Kirby's Matt Woodruff Nominated to Serve as AWO's Next Vice Chairman of the Board. The Executive Committee voted unanimously last week to nominate Matt Woodruff, Vice President - Public & Government Affairs at Kirby Corporation, to serve as AWO's next Vice Chairman of the Board in 2025-2026. Matt has served in AWO's member leadership for many years, including as a Southern Region Board member from 2007-2023; Southern Region Vice Chair from 2013-2017; Southern Region Chair from 2017-2019, and as an At-Large Executive Committee Member from 2019-2023. He also served as President of the American Maritime Partnership in 2018-2019.

ACBL SVP Business Development and Planning Patrick Sutton, AWO's current Vice Chairman of the Board who will succeed Kelly Teichman, Executive Chairman of T&T Marine Salvage, as Chairman in May, commented regarding Mr. Woodruff's nomination: "When I was nominated to serve as Chairman of the Board for AWO, I knew right away I wanted to serve with Matt Woodruff.  Through my years of working with Matt within the industry and serving alongside him on the AWO Executive Committee, I've come to know him as a thoughtful and highly dedicated advocate for the marine industry. I congratulate Matt on his nomination as our next Vice Chairman, and I look forward to the continued benefit of his perspective as we serve the mariners who navigate America's waterways."

AWO Welcomes Four New Members. Please join AWO in welcoming four new members:

• Carter Machinery sells and supports the full line of Caterpillar equipment, engines, and electric power generation systems.
• Collier Walsh Nakazawa LLP is a U.S. West Coast law firm providing legal services to businesses in the marine, international trade and energy Industries.
• Intercon is a U.S.-based manufacturer of heavy machinery serving the commercial marine, defense, and industrial markets.
• Sewart is a marine propulsion distributor of Twin Disc, HamiltonJet, Hitachi NICO, and Veth Propulsion products.

AWO Joins Broad Coalition in Responding to USTR Section 301 Proposal. AWO recently joined 316 other organizations on a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) supporting the Trump Administration's goal of countering China's efforts to dominate the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, but highlighting the problematic unintended consequences of its proposed fee on fleets containing Chinese vessels calling at U.S. ports. The proposal would institute fees of up to $1.5 million on each U.S. port visit. AWO signed onto the letter due to the effect the fees could have on port visits and domestic industries, which could negatively impact domestic maritime supply chains.

McAllister Towing Featured in CBS Mornings Story on Key Bridge Anniversary. On March 24, CBS Mornings aired a story on the one-year anniversary of the Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. The story featured Capt. David Jurs of McAllister Towing, who shared his perspective on responding to the tragedy  and the important role that tugboats play in port operations. The story also explored the outlook for America's bridges to experience an allision in the future, and their ability to withstand those events. You can view the CBS Mornings story here.

MSIB 01-25 on Non-Operating Individuals Cancelled. In response to industry feedback, the Coast Guard has cancelled MSIB 01-25, which had resumed enforcement of statutory requirements for non-crewmembers aboard vessels to carry valid Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMCs). For several years, Congress has legislatively delayed enforcement of this requirement, but those provisions lapsed effective January 1, 2025. When the Coast Guard initially promulgated MSIB 01-25, several AWO members raised concerns about the impacts on mariner credential processing generally and on marine firefighting, salvage, and spill response operations. AWO joined with the American Petroleum Institute, American Clean Power, and other organizations to voice those concerns with the Coast Guard, ultimately leading to this change. 

MARAD Seeks Shipyard Input on Capacity, Capability, and Readiness. The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a request for information (RFI) on which shipyards in the U.S. have the capacity, capability, and readiness to construct ships capable of operating in ice conditions and what would be needed to further develop icebreaker ships in the U.S. This RFI is being conducted to support the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact, a collaboration between the U.S., Finland and Canada that aims to enhance U.S. shipbuilding industries and industrial capacity through information exchange and workforce development. Responses are due April 9, 2025. 

AWO Submits Comments on Draft Multimodal Freight Network. AWO recently submitted comments to the Department of Transportation regarding the draft National Multimodal Freight Network (NMFN). The NMFN is being developed to strategically direct resources to improve performance of America's freight network and will inform Federal and state investment prioritization. In the comments, AWO requested that the Department include low-use waterways in the network, as commercially productive waterways can have a low-use classification even though they have the potential to handle more cargo. Categorically excluding low-use waterways from the NMFN would underutilize the excess capacity that the waterways have over land-side modes, AWO noted in the comments. 

AWO Submits Comments on Sustainable Maritime Fuels RFI. AWO recently submitted comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) on its Sustainable Maritime Fuels (SMF) Request for Information (RFI). The RFI was issued as part of the DOE SMF Grand Challenge to support the development of sustainable fuels for maritime operators in the US. The RFI seeks to define what an SMF is, which will determine which fuels qualify for support through the program. AWO's comments urged DOE to keep the definition sufficiently broad to ensure that a wide range of fuels will be available for the broad diversity of maritime operations, vessels, and geographies. AWO also called for a definition that does not include strict carbon intensity targets, as this could restrict fuel availability and reduce confidence in new technologies.

USACE Crowdsourced Bathymetry Initiative. The Engineer Research and Development Center (EDRC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is working on a project that uses crowdsourced bathymetry to predict shoaling along domestic river systems. Crowdsourced bathymetry is the collection and sharing of depth measurements from vessels, using standard navigation instruments, while engaged in routine maritime operations. You can view the currently available bathymetry data on NOAA's Bathymetric Data Viewer. Currently, this data can be anonymously submitted when using RosePoint Coastal Explorer.

AWO Testifies in Support of the Jones Act in Connecticut. Last week, AWO Director of State Advocacy Kyle Burleson testified before the Connecticut Commerce Committee against House Resolution 9, which calls on Congress to exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act and erroneously claims the law is harmful to both Puerto Rico and Connecticut. In his testimony, Kyle highlighted the Jones Act's importance to both Connecticut and Puerto Rico, enumerating the law's benefits to Americans in both places and rebutting the claims of witnesses who testified in support of this harmful legislation. You can watch Kyle's testimony here or read his extended written testimony here.

Coast Guard to keep AToNs on Missouri River. The Coast Guard previously announced that it was planning to disestablish 36 aids to navigation (AToNs) on the Missouri River north of Blencoe, Iowa. After strong pushback from the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River (CPMR) and Congressional allies, the Coast Guard has decided to indefinitely cease all efforts to disestablish these AToNs. AWO serves on the board of CPMR and will continue to work with industry partners and the Coast Guard to ensure these AToNs are maintained to support navigation on the Missouri River.

Coast Guard Foundation Holds Tribute to Coast Guard D8. The Coast Guard Foundation recently held its Tribute to the Eighth Coast Guard District at the WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA. In addition to significant sponsorship funding from the maritime industry, an additional $125,000 was raised during the dinner to help Coast Guard members and their families. AWO Board members and representatives from the Southern Region and Jill Bessetti, AWO Vice President - Southern Region, attended the annual event.