The Impact of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” on the Jones Act and U.S. Maritime Growth

By VOICES Staff. On July 4th, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB), a massive reconciliation package that includes significant provisions for the maritime industry. The bill delivers critical funding to enhance U.S. maritime security, shipbuilding, and defense capabilities, while fostering economic growth and job creation in maritime-related sectors. The […]

Crowley Tug Repowers Boost Maritime Readiness in America’s Busiest Ports

The Master and Leader were originally delivered in April 1998, built to last by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Washington state (CREDIT: Crowley)

By VOICES Staff. Two of the hardest-working tugboats on the West Coast are back in action—smarter, cleaner, and more powerful than ever. Crowley has completed full repowers of the Master and Leader, its ship assist and escort tugs serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These modernizations are helping ensure the ports — […]

A Cleaner Fleet Starts at the Shipyard

A Western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom from September 26, 2017. The scum shown here near downtown Toledo stretched all the way to Lake Ontario. This photo is from Landsat-8 (CREDIT: NASA/USGS).

By VOICES Staff. As America charts a course toward building, crewing and sailing more U.S. ships, maritime innovators are stepping up to meet the need to protect our inland waterways, Great Lakes and ocean territory. Among them is  Florida-based Seascour, a company revolutionizing one of the most overlooked, and potentially environmentally harmful, aspects of ship […]

Muscular new escort tug supports a resurgent Port of Baltimore

The Jones Act-qualified Isabel McAllister, built in 2025 by Washburn & Doughty, has become a major asset for the recovering Port of Baltimore. (Image Credit: McAllister Towing)

By Casey Conoly, Professional Mariner. McAllister Towing & Transportation’s multiyear fleet renewal gained momentum this spring with the arrival of Isabel McAllister in the Port of Baltimore. The 6,770-hp tug is the fourth delivery in a six-boat series from Washburn & Doughty Associates in East Boothbay, Maine. The shipyard also designed Isabel using its proven […]

USACE Navigation mission critical to Armed Forces’ strategic readiness

By Kathryne Gest. WASHINGTON – When the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) needs to move over 1,000 trucks, trailers, and tons of equipment for a large training exercise, they rely on the cost-effectiveness and convenience of the nation’s waterways. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains an extensive network of inland and intracoastal […]

U.S. Shipyards Set the Standard for Safety: SCA Honors 14 Facilities for 2024 Excellence

By VOICES Staff.  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) has announced its annual Safety Awards, honoring 14 U.S. shipyards for their outstanding safety performance in 2024. The awards recognize facilities that met rigorous standards in promoting safe work environments across the shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance sector. This industry plays a vital role […]

For the first time since the Key Bridge collapse, oysters are being planted nearby

Frits de Goede, operations manager at Ports America Chesapeake, dumps oysters overboard to plant them in the Patapsco River, one of the first Chesapeake Bay Foundation plantings since the collapse of the Key Bridge. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters)

by Christine Condon, Maryland Matters. Ben Carver, a boat captain for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, assumed the worst. When Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed — killing six construction workers and sending thousands of tons of concrete and steel hurtling into the Patapsco River — Carver feared that the foundation’s nearby oyster reef would be […]

A ‘Blue Highway’ Is Cruising to Hunts Point

This story was originally published by THE CITY. Sign up to get the latest New York City news delivered to you each morning By Jonathan Custodio, THE CITY. A new marine freight barge at the country’s largest wholesale fish market could reduce congestion and air pollution. The Economic Development Corporation and Con Agg Global, a Bronx-based urban logistics and […]