Recent Articles
How the Titanic Sank
James Cameron and his team pull together a new CGI of how they believe the Titanic sank and reached the ocean floor.
Navy League: Jones Act Vital to National Security
Navy League Policy statement Says Jones Act Vital to National Security.
A recently released annual policy statement from the Navy League of the United States, Maritime Primacy & Economic Security, says the Jones Act is critical to U.S. economic, homeland and national security – serving the nation by maintaining a skilled merchant marine, shipbuilding capacity and sea lift capability.
The policy statement says the Navy League supports “The Jones Act and Passenger Vessel Act, which are important to economic and national security because they protect critical national infrastructure and provide added sealift capacity through the VISA, an expanded pool of trained and experienced mariners to crew U.S. government-owned sealift assets and help sustain the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industrial base that is vital to the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.”
The Jones Act mandates the use of vessels that are American-crewed, -built and -owned to move cargo between two U.S. ports. Similar laws and statutes apply the same ground rules to the movement of passengers, towing, dredging and marine salvage. The law boosts security by adding a sealift capacity as well as an expanded pool of trained and experienced mariners to crew U.S. government-owned sealift assets.
“We are pleased that the Navy League supports the Jones Act and understands the essential role the law plays in creating jobs and protecting our homeland,” said James Henry, President of the Transportation Institute and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Maritime Partnership. “The Jones Act makes America more secure economically and militarily by maintaining a skilled merchant marine that supports our military while providing nearly 500,000 American jobs.”
The policy statement says the Jones Act is critical to the long-term sustainability of the U.S. fleet, noting that without commercial capability, the U.S. government would be required to provide significantly more funds to build a replacement fleet and infrastructure while losing the pool of highly qualified Mariners needed to sail these vessels. In addition, the Navy League says the Jones Act has a positive impact on the U.S. economy.
“Shipbuilding, ship repair and ship modernization create well-paying jobs for thousands of workers and, when added to the equipment and material supply companies, add a large number of jobs to the U.S. work force,” the Navy League says.
The Navy League’s Annual Maritime Policy Statement is produced by the Navy League Maritime Policy and Resolutions Committee and approved by its board of directors. To view the full policy statement, visit http://www.navyleague.org/files/legislative_affairs/maritime_policy20122013.pdf
American Maritime Partnership (“AMP”) is the voice of the U.S. domestic maritime industry, a pillar of our nation‘s economic, national, and homeland security. More than 40,000 American vessels built in American shipyards, crewed by American mariners, and owned by American companies, ply our waters 24/7, and this commerce sustains nearly 500,000 jobs, $29 billion in labor compensation, and more than $100 billion in annual economic output according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Transportation Institute. So efficient are these vessels that they carry a quarter of the nation‘s cargo for only 2 percent of the national freight bill, and being American owned, built and crewed helps make America more secure.
Construction Begins on Next-Generation Ferry
The first arc welds on the keel of Washington’s new 144-car ferry will be made later this month by the leaders of the state Legislature transportation committees, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island and Rep. Judy Clibborn of Mercer Island.
The two legislators will join Washington State Ferries officials and ship workers at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 29, to commemorate the moment when the vessel’s keel is laid in place at Vigor Industrial’s Harbor Island shipyard in Seattle.
Keel laying, the maritime equivalent of placing a cornerstone, is a traditional milestone in ship building. Haugen and Clibborn will mark the formal start of construction for a new class of ferries designed to carry up to 144 cars and 1,500 passengers across the waters of Puget Sound. “This construction is critical to replacing our aging fleet. The new ferry will allow us to retire one of the 1950s-era Evergreen State Class vessels,” said David Moseley, assistant transportation secretary, Ferries Division. “We have a solid partnership with Vigor after successful completion of the Kwa-di Tabil Class ferries, and I look forward to the first 144-car ferry joining the state’s fleet and serving our customers.”
Work on this first vessel will produce an estimated 200 family-wage jobs at US Fab, plus 350 additional jobs at subcontractors and other shipyards in the region. WSF estimates the new 144-car ferry will start service in early 2014. Cost of construction is $115 million, and the total cost of the vessel is $147 million, which includes owner-furnished equipment, construction management and contingencies. The design of the ferry is based on the 130-car Issaquah class, which has proven to be the most versatile vessel in the state fleet. The new 144-car ferry will be more comfortable for passengers with added capacity, improved safety systems and better access for customers with disabilities.
“Our workers and hundreds of others around the state are proud to be building this vessel for the people of Washington who ride and rely on ferries,” said Chris Morgan, vice president of US Fab. WSF has a contract with US Fab for design and construction of up to four 144-car ferries contingent on available funding. The Legislature funded a second 144-car ferry this session. ashington State Ferries operates the largest ferry fleet in the United States. Twenty-three ferries carry more than 22 million passengers across Puget Sound and its inland waterways each year.
The Vital Role of Maritime Transportation In Our Economy
This article was written by the Transportation Trades Department (TTD)
A strong and viable maritime industry and U.S.-flag fleet is critical to America’s economic and national security interests. America’s longshoremen and mariners serve a unique role acting as an economic driver in transporting domestic and international cargo, while providing safe and secure transport of humanitarian food aid and military supplies and personnel during times of war or national emergencies. It is critical that federal policies embrace maritime transportation as a vital component of our nation’s transportation system, and make significant investments in the U.S. maritime industry and port infrastructure.
