USA

Drewry Shipping Consultants has highlighted the higher costs of shipbuilding in the US compared to other nations in light of Matson's recent order for two US vessels:

The US government has restored full funding of $186 million for its merchant fleet in its recent budget proposal.

Fairplay reports:

US-flag funds restored

Seward and Kissel partner Bruce Paulsen spoke with Fox News on issues surrounding piracy in response to the hijacking of the U.S. vessel C-Retriever this past week. 

For those who can't deal with Washington bureaucratic babble, here's a chart of the proposed limits: