Port visits:
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier arrived in Guam Feb. 26 together with ships from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, according to Naval Base Guam.
The Nimitz is home ported in Bremerton, Wash., and has about 4,600 men and women on board assigned to the ship, embarked Carrier Air Wing Seventeen, and embarked staffs, according to the Navy. Currently deployed to the South China Sea, the Nimitz is accompanied by the USS Bunker Hill cruiser and destroyers USS Decatur, USS Chung Hoon and USS Wayne E. Meyer. The group left San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 3.
The carrier is “making its first scheduled port visit to Guam to provide the crew time to tour the island, get some rest and relaxation, and participate in several community service events,” according to the Navy, and has personnel from Guam aboard.
The Nimitz is making its second port call of 2023 – the first being to Singapore in January – and returning to Naval Base Guam, which it visited in June 2020 under Safe Haven restrictions.
The MS Amadea cruise ship docked in Guam Feb. 24 with 523 passengers, who spent the day on-island, according to the Port Authority of Guam.
The ship arrived from Pohnpei, continued from Guam to Saipan and is on a 25-night cruise from Papeete in Tahiti to Yokohama in Japan.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship is due to arrive in Guam on March 3 and in Saipan on March 4, with an estimated 1,629 passengers. That ship is on a 25-night Pacific cruise from San Diego to Japan, and also visited three Hawaiian islands.
Among small ship cruises due to visit Micronesia in 2023 and 2024, is the National Geographic Resolution with 128 passengers, which will visit Palau and Guam, as well as Tahiti and News Zealand. The Coral Adventurer from Australia, with 120 passengers will sail from Darwin visiting Palau, Yap and Ulithi and Guam, where its 16-night voyage terminates.
Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean also saw its share of port visits in line with the strategic presence of U.S. and partner assets.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton visited the U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia for a port visit to the British Indian Ocean Territory, on Feb. 11.
The visit “underscored the strategic importance of Diego Garcia to an enduring free and open Indo-Pacific by enabling presence, assuring access, and providing defense to the global commons. Visits to Diego Garcia allow U.S. Navy warships to respond to critical areas in the Indo-Pacific, as well as enhances the longstanding alliance and friendship between the United Kingdom and United States,” according to a post from Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Tamar patrol vessel arrived in Diego Garcia for a port visit on Feb. 15, according to Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia. The Tamar said its crew were “looking forward to contributing to the archipelago’s maritime security and helping to protect its precious marine ecosystem.”
The U.S. leases Diego Garcia – one of the Chagos Islands – from the United Kingdom. American contractors are frequently awarded work on Diego Garcia, as announced by the U.S. Department of Defense. Contractors awarded work include Guam’s Black Construction Corp. in a joint venture with Mace International. The Mace Group’s headquarters is in London, England.
More on the Marianas Southern Airways contract:
This news flash carries the statement made by Gov. Arnold I. Palacios regarding the cancellation of the contract with Marianas Pacific Express LLC, which does business as Marianas Southern Airways.
For the statement by Marianas Southern Airways, see the News Flash of Feb. 24, also posted on www.mbjguam.com
The Journal also received the statement by Sen. Paul A. Manglona on the same issue.
The senator also said there are “insufficient funds” to maintain the contract and “lack of a funding source.
In addition, Manglona said, “We will work with the Governor’s Office to identify options, work on long term and sustainable solutions that build transportation capacity for our islands.
“The Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communication Committee of the CNMI Senate have been meeting with Marianas Southern Airways, and Star Marianas, and the Governor's Office with regard to overall issues relating inter-island transportation,” he said.
Watch out for U.S. passport delays:
Beginning Feb. 6, U.S. passport processing times are expected to increase with the seasonal rise in applications. “[Northern Mariana Islands] residents can expect 8 - 11 weeks for routine processing and 5 -7 weeks for expedited processing, though these estimates do not include mail delivery service times,” according to the Office of Gregorio Camacho “Kilili” Sablan, the Northern Mariana Islands delegate to Congress.
The new service commitments apply only to applications executed or signed on or after Feb 6, the delegate’s office said. See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html
Grants update:
Guam has been approved for funding from the State Small Business Credit Initiative and is receiving $58.6 million to operate three programs: a loan guarantee program, a collateral support program, and an equity/venture capital program, according to a Feb. 24 release from the Office of the Governor.
“The loan guarantee program, allocated over $36 million, provides lenders with the necessary security, in the form of a partial guarantee, to incentivize lenders to make loans to borrowers. The collateral support program, allocated $12 million, provides partner lenders cash collateral in a savings account to support loans to borrowers. The equity/venture capital program, allocated $10 million, provides seed, early and growth stage equity investment to Guam-based startups, the release said.
The American Rescue Plan Act – which President Joseph R. Biden signed in March 2021
reauthorized and funded the SSBCI. This program “provides a combined $10 billion to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments to empower small businesses to access capital needed to invest in job-creating opportunities as the country emerges from the pandemic,” according to the U.S. Treasury.
Puerto Rico received “up to $109 million,” according to a Feb. 9 release. mbj
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier arrived in Guam Feb. 26 together with ships from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, according to Naval Base Guam.
