Sola News

June 30, 2025, marks the conclusion of Louis E. Sola’s tenure as Chairman of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).Sola issued a statement saying: “Serving our nation in this capacity has been the honor of a lifetime. I have had the privilege of helping safeguard the integrity of the U.S. maritime industry, bringing greater transparency to port operations, and overseeing a supply chain that moves more than $5 trillion in goods annually.“Nominated by President Donald J. Trump in 2018 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S.

Starting March 1, 2025, ocean common carriers of containerized cargo are expected to file documented export strategies with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on an annual basis.The increased obligation is one of several notable developments on the horizon for the ocean shipping industry in 2025, says the Venable LLP international trade team.As Venable explains in its latest advisory on expected trade laws in 2025, these expected changes will impact operations across a wide range of stakeholders…

Some U.S. lawmakers and officials are touting a nearly half-century-old treaty between the United States and Panama to justify the Trump administration's threat to reclaim the Panama Canal - provided it can show the strategic waterway's operation is under threat.Others, however, say hurdles would loom for any bid to use the 1977 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty, which took effect in 1999 and guarantees that the canal would remain neutral and open to all ships from all countries, as a pretext for the U.S. to seize it.The 82-km (51-mile) waterway's construction was completed by the U.S.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday expressed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would take back."Chinese companies are building a bridge across the canal – at a slow pace so as to take nearly a decade – and control container ports at either end," Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz said at a hearing on the canal's role in U.S. trade and national security."The partially-completed bridge gives China the ability to block the canal without warning…

President Donald J. Trump has designated Louis E. “Lou” Sola to serve as the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).The designation was made on January 20, 2025. Chairman Sola has served as a Commissioner of the FMC since January 2019, and he succeeds Daniel B. Maffei as Chairman. The Chairman is the chief executive and administrative officer of the Commission.“I am humbled by President Trump designating me Chairman and I am grateful for his confidence in my ability to lead the Federal Maritime Commission. There are many ways the Commission contributes to the competitiveness of American businesses, access to foreign markets for U.S. vessels and companies, and economic growth for the Nation.

With the election (largely) settled, we turn our attention to the challenges and opportunities that the new Administration and Congress hold for maritime stakeholders.Maritime Challenges Out (and at) the GatesOn October 3, 2024, the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO (ILA) reached a tentative agreement on wages, extending their Master Contract until January 15, 2024. The tentative agreement reopened ports stretching from Maine to Texas following a three-day strike.

A Norwegian naval officer was found guilty on Monday and sentenced to a two-month suspended jail sentence for negligence leading up to the 2018 collision between a warship he commanded and an oil tanker in which the military vessel sank.Building a replacement for the lost Helge Ingstad frigate would have cost up to 13 billion crowns ($1.24 billion), the armed forces estimated in a 2019 report.The early-morning crash between the Ingstad and the fully loaded Sola TS crude carrier near a major North Sea oil export terminal also triggered shutdowns of parts of Norway's petroleum production.

A Norwegian naval officer on Monday denied negligence leading up to the 2018 collision between a warship he commanded and an oil tanker in which the military vessel sank. Building a replacement for the lost Helge Ingstad frigate would cost up to 13 billion crowns ($1.3 billion), the armed forces estimated in a 2019 report. The early-morning crash between the Ingstad and the fully loaded Sola TS crude carrier near a major North Sea oil export terminal also triggered shutdowns of parts of Norway's petroleum production. There was no leak from the oil tanker.

A Norwegian naval officer stands trial on Monday accused of negligence that led to the 2018 collision between a warship he commanded and an oil tanker in which the military vessel sank. Building a replacement for the lost Helge Ingstad frigate would cost up to 13 billion crowns ($1.3 billion), the armed forces estimated in a 2019 report. The early-morning crash between the Ingstad and the fully loaded Sola TS crude carrier near a major North Sea oil export terminal also triggered shutdowns of parts of Norway's petroleum production. There was no leak from the oil tanker.

A rule change in the United States aims to make it easier for cruise ship passengers to receive refunds after their voyages have been canceled or delayed.The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced on Wednesday it is amending its regulations governing "non-performance" by passenger vessel operators to establish new requirements for when cruise passengers should be provided refunds. The changes define non-performance as canceling a voyage or delaying a voyage by three…

Since early Spring 2020, American consumers have received a practical education in supply chain operations. One lesson is that it takes more than simply going online and clicking a “Buy Now” button for goods to show-up on our front porches. While the networks and systems that deliver commodities from around the globe might have been stretched as a result of COVID-19 related impacts, the men and women who move the freight have worked selflessly and tirelessly to meet consumer and manufacturing demand.Early on in the response to COVID-19…

The cruise industry has certainly been among businesses hardest hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19. But the industry-rocking fallout extends well beyond the cruise lines themselves, extending through cities throughout Florida where canceled sailings are resulting in loss of revenue to public ports, government at all levels, and private companies that do business with cruise lines.These conclusions are contained in the latest Fact Finding 30 report that was released today by Fact Finding Officer Commissioner Louis E. Sola, of the Federal Maritime Commission.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission voted to support a proposal put forward by Fact Finding Officer Commissioner Louis E. Sola that provides limited and temporary relief to small passenger vessel operators whose operations and business have been disrupted by the response to COVID-19.In approving the "Policy Statement on Passenger Vessel Financial Responsibility", which will be published on the Commission's webpage and in the Federal Register in the near future, the FMC determined…

