Time is Now for Revitalization
I’m sure we could come up with some exceptions, but for the most part, any given industry is more likely to end up in the news during times of crisis rather than when going through routine operations. Not to pick on our brothers and sisters in the airline industry, but when an in-flight incident recently occurred that involved a door detaching, it made national if not global headlines. A routine flight wouldn’t have been news at all.
So it is with maritime and the Red Sea shipping crisis. Our industry once again is in the spotlight for undesirable reasons that are no fault of ours. This condition hit home in the worst possible way early last month, when a fatal attack by Houthi rebels killed three mariners and injured others aboard a foreign-flag ship (one that is covered by an International Transport Workers’ Federation contract). It was an appalling act of terrorism.
One of our own SIU-crewed ships also reportedly was targeted in late February in the Gulf of Aden, but the ballistic missile – also launched by Iranian-backed Houthis – landed in the water and did no damage.
The latest data available at press time indicated that more than half of the ships that normally sail through that area have re-routed. Efforts are underway to temporarily redirect as many as possible, up to 100 percent.
If you missed this point being made in our prior coverage or elsewhere, please be clear that the attacks on mariners and vessels basically have nothing to do with Israel and Gaza. This is pure terrorism and it wouldn’t end even if the Gaza crisis were resolved overnight. The rebels are using it as a convenient excuse for mindless violence.
Meanwhile, government leaders and the general public are again either learning about or getting reacquainted with the absolutely indispensable role that shipping plays in the world economy. In that regard, it is reminiscent of the pandemic-era supply-chain crisis.
Here in the U.S., this attention coincides with a potentially seismic effort by organized labor (including the SIU through our affiliation with the Maritime Trades Department). The United Steelworkers union is leading a formal petition to hold China accountable for unfair practices in its shipbuilding industry, and a big part of this effort involves massively investing in U.S. shipyards and shipyard workers. The petition (reported in detail elsewhere in this edition and on our website) also specifically calls for strengthening U.S. Merchant Marine staples including the Jones Act, cargo preference laws, the Maritime Security Program, and the Tanker Security Program.
That petition has been in the works for a long time, but there’s some potentially great value in its surfacing while people are realizing that our nation simply cannot afford to be anything less than a true maritime power. And make no mistake, we are woefully behind China on that scorecard, mostly because they’ve spent well over $130 billion since 2010 in order to impede competition while becoming the world’s dominant shipbuilder, owner and operator.
Despite all of these challenges, I am genuinely confident in the future of the U.S. maritime industry, including our domestic shipbuilding, and I most definitely am confident about what’s ahead for the SIU. We have strong support from the administration, from military leaders and from both sides of the aisle in Congress. Though it took longer than any of us would have liked, be assured that there is crystal-clear recognition at the highest levels regarding our manpower situation and our shipbuilding capacity. That type of acknowledgement is a mandatory precursor to real change.
Specifically for the SIU and our affiliated school in Piney Point, I think there’s never been a better time to enter the trade or upgrade your skills. Mariners are in demand. You can make a very good living in the industry, and you can advance as far as you want.
We will keep forging ahead to make sure your jobs are secure and your future is bright.
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