Maritime News – Page 981 – Professional Mariner

15 Aug

Coast Guard plans to greatly expand ranks of safety inspectors, casualty investigators

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

Rear Adm. James Watson, the Coast Guard's director of prevention policy, speaking at the Southeastern Small Vessel Security Summit in Orlando, Fla., in April. He will oversee the hiring and training initiatives designed to restore public confidence in the Coast Guard Marine Safety programs. [Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard] The Coast Guard hopes to increase its corps of safety inspectors…

15 Aug

Coast Guard warrant officer pleads guilty in case involving bilge-water discharge

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

The Coast Guard cutter Rush discharged 2,000 gallons of untreated bilge water into Honolulu Harbor. The waste was routed around the ship's oil-water separation system. [Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard] An engine-room officer aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Rush has admitted that he lied to federal officials investigating the discharge of 2,000 gallons of untreated bilge waste from the ship…

15 Aug

Spill ship Cosco Busan now trading under a new name

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

(OAKLAND, Calif.) -- The Cosco Busan is trading under a new name, the television station KTVU reported. The containership spilled 50,000 gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay in November 2007. The notorious vessel was patched and is now sailing under the name Hanjin Venezia. Click here to view the TV station's story.

15 Aug

Future bright for one Nantucket lightship, but not the other

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

(QUINCY, Mass.) -- While the future is bright for a Nantucket lightship that has been turned into a luxury charter boat, another similar vessel faces a less certain future, the Patriot-Ledger newspaper reported. The largest lightship ever built, the LV-112, is being offered for sale for $1 to anyone who promises to restore it. The National Lighthouse Museum is not…

15 Aug

Scrap-metal thieves stealing buoy bells and gongs

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

The following is a press release issued by the U.S. Coast Guard: (PORTLAND, Maine) -- The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol are investigating a growing number of missing metal sound signals from buoys along the Maine coastline. At least seven known buoys, primarily throughout the Down East Region, have had their bells and gongs removed and investigators suspect they…

14 Aug

Feds: Kinder Morgan to pay $240K in ocean-dumping case

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

The following is the text of a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice: (WASHINGTON) -- Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals Incorporated (KMBT) was sentenced today for a felony violation of federal ocean protection laws before U.S. District Judge Garr M. King, the Justice Department announced. The court sentenced KMBT to pay a total penalty of $240,000. Of…

14 Aug

Nichols Brothers launches third of five tractor tugs

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

The following is the text of a press release issued by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders: (FREELAND, Wash.) -- Nichols Brothers Boat Builders recently launched the third tug in a series of five under contract. The new tractor tug is owned by Minette Bay Ship Docking Ltd. Nichols was selected to build the vessel based on prior experience in building…

14 Aug

NOAA retires the wood-hulled John N. Cobb, its oldest ship

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

The following is the text of a press release issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: (SEATTLE) -- NOAA ship John N. Cobb, the oldest and only wooden hulled ship in the NOAA fleet, will be decommissioned today in Seattle after 58 years of service. The 93-foot fisheries research vessel began service in 1950 with the Bureau…

13 Aug

U.S.’s oceanic exploration ship to be commissioned in Seattle

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

(SEATTLE) -- The U.S. is ready to commission it's first-ever ship devoted purely to oceanic exploration, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper reported. The 224-foot Okeanos Explorer will undergo sea trials this year and then will begin Pacific Ocean exploration in 2009. The vessel belongs to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Click here to view the newspaper's story.

13 Aug

California, Louisiana react much differently to their oil spills

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News

(HOUSTON) -- Recent maritime oil spills in California and Louisiana illustrate how differently the public and political leaders can react in different areas of the country, the Houston Chronicle reported. After the Cosco Busan disaster, California declared a state of emergency, independent investigations were launched and the region's Coast Guard commander was reassigned. After this month's larger spill in the…