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Call for study on the impact of derelict vessels

  US. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) led a bipartisan letter with a number of their colleagues calling for a formal study on the impact of derelict vessels to waterways and coastal communities. In a letter sent to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) led by Senator Cantwell, Representative Kilmer and Senator Wicker, the members urged the agency to conduct a review of how the U.S. is working to stop the threat derelict vessels pose to economies and the environment. Specifically, the Members called for a review of how the United States Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) address abandoned and derelict vessels. The U.S. currently lacks the information required to identify, track, and respond to derelict vessels. Early notification of abandoned vessels is key to protecting our nation’s waterways and preventing disasters that impact businesses, wildlife, and people who recreate and live in communities close to our lakes, rivers, and oceans. In the letter, the Senators and Members of Congress wrote: “Abandoned and derelict vessels pose a direct threat to both the safety of maritime navigation and natural resources.  Derelict vessels block waterways impacting marine transportation and ...

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Panama Canal Expansion to boost US container port traffic by 10%

According to BCG Report Image: East Coast Ports stand to gain 10% additional share of container traffic from East Asia to the US (Image Credit: BCG)Following the Panama Canal expansion in 2016, up to 10 percent of container traffic to the U.S. from East Asia could shift from West Coast ports to East Coast ports by 2020, according to new research conducted by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) andC.H. Robinson. Rerouting that volume is equivalent to building a port roughly double the size of the ports in Savannah and Charleston.The researchwhich involved extensive scenario analyses based on differing levels of demand, capacity, and costsis believed to be the most comprehensive public study of how the canals expansion will likely change the way cargo moves, by both water and land, into and within the U.S. The findings have been released in a report titledWide Open: How the Panama Canal Is Redrawing the Logistics Map.The $5 billion expansion will permanently alter the competitive balance between ports on the East and West coasts. With global container flows rising, West Coast ports will still handle more traffic than they do today, but they will experience lower growth rates and their market share will likely ...

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FMC: LNG bunkering is a potential market for U.S.

  On June 4, 2015, Commissioner William P. Doyle of the Federal Maritime Commission held a roundtable discussion at the suggestion of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA).  Focusing on the topic of liquified natural gas as a marine fuel, Commissioner Doyle brought together a range of key government officials and industry stakeholders across the maritime, energy, transportation sectors. Commissioner Doyle stated, "LNG bunkering is a potential market for America’s natural gas resources. The Federal Maritime Commission’s mission is to foster a fair, efficient and reliable international ocean transportation system. By bringing elements of the maritime industry together with the energy sector, we are beginning a long-term dialogue that should culminate in greater understanding and use of domestic natural gas that is cost-efficient and with significant environmental compliance benefits." The forum highlighted the substantial progress made by U.S.-based marine operators Harvey Gulf Marine, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, and Crowley Maritime who are transitioning to fueling their vessels with LNG. For U.S. operators, these retrofits and new builds take place exclusively in U.S. shipyards. International ocean carriers United Arab Shipping Company and Wallenius Wilhelmsen shared their deep-sea perspective on the choice of fuels. Wallenius Wilhelmsen heads up the Trident Alliance while ...

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Tanker shipping's fortunes rest on US shale oil production

  How much US shale oil production is taken out of service will be a key driver of future tanker shipping earnings, according to the latest edition of the Tanker Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. Tanker operators are pinning their hopes on a rise in US crude oil imports as domestic shale oil extraction becomes increasingly unprofitable. Low oil prices have made crude extraction unprofitable for many US producers, leading to a fall in US rig counts and shrinking exploration and production investment. “Continued expansion of refinery capacity in Asia is likely to maintain growth in the global oil trade over the next five years,” said Rajesh Verma, Drewry’s tanker shipping lead analyst. “But demand from Asia alone will not be sufficient to sustain the improvement in tonnage utilisation. The only alternative source of growth is a recovery in US oil imports, especially when declining European refinery capacity will mean lower import volumes to EU countries.” Following two years of slow growth, the global trade in oil has accelerated over the past nine months due to increased stocking. And Drewry expects this trend to continue through to the end of 2016. However, thereafter we expect the influence of ...

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U.S. Senators introduce legislation to improve ship recycling

  U.S. Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced the Ships to Be Recycled in the States (STORIS) Act, legislation to reform the domestic marine recycling industry. Their legislation would improve the domestic ship recycling industry and promote transparency by requiring reports from Maritime Administration (MARAD) and an audit by the Government Accountability Office. Congressman Garret Graves (R-La.) is introducing the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. “The Maritime Administration receives millions of dollars in federal funding, but they’ve never reported how the sales money is spent or how the agency awards contracts,” Vitter said. “Ship recycling is an important part of our domestic maritime industry, and these reforms would improve federal contracting, cut government waste, and help create jobs in Louisiana.” “Louisiana directly benefits from the Maritime Administration—hundreds work in ship recycling facilities and many state museums receive maritime grants,” said Cassidy. “There have been concerns that the agency receives millions in federal funding but lacks transparency. The STORIS Act will strengthen oversight over the agency and help create more jobs for Louisiana workers.” “Americans expect the federal government to operate in their best interest,” said Graves. “We have found multiple instances where the U.S. ...

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Alaska LNG Project, LLC to export LNG

  The Energy Department announced that it has issued a conditional authorization for the Alaska LNG Project, LLC (Alaska LNG) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. Subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval, Alaska LNG, in the Nikiski Area of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 2.55 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas for a period of 30 years. Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the United States. For countries that do not have an FTA with the United States, the Natural Gas Act directs the Department of Energy to grant export authorizations unless the Department finds that the proposed exports “will not be consistent with the public interest.” The Department considered the Alaska application separately from other currently pending LNG export applications in the lower-48 states due to the relative geographic isolation of the natural gas resources on Alaska’s North Slope. North Slope gas has been a stranded resource unavailable to commercial markets. The project proposed by Alaska LNG ...

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Unified Command responding to cleanup aboard vessel in Alaska

  A Unified Command consisting of representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of the Interior, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, City of Seldovia and the responsible party, formed to respond to a 6,000 gallon diesel fuel discharge into the Gulf of Alaska has completed fuel removal from the damaged tank trailer aboard the motor vessel Thor's Hammer.  Response crews and contractors from Alaska Chadux Corporation removed the 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel remaining in the punctured tank, as well as 28 bags of oily waste collected by the motor vessel Thor's Hammer’s crew. The 6,000 gallons of spilled diesel is no longer recoverable due to weathering and evaporation.  A Western Alaska Captain of the Port Order required the motor vessel Thor's Hammer to remain in Seldovia until the vessel was cleaned and determined to be safe for transit to Homer.  The vessel was later authorized to proceed to Homer where Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Homer personnel are scheduled to conduct a safety examination.  The Captain of the Port Order also required the Thor's Hammer to remain in Homer until determined safe for commercial operation.  The Coast Guard is currently conducting an investigation into the operations of the vessel.  ...

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