News Releases
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 - The Maritime Minute - 2/1/12
BARGES TO PLAY KEY ROLE IN EXPANDED EXPORTS OF U.S. COAL: Port Commissioners in St. Helens, Ore., have approved agreements that will potentially lead to as much as 38 million tons of coal being barged annually from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming to St. Helens for export to Asian markets. More than 100 jobs are in the offing and shipments could begin in 2013. Click here to read more. TANKER COMPANY’S SAFETY RECORD IMPRESSIVE: Alaska Tanker Company has reached a safety milestone – only one lost-time accident in a period that now stretches more than a decade. The company operates four U.S.-flag tankers and moves petroleum from Alaska’s North Slope to West Coast refineries and Hawaii.
LAKES CARGOS REBOUND IN 2011: U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters moved 94 million tons of cargo on the Great Lakes in 2011, an increase of nearly 6 percent compared to 2010. The total would have been higher, but a number of storms delayed the fleet in the latter half of December. The iron ore trade on the Lakes rose to 61 million tons, its highest level since 2006.
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.
Monday, January 30, 2012 - SCA Weekly Round-Up ... 1/27/2012
This week, the Shipbuilders Council of America held its annual Winter General Membership meeting in Hollywood, Florida January 23rd-25th. SCA discussed the critical issues facing our industry in the upcoming year and heard from several speakers including Matice Wright in the office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy, Jonathan Kaskin of Strategic Mobility and Combat Logistics, USN, Pierre Chao of Renaissance Advisors, Herschel Vinyard, Secretary of Florida’s Department on Environmental Protection and George M. Zoukee, the newly appointed Administrator for Business and Finance Development at MARAD.
Click HERE to read the full Press Release. You can view the copies of the speakers’ presentations HERE. __
In the News
Obama to Announce Major Offshore Lease Sale for Gulf of Mexico
On Thursday, President Obama announced that he will hold a major oil and gas lease sale for the central Gulf of Mexico. In his announcement, he directed his administration to open more than 75% of U.S. potential offshore oil and gas resources. It is estimated that the production of these fields could result in 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
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News From RADM Carnevale…
The shoe drops on the Shipbuilding Plan. Secretary Panetta held a press conference to discuss the Fiscal Year 2013 budget soon to be submitted by the President. They issued this report entitled Defense Budget Priorities and Choices which you can read HERE. Here's what it says about ships: "To ensure sufficient resources to protect these strategic priorities, we will reduce the number of ships by slowing the pace of building new ships and by accelerating the retirement of some existing ships. These include:
Retiring 7 cruisers early; 6 did not have ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability, and the seventh with BMD capability is in need of costly hull repairs
Slipping a large deck amphibious ship (LHA) by 1 year
Slipping 1 new Virginia class submarine outside the FYDP
Reducing Littoral Combat Ships by 2 ships in the FYDP
Reducing Joint High Speed Vessels by 8 in the FYDP
Retiring 2 smaller amphibious ships (LSD) early and moving their replacement outside the FYDP"
Not good news although it is not unexpected. I have been briefing repeatedly on what happened the last time DoD took significant budget cuts and it always effected the number of ships and the SCN account. Support ships got hit particularly hard the last time the SCN budget was cut and the same appears to be happening now.
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Opportunities Available
Northstar Wind Towers
Northstar Wind Towers design and fabricates towers for the Wind and Solar Energy projects worldwide. We are searching for fabrication capacity in the North American arena and as such thought that a limited would be available at some of the US shipyards. We are certain that in some locations large machinery may also be available such as 4,000 brake press and rolling presses of 40 to 50 feet length that we would be using.
Monday, January 30, 2012 - Ship Repair Workforce Development Initiative Announced
Shipbuilders move ahead with workforce development initiative
Leading American shipbuilders and repairers are moving ahead with plans for a national Maritime Workforce Development program overseen by a National Maritime Education Council.
Spurred by the high cost of recruiting, hiring and training the thousands of skilled shipbuilding and ship repair professionals needed by shipyards, industry leaders launched a national initiative called the Lighthouse Campaign at the Shipbuilders Council of America's fall meeting October 26, 2011, in Biloxi, Missi
On December 6-7, 2011, the leadership team of the Lighthouse Campaign sent representatives to a meeting at NCCER headquarters in Alachua, Fla., to finalize the plans for the development of the Maritime Workforce Development program and to establish the National Maritime Education Council.
