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February 11, 2013 In maritime news, maritime politics By Klaus Luhta

New Congressional Maritime Caucus Created

On February 7, 2013, Congressmen Cedric Richmond (D-LA) and Michael Grimm (R-NY) announced the formation of a Congressional Maritime Caucus. The caucus will give every member of Congress an opportunity to better understand the crucial role that the U.S.-flag maritime industry and its workforce of...

December 31, 2012 In maritime economics, maritime news By Klaus Luhta

Thinking Inside the Box

On a recent overseas flight I sat next to a guy who works as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist. After creating and selling off a few successful internet companies he turned his efforts to investing in internet startups. He essentially now decides what the future...

October 31, 2012 In maritime news, maritime private security By Klaus Luhta

Navy Funding Starts With Merchant Ships

As the Department of Defense faces looming budget cuts, the various branches of the military must be scrambling to assure the administration as to the efficacy of their various programs. The service provided during war time it is clear and higher military spending is easily...

July 26, 2012 In maritime news, maritime politics By Klaus Luhta

Shades of Gray – Maritime Edition

If you are looking for some licentious and lascivious reading relating to shipping, look no further than the Paris MOU list of vessel registry rankings. The greatest obscenity of the rankings is the United States demotion from the white list to the gray list. At...

May 21, 2012 In maritime news By Klaus Luhta

Time and Navigation

I had the privilege recently to visit the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England and see firsthand not only the demarcation of 0° longitude, known as the Prime Meridian or the Greenwich Meridian, but also John Harrison’ s revolutionary timepieces. This visit is a rite of...

April 3, 2012 In maritime news, maritime politics By Klaus Luhta

Sustaining Jones Act a Necessity

If you peruse news outlets and the internet you may notice a growing number of articles and blog posts denouncing the Jones Act, concluding that it causes high gasoline prices. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) even recently introduced legislative amendments that would repeal the Jones Act...

March 2, 2012 In maritime news, maritime politics By Klaus Luhta

Great Lakes Dredging Crisis

The annual Great Lakes Waterways Conference, themed, “Recovery, Renewal & Reinvestment 2012,” was held during the last week of February in Cleveland, Ohio. Various industry experts from both Canada and the United States attended and participated in roundtable discussions on the current state of Great...

January 24, 2012 In maritime disasters, maritime news By Klaus Luhta

The Cost of Complaceny – Costa Concordia

One of my first shipping assignments out of school was aboard a break bulk cargo vessel bound for Thule, Greenland. The neat thing about that run are the massive icebergs as you get closer to the Arctic Circle. But the bergs can also be the...

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January 11, 2012 In maritime disasters, maritime news By Klaus Luhta

The Fatigue Cliche’

Has the concept of fatigue simply become a buzzword for criminalized mariners when they are forced to defend themselves against punitive Coast Guard investigations? Or is the idea of fatigue legitimate? In this modern age and with all the studies that have been conducted on...

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