The Coast Guard Port Security Unit 308, based at Stennis International Airport in Kiln, Mississippi, has deployed seventy-four members to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.The members of the Hancock County unit, deployed on January 5th, will be working to maintain an uninterrupted maritime protection presence in the Naval Defensive Sea Area of the Bay. They will directly support the commander of the Joint Task Force Guantanamo, which is the United States military...

Moody’s Investors Service has just changed its outlook for United States ports to “stable” from “negative”, in response to the continued recovery of container volumes.The firm expects U.S. container volumes to increase two to three percent in 2015, based on growth in the nation’s economy. The steady (albeit slow) recovery in container volumes is about to enter its fifth consecutive year, following declines due to the recession. The growth of container volumes supports port credit strength by...

A boat designed, built and operated locally, has been named the Boat of the Year for 2014 by WorkBoat Magazine.The announcement came at the publication’s annual International WorkBoat Show from December 3-December 5 in New Orleans. “Great Expectations”, an offshore refueling vessel that is owned by John W. Stone Oil Distributor (Gretna) and Edison Chouest Offshore (Cut Off), was awarded the distinction of Boat of the Year.Great Expectations works out of Chouest’s C-Port in Port Fourchon. The...

Nicholls State University’s maritime program, which started last fall and aimed at providing training to management-level workers in the shipbuilding and oilfield boat industries, has grown from 20 to 90 students and shows no sign of losing steam.In December, the first six graduates received diplomas, and all of them have received job offers from area companies including Seacor Marine, Bollinger Shipyards and Edison Chouest Offshore.Said Ken Chadwick, Director of the program, “We were a little...