Increased return on investment is one significant benefit of a formal workforce development system as is a larger pipeline of technically skilled workers. According to a recent survey, a similar program in the construction industry developed by NCCER resulted in double-digit improvements in terms of productivity, reductions in turnover costs, absenteeism, injuries and rework.
NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum with portable credentials and to help address the skilled construction workforce shortage.
NCCER is recognized by the industry as the standard for developing the construction and maintenance craft professional.
NCCER was selected as the development partner for the shipbuilding initiative because it has developed training and assessments in over 60 craft areas and has over 4,000 training locations in the U.S. for the construction and maintenance industries.
NCCER's curricula and assessments have portable, nationally-recognized credentials that include transcripts, certificates and wallet cards tracked through NCCER's National Registry.
NCCER experience and resources will help give maritime craft professionals the credentials they deserve and ensure that individuals coming into the industry get the training needed to succeed.
Mike Torrech, president of American Maritime Holdings, in speaking of the importance of the national program stated, "This is the best approach to 'total' workforce development that I've seen in my 30 plus years in the business."
The Lighthouse Campaign, is a drive to raise funds for the development of standardized training curriculum and assessments that will be the foundation of the national program. The drive targets shipbuilding and repair and offshore marine companies, skilled trade providers, regional and national trade associations, and equipment manufacturers, as the major investors.
To date, the following companies and organizations have provided formal commitments or contributions to the campaign: Alaska Ship and Drydock, American Maritime Holdings, Bollinger Shipyards, Gulf States Shipbuilders Consortium (GSSC), Ingalls Shipbuilding, Signal International, Quality Shipyard, Virginia Ship Repair, VT Halter Marine, and WESCO Gas & Welding Supply.
The National Maritime Council will meet March 28-29, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama in conjunction with the GSSC's 2012 annual meeting. At that time, the National Maritime Council interim board, comprised of initial contributors to the Lighthouse Campaign, will draft bylaws, establish committees and formalize the group's structure. The interim board will provide oversight until a permanent board is installed at the group's fall meeting.
According to John Lotshaw, director of Workforce Training and Development at Ingalls Shipbuilding, "This training initiative, designed for the maritime industry, is long overdue. It can provide the trained personnel resources to allow our industry to cut costs and be more competitive. The time is now for maritime industry to invest in their future."
Friday, January 27, 2012 - National Ship Repair Industry Conference (NSRIC) Announced
NSRIC12 will be 27 February-1 March 2012 at the Embassy Suites in Crystal City. The room rate is similar to last year, $244 single or double. The registration fee is $425 for members and $475 for non-members. VSRA has stepped up to the plate and set up website registration. SCA will have its own registration site some time this year but not in time to support NSRIC12.
Last day to register for the Conference is February 20th.
Go here to register at the Embassy Suites Crystal City - National Airport :
Group Name: National Ship Repair Industry Conference
Group Code: NSR
Hotel Address: 1300 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202
Phone Number: 703-416-3819
You can also call 1-800-EMBASSY, give the group code NSR to register.
Last day to register for the hotel room block is January 27th.
Schedule:
Monday 27 February Travel day
Opening reception at Embassy Suites sponsored by PSDSRA
Tuesday 28 February Navy Day
Reception sponsored by JASRA and Marriott ExecuStay
Dinner
Wednesday 29 February Hill Day
Lunch at ASNE President's Club
VSRA reception on the Hill
Thursday 1 March Industry Day (through noon)
Travel day
Monday, January 23, 2012 - SCA Weekly Round-Up ... 1/20/2012
George Will: Clogging Our Ports with Rules
Last Friday, January 13th, George Will wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post disparaging the rules & regulations that will inhibit Eastern American ports from adjusting to the expansion of the Panama Canal. Will emphasizes that American ports on the East coast will suffer if they are not able to accommodate the bigger loads coming through the Panama Canal. Read the article HERE. ____
Depot Language Draws Scrutiny
Joe and Matt have been meeting with HASC and SASC staff (explained by Joe below) to resolve problems with core and depot maintenance language in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). A CQ article published on Tuesday this week accurately explains the problems with the language passed in the 2012 bill. You can read the article HERE.
