Hueneme News

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

With a lame-duck CNO, a divided Congress and the impending launch of the next Presidential election cycle, America’s naval market is locked into something of a fragile and fearful autopilot, cruising inexorably towards whatever excitement 2024 might bring.Materially, don’t expect much change: The demand for naval platforms will continue to outstrip available funding, meaning there will be little movement or growth in America’s major shipbuilding programs of record. The procurement outlines are already set.

Explosive charges aboard the ship enabled battle damage assessment (BDA) teams to respond to actual damageThe former Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Denver (LPD 9) was sunk in a blaze of glory as a target ship during the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022. The 9,600-ton, 561-foot Denver, which was commissioned in 1968 and served until being retired in 2014, had been stored with other inactive ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before being sunk about 50 miles north of Kauai in about 15…

It was an unusually slow day on the docks back on April 21, 2021 when crewmembers onboard a Brusco tugboat sprang into action from the Port of Hueneme to assist a vessel in distress. A 17-year-old containership named the President Eisenhower was headed from Los Angeles to San Francisco when it suffered an engine room fire that disabled command of the vessel.A vessel named Teresa Brusco and her crew pushed the Eisenhower vessel away from shore while other tugboats and salvage companies came to assist. The vessel was disabled in the shipping lane while fully loaded and drifting to shore.

Videos of U.S. military personnel stopping drug-smuggling boats are exhilarating and frightening. They are not Hollywood movies but real-life, dangerous encounters on the high seas. In each of those instances, the use of force applies. The High Power Microwave (HPM) Weapon Systems Division at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) makes those encounters safer for everyone involved.“A significant portion of what we do focuses on vessel stopping,” said Kevin Cogley, HPM Weapon Systems Division head.

“Synergy” is an overused word. But in the case of the “Advanced Naval Technology Exercises” that are held around the country, ANTX is truly a sum greater than its parts.ANTXs are conducted by the Naval Research & Development Establishment (NR&DE) and hosted at the various Naval Warfare Centers to demonstrate emerging technologies and innovations aimed at solving Navy and Marine Corps problems and addressing mission priorities and gaps. They are not so much exercises, which usually denotes training, but more like technology demonstrations.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has paid $253,300 in penalties to the California Air Resources Board for violating the Ocean-Going Vessel At-Berth Regulation, which requires cargo ships to reduce emissions while docked at the state’s busiest ports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Hueneme, San Francisco and San Diego.The violations were discovered during routine audits of the company’s 2017 and 2018 vessel fleet visits to the Port of Oakland. CARB’s investigation revealed that from 2017 to 2018, Mitsui O.S.K.

California Dreamin': In CA, offshore wind has unlimited potentialWhen it comes to States promoting renewable, non-fossil electricity generation, California surely leads the list, from utility-scale regional grids to individual rooftop solar panels.In fact, a December 2018 update from the California Energy Commission (CEC) estimates the state may already have exceeded an initial renewable generation goal of 33% by 2020. CEC estimates that in 2018 that generation number was already 34%.

U.S. Navy littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Jackson fired a missile against a simulated anti-ship missile during tests off the Southern California coast, April 22. The tests, part of a Combat System Ship Qualification Trials (CSSQT) event, saw USS Jackson (LCS 6) fire a SeaRAM missile on an aerial drone, destroying the target in a demonstration of the ship’s ability to track and disable high-speed maneuvering surface targets and defeat long range anti-shipping air threats. Planned and coordinated by the LCS Shipbuilding Program Office…

Port of Hueneme’s first Post-Panamax ship was greeted by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines (WWL) company leaders and Port officials during an occasion marking a paradigm shift in how the widened Panama Canal will bring a new class of vessels to the Port of Hueneme. This maiden voyage of the M/V Thalatta marks a new milestone to support the Port’s and its industry partners’ agenda. Thalatta is one of the newest high efficiency Roll on Roll off (RoRo) HERO class vessels designed to increase capacity and flexibility while reducing emissions.

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division's (NSWC PHD) Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS), ex-Paul F. Foster went underway for final-phase testing of two alternative fuels, May 31. The SDTS traveled to San Diego, where it took on approximately 30,000 gallons of two types of alternative fuels. The ship then proceeded on a normal cruise, demonstrating that the alternative fuels could function as a drop-in replacement, requiring no changes to equipment or operating procedures.

The Great Lakes Naval Museum was officially renamed the National Museum of the American Sailor during a ceremony and sign unveiling at the museum July 4. The Navy's top enlisted Sailor, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (AW/NAC) Mike Stevens, was joined by retired Rear Adm. Sam Cox, director of Naval History and Heritage Command, North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Capt. James Hawkins, commanding officer of Naval Station Great Lakes, Jennifer Searcy, Ph.D., director of the National Museum of the American Sailor, and representatives from the Great Lakes Naval Museum Foundation and National Museum of the American Sailor Foundation to unveil the new sign in front of the museum.

