Tag: US

US Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 256 into law, creating a new line of defense against offshore oil and gas drilling. The bipartisan bill makes permanent a moratorium on oil and gas leasing in Oregon’s Territorial Sea that had been set to expire in 2020.

US legislators from the state of Maryland have introduced a bill that would allow at least 1,200MW of additional offshore wind capacity to be built by 2030. If passed, the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019 (S.B. 516) would require 50% of energy supply to come from renewable energy sources by 2030.

US Senator Dan Sullivan introduced the Spill Response and Prevention Surety Act, legislation to modify and permanently reauthorize the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The move coincides with the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the tanker Exxon Valdez.

International container rates finish in March with small but important increase in European import and export activity, along with increased Far East imports and a continuous development in US exports. Xeneta's  latest XSI® Public Indices report builds on the positive rates development recorded which effectively halted a decline underway since August 2018. 

The Port of Corpus Christi approved a 50-year lease agreement with Lone Star Ports, a joint venture between the Carlyle Group and the Berry Group, for about 200 acres on Harbor Island to develop a new petroleum export terminal. The facility will connect US crude producers with all major international markets. The facility on Harbor Island is planned to be the deepest-draft safe harbor crude export facility in the US.

The US Coast Guard published an alert for towboats, warning them for very strong currents at the Lower Mississippi River. Namely, three marine casualties led to the sinking of towing vessels, while one of them resulted in a fatality. USCG says that it is vital for vessel operators to provide a wide berth when maneuvering around any other vessel or object.

Although US coal consumption has generally declined since its 2008 peak, EIA expects that US coal exports reached 116 million short tons (MMst) in 2018, the highest level in five years, according to data collected by the US Census Bureau.

US President Donald Trump announced on March 22 that he lifted sanctions on two Chinese freight forwarders that were accused of trading illegally with North Korea. The US Treasure had imposed large scale sanctions on these companies, which would be added to the already existing sanctions. However, Mr. Trump intervened to withdraw them.

The previous week, US Customs and Border Protection seized a million pounds of illegally-smuggled Chinese pork at Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, part of the busy Port Authority of New York and New Jersey complex. 

A multi-agency examination of imported shipping containers, led by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), netted 1,185 pounds of cocaine at the Port of Philadelphia, Tuesday.