___ News From RADM Carnevale…
Matt and I attended four meeting at the Senate Armed Services Committee this week and last to express our concerns over changes in the depot-level maintenance language in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. The changes eliminate the exception for nuclear aircraft carrier refueling and adds in modernization to the definition of what is considered depot level maintenance. These actions would put big chunks of SCN and OPN performed by the private sector into the 50/50 Public/Private calculation. Generating lots of new capability within the public shipyards and warfare centers isn't in the cards so any offset would most likely come out of surface ship maintenance. They claim there was no intent to change the status quo but the impacts could be huge.
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SCA Meeting Update
Meeting Notebook Now Available!!!
The SCA Winter General Membership Meeting Notebook is now available to download HERE. The notebook contains all meeting agendas and supporting material. We ask that meeting attendees please download, print a color copy, and bring all sections of the notebook to the meeting. The notebook pages are numbered within the Commercial, Government, Regulatory and General Administrative Report sections. A table of contents that includes section page numbers can be found at the beginning of each section to navigate supporting documents. We recommend that attendees print the notebook double-sided as there is a large amount of content included. If you have trouble accessing, downloading or printing the notebook or any other questions, please contact Paula Reever. We look forward to seeing you in Florida!
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Thursday, January 19, 2012 - "Mission Essential Personnel" Defined by the Navy
The following message was received brom Dave Shutter, Security Director for NSSA. It is a follow-up to a discussion that took place at the most recent VSRA Security Committee meeting. This information is very important for all companies who do work on Navy installations.
All,
As discussed at the last VSRA Meeting, the Installations in Hampton Roads will now not only execute "Alpha /Bravo" personnel only for entrance onto the Bases, but will now also announce "Mission Essential Personnel only" when required.
Who are Mission Essential Personnel only? Designated U. S. Navy Personnel, assigned by their Command.
What does this mean for anyone else? If you are not designated "Mission Essential Personnel" by a Navy Command, "Stay off the Base"! If you are needed for any "Emergent Work", or currently working "Mission Critical Work", your government contracting representative will contact you with follow on details. All other maintenance will be suspended.
What happens if Mission Essential Personnel only is announced after being on the Installation? The Installation will be evacuated, pending your location, by established zones. Guidance will be given at your work site.
Ships will be locked down, and no one will be gaining access to the pier/ship. Emergent work must have approved permission through the Emergency Operations Center for access to the piers. This permission can be obtained by your Government Contracting Office Security Representative. (Do not send anyone to a ship, until permissions have been granted!)
Norfolk Naval Base will be holding an exercise the week of 27 February, Mission Essential Personnel Only may be executed during this timeframe.
The U. S. Navy (Throughout the Continental U.S.) will be holding Solid Curtain / Citadel Shield Exercise the week of 19-24 March 2012. Hampton Roads Naval Bases are expected to set "Mission Essential Personnel only", sometime during the week, for an extended period (48-72 Hours).
If there are any questions/concerns, please let me know. Please ensure widest dissemination throughout all sub-contractors as well.
David Shutter
NSSA Security Manager
NNSY C1123 Private Yard Security
Norfolk, VA 23511-2393
Phone: (757) 443-3872 ext.2592 DSN: 646
Cell: (757) 613-9094 Fax: (757) 443-3698
Thursday, January 19, 2012 - Navy Maintenance Command Update
At the monthly meeting of the members of VSRA on January 17th, Rear Admiral Dave Gale, Commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Command, provided a timely undate on progress made in Navy surface ship maintenance organization. Click on the link below to view the presentation.
RDML Gale CNRMC Presentation Thursday, January 12, 2012 - OSHA to Convene SBREFA Panel on I2P2
OSHA has notified the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within OMB by letter dated January 6, 2012 that OSHA intends to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) for its Injury and Illness Prevention Program (I2P2) rule in the next sixty (60) days. The Panel, convened for all rules estimated to have a significant impact on a substantial amount of US small businesses, is one of the first steps in the promulgation of large rulemaking and was scheduled to take place last year.
SCA submitted 2 SER candidates to the Office of Advocacy, however to my knowledge the Panel participant have not yet been selected.
OSHA considers the notification of Advocacy and OIRA of its intent to convene the SBAR (or SBREFA) panel to be public information; however, the materials that will be provided to the panel and Small Entity Representatives (SERs) will remain confidential until the panel is formally convened. At that time, OSHA will place all of the materials in its rulemaking docket so they will be universally available.
