The U.S. Coast Guard has issued the following notice, available on the agency's website HERE Marine Safety Information Bulletin Novel Coronavirus – Update (Change 1) An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may affect mariners and maritime commerce. The CDC has updated their Interim Guidance for…
Mar
11
Mar
11
Dear SIU Brothers and Sisters: On March 6, GATX Corporation formally notified the union that its subsidiary American Steamship Company (ASC) plans to operate all 11 vessels this season. This is what we anticipated, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that we received written confirmation. Further, and as…
Mar
09
The union and Seafarers Plans are not relocating their headquarters operations – but they’re getting a new address, effective April 20, 2020. Only the street name is changing. Because of a government-ordered change, the new address is: 5201 Capital Gateway Drive Camp Springs, Maryland 20746 The old address (since 1982,…
Mar
09
Consistent with Seafarers Appeals Board (SAB) Action 480 (full text below, click HERE for a PDF copy), effective immediately, if you have returned from any of the countries identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “hotspots” for the coronavirus (COVID-19) within the last 14 days, DO NOT ENTER ANY…
Mar
05
The U.S. Maritime Administration issued the following announcement March 6, 2020: Maritime Administration Announces Notice of Funding Opportunity for the America’s Marine Highway Program Grants will provide more than $9 million in funding WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration today announced the availability of $9.5 million in…
Mar
05
The following news post was issued by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) on March 5. The guidance document can be viewed here. International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) issues new Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance for shipping industry Document produced in collaboration with international bodies; WHO, IMO, ECDC and IMHA. The International…
Feb
28
The SIU and the American Maritime Association (AMA, representing companies that are signatory to the standard freightship and tanker agreements) recently signed off on a number of coronavirus protection protocols that are listed below. These measures are for SIU-crewed vessels calling on ports in China. Implementation in other ports will…
Feb
27
The following news release was issued by the American Maritime Partnership, to which the SIU is affiliated. ICYMI: New Study Details Importance of American Maritime Industry to National Security Report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) highlights importance of the Jones Act to America’s Defense Maritime Industrial…
Feb
27
Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), recently expressed his backing of America’s freight cabotage law, the Jones Act. His remarks came Feb. 26 during a hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. The hearing’s main subject was the Fiscal 2021 budget request…
Feb
19
The U.S. Coast Guard recently posted additional information about new regulations covering mariner access to shore-side facilities. As noted in the introduction below, the new content is posted first, and is followed by a complete FAQ which the agency first published last summer. To access this information on the Coast…