30 Nov

Port of Virginia avoids major container backlogs

Professional Mariner StaffPorts
Dozens of ships are waiting for berths off Los Angeles.  Puget Sound is so overloaded, rarely used anchorages have filled up.  And now, the cargo backlogs are spreading to the East Coast ports of Savannah and New York-New Jersey.  The Port of Virginia, meanwhile, continues to operate normally despite similar surges in cargo that have bedeviled other ports.  Joe Harris,…
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Electric tour boats create new tradition for historic Niagara Falls operator
30 Nov

Electric tour boats create new tradition for historic Niagara Falls operator

Professional Mariner StaffExcursion Boat
On a drizzly summer morning, Capt. Kaitlynn McHenry guided Maid of the Mist’s James V. Glynn off the dock in Niagara Falls State Park. Instead of rumbling engines, the vessel got underway with a subtle whoosh. The 90.5-foot catamaran James V. Glynn and its sister vessel, Nikola Tesla, are the first zero-emission tour boats operating in the United States. Electricity…
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Diesel-electric hybrid propulsion proves value for U.S. operators
30 Nov

Diesel-electric hybrid propulsion proves value for U.S. operators

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towing
It’s been more than two years since Harbor Docking & Towing Co. added its first diesel-electric hybrid tugboats. That decision has paid off in multiple ways for the Lake Charles, La., operator.   The Caterpillar hybrid system aboard Ralph and Capt. Robb delivers 91.5 tons of bollard pull while offering flexibility from different propulsion settings. The system is fully optimized for Harbor Docking’s…
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Ship identified as possible cause of damaged California oil pipeline
30 Nov

Ship identified as possible cause of damaged California oil pipeline

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News
The Coast Guard has identified the owner and operator of the containership MSC Danit as “parties in interest” in the damaged pipeline that leaked oil off Southern California. The service is investigating other possible vessels of interest in the incident, Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. j.g. SondraKay Kneen said. Those ships have not been identified. Authorities believe the anchor of a…
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NTSB cites poor communication, inaccurate AIS data in fatal collision
30 Nov

NTSB cites poor communication, inaccurate AIS data in fatal collision

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News
Both towboats involved in a fatal collision in the Lower Mississippi River near Destrehan, La., in early 2020 broadcast inaccurate tow lengths over AIS, according to federal investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigated the collision involving Cooperative Spirit and R.C. Creppel, also cited inadequate communication between pilots helming the two tows in the minutes leading to the…
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Human error, insufficient training cited in Golden Ray capsizing
30 Nov

Human error, insufficient training cited in Golden Ray capsizing

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The vehicle carrier Golden Ray capsized in St. Simons Sound due to a crucial vessel stability miscalculation and inadequate training and safety procedures, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded. Investigators said the chief officer entered incorrect ballast levels into a shipboard computer, indicating the vessel had more water than it actually did. As a result, Golden Ray’s center of gravity was “significantly higher” than calculated. “Golden Ray capsized because it did not possess enough righting…
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NTSB: Sudden storm caused New Orleans containership breakaway
30 Nov

NTSB: Sudden storm caused New Orleans containership breakaway

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News
Powerful winds from an unexpected thunderstorm blew a containership free from a New Orleans pier and damaged shoreside gantry cranes loading the vessel, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined.  The 1,099-foot CMA CGM Bianca was moored alongside the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal on Aug. 2, 2020. A sudden downburst from the thunderstorm buffeted the ship with 70-mph winds at about 1400.  “The vessel was…
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3D tugboat design comes to life
30 Nov

3D tugboat design comes to life

Professional Mariner StaffTrends and Currents
Signet Maritime Corp. has begun construction on the first commercial vessels in the United States developed using a purely 3D design process. The tugboats will be built to the Advanced Rotortug design by Robert Allan Ltd., which places two azimuthing drives forward and one aft. The concept was first developed by Dutch company Kotug, and tugboats outfitted with this propulsion…
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