Government Update News

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has opted to extend its Sentinel-Class Fast Response Cutters (FRC) build program, exercising a contract option with Bollinger Shipyards for two additional vessels.The move brings the total number of FRCs awarded to Bollinger up to 67 vessels since the program’s inception. To date, the U.S. Coast Guard has commissioned 55 FRCs into operational service.“We’re incredibly proud of our long history supporting the U.S. Coast Guard that now stretches four decades,” said Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon.

Complaints about breaches against the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) on ships decreased in 2023, compared to the previous year, the Australia Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) latest report on seafarer welfare shows.The report records an 18% decrease in complaints to AMSA about breaches to the MLC, down to 214 complaints in 2023, from 261 complaints in the previous year.Of the complaints received in 2023, breaches of employment conditions were the most common, such as issues with wages…

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has issued a 180-day ban to the Indian-flagged bulk carrier Darya Shaan after its operator took repeated risks with the safety of the crew, vessel and Australian marine environment by not reporting serious defects to the main engine and machinery whilst the ship entered Australian ports.AMSA inspectors attended the ship at Port of Melbourne on April 26 and found multiple maintenance issues on board including defective main engine control and monitoring systems…

The Philippines said on Saturday it has deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused China of building "an artificial island" in an escalating maritime row.The coast guard sent a ship "to monitor the supposed illegal activities of China, creating 'an artificial island'," the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement, adding two other vessels were in rotational deployment in the area.Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told a forum there had been "small-scale reclamation" of the Sabina Shoal…

The Military Sealift Command’s Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) and Auxiliary Crane Ships (ACS) were built 50 years ago to pre-position vehicles and supplies in forward locations and load or unload them in undeveloped or damaged port facilities. I serve with MSC’s Taluga Group, charged with finding innovative solutions to pressing problems. One of those challenges is meeting the MPS and ACS mission as the current ships continue to serve past their expected service lines.To…

The safest and swiftest method to remove the bridge piece from on top of the M/V Dali is by precision cuts made with small charges, said the Unified Command on Thursday as salvors were preparing charges. The charges will enable the upcoming precision cuts to remove section 4 from the port side of the bow of the Dali.The Singaporean-flagged container vessel Dali allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. The bridge, which connects Hawkins Point and Dundalk, Maryland…

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a May 15 hearing on the federal government's response to the collapse of a Baltimore bridge.The Dali containership crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people.The hearing will include Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy and senior officials with the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. The NTSB is expected to announce preliminary findings from the investigation next week.Last month…

The leader of Yemen's Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said on Thursday the group would target ships of any company related to supplying or transporting goods to Israel regardless of their destination.He said this was a fourth stage of escalation in retaliation to "the Israeli aggression on Rafah" in the southern Gaza Strip."From now on, we are also thinking about the fifth stage and the sixth stage, and we have very important, sensitive and influential choices on the enemies," he added.Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer a

The Greek navy on Wednesday extended an advisory effectively banning ship traffic off the coast of the southeastern Peloponnese that two sources said was aimed at deterring ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil off Greece.Greece, in a rare move, over the past weeks has issued two NAVTEX notices for military exercises in the Laconian Gulf area, urging merchant and other vessels to avoid the area. One of them was issued on May 1."It was initially expiring on May 9 but was extended today…

A U.S. warship sailed through the narrow Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, less than two weeks before Taiwan's new president takes office, prompting an angry denunciation from Beijing.China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the strait. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international waterway.U.S. warships, and occasionally U.S. Navy patrol aircraft, pass through or over the strait about once a month.The latest mission's timing was extra sensitive…

The Chinese state-owned company at the center of a dispute over operations of a megaport it is building on Peru's Pacific coast insisted on Tuesday on terms agreed with the government, as some local officials have sought to backtrack on the deal.Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports will defend its legal rights to provide services as the exclusive operator of the deepwater Chancay Port Terminal under "terms that were agreed at the beginning of this investment," the firm said in…

Aid for Gaza was being loaded onto a ship in Cyprus on Wednesday in what was expected to be the first cargo to be delivered using a U.S. pier built to expedite supplies to the besieged enclave.Containers were being stacked on the U.S. flagged Sagamore, docked at the port of Larnaca, on Wednesday. Some containers to the ship were labelled as aid from the United Arab Emirates.Konstantinos Letymbiotis, a Cyprus government spokesperson, said a U.S jetty built to handle aid shipments to Gaza had been completed."We are completing the loading of aid onto a U.S.

