In many ways, 2024 for the SIU proved uplifting, productive and promising.
The exceptions were big ones, though.
Throughout the year, there were more than 300 reported attacks on vessels from various nations by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. While no SIU-crewed ships were hit, there were close calls involving the Maersk Detroit and Maersk Chesapeake (Jan. 24); the Torm Thor (Feb. 24); the Maersk Yorktown (April 24); the Maersk Sentosa (July 24); and the Liberty Grace, Stena Impeccable, and Maersk Saratoga (Nov. 30-Dec. 1).
Most maritime traffic eventually started rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope. However, at least three foreign mariners died in Houthi attacks off the coast of Yemen, and several ships were severely damaged.
The Houthis’ stated rationale is that they target Israeli-owned ships or vessels that have called at Israeli ports, but that simply doesn’t withstand a fact-check.
SIU President David Heindel, testifying Jan. 30 at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on the volatility of Red Sea shipping, underscored the U.S. Merchant Marine’s commitment to delivering the goods while also calling for continued safeguards that protect all mariners transiting the area. Heindel spoke on behalf of several maritime labor organizations in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Closer to home, the maritime industry also made unwanted headlines beginning March 26, when the Key Bridge outside the Port of Baltimore was struck by the Singapore-flagged vessel Dali, causing the bridge to collapse into the channel and killing six construction workers. While the tragedy did not have a major impact on SIU jobs, the union, through the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), worked to protect the rights of the Dali’s crew and officers (themselves members of unions).
The previous year did include many positive developments for the SIU, among them the ratifications of new respective collective bargaining agreements with TOTE, Bay Houston, NCLA, Crescent Towing, Penn Maritime, American Steamship, Crowley-Penn Terminals, Intrepid Personnel and Provisioning, Argent Marine, Transoceanic Cable Ship Company, Crowley Towing, OSG (inland), and Great Lakes Dredge and Dock. The union also solidified a 12-month bridge agreement with its operators who have vessels in the Ready Reserve Force. Moreover, the SIU protected members’ jobs through various company sales, consolidations and new ventures, including the newly formed Fairwater Holdings LLC.
Additionally, 2024 saw no shortage of new tonnage entering the SIU fleet, including some outright additions and replacement vessels that helped further modernize it. Those gains include the tankers Redwood Trader and Shenandoah Trader (USMMI), the roll-on/roll-off ships ARC Honor, ARC Endeavor (TOTE for American Roll-On/Roll-Off Carrier) and Green Ocean (Waterman), several APL maritime ships that are part of a fleet update, Crowley’s first-of-its-kind electric tugboat eWolf, Great Lakes Towing’s tug Minnesota, the bunker barge Progress (Crowley), the National Security Multi-Mission vessel Patriot State (TOTE, when activated), and the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock dredge Galveston Island.
SIU members upheld the finest traditions of the Brotherhood of the Sea by performing on-the-job rescues and/or rendering humanitarian aid. They included mariners from the Maersk Kinloss, Garden State, and George M. Members also ably helped avert disaster by successfully combating fires aboard the USNS Button, USNS Bobo, and Father Mychael Judge.
On the legislative front, the SIU helped secure several gains, including the imminent introduction of the Ships for America Act, which will be the most comprehensive maritime bill in decades. The union also successfully pushed for common- sense modifications to some requirements for deck-department mariners sailing internationally. Most of the SIU-backed candidates in the House and Senate won their respective races in November.
Across the country, the union and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC) maintained a robust presence on the recruiting trail. These efforts have helped alleviate some manpower concerns, and have resulted in a backlog of applications for the PHC’s apprentice program.
The PHC continued expanding and updating its curriculums, while also earning the prestigious “Center of Excellence” designation from the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. The school also hosted the annual Seafarers Waterfront Classic, a philanthropic event that benefits military veterans and first responders.
The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) awarded scholarships to members and dependents, while the Seafarers Plans also concluded a nationwide series of benefits conferences aimed at assisting rank-and-file members, retirees, staff members and their families.
More broadly, the labor movement continued enjoying a resurgence, as public opinion soared in favor of unions, representation elections increased, and a government report spotlighted the ways unions benefit the overall economy.
The SIU conducted its own election, in accordance with the union constitution. It was scheduled to conclude Dec. 31.
Lastly, the union bid farewell to too many friends and colleagues, including Vice President Government Services Nicholas Celona, who passed away in June at age 65; and Patrolman Jesse Sunga Jr., who died in July at age 36. SIU President Emeritus Michael Sacco, a giant both in the union’s own history and that of American maritime labor, passed away just a few days before 2024 began, at age 86.
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