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Relief Efforts News

30 Sep 2022

Foreign Tanker Delivers US Fuel to Puerto Rico Following Jones Act Waiver

A ship carrying a cargo of diesel fuel initially barred from hurricane-hit Puerto Rico anchored at the island's Guayanilla port on Friday to unload under a Biden administration waiver, the Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking service showed.The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker GH Parks, which loaded in Texas this month, was stopped from discharging four days ago by the Jones Act, a maritime law that requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S.-flagged ships.BP Plc, which chartered the vessel, said it submitted a waiver request with the U.S. customs service on Sept. 20 to allow for the diesel to be diverted from its original destination to Puerto Rico to assist with hurricane relief efforts.GH Parks was carrying about 308…

03 Apr 2022

Holland America Line Ship to House Ukrainian Refugees

A Dutch-flagged cruise ship will provide a temporary home to some 1,500 Ukrainians who fled their country in the wake of Russia's invasion.Holland America Line said its vessel Volendam will be used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees as part of an agreement announced by Netherlands and City of Rotterdam government officials. The ship will dock at Merwehaven, a cargo port on the north side of the River Maas in Rotterdam, for three months to provide a temporary home for approximately 1,500 Ukrainians, part of a larger commitment from the Netherlands to accommodate 50,000 people who fled the war in their homeland.“We are in a unique position to accommodate the immediate need for food and housing…

17 Feb 2022

Lebanon Gives CMA CGM Contract to Revamp Beirut Container Terminal

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Lebanon has awarded France's CMA CGM CMACG.UL a contract to develop and operate the container terminal in Beirut port for 10 years, including plans to rebuild and expand infrastructure damaged in a massive chemical explosion in 2020.CMA CGM said it would invest $33 million, including $19 million over the first two years to upgrade infrastructure at the terminal and digitalize operations, and that it would target capacity of 1.4 million 20ft equivalent units (TEUs), up from 650,000 currently.The deal expands CMA CMG's presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

03 Jan 2022

Alabama Shipyard Wins Contract for Hospital Ship Overhaul

The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) (Photo: Ernest R. Scott / U.S. Navy)

Alabama Shipyard has secured a nearly $26 million contract for the regular overhaul and dry-docking of Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), the U.S. Department of Defense announced.The $25,964,083 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and 11 options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $28,535,957. The contract was a small business set-aside with proposals solicited via the Government Point of Entry website with two offers received, the Pentagon said.Work at the Mobile, Ala.

11 Nov 2021

Interview: Will Roberts, President, Foss Maritime

Will Roberts (Photo: Foss Maritime)

Will Roberts joined Seattle-based Foss Maritime in 2017 as chief commercial officer, and in 2018 he was named chief operating officer. Prior to joining Foss, Roberts held a number of leadership roles for marine systems and services provider Rolls-Royce, rising to senior vice president, customer and services–Americas. A U.S. Navy veteran, Roberts served as a qualified deck and engineering officer aboard the fast attack submarine USS Honolulu. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in ocean engineering and holds a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.

30 Aug 2021

US Appoints Port Envoy to Address Supply Chain Disruptions

The White House and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Friday that John D. Porcari will be the Port Envoy to the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.Porcari will work closely with Secretary Buttigieg and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as well as the National Economic Council to address congestion at U.S. ports. Disruptions in global shipping and rapid shifts in demand have led the cost of shipping containers between China and the West Coast to grow more than 90% compared to 2019. Containerized cargo volumes rose 40% in the first half of this year compared to the same time last year at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle the largest share of containerized cargo moving through U.S. ports.

19 Aug 2021

UK Sends Navy Ship for Haiti Earthquake Relief

RFA Wave Knight (Photo: LPhot Belinda Alker / UK MOD) © Crown copyright 2021

The U.K. has sent one of its Royal Navy ships to support relief efforts in Haiti as the Caribbean country recovers from the recent devastating earthquake.The Wave-class fast fleet tanker RFA Wave Knight, deployed to the Caribbean as part of the Royal Navy’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), arrived off the west coast of Haiti in the early hours of Wednesday and will serve as a landing pad for U.S. military helicopters responding to the 7.2-magnitude quake that struck the impoverished country earlier this month, killing and injuring thousands. The U.K. vessel will allow U.S.

