Feature Focus – Professional Mariner

Battery-electric propulsion: Pros talk pros and cons

Modern mariners now know that electrical propulsion-based storage batteries, or in some cases, fuel cells, is growing rapidly. There are plenty of similarities between these emerging technologies and combustion-based systems that have ruled the waves for nearly two centuries. But unsurprisingly, there are many differences — and those differences come with challenges. From the vantage point of Corvus Energy senior…

Training ice pilots in virtual reality

On Dec. 9, 2024, Alexandra Jahn, a climatologist of the University of Colorado, presented research she had made with a Swedish colleague to the American Geophysical Society in Washington: Depending on seasonal factors, the projections of the two researchers showed that the first “ice-free day” may occur in the Arctic by the end of the current decade, which conventionally means…

Bumpy year for offshore wind lets maritime infrastructure catch up

For America’s nascent offshore wind industry, the last year was the best of times and the worst of times. In the past 12 months, American offshore wind development reached some key milestones. Foundations were laid and turbines were installed at the nation’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind farms and those farms generated their first megawatts. The first U.S.-flagged turbine installation…

Clearing the Air: New technologies drive vessels forward

The development of ‘green’ vessel propulsion systems stands firmly fixed as one of the top five critical issues facing the maritime industry in 2024. “Markets are beginning to accept that fossil fuels will be needed in the transition [to zero carbon fuels], while owners adopt operational measures such as vessel speed, maintenance, and route optimization as new technologies and designs,…

ABS unveils new comprehensive classification standards

In an industry first, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has introduced a comprehensive approach to support development of the next generation of vessel designs and equipment employing the latest technology driven by decarbonization and digitalization. The classification group’s updated Marine Vessel Rules now include an extensive set of newly developed functional requirements and a standardized risk-based methodology which provides…

Training mariners for a safe and efficient career at sea

Despite the downsides of a maritime career, a professional life at sea can provide high pay and good benefits, interesting and meaningful work, and exciting experiences that stretch to the horizon and beyond. A variety of mariner jobs beckon with learning the right way to do things in the wheelhouse, on deck and below, playing a critical role in developing…

Shipyards train for the future

The latest data from the U.S. Maritime Administration accounts for 154 active, private shipyards and another 300 private shipyards “conducting repair or other shipbuilding or repair services” in 29 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those facilities, as of 2023, have 105,652 workers on their payrolls with employment in shipbuilding sector “increasing steadily over the past five years,” according to…

Port pilots: experience and poise in all conditions

Every day, professional mariners may work with pilots, but many may not know the level of expertise that goes into their 24/7 work of safely guiding vessels of all sizes and types in and out of the nation’s ports in often hazardous conditions. Their’s is a unique role that requires an incredible depth of knowledge of both the local waterways…

Deep-V Hulls Still Dominate Fast Pilot Boat Design

Pilots and the highly specialized boats they depend on have occupied a unique position in the maritime sector since the days of sail. Motorized pilot boats, introduced around 1900, relied on traditional displacement hulls with a top speed of around 10 knots and remained in service into the late 1990’s on the West Coast. They were finally replaced by the…

Despite the challenges, U.S. inland waterways continue to bustle

America’s inland waterways continue to wrestle with challenges, but the long-term future looks bright as a chorus of business, environmental, and government voices increasingly sing the praises of those who confront the hazards of inland navigation. Most notably, of course, frustratingly chronic drought conditions that showcase the limits of human systems designed to sustain navigation – particularly navigation on…