Should U.S. disaster relief require American-grown food? Those with the best intentions may miss the full picture By Bruce Vail The next time news of a natural disaster in an impoverished land prompts you to write a check to Oxfam or CARE, take a minute to consider whether you’ll also be underwriting the outsourcing of the jobs of American farmers and sailors. If … [Read more...]
US-Flagged Bulk Carrier M/V Liberty Grace Attacked Offshore Togo
gCaptain sources report this afternoon that the M/V Liberty Grace, 50,601 dwt US-flagged bulk carrier vessel with 22 personnel on board, including two U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadets, was attacked offshore Togo at 0150Z yesterday morning. Three skiffs approached the vessel on two separate occasions, but according to our source, were "fought" off with fire hoses. Nobody … [Read more...]
Liberty Maritime Addresses Change in Union Affiliation
Liberty Maritime today confirmed its new collective bargaining agreement with the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union, essentially replacing the MEBA union members on five of its bulk carriers with AMO officers as of October 1. As we reported over the weekend the change in manning is not sitting well with MEBA, who claims to have reached a agreement-in-principle with … [Read more...]
Liberty Maritime Decision Sparks Fierce Labor Union Dispute – Things Are Getting Ugly
Liberty Maritime Corporation has found themselves in the midst of a heated labor union dispute after the company somewhat abruptly ended its long-standing labor relationship with the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A) union, entering into a contract with the American Maritime Officers (AMO) to man its vessels instead. Despite several months of negotiations … [Read more...]
M/V Liberty Sun Pirate Attack – Video
Sen. Frank Lautenberg has released this video showing the U.S. flagged M/V Liberty Sun escaping Somali pirates back on April 14. The cargo ship, which was bound for Mombasa, Kenya with a crew of 20 Americans, managed to escape the attack but sustained some damage when the pirates fired rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the … [Read more...]