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Eric Walsh News

17 Jul 2018

Lockheed Wins $451 Combat Ship Contract

Lockheed Martin Corp is being awarded a $451 million contract modification to a previously awarded contract for material and detail design in support of the construction of four Multi Mission Surface Combatant ships, the Pentagon said on Monday.The contract involves foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said.(Reporting by Eric Walsh; editing by David Alexander)

31 May 2018

US Hits EU, Canada and Mexico with Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

© Leonid Eremeychuk / Adobe Stock

The United States on Thursday said it will impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, reigniting investor fears of a global trade war as Washington's allies took steps to retaliate against U.S. goods.The move, announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a telephone briefing on Thursday, ended months of uncertainty about potential tariff exemptions and suggested a hardening of the Trump administration's approach to trade negotiations.It also sent a chill through financial markets…

01 Mar 2018

Trump to Set Hefty Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports

© Amarinj / Adobe Stock

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, in a move the administration said would protect U.S. industry, but which critics said would fail to boost jobs and risked stoking a trade war with China. Trump, speaking after a meeting with U.S. steel and aluminum makers said the duties would be formally announced next week. “We’re going to build our steel industry back and our aluminum industry back," he said. News of the tariffs drove the stocks of U.S.

01 Mar 2018

Trump: U.S. Hits Steel, Aluminum Imports with Hefty Tariffs

© furuoda/Adobe Stock

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, in a move the administration said would protect U.S. industry, but which critics said would fail to boost jobs and risked stoking a trade war with China. Trump, speaking after a meeting with U.S. steel and aluminum makers said the duties would be formally announced next week. “We’re going to build our steel industry back and our aluminum industry back," he said. News of the tariffs drove the stocks of U.S.

17 Jan 2018

Ex-US Navy Officers Face Negligent Homicide Charges over Ship Collisions

Significant visible damage to USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) following a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on Aug. 21. (U.S. Navy photo by Madailein Abbott)

The commanding officers of two U.S. Navy destroyers involved in deadly collisions last year in the Pacific Ocean face courts-martial and military criminal charges including negligent homicide, the U.S. Navy said in a statement on Tuesday. Filing charges against the officers marks the Navy’s latest effort to address the problems that led to collisions involving its warships in Asia, in which 17 sailors were killed. The Navy has already dismissed several senior officers, including the commander of the Seventh Fleet, as a result of the collisions.

29 Nov 2017

SBM Offshore to Pay $238 Mln in US Bribery Case

SBM Offshore NV, a Netherlands-based maker of offshore oil drilling equipment, and its U.S. subsidiary, SBM Offshore USA Inc, agreed to settle criminal charges of bribing officials in five countries and pay a $238 million penalty, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. The companies agreed to settle charges related to schemes lasting more than a decade involving bribery of foreign officials in Brazil, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Iraq, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Justice Department said in a statement. SBM Offshore USA pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the statement said.

29 Jun 2017

US Sanctions Chinese Shipping Firm over North Korea Ties

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday it was placing financial sanctions on two Chinese nationals and a Chinese shipping company over their ties to North Korea stemming from its nuclear program.   The department said in a statement it was sanctioning Wei Sun for links to the Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Hong Ri Li for his links to North Korean banking executive Song-hyok Ri, as well as the Dalian Global Unity Shipping Co Ltd of Dalian, China. (Reporting by Eric Walsh)

23 Jan 2017

Shipowner OSG, Former CFO, Charged over Tax Evasion

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it charged on Monday shipping conglomerate Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) and its former chief financial officer Myles Itkin with failing to recognize some $512 million in tax liabilities.   OSG, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012 after the discovery of the tax liabilities, has agreed to pay a $5 million penalty subject to bankruptcy court approval, and Itkin agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty, the SEC said in a statement.     (Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Eric Beech)

27 Sep 2016

Kirby to Pay $4.9 Mln Penalty over Oil Spill

(USCG photo by Andrew Kendrick)

