The Names Behind the News

The Maritime Executive team, led by Editor-in-Chief Tony Munoz, looks forward to a bright 2018 and thanks our valued newsletter readers and contributors, with a selection of the best editorials from 2017:

The Protectionist "Shakedown" of Puerto Rico
By Tony Munoz 

2017-10-02: The recent op-ed in The New York Times by former New York State Assemblyman Nelson A. Denis, titled “The Jones Act: The Law Strangling Puerto Rico,” is filled with a number of inaccuracies and misleading statements. It seems that fake accusations are acceptable to even the opinion page editors of this highly respected newspaper. More...

Adm. Buzby: Media Missed the Story on Puerto Rico Sealift
By Paul Benecki 

2017-12-03: In a speech at the International Workboat Show last week, Maritime Administrator Rear Adm. Mark Buzby took the mainstream media to task for its coverage of the Jones Act and the American maritime industry's support for Puerto Rico. 

In an interview with MarEx, Adm. Buzby gave an overview of the multi-agency, public-private partnerships that supported the relief sealift in the wake of Hurricane Maria. More...

Downers
By Wendy Laursen 

2017-10-11: A “downer” is an animal who can't, or refuses to, stand up. One of the reasons this can happen during a live export voyage is that the animal slips over. With hind legs splayed, they are vulnerable to trampling and unable to reach feed or water. Being stepped on by penmates can result in body and leg bruising and in herniation of abdominal contents and genitals – conditions that are very painful and potentially fatal. The animals are often euthanized. 

That was the fate of around 90 cattle on the maiden journey of the GL Kaihou, a purpose-built livestock carrier newbuild built in China, that sailed from Darwin in Australia to Brunei earlier this year. More...

The Next Big Thing: Expedition Cruises
By Allan E. Jordan 

2017-09-03: The next “big thing” in cruising may not be big at all. Mirroring the global surge in adventure tourism, the cruise industry is preparing to introduce 15 expedition ships over the next two years. In fact, a fifth of all the new cruise ships on order are designed for expedition travel, which historically has been the smallest segment of the market. More...

Remembering When the Arctic Was a War Zone
By Mia Bennett 

2017-06-12: The media today seems to get a thrill out of announcing that war is around the corner in the Arctic. But 75 years ago, the icebound region really was wracked by battles and bombings. The deserts of north Africa, the jungles of Southeast Asia, and the cities of Europe are commonly imagined as World War II battlegrounds. But the frozen lands and waters of the Arctic were, too.

Actual battles in the Arctic made headlines every so often, with newspapers telling readers in places like Spokane, Washington and Bend, Oregon of ships lost and men saved in frigid climates. On this Memorial Day, here are five such news stories that capture a time when the Arctic made news not because of climate change or resource bonanzas, but rather because of war. More...

Container Shipping and Asia's Changing Economies
By Harry Valentine 

2017-03-12: The viability of the international container ship transportation industry depends on vibrant trade between distant nations, and that trade depends on cost-competitive manufacturing industries in the exporting nations, mainly China.

From the early 1980s, China’s economy transformed from a medieval socialist economy to a vibrant and dynamic manufacturing economy based on state-of-the-art automated production technology. More...

A First Impression of BIMCO's New KPI Software
By Erik Kravets 

2017-05-28: At the Hamburg live demonstration of BIMCO’s new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) software, we were given a first hand look to a new interactive method for handling supply chain requirements, benchmarking fleet efficiency and automating the generation of reports for regulatory compliance (presumably, such reports only work only on a general level, rather than being adapted to the specific legal framework of the respective flag state). More...

Duterte Reaches out to U.S. Amid South China Sea Harassment
By Noel Tarrazona 

2017-10-03: As reports that Chinese vessels are increasing in number near Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the South China Sea, Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte has hinted at a possible reconciliation with the U.S.

Duterte made a surprise announcement  that he wanted to be “friendly” with the U.S., a view which contrasts to earlier statements. On several previous occasions, he called on U.S. special forces in the Philippines to return home and said he no longer wanted a joint military sea and land exercise with the U.S. He even described the U.S. as a “lousy” country. More...