The IMO’s Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) is meeting this week in London to discuss a variety of topics related to environmental protection in the maritime environment.  The centerpiece of the meeting is the reduction of greenhouse gases from international shipping.  The committee is expected to adopt a set of amendments to the MARPOL international [...]

The S.S. United States – once the flagship of the U.S. Merchant Marine, and one of the grandest ships ever constructed in the U.S. is now closer to what many fear to be her final days.  The ship is reportedly being shown to potential scrappers by the ship’s current owner, Norwegian Cruise Lines, a subsidiary [...]

This comes our way via the Benicia Herald – The last Victory cargo ship moored in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet is expected to be towed today to San Francisco Ship Repair, a spokesman from Office of Congressional and Public Affairs said. The SS Winthrop Victory is scheduled to depart the fleet at 10:30 a.m. [...]

This came to us via Towmasters.  We have a video that shows an assist tug getting squeezed or pinched against a pier by a CMA CGM container ship during what appears to be a mooring evolution gone horribly wrong.  It took place in the Port of Constanta, Romania and appears to have happened sometime in [...]

A recent panel commissioned by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) released a report titled “Red Sky in the Morning:  USMMA” which detailed a critical need for recapitalization of aging and deteriorating facilities at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY.  The report concluded that the Academy has reached a “tipping point” at which failure [...]