Don Young News

May 22 marks National Maritime Day. Congress established it in 1933 in commemoration of the steam ship Savannah and her maiden voyage, which was the first trans-Atlantic journey ever made by a steam-powered vessel. In the 203 years since the Savannah departed her eponymous port in Georgia for Liverpool, England, oceangoing technology has come a long way – and maritime shipping has become a supply-chain backbone that keeps goods arriving from all over the world. Much of this shipping…

The year just ended, 2021, might be described as being about “trying to get back to normal”, across the entire transportation spectrum, two years into the pandemic. During this time, the decarbonization and electrification waves have swept across maritime passenger transport. The passenger side of the business is dependent on multiple funding sources; increasingly, this money will be driven by environmental and social considerations.The long-awaited funding of “infrastructure”-related projects…

A new bill introduced in the U.S. aims to make available $200 million in grant funding for community and technical colleges offering training programs for maritime industry professions. The legislation H.R. 7456 was introduced by Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia (Texas-29) alongside Rep. Don Young (Alaska-At-Large), Rep. Anthony G. Brown (Md.-04), Rep. Brian Babin (Texas-36), and Rep. Steven Palazzo (Miss.-04).“Maritime industry jobs are a critical part of our nation’s economy. Yet research has shown that there may soon be a shortage of maritime industry workers,” said Congresswoman Garcia.

New legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday aims to address maritime transportation safety issues raised by the El Faro sinking, promote the U.S. Coast Guard’s awareness of technologies that could help improve service mission performance, and reduce marine debris.The Save Our Seas Act (S. 756), which was approved in the House by voice vote, combines several pieces of bipartisan legislation recently approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state's coast. While Walker supports offshore oil development, he said the Interior Department should focus on the most prospective areas off Alaska – the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic and Cook Inlet in southern Alaska – and drop all others from the leasing plan. In asking for proposed lease sales to be dropped…

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Don Young (R-Alaska). H.R.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Bill Enyart (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), David Jolly (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC), Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Don Young (R-AK). H.R.

Last week, the Transportation Security Administration began nationwide implementation of a program that reforms the burdensome process by which mariners and other transportation workers receive required Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC). The TWIC OneVisit program eliminates the requirement that workers make two trips to a TWIC enrollment center to pick up and then activate their TWIC. Under the new, streamlined process, a mariner can apply for a TWIC at an enrollment center and opt to receive the credential by mail.

At the July 23, 2014, hearing of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on “Implementing U.S. Policy in the Arctic” the committee chairman, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), opened the proceedings by holding up a graphic of the icebreaker fleets of the world—which depicts nearly 40 Russian icebreakers—and then commented on the “dismal state” of the U.S. icebreaker situation. The hearing background paper noted that the United States presently has only two working polar class icebreakers…

A recent study for the Transportation Institute by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that Alaska is a major domestic maritime state, ranking third among all American states for domestic maritime industry economic impact. The American domestic maritime industry includes vessel operators, marine terminals, shipyards, and workers engaged in the movement of cargo exclusively within the U.S. Alaska ranks #3 among all U.S. states in per capita jobs related to the American domestic maritime industry.

With an eye to future resource extraction in Alaskan waters, Clay Maitland, Founding Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), has announced the program for its Environmental Intelligence in Maritime Senior Leadership Roundtable. The Leadership Roundtable will be held in Anchorage, Alaska on August 8th, 2013, at the Captain Cook Hotel. The caucus will begin at 1:30PM with a keynote delivered by Congressman Don Young and will focus on “Drilling Preparedness in the Arctic”. Recent attempts to proceed with drilling in the Arctic have been met with challenges. Federal agencies, as well as private industry, have been working to better understand and meet these challenges.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2231, the 'Offshore Energy and Jobs Act'. The legislation would open new offshore areas to exploration by requiring the Obama Administration to create a new five year leasing plan for the United States’ offshore energy resources in areas containing the most oil and gas potential. Additionally, it would create a fair and equitable offshore revenue sharing program for coastal states like Alaska. “Once again the House of Representatives continues to lead the way when it comes to increasing domestic energy production. Today’s legislation would expand American offshore energy development, including more leasing in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas,” Alaskan Rep. Congressman Don Young said.

In a climate of both seemingly fat backlogs and at the same time uncertainty for domestic shipyards, Vigor Industrial is one company that continues to make news in the shipbuilding and repair merger and acquisition markets. After acquiring Todd Pacific Shipyards in 2011 for $130 million, Vigor also diversified its geographic offerings when it scooped up Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan after raising $75 million through private equity firm Endeavour Capital. Vigor CEO Frank Foti continues to build scale through acquisitions, while diversifying the company’s construction and repair capabilities to include cargo fleets, barges and workboats, ferries, and US Navy and Coast Guard vessels, among others.

