Intermodal Transportation System News

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman, has called on terminal operators, shipping companies, port managers and allied stakeholders to do all they could to eradicate or at best mitigate the effects of the present congestion at the nation’s seaports.According to the Managing Director, the issue of ports congestion should be of concern to all and therefore they should look into the issue of evacuation of empty containers, increase in free days of storage, wavering of demurrage for a definite period of time, creating a window of some period to accommodate the concerns of importers, etcThe Managing Director told the Stakeholders that the meeting was convened in compliance with a directive from the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman…

The Port of Pittsburgh Commission (PPC) announced today that Mr. Stephen Martinko will be the Commission's new executive director. Since January, 2013, Martinko has been the deputy staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and previously served as chief of staff for U.S. Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA). Martinko was instrumental in the development of the Water Resources and Reform Development Act (WRRDA) that was signed into law by President Obama earlier this year.

The Port of Long Beach said it has not lost sight of the significance of professional development in supporting the Port‘s decade-long, $4 billion investment in upgrades and efficiency improvements. The port’s commitment to boosting its competitiveness in the long term extends beyond rebuilding and replacing outdated facilities and infrastructure, to ensuring its human resources are prepared to help build the port of the future. “Having a full understanding of all the operations…

The 14th Annual California Maritime Leadership Symposium, slated to take place February 19-20 at the Sacramento Convention Center, attracts key members from California’s State Legislature and representatives from California’s ports and the maritime industry. The symposium aims to encourage productive dialogue among maritime industry leaders and communicate port needs to California decision makers. The symposium is hosted by a broad-based coalition of the maritime industry, headed up by the California Association of Port Authorities…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration today announced that America’s six state maritime academies – California Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, SUNY Maritime College and Texas Maritime Academy – and the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, N.Y., will each receive $1 million from a government program that recycles obsolete vessels. The funding will help ensure well-educated and highly skilled U.S.

U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell introduced today The Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century, new legislation that would support the American trade economy and significantly strengthen American ports. The legislation would replace the outdated Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), which is designed to fund the operation and maintenance of American ports, but currently incentivizes shippers to bypass American ports and move U.S. bound goods through Canada and Mexico instead.

The CPE Certified Port Ececutive Program welcomed ten new graduates at the completion of their program in Vancouver, October 19th 2012. The CPE Certified Port Executive  Program creates a new learning pathway for professionals in the port world. Course topics include an overview of the worldwide intermodal transportation system; port and terminal operations; cargo management; safety and security; emergency planning and response; public and media relations; environmental management; and strategic, master, and business planning.

The CPE Certified Port Executive Program welcomed four new graduates at the completion of their program in Ottawa September 21, 2012. The new graduates join alumni of over 100 port, transportation and military personnel who have participated in the program since its creation in 2010. This port management program is a five day course designed to provide participants with a professional education opportunity related to the operations of ports, vessels, marine terminals and the related transportation system.

Capt. Jeffrey Monroe, MM, Chairman of the United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, and former Chairman of the US Coast Guard’s National Maritime Safety Advisory Council, completed the first seminar for US port executives at the Philadelphia Maritime Exchange in Pennsylvania. This was the first program offered in the US by Canadian interests. Capt. Monroe, a licensed master mariner with a Master’s Degree in Transportation management…

The 140-foot ice-breaking tug Thunder Bay  augmented the USCG fleet on the Great Lakes during Operation Taconite, a major Great Lakes ice-breaking operation this ice season. The crew participated alongside other Coast Guard icebreakers in operations that facilitated the safe navigation of vessels and cleared paths for more than 67 commercial freighters. The cutter spent more than 175 hours breaking Great Lakes ice, keeping tracks and channels open for navigation. The crew spent 11 hours in direct support of five vessels beset by ice.

Trade and transportation organizations with close ties to California’s vital maritime industry will gather in Sacramento May 12-14 for the California Maritime Leadership Symposium. The event is organized by The California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA), California Marine Affairs and Navigation Conference (CMANC), California Marine & Intermodal Transportation System Advisory Council (CALMITSAC), The Harbor Association of Industry and Commerce, the Propeller Club of Los Angeles/Long Beach and the California Maritime Academy. “Our focus will be education and information,” explained David Hull, Port Director of the Humboldt Bay Harbor District and chair of the symposium.

Sea Star Line, LLC (Sea Star) announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Navieras/NPR, Inc. (NPR) and of certain related entities. The agreement covers the purchase of ships, equipment, assignment of terminal leases, trade names and other assets related to NPR's Puerto Rico service. The purchase agreement, subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval, will become effective at the end of April 2002. Sea Star's expanded service will provide the premium intermodal transportation system between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The operation will combine Sea Star's versatile RoRo/LoLo service with Navieras' market-leading container service.

Tidewater Inc. (NYSE:TDW) announced on March 28 that William C. O'Malley, the company's Chairman, President and CEO for most of the past eight years, has officially stepped down as Tidewater's CEO, handing over the reins of leadership to Dean E. Taylor. Taylor, 53, has served as President of Tidewater since October 2001 when O'Malley, 65, announced his impending retirement at the end of March 2002. Taylor's career with Tidewater started in 1978 where he served as an assistant manager in the company's Morgan City, La. office. With his Navy background and business savvy, Taylor gradually worked his way up through Tidewater's ranks to become an executive vice president in December of 2000.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta is scheduled to visit with the Coast Guard and maritime industry representatives Thursday, May 16, at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Base. The morning agenda will include a brief tour aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Cheyenne, a 75-foot inland river tender from St. Louis, to learn more about the role of the Coast Guard on the Western Rivers. Secretary Mineta will also meet with local maritime industry stakeholders at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Base where the Secretary will address the intermodal transportation system in the Midwest.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, marking a significant milestone in the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) ongoing port security efforts, today announced the award of $92.3 million in grants to 51 ports located throughout the nation to enhance the security of ports and other facilities. "Protecting seaports and port facilities against the threat of terrorism is imperative," said Secretary Mineta. At a press conference near New York City's Staten Island Ferry, the Secretary was joined by New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Vice Chairman Charles Gargano, as well as a host of federal representatives including Rep. Bill Young (FL), U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thomas Collins and U.S.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation to reduce global warming through greater transportation efficiencies and conservation initiatives. The major freight goods movement components of House Resolution (HR) 2701, the Transportation Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation Act of 2007, will integrate the marine highway into our Nation’s overall intermodal transportation system. Title IV of the bill will establish a new program to promote short sea shipping to move cargo on the Great Lakes and along our sea coasts. Loan guarantees of up to $2b will help marine operators and shippers construct a new class of cargo vessels suitable for short sea shipping. The full text of HR 2701 will be available at Library of Congress webpage within the next 24 hours.

Maritime Administrator Capt. William G. Schubert has designated two educational organizations as National Maritime Enhancement Institutes (NMEI). They are the Consortium for Navigation Support and Analysis (CNSA) at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and the Global Maritime and Transportation School (GMATS) at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. The CNSA, under the direction of the Nick J. Rahall II Appalachian Transportation Institute at Marshall University, is composed of six academic, research and professional organizations. It addresses maritime policy and implementation issues critical to efficient functioning of the industry through workforce training programs tailored for inland navigation…

The federal government posted a Job Announcement . The Maritime Administration (MarAd) is in search of a person to serve as Director of the Executive Secretariat to the Committee on the Maritime Transportation System (CMTS). The person must demonstrate a mastery level of knowledge of the U.S. intermodal transportation system and be a change leader. The position is in the Senior Executive Service. Applications must be received by December 12. Source: HK Law