Heritage Foundation News

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

As Congress wrestles with the budget, there is at least a bipartisan consensus that defense spending should grow, and that includes growing the Navy’s fleet. The current goal is 355 ships, an admirable goal, but an objective that faces many cost hurdles. The surface fleet (which excludes submarines and aircraft carriers) needs to grow in capability and capacity. The numbers of ships being procured or envisions would increase as the total n umber of ships increases, but the number in this story represents current program status.

China said on Tuesday it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea after the White House vowed to defend "international territories" in the strategic waterway. White House spokesman Sean Spicer in his comments on Monday signaled a sharp departure from years of cautious U.S. handling of China's assertive pursuit of territorial claims in Asia. "The U.S. is going to make sure that we protect our interests there," Spicer said when asked if Trump agreed with comments by his secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson. On Jan. 11, Tillerson said China should not be allowed access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.

Designed to expand awareness of the economic impact of commerce on the Lower Mississippi River and highlight career opportunities and pathways, the Summit will feature an array of speakers from industry and academia, along with a panel discussion on how industry can collaborate with educators to fulfill current and future workforce opportunities. “This Summit is designed to educate community stakeholders of the economic impact of trade, transportation and logistics throughout the region and build a coalition of advocates to help leverage resources to develop a highly-skilled local workforce for the future,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO. The summit begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Great Hall of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

The MIT Sloan School of Management launched the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, also known as (IC)3, yesterday. Using an interdisciplinary research approach, (IC)3 focuses on the strategic, managerial, and operational issues related to cybersecurity, and invites businesses to join the consortium. “The cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure is a serious national security challenge," said MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein. (IC)3…

Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation argued for increased U.S. port cybersecurity in a report published online this week. "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and maritime stakeholders need to stay ahead of [cybersecurity] risks in order to keep trade flow maximized, while avoiding the creation of regulations that may slow trade and hinder business," wrote author and Heritage Foundation research assistant Riley Walters. The report was published just a day before U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm.

Senator John McCain said a more than 90-year-old law that requires ships servicing coastal businesses to be built and mostly staffed by U.S. crews will be repealed sooner or later if lawmakers keep fighting the trade restriction. Oil refiners, and many manufacturers and state governments oppose the Jones Act, saying the requirement increases costs by blocking shipping by cheaper foreign-built and foreign-flagged vessels. The Department of Homeland Security issued a rare waiver of the act in 2012 when superstorm Sandy led to fuel shortages at gas stations on the East Coast, allowing foreign vessels to bring fuel from Gulf Coast refiners. But the act has been blamed for causing bottlenecks, including a shortage of rock salt for New Jersey roads during a recent severe winter storm.

From harassing Filipino fishing boats and monitoring oil exploration off Vietnam to playing cat-and-mouse with the Japanese coastguard, China's expanding fleet of civilian patrol vessels have become the enforcers in disputed Asian waters. The ships of the recently unified Chinese coastguard are a fixture around the disputed islands and shoals of the South and East China Seas. While the ships don't have the weaponry of military vessels, thus reducing the risk a confrontation could get out of control, they still represent a potent show of sovereignty. The coastguard is funded by China's State Oceanic Administration, a civilian body, although one U.S. naval officer and security experts said it coordinates its operations with the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

From harassing Filipino fishing boats and monitoring oil exploration off Vietnam to playing cat-and-mouse with the Japanese coastguard, China's expanding fleet of civilian patrol vessels have become the enforcers in disputed Asian waters. The ships of the recently unified Chinese coastguard are a fixture around the disputed islands and shoals of the South and East China Seas. While the ships don't have the weaponry of military vessels, thus reducing the risk a confrontation could get out of control, they still represent a potent show of sovereignty.

GulfMark Offshore, Inc. (NYSE:GLF) has announced the election of Steven W. Kohlhagen and Charles K. Valutas to its Board of Directors for terms expiring in June 2014. Steven W. Kohlhagen is a retired financial executive who brings to the Board expertise in financial accounting, finance and risk management through his extensive experience in, and knowledge of, the financial, securities and foreign exchange markets. He has held various positions in the private sector, including investment banking, asset management, and most recently as a consultant with AMETEK, Inc. He currently serves on the Board of Directors, the Business and Risk Committee and the Compensation Committee of Freddie Mac. He also serves on the Boards of Directors for Abtech Holdings, Inc., Reval Inc.

