S4.E25 - Ports, Policy, and Polar Ambitions

🚢 By Land and By Sea Podcast – an attorney breaking down the week in supply chain

 🎙️ Captain’s Log – “Ports, Policy, and Polar Ambitions”

 🗓️ June 13, 2025

The Maritime Professor® presents By Land and By Sea Podcast – an attorney breaking down the week in supply chain

 with Lauren Beagen (Founder of The Maritime Professor® and Squall Strategies®)

This week, I’m unpacking six timely stories shaping maritime and trade policy:

🎂 250 Years of the U.S. Merchant Marine

 Reflecting on the enduring role of merchant mariners in national defense and global commerce—past, present, and future.

🧊 A Billion-Dollar Bet on U.S. Icebreakers

 Canada’s Davie Shipbuilding eyes Texas for a new Arctic-class shipyard to revive American icebreaker production.

📦 Ports Prepare for a Summer Surge

 Retailers front-load container volumes before August’s tariff hike—creating a compressed peak season from LA to Savannah.

🚢 USTR Section 301 Tariff Shift – What It Means for Maritime

 New proposed fee model targets Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels, with an open comment period for exports of LNG and fee restructuring for MSP vessels.

🌐 ATON Modernization Expands Across Four Districts

 The U.S. Coast Guard proposes navigation aid updates in Districts 1, 5, 7, and 8 - mariners, pilots, and port stakeholders, take note.

🏛️ Policy Watch: Port Security, Cyber Risk, and U.S.-Flag Cargo Preference

 Key bills in Congress target future Chinese port investment, crane software security, and U.S.-flag vessel support. Plus: Sang Yi steps in as Acting Maritime Administration (MARAD) Administrator.

🐎 WISTA USA New England Polo Event – June 28!

 Tickets and sponsorships are now open for the summer’s most fun maritime networking event at Newport Polo Grounds. 

🎧 Tune in for the full breakdown in plain language www.TheMaritimeProfessor.com/podcast

Want to bring this kind of regulatory clarity to your team? Explore trainings, webinars, and briefings at:

 🌐 www.TheMaritimeProfessor.com

⚠️ This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.

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Chapters

• 0:58 250 Years of US Merchant Marine
• 5:27 Texas Shipyard Deal for Icebreakers
• 9:04 Bracing for Record Summer Import Surge
• 13:54 USTR Section 301 Investigation
• 18:08 Coast Guard ATON Modernization Initiative
• 21:23 Maritime Legislation and Leadership Updates
• 28:53 WISTA Summer Networking Event

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I got soul coming through, climb free skies are blue, all the waves it makes a room. I got soul coming through, won't stop, feel the beat. And on top of the world, I got it's a good night. Whoa, I'm living. Bold, this is what it looks like. I'm addicted to the world. Whoa, whoa.

Speaker 1: 0:58

This week we're celebrating 250 years of the US Merchant Marine digging into transformative icebreaker shipyard deal in Texas. Did you hear about that? Tackling tariff-driven port surges, exploring Coast Guard, aton, modernization, aids to navigation I don't know if you heard about this because I definitely hadn't and spotlighting key maritime legislation. I want to bring it to your attention and update you on some Marriott leadership. Plus. We have a summer networking event that you don't want to miss.

Speaker 1: 1:28

Hi, welcome back to by Land and by Sea an attorney breaking down the weakened supply chain presented by the Maritime Professor. I'm Lauren Began, founder of the Maritime Professor and former FMC International Affairs Attorney. I'm also founder of Squall Strategies. By Land and by Sea is your go-to resource for navigating the regulatory side of global ocean shipping. And me, well, I'm your favorite maritime attorney. Right, I'm here to walk you through both ocean transport and surface transport topics in the wild world of supply chain. As always, the guidance here is general and for informational purposes only. It should not be construed to be legal advice and there is no attorney-client privilege created by this video or this podcast. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney. This is plain language. Maritime created so that anybody, not just lawyers or industry insiders, can understand what's happening in the world of supply chain.

