It’s been almost one year since the deadly pandemic known as COVID-19 started spreading across the globe and companies are still feeling its effects and will perhaps for years to come. In response, most educators have had to adapt to online learning as an alternative, but what about the crucial hands-on learning experiences offered by so many maritime training centers?

Rick Schwab, senior director of the Maritime and Industrial Training Center at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, La., says, unsurprisingly, that COVID-19 has brought about significant changes for its training center.

“For the first time in 25 years, our entire training schedule had to be canceled for over a month, as the facility was shutdown because of the governor’s lockdown mandate,” says Schwab. “Corporate partner training programs were put on hold, as well.”

During the shutdown, Schwab said the college put into place several safety precautions to ensure its staff and students could attend classes safely. Smaller class sizes, social distancing, temperature checks, mask mandates, and hand sanitizer were put into place ahead of a hopeful return to school.

Another well known maritime college, the Maritime Training and Technology Center at San Jacinto College Program located just outside of Houston, Texas, had its own set of hurdles to overcome despite not enduring a shutdown like the one Delgado Community College underwent last year.

“We left for spring break in March 2020 with the expectation of returning as we do every spring, but we didn’t,” says John Stauffer, associate vice chancellor of maritime for the school. “We had to launch a business learning program with a partnership called Learn America, and that’s how we operated for incumbent workers.”

Stauffer says the school received U.S. Coast Guard authorization to conduct its Maritime Credit Program courses as a hybrid experience, where students have both online and offline (in-person) educational experiences. The school has been operating under a cautious eye and with a hybrid offering ever since.

It’s not all doom and gloom for these schools, though. Both have new and exciting training applications and courses to offer its students in 2021.

Moving Forward – A New Approach
Before COVID-19 hit the country, much of what maritime students learned came from hands-on training.

The Delgado Maritime Center has adapted to the new norm of working with corporate partners and mariners by building a few newly designed programs. Like San Jacinto, the school received Coast Guard approval to create hybrid courses with real-time lectures occurring through the Zoom platform.

“The Coast Guard courses approved for this hybrid learning were Basic & Advanced Firefighting and Advanced Firefighting,” says Schwab. “We also created a new deckhand training program for new hires, and we’re breaking ground on a new $1.4 million deckhand building with a barge set up for training new industry employees, giving them the opportunity to learn the ropes of the maritime industry.”

Schwab says the new building is expected to open in 2022.

As the bulk of courses move online, it’s important that maritime students still have access to hands-on training when possible.

San Jacinto, which was awarded a grant in October 2020, recently announced that it would be launching a new firefighting course in the next month or two using the funds it received. A new fire field was opened on campus, and the school says it will be conducting firefighting training classes off campus at various locations as well.

Source: marinelog

The International Maritime Organization welcomes this year’s United Nations theme for International Women’s Day 2021 of “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”

This important message aligns with the various activities undertaken by IMO over the years to make the maritime sector more gender inclusive and to enhance the contribution of women as key maritime stakeholders.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said: “International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity for everyone in the maritime sector to ask: ‘Are we doing enough to make our industry more diverse?’

“We have seen time and again that having women in all roles, particularly in leadership creates a more prosperous and dynamic workforce. Moving forward, we must embrace these principles to ensure a sustainable recovery from the impacts of the COVID19 Pandemic, and to shape a fairer future for all,” the Secretary General continued.

As part of IMO’s remit to meet the Sustainable Development Goal for gender equality (SDG 5) under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the organization has been taking tangible steps to make maritime more inclusive, including the Women in Maritime Programme, 2019 World Maritime Theme, and more.

He said “It is vital that the maritime sector shows support for the many talented women in our industry. We take this support seriously and at IMO we launched our ‘my maritime mentor’ online campaign to celebrate International Women’s Day, and to highlight the 2021 World Maritime Theme ‘Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future’. We encourage everyone to recognize the support and to share their stories about their inspiring mentors in the maritime industry, who have helped them shine brighter.”

