On December 1, Alexander & Baldwin, the Hawai?i-based land company with interests in real estate development, commercial real estate and agriculture, announced it will spin-off its wholly owned subsidiary?Matson Navigation Company.
Tasked by Congress over a year ago to produce a report identifying ways to boost American-flag shipping, the Maritime Administration has issued a report, written by Price Waterhouse Coopers, that does the opposite.
Legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives on October 14, that would require MarAd to publish the availability of U.S.-flag, U.S.-built, U.S-crewed (Jones Act) vessels when another federal agency asks to use non-U.S.-flag vessels.
Notwithstanding the availability of U.S.-flag, Jones Act-qualified tonnage, the Maritime Administration recently issued a series of non-availability rulings that have resulted in more than 45 waivers of the Jones Act.
Matson Navigation Company pulled the plug on August 8, on its five ship foreign-flag liner fleet after hemorrhaging millions of dollars.
Congressman Farenthold (R-Texas)
and Presidential Assistant Congressman Paul (R-Texas) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would allow foreign-flag passenger vessels to embark passengers in one U.S. port and disembark them in another U.S. port.
Members of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation said the Jones Act is critical to the national, economic, and homeland security needs of our country.
Piracy is the current scourge of the waters off Somalia, but the longstanding bane on the industry has been the existence of the rotten flag-of-convenience system that exploits mariners worldwide.
An ill-conceived proposal floated by the Defense Department to transfer ownership and operational control of the Maritime Administration?s Ready Reserve Fleet to the U.S. Navy?s Military Sealift Command, prompted a response in opposition to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.
In the wake of Union-busting assaults on worker?s rights to bargain collectively, the AFL-CIO, state labor federations and local labor councils have mobilized for a day of action and solidarity across the United States on Monday, April 4.