboat was pushing a small barge through…
Insights: Edward E. Belk, USACE
Insights: Edward E. Belk - Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division Directorate of Civil Works, U.S. Edward E. Belk, Jr. currently serves as the Chief of Operations…
AIWA Highlights Investment Needs on the Nation’s Marine Highways
Nowhere is that more important than on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As 2016 begins, we at the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA) are looking forward to participating in the ongoing dialogue regarding the need for strategic investments in the Nation’s Marine Transportation System. Our organization advocates for the ongoing maintenance of one of the nation’s longest water infrastructure projects, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW).
Mission to Seafarers Responds to Singapore Strait Tragedy
Global maritime welfare charity The Mission to Seafarers outlines emergency support work with surviving crew members of the Thorco Cloud – a general cargo vessel which sank in the Singapore Strait after a collision on December 16. The other vessel involved, chemical tanker Stolt Commitment, received only minor damage and is in a stable condition. Cayman Islands-registered Stolt Commitment and freighter…
Marine News Editor's Note, July 2015
This edition of MarineNews headlines the increasingly diverse articulated tug-barge (AT/B) units which are beginning to make up a large percentage of the domestic merchant fleet.
Marine News: June Editor's Note
The month of June brings many things; among them sunshine, the beginning of summer and ultimately, a clearer picture of where industry is headed next. The June edition…
Marine News Editor's Note
It is at times like this that bumper sticker humor comes in handy. One of my favorites has to be the infamous “God, please let me have another oil boom – I promise…
Marine News: Editor's Note
Our annual shipyard report comes at an appropriate, yet uncertain time for the industry. The future direction of the oil and gas markets will, to a large extent…