US House to Hold Hearing on Oil Export Ban
A House of Representatives panel will hold a hearing on Dec. 11 to explore whether a decades-old law that prohibits the export of crude oil makes sense in an era of domestic energy abundance. The House subcommittee on energy and power, chaired by Representative Ed Whitfield, will hone in on the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act, drafted in response to the 1973 oil crisis. The law prohibited the export of most crude oil…
Bollinger Delivers 11th FRC to the US Coast Guard
Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. has delivered the William Trump, the 11th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the United States Coast Guard. The announcement was made by Bollinger Chief Operating Officer, Ben Bordelon: “We are extremely happy to announce the delivery of the latest FRC built by Bollinger, the William Trump, to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla. The 154-foot patrol craft William Trump is the eleventh vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program.
US Navy Evaluating SEWIP for LCS
The U.S. Navy is evaluating a scaled-down version of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) system for potential incorporation on future Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), Naval Sea Systems Command announced, Nov. 20. SEWIP is an evolutionary development block upgrade program for the SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare (EW) System and will be designated as AN/SLQ-32C(V)6. Still in the early stages of development…
Australian Defence Minister Says Would Not Trust Submarine Firm to Build Canoe
Australia's defence minister has said he would not trust state-owned Australian Submarine Corp (ASC) "to build a canoe", fuelling expectations that most work in…
Matson Raises Guam, Micronesia Rates
Matson, Inc., a U.S. carrier in the Pacific, announced today that Matson Navigation Company, Inc. will raise its rates for the company's Guam/Commonwealth of the…
Newport News Lays Keel for Virginia-Class Sub
Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), hosted a keel-laying ceremony Saturday for the future USS Washington (SSN 787), a Virginia-class submarine named for the Evergreen State. The submarine’s sponsor is Elisabeth Mabus, daughter of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Acting as the keel authenticator, during the ceremony she chalked her initials onto a metal plate.
Maritime Reporter @ 75: The Daily Cartoon
Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was founded by John J. O'Malley (1905-1980) in 1939, and today ranks as the world's largest audited trade publication in the world serving the maritime industry, with a circulation of more than 35,000 worldwide, including ship and boat owners, ship and boat builders, naval architects and marine engineers. Today Maritime Reporter heads a group of four print and 10 websites serving the global maritime, offshore and subsea sector.
Vacant Pier to Help Ease Long Beach Congestion
The Port of Long Beach expects a “Temporary Empty Container Depot” planned for a vacant pier on Terminal Island to be open and operating in December, which will help to alleviate congestion at the docks. The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the use of 30 acres on Pier S for temporary storage of empty shipping containers. The temporary depot will help put back into circulation more chassis – the wheeled trailer-frames that trucks use to haul cargo containers.
Shipbuilding Regulations: Cents and Sensibility
Addressing the Jones Act is just one aspect of an increasingly complicated boatbuilding environment. Stovepiped, poorly conceived regulations is another. The sting of the recession is fading, but the economic vitality of the marine industry is still in jeopardy. That’s because the current regulatory environment and the foreshadowing of its future is concerning. Boat builders and operators alike understand and accept that the premise of the rules is to promote safety…
How Difficult is it to Obtain a Jones Act Waiver?
The American Salvage Association’s Jon Waldron provides the ultimate cabotage primer. There always seems to be constant chatter about waiving the Jones Act. In reality…
Energy’s Promising Future Threatened
Unrealistic Fears and Overstated Risks obscure the benefits of new seismic data. The United States stands poised on the edge of a bright energy future. After decades…
What’s All the Noise at IMO?
Shipping may think they hear the sound of new regulations as they are slammed onto their desks. What is all the noise concerning noise at IMO? This may very well be the question from ship owners, operators and builders closely following activities at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In 2013, IMO issued mandatory regulations for shipboard airborne noise and earlier this year IMO internal committees approved new draft guidelines for minimizing underwater noise.
World’s Largest Containership First Tested at MARIN
MARIN was delighted to take part in a truly historic milestone in the industry when Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) asked MARIN to investigate the seakeeping ability of what would become the largest container vessel in the world - Maersk Line’s Triple-E. MARIN carried out an extensive scope of work, combining numerical predictions and basin model tests to provide the most complete qualification of the vessel’s behavior in various sea conditions.
Will Congress Pass Any Maritime Legislation in 2014?
Following its usual summer break over August 2014, Congress came back from its five-week summer recess and spent a whopping eight days or so back in session before recessing once again, approximately a week early, to hit the campaign trail for the November elections. This essentially means that including the summer recess, Congress will have been in session for a total of about eight days between the end of July and the middle of November 2014.
ICS Addresses OECD Shipbuilding Working Party
The OECD should be cautious about becoming involved in the question of what constitutes an ‘eco-ship’, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said to governments…
Avoiding the Edges of the Sea
Mariners do best when they avoid the edges of the sea – the shoals, rocks, and other hard spots. Coming into contact with the edges of the sea at other than a slow walking speed can ruin an otherwise pleasant voyage. Unfortunately, though, vessels have been making hard contact with the edges since Noah’s Ark grounded on Mount Ararat, rendering the Ark unseaworthy. For a while, it was thought that the leadline would reduce groundings, but one can’t be swinging the leadline constantly.
The Legal Consequences of 46 CFR Subchapter “M”
As the holiday season and the end of another year quickly approaches, the towing industry patiently waits for the Coast Guard to finalize the long-awaited towing vessel inspection rule. More than 10 years ago, Congress passed the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004, requiring more stringent regulation of uninspected towing vessels (UTVs). Since that time, the Coast Guard and several industry groups (including the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC)…
Is Glycerine the Next Marine Fuel?
Following a year described as “intense activity,” the Glycerine Fuel for Marine Sustainability project (GLEAMS) concluded that Glycerine is a viable, exceptionally clean alternative marine fuel. The GLEAMS project claims that it has been particularly successful in dispelling the notion that glycerine is unsuitable for use as a fuel due to its physical and chemical properties, as it demonstrated that…
Editorial: 75, 150 ... What’s in a Number?
It is not often that I break out the tux for my editorial picture, but this special edition dictates. I know that I should argue that all of our editions are special, but this one in particular, I must admit, stands out in a number of ways. In fact, all of 2014 has been somewhat ‘special,’ as the domestic maritime business has rebounded with a vigor, driven in no small part by an unprecedented energy boom in the U.S. that looks like it will make the country energy independent by 2020.
Brunswick Updates IMPACT Model Vessels
Brunswick Commercial & Government Products (BCGP) introduces 2015 model year updates to the 10-, 11- and 12-meter IMPACT models. Updates include a wider beam for more usable deck space, as well as additional motor mounts to accommodate quad outboard engines. “The new 1000, 1100 and 1200 IMPACT models afford users about 30 percent more deck space than the previous models,” said BCGP Director of Sales, Jeremy Davis.