“We are currently working with WISTA International to gather data for the first “Women in Maritime” survey, to assess the participation of women in the maritime sector. The results of this will create a baseline for our industry to measure effort and track progress. I look forward to working with each and every one of you to continue on the path to making maritime more inclusive,” he said.

IMO has focused its diversity efforts via its gender and capacity building programme, which is now in its thirty-third year. The Women in Maritime gender programme supports women in both shore-based and sea-going roles.

This programme spearheaded activities around the IMO’s 2019 World Maritime Theme, ‘Empowering Women in the Maritime Community’. The programme has supported the creation of a number of regional associations for women in the maritime sector across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Arab States and the Pacific Islands. Women from developing countries are also being given support to move into leadership roles via sponsorships to the Maritime SheEO leadership accelerator programme.

To increase visibility of women in maritime, IMO has produced a video showing how the Women in Maritime Programme is helping to support gender diversity. It has also made available a photo bank of images of women in maritime from submitted content. The use of these real-life photos in news stories, social media posts and brochures is vital to more diverse representation in the maritime world.

Source: hellenicshippingnews

House leaders Thursday introduced legislation that would provide relief to the maritime industry during national emergencies like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other natural disasters.

Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, introduced the Maritime Transportation System Emergency Relief Act in response to a hearing on May 29 where maritime community members testified to the unprecedented challenges the industry is facing in light of the pandemic.

“The men and women who work within the Maritime Transportation System are part of our Nation’s essential workforce that has been key to keeping critical goods moving during the global pandemic, and for that, we owe them a debt of gratitude,” DeFazio said. “But our thanks are not enough. We must also ensure that stakeholders across our maritime industry have the resources and equipment they need to keep the global supply chain moving and stay safe while doing so. The legislation we are introducing today will give the maritime sector the same protections and relief given to other industries during COVID-19, and will close a huge gap in current federal emergency assistance that has left links in the maritime supply chain isolated and unable to access other assistance programs available to other industries.”

The bill is designed to establish a maritime emergency relief authority that would enable Maritime Administration to give financial assistance to stabilize the U.S. Maritime Transportation System and ensure the reliability of its functioning in the event of a national emergency or disaster.
The Maritime Administration would be authorized to provide grant assistance to pay for repairing or replacing equipment, facilities, and short infrastructure that suffers serious damage during major natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis. The administration would also be authorized to provide assistance to maritime industry entities in covering operating and overhead costs involved with any emergency response operation – including cleaning, sanitizing, staffing, paying for paid leave, or procuring personal protective equipment – needed to keep the MTS operating.

“Ensuring the maritime industry has the resources it needs during an emergency or natural disaster is an important step in protecting the workers, national security assets, and goods that pass through our ports every day. The coronavirus pandemic made it clear that we need more support and systems in place to stabilize the industry in the event of a catastrophe. The Maritime Transportation System Emergency Relief Act will help better support this vital industry in a comprehensive way, and get the United States Maritime Transportation System the reliable support it needs for the future,” Maloney said.

Source: transportationtodaynews

Clothes got laundered, mattresses replaced and pesticides sprayed as the Navy waged war against a stubborn infestation of bedbugs that found their way onto a nuclear-powered submarine homeported in the Bremerton area.

Navy entomologists now certify that “all feasible measures have been taken” to control the infestation and have recommended “repopulation of berthing,” according to a statement from Cmdr. Cindy Fields, a public affairs officer for the Naval Submarine Forces Pacific.

This campaign aboard the USS Connecticut has included laying down diatomaceous dust to draw insects out of hiding and into contact with this “deadly” countermeasure, according to the statement.

But the Navy’s efforts have not quelled concerns from the crew, some of whom have been sleeping on cots in a pier-side shelter erected as temporary quarters to avoid getting bitten in the submarine “racks” where people sleep.

