U.S.A., DEPT.OF NAVY (MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND)

A landmark agreement to curb billions of dollars in subsidies contributing to overfishing came into force on Monday, the World Trade Organization said - a move activists hailed as a step towards helping global fish stocks recover.It was the first agreement to take effect at the WTO since 2017 after years of stalled debates and infighting on top of, more recently, a surge in U.S. tariffs that left some critics asking whether the Geneva-based body had a future.The formal ratification by Brazil, Kenya, Tonga and Vietnam on Monday meant the deal, first agreed in 2022, now had the required support of two thirds of members, a WTO spokesperson said.

The United States will be able to use planned defence facilities in Western Australia that are to help deliver nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.Australia will spend A$12 billion ($8 billion) to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth, as part of a 20-year plan to transform it into the maintenance hub for its AUKUS submarine fleet, the government said on Saturday.The AUKUS pact, sealed by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Davie Defense Inc. gives a first glimpse today of the “American Icebreaker Factory” – a planned $1 billion transformation of the historic Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston, Texas.The American Icebreaker Factory concept was created in collaboration with Florida-based Pearlson, which has led major projects for leading American shipbuilders, including BAE Systems, Austal USA and Fincantieri Marinette.The American Icebreaker Factory project embodies the Trump Administration’s priorities, including the Executive Order on American Maritime Dominance, the SHIPS for America Act, and the creation of the Office of Shipbuilding.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a safety alert Wednesday urging greater awareness and training for land-based firefighters who may be called to fight fires aboard vessels in local ports.The safety alert follows several NTSB investigations into deaths and injuries to firefighters. The NTSB found land-based firefighters often lack the necessary training and familiarity with vessel layouts and fire protection systems to effectively fight in-port vessel fires. They also may be unaware of how to use the structural fire protection built into most commercial vessels.

While political winds in the U.S. have significantly tampered many ‘green’ projects, Curtin Maritime is domiciled in California, which is globally known for its strict environmental initiatives. To that end, Curtin Maritime inked a contract recently to invest $160m for eight new hybrid-electric tugboats, vessels being built by Snow & Co. and featuring vertically integrated electric powertrains from Arc with Schottel propulsion. Maritime Reporter TV interviewed Martin Curtin, CEO, Curtin Maritime & Mitch Lee, co-founder and CEO, Arc, on the eve of the announcement to discuss specifics.As shipbuilding continues to take center stage in the U.S.