North Carolina News

U.S. officials are drafting agreements to pay nearly $1 billion to oil major TotalEnergies as compensation for the cancellation of leases for wind farms in federal waters off New York State and North Carolina, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.Under the terms of the proposed settlements, the U.S. Interior Department will cancel the leases in federal waters for two projects, known as Attentive Energy and Carolina Long Bay, the NYT said, citing documents.The Justice Department will then pay more than $928 million to TotalEnergies…

NOAA and Northrop Grumman will release the first-ever high definition sonar images of the USS Monitor shipwreck site during a media briefing on Saturday, March 7. The briefing will  include presentations from members of the research team. Reporters will also have the opportunity to tour the Batten Conservation Complex, the primary conservation facility for artifacts recovered from the Monitor, including the revolving gun turret, Dahlgren guns, and steam engine. In September 2025…

The U.S. Coast Guard has accepted delivery of the 62nd Fast Response Cutter, USCGC Vincent Danz (WPC 1162), in Key West.Danz was serving in the New York City Police Department, Emergency Services Unit, ESU Truck 3, when he responded to the World Trade Center as part of a massive emergency response and was killed when the World Trade Center collapsed. He was posthumously awarded the New York City Police Department’s Medal of Honor for his heroic deeds. His actions that day embodied the Coast Guard's core values of honor…

Enbridge missed third-quarter profit estimates on Friday, pressured by higher financing costs from capital investments including U.S. gas utility acquisitions, sending its shares down nearly 2% in premarket trading.The Calgary-based pipeline operator had bought three Dominion Energy utilities last year — East Ohio Gas, Questar Gas and Public Service Co of North Carolina — in a $14 billion deal, including debt.It reported adjusted core profit of C$2.31 billion ($1.65 billion) from its liquid pipelines unit…

The U.S. military is holding two survivors aboard a Navy ship after rescuing them from a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean hit by a U.S. strike that killed two others, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.The disclosure, which has not been previously reported, raises the possibility that the survivors from Thursday's strike are the first prisoners of war in a conflict declared by President Donald Trump against a "narcoterrorist" threat he says is…

A 26-metre research vessel designed by Incat Crowther for the Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) in Wilmington, North Carolina, is now under construction at Midship Marine’s Louisiana shipyard.The new vessel boasts a robust aluminium structure allowing it to be used by CFCC’s Marine Technology program for extended multi-day and week-long on-water research and education activities throughout the Cape Fear River system and up to 100 nautical miles offshore.Operational flexibility…

Coastal Veterans Repair Group LLC, a veteran-owned ship repair and marine services firm headquartered in North Carolina, has announced the acquisition of Voyager Maritime Alliance Group, a provider of marine electronics, systems integration, and vessel support services based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.This strategic acquisition represents a milestone in Coastal Veterans Repair Group’s ongoing expansion into high-end yacht systems, navigation, and marine technology sectors. By…

For the U.S. Navy, boats perform missions from mundane maintenance chores such as hull scraping and cleaning overboard discharges to clandestine special forces insertion and extraction. Some boats are about as basic as you can imagine, and some are equipped with sophisticated combat systems and weapons. Big or small, they all perform indispensable tasks for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.Boats that are carried on and launched from ships are referred to as “shipboard boats,” to distinguish them from boats based at installations ashore.

Admiral Daryl L. Caudle has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next Chief of Naval Operations, more than three months after Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy, was fired in President Trump's purge of military leadership following his inauguration.The Senate Armed Services Committee received Adm. Caudle's the nomination on June 17, 2025.Adm. Caudle - currently Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command - is a native of Winston-Salem, North…

The Republican governor of South Carolina appealed to the Trump administration on Monday to leave his state out of an impending plan to increase offshore oil and gas production.The letter comes as the administration wraps up a 45-day request for public input into a federal offshore oil and gas leasing program that could include new zones in the Arctic and elsewhere to maximize domestic energy development.The current five-year plan, developed by the administration of former President Joe Biden, includes just three sales of oil and gas development rights in the Gulf of Mexico.

Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were left baffled on Monday after the head of the U.S. disaster agency said during a briefing that he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season, according to four sources familiar with the situation.The U.S. hurricane season officially began on Sunday and lasts through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast last week that this year's season is expected to bring as many as 10 hurricanes.The remark was made by David Richardson, who has led FEMA since early May.