“They are really frustrated and feel like they have been let down by the Navy,” said Jeffery Rachall, who previously served aboard the submarine and — since leaving military service in 2018 — has remained in close contact with other crew. “They are complaining about a lack of sleep. They itch, and the bugs are crawling all over.”

Bedbugs are oval-shaped insects, about one-quarter inch long when fully grown, that feed on blood from humans and some animals. They can be transported into hotels, homes and boats on people’s clothing, luggage or other personal belongings. They often take up residence in beds, where they may leave small spots that mark their presence. Though bites swell and become itchy, it may take two days or more for them to show up.

Source: seattletimes

Mar 15, 2021 (CDN Newswire via Comtex) — Global Maritime Traffic Management System Market 2020 by Company, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025 is the latest excellent and defined market research report which provides detailed information of the industry including classifications, applications, development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. The report represents a telescopic view of the competitive landscape to the clients. The report will help both existing and new players in the market to figure out and study market needs, market size, and competition. To craft this global Maritime Traffic Management System market report in an outstanding manner, up-to-date and advanced tools and techniques have been used so that client achieves maximum benefits. The research analyzes multiple aspects, including the production and end-use segments of the market.

Key Discoveries of The Report:

The report contains comprehensive information about the global Maritime Traffic Management System market’s major competitors, including various organizations, companies, associations, suppliers, and manufacturers competing in this market for production, supply, sales, revenue, and after-sales performance expectations. The report offers insights into revenue growth and sustainability initiative. This market report looks over the market with reference to general market conditions, market improvement, market scenarios, development, cost, and profit of the required market regions, position, and comparative pricing between major players. The market is segmented on the basis of nature, product, sales channel, and type.

Source: marketwatch

The cruise ferry Color Magic has resumed her normal schedule after a coronavirus scare on board. One of her crewmembers tested positive during a routine check on September 10, and Color Line canceled the vessel’s scheduled Saturday departure as a precautionary measure. All other crewmembers were also tested to determine if there might be additional cases, and all passengers who were on board for the affected voyage were notified.

However, the suspected case turned out to be a false alarm. The individual who tested positive was retested and showed no evidence of infection, and the Color Magic has resumed her normal Oslo-to-Kiel round trip service.

“We are very happy that Color Magic can resume its daily [operation] in the knowledge that there is no proven infection among any of our employees on board,” said Color Line CEO Trond Kleivdal. “It is positive for both the guests and our employees that the strict infection control routines work, because a safe ship provides the good experience we give our many thousands of guests daily.”

Color Line is the first firm in Norway to have its coronavirus prevention and response policies verified by DNV GL. In addition to the industry standard self-declaration health form, each passenger’s body temperature is measured with a thermal camera before boarding in order to detect symptomatic cases. Crewmembers who come from high-infection-rate regions are quarantined for ten days before working on board.

Like all cruise and ferry operators, Color Line has also experienced a financial impact – as well as an operational impact – from the COVID-19 crisis. The firm is implementing cost reduction plans to cut its overhead by roughly $28 million in 2021, including reducing its staffing by the equivalent of about 300 full-time positions. Kleivdal says that Color Line will use voluntary measures as much as it can in order to achieve the cuts.

Source: maritime-executive

As the nation continues to adapt to the evolving global pandemic, the tug, towboat and barge industry is playing a quiet but important role in the national response to the Covid-19 crisis.

For the past 10 months, through lockdowns and major economic shifts, vessels plying the inland and coastal waterways have kept working under strict health protocols, assisting ships arriving at U.S. ports and moving products throughout the inland river system that are keeping the national and global economy going.