Non-Profit Organization’s Dinner and Tribute to Take Place on August Eighth. The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today that its Alaska Awards Dinner in tribute to the United States Coast Guard will take place on Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska. Honoring the courageous efforts of the guardians who enforce maritime law, protect our homeland and preserve the environment in Alaska, awards will be presented for outstanding heroism demonstrated this year. The event’s keynote speaker is US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp. In addition, Lt.

The Polar Sea heavy icebreaker that the U.S. Coast Guard plans to mothball is in excellent condition and could be returned to active service in two years, giving the government a decade or more to search for longer-term solutions, a  representative of America’s shipyards told Congress last week. The United States currently has no active heavy icebreakers and only one medium vessel to protect rapidly intensifying national security and economic interests in the Arctic and Antarctic.

The management ballast water discharges began with the enactment of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (NANPCA) as an effort to prevent the introduction of additional invasive species into the Great Lakes. Since then, NANPCA was amended by the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 and the issue has progressed over the intervening years to a much larger campaign to regulate all vessel discharges into U.S. waters. Ballast water management has been the subject of litigation, regulation, and legislation at the state and federal level.

Legislation to authorize more than $7.9 billion for the Coast Guard for Fiscal Year 2005, including $1.1 billion for the Deepwater project, was unanimously approved by the U.S. House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee today. Deepwater is the Coast Guard’s program to replace and modernize its operational capital assets. The Coast Guard’s fleet is rapidly deteriorating, leading to higher safety risks and maintenance costs, and a lower state of readiness. At a Subcommittee hearing last week, the Commandant of the Coast Guard expressed concern that assets are wearing out faster than anticipated. The Coast Guard Authorization Act for FY 2005 (H.R. * U.S. Rep. * U.S. Rep. * U.S. Rep. * U.S. Rep. H.R.

Bipartisan legislation that authorizes approximately $8 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard in Fiscal Year 2005, including $1.1 billion for the agency’s efforts to modernize its operational assets (Deepwater Project), was approved today by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (H.R. * Rep. * Rep. * Rep. * Rep. * Rep. The bill was unanimously approved without amendment. The Senate recently passed H.R. 2443, the Committee’s FY 2004 Coast Guard Authorization legislation which the House passed last November. The Senate amended H.R. 2443 to include an FY 2005 authorization. Committee Members expect a conference on H.R. 2443 to begin soon and will work to include today’s legislation in the final Coast Guard package.

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. launched the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter HICKORY, the twelfth ship in a series of 16 seagoing buoy tenders being built at Manitowoc's Marinette Marine subsidiary. This 225-foot Juniper-class vessel is part of a series of contracts that were awarded to Marinette in 1993 and 1998. "This launch marks another milestone event for both the U.S. Coast Guard and Manitowoc Marine Group," said Terry D. Growcock, Manitowoc's president and chief executive officer. "The HICKORY is the latest in a new fleet of technically advanced and highly capable buoy tenders sailing today. The launch ceremony, which took place on May 11, featured U.S.

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. successfully launched the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hickory, the twelfth ship in a series of 16 seagoing buoy tenders being built at Manitowoc's Marinette Marine subsidiary. This 225-foot Juniper-class vessel is part of a series of contracts that were awarded to Marinette in 1993 and 1998. "This launch marks another milestone event for both the U.S. Coast Guard and Manitowoc Marine Group," said Terry D. Growcock, Manitowoc's president and chief executive officer. "The Hickory is the latest in a new fleet of technically advanced and highly capable buoy tenders sailing today. The launch ceremony, which took place on May 11, featured U.S.

U.S. port authorities are pleased about the passage of H.R. 3983, the “Maritime Transportation Antiterrorism Act of 2002,” by the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T & I) Committee on March 20. “We thank Chairman Don Young (R-AK) of the House T & I Committee, and Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) of Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, for their leadership on moving to address maritime security,” said Kurt J. Nagle, president of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). “We are encouraged about the $225 million authorized for Federal grants to help ports enhance seaport security, and the local flexibility provided for vessels and facilities to address terrorism at America’s ports.

By Capt. Gordon I. This June's two-year anniversary of the Coast Guard's award of contract for the Integrated Deepwater System reflects steady progress in efforts to modernize the nation's maritime guardians, but heightened concerns over falling readiness have led some congressional lawmakers to renew calls to accelerate the comprehensive 20-plus-year recapitalization program. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas H. Collins described his concern over current readiness trends in early March during congressional testimony on the Bush administration's proposed fiscal year 2005 budget. "Our greatest threat to mission performance continues to be that our aircraft…

A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 30 that encompasses the policy provisions of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 legislative package, including a proposal that would establish a new inspection program for the towing industry. The bill, entitled the Maritime Transportation Amendments of 2004 (H.R. 4251), was quickly slated for action. On May 6, the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), convened a hearing on the authorization measure. During his opening remarks, Chairman LoBiondo stated, “Since the establishment of the Coast Guard, one of the Service’s primary duties has been to promote and protect the safety of life and property at sea. H.R.