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EDITOR’S NOTE f I can get across just one point to readers in a given year, I always choose to reiterate that the U.S. merchant marine today is largely comprised of a brown water ? eet and the mari-

I ners who operate that collective tonnage. Indeed, one of my favorite statistics is that of the roughly 40,000 hulls under U.S. ? ag, approximately 39,700 of those assets can be classi? ed as inland, coastal, or brown water workboats of one kind or another. Also not lost on our inland stakeholders is that a large subset, more than 5,500 vessels, are now being impacted by the

Coast Guard’s so-called Subchapter M towboats rules.

There’s no better vehicle for me to expand upon the importance of our domestic commer- cial ? eet than our annual Inland Waterways edition. And, since MarineNews has – by a wide margin – the largest (BPA) audited readership of any North American workboat b-to-b trade [email protected] publication, then you’ve come to the right place to learn about the foregoing topics. Moreover, when you have the chance to hear the collective wisdom of both Dr. Craig E. Philip at Vander- bilt University (previously President & CEO of Ingram Barge Company) and Mark K. Knoy, the current President and CEO of American Commercial Barge Line, all in the same edition, then you know why MarineNews has become the ‘go-to’ reference for all things ‘inland.’

With ACBL commanding a versatile and far-? ung ? eet of almost 3,800 inland towboats, barges and myriad logistics hubs, chief executive Mark Knoy has his ? nger on the pulse of inland waterways like no one else. His insights, starting on page 14, bring current business conditions into sharp focus for stakeholders. Likewise, Dr. Philip’s previous tenure in a similar situation, coupled with his academic research, delves deeply into intermodal safety at a time when no other issue is demanding as much attention. It is ‘must-read’ copy.

Separately, and also within this robust edition, MarineNews contributor Patricia Keefe te- naciously digs into the nitty-gritty details of the widely publicized but (sometimes) poorly un- derstood Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund settlement. The $2.9 billion (with a B) settlement promises to further the already impressive effort to clean up the air on the domestic waterfront.

With that said, why are you lingering on this paragraph when you should be turning to page 40 to ? nd out how, why, when and where your next marine engine replacement will take place – mostly on someone else’s nickel?

Finally, this edition, appropriately enough, also touches upon the importance of workboat communications, especially in the public service, littoral military and response craft markets.

Inside, you’ll ? nd out just how important that is, why, and where to get it. Here at MarineNews, we’re all about goods comms, as well. In this case, and in every edition that follows, it’s about communicating the most important business, ? nancial, operational and regulatory news of the day, clearly and in a compelling fashion. We do that quite well. The largest North American workboat audience, voting with genre-leading subscription numbers, thinks the same thing.

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Joseph Keefe, Editor, [email protected]

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