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The amazing story of mariner Robert Smalls
May 19, 2021Today, the little known story of an amazing man, Robert Smalls. Smalls was a slave in South Carolina in the years leading up to the Civil War, but became a skilled mariner handling ships in Charleston Harbor for his “master.” He evntuallty used those skills to commandeer a ship and sail his family, and the families of other slaves, to freedom through a Confederate blockade. His life was filled with many “firsts.” He became a decorated war veteran, a member of the U.S. Congress, and eventually purchased the plantation where he had once been a slave and lived there until his death in 1915.
Photo credit: Photo of Robert Smalls from the U.S Library of Congress photo collection. Photo attributed to famed Civil War photographers Matthew Brady and Levin C. Handy.
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Global inflation risks and local effects on shipping
May 18, 2021Today we’ll talk about inflation risks in the global economy, and how that might affect shipping here on the Columbia River.
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Jones Act waivers help ease pipeline fuel shortages
The Jones Act is a U.S. law that says that cargo shipped between U.S. ports must be carried by U.S. flagged vessels, with U.S. crews, and that the vessels themselves must also be built in the U.S.
Recently, however, President Biden signed two waivers, to allow two oil companies to run foreign flag vessels to perform this function for a specific purpose. The waivers are temporary, meant to available tankers to haul fuel between Texas and New Jersey, to replace supplies halted when a major fuel pipeline was recently hacked and taken offline.
The unusual move was needed because foreign flag ships are in ready supply, while many U.S. flag tankers have been out of service during the pandemic.
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Mississippi River bridge crack shows infrastructure needs
May 14, 2021A structural break in a bridge across the Mississippi River has halted ship and barge traffic through that section of the river. The backup of more 200 barges in a short time frame shows how critical sound infrastructure can be, and how it can affect all modes of transportation.
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What is infrastructure and why is it so important?
May 13, 2021A look at a word that’s tossed around a lot in the news: “infrastructure.” What does it mean? And how does it relate to the fuel pipeline hacking nightmare unfolding in the eastern U.S.?
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Temporary Jones Act waiver being considered in pipeline incident
May 12, 2021The Jones Act is a U.S. law that requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be hauled by ships built, crewed and registered in the U.S. The federal government is considering a temporary waiver of that law to allow foreign flag ships to be used in the short term to haul petroleum from Texas to New Jersey to ease the fuel shortage caused by the hacking of a fuel pipeline.
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Will ships, tugs and barges save the day for the hacked pipeline?
May 11, 2021As the Southeast U.S. faces major shortages of gasoline in the wake of the hacking of a major petroleum pipeline, ships, tugs and barges may save the day.
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Norwegian Cruise Line vs the state of Florida
May 10, 2021The latest in Norwegian Cruise Line’s efforts to get cruises going again the US is up against an unlikely foe: the state of Florida. NCL is bound by CDC regulations to screen passengers for COVID vaccinations. Florida has banned any business from such policies. So the story continues…
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South American drought affects crops and ability to ship them
May 07, 2021Severe drought in South America is driving up prices on crops like corn and wheat, partly because of the difficulty in growing the crops, but also low water levels in the rivers where these agricultural products need to be shipped by tug and barge.
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Salvage crews get adrift ship under tow
Apr 08, 2021Salvors from Smit Salvage managed to get a drifting, listing heavy lift ship safely under tow in the North Sea, after bad weather caused the ship to lose cargo overboard. The ship was carrying yachts and workboats, and one of them broke loose from its lashings. Salvors have located the missing boat, which will be the subject of another salvage effort.
Salvage crews are the folks who head into danger as others are fleeing it. Their job description says they must be “immune to stress.”
Photo credit: Stormy weather in the North Sea, onboard research vessel Walther Herwig III in August 2019. Wikimedia Commons. Photographer: Randel Kreitsberg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
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