Cantwell News

Regardless of whether the Republicans seize or the Democrats maintain control of the House and Senate, there is a guarantee that changes in leadership will occur in some of the key Congressional leadership positions that will impact the maritime industry. Two of the most significant Congressional committees of jurisdiction are the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (House T&I) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Commerce). Both committees have jurisdiction over the U.S.

Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc will expand its regional barge service on the Columbia River after being awarded grant funding from the U.S. Department Maritime Administration (MARAD).The $4,168,759 from MARAD, combined with nearly $2 million in matching funds from Tidewater, will provide two new low and zero emission cranes that will enable the loading of additional solid waste containers on barges for shipment from southwest Washington to eastern Oregon.“This award will allow Tidewater…

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Monday to improve oversight of ocean shipping, which supporters say will help curb inflation and ease export backlogs. The bill was approved 369-42 and will head to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature. Biden said in a statement he looked forward to signing it into law.The bill would boost the investigatory authority of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the U.S. agency that oversees ocean shipping, and…

For dredging company executives, the recently passed $550 billion federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) sits like the proverbial Horn-o’-Plenty, ready to disgorge billions of federal dollars for maritime, port, harbor, coastal, inland waterways and flood projects, many of which will require dredging. This is a really big deal because this new money will go toward existing projects, work that’s been on the books, so to speak, but, until now, couldn’t be funded.

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the Transportation Department to take action to address persistent allegations of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment made by midshipmen at the government's main school for merchant mariners.Lawmakers said a "toxic culture" had allowed sexual abuse to fester and go unchallenged at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), which works with major shipping lines to prepare new recruits for a life at sea.Senator Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Commerce Committee…

Pete Buttigieg, President Joe Biden's nominee to head the U.S. Department of Transportation, has voiced his support for the Jones Act, a federal law that regulates maritime commerce in the United States.Buttigieg's comments came in response to questioning by Sen. Maria Cantwell (Dem.-Wash.) during a nearly three-hour confirmation hearing held by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Thursday."I am a big Jones Act supporter, and the state of Washington and the trade that we have related to the Jones Act to make sure that we have U.S.-flagged vessels," Cantwell said.

GCube, an insurer for renewable energy projects, hired three new underwriters for its offshore wind team, including Joshua Cantwell, formerly of Talbot Underwriting, and Zoe Massie, formerly of Allianz Global.The appointments come alongside a number of new hires in the U.S. as GCube builds its global presence in the renewable energy insurance sector.Prior to joining GCube, Cantwell held the position of Class Underwriter and subsequently Interim Head of Energy for Talbot Underwriting.He was responsible for the global Upstream portfolio and has been directly managing the Upstream London team over the course of the past year. Cantwell will…

According to the findings of a new report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on behalf of Transportation Institute (TI), the domestic maritime industry in Washington ranks sixth among all American states for jobs and labor income relating to the Jones Act.The industry employs more than 22,500 individuals, produces $6.12 billion for the local economy, and generates more than $1.5 billion in worker income.Regionally, the same study shows that the domestic maritime industry employs over 37,590 individuals, supports $2.5 billion in worker income, and produces nearly $10 billion for the Pacific Northwest regional economy.Washington Senator Maria Cantwell joined business and government leaders from around the region at the Seattle Maritime Festival Breakfast…

Bipartisan Congressional Leaders Highlight Importance of Jones Act, Employing 650,000 Americans incl. Veterans, for National & Economic Security. Following the signing of an Executive Order by President Donald J. Trump to create an easier pathway for veterans to transition into maritime careers in the U.S. Merchant Marine, congressional and maritime leaders convened for two hearings exploring the state of the domestic maritime industry and the role of the Jones Act. These hearings…

Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decades-long battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun. The tax bill passed by Congress contains language pushed by Murkowski and supported by President Donald Trump to hold two lease sales in the 1.5 million-acre (600,000-hectare) 1002 area on the northern coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR.

A group of 37 U.S.-based scientists whose research focuses on Arctic wildlife asked two U.S. senators in a letter on Thursday not to open the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The scientists, including several retired former officials from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said in a letter to Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Senator Maria Cantwell…

Largest cargo vessel to visit U.S. The largest cargo ship to visit the United States, the CMA CMG Benjamin Franklin, arrived Monday at The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s Terminal 18 in Seattle. The Benjamin Franklin has capacity for 18,000 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), more than double the cargo of most container ships calling at Northwest Seaport Alliance terminals. If laid end-to-end, the 18,000 TEUs would stretch from Tacoma to Everett, a distance of about 68 miles.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday began debate on the country's first major energy bill in over eight years, featuring measures aimed at protecting the electric power grid against cyber attacks and speeding the export of liquefied natural gas. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican chair of the Senate energy committee and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, its ranking Democrat, urged lawmakers not to thwart passage of the bipartisan bill, which cleared their panel in an 18-4 vote. A handful of senators were preparing to file amendments to the bill later on Wednesday, to address more contentious energy issues. These were expected to include a measure to repeal a moratorium on coal development on federal land introduced this month by the Interior Department. "Let's show the Senate can work.