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. report their progress on work on 'SS Gairsoppa' & 'HMS Victory'. The chartered vessel working on the SS Gairsoppa project, the Seabed Worker, will make a scheduled port call in Cork, Ireland, beginning August 15, 2012. After taking on fuel, supplies and changing personnel, the Seabed Worker will immediately return to the site to continue recovery operations. Meanwhile a 10-week accumulation of silver in the smelting and monetization process from the first load of silver delivered to a UK port.

The melting polar icecap is presenting both opportunities and challenges for the United States and other Arctic nations, as well as other nations with interests in the region. Arctic ice cover has declined consistently over the past few decades. Increased accessibility, dubbed an “emerging maritime frontier” by U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., presents a host of opportunities for oil and gas development, fishing, tourism, and transportation. It also creates myriad challenges related to Arctic governance, marine safety, indigenous populations, scientific research, and environmental stewardship. This article reviews the state of play regarding claims to the Arctic and the U.S.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. deep-ocean shipwreck explorers, announce  it has delivered an additional closing notice for the Second Tranche of the financing that was previously announced in November 2011. The Company and the investor have agreed to a Second Tranche amount of $8 million. Odyssey is planning to conduct the archaeological excavation of HMS Victory (1744) under contract with the Maritime Heritage Foundation and cargo recovery operations on SS Gairsoppa and SS Mantola under contract with the UK Department for Transport in 2012. The Company has several other projects and government agreements in various stages of development throughout the world.

Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL) announced the appointment of international business figure Robert J. Herbold to the company’s Board of Directors, effective 1 February 2010. From 1994 to 2001, Herbold was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft Corporation. After retiring in 2001, Mr Herbold worked half-time for Microsoft until 2003 as Executive Vice President assisting in government, industry, and customer issues. Prior to joining Microsoft, Herbold spent 26 years at The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G). In his last five years with P&G he served as its Senior Vice President of Marketing. Currently, Herbold is the Managing Director of Herbold Group, LLC, a consulting business focused on profitability.

On Friday, Dec. 10 the Pilot Schooner Virginia will be christened on the downtown Norfolk waterfront. Many of the state's elected officials, local civic, business and political leaders, representatives of the maritime community, students from local schools and contributors to the project will be among the thousands on hand to witness the momentous event. Additionally, those attending the ceremony will hear from two of the nation's most distinguished sailors: Capt. Bill Pinkney, USN retired and Gary Jobson, known as the nation's pre-eminent sailing ambassador. Furthermore, Gov. Mark Warner and his wife, Lisa Collins-Warner, who has been asked to officially sponsor the vessel, have been invited.

In November, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force plane noticed a suspicious object in Japanese waters off Okinawa. News reports at the time said it was a Chinese submarine scouting coastal water routes. The observation sparked a small international incident and illustrated the rising threat of one of the most dangerous weapon platforms available, defense analysts say. The amazing firepower of submarines, according to a congressional report, can take out ships and, if armed with cruise or nuclear missiles, even cities. They also can be used to spy, eavesdrop, transport Special Forces troops or float silently, awaiting the call to launch an offensive. They can cut off an army’s supplies by impeding military sea- lifts and can disrupt commercial trade to entire nations.

The White House is confident its plans to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to oil and natural gas production will win approval in the Senate in September, an administration official said on Wednesday. The area in question, a remote area in northeast Alaska called the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), is ground zero for President George W. Bush's energy package to boost domestic production and wean Americans from some of their dependence on foreign oil imports. "This administration is confident that it can move this package in its entirety," Karen Knutson, deputy director of Vice President Dick Cheney's national energy policy taskforce, said at a panel hosted by a conservative think-tank.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation conducted an oversight hearing on The State of Maritime Security. The Chairman, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) generally complimented efforts of the various agencies in enhancing maritime security, but expressed concern over the lack of a comprehensive national maritime security plan and the seeming lack of coordination between the agencies. The Administration witnesses, Admiral Thomas Collins, USCG; Robert Bonner, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Rear Admiral David Stone, USN (ret), Acting Administrator, Transportation Security Administration, summarized the maritime strategy for homeland security…