Unfortunately, neither the House nor the Senate surface transportation reauthorization bill included a substantial maritime title. This is a missed opportunity to acknowledge the importance of maritime to the nation and address the needs of America’s waterborne transportation system and its employees. More delay of important port and maritime policy actions is not an option as our world competitors invest billions to boost their maritime transportation capabilities in the global economy. For instance, China plans to invest over $40 billion dollars in their ports over the next five years, more than the U.S. has invested over the past 50 years. Failing to invest in ports and harbors will jeopardize an industry that supports over 500,000 jobs and will put us further behind our international competitors.
In 1986 the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) were established to provide a dedicated revenue stream funded through user fees to provide for the operation and maintenance of channels in ports and harbors. The HMT is charged on the value of cargo arriving in U.S. ports, and the money collected is then deposited into the HMTF. However, in recent years Congress has often diverted money from the HMTF to purposes other than harbor maintenance. In FY 2011, for instance, barely half of the funds collected by the HMT were used for its intended purpose, creating a backlog of critical maintenance projects in our nation’s harbors and coastal waterways. This neglect of maintenance projects has a direct and damaging economic impact. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that almost 30 percent of vessels traveling through U.S. ports are constrained due to the inadequate conditions of our navigation channels, resulting in billions of dollars in lost economic activity and job growth opportunities foregone.
Common sense legislative solutions exist to address these problems. Last year Representatives Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Joe Courtney (D-CT) introduced the RAMP Act (H.R. 104) – bi-partisan legislation that would ensure the funds collected under the HMT are in fact used for their intended purpose. A companion bill, the Harbor Maintenance Act (S. 412), has been introduced by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX). We support these bills and urge Congress to include them in the pending surface transportation reauthorization or to find another path forward toward enacting these reforms into law. Without adequate harbor maintenance and channel depths, vessels containing American exports are unable to carry full capacity loads lest they run aground. This prevents the efficient shipment of goods, slows our economic growth and undermines the execution of President Obama’s ambitious agenda to grow American exports.
In addition to increasing investment in harbor maintenance, TTD supports freight infrastructure grant programs that leverage federal investments to improve the intermodal movement of goods in and out of our ports and harbors. We specifically support including a provision in the surface transportation reauthorization that provides a reliable stream of funding for the upgrade of our vital freight corridors. Grants issued to ports and harbors would help improve the mobility of imports and exports and promote efficient goods movements, especially as the national economy rebounds from the depths of the recession.
Finally, Congress should further expand on the intermodal principles established under previous surface transportation bills, such as the Ferry Boat Discretionary Program. In order to provide for the future growth of ferry systems throughout the country, transportation labor supports increased funding for the construction of ferries and ferry terminal facilities. This will provide for additional transportation alternatives and create high quality transportation and construction jobs for American workers that cannot be outsourced.
It is in our nation’s long-term interest to embrace a more comprehensive approach to the movement of cargo and the development of new multimodal capacity. With the Obama Administration’s export initiatives and renewed focus on manufacturing, a new generation of large ships with greater vessel capacity is expected to transport an increasing amount of containerized goods. This will require significant investments in maritime infrastructure and multimodal projects to grow capacity, reduce congestion and streamline the movement of goods to market.
Moving forward, TTD will advocate for policies that boost investment in harbor maintenance, freight infrastructure grants and the Ferry Boat Discretionary Program, and support their inclusion in broader surface transportation legislation. These strategic federal investments, which will help strengthen the U.S. maritime industry, create good jobs and improve economic development, should be embraced by Congress and the Administration. With a comprehensive approach to transportation that includes substantial investment in maritime infrastructure we can ensure that our economy and manufacturing thrive in a global marketplace.
First Double Barrel 1911 Semi-automatic Pistol on the Planet
The AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol comes actually as the very first industrial double barrel semiautomatic pistol of all times. The original idea came about ten years back to Swiss armourer Vivian Mueller, who at the time experienced cutting and welding together multiple parts of the famous Sig P210: the result was a long slide, double barrel 9mm, highly decorated collector piece, which indeed shot very well.
Our idea took the challenge further: to commemorate the legendary Colt 1911-A1 in the Centenary by making a true industrial market-ready double barrel .45 caliber pistol.
We achieved success in the brief span of 6 months, after intense and round-the-clock 3D designing, stereolithographic modeling and parts machining.
The gun can be handled by any shooter able to shoot with a .45 Acp and it is not only very pleasing, but very accurate and great fun. The AF2011-A1 holds amazing and surprising target performance for the shooter: in fact, it will group all the 8 double .45 caliber rounds (16
bullets) held in the duplex, single columns magazines, in a target of the size of an orange at 15 yards and of a water melon at 25.
The stopping power of the AF2011-A1 is tremendous: 2 bullets for a total of 460 Grains weight impacting at 1 to 2 inches apart (depending on the distance of the target) will knock down a bull, while the whole 18 bullets, for a payload exceeding 4000 Grains, can be delivered to the target in about 3 seconds.
