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Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California had disrupted several major wildlife trafficking operations, including seizing hundreds of illegal products made from ivory, rhino horn, walrus tusks, suspected bear gall bladders, saiga antelope, and turtle shells.“The international illegal market for these products encourages poaching and threatens global biodiversity — California wants no part of it. We’re using every tool at our disposal to catch and shut down these trafficking rings…

HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has delivered Virginia-class fast-attack submarine Massachusetts (SSN 798) to the U.S. Navy.Massachusetts is the 12th Virginia-class submarine delivered by NNS, and the 25th built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat. It is the fifth Navy vessel named for the commonwealth of Massachusetts.More than 10,000 shipbuilders from NNS and Electric Boat participated in the construction of Massachusetts…

An EU-funded project is helping accelerate the adoption of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies that transform carbon dioxide emissions into valuable resources such as fuels, chemicals, and construction materials.CCU is based on the principle of capturing carbon dioxide and reusing it in various forms, such as e-fuels created by combining captured CO2 with renewable hydrogen.The ECO2Fuel project is pioneering this approach by developing a 1MW low-temperature electrolyzer…

Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, has compared developing AI agents to owning a pet tiger.Speaking this week at the World AI Conference (WAIC 2025) in Shanghai, Yicai Global reported him saying: "Our current situation is like someone keeping a tiger as a pet. A tiger cub can indeed be a cute pet, but if you continue to keep it, you must ensure that it does not kill you when it grows up.”He says there are two choices: either train it so that it doesn't attack you or eliminate it.“For AI, we have no way to eliminate it,” he warned.

Three Republican House lawmakers on Monday asked the CEOs of Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta, Amazon.com and Microsoft if they have adopted adequate safeguards to address growing national security concerns on submarine communications cables.Washington has been raising alarm about the network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle 99% of international internet traffic and about threats from China and Russia.The letter raised concerns that entities affiliated with China "such as SBSS…

The ECO2Fuel project is testing a prototype direct, electrochemical CO2 conversion system that produces sustainable liquid e-fuels and chemicals such as methanol and ethanol.The aim is to scale the system up to achieve the world’s first low-temperature 1MW CO2 electrolyzer in 2026.The ECO2Fuel system works by directly reducing CO2 through electrocatalytic conversion in a single-step process. This process uses water and renewable electricity, without the need for hydrogen. The operation is performed under low temperatures and pressures…

Genoa-based shipping and logistics company, the Fratelli Cosulich Group, has officially started its Empowering Minds project.The post-graduate traineeship, managed by Corporate HR, offers a unique opportunity to the new generation approaching the workplace for the first time. The six selected young graduates have started this week, with lessons led by various internal experts acting as teachers. Over the next six months, these talented young individuals will gain in-depth knowledge of all 15 of the group's business units…

Crowley announced it will pilot carbon capture technology on board one of its containerships under the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program.The Jacksonville, Fla. based shipping company said it has reached an agreement with Sana Monica, Calif. based Carbon Ridge and MARAD to operate, measure and optimize the technology’s effectiveness in actual maritime environments at port and ultimately at sea. The collaboration includes the engineering…

The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) has launched a Request for Proposals (RfP) for 600,000 TEUs over a three-year period on ocean vessels powered by zero-emission fuels.This will help its member companies reduce nearly one million metric tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 215,000 cars off the road. The RfP is the first major buyer-led initiative to accelerate the transition to zero-emission maritime fuels. ZEMBA was launched as a nonprofit membership organization in March 2023 by the Aspen Institute…

An international shipping company will install revolutionary solar cells on its vessels to manage and store renewable energy following successful trials in Equatorial waters.Carisbrooke Shipping Ltd, which operates a fleet of multi-purpose vessels from offices in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, signed a letter of intent with Anglesey and Manchester-based Grafmarine to utilize the cutting-edge NanoDeck AI Solar tile management solution.The companies have worked in partnership over the last 12 months…

The United States is offering up to $1.5 million to aid projects that demonstrate low carbon energy and technologies on board domestic commercial vessels.The Maritime Administration (MARAD) in June issued a request for proposals (RFP) under its Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program seeking single or multiple projects that demonstrate low carbon fuels or technology applications for propulsion or auxiliary systems used on vessels in the U.S. fleet. Applicants must be able to verify low carbon operations of the technology during the project demonstration…

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, has partnered with Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) and representatives of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program to bring hands-on education about autonomous marine systems into the MMA curriculum.The Academy will provide instruction to cadets using MMA’s 41-ft Coast Guard cutter-class workboat R/V Quickwater…

MARAD released an Energy Efficiency White Paper. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced the availability of the Energy Efficiency White Paper that provides marine vessel owners and operators information on how to evaluate potential investments in efficiency measures and technologies. The white paper outlines the latest energy efficiency measures currently available for marine vessels, including how the technology works, potential fuel savings, applicability to various vessels types, and lifecycle costs. If implemented, these types of energy efficiency measures may also assist owners of vessels undergoing a major conversion to comply with the Energy Efficiency for Ships Regulations contained in Chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI.

