Freight Transportation News

It’s been said that American maritime is “having a moment” in Washington, DC.From President Trump’s Executive Order on Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, to introduction of the bipartisan, bicameral SHIPS for America Act in Congress, the U.S. maritime industry has been a subject of focused attention at the highest levels of government, and rightfully so. At their core, these initiatives are driven by recognition that a strong maritime industry is not only vital to the American economy…

Falls overboard remain the leading cause of fatalities in the U.S. tugboat, towboat, and barge industry, a sobering reality that the American Waterways Operators (AWO) has been working to reverse for decades. Now, with the release of its comprehensive Falls Overboard Prevention Report, AWO and its partner are charting a data-driven path to help reduce this risk.The report, produced under the Coast Guard–AWO Safety Partnership, builds on decades of collaboration between regulators and industry leaders…

Ingram Marine Group, the largest barge operator on the inland waterways, showcased its operations and planned investments in the bi-state St. Louis region during the opening session of FreightWeekSTL 2025. Hosted by the St. Louis Regional Freightway, the virtual panel session on June 2 featured Dan Lester, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Ingram Infrastructure Group (IIG), part of Ingram Marine Group’s family of businesses. Lester highlighted the company's strategic initiatives to leverage the St.

President Donald Trump's plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding using massive fees on China-linked ship visits to American ports is causing U.S. coal inventories to swell and stoking uncertainty in the embattled agriculture market, as exporters struggle to find ships to send goods abroad.Trump is drafting an executive order that would rely on funding from a U.S. Trade Representative proposal to levy fines of up to $1.5 million on China-made ships or vessels from fleets that include ships made in China.Those potential port fees have limited the availability of ships needed to move agriculture…

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) recently sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom in California, urging him to withdraw the 2022 amendments to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Commercial Harbor Craft rule, particularly in light of CARB’s withdrawal of its requests to enforce emissions rules for California’s truck and rail industries, leaving only harbor craft subject to CARB’s stringent regulations.The AWO is the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry’s advocate for safe, sustainable, and efficient transportation on America’s waterways, oceans and coasts.

Don’t Overlook Shipping’s Critical Role in U.S. Sustainable Transport Future, ABS Chairman and CEO Urges Washington.“Many of our sustainable transportation programs and initiatives tend to become mode-centric, but it is critically important to optimize the overall sustainable freight transportation across modes from origin to destination, which requires a system of systems focus.”That was the message to U.S. transportation industry and Government leaders from ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J.

Chelsea Pettengill has been selected to serve as interim Executive Director Maine Port Authority (MPA), taking over for Matthew Burns, who has decided to leave his position at the helm of the MPA to return to the Maine Department of Transportation in a new role.Beginning on September 23, Burns became the Deputy Director of MaineDOT's Office of Freight and Business Logistics. Under the leadership and guidance of Nathan Moulton, Director of Office of Freight and Business Logistics, Burns will expand his scope of work to include all freight modes, including freight rail, trucking, and ports.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has revealed the winners of the 2024 Michigan Maritime and Port Facility Assistance Grant Program, which will allocate $5 million to maritime projects throughout the state.The five chosen projects aim to enhance Michigan's maritime infrastructure, bolstering the state's economic edge, lowering freight transportation costs, increasing reliability and lessening the environmental effects of freight movement, MDOT said.MDOT's Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget included a one-time appropriation of $5 million for the program…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen has signed a contract with Toyota Tsusho for the delivery of four vessels to support the port development project in Namibe, Angola.The order consists of two ASD Tugs 2813, a Pushy Cat 1004 and a Stan Pilot 1905. The vessels will be provided to the Ministry of Transport Angola as part of a Japanese Government funded port development project.Damen will deliver the vessels in the first quarter of 2025.The shipbuilder had already commenced construction of the vessels at Damen Shipyards Gorinchem…

Jennifer Carpenter joined The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association representing the inland and coastal tugboat, towboat and barge industry, in August 1990 and became its president and CEO in January 2020. She highlights some of the greatest focus areas for the 80-year-old trade group—simultaneously looking at both the present day and the road ahead.The towboat, tug and barge industry is in a period of rapid evolution. How is AWO—now in its 80th year…

As a part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $500 million in Federal Fiscal Year 2024 funding through MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).Investments made under the PIDP focus on modernizing the Nation’s coastal and inland waterway ports as well as strengthening its supply chains and economic security for generations to come.

