Tag: US MARAD

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.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the United States Department of Transportation issued one new advisory to commercial shipping, canceling the earlier ones issued in 2019. Namely, the 2020-002-Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom, cancels the the U.S. Maritime Advisory 2019-010.

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced that found $7.5 million for the investment of nine U.S. marine highway projects. Specifically, the funding will give a boost to the existing services in the states of Florida, South California, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and lastly Washington.

After the death of the Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani by a US drone, the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) officially published an advisory in order to warn the US ships located across the Middle East waterways of the possible Iranian maritime threats. 

The US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) officially announced the funding of $1.5 million in order to boost the conversion of Washington's State Ferry vessel from diesel fueled to hybrid-electric power one.

The US Maritime Administration alerted of GPS interference that has been reported from vessels operating in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea, and Suez Canal resulting to lost GPS signals that seriously affect the vessel's navigation and operations.

The North P&I Club informed that the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) has issued a maritime security advisory for the Red Sea. This comes after a maritime threat has been reported in the Red Sea near Yemen. Vessels are suggested to exercise caution when sailing through this area. 

The US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration informed about the launch of newly-accredited, web-based training courses regarding cargo preference laws and regulations. The courses were created in cooperation with Defense Acquisition University, aiming to boost comprehension of and compliance with cargo preference laws by other federal agencies, supporting contractors, and program participants, such as loan and grant recipients.

An escalating tension in the Persian Gulf over the last months continues to pose serious threats to commercial vessels. Associated with these threats is a potential for miscalculation or misidentification that could lead to aggressive actions, the US MARAD warned.