Caucus News

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) announced the election of new leadership for the organization. Jennifer Carpenter takes the helm as president, and, in doing so, becomes the first woman to lead the organization. She is joined by vice president Sara Fuentes and James “Jim” Weakley who will serve the dual role of secretary and treasurer. Elected officers will hold their positions for a two-year term.“AMP plays a pivotal role in championing the strength and vitality of our domestic maritime industry…

An Inland River Transportation Caucus could help inland river transportation interests that are often misunderstood and greatly undervalued.For anyone doing business on the inland river transportation system, the goal is to keep the rivers open for business, the barges moving and the landside facilities efficient in order to keep America’s supply chain strong.To accomplish this, it takes the federal agencies that are charged with operating and maintaining inland rivers to have the support of congress, the funding congress allocates and legislation passed by congress.

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) has been awarded a $14.9 million grant from the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to develop a high-frequency network of battery-electric ferries.The grant will fund the construction of ferries and shoreside charging infrastructure to support the San Francisco Clean Ferry Network, which will use zero-emission ferries to connect waterfront San Francisco neighborhoods including Downtown, Treasure Island and Mission Bay.This grant…

Greece urged the European Union on Wednesday to reconsider its customs union with Turkey in response to Ankara's continued gas exploration in contested Mediterranean areas, deploring what it termed Ankara's "imperial fantasies."After meeting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Nicosia, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said they all agreed that Ankara is "blatantly" violating international law."Turkey's leadership has fantasies of imperial behavior with aggressive behavior from Syria to Libya, Somalia to Cyprus, from the Aegean to the Caucus," he said.The EU should also take note of Turkey's 'many violations' of the EU-Turkey customs union accord…

Maritime focused steel and aluminum fabrication specialist Blue Atlantic Fabricators said it has been awarded as 2019 Manufacturer of the Year by the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership.Formed in August 2014, the Manufacturing Caucus and Annual Manufacturing Awards includes more than 60 legislators from around the state of Massachusetts. Lawmakers focus on training for manufacturing employees; encouraging innovation by helping start-ups access resources; and expanding education and apprenticeship opportunities in key manufacturing centers.

Tim Charters has joined the staff of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) as Senior Director of Governmental and Political Affairs. Charters comes to NOIA from the National Stripper Well Association (NSWA) where he represented more than 18,000 small business men and women in America’s upstream energy industry as Vice President of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs. Charters brings nearly 20 years of Congressional experience to NOIA. From 2008-2015, he served as Staff Director of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee under Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). During his tenure…

The Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium (GSSC) announced that its fall meeting will be held October 18-19, at the Holiday Inn in Mobile’s historic district. Highlights of the meeting include a presentation by U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope). Byrne will deliver an Update from Washington at the official meeting kick-off at the recently opened GulfQuest Maritime Museum on Oct. 18. Byrne is a member of the prestigious House Rules Committee, Committee on Armed Services, and Committee on Education and the Workforce and is a member of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) gathered together its cruise community, including cruise line executives, travel agency leaders and key suppliers and partners, for CLIA’s annual Congressional Cruise Caucus where they will engage with Washington, D.C.’s legislative and political leaders. CLIA said one of its primary goals is to educate policy makers and advocate for sensible legal and regulatory frameworks that facilitate continued growth opportunities for the entire cruise industry. CLIA engages with policymakers year-round, and Congressional Cruise Caucus is an important component of those advocacy efforts. CLIA members will use this opportunity to educate lawmakers on cruising’s place in the broader travel community…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) hosted Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) Tueaday, for a tour of the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. The congressman saw first-hand the progress being made on Virginia-class submarines, which Newport News builds in partnership with General Dynamics Electric Boat, located in Courtney’s district. He also learned about progress being made on the aircraft carriers Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and met with Newport News…

Broward County's Port Everglades is moving forward with a plan to widen and deepen its channels, but there are still several steps to go before construction begins, the Port's Chief Executive Steven Cernak told elected officials and business leaders during an event to celebrate the project's long-awaited approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, Cernak announced that the Corps has committed $1.2 million for the immediate next step, which is the pre-construction engineering and design phase, estimated to cost a total of $5.6 million. "Our Congressional Delegation has taken our message to Capitol Hill with determination and perseverance, so that we can begin the design phase this fall and be ready for construction before receiving Congressional authorization," Cernak said.