Speaker 1: 2:22

Let's dive into this week's episode because, as you know, ocean shipping moves the world. All right story number one US Merchant Marine turns 250 years old. On June 12th, which was yesterday, the United States marked the 250th anniversary of the US Merchant Marine, and I'd say marked. We celebrated National Maritime Day a few weeks ago. Last month, in May, there were certainly LinkedIn posts of the US Merchant Marine birthday anniversary, but gosh, for the 300th. We got to go bigger. We got to go bigger. There are very large 250th birthday anniversaries happening for all facets of United States. Generally, right, we're coming into a very pivotal year in 1776 to 200, well, 2025. But this one came in like a lamb, although should be praised and should be really, really showcased as being a wonderful milestone for this country. I'm getting off scripts here. So, since this milestone traces back to 1775, that's when the Continental Congress authorized the first maritime operations to support the Revolutionary War and thus began the US Merchant Marine.

Speaker 1: 3:42

Since then, us Merchant Mariners have served as the logistical backbone of American trade and the important backbone of military readiness, delivering troops and supplies in every major conflict, from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom, while also keeping commercial cargo moving in peacetime. In World War II alone, over 6,000 Merchant Mariners lost their lives, suffering the highest casualty rate of any US service. The merchant marines has operated in close connection with the Navy, often without the recognition or benefits granted to traditional armed forces. Today, the US merchant marine plays a dual role, both in commercial and strategic Commercially, delivering goods across the United States and international trade routes, and strategically, providing seal of capability to the Department of Defense through programs like the Maritime Security Program and the Ready Reserve Force. Msp is the Maritime Security Program.

Speaker 1: 4:37

This anniversary is more than just a number right. It's a reminder, and an important reminder, that shipping is a matter of national security. I keep saying this, mar a matter of national security. I keep saying this Maritime security is national security. National security is maritime security. When we saw Mike Waltz elevated to the National Security Council before all of the January 20th appointments came in. That signaled to me that this administration saw that maritime security is national security. That signaled to me that this administration saw that maritime security is national security. And as global competition grows and supply chain risks escalate, investing in the Merchant Marine means ensuring the US can project economic and military power when it matters most. Whether it's moving humanitarian aid, military hardware or everyday goods, the Merchant Marine keeps America connected and this week they deserve that spotlight. So that's why we started off the show with the 250th anniversary of the merchant mariners. All right.

Speaker 1: 5:27

Story number two did you hear about? This? Texas shipyard deal could jumpstart us icebreaker program, so a new development out of texas could mark a turning point for the us icebreaker landscape. According to reporting by the wall street journal, davy shipbuilding, which is a a major Canadian shipbuilder known for its experience in Arctic vessel construction, is in advanced talks to acquire shipyard facilities in Galveston and Port Arthur, texas. This deal, estimated at approximately I think I heard $1 billion, would create a US-based hub for building heavy icebreakers, filling a long-standing gap.

Speaker 1: 6:06

Icebreakers filling a longstanding gap and this is certainly a gap in American maritime capability by not having reliable, I guess, is probably the right way that I would say it heavy icebreakers. We have two major icebreakers. We certainly have more than that, but these heavy icebreakers are usually in and out of dry dock. We have one that we use a lot, but it's either way. This is woefully overdue. This is something that we've needed for a long time. This reinvigoration of the icebreaker fleet, all of our commercial shipbuilding, certainly, but this icebreaker fleet that's going to ultimately support US Coast Guard and just really support maritime generally. So Davey has partnered with Bard, a subsidiary of an Italian company, to design and build the Polar Icebreaker program for Canada and has expressed its intent to bring that industrial model stateside to the United States.

Speaker 1: 6:55

If finalized, this would help modernize Gulf Coast shipyard infrastructure, would create an estimated 4,000 American jobs and would probably very importantly almost most importantly position the US to build Arctic-class ships domestically rather than outsourcing it, which would then support both the US Navy but, importantly, the US Coast Guard, polar fleet ambitions and polar fleet operations. This is something that I've heard quite a bit is needed. I used to do some Arctic law work. This is something that, like I said, woefully overdue, as many of our maritime needs are right now. But look, we're moving forward. Right, we're getting a shipbuilding fleet. They're coming to Texas. It's a little silly comical I guess you could say having icebreakers coming out of one of our most southern areas, but I love it. Right, they can go from the warm temperatures of Texas all the way up to the Arctic and get to work right.

