REBUILD THE UNITED STATES!

By Stas Margaronis Following the end of World War II, the Japanese government sought to re-establish its industrial base through shipbuilding. It recognized that shipbuilding would replace its decimated merchant fleet with brand new vessels and that by developing itself as a low-cost producer would encourage foreign buyers to build in Japan creating orders for ships, steel, pipe and other...

BY STAS MARGARONIS Last November International Propeller Club president James Patti, warned that a lack of U.S. flag shipping has made the United States vulnerable to the increasing economic dominance of China. He also warned that a lack of investment in the nation’s maritime infrastructure was making a bad situation worse. Patti, who also also serves as the chair of USA Maritime, a coalition...

BY STAS MARGARONIS As the backlog of import containers at container terminals has declined, Eugene Seroka, executive director Port of Los Angeles, said the Port is turning its attention to the backlog of empty containers and may impose fees on empty containers that dwell on terminals “excessively.” Backlog of Empty Containers Speaking at the Port’s media briefing on December 15th, Seroka said...

Proposed APM Plaquemines Container Terminal By Stas Margaronis On November 17th, the Plaquemines Port, Harbor and Terminal District (PPHTD) located South of New Orleans and APM Terminals announced a ‘Letter of Intent,” whereby APM Terminals “will become the operator of the newly planned container terminal and intermodal rail facility.” According to an earlier APM press release: “The proposed,...

BY STAS MARGARONIS On November 4th  Hapag Lloyd's  ‘Operational Update’ reported to its customers on port delays and rail dwell times at Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York, Savannah, Houston, Seattle, Vancouver, Prince Rupert & Montreal: [1] Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ships: waiting 13 days for a berth: “The Southern California Marine Exchange has requested vessel operators to remain...

By Stas Margaronis The fourth Storms, Flooding and Sea Level Defense conference focused on nature -based solutions to defense against flooding and storm surges impacting coastal communities and ports in the United States. Panelists also discussed new developments in Singapore and the Netherlands. The November 3rd conference took place virtually and was a joint production of the Society of...

PHOTO: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPORTATION IN THIS REPORT: Railroads’ Common Carrier Obligations Dividends & Stock Buybacks Oberman Says Railroads Have Legal Responsibilities Shifting Freight From Rail To Truck Has Generated Over 123 Million Tons of CO2 Shippers’ Inability To Book Railcars UP Pledges to Reduce Rail Congestion Oberman Expresses Concerns About Intermodal Rail Congestion UP...

By Natalie Ruffner Seafarers are integral parts of the shipping and maritime industry. Given their importance, one could assume that they are treated as such. Unfortunately, this is not the case. With the start of the pandemic in 2020, many seafarers were stripped of their rights and treated poorly as they were abandoned at sea and forced to work longer months outside their contracts. A little...

By Kevin Policarpo Captain Tejinder Singh is among the 100,000 sailors that are still stuck onboard their ships as a new variant of Covid-19 is spreading around the world. The captain of a bulk carrier from India, Singh notes that being at sea for long periods of time is exhausting and has heard reports about sailors killing themselves due to stress and isolation. Whenever he communicates with...