Rich Miller – Page 2 – Professional Mariner

07 Aug

Crescent adding Tier 4 tug for Mississippi River operations

Rich MillerTugboats & Towingbrownwater, shipbuilding

(MOBILE, Ala.) — Crescent Towing has begun construction of a new 6,000-hp, Tier 4 z-drive tugboat at Blakeley BoatWorks in Mobile, Ala., to be immediately added to its Mississippi River ship-assist operations upon completion. “The addition of this new 6,000-hp z-drive in support of our Mississippi River operations highlights our continued commitment to providing our customers with the most powerful…

07 Aug

Chouest building mini CTV for offshore wind market

Rich MillerMaritime Newsoffshore wind, shipbuilding

(CUT OFF, La.) — Offshore vessel operator, builder and owner Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) has started construction of the U.S. offshore wind industry’s first mini crew transfer vessel (CTV). The newbuild was designed by Chartwell Marine of the United Kingdom. Set to begin operating in summer 2024 for Orsted and its U.S.-based joint venture partner, Eversource Energy, the CTV will…

04 Aug

Blount to build four tugs for New York canal duty

Rich MillerMaritime Newsshipbuilding, Tugboats and towing

(WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.) — The New York Power Authority and New York State Canal Corp. have announced a strategic investment in the future of the New York State Canal System through the procurement of four new maintenance tugboats. The new tugs, to be built by Blount Boats of Warren, R.I., will be operated by Canal Corp. personnel and positioned along…

04 Aug

USMMA to host first Advisory Council public meeting

Rich MillerLicensing & Training

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Maritime Administration has announced that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) Advisory Council will conduct its first public meeting on Monday, Aug. 7 at USMMA in Kings Point, N.Y. The 13 inaugural members — five of whom are USMMA graduates, including one member from the Class of 2022 — are leading experts drawn from academia, the…

04 Aug

Iran actions prompt plan to put Marines on merchant ships

Rich MillerMaritime NewsSecurity, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. military is readying plans to deploy armed Marines and sailors aboard the commercial ships of interested private companies after a spate of vessel seizures by Iranian forces in the Middle East, The Washington Post and The Associated Press reported on Thursday. The effort has not received final approval, but it has buy-in from senior Biden administration…

04 Aug

EPA cites four boxships for ballast water violations

Rich MillerMaritime NewsRegulation, shipping

(SAN FRANCISCO) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled with CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest shipping container company, over claims of violations of EPA’s Vessel General Permit issued under the Clean Water Act. Under the terms of the settlements, CMA CGM will pay $165,000 in penalties for claims of violations by four of the company’s ships involving ballast…

03 Aug

GAO: Design issues will delay first PSC until 2028

Rich MillerMaritime Newsshipbuilding

(WASHINGTON) — The design for the U.S. Coast Guard’s polar security cutter (PSC) won’t be ready until next year and the first hull likely won’t deliver until 2028 – three years later than the original estimate – according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed by USNI News. According to the estimate from GAO, which cites…

03 Aug

Breached bulk carrier spills diesel into Lake Michigan

Rich MillerCasualty NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, U.S. Coast Guard

(MANISTEE, Mich.) — U.S. Coast Guard personnel, along with state and local agencies, responded Wednesday to a report of the bulk carrier Manitowoc spilling diesel in Lake Michigan, approximately 1.5 nautical miles off Manistee, Mich. At approximately 2:50 p.m., the 612-foot Manitowoc reported a hull breach on its starboard diesel tank. The maximum spill potential is 45,174 gallons of diesel.…

02 Aug

NMC adopts new calculator policy for credentialing exams

Rich MillerLicensing & TrainingU.S. Coast Guard

(MARTINSBURG, W.Va.) — To standardize calculator usage during U.S. Coast Guard mariner credentialing examinations, the National Maritime Center (NMC) is implementing the following: • Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, all mariners testing at a regional examination center, monitoring unit or federal/state maritime academy will be issued a Texas Instruments TI-30XIIS calculator to use during their examination(s). • All mariners should become…

02 Aug

Chesapeake delivers first Coastal Cat to ACL

Rich MillerMaritime Newsshipbuilding

(GUILFORD, Conn.) — American Eagle, American Cruise Lines’ first Coastal Cat, has passed sea trials. ACL accepted delivery of the 100-passenger vessel from Chesapeake Shipbuilding on time as scheduled. American Eagle is the first of 12 new Coastal Cats that ACL is planning to build at Chesapeake Shipbuilding. The next four ships are already under construction for delivery over the…