Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Us Customs And Border Protection News

31 Jan 2024

New Fortress Energy Gets US Clearance to Ship Altamira LNG

(Credit: New Fortress Energy)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a ruling to New Fortress Energy, confirming that the transportation of LNG produced at the its FLNG facility located offshore Altamira in Mexico by non-U.S. qualified vessels would not violate the Jones Act.As a result of this ruling, NFE is now able to sell and deliver LNG produced at its FLNG facility located offshore Altamira, Mexico to U.S. locations, including Puerto Rico.Puerto Rico represents a key downstream market for New Fortress Energy…

18 Dec 2023

Ask What Your Government Can Do For Your Industry (A 2023 Retrospective)

© rrodrickbeiler / Adobe Stock

John F. Kennedy’s famous locution, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but you can do for your country” remains the rallying call for civic action and public leadership. The message remains foundational to the success of the United States, particularly as we head into an election year that once again appears to be filled with divisiveness and vitriol. That said, before we flip the calendar, it is important to set JFK’s message aside for a moment and reflect upon what our political leadership in Washington…

28 Aug 2023

Offshore Wind: US Shipbuilders Answering the Call

From left to right: Lasse Petterson, CEO of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock; Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa.; President Joe Biden; and Steinar Nerbovik, CEO of Philadelphia Shipyard (Photo: Philly Shipyard)

It’s a big deal when a U.S. president visits an American shipyard, and these trips always send a message. When President Obama spoke at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in 2013, he warned of the consequences of sequestration. President Trump’s 2020 speech at Fincantieri Marinette Marine touted a $5.5 billion naval contract that gave a welcome boost to the Wisconsin shipyard and its supply chain partners. Most recently, President Biden traveled to Philadelphia’s Philly Shipyard…

25 Jul 2023

Iranian Oil Remains Stuck Off US Coast

A cargo of sanctioned Iranian crude oil that was confiscated by the U.S. has sat off the Texas coast for eight weeks, unable to unload because commercial agents fear any vessel that takes it will be shunned by customers, people familiar with the matter said.Suez Rajan, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, has been anchored off Galveston, about 50 miles (80 km) outside of Houston, since May 30, with ship agents refusing to accept it. The Suezmax requires a lightering agent to transfer the crude to smaller ships, as its size and weight restrict it from directly entering the port.Shipping companies are worried that lightering the Iranian crude onto their vessels would lead other oil buyers to shun their ships on future voyages…

04 Apr 2023

Operation TIN CAN Targets Rip-On/Rip-Off Concealment

Source: Australian Border Force

A major joint operation organised by the Australian Border Force (ABF), World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Shipping Council and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has led to 43 arrests and more than 100 drug seizures, including 98,734 kilograms of cocaine and 314 kilograms of cannabis.58 countries were involved, and the ABF worked alongside officers from German Customs, United Kingdom Border Force, US Customs and Border Protection and the Dutch Customs Administration to deliver a series of coordinated strikes on organised crime.The operation…

08 Dec 2022

Jones Act Waiver Mess

© hanohiki / Adobe Stock

Potential energy shortages in the U.S. northeast this winter have led to arguments that the U.S. Jones Act should be waived. These arguments rarely, however, grapple with what exactly it takes to waive the Jones Act. This is not blameworthy because the Jones Act waiver standard has been a mess. For decades the standard for granting a waiver was interpreted in way as to make it all but meaningless, and now the standard is so strict that waivers are all but forbidden.Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920, the so called “Jones Act,” is a “if this, then that” kind of law.

31 Aug 2022

Cuba Seeks More Electricity Supply from Turkish Powerships

©IzzetNoyan/AdobeStock

Cuba, mired in an energy crisis that has brought frequent blackouts, is negotiating with a Turkish company to have it double the megawatts it currently produces for the country from shipboard generators just offshore, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.Cuban officials are in talks with Karpowership, one of the world’s largest operators of floating power plants and part of the Turkey-based Karadeniz Holding, the sources said. The company already has five…

28 Jun 2022

US Authorities Make Checks on Oil Tanker Arrived from Russia

© Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

U.S. authorities have stopped an oil tanker traveling from Russia to New Orleans to check whether it is Russian in origin, a source confirmed to Reuters.The Vitol-chartered vessel was shipping intermediate oil products including vacuum gasoil and fuel oil from Russia's Taman port to New Orleans last week, according to a trading source and shipping data.The products were due to reach a Valero refinery in the New Orleans region, two sources said.The cargo was stopped by U.S.

