Maritime News – Page 2 – Professional Mariner

08 Apr

ACL acquires American Queen Voyages river fleet

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsbrownwater

(GUILFORD, Conn.) — American Cruise Lines (ACL) has purchased four American Queen Voyages riverboats plus other assets, according to a bankruptcy court filing reported by Cruise Industry News. “American Cruise Lines is pleased to be the successful bidder for AQV’s river vessels. We look forward to announcing additional details after this portion of the Hornblower Holdings bankruptcy process concludes,” the…

08 Apr

Coast Guard reports increase in ship detentions in 2023

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPort state control, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — In 2023, a total of 10,959 individual vessels, from 80 different flag administrations, made 81,854 port calls to the United States, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. In all, 8,278 port state control (PSC) exams were conducted. These exam numbers decreased over the 2022 total of 8,706. The total number of ships detained in 2023 for environmental protection,…

04 Apr

Metal Shark launches new unmanned surface vehicles

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsAutonomous vessels, shipbuilding

(JEANERETTE, La.) — Louisiana-based boatbuilder Metal Shark has announced the debut of Prowler, a versatile military craft combining multiple unique technologies to meet the current and near future warfighting requirements of the U.S. military and its allies. The company is also debuting Frenzy, a high-performance, low-cost, amphibious micro unmanned surface vehicle (USV) with a payload-carrying capacity of up to 14…

03 Apr

Key Bridge update: Second alternate channel established

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, Salvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The captain of the port (COTP) on Tuesday established a second temporary alternate channel on the southwest side of the main channel near Hawkins Point in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge for commercially essential vessels. The bridge collapsed March 26 after being hit by the containership Dali. This action is part of a phased approach…

03 Apr

Iron ore shipments surge on Great Lakes in March

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipping

(CLEVELAND) — Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 1.6 million tons in March, an increase of 25.5 percent compared to 2023. Loadings also topped the month’s five-year average by 47.5 percent. Year to date, the iron ore trade stands at 4.4 million tons, an increase of 16.8 percent compared to a year ago. Iron ore shipments are…

03 Apr

U.S. approves wind project south of Martha’s Vineyard

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsClimate change, offshore wind

(WASHINGTON) — The Biden-Harris administration on Tuesday announced its approval of the New England Wind offshore wind project – the nation’s eighth approval of a commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project under President Biden’s leadership. With the action, the Department of the Interior has approved more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy from offshore wind projects – enough to power nearly…

03 Apr

Eastern, Royal IHC partnering on new Army Corps dredge

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsdredging, shipbuilding

(PANAMA CITY, Fla.) — Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has announced a strategic partnership with Royal IHC to design and construct a highly automated medium-class hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The vessel, contracted for the Department of Defense, is slated for delivery in 2027. The dredge will be constructed at ESG's Allanton and Port St. Joe…

02 Apr

First vessel transits temporary Baltimore bridge channel

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, Salvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The tugboat Crystal Coast, pushing a fuel barge, transited the temporary alternate channel created by the Key Bridge Response Unified Command at 3 p.m. Monday. It is the first vessel to use the channel since the bridge collapsed into the federal waterway on Tuesday. The barge is used to supply jet fuel to the Department of Defense (DOD)…

01 Apr

Army Corps leading effort to clear Baltimore bridge debris

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, Salvage

(BALTIMORE) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District has activated its emergency operations center, clearing the way for engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists to begin the complex process of clearing the damage and debris along the Fort McHenry Channel following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, to restore safe navigation in and out of…

28 Mar

NTSB releases timeline leading to Baltimore bridge collapse

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

(WASHINGTON) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Wednesday released an initial timeline of events in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which was struck by the containership Dali early Tuesday morning. Information recovered from the ship's voyage data recorder (VDR) showed power failed for 1 minute and 3 seconds as the ship approached the…