Campaign starts Sept. 2012 to inspect general safety conditions of Chinese container carriers (<3000 gt) plying Guandong & Hong Kong waters.The Hong Kong Marine Department will join Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration (GDMSA) and Shenzhen…
On June 27, I testified on behalf of the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) before the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee at a hearing that questioned the Administration’s skirting of the Jones Act during last summer’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) drawdown…
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) express disappointment at Court's E15 fuel decision.The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) said it was “disappointed” by a US court of appeals decision to dismiss its lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)…
Ship and crew managers have welcomed the ratification of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 which is set to protect the rights of millions of seafarers when it comes into force in August next year. “Establishing minimum standards for the…
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) are united in welcoming the news that the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) will enter into force in just 12 months’ time, in August 2013…
IADC Criticizes BSEE Policy for Citing Drilling ContractorsThe International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) say they are gravely concerned with the Interim Policy Document issued this week by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)…
An important decision affecting vicarious liability for Jones Act employers for the acts of their employees was issued August 14, 2012 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision, an action against Hercules Drilling Company represented by LeBlanc Bland…
The first jet boat drivers in the country to be licensed under a change to maritime rules receive their licenses in Queenstown.The New Zealand jet boating industry has 42 operators carrying more than 370,000 passengers a year. Associate…
The International Longshore & Warehouse Union ILWU file a federal lawsuit against the Port of Portland & Bill Wyatt, its Executive Director.The ILWU filed a federal lawsuit against the Port of Portland and Bill Wyatt, its Executive Director…
ION Geophysical Corporation announce verdict on marine survey streamer control system, vow to overturn it.ION Geophysical Corporation announce the jury returned a verdict against Ion in a patent infringement lawsuit filed against them by WesternGeco L…
The Federal Aviation Administration has again ruled that the Cape Wind wind farm off the Massachusetts coast poses no hazard to local airplanes.According to source WSLS10, a federal appeals court had ordered the agency to reconsider its previous finding…
Attorney for a Maine shipyard worker accused of setting a fire that caused $400 million in damage seeks to avoid grand jury indictment.Prosecutors say Casey James Fury, 24, of Portsmouth, N.H., confessed to setting a fire in May that damaged the Miami at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard…
More Charges for Alleged Somali Pirates Indicted for Attack of the USS Ashland. A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia has returned a second superseding indictment, charging five men from Somalia with engaging in piracy…
China initiates a trial program in Shanghai designed to help the nation’s beleaguered shipowners.Under the new policy by the Ministry of Transport, ships leased by shipping companies from financing firms could be regarded as part of the owner’s…
Government of Panama approves canal tolls increases effective Ocober 2012.The Government of Panama has approved the proposal to restructure and apply selective increases in the Panama Canal pricing system, effective from 1 October 2012 to 1 October 2013…