Jones Act

...the dedicated Asia–Hawaii Express will be upgraded from a fortnightly service to a weekly sailing starting in July 2017....

“Regarding our ability to retrieve energy, we don’t need anybody. Transportation may be our biggest impediment.”

...Guam, like the other four inhabited U.S.-governed territories, lacks even a semblance of political representation back on the mainland....

...reporting on the expiration of two maritime union contracts with Matson....

...APL Ltd. will inaugurate a direct Asia / Hawaii with the first vessel arrival to Honolulu scheduled on Sunday, August  13, 2017....

...“Benign neglect,” were the words Lieutenant Gov. Ray Tenorio used to describe Washington’s relationship with his island. “The feds view Guam only as a military asset. Nothing more.”....

...there is nothing in the public record that would indicate Admiral Buzby’s views on national maritime policy....

...the need for the Jones Act is sensibly being questioned and challenged as never before....

Pasha faces the more immediate need to renew its fleet, which still has four steamships over 30 years old....

VIDEO: Mike Hansen discusses what this means, whether it's likely to happen, and how it fits in the Hawaii marine seascape....

...New Anacortes-built trawler could be grounded by old law, endangering two Washington State firms....

...Philly Shipyard is in advanced talks with a leading Jones Act operator to establish a new shipping service in the Hawaii containership trade with up to four new, state-of-the-art, cost-effective and environment-friendly vessels....

...This is an important development for many shippers in Hawaii and Guam because it further places the supposed opportunity to take advantage of these international services to the islands out of reach....

...The SAMOANA is a fully cellular containership built in 2015 in China....

...Local shipyard Marisco Ltd. said the ship and its cargo — a dry dock 454 feet long and 150 feet wide — are expected to arrive today....

...Matson tried to hide it, but....

...One compromise could exempt Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico from the American-built ship requirement....

...advocating for additional changes in federal and local regulations to improve Puerto Rico’s economy....

...While the act harms all Americans, some consumers are more acutely affected — such as non-contiguous states like Alaska and Hawaii and American territories like Puerto Rico....

...those in the U.S. maritime industry (or, the “Jones Act industry”) demand conformity from their fellows in support of the protectionist policies, and how difficult it’s to speak-out against them....

U.S. federal laws and regulations impacting waterborne shipping increased approximately 200% from 1970 to 2014....

Today, the U.S. has fewer shipyards than any time in the recent past. Between 2006 and 2011, the Jones Act-eligible fleet shrank by over 17 percent....

“McDew testified that the U.S. military cargo ship fleet is "aging out" and asked Congress to approve the purchase of used commercial vessels....

...Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam have suffered the most from the restrictions of the Jones Act....

...Revocation of the rulings would close a loophole that allows the use of non-Jones Act eligible vessels to support the offshore industry....

...the Jones Act is not just a Hawaii problem — it’s a national problem....

...there is new criticism of the Food for Peace program and the requirement that much of the food aid be grown in the U.S. and transported on U.S. flag ships....

The 2nd Annual Maui County Carnival, scheduled for April 6-9, 2017, has been cancelled. Skyrocketing state government fees have been blamed....

At nearly 100 years old, it is still able to defeat reform efforts … despite a mountain of evidence that it cripples the economy, fails to achieve its aims and is badly in need of modernization....

...Jones Act distorts U.S. economy, endangers military....

Should the HDOT determine that a private ferry operation or public-private partnership is the desired model for the proposed ferry service the entity shall develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit for potential commercial ferry operators....

The work stoppage was in apparent violation of the contract between the Hawaii Stevedore industry and the ILWU....

If it is possible to address the national security concerns of the Jones Act through other, more efficient and effective legislation, then we might clear the path to modernizing the Act....

...over federal Clean Water Act violations relating to a September 2013 molasses spill into Honolulu Harbor....

On December 13, 2016, Governor Ige signed off on, and thereby finalized, significant increases in fees charged by the Department of Transportation Harbors Division....

The first two wharfage increases of 17% and 15% on February 1st and October 1st respectively will result in a 34.5% increase in 2017 on a compound basis....

...the American shipping industry has been in a steady decline for decades....

...the cumulative effect is a 54.8% increase in Wharfage rates....

...asking Harbors to release the financial information that would justify the need for a wharfage rate increase....

In the meantime the freight rates for Jones Act tankers to carry the petroleum products to the Northeast have reportedly doubled....

...container-on-barge shuttle service between the State’s Honolulu Harbor and Kalaeloa Barbers Point Harbor (KBPH) could eliminate much of the truck traffic on the H-1....

...The first public hearing on the proposal will be Nov. 7 at noon at the Pier 11 terminal at Honolulu Harbor....

...consider how a Jones Act exemption and privately-operated model can change the game....

...the harmful effects of the Jones Act on our Navy....

...the spread in ship prices between U.S. and foreign yards has now widened so much that it has significantly negatively impacted the U.S. economy and indirectly resulted in the loss of many thousands of U.S. jobs....