Vessels at Work - Professional Mariner

AmNav’s ‘magic carpets’ cover all bases in the Bay Area

AmNav Maritime Capt. Dan Thinger arrived at the Port of Richmond in San Francisco Bay and idled the tugboat Z-Three against the starboard quarter of the tanker Trinity. Two Crowley tugs, Valor and Apollo, were already in position off the starboard stern and starboard bow, respectively, waiting for the ship to get underway. As the two other tugs stretched their…

Kitsap ferry crew handles transits, passengers with a deft touch

The fast ferry Reliance was halfway across Puget Sound making 34 knots when deck hand Chaz Peters called the wheelhouse with an emergency. A passenger was having a seizure. Senior deck hand Mike Poole handed the conn back to Capt. Tom Cain and pulled up the camera footage showing the injured passenger. Both deck hands tended to the man as…

Repowered New Jersey keeps travelers on the move

Capt. Jim Harkin had just finished explaining the attributes of the repowered Cape May-Lewes Ferry New Jersey when he heard the familiar sound of a car alarm on the main deck. He paused for a moment while his pilot, former ferry system captain Tom Lippincott, tried to locate the owner of a white Mercedes with New Jersey tags. Luxury cars,…

Dodging traps and keeping time with the Maine State Ferry

Capt. Aaron Sheridan steered Capt. Richard G. Spear through Rockland Harbor on a picture-perfect summer day in Maine. Clear skies and calm seas lay ahead as the Maine State Ferry Service’s newest vessel chugged toward Vinalhaven some 15 miles away. Every so often, Sheridan nudged the 154-foot ferry to port or to starboard. With each subtle course change, he…

Electric tour boats create new tradition for historic Niagara Falls operator

On a drizzly summer morning, Capt. Kaitlynn McHenry guided Maid of the Mist’s James V. Glynn off the dock in Niagara Falls State Park. Instead of rumbling engines, the vessel got underway with a subtle whoosh. The 90.5-foot catamaran James V. Glynn and its sister vessel, Nikola Tesla, are the first zero-emission tour boats operating in the United States. Electricity…

Bisso Towboat crews keep exports humming at Louisiana grain terminal

The Zen-Noh Grain Corp. (ZGC) export elevator near Convent, La., is one of the busiest on the Lower Mississippi River. It runs around the clock loading American grain into ships heading overseas. Bisso Towboat Co. of Luling, La., and its three azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tugboats positioned just upriver, play a key role in keeping the terminal running efficiently. Day…

Rebuilding the New Jersey shore, one load at a time

From a vantage point 70 feet above the waterline, the mate and drag tender aboard the articulated tug-barge (ATB) Douglas B. Mackie/Ellis Island collaborated to keep the unit working safely and efficiently. The job entailed sucking up tons of sand from dozens of feet below the surface at a designated location several miles off Sandy Hook, N.J., then delivering it…

Alabama department goes the extra mile with new fireboat

Almost three years ago, a massive fire destroyed 27 condominiums in Perdido Beach, Fla. Firefighters from across the region helped fight the flames, including those from Orange Beach just across the Alabama state line. Bruce Nelson, a battalion chief for Orange Beach Fire Rescue, said the event demonstrated the value of a steady water supply. It also influenced how…

Going the long way

In the 2020s, the sight of a U.S.-flagged tugboat in a Dutch port is a rare one. But Weeks Marine’s Thomas was there all the same in July 2021. A friend shared a photo of the 4,000-hp tugboat in a slip in Rotterdam and it begged for an explanation. Weeks Marine is using Thomas to support an infrastructure project on…