US considering foreign tankers to move domestic fuel supplies
Jones Act waiver process underway to assess availability of US ships for pipeline replacement cargos Jones Act waiver would allow foreign tankers into US markets. (Photo: Shutterstock/Vallehr)
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is assessing whether American tankers can meet emergency fuel demands caused by the Colonial Pipeline shutdown or if foreign ships will be needed to help fill the gap.
“The Biden-Harris administration is continually assessing the impact of the ongoing Colonial Pipeline incident on fuel supplies for the East Coast and is monitoring reported shortages in parts of the Southeast,” DOT stated Tuesday. “This ongoing effort includes evaluating resources the federal government can mobilize to mitigate potential impacts.”
April 21, 2021 By Waterways Journal
By Lance M. Sannino, James Kearns and Amiee Andres
The “Report Card” recently issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers has added to the renewed attention directed to the state of America’s infrastructure. Although the nation’s ports were given a grade of B-minus, better than the grade of C-minus given to the country’s infrastructure overall, the report card noted, “Smaller and inland ports are especially challenged to maintain their infrastructure and have difficulty in competing for federal grants.”
Aimee Andres
A small but significant step was made to address this challenge when, in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021, Congress amended, in several ways, the Port Infrastructure Development Program that is administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd). Prior to this amendment, 25 percent of the amounts appropriated for grants under thi
Power index: Top 10 Biden appointments affecting freight markets
Leaders from across the administration connect supply chain links Top 10 picks influence rail, ocean, highway freight. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves & The White House)
While almost every cabinet department and a host of federal agencies within the executive branch touch freight and supply chains in some way, these 10 recent appointees by President Joe Biden will likely figure most prominently in steering freight transportation policy as Biden’s administration gets underway. The list is in alphabetical order by last name.
Pete Buttigieg, secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
(Credit: U.S. DOT)
Background: Buttigieg began campaigning for Biden almost immediately after dropping out of the presidential race in early 2020 and given the endorsement power of the popular former South Bend, Indiana, mayor, it was not a surprise he was rewarded with a cabinet post. Most would not have guessed, howeve
February 15, 2021 By Shelley Byrne
Maritime companies have a lot of options when it comes to choosing how to save money on fuel costs and work toward greater environmental sustainability.
Several of those options were discussed as part of “Decarbonization Challenges and Opportunities in Marine Transportation,” a lectern session that was part of the recent Transportation Research Board’s annual conference.
Held virtually over the past two weeks, the TRB conference is normally the world’s the largest gathering of transportation research professionals. The TRB is part of the Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Panelists at the session on decarbonization included those from academia and government.