US Relaxing Cuban Shipping, Travel Rules

so trade with Cuba is about to boom but will any Americans get the jobs? why do I think that we won’t get SHIT!

[B]US Relaxing Cuban Shipping, Travel Rules[/B]

By Reuters 2015-07-23

A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday approved amendments that would end restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba and ease some trade barriers, advancing efforts to implement President Barack Obama’s rapprochement with the communist island.

By an 18-12 vote, the Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee backed a measure that would ease travel limits, making it the first legislation to pass any congressional committee to facilitate normalization of relations.

Four Republicans joined 14 Democrats to approve the amendment.

The committee later passed other amendments, by voice vote without objections, to a Financial Services appropriations bill to allow private financing for U.S. agricultural sales and lift restrictions on ships that call at Cuban ports.

Attaching the amendments to the appropriations bill boosts the likelihood they will come up for a vote in the full Senate. To become law, a version of the bill with the amendments must pass the House of Representatives.

"This is a first step by the Senate to dismantle a failed, discredited and counterproductive policy that in 54 years has failed to achieve any of its objectives,’ said Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, a long-time opponent of Cuba sanctions.

“These votes were not about the repugnant policies of the Castro regime, but about doing away with unwarranted impediments to travel and commerce imposed on Americans by our own government,” he said.

Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17 that they would move toward normal relations between the former Cold War foes for the first time in half a century. Cuba opened its embassy in Washington on Monday.

The policy faces strong opposition in the Republican-majority Congress. The half-century-old U.S. trade embargo remains in place and only Congress can lift it.

The measures were passed a day after a closed-door meeting at the White House with dozens of Cuban Americans and academics and business leaders with an interest in Cuba who support Obama’s policy of engagement.

U.S. officials told the group that the administration has no plans to announce new measures regarding Cuba and is still refining regulations announced in January to ease travel rules and financial and banking changes.

“The administration feels they have gone as far as they can right now,” said one person who attended. “They want to broaden the base of stakeholders … create the space for others, including Republican members of Congress, to take steps.”

I think it will lead to a lot of American investment in Cuba and a lot of shoreside jobs for Americans in the U.S. and Cuba. There will be some new jobs for American Mariners, but no great number. I foresee some Cuban shipyards, which may be American or Norwegian owned.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;166081]I think it will lead to a lot of American investment in Cuba and a lot of shoreside jobs for Americans in the U.S. and Cuba. There will be some new jobs for American Mariners, but no great number. I foresee some Cuban shipyards, which may be American or Norwegian owned.[/QUOTE]

I specially meant jobs operating the vessels trading with Cuba but I expect it will just more of the same BULLSHIT was with Tropical Shipping and Seaboard Lines. American mariners left holding our wankers watching foreign mariners getting the work.

U.S. Tug and barge operators, especially Crowley, are in a good position to grab most of the U.S. / Cuba freight market.

Eventually look for Americans and Europeans to set up “Cuban” shipping companies.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;166084]U.S. Tug and barge operators, especially Crowley, are in a good position to grab most of the U.S. / Cuba freight market.

Eventually look for Americans and Europeans to set up “Cuban” shipping companies.[/QUOTE]

but why would there be any work for American mariners? Doesn’t Crowley operate foreign flagged vessels as well as US?

[QUOTE=c.captain;166085]but why would there be any work for American mariners? Doesn’t Crowley operate foreign flagged vessels as well as US?[/QUOTE]

A) I’m not aware of them operating foreign ships, but it’s possible.

B) I’m pretty sure he was making reference to the fact that Crowley already has huge roro barges in operation between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico as well as Philadelphia and Puerto Rico.

I suspect that most of the U.S. / Cuba trade will run out of Miami and Port Everglades (where the Cuban-American community is centered. Crowley and some of the smaller local tug companies are well positioned to serve Cuba by barge. My understanding is that Cuba is like Alaska, not much port infrastructure, and thus better suited to tug and barge than container ships. I also think a tug and barge trade would be more cost efficient.

Crowley operates US flag tankers, and a larger fleet of foreign flag container ships for its Latin America trade. They have a big warehouse in Hialeah, a Cuban area west of Miami, where they stuff containers for shipment by foreign flag ship out of Port Everglades to Latin America. Crowley is building tankers (I think they have stopped building ATBs). Crowley is also building ships to replace the barges in the Puerto Rico trade.

However, I think barges will have a big advantage in Cuba for years to come until port infrastructure is developed for container ship ports. Cuba might be a great opportunity for someone that knows how to deliver container freight by barge where there are limited port facilities, for example, Northland and Alaska Marine Lines.

Crowley has a large ship management business that’s all about the flags of convenience.

