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EDITOR’S NOTE

Operating and working in the U.S. maritime industry has never been easy, and new challenges will always emerge to ensure it remains that way.

But a look around the industry can be encouraging. We continually see industry lead- ers tackling obstacles head on. Technical, regulatory, environmental, cultural, market, safety, etc.; the list is long. Yet, while challenges vary in form and level of dif? culty, the response among leaders is typically the same. Let’s buckle down and handle it.

The U.S. Coast Guard, of course, is “always ready” for a challenge. Semper Paratus, after all. In February I traveled to Charleston, S.C., where I heard Commandant Adm.

Karl Schultz outline in his 2020 State of the Coast Guard Address a number of key chal- lenges confronting the service today. Insuf? cient polar icebreaking capabilities, commu- nications breakdowns in Alaska and elsewhere, IT systems on the brink of catastrophic failure, a $2 billion facility repairs backlog, government funding shortfalls and new and evolving security threats are just a few.

Nevertheless, the Coast Guard has triumphed despite its challenges, often by turning them into opportunities. In general, I’d say that the maritime industry has too.

Emissions and other environmental concerns are central among top challenges for today’s marine operators. Robert Kunkel and Tom Ewing explore this topic in articles beginning on pages 30 and 34 respectively.

As anyone reading these pages knows all too well, ship repair and keeping vessels in good running order is often a dif? cult and costly job, particularly when the vessels are several decades old. This is the case with the venerable ? eet of ships operating on the

Great Lakes. Rick Eyerdam reports this month for Marine News on the regional repair work on the Great Lakes ? eet, starting on page 40.

Finally, there’s a new name in U.S. vessel repair: Everett Ship Repair, this month’s cover subject. While the Everett name may be new, Gavin Higgins, the executive running the operation is a long-tenured industry veteran likely known to most of you. Everett is a subsidiary of Ice Cap Holdings, LCC and sister company to Nichols Brothers Boat

Builders, and this month Higgins serves as our INSIGHTS interview, starting on page 14, sharing his thoughts on how the new venture aims to ensure its customers’ vessels are ? t for service.

Eric Haun, Editor, [email protected]

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March 2020 6 MN