Publication > Professional Mariner – Page 133

27 Mar

Catamaran ferry provides fast, smooth passage from Seattle to Victoria

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

In a light rain and brisk wind, Capt. Jason Mihok stood at the port bridge wing controls preparing to maneuver the ferry Victoria Clipper away from its dock on Seattle’s downtown waterfront. At 0800, right on schedule, he ordered a deck hand to release the head line and engaged the ferry’s two waterjets to move the boat astern and away…

26 Mar

With luxury and lore, American Queen revitalizes riverboat cruising

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

A few years ago, nostalgic travel, whereby passengers were coddled in comfort aboard steam-powered paddle wheel cruises on the country’s inland rivers, appeared to be over. Not so. Last year the 418-foot steam-powered and sternwheeled American Queen, slipped its moorings on a sultry evening in New Orleans, did a turn in front of the French Quarter for show, and headed…

26 Mar

La. college, towing company join forces to create Inland Bridge Resource Management training

Professional Mariner StaffLicensing & Training, Maritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

If you sketch a plan view of Berwick Bay — a swelling of the Atchafalaya River at Morgan City, La., where the Port Allen Alternate Route, Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), and bayous Teche, Boeuf and Shaffer converge on the river — you get a drawing resembling an octopus in trouble. That trouble migrates to mariners not familiar with the natural…

26 Mar

Captain reports unresponsive thrust controls in New York City ferry crash that injured 85

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The National Transportation Safety Board and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating why a high-speed ferry crashed into a New York City pier, injuring 85 people. The twin-hulled aluminum Seastreak Wall Street struck Manhattan’s Pier 11 in the East River on Jan. 9. Its captain told investigators he tried to reverse the engines but got no response. One passenger was seriously…

26 Mar

Investigators identify crew communication failure in B.C. ferry crash

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A B.C. Ferries boat crashed into its berth in 2011 due to a misunderstanding between the master and chief engineer while they coped with a fuel-injector problem, investigators concluded. Queen of Coquitlam landed hard at the Departure Bay terminal in Nanaimo on Nov. 18, 2011, because of “incomplete communications” between the engine room and bridge, the Transportation Safety Board of…

26 Mar

Pilot on leave, navigation rules under review after ship hits Calif. bridge

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Maritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

Changes in best practices for vessels in San Francisco Bay have been proposed after an oil tanker struck a bridge tower. The bar pilot who was guiding Overseas Reymar has been placed on administrative leave after the 752-foot vessel ran into a tower of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Jan. 7, damaging the fender system. Unbeknownst to the pilot,…

26 Mar

Tugboat goes adrift after engine fire, bumps into barge in Hawaii

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A tugboat shipping mixed cargo from Seattle to Honolulu caught fire, lost power and collided with its tow near Maui. The 5,100-hp Phyllis Dunlap experienced a fire in the engine room at 1400 on Dec. 5, 2012, resulting in a complete loss of propulsion. The captain notified U.S. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu and activated the engine room’s fire suppression system,…

26 Mar

Oil tanker’s hull holed when ship hits bottom in the Hudson River

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating why a tanker went off course on the Hudson River, grounded and punctured two ballast tanks. The 600-foot Stena Primorsk departed at 0800 on Dec. 20, 2012, from the Buckeye terminal at Albany, N.Y., with 282,477 barrels of crude oil and headed south, said Chief Warrant Officer Rich Zampella, the investigating officer. He said…

26 Mar

Bulk carrier pierces hull, damages dock while backing at Toledo

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A Canadian-flagged laker punctured a stern bunker tank when it backed into a pier on the Maumee River near Toledo, Ohio. CSL Tadoussac, a 730-foot self-unloading bulk carrier, struck the Torco dock, which punctured the starboard stern area above the waterline Dec. 11. The crew pumped fuel into other tanks to bring the level below the puncture mark to stop…

26 Mar

Ship loses power, avoids collision but runs aground at Charleston

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A general cargo ship carrying construction equipment and containers lost propulsion and ran aground near the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The 430-foot HR Recommendation was inbound toward Charleston, S.C., and preparing to pass the outbound containership Sealand Eagle when it lost power and began veering toward the starboard side, said John Cameron, executive director of the Charleston Branch Pilots Association.…