Action Plan

Europe's Atlantic Action Plan Unveiled

The European Commission has adopted an Action Plan to revitalise the marine & maritime economy in the Atlantic Ocean Area. The Action Plan aims to show how the EU's Atlantic Member States, their regions and the Commission can help create sustainable growth in coastal regions and drive forward the "blue economy", which has the potential to provide 7 million jobs in Europe by 2020. At the same time, the environmental and ecological stability of the Atlantic Ocean must be preserved. The Atlantic area is home to numerous maritime activities. This includes both traditional activities, such as fisheries, aquaculture, tourism and shipping, as well as emerging ones such as offshore renewables and marine biotech. Individually, the Atlantic Member States (Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom) are doing a lot in each of these areas and some have adopted their own respective maritime strategies. The Action Plan now encourages the Member States to work together: to share information, costs, results and best practices, as well as generating ideas for further areas of cooperation. The Action Plan considers responses to the challenges of delivering growth, reducing the carbon footprint, sustainable use of the sea's natural resources, responding effectively to threats and emergencies and implementing an "ecosystem" management approach in Atlantic waters. It contains four overarching priorities:

CMA CGM Holds Firm in Difficult Environment

 Volumes carried rose by 10% year-on-year to 2,604 million teus in the third quarter of 2011, confirming that CMA CGM is benefiting from the size and modern technology of its ships. Over the first nine months of the year, volumes carried were up by 9.4%, for a total of 7.42 million teus. Consolidated revenue stood at $3,856 million for the quarter, up 2.8% over the prior-year period, and at $11,086 million for the first nine months, up 5.2% year-on-year

Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Approves 2013 Budgets

2013 budgets approval reflects strong financial performance & commitment to investments tied to its Strategic Action Plan. In 2013, the Port intends to continue improving its business lines by attracting more projects to its Foreign-Trade Zone and development finance programs, and strategically enhancing the financial performance of the maritime operation. As a result, operating revenues are expected to increase 18 percent next year

New Training Alliance for Chartworld

MSG MarineServe, Safebridge and ChartWorld ECDIS training alliance. ChartWorld International has selected MSG MarineServe GmbH, its sister company Safebridge GmbH and the ECDIS Training Consortium (ETC) as its official training partner for the new ChartWorld eSeries, a “ECDIS as a Service” concept. MSG Marine and Safebridge will provide a complete eSeries training package, which encompasses both generic and type-specific training using a combination of traditional class based

Refueling Down Under

The conventionally powered aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) receives fuel during a replenishment at sea from the Royal Australian Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment ship HMAS Success (AOR 304). The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63) and the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53) trail astern. Kitty Hawk is currently operating in the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia's Queensland region as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2005

EMSA's LNG Bunkering Study Now Online

EMSA’s commissioned study on standards & rules for bunkering gas-fuelled ships has now been published on its website. The study (carried out by Germanischer Lloyd) contains a comprehensive overview of the regulatory framework for the bunkering of gas-fuelled ships including identified gaps. All relevant existing international and European rules with a possible impact on LNG bunkering have been described in detail

New Strategy to Help the Nation's Ports Go Green

EPA has unveiled a new plan of action for working with public port authorities and other interested groups to reduce the environmental impacts of moving goods through ports. The "Vision, , and Strategy for Sustainable Ports" recognizes the steady growth in global maritime commerce and the critical role American ports and related transportation and supply chain partners play in managing the environmental impacts of moving goods across the country. 

Wärtsilä Joins Sustainable Shipping Initiative

Wärtsilä has joined the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI), a program initiated by Forum for the Future. The initiative brings together the industry's leading organizations to show what can be done for shipping to contribute to, and benefit from, a sustainable future.   This global taskforce gives leading industry players, and their supply chain stakeholders, a framework for assessing the extent of their sustainability challenges

Legal Matters

Massachusetts Modifies Application for No-Discharge Zone The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has modified the scope of an application for the designation of a "no-discharge zone." In 1998, the EOEA submitted a proposal to the EPA for a "no-discharge" designation encompassing all coastal waters within the jurisdiction of the state. In 1999, the application was withdrawn due to the substantial costs associated with providing the requisite

MITAGS To Host Conference

MITAGS will host the national conference, “Maritime Careers: Implementing the Action Plans for Recruiting and Retaining Mariners” at Linthicum Heights Campus on May 1-2, 2002. Glen Paine, executive director, Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI), Seattle, Wash., announced that MITAGS would host a national conference for national consensus on mariner recruitment and retention at its Linthicum Heights campus on May 1 and May 2, 2002