Congress finalizes funds for key Great Lakes interests

Congress finalizes funds for key Great Lakes interests

(WASHINGTON) — Five months after the beginning of the fiscal year, Congress unveiled its final spending plan for a handful of government agencies Sunday. These include programs of critical importance to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry. How did we get here? As a reminder, the federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30 of…
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33 shippers hailed for slowing to reduce whale strikes

33 shippers hailed for slowing to reduce whale strikes

(WASHINGTON) — Thirty-three shipping companies have received awards for reducing speeds last year in the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program. The voluntary incentive program ran May 1 through Dec. 15 to reduce fatal ship strikes to endangered whales, and to reduce air pollution, regional greenhouse gas emissions and underwater noise. Vessels from participating companies transited at 10 knots…
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MarAd advisory: Black Sea attacks, collateral damage

MarAd advisory: Black Sea attacks, collateral damage

(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…
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NAMEPA, shipper connect Texas students with mariners

NAMEPA, shipper connect Texas students with mariners

(WESTON, Conn.) — The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) has included NYK Bulkship Atlantic’s Atlantic Elm in its Adopt A Ship program, with the ship communicating with the students at Texas City High School. The Adopt A Ship program fosters a unique educational experience for students as they track the vessel’s progress and learn firsthand about life at…
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Understanding the IMO’s new guidance on biofouling

Understanding the IMO’s new guidance on biofouling

(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…
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Coast Guard program aims to protect Salish Sea whales

Coast Guard program aims to protect Salish Sea whales

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

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

(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…
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January cargo, imports up sharply at Port of Long Beach

January cargo, imports up sharply at Port of Long Beach

(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…
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Shippers investing $120 million into Great Lakes fleet

Shippers investing $120 million into Great Lakes fleet

(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…
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Waterfront employers provide update on U.S. supply chain

Waterfront employers provide update on U.S. supply chain

(WASHINGTON) — The National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) on Monday sent a letter to Neera Tanden, domestic policy adviser to President Biden and director of the administration’s Domestic Policy Center, providing an update on the current state of the U.S. maritime supply chain ahead of the State of the Union Address on March 7. The letter provides the administration…
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