The Nimitz is home ported in Bremerton, Wash., and has about 4,600 men and women on board assigned to the ship, embarked Carrier Air Wing Seventeen, and embarked staffs, according to the Navy. Currently deployed to the South China Sea, the Nimitz is accompanied by the USS Bunker Hill cruiser and destroyers USS Decatur, USS Chung Hoon and USS Wayne E. Meyer. The group left San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 3.
The carrier is “making its first scheduled port visit to Guam to provide the crew time to tour the island, get some rest and relaxation, and participate in several community service events,” according to the Navy, and has personnel from Guam aboard.
The Nimitz is making its second port call of 2023 – the first being to Singapore in January – and returning to Naval Base Guam, which it visited in June 2020 under Safe Haven restrictions.
The MS Amadea cruise ship docked in Guam Feb. 24 with 523 passengers, who spent the day on-island, according to the Port Authority of Guam.
The ship arrived from Pohnpei, continued from Guam to Saipan and is on a 25-night cruise from Papeete in Tahiti to Yokohama in Japan.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship is due to arrive in Guam on March 3 and in Saipan on March 4, with an estimated 1,629 passengers. That ship is on a 25-night Pacific cruise from San Diego to Japan, and also visited three Hawaiian islands.
Among small ship cruises due to visit Micronesia in 2023 and 2024, is the National Geographic Resolution with 128 passengers, which will visit Palau and Guam, as well as Tahiti and News Zealand. The Coral Adventurer from Australia, with 120 passengers will sail from Darwin visiting Palau, Yap and Ulithi and Guam, where its 16-night voyage terminates.
Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean also saw its share of port visits in line with the strategic presence of U.S. and partner assets.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton visited the U.S. Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia for a port visit to the British Indian Ocean Territory, on Feb. 11.
The visit “underscored the strategic importance of Diego Garcia to an enduring free and open Indo-Pacific by enabling presence, assuring access, and providing defense to the global commons. Visits to Diego Garcia allow U.S. Navy warships to respond to critical areas in the Indo-Pacific, as well as enhances the longstanding alliance and friendship between the United Kingdom and United States,” according to a post from Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron 15.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Tamar patrol vessel arrived in Diego Garcia for a port visit on Feb. 15, according to Navy Support Facility Diego Garcia. The Tamar said its crew were “looking forward to contributing to the archipelago’s maritime security and helping to protect its precious marine ecosystem.”
The U.S. leases Diego Garcia – one of the Chagos Islands – from the United Kingdom. American contractors are frequently awarded work on Diego Garcia, as announced by the U.S. Department of Defense. Contractors awarded work include Guam’s Black Construction Corp. in a joint venture with Mace International. The Mace Group’s headquarters is in London, England.
More on the Marianas Southern Airways contract:
This news flash carries the statement made by Gov. Arnold I. Palacios regarding the cancellation of the contract with Marianas Pacific Express LLC, which does business as Marianas Southern Airways.
For the statement by Marianas Southern Airways, see the News Flash of Feb. 24, also posted on www.mbjguam.com
The Journal also received the statement by Sen. Paul A. Manglona on the same issue.
The senator also said there are “insufficient funds” to maintain the contract and “lack of a funding source.
In addition, Manglona said, “We will work with the Governor’s Office to identify options, work on long term and sustainable solutions that build transportation capacity for our islands.
“The Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communication Committee of the CNMI Senate have been meeting with Marianas Southern Airways, and Star Marianas, and the Governor's Office with regard to overall issues relating inter-island transportation,” he said.
Watch out for U.S. passport delays:
Beginning Feb. 6, U.S. passport processing times are expected to increase with the seasonal rise in applications. “[Northern Mariana Islands] residents can expect 8 - 11 weeks for routine processing and 5 -7 weeks for expedited processing, though these estimates do not include mail delivery service times,” according to the Office of Gregorio Camacho “Kilili” Sablan, the Northern Mariana Islands delegate to Congress.
The new service commitments apply only to applications executed or signed on or after Feb 6, the delegate’s office said. See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html
Grants update:
Guam has been approved for funding from the State Small Business Credit Initiative and is receiving $58.6 million to operate three programs: a loan guarantee program, a collateral support program, and an equity/venture capital program, according to a Feb. 24 release from the Office of the Governor.
“The loan guarantee program, allocated over $36 million, provides lenders with the necessary security, in the form of a partial guarantee, to incentivize lenders to make loans to borrowers. The collateral support program, allocated $12 million, provides partner lenders cash collateral in a savings account to support loans to borrowers. The equity/venture capital program, allocated $10 million, provides seed, early and growth stage equity investment to Guam-based startups, the release said.
The American Rescue Plan Act – which President Joseph R. Biden signed in March 2021
reauthorized and funded the SSBCI. This program “provides a combined $10 billion to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments to empower small businesses to access capital needed to invest in job-creating opportunities as the country emerges from the pandemic,” according to the U.S. Treasury.
Puerto Rico received “up to $109 million,” according to a Feb. 9 release. mbj