Speaker 1: 7:57

Like I said, the US currently lags behind global Arctic powers, particularly Russia operates over 40 icebreakers, while the US, like I said, just has these two aging heavy-duty icebreakers. The Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter Program has faced years of delay and this is where we really are interested in making sure that our US icebreaking capacity is increased so that we can support our missions right. This potential US-Canadian shipbuilding collaboration could give the US its first serious foothold in domestic Arctic vessel production. It's not just about national defense, but it certainly is partially about national defense. It's about industrial revitalization, job creation and geopolitical competitiveness. It also underscores the growing bipartisan interest in restoring US shipbuilding through strength, particularly as we continue to look to bolster seal of capabilities and compete in strategic maritime regions. So again, all great things, shipbuilding and Arctic shipbuilding in the United States Seems like we're getting there. I don't want to say we're back, but we're getting there, all right Story.

Speaker 1: 9:04

Number three US ports are bracing for record summer surge. So retailers and importers are front-loading inventory. That's what's being reported, as the US is bracing for record-breaking summer import surge and it all kind of is tying around the tariffs right. This maybe wasn't so surprising once we started to see some of the tariffs be applied. So after the Trump administration's April tariff announcements, significant tariffs on a range of Chinese imports and Chinese vessels arriving at the US, or proposals for such, has triggered really a flood of shipments. At first we weren't sure what was going to happen. We saw shipments drop off. Now what the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates and ports and terminals and kind of it feels like there's a growing concern about a summer surge or a import surge happening over the next month or two they're expecting. The National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates is expecting 2.01 million TEUs in June and 2.13 million TEUs in July, potentially the highest monthly volume this year.

Speaker 1: 10:13

I keep hearing people talk about this. Might be reminiscent of COVID congestion, but at least this time we know right. We knew that congestion was always a possibility. Nobody could have predicted COVID and then certainly we had congestion that happened. Now we get a little bit more of a heads up on this, but we still haven't fixed all of our choke points. But I think this is something that the entire industry needs to just pay attention to.

Speaker 1: 10:40

There may be, and probably likely will be, a surge of imports and exports going in and out in the months of June and July. I think that we're going to see some trade deals this month that are going to be also shifting some of that behavior. But look, we also have back to school, early holiday inventory. It's hard to tell exactly when peak is again, because things are moving so quickly in terms of tariff. But I think that we are going to see while we don't know what's going to be happening down the road, and certainly after that July 9th pause for the tariffs we want to. We're probably going to see some imports coming in right before then, because at least you know what the tariffs look like right now. So what to expect?

Speaker 1: 11:21

Right, ports from LA, long Beach, savannah, houston, new York, new Jersey, all preparing. Probably preparing should be preparing. Right For container volume spikes that are potential to cause strain. Right, they could be terminal capacity, they could be chassis dredge availability, it could be warehouse space All the things that we saw during COVID congestion years. But I think this time I hope this time I do think this time we are better at watching the flow. We're better at seeing the entire supply chain versus just seeing it in pieces, the supply chain ecosystem, as you will. Again, this is just kind of a classic example of tariff-driven front loading, but with a twist the compression of seasonal peaks could cause, for maybe I don't even want to fully predict short-term congestion or short-term shortages. I think that probably we're just going to see some import peaks that need to be properly prepared for. Stakeholders should prepare not just for the surge but also for the volatility that might follow, the uncertainty. I don't even know if I want to call it volatility, the uncertainty, but the fact. Thank you, thank you, all right, looks like I might be having a little bit of technical difficulties. Apologies for the delay. Here I'm back.

Speaker 1: 13:49

Story number four USTR Section 301 investigation China, shipbuilding and tariff strategies. So what's happening here? The Office of the US Trade Representative continues its Section 301 investigation into China's dominance in global maritime manufacturing, specifically targeting state subsidies and industrial policies. Revolving around shipbuilding, certainly, but it looks like port equipment vessel operations are all coming under this as well, unlike previous Section 301 actions focused on consumer goods. This action zeroes in on China's strategic control of shipbuilding capacity. We've talked about this before. Right, the US is now proposing potential port fees on vessels that are Chinese built and or Chinese operated A major shift. We started with a very significant million dollars per port visit port fee fee. It's since been reduced, kind of aligned more toward more of a penalty on US or, excuse me, on Chinese built and or Chinese operated vessels and companies. But this investigation stems from petitions that really arguing that this China state support has distorted market conditions and weakened the US maritime industrial base. So what's happening?