12 Apr 2021

French Container Shipping Firm Offers to Rebuild Beirut's Port Within Three Years

Credit: Ali
/AdobeStock

French container shipping group CMA CGM is pursuing a plan to rebuild Beirut's port within three years, despite political deadlock in Lebanon that has prevented decisions on the port since a blast last August, a company executive said.A chemical explosion at the port killed 200 people and destroyed entire neighborhoods, deepening Lebanon's worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.CMA CGM's plan, first outlined to Lebanese authorities in September, envisages the reconstruction of damaged docks and warehouses…

28 Dec 2020

Argentina Agro-export Firms Improve Offer to End Grains Port Strike

Illustration - Credit: Igor Strukov/AdobeStock

Argentina's influential chamber of soyoil manufacturers and exporters on Sunday spiced up an offer to striking workers, seeking to end a more than two-week standoff that has bogged down exports from one of the world's main breadbaskets.The CIARA-CEC chamber said it would top up salaries by 35% in 2020, a central demand of the striking workers, many of whom stayed on the job through the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The group also offered a 70,000 peso (about $840) bonus…

22 Dec 2020

Congress Funds Training Ship for Texas A&M

A digital mockup depicting the new NSMV docked at Texas A&M University at Galveston (Image: MARAD)

Congress on Monday approved $390 million to fund construction of a fourth National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV). The state-of-the-art ship will be assigned to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston, serving as a training platform for future merchant mariners and offer a critical disaster resource in the Gulf Coast.Scheduled for delivery in 2025, the new NSMV for Texas A&M is the fourth in a series of five ships to replace the aging and outdated fleet of training vessels currently used by state maritime academies.

15 Dec 2020

Video: Philly Shipyard Cuts Steel for First NSMV

(Image: MARAD)

Philly Shipyard held a steel cutting ceremony for the new National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), the first of five planned purpose-built, state-of-the-art training vessel for America’s state maritime academies, marking a key milestone in one of the U.S.' most significant shipbuilding programs.“This new state-of-the-art modern school training ship will be a tremendous addition to the U. S. Flag fleet, be available to respond to disaster relief efforts, and support about 1,200 jobs in Philly Shipyard,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L.

10 Nov 2020

Gulf Copper Wins USNS Comfort Maintenance Work

USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) (File photo: Ernest R. Scott / U.S. Navy)

Gulf Copper and Manufacturing has been awarded a firm-fixed contract for a value is $7.49 million, including options, from Military Sealift Command for the mid-term availability repair on the hospital ship USNS Comfort.The work will be performed pier side in Norfolk, Va. commencing in February 2021.USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) is an 894-foot U.S. Navy Mercy class hospital ship used to provide on-site emergency and medical care for American combat forces as well as for disaster and humanitarian relief efforts.

24 Aug 2020

Hilburn Rejoins Crowley Solutions as VP, Business Development

Bleu Hilburn (Photo: Crowley)

Logistics executive Bleu Hilburn is returning to Crowley Solutions as vice president of business development for all government services. In this role, Hilburn will develop strategies to build a customer pipeline, qualify opportunities and manage all aspects of marketing, bid and capture management to drive growth and build deep relationships with government customers for Solutions.Hilburn, a 2015 Thomas Crowley Award winner, the company’s highest honor for employees, will start Aug.

20 Sep 2018

In Florence’s Wake, Flooding Still a Big Concern in the Carolinas

Flooding is expected to worsen in the coming days as the Coast Guard continues its relief efforts.The emergency is by no means over in North Carolina. As flooding is expected worsen across the Carolinas later this week in the choppy wake of Hurricane Florence, Coast Guard units across North Carolina are continuing to assess damage, and respond over a wide geographic area. Florence, responsible for 36 deaths in three states, continues to impact the Carolinas. Major waterways across the tri-state area of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia remain well above flood stages, and were expected to rise through the weekend before cresting, according to the National Weather Service said.

26 Jun 2018

Slipstream and Crew Win Yachts de Coeur Humanitarian Prize

Slipstream, a 60-m Burgess motor yacht, and her crew were presented with the annual Yachts de Coeur humanitarian prize in Cannes in June 2018. The award was presented to recognize their efforts to aid the Caribbean islands and people affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Autumn 2017. The award was presented on the 11th June by Commandant Oliver Troy of the French Royal Navy, and depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of nature and charity.The award was presented to Captains Phil Stevens and Steve Osborne and the crew of Slipstream, who in November 2017 joined forces with Eco-Mer and YachtAid Global to help collect disaster aid, including building materials, and transport them across the Atlantic to the islands that were most severely damaged by the storms.

