The following is the May 4, 2016 Congressional Research Service report, The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Key Provisions and Issues for Congress. Read More
Category Archives: Merchant Marine
U.S. Facing Looming Shortage of Merchant Mariners
M/V Cape Ray (T-AKR-9679). MARAD Photo
By 2022, the United States will need “70,000 new people” for the nation’s maritime fleet, but the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., and the six state maritime academies only graduate 900 per year and are at capacity, Paul Jaenichen Sr., the head of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), told the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee on Tuesday. Read More
Essay: When it Comes to Ship Survivability, Prayer Isn’t Enough
Officials survey the damage of USS Tripoli while the ship was in drydock in Bahrain following a mine attack. US Navy Photo
In the early morning of Feb. 18, 1991, the U.S. amphibious warship USS Tripoli (LPH-10) struck an Iraqi contact mine in the northern Persian Gulf, ripping a 25-foot by 23-foot hole in her starboard side below the waterline. Read More
Navy Finds Lost U.S. Merchant Ship El Faro
Undated photo of merchant ship SS El Faro. Marine Traffic Photo
A Navy team sent to the Bahamas has found the missing U.S. merchant ship SS El Faro, officials have confirmed. Read More
Opinion: U.N. Ruling is Turning Point for Overlapping South China Sea Claims
A map of China’s shifting definition of the so-called Nine-Dash Line. US State Dept. Image
The United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration handed out a decision on Thursday that the Republic of the Philippines’ case against the People’s Republic of China regarding Law of the Seas violations can be heard. This long-awaited decision marks a turning point in the complex landscape of international legality as more maritime nations seek to establish boundaries on their oceanic and littoral territories. Read More
U.S. Navy Deploying Search Team to Find Lost Merchant Ship El Faro
Undated photo of merchant ship SS El Faro. Marine Traffic Photo
At the request of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Navy is scrambling a ship and an underwater search team to find the missing merchant ship SS El Faro, Navy officials told USNI News on Thursday. Read More
Report: Chinese Navy Warship Rammed Two Vietnamese Fishing Vessels
An undated photo of a Chinese Type Yuting II Type 072A tank landing ship (LST). PLAN Photo
A People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) amphibious warship allegedly rammed two Vietnamese fishing vessels operating near the disputed Spratly Islands in July, according to local press cited in an Office of Naval Intelligence threat to shipping report. Read More
Essay: Quantifying Piracy Trends in the Gulf of Guinea — Who’s Right and Who’s Wrong?
Coast Guard Rolls Out New Cyber Strategy
Coast Guard commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft
The commandant of the Coast Guard says cyber “is going to be a domain as natural as breathing” that offers a host of challenges to the private and public sector, and the first step in meeting those challenges is understanding “the need to defend your cyber space.” Read More
Iran Releases Maersk Tigris
An undated image of M/V Maersk Tigris
The Iranian government released merchant ship M/V Maersk Tigris after being detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) in the Strait of Hormuz on April 28, both the Iranian government and the Maersk shipping company annouced on Thursday. Read More