16 Jun 2022

Updates, Developments and Advances in Combat and Patrol Craft

SBI completed an order last December for 52 Coastal Interceptor Vessels for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Photo: SAFE Boats)

My first visit in 2007 to the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) was an eye-opener. Having built a naval architecture career with frigates, destroyers and other large naval and commercial ships, I was eager to learn of the smaller craft used by the U.S. Navy and other government and military bodies. As my flight into Norfolk, Va. descended over Chesapeake Bay, I gazed in amazement as a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) raced toward Virginia Beach, slowed, glided up the beach and into its shore base.

19 Jan 2022

Paper to Electrons: CBP Makes a Big Move

© petert2 / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) announced December 28 that it was moving to an all-electronic filing method for Form I-418 “Passenger List – Crew List.” I-418 is required from the “master or agent of every commercial vessel arriving in the United States” (emphasis added). Now that’s a change at scale. The Form I-418 process also has a Coast Guard component, tracking everyone entering and leaving U.S. maritime ports.CPB’s change is an “interim final rule”, and the agency is seeking public comments – due February 28 – on whether the change is a good idea.

23 Dec 2021

US CBP Takes Delivery of Final 41-foot Patrol Boat

(Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) said it has accepted delivery on the last of 52 new coastal interceptor vessels.The new boat was contractually accepted by the agency on December 15, and it will arrive at AMO’s San Diego Air and Marine Branch in early 2022.AMO, which set out to streamline its aircraft and vessel acquisition and installation of technology applications as part of its Vision and Strategy 2030, has been replacing and upgrading its fleet of Midnight Express vessels.The acquisition contract…

30 Jul 2021

Invasive Pest-infested Cargo Ship Ordered to Leave U.S. Waters

A cargo ship was ordered to leave the U.S waters after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at the Port of New Orleans discovered invasive insects found in the wood used to secure its previous cargo offloaded earlier in Mexico. The ship, named Pan Jasmine, arrived at the anchorage of Davant, downriver from New Orleans at mile marker 54, on July 17, having previously offloaded a shipment of aluminum in Vera Cruz, Mexico, after coming from Paradip, India."The wood used to pack the aluminum had not been offloaded in Mexico and was left scattered on the deck of the Pan Jasmine, which is unusual. No reason was provided to CBP as to why the dunnage was refused discharge in Mexico, and this raised a red flag.

08 Jul 2021

SeaTac Marine Eyes Expansion

(Photo: SeaTac Marine Services)

Seattle-based cargo and waterfront services company SeaTac Marine Services announced it has been approved and supplied with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection FIRMS code (Facilities Information and Resources Management System).As one of only a few private waterfront facilities approved to welcome foreign commodities in the Puget Sound, the company is looking to expanding its terminal and tug and barge services. Walter Seay, president of SeaTac Marine Services, said, “We aim to capitalize on Canadian coastal trade, specifically lumber commodities bound for U.S.

09 Jun 2021

National MDA Executive Steering Committee Excellence Award Announced at Maritime Security East

© phonlamaiphoto

Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Supervisory Air Interdiction Officer Ali Baig recognized for promoting regional maritime securityThe National  Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Executive Steering Committee annual national level “MDA ESC Excellence Award for 2021 for law enforcement was presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations Supervisory Air Interdiction Officer Ali Baig of the Jacksonville Air and Marine Branch. The recognition…

10 May 2021

No Jones Act Waiver Requests in Wake of Pipeline Shutdown, US Says

© a166f105 / Adobe Stock

The U.S. government has not received any requests to waive the Jones Act in response to the shutdown since Friday of the Colonial Pipeline due to a ransomware attack, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Monday.Washington has only rarely waived the Jones Act to help relieve fuel supply constraints. The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews.(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Leslie Adler)