15 Jun 2018

Iridium-7 Target Launch Date Set

Photo: Iridium

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that the seventh Iridium(r) NEXT mission has been targeted by SpaceX for launch on July 20, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.The Falcon 9 rocket will launch 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California at approximately 5:12 am PDT (12:12 UTC). An exact instantaneous launch window time will be available closer to the launch date. As the second-to-last launch of the planned Iridium NEXT program…

23 May 2018

Tim Bush Promoted to Crowley VP, Deputy General Counsel

Crowley Maritime Corp. has announced that Tim Bush has been promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel. In his new position, Bush will help support the company’s growth as a provider of solutions for the U.S. government and various public-sector agencies. He will be based in Houston and report to Michael Roberts, senior vice president and general counsel. “Tim is an outstanding lawyer, and adds a great deal of value to the Crowley team,” Roberts said. Bush will continue to serve as Crowley’s lead attorney on several large projects for the U.S government, including the Defense Freight Transportation Services (DFTS) contract for the U.S.

22 Jan 2018

Date Set for Fifth Iridium NEXT Launch

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that the fifth Iridium NEXT launch has been targeted by SpaceX for March 18, 2018 at 8:19 a.m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The first of four launches planned for 2018, Iridium-5 will deliver 10 more Iridium NEXT satellites to orbit, bringing the total number of new satellites deployed to 50. This launch will use the same Falcon 9 first stage as the Iridium-3 launch that took place in October 2017 and begin a rapid-cadence launch schedule targeting completion of the Iridium manifest by mid-2018. "We are entering the home stretch," said Matt Desch, chief executive officer, at Iridium. "This is going to be a monumental year for us as we complete our constellation refresh.

07 Jan 2018

USS Wasp Joins 7th Fleet

The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) entered U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations Jan. 6 after completing nearly two months of disaster relief efforts in the Caribbean Sea. Wasp departed Norfolk Aug. 30 to replace USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) in Sasebo, Japan as the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship in region. While still in the initial phase of its transit, the ship diverted to the Caribbean on Sept. 4 to assist the U.S. Virgin Islands and Dominica in the wake of Hurricane Irma and then provided assistance to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm regarded as the worst natural disaster in the history of the American commonwealth island. In support of relief efforts, Wasp aircraft flew 108 missions on the U.S.

24 Dec 2017

Space X Launches Fourth Set of Iridium NEXT Satellites

Iridium Communications announced that, SpaceX successfully launched the fourth set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch marks the midway point of the Iridium NEXT launch program, and was the first Iridium launch to use a SpaceX flight-proven rocket. The first stage booster for Iridium-4 was previously used for Iridium-2, making Iridium the first company to reuse the same rocket booster. Each launch strategically delivers new satellites to specific orbital planes, so that the complete Iridium NEXT constellation will be operational as soon as possible after all launches are complete.

06 Nov 2017

Op/Ed: Facts Do Matter - A Defense of the Jones Act

Credit: OMSA

I recently read a story in The New Yorker – but that sounds more intellectual than what really happened, let me start over. I recently clicked a link on Facebook, which sought to explain why the term “Fake News” has become so popular. The article claimed that facts no longer matter to the average voter. As evidence (yes, the article explaining why facts don’t matter included evidence), it detailed a study whereby the subjects had been given false information, then were asked to make a choice between two options.

06 Oct 2017

USS Iwo Jima and USS New York Underway

Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces, Adm. Phil Davidson, has ordered the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), with elements from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, to get underway from their homeport in Mayport Oct. Both ships are directed to be in position to support the gulf coast region in the event assistance is needed following Tropical Storm Nate, which is currently projected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall. Once employed, our Navy and Marine Corps team has capabilities that will be uniquely effective in disaster relief efforts. To support these capabilities, the combined aircraft on the two ships are three U.S.

06 Oct 2017

FMC's Doyle Weighs in on U.S. Merchant Marine, 2017 Hurricane Relief Efforts

Today's address by FMC commissioner William P.Doyle brought transparency to the massive U.S.-based efforts expended during this hurricane season at the 17th Annual Port Industry Day conference in Jersey City, NJ. Good Morning New York and New Jersey. It’s a great day here in Jersey City. I know that Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao really wanted to attend the 17th Annual Port Industry Day conference today. Even with a long-standing commitment, she tried to make her schedule work. Secretary Chao is a good friend. Before I begin, I want to address this year’s hurricane season. It’s been a tough one – Harvey, Irma and Maria. I am proud of the work performed during the recovery efforts by the U.S. Merchant Marine. The Merchant Marine consists of American mariners serving aboard U.S.

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