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SCA Weekly Report | August 1-5, 2022
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2022 SCA FALL MEETING REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
Registration for the 2022 SCA Fall Membership Meeting is now open. The meeting will be held at the Warwick Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA on October 12-13, 2022.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Download a schedule of events HERE.
Wednesday, October 12
10:30 AM - 1:00 PM: INDUSTRY PARTNERS COMMITTEE MEETING
- Open Session: 10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON
- Closed session: 12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM (Industry Partner Committee Members Only)
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
(Board Members Only)
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: BOARD MEETING
(Board Members Only)
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM: WELCOMING RECEPTION & EXHIBITS REVIEW
(All attendees welcome)
- Sponsored by the American Equity Underwriters
Thursday, October 13
All attendees welcome
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: BREAKFAST
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM: SHIPYARD TOUR OF PHILLY SHIPYARD
12:00 NOON: LUNCH
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM: SCA STAFF PRESENTATIONS
2:30 PM - 5:00 PM: GUEST SPEAKER SESSION
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM: GENERAL MEMBERSHIP RECEPTION & EXHIBITS REVIEW
- Sponsored by Signal Mutual
6:30PM - 7:30 PM: MEMBERSHIP DINNER
ROOMBLOCK
The SCA has reserved rooms at the Warwick Rittenhouse Square at a preferred room rate of $349 per night. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR ROOM
EXHIBITION HALL
The exhibition hall encourages greater interaction between SCA shipyard and partner members, offering the opportunity for members to demonstrate their product or services directly to potential customers.
If you are interested in exhibiting at this event, please review the Exhibitor Packet HERE.
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Democrats Race to Prep Sweeping Budget Bill for Weekend Votes
The Senate is expected to begin consideration of Democrats’ climate, tax and health care package on Saturday, leaving about two days for the party to shore up support for the bill. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday that he’s expecting a vote on the motion to proceed Saturday afternoon, which would follow a nomination vote he scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
Senators are planning to pass the legislation through the budget reconciliation process, which circumvents the 60 votes usually needed to pass a bill. Importantly, Senator Kyrsten Sinema said she would support the bill after days of silence. Sinema's announcement all but locks in the bill for Democrats, who need all 50 Democratic votes on board in order for the bill to pass, with a tie-breaker vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.
Once the bill gets introduced on the floor, up to 20 hours of debate, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, will begin. After debate over the bill ends, the process known as vote-a-rama starts, and senators can introduce as many amendments as they want, a process that typically goes late into the night.
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U.S. Navy Takes Delivery of Lead Ship in New Class of Fleet Oilers
The U.S. Navy has taken delivery of the USNS John Lewis (T-AO 205), the first ship in a new class of fleet replenishment oilers. The new John Lewis-class T-AOs will be operated by Military Sealift Command to provide diesel fuel and lubricating oil, and small quantities of fresh and frozen provisions, stores, and potable water to Navy ships at sea, and jet fuel for aircraft. Measuring 742-feet in length with full load displacement of 49,850 tons, the class comes with a capacity to carry 157,000 barrels of oil and have a top speed of 20 knots. The new T-AOs will add capacity to the Navy’s Combat Logistics Force and become the cornerstone of the fuel delivery system. The ship was built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, which kicked off construction in 2018.
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BOEM Extends Public Comment on New Jersey Wind Project
The Bureau of Offshore Energy Management is adding two more weeks to the public comment period on plans for the Ocean Wind 1 project off New Jersey, after developer Ørsted came up with alternative routes for running power export cables to shore. The revision to the Ocean Wind construction and operations plan would take a slightly different path across Barnegat Bay and onto the mainland, dodging environmentally valuable eelgrass beds in the shallow bay.
While BOEM is looking at changes to protect eelgrass beds, fishing industry advocates who sought other changes to the construction and operations plan are still waiting. In an April 29 letter to the agency, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance stressed the surf clam fleet’s longstanding goal of 2-nautical mile spacing between turbine towers for maneuvering their heavy dredge gear. The group also sought wider vessel transit lanes between Ocean Wind and the Atlantic Shores array planned a few miles to the north, beyond the 1 nautical mile width described in the plan.
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Future World’s Largest Containership Launched in China
China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has announced the launch of what is claimed to be the world’s largest capacity containership coming in at 24,116 TEUs. The ship, named MSC Tessa, was floated out of its building dock at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s Changxing Shipbuilding Base, located on Shanghai’s Changxing Island, on August 1. Hudong Zhonghua is one of the major shipbuilding units belonging to the state-owned CSSC. With a carrying capacity of 24,116 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), MSC Tessa will surpass Evergreen’s Ever Alot by 112 TEU to take the title of the world’s largest containership.
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FMC Reports Progress Implementing Ocean Shipping Reform Act Requirements
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is reporting progress in implementing requirements of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), which President Biden signed into law in June. The independent agency, which is responsible for regulating competition within the international ocean shipping supply chain, held an open session on Wednesday to update the public on its progress in implementing the law and provide a general summary of the new law’s provisions.
The most immediate deadline the FMC must meet is initiating and completing a rulemaking on unreasonable refusal to deal or negotiate on vessel space accommodations. The FMC said Commission staff initiated this rulemaking effort the day OSRA was enacted and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment is expected to be published “in the immediate future.” The Commission is on track to have a Final Rule in effect by the statutorily mandated deadline of December 2022.
Port of NY and NJ Hopes New Container Imbalance Fee Can Help Clear Empty Containers
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced a new “container imbalance fee” for ocean carriers to help clear long-dwelling empty containers during peak cargo season. The port, the largest on the East Coast and second in the nation behind the Port of Los Angeles, has been bogged down by record cargo volumes as cargo shifts from the West Coast, where lingering congestion and ongoing labor negotiations continue to pose wildcards for importers.
“The container imbalance fee will be assessed on ocean carriers who do not evacuate empty containers that take up sorely needed space for arriving imports and impede overall port productivity and fluidity,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in an update.
Under the program, which will be effective as of September 1, 2022, ocean carriers’ total outgoing container volume must equal or exceed 110% of their incoming container volume during the same period, or they will be assessed a fee of $100 per container for failing to hit the benchmark.
Pasha Hawaii adds Natural-Gas Powered Vessel to its Fleet
Shipping company Pasha Hawaii has taken delivery of a new natural gas-powered containership. The vessel, named MV George III, was built by Texas-based Keppel AmFELS and was delivered to Pasha Hawaii on July 28. It runs on Liquefied Natural Gas, and Pasha Hawaii said it’s the first of two gas-powered containerships that it will add to its fleet to serve the Hawaii-Mainland trade lane. The LNG capabilities substantially improve the vessels’ environmental footprint and energy savings.
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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the SCA staff.
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