The AF2011-A1 obviously features a number of very special parts, such as the single slide, the single frame, the single spur double hammer, the single grip safety, the single body double mainspring housing and the single double cavity magazine floor plate, the long and double magazine latch, the special barrel bushings and the hold open lever and side lever safety with long shafts: but the most interesting feature of the new pistol which we strived to keep during the development of the project, is the interchangeability of most internal parts, which come as standard 1911 replacement parts. These include the firing pins, the firing pins plates, the sears groups, the triple springs, the inner parts of the mainspring housings, the recoil springs and recoil springs rods, the magazine bodies and inner parts, the sights (including after market adjustable sights) the grips and grips screws and bushings.
The AF2011-A1 (“Twenty Eleven” for aficionados) can be ordered either with 2 independent triggers and one sear group (left or right, with user-interchangeability for right or left operations) or with 2 triggers permanently joined and the choice of 1 or 2 sear groups.
The AF2011-A1 is available in mirror finish Deep Blue or with a 3400 Vickers surface hardness White Ash Nitrite coating.
More info at www.arsenalfirearms.com
Reclaim Wisconsin March
On Saturday March 10, Wisconsinites will return to the Capitol to mark the one year anniversary of the passage of Gov. Walker’s union-busting bill. We will never forget that on March 9, 2011, despite massive citizen protest, Gov. Walker and his legislative allies rammed through the rights-stripping bill in an illegal meeting in the dead of the night.
Pre-rally festivities begin at 1:00 p.m. with rally speakers taking the stage at 2:00 p.m. Grab your Blue Fist sign, dress for the weather and bring your friends and family down to the Statehouse in support of worker rights.
Need a sign? Visit http://
Free shuttle buses will run from the Alliant Energy Center from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
TWIC Card Renewal
All TWIC card holders, please be advised to note the expiration date on your TWIC Card and start considering the process for renewal. A majority of the mariners will likely need to renew over the next 12 to Eighteen months since the TWIC program is closing its first five year anniversary. The renewal procedure is made up of the same measures as the original enrollment process (optional pre-enrollment, in-person enrollment, and card activation.) These steps are mandatory since a security risk assessment is required on all applicants, verifying that they still satisfy eligibility requirements.
Several TWIC Enrollment Center locations have closed and/or the address has changed since the TWIC program began. Everyone should check with the TWIC Help Desk or check the Internet website to verify the nearest enrollment center to your residence. The TWIC Program Help Desk is operational and can be reached at 1- 866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942). The online website (www.twicinformation.com or click here) has a existing list of TWIC enrollment centers. Also, keep in mind that low traffic enrollment centers may possibly only be available one day a week. High volume enrollment locations still continue to provide service Monday through Friday. Renewal TWIC cards presently cost the exact same amount as the original ($132.50) and are valid for 5 years.
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Starting March 19, 2012, the fee charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for electronically processing fingerprint-based criminal history records information (CHRI) will be reduced from $17.25 to $14.50 – a $2.75 savings. Therefore, the enrollment cost for the TWIC card will be reduced from $132.50 to $129.75. Individuals with current, comparable background checks (Merchant Mariner Credential) will pay a reduced fee of $105.25. Acceptable payment methods include, Money Order, Cashier Check, Visa or MasterCard – cash will not accepted.
The TSA recognizes that TWIC applicants need versatility because of to the nature of maritime jobs conditions. Consequently, folks could renew their TWIC card anytime, at any enrollment center
Anatomy of a Computer Virus
An infographic dissecting the nature and ramifications of Stuxnet, the first weapon made entirely out of code. This was produced for Australian TV program HungryBeast on Australia’s ABC1
Stuxnet is a computer worm discovered in June 2010. It initially spreads via Microsoft Windows, and targets Siemens industrial software and equipment. While it is not the first time that hackers have targeted industrial systems,it is the first discovered malware that spies on and subverts industrial systems, and the first to include a programmable logic controller (PLC) rootkit.
This video demonstrates how W32.Stuxnet can compromise a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), resulting in unintended consequences for the machines connected to it. From the Symantec Security blog.
Flight Attendants at United Airlines Ratified Contract
A brand new contract protecting 15,000 pre-merger Flight Attendants at United Airlines was ratified this week having a 70 percent acceptance margin. The contract, attained in January, includes significant quality of work life improvements, new job security defenses, scheduling and compensation enhancements, including an immediate ten percent wage increase and distribution of a $5,000 signing bonus.
“This agreement is good for Flight Attendants and good for the company. It addresses many immediate needs identified by United Flight Attendants and serves as a stepping-stone to single contract negotiations with our flying partners from Continental and Continental Micronesia,” said Greg Davidowitch, president often percent AFA at United Airlines.
Costa Concordia Disaster: Video From the Bridge
The below video was taken from the bridge on the Costa Concordia only moments after slamming onto rocks off the Island of Giglio. This video offers the first look of the Captain, officers, and other crew members from the bridge just after the grounding. (with English subtitles).