Speaker 1: 15:01

There is an open call for comments right now. They recently USTR recently issued a proposed modification. They're asking for comments. It closes up. It's a quick 30-day comment period. They're asking for comments. It closes up, it's a quick 30-day comment period. They're asking for and the way that I read it is comments specifically around their proposal on maritime security program vessels shifting car equivalent units to net tons.

Speaker 1: 15:24

I will say in the summary of the proposal it seems like they're talking about simply that right, they want feedback on the Maritime Security Program MSP vessels shifting the way that the fee might be structured from the car equivalent units to net tons. When you actually get down to the request for comments, it almost seems to suggest that they are asking for comments on all fees, that kind of flow around net tons, not just the Maritime Security Program vessels. So I think that it's still targeted. I think that what they're looking for is a specific response on these MSP vessels and how they're car equivalent units to net tons. But it's hard to say and honestly, if you have something to say here, throw your comments in. I mean, it's best to provide comments and maybe expand too far on what you should have been commenting on than probably not commenting on what you should right. So not legal advice, just educational conversation here.

Speaker 1: 16:28

They are also looking at removing language, suspending export licenses. So this was originally included in Annex 4 of the prior Section 301. This seems to again same thing when they talk about it in the proposal. They talk about it as areas of concern related to US LNG sector areas of concern related to US LNG sector. However, once it gets down to the proposed request for comments, it seems to be a little bit expanded Either way if you have anything to do with MSP vessels or car equivalent units or net tons or exporting, particularly if you're exporting LNG sector, but kind of export licenses generally. You might want to take a look. It's a pretty quick read, it's only a few pages long. I suggest that you read the proposals, the proposal section, before you go straight to the request for comments, because I'm telling you the request for comments is a little confusing, convoluted, and I think that the proposal section explains a little bit more of what they're specifically looking for and, like I said, the targeted areas that they're looking for. But open comments are open comments. Truly, I've seen comments filed when I worked at the FMC but then also, as I've been following, federal comments filed. People can comment on anything but you want to make sure that your comments, to be effective, are specific, targeted and if you do want to expand beyond just what they're asking for, say why, right, try to tie it back to give them a reason to read it, give them a reason to make sure that they're incorporating whatever you have to say. So go take a look at that. Ustr has open comment period for the Section 301, shipbuilding investigation, all right.

Speaker 1: 18:04

Story number five so Coast Guard and Aids to Navigation. They're undertaking what I understand to be a pretty significant ATON modernization initiative. Again, aton is Aids to Navigation. It's aimed at updating buoys, beacons, channel markers to reflect today's vessel traffic patterns, harbor conditions and electronic navigation capabilities and also reduce the burden on the kind of nuts and bolts of maintaining these things. I mean, right, you're looking at chain, you're looking at making sure that they're still where they're supposed to be. That's how I understand this. They are modernizing it. So instead of having directly across from each other a red and a green, perhaps maybe you'll have red, green, red green, right kind of jagged, I guess every other.

Speaker 1: 18:53

So I've heard two versions of this. I've heard this is no big deal and this is just updating some of the ATOMs. Specifically, the districts that I've heard that they're looking at are District 1, district 5, district 7, and District 8. However, I've also heard, particularly from pilots, that this is a big giant deal and that this needs to be fixed and that some of these buoys and beacons and channel markers that they are proposing to eliminate are actually marking sandbars and shoals and underwater hazards and they're things that if you didn't know the underwater thing was there, you might hit. So, like I said, I've heard it really talked about both ways. All that says to me is this is something that everybody should be aware of. I certainly wasn't before last week, and I understand that the comments are closing today on an open request for comments. So today, being June 13th, take a look at it.

