Tag: US MARAD

MARAD announced the designation of six new Marine Highway Projects and a new Marine Highway Route as part of the America’s Marine Highway Program.

US MARAD announced the availability of $10,819,000 in grant funding for America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP), aiming to encourage the use of America’s 25,000 miles of navigable waterways and reduce CO2 emissions in the US transportation system. 

The US MARAD issued an advisory on December 14 concerning vessels operating in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, warning that Yemen remains a risk for commercial vessels.

Ships have reported an increasing number of cases of significant GPS interference and jamming in recent months. The geographic areas with more than one reported incident include the eastern and central Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, and multiple Chinese ports.

Multiple instances of significant GPS interference have been reported worldwide in the maritime domain, says US MARAD.

The US Maritime Administration issued an updated advisory concerning piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which will be implemented from January 14, 2020 to July 12, 2020. US MARAD advises that all suspicious activities and events must be reported to the U.S. Coast Guard National Response Center at 800-424-8802 in accordance with 33 CFR 101.305.

The US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded more than $280 million in discretionary grant funding through the new Port Infrastructure Development Program. This funding is designed to improve port facilities at or near coastal seaports.

The world's first nuclear-powered merchant vessel "N.S. Savannah" set sail from Philadelphia and is returning back to Baltimore. According to the Maritime Administration, the vessel was under maintenance at Northeast Ship Repair of Philadelphia.

Knowing exactly where you’re sailing and where to sail next is the most important part of a vessel’s navigation which can be accomplished by the use of GPS. Yet, what happens when your GPS gets spoofed? GPS spoofing, often leading to GPS outages, causes major disruptions to the shipping industry impacting safe navigation, leading to paralyzed shipping lanes, collisions and untraceable attacks.

With coronavirus crisis in China spreading ahead, shipping industry must be ready to face a possible infection of crewmembers, considering quarantine and closures, while be prepared for charterparty issues. In light of the situation, Hill Dickinson law firm outlined major issues that shipowners may have to deal with, based on previous outbreaks such as SARS and Ebola.