Tidewater saw a brief bump in the movement of wood products used in the manufacture of paper products in April due to demands for toilet paper and paper towels. Tidewater Transportation & Terminals photo

For many companies, demand for their vessels has slipped, especially for energy-related products as the pandemic has depressed the worldwide demand for oil. Other barge lines that carry grain mostly for export have thrived. Overall, companies and their employees appear to have adapted well to the new health and sanitary operating rules which have helped avoid widespread Covid outbreaks and kept barge tows moving. Unlike other industries, major layoffs have been avoided.

All maritime companies play a role in the pandemic response in that they are important players in the global supply chain, moving all types of commodities that are crucial to the economy. It might not be obvious, but transporting these products keep refineries, energy plants and factories working, ships full of grain for export, and steel and wood flowing for construction. This keeps many Americans working and assures that products are available for consumers.

COVID-19 BUSINESS

Some companies have seen some business directly related to Covid-19 response, transporting materials used to make medical supplies, hand sanitizer, personal protection equipment, or guiding into port Navy hospital ships called to help in New York and Los Angeles.

Tidewater Transportation & Terminals, Vancouver, Wash., experienced a 5%-7% increase in movements of finished wood products in the Pacific Northwest in April over the same month in 2019, due to a surge in demand for toilet paper and paper towels, according to Geoff Doersler, dispatch and logistic manager. “That has since leveled out, and we’re now back to the status quo.”

American Commercial Barge Line, one of the nation’s largest barge operators, said it has transported more than 1.6 million gals. of denatured ethanol, a key ingredient for alcohol-based hand sanitizers, disinfectants, sprays, wipes and cleaners, along the inland river system since the pandemic began. The Jeffersonville, Ind., company said that several of its towboats took turns pushing barges of denatured ethanol along the Texas Gulf Coast and up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers before it was discharged and processed.

Tug companies along the East and West coasts have also assisted in the arrival and departure of two Navy hospital ships.

Tugs from New York-based McAllister Towing helped dock the USNS Comfort hospital ship when it arrived in New York City on March 30 to support the coronavirus response. Four Z-drive tractor tugs maneuvered the 900-foot Navy vessel into Manhattan’s Cruise Terminal at Pier 90 in the Hudson River.

Before departing New York after treating 180 patients during its month-long stay, the bunkering of the Comfort was handled by Baltimore’s Vane Brothers. “Vane’s bunkering of the Comfort illustrates that our mariners and the job they do were essential to the emergency response that the Comfort provided, as well as to commerce during normal times,” John Bowie, Vane’s New York-based general manager, said at the time.

On the West Coast, tugs from Foss Maritime Co. escorted the USNS Mercy into Los Angeles in late March, where the ship treated non-Covid patients in order to relieve pressure on local hospitals.

At the end of the year, Los Angeles requested that the ship return to help deal with a second Covid-19 outbreak, but the Mercy is currently undergoing extended maintenance at a shipyard in Portland, Ore, and the Navy says it won’t be available anytime soon.

Should a redeployment of the Mercy occur, Foss is ready to assist again, said Jeff Horst, vice president of sales and marketing at the Seattle-based company. He added that Foss also assisted the Mercy into Vigor’s shipyard on the Columbia River for repairs.

This assignment is one example of how maritime companies are helping during the pandemic.

“Our tugs have been assisting ships that we can only assume have been carrying needed supplies to first responders,” Horst said. “Given the volume over the past four months, breaking records for containership arrivals and ships at anchorage waiting to berth, the supply chain is full, and all the maritime community has a hand in being sure we continue operations and keep the supplies moving. Our crew protocols are strict and have proven effective in assuring a healthy workforce.”

Pandemic response has also forced many maritime companies to retool their services and business plans. At Crowley Maritime, Jacksonville, Fla., the company has adapted as their customers have adjusted to new market demands imposed by the pandemic.

“As customers changed, we’ve changed,” said David DeCamp, director of corporate communications. In addition to operating vessels, Crowley is a diversified supply-chain logistics company, serving government and commercial clients with an array of transportation services.

