State Legislature News

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) will receive $73.77 million from the federal government to assist in building the Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project, which will provide a gateway for cargo movement on U.S. inland waterways including the Mississippi River.The U.S. Department of Transportation has alerted Congress that it intends to award this funding through its MEGA Grant Program, which will support the first phase of the overall $1.8 billion project’s construction and is in addition to significant funding commitments from private industry partners and Port NOLA.

Senator Wesley Livsey Jones gave his name to the famous “Jones Act” governing U.S. domestic maritime trade. But what do really know about him? It turns out that he was much more than a leading merchant marine policy maker. (i)Jones had a long career in the U.S. House of Representatives before he was a Senator, was an effective legislator, an astute politician, one of the hardest working legislators of his era, and always viewed as honest and forthright. His many maritime legislative successes included the Merchant Marine Act…

The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s Terminal 5 has welcomed MSC Brunella as the first vessel to plug in to the terminal’s new shore power infrastructure.Terminal 5 is the first international container terminal in the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) gateway with shore power capability, and the nearly 9,000 TEU vessel successfully used clean energy from the City of Seattle’s electrical grid while at berth on April 10.Shore power installation is a key part of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy…

A public-private partnership between the state of Louisiana, the Port of New Orleans and two global maritime industry leaders will build a $1.8 billion container facility on the Lower Mississippi River, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced.The new Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) in St. Bernard Parish will be able to serve vessels of all sizes, increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity and stimulating the creation of more than 17,000 new jobs statewide by 2050, Port NOLA estimates.New Jersey-based Ports America…

Americans became aware of our nation’s supply chain problem when they witnessed a hundred cargo ships anchored off the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, stymied from moving cargo to store shelves throughout the United States. Such circumstances could become all too common, especially as recently adopted engine emission regulations force maritime companies out of the country’s most impacted ports, or limit their ability to expand operations as America’s demand for imports and…

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has granted Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm, Ørsted confirmed Thursday. This is the final decision needed from the agency to move the project toward the start of construction. The approximately 130 MW South Fork Wind project, owned by the Danish firm Orsted AS and U.S. company Eversource Energy, will be located about 19 miles (30.58 km) southeast of Block Island…

Skagit County Public Works and Seattle-based vessel designer Glosten are seeking proposals from electrical integrators to provide the vessel and shore electrical systems and the automated charging plug for the all-electric ferry design to replace the M/V Guemes.The Washington State Legislature recently passed SHB1502, providing authority for the county to select this equipment during the vessel’s contract design. The selected integrator will be required in the bid specifications…

U.S. shipbuilding company Vigor has selected ABB to supply the hybrid-electric propulsion and energy storage systems for the newest additions to the Washington State Ferry fleet, setting the largest U.S. ferry system on course to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use.The new Olympic Class ferries, each with a capacity of 144 cars and 1,500 passengers, with the planned addition of charging capability at terminals, would reduce fuel consumption by up to 95%. Upon delivery in 2024…

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) was recently selected by Vigor Fab as the engineering firm that will provide functional design for the new hybrid-electric Olympic Class ferries for Washington State Ferries (WSF). EBDG is responsible for redesigning the vessels to accommodate the major change in propulsion type without disrupting structural components. The ferries will operate on all-battery power during crossings or can revert to a hybrid, diesel-electric propulsion if required.

The former chairman of the Port of New Orleans Board of Commissioners Joe Toomy is rejoining the group.Gov. John Bel Edwards reappointed Joseph F. Toomy to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans.Toomy was sworn in during today’s monthly board meeting and will serve a five-year term succeeding Laney J. Chouest as one of two Jefferson Parish representatives on the seven-member regional board. He previously served on the Board of Commissioners from 2009 to 2014 and served as chairman in 2013.With the Port’s acquisition of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad effective Feb. 1, 2018, Port Commissioners also serve as directors of the New Orleans Public Belt (NOPB) board…

Now that the United States finally can envision steady winds blowing from the Atlantic Seaboard due to a pipeline of offshore wind farms on the horizon, the maritime industry can finally step up and earn some of the benefits. This includes shipbuilding, port construction, and worker training. This article reviews the key developments and forecasts the growth in maritime jobs.The federal and state governments share responsibility for developing offshore wind farms and bringing the wind into the power grid and…

Washington State Ferries has begun a project to transition the largest vessels in its fleet to cleaner hybrid-electric power.The three ferries in the operator's Jumbo Mark II class, the Tacoma, Wenatchee and Puyallup, were built from 1997 to 1999 at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle. Each vessel can carry up to 2,499 passengers and 202 vehicles, making them the largest in the Washington State fleet.The 460 footers are also the fleet's biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions.

The 5th annual inland IMX show coincides with the first ever FreightWeek STL. For transport professionals, supply chain stakeholders and inland operators alike, there was something for everyone. St. Louis, MO: This week’s IMX inland marine industry tradeshow may have been the primary focus for inland stakeholders, but there were many more reasons to be here in St. Louis. Parallel with and coordinating with the 5th annual event was the weeklong FreightWeek STL event intended to spotlight freight and transportation industries, opportunities and to underscore the St. Louis region as a global freight hub. Importantly, the collaboration also highlighted the need for intermodal solutions and not necessarily modal competition.

