Free Republic

Dubai -- US airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the group said Friday, marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump’s new campaign targeting the rebels. Assessing the toll of Trump’s campaign, which began March 15, has been incredibly difficult as the US military’s Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels strictly control access to areas attacked and don’t publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have...

The Chinese government has intervened to stop the planned April 2 sale of two Panama Canal ports owned by the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchinson to the US-based conglomerate Black Rock. CK Hutchinson operates two of the five ports adjacent to the Panama Canal. Panama first awarded the company the concession to run the ports in 1998 and extended it for another 25 years in 2021. The Canal is a major maritime chokepoint and manages about 3% of the global maritime trade. The issue of Chinese ownership of critical ports serving the Panama Canal predates President Trump's second term; see...

A newly minted and massive Iranian drone carrier was captured in new satellite images sailing in the Persian Gulf this week — the ship’s first reported sighting since leaving its home port for the first time in mid-November. The satellite images taken Thursday by commercial operator Maxar Technologies shows three Iranian drone ships in the waters off the country’s coast as theories have swirled in the US that Iran could be behind the mysterious drone sightings across the tri-state area, according to Business Insider. Iran’s new carrier — the Shahid Bagheri — is a converted shipping container that was outfitted...

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) visited the U.S.-Mexico border to announce plans to create a new port of entry, emphasizing the importance of U.S. trade relations with Mexico. While funding for the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry, an estimated $798 million project, has yet to be finalized, Newsom said that contractors have already been selected with the plan to break ground in January.

On the edge of Peru's coastal desert, a remote fishing town where a third of all residents have no running water is being transformed into a huge deep-water port to cash in on the inexorable rise of Chinese interest in resource-rich South America. The megaport of Chancay, a $1.3 billion project majority-owned by the Chinese shipping giant Cosco, is turning this outpost of bobbing fishing boats into an important node of the global economy. China's President Xi Jinping inaugurates the port Thursday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru. The development — expected to encompass 15 quays and a...

“No automation means no automation,” says the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the union representing 85,000 dock and maritime workers.ILA officials reached a tentative wage agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on Oct. 3. This move effectively suspended the three-day job action and extended the existing Master Contract until Jan. 15. The new deal allows both sides about 100 days to negotiate a new agreement, with automation being the primary sticking point.While ILA confirmed that USMX agreed to raise pay for thousands of port workers, they are now focusing their discussions on using technology to complete tasks with less...

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” White House National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard responded to a question on if International Longshoremen’s Association President Harold Daggett’s large salary came up during negotiations over the port strike where higher wages were demanded by stating that “the president thought it was very important to get the two parties back together, to get the collective bargaining process back on track, to get the ports re-opened. He pushed really hard for that and he got it done.” Host Jim Acosta asked, “Lael, Daggett is facing criticism for giving — for some of these demands of his, companies...

Growing lines of container ships continued to line up outside major U.S. ports on Thursday as the biggest dockworker strike in nearly 50 years entered its third day. The choke points are threatening shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts and are anticipated to grow in coming days if no resolution is forthcoming. Reuters reports no negotiations were scheduled between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employers, but the port owners, under pressure from the White House to hike their pay offer to land a deal, signaled they were open to new talks.

As of today, the International Longshoreman’s Association (“ILA”) is on strike at 45 ports along America’s eastern and southern shores. It is demanding a huge wage increase and the end of automation. Harold Daggett, the ILA’s president, has gone on record saying, “I will cripple” America. Even assuming the normal posturing in these negotiations, that’s a singularly ugly threat. Although Daggett successfully pushed back against DOJ charges that he’s a member of the mob, that has a “mob-like” feel. The ILA’s demands are simple (emphasis mine):The union is demanding higher wages and a total ban on the automation at ports...

Thousands of workers at more than a dozen ports throughout the United States are preparing to go on strike as the deadline for their union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) to reach an agreement looms closer. Dockworkers with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), who work at roughy 14 ports along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico are set to go on strike as of October 1 if their union and the USMX do not reach an agreement regarding their labor contract, according to the Hill. Roughly “25,000 port workers employed in contain and roll-on/roll-off operations at...

On Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo — who was appearing in her personal capacity as a surrogate for the Harris campaign — stated that she has “not been very focused on” where a potential port strike could have the biggest impact and hasn’t “been particularly involved” in the strike issue that she acknowledged “could be incredibly disruptive to commerce.” Co-host Becky Quick asked, “I realize you’re here as a surrogate for the vice president’s campaign, but there’s so much news of the day that I feel we have to ask you about. I wanted to...

Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. East and Gulf Coast port workers are set to go on strike at midnight on Monday with no talks currently scheduled to head off a stoppage threatening to halt container traffic from Maine to Texas and cost the economy as much as $5 billion a day. The labor contract between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) union representing 45,000 port workers and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group expires late Monday, with negotiations at an impasse over pay. A port strike will go ahead starting Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. ET, the ILA said on...

Mexico finalized plans to take control of a port and quarry owned by Vulcan Materials Co. on its Caribbean coast, deepening tensions days before the nation’s president leaves office. Mexico finalized plans to take control of a port and quarry owned by Vulcan Materials Co. on its Caribbean coast, deepening tensions days before the nation’s president leaves office. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s administration declared the land south of the resort cities of Cancun and Playa del Carmen a natural protected area, according to a filing in the federal gazette published hours after US lawmakers sought to dissuade such a...

CHANCAY, Peru—In this serene town on South America’s Pacific coast, China is building a megaport that could challenge U.S. influence in a resource-rich region that Washington has long considered its backyard.... ...The U.S. worries that China’s control over what could become South America’s first true global commercial hub will allow Beijing to further strengthen its grip over the region’s resources, deepen its influence among America’s closest neighbors and eventually plant its military nearby.... Peru’s Foreign Minister Javier González-Olaechea said...“The United States is present almost everywhere in the world with a lot of initiatives, but not so much in Latin America,”...

It didn’t take long for the Pentagon to all but confirm that the temporary Gaza port constructed at the behest of President Biden is turning out to be a total disaster. The admission came during a Tuesday press conference, in which Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon’s spokesman, told reporters that none of the 569 metric tons of food and supplies delivered into Hamas-controlled Gaza via the port have been distributed to Gaza residents by nongovernmental organizations. Constructed by the U.S. military, the $320 million floating port was announced earlier this year during Biden’s State of the Union address, a...

Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that maritime operations in the Port of Baltimore could be fully functional by May while discussing the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Host Margaret Brennan said, “We are so sorry about the recovery and the fatal accident. How do you describe where we are in this recovery process and potentially rebuilding?”

“… Others believe this was a deliberate attack of US infrastructure based on various factors that do not seem to add up. Could it have been an inside job or a foreign agent? The truth will come to light, as it always does. Let me begin by explaining how crucial the Francis Scott Key Bridge was to America’s supply chain. Around 52.3 million tons of international cargo estimated to be worth $80.8 billion passed through the port in 2023. Around 4,900 trucks, carrying around $28 billion in goods, must be rerouted due to the bridge collapse. It is the second...

The best time to repeal the Foreign Dredge Act was before the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed. The next best time to repeal it is right now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge figures to snarl traffic around Baltimore, but the bigger problem might be the downed bridge's effect on maritime activity. Until the bridge's wreckage can be cleared away, the Port of Baltimore is cut off from the Chesapeake Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the global supply chains beyond. It remains unclear how long the port will be closed, but federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that there’s currently no timeline for when the Port of Baltimore can reopen following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge a day prior. “Too soon to venture an estimate,” he told reporters during the White House daily press briefing. “The vast majority of the port is inside of that bridge, which means most of it cannot operate.” Buttigieg, who traveled to Baltimore on Tuesday hours after the collapse, said he is concerned about the local economic impact of the port closure and noted that 8,000 jobs are directly associated with port activities....

The Port of Baltimore has been brought to a standstill thanks to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, creating risks to the U.S. economy of additional inflation, diminished productive capacity, and larger government deficits.The Port of Baltimore was the 17th busiest port in the nation ranked by total tons in 2021, according to the latest data available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It is the fifth largest on the East Coast, outsized by the ports of New York-New Jersey; Virginia; Mobile, Alabama; and Savanah, Georgia. (snip) It was the first in terms of the volume of automobiles...