Reports

Ron Brown was unanimously elected Vice President of the Propeller Club of Northern California at the Club’s  April 2nd meeting at Scott’s Seafood, Oakland, California.

“Ron Brown has been a stalwart member of the Propeller Club of Northern California and one our leading advocates in the maritime community,” Stas Margaronis, Propeller Club of Northern California President told Propeller Club attendees  in proposing Brown for Vice President at the April 2nd meeting.

Brown has been the Maritime Marketing and Commodities Manager for the Port ...

Who builds commercial ships?

Well, in 2022 China built the lion’s share of large oceangoing vessels according to a report by the Barry Rogriano Salis (BRS) Group. China built 121.3 million deadweight tons (DWT) of ships based on its order book at the end of 2022 up from 111 million DWT in 2021. And as a result, China’s share of the global market rose from 47.7% to 50.3%.

South Korea, a distant second in the global shipbuilding sweepstakes, built ships of ...

In the aftermath of the failed effort by the Oakland A’s to build a ballpark and condominiums on the Port of Oakland property, the Port of Oakland’s Executive Director Danny Wan and Maritime Director Bryan Brandes sought support for major infrastructure upgrades to port operations.

Wan noted that the Port has won $600 million in new investments: “We’ve gotten … over $600 million of investment on grants from both the federal and state levels. Those go into projects like the Seventh ...

California ports heard a report that the cost of defending the San Francisco Bay from sea level rise could cost $110 billion while the City of San Francisco may need an additional $13 billion to defend itself.

Even more ominously Brian Garcia, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that ice sheet losses in Antarctica and ...

The San Francisco Bar Pilots christened their new pilot boat the Golden Gate hailing it as the next generation of low emission vessel technology for the San Francisco Bay.

The Bar Pilots said that the Golden Gate, which replaces a vessel under the same name, “is a state-of-the-art pilot vessel that advances the organization’s sustainability goals and whose funding was made possible through last year’s Assembly Bill 2056 legislation authored by California Assembly Member Timothy Grayson (D-Concord).”

On October 12th, Captain David McCloy, S.F. Bar ...

Crowley Wind Services/Humboldt Bay Briefs California Maritime Cadets & Propeller Club of Northern California on August 19, 2023

LR: Stas Margaronis, Evey Hwang, Susan Ransom & Ron Brown

U.S. House and Senate leaders are discussing a proposed ‘Ships Act’ to dramatically upgrade U.S. naval and commercial shipbuilding along the lines of the $52 billion CHIPS Act supporting U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, according to Luke Lorenz, Director of Legislative Affairs, Navy League of the United States.

Lorenz was the keynote speaker at the Propeller Club of Northern California Maritime Day webinar on May 23rd.

Lorenz outlined the Ships Act concept to the Propeller Club audience: “The potential for something … would be ...

A Proclamation on National Maritime Day, 2023

     On National Maritime Day, we honor the thousands of dedicated merchant mariners who serve on United States vessels around the world.  During times of both peace and war, merchant mariners are always there — stepping up to transport equipment, troops, and goods across the globe to make our country safer and stronger.

     With professionalism and passion, merchant mariners have forged us into the maritime Nation we are today.  During the Revolutionary ...

In January, Amazon announced it is supporting Forum Mobility, an Oakland, California zero-emission trucking solutions provider, that is building electric truck charging stations for harbor trucking fleets and drivers.

The venture is supported by a new $400 million joint venture, led by the commercial real estate company CBRE. In addition, Homecoming Capital provided $100 million.

Forum Mobility’s investors include Obvious Ventures, Edison International, Overture, Homecoming Capital, CBRE Investment Management, Elemental Excelerator and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, the announcement said.

The endorsement from ...

AGTC’s Friedmann says lack of ILWU-PMA contract could be “dangerous, permanent.”

Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AGTC) Executive Director Peter Friedmann has again warned that the lack of a West Coast labor contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) could be “dangerous” and “permanent.”

Friedmann provided AJOT with an update sent to AGTC members on the dangers created by the lack of an ILWU-PMA contract: “Currently, too many West Coast marine terminals are ...