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Note from the Editor
When you start at the bottom there is a lot of room for growth!
“We now have promise that the shipbuilding industry will flourish again, and that the skills possessed by its trained personnel will not be lost to the industry. We have promise that the American Merchant Marine will be equipped with the number and types of vessels necessary for our international trade and our national security.” That statement was included in a message published by President Harry S. Truman on August 18, 1948.
WWII led to a massive shipbuilding program in the United States, producing over 5,500 vessels over a few years time, including the famous Liberty ships. By 1948 the fleet had been reduced to around 2,500 ships. And, notwithstanding President Truman’s statement in 1948, seven years later, the American merchant marine deep-sea fleet was cut in half to 1075 ships.
Today, the United States builds about 0.2 percent of the world’s tonnage annually, while China, Japan, and Korea build 90 percent of the world’s tonnage.
The infrastructure, financing, legislation, and training that will be required to resurrect shipbuilding in the United States will need sustained unwavering support from federal, state, and local governments with significant cooperation from the private sector. Absent an “all-hands-on-deck” movement that lasts for a decade or more, history will repeat itself and American ship building will not progress.
Blank Rome Maritime is excited for the future of shipbuilding in the United States and has a team prepared to provide legal services to clients financing and building new vessels.
— William R. Bennett III, Editor
ARTICLES
Navigating Emission Control Areas: Operational, Legal, and U.S. Enforcement Risks of MARPOL Annex VI’s Low Sulphur Fuel Requirements
By Luke M. Reid, Jeanne M. Grasso, and Holli B. Packer
The North American Emissions Control Area (“ECA”), which has been in force well over a decade, is one of four existing ECAs around the world. Effective May 1, 2025, the Mediterranean Sea ECA will become the fifth. In March 2026, pursuant to MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 13, the Canadian Arctic and Norwegian Sea will also be designated as ECAs, increasing the global total to seven. These two ECAs will become enforceable on March 1, 2027. In addition to these ECAs, other port States around the world have separately implemented domestic emissions control regulations in their territorial seas, with China being a prominent example. Read More »
The SHIPS Act: The Advent of a New U.S. Merchant Marine Fleet?
By Keith B. Letourneau
In December 2024, Senator Scott Kelly (D. AZ), Representative Todd Young (R. IN), and then Representative Mike Waltz (R. FL) (now the President’s National Security Advisor) co-sponsored a bill to revamp shipbuilding in the United States. Titled the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (“SHIPS”) Act, the bill did not pass in the 118th Congress, but every expectation is that it will be introduced again in 2025. In that event and should Congress enact it, the SHIPS Act will fundamentally transform shipbuilding in the United States. Read More »
Cybersecurity in the Marine Transportation System: What You Need to Know About the Coast Guard's Final Rule
By Dana S. Merkel, Vanessa C. DiDomenico, and Holli B. Packer
On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard (“USCG”) published a final rule addressing Cybersecurity in the Marine Transportation System (the “Final Rule”), which seeks to minimize cybersecurity related transportation security incidents (“TSIs”) within the maritime transportation system (“MTS”) by establishing requirements to enhance the detection, response, and recovery from cybersecurity risks. Effective July 16, 2025, the Final Rule will apply to U.S.-flagged vessels, as well as Outer Continental Shelf and onshore facilities subject to the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (“MTSA”). The USCG also sought comments on a potential two-to-five-year delay of implementation for U.S.-flagged vessels. Read More »
Productively Pursuing and Maximizing Insurance Claims
By Jared Zola
Maximizing insurance claims starts with locating and notifying all potentially responsive coverages when facing a loss or claim. This article offers a 101 about what types of maritime-, transportation-, and shipping-related events insurance may cover and how to go about productively pursuing an insurance recovery when disaster strikes—even if your insurance company says “no.” Read More »
Chapter 15: A More Efficient Path for Recognition of Foreign Judgments as Compared with Adjudicatory Comity
By Evan Jason Zucker, Jennifer K. Malow, and Michael B. Schaedle
Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which adopts the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (“UNCITRAL”) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, provides a streamlined process for recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding and enforcement of related orders. In adopting the Model Law, the legislative history makes clear that Chapter 15 was intended to be the “exclusive door to ancillary assistance to foreign proceedings,” with the goal of controlling such cases in a single court. Despite this clear intention, U.S. courts continue to grant recognition to foreign bankruptcy court orders as a matter of comity, without the commencement of a Chapter 15 proceeding. Read More »
Spotlight on …
Get to know Blank Rome Maritime team members Kierstan Carlson, Holli Packer, and Noe Hamra. Read More »
NEWS & RANKINGS
Blank Rome Global Leader: Chambers Global 2025 Ranks Blank Rome Attorneys and Shipping, Energy, International Trade, and Bankruptcy & Restructuring Practices
Chambers Global 2025 recognized Blank Rome as a global leader in Shipping: Litigation, as well as Maritime partner John D. Kimball describing him as “an experienced practitioner who handles complex shipping disputes. His practice sees him work on commercial and environmental litigation, among other disputes.” Read More »
Blank Rome Highly Ranked in Best Lawyers® 2025 Edition of “Best Law Firms”
Blank Rome was named “Law Firm of the Year” in Admiralty and Maritime Law in the 2025 “Best Law Firms” survey. Only one law firm per legal practice area received the “Best Law Firm” recognition. Read More »
Blank Rome Attorneys Recognized in 2025 Best Lawyers in America®
Blank Rome was recognized in the 2025 Best Lawyers in America survey, which ranked 225 firm attorneys in the annual categories of “Lawyers of the Year,” “Ones to Watch,” and “Best Lawyers” in 50 practice groups across 13 regions. Read More »
The firm’s Maritime practice was ranked both nationally and regionally:
- National 2025 Rankings: TIER 1 - Admiralty and Maritime Law
- Regional 2025 Rankings: TIER 1 - Admiralty and Maritime Law in Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
Blank Rome Maritime Group Named 2024 Transport – Shipping Firm of the Year in Annual Lexology Index Awards
Blank Rome LLP has been named the Transport – Shipping Firm of the Year in the 2024 Lexology Index Awards. Read More »
Trump Administration Resource Hub
We invite you to visit our Trump Administration Resource Hub to explore our thought leadership provided by a team of attorneys dedicated to providing comprehensive analysis and actionable insights to help navigate the complexities and opportunities presented by the administration’s Executive Orders, policies, and regulatory changes. Read More »
The BR International Trade Report
Welcome to the March 2025 issue of The BR International Trade Report, Blank Rome’s monthly digital newsletter highlighting international trade, sanctions, cross-border investment, geopolitical risk issues, trends, and laws impacting businesses domestically and abroad. Read More »
The BR Privacy & Security Download
We invite you to read our March 2025 edition of The BR Privacy & Security Download, the monthly digital newsletter of Blank Rome’s Privacy, Security & Data Protection practice, which covers current trends and updates in the areas of state, local, and federal laws and regulations; U.S. litigation and enforcement; and international laws and regulations, as well as the group’s recent events and webinars, media activity, and news. Read More »
The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight
Welcome to the March 2025 edition of The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight. We know the importance of remaining up to date on State + Local Tax developments, which appear often and across numerous jurisdictions. Staying informed on significant legislative developments and judicial decisions helps tax departments function more efficiently, along with improving strategy as well as planning. That is where The BR State + Local Tax Spotlight can help. Read More »
RESOURCES
Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Team (“SWERT”)
SWERT is an interdisciplinary group of Blank Rome attorneys and government relations professionals with decades of experience helping companies and individuals recover from severe weather events, including hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides, snowstorms, earthquakes, and tornadoes. We are ready to assist those in the path of storms and other severe weather events. Read More »
Safe Passage Blog
We invite our readers to dive into our archive of Mainbrace newsletters and maritime development advisories, as well as keep abeam with all of our current and upcoming analyses on trending maritime topics and legislation, in our Safe Passage blog. Read More »
© 2025 Blank Rome LLP. All rights reserved. Please contact Blank Rome for permission to reprint. Notice: The purpose of this update is to identify select developments that may be of interest to readers. The information contained herein is abridged and summarized from various sources, the accuracy and completeness of which cannot be assured. This update should not be construed as legal advice or opinion, and is not a substitute for the advice of counsel.
