Sorenson Joins St. Johns Ship Building in VP Role
management and customer relations. Most recently, Sorenson served as director of sales at Willard Marine, Inc. Before his role at Willard Marine, Sorenson held key leadership positions at Lake Assault Boats and Silver Ships, Inc. His background also includes nearly a decade of service with the U.S. Coast Guard.“We are thrilled to welcome Jim to the St. Johns Ship Building team,” Rella said. “His leadership and experience in government sales will play a key role in expanding our presence in this critical market, and we are confident that he will help drive continued growth and success
Canadian Shipbuilder Davie Names Maxie Lafleur President
leadership team, and world-class workforce, I have no doubt we will achieve and even exceed our strategic goals in building top-tier ships for the Canadian government and its NATO allies."Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy is a long-term program aimed at modernizing the Canadian Navy and Coast Guard fleets through the construction and acquisition of new vessels, boosting domestic shipbuilding capabilities and supporting economic growth.The ICE Pact is a tripartite agreement involving Canada, Finland, and the U.S. government focused on icebreaker construction. Davie, which operates shipyards
Tamekia Flack Joins World Shipping Council as Director of US Government Relations
from her career in maritime transportation law and policy, having most recently served as the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) following a period as MARAD’s Chief Counsel. Prior to MARAD, Flack was a civilian attorney for the U.S. Coast Guard. Flack is a U.S. Army veteran, having served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Tulane University School of Law and a degree from Dillard University.“We are thrilled to welcome Tamekia to the World Shipping Council,” said Joe Kramek,
US Investigation Leads Maersk to Change Reporting Policy for Employees
As part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Maersk Line Limited will change its safety reporting policies and compensate a seaman the company terminated after they reported safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard without first notifying their employer.The actions follow a three-day hearing in June 2024 where Maersk challenged the findings of a whistleblower investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which found the company violated the employee’s rights under the federal Seaman’s Protection Act by retaliating against the
Mark Handin Named President at Patriot Maritime
under Patriot Contract Services. LLC., and its American Ship Management, LLC subsidiary. He will reside in Houston, Texas and oversee the company’s growing operational office in the Houston area.Bardo retires after 13 years with the company, preceded by almost 30 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard. He will remain with the company through the end of June 2024 and will continue serving the company in a part-time consultancy thereafter.Lance Bardo (Photo: Patriot Maritime)Patriot Maritime Principal and CEO, Ryan Pereyda, said, “We are delighted to welcome Mark Handin to the Patriot
Blank Rome Welcomes Maritime Partner Luke Reid
Luke M. Reid has joined Blank Rome as a partner in the firm’s Maritime group and as a member of the Transportation industry team in the Boston office. A former U.S. Coast Guard officer, Reid advises clients in connection with all aspects of international and domestic maritime regulatory compliance, as well as representing maritime clients in connection with government investigations, criminal and civil litigation, defense of maritime regulatory enforcement actions, environmental enforcement defense, and international law. He joins Blank Rome from K&L Gates.Blank Rome established its Boston
Maritime Employers: Working to Find Workers
. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, from 2022 to 2032, 8,800 water transportation workers will be needed each year, mostly to replace retirees or people leaving the maritime sector.In the face of these challenges, maritime companies are not just drifting about. Across the U.S. – in coastal, inland waterways and Great Lakes ports – companies are stepping up, partnering with training facilities, forming regional workforce coalitions and establishing in-house apprenticeships. The following is a closer look at some of these workforce initiatives.Partnership: Fincantieri Shipyards
Help Wanted: US Maritime Industry Struggles to Fill Key Gaps
some point, but we’re concerned with how we would sustain those ships at sea, and provide for some kind of relief for our people.”So how can the problem—the shortage of qualified U.S. mariners—be solved? That’s exactly what lawmakers and agencies such as MARAD and the U.S. Coast Guard, among many others—including commercial maritime industry partners—are trying to figure out.MARAD has been working to find new ways to bolster the nation’s maritime workforce, leading a number of initiatives to support mariner training and education. These include providing
No Shortage of Good Ideas to Address the Mariner Shortage