Continuous Improvement (CI) is a term we hear a lot lately. Sadly, despite knowing the term and possibly even applying CI principles to some aspects of operations, CI principles are infrequently applied to in-house job and familiarization training. This is a mistake. First, it is neither difficult nor expensive to establish and maintain a program of CI for in-house training. Second, there is a good chance that if you do ignore CI, not only will your training outcomes fail to improve, but they will likely deteriorate, resulting in a deterioration of safety and operational performance.

Cutting-edge Demonstration Project on the Rivers. The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) is proud to be participating with Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities (PRCC) and Clean Fuels Clean Rivers (CFCR) to conduct a marine air quality study centered on the conversion of an inland towboat to dual fuel diesel/liquid natural gas (LNG) to reduce diesel emissions in marine vessels. The Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance Program (META) grant awarded to the CFCR coalition is the first-ever awarded by the federal government specifically targeting the marine community operating in the Nation's inland rivers. The coalition will convert a harbor towboat to burn LNG as its fuel source, monitoring the emissions before and after.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced it will provide more than $1 million to support the development of two new emission-reducing maritime solutions. The first is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) conversion demonstration project, and the second is modification of an on-board air pollution control device that will aid the U.S. maritime industry’s effort to decrease its environmental footprint. “The Department continues to fund innovative projects that support a steady shift towards cleaner and sustainable transportation options,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. Through a cooperative agreement, MARAD has provided $730,000 to Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities (PRCC) to convert a towboat engine from diesel to LNG.

An updated version of the “Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Selection Guide” is now available, the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced today. Developed by the Ship Operations Cooperative Program with funding from MARAD’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program, the guide provides ship owners and operators information on scrubber technology to assist the industry in meeting new sulfur emissions standards. Now in its fourth edition, the latest version includes guidance on regulatory requirements and compliance options…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) today announced that it is providing $500,000 to support a feasibility study for the design, construction, and operation of a high-speed passenger ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology and a hydrogen refueling station. The fuel cell would provide power for the ferry’s propulsion and auxiliary electrical systems, while the hydrogen refueling station -which would be the largest in the world - would service the ferry, electric cars, buses and fleet vehicles, and other maritime vessels powered by fuel cells. “This study is just one more way in which MARAD is working to find new and efficient technologies for use in the maritime industry that offer clean-fuel options to cut emissions…

The Maritime Administration (MARAD), in cooperation with the Maryland Environmental Resource Center, will hold an open forum to solicit input on the Agency’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program and key environmental issues facing maritime transportation. Specific topics of discussion will include how MARAD might be able to better focus requests for proposals, and how to address various levels of technology readiness. Input received will inform MARAD and Department of Transportation decision making regarding possible future research, development and demonstration projects. The META program seeks to foster collaborative efforts among Federal agencies, academia, industry and the public to address critical marine transportation environmental issues.

Industry leading online chart service Fugawi X-Traverse, announced today that in coordination with GPSNavXTM and its app, iNavX, the availability of quilted raster charts for the navigation app’s most recent version. One of the most established marine navigation apps on the Apple iOS platform, iNavX brings the latest marine navigation features to iPhone and iPad users. In an exciting revision of the top-selling app, iNavX adds greater functionality to its already robust feature set. Offering users the ability to plot position in real-time on multi-touch marine charts with scroll, zoom and rotate, the app can also act as a repeater for popular marine navigation software that supports NMEA data over TCP/IP. They weather forecasts; and even an  anchor alarm.

Fugawi Aboard, a newly launched product from Northport Systems Inc., combines U.S. and Canadian raster charts, based on National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) nautical charts, into quilted regions for use on compatible chartplotters. Fugawi Aboard combines more than 2,000 NOAA and 600 CHS raster navigation charts on one quilted product. Packed with coastline detail for the entire United States and Canada, Fugawi Aboard delivers the look and feel of vector charts with the unmatched detail and familiarity of paper charts.

It’s time to put that question behind us. Once a question has been carefully analyzed and a reliable answer has been found, it is time to use this new knowledge to help answer the next series of important questions. This is the current situation in some parts of the maritime industry surrounding the question of whether eLearning works. To illustrate, some months ago there was a familiar discussion on an online maritime group debating whether eLearning works. Arguments on both sides cited anecdotes and conjecture on topics for which we already have solid answers informed by real research.