What does a priest do in his spare time? Perhaps the first question is whether I have any free time. Of course – life balance is as important for a priest as it is for any person. One of the “in my spare time” efforts is this blog now in its 14th year and with over 5,600 posts… I started out slow, but have picked up momentum. I also watch YouTube in order to keep up with World Tour Pro Cycling (Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, Milan San Remo, and etc…), the world of competitive swimming (NCAA, Olympics, etc.), and my nerd channel – “What’s Going on with Shipping.”

According to its YouTube page: “What’s Going on With Shipping focuses on Maritime Industry Policy, and current events in the Maritime Sector, along with Maritime History. The channel features videos that examine the world’s merchant marines, the international maritime sector, current events in the maritime trade, and history.” The host of the channel/videos is Sal Mercogliano.

Dr. Salvatore R. Mercogliano is an associate professor of history at Campbell University in North Carolina and adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He holds a bachelor of science in marine transportation from the State University of New York Maritime College, along with a merchant marine deck officer license (unlimited tonnage 2nd mate), a master’s in maritime history and nautical archaeology from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. in military and naval history from the University of Alabama. And far from a staid academic, Sal is vivacious, a great presenter, and I wish all my college professors were like him…. besides he has a great collection of tropical shirts he wears for the show.

Anyway…. I got interested in commercial shipping and things maritime during COVID when the back-ups at the US Ports were inbound, outbound, and a logistics nightmare. In searching for information I ran across his channel. Clearly I have been watching for several years now (subscribe and ring the bell!) but today’s post comes on the day after President Trump announced massive tariffs. In today’s video, Sal talks about the other factors out there that affect not only costs-of-goods, but also freight rates, maritime insurance, and the IMO’s upcoming Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting that may set a global tariff on carbon emissions. This is apart from the planned increased in “port fees” set by the US Trade Representative.

In other words, it not just tariffs, but there are a whole host of other factors that will add to the cost of goods imported.

So, take a moment, “nerd out” and watch the channel.