President Donald Trump's administration is considering a proposal to create an international shipping registry in the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of efforts to enlarge the tiny commercial shipping fleet flying the American flag, according to four sources familiar with the matter.Increasing the number of U.S.-flagged vessels is important for Trump's administration because it would enhance the ability of the U.S. commercial shipping fleet to provide logistical support for the military in time of war…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s regulatory freeze has injected chaos and uncertainty into a number of lucrative American fisheries, raising the risk of a delayed start to the fishing season for some East Coast cod and haddock fleets and leading to overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna, according to Reuters interviews with industry groups and federal government employees.America’s $320 billion fishing industry relies on a branch of the federal government, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to manage coastal fisheries.

U.S. President Donald Trump in his first day of office on Monday suspended new federal offshore wind leasing pending an environmental and economic review, saying wind mills are ugly, expensive and harm wildlife.Former President Joe Biden supported the offshore wind industry, setting a target for 30 gigawatts (GW) of projects by 2030, up from 42 megawatts at the end of 2023, prompting many European project developers to acquire leases and plan wind farms in the United States.Trump's executive order is not expected to stop existing U.S.

Colonial Pipeline's main U.S. gasoline artery is expected to be shut through Friday as the company continues to search for the source of a suspected leak in Paulding County, Georgia, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.Line 1, one of two mainlines on the more than 5,500-mile Colonial system, was shut on Monday night after Colonial received reports of a gasoline release and began investigating. The pipeline moves gasoline from Texas to North Carolina and was earlier expected to resume service on Tuesday night…

Four students from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) – Draygan Colonese, Elizabeth Kay, Charles Lausten and Gianna Russo – have been awarded Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships in recognition of their success and commitment to careers in the maritime industry.They were selected based on their academic achievements and performance during the cadet training periods aboard Crowley-operated or -managed vessels.Colonese, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is pursuing a degree in maritime logistics and security.

General Dynamics Mission Systems has been awarded a $15.9 million contract by the U.S. Navy to develop its Mining Expendable Delivery Unmanned Submarine Asset (MEDUSA) system.MEDUSA is a tactical, clandestine mining system using an expendable Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) that can be launched from a submarine torpedo tube. The U.S. Navy is developing MEDUSA to address the need for an advanced maritime mining system with long-range offensive mining capabilities.The scope of the newly awarded research and development effort includes the design…

The United States is advancing plans for a second regional offshore wind energy auction in the Central Atlantic.On Wednesday, the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it will issue a Call for Information and Nominations for the Central Atlantic 2 sale. This call invites public input on potential commercial wind energy development in an area spanning 13,476,805 acres off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.This second Central Atlantic Call is an early step in the leasing process.

At least seven people were killed after part of a boat dock collapsed, sending at least 20 into the Atlantic waters off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia.U.S. Coast Guard ships were searching on Saturday night for missing people.The accident, which also caused multiple injuries, happened during a celebration of Sapelo Island's tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants, authorities said.A gangway crowded with people waiting for a ferryboat collapsed late on Saturday afternoon on the Georgia barrier island about 60 miles (100 km) south of Savannah…

Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday, spawning tornados and lashing the region with rain and wind hours ahead of its expected landfall near Tampa Bay, where it could deliver a life-threatening surge of seawater to communities along the waterfront.Millions of people along a stretch of more than 300 miles (483 km) of coastline were under evacuation orders, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene cut a swath of devastation. Authorities issued increasingly dire warnings on Wednesday as landfall…

Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine (AAM) announced it has been awarded a contract to build a 73-foot research vessel for the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). The vessel will operate as a multipurpose research platform capable of conducting a wide range of scientific missions, including oceanographic surveys, biological studies and educational outreach programs along the Mid-Atlantic, U.S. East Coast and offshore waters.The 73’ x 26.7’ aluminum catamaran…

Amidst sensational headlines and questionable policy decisions from Washington, D.C., the U.S. offshore energy sector stands resilient. This vital industry not only powers our nation with reliable energy but also enables hundreds of thousands of jobs across all 50 states and strengthens national security. From the Gulf of Mexico to the burgeoning offshore wind farms along the East Coast, the resilience and innovation of this sector are critical to driving economic growth and ensuring our nation’s energy security.The Gulf of Mexico has long been a cornerstone of U.S.

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) Board of Commissioners has announced the appointment of Beth Ann Branch as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 1, 2024. Branch, a highly regarded expert in global maritime strategy with over 20 years of experience in transportation and logistics, will also serve as CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB). She succeeds Ronald Wendel Jr., who has been serving as Acting President and CEO during a crucial transitional phase…