Rockefeller News

After nine years president of Webb Institute, R. Keith Michel announced plans to retire effective June 30, 2022, and the search is on for his successor at this top-ranked undergraduate institution specializing in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Founded in 1889 by New York-based shipbuilder William H. Webb, Webb Institute is the only full-tuition scholarship, private undergraduate program of its kind in the United States, with a maximum of 28 students being accepted…

A widely-shared meme has taken several facts about the Titanic out of context to make unsubstantiated claims that imply the ship’s sinking was a deliberate act. This is not true—experts widely agree the sinking of the Titanic was an accident. The meme was posted to Facebook on March 1 and has been shared more than 600 times (here). It consists of two images: one of the ship and a second of American financier John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan. These sit alongside a wall of text that…

“…We have built our reputation job by job, boat by boat, and tow by tow, and we intend to continue to do so.”The Great Lakes Towing Company (GLT) and the Great Lakes Shipyard are core businesses within The Great Lakes Group of Companies, based in Cleveland, on the Old River, a shipping channel that runs west from where the Cuyahoga River meets Lake Erie. Company towing operations extend from Buffalo, N.Y. in the east to Duluth, Minn. in the west. Great Lakes Towing owns and operates the largest U.S.-flagged tugboat fleet on the Great Lakes, serving more than 35 ports in all eight U.S.

Eleven years ago, environmental scientist Jesse Ausubel dreamed aloud in a commencement speech: What if scientists could record the sounds of the ocean in the days before propeller-driven ships and boats spanned the globe?They would listen to chit-chat between blue whales hundreds of miles apart. They would record the familiar chirps and clicks among a pod of dolphins. And they would do so without the cacophony of humankind – and develop a better understanding of how that undersea racket has affected sea life.It was a flight of fancy…

There is a new buzzword in the ocean science/sensing community. The word is eDNA, an abbreviation for environmental DNA. This refers to DNA that can be extracted from environmental samples without first isolating any target organisms. In the maritime community such samples are taken from water. All living organisms leave traces of DNA in their environments which is an indicator of their presence over time. This DNA is released into the environment through the biological process of living animals or by the decomposition of dead organisms.

Embracing and spanning the full breadth of Great Lakes geography and business mix, GLG’s Joe Starck has his multi-missioned firm looking to the future – in more ways than one.The Great Lakes Group (GLG) takes its beginnings from its 1899 incorporation by industrial icon John D. Rockefeller, who formed the Great Lakes Towing to satisfy the demands of a Midwest industrial revolution that brought bigger ships to the region. Existing vessels, unable to keep up with demand, were supplemented and replaced by a fleet of as many as 100 tugboats; the first steel tugs in the region. GLG still has a tug that was part of that original operation.

From the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center to New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York’s time-honored traditions are some of the most well-known around the world. Arriving today as part of another New York tradition, a “parade of ships” from several branches of the U.S. military (and one ship from Canada) sailed into the New York Harbor and up the Hudson River from Battery Park to just south of the George Washington Bridge, for the 29th annual Fleet Week New York (FWNY). Now in its 29th year…

In 1864 Abraham Lincoln was president, and the U.S. was embroiled in the midst of civil war. In 1864, McAllister Towing was established (originally as the Greenpoint Lighterage Co.) in New York City. McAllister Towing has persevered, and at times, served, through nine wars, 28 presidents, at least three catastrophic stock market crashes; collapsing oil prices, generations of advances in ship technology and vessel construction and design; and an explosion in maritime regulation.

Following its usual summer break over August 2014, Congress came back from its five-week summer recess and spent a whopping eight days or so back in session before recessing once again, approximately a week early, to hit the campaign trail for the November elections. This essentially means that including the summer recess, Congress will have been in session for a total of about eight days between the end of July and the middle of November 2014. No wonder why Congress has not been able to accomplish much this year, to date.

President Mark D. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., an in the field of deep-ocean exploration, has implemented its planned management transitions that were announced in August. Odyssey President Mark D. Gordon assumed the additional role of chief executive officer on October 1, 2014, succeeding Gregory P. Stemm, who had held the position since 2007. Stemm has become chairman of the board, succeeding Bradford B. Baker, who will continue to serve as lead director. Stemm, in his new role…

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), Bill Enyart (D-Ill.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), David Jolly (R-Fla.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Don Young (R-Alaska). H.R.