Through its different business units, Crowley has taken on more government and military work, supporting delivery of protective masks, PPE and emergency food deliveries, he said, working with companies in the U.S. and Central America that have retooled their production to make protective equipment.

In April, Crowley shipped a container of donated fresh produce from Puerto Rico to low-income families and community centers in the Hispanic community in New York City that were impacted by the pandemic. The container arrived on Crowley’s LNG-powered containership Taíno in Jacksonville and was then trucked to New York City for distribution.

In the early days of Covid-19, when public knowledge about the virus was just beginning to evolve, Crowley developed a new design and operating concept for a medical support barge. It’s a large deck barge that can be quickly deployed to provide emergency housing for about 500 people during Covid outbreaks. But demand for such a vessel has softened as Covid response has evolved over the past several months, DeCamp said, although the temporary conversion of barges for such medical purposes remains a “viable concept.”

The maritime community, which is considered an essential workforce, has made many operational changes and “done a tremendous job keeping commerce moving and the logistical supply chain viable amidst personal sacrifice,” added Cole Cosgrove, Crowley’s vice president of global ship management.

The next big challenge, he said, will be gaining priority access for the Covid vaccine for maritime workers.

“The challenges have been many — and some still to be resolved — but the maritime workforce remains resilient and continues to serve the worldwide need for goods transportation.”

Source: workboat

The crew change crisis is set to ramp back up once more, according to crewing firm Danica. Restrictive cross-border movement rules are being imposed again following the emergence of the new, more infectious UK and South African COVID-19 variants, causing airlines to cancel flights and ports to tighten rules on seafarer movement.

“I believe we may be heading for a new crew change crisis every bit as bad as last spring,” warned Henrik Jensen, managing director of Danica Crewing Services. “In response to the rapid increase in infections around the world, governments are imposing new or additional measures including travel restrictions. Although these measures are understandable in the circumstances, based on scientific evidence, and intended to provide protection for their populations, they also cause operational and logistical problems for crew changes.”

As an example, requirements for seafarers to take a COVID-19 test within a certain time period before travel (as mandated for entrance to Singapore and the U.S.) can be a challenge, depending upon the country of origin. The availability of testing capacity and quarantine accommodations can make compliance difficult.

While the IMO’s proposed crew change protocols give port states a helpful template for managing seafarer transits, Jensen says that local regulations are the real governing factor, and uniform international standards “may be a remote dream” – especially when some nations are facing an explosion of domestic cases. “We have seen that, when a country’s health service is at full stretch trying to cope with infected patients, then broad and strict restrictions are imposed quickly,” he said. “Sadly we have to realize that, when a country has a citizen dying every minute from Covid-19, then a handful of seafarers of foreign nationality left behind on a vessel are not a high priority for them.”

Compliance aside, the practical challenges created by the new COVID strains are very real. “The new, more infectious variants present a higher risk that a crew member may be infected on the way to the vessel and transfer the infection to his ship mates onboard,” Jensen said. “One or more COVID-19 infected patients on a vessel is a very serious situation as there is insufficient medical care available onboard to treat a serious case. It is very difficult to mitigate this risk and in some cases we have to abandon crew change plans if they involve a long transit or a high-risk area.”

Source: maritime-executive

Understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 disruption on maritime transport, response measures adopted and overall implications for the sector is key given the role of maritime transport as the backbone underpinning global supply chains, trade, and economic interdependency.  Any disruption to global maritime transportation networks can have far-reaching implications for a highly globalized world economy. The restrictions introduced in response to the pandemic have caused disruptions affecting ports, shipping, and supply chains. In this context, assessing impacts, managing risks, and building resilience in maritime transport are the new mantras of a post Covid-19 world.

