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Jeanne Grasso News

16 May 2022

EMBARC: Changing Course - from Coarse to Enlightened

Midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, fix the ship's position using a sextant aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65). (Photo: Deven Leigh Ellis / U.S. Navy)

“Until every employee, and every midshipman, and cadet, and every trainee trusts the system and until all allegations are handled properly, abuse will continue to occur, it will continue to go unreported, and people will continue to suffer alone—and that is simply intolerable,” said Lucinda Lessley, Acting Maritime Administrator, presenting at the Connecticut Maritime Association Shipping Expo and Conference, in February.On March 30, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) released…

21 Nov 2019

Interview: Boriana Farrar, Ship Owners Claims Bureau

Boriana Farrar is a familiar face in maritime circles, the Vice President and Counsel and a Senior Claims Executive and Business Development Director for the Americas at the Ship Owners Claims Bureau, Inc. managers of the American P&I Club.

Boriana Farrar is a familiar face in maritime circles, the Vice President and Counsel and a Senior Claims Executive and Business Development Director for the Americas at the Ship Owners Claims Bureau, Inc. managers of the American P&I Club. We met with her in her NYC office to discuss her path from her native Bulgaria to a top maritime professional position.When Boriana Farrar moved from her native Bulgaria to the United States in 2001, she did so to be close to family, her mother and her sister who had already established a life in the U.S., some 5,000 miles from her homeland.

08 Mar 2018

WISTA International Appoints Diversity Committee

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) is proud to announce the formation of its Diversity Committee. A member-driven project created as a next step after the #METOO campaign, the WISTA Diversity Committee will focus on providing practical solutions to increase opportunities for gender diversity in the maritime industry. The committee works as part of WISTA International’s 2018 theme: The Women Who Move the World. “WISTA has always advocated for increased gender diversity in the maritime industry. Over the years our members and National WISTA Associations have taken significant steps in increasing the opportunities, support, and roles for women in our industry,” said WISTA International president Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou.

15 Jun 2015

WISTA USA Hosts 2015 AGM & Conference

Photo: WISTA

This year's WISTA USA Annual General Meeting (AGM) brought together more than 120 maritime industry professionals from across the United States and around the world. Declared a major success by WISTA USA president, Alexandra Anagnostis-Irons (president, Total Marine Solutions), the event was hosted by the New York/Jew Jersey chapter in Manhattan. WISTA USA membership, as well as the WISTA International Executive Committee and several international WISTA members including Canada…

12 May 2015

WISTA USA Takes Manhattan

Alexandra Anagnostis

On the eve of its Annual General Meeting in Manhattan, Alexandra Anagnostis Irons, founder and president of Total Marine Solutions and current president of WISTA USA, discusses the role of Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) in the modern maritime community. As President of the Board of WISTA USA, you are the face of the world’s largest woman’s maritime networking group. What are your goals for the organization under your tenure and what is the vision for the future when it comes to WISTA itself?

27 May 2014

Lindsay Malen to Speak at Posidonia 2014

Lindsay Malen, Director of Business Development at TITAN Salvage and the Marine Response Alliance (MRA)

Lindsay Malen, Director of Business Development, Marine Response Alliance/TITAN Salvage, will speak on the topic “Salvors:  Partners in OPA90 Compliance & More” at the North American Marine Environment Protection Association’s (NAMEPA’s)  “Compliance, Cost and Competency in America” seminar being held at the 2014 Posidonia conference in Athens, Greece on Thursday, June 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. “Compliance, Cost and Competency in America” will examine the environmental challenges facing today’s shipping industry. Highlights include: regulatory challenges in the U.S.

04 Feb 2014

MARAD's Jaenichen to Open NAMEPA 'Winds of Change' Conference

Paul “Chip” Jaenichen: Photo credit NAMEPA

Acting Maritime Administrator, Paul “Chip” Jaenichen will open the “Winds of Change in Shipping” conference being hosted by NAMEPA (North American Marine Environment Protection Association) in Houston along with the WGMA (West Gulf Maritime Association) on February 19, 2014. The next day, February 20th, NAMEPA is partnering with NOIA (National Ocean Industries Association) to present the “Winds of Change in Offshore Oil and Gas”. Adding even more luster to this period is the inaugural Lloyd’s List North American Awards Dinner on February 19th, where winners of 17 categories will be presented.

