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Philadelphia Inquirer News

16 Sep 2013

Maritime Legend Passes Away

Captain Robert M. Cusick at Board of Investigation: Photo courtesy of Robert Frump

Captain Robert M. Cusick Jr., a merchant marine officer who survived the wreck of the SS Marine Electric and then helped lead a major reform of US maritime safety standards, died peacefully in his sleep in New Hampshire on Thursday, September 12, 2013, according to Carol Cusick, his daughter. He was 90 years old. Against the advice of many friends and colleagues, Captain Cusick testified at a US Marine Board of Investigation and detailed how inspectors and company officials overlooked numerous holes in the hatches…

20 Jun 2010

Study Favorable for N.J. Offshore Wind Farms

A June 19 report from The Philadelphia Inquirer said preliminary results of a two-year study just released by the state Department of Environmental Protection reported that developing wind turbines off New Jersey's coast would have a "negligible" impact on the environment. Officials said the $7m study is meant to provide a scientific baseline for direct planning for the turbines. The final report is expected early next month. New Jersey's study covered 1,360 square nautical miles off the coast between Seaside Park and North Wildwood. It was conducted by the research firm Geo-Marine Inc. (Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer)

22 Jun 2006

Union Fights Aker Over Foreign Parts

The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported that the Department of Homeland Security has rejected an AFL-CIO complaint about use of foreign-made parts at the Philadelphia shipyard, prompting the union to vow a political fight over U.S. shipbuilding protections. The Metal Trades Department of the AFL-CIO asked the Coast Guard, part of Homeland Security, in mid-May to review Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc.'s construction of 10 tankers based on a design bought from South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and using components procured through Hyundai. The union claimed that Aker was violating the Jones Act, a law intended to protect U.S. shipbuilding by allowing only U.S.-made ships to be certified to ply U.S. ports. Aker, a unit of Norway-based Aker A.S.A.

22 May 2006

Union Questions Aker Philadelphia's Jones Act Compliance

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the AFL-CIO accused Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Inc. of undercutting the struggling U.S. shipbuilding industry by using too many foreign-made components in its new vessels. Aker, formerly Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard, denied the allegations, and asserted it is leading the industry's rebirth by expanding its business using mostly local workers and suppliers. The war of words began after the labor federation's Metal Trades Department, representing about 600 Philadelphia shipyard workers, said Thursday that it was asking the Coast Guard to probe Aker's use of components and prefabricated parts from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and other South Korean companies.

10 May 2006

Shipyard to Close Facilities in Philadelphia

Metro Machine Corp., a Norfolk, Va., company that came here a dozen years ago with dreams of building a radically new type of tanker ship, is shutting down its Philadelphia operations. The tankers it hoped to build offered innovations to protect the environment, but no one was willing to risk buying the first ship of an unproven design. To sustain its operation here while seeking ship orders, Metro did work including overhauls and scrapping ships. The city is already seeking a ship-repair company to lease the two dry docks at the old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, at the foot of Broad Street, that Metro has been using. A supplier network is developing around the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, formerly named Kvaerner, which could make the adjacent Metro space more attractive.