Organized in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), the webinar aims at:

• Raising awareness, among policy makers and industry players, about COVID-19 impacts, responses and good practices in crises management and resilience building.
• Improving understanding of the COVID-19 impacts on the region’s maritime transport system.
• Identifying relevant response measures taken to mitigate impacts and ascertaining potential good practices allowing for effective crises management and business continuity.
• Building capacity to plan and prepare for future similar disruptions and future proofing the region’s maritime supply chain
• Gathering input from participating stakeholders with a view to guidance material and tools that will be developed by UNCTAD in support sustainability and resilience building efforts.

The webinar is the second in a series of online regional capacity building activities carried out by UNCTAD under the maritime transport component of the UNDA project named “Transport and trade connectivity in the age of pandemics: Contactless, seamless, and collaborative UN solutions”. It draws upon the main findings of the updated UNCTAD’s assessment contained in the “COVID-19 and Maritime Transport: Impact and Responses”.

Key activities carried out by UNCTAD under this project include:

• Research and extensive data compilation and analysis to help assess the impact of the COVID-19 disruption on the global and regional maritime transportation systems
• Analysis and identification of relevant response measures introduced by varied stakeholders in the face of the COVID-19 disruption
• Identification of good practices that allowed for effective management of the crisis and maintaining business continuity in the maritime supply chain
• Development of guidance material and training to build capacity and upgrade skills with a view to maritime supply chain resilience-building.

UN-ESCAP and UN-ESCWA have been carrying out a number of activities at the regional level to evaluate the specific challenges and impacts, as well as to strengthen regional and sectoral collaboration in the crisis response and recovery policies.

Source: unctad

U.S. ports and terminal operators hope a last-ditch effort on Capitol Hill will send emergency funding their way as lawmakers put the final touches on the next COVID-19 relief package.

Such relief has so far eluded the maritime sector, which has been frustrated watching other transportation modes such as public transit and the airlines get billions of dollars from the previous two COVID-19 relief bills signed during the Trump administration.

“The port industry has yet to receive any relief in funding with regard to this COVID crisis,” testified Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, California, before a House Transportation & Infrastructure subcommittee Tuesday.

“So if I could leave one thing with this subcommittee, we just want to have a percentile of relief that is so important.”

Negotiations on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package are ongoing, with committees within the U.S. House of Representatives expected to begin voting on the bill on Wednesday. A draft version of the proposal includes $30 billion for transit agencies, $14 billion for passenger airlines, $8 billion for airports and $1.5 billion for Amtrak, according to Reuters.

Cordero, who was at the hearing representing the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) as its chairman, asked lawmakers to consider funding the maritime sector through the Maritime Transportation System Emergency Relief Program (MTSERA), created as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020. It authorizes the U.S. Maritime Administration to award grants due to emergencies, including the current pandemic.

Eligible recipients include vessel owners and operators, shipyards, and ports. Operating costs for which the relief funds can be used include cleaning, sanitization, personal protective equipment, fuel, debt payments, workforce retention and infrastructure repair.

“Funding MTSERA at $3.5 billion or more will begin to enable this industry to recover,” testified Lauren Brand, president of the National Association of Waterfront Employers, which represents marine terminal operators.

“Each of our members is a key leader in the movement of freight. They handle containers filled with consumer goods and manufacturing parts, bulk products needed to build roads, agriculture shipped overseas to feed other nations, export cars and heavy equipment that is made in the U.S., petroleum products needed to propel trucks, trains, planes and automobiles, and, yes, they handle thousands and thousands of boxes of PPE and equipment needed to fight COVID.”

Brand asserted that the shift by consumers from buying services to buying goods — a direct result of COVID-19 — has pushed the container supply chain to its limits. This has led to loaded containers dwelling on marine terminals for eight days in a system designed to store them for half that time. Containers normally stacked three-high are now having to stack five-high.

“A trucker is dispatched to pick up your container, which is now probably at the bottom of that stack, requiring the stevedore to move four other containers to retrieve your load,” she said. “These added container moves degrade terminal efficiency while vastly increasing operating costs … and the truck driver has been kept waiting.”

Source: freightwaves