Maritime News – Professional Mariner

13 May

U.S. indicts Dali operators for fatal Baltimore bridge strike

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, NTSB, shipping, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — Federal prosecutors have brought criminal charges against two companies and an employee connected with the 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, World News Group reported. Dali, a 984-foot containership, crashed into the bridge in the early morning of March 26, 2024. The collapse killed six construction workers on the bridge and resulted in at least $5…

11 May

Philly now working on three LNG boxships for Matson

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsLNG, propulsion, shipbuilding

(PHILADELPHIA) — Matson marked two milestones in its fleet renewal program on May 5 with the beginning of hull assembly on the second of three new LNG-powered Aloha-class containerships designed for its Hawaii and China-Long Beach Express (CLX) services, and the start of construction of its third new vessel at Hanwha Philly Shipyard. A small shipyard ceremony to mark the…

11 May

Coast Guard ends seasonal icebreaking in East, Great Lakes

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsIcebreaking, Navigation, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard concluded all icebreaking operations in America’s Eastern and Great Lakes waterways on Thursday following a severe winter season that continued well into spring in some regions. Operation Taconite, the Coast Guard’s final ongoing domestic icebreaking operation, has ended as ice throughout the western Great Lakes has nearly melted and icebreaking in support of commercial…

08 May

MarAd launches nuclear initiative for commercial shipping

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsMarAd, propulsion, shipping, technology

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) on Thursday launched an initiative to develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) for commercial shipping. As a first step, MarAd is calling on innovators and industry stakeholders to help develop an SMR model that revitalizes U.S. shipbuilding, cuts costs, and secures energy dominance. The request for information (RFI) is seeking input from industry…

07 May

Safety alert: Importance of bridge visibility, trained lookouts

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsLicensing and training, Navigation, Safety alert, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — Major contributing factors to several recent collisions and near-collisions included cargo-loading conditions that negatively impacted the operator’s visibility from the navigation bridge. Failing to address obstructions to visibility from the navigation bridge, by either moving cargo or posting trained lookouts, has repeatedly resulted in catastrophic outcomes including loss of life and property damage. Vessel operators, owners, and crews…

07 May

NOAA vessel returns to Great Lakes for survey work

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, NOAA, Office of Coast Survey, surveying

(WASHINGTON) — For the first time since 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) vessel Thomas Jefferson is underway in the Great Lakes. The vessel and its crew of NOAA Corps officers and professional mariners are working with NOAA scientists to map the waters of western and central Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario this year to improve navigation…

05 May

IMO panel ‘back on track’ on global shipping emissions

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsemissions, IMO, shipping

(LONDON) — The Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concluded its 84th session with a commitment to rebuild consensus on global shipping emissions, while sounding the alarm over environmental risks in the Strait of Hormuz and adopting new measures to curb air pollution in the northeast Atlantic. Closing the meeting, held from April 27 to May…

04 May

NMC resuming normal operations; processing delays likely

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsLicensing and training, NMC, U.S. Coast Guard

(MARTINSBURG, W.Va.) — Funding for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Coast Guard has been restored, and the National Maritime Center (NMC) and Regional Examination Centers (RECs) are resuming normal operations in a phased approach to prioritize the most critical functions and address the backlog of applications and examinations resulting from the lapse in appropriations. Application procedures and processing…

04 May

Irving launches first Arctic patrol ship for Canadian Coast Guard

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsCanadian Coast Guard, shipbuilding

(HALIFAX, Nova Scotia) — The Canadian Coast Guard’s first Arctic and offshore patrol ship (AOPS), the future CCGS Donjek, was launched Tuesday at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard. The launch of the first AOPS for the Canadian Coast Guard marks a significant milestone for Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) and the revitalization of the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet. The 343-foot vessel…

01 May

Wreckage of WWI Coast Guard cutter discovered off U.K.

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsSalvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The wreckage of the Coast Guard cutter Tampa has been located and confirmed by the British technical-diving team Gasperados. The site lies approximately 50 miles off Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom, at a depth exceeding 300 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Tampa was lost in 1918 during World War I after being torpedoed by a German submarine in…