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…

New York City is looking at ways to help shift freight transportation off of its busy roads and onto the waterways.The city's Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) and Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) on Wednesday jointly released a Request for Information and Expressions of Interest (RFEI) seeking private sector feedback to help it gauge industry challenges and opportunities, and explore ways to implement and support businesses to engage in waterfront freight operations.The initiative is part of NYC's "Blue Highways" program, launched under the city's previous mayor, Bill de Blasio.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) is taking action to help address an industry need and a national imperative to recruit, retain and develop the next generation of maritime employees.As much as the tugboat, towboat and barge industry contributes to our nation’s prosperity and security today, we are an industry with an incredibly bright future that has even more to offer in the years to come. Our industry is uniquely positioned to be part of the solution as shipper-customers…

A shift to coastal shipping and rail could cut NZ’s freight transport emissions – why aren’t we doing it?According to a recent study, coastal shipping produces a fifth of the carbon emissions (well-to-wheel) of road freight. Rail also performed well, with about a quarter of trucking emissions.Despite this, trucking accounts for nearly 80% of New Zealand’s heavy goods transport, and a 94.5% share of the total emissions from heavy freight transport.The dominance of trucking follows the expansion of the road network…

The members of the American Waterways Operators, the national tugboat, towboat and barge industry association, elected a new slate of leaders during the association's Spring Convention and Annual Membership Meeting.Rick Iuliucci, Vice President, The Vane Brothers Company, was elected Chairman; Kelly Teichman, Chairman of the Board, T&T Marine, was elected Vice Chair; and Brian Hughes, Vice President Operations & Sales, Hughes Bros., Inc., was re-elected Treasurer. Iuliucci succeeds outgoing Chairman Clark Todd…

Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Ltd. said Monday that the first of Japan's first two LNG-fueled ferries, the Sunflower Kurenai, owned by MOL and operated by its group company Ferry Sunflower entered service on January 13.The ferry serves the Osaka-Beppu route between Sunflower Ferry Terminal (Osaka Prefecture) and Beppu International Tourist Port (Oita Prefecture) as a replacement for the ferry Sunflower Ivory."Compared to earlier ferries, the new ferry offers greater transport capacity and convenience for both cargo and passenger transport.

An Inland River Transportation Caucus could help inland river transportation interests that are often misunderstood and greatly undervalued.For anyone doing business on the inland river transportation system, the goal is to keep the rivers open for business, the barges moving and the landside facilities efficient in order to keep America’s supply chain strong.To accomplish this, it takes the federal agencies that are charged with operating and maintaining inland rivers to have the support of congress, the funding congress allocates and legislation passed by congress.

Americans became aware of our nation’s supply chain problem when they witnessed a hundred cargo ships anchored off the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, stymied from moving cargo to store shelves throughout the United States. Such circumstances could become all too common, especially as recently adopted engine emission regulations force maritime companies out of the country’s most impacted ports, or limit their ability to expand operations as America’s demand for imports and…

Supply chain management and logistics solutions firm DB Schenker plans to build a fully-electric, zero-emission, un-crewed coastal container feeder to serve the route between Ikornnes quay and the Port of Ålesund in Norway. DB Schenker, and its cooperation partners, the furniture giant Ekornes and vessel designers Naval Dynamics, in addition to KONGSBERG and Massterly, aim to replace the traditional feeder vessels utilized along this stretch of the Norwegian coastline.The new autonomous and electric…

A trade group representing the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry is urging the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to reconsider new harbor craft engine emissions regulations that many in the industry say will be difficult, if not impossible, to comply with.The American Waterways Operators (AWO) said it is "deeply concerned that CARB's proposed regulations mandate engine technology that is not available and is not certified as safe by the U.S. Coast Guard; impose an infeasible compliance schedule…

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime said Friday it would supply a complete propulsion and control system package for a forthcoming Scandlines zero-emissions ferry which, when built, is destined to be the world’s largest all-electric double-ended ferry. The ferry has been designed by LMG Marin AS in Norway and will be constructed at Cemre Shipyard in Turkey, in cooperation with Scandline’s vessel-newbuild experts. The freight ferry is expected to enter service in 2024. The new 147.4 meters…

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) on Thursday held a naming and launching ceremony for the first of Japan’s first two LNG-fueled ferries.The ceremony was held at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works Enoura Plant, and the newbuilding ferry was named “Sunflower Kurenai” by the mayor of Beppu City Yasuhiro Nagano. The vessel is expected to enter service on the Osaka-Beppu route, operated by Ferry Sunflower Co., Ltd. as an alternative of the vessel currently in service in January 2023, after it is delivered from Mitsubishi Shipbuilding.