As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The U.S. Navy's growing manning gap is adding to its existing fleet maintenance issues, according to the Government Accountability Office. In a fleetwide survey, GAO found that most warship crews are having a hard time performing underway repairs and maintenance because they do not have enough people on board to do the work. As incomplete underway maintenance leads to more serious issues down the road, like increased rates of corrosion or mechanical wear, the challenges in getting the work done at sea are adding to the Navy's difficulty in completing timely repairs during drydock or pierside availabilities. Mission-limiting backlog counts rose measurably in 2023 rose from about 8,500 job items to about 9,000 job items, with most of the increase concentrated in the surface fleet.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The U.S. Navy is going all-in on its partnership with a recently-founded non-profit, the BlueForge Alliance, handing the organization a contract worth nearly $1 billion to strengthen worker recruitment and resourcing for the U.S. submarine industrial base. The gaps in the nuclear submarine workforce are among the Navy's biggest procurement concerns, as worker shortages at the two prime contractors and their suppliers are causing production delays for the Columbia-class ballistic missile subs and the Virginia-class attack subs. 

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Washington State Ferries (WSF), Seattle, has put the decommissioned vessels Elwha and Klahowya back on the market after terminating a sales agreement with buyer Nelson Armas. This decision follows a series of setbacks, including a failed attempt to tow the ferries to Ecuador in August. During the attempted tow, malfunctions in the towing equipment left the Elwha and Klahowya stranded in Puget Sound. As a result, the vessels were returned to WSF’s Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility on Bainbridge Island. WSF assistant secretary Steve Nevey emphasized the decision to end the contract was in the state's best interest, citing repeated failures to meet contractual deadlines.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Maritime High School (MHS), a public choice school in the Highline School District operated in partnership with Northwest Maritime, Port of Seattle, and the Duwamish River Community Coalition, announces the expansion of its maritime-focused curriculum with the addition of a third educational pathway, Marine Construction, which will be made available to students entering grade 11 beginning with the 2024-25 school year. Other educational pathways students can explore include Marine Resources & Research and Vessel Operations, Design & Maintenance.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Today, All American Marine (AAM), Bellingham, Wash., announced the delivery of a 74’x27.5’ aluminum hydrofoil catamaran patrol boat to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). AAM states the vessel, Barracuda, was designed and built to enhance CDFW’s capabilities in coastal and marine enforcement, playing a crucial role in safeguarding California’s marine resources for its Law Enforcement Division. In a press release, AAM noted the vessel is equipped to handle a wide range of near coastal and offshore missions, including multi-day patrols, commercial gear inspection and recovery, fishery enforcement, and marine protected area patrols.

Everywhere you turn, discussions about a labor shortage are prevalent, and this issue is not confined to any specific industry. The maritime sector has been grappling with this challenge for years, and from an external perspective, it can seem as though we are unable to attract enough talent for both seagoing and shoreside positions.

Having spent over a decade within the industry, I can affirm that labor shortages are just as influenced by hiring processes as they are by recruitment efforts.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Designed to protect U.S. shipyards and its workers while also serving as a key element of national security, the Jones Act is arguably the most significant piece of legislation in the maritime industry. These considerations are not unique to the United States, as the majority of the world’s shipping ports have some type of Jones Act equivalent to protect against foreign intrusion in a country’s domestic industries. Nonetheless, efforts to dismantle it have continued, led by certain lawmakers who would allow foreign mariners into domestic markets.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Coast Guard’s heavy icebreaker Polar Star and crew returned to their homeport in Seattle Aug. 24, after an annual deployment to Antarctica and service life extension shipyard work in California. The 138-day voyage supporting Operation Deep Freeze 2024 was followed by the 399’ Polar Star pulling into Mare Island Dry Dock (MIDD) LLC. in Vallejo, Calif., to start the fourth phase of a five-year Service Life Extension Project (SLEP).

