News Briefs – Page 9 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

U.S., Canada Coast Guards Meet, Talk Joint Mission

The U.S. and Canadian coast guards reaffirmed their commitment to enforcement in the Arctic Ocean on June 7-8 when Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard 17th District, and Neil O’Rourke, assistant commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard Arctic Region, convened in Yellowknife and Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada. The leaders and their staff discussed partnering on matters related to the Canada-U.S. trans-boundary waters of the Beaufort Sea part of the Arctic Ocean, including coordinating search and rescue missions, managing waterways and responding to marine environmental issues. “The two regional leaders signed the newly revised Beaufort Sea…

California Ports, Stakeholders Laud Goods Movement Funding in State Budget

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on June 30 signed the state’s 2023 budget, which includes $2.3 billion in funding for projects that seek to improve the supply chain. Included is $1.2 billion over two years for expanding rail yard expansions, building new bridges and upgrading to zero-emissions equipment; $110 million over three years for a workforce training facility in San Pedro Bay and $159.7 million to buy zero-emission trucks and put in charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure. “We thank the governor and state Legislature for their foresight and responsiveness in including supply chain needs in the budget,” Port of Long Beach…

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to Begin Phasing Out Older Drayage Trucks

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in mid-June announced that its Rolling Truck Age Program goes into effect Sept. 15. The program aims to phase out older container trucks serving the Port of Vancouver, for the benefit of the region’s air quality and local communities’ health. The program will cap the age of container trucks serving the port. Older, diesel-powered trucks are a significant source of particulate matter, which is known to cause cancer. Currently, some of the drayage trucks serving the seaport are more than 20 years old, according to the Port Authority. “The container trucking sector plays a vital…

Feds, West Coast Seaports Offering Agriculture Exporters Financial Relief

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the Commodity Container Assistance Program (CCAP), which includes a partnership with the Port of Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance—the marine cargo operating partnership between the Seattle and Tacoma seaports. Ongoing market disruptions have created logistical challenges associated with the availability and flow of shipping containers to transport agricultural commodities, which has prevented or delayed American-grown agricultural commodities from reaching their markets. “Both the Port of Oakland and the NWSA in Seattle have been identified as key gateways for American-grown agricultural commodities, and each has experienced significant challenges with the…

General Dynamics NASSCO Awarded $600 Million to Support U.S. Navy Ship Construction

San Diego-based shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO confirmed in late June that it has been awarded a $600 million contract by the U.S. Navy to support construction of the seventh and eighth ships in USN’s the John Lewis-class fleet oiler (T-AO) program, as well as the sixth ship in its Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program. The contract modifications for long-lead-time material provide $500 million for T-AO 211 and 212, and $100 million for ESB 8. Construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2023 and continue into 2027. “NASSCO shipbuilders are honored to build T-AO 211, T-AO 212 and…

OpenOceans Global Launches App to Map Coastlines Fouled by Plastic

San Diego-based environmental organization OpenOceans Global on July 10 said that it was launching an online application allowing citizen scientists to map coastlines around the world that are pervasively fouled by plastic. The goal, according to the non-profit, is to visualize where marine plastic ends up, identify the source, and match the best solutions to stop the flow of plastic to the ocean. “Public perception is that most ocean plastic gathers in five gyres in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans,” OpenOceans Global founder Carl Nettleton said. “The surprising truth is that approximately two-thirds of ocean plastic is on the…

Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach Holds Change of Command Ceremony

Capt. Ryan Manning relieved Capt. Rebecca Ore as the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach sector commander during a June 21 change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Base Los Angeles/Long Beach. The ceremony was presided over by Eleventh Coast Guard District Commander Rear Adm. Brian Penoyer. Manning reported to Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach from Coast Guard Activities Europe, where he was the commanding officer. Ore will transfer to Coast Guard Headquarters as the assistant commandant for intelligence. As sector commander, Manning is now in charge of more than 550 active duty, reserve and civilian personnel and 1,200 all-volunteer Coast…

IANA Award Winners Announced

The Intermodal Association of North America on July 13 announced that the winners of its three industry awards will be honored at the annual Intermodal Expo in September. The winners are: the Silver Kingpin Award—Ted Prince; the Chairman’s Award—Jim Newsome; and the Intermodal Achievement Award—Congressman Alan Lowenthal. The recognitions will take place during Intermodal Expo’s opening general session on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Southern California. Prince, the chief strategy officer and co-founder of Tiger Cool Express, was selected to receive the IANA Silver Kingpin Award for his career-long contributions to intermodalism. Prince is a…

Fincantieri Marine Group Announces New CEO

Fincantieri Marine Group, a U.S. subsidiary of Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, announced that general manager Marco Galbiati has been named as the new CEO effective July 6, while former CEO Dario Deste remains the company’s president. Galbiati had been FMG’s general manager since 2018 and in this capacity, had been heavily involved in all aspects of the business and its efforts to grow the workforce in support of important commercial and military contracts. Deste had served as FMG’s president and CEO since 2018, and was recently promoted to lead Fincantieri’s Naval Vessels Division. Galbiati began his business career in 1996…

PMA, ILWU Continue Talks on a New Labor Agreement After Existing Contract Expires

The labor contract between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore & Warehouse Union expired on July 1, but the two sides say that they’re continuing to negotiate a new agreement. The coastwide labor contract is between employers who operate port terminals and shipping lines represented by the PMA and dockworkers represented by the ILWU. The parties have negotiated a West Coast collective bargaining agreement since the 1930s. “Negotiations for a new labor contract covering more than 22,000 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports will continue to move forward as the existing current coast-wide labor agreement expires,” the union and…