Editor's Note

Four Global Consortia To Bid To Build Panama Canal Locks

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced that four global consortia have been selected to bid on the "design-build contract" to create the locks for the Panama Canal expansion. The Expansion Program will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, doubling capacity and allowing more traffic and longer, wider ships. In what will be the largest and most important project under the $5.25 billion expansion, the winner of this contract will design and build two locks complexes. Each of the four consortia will be allowed to respond to the ACP's Request for Proposal (RFP), which is expected to be released very soon. The consortia are: Consorcio C.A.N.A.L.; Consorcio Atlántico-Pacífico de Panamá; Consortia Bechtel, Taisei, Mitsubishi Corporation; and Consorcio Grupo Unidos por el Canal. (Editor's note: Details of the companies that compose each consortium are listed at the end of this document.) The qualifying process began August 27, 2007 when the ACP released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the construction of the new set of locks. Following the release of the RFQ, the ACP facilitated a field visit to the expansion work sites and conducted an informational session, where more than 200 questions were received from interested parties. On November 16, 2007, four consortia, composed of 30 companies from 13 countries, submitted Statements of Qualifications

Editor's Note

At press time, the political debate surrounding the creation and final details of the Homeland Security Department was still being vehemently debated, rightfully so considering that it is perhaps the most significant U.S. government overhaul in nearly half a century. Those hoping for a clean and quick decision on the matter should have known that politics — and time — would eventually cool the fervor created by the September 11 attack

Editor’s Note

Frankly, I ‘m tired. Having passed yet another summer and now embarked upon the path of Autumn 2004, my schedule is packed not only with work and the requisite travel, but the schedule of a fourth grader and the myriad of after school and weekend activities, not to mention the pile of paperwork from school and clubs. To tell the truth, I would rather evaluate the merits of a corporate consolidation than be forced to decipher the nuances of my son’s ‘school picture’ package

E-Utopia (Editor's Note)

Analysts, pundits, skeptics and just about anyone with a two-bit opinion have voiced their thoughts — informed and otherwise — as to the potential effects that the surge in “e-commerce” solutions will have on the transportation community at large. While the marine market is traditionally said to be slow in following general business trends, this supposed character trait has not been evident in the new electronic realm

Editor's Note

Marine business in these United States continues to get increasingly: A] Encouraging; B] Depressing; or C] Interesting, depending on who you talk to and at what time of day. The entire market, from inland to oceangoing, naval to commercial, is abuzz with activity. On the naval front, corporate intrigue has taken center stage as General Dynamics bids once again to acquire Newport News Shipbuilding. The major difference between the takeover attempt today versus the unsuccessful bid

Editor’s Note

I’ve been to many ship and boatbuilding facilities ... domestic and foreign; large and small; modern and antiquated. In fact, traveling to shipyards, witnessing first hand the different means incorporated to build ships and boats and meeting the people responsible, is probably the best part of my job. Naturally, I’ve seen many different types of vessels in varying degrees of build, from the largest cruise ships and LNG carriers to the smallest tugboats and water taxies.

V.Ships Awarded Sakhalin Tankers Contract

Primorsk Shipping Corporation of Nakhodka (PRISCO) has awarded V.Ships a contract for the full technical management of three ice-class tankers. These vessels will be on long-term time charter to the Sakhalin-1 Consortium for operations in Phase 1 of the Sakhalin-1 Project, operated by Exxon Neftegas Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. Following a call for tenders from Exxon Neftegas Limited in November 2002, for a series of five new building ice-class shuttle tankers, V

Editor's Note

I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail and not drift, nor lie at anchor.” Never remiss to incorporate wisdom of the ages for the editorial good, I found this quote — from Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858 — hanging handily on the wall of my colleague, Charles Keil

Proposed & Interim Rules

May 17, 1999 This Customs Service document proposes to amend the Customs Regulations to provide for the temporary landing in the U.S. of vessel equipment in need of repair, without requiring entry of that equipment under a Temporary Importation Bond (TIB). It is proposed such equipment be permitted to be landed for repair and relading aboard the same vessel, subject to Customs issuance of a special permit or license for the landed equipment, under an International Carrier Bond

MarineNews Launches Letters to the Editor

Marine News is launching its new Executive Corner, providing workboat industry executives with a place to be heard. This letters-to-the-editor section will feature readers’ opinion pieces on industry topics such as legislation, finance, industry tradition, innovation and any other issue that motivates you to speak your mind. Send your submissions, anywhere from 50 to 500 words, to Raina Clark, MarineNews managing editor, at rainaclark@marinelink.com