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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…