Federal And State Government News

Crowley signed an agreement on Thursday with the Port of Humboldt Bay to exclusively negotiate to be the developer and operator of a terminal to serve as California’s first hub for offshore wind energy installations. Through Crowley’s Wind Services group, the company will enter into negotiations with the port to lease and serve as the port’s developer of the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal. The services provided will support tenants in the manufacturing, installation and operation of offshore wind floating platforms…

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel B. Maffei today announced the hiring of William “Bill” Cody to serve as the agency’s Secretary.Cody has more than 20 years of extensive legal and administrative experience at the federal and state government levels as well as in the private sector. He most recently worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Energy. Earlier in his career, he held positions in the Louisiana state government, the U.S. House of Representatives, and worked as an attorney in private practice.“I am pleased to be able to make this personnel announcement. Mr.

The Maryland Port Administration (MPA), Port of Baltimore, officially joined the Council for Dredging and Marine Construction Safety (CDMCS), a national unified safety voice for the dredging and marine construction industry.The Port of Baltimore is one of the busiest seaports in the United States, handling every type of cargo at its public and private terminals. Currently, Baltimore is in the execution phase of more than $200 million in marine construction, dredging and infrastructure upgrades at Seagirt, Dundalk and Locust Point Marine Terminals.

The Washington D.C., office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP has welcomed Stephen Martinko as a government affairs counselor in the public policy and law practice. Martinko joins the firm from the Port of Pittsburgh Commission (PPC), where he served as executive director of one of the largest inland ports in the United States. Previously, Martinko spent 12 years as a congressional aide, including serving as deputy staff director for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I Committee) of the U.S. House of Representatives, which has broad jurisdiction over all modes of transportation – aviation, maritime, highways, bridges…

Charleston Harbor deepening project earns key federal funding for preconstruction engineering and design; U.S. Today SC Ports Authority announced $1.303 million in federal funding for the Post-45 Harbor deepening project, allowing the preconstruction engineering and design (PED) phase of the 52-foot deepening effort to begin. The announcement follows last week's U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Review Board (CWRB) approval to release the project's Final Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement for final review, another critical step of federal approval for the S.C. Port Authority to provide the deepest harbor on the East Coast. "The allocation of federal funding for the PED phase of our deepening project is tremendous," said SCPA Board Chairman Bill Stern.

Leading officials from the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard spoke about operating forward and being partners with global presence at the 2014 Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., April 7. The Sea-Air-Space Expo is an annual event that brings together key military decision makers, the U.S. defense industrial base and private-sector U.S. companies for an innovative and educational maritime based event. Vice Adm. Michelle Howard, deputy chief of naval operations for Operations, Plans, and Strategy, delivered opening remarks. "It's my pleasure to sit with such a group of, not just distinguished panelists, but in many cases good friends," said Howard.

Responding to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study report released today by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, American Waterways Operators (AWO) President & CEO Tom Allegretti reiterated the tugboat, towboat and barge industry’s understanding of the need to prevent the movement of invasive species, including Asian carp, between the two watersheds by utilizing a comprehensive set of science-based control measures that protect the free flow of waterborne commerce that is vital to the regional and national economies.

Final Restoration Plan Completed for Cosco Busan Oil Spill; Projects will Address Impacts from Ship that Struck the Bay Bridge. State and federal trustee agencies have released the Cosco Busan Oil Spill Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan. The document summarizes the injuries to wildlife, habitat, and recreational uses from the oil spill that occurred on Nov. 7, 2007. It also describes a number of restoration projects that will be implemented to compensate for injuries from the spill.

Port of Los Angeles gets final Coast Guard approval to create first harbor tour vessel retrofitted with Hybrid-Electric propulsion system. The Port of Los Angeles has received final approval from the U.S. Coast Guard to install a hybrid propulsion system on its 42-year-old harbor tour boat, the Angelena II. Upon completion later this spring, the Angelena II will be the first harbor craft of its kind retrofitted with a hybrid propulsion system that will reduce emissions and fuel usage by more than 95 percent.

The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) has appointed Liz Hay as Executive Director of its ANZSPAC (Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific) Division. She will combine the position with her dual role as Chief Executive Officer of both the Australian Shipbuilders Association and Australian Ship Repairers Group, which are currently in the process of merging. Based on Australia’s Gold Coast, Liz has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the Australian maritime sector.

The Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) cordially invites maritime industry representatives to attend and participate in its November meeting in Linthicum, MD on November 2nd and 3rd. Delegates and ranking officers of the US Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation were invited to address the meeting. In addition, senior representatives from Federal and State Government and the commercial industry will present a comprehensive discussion on the impact of regulatory changes in the areas of safety, environment and training in the US maritime industry.

By Richard B. A riddle: How many years, and how many Administrations does it take for an esteemed U.S. government agency to publish regulations that have likely already been written? The answer is 13 years and five Admirals. Thirteen surely is an unlucky number for the professional marine salvage industry in the United States, for it has, indeed, taken this many years for the United States Coast Guard to publish its proposed salvage regulations (to amend 33 CFR Part 155, Salvage & Marine Firefighting Requirements), which, after all this time, have once again been postponed for three more years. The future of these proposed regulations is as difficult to predict as the weather. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was the legislative response to a major shipping casualty within our borders.

Scientists from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) will join colleagues from federal and state government, academia, and industry to examine potential effects of wave energy at the Ecological Effects of Wave Energy Development in the Pacific Northwest Workshop at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon, on October 11-12, 2007. MMS is a major co-sponsor of the scientific workshop along with Oregon State University, the Oregon Department of Land Development and Conservation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Fisheries, Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea, the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, several Pacific Northwest utility companies and others.