FRS has acquired a majority interest in Clipper. FRS is a global ferry and shipping group, currently operating 60 vessels in 12 countries, and carrier of more than 7 million passengers and 1.9 million vehicles last year on national and international ferry lines. Clipper, operator of Clipper Vacations, is a recognized company in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, offering unique regional travel experiences, including high speed Victoria Clipper ferry services from Seattle to Victoria, and Seattle to San Juan Island.

A group of U.S. Senators on the West Coast have introduced a bill Wednesday aiming to prohibit offshore drilling on the outer continental shelf of California, Oregon and Washington.   First introduced in 2010, the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently block drilling off the U.S. West Coast, stating that "the Secretary of the Interior shall not issue a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the outer Continental Shelf off the coast of the State of California, Oregon or Washington."   The legislation was introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

The White House said on Tuesday it does not support a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exports of crude oil. "This is a policy decision that is made over at the Commerce Department, and for that reason, we wouldn't support legislation like the one that's been put forward by Republicans," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a briefing. "The administration believes that the American people are better served by making sure that we pursue the kind of approach that also invests in renewable energy," he said.

U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to establish a multimodal freight investment policy to keep America businesses, farmers and shippers competitive the 21st century global economy. The National Multimodal Freight Policy and Investment Act (S.1680) creates a comprehensive, strategic plan for multimodal freight investment and reduces freight bottlenecks and congestion by investing in the nation’s network of highways, railroads, ports and intermodal facilities. It would also reduce the impact of freight movement on communities and help ensure the vitality of important “last-mile” freight connections. The bill is based, in part, upon the recommendations of the nonpartisan U.S.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Senator Maria Cantwell, Washington, have introduced a bill that would authorize the Navy to build up six icebreakers for use by the U.S. Coast Guard. The senators believe that the Coast Guard and the Navy need the icebreakers — which cost billions of dollars — to complete their missions and keep up with Russia and China’s growing icebreaker fleets and activity in the Arctic. “Icebreakers protect America’s Arctic interests and support Washington state shipbuilding jobs,” Cantwell said in a statement. Senator Dan Sullivan has signed on to co-sponsor the bill, barentsobserver.com reports. Currently the U.S. has two working icebreakers: the recently retrofitted heavy-duty icebreaker Polar Star and the medium-duty research vessel Healy.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Thursday she will unveil a bill next week to reverse the U.S. oil export ban in an effort to build support for killing the 1970s-era restriction that drillers say threatens to choke the domestic energy boom. Murkowski, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she will unveil the bill on Tuesday, although it was uncertain when the measure would get a vote in her committee. "I am going to be looking for every opportunity we might have to advance it," Murkowski said in a press conference.

U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) yesterday announced that a critical provision they authored to reform the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) and significantly benefit the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma was included in the bipartisan, bicameral deal on the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) released in the afternoon. As “donor ports,” the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma currently receive just pennies for each dollar they contribute to the HMTF through collected shipping taxes, while other ports around the country disproportionately receive millions more. The provision included in the WRRDA deal today reforms the HMTF…

The Columbia/Snake River System defines shortsea shipping, and promises much, much more. Lewiston, Idaho, is perhaps best known to tourists as the turnaround for a Columbia River cruise or the jumping-off point for a trip to Hell’s Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge. For anyone transporting cargo, however, it’s known as the port farthest inland of any on the West Coast – a whopping 465 miles inland from the mouth of the Columbia River. Located close to the border between Washington and Oregon…

U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell introduced today The Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century, new legislation that would support the American trade economy and significantly strengthen American ports. The legislation would replace the outdated Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), which is designed to fund the operation and maintenance of American ports, but currently incentivizes shippers to bypass American ports and move U.S. bound goods through Canada and Mexico instead.

On Thursday, August 15th, at 10:00 AM, U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani, and Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe will hold a press conference at the Bell Harbor Conference Center rooftop deck overlooking the Port of Seattle to announce new legislation that will support Washington state’s trade economy and significantly strengthen American ports, including many in the Pacific Northwest. Outdated harbor maintenance taxes divert many American-bound cargos to ports in Canada. The Senate bill is expected to level the playing field for American ports competing for cargo while boosting investments in port infrastructure and maintenance.