Economy

The ISRR staff has learned of a letter written by the United States’ Government Accountability Office (GAO) stating its intentions to review the Jones Act “in terms of its effect on both the Puerto Rican economy and the broader U.S. economy.”

The Australian Government has announced major reforms to its maritime sector with the goal of strengthening the industry to the level of a global shipping power.

The reform package entails four key components:

Doug Stevenson (Center for Seafarer Rights), USCG Adm. Kevin Cook, Roberto Giorgi (President, V.Ships), Peter Hinchliffe (int. Chamber of Shipping) and Guy E.C. Maitland (Man. Partner International Registries, Inc.) discuss the on-going threat of piracy off of Somalia.

Bill Gallagher of the Marshall Islands Registry highlights the important role of flag states have in the shipping industry in an essay originally published in Marine Money's January 2011 issue.

In an economic environment that seems to result in nothing but cost increases, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation is bucking the trend by announcing that tolls would remain the same for 2011.

A policy requiring Polish seafarers working aboard the Norwegian International Register (NIS) to pay Polish income taxes, effective January 1, 2011, raises questions about the future of open registry labor policies.

Scott Bergeron of the Liberian Registry emphasizes that investing in a flag state with a caliber record will reduce likelihood of shipowner costs in the long term and addresses issues the maritime registry community faces today.

Maersk Line President John Reinhart recently submitted recommendations to the US House Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on how to increase national fleet size. Reinhart asked that the government maintain current programs to support the US Flag as well as develop ways control registry costs.

Greece has restructured its cruise law to allow vessels registered in all flag states to enter its ports.

Recently the European Union joined the United States and the United Nations in announcing sanctions against Iran as a response to the rogue state's support of weapons programs.