The U.S. Coast Guard announced via a Marine Safety Information Bulletin it has determined that existing U.S. laws and regulations for providing verified container weights are equivalent to the controversial amendment of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention governing verified gross mass (VGM). The new International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements go into effect on July 1^st. READ MORE

China COSCO Shipping won an April 29 drawing to have one of its ships make the first transit through the expanded Panama Canal during the waterway’s inauguration day on June 26. The shipping line’s container vessel Andronikos will make the inaugural transit. The ship has a maximum capacity of 9,400 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). READ MORE

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration have scheduled three public listening sessions to solicit information on the prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among individuals occupying safety sensitive positions in highway and rail transportation. READ MORE

A bipartisan group of House transportation leaders have introduced a bill that would prevent the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) from permitting a foreign air carrier to operate between European countries and the United States unless the carrier complies with what the lawmakers characterized as basic, fair U.S. or European Union labor standards. READ MORE

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) hosted this week industry leaders from 34 companies who worked in teams for two days to develop process innovations aimed at improving the reliability, resilience and competitiveness of America’s global supply chain. READ MORE

The Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA) cleared its first legislative hurdle with stunning speed, drawing praise from Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the ranking member. READ MORE

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has proposed requiring the weekly reporting of rail service performance data by Class I railroads and the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO). READ MORE

Following weeks of a rumored shake-up in international containership company alignments, four of the biggest players announced in a memorandum of understanding their plan to create a new “mega-alliance” with a start-up target in early 2017. On the heels of that announcement came word that Hapag-Lloyd is in merger talks with United Arab Shipping Company (UASC). READ MORE

A letter from nine House members to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) lets the waterfront players know Congress hasn’t forgotten the disastrous 2014-2015 port disruptions and that lawmakers are keeping an eye on developments. READ MORE

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Mario Cordero told a New England trade and transport audience he hears anecdotally about shippers’ demurrage and detention fee concerns but his agency hasn’t received a complaint or petition on which to base a formal examination of carrier and terminal operator practices. Cordero delivered the same message to League members at their annual meeting last November in New Orleans. READ MORE