Articles – Page 20 – Professional Mariner

Old ideas revived to ‘green’ the vessels of today and tomorrow

One of the true oddities of 20th Century maritime shipping was the NS Savannah, a 596-foot combination cargo/passenger vessel launched in 1959 at the New York Shipbuilding yard in Camden, NJ and the first nuclear powered merchant ship ever built. Laid down as part of the Eisenhower Administration’s Atoms for Peace Initiative, the unique vessel was built at a cost…

Greening ships design by design

Designing environmentally friendly ships and converting existing vessels requires a major multidisciplinary approach, involving the extensive expertise of naval architects, designers, engineers, vessel operators, equipment suppliers, and other stakeholders. It seems everything is on the table when it comes to green ship design, including fuel efficiency, emissions reduction, and the use of sustainable materials. The common thread is the goal…

Still a killer after all these years

If you like rock n’ roll music, you may remember the Rolling Stones album “Goat’s Head Soup” or if you are into classic disaster movies, you may recall “The Towering Inferno.” Or, if maritime history is your thing, the obscure saga of the cargo ship SS Alpha. The golden thread connecting all of these seemingly unrelated things is that all…

The sternwheel tug Portland

Presently resting comfortably at the Willamette River seawall in downtown Portland, Or., the sternwheeler Portland’s quiet retirement as home of the Oregon Maritime Museum belies its past as one of the most unique historic vessels afloat. Ordered by the Port of Portland, Portland was built in 1947 at the Northwest Iron Works shipyard to replace her predecessor of the same name, built in…

New Governor’s Island ferry under construction

A new 190-foot passenger/vehicle ferry for the City of New York’s Trust for Governor’s Island is under construction at the Conrad Shipyard of Morgan City, La. The vessel, scheduled to enter service in the summer of 2024, was designed by the Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group and will be New York City’s first public hybrid-electric ferry, featuring a propulsion system…

Curtin Maritime adds new tug to its fleet; expands San Diego operations

Long Beach, Ca.-based Curtin Maritime has said it will initially deploy its recently acquired vessel, Edna C, to Houston, where it will work alongside the DB Ironbound, a multi-functional ABS barge paired with a Lima 2400B 150-ton crawler crane. After several months in Texas, the company said, the small push boat will be transported to California for a repower conversion,…

Matson converts box ship to LNG

Matson Navigation Company has confirmed that it will convert the main engine aboard its containership Kaimana Hila from an MAN B&W S90ME-C10.5 unit to a dual-fuel ME-GI unit capable of running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). In doing so, it is exercising an option contained in a contract it signed with MAN Energy Solutions in June 2022 to perform an…

SAFE Boats unveils autonomous survey monohull

SAFE Boats International has announced the introduction of Merlin, an autonomous hydrographic survey vessel. This innovative, 75-foot semi-displacement monohull design was developed in collaboration with Mythos AI, Echo81, and World Marine Design. SAFE Boats International has exclusive rights to build the design at its Tacoma, Wash., large-craft production facility. Merlin will be a Jones Act-compliant all-aluminum hull powered by a…

Crowley, Markey Machine partner on new ATB equipment

Crowley has contracted with Markey Machine to install a set of split mooring winches and an anchor windlass on board the company’s articulated-tug barge Oliver Leavitt. The ATB, including tug Aveogan, was constructed at the Bollinger Marine Fabricators facility in Amelia, La., and delivered to Crowley in 2020. Crowley operates the ATB under a long-term charter for Alaska-based Petro Star…

Chesapeake building new Coastal Cat for ACL

Construction has begun on American Legend, the fourth new Coastal Cat in American Cruise Lines’ Project Blue series. Unveiled in early 2022, the Project Blue series is a flotilla of 12 small ships designed to sail almost any domestic cruise itinerary. The 100-guest American Legend is built for coastal operation and features the innovative new hull design that is a…