Floating classroom on the Mississippi offers marine career advice
Innovation comes in many forms. Trying to enthuse the next generation workforce is never an easy task, but this initiative struck me as being a novel idea and it deserves to succeed. The Mississippi River Institute is using a floating classroom and barge to help young adults and school age children consider careers within the marine sector
The story goes – with over 1.3 million US jobs on the Mississippi River alone, a floating classroom and hands-on workshop is helping young people understand and appreciate the economic and environmental opportunities this giant US river can present. The Institute, which is headquartered in East Moline, Illinois, is seeking to promote the opportunities available to young people, including careers afloat that they may not even have considered.
In an interview for the website ‘MarineLog’ Rachel Loomis, a Mississippi River Institute manager and educator, says that she aims to inspire the next generation with ‘2,300 miles of opportunity.’
Loomis says that guest speakers from the industry are also recruited by the workshop, and sessions include practical demonstrations and getting ‘hands-on’ in some cases, such as preparing locally farmed oyster. Key to the project is the barge itself, and its unique riverside location. The interior of the floating classroom, on a barge that travels along the river from St Paul’s to Memphis, with various stops in between to host career workshops.
New Wooden Boat Stage debuted at Southampton International Boat Show
It’s great to be able to share an upbeat story with you for a change. In the UK we think of wooden boatbuilding as something of a dying art – a trade from a bygone era – and it is certainly true that many modern-day surveyors turn their back on wooden boat surveys due to lack of specialist knowledge. So, it is wonderful to read about a recent initiative at the Southampton International Boat Show that showcased wooden boatbuilding, putting it right to the fore again. The show featured a new addition as part of its ten-day programme with the introduction of the Wooden Boat Stage.
The stage was a three-way collaboration between the Wooden Boatbuilders’ Trade Association (WBTA), the Boat Building Academy (BBA) and Women in Boatbuilding (WIBB), marking the first time these groups have worked together to present a programme of talks, demonstrations, performances and workshops focusing on the future of wooden boatbuilding. Live demonstrations at the event covered a range of traditional and modern techniques, including carving, steam bending, oar and paddle making, epoxy work, knotting and rigging. Additionally, the stage hosted a number of panel discussions, author talks, music, short films and workshops.
Friend of IIMS, Will Reed, director at the Boat Building Academy, said, “I am delighted to collaborate with Women in Boatbuilding and the Wooden Boatbuilders’ Trade Association in forming the first ever Wooden Boat Stage at the Southampton Boat Show. This is an exciting time for wooden boat building and partnering with these two incredible organisations helps all of us and the industry to thrive.”
Fincantieri sues Owens Corning for $100 million over defective fire panels on ships
Last month, I shared a story with you about another lawsuit and the blame game, in that case relating to the aftermath of the Baltimore bridge collapse disaster. But here’s another account along similar lines, entirely different, yes, but equally concerning.
I read that Fincantieri has filed a US$100 million lawsuit against Owens Corning and its subsidiary, the Paroc Group, claiming the companies supplied faulty fire insulation panels that were fitted on three cruise ships and eight military vessels. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court in Ohio, where Owens Corning is headquartered. Fincantieri alleges that Paroc Group, which Owens Corning acquired in 2018, obtained fire safety certificates by submitting altered materials for testing. The shipbuilder accuses the company of fraud, misrepresentation, and putting lives at risk by selling non-compliant products.
Fincantieri and its subcontractors began using the panels in 2019 for both cruise and military vessels, relying on assurances that the product met the Class A-60 fire integrity standard under international SOLAS rules. The A-60 standard is the highest rating for marine fire insulation, designed to prevent heat transfer for at least 60 minutes and protect bulkheads in areas like galleys. In 2023, a competitor of Paroc tested the Navis panels and found they did not meet the A-60 fire safety requirements. The Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology later confirmed these findings in April 2023 through independent testing. According to Fincantieri’s complaint, this proved that the certification process had been manipulated, with falsified testing materials used to obtain approval.
The defective products were recalled in May 2023, but Fincantieri says Paroc did not provide any advice or instructions for remedial actions on vessels already fitted with the panels. Fincantieri identified 11 ships affected by the defective panels. The lawsuit states that Owens Corning showed “malicious, reckless, and grossly negligent disregard” for safety, ignoring the risk of catastrophic injury to potentially thousands of people aboard vessels using the panels.
Major US boat listings company, Boats Group, facing lawsuit for market monopoly
It seems we are in the middle of a frenzied lawsuit season. And here is another one! Boats Group, owners of Boat Trader, YachtWorld and boats.com, is facing a federal class action lawsuit, being accused of monopolising the market for online boat listings and marketing services in the United States.
The complaint, which has been filed in the Southern District of Florida by Brill Maritime Inc, alleges that Boats Group has “willfully acquired, maintained and expanded monopoly power in this market by engaging in exclusionary and anticompetitive conduct, including the serial acquisitions of its main competitors, unilateral price increases, restrictive contractual terms, and practices that hinder entry and expansion by rival platforms.”
The lawsuit, which seeks injunctive relief and damages under the Sherman Act, the Florida Antitrust Act of 1980, and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, claims that Boats Group controls about 75 per cent of the global market for online boat listing and marketing services, with a similarly dominant share in the US. The company’s platforms attract more than 65 million annual visitors, which the lawsuit says gives sellers “unmatched exposure to serious boat buyers.”
According to the filing, Boats Group uses subscription agreements with sellers that “contain exclusive dealing provisions that either prohibit or strongly discourage sellers, particularly brokers and dealers, from listing their inventory on competing platforms.” It alleges these practices have prevented competitors from gaining traction in the market.
The lawsuit details vastly inflated price increases over the past decade. “The plaintiff’s combined monthly cost of listing on Boat Trader and YachtWorld was approximately $1,004. By 2017, these prices rose to $1,221,” it states. “Between 2018 and 2024, pricing surged again, reaching $2,794 in 2021 and $5,128 by 2024, a more than 400% increase over a decade. In 2025, Boat Trader alone charged $2,900 per month for its services.” The plaintiff says it has been “forced to pay supracompetitive prices for essential marketing services, with effectively zero viable alternatives available.”
More next month.
Mike Schwarz