The Port of Houston Authority hosted Congressional leaders on port matters for a facilitated visit and tour of the Port of Houston, Friday, June 5. Congresswoman Janice Hahn, Congressman Ted Poe and Congressman Brian Babin visited the Port of Houston and learned more about the national impact of the Port of Houston overall and in particular its safety and security measures. The visit was arranged upon the invitation of Congressman Poe, who along with Congresswoman Hahn co-chair the PORTS Caucus, which represents more than 100 ports across the nation.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) lauded H.R. 2028, the U.S. House of Representatives’ fiscal 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that passed today, together with two bipartisan amendments included in the bill. Of particular interest to AAPA is the portion of the bill that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ navigation program, which manages improvements and maintenance of federal navigation channels at U.S. ports. The first amendment, offered by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) and Rep.

United States Congressmen Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) this week received the Maritime Leadership Award from the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), a national trade association representing the nation’s shipbuilding and repair industry. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, dedication and support to the shipbuilding and repair industry. “From their critical role in supporting the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry…

A union caucus representing dockworkers at West Coast ports voted to recommend to its members a labor contract deal reached over months of negotiations that led to major disruptions to trans-Pacific trade, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Friday. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached a tentative five-year agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association, representing a group of shippers, on Feb. 20 with the help of a federal mediator and intervention by U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. "With their vote to recommend ratification of the contract between shippers and dockworkers at the West Coast ports, leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have taken an important step toward finalizing the agreement," Perez said in a statement on Friday.

The union for 20,000 dockworkers and a group of their employers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports say they are making slow but steady progress in months-long contract talks seen by the shipping industry as a contributing factor in chronic cargo backups. However, neither side has ventured to say how much longer it might take to reach a settlement, and both parties continued to abide by a news blackout on the details of their talks and the issues that divide them. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, representing terminal operators and shipping lines at the ports, opened their talks in May and mutually agreed to keep negotiating after their old contract expired June 30.

Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, announced that he, along with 25 bipartisan members of Congress, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget urging the agencies to develop and support a plan to design and replace the ships used by the United State’s six State Maritime Academies (SMAs). “The maritime industry continues to be a key part of our nation’s economy,” said Rep. Crowley. In the letter, the lawmakers expressed concern over the aging multi-mission vessels being used to train future generations of maritime workers and 70 percent of new U.S. Coast Guard licensed officers each year.

The U.S. commercial maritime industry is enjoying its most robust period in a generation, with a spate of newbuild activities spurred largely by a resurgent energy production market in the U.S. as well as new rules of vessel emissions which has forced owner to invest in new tonnage. For insight and perspective on the market Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visits with Matthew Paxton, who was selected to be the President of the Shipbuilders Council of America in 2007. In this capacity he advocates for a robust and expanding U.S. shipyard industrial base.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) apprises that it has hosted Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., for a tour of The Apprentice School at the company's Newport News Shipbuilding division. The visit provided Kaine an opportunity to meet with shipyard and Apprentice School leaders and discuss the importance of Career Technical Education (CTE) programs as an alternative to traditional four-year colleges. Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt Mulherin and Newport News Shipbuilding Vice President of Operations Danny Hunley accompanied the senator during the tour, which showcased the facility's eight computer labs, two videoconferencing classrooms, physics lab and gymnasium. During the tour, Kaine took the opportunity to interact with teachers and students in drafting and physics classes.

When doing business in the maritime industry, someone will inevitably file a legal claim against your company, or you will file a claim against someone else. Although litigation is always good for your legal team, it is often not good for the litigants. Litigation forces a company to utilize resources that could be working on more productive areas of your business. While the litigation process progresses, you will have to use your employees’ time to respond to written discovery requests, participate in the deposition process, all while paying your legal team’s attorney fees and costs.

Megan Bel joined the staff of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) as Senior Director, Government and Political Affairs. She comes to NOIA from the Office of Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) where she served as Legislative Director since 2008. She also recently served as Deputy Director of the Republican Study Committee. Bel staffed Congressman Scalise’s House Energy and Commerce Committee work from 2009-2013 and his House Natural Resources Committee work in 2008. She also advised the Congressman in his roles on the Gulf Coast Caucus, Western Caucus, House Energy Action Team and the Natural Gas Caucus. During and after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill…

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 Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway awaits the chance to rescue the crowded eastern seaboard with a readymade alternative to the parking lot known simply as I-95. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) extends 1,200 miles from Norfolk, Va. to Key West, Fla.. That much is common knowledge. What you may not know is that the U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the AIWW in 1919 and the entire waterway was completed in 1940. Consisting of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are manmade canals, the canal is included on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark.

Today, United States Steel Corporation President and CEO Mario Longhi joined fellow steel industry executives and Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers, in pressing Congress to maintain America’s economic and national security by halting unfair trade practices and enforcing the country’s trade laws. Longhi encouraged action against illegal dumping of Oil Country Tubular Goods by South Korea and others who threaten American jobs, infrastructure and our national security.