Thomas A Allegretti News

At its Board of Trustees meeting held November 2 in St. Louis, the National Waterways Foundation (NWF) elected Matt Woodruff, Vice President of Public & Government Affairs, Kirby Corporation, as Chairman for a term expiring in 2023. He succeeds consultant Rick Calhoun as Chairman (2020-2021).The NWF, which develops the intellectual and factual arguments for an efficient, well-funded and secure inland waterways system, also elected the following Officers to serve one-year terms expiring in 2022President: *Tracy Zea…

The Coast Guard Foundation said Thomas A. Allegretti has been elected to the position of Chairman of the Board, effective January 7, 2021. Allegretti first joined the Coast Guard Foundation board in 2006 and has served on the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee. In 2020, he led the Foundation’s COVID Management plan.Most recently, Allegretti served as the Senior Executive Officer of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the domestic tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate rejected legislation - Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) - that would have simplified regulatory oversight of vessel discharges. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2017, due to inclusion of the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) within the bill, failed by three votes to reach the 60 votes needed in the United States Senate to end debate and move to a vote on final passage. While the vote tally reflected bipartisan support for the Coast Guard authorization bill with VIDA included, the votes against included several senators who were previously supporters of VIDA, either in this Congress or the previous Congress. In response to the vote, Thomas A.

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) today announced the election of Matt Woodruff of Kirby Corporation as its new President. He succeeds Thomas A. Allegretti, President & CEO of The American Waterways Operators. “Leading the American Maritime Partnership – which speaks for the half a million American men and women whose employment depends on the domestic maritime industry – is a great honor. Our vibrant domestic maritime industry is an essential foundation for America’s economic, national, and homeland security,” Woodruff said.

Regulations Now in Final Stage of Administration Review. The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, hailed the Department of Homeland Security’s approval of the U.S. Coast Guard’s rule to establish an inspection regime for towing vessels at 46 CFR Subchapter M. The Subchapter M rule is now under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget, which is the final stage in the Administration review process and typically takes about 90 days. This means the rule, which will take safety in the towing industry to a new and historic level, could be published in the Federal Register by the end of June.

A federal appeals court ruling handed down this week underscores the urgent need for Congress to pass the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) and establish a uniform federal framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, according to the American Waterways Operators (AWO), the trade association that represents the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry. Vessel discharges – including discharges of ballast water, which vessels use to maintain their stability – are currently regulated in redundant and inconsistent ways by two federal agencies, the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency, and over two dozen states, the AWO noted. On Monday, the U.S.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry that represents a large majority of the nation’s tank barge owners, today hailed the January 1, 2015 phaseout of single-hulled tank vessels as a public policy success that has produced significant environmental benefits. As required by the landmark Oil Pollution Act of 1990, all vessels transporting oil in bulk as cargo in the waters of the United States must be outfitted with a full double hull that meets U.S. Coast Guard-specified standards.

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the domestic maritime industry, has released the following statement on the U.S. Senate confirmation of Paul ‘Chip’ Jaenichen as U.S. “AMP members appreciate Administrator Jaenichen’s understanding that a strong domestic maritime industry is critical for U.S. economic, national, and homeland security and that this essential industry is best supported by maintaining the Jones Act, which serves as the foundation of the nation’s vibrant domestic maritime policy.

Today the U.S. domestic maritime industry – comprised of more than 40,000 vessels built in American shipyards, crewed by American mariners, and owned by American companies – sent a letter to new U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx congratulating him on his confirmation and pledging to work with him to grow the maritime industry for the purpose of economic growth, as well as national and homeland security. The men and women who power the American domestic maritime industry would like to congratulate you on your confirmation as the seventeenth U.S.

On June 27, I testified on behalf of the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) before the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee at a hearing that questioned the Administration’s skirting of the Jones Act during last summer’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) drawdown. Members of Congress were keenly interested in understanding how the Administration authorized waivers for foreign flag ships to carry U.S. oil between U.S. destinations when American vessels crewed…

The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO), the Chamber of Shipping of America, the International Chamber of Shipping, and the International Group of Protection & Indemnity Clubs filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on Friday, January 28 in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts against a 2009 Massachusetts oil spill law. The plaintiffs also requested that the judge issue a Permanent Injunction to enjoin its enforcement. The Motion charges that the spill law is unconstitutional and undermines marine safety and environmental protection. The state law being challenged compels vessel operators to comply with state – not Federal – requirements for transit through Buzzards Bay.

