The Maritime Minute
News from The American Maritime Partnership, October 31, 2011
ESCOPETA FINED $15 MILLION FOR JONES ACT VIOLATION: U.S. Customs and Border Protection fined Escopeta Oil Company $15 million for violating the Jones Act. The company transported a jack-up rig from Texas to Alaska using a foreign-flagged vessel. The rig is drilling in Alaska’s Cook Inlet and the fine will not affect operations. Click here to read more.
AMP CHAIRMAN JAMES HENRY RECEIVES THE 2011 ADMIRAL OF THE OCEAN SEA AWARD: Click here to read more.
NEW EAST RIVER FERRY SERVICE PROVING A SUCCESS IN NEW YORK CITY: The New York Times reports that a ferry service begun in late June 2011, which transports passengers between Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River, has been a huge success and is attracting twice as many passengers as anticipated. Policymakers see the ferry service as ultimately attracting developers to other neighborhoods in the city with the intention of constructing an additional 21,000 apartments – creating jobs and expanding economic activity. “The only major complaint I’ve heard is that people want more of it,” said Seth W. Pinsky, the president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the service. Click here to read more
CARGO CARRIED BY U.S.-FLAG LAKES FLEET IS BIG JOBS GENERATOR: Cargo hauled on the Great Lakes in U.S.-flag vessels is responsible for more than 103,000 jobs in the United States according to a new study released on October 18. The study, The Economic Impacts of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, further determined that the value of economic output tied to U.S.-flag laker cargos topped $20 billion in 2010. Those cargos also generated federal, state, and local taxes totaling more than $2.2 billion. Indiana has the most jobs tied to cargo moved in Jones Act lakers with 39,903. Michigan follows with 23,485, but Ohio is close behind: 23,334. Totals by other states are Wisconsin – 5,589; Illinois – 5,356; Minnesota – 4,309; Pennsylvania – 761; and New York – 305. Click here to read more
ORDER FOR NEW TANKERS WILL ADD 1,000-PLUS JOBS AT PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD: The construction of two new tankers to move Alaska North Slope crude oil to the West Coast will swell employment at Aker Philadelphia’s shipyard. More than 1,000 new hires will be needed to build the double-hull ships, each of which will be capable of hauling 730,000 barrels per trip. The keel will be laid for the first tanker in mid-2012 and both vessels should enter service in 2014.