Rick Ships

@johnkonrad @voteLabonte So we could secure the strait if we wanted?

@voteLabonte We clearly don’t GAF

aMeRiCa LoST, NoW IRaN CoNTRoLS THe STRaiGHT oF HoRMuZ Nope 130 ships transited before the war. Now about 10 a day are going through the “Ayatollah Toll Booth”. Why so few? Because nobody trusts Iran! 👇

@pilotsam4 what are some of your favorite pieces of gear or clothing for piloting? Any accessories you always have? What type of shoes do you wear?

@BDHerzinger @FarvaPrice @mercoglianos @supbrow They could but nobody is actually interested because it’s pretty unglamorous. The USNS Navajo keel was laid in October 2019. Tons of cuts and changes made to its design, and it will be very underpowered when complete. MSC can’t man them either. Not enough manpower. It’s sad.

@BDHerzinger @FarvaPrice @mercoglianos @supbrow I also want to separate John Konrad from the rest of the industry. He’s a loud voice and while I appreciate the tenacity, he is not the representative the USMM is trying to get behind. There are some awesome people out here on 🇺🇸 ships.

@BDHerzinger @FarvaPrice @mercoglianos @supbrow It’s extremely simple. And then you won’t have the abhorrent people you described in your thread staying attached to a ship for 11 months straight. It’s not healthy and leads to low morale. But you’re mistaken to apply that to the rest of the USMM. We aren’t all gross.

@DoyleWilliamP @cpgrabow So in other words, if it’s going to be negligible cost savings across the board…in which case you’d rather just have the US in control like before. Do you support the thought of JA waivers for 🇰🇷 builds while they continue to invest in us and help build back? (Philly/chouest)

"[The waiver] comes at a time when every Jones Act MR tanker is currently on time charter...That means there is no spot market for Jones Act-qualified product tankers." JA waiver=more vessels to meet the country's economic needs.

@FarvaPrice @BDHerzinger Now imagine if MSC attracted the same crews that run the Stena/Crowley tankers, Union containerships, and more corners of the 🇺🇸 industry? It would continue to improve. People want to work for the MSC mission…it’s amazing - but the schedule is horrendous. @mercoglianos

@BDHerzinger I am a big fan of MSC and their capabilities. Even more over the last year leading a hybrid crew on Mount Whitney.

@BDHerzinger This is completely misinformed and shows you have no experience with USMM crews aside from a few miserable MSC ships. Konrad is not the proper representative for our industry but this whole thread is way off base.

@DoyleWilliamP @cpgrabow Agreed. But do you think having these two months of freedoms will provide a taste to shippers in the USA what it could be like to live in a Non-JA nation? And then lobby to get people in office who will keep pushing to abolish the jones act?

No. The waiver is a side show to quell the MSM, Cato and globalist NGOs from asking WH every press conference to waive the JA. Gasoline prices are still higher now on a national average than they were the day before the waiver was implemented. And substantially higher in California at that. A state tax and federal tax holiday on gasoline would significantly help consumers.

@G2Maritime Correct. 3-5 years should be required. They go to school on the governments dime and should support MSC’s mission upon graduating. It’s why SSO’s exist. There’s hundreds of KP grads who work shoreside immediately and it goes unchecked. @DOTMARAD is working on this now.

Which is why I’m calling for EVERY USMMA ‘26 to sail MSC for at least five years before sailing commercially. Fill the gaps in our federal merchant marine service with those who had their college and license paid for by taxpayers.

@cpgrabow I have worked with inspectors who have visited vessels on every continent and seen 100+ different flags. The conditions are atrocious, they are overworked, and the vessels are inspected to a poor standard. It wouldn’t fix this issue overnight.

@cpgrabow Agree with you that the barge transportation presents dangers that we need to fix. New builds from Korea that are 🇺🇸 flagged and crewed should get waivers for these routes…but let’s not act like Marshall Islands flagged containerships with foreign crews would be the best option

1/ Here's a 🧵 breaking down my new op-ed for @newsweek. Two barges transporting goods to US ports — one to Seattle and another to San Juan — experienced serious mishaps recently. The incidents highlight a rarely-discussed problem with US transportation.

@DoyleWilliamP @cpgrabow Do you support the current waiver in full?

Wrong. For what it is worth, this Administration has been one of the strongest proponents of rebuilding the U.S. maritime industry. The Jones Act is the linchpin of an America First policy with American-owned, American-built, American-crewed, and American-flagged vessels under U.S. registry. Yet under a temporary waiver, we are allowing foreign-owned, foreign-crewed, foreign-flagged vessels to move cargo between U.S. ports at elevated rates. That is difficult to reconcile with an America First framework. The waiver itself was premised on lowering gasoline prices for consumers—yet nationwide gasoline prices have increased since its issuance on 17 March 2026. You know that Colin.

@johnkonrad Simple question: Are you for or against waiving the Jones Act for 60 days? Yes or no?

Had a conversation with a young MAGA man who is depressed about the war and Trump’s lack of progress on many fronts. I understand the disappointment but not the desperation. America is great despite what happens in DC, not because of it. That’s why the Marshall Plan was a success and Democracy Building was an epic disaster. In the first we gave our economic and work model, in the second our governance model. Trump could get absolutely nothing done and we would be OK. What will kill America is millions of people flooding in while trillions of dollars floods out. That’s why the Biden Democrats were so dangerous. Well that and the marxism. I care a lot more about the $2 trillion of DOT cash that mysteriously disappeared under @PeteButtigieg than whatever the heck we are doing in Iran. Personally I’m not thrilled we are back in the Middle East, but I’m going to be absolutely livid if we start airlifting in gold bars and pallets of cash like Bush and Obama did in Iraq and Afghanistan.

@fashion_nfl Are you watching USA v Slovakia right now? The worst jersey matchup of the entire 2026 thus far.

At its core, Falcons brand and aesthetic should be sleek. No team better suited to be unencumbered by busyness/clutter. Excellent logo tailor-made for helmet and sleeve to stand on its own and be the star of the show. Plus non-boilerplate (but tasteful) font and pant stripes.

@johnkonrad For the record: you did not build the ship.

Is that a photo of the ship I built? Looks very close to a photo of the ship I built.

@johannbg @mercoglianos Who said they’re ahead of schedule? They’re like 5 years behind schedule.

@mercoglianos The Navajo T-ATS class Vessel is a nice looking vessel, slightly less capable then the Chinese ones. Bollinger Houma Shipyard is actually ahead of schedule building these. Based on how things are going it will have delivered all 5 vessels by 2028 ahead of schedule.

Meet Beituo 739 which is PLAN's 3rd gen long-range rescue tugboat that was commissioned in 2017 with a total of six vessels of this type have been commissioned thus far 🚢🛟Beituo 739 🚢🛟Beituo 743 🚢🛟Dongtuo 861 🚢🛟Dongtuo 863 🚢🛟Nantuo 171 🚢🛟Nantuo 195

The keel for USNS Navajo is 2,287 days old and it’s still not in service. @mercoglianos @cpgrabow

@MikeSchuler Don’t worry we’re winning because we have a plan for battle ships that will never be built and Konrad gets to visit DC! Merchant marine is back!

The Trump administration is nearly three months late releasing its Maritime Action Plan, which was due November 5, 2025 under Trump’s Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance executive order. Where is it?

@cpgrabow Why isn’t it as big a story though? Singapore airlines operating NYC to LA would be cool.

Probably the worst comeback I hear from Jones Act defenders is some variation of, "Repeal the JA? That's as crazy as letting foreign airlines on domestic routes." Not exactly a scenario that strikes fear in my heart.