LAUGHLIN TIDE

The catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five people in 2023 could have been prevented, a U.S. Coast Guard investigative board found on Tuesday, calling the vessel’s safety culture and operational practices “critically flawed.”The Titan vanished during a descent to the Titanic wreck on a tourist expedition, losing contact with its support ship.After a tense four-day search, its shattered remains were discovered strewn across the seabed 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the bow of the legendary ocean liner that sank in 1912, claiming more than 1,500 lives.OceanGate, the U.S.-based company that managed the tourist submersible, suspended all operations after the incident.

The Australian Government is accelerating the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with the selection of the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general purpose frigates.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).The upgraded Mogami-class frigate boasts a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles, a 32 Cell Vertical Launch System, and is fitted with surface-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and a broad coalition of every donor and energy transfer port have sent the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the Energy and Water Development Subcommittees leaders a letter, urging them to reverse a funding diversion and restore critical support for ports through the FY2026 appropriations process.Without restoration of Section 102 and 2106 funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF), the U.S. port system will lose over $1 billion in direct investment during the remainder of the Trump administration – undermining national security, supply chain resilience, and energy exports, says AAPA.

The federal district court in Anchorage, Alaska, has entered final judgment against three Kodiak-based commercial fishing companies and their manager for multiple violations of the Clean Water Act.The court entered default judgments against company manager Corey Potter and F/V Knot EZ LLC, Aleutian Tendering LLC, and Alaska Tendering Company LLC, and imposed a civil penalty of $1,182,265 for the violations.  The case was filed on October 24, 2024, by the Department of Justice on behalf of the Coast Guard against Corey Potter and three of his related companies.

The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that, we need to look elsewhere and to future programs.Setting the SceneMany column inches have been dedicated to the decline U.S. shipbuilding, whether signaled by the relatively small presence of a U.S.