Food Aid Cargo News

Following its usual summer break over August 2014, Congress came back from its five-week summer recess and spent a whopping eight days or so back in session before recessing once again, approximately a week early, to hit the campaign trail for the November elections. This essentially means that including the summer recess, Congress will have been in session for a total of about eight days between the end of July and the middle of November 2014. No wonder why Congress has not been able to accomplish much this year, to date.

As recovery efforts in the wake of Haiti's devastating earthquake continue, tugs and barges from two Seattle-based companies are in the U.S. Gulf poised to participate in the vast international relief operation. America Cargo Transport Corp. (ACTC), a wholly owned Foss subsidiary, and Foss Maritime Company are preparing to carry approximately 6,000 tons of food aid cargo to the Haitian capital of Port Au Prince for USAID, according to company sources. Initial efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the stricken island nation have slowed because of severe damage to the port and transportation infrastructure in Port Au Prince. ACTC has routinely carried food aid cargo for USAID and USDA to Port Au Prince before the earthquake and specializes in handling the complex logistics of moving high…

On April 14, United States flag merchant vessel M/V Liberty Sun and its crew, operated by American shipping company Liberty Maritime Corporation of Lake Success, New York, was attacked by Somali pirates. The pirates fired rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel which sustained damage. Liberty Maritime immediately requested the assistance of the United States Navy which dispatched forces to assist and protect the crew and the vessel. The Liberty Sun was on a voyage enroute to Mombasa, Kenya from Houston, Texas carrying American food aid cargo for African nations suffering from famine. Earlier last week, the vessel…