American Maritime Officers at press time was in contract negotiations with Delaware North Companies Inc., the company that recently purchased the Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and American Queen.
The Philadelphia-based tug Liberty, operated under American Maritime Officers contract by Maritrans Inc., recently came to the aid of a crew member aboard the foreign-flagged OMI Sacramento after the seaman lost his footing on the ship's Jacob's Ladder and plunged into Delaware Bay. The officers and crew aboard the nearby Liberty immediately released a rescue vessel and pulled the uninjured mariner from the water.
Maritime Administrator William Schubert has outlined a strategy to expand the civilian seagoing labor base to ease crewing of U.S.-flag strategic sealift ships in national security emergencies.
South Florida residents joined merchant mariners and leaders of the local maritime industry in Dania Beach, Fla., on National Maritime Day May 22 to pay tribute to America's civilian seafarers for their service past and present to national defense and military sealift efforts at home and abroad.
Our commercial maritime tradition dates back to the founding of our nation; and it continues to play an important role today, moving passengers and freight, protecting our freedom, and linking our citizens to the world.
The U.S. shipping and shipbuilding industries, and the laws that maintain domestic shipping for American vessels and seafarers, face new threats on several fronts and will require renewed political and diplomatic efforts to defend effectively , according to a report from the Maritime Cabotage Task Force.
A renewed Maritime Security Program is on the policy agenda, Maritime Administrator William Schubert said in May.
