Professional Mariner Staff – Page 5

10 Jul

Union protests Chinese ship sailing under Jones Act waiver

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsJones Act, shipping

(GARYVILLE, La.) — Union members and officials gathered Thursday at the Marathon Garyville Refinery to peacefully protest the arrival of the Chinese vessel Jin Zhou Wan, an asphalt carrier owned by a Chinese military company believed to be carrying domestic cargo from the Port of Baltimore. This is a direct result of the Trump administration’s Jones Act waiver, which seafarers…

09 Jul

Ports of Indiana gets $25 million federal grant for expansion

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPorts, shipping, Tugboats and towing

(JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind.) – Ports of Indiana has been awarded a $25 million BUILD grant (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support a $32 million expansion of the Jeffersonville port. The grant is the largest federal award in Ports of Indiana’s 65-year history – more than double the previous high for any Indiana port.…

09 Jul

Historic Maine windjammer sinks at Brooklyn pier

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(NEW YORK) — A historic former Maine windjammer has sunk in New York City, CentralMaine.com reported. Victory Chimes, a 128-foot schooner featured on a 2003 commemorative Maine state quarter, was previously based out of Rockland, Maine. In 2023, it was sold to two brothers who have a history of converting ships into floating restaurants and moved to New York. The…

09 Jul

NMRA awards two $2,000 marine trades education scholarships

Professional Mariner StaffLicensing & Trainingshipbuilding

(IRVINGTON, Va.) — The National Marine Representatives Association (NMRA) has awarded two scholarships of $2,000 each to students pursuing education in the marine trades beginning this fall. NMRA has actively contributed to the future of the marine industry by awarding marine trades education scholarships annually since 2008. The 2026 recipients of $2,000 NMRA scholarships are Sawyer Couturier, attending the Marine…

07 Jul

HII adds Halimar Shipyard to USV production program

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsAutonomous vessels, shipbuilding

(McLEAN Va.) — Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), America’s largest military shipbuilder and a global leader in autonomous maritime systems, announced Monday that Halimar Shipyard of Morgan City, La., has joined the company’s growing network of strategic industrial partners supporting serial production of HII’s ROMULUS unmanned surface vessel (USV) family. With extensive experience in commercial and government vessel construction, Halimar brings…

07 Jul

Surfacing whale sinks response boat in Raritan Bay

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsFire and rescue, safety

(CARTERET, N.J.) — On July 4, at approximately 4:30 p.m. while conducting a regional special operations marine security detail for the New York/New Jersey Port area, Carteret Fire Department Marine Unit 2 was involved in a serious marine incident while returning to Carteret waters. CFD Marine 2 was violently struck beneath the stern by a surfacing whale that breached the…

06 Jul

Moose Boats response cat to serve San Francisco airport

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsFire and rescue, shipbuilding

(VALLEJO, Calif.) — Moose Boats has delivered an M1-46 fire-rescue catamaran to the San Francisco Fire Department’s Airport Division. This will be the second M1 that the San Francisco International Airport will have available for emergency calls in the waters surrounding the runways. While many of the systems have been upgraded from the previous Moose Boats vessel, the platform and…

06 Jul

Port of Galveston opens new 1,410-foot cargo berth

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, UncategorizedPorts, shipping

(GALVESTON, Texas) — The Port of Galveston’s new cargo berth officially opened for business July 2 with a Wallenius Wilhelmsen cargo carrier delivering roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) cargo at the West Port Cargo Complex. The 656-foot-long MS Toledo offloaded hundreds of pieces of heavy construction equipment from Brazil and Asia to be transported by truck to destinations in Texas and Middle America.…

02 Jul

New report questions effectiveness of Jones Act waiver

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsJones Act, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — Navigistics Consulting, a maritime industry consulting and market analysis firm, examined the real-world effects of the current (150-day) blanket Jones Act waiver – put in place by the Trump administration – on the U.S. economy, energy security, and domestic maritime workforce. The findings add new weight to growing calls from American mariners, labor groups, and maritime industry advocates…

02 Jul

Safety alert: Lack of notice for unmanned vessel operations

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsAutonomous vessels, Safety alert, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard recently identified multiple unmanned maritime system (UMS) operations occurring within and near major West Coast port approaches without prior coordination with cognizant captains of the port (COTP). The lack of advance notification reduces maritime domain awareness and limits the Coast Guard’s ability to effectively assess operational risk, support safe vessel movement, and protect the…