The U.S. mariner shortage continues to be a strategic national security concern for all maritime industry stakeholders. So what can the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) do to address the problem?Subcommittees on Readiness, and Seapower and Projection Forces on the “Posture and Readiness of the Mobility Enterprise.” Both Administrator Phillips and Gen. Van Ovost focused on the mariner shortage as a key readiness concern. Gen Van Ovost stated, “The U.S. maritime industry is confronting manpower shortages that create a national security risk. Merchant Mariner
MRS '24 - Panel 5: Identifying Risk, Measuring Success in the "Gray Zone"
.” iiThis panel will investigate how to identify and categorize gray zone activities and what types of responses are appropriate and necessary using the elements of national power and international bodies. The Department of Defense isn’t the only player in this arena. The United States Coast Guard offers that they will “provide a full spectrum of engagement in the grey zone as nation-states and transnational criminal organizations generate increased uncertainty and complexity in the maritime domain.” iiiPanelists from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, academia, and think
Bristol Harbor Group Hires Kyle Pagan
of water exposure, investigating their potential effects on ship models utilized in towing tank testing.Prior to working at BHGI, Pagan worked as a naval architect at Birdon US in Elmwood, La. He was a member of the 500 SWBS group responsible for designing auxiliary systems for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Waterways Commerce cutter program. Pagan also interned at LLOG Exploration Company in Covington, La., and assisted project managers with engineering calculations, subsea integrity management programs, and regulatory requirements for several deep-water oil and gas production systems.
Texas A&M to Reduce Tuition For Merchant Mariner License Students
University at Galveston said it will reduce fees for current and future out-of-state students seeking a merchant mariner license from the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, in an effort that aims to help the maritime industry fill worsening labor gaps.Texas A&M Maritime Academy students earn their U.S. Coast Guard license while completing one of several license-option four-year bachelor’s degree programs at Texas A&M at Galveston.Effective September 1, under a new three-tiered fee structure approved by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, students from Louisiana, Mississippi
GAO: Coast Guard Should Address Workforce Recruitment and Retention Challenges
The Coast Guard has struggled for years to recruit and retain a sufficient workforce. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the non-partisan, fact-based arm of the Congress, has published multiple reports related to the Coast Guard’s workforce including recruitment and retention challenges. Three of these reports published in 2022 and 2023 have resulted in 17 GAO recommendations to address these issues, but as of today, 16 remain open and need to be addressed. Implementing these recommendations is key to the Coast Guard’s ability to recruit and retain the personnel necessary
US Coast Guard Announces New Merchant Mariner Credential
The U.S. Coast Guard announced a new merchant mariner credential (MMC) set to launch on March 1, 2024, marking the first comprehensive revision of the mariner credential in nearly a decade.The Coast Guard is the exclusive source of U.S. MMCs, which are required for U.S. mariners who serve on commercially operated vessels such as passenger boats, tug and barges, offshore supply vessels, and deep draft ocean going cargo vessels throughout the nation and internationally.The Coast Guard said it is replacing the legacy MMC passport-style booklet (“Red Book”) with a new certificate size one page
TAI Engineers Names Kalla Director of Production Design
at TAI Engineers. “Kalla will be responsible for TAI’s global production design team in the U.S. and abroad."Kalla is an engineering manager with more than a decade of experience specializing in shipbuilding. He has been a key figure in spearheading multimillion-dollar Canadian Navy and Coast Guard projects. Before joining TAI, Kalla served as a senior engineering program manager at Tesla. Kalla also served as the manager of detail design at Vancouver Shipyards. Kalla holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He also
Wiltshire Named Acting Director of Port Everglades
that Monica and the Board of County Commissioners have placed in me to step in as Acting Director, and I look forward to keeping the port on the progressive path set by Jonathan," Wiltshire said.Wiltshire joined Port Everglades in 2006 as the Deputy Port Director after his retirement from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) as Captain of the Port for New York/New Jersey. He has successfully implemented several innovative programs to support increasing cargo, cruise and energy volumes, and has worked closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other state and federal agencies to move the port forward
Bristol Harbor Group Promotes Eling
holds a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State of Rhode Island. Eling worked for 15 years as a naval architect in Washington, D.C. on numerous U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, commercial and international naval projects.At BHGI, Eling is a project manager for new construction and major conversion work on commercial and government passenger and work vessels. Some of his engineering specialties include stability, weights, distributed systems and design integration