01 Apr 2021

Cocaine Seized From Bulker Anchored Near Annapolis

(Photo: CBP)

More than 44 pounds of cocaine was seized from a Marshall Islands-flagged bull carrier anchored in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday.The drugs were discovered during an early morning examination by officers and agents from the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Coast Guard, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police aboard the 958-foot Samjohn Solidarity. The 20 bricks of cocaine found concealed inside the vessel’s anchor locker has a street value of more than $1 million.No arrests were made…

10 Mar 2021

You’re Going to Need a Bigger Fleet

(Photo: Dominion Energy)

The U.S. is going to need a fleet of Jones Act-compliant vessels to support its budding offshore wind industry. The good news is that several of these vessels are currently operating or on order. Even better, there are plenty more in the pipeline.In 2016, Rhode Island-based Atlantic Wind Transfers (AWT) put into service the U.S.’ first-ever vessel purpose-built for offshore wind services. The 21-meter crew transfer vessel (CTV) Atlantic Pioneer was constructed by Blount Boats to serve America’s first commercial offshore wind project…

08 Mar 2021

Washington Watch: Winds of Change in DC

© DJ / Adobe Stock

For operators venturing into the offshore wind space, 2021 started off with a gust of changes and reports. From Jones Act clarifications and new enforcement authorities, to millions in port infrastructure funding, the new Congress and presidential administration will have plenty of tools available to shape the future of the industry’s development.NDAA brings Jones Act changesOne of the most persistent questions that has hung over the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry has been whether the Jones Act will apply during both the construction and operational phases.

08 Sep 2020

Congress Eyes Maritime Economic Relief

© Ruslan / Adobe Stock

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act enacted in March 2020, provided relief to numerous industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Air carriers, for example, benefitted from the creation of a $25 billion Treasury direct loan program, in addition to a $25 billion worker support program that provides a mix of grants and loans to cover employee wages, salaries and benefits. In addition, Congress waived the small business affiliation rules for businesses…

16 Jun 2020

Containership Crewman Pleads Guilty in $1 Bln Drug Bust

MSC Gayane at the Port of Philadelphia (Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

A crew member from the containership MSC Gayane pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking stemming from a $1 billion bust in the Port of Philadelphia, one of the largest drug seizures in U.S. history.The 27-year-old Montenegrin Vladimir Penda entered a plea of guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced Monday.

08 Oct 2020

Opinion: Legislative Loophole Could Keep U.S. Offshore Wind Jones Act Fleet at Dock

© creativenature.nl/adobestock

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 2019, which enforces Jones Act requirements for all offshore renewable energy production. However, the bill's current language has the potential to create a loophole that would leave the U.S. Jones Act fleet on the sidelines. The Jones Act and its applicability to the offshore wind sector has long been debated by politicians, activists, and industry professionals. The act requires components transported between points in the United States to be moved by U.S. built, owned, flagged and crewed vessels.

16 Sep 2020

US Authorities Find Drugs on Cargo Ship in Miami

Law enforcement teams interdicted about 33 pounds of cocaine on board the general cargo vessel La Temperance in Miami, on September 14. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Law enforcement teams interdicted about 33 pounds of cocaine on board a Togo-flagged cargo ship in Miami on Monday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations law enforcement teams boarded the 55-meter general cargo vessel La Temperance on the Miami River due to suspected fraudulent mariner credentials. The 55-meter ship has sailed to Miami from Port-de-Paix, Haiti.While on board, the law enforcement teams inspected common spaces on the vessel…

17 Sep 2020

Asian Gypsy Moth Eggs Found on Vehicle Carriers in Baltimore

(Photo: CBP)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists in Baltimore recently uncovered egg masses of the highly invasive Asian Gypsy Moth (AGM) and a live Khapra beetle larvae, one of the world’s most destructive insect pests, aboard ships in one the nation’s busiest ports for vehicle imports.The suspected AGM egg masses were found from August 21 to September 4 affixed to various parts of the four vehicle carriers Graceful Leader (four), Hoegh Africa (one), Hoegh Jacksonville (two) and Figaro (two), which had arrived in Baltimore after port calls in Japan, South Korea and China.