by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point (KP), New York is our nation’s only service academy dedicated to an industry but, because their midshipman have served in every major conflict since World War II, is the only academy authorized to carry a military battle standard. At times calls for the closure of USMMA have … [Read more...]
Watch: gCaptain’s Impassioned Call For Change
https://youtu.be/NmNDjlGgDd8 It's time, to be honest. gCaptain is overwhelmed and the industry is breaking. (Note: This is part one of a two part video. Click here to watch PART2) And here's why... Right now gCaptain is working on stories about The 2 million barrel VLCC New Diamon on fire and drifting. 150,000 Mauritians protesting the Wakashio bunker spill. a cable layer … [Read more...]
U.S. House Appropriations Bill Includes $389 Million for New TAMUG Training Ship
Texas A&M University’s maritime academy is one step closer to getting a full-fledged training ship with the U.S. House's passing of its 2021 appropriations bill. Texas’ delegation in Congress successfully included $389 million in the U.S. House of Representatives’ appropriations bill to pay for the ship, the academy announced. The bill passed the House vote on Friday, … [Read more...]
A New Day for the American Merchant Marine: The Philly Shipyard and National Security Multi-Mission Vessels
NSMV 1. Image: Herbert Engineering and MARAD By Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph.D. - National Maritime Day (May 22) came a month earlier than usual with the announcement by the Maritime Administration and TOTE Services, LLC, that Philly Shipyard, Inc., had been selected to build the first of a new class of training ships for the state maritime academies. Known as … [Read more...]
The Long Gray Line – Turbo Activation 2019
By Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph.D. - On Monday, September 16, 2019, the United States Transportation Command ordered the no-notice activation of 28 out of the 61 ships held in the reserve sealift fleet. This exercise aimed to determine the material readiness of the fleet and whether the commercial merchant marine - the operating companies assigned to manage the vessels and … [Read more...]