Articles – Page 2 – Professional Mariner

Metal Shark expands operations, seeks workers

U.S.-based boat builder Metal Shark is expanding its presence in its home state of Louisiana with the addition of a third manufacturing facility and a new recruitment effort. The expansion follows the recent divestiture of its Alabama-based ship refit and repair business, which it sold to Birdon America. “Last year, Birdon America, Inc. approached Metal Shark about acquiring our Alabama…

New Plaquemines Port and APM Terminals container facility planned

The Plaquemines Port Harbor and Terminal District, aka Plaquemines Port, has executed a letter of intent with APM Terminals (APMT) – one of the largest terminal operators in the world – to build a state-of-the-art container terminal on the West Bank of Plaquemines Parish, La. “APM Terminals is a world leader in container terminal operations. This major commitment shows the…

Philly Shipyard work continues on Great Lakes Dredge vessel

In July, a steel-cutting ceremony was held at the Philly Shipyard marking the start of construction on Acadia, the first U.S.-flagged Jones Act-compliant, inclined fallpipe vessel built in the country. The vessel is being built for Houston-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. and will be used to move rock from quarries along the U.S. East Coast for subsea deposit at…

Georgia Ports sees container numbers grow

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) saw a significant increase in container volumes at the Port of Savannah in February, with 451,670 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEU) moved. The latest figure marks a 14.4 percent rise compared to the same period last year. Contributing to the surge was a 19 percent increase in loaded import containers and a 10 percent rise in export…

Skill and Tradition on the Piscataqua River

Capt. John Reeves wasted no time getting the tugboat Z-One underway in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Like fellow Moran Towing Capt. Matt Brewster, who would soon depart aboard Handy Four, Reeves had a schedule to keep. Some five miles away, the inbound tanker New England was nearly ready to transit up the Piscataqua River to a Portsmouth oil terminal. Running late is not an…

Pilot memory lapse blamed for barge tow collision

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its report on a January 9, 2023, Lower Mississippi River incident that caused the barges in two separate tows to break free and collide. The incident occurred at 1:52 a.m. near Fort Adams, Ms., when the towing vessel Big D was pushing 19 barges downbound on the Lower Mississippi River, and the towing vessel Carol McManus…

Uncontrollable flooding sank the Caribe Trader II

The investigation into the March 6, 2022, flooding and sinking of the cargo vessel Carib Trader II has concluded and the National Transportation Safety Board has issued its final report on the incident. The uncrewed, 274-foot general cargo vessel took on water and sank near the Magallanes Bank, approximately 25 miles northwest of Santo Domingo Cay, Bahamas, during a dead ship tow from…

No one injured in Kentucky towboat fire

No injuries were reported in an early morning January 30, 2024, engine room fire aboard the twin-screw, 2,000 hp. towboat M/V Johnny M. The 92-foot Johnny M., owned by Terral River Service, was pushing four loaded rock barges on Kentucky Lake, just south of the lock at Tennessee River Mile 22.4 when the port engine caught fire, said U.S. Coast…

Towboat Crews Pull Pinned Barge Away From Markland Dam

On January 29, 2024, two barges broke away from a tow on the Ohio River with one, AEP 772, pushed broadside against the upper gates at Markland Locks and Dam. The stray barge was immediately corralled in the lock, while the otherwas pulled over to the dam and was pinned on the piers, according to the U.S. Army Corps…

New safety technology employs drones

Lisbon, Portugal-based unmanned aerial systems developer TEKEVER has successfully deployed a life raft from an AR5 drone. The innovative technology was demonstrated during a recent search and rescue exercise conducted by the Italian Coast Guard in partnership with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The AR5 drone, equipped with optical and infrared cameras, a maritime radar, an AIS receiver, and…