In early October, Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reported in its newsletter Capitol Currents that the future of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 hung in the balance, with many unknowns for its chances of being signed into law during the Lame Duck session of Congress that just concluded in late December.
The U.S. Senate on Friday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021, a massive $741 billion defense bill setting policy for the Pentagon. Importantly for the U.S. offshore and maritime industries, the bill includes an amendment ensuring full enforcement of the Jones Act and other federal laws in offshore wind development.
Fincantieri handed over the 145,000-gross-ton Enchanted Princess to Carnival Corp. brand Princess Cruises on Wednesday, marking the Italian shipbuilder's 100th cruise ship delivery over the last 30 years, and the first since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.The milestone delivery was celebrated with a live video message from Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during a ceremony virtually
Carnival Corp said on Tuesday it expects to post a loss of $2.9 billion in the third quarter, hurt by the suspension of cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the cruise operator's shares down 3% in premarket trade.The cruise business is one of the worst affected from the health crisis and has forced operators, including Japan’s Luminous Cruise, to file for bankruptcy
A lawsuit has been filed in Nueces County, Texas on behalf of a worker who was injured and burned in an explosion and fire that occurred while he was working on the dredge Waymon L. Boyd in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel last month.The dredge worker, Jose Cantu, is among six crew members who were hospitalized after the dredge struck a gas pipeline, causing the vessel to catch fire and sink.
In response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the Congressional Research Service released a report that stated global economic growth has declined by 3% to 6% in 2020 with a partial recovery predicted for 2021. Also, the GDP of the U.S. has fallen by 5% in the first quarter 2020.
Carnival Corp said on Friday it was planning to resume operations in a phased manner and would operate with a smaller fleet on its return, months after suspending trips due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The company’s shares, that have lost more than two-thirds of their value this year, rose as much as 11% to $16.12 in morning trading.
Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) is the national public policy organization that advocates for a modern, efficient inland waterways system. Abiding by our mission has meant success over our 17-year history. In 2020, WCI’s top priority is to conform the cost-share for Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF)-financed construction projects to require 25% of the project cost be derived from the IWTF and the
What might not be so obvious in this COVID-19 environment, which we have grown to associate with shortages, is that counterintuitively there are issues beginning to appear dealing with the opposite situation. The Journal of Commerce has reported that “[t]he container shipping industry is marshaling a response to signs of a building import backlog as some retailers and manufacturers fail to pick
The Congress worked hard and most importantly together at the end of the recently-concluded First Session in December to finalize and pass Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 appropriations that included the Energy & Water Development (E&WD) Appropriations bill that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) work on the nations’ waterways.
It is often difficult to push through the federal government morass to focus on the issues that actually matter to the inland operator. While 2020 inevitably will be a contentious year in American politics, it is critical to stay focused on the items that will have direct impact on the U.S. maritime industry.
The end of 2019 promises to be a busy, and potentially discordant, legislative and regulatory period for the United States maritime industry as both Congress and the Executive Branch look to take decisive action, with both positive and negative potential impacts depending on your perspective.