Us Government News

Canadian and U.S. government representatives will arrive in Mexico on Tuesday to sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.The three countries have come to an agreement over labor, steel and aluminum, he said at his regular daily news conference. (Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Abraham Gonzalez, Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

Samsung heavy industries Co Ltd has agreed to pay more than $75 million in criminal penalties to resolve a U.S. investigation of a scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Brazil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.Samsung Heavy has admitted to paying about $20 million to a Brazilian intermediary between 2007 and 2013 knowing that parts of it would be paid as bribes to officials in Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras SA for a contract which facilitated the sale of a drill ship by Samsung Heavy…

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (SHI) has agreed to pay $75 million in penalties to avoid prosecution in the United States over its scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to Brazilian officials to win a contract.“Samsung Heavy Industries paid millions of dollars to a Brazilian intermediary, knowing that some of that money would be used to bribe high-level executives at Petrobras and obtain a lucrative shipbuilding contract,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

The accumulated growth rate for US inbound containers has almost been cut in off half from 5.1% in 2018 to 2.6% in August of 2019.Towards the end of 2018, US retailers frontloaded consumer goods ahead of the planned tariff hike in January 2019. While another US tariff hike of 10% on Chinese goods worth USD 160 billion is planned for December 15, BIMCO does not expect the same frontloading to occur this time around, due to heightened uncertainty about the rumored trade deal.According to communication by the US government…

American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ARC) announced that its M/V ARC Integrity loaded equipment from the Army’s 1st Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) at the port of Rotterdam.The ARC Integrity is ARC’s latest addition to the U.S.-flag fleet, having re-flagged to U.S. registry in Bremerhaven, Germany in October 2019. ARC Integrity moved a mix of helicopters, vehicles, containers, and other ground support equipment for 1st CAB, the “Demon” Brigade, which now returns home to Fort Riley…

The U.S. government's oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of U.S. states.Grants through the program are designed to restore or expand coastal wetlands, dunes, reefs, mangroves and barrier islands that are key to coastal protection, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an announcement.Coastlines worldwide are being damaged or threatened by more extreme and destructive weather…

China National Offshore Oil and Gas Company (CNOOC) is on the hunt for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to charter, several industry sources told Reuters, looking to replace ships it had previously hired that are linked to a Chinese company sanctioned by the United States for allegedly transporting Iranian oil.The company, COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), is one of four Chinese firms on which the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Sept. 25, in what it described as the biggest sanctions taken by the U.S.

China's Unipec has resumed using tankers owned by COSCO weeks after it suspended bookings due to U.S. sanctions on some of the Chinese shipping company's subsidiaries, trade sources said on Tuesday.Refinitiv data showed one COSCO owned tanker - belonging to a subsidiary not affected by the U.S. sanctions - was sailing to Asia with a cargo of oil chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's top oil refiner, Sinopec.Sinopec officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours.In one of the biggest sanctions actions taken by the U.S.

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

The sanctions imposed by the United States on subsidiaries of Chinese state-owned group COSCO have not affected the world's biggest dry bulk shipper BHP , the mining company said, after carrying out due diligence to check.In one of the biggest sanctions actions taken by the U.S. government since its crackdown on Iranian oil exports, Washington imposed sanctions on Chinese companies in late September for alleged involvement in moving crude oil from Iran.COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian)…

Oil prices jumped more than 2% on Friday, October 11, 2019, after Iranian media said a state-owned oil tanker had been struck by missiles in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia, raising the prospect of supply disruptions weeks after attacks on Saudi oil plants.The Suezmax crude tanker Sabiti was ablaze and suffered heavy damage after being hit by two missiles, Iranian media reported.Both oil benchmarks recorded their biggest daily rise since Sept. 16, the first trading day after the…

DSC Dredge, LLC wins bid for a new, non-propelled, cutter suction head dredge solicited by The Marine Design Center (MDC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) earlier this month. When completed, the new cutter suction head dredge will operate out of Astara, Azerbaijan to not only maintain the harbor depth and harbor entrance but the US Government is purchasing this dredge for the country of Azerbaijan as a part of Azerbaijan’s support of the US in anti-terrorism efforts.

