shipping – Professional Mariner

18 Jun

Long Beach cargoes drop in May as tariffs bite

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPorts, shipping

(LONG BEACH, Calif.) — Trade moving through the Port of Long Beach declined 8.2 percent in May due to tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, but a temporary pause on those fees will likely trigger a cargo surge by late June. Dockworkers and terminal operators processed 639,160 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in May, down 8.2 percent from the same month last year.…

18 Jun

Boxship first to ‘plug in’ at Tacoma’s Husky Terminal

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsEnvironment, Ports, shipping, Shore power

(TACOMA, Wash.) — The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has announced the completion of shore power at Husky Terminal in Tacoma. On June 15, the terminal welcomed Hapag-Lloyd’s Kuala Lumpur Express as its inaugural shore power plug-in, a significant step in NWSA’s drive toward emission reductions throughout the gateway. Kuala Lumpur Express is a part of the new Gemini Cooperation in…

16 Jun

MarAd alert: Potential threat to shipping near Iran

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsMarAd, Maritime alerts, safety, Security, shipping

Threat type: Potential retaliatory strikes by Iranian forces Geographic area: Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Arabian Sea (WASHINGTON) — At approximately 0100 UTC on June 13, Israel commenced military strikes against targets in Iran. Due to the now heightened tensions in this region, U.S.-flagged commercial vessels operating throughout this region are strongly encouraged to maintain close…

16 Jun

Wiernicki receives Silver Bell Award for service and safety

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry Newssafety, shipping

(NEW YORK) — Christopher J. Wiernicki, chairman and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), received the 2025 Silver Bell Award on Thursday for lifelong service and outstanding leadership in the maritime industry. The award is presented by the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI), SCI is a nearly 200-year-old charity headquartered in New York that serves and protects the personal…

11 Jun

Lakes to receive ‘historic’ funding for navigation work

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, shipping, Towboats and towing, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

(WASHINGTON) — In late May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its final navigation work plan for fiscal year 2025. The plan outlines resources that will be used for dredging, structure maintenance, and other priorities at every port in the United States. A summary/funding analysis of Great Lakes provisions can be found here. Amounts shown in black are spending…

05 Jun

Mississippi River’s value in spotlight at FreightWeekSTL

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towingbrownwater, shipping

(ST. LOUIS) — The outlook for commodities and the barge industry was front and center Thursday during a virtual FreightWeekSTL panel session hosted by the St. Louis Regional Freightway. Ken Eriksen, managing member and strategic adviser at Polaris Analytics & Consulting, highlighted the economic value of the Mississippi River Ship Channel and its significance to the freight industry and the…

05 Jun

Crew rescued as vehicle carrier burns off Alaska

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

UPDATE: (KODIAK, Alaska) — The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing its response to a vessel fire approximately 340 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska, on Friday. A Coast Guard HC-130J Super Hercules air crew from Air Station Kodiak conducted an overflight of the cargo ship Morning Midas on Wednesday and observed the vessel was still on fire. Currently, there are no…

03 Jun

DNV: Aging fleet drives surge in casualty incidents

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, safety, shipping

(HOVIK, Norway) — According to DNV’s latest report, "Maritime Safety Trends 2014-2024 – Preparing for Future Risks," the number of maritime safety incidents increased by 42 percent between 2018 and 2024, while during the same period the global fleet grew by just 10 percent. Driven mainly by an aging fleet and machine damage/failure, the findings highlight the risks connected with…

30 May

PORTS sensors to boost safety for Honolulu mariners

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsNavigation, safety, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — The Physical Oceanographic Real-time System, or PORTS, is now operational at Pearl Harbor-Honolulu, Hawaii. Installed by the National Ocean Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), data from the new publicly available observation system advances NOAA’s ability to better serve Hawaii’s coastal communities and secure maritime safety in the Pacific islands. Pearl Harbor-Honolulu PORTS is…

16 May

Grain paces increase in Seaway cargoes through April

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

(OTTAWA, Ontario) — The first tonnage statistics for 2025 have been reported by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., and thus far the 67th navigation season is showing a year-over-year increase in overall traffic. As of the end of April, total traffic reached 4.5 million tonnes, representing a 3.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024. Grain and…