Couldn’t find a date your linked article, but they seem to have figured something out.
The Tradewinds article is 8 years old. Times seem to have changed.
It is unlikely that 80 year-old abandoned shipyards would be very useful today. The fact is that economies in other countries are more amenable to maritime commerce, while US is better at being their customer. Stores in China are not selling lots of consumer goods brought in by US-flag ships.
16th of Nov 2023 .
Not to mention Japan, or the World’s 2nd largest economy - China. Completely different cultures and work ethics.
I’m saying, in response to a national emergency where we need to build ships, the rail right of way is still there is and the land is undeveloped at a number of the yards. I fell down a rabbit hole one day and did some digging, if we exercise imminent domain, it would be easier to build the ship yards again the 2nd time around.
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If “oil barges in Kansas” sounds ridiculous, look at a map of the Missouri River between the Nebraska-Kansas state line and Kansas City, Kansas. It’s over a hundred miles of water that indeed needs navigating. In 1951, age 14, I was helping pile sandbags on the levee to keep the flood water in the river.
I was implying that they would be remotely operated
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Aren’t barges inherently “autonomous” in a navigational sense?
They don’t have any propulsion, thus if they go anywhere without tug(s) either pulling or pushing them, they are doing so “autonomously”. 
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Barges that have no steering were called “dumb barges.” A term rarely heard today.
As opposed to barges that had rudders, steering, and a crew to steer. This was common in the era of steam tugs. An era when machines were expensive, but labor was cheap. (Perhaps, the crew was mostly there for anchoring, and checking the bilge and pumping.)
Barge means a non-self propelled vessel as defined in 46 U.S.C 102.
Yes I know that the term “Inland barge” is used to describe self-propelled vessels used on the rivers and canals in Europe:
It is also common to call small tankers used to bunker ships by STS “bunker barges”:
But that doesn’t change the legal terms for either.
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To the original poster, you categorically WILL NOT escape mediocrity at MSC.
Only thing I can say about escaping mediocrity in the US Merchant Marine is that it’s company to company, ship to ship, boat to boat, captain to captain, and crew to crew. If you jump around enough, eventually you may find a strong crew, strong captain, strong boat/ship, and perhaps a strong company. A lot of it is based on the strength of your individual captain’s leadership.
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you aren’t qualified for a Damage Controlman or even DC Assistant at MSC. That position requires at least a 3rd Mate or Engineer unlimited license, but realistically Chief Mate or 1st Engineer. Its mostly a classroom teaching job at the training centers.
Wishing injury upon “toxic males”?
Are you advancing cause of more women onboard with that attitude?
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No one’s going to miss them. 
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Male toxicity is like beauty; it’s all in the eye of the beholder. One person’s opinion doesn’t make it so.
Wishing injury on “toxic males” (or even using that term) does not enhance credibility, or willingness to have more women onboard.
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From the container ship engine room perspective the new cadets and thirds are fine each year. We’re banging sticks and rocks together, the fine art of engineering is long gone, dead with steamships and 40 man crews. It’s a funny skill to keep some decrepit reflag bumbling around for its allotted years, separate from what is good and pure.
Damn, you let your ABs control the music? Fucking ruler of the people, common man’s king
One of the biggest reason I got my God license is because I was sick of hearing the same shitty playlist from a windows media player playlist that’s been floating around since before Windows 98, and asking to play my own music would’ve been equivalent to asking a Kings Point grad if I could look at the radar every once in awhile
Oh, that and because while they’re booking flights to Cancun and messaging all their friends on Facebook - if you look down from the window and glance at a magazine for a second, you’re getting written up and brought up on grand jury criminal charges
If a man is a misogynist in a forest and no women are there to hear it, does is still perpetrate toxicity?
Bad takes all around on this thread. :
Ive never seen a listing require more than 50 pounds, and even then thats a CYA legal way to ask if youre disabled.
Realistically, over 50 pounds should be a team lift. Im a dude and im [not] going to go for my deaflift PR at the manifold when we are 3 minutes from having a crane overhead.
Half of the USMM relies on filipino grandpas who i have to help carry things far more often than I have to help the women I work with. Realistically, this is a culture issue, your workplace should be providing the correct tools for the job, be it chain falls, dollys, ect.
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Thank you.
What makes you believe you are not included?
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