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has allocated $26.5 million in capital improvement grants under the Port Electrification Program. This competitive grant initiative, funded through Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), is aimed at assisting public port districts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through electrification projects.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Port of Seattle, one of the busiest ports in the U.S. and responsible for managing the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, experienced a cyberattack on Saturday. This incident forced the government agency to shut down its systems to mitigate the impact.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Wind-assisted propulsion is “on the verge of a tipping point,” concludes Lloyd’s Register in a newly released analysis of the market. The presentation points to the growing familiarity with the technology and the pressure from regulations and customers driving owners and operators toward the technology while also highlighting challenges that remain ahead to realize the perceived potential for wind-assisted propulsion.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. With limited biofuel availability posing a significant challenge, ports are pivotal in advancing sustainable shipping practices. To gain insights from the perspective of a Port Authority, see interview with Rick Schiappacasse, Director Forest Products & Speciality Cargo, JAXPORT, Jacksonville Port Authority. Here, he shared how JAXPORT is leading the way in these efforts, particularly through the development and use of LNG as a cleaner fuel alternative.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Governor Maura Healey recently signed the 2024/2025 Massachusetts state budget, which includes $150,000 in funding for workforce development and career technical education initiatives in the recreational boating industry. The funding will continue the initiatives and progress that the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association has made to help address workforce challenges within the industry.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Issues that the Coast Guard faces with workforce recruitment and in maintaining mission readiness were among those in focus in a wide-ranging August 7 discussion with USCG Vice Commandant Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, held at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. Stressing that the Coast Guard plays a vital role in ensuring U.S. security, Admiral Lunday said that evolving cyber threats pose risks to maritime security and global commerce, while delays in shipbuilding projects and budget constraints further complicate the situation.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Seafarers’ increasing dependence on digital technologies for both work and leisure highlights the need for onboard connectivity that is fast, reliable, and ‘always on’, says Inmarsat report ‘The Digital Wave’. Published by Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, The Digital Wave: Transforming vessels into floating offices and remote homes examines how crews and shore-based teams are using digital technologies today – and the connectivity they rely on during work and leisure time.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Seattle-based Snow & Co. has delivered a 15m (49.7x15.9'x7.54') hybrid catamaran aluminum research vessel for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The vessel, R/V Resilliance, demonstrates Incat Crowther and Snow’s expertise in designing and building low emissions vessels that deliver practical solutions for their scientific mission requirements.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Gunderson Marine of Portland, Oregon, recently side-launched Makani Loa, a 438‘ x 105‘ (133.5m x 32m) container barge for Lynden/Alaska Marine Lines from its 58-acre (32.5-hectare) manufacturing site in the industrial area north of downtown Portland, on the western shore of the Willamette River.
It also announced the opening of a training center in spring of 2024 to address the demand for skilled tradespeople and to train students in metal fitting, fabrication, safety practices, and welding processes, including flux-cored arc, submerged arc, and shield metal arc. Trainees are offered $19.95/hr during an eight-week course. Qualified graduates can work full time at Gunderson, starting as welders or pipe­fitters and later becoming supervisors or managers. To learn more about the program and employment benefits, visit www.giwx.net/training-center.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and the American Sportfishing Association have partnered to create an education hub for ASA member organizations. The hub was introduced at the recent International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show and will be housed within MRAA’s learning management system, MRAATraining.com.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report from the Mission to Seafarers reveals a mixed but somewhat more positive picture of seafarers’ well-being, with the happiness index increasing slightly to 6.99 in second quarter 2024, marginally up from 6.94 in the first quarter.
However, the seafarers happiness survey results reveal concerns over the emergence of two classes of life at sea for seafarers. There are suggestions of a “digital divide” when it comes to accessing the benefits of modern communications and connectivity at sea, as well as different levels of training and preparedness for new fuels and new technologies for crew on different types of vessels.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The White House reports that private sector partners are stepping up with new investments in the U.S. maritime sector, with a fact sheet noting that the following companies plan to expand or establish their operations in the United States as the result of recent actions by the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. allies and partners: HD Hyundai, Bollinger Shipyards, Davie Shipbuilding, and Konecranes.