The role women play in ensuring maritime safety will be celebrated worldwide by the IMO on this year's International Day for Women in Maritime. Observed globally each year on May 18, International Day for Women in Maritime aims to promote the recruitment, retention and empowerment of women in the sector, as well as a barrier-free work environment.Ahead of the day, the IMO will host an international symposium on Friday, May 17 at IMO headquarters in London, under the theme ‘Safe…

Unified Command salvage teams have located the sixth victim of the Baltimore bridge collapse.Maryland State Police investigators along with officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the FBI responded to the scene and recovered the body of a sixth construction worker. The victim is identified as José Mynor López, 37, of Baltimore, Maryland.“With heavy hearts, today marks a significant milestone in our recovery efforts and providing closure to the loved ones of the six workers who lost their lives in this tragic event,” said Colonel Roland L.

Germany sent two warships to the Indo-Pacific region on Tuesday in a bid to strengthen its military presence in the region amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan and over the disputed South China Sea.Those tensions were putting pressure on the freedom of navigation and free passage on trade routes, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at the northern German navy base in Wilhelmshaven.Some 40% of Europe's foreign trade flows through the South China Sea."Looking the other way…

Salvage crews within the Key Bridge Unified Command continue to prepare for the complex task of removing the large piece of bridge lying on top of the M/V Dali.Prior to removing the bridge piece, salvage teams must meticulously analyze and factor in numerous hazards and obstacles resulting from the bridge's impact. Crushed containers, hull damage, and weight shifts are among the critical considerations crews must address during the bridge removal and refloating operation of the…

The European Union would ban trans-shipment of Russian LNG, the use of EU ports by vessels transporting goods contributing to Russia's war effort and make EU operators more accountable for any sanctions violations, according to a text under discussion.The text seen by Reuters on Monday covers proposals that would constitute a 14th package of sanctions against Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine now being debated by EU members before it enters force.According to the proposals presented to EU envoys on Friday…

The U.S. Navy's efforts to build a fleet of unmanned vessels are faltering because the Pentagon remains wedded to big shipbuilding projects, according to some officials and company executives, exposing a weakness as sea drones reshape naval warfare.The lethal effectiveness of sea drones has been demonstrated in the Black Sea where Ukraine has deployed remote-controlled speed boats packed with explosives to sink Russian frigates and minesweepers since late 2022.Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have employed similar vessels against commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months…

The crew of U.K. Royal Navy’s offshore patrol vessel HMS Trent has seized over $250 million worth of cocaine in the latest drugs bust in the Caribbean Sea, bringing the total drugs seized by the vessel so far to over $640 million.The latest bust came after HMS Trent was alerted to potential smugglers by a United States maritime patrol aircraft and used her powerful radars to track down the suspicious vessel.With the Royal Navy ship closing in, the vessel started throwing bales of cocaine into the sea to try and evade capture.The crew of HMS Trent then had to recover the drugs thrown overboard…

Key Bridge Unified command salvors have begun preparing for the removal of bridge section four, which lies across the bow of the M/V Dali.The operation requires careful handling of roadbed material, crushed containers and bridge fragments currently resting on the M/V Dali’s bow.The salvage teams are preparing for the refloat of the Dali, ensuring all aspects of the wreckage impacts are thoroughly evaluated and addressed. "The complexities of this next phase of operations require thorough preparation, strategic planning, and specialized expertise," said Capt.

The U.S. military said on Friday it was temporarily pausing the offshore construction of a maritime pier because of weather conditions and instead would continue building it at the Israeli port of Ashdod.The maritime pier, once built, will be placed off the coast of Gaza in a bid to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave."Forecasted high winds and high sea swells caused unsafe conditions for soldiers working on the surface of the partially constructed pier," the U.S.

Maryland said on Thursday it estimates it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild a collapsed Baltimore bridge and anticipates it will be completed by fall 2028.The Maryland Department of Transportation said the state's "planning level cost estimate is between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion" which "is in line with similar projects of this scale and complexity."The Dali cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people. Lawmakers in Congress…

Maryland said on Thursday it estimates it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild a collapsed Baltimore bridge and anticipates it will be completed by fall 2028.The Maryland Department of Transportation said the state's "planning level cost estimate is between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion" which "is in line with similar projects of this scale and complexity."The Dali cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people. Lawmakers in Congress…