From the Editor: Oil Spill Aftermath
07 Mar

From the Editor: Oil Spill Aftermath

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News
The massive oil spill that accidentally dumped tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil in the waters off the Southern California coast in October 2021 may have been cleaned up and forgotten about by some, but the ramifications continue to be felt by shipping companies involved in the incident. Case in point: on March 1, the oil pipeline’s owner, Texas-based Amplify Energy, said that it had reached a $96 million settlement with various parties over the spill. The oil company has maintained that as a result of negligent conduct, an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged from…
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From the Editor: Coming Soon in Pacific Maritime Magazine
07 Feb

From the Editor: Coming Soon in Pacific Maritime Magazine

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, PMM Online News
This is just a brief reminder that the next print edition of Pacific Maritime is out this month, and it’s an issue that’s chock full of useful information. In case you somehow missed the news, the print edition of Pacific Maritime now comes out every other month; the next issue, carrying a cover date of March/April, should be hitting mailboxes starting in mid-February. Among the stories in the magazine are a regional update recounting what a wild ride 2022 was for California’s major seaports, as well as an article detailing recent technological advances when it comes to spill response and…
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From the Editor: The Infiltration of MSC
10 Jan

From the Editor: The Infiltration of MSC

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News
One of the dark underbellies of the maritime shipping industry that no one likes to talk about is smuggling. But the weekly magazine Bloomberg Businessweek has taken on the problem head-on in an expose detailing how one of the biggest goods shippers in the world, MSC – Mediterranean Shipping Company – was infiltrated in recent years by Balkan gangs engaging in vast amounts of drug smuggling. In recent years, officials have found that multiple MSC vessels were carrying drugs, and a $100 million ship, the Gayane, was seized by authorities after finding $1 billion worth of cocaine onboard. This information…
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From the Editor: Happy New Year
03 Jan

From the Editor: Happy New Year

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News
Hello and Happy New Year, This is just a reminder that starting the first week of January, the Pacific Maritime Online newsletter is going from a twice a week schedule to being sent out on just Tuesdays. Among the reasons for this is to align the digital newsletter more closely with two of PacMar Online’s sister publications, Professional Mariner Online and Fishermen’s News Online, which each generate newsletters once a week. (Another of our sister publications, Ocean Navigator, has a monthly newsletter, FYI.) With the PacMar Online newsletter becoming a weekly, each edition will contain five stories, rather than four…
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From the Editor: A Note About Upcoming Changes
02 Dec

From the Editor: A Note About Upcoming Changes

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs
Hello, I wanted to take a moment to let you know about some upcoming changes coming to the print and online editions of Pacific Maritime. First, the big news is that PacMar is switching to a bimonthly printing schedule in 2023. This means that the next issue of the magazine will be cover dated January/February, rather than just January. The plan is to publish six issues in 2023 – one every other month – plus an annual in late summer/early fall that focuses on port facilities, repair facilities, shipyards, intermodal yards and related maritime entities. The reduction in the number…
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From the Editor: Pacific Coast Partnership
11 Oct

From the Editor: Pacific Coast Partnership

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News
The governors of three U.S. Pacific Coast states and British Columbia’s premier gathered in San Francisco recently to sign an agreement that looks like it could result in additional environmental initiatives being launched at West Coast ports. California Governor Gavin Newsom, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier John Horgan signed the Pacific Coast Collaborative Statement of Cooperation on Oct. 6. The Statement of Cooperation (SOC) promotes collaboration between the four regional governments on accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, investing in climate infrastructure like electric vehicle charging stations and a clean electric grid,…
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From the Editor: Goodbye, Mike Conroy
07 Oct

From the Editor: Goodbye, Mike Conroy

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, News Briefs, PMM Online News
I’d like to take a moment to bid a fond adieu to Mike Conroy, who spent a number of years as the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) and its sister organization, the Institute for Fisheries Resources. Also, as most longtime readers of Pacific Maritime’s sister publication, Fishermen’s News, know, Mike wrote the PCFFA’s monthly Fishermen’s News column after he became the organization’s executive director. Not only his columns were always well thought out, they delved into issues that typically weren’t covered elsewhere in the pages of this magazine, or anywhere else, for that matter. In September, Mike left…
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From the Editor: Terminal Blockades
06 Sep

From the Editor: Terminal Blockades

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News Briefs, PMM Online News
In mid-August, the Port of Oakland announced that its monthly loaded container volumes dropped 28% as compared to the same month in 2021. The reason for the dip? According to the port, it was a nearly week-long protest at the port during July that virtually shuttered each of the port’s container terminals. During the protests, which began July 18 and ended July 23, the port’s shipping terminals were effectively shut down. Specifically, the port said that protestors blocked and slowed traffic, particularly trucks, that were attempting to enter and leave the container shipping facilities located at the port’s inner and…
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From the Editor: Arctic Commitment
05 Aug

From the Editor: Arctic Commitment

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, PMM Online News
Over the years, the Arctic has gradually begun to play a more important role when it comes to the shipping of goods between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and now a couple of elected officials are trying to ensure that the role in it by one of America’s biggest geopolitical adversaries is minimized. Two U.S. senators have put forward legislation that they say would eliminate Russia’s monopoly on Arctic shipping by establishing a permanent U.S. maritime presence in the region. The bill, known as the Arctic Commitment Act, was introduced Aug. 3 by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). It is co-sponsored…
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From the Editor: American Port Access
05 Jul

From the Editor: American Port Access

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News Briefs, PMM Online News
If three U.S. congressmen have their way, legislation they’ve recently introduced would pave the way for American merchant marine and military vessels, including those in the Jones Act fleet, to bypass the long vessel queues and congestion at major U.S. ports, particularly those on the West Coast. The legislation, HR 8243, also known as the “American Port Access Privileges Act,” was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 29. It would allow U.S. exports to skip to the front of the line at American seaport terminals. “This legislation would put American exports at the front of the line at…
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