At the Annual Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) Membership Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting held October 29 in St. Louis, the following officers and Executive Committee members were elected to serve or continue service for 2008-2009:  Dan Mecklenborg, Senior Vice President, HR & Chief Legal Officer, Ingram Barge Company, remains as Chairman of the Board; Cornel Martin, was elected President and CEO; Steve Little, President and CEO, Crounse Corporation, remains as General Counsel; Peter Stephaich, Chairman, Campbell Transportation Co., was re-elected Secretary; Cherrie Felder, Vice President, Channel Shipyard, remains as Treasurer. Former WCI President and CEO R. Barry Palmer was named President Emeritus. Also named to new terms as officers were Richard R.

The Administration's proposed tax to pay for harbor dredging is not a viable or equitable solution to funding navigation channel maintenance at the nation's ports, says the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). AAPA and others testified at a House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Hearing on the Administration's Harbor Services Fund (HSF) proposal, H. R. 1947. The plan creates a new tax on vessels to replace the Harbor Maintenance Tax, the export-tax portion of which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. The administration proposal, submitted to Congress, but not yet introduced as a bill, would…

The nation’s tugboat, towboat, and barge industry is committed to improving public safety and preventing accidents involving vessels and bridges, the American Waterways Operators (AWO) pledged as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the results of its investigation of the May 2002 I-40 bridge accident at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. AWO President Thomas A. Allegretti called the NTSB findings “important information that will help our industry and make the traveling public safer. AWO is a partner with the NTSB and the Coast Guard in improving marine transportation safety. We are committed to studying, learning from and applying the lessons of this investigation for our industry.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) pledged as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the results of its investigation of the May 2002 I-40 bridge accident at Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. AWO President Thomas A. Allegretti called the NTSB findings "important information that will help our industry and make the traveling public safer. AWO is a partner with the NTSB and the Coast Guard in improving marine transportation safety. In particular, AWO would be pleased to provide any assistance possible with regard to the NTSB recommendation that the Coast Guard evaluate the utility and effectiveness of wheelhouse alerter systems on inland towing vessels for preventing accidents." Since the I-40 accident…

President Clinton's budget transmitted to Congress includes $4.06 billion for the USACE Civil Works program. In addition, the program will include $322 million in non-federal contributions and trust fund receipts. Funding in this request will be used to continue the development of the nation's water resources, the efficient operations, maintenance and management of the nation's navigation, flood damage reduction, and multiple-purpose projects, the equitable regulation of wetlands, and the restoration of important environmental resources such as the South Florida Ecosystem. The budget also begins to address some of the Corp's long-term water resources infrastructure main-tenance requirements.

President Clinton's budget transmitted to Congress includes $4.06 billion for the USACE Civil Works program. In addition the program will include $322 million in non-federal contributions and trust fund receipts. Funding in this request will be used to continue the development of the nation's water resources, the efficient operations, maintenance and management of the nation's navigation, flood damage reduction, and multiple-purpose projects, the equitable regulation of wetlands, and the restoration of important environmental resources such as the South Florida Ecosystem. The budget also begins to address some of the Corps long-term water resources infrastructure main-tenance requirements.

The Administration's FY 01 budget request for the USACE' Civil Works program calls for nearly $1 billion in new taxes on the maritime industry to fund a Harbor Services Fund (HSF). The Administration has proposed a replacement for the Harbor Maintenance Tax, which the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in March 1998, with a new tax on commercial vessels that use federal navigation channels in U.S. harbors. A variety of maritime organizations reacted strongly to inclusion of the HSF, for the second year in a row, in the Administration's budget proposal. The HSF is included in FY 01 budget request of $4.06 billion. It compares to $4.15 billion in FY 00 appropriated levels.