This Week's MarEx Editorials

In case you missed the latest editorials this week, here's another chance to catch up on some of the latest hot topics in the maritime industry.

DOT and MARAD Hand Out Pink Slips for Christmas

DOT’s decision to ‘wind down’ GMATS leaves 28 full time employees without jobs and 200+ part time employees and contractors without work.

On December 8th, USMMA released a statement announcing that the Deputy Secretary of Transportation, John Porcari, had indicated in meetings that the Global Maritime and Transportation School (GMATS) would “be closed as a Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI) as of July 2012.” The statement added that discussions on the transitioning of the GMATS program to a new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization would continue with the Maritime Administration (MARAD). This wasn’t true... Click to read more

 

Perspective on the Northern Routes Between the Atlantic and Pacific

Since the days of the maritime Silk Road and the early wind-driven sailing vessels, seafarers have consistently sought the shortest maritime route between distant ports of call. Before the development of the Suez Canal, seafarers sought alternative maritime routes between European ports and the ports at the spice lands of the East Indies and also China. One such route saw ships begin to sail around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

Other seafarers explored alternative sea routes via Cape Horn and a possible northern sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Several ships were lost while exploring that alternative route. The search for a shorter maritime route between Asian and European ports resulted in surveyors exploring a possible connection between the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea, via the Dead Sea. Later research resulted in the development of the Suez Canal... Click to read more