United States News

The bipartisan, bicameral bill will fuel U.S. economy, strengthen national security by responding to China’s threat over the oceans. Currently, the number of U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce is 80; China has 5,500.Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-8), and Representative Trent Kelly (R-MS-1) introduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, comprehensive legislation to revitalize the United States shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries.

Bisso Towboat Co., Inc. officially christened the M/V Mr. Brian on December 5, 2024, on the Mississippi River while docked at Woldenburg Riverfront Park at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.The Mr. Brian is a 100’ x 38’ x 13.5’ ASD Tractor Tugboat and was officially christened with a bottle breaking at 5:00 pm followed by a reception at the Audubon Aquarium - River Terrace Room.The Mr. Brian is named after Brian Cyprowski, who is the Bisso Towboat Vice President of Operations and a member of the company's executive team. Brian has been with the company for 37 years.

Corvus Energy has been selected as the supplier of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for Statue City Cruises’ ferries servicing the iconic Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island routes in New York Harbor.Corvus Energy ESS will be integrated aboard Statue City Cruises’ current fleet of nine ferries and will reduce fuel consumption and emissions along the New York/New Jersey waterfront.Since 2008, Statue City Cruises, which is part of Hornblower’s City Experiences portfolio, has been the…

You would be hard pressed to find a corporate leader more passionate about the company they lead; more dedicated to the customer they serve. In this case it’s George Whittier, CEO, Fairbanks Morse Defense and the U.S. Navy. Upon his return less than five years ago, Whittier has driven FMD towards the top of the U.S. Navy supply heap, with a string of strategic acquisitions. Whittier discusses with Maritime Matters: The Marinelink Podcast, FMD’s rich history and promising future in helping the U.S.

Stowaways are an ongoing issue for the security of ships and the safety of crew members, as well as incurring substantial associated costs for shipowners and insurers. Worldwide, information about stowaways is incomplete and incidents are under-recorded, but the financial cost per incident is known to be rising, costing the industry millions of US dollars every year. In recent years, increasing global migration by sea has meant that encountering people in difficulty in small or…

The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions that the Treasury Department said targeted Pyongyang's financial activities and military support to Moscow.The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest U.S. measure aimed at disrupting North Korea's support to Russia's war in Ukraine.The North Korean banks targeted include Golden Triangle Bank and Korea Mandal Credit Bank…

Finland will replace one of its eight existing icebreakers with a new vessel to secure open routes in the Baltic Sea year round, the Finnish government said on Monday.The announcement followed the signing of an "ICE Pact" last month, a deal between the United States, Canada and Finland to jointly advance their Arctic and polar icebreaker development in order to counter Russia and China in increasingly strategic polar regions.Navigable maritime routes are crucial for Finland's foreign trade…

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has released an interim staff memorandum providing an update on the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the United States Coast Guard (USCG) following allegations of pervasive sexual assault and misconduct.The memorandum details how the USCG concealed “Operation Fouled Anchor” from Congress, failed to address both historic and persistent sexual misconduct at the USCG Academy, and neglected to help victims and hold perpetrators…

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to back the anti-automation stance of some 45,000 union dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, whose labor talks are at an impasse over that polarizing issue.The ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group are facing a Jan. 15 deadline to finalize talks, which stalled over automation. That cutoff comes just five days before Trump's inauguration.The ILA says automation kills jobs while employers say it is necessary to keep U.S.

Maersk expects global trade growth rising as much as 7% next year, bolstered by strong demand from the United States where a potential port strike and tariffs on foreign-made goods loom, an executive at the global carrier said on Wednesday."We predict anywhere between 5 and 7% (growth) overall," Charles van der Steene, regional president for North America at Maersk, told Reuters. "And at this stage, there's nothing that would indicate that it could not be the case," he said on the sidelines of the Reuters NEXT conference.Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and "resilient" demand from U.S.

Taiwan's defense ministry on Thursday closed an emergency response center opened earlier this week in response to what it said were stepped up Chinese military activities nearby, likely signaling an end to Beijing's maneuvers.Taiwan's defense ministry on Monday went on the alert and activated the center after reporting a large rise in Chinese military activity, both around the island and more broadly in the East and South China Seas.China's military has made no announcement about any drills taking place.

