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The Maritime Minute - 10/31/2011

ESCOPETA FINED $15 MILLION FOR JONES ACT VIOLATION:   U.S. Customs and Border Protection fined Escopeta Oil Company $15 million for violating the Jones Act. The company transported a jack-up rig from Texas to Alaska using a foreign-flagged vessel. The rig is drilling in Alaska’s Cook Inlet and the fine will not affect operations. Click here to read more.
 
AMP CHAIRMAN JAMES HENRY RECEIVES THE 2011 ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA AWARD:  American Maritime Partnership Chairman James Henry received the 2011 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award (AOTOS) presented by the United Seaman’s Service at the 42nd annual industry gala dinner in New York City. The AOTOS Award is the most prestigious award given in the transportation and maritime industry, recognizing those who have made significant contributions to American shipping and to American and international seafarers. Henry has played a significant role in virtually every major initiative in United States maritime policy since he assumed the presidency of the Transportation Institute in 1987 and became its chairman in 1990. He played a particularly key role in protecting the Jones Act when it came under attack in the mid-1990s and during the 2010 Gulf oil spill. Click here to read more.
 
NEW EAST RIVER FERRY SERVICE PROVING A SUCCESS IN NEW YORK CITY:  The New York Times reports that a ferry service begun in late June 2011, which transports passengers between Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River, has been a huge success and is attracting twice as many passengers as anticipated. Policymakers see the ferry service as a way to create jobs and expand economic activity by attracting more developers to the river’s east bank. “The only major complaint I’ve heard is that people want more of it,” said Seth W. Pinsky, the president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the service. Click here to read more.
 
CARGO CARRIED BY U.S.-FLAG LAKES FLEET IS BIG JOBS GENERATOR:  Cargo hauled on the Great Lakes in U.S.-flag vessels is responsible for more than 103,000 jobs in the United States according to a new study released on October 18. The study, The Economic Impacts of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, further determined that the value of economic output tied to U.S.-flag laker cargos topped $20 billion in 2010. Those cargos also generated federal, state, and local taxes totaling more than $2.2 billion. Indiana has the most jobs tied to cargo moved in Jones Act lakers with 39,903. Michigan follows with 23,485 and Ohio is close behind with 23,334 jobs. Totals by other states are: Wisconsin - 5,589; Illinois - 5,356; Minnesota - 4,309; Pennsylvania - 761; and New York -305. Click here to read more.
 
ORDER FOR NEW TANKERS WILL ADD 1,000-PLUS JOBS AT PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD:  The construction of two new tankers to move Alaska North Slope crude oil to the West Coast will swell employment at Aker Philadelphia’s shipyard. More than 1,000 new hires will be needed to build the double-hull ships, each of which will be capable of hauling 730,000 barrels per trip. The keel will be laid for the first tanker in mid-2012 and both vessels should enter service in 2014.
 

American Maritime Partnership ("AMP") is the voice of the U.S. domestic maritime industry, a pillar of our nation‘s economic, national, and homeland security. More than 40,000 American vessels built in American shipyards and crewed by American mariners ply our waters 24/7, and this commerce sustains nearly 500,000 jobs, $29 billion in labor compensation, and more than $100 billion in annual economic output according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Transportation Institute. So efficient are these vessels that they carry a quarter of the nation‘s cargo for only 2 percent of the national freight bill, and being American owned, built and crewed helps make America more secure.