08 Oct

Two ships being built by Aker Philadelphia to be used as shuttle tankers

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(PHILADELPHIA, PA -- October 8, 2007) Two vessels owned by Aker American Shipping (AAS), a builder of commercial ships, will be the first shuttle tankers operating in compliance with the U.S. Jones Act. The 46,000-dwt Veteran Class tankers will be used at the Chinook and Cascade fields in the Gulf of Mexico.AAS is collaborating with Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), a major…
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03 Oct

Crowley to build larger, faster ATBs

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(JACKSONVILLE, FL -- September 27, 2007) Crowley Maritime Corporation has signed a contract to build three articulated tug-barge (ATB), 330,000-barrel tank vessels, the largest in the company's history and the fastest in their class. VT Halter Marine will construct the 750-class barges in its shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss.  Dakota Creek will build the 45,000 deadweight ton, 600-foot tugs in its Anacortes, Wash.,…
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03 Oct

Crowley introduces bigger, faster ships in Caribbean islands service

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(JACKSONVILLE, FL -- September 28, 2007) Crowley Maritime Corporation is adding two new containerships, Eclips and Ocean, to its Carribbean island services. The vessels are bigger (offering about 200 more TEUs of capacity) and faster (by about 2 knots) than the ships they are replacing, Sea Gale and Sea Cloud. Crowley expects the 18.5 knots speed to result in even better transit times,…
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27 Sep

ACL to acquire Elliott Bay Design Group

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(JEFFERSONVILLE, IN -- September 27, 2007) American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), a naval architecture and marine engineering firm with offices in Seattle and New Orleans.   With approximately 2,750 employees, ACL will incorporate about 60 architects, engineers, designers, and support personnel from EBDG into its team.…
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17 Sep

Northwest Passage could become shipping lane due to melting ice

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(September 17, 2007) The Northwest Passage, sought for hundreds of years by explorers, could become an open shipping lane due to melting Artic ice, according to the Associated Press.The European Space Agency said that nearly 200 satellite photos taken in September showed an ice-free passage along northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland. The images also show ice retreating to its lowest…
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14 Sep

Coast Guard investigates barge sinkings

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY -- September 14, 2007) The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the grounding and sinking of two barges on the Hudson River near the Bear Mountain Bridge in Bear Mountain, N.Y., after the two barges broke free of the tug Buchanan 12 at 0400 on Sept. 11.The barges dumped thousands of tons of crushed stone into the river,…
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12 Sep

Prosecutors drop charges against airboat operators

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News
(NEW ORLEANS, LA -- September 6, 2007) Federal prosecutors will not criminally charge the operators of an airboat that overturned in 2004, killing two of the 16 passengers and injuring 10 others, according to WWLTV of New Orleans. Administrative charges are still being contemplated in the Louisiana Swamp Tours accidents, according to Lt. Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Esau, spokeswoman for the U.S.…
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