Articles – Page 22 – Professional Mariner

A busy spring in the Gulf for the Coast Guard’s ‘Heartland’ district

Every year, the U.S. Coast Guard’s District 8, headquartered in New Orleans, handles more than its fair share of emergency response scenarios. This past spring saw the District’s U.S.-based Gulf sectors responding by air and sea to a variety of urgent events that define just one of the 233-year-old Service’s 11 core missions. Just a few examples… • On March…

USCG to investigate the loss of the Titan submersible

The Coast Guard has convened a Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) into the loss of the Titan submersible and the five people on board. The crew of the Polar Prince research vessel lost contact with the Titan submersible 1 hour and 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday, June 18, 2023. After an extensive search and rescue effort, the wreckage…

Overreliance on outdated chart cited in Alaska pier strike

The master aboard the cruise ship Radiance of the Seas spun the ship 180 degrees and backed it toward the terminal in Sitka, Ak. As the ship inched into position, its starboard quarter struck a mooring dolphin on a newly extended pier. The incident happened at about 7:27 a.m. on May 9, 2022, under clear skies and light winds. Although…

Officer distractions, cell phone use cited in Gulf collision

Not long after noon on a clear, sunny day, the bulk carrier Bunun Queen was sailing east in the Gulf of Mexico when it collided with the offshore supply vessel Thunder some 66 miles south of Port Fourchon, La. The collision happened in open water at 1:14 p.m. on July 23, 2022. The impact opened a hole in Thunder’s port…

Fire aboard OSV near Seattle traced to incorrectly sized bearing

The offshore supply vessel (OSV) Ocean Guardian was barely 30 minutes into sea trials near Seattle when its No. 3 main engine sustained a catastrophic failure and caught fire. Crewmembers aboard the 261-foot ship quickly extinguished the fire, which happened at about 2:35 p.m. on May 27, 2022, in Shilshole Bay, just west of Seattle’s Ballard Locks. None of the…

Cracked exhaust muffler cited in towboat fire

Cracks in a muffler and the substantial use of combustible materials in accommodation spaces led to a fire aboard a towing vessel last year on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Freeport, Tx., according to the final report on the incident released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). On June 25, 2022 the four-person crew aboard the towing vessel Mary…

Barge spill reported on the Lower Mississippi

At approximately 10 p.m. on June 10, the Coast Guard responded to the reported discharge of oil from a barge on the Lower Mississippi River near Natchez, Miss. Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River received notification from Kirby Inland Marine reporting a discharge from one of its barges being transported by the towing vessel Leviticus at mile marker 339. Pollution…

Remedies being sought to prevent containers overboard

From 2008 to 2022, shipping containers went overboard and were lost at sea because of heavy weather, severe rolling, improper stowage, inadequate weighing, shipwreck, or other mishaps at an average rate of 1,566 per year. Once in the water, they represent not just a massive annual loss of high-value property, but often pose a hazard to navigation for seaborne traffic…

Capitol Hill moves to veto Chinese-made container cranes

A new bill has been put forward in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks to bar the use of Chinese-manufactured cranes in U.S. ports. If signed into law, the legislation – the Port Crane Security & Inspection Act of 2023 (H.R. 6487) – would also mandate that ports would have to immediately take offline any cranes currently in use…

Crowley tankers to participate in MarAd security program

The Maritime Administration (MarAd) has selected three Crowley-managed tankers to participate in its Tanker Security Program. The three medium-range (MR) tankers – Stena Immaculate, Stena Imperative and Stena Impeccable – will sail as part of a joint venture between Crowley and Stena Bulk USA. The trio are Stena IMOIIMAX vessels; two were built in 2017 and the other in 2016. IMOIIMAX vessels…