By Meghan Lapp - The Jones Act, or Merchant Marine Act of 1920, has been the foundation of U.S. maritime commerce for 100 years, requiring coastwise trade, i.e. transport of merchandise between two U.S. points, to be conducted on U.S.-flagged, U.S.-owned, U.S.-built vessels, which must be crewed by a minimum of 75% U.S. citizens and/or permanent U.S. residents. It is … [Read more...]
Op-Ed: How to Judge The True Progress of Any Trade Deal: Containers Don’t Lie
By Lori Ann LaRocco - Since the first tariff threats tweeted by United States President Donald Trump, the global markets have become an involuntary spectator and sometimes unwilling participant in the political reality show known as trade negotiations. For the first time in history, the veil of trade talks was ripped off and made public. Tweets replaced traditional press … [Read more...]
A Flag Under Siege: Security or Loyalty?
By Josh Hutchinson, CEO of ARX Maritime Ever since their inception back in the 1920s, Flags of Convenience (FoC) have been a subject of no small amount of controversy. The practice originally began during prohibition, when American cruise ships would fly under the Panamanian flag in order to be able to serve alcohol to passengers and thus escape the stringent US … [Read more...]
Captain George Livingston: Four Years Since El Faro
As I write on the 4th anniversary of the El Faro sinking (Oct. 1, 2015), I am reminded that those who lost their lives weren’t strangers, many shared the very same backgrounds, the same hometowns, schools, etc. as the rest of us and so we remember. Professional mariners understand the dangers professional mariners face, but it is none less jolting to hear of these things. In … [Read more...]
The Rescue: Maersk Montana Rescues Survivor of La Belle Vie
By Steve Miller, Third Officer, M/V Maersk Montana - “Let me know when he’s aboard!” came the voice through the handheld radio. It was the voice of the Captain, as everyone knew. “Stop the engine!” the Captain said again, this time shouting through the bridge door from the port wing. “Stop the engine!” I shouted back. It was fully dark now, the ship’s deck lighting … [Read more...]