From the Editor – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

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…

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…

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…

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…

07 Jun

From the Editor: Contract Negotiations

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

As you probably know if you’re involved in the goods movement industry, the labor contract between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union expires on July 1. The good news is that ILWU, which represents 22,000 dockworkers along the West Coast, and the PMA, which represents about 70 companies that the laborers work for, began contract negotiations on May 10. The bad news however, is that if past negotiation cycles can be used to indicate how long it might take to hammer out a contract, it might be several weeks, or even months, past the current…

03 May

From the Editor: Maritime Cyberattacks

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

Although large amounts of news and information have been circulating recently pertaining to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, there’s one nugget of information that’s flown under the radar so far: potential retaliation against the U.S. maritime transportation sector. The remarks didn’t receive much media attention, but national Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly recently said that America’s maritime transportation sector could be an infrastructure soft spot that Russia may try to disrupt via cyberattack. “Given the vital role of the industry, the importance of securing systems and functions that make up the maritime transportation sector cannot be…

01 Feb

From the Editor: Seafarer Pay

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

These are very interesting times we’re living in. In another sign that COVID has turned the world upside down, there are now reports that some of the lowest-paying jobs in the maritime industry are suddenly becoming some of the better compensated jobs in the maritime industry. “Several of the world’s largest shipping lines, worried they will be unable to recruit and retain workers, have begun offering unprecedented incentives for a job known for notoriously bad working conditions and low pay,” according to a story by tech reporter Nicolas Rivero, published Jan. 25 on the global business news and insights website…

04 Jan

From the Editor: New Year’s Resolution

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

As we all get into the swing of 2022, I’d like to wish you a very happy and prosperous new year. I truly hope that this turns out to be a wonderful year for all sectors of the maritime goods movement industry, including shippers, BCOs, 3PLs, longshore workers, boat builders, tug operators, drayage firms, etc. Due to the pandemic, the past couple of years have been tough on some of the above sectors, as COVID has shaken up the entire world. Even as we’ve managed to get things back on the right track, obstacles keep popping up. But these things…

02 Nov

From the Editor: 24/7 Operations

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, PMM Online News

As you probably know by now, President Joe Biden announced in mid-October that the Port of Los Angeles would begin operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week in order to deal with a backlog of cargo that needs to be moved off the docks, and to help reduce a queue of dozens of containerships sitting anchored in the San Pedro Bay. And while the announcement was certainly a welcome one for those in the maritime goods movement industry, don’t expect the backlog to be cleared overnight. Or within a week. Or maybe not even by the end of…

01 Oct

From the Editor: Floating Parking Lots

Mark Edward NeroFrom the Editor, News, PMM Online News

You might want to start your Christmas shopping early. That’s the big takeaway from the ongoing situation at major seaports on the West Coast right now, particularly at Los Angeles-Long Beach, the biggest and busiest port complex in North America. According to reports, shipping traffic is up 50% from pre-pandemic levels, contributing to the bottleneck. Another contributing factor is a shortage of drivers to haul goods away from port terminals, as well as a shortage of trailers to affix containers to and of storage space at terminals. “The American’s buying strength is so strong and epic, that we can’t absorb all this cargo into the domestic supply chain,” Port of…