News – Page 33 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

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…

New Director Chosen for IMO International Maritime Law Institute

Professor Norman A. Martínez Gutiérrez has been appointed to succeed Professor David Attard as the new Director of the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), based in Malta, the International Maritime Organization revealed July 7. Attard has been IMLI Director for the past 30 years. The announcement was made by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim during IMLI’s Graduation ceremony on July 1. It is expected that Professor Martínez will take the reins of the Institute on Aug. 1. The IMO International Maritime Law Institute was established in 1988, under the auspices of IMO. The Institute’s mission is to enhance capacity-building in…

Nigeria, Shipping Industry Launch Strategy to Curb Gulf of Guinea Maritime Piracy

A coalition of global shipping stakeholders and the Government of Nigeria and have launched a new strategy to end piracy, armed robbery and kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea, the International Chamber of Shipping announced July 11. The newly launched strategy was developed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, Intertanko, Intercargo, Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), and representatives of the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA, together making up the Nigerian Industry Working Group (NIWG). The strategy, according to the ICS, establishes a mechanism to periodically assess the effectiveness of country-piracy initiatives and commitments in the Gulf. “Targeted at…

EBDG-Designed Hybrid-Electric Ferry Enters Construction

Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) announced on July 6 that its design of a hybrid-electric passenger vehicle ferry for Casco Bay Lines of Portland, Maine will enter the construction phase at Senesco Marine of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The 164-foot ferry is expected to replace an existing diesel-powered ferry, the Machigonne II, resulting in a reduction of 800 tons of carbon dioxide each year, helping to improve air quality. EBDG has supported Casco Bay Lines since 2018 as it prepared and planned for the replacement ferry, which is to operate between Portland and Peaks Island, Maine. The contract design,…

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…

Marine Economy Pours Billions Into America’s GDP, Reports Show

Economic reports compiled by two Commerce Department agencies confirm that America’s marine economy continues to pour billions of dollars into the nation’s gross domestic product, albeit tempered by a general economic decline during the first year of the global coronavirus pandemic. Results of the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account released in June by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that amounted to some $361 billion in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. That total represents a 5.8% or $23-billion reduction in real terms, adjusted for inflation, from 2019, outpacing…

Clean Energy Factory to Open at Port of Bellingham

Corvus Energy, a supplier of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for marine applications, has chosen Whatcom County to expand its U.S. operations and plans to open a new factory at the Port of Bellingham, port officials announced in late May. The manufacturing facility, with an annual capacity of 200 MWh of stored energy capacity, would support demand for marine BESS in the Americas as the marine industry accelerates its adoption of decarbonization technology to meet targets for global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, port officials said. “Congratulations to the Port of Bellingham and Corvus Energy on the new facility here…

POLB Executive Director Appointed to National Advisory Committee

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has appointed Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero to the federal Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee, which guides the secretary on strategies to improve the readiness and resiliency of the U.S. supply chain. The appointment was announced in mid-June. The committee is made up of leaders from commercial transportation firms, trade associations, state and local public entities, labor organizations, academia and environmental groups. Cordero, who has led the Port of Long Beach since 2017, will continue in his role at the port. “I thank Secretary Pete Buttigieg for this honor at…