Background
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA)
What is SBREFA?
In 1996, Congress passed the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, or SBREFA, in response to concerns expressed by the small business community that Federal regulations were too numerous, too complex and too expensive to implement. SBREFA was designed to give small businesses assistance in understanding and complying with regulations and more of a voice in the development of new regulations. Under SBREFA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other Federal agencies must:
§ Produce Small Entity Compliance Guides for some rules
§ Be responsive to small business inquiries about compliance with the agency’s regulations
§ Submit final rules to Congress for review
§ Have a penalty reduction policy for small businesses
§ Involve small businesses in the development of some proposed rules through Small Business Advocacy Review Panels.
In addition, SBREFA established 10 Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards to receive comments from small businesses across the country about Federal compliance and enforcement issues and activities, and report these findings annually to Congress. The legislation also gives small businesses expanded authority to recover attorney's fees and costs when a Federal agency has been found to have acted excessively in enforcing Federal regulations.
About the Panel Process
When an OSHA proposal is expected to have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities, the agency must notify the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy. The Office of Advocacy then recommends small entity representatives to be consulted on the rule and its effects. OSHA next convenes a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel, consisting of officials from the agency, the SBA's Chief Counsel for Advocacy, and the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The panel hears comments from small entity representatives and reviews the draft proposed rule and related analyses prepared by OSHA. A written report of this interagency panel is submitted to OSHA within 60 days. OSHA reviews the report, makes any appropriate revisions to the rule and publishes the proposed rule along with the panel’s report in the Federal Register.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 - 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. Tuesday, August 02, 2011 - The Maritime Minute - 8/2/2011
LEXINGTON INSTITUTE SALUTES JONES ACT AS IMPORTANT TO NATIONAL SECURITY: The Jones Act is the “only” hundred-year-old law still critical to U.S. national security in the 21st century according to the Lexington Institute. A July 8 “Early Warning Blog” by Daniel Goure, Ph.D, declares the Jones Act “critical to the maintenance of a shipbuilding and repair industry, and associated skilled workforce to support the U.S. Navy.” He notes that without a flexible pool of skilled workers “the costs to the Navy of its repair and overhaul work would skyrocket.” Dr. Goure further stressed that the “Act’s requirement that vessels engaged in cabotage [the movement of cargo between two points in the United States] be U.S.-flagged and the crews be at least 75 percent U.S. citizens also supports both homeland security and environmental safety.” Click here to read more.
UTILIZATION RATE OF GREAT LAKES FLEET ON THE RISE: With two U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters recently activated, the fleet now has more than 93 percent of its available carrying capacity in service. Iron ore for the steel industry remains the foundation of Great Lakes shipping. Through June, iron ore cargos moved in U.S.-flag “lakers” total 18.3 million tons, an increase of 7.6 percent compared to a year ago.
THREE AMP MEMBERS RECEIVE SAFETY AWARDS: Crowley Maritime Corporation, Keystone Shipping Co., and Liberty Maritime Corporation have been selected to receive prestigious safety awards from American Maritime Safety, Inc. Crowley will receive the Safe Working Practices Award. Keystone will be honored with the Responsible Carrier Award. Liberty will be presented the Quality Ship Management Award. The awards recognize these companies’ commitment to implementing innovative quality control and safety management systems that go beyond the compliance standards established by the U.S. Coast Guard.
STAMPS SALUTING U.S. MERCHANT MARINE AN HONOR WELL DESERVED: The U.S. Postal Service issued a quartet of stamps that depict ships that helped establish the U.S. Merchant Marine as a world leader in innovation and efficiency. The stamps feature a clipper ship, an auxiliary steamship, a Liberty ship and a containership. “This is a proud moment for everyone in the U.S. merchant marine,” said James Henry, President of the Transportation Institute and Chairman of the Board of American Maritime Partnership. “Ships have played a vital role in the development and protection of our nation. It was no accident that one of the first laws passed by Congress focused on fostering a U.S.-flag fleet. Since 1920, the Jones Act has been the foundation of the domestic U.S.-flag fleet and its requirement that cargo moving between U.S. ports be carried in vessels that are U.S.-owned, -built, and -crewed has produced an industry second to none.” Click here to read more.
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.
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