Commissioner Louis E. Sola will lead a fact finding investigation and work with key industry stakeholders to identify commercial measures passenger cruise lines can adopt to mitigate COVID-19 related impacts to this sector of the maritime industry.The Federal Maritime Commission designated Commissioner Sola to serve as the Fact Finding Officer for Fact Finding 30, “COVID-19 Impact on Cruise Industry” in an order issued today.In the course of his investigation, Commissioner Sola…

Salvors used a unique lift method that combined two heavy lift vessels and four cranes to raise a Norwegian frigate that had become partially submerged following a collision with an oil tanker off the coast of Norway in November.On November 8, 2018, Norwegian heavy frigate KNM Helge Ingstad collided with the tanker Sola TS near Bergen, and sank on the inclined slope of a fjord. The accident injured eight people and caused the temporary closure of the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal…

Royal Norwegian Navy conducts an operation to partially raise the sunken vessel HNoMS Helge Ingstad, starting from February 26. The operation is estimated to take five to six days.The Norwegian frigate was involved in a collision with the oil tanker Sola TS just outside the coast northwest of Bergen in western Norway on November 8, 2018. Many operations have been made aiming to prevent the vessel from sinking.The operation has been delayed many times due to weather conditions. In order for the operation to be conducted safely, wind and waves must be calm for the duration of the operartion. "Forecasts indicate that the needed weather window occurs now – and the operation was initiated early morning Tuesday 26 February.

An oil tanker and a Norwegian navy frigate collided off Norway's west coast on Thursday, injuring eight people and triggering the temporary shutdown of a North Sea crude export terminal, Norway's top gas processing plant and several offshore fields.The frigate, which recently took part in a major NATO military exercise, was aground and tilting on one side, live television pictures showed. The Norwegian military was attempting to save the ship."We are working on stabilizing the vessel…

Norway has been forced to close the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and has started closing down the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal — a lifeline of heating gas to Europe — after an early morning collision between a $440-million frigate and an oil tanker.The frigate Helge Ingstad, now listing heavily to its port side, is loaded with torpedoes and weapons systems said to be unstable as a result of the collision. Eight navy personnel are said to be injured, including two flown to regional hospital…

Greece-based Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) said that its 15-vessel newbuilding program is nearing completion with the final three aframax tankers expected to be delivered in the coming months. In the second half of the year, with all vessels delivered and 77% of the fleet on full utilization contracts, TEN's industrial shipping strategy will be at full throttle. In line with the programmed deliveries, in January 2017 the VLCC Hercules I was delivered from Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and was subsequently chartered for a period of up to 18 months. In February and April 2017, the aframax tankers Marathon TS and Sola TS were delivered from Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries, the fifth and sixth in a series of nine aframaxes built against long-term contracts.

Global Consolidators Working Group(GCWG) has urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an arm of the United Nations that regulates shipping safety,  to provide more detail about the much-debated container verification rules, set to be introduced by July 1, according to a report in WSJ. Consolidators say an impending rule demanding certified weights for shipping containers leaves their business boxed out. The Global Consolidators Working Group called for more clarification, both on how the rule will be policed and how each of 170 or so countries will enforce it. The letter, signed by executives from CaroTrans International Inc., Shipco Transport Inc.

IMTRA announced today through its exclusive North American distributorship of Sola-Cure shades — its line of customizable, high-quality and comprehensive solutions for solar shades and blackout blinds. Designed to reduce glare and heat from windows, and provide protection, privacy and security for a wide variety of helm and operator applications, Sola-Cure anti-glare sunscreens and window treatments are offered in three configurations: the Sola-Cure Solar Shade, Luxury Sunfilm, and Luxury Blackout Blinds. Each is offered in several colors and can be easily installed on any size or shape window including inclined or overhead windows.

When the RMS Titanic made its debut in 1912, the ship epitomized everything new and advanced about shipbuilding and construction. It was the largest ship of its day, a steel-jacketed vessel that featured cutting-edge safety measures such as 16 watertight compartments, 15 bulkheads and 11 remotely activated watertight doors. The ship had her own waterworks, an electrical power plant more powerful than the then typical city power plant, and two wireless telegraphs. It was a sight to behold and a technological marvel, cutting a course away from the wood and sails of the shipping past.

Tideland Signal has appointed Seanergy Indian Ocean as agent for its range of aids to marine navigation in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean. With offices on the island of Réunion and in Toamasina/Tamatve, Madagascar, Seanergy Indian Ocean will supply and support the entire Tideland range including buoys, beacons, lanterns and advanced electronic equipment such as racons, AIS, Tideland’s advanced AIS Viewer (TSD) and remote monitoring systems. Dominique Thirel, the company’s General Manager…