Transportation Experience News

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) announced Monday that retired United States Coast Guard (USCG) Captain Dwight Collins has joined the port as Director of Public Safety and Security.Captain Collins directs all law enforcement, physical security, safety, and emergency management and preparedness services in support of more than 200,000 port employees, tenants and customers. He is also responsible for ensuring enforcement of seaport security initiatives in compliance with all federal…

Japanese shipping firm Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has announced that it has concluded a ship management agreement with FueLNG Pte Ltd for a 7500 m3 LNG bunkering vessel (LBV).FueLNG will own and operate the vessel, as well as carry out all commercial operations, said K Line press statement.The partnership will combine K Line’s extensive ship management and LNG transportation experience with FueLNG’s LNG bunkering expertise, which includes more than 160 truck-to-ship LNG bunkering operations conducted to-date. This will provide a reliable, expedient and seamless bunkering process for FueLNG’s customers.The LBV is expected to commence LNG-bunkering service in Singapore…

Global hyperloop pioneer Virgin Hyperloop One elects Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as Chairman and Jay Walder as CEO as company leverages new round of funding to begin implementation of hyperloop from Pune to Mumbai.Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem is the Group Chairman and CEO of DP World. Jay Walder, who is one of the world’s leading mass transportation and technology executives, has been appointed as its new CEO. Walder will also join the company’s Board of Directors.The selection of a new senior management team will allow Virgin Hyperloop One to transition its focus from technology startup to mass transportation company beginning with the implementation of the world’s first hyperloop system running from Pune to Mumbai.

Chembulk Tankers appointed David Ellis as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Jack Noonan who will retire after 10 years of leading the team at Chembulk Tankers. Effective November 1, 2017, Jack will take on the role of CEO Emeritus through the balance of the year and will continue to advise and counsel Chembulk as part of the leadership transition. Ellis has more than 30 years in chemical and petroleum transportation experience, including over 20 years with Odfjell SE in various leadership roles culminating in the global leadership position in Odfjell’s joint venture with Lindsay Goldberg. He most recently served as CEO of Waypoint Solutions LLC, a Houston-based company he founded in 2016 to develop, buy, and operate midstream assets.

Houston-based GTT North America (GTTNA), U.S. subsidiary of French engineering and technology company Gaztransport & Technigaz SA (GTT), has received approval in principle (AIP) from ABS for the design of a 2,200 cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge. The distinctive design incorporates GTT’s proven membrane Cargo Containment System (CCS), which is utilized in 70% of the global LNG carrier fleet and nearly 90% of LNG carrier projects on order. Leveraging over five decades of LNG storage and maritime transportation experience…

MOL (America) Inc. issued a release announcing several changes to its North American sales management, including the promotion of Richard Craig to the position of executive vice president, sales and operations. Additionally, Richard Jung, who currently assistant vice president of sales, central region, has been appointed to assume the duties of vice president of sales in replacing Dennis Sheehan, vice president of sales, who has decided to leave MOL (America) Inc. to pursue other opportunities.

ASRC Energy Services Response Operations, LLC, a leading offshore spill response operator in Alaska, and Foss Maritime Company, one of the nation's largest coastal tug and barge operators, have formed a joint venture to together pursue marine services opportunities throughout Alaska. The joint venture, called AES-Foss Marine, LLC, will be headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. The venture will build upon the strengths of each company to provide marine services throughout the state.

While banks keep lending tight, a massive $5 billion order in China should mark the official turnaround of shipbuilding's fortunes, as private equity in the form of The Carlyle Group and Tiger Group Investments Partner have teamed with Seaspan Corporation, the Washington Family, Gerry Wang and Graham Porter to order more than $5 billion in new ships. Coupled with the recent announcement by Maersk and Daewoo to build a series of 10 of the world's largest containerships, it is fair to assume that the shipbuilding slump is coming to an end. The new joint venture of global shipping and finance experts has formed a company that will work to acquire more than $5 billion in container, dry bulk, tanker vessels and other shipping assets to capitalize on increasing demand in the shipping sector.

An honored member of the transportation industry and U.S. Navy veteran will join the Ohio Rail Development Commission. Bringing over 50 years of experience in maritime transportation, Great Lakes Towing Company Chairman Ronald C. Rasmus has been appointed to the ORDC. His appointment was made by out-going Governor Ted Strickland. Mr. Rasmus shares that view. “I look forward to sharing my years of maritime industry and transportation experience with the Ohio Rail Development Commission in order to assist the Commission to fully understand the value of a new multi-modal approach to the transportation system to the economic benefit of the State of Ohio through new job creation and improved trade opportunities for Ohio businesses.

