From the Editor – Pacific Maritime Magazine

02 Apr

From the Editor: The Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

During the early morning hours of March 26, a 10,000-TEU capacity containership, the Singapore-flagged Dali, suffered a complete power loss, resulting in the massive vessel crashing into a support beam for the Francis Scott Key Bridge near the Port of Baltimore. The cause of the outage is still under investigation, but the allision resulted in the deaths of six construction workers who had been on the bridge repairing potholes at the time, as well as the total loss of the bridge itself. Part of the 1.6-mile bridge was turned into a twisted heap of metal by the 984-foot Maersk-chartered cargo…

05 Mar

From the Editor: California’s AB 2220

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

The future of some commercial marine activities in California is now in doubt, following legislation proposed by a state Assemblymember in February that would restrict certain types of fishing in state waters. Assembly Bill 2220 would do three things: completely ban commercial fishing for sea bass, eliminating current exceptions; ban the use of gill nets, also eliminating current exceptions, and mandate that commercial fishing vessels operating with a state permit carry an independent third-party observer onboard while operating within state fisheries. If passed and signed into law, the proposed legislation, which was drafted by Assemblyman Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), could have…

06 Feb

From the Editor: Panama Canal Update

Mark Edward NeroColumns, Editorial, From the Editor, News

A few months ago, I wrote a column detailing how the Panama Canal has been affected by drought, and how vessel traffic through the shipping route has been adversely impacted by it. If you missed that column and aren’t familiar with the ongoing situation, here’s a summary: according to climate scientists, Panama experienced its worst drought in over two decades last year, even though the country’s rainy season, which lasts from May through December. Typically, the country experiences anywhere from 8.4 inches to 27.5 inches of rain during the last seven months of the year, but fell well short of…

02 Jan

From the Editor: 2024

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs

Happy New Year! As 2024 gets into full swing, we here at Pacific Maritime Magazine hope that the year will be a very pleasant and prosperous year for you, your loved ones and your colleagues. Here at PMM home base, we’ve been cooking up some special content to publish throughout the upcoming year, and I’d like to take a moment to tell you about some of it. If you subscribe to the print edition of Pacific Maritime, you’ve probably already seen some of our 2024 content by now. In the magazine’s January/February issue, which was mailed out in December, articles…

05 Dec

From the Editor: Decarbonizing Global Maritime Transport

Mark Edward NeroEditorial, From the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

The maritime goods transport industry’s slow-paced shift away from fossil fuels usage took a symbolic step forward in early December, when the CEOs of some of the world’s leading global shipping lines issued a joint declaration calling for an end date for fossil-only powered newbuilds. In their statement, the CEOs also urged the global regulator International Maritime Organization (IMO), to create the regulatory conditions to accelerate the transition to green fuels. “Being at the forefront of introducing lower greenhouse gas emission ships underscores the CEOs’ commitment to the IMO GHG reduction objectives,” according to a statement released Dec. 1 by…

07 Nov

From the Editor: Printing Spare Parts

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

Could 3D printing spare parts soon become commonplace in the maritime shipping industry? There’s a very interesting story recently published by Forbes magazine that indicates that it might be. According to the article, marine industry supply chain and distribution company Thyssenkrupp Materials Services has “invested substantially” in 3D printing technology and has been using it to manufacture critical spare parts faster and cheaper than traditional manufacturing. The company has even dropped 3D-printed parts onto a vessel from a drone, the article states. A huge leap forward when it comes to 3D printing for the maritime industry came in October, when…

12 Sep

Drought & the Panama Canal

Pacific MaritimeFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

Panama is typically one of the wetter countries in the world due to its tropical climate, but a very unusual occurrence is affecting the Panama Canal during the current rainy season: a severe drought. The drought has already slowed vessel traffic to the U.S. West Coast and is threatening to have an effect on the current peak shipping season, when goods are shipped to North America from Asia in time to be on store shelves for holiday season shopping. Here’s the situation: according to climate scientists, Panama is experiencing its worst drought in over two decades, even though the country…

08 Aug

From the Editor: Protecting Maritime & Industrial Lands

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

The city of Seattle recently took steps to ensure that its working waterfront will remain the domain of maritime and industrial uses for the foreseeable future and not become the location of large retailers or storage facilities. The new legislation may eventually become a blueprint for other cities with both waterfronts and a housing crunch to follow. On July 25, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the Maritime and Industrial Strategy into law following its unanimous passage by the City Council the week prior. The package of legislation represents the first major update to the city’s industrial land use policy in…

13 Jun

From the Editor: National & International?

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs

As you may know if you’ve been reading the print edition of Pacific Maritime over the last couple of years, each issue of the magazine contains an international news section in its back half, usually around pages 44-45. But since the number of physical issues of the magazine that come out each year has evolved, it has me wondering if we should also make another change, and I’d like your input, if you’re willing to give it. Although the magazine’s International Report is chock full of useful and interesting information, I’ve begun to wonder if we should also occasionally run…

16 May

From the Editor: Rest in Peace, Rick

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News

On May 10, the Port of Long Beach announced that its former deputy executive director, Richard D. Cameron had passed away. Rick, as most people knew him, worked at the POLB for more than 24 years before resigning in March. He first joined the port in 1996 as an environmental specialist and steadily worked his way up the career ladder before being promoted to managing director of the port’s environmental planning division in January 2014, a position where he oversaw the Planning and Environmental Affairs Bureau, including environmental and transportation planning. Then, in August 2018, he was named to the…