Speaker 1: 19:56

I'm not sure if the Coast Guard usually accepts late-filed comments. We know that the FMC sometimes does. Often does Federal agencies often do, because they want to get the feedback more than they want to stay hard to the cutoff line. But this might be one that you want to take a look at and if you do have comments I believe some pilot associations are submitting comments on this. But if you do have comments, take a look. If you're in any of those districts, right, district 1, 5, 7, or 8, or really any district try to engage with your leadership in those districts and see, or work with your Harbor Safety Committee, see if there's things that are concerning about this modernization.

Speaker 1: 20:36

Maybe it's just modernization, right. Maybe it's just simply cleaning it up, making sure that it's a little more streamlined, like I said. I've certainly heard it talked about that way as well, but this is something that is worth taking a look at. So these changes could reflect evolving realities, right, these could just be modernization efforts. This was started a few years ago. As I understand it. This comment period has been open for quite a while, but I bring this up because I hadn't heard about it.

Speaker 1: 21:03

And infrastructure of safe navigation is important and I've also heard it mentioned. Once you lose it, you might lose it forever, so that's something that is worth paying attention to. If any of these ATOMs are things that you use or you find helpful, all right. Story. Number six legislative and Marriott watch. So there's a couple bills that are moving that I want to bring your attention to that I think are important, and just the fact that they're moving is also important. So three bills and then some leadership updates over at Merit. So HR 252, secure our ports.

Speaker 1: 21:43

This is a bill that would block future Chinese investment in US port infrastructure. The bill would not apply retroactively to existing Chinese investments that have already undergone federal review. This would just be future-looking. An earlier version of this bill could have potentially disrupted several US terminals with minority Chinese ownership. I get that the theme is, you know, usa above all and anybody but China, it feels like. But look for things that are kind of already vetted and already in the process. It's going to take a little bit of time to decouple. So I think that this is interesting, that it's looking not retroactively but forward facing. Perhaps we might see more movement later on retroactive, retroactive but for the time being that's what we're looking at is a forward-facing bill as part of a broader policy push to reduce strategic dependence on China while avoiding unnecessary disruptions to port and cargo operations. It seems like, at least for this moment, they might have gotten this balance right where they are forward-looking. Let's stop for the forward and then the retroactive. Perhaps they'll come back to that with a more precise scalpel is what we've been hearing. Right, they kind of go forward with a chainsaw sometimes and scalpel on the retroactive. So we'll see what happens here.

Speaker 1: 22:59

But this is Secure Our Ports Act in the House, so we also have the Maritime Supply Chain Security Act HR 2390. This authorizes federal PIDP, so the Port Infrastructure Development Program, the grants to be used for replacing Chinese origin software and port equipment, particularly on ship-to-shore cranes. We've heard a lot about this, logink. This is the logistics platform already banned in some US port systems For security concerns. This is a platform, a Chinese platform. This bill focuses on eliminating potential vulnerabilities tied to systems like logging. This is something that I think, as we continue to move forward in cybersecurity in the maritime sector, it's going to continue to be a top priority in port infrastructure and this bill helps protect ports and helps them secure funding to replace or upgrade legacy systems. Right, because you have these ship-to-shore cranes. You can't just turn them off because you need the ship-to-shore crane. But this will help update and make those fixes. I don't think it's a lack of interest of the ports to update their systems. They just need the financing to help do that and that's partly what this bill will do. So the Maritime Supply Chain Security Act HR 2390.

Speaker 1: 24:13

And then the last one that I wanted to bring to your attention is the American Cargo for American Ships Act. This is kind of like the Ships Act, ships for America Act they all kind of have this America Ships. So this one's American Cargo for American Ships Act this is H is HR 2035. So this expands cargo preference laws by requiring that all cargo procured, furnished or financed by the Department of Transportation be carried on US owned commercial vessels. So currently I believe that's about 50% requirement. So this takes it up to 100% requirement for all this cargo procured, furnished, financed. This is all the cargo preference stuff that comes out of Department of Transportation, marad to be actually moved on US-owned commercial vessels. So this builds on longstanding cargo preference for US-flagged ships. The goal is to reverse the decline in US flagging vessels and promote investment in American maritime capacity.