The ailing U.S. coal industry is ramping up its political and legal offensive to win approval for West Coast export terminals that could provide a lifeline to lucrative Asia markets. Coal producers filed two recent lawsuits against governments in Washington state and California challenging local decisions to block port projects on environmental grounds. The industry is also lobbying the Trump administration to override the local bans. The fight reflects the sector’s desperation to boost exports as U.S.

In the 2016 State of the State Address, Governor Mike Pence called on the Ports of Indiana to "vigorously explore" building the state's fourth port in southeastern Indiana. In Tuesday's State of the State Address, Governor Pence said, "Indiana's ports have also been spectacular catalysts for job growth. The Ports of Indiana is a statewide port authority created by state legislature in 1961 that operates three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan. The three ports include Port…

West Calcasieu Port officials announced today that the port has completed the $1.5 million purchase of 11.5 acres of adjacent property to the facility on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Hohensee noted that the port expansion would not have been possible without the financial assistance via a $750,000 capital outlay grant from the Louisiana State Legislature. “Most of the credit for procuring the capital outlay grant goes to Sen. John Smith, Sen. Ronnie Johns, Rep. Mike Danahay and the rest of our Southwest Louisiana delegation,” he added. “We believe these elected officials recognize the importance of the port expansion to our regional economic growth.

Demolition of the Mukilteo tank farm pier has begun. The work makes way for a new terminal to replace Washington State Ferries’ existing, 60-year-old facility in Mukilteo. The project will result in a cleaner Puget Sound by removing 7,000 tons of toxic creosote-soaked timber piles, about 4 percent of the remaining creosote in the sound. “This is a significant milestone for the project. The Mukilteo Multimodal Project will bring critical improvements to the Mukilteo/Clinton ferry route…

Washington State Legislature’s passed a $16.2 billion transportation investment package that ports of Tacoma and Seattle say will benefit the state’s economy by speeding the movement of cargo through the ports and freight corridors. The ports, business and community leaders have been advocating for funding to complete the key freight routes of State Route 509 in King County and State Route 167 in Pierce County, which are supported in the package. “The transportation system outside our terminal gates is critical to maintaining our competitive edge…

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has disclosed a list of federal and state subpoenas it has received linked to investigations into a scandal over deliberate lane closures at a major transportation route. The list, the most extensive disclosure of the matter so far by the usually reticent authority, was part of a bond offering document for a $834 million bond sale later this month. It includes flagship projects such as the $1.5 billion Goethals Bridge replacement and the World Trade Center. "The Port Authority has received and is responding to several grand jury subpoenas for the production of records," the authority said in the Aug. 6 document. The list of subpoenas covers a page of the document.

California lawmakers on Friday passed legislation requiring railroad companies to tell emergency officials when crude oil trains will chug through the state. The bill would require railroads to notify the state's Office of Emergency Services when trains carrying crude oil from Canada and North Dakota are headed to refineries in the most populous U.S. state. It passed its final vote in the Assembly 61-1, with strong bipartisan support within the state legislature in Sacramento. The bill now goes to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown for his signature. "We have a spotlight on this issue because of the seriousness of the risk to public safety that it presents," said the bill's author, Democratic Assembly man Roger Dickinson, whose district encompasses parts of Sacramento along the trains' route.

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), a leading naval architecture and marine engineering firm with offices in Seattle, New Orleans and Ketchikan, Alaska, today announced that the new freight and passenger ferry it designed for the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Steamship Authority (SSA) will be built at Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana. “Conrad Shipyard is proud to have been selected along with EBDG to deliver this vessel," said Terry Frickey, C.O.O. of Conrad Shipyard. "Both companies are steeped in a rich tradition of quality and integrity. The new ferry, WOODS HOLE, will replace the M/V GOVERNOR, the oldest vessel in the SSA's fleet.

A new freight and passenger ferry designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) for Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Steamship Authority (SSA) will be built at Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana. The new ferry, Woods Hole, will replace the M/V Govenor, the oldest vessel in the SSA's fleet. The new single-ended vessel will measure approximately 235 feet, have a total person capacity of 384 and a car deck that accommodates 55 standard vehicles or 10 tractor-trailer vehicles. The ferry will include a bow thruster and have a service speed of 14.5 knots.

Nebraska's Supreme Court ruled against a challenge to the Keystone XL oil pipeline's route through the state on Friday, clearing the way for the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress to try to force President Barack Obama to approve the project. The 1,179-mile (1,900-km) pipeline would send up to 830,000 barrels per day of oil sands crude from Hardisty, Alberta, across the U.S. border to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with the project's already-built Gulf Coast leg. July 2008 - TransCanada Corp announces plans to expand its existing 590,000 bpd Keystone oil pipeline system to the Gulf Coast. September 2008 - TransCanada Corp files an application with the U.S. State Department for a presidential permit allowing construction of the project.