As CMA Shipping 2018 convenes, we are more than a year into the Trump administration and it is fair to say that the U.S. regulatory framework for the shipping industry has seen some changes. In this issue of Mainbrace, we drill down on relevant developments in “Trump and the Maritime Industry: A Look Back and Forward.” Additionally, we offer an update on the Jones Act, an important subject that continues to be a focal point for our industry, as well as offer a report on developments concerning the vexing topic of ballast water management.
In our law practice, we have continued our long-term focus on maritime environmental matters and regularly advise our clients on compliance measures. Avoiding problems is a sure way to achieve profits and value, which is the key theme of this year’s CMA conference. Along those lines, this issue of Mainbrace includes suggested tools to strengthen environmental compliance. We also continue to encounter distressing matters involving cybersecurity, and offer a cautionary tale for the shipping industry that we hope our readers will take time to consider, as well as provide a thoughtful analysis on recent varying decisions and approaches from New York bankruptcy courts regarding territorial limits of U.S. Bankruptcy Code avoidance powers.
Lastly, technology continues to develop in the shipping industry and we provide a look ahead to developments in the areas of Smart Ships, drones, and innovative collaboration. I expect we will be focusing on these topics for some years to come.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Mainbrace and always welcome your feedback and suggestions for future articles.
Jon Waldron Named Law360 2017 Transportation MVP
Keith Letourneau Named Co-Chair of Blank Rome’s Maritime and International Trade Practice Group
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that the Firm’s maritime practice was highly ranked both nationally and regionally in the U.S. News & World Report—Best Lawyers® 2018 “Best Law Firms” survey.
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to present the inaugural edition of Perspectives, the Firm’s Diversity & Inclusion newsletter that keeps you informed on our latest diversity news and provides insight on current diversity issues in the legal industry and beyond.
Blank Rome LLP received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index (“CEI”), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (“HRC”).
Large sectors of the maritime industry—especially offshore—remain in the doldrums, but it nonetheless has been a busy few months for our Blank Rome Maritime group. Our Washington, D.C., maritime attorneys have been occupied with numerous regulatory, Jones Act, and white collar criminal matters. They also continue to devote substantial time working with our 
Blank Rome Partner Jeremy Herschaft has been appointed as a vice president of the International Association of Young Lawyers (“AIJA”) Transport Law Commission for a three-year term.
Welcome to the summer 2017 edition of Mainbrace. To say we live in interesting times would be a serious understatement. We read headlines on a daily basis that challenge traditionally accepted notions of how governments operate, creating uncertainty as to how they will do so in the future. When you couple that uncertainty with the stiff headwinds faced by the maritime industry in recent years—vessel overcapacity in certain sectors, tight margins, cutbacks in the offshore-service sector, and the promulgation of new and expensive ballast water and air emissions regulatory regimes—the pressure to operate in a fiscally sound, fundamentally safe, and legally responsible manner has never been greater.
What’s different about “change” in 2017? It certainly seems that we need to redefine what we mean when we consider the term itself.