Speaker 1: 25:11

I've often said on this episode and just if you talk to me in real life out there, I think it's a three-legged stool. I think that we've seen a lot of movement with this administration on shipbuilding. I think the next thing we're going to be looking at is maritime workforce development, revitalization, attraction, retention, all the things around maritime workforce. But then the third piece of that stool and a very important required third leg of that stool is cargo. So this is getting to US cargo preference cargo. So cargo that's already kind of designated as something that has cargo preference to it. But then also, I think what we're going to have to see, and probably what we will start seeing, is commercial cargo also being incentivized to move on US flag fleet, us intended imports being shipped on US flag, which might be a little bit more expensive in the interim. But what if you were to get a tariff waiver or a trade waiver or a tax break or something along those lines? That's actually something that MTSNAAC, the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee that was one of the recommendations in the recent charter was some sort of an incentive to ship on US flag fleet, because what that would do would create a economic engine that would then run the ships that would then also house and host all of the mariners that we need. Right, if we have ships, we need somebody to work them, and if we have a ship with working mariners, we need something to ship on it. Otherwise it's just going to sit there. So it's a three-legged stool and it's super important, but I think that this bill, this American Cargo for American Ships Act, will start to move the needle, but we need that economic engine to keep it going.

Speaker 1: 27:00

All right, here's the Marriott update. Sang Yi, who currently serves, is just named. So he's been. Let me start over. Sang Yi has been named as the Deputy Maritime Administrator just recently, but he's also recently been named to be the actual Acting Administrator of MARAD. So he is a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy, he's a naval reservist, he's a former congressional investigator and policy staffer. His appointment brings continuity to MARAD leadership and we have been needing a leader in this MARAD role since the change of administration.

Speaker 1: 27:34

Here we are June 13th, so what's that? Almost five months since we had the change of administration, and for a administration that is so focused on maritime for us to not have a maritime administrator? I think that this is fantastic that we have somebody at least acting in this role. From what I understand, this does nothing to the nomination of Steve Carmel. I think he is still moving forward. All reports seem to be that his nomination will continue to move forward, but we have now Sang-Yi serving as deputy maritime administrator well, serving in that role as his kind of official role, but now he is acting administrator. You can stay acting for a while. In recent history, we've had maritime administrators be acting for up to a year. Hopefully it doesn't take that long, but this is key and important because now we have a leader within the maritime administration who can start making decisions and start moving forward and moving the needle on the administration's efforts in maritime initiatives. So here we go. We got Marad, we got an acting administrator. I'm going to be watching Marad to see where he takes this.

Speaker 1: 28:48

All right, the last thing that we're going to be covering today WISDA, women's International Shipping and Trading Association. You may have heard of it. It's an NGO that has been recognized by the IMO, the International Maritime Organization. It's a worldwide organization that has branches in pretty much all countries, but certainly the US. We have Wista USA and then even within USA we have regional chapters. So my local regional chapter, wista, new England, is hosting a summer polo event. If you happen to be in the New England area, we are going to be attending on Saturday, june 28th, newport versus Boston. It's a rivalry match. It's going to be in Portsmouth, rhode Island. We have reserved a private cabana for Wista. We're hoping that this really turns into one of the best maritime networking opportunities happening in the New England area Certainly a wonderful opportunity to network in the Rhode Island market.

Speaker 1: 29:41

Look, wista events aren't just social, they're strategic. They bring together professionals across ports law, logistics, engineering and trade and they help bring together stronger networks. And look, whether you're a longtime member or you're a potential member, a prospective member, reach out to your local WISTA. And if you're a potential member, a prospective member, reach out to your local WISTA. And if you're in the New England area, reach out to us. We'd love to see you June 28th. We also still have sponsorships available in case anybody's interested in having their name of their company strategically and proudly promoted within this event.

Speaker 1: 30:14

Alright well, if you like this episode, be sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review. Want to go deeper or bring this kind of insight to your team? Visit themaritimeprofessorcom to explore corporate trainings, tailored briefings and on-demand webinars. And if your organization needs help navigating the legal or strategic side of ocean shipping, head over to Squall Strategies. That's where I provide consulting services, regulatory guidance and policy support for clients working directly with the Federal Maritime Commission and across the global supply chain Anything you need to know in global ocean shipping. As always, this podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney. But until next time, I'm Lauren Began, the Maritime Professor, and I'm Megan, the Maritime Professor, and you've just listened to by Land and by Sea. See you next time.