21 Oct 2013

WISTA USA Leadership Changes

Alexandra Anagnostis

At the recent global Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) annual meeting and conference held in Montreal, Jeanne Grasso, a partner at Blank Rome LLP, was elected to the Executive Committee of WISTA International. Jeanne has been the President of WISTA USA for the past five years, during which time its membership has increased by nearly 30% to become the largest in the global Association. In addition to activities within each of the eight regional Chapters…

26 Aug 2013

SHIPPINGInsight 2013 Announces Agenda and Speaker List

The SHIPPINGInsight conference producers have finalized the agenda and confirmed speaker list for the 2013 Fleet Optimization Conference, scheduled for Oct. 22-24 at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel in Stamford, Conn. “The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Connect and Engage,’” said conference co-producer Frank Soccoli. “We are bringing together an impressive lineup of speakers, moderators, panelists, sponsors, exhibitors and delegates representing all segments of the shipping industry. New for 2013 is an extra LNG Workshop, which will take the form of a roundtable discussion of experts to consider the barriers, challenges, solutions and best practices for achieving widespread adoption of LNG as a marine fuel. The workshop is free for all registered delegates.

12 Feb 2013

WISTA USA Keynote: 'Bringing Youth into the Maritime Industry'

Birgit Liodden: Photo credit WISTA USA

Birgit Liodden of YoungShip International to keynote WISTA USA lunch at CMA's Shipping 2013 conference. “We are pleased that fellow WISTA Norway member Birgit Liodden will be sharing her experiences bringing youth into our maritime industry with us at the luncheon”, stated WISTA USA President and Blank Rome LLP Partner Jeanne Grasso. “Birgit was the recipient of the 2012 WISTA Norway Leadership Award, and is the Secretary-General of YoungShip International. In 2009, Birgit Liodden was listed one of the 100 top young Norwegian leaders in the annual rating by the business news channel E24.no.

29 Oct 2012

WISTA Ladies Show the Flag in Paris

WISTA USA Members in Paris: Photo credit WISTA

Twenty WISTA USA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) members travel to Paris for the AGM. This annual gathering of WISTA members in locations around the world is augmented by industry leaders who participate in the three-day event as both speakers and delegates. This year a record 283 attended the event from 34 countries. The conference was kicked off by Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary General for the International Chamber of Shipping. Mr. Hinchliffe stressed the need for the international regulatory community to look for rational approaches to effecting change.

24 Oct 2012

NAMEPA Announce Upcoming Conference, Awards

Clay Maitland: Photo credit NAMEPA

Clay Maitland, Chairman of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), announces two major events. NAMEPA’s Environmental Intelligence in Maritime Conference, will feature “Greening the Marine Transportation System”, “The Arctic”, “Safety at Sea” and “Corporate Risk Management”. This conference, with NAMEPA's fifth anniversary in mind, will be held on 14, November 2012, and is to be followed by NAMEPA’s 2012 Marine Environment Protection Awards honoring Maersk, NOAA, SUNY Maritime College, and the American Salvage Association (ASA).

11 Oct 2012

WISTA Draws Record Participation

Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary General for the International Chamber of Shipping.

Maritime challenges key theme. The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) conference program held in Paris October 3-5 illuminated the many challenges facing the maritime industry today. This annual gathering of WISTA members in locations around the world is augmented by industry leaders who participate in the three day event as both speakers and delegates. This year a record 283 attended the event from 34 countries. The event was hosted by WISTA France under the chairmanship of its President, Beatrice Witvoet.

08 Oct 2012

Offshore Drilling

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) issued three significant documents addressing response, enforcement, and safety issues related to offshore operations in August 2012. Specifically, BSEE issued (1) new guidance concerning regional Oil Spill Response Plans (“OSRPs”), (2) formalized policy addressing direct enforcement actions against contractors engaged in offshore activities, and (3) a Final Rule implementing new safety measures related to well control operations occurring on the outer continental shelf (“OCS”). The following is a summary of these new developments.

03 Oct 2012

Dr. Henry Chen Chief Naval Architect, Jeppesen

The term “Fleet Optimization” means many things to many people. What does it mean to you? Dr. Chen Fleet Optimization encompasses many aspects of shipping operations ranging from finding the best deployments and schedules for maximizing the fleet revenue/profit to minimizing total fuel consumption on a particular passage given the loading conditions and forecast weather to arrive on-time. Historically, such decisions are derived from years of experiences with hit or miss results.

