Don Marcus News

On behalf of the MM&P MATES Program, The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and Maritime Conference Center (MCC) announce the appointment of Eric Friend as the new executive director.“The trustees’ decision to select Friend as the next executive director has made the transition much easier. Friend has been running the Academic Division for several years, and has been involved in most major decisions,” said Glen Paine, former executive director, now retired. “Eric is smart, dedicated, and respected by the trustees, students, and industry.

The head of an American mariner union says state leaders in New York and New Jersey should recognize the essential role of U.S. seafarers by prioritizing them for COVID-19 vaccination.The Washington Post, in a recent front page Sunday Business story headlined Essential, Invisible, described how “states have been hit-or-miss on vaccines” for merchant mariners and that for most of the people who go to sea, the process can be described as  “you’re on your own.” New York and New Jersey are two of the states where seafarers have not been prioritized…

President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order aiming to use government spending to strengthen domestic manufacturing and create markets for new technologies, in a move widely praised by America's maritime industry.The executive order, titled Strengthening "Buy American" Provisions, Ensuring Future of America is Made in America by All of America’s Workers", calls for increasing the amount of U.S. content that must be in a product for it to be considered made in America under existing "Buy American" requirements.

New legislation proposed this week would require up to 30 percent of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to travel on U.S.-flagged vessels. The U.S. is expected to continue ramping up its LNG exports in the coming years and become a net exporter by 2020, yet there are currently no U.S.-flag carriers to carry the cargo. “We’re the most powerful nation in the world, but 99 percent of our trade travels on foreign-flagged ships,” said Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, Davis…

The United Seamen's Service (USS) 2016 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards (AOTOS) will be presented to Arthur E. Imperatore, Founder and President of New York Waterways; Donald Marcus, President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots; and Christopher Wiernicki, Chairman and CEO of American Bureau of Shipping. The maritime industry's most prestigious awards will be presented at the 47th annual gala industry dinner and dance at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York City, on October 28, 2016. Recognition will also be given to American seafarers for specific acts of bravery and heroism while at sea. General Kenneth Wykle…

A new study examines the steady decline of the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet, which today numbers less than 100 vessels in international trade, and warns that U.S. global competitiveness and maritime security -- particularly in light of a fast-emerging China -- is at grave risk unless investment is made to grow the U.S. flag fleet and influence on the world's waters. “Sea Strangulation: How the United States has Become Vulnerable to Chinese Maritime Coercion,” authored by political scientist and expert on ‘coercive diplomacy’ Dr. Patrick Bratton, along with a historian on sea power, retired U.S.

International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots Asks: If Keystone is a “Jobs Bill” Why Would Congress Want to Send 400,000 Maritime Jobs in 26 States Overseas? S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act, has been described as a “jobs bill” by the pipeline’s proponents since Keystone XL was first proposed, but according to the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, a new amendment introduced by Arizona Sen. The Sea Captains’ Union claims the amendment would gut a significant part of the Jones Act, a set of laws dating back to the 1920s that has helped build and maintain a domestic shipbuilding industry. Maritime unions and maritime industry groups are now mobilizing against the amendment’s passage.

New York Harbor Tug Boat Captains and Crews, Staten Island Ferry Workers, Circle Line and Other Tourist Boat Crews Vote to Join New Union. New York-area watermen who operate tugboats, dredges, tourist boats and ferries, members of Staten Island-based Local 333, have voted by an overwhelming margin to support a merger between Local 333 and the Maryland-based International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots. By a more than 2 to 1 margin, 1,300 New York and New Jersey mariners voted to affiliate with the larger national union of deck officers who serve on ocean-going ships…

Uniting with the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots will bring added clout, resources and training to local mariners and open the door to opportunities beyond the East Coast, the union said. Ballots are arriving in the mail this week at the homes of 1,300 area mariners for an election to decide whether local watermen will join a large national union of deck officers who serve on ocean-going ships, and which also represents captains and crews on inland waterways beyond New York Harbor. Ballots will be tabulated and results announced in mid-November.

The U.S. government should ensure that international trade of U.S. natural gas, and potentially crude oil, will offer opportunities for the domestic shipping industry, maritime groups said on Wednesday. Booming shale gas production has put the United States on track to become a major exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the next few years. While it would take time for U.S. shipyards to scale up to produce to the vessels needed to transport LNG overseas, shipping industry…

The U.S. Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, chaired by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), will hold a hearing next week to examine issues impacting the U.S. merchant marine, the fleet of U.S. documented, or flagged, commercial vessels which carries imports and exports during peacetime and becomes a naval auxiliary to deliver troops and war materiel during wartime. This hearing, entitled “The Status of the Merchant Marine,” is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.

Seafarers & International House will hold its 14th annual Setting the Course awards banquet the at the New York Athletic Club on Tuesday evening, April 22, 2014 to honor Donald J. Marcus, Edward R. Morgan and Captain Richard P. Phillips as the 2014 Outstanding Friends of Seafarers. •Don Marcus is the President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, having served for many years as its Secretary-Treasurer. He is also the first president of the Maritime Labor Alliance (MLA), an organization formed by six unions to revitalize the U.S flag feet, to enhance cooperation within the maritime industry and to protect the jurisdictional rights of the maritime union members.

Insufficient Shipboard Manning Fuels Fatigue, Boosts Risks; U.S. Maritime Officers Call on Congress to Take Action. Cuts in manning levels and burgeoning paperwork loads are increasing the risk of maritime accidents worldwide. At a time when carriers have reduced crewing levels, ships’ officers are being forced to manage the paperwork load generated by a growing number of government regulations. Representatives of officers aboard U.S.-flag ships are calling on Congress to urgently review the situation and respond to the growing risks it entails for people, the environment, and professional mariners—who are increasingly being held criminally liable for accidents.