Icebreakers cometh for US, Canada as Arctic opens wide
06 Nov

Icebreakers cometh for US, Canada as Arctic opens wide

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
As Polar Star, America’s only operational heavy icebreaker, faltered again mechanically on its annual resupply mission to Antarctica last winter, lawmakers were finally voting to do something about it. In mid-February, Congress approved $655 million to start construction on the Coast Guard’s first polar security cutter, which will replace Polar Star upon delivery in 2024. An additional $20 million was…
Read More
05 Nov

Pyxis specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
Owner/operator: Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) Blue & Gold  Fleet, San Francisco, Calif. Designer/builder: Advanced Multihull Designs, Sydney, Australia/Dakota Creek Industries, Anacortes, Wash. Dimensions: L: 143’ B: 39.5’ D: 5.4’ Mission: Passenger ferry Crew size: Four Hull: Aluminum catamaran Propulsion: (2) MTU 16V 4000 M65 main engines, 3,433 hp each (2) HamiltonJet HT810 waterjets ZF Marine 9055 gears (2) John…
Read More
Rodanthe
05 Nov

Rodanthe

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
On a blistering June day, a sizable crowd gathered in the shade of an outdoor shelter fronting the Hatteras Ferry Terminal on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Ferries arrived and departed while a new ferry was being christened. Rodanthe, named for the beach town 35 miles north of Hatteras, is the first new ferry to ply the Hatteras-Ocracoke Island route since…
Read More
05 Nov

Rodanthe specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
Owner/operator: North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division, Havelock, N.C. Designer/builder: Elliott Bay Design Group, Seattle, Wash./Bollinger Shipyards, Amelia, La. Dimensions: L: 183’ B: 46 D: 4’6” Mission: Passenger/vehicle ferry Crew size: Six Hull: Steel monohull Propulsion: (2) Caterpillar C18 600-hp main engines (2) Voith Schneider size 16 propellers Twin Disc MGX-5202SC gears (2) Caterpillar auxiliary gensets (C7.1 and C4.4)…
Read More
National Geographic Venture
05 Nov

National Geographic Venture

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
Some cruise ships are so packed with amenities that guests never want to leave. National Geographic Venture is designed and outfitted for passengers to get off the vessel and explore their surroundings. The 238-foot vessel, delivered in November 2018, is the sister ship to National Geographic Quest, delivered in July 2017. Lindblad Expeditions of New York operates the U.S.-flagged, Subchapter…
Read More
05 Nov

National Geographic Venture specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
Owner/operator: Lindblad Expeditions, New York, N.Y. Designer/builder: Jensen Maritime Consultants, Seattle, Wash., and Jamestown Metal Marine Services, Boca Raton, Fla. (interior)/Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash. Dimensions: L: 238’ B: 44’ D: 10’ Mission: Cruise ship Crew size: 50 Hull: Steel monohull Propulsion: (2) MTU 16V 4000 Tier 3 main engines, 1,600 hp each (2) Reintjes reduction gears (2) five-blade Wartsila…
Read More
Virginia
05 Nov

Virginia

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) designed its first purpose-built research ship with the present, and the future, in mind. The 93-foot Virginia replaces the converted crew boat Bay Eagle as the institute’s flagship. Virginia expands the distance VIMS students and scientists can travel from their home port in Weems, Va., on the Rappahannock River. It also brings myriad…
Read More
05 Nov

Virginia specifications

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
Owner/operator: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Va. Designer/builder: JMS Naval Architects, Mystic, Conn./Meridien Maritime Reparation, Matane, Quebec Dimensions: L: 93’ B: 29’ D: 9’ Mission: Fisheries and oceanographic research vessel Crew size: Five Hull: Steel monohull Propulsion: Cummins QSK19-M 660-hp main engine Finnoy gearbox Veth bow thruster (2) Kohler 99-kW auxiliary gensets Cruising speed: 10 knots Capacities: Fuel:…
Read More
Half Moon Clipper
05 Nov

Half Moon Clipper

Professional Mariner StaffAmerican Ship Review, Maritime News
Amid the oil industry downturn in the Gulf of Mexico and the corresponding grim economics visited upon aluminum crew boat builders in south Louisiana, Breaux Brothers Enterprises of Loreauville put a new twist on the market. “We were contacted by Holland America Line (HAL) to construct a vessel,” said Brannon Breaux, a vice president of the company founded by his…
Read More