Professional Mariner Staff – Page 1985

28 Feb

Poor communication causes a close call on the Delaware

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized

It was a beautiful, sunny winter afternoon in January 2003 when we arrived at the Mantua Creek anchorage across from the Philadelphia International Airport on the Delaware River. We had towed an empty oil barge down from New York Harbor to load at the Girard Point terminal, but our berth wasn't open. With the light barge alongside the tug, we…

28 Feb

Invader -Class Tugs – Turning back the Clock

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized

These are the most bad-assed, sweetest-handling, powerful tugs going," said Larry Miles of Crowley's Invader-class tugs. One of Crowley's Invader-class tugs in Valdez, Alaska, in March 1999. Designed by a predecessor of what is now Elliott Bay Design Group, 25 of the boats were built in the 1970s. Image Credit: photos by Alan Haig-Brown Miles is a port engineer…

28 Feb

Ships must carry an immersion suit for every crewmember as of July 2006

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized

Starting July 1, 2006, all cargo and bulk carriers over 500 gross tons will be required to provide immersion suits for every person onboard. Currently, under International Maritime Organization rules, at least three immersion suits must be provided for each lifeboat on a cargo ship. The importance of carrying enough survival suits for every member of the crew has long…

28 Feb

Blessey, adding two new towboats, introduces 1,600-hp Dane F. Morgan

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized

Blessey Marine is adding two more towboats to its expanding fleet this summer, the first of which was slated for a June delivery from the John Bludworth Shipyard in Texas. The new vessel, named Dane F. Morgan, is a 1,600-hp, Cummins-powered pusher with Twin Disc gears and 74-inch propellers from Sound Propeller Service. Blessey, which operates 33 towboats including this…

28 Feb

Coast Guard proposes accelerating its Deepwater program by 10 years

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized

Implementation of the U.S. Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System (IDS), a sweeping renovation and modernization program of the fleet, may be accelerated from 20 years to 10 years if a bill before the Senate is approved. Proposed by Coast Guard Commandant Tom Collins and endorsed by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, the bill asks for an additional $4 billion in…

28 Feb

Using mooring lines to slow a vessel poses serious risks

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized

A recent issue of Professional Mariner reported the death of a deck hand who was knocked overboard when a line parted under strain (PM #79). This tragedy invites a review of the basics of line loads and breaking strength. The main function of mooring lines is to hold a ship fast to her berth against the effects of wind and…

28 Feb

Oil barge is freed after running aground

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A routine tow up the Oregon coast from Coos Bay to Portland almost turned into an environmental disaster when a Sause Brothers oil barge broke free from a Foss Maritime tug while entering the Columbia River on March 19. Millicoma aground near the North Head Lighthouse. Below, a member of the salvage team being lowered onto the barge. A southwest…

28 Feb

New federal law requires inspection of towing vessels

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

Towing vessels will be required to undergo U.S. Coast Guard inspection as a result of new legislation that is expected to have a profound effect on the industry. C.F. Campbell is a 4,000-hp ocean-capable tug built in 1975 by Halter Marine. Over 5,000 tugs in the United States will be subject to U.S. Coast Guard inspection as a result of…

28 Feb

Eleven killed when charter boat capsizes on Oregon coast

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

Taki-Tooo, a 35-foot charter fishing boat, was struck by a wave and rolled over on the Tillamook Bar on the north Oregon coast in mid June, drowning 11 of the 19 people onboard. A Coast Guard 47-foot lifeboat was on the scene within minutes, but the charter boat, passengers and crew were quickly swept around the north jetty into the…

28 Feb

Tanker carrying ethanol explodes, then sinks off Virginia, claiming 21 lives; six rescued

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The chemical tanker Bow Mariner, en route from the New York area to Texas, exploded and sank 50 miles off the Virginia coast at 1805 on Feb. 28, killing 21 crewmembers. A team from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., in an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, made a dangerous nighttime rescue of six of the crew who were in…