Zelim, an Edinburgh-based maritime safety innovator, has appointed a former Commander of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Matthew Mitchell to lead its U.S. office as part of the strategy to open new markets for its man-overboard and security threat detection and recovery technologies.Commander Matthew Mitchell, who has 20 years’ service with the USCG, most recently as head of search and rescue and policy, joins Zelim as Director of Search and Rescue to lead the newly incorporated…

JA Moody, a maritime supplier of fluid control valves, actuators, strainers, parts and services to the United States Navy and Commercial Marine industry, today announced a strategic partnership and investment from New Heritage Capital ("Heritage"), a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in founder-owned businesses.The investment was structured using Heritage's Private IPO solution, which preserves operational control for JA Moody's management while providing capital for accelerated growth.

U.S. net crude oil imports are forecast to fall by 20% next year to 1.9 million barrels per day, their lowest since 1971, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, pointing to higher U.S. production and lower refinery demand.The EIA expects the United States to produce 13.52 million bpd in 2025, up from 13.24 million bpd in 2024, it said in its December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Meanwhile refiners are set to process 16 million bpd of crude oil in 2025, down by 200…

TraPac Oakland, a container terminal operator in California, has selected Liebherr for the supply of two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, marking the company’s first shipment to United States’ West Coast.The cranes boast a 66-meter (216-foot) outreach, a 53-meter (173.83-foot) lift height, and a span of 30.48 meters (100 feet).With a lifting capacity of 66 long tonnes in twin-lift mode, they have been designed for high-capacity handling, making them suitable for servicing the world’s…

The Federal Maritime Commission is closing one of its two investigations of how Canadian ballast water regulations impact shipping in the Great Lakes, but the remaining investigation will continue to permit the agency to assess if Canadian government policies create unfavorable conditions affecting U.S. flagged vessels operating in the U.S.-Canada trade.The Commission published Notice in the Federal Register that it is closing its Investigation into Conditions Affecting United…

The Philippines held maritime drills with the United States and Japan inside its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, its military said on Friday, two days after a maritime confrontation with Beijing around a disputed shoal.The drills, which brought together a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft, Philippine Navy ship BRP Andres Bonifacio and a C-90 small plane, and Japan's Murasame-class destroyer JS Samidare, are the Philippines' latest round of exercises with allies…

The first jacket foundation for the substation of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project has departed from the Danish Port of Esbjerg and is on its way to the United States to be installed at the country’s largest offshore wind farm.The first of three offshore jacket foundations, standing 60-meter-tall and weighing approximately 2,445.6 tonnes, has been shipped from the production site at the Port of Esbjerg where it was manufactured.The jacket foundation will serve…

Japan and the Philippines signed a 1.6 billion yen ($10.65 million) security assistance deal on Thursday to boost the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security and surveillance abilities amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.Both the Philippines and Japan, two of the United States' closest Asian allies, have taken a strong line against what they see as aggressive behavior by Chinese vessels amid decades-old disputes over maritime sovereignty.Japan will provide the Philippine…

Each year, as we prepare for the largest U.S. based maritime industry conference in New Orleans, we tend to look back on the state of the industry and initiatives that were announced from the conference that took place the year before. 2023 provided us with plenty to talk about. In September of 2023, while the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the global shipbuilding industry were fixated on “emissions” and alternative fuels, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro held the opening meeting of the Government Shipbuilders Council.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, met with President Trump’s nominee to serve as the next Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.During the meeting, the two exchanged views on a range of critical national defense topics, including the military challenge posed by the Chinese Communist Party, continued instability in Europe, and the growing threats of adversaries such as China, North Korea, and Iran.Senator Wicker expressed his view that the United States faces the most dangerous national security moment since World War II.

Spoiler Alert: we already know what to do. Some of it just isn’t physically possible. Help isn’t going to come from South Korea.Just two days following Donald Trump’s historic election victory, positioning him to become just the second U.S. President to be elected twice, in separate, non-following terms, the headlines curiously turned to shipbuilding. Which is a nice thing, since the average American thinks very little about that industry on a daily basis. Digging deeper, it seems that America’s once dominant shipbuilding industry needs help…

The United States will provide $12.5 million to Vietnam to enhance its maritime law enforcement capabilities and combat illegal fishing, the U.S. embassy in Hanoi said on Thursday.The assistance package includes support for Vietnamese maritime law enforcement agencies, the donation of small boats and the development of training facilities, it said.Vietnam's neighbors and trade partners have urged it for years to take greater action against illegal fishing practices, including…