Last week Fincantieri Marine Systems North America (FMSNA) was awarded a $9.6 million contract to perform maintenance and repairs to the U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet of Inland Buoy Tenders.The multi-year contract was awarded by the Coast Guard’s Surface Force Logistics Center in Virginia. The focus of the contract is the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the Isotta Fraschini Motori (IFM) V1312 main diesel engines on board the 75-foot inland construction tender (WLIC) and 65-foot river buoy tender (WLR) class cutters.“This award with the U.S.

At least three tankers are on their way to Asia with U.S. oil cargoes after Washington gave temporary approval to wind down transactions with a Chinese shipping company that it sanctioned last month, according to data and shipping sources.In one of the biggest sanctions actions taken by the U.S. government since its crackdown on Iranian oil exports, Washington on Sept. 25 announced sanctions on Chinese tanker companies, including COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian), a subsidiary of…

The global marine engines market is estimated to grow at CAGR above 4.5% over the forecast time frame 2019 to 2026 and reach the market value around $14.4 billion by 2026.The shifting trends in the shipping industry and the increase of worldwide amounts of sea trade are projected to fuel the development of the market in marine motors, said a report by Acumen Research and Consulting.Increased use of low-sulfur fuels due to public emissions reduction standards will fuel demand for the item.

Liberty Global Logistics LLC (LGL) announced today that Robert G. (Bob) Wellner, its current President, will retire effective December 31, 2019. Mr. Wellner is a widely respected industry veteran with more than 46 years of experience in the U.S.-flag shipping and logistics industry and was a key player in the formation and growth of LGL.Mr. Wellner joined forces with Philip J. Shapiro in 2003 which led to the formation of LGL. LGL commenced operations in 2004. Mr. Shapiro had previously formed Liberty Maritime Corporation in 1988…

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four maritime firms and vessels transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba, amid an acute fuel scarcity in the island that is forcing people to line up for gasoline and public transport.Despite tough U.S. measures against Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA in January, Cuba's state-run oil import and export company Cubametales and other Cuba-based entities "have continued to circumvent sanctions by receiving oil shipments from Venezuela…

VT Halter in Pascagoula, MS has been on a strong run, capped by its winning the high-profile contract to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s next generation of icebreakers. Maritime Reporter recently spoke with Ron Baczkowski, President and CEO, VT Halter Marine, for insights on the shipyard’s recent success and future prospects. Globally, the shipbuilding industry has gone through some ‘interesting’ times of late. How has it looked from your perspective?The shipbuilding market and activity at VT Halter during the past 12 months has been dynamic.

U.S. furniture company RC Willey Home Furnishings is so concerned that new global clean air rules will cause transport disruption that it brought forward the shipment of arm chairs and sofas from China by two months.The tougher regulations, set by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), come into force on Jan 1. Costs will rise for ships towards the end of this year and there will be a knock on effect for trucks and other transporters…

Joel Reid joined Cox Powertrain in April 2015. He holds an EMBA in Business from the University of Chicago, a Master’s Degree in Marine Surveying and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Reid has been instrumental in bringing Cox’s ground-breaking 300hp diesel outboard to market and has worked tirelessly over the last three years to create an enviable global distributor network. Reid is currently focuses his efforts on sales, distribution and support in the US market, which it is predicted to account for approximately 50% of Cox’s diesel outboard sales globally.

Iran has sold the oil from a tanker released by Gibraltar after weeks in the custody of British Royal Marines and the vessel's owner will decide on its next destination, IRIB news agency quoted an Iranian government spokesman as saying on Monday.Separately, Tehran - embroiled in a spiralling confrontation with Washington over U.S. sanctions meant to strangle Iranian oil exports - announced that it had deployed a naval destroyer with cruise missiles to help secure Iranian ships.The Iranian government spokesman did not identify the recipient of the oil carried by the Adrian Darya tanker.

The results of a recent survey conducted by financial services company Bankrate, LLC show that naval architecture and marine engineering take the top spot as the most valuable college degrees in which to major.A total of 162 degrees were covered in the company’s research. Drama and theater arts, on the other hand, were shown to be the least valuable degrees in terms of earning power after graduation. The survey revealed that the overall median income for those trained to build, design and maintain maritime vessels was $90,000 and that less than 2 percent of degree holders were unemployed.

Export Control Lists Include Key Marine Tech Categories  Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce receives thousands of inquiries from businesses looking to export, many of which involve licensing questions. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), together with other USG agencies, is responsible for export licensing and controls. BIS export licenses may be required for items (commodities, software, or technology) with proliferation, military, or terrorist uses, or which warrant control for other reasons.