U S Government News

Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the Navy’s fleet and our military forces around the world?When we  look at the history of contested logistics in World War II…

China is providing moorage for a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship implicated in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, according to satellite images obtained by Reuters, as U.S. concerns grow over Beijing's support for Moscow's war in Ukraine.Britain's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank said the Russian vessel Angara, which since August 2023 has moved to Russian ports thousands of containers believed to contain North Korean munitions, has been anchored at a Chinese…

Hess Corp on Wednesday said its board has set April 12 as the record date for the determination of the stockholders entitled to vote on the proposed merger with Chevron Corp.Shareholders will vote on the proposed deal in a meeting whose date is yet to be set, the company said in a U.S. securities filing. Neither Chevron nor Hess can predict the actual date on which the transaction will be completed, it said in the filing.Exxon Mobil and CNOOC Ltd filed cases before the International Chamber of Commerce last month…

Thyssenkrupp appealed against a decision by the Netherlands last month to award a contract worth billions of euros to build submarines to France's Naval Group, the German company said.Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), the German conglomerate's defence division, filed the objection with the District Court in The Hague in late March, the company said in an e-mailed statement."This measure is a professional business procedure in such publicly tendered major projects and part of the competition - especially in light of the questions that remain unanswered regarding specific evaluation criteria…

As the U.S. offshore wind industry endures a predictable number of stops and starts during its adolescence, common mantras are ‘learn from the established European model’ and ‘embrace technology transfer from the offshore oil and gas sector.’ In Robert Langford, the American Bureau of Shipping has all of that and more bundled in one neat package.Rob Langford has worked in the offshore industry for more than three decades, ‘cutting his teeth’ in a UK design firm working in the North Sea oil and gas platforms, the holy grail of rigorous conditions in offshore energy production.

At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors."After becoming initially stranded on the shore, the boat set out to sea again.

As U.S. shale oil boomed last decade, an oil pipeline company pitched an ambitious multi-billion-dollar export port off the Texas coast to ship domestic crude to buyers in Europe and Asia.In April, Enterprise Products Partners' SPOT became the first project to receive a license from the U.S. maritime regulator for a deepwater port that could load two supertankers, each of which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil at a time.But multi-year regulatory delays, a loss of commercial backers and slowing U.S.

The Great Lakes Towing Company (GLT) on Monday unveiled plans to roll out a new breakbulk and RoRo shipping service serving the Caribbean.The Cleveland, Ohio-based company announced the formation of Great Lakes East (GLE), effectively reactivating Crimson Shipping Company’s former domestic and international marine transportation business, based out of Mobile, Ala. However, GLE will shift the primary load port to Fernandina Beach, Fla.GLE will initially service the trade with the 270- by 80-foot fully enclosed deck barge…

Imoto Lines and Marindows have outlined plans to build the next generation zero-emission domestic container ship capable of hybrid operation using Japan's first exchangeable container batteries, alongside onboard batteries and generators.The joint project between the companies aims to address three major challenges of the maritime industry - decarbonization, crew shortage, and safe navigation.The three-year project is supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of…

Venezuela's loss of a key U.S. license that allowed it to freely export and increase investment in its oil sector will hit the volume and quality of its crude and fuel sales while prompting a flurry of requests for individual U.S deal authorizations.U.S. officials had warned that absent progress by President Nicolas Maduro on implementing an electoral roadmap agreed last year, the U.S. would not renew license 44, which since October had eased oil sanctions in place for the last five years.On Wednesday…

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

Thousands of Greek striking workers, students and pensioners marched through central Athens on Wednesday to protest over wages which they are not enough to cope with rising living costs.Ships remained docked at Greek ports and train services were halted as transport workers joined the nationwide strike by private sector union GSEE, Greece's largest.City transport was also disrupted as bus and taxi drivers halted operations for a few hours.Protesters marched to parliament around noon.

An open letter has called on Australia’s Albanese Government to deliver on its election promise and legislate an end to live sheep export.The call, from the RSPCA and 10 other Australian animal protection organisations, comes nearly six months after the independent panel’s report was delivered to the Government — with still no plan for how and when live sheep export will be phased out.“Australians were relieved when the Albanese Government took this promise to the 2022 federal election,” said RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell.

This week at Singapore Maritime Week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is advancing ambitious decarbonization targets for the maritime transportation sector, both domestically and internationally.DOE is teaming with over 15 government and industry partners in Singapore to foster partnerships and collaborate on clean energy solutions aimed at achieving net zero-emissions in the maritime sector by 2050. Domestically, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is joining with ABS to create opportunities for data and information sharing to strengthen U.S. shipping. The U.S.

The World Shipping Council (WSC) has appointed Joe Kramek as its new President and CEO, to succeed John Butler upon his retirement at the end of July.Kramek brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role, from both the maritime sector and government service. He has already served as the WSC's Director of U.S. Government Relations.His professional journey includes 28 years as a commissioned officer with the U.S. Coast Guard where he spent time at sea and as the Chief of Maritime, International, and Environmental Law. Notably, Kramek led the U.S.

The Biden administration said it would not renew a license set to expire early on Thursday that had broadly eased Venezuela oil sanctions, moving to reimpose punitive measures in response to President Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet his election commitments.Just hours before the deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department announced on its website that it had issued a replacement license giving companies 45 days to “wind down” their business and transactions in the OPEC country's oil…

The Maritime Risk Symposium is an annual three-day conference in which government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, researchers, and solution providers convene to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. MRS2024 is scheduled to take place June 11-13 2024 at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, CA.A look @ Panel 5: Facilitator: Eric “Coop” Cooper, CAPT, USCG (retired)This panel will inform participants and generate discussion to improve understanding of the risk of gray zone activities pose to the economy…

For 15 years the Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS), an annual three-day event, has brought together government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, international and domestic researchers and solution providers to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. World events highlight that maritime security is increasingly at risk during the current period of great-power competition and ongoing conflicts. The active competition between nations who are not…

Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday after a $5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates."The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.He added the ship had been released with all its crew.Somalia government officials did not respond to a request for comment.The MV Abdullah…

The IMO's Facilitation Committee held its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12, in person at IMO Headquarters in London.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) meets annually to deal with matters related to the facilitation of international maritime traffic, including the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo from ports. The Committee also addresses electronic business and aims to ensure that the right balance is struck between regulation and the facilitation of international maritime trade.

Esgian reports on new contracts for Borr Drilling and Shelf Drilling (North Sea) jackups in its Week 15 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. Additionally, Energean has selected a drillship for its upcoming drilling campaign offshore Morocco. South America remains vital to the floating rig market, with ExxonMobil moving ahead on a sixth development on the prolific Stabroek block offshore Guyana and Petrobras reporting a new discovery in Brazil's Potiguar Basin.Report Outline:ContractsBorr Drilling has announced new contract commitments for three of its premium jackup rigs…

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has delivered the amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) to the U.S. Navy.Richard M. McCool Jr. is the 13th San Antonio-class ship delivered by Ingalls and is the final Flight I transition ship before Ingalls moves into production of the LPD Flight II line.“The LPD 29 delivery demonstrates how our shipbuilders are enabling our combined Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. “It is the most recent example of what U.S.

The industry consortium behind the Ocean Charger project, led by Vard, has completed the demonstration of the charging solution in a port as well the connection solution offshore, proving the technology designed to supply clean power to offshore wind vessels is ready for the market.By connecting vessels to the power grid in the wind farm and charging batteries regularly, the Ocean Charger solution is securing availability of emission-free vessel operations.The Ocean Charger has proved through the tests that it can power operations at the field without using any additional energy sources…