26 Sep 2012

WISTA Conference Focuses on Shipping’s Challenges

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) conference program scheduled to be held in Paris October 3-5 will focus on issues facing shipping today. In addition to hosting its annual meeting and conference, WISTA has also created a new feature, the “Women’s Sea Congress” which will address women for innovation and modernity in shipping and the maritime economy. This annual gathering of WISTA members is augmented by industry leaders who participate in the three day event as both speakers and delegates, as the event is open to the maritime community. The first day will be led by Peter Hinchliffe, Secretary General for the International Chamber of Shipping.

14 Aug 2012

Clay Maitland to Keynote SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference

Clay Maitland, founding chairman of the North American Maritime Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA)

Joins More than 30 International Maritime Industry Speakers. Clay Maitland, managing partner of International Registries, Inc., which administers the Marshall Islands Ship Registry, the third largest registry in the world, will be the keynote speaker at the SHIPPINGInsight 2012 Fleet Optimization Conference, Oct. 8-10 in Stamford, Conn. As keynoter, Maitland, a distinguished veteran in the shipping industry, will set the tone in addressing the challenges and solutions for improving ship efficiency and fleet operations – the central theme of the conference.

19 Apr 2012

WISTA USA to hold Annual General Meeting in Houston

Jeanne Grasso (Photo: WISTA USA).

WISTA USA President Jeanne Grasso announced the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Woman’s International Shipping and Trading Association USA (WISTA) will be held from May 9-11 in Houston. “This will be an important gathering of WISTA USA, as we project our future,” observed Jeanne Grasso, who is also a maritime partner at Blank Rome. The Annual General Meeting will focus on the goals of the organization, including its participation as part of an international association. Emphasis will be placed on raising WISTA’s profile within the shipping and trading communities to attract new members…

30 Mar 2012

Action-Packed WISTA Luncheon at CMA

WISTA Leadership at CMA.

WISTA Annual Luncheon at CMA’s Shipping 2012 presents action-packed program. Bahamas signs Washington Declaration, lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, and a Flag Ceremony farewell to USCG Vice Commandant Brice O’Hara. WISTA USA President Jeanne M. Grasso presided over an action-packed program at this year’s WISTA USA Annual Luncheon held at the beginning of CMA’s Shipping 2012 conference in Stamford, Connecticut. “I don’t think we could have made this year’s luncheon more exciting, interesting, or robust”, stated Grasso, a Blank Rome LLP Partner and President of WISTA USA.

30 Jan 2012

RADM Mary Landry to Keynote WISTA Luncheon

WISTA USA President Jeanne M. Grasso said that Rear Admiral (RADM) Mary Landry (United States Coast Guard (USCG) Retired), the Federal On-Scene Coordinator during the first days of the Deepwater Horizon incident, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s WISTA luncheon held on March 19th at the beginning of the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2012 conference. This is the 7th year that WISTA has held this luncheon, which kicks off the annually successful CMA event.

10 Jun 2011

Legal Beat: MARPOL Enforcement in the United States

The United States has long been aggressively enforcing compliance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, as amended (“MARPOL”), which is implemented in the United States by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (“APPS”). Since the early 1990s, the effort has been directed at all types of registered and domestic tonnage – the full spectrum of waterborne commerce. Those entities and individuals prosecuted for MARPOL violations also span a wide spectrum of owners…

16 Apr 2011

WISTA USA Discusses Regulatory, Enforcement, Congressional Impact

At its Annual General Meeting in Washington, DC in early April, more than 70 WISTA USA members and guests gathered to discuss issues of concern to the maritime community. Leading authorities from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Justice, regulatory and trade associations, and the U.S. Congress met with shipping professionals to discuss and debate the current status of environmental and enforcement issues and the impact of the 112th Congress on the industry, and to examine strategies for moving forward.

29 Mar 2011

Renowned Piracy Negotiator Calls On Maritime Industry To Educate The Public On Piracy Threat

March 21 2011—Stamford, CT. In recognition of the International Maritime Organization’s “Year of Piracy”, WISTA USA hosted world renowned piracy negotiator, Suzanne Williams QPM, as their keynote speaker at its sixth annual WISTA USA luncheon on Monday, kicking off the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2011 conference. The luncheon was attended by nearly 250 industry professionals and maritime cadets. Ms. Williams described first hand experiences in her dealings with pirate negotiations, and offered suggestions for combating the scourge.