[QUOTE=z-drive;166114]Crowley has a large ship management business that’s all about the flags of convenience.[/QUOTE]

http://www.crowley.com/Where-We-Work/Cuba

Would it not make more sense to start up a shipping company in Cuba to exploit the cheaper labor cost? All I could think about when I was on vacation there was that this is some of the last opportunities we have in the western world to build up something great. zero crime and low corruption and a population with passable education. I hope that more trade with USA would not destroy the country like the rest of Central America.

[QUOTE=c.captain;166083]I specially meant jobs operating the vessels trading with Cuba but I expect it will just more of the same BULLSHIT was with Tropical Shipping and Seaboard Lines. American mariners left holding our wankers watching foreign mariners getting the work.[/QUOTE]

And why should it be Americans who operate the ships? Would not Cubans be a better choice cost wise?

[QUOTE=Kraken;166118]Would it not make more sense to start up a shipping company in Cuba to exploit the cheaper labor cost? All I could think about when I was on vacation there was that this is some of the last opportunities we have in the western world to build up something great. zero crime and low corruption and a population with passable education. I hope that more trade with USA would not destroy the country like the rest of Central America.[/QUOTE]

How has trade with the U.S. “Destroyed” the rest of Central America?

While I would agree that American handouts and welfare programs have made a mess of society in the trust territories: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam,etc., I do not see how US trade has “destroyed” Central America.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;166120]How has trade with the U.S. “Destroyed” the rest of Central America?

While I would agree that American handouts and welfare programs have made a mess of society in the trust territories: Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam,etc., I do not see how US trade has “destroyed” Central America.[/QUOTE]

Central America is just a bridge for illegal trade between South America and North America. And because of the lost drug war, Central America is worse than many war zones. Some US territories are fine, but all the countries we in the western world don’t care about like Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras etc. are more and less failed states.

http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/americas-replaces-africa-as-most-violent-region-in-world-un

[QUOTE=Kraken;166122]Central America is just a bridge for illegal trade between South America and North America. And because of the lost drug war, Central America is worse than many war zones. Some US territories are fine, but all the countries we in the western world don’t care about like Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras etc. are more and less failed states.

http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/americas-replaces-africa-as-most-violent-region-in-world-un[/QUOTE]

Mexico is rich in natural resources. It should be as wealthy as Canada. However, the Mexican government is an incredibly inept and corrupt kleptocracy with high government officals on the payroll of the Mexican drug cartels. Many areas of Mexico are safe, but the border areas are dangerous. Mexicomis close to being a failed state, and I fear that the U S will eventually have to go in and clean up the mess. But Mexico is in North America, not Central America.

Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are poor countries with few natural resources that have never recovered from their civil wars of the 80’s and 90’s. They have plenty of problems in addition to drugs passing through.

Costa Rica is called “the Switzerland” of Latin America for good reasons. Nicaragua is very poor and has an authoritarian socialist government, but it’s relatively safe. Panama is safe, except for the black slums, and the entire city of Colon.

Venezuela is a socialist failed state in South America, not Central America. In spite of vast natural resources, the inept government has Wrecked the economy.

Colombia is an up and coming nation in South America, not Central America. It is recovering from 50 years of civil war with socialist FARC,band decades of war with drug cartels.

As far as Cuba goes,the Castro government has been in partnership with the drug cartels for decades.

[QUOTE=lm1883;166127] If you are telling me that Central America is more violent than Africa, I would tell you that that has not been my experience. Please enlighten us on your personal time in Central America and Africa and tell us how they differ.[/QUOTE]

Personal experience is not evidence. Facts are that the American continents are the most violent region in the world.

And isn’t it just sad to have to compete with Africa?

You are just so wrong and dumb I can’t even fathom where to begin a rebuttal…

[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;166136]You are just so wrong and dumb I can’t even fathom where to begin a rebuttal…[/QUOTE]

Your loss. I couldn’t care less.

European Asian and African genocides killing millions of people obviously not being factored in, right?

[QUOTE=z-drive;166138]European Asian and African genocides killing millions of people obviously not being factored in, right?[/QUOTE]

Im talking about now, not historical.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

[QUOTE=Kraken;166135]Personal experience is not evidence. Facts are that the American continents are the most violent region in the world.

And isn’t it just sad to have to compete with Africa?[/QUOTE]

Sense when does any reasonable person rely on statistics from the hopelessly corrupt and inept UN?

As Mark Twain said over a hundred years ago: “There are lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics.” The same statistics are subject to many different interpretations. The quality and validity of statistics are always a serious concern. When dealing with something like crime or war, there is always a lot of under reporting, and a lot of extrapolation.

If you believe that there are reliable crime statistics in Africa, or that the UN is capable of producing accurate statistics, I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I’d like to sell you.