Passenger Vessel Sector Faces Winding Path Back to ‘Normal’
The year just ended, 2021, might be described as being about “trying to get back to normal”, across the entire transportation spectrum, two years into the pandemic. During this time, the decarbonization and electrification waves have swept across maritime passenger transport. The passenger side of the business is dependent on multiple funding sources; increasingly, this money will be driven by environmental and social considerations.The long-awaited funding of “infrastructure”-related projects…
U.S. Dredgers Applaud President for Jones Act Support
Wednesday, 1 May: Late this afternoon, President Donald Trump met with Congressional leaders from the Senate and House to discuss U.S. Maritime Policy. On the table was the Jones Act. President Trump assured the Congressional leaders that he is not seeking any changes to the Jones Act, nor is he seeking any waivers.“President Trump had the Jones Act matters all under control from the get-go”, said William P. Doyle, CEO & Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America. “Mr. Trump is all about jobs and national security — he’s never wavered on this.
On the Hill: Advocacy for Domestic Maritime
Bipartisan Congressional Leaders Highlight Importance of Jones Act, Employing 650,000 Americans incl. Veterans, for National & Economic Security. Following the signing of an Executive Order by President Donald J. Trump to create an easier pathway for veterans to transition into maritime careers in the U.S. Merchant Marine, congressional and maritime leaders convened for two hearings exploring the state of the domestic maritime industry and the role of the Jones Act. These hearings…
Alaska Requests Limits on US Offshore Drilling
Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state's coast. While Walker supports offshore oil development, he said the Interior Department should focus on the most prospective areas off Alaska – the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic and Cook Inlet in southern Alaska – and drop all others from the leasing plan. In asking for proposed lease sales to be dropped…
SHIPS Act: 355 Ship Navy Gets Legislative Mandate
The push to rebuild the U.S. Navy received a boost today when U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would make it the policy of the United States to achieve the Navy’s requirement of 355 ships. Under the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act,” the fleet would be comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding levels subject to annual appropriations. Currently, 276 ships are in the battle fleet.
Arctic Council Meeting Stirs Hidden Tensions
As foreign ministers from countries with territory in the far North celebrated an agreement on fighting climate change this week, one topic seethed below the surface: growing competition for Arctic resources and sea lanes as the ice melts. Russia, one of eight members of the Arctic Council which includes the United States, Canada and the Nordic countries, has been pouring money and missiles into the Arctic as well as reopening and building bases there. This is bringing its Arctic military presence to the highest level since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
Russia Ramping Up Arctic Push
The nuclear icebreaker Lenin, the pride and joy of the Soviet Union's Arctic great game, lies at perpetual anchor in the frigid water here. A relic of the Cold War, it is now a museum. But nearly three decades after the Lenin was taken out of service to be turned into a visitor attraction, Russia is again on the march in the Arctic and building new nuclear icebreakers. It is part of a push to firm Moscow's hand in the High North as it vies for dominance with traditional rivals Canada, the United States, and Norway as well as newcomer China.
Arctic Drilling Ban Gives Canada Leg Up -US Lawmakers
U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday slammed an agreement made with Canada to ban offshore Arctic drilling, saying Ottawa's plan to review its ban every five years gives Canada a leg up on energy exploration. U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a ban on new oil and gas drilling federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, while Canada instituted a similar ban in its Arctic waters. Unlike the United States, where the ban is indefinite, Canada said it will review its restrictions every five years.
South China Sea Arbitration: Implications for Maritime and O&G
A recent decision by an international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, has significant implications for other maritime disputes, freedom of navigation, and future oil and gas claims in the Arctic. The arbitral award issued on July 12, 2016, by a unanimous five-member panel or Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the dispute between the Philippines and China over rocks and elevations in the South China Sea, sounded a clarion call for the rule of law and the clearly defined…
Vessel Discharge Amendment Push Continues
The American Waterways Operators (AWO) is continuing an intensive lobbying campaign to bring the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) to a vote in the Senate and working with the American Maritime Partnership to strenuously oppose an anti-Jones Act amendment filed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). On Februaty 1, Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), filed VIDA as an amendment to S.2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015.
Alaska, Washington to Build Arctic Icebreakers
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Senator Maria Cantwell, Washington, have introduced a bill that would authorize the Navy to build up six icebreakers for use by the U.S. Coast Guard. The senators believe that the Coast Guard and the Navy need the icebreakers — which cost billions of dollars — to complete their missions and keep up with Russia and China’s growing icebreaker fleets and activity in the Arctic. “Icebreakers protect America’s Arctic interests and support Washington state shipbuilding jobs,” Cantwell said in a statement. Senator Dan Sullivan has signed on to co-sponsor the bill, barentsobserver.com reports. Currently the U.S. has two working icebreakers: the recently retrofitted heavy-duty icebreaker Polar Star and the medium-duty research vessel Healy.
NAMEPA to Host "Resources and Readiness in Alaska" Seminar
District 17 Commander RADM Tom Ostebo will be a keynote speaker at a “Resources and Readiness in Alaska” seminar to be presented by the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) on August 18th in Anchorage at the Captain Cook. The seminar is part of NAMEPA’s Environmental Intelligence in Maritime Seminar series and will begin at 1:00PM with an introduction by NAMEPA Founding Chairman Clay Maitland. “NAMEPA is keenly interested in the readiness of industry to protect natural resources as resource extraction moves into sensitive and challenging areas,” stated Maitland. “We believe the companies and organizations involved in this extraction need to adequately protect the environment, particularly as the difficulty mounts.
State Seeks Intervention in Drilling Case
Governor Sean Parnell has directed the Department of Law to ask the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to intervene in the lawsuit by environmental groups challenging the U.S. Interior Department’s decision to approve an oil exploration plan for the Chukchi Sea. “OCS exploration and development will increase jobs and revenue for Alaskans and for all Americans,” Governor Parnell said. The state previously was granted intervention in a separate case brought by many of the same plaintiffs against an exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea. In both cases, the state has sought intervention due to the economic importance of offshore oil and gas production.
