b'jUnE 22 - jUly 26, 2020MaritiMe Section 23Huenemes Decas says agricultural shipmentsaudit and inspection techniques;next generation of Coast Guard anddevelopingmorestringentbuoytendersandensuringthe vessel cleaning and decontami- funding to keep them operating. up 3% but vehicle imports way down nationprocedures.Crewmem- As demand for waterborne com-bers, for their part, have takenmerceincreasesaswerecover By Stas Margaronis, AJOTseriouslytheirstatusasessen- fromtheeconomicshocksof tial critical infrastructure work- the pandemic, we need to ensure Port of Hueneme Executive Director Kristinval because of Covid-19. ers and taken steps to safeguardthatourwaterwaysareopen Decas says agricultural imports and exports wereThe Port attempted to mitigate the impact oftheir health and safety while offfor business and in condition to up 3% for 2020 with the year ending on June 30th,the cancellation by stepping up our support forduty.And,regulatoryauthori- accommodate this demand.but the Ports vehicle import business is way down. food banks and food drives here in Ventura County.ties,includingtheU.S.CoastJ onesa Cti mportanCeDel Monte has delegated one staff person to sup- Guard, have been proactive and a griCuLturaLB usinesss howedm odest port this effort and Chiquita is also supporting thecooperativeinworkingwithFinally, Carpenter noted the i nCrease food banks and food drive efforts. industry to employ flexibility toimportance of the Jones Act and Decas toldAJOT,We are projecting a 3%meet regulatory objectives whiletheneedtoopposeloopholes increasein2020over2019.However,wehada utoB usinessi sd own reducing unnecessary health andandwaivers.TheJonesAct, projected an increase of 8% before the impact ofDecasnotedthatitsautobusiness,whichsafety risks. which celebrates its 100th anni-Covid-19. usually saw import of 10,000 cars per week, wasversaryonJune5,butwhose Asalways,theimportofbananashasreduced to zero autos for the week of June 5-12.w anted : a u niFied antecedentsdatebacktothe remainedstrongbecausedemandisinelastic.TheworsthitoccurredwhentheOEMsF ederaLr esponse earliest days of our country, has People eat bananas as a staple in good times and inbegan to shut down their plants in different parts ofLike Roberts, Carpenter urgedservedournationseconomic, bad. So, our demand remains strong, she said butthe world and this led to a halt in production. Justa uniform Covid-19 response byhomeland and national security added in melons and pineapples, which are higherto give an example, we average importing 10,000federal agencies, The lessons ofwell.Itismorerelevantthan end fruit, we are seeing a backlog and slowdowncars a week. This week for the first time since Ivethis experience are worth remem- ever today, as both the pandemic in demand. been here, we imported no cars at all. Next weekberingaswemovefromtheandtheprevailinggeopolitical One of the questions for 2021 will be howwe are projecting 194 cars and we are also project- acute, to the chronic, and eventu- situation underscore the inadvis-consumer demand adjusts to the Covid situationing a gradual improvement beginning in August,ally to the recovery phase of theabilityofrelinquishingcontrol andtotheeconomicdownturn.Forexample,ifshe said. pandemic:justasapatchworkof our domestic maritime supply schools open then the demand for fruit and bananasThe result is that for the year 2020 that endsofstateandlocalstay-at-homechain to foreign companies (per-forschoolluncheswillcontinue.However,ifon, for Hueneme, June 30th, we are projecting aordersisincompatiblewiththehapsstateowned)andforeign public events get canceled, there could be a nega- decline of 27% compared to 2019. efficient and effective operationmariners. I want to thank Chair-tive impact. The reality is we simply dont know. ofthemaritimesupplychain,men DeFazio and Maloney, and Decas said, Avocados and bananas are staplesp ortr evenuesa red own sotooisapatchworkofstateRankingMembersGravesand and these import commodities remain strong butIn 2019 revenues for the Port were $19 mil- andlocallawsandregulationsGibbs,foryourleadershipin pineapples and melons could see a decline. lion: For 2020 we are projecting revenues at 17establishedforotherpurposes.opposingopportunisticcallsto ThePorttraditionallyisasponsorforthemillion dollars. However, we have had surpluses inUniform,nationallyconsistentwaive the Jones Act and break Banana Festival which traditionally attracts 12,000the past and so we have funding in reserve so weregulations are essential to