The Port of Hueneme announced that it will receive more than $307,500 in funds from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Fiscal Year 2016 Port Security Grant Program (PSGP). The funds will provide multi-functional applications protecting critical port and regional infrastructure from terrorism, enhance maritime domain awareness, improve port-wide maritime security risk management, and maintain or reestablish maritime security mitigation protocols that support port recovery and resiliency as well as enhance the response capabilities of our regional law enforcement partners. Said President of the Board Dr. Manuel Lopez…

The Port of Hueneme launched the second phase of its Grid-Connected Shore Power System, celebrating another next step forward in reducing air emissions and minimizing environmental impact. Among the community leaders attending the ribbon cutting were Congresswoman Julia Brownley, County Supervisor Kathy Long, Ms. Sabiha Khan with Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office, Port Hueneme Mayor Douglas Breeze, and VCTC chairman Keith Millhouse. By connecting to the Port’s Grid-Based Shore Power System, refrigerated cargo vessels calling the Port can shut down their auxiliary marine engines and operate on shore power in lieu of diesel fuel dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Steamship Mutual advises that beginning January 1, 2016 Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) will no longer provide California Shoreline Protection (CASP) and On Water Response Coverage services for vessels calling at the Port of Hueneme, Calif. and/or transiting the southbound traffic lanes of the Santa Barbara Channel. However, MSRC will continue to meet the planning standards for 12 hours and greater in the Santa Barbara Channel and Port Hueneme and will respond in these areas in the event of an incident. Furthermore, from January 1, 2016, So Cal Ship Services (SCSS) will provide CASP response services to meet the two hour skimming…

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) elected Jim Quinn, president and CEO of New Brunswick, Canada’s Port Saint John, to serve as the international trade association’s chairman of the board for the 2015-16 activity year. Elected at AAPA’s 2015 Spring Conference on April 21, Quinn is slated to be installed as AAPA’s chairman for a one-year term on the final day of the association’s 104th Annual Convention, set for Nov. 2-4, 2015, in Miami. He will assume the AAPA chairmanship from Port of Hueneme (Calif.) CEO and Port Director Kristin Decas…

1848 - U.S. Navy expedition to explore the Dead Sea and the River Jordan, commanded by Lt. William F. Lynch, reaches the Dead Sea. 1906 - U.S. Navy assists in relief operations during the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Sailors and Marines fight fires and ships carry the homeless and injured to Vallejo, where medical personnel established emergency facilities. 1942 - The Doolittle Raid begins with 16 Army Air Force B-25 bombers launching earlier than expected from USS Hornet (CV 8), approximately 650 miles off Japan, after being spotted by enemy ships. It is the first attack by the U.S. of the Japanese mainland since Pearl Harbor. Most of the 16 B-25s, each with a five-man crew, attack the Tokyo area, with a few hitting Nagoya.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) applauded Senate passage over the past weekend of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015), and today sent a letter to House leadership to urge making passage of TPA-2015 a priority. Trade activity through seaports accounts for 26 percent of the U.S. economy, generates over 23 million American jobs, and provides over $320 billion in local, state and federal tax revenues, the AAPA noted.

Paul “Chip” Jaenichen was appointed by President Obama and sworn in as Maritime Administrator on July 25, 2014. Before his appointment, Administrator Jaenichen served as Acting Administrator beginning in June 2013. He joined the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration in July 2012 when he was appointed Deputy Maritime Administrator. A career naval officer, retiring in 2012 after serving 30 years as nuclear trained Submarine Officer in the U.S. Navy, Jaenichen’s…

Mary Anne Rooney, Harbor Commissioner at California’s Port of Hueneme, has been named President of the Association of Pacific Ports (APP), a trade and information association promoting increased efficiency and effectiveness of Pacific ports. Rooney, who previously served as APP’s Second Vice President, was selected at the group’s 102nd Annual Conference held in August in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. As a result, the Port of Hueneme will host APP’s Annual Conference in 2016. “I am very honored to be selected by my peers and have the opportunity to leverage the port and industry needs of our region…

After evaluating 627 applications, 50 of which were from ports, for the FY 2015 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced 39 awards for $500 million in funding to be made in the seventh round of this multimodal, discretionary grant program. Of those, five awards totaling $44.3 million, or about 9 percent of total funding, are going to commercial seaports or to projects that directly aid the efficient movement of goods to and from America’s ports.

Deputy Maritime Administrator Michael J. Rodriguez today announced that the Department of Transportation will provide $12.3 million for the Port of Hueneme Intermodal Improvement project in Port Hueneme. The project is one of 39 federally-funded transportation projects in 34 states selected to receive a total of $500 million under the Department’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2015 program. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced project selections for this round of TIGER grants on October 29. The Department received 627 eligible applications from 50 states and several U.S. territories, including Tribal governments, requesting 20 times the $500 million available for the program, or $10.1 billion for needed transportation projects.

The Port of Hueneme, ranked in the top 11% of all U.S. Ports for general cargo flow has signed on as a participant in Green Marine, the largest voluntary environmental program for the maritime industry in North America. The announcement was made November 23rd by Jess Herrera, President of the Oxnard Harbor District’s Board of Harbor Commissioners. Green Marine’s environmental program makes it possible for ports, terminal operators and shipping lines to voluntarily reduce their environmental footprint through a comprehensive program that addresses key environmental issues and criteria using 11 performance indicators including air emissions, community impacts, environmental leadership and much more.