Advocacy News

The MSC Foundation, the MSC Group and Mercy Ships International have joined forces to build a new hospital ship.On 8 April, the chairman of MSC Group and MSC Foundation, Capt. Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group President and Member of the MSC Foundation Board, Diego Aponte, and Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens, finalized an agreement to kickstart the new project with a generous anchor donation from MSC Foundation.The new purpose-built hospital ship will expand the impact of Mercy Ships’ life-changing surgeries…

“Wind Turbines: The Bigger, the Better” -USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, August 24, 2023Last December the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed sale notice regarding new development areas for utility scale wind projects in the central Atlantic Ocean. The notice includes an upfront issue: the need to mitigate conflicts with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) activities. BOEM explains that in certain areas the Air Force has set an airspace floor of 1,000 feet above sea level and the Air Force asked BOEM to keep structures below that height.

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has appointed and approved the 2024-2025 term of the NOIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jon Landes, President, Subsea of TechnipFMC has been elected as the NOIA Chair and Joe Leimkuhler, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Offshore Energy, as the incoming NOIA Vice Chair.NOIA President Erik Milito said, “We are at a critical juncture where it's imperative to ensure that energy policy from Washington, D.C. does not hinder American energy production.

The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on April 13, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release."We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged," the Swiss headquartered company said in a statement.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Global industry leaders from North America, Asia and Europe have announced the formation of the North Pacific Green Corridor Consortium (NPGCC) whose members and partners will work together to decarbonize the value chain for commodities between North America and Asia.The NPGCC will apply its collective expertise to develop a corridor for the decarbonized transportation of multiple commodities, including agricultural products, metal concentrates and steelmaking coal.The members of the NPGCC are committed to establishing the consortium as a catalyst for decarbonization efforts…

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She highlights some of the greatest focus areas for the 80-year-old trade group—simultaneously looking at both the present day and the road ahead.The towboat, tug and barge industry is in a period of rapid evolution. How is AWO—now in its 80th year…

The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has published an updated information paper, Guidelines for the Control of Drugs and Alcohol in the Maritime Industry (2024).The paper aims to provide general guidance and recommendations for the maritime industry (operators of tankers, barges, offshore vessels and terminals associated with the ship-shore interface) in developing and implementing controls for the use of drugs and alcohol.In the guidelines, drug and alcohol use includes the use of prescribed and over-the-counter medication…

Industry trade group the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) announced the addition of four CEOs to its board of directors.The new board members include Wes Bordelon, Chief Executive Officer, Bordelon Marine; Stacy Jo Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Offshore Oil Services, Inc.; David Dantin, Chief Executive Officer, Odyssea Marine; and Lasse Petterson, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock."With the addition of these four executive leaders, OMSA pays homage to its roots while welcoming expanded opportunities in emerging energy frontiers…

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

Angela Chao, chair and CEO of the Foremost Group, has died in a car accident, the New York-headquartered dry bulk shipping company announced on Monday.Angela Chao was an experienced and well-respected shipping executive, having worked her way up through several leadership positions at the company founder by her father, Dr. James S.C. Chao, with her mother, the late Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, in 1964.Before joining Foremost Group in 1996, Angela Chao worked in the mergers and acquisitions department of Smith Barney…

The world's largest cruise ship is set for its maiden voyage on Saturday, but environmental groups are concerned that the liquefied natural gas-powered vessel - and other giant cruise liners to follow - will leak harmful methane into the atmosphere.Royal Caribbean International's Icon of the Seas sets sail from Miami with capacity for 8,000 passengers across 20 decks, taking advantage of the surging popularity of cruises.The ship is built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which burns more cleanly than traditional marine fuel but poses greater risks for methane emissions.

The Australian Commercial Marine Group (ACMG) has merged with the Commercial Vessels Association (CVA).The CVA has been a steadfast advocate for the interests of commercial vessel operators. Specializing in operations on Sydney Harbour and extending its influence throughout regional NSW, the CVA encompasses a diverse range of operators, including ferry services, tour and party boats, houseboats, whale and dolphin watching ventures and fishing charters.The association played a pivotal role in advocating for the Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award…

Angad Banga of The Caravel Group was elected Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association at the organization’s annual meeting held on November 22, 2023.Banga succeeds Wellington Koo, of Valles Steamship, who stepped down after completing his two-year term as Chairman.Richard Hext of Swire Shipping was elected Deputy Chairman, succeeding Banga. Qian Weizhong of COSCO Shipping (Hong Kong) and Wang Yongxin of China Merchants Energy Shipping Company Limited were re-elected as the Vice Chairmen.Koo…

You can feel it in the air, and increasingly on the water: a steady increase in momentum toward a global economy that prioritizes sustainability. Government stakeholders at all levels, and shipping customers across industries, are setting ambitious goals and high expectations for environmental performance, and that includes the transportation of U.S. and global commerce on the waterways.For the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, which moves nearly 700 million tons of cargo on America’s rivers, coastal waters and Great Lakes annually, it’s both an exciting and challenging time.