Kirby Inland Marine LP has agreed to pay $4.9 million in civil penalties to settle claims stemming from a 4,000-barrel oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel in March 2014, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.   The company, a subsidiary of Kirby Corp, also agreed to implement operating improvements across its hundreds of vessels operating in U.S. inland waters, the department said in a statement. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Susan Heavey)

07 Jul 2016

US to Make Major Energy Announcement on Arctic Outer Shelf

The U.S. Department of Interior said it plans to make a major announcement on Thursday about energy resources on the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf.   Officials plan to discuss the latest announcement on a series of reforms related to the production of energy resources on public land in a press call at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), the department said in a statement. (Reporting by Adam DeRose; Editing by Eric Walsh)

09 Jun 2016

US Navy Admiral to Plead Guilty in Bribery Case

Robert Gilbeau (Photo: U.S. Navy)

A U.S. Navy rear admiral will plead guilty on Thursday to lying to federal investigators, making him the highest-ranking officer to be convicted in the expanding "Fat Leonard" bribery case, the Washington Post reported, citing his attorney. Robert Gilbeau, a special assistant to the chief of the Navy Supply Corps, was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Diego late Thursday afternoon, the Post reported, citing court records. This would bring to 14 the number of people charged in the Singapore-based case…

11 Mar 2016

China Angered by U.S. Frigate Sale to Taiwan

U.S. arms sales to Taiwan attract strong opposition from Beijing. China expressed anger on Friday after the U.S. State Department said it had authorized the sale of two surplus U.S. Navy frigates to Taiwan for $190 million, subject to congressional approval, amid rising tension in the South China Sea. China considers self-ruled Taiwan a wayward province, to be brought under its control by force if necessary. Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the Chinese civil war. U.S. arms sales to democratic Taiwan always attract strong opposition from Beijing, though they have not ended up causing lasting damage to ties between China and the United States or between China and Taiwan.

18 Sep 2015

White House: New Cuba Rules Advance US Interests

The White House defended its new regulations opening up business activity with Cuba on Friday as advancing U.S. interests in the region and empowering the Cuban people, something it said five decades of economic embargo failed to do.   "The United States remains committed to our enduring objective of promoting a more prosperous Cuba that respects the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its people," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "We believe the regulatory changes announced today will allow the United States to continue to advance our interests and improve the lives of ordinary Cubans."     (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Alina Selyukh; Editing by Eric Walsh)

17 Sep 2015

House Panel Passes Bill to Repeal US Oil Export Ban

A bill to repeal the 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports was passed on Thursday by the House of Representatives energy panel.   The legislation, which passed 31 to 19, is opposed by President Barack Obama. It is expected to be passed by the full House in coming weeks. A similar bill in the Senate faces an uncertain future as backers need several Democrats to support it.     (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Eric Walsh)

15 Sep 2015

White House Does Not Back US House Bill to Repeal Oil Export Ban

White House photo

The White House said on Tuesday it does not support a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exports of crude oil. "This is a policy decision that is made over at the Commerce Department, and for that reason, we wouldn't support legislation like the one that's been put forward by Republicans," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a briefing. "The administration believes that the American people are better served by making sure that we pursue the kind of approach that also invests in renewable energy," he said.

20 May 2015

Pipeline Breaks on Calif. Coast

A pipeline ruptured along the scenic California coastline on Tuesday, spilling some 21,000 gallons (79,000 liters) of oil into the ocean and on beaches before it could be secured, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said. The pipeline, which runs parallel to Highway 101 near Santa Barbara, left a slick extending about four miles (6.4 km) along Refugio State Beach, extending about 50 yards (46 meters) into the water, Petty Officer Andrea Anderson of the Coast Guard said. Anderson said the company responsible for the 24-inch (61- cm) pipeline was identified as Plains All American Pipeline, which had brought in a company to begin cleaning up the spill. Refugio State Beach was closed. The cause of the rupture had not been determined, Anderson said.

