GovernmentNews

ITF Critical of Irish Government’s Human Trafficking Record

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-23 22:20:16

The U.S. State Department released its 2019 Trafficking in Persons report last week, criticizing the Irish Government’s failure to tackle modern slavery. For the second year in a row, the State Department has placed Ireland in Tier 2, as a result of the Government’s failure to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. The U.S. State Department has criticized the Government for failing to: • Obtain any convictions for human trafficking in the six years that...

2019 Trafficking in Persons Report Released

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-22 21:46:25

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has released the 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report which assesses government efforts around the world to combat human trafficking and highlights strategies to address this crime and protect the victims. This year’s report, the 19th installment, includes narratives for 187 countries and territories, including the U.S. The prevalence of human trafficking is difficult to measure. However, a number of international organizations have estimated that traffickers exploit a majority of human trafficking victims...

New International Labor Standard to Combat Violence Adopted

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-22 20:59:14

A new Convention to combat violence and harassment at work has been adopted by the International Labour Conference (ILC). The Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019, and the Violence and Harassment Recommendation, 2019, were adopted by delegates on the final day of the ILC in Geneva. The Convention will enter into force 12 months after two member States have ratified it. The Recommendation, which is not legally binding, provides guidelines on how the Convention could be applied. The Convention recognizes that...

Preparations Underway for Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Centennial

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-22 19:28:16

The Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (SHGTUS) Centennial Committee has many projects currently under development in the lead up to the 100th anniversary of the burial of an Unknown American Soldier who fought and died in World War I and is buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. On the 11th Hour, of the 11th Day, of the 11th Month in 2021 Americans will pause to recognize those who have...

Crew of the USS Fitzgerald Unveils Flag Honoring Fallen Shipmates

By Navy Live 2019-06-21 20:18:10

On June 17, the crew of the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) unveiled a commemorative flag honoring the sailors who died in a collision in the Sea of Japan two years ago. Designed by current crewmembers, the flag memorializes their seven fallen shipmates. The flag is blue with “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP” emblazoned above the names of the seven sailors. The motto is a common Navy phrase, but all Fitzgerald sailors embodied that spirit on June 17,...

MSC's Preferential Customs Status Suspended Over Cocaine Bust

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-21 19:47:57

Number-two ocean carrier MSC has had its preferential American customs inspection status temporarily suspended after the record-setting $1 billion cocaine seizure aboard the container ship MSC Gayane earlier this week. The interdiction was the second large drug bust involving an MSC boxship this year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has temporarily suspended MSC's voluntary participation in the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program over the two seizures. The move may mean more inspections for containers arriving from Central and South America,...

Trump Orders, Calls Off Retaliatory Strike on Iran

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-21 18:28:42

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered and then called off a strike on Iranian radar and missile sites in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. Navy surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz. "We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights [sic] when I asked, how many will die," Trump said in a Twitter post Friday. "150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it,...

Portline Bulk Pleads Guilty to U.S. MARPOL Charges

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-21 16:59:51

On Friday, Portugal-based shipping company Portline Bulk International pleaded guilty to one MARPOL charge and one charge of obstruction in connection with a U.S. Coast Guard investigation into discharges from the bulker Achilleus. Portline has agreed to pay a fine of $1.5 million and undergo four years of probation, and sentencing is pending. Last August, Coast Guard port state control inspectors boarded the Achilleus at the port of Charleston, South Carolina. The vessel's top engineering officers presented the officials with...

U.S. Admiral: China's PLA Uses "Irresponsible" Tactics in Djibouti

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-20 18:02:29

Seven foreign nations maintain a military presence in the small nation of Djibouti, which is located adjacent to the strategic Strait of Bab el-Mandeb. Five have permanent military bases, including France, Japan, Italy, the United States and - most recently - China. The Chinese government has constructed a well-fortified naval station at the port of Doraleh, just six miles from the largest American base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier. Last week, a high-ranking American officer accused China's military forces of “irresponsible...

Iran Shoots Down U.S. Navy Surveillance Drone

By The Maritime Executive 2019-06-20 12:50:49

Early Thursday morning, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a U.S. Navy surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz with a surface-to-air missile. American and Iranian accounts of the incident differ: the IRGC claims that the drone was flying over the Iranian coastal district of Kouhmobarak, adjacent to the strait, while the Navy asserts that it was operating in international airspace. "Shooting down the American spy drone had a clear, decisive, firm and accurate message," said IRGC commander...