Maritime News – Page 7 – Professional Mariner

27 Feb

MarAd advisory: Black Sea attacks, collateral damage

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsMarAd, Security, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in late February 2022, commercial vessels have reportedly been struck by projectiles and experienced explosions in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. There have also been reports of moored and drifting naval mines. • NATO Shipping Center – Risk of collateral damage in the northwestern, western and southwest Black Sea…

26 Feb

Polar Star handles fast ice, wraps up Antarctic mission

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsIcebreaking, Licensing and training, U.S. Coast Guard

(SOUTHERN OCEAN) — The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) and crew departed McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Feb. 12 after operating for 51 days below the Antarctic Circle in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2024. Polar Star and crew broke a 38-mile channel through fast ice to create a navigable route for vessels to reach McMurdo Station and…

23 Feb

Understanding the IMO’s new guidance on biofouling

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsbiofouling, Environment, shipping

(ARENDAL, Norway) — The revised International Maritime Organization (IMO) Biofouling Guidelines came into force in 2023 and provide updated guidance on how to prevent the spread of marine invasive species. Here are the key recommendations. Marine invasive species infestations are a major threat to the world’s oceans and to the conservation of biodiversity. They can be triggered by marine hull…

23 Feb

Coast Guard program aims to protect Salish Sea whales

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsEnvironment, shipping, U.S. Coast Guard

(SEATTLE) — U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound has introduced a four-year pilot program to mitigate adverse impacts of vessel traffic on endangered and threatened whales in the Salish Sea. The program will receive reports of whale sightings by mariners via the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) and provide near real-time data about the location of whales to mariners…

22 Feb

U.N. group details toll on trade from Red Sea attacks

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsSecurity, shipping

(GENEVA) — The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released “Navigating Troubled Waters: Impact to Global Trade of Disruption of Shipping Routes in the Red Sea, the Black Sea and the Panama Canal,” detailing how attacks have severely affected shipping through the Suez Canal, added to existing geopolitical and climate-related challenges, and are reshaping the world's trade…

21 Feb

New format coming for merchant mariner credentials

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, UncategorizedLicensing and training

(MARTINSBURG, W.Va.) — On March 1, the U.S. Coast Guard will begin issuing merchant mariner credentials (MMCs) in a new format. This new mariner credential will replace the legacy passport-style red book and associated endorsement labels. The complexity and degraded reliability of the custom printers used to print the MMC books necessitated a change to the credential printing process. The…

21 Feb

MarAd alert: Potential port equipment vulnerabilities

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPorts, Security

(WASHINGTON) — This advisory from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) seeks to alert maritime stakeholders of potential vulnerabilities to maritime port equipment, networks, operating systems, software and infrastructure. Foreign companies manufacture, install and maintain port equipment that creates vulnerabilities to global maritime infrastructure information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems. In the past few years, the U.S. government has…

19 Feb

AWO, WCI take industry concerns to Capitol Hill

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsbrownwater, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — The American Waterways Operators (AWO) teamed up with the Waterways Council Inc. (WCI) on Capitol Hill last week to support the 2024 WCI Fly-In. AWO President and CEO Jennifer Carpenter and Vice President of Legislative Affairs Craig Montesano led teams that met with House and Senate staff to advance industry requests for the Water Resources Development Act and…

14 Feb

January cargo, imports up sharply at Port of Long Beach

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPorts, shipping

(LONG BEACH, Calif.) — Trade moving through the Port of Long Beach rose in January as retailers stocked up ahead of lunar new year, when East Asian factories typically close for up to two weeks. Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 674,015 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, up 17.5 percent from January 2023. Imports increased 23.5 percent to 325,339 TEUs…

14 Feb

Shippers investing $120 million into Great Lakes fleet

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipbuilding, shipping

(CLEVELAND) — The annual process of maintaining the U.S.-flagged fleet of “lakers” on the Great Lakes began in mid-January after the navigational locks connecting Lake Superior to the lower lakes closed for repairs. U.S. companies will invest more than $120 million into their vessels, bringing skilled labor to shipyards and repair facilities around the Great Lakes states. The state receiving…