effec- faithwiththeAmericancom-visitors: This year we have had to cancel the festi- dont have to lay off personnel. tive functioning of the maritimepaniesandAmericanmariners supply chain. onthefrontlinesofkeeping our economy afloat. Thank you, (UNIFIEDcontinued fromships and tankers to the hospi- lated tug-barge unit at sea for twoi nvestment inp ort&aswell,forincludinginthe page 21) talshipsUSNSComfortandto four weeks at a time is effec- w aterwaYsi nFrastruCture CoastGuardauthorizationbill Both a cargo ship and a cruise shipUSNSMercy,safelyintoport.tivelyaself-quarantinedenvi- Sheurgedanincreasedlanguagetopreventtheemer-may report a suspected COVID- Tugboats and barges have begunronment, and companies quicklyinvestmentinportandwater- gence of a Jones Act loophole 19 case prior to entering a port.a busy summer season of sup- put in placeand have contin- waysinfrastructureincludingrelated to the operation of heavy Sending the cruise ship to anchorplying native Alaskan villagersued to refineprocedures aimedpassage of the Water Resourcesliftvesselsservicingoffshore may make sense to allow complexwitheverythingtheyneedtoat keeping the virus off their ves- and Development Act, Invest- energy installations.logistical arrangements involvingsubsist in an unforgiving envi- sels. These include, but are notment in our ports and waterwaysAsAJOThasreported, thousands of people to be workedronment. Whilecargovolumeslimitedto,pre-screeningcrew- infrastructureisaninvestmentdemandsforwaiverstothe out.However,thecargoshipinmanysectorshavedeclinedmembers prior to leaving homein American jobs, in AmericanJones Act increased during the should be allowed to proceed todue to depressed demand, mari- andagainpriortoboardingacompetitiveness, and, given thatTrumpAdministrationasspe-berth at a controlled-access secureners have continued to report tovessel, often in conjunction withmaritimetransportationisthecial interests sought U.S. coastal terminal rather than being sent towork,vesselshavecontinuedtelehealth providers; modifyinggreenestmodeoftransporta- maritimebusinessforforeign anchor.Thisunfortunatelyhasto operate, and the industry hascrew change procedures to keeption,withthesmallestcarbonflag operators and crews.notbeenhowsomeofthefewadapted to maintain operationalcrews together as a unit, mini- footprint,inthehealthofourRobertsechoedCarpenter instancesofsuspectedinfectioncontinuity and readiness. mize exposure during travel tonaturalenvironmentaswell.by stating: The Covid-19 crisis have been handled. vessels, and avoid large groupsNow more than ever, investinghascreatedchallengestothe Roberts said that an orderC ontaminationC haLLenges congregatingoncrewchangeininfrastructurewillhelpoursupply chain all over the world issuedbyacountyjudgeinCarpenter noted that crewsdays;minimizingnon-essentialnations economy get back on itsandshouldremindAmericans Texas would have required anyand operators are working hardcontactbetweencrewmem- feet. This means passing a Wateron the 100th anniversary of the vesselwithasuspectedcaseto keep their vessels free of con- bersandnon-crewmembers,ResourcesandDevelopmentJones Actaboutwhywehave be sent to anchorage and kepttamination and praised the coop- including increased reliance onAct;increasinginvestmentina law that guarantees that ves-therefora14-dayquarantineeration of the U.S. Coast Guard:objectiveevidenceofregula- locks, dams, harbor maintenancesels operating between US ports period: One can only imagineA tow on the river or an articu- torycomplianceandremoteand dredging; and building thebebuiltintheUnitedStates.the impacts on supply chains if thatorderwasenforced. Asa single vessel, may account for alargeportionoftheweekly commerceofthecommuni-ties in the noncontiguous U.S. trades,anydelay,nomatter how slight, may have a serious impact on those states and ter-ritories being served.awo sv itaLs uppLYC hainr oLeJenniferCarpenter,presi-dent&CEOofthe American Waterways Operators, also tes-tifiedbeforetheHouseTrans-portationandInfrastructure Subcommittee.She noted the vital role of the industry in providing supply chainsupport,Themenand women of the tugboat, towboat and barge industry have played a key role in keeping our nations economy afloat, remaining open forbusinessandcontinuingto moveessentialcargoessuch asagriculturalproducts,fertil- customs brokers&freight forwardersizer,coal,petroleumandpet-rochemicals,woodandpaper products, steel and constructionwww . jfmoran.com: 800.944.1041materials.Tugboatscontinue to guide ships, from container-'