07 May 2015

US Sen. Murkowski Plans Bill to Kill Oil Export Ban

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Thursday she will unveil a bill next week to reverse the U.S. oil export ban in an effort to build support for killing the 1970s-era restriction that drillers say threatens to choke the domestic energy boom. Murkowski, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she will unveil the bill on Tuesday, although it was uncertain when the measure would get a vote in her committee. "I am going to be looking for every opportunity we might have to advance it," Murkowski said in a press conference.

11 Mar 2015

Former Norwegian Cruise Line CEO sues Virgin Group

The former chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd sued Richard Branson's Virgin Group in federal court in Miami for $300 million on Wednesday over plans by the British billionaire to launch his own luxury cruise line.   The lawsuit by Colin Veitch, who oversaw Norwegian from 2000 to 2008, claims that Virgin muscled him out of a joint venture to break into the industry with massive ships capable of carrying thousands of passengers and operating as floating resorts, according to court documents.     (Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; Editing by David Adams and Eric Walsh)

18 Dec 2014

US Shippers, West Coast Dockworkers Union Resume Contract Talks

Photo: Port of Long Beach

Negotiators for shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 U.S. West Coast ports resumed contract talks with the union for dockworkers on Thursday, as cargo backups continued at the ports, a representative for the labor group said. Officials from the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union resumed negotiations on Thursday morning at the San Francisco headquarters of the association, said Craig Merrilees, a spokesman for the union. Talks were expected to last all day, he said.

10 Dec 2014

Report: Trash is Choking the World's Oceans

Marine debris in Hawaii has caused the beach to look like a landfill (Photo: NOAA)

There are plastic shopping bags, bottles, toys, action figures, bottle caps, pacifiers, tooth brushes, boots, buckets, deodorant roller balls, umbrella handles, fishing gear, toilet seats and so much more. Plastic pollution is pervasive in Earth's oceans. Researchers unveiled on Wednesday what they called the most scientifically rigorous estimate to date of the amount of plastic litter in the oceans - about 269,000 tons - based on data from 24 ship expeditions around the globe over six years.

17 Nov 2014

Norovirus Strikes Carnival's Crown Princess – Again

Crown Princess ( Photo: Carnival Corp)

A cruise ship with 172 passengers and crew members suffering from a gastrointestinal ailment caused by norovirus was met by public health officials when it docked in California on Sunday, authorities and Carnival Corp said. The outbreak marks the second time in less than a year that the highly contagious virus has spread on the company's Crown Princess ship, which is part of its Princess Cruises fleet. On the latest trip, the ship carried more than 4,100 people on a cruise that departed nearly a month ago from Los Angeles and included stops in Hawaii and Tahiti.

12 Sep 2014

Double Solar Storms Headed to Earth

A rare double burst of magnetically charged solar storms will hit Earth Thursday night and Friday, raising concerns that GPS signals, radio communications and power transmissions could be disrupted, officials said on Thursday. Individually, the storms, known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, wouldn't warrant special warnings, but their unusual close timing and direct path toward Earth spurred the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center to issue an alert. The first CME, which burst from a magnetically disturbed region of the sun on Monday night, should reach Earth Thursday night, center director Thomas Berger told reporters on a conference call. The same patch of solar real estate produced a second, more powerful storm about 1:45 p.m.

08 Jun 2014

Draft Mexican Energy Law For Higher Local Content Level

Mexican Lawmakers aim to set higher than first Planned Minimum requirements for Materials, How much local labor and companies investing in the Oil and Gas Industry must use, According to a Revised Draft of pending Legislation. Mexico 's Congress is in the Process of Approving so-called secondary laws to Implement the Government's December 2013 Energy reform, which the Forms of President Enrique Pena Nieto Cornerstone's Economic Growth Strategy to boost flagging. The laws, which Establish the Fine Print of the reform Ending the Oil and Gas Monopoly Granted to State Oil giant Pemex in 1938, are being Closely watched by Oil Majors Such as BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp..