Trends – Professional Mariner

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…

New Merchant Marine Credential format unveiled

On March 1, the U.S. Coast Guard began issuing merchant mariner credentials (MMCs) in a new format that replaces the legacy passport-style red book and associated endorsement labels. The MMC consolidates the credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single document, and streamlines the application process by removing the requirement that all mariners appear at one of 17 Regional Exam…

New eLog software OK’d for use on U.S.-flag ships

ABS-affiliated software-as-a-service company ABS Wavesight has had its eLogs software formally approved by the U.S. Coast Guard for use by U.S.-flag ships. The approval makes ABS Wavesight, first unveiled in 2022, one of only three maritime software providers to receive such approval on the basis of the USCG’s guidance under USCG NVIC 01-23. NVIC 01-23 provides guidance to the owners and…

ARC acquires a new RO/RO carrier

Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC) has added a ninth such U.S.-flag vessel to its fleet. The roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ship is a former Wallenius-Wilhelmsen large car/truck carrier, the Tulane, built in 2012. The ship was re-flagged to U.S. registry and renamed ARC Honor in a ceremony conducted with the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Incheon, South Korea.…

The two Wind Energy Areas encompass a combined 195,012 acres of water off the coast of Oregon.

BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) has designated two final Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) for development off the Oregon coast. The Coos Bay WEA covers 61,204 acres approximately 32 miles offshore, while the Brookings WEA is 133,808 acres in size and is located about 18 miles off the coast, close to the border with California. If fully developed, the final…

Pacific Northwest ports gear-up

In 2015, the Federal Maritime Commission approved a plan that authorized the creation of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) by the ports of Tacoma and Seattle. The Alliance established a framework for, among other goals, the joint management of the ports’ marine cargo operations and the design and execution of marketing strategies to build business volumes. December 2023 container…

New Florida tug company formed

Marine Towing of Port Canaveral LLC has acquired the Port Canaveral operations and assets associated with E.N. Bisso & Son Inc.’s acquisition of the ship-assist operations once owned by Seabulk Towing Holdings Inc. “Marine Towing is a highly regarded provider of ship assist services in the industry,” Capt. John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO, said in a statement. “We are pleased to…

A conversation with Jennifer Carpenter, new AMP president

Jennifer Carpenter, CEO of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), has, in addition to her responsibilities at AWO, assumed the position of president of the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), which bills itself as the “voice of the domestic maritime industry.” The industry “is led by 650,000 American men and women who are committed to ensuring a reliable supply chain, reducing our…

Proposal to operate U.S.- flag vessels with foreign crews blasted

“Egregious” and “irresponsible” is how a consortium of American labor unions, including the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO, is labelling a proposal to create a second level of U.S.-flagged vessels that would be operated by foreign crews. Such a move, “would outsource American maritime jobs, disregard America’s national security requirements and waste taxpayer dollars,” they charged in a statement countering a…

New York, New Jersey offshore wind projects axed

Equinor and bp, the developers behind the giant Empire Wind 2 offshore wind project, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority have reached an agreement to terminate the Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) Agreement for the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm project. The Empire Wind 2 project called for development of an offshore wind farm…