Government Regulations News

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that he is nominating former Wisconsin Representative and Fox Business News host Sean Duffy to be transportation secretary.If confirmed, Duffy will oversee aviation, automotive, rail, transit and other transportation policies at the department with about a $110 billion budget as well as significant funding that remains under the Biden administration's 2021 $1 trillion infrastructure law and EV charging stations."I’m eager to help you usher in a new golden age of transportation," Duffy wrote on social media.Trump has vowed to reverse the Biden administration's vehicle emissions rules. He…

The European Union has widened its sanctions against Iran over Tehran's support of Russia in its war with Ukraine, the European Commission said on Monday.The Commission said it had added the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its director Mohammad Reza Khiabani, among others, to its sanctions list.The fresh sanctions are against vessels and ports used for transporting Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), missiles and related technologies and components.

Moteurs Baudouin has announced that its 6F21 engine has obtained the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 3 Recreational Certification.Introducing the Baudouin 6F21 EngineThe 6F21 is a state-of-the-art, EPA Tier 3-compliant engine designed for efficiency, power, and environmental responsibility. With its advanced engineering, this engine offers high fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, and robust performance, making it ideal for recreational and light commercialvessels.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday extended a license protecting Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum from bondholders to March 2025, a key decision amid a seven-year-long legal case in which the refiner's parent might be auctioned to pay creditors.Citgo's parent, PDV Holding, was found liable by the court for Venezuela's debts from asset expropriations and debt defaults. The case has opened a route for creditors to fight for a piece of Venezuela's crown jewel - Citgo's 807,000…

The Philippines expects U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific and support for its treaty ally amid South China Sea tensions to remain steady under Donald Trump, driven by bipartisan resolve in Washington, its ambassador to the U.S. said on Thursday.Both Democrats and Republicans prioritize countering China’s influence, including in the South China Sea, Jose Manuel Romualdez said, suggesting that military cooperation, economic ties and security commitments with the Philippines will continue."It is in their interest that the Indo-Pacific region remains free…

Project will integrate electric assets, charging infrastructure and solar power equipment. Gateway Terminal in New Haven, CT, an Enstructure company, will receive funding to purchase and install electric equipment through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program. The grant allocation includes $34,000,000 to purchase electric gantry cranes, material handlers and yard trucks, replace current diesel assets, and install solar panels as part of Enstructure’s progress towards zero emissions targets.

The British Columbia ports labor dispute continued on Tuesday, impacting exports at Canada's biggest port in Vancouver with no sign of negotiating progress.International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 foremen began limited strike actions on Monday at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time (16:00 GMT) and their employer, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association, locked out workers at 4:30 p.m.Industries and provincial governments across Canada are alarmed by the dispute, which is occurring at the same time as a partial strike is blocking 40 percent of container traffic of the Port of Montreal…

Final Rule is Effective Today, 5 November.Today, November 5, 2024, the Department of Transportation (DOT) published a final rule in the Federal Register to provide temporary qualification requirements for mock oral fluid monitors, provide for consistent requirements by identifying which individuals may be present during an oral fluid collection, and clarify how collectors are to document that a sufficient volume of oral fluid was collected.  To learn more about this final rule, view the rule at https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/frpubs.

The final rule on Demurrage and Detention Billing Practices is clear to take full effect on May 28, 2024, following recent actions by the Office of the Management and Budget (OMB) and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).The FMC issued its final rule on Detention and Demurrage Billing Practices on February 23, 2024, and gave notice of the May effective date except for the “Contents of Invoice” section 541.6. That provision of the rule contains an information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act and required OMB review and approval.

The Biden administration is working closely with partner countries over sanctions on a Russian liquefied natural gas project in the Arctic as a January deadline looms on a wind down of transactions with the plant, a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday.The U.S. imposed sanctions last week on the Arctic LNG-2 project in Russia as part of wide-ranging measures to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, part of the Treasury Department, also issued a general license that authorizes the wind down of transactions involving Arctic LNG-2, through Jan.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

A new and deadly chapter of the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict is a reality check for an ambitious trade route. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), championed by Washington last month on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi and dubbed a Western rival to China’s Belt and Road, had much to prove anyway. The latest conflict presses pause on any grand financial visions involving the neighbourhood.IMEC’s chief backers waxed lyrical about the potential of the trade route involving railways, ports and green energy. U.S.

The European Commission said on Friday that it would not extend a ban on imports of Ukrainian grains into Ukraine's five EU neighbors due to expire on Friday."It has concluded that thanks to the work of the Coordination Platform and to the temporary measures introduced on 2 May 2023, the market distortions in the 5 Member States bordering Ukraine have disappeared," the European Commission said in a statement.Restrictions imposed by the European Union in May allowed Poland, Bulgaria…

At least 30 commercial ships dropped anchor on Wednesday around Gabon's waters after military officers said they had seized power in the Central African country, according to data and maritime sources.Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, after the country's election body announced that he had won a third term.

The Turkish and Ukrainian foreign ministers said on Friday that other solutions to the export of Ukrainian grain than the Black Sea grain deal, which ended after Russia quit last month, were less optimal.The deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations last year had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain. Ankara has been trying to persuade Moscow to return to the agreement.Ukraine announced earlier this month a "humanitarian corridor" in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb.

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expires on July 17 and with Moscow saying it sees no grounds for an extension there are fears it may collapse.Why is it important?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The current deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.Ukraine grain has also played a direct role with 725…

DNV's latest white paper “Biofuels in shipping” finds that the flexibility of biofuels can enable the shipping industry to accelerate its journey towards decarbonization, but current limitations in production capacity may impact short-term supply and create stiff competition with other sectors.The current global production capacity of sustainable biofuels is around 11 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per year. DNV estimates that the limit for the global sustainable and economical biofuel potential lies between 400 – 600 Mtoe per year in 2030…

Groups representing major retailers and manufacturers urged the White House on Monday to intervene in contentious West Coast port labor negotiations, citing worries about shipping disruptions during critical holiday shopping seasons.The call came after the largest terminal at Southern California's Port of Long Beach closed on Monday as dock workers rally for better pay. Monday's closure followed similar disruptions on Friday in Oakland, California.More than 22,000 dockworkers…

Ukraine has shipped significantly more grain over the last several months than originally expected, especially corn, easing worries that were prominent last year over the country’s export program.But Russia now claims it will not support the Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 due to obstacles on its own food and fertilizer exports. That deal was signed last July to allow shipments from Ukrainian seaports, overseen jointly by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations.Traders…

The German government has become divided over a deal, agreed last month, which saw Chinese conglomerate Cosco invest in the Port of Hamburg. The deal had been in the works since September 2021 and was championed by the chancellor (and Hamburg’s former mayor), Olaf Scholz.Scholz’s coalition partners have been vocal in criticising the deal. Chief among them is Robert Habeck, Greens member and Scholz’s economics minister, who expressed his fear that Germany was becoming dependent on Chinese business.