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Satellites track largest iceberg in the world off Antarctica
May 21, 2021An iceberg larger than Rhode Island is now floating free in the waters off Antartica.
Photo credit: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons: Iceberg floating in Lago Argentino broken off from the Perito Moreno Glacier. Photographer: Illya Haykinson
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200,000 exhausted mariners still stuck at sea
May 20, 2021More than a year after the pandemic shut down countries around the world, about 200,00 merchant mariners remain trapped on cargo ships, some of them working for 20 months with out a break. Exhaustion and burnout are real dangers that translate into more accidents and increased risk of suicide.
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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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