Sheldon Whitehouse News

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced the designation of 27 Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education (CoE), recognizing community colleges and training institutions that prepare students for careers in the U.S. maritime industry.One of the 27 schools and institutions recognized is the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI).The designation allows CCRI to work with MARAD to enter into cooperative agreements to help advance recruitment of students and faculty…

Power developer Deepwater Wind said its Block Island Wind Farm has begun delivering electricity into the New England region’s grid, becoming the United States’ first commercially active offshore wind farm. The energy produced from the Block Island Wind Farm is linked to the New England grid via Block Island and mainland Rhode Island by National Grid’s new sea2shore submarine transmission cable system. The milestone concludes the two-year offshore installation of the wind farm, which Deepwater Wind said was completed on-time and on-budget with the help of more than 300 local workers.

In comments before the international Tradewinds Ship Owners Forum in New York City, Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen highlighted the more than 42,700 jobs, $3.6 billion in labor income and $4.78 billion in GDP associated with employment for shipbuilding and repair in the northeast region. “American shipyards provide a dependable, highly trained workforce that produce, repair and maintain some of the world’s most modern and innovative vessels. Their efforts ensure our…

The first US-built and operated offshore wind farm crew transfer vessel will be named at an official christening ceremony in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Following the Christening the ‘Atlantic Pioneer’, owned and operated by Atlantic Wind Transfers, the commercial wind support services arm of Rhode Island Fast Ferry, will embark on the first phase of a 20-year charter to support the construction and operation of the Block Island offshore wind farm. The Block Island site, currently under construction by developer Deepwater Wind off the coast of Rhode Island…

Atlantic Wind Transfers, Blount Boats and Deepwater Wind welcome key U.S. Atlantic Wind Transfers, the commercial wind support services arm of Rhode Island Fast Ferry, joined boat builder Blount Boats and offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind on August 12 for an official Ribbon Cutting ceremony and to tour the first offshore wind farm crew transfer vessel in the U.S currently under construction. The event at the Blount Boats yard in Warren, R.I., brought together local supply chain businesses to celebrate the economic benefits of the Block Island Wind Farm project to U.S. firms.

A piece of legislation aiming to stop offshore Arctic drilling was introduced last week by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. The legislation, entitled Stop Arctic Ocean Drilling Act of 2015, would prevent new or renewed leases for the exploration, development or production of oil, natural gas or any other mineral in the Arctic planning area. "A spill in the Arctic would be an environmental catastrophe of extraordinary proportions – and such a spill is inevitable if drilling proceeds," Merkley said.

On November 8, speaking at the Port of New Orleans, President Obama said “… corn and wheat is coming down from my home state of Illinois down the river, ending up here and then going all around the world. This was a victory for the inland waterways industry because while the President has recognized ports, dams, levees, trains, trucks and other transportation infrastructure, he has not, heretofore, underscored the value of the inland waterways. The President’s recognition of the…

Earlier this month, Dennis Nixon was named director of the Rhode Island Sea Grant, one of 32 programs that make up the National Sea Grant College Program, which is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nixon spends much of his life near the ocean. As a longtime Jamestown resident, Nixon is never more than minutes away from Narragansett Bay. As associate dean of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, he is just as close to the waves when he’s in his office. Nixon has been teaching at the University of Rhode Island for 37 years.

One of the most important components of a healthy economy is modern port infrastructure to feed our maritime transportation system. By investing in waterways, jobs are created, economic competitiveness is improved and prosperity is built for the long term. At the Rhode Island Ports Showcase in Providence, Acting Maritime Administrator, Paul "Chip" Jaenichen spoke about DOT’s commitment to making such investments. At the Port of Providence alone, port-related employment has grown from 800 jobs 15 years ago to 2,400 jobs today.

Three luminaries will augment the speaker panel at the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) upcoming conference. U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, the new chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and W. Ralph Basham, a principle with Command Consulting Group in Washington, D.C., and former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and director of the U.S. Secret Service; will help round-out an already illustrious selection of speakers at the Washington DC conference, March 18-19, 2013. As part of AAPA’s Spring Conference program at The Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, U.S. Other program speakers for this year’s event include U.S. Sen.

U.S. Reps Janice Hahn & Ted Poe to Accept AAPA’s ‘Port Person of Year’ Award at March 19 Event in D.C.; AAPA’s 2013 ‘Spring Conference’ to focus on key seaport priorities: infrastructure, security, trade. U.S. Representatives Janice Hahn (D-CA) and Ted Poe (R-TX) will be honored on March 19 as the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2013 “Port Persons of the Year” during the association’s annual Spring Conference event, March 18-19, at The Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel.

Port of Los angeles Executive Director Receivs Peter Benchley ‘Excellence in Solutions' Ocean Conservation Award. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D., has been named the 2012 recipient of the Blue Frontier Campaign’s Peter Benchley Ocean Award for  “Excellence in Solutions.” The Blue Frontier Campaign is a national marine conservation activist organization working to improve ocean policies in coastal states. The Peter Benchley Award is named in honor of lifetime marine wildlife conservationist Peter Benchley, best known for writing the bestseller novel ‘Jaws’ in 1974.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport cut the ribbon and officially dedicated a new $11 million Maritime Subsurface Sensor Operations Laboratory on Tuesday, Aug. 16. Sen. Jack Reed and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse attended the event, as well as Rep. David Cicilline. NUWC attendees included the Warfare Center Commander Rear Adm. Thomas Wears and NUWC Technical Director Donald McCormack, and the NUWC Newport Technical Director Dr. Paul Lefebvre. "This project resulted in a significant addition to the towed array facility and a major upgrade to our capabilities," said Wears. Under construction since its July 31, 2009 ground breaking, the 40,000-square-foot, single-story laboratory provides secure workspace for the testing, refurbishment, and maintenance of towed arrays.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources conducted a hearing to receive testimony on the liability and financial responsibility issues related to offshore oil production. The committee also considered the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments act of 2010 (S. 3346) to increase the limits on liability under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) testified. Mr. Thomas Perrelli, Department of Justice, testified concerning liability and compensation under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). Mr. David Hayes, Department of the Interior, testified concerning the Department’s outer continental shelf oil and gas development enforcement program. Mr.