For centuries, riverside communities, including the "quilombola" descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations and ranches, have shared Xingu Island in Brazil's Amazon Basin.Its inhabitants live in brightly painted wooden houses overlooking rivers where small boats crisscross between islands and Abaetetuba city on the mainland to trade fish, seeds and fruits gathered from the Amazon forest in their backyard.In 2016, however, strangers docked on Xingu Island, in Para state…

The New Zealand Shipping Federation (NZSF) has become a full member of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).Launched in 1906, the New Zealand Shipping Federation is the key representative body for New Zealand’s coastal operators. The NZSF works with decision-makers to achieve policies that benefit all New Zealanders, including safe, secure and clean shipping.The ICS already enjoys a strong and collaborative relationship with the NZSF, through the Federation’s affiliate membership to ICS.

Offshore services vessels are designed for myriad activities in the maritime industry. But as multifunctional assets, they not only offer utilitarian capabilities that are indispensable for commercial diving, subsea construction, mining, and countless other activities, they can simultaneously serve critical crisis response functions in the aftermath of a disaster.Chaos Ready Inc., a new non-profit marine industry initiative, quantifies and coordinates these versatile resources…

Petronas CCS Ventures, a subsidiary of the Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas has signed a term sheet with Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and MISC Berhad for the potential incorporation of a joint venture entity to invest in developing and monetising Liquefied Carbon Dioxide (LCO2) carriers for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects in Malaysia. The parties have agreed in principle on the key commercial terms to allow progress to the next stage."Building on the February 2022…

President Joe Biden’s goal to deploy 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind along U.S. coastlines this decade to fight climate change may be unattainable due to soaring costs and supply chain delays, according to forecasters and industry insiders.The 2030 target, unveiled shortly after Biden took office, is central to Biden's broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050. It is also crucial to targets of Northeast states hoping wind will help them move away from fossil fuel…

The U.S. on Friday divulged it disrupted in April a multimillion-dollar shipment of crude oil by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, seizing more than 980,000 barrels of contraband crude oil that violated U.S. sanctions.In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. confiscated cargo onboard tanker Suez Rajan, which was carrying Iranian oil at sea. The U.S. statement on Friday confirmed and fleshed out details of the story which cited sources.The "illicit sale and transport of Iranian oil" violated sanctions targeting Iran, the U.S.

A fleet of U.S. offshore wind projects central to President Joe Biden's climate change agenda may not move forward unless his administration eases requirements for subsidies in the year-old Inflation Reduction Act, according to project developers.Norway's Equinor, France's Engie, Portugal's EDP Renewables, and trade groups representing other developers pursuing U.S. offshore wind projects told Reuters they are pressing officials to rewrite the requirements, and warning of lost jobs and investments otherwise."The components needed for our projects to progress simply do not exist in the U.S.

RADM Michael Alfultis announced he will retire in 2024 after nearly a decade as president of SUNY Maritime College and more than 30 years in higher education.When RADM Alfultis was appointed Maritime College president in 2014, he immediately focused on two priorities for the college: the replacement of the training ship Empire State and the formal reconciliation with the Fort Schuyler Maritime Alumni Association. Within three years, a formal SUNY-approved Memorandum of Agreement was signed between Maritime College and the Maritime College Alumni Association.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has banned the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier MSXT Emily from Australian waters for one year, after finding apparent serious issues of wage theft and seafarer mistreatment onboard.Following a tip-off from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), AMSA inspected the ship at the Port of Hay Point, in Queensland, and found evidence of several violations of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.The vessel had been chartered by K-Line to load a cargo of coal for discharge in Japan.Seafarers onboard the vessel had not been paid in accordance with their Seafarer Employment Agreements: four contained apparently-forged signatures from employees…