FreeSeas Inc. (Nasdaq:FREE) a transporter of drybulk cargoes through the ownership and operation of a fleet of Handysize and Handymax vessels, announced today that George Kalogeropoulos has joined its Board of Directors as a Board member, replacing Kostas Koutsoubelis, who resigned for personal reasons. Kalogeropoulos brings to FreeSeas over 30 years of marine transportation experience, holding managerial positions in brokering, chartering, ship management, and operations for large shipping companies in London and Greece. of the Restis Group of Companies. Mr. Kalogeropoulos currently serves on the boards of several companies in the transportation industry, including Swissmarine Corporation Ltd., South African Marine Corp., Safore pty, and Safbulk pty Ltd.

Horizon Lines, Inc. (NYSE: HRZ), domestic ocean shipping and integrated logistics company, announced it has secured two important agreements in the ongoing development of its new Asia liner service. Horizon Lines has appointed Hon Wing Lam as its Owner's Representative and Ben Line Agencies as its General Agent to support the company's ongoing sales and operations in Shanghai and Ningbo. As Horizon Lines Owner's Representative, Lam brings more than 30 years of ocean transportation experience and spent the past 13 years working in China. Prior to joining Horizon Lines, Lam worked for several leading ocean carriers where, among other things, he managed shipping and logistics in the China trade. Ben Line Agencies is Asia's leading privately-owned shipping services company.

Crowley announced that Bob Cox has assumed sales and marketing responsibility for the company's petroleum distribution group in Alaska. This is in addition to his role as general manager of the company's supply and distribution functions. Cox will remain domiciled in the company's Anchorage office and will continue reporting to Craig Tornga, vice president of petroleum distribution. Cox is responsible for the sales and marketing function of Crowley's petroleum terminals, which have a combined fuel capacity of 39 million gallons. A veteran of the Alaska petroleum sales and distribution market, Cox also brings transportation experience to his position. Prior to joining Crowley in 2007, he was vice president at both Petro Marine Services and Alaska Railroad.

MarAd has named James D. Pugh to head its Office of Marine Highways and Passenger Services in   Jim will focus on expanding the use of ’s coastal, intracoastal and inland waterways to reduce landside congestion, reduce energy consumption and increase opportunities for American mariners, shipbuilding and the overall economy. He will also oversee the office of Passenger Vessel Services, which was established to support the passenger and cruise industry and its multi-billion dollar contribution to the economy as well as the congestion relief that passenger ferries offer nationwide. Prior to this assignment, Jim was the Deputy Division Chief in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Domestic Ports Division.

Mike O’Shea has been hired as Foss Maritime Company’s Vice President of Oil Field Services, a new position that reports to Foss’ president and chief operating officer. The new position was developed to meet Foss’ current and future oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) customers’ needs and support large oil and gas projects in Alaska and other remote locations around the globe. O’Shea will be located in Anchorage, Alaska, to allow hands-on oversight and management of Alaska-based oil and LNG projects. O’Shea, who has been on the job since November 15, has over 20 years of marine transportation experience. He most recently handled sales and operations management for major projects throughout Alaska and on the North Slope as director of business development for Crowley Maritime Corporation.

CSX Lines announced the formation of Horizon Services Group, created through the restructuring of the existing organization of CSX Lines. The Horizon system places the entire order-to-cash process online, creating a virtually paperless environment from booking to billing with new information available to all users as it is entered into the system. Utilizing the system, customers will be able to perform quickly and more efficiently a comprehensive array of critical "back-office" functions, including customer service, documentation, e-Business, IT, and other business operating processes. last quarter it reached a landmark of 50 percent of all shipper business booked online.

Every day, about 17,000 cargo containers enter U.S. ports, yet only one or two percent of them is routinely inspected. Since Sept. 11, government officials and global supply chain experts have been focusing on vulnerabilities and potential solutions to help ensure that weapons of mass destruction are not concealed in international cargo shipments. The formation of a new group of prominent supply chain thought leaders experienced in both the private and public sectors is being announced at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America's annual conference. Organized with assistance from Savi Technology, the Strategic Council on Security Technology is an international assembly of top executives from the world's largest port operators…

Analysts, pundits, skeptics and just about anyone with a two-bit opinion have voiced their thoughts — informed and otherwise — as to the potential effects that the surge in “e-commerce” solutions will have on the transportation community at large. While the marine market is traditionally said to be slow in following general business trends, this supposed character trait has not been evident in the new electronic realm, as websites and on-line business portals covering nearly every niche of the industry are popping up quickly around the globe. The questions surrounding the use of e-commerce solutions in the marine business now turn not to “when” and “if…

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that Bob Cox has joined the company's petroleum distribution group as general manager. Cox is based in the company's Anchorage office and reports to Craig Tornga, vice president of petroleum distribution. In his new position, Cox is responsible for Crowley's 14 Alaska marine and aviation petroleum terminals, which have a combined fuel capacity of 39 million gallons. A veteran of the Alaska petroleum sales and distribution market, Cox also brings transportation experience to his position. Cox, a registered civil engineer, is a board member at the Alaska Resource Development Council Board, Alaska Chadux Corporation, SEAPRO, Intermodal Transportation Institute and the University of Denver.