The American Waterways Operators, a 350-member trade association representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the House introduction of critical vessel discharge legislation yesterday, praising the leadership of sponsors Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Bipartisan cosponsors include Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Bill Enyart (D-IL), Gene Green (D-TX), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), David Jolly (R-FL), Walter Jones (R-NC), Blaine Leutkemeyer (R-MO), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), and Don Young (R-AK). H.R.

On June 20, a diverse coalition of 58 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of leading business, maritime and labor organizations signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) urging that the committee mark up and approve S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform, science-based national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens.

U.S. Sens. In a letter to U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.V.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) called on the Coast Guard to detail how it plans to use inspection information to hold cruise ships with safety problems accountable. The senators also requested that such information be made available to the public over the Internet.

Investors could spend up to $1.1 trillion over the next decade on oil projects and assets that never reach production if governments enforce measures to curb climate change, a report by Carbon Tracker Initiative said. The Carbon Tracker report, released on Thursday, could help funds and other investors avoid putting their money in oil assets that remain buried forever. The $1.1 trillion, around 15 percent of the decade's total global oil and gas spending at current rates, is earmarked for projects to 2025 that require a market price of at least $95 a barrel to break even. That investment is at risk if governments enforce plans to curb the global rise in temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is the threshold for avoiding the worst effects of climate change.

On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.

The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, praised yesterday’s Senate introduction of a bill calling for the enactment of a uniform national standard for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, legislation widely viewed as essential to ending the existing confusing, costly and ineffective patchwork of state and federal rules. AWO specifically called attention to the instrumental leadership of the bill’s lead sponsors, Sens.

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a 50-year lease to transform  a 100-year-old pier on the L.A. Waterfront in San Pedro into a world-class urban marine research and innovation center called AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles. The lease agreement – signed between the Port of Los Angeles and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the latter who currently serves as the fiscal sponsor for the AltaSea project – involves approximately 35 acres of land and water at the Port’s City Dock No. 1 site, Berths 56-60 and Berths 70-71. “Public-private partnerships like AltaSea represent an innovative way to encourage investment and redevelopment in our communities,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Designed by Jensen Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and built by the Great Lakes Shipyard of Cleveland, Ohio a 74-foot workboat is quickly making a name for itself; in and out of the water. The “HandySize” Class Tug was designed to fill the niche between the 2,400 to 3,200 HP market for harbor workboats, fireboats, and construction operations and coastal towing, too. The Tug model 2800 is powered by two Cummins QSK38,1400HP diesel engines rated at 1800 rpm, providing a total of 2,800 HP – or in order words, just right for those niche tasks assigned to a Great Lakes workboat.

Miami maritime lawyer Charles R. Lipcon, of Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P. A. , has met with staff members for U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the committee itself to discuss transparency in cruise ship crime reporting. During the meeting, Mr. Lipcon, who has over 40 years of maritime litigation experience, discussed how there is a large discrepancy between the number of cruise crimes that are actually taking place and those that are being reported to the public.

The presidents of Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International defended their industry and their practices to senators following two recent high-profile fires that damaged ships, reports AP. In February, Carnival’s ship Triumph was left without power in the Gulf of Mexico after an engine room fire. Thousands of passengers endured squalid conditions while the ship was towed to Mobile, Alabama. Citing Carnival Cruise Lines President Gerald Cahill evidence to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation,  AP reported that Carnival is working to add more emergency generators to its two dozen ships as well as to install newer sprinkler systems.

The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard will celebrate their 115th anniversary with the delivery of two new 4,640HP FIFI 1 ASD tugs. Designed by Jensen Maritime Consultant, Inc., Seattle, Washington, the tugs AURA and ATLAS are built to the highest standards of the American Bureau of Shipping, the U.S. vessel classification society. The tugs were launched using the Shipyard’s 770-ton Travelift. Founded by John D. Rockefeller on July 7, 1899, the company’s founding shareholders were the major industrialists at the turn of the century.

The American Maritime Officers Association (AMO) supports Senator Rockefeller's approach to the Cruise Lines International Association. The American Maritime Officers Association, the nation's largest professional merchant marine organization, says the widely publicised letter by U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, demanding the cruise line industry answer questions and provide details about safety procedures, mechanical problems and the number of U.S. residents employed by each shipping company is a substantial step in generating public awareness and political support of AMO's efforts to put Americans in command of American-owned passenger vessels – vessels that are mostly commanded and crewed by foreigners. "Although the best-known cruise lines are publicly-traded U.S.