Owners of one of the first hybrid cargo vessels ever built hope to develop a shipping route from Connecticut to Long Island, easing truck traffic on congested roadways. By Ira Breskin Anyone who has driven on I-95 through Connecticut or on the Long Island Expressway has experienced the heavy traffic and congestion. What if there were a way to reduce delays…
Author: Ira Breskin
China’s Claims in South China Sea Could Impact Commercial Shipping
Occasional Columnist for gCaptain By Ira Breskin China’s contention that it has sovereignty over a large swath of the South China Sea violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (which China has signed) and other rules of international law and practice, said Dr. Mark Meirowitz this week at a seminar lecture. Meirowitz is an associate professor at…
Container-line transformation faces its biggest test from those paying the bills
By Ira Breskin Liner shipping firms are upgrading their offerings to attract the premium business needed to bolster the industry’s anemic margins. Yet it is shippers, intermediaries, and beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) who will render the final judgment on the strategy, and the jury remains very much out. Led by the Danish giant Maersk Line and French line CMA CGM,…
Can IT help the shipping industry deep-six the container “no-show” problem?
By Mark B. Solomon In late February, AP Moller-Maersk Group CEO Soren Skou laid out perhaps the most audacious strategy in the container shipping industry’s 62-year history. Within three to five years, the Danish giant would become a provider like FedEx Corp., DHL Express, and UPS Inc., delivering reliable end-to-end service across an integrated transportation network, with Maersk the customer’s…
How Davisville, Rhode Island, aims to capture some of Canada’s port volumes
By Ira Breskin Recently serving as a viable alternative debarcation port for Canada-bound auto imports may pay larger, longer-term dividends for Port of Davisville, located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Davisville last year enjoyed a spike in Canada-bound auto shipments because of the severe 2014-2015 winter that played havoc with operations at some competing northeastern ports, specifically Halifax. Record snowfall…
Fighting to Preserve a Chapter of Setauket History
By Ira Breskin An effort in Setauket to commemorate a once-thriving mixed-race community here is in its final stages. However, doing so reinvigorates a long simmering debate among friendly factions about the accuracy of local history. The Bethel-Christian Avenue-Laurel Hill Historic District is a historically mixed-race neighborhood next to Setauket’s historic downtown area. The half-mile stretch is anchored by the…
Offshore wind market a potential for Jones Act market but scope of opportunity remains unclear
The vessel needs of proposed wind projects in US waters present a potential new trade for the Jones Act sector, an academic says. But the scope of the opportunity remains unclear as it is still a nascent market, says State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime) senior lecturer Ira Breskin. While Jones Act tugs, crew boats, service vessels…
New York’s ships have come in
New York’s ships have come in New York City’s cruise traffic grows as ports make bid to draw more megaships. By Ira Breskin When the brand-new megaship Breakaway arrived in early May at the West Side pier for its christening, ship operator Norwegian Cruise Line and its terminal host pulled out all the stops. An elaborate shipboard ceremony featured Mayor…
OSV operators seek maritime academy grads
NEW ORLEANS—-State maritime academy students are beginning to look beyond the traditional bluewater horizon to jobs on offshore service vessels. And OSV operators, in turn, are courting more graduates on campus. “They’re dating, but they haven’t gotten engaged,” said Ira Breskin, senior lecturer State University of New York Maritime College. “It could be a very nice marriage.” The academies, which…