Homeland Security Chairman Warns of Russia's Ambitions

By MarEx 2018-07-18 20:13:12

On Wednesday, in a discussion hosted by the conservative American Enterprise Institute, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) raised concerns about Russia's growing naval capabilities and ambitions. In addition to a discussion of Russia's information warfare activities in Ukraine, Europe and the United States, McCaul highlighted the potential threat of Russia's actions the Middle East. Russian President Vladimir Putin has secured a naval base at Tartus, Syria by supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, giving Russia a strategic foothold in the...

Port of Corpus Christi Expands Capacity for Wind Turbines

By MarEx 2018-07-19 10:51:50

Port of Corpus Christi is well-known for its energy exports, but it is also the Gulf Coast's leading port for a specific category of energy imports: wind turbines for onshore wind farms. To accommodate the growing volume of turbine components arriving in Texas, Port of Corpus Christi is investing in its breakbulk capacity. The port’s new breakbulk cargo laydown yard, the Rincon West Yard, received its first shipment of wind turbine components on July 14. Leading wind turbine manufacturer Vestas is scheduled to...

Fishing Boat Crushed and Sunk Between Two Vessels

By MarEx 2018-07-18 21:28:36

[Brief] On Saturday night, a 32-foot salmon fishing boat became trapped between two ships near Dillingham, Alaska, and her crew barely escaped before she was crushed, flipped and sunk. At the time of the incident, the gillnetter Kristi was working the Bristol Bay opening, the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery. The Kristi lost power near the mouth of the Nushagak River, and a strong tidal current washed it between the hulls of the cargo ship Sohoh and the fish processing vessel...

Maersk: India Sees “Spirited Uptick” in Containerized Trade

By MarEx 2018-07-18 20:58:05

A.P. Moller-Maersk has released it's latest trade report on India, noting that India’s containerized trade with the world has enjoyed a “spirited uptick” in the first quarter of 2018. The report states that imports grew by 16 percent and exports seven percent. “These numbers become more relevant when viewed through a global lens,” says Steve Felder, Maersk Line Managing Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. “They are significantly higher than estimated global containerized demand growth of...

Over $15 Billion in Cargo Moved on St. Lawrence Seaway

By MarEx 2018-07-18 20:20:55

The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation has released its 2018 study of the economic impacts of shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region highlighting that cargo moved in 2017 totaled 143.5 million tons and was valued at $15.2 billion (C$19.8 billion). This waterborne commerce supported 237,868 U.S. and Canadian jobs and generated $35 billion (C$45.4 billion) in economic activity, $14.2 billion (C$18.5 billion) in total personal wage and salary income and local consumption expenditures, $8 billion (C$6.6 billion) in local...

Asian Piracy at Ten-Year Low

By MarEx 2018-07-18 19:06:06

ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre has released its January to June 2018 report, noting a 10-year low in Asian piracy and armed robbery and a 15 percent decrease in cases compared to the same period in 2017. There were 40 incidents reported, with 11 of those being attempted cases. There were no incidents of abduction of crew or theft of oil cargo, despite attempts, and there was a decrease in the number of incidents at ports and anchorages in the Philippines....

Amphib USS Tripoli Finishes Final Voyage

By MarEx 2018-07-18 19:00:13

The former USS Tripoli, the last remaining Iwo Jima-class amphib, has completed her final voyage to Brownsville, Texas, where she will be dismantled at the International Shipbreaking yard. USS Tripoli (LPH-10) was commissioned in July 1966, just as the U.S. was deepening its involvement in the Vietnam War. She arrived off Vietnam ten months later, and her embarked Marine Corps units were immediately engaged in the fight. She served three tours between 1967 and 1974, acting as a platform for helicopter-borne operations, amphibious assault,...

Seventeen Abandoned Seafarers Rescued in Iran

By MarEx 2018-07-18 18:28:38

After the actions of human rights charity Justice Upheld, 17 seafarers abandoned by various maritime companies on Kish Island in Iran have been rescued. None had been paid for over two years. Their case has been highlighted by the charity Human Rights at Sea, which notes the men were afraid to reveal details of the companies involved out of fear of reprisal. Among the men were 12 Indian nationals, three Ethiopian nationals and two Filipino nationals.

U.S. Coastal Internet Infrastructure at Risk

By MarEx 2018-07-18 17:58:56

Thousands of miles of buried fiber optic cable in densely populated coastal regions of the U.S. may be inundated by rising seas in 15 years time, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Oregon. Paul Barford, a UWisconsin–Madison professor of computer science, said: “Most of the damage that’s going to be done in the next 100 years will be done sooner than later,” says Barford, an authority on the buried fiber...