28 Aug

NASCO begins construction of product carriers

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(SAN DIEGO, CA -- August 28, 2007) General Dynamics NASSCO has began construction of its first product carrier ship for U.S. Shipping Partners. NASSCO is building the ship from designs provided through its collaboration with DSEC of Korea, a subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.  The San Diego shipyard is scheduled to lay the ship’s keel in December and…
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22 Aug

Crew of British research vessel gathers extraordinary and dangerous data on waves

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
The crew and scientists aboard the British ship RRS Discovery expected a routine scientific voyage to study global warming in the North Atlantic, perhaps with some rough seas. What they got instead was a terrifying ordeal and a fight for survival atop the largest waves ever measured on a ship.They won't ever forget the chaotic conditions they endured off the…
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22 Aug

Mariners would need both a biometric ID and qualifications document under new rules

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
Two proposed federal rules would require mariners to obtain a biometric identity card and would also combine four existing maritime credentials into one document.The ID cards would allow entry to designated ports and vessels, and the new Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) would contain all the mariner's professional qualifications.The two rules, which will be considered jointly, were first revealed on May…
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22 Aug

Efforts to revive high-speed ferry service on Lake Ontario come to an end

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
An attempt to resume high-speed passenger and vehicle ferry service across Lake Ontario between the U.S. and Canada is dead. For the second time in two years the venture has been halted by a variety of factors including high capital and operating costs, as well as operational and maintenance issues.Ownership of the 284-foot aluminum catamaran ferry is expected to pass…
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22 Aug

NTSB recommends firefighting training requirement for crews of small passenger vessels

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Maritime News
Recent fires aboard small passenger vessels have prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to recommend that the U.S. Coast Guard require crews of these vessels to have firefighting training and that the fire detection systems on these vessels be constructed with approved components. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited the case of the 2004 fire in the engine room…
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22 Aug

Industry searching for better ways to reduce ballast tank corrosion

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
Improving the protection of ballast tanks from corrosion is an issue of increasing importance to regulators, shipyards and ship owners.In January 2006, Intertanko and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) announced new revisions would be made to the IACS standards for corrosion prevention coatings in seawater ballast tanks.The purpose of the new guidelines is to "assist IACS inspectors in…
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08 Aug

Foss joins U.S. EPA partnership to improve energy efficiency and air quality

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(SEATTLE, WA -- August 7, 2007) Foss today announced that it joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a voluntary collaboration between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight industry designed to increase energy efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. Foss is the first carrier accepted into the program for its marine transportation services.Foss has pledged to contribute…
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