Circa 1950 railcar tugboat isn’t too old for modern-day towing training
23 Jan

Circa 1950 railcar tugboat isn’t too old for modern-day towing training

Professional Mariner StaffLicensing & Training, Maritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
For more than half a century, the historic tugboat Cornell moved railcar floats, assisted cargo ships, opened ice-choked channels and starred in movies. Since 2009, the tugboat has had a new role: Diamond Marine Services uses it as a platform for mariners to demonstrate skills so that a U.S. Coast Guard-approved examiner can sign off on their TOAR, or Towing…
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Coos Bay Bar: Currents, ‘tule fog’ pose challenges for Oregon coast’s seasoned pilots
23 Jan

Coos Bay Bar: Currents, ‘tule fog’ pose challenges for Oregon coast’s seasoned pilots

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
The Coos Bay Bar, one of several port entrances on the Oregon coast, has a well-justified reputation for being unfriendly to shipping. Coos Bay Bar Pilot Steven Woods and pilot trainee George Wales, with the tug Teclutsa. For the Coos Bay Pilots there are no “routine” crossings. Each ship has to be considered in relation to winds, tidal conditions and…
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Aboard ASD tug William S, Bisso crew are feeling pretty cool
23 Jan

Aboard ASD tug William S, Bisso crew are feeling pretty cool

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
On a brilliant fall afternoon the sparkling new Bisso Towboat azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tug William S put a line up to the 737-foot bulk carrier Golden Kiji at Nine-Mile Anchorage below New Orleans. Along with Michael S on the stern, the tug ran with the ship upriver to the mooring dolphins outside of Chalmette Slip. “I learned this job…
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Tall ship Bounty loses generators, sinks in fatal hurricane accident
23 Jan

Tall ship Bounty loses generators, sinks in fatal hurricane accident

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The captain of a tall ship was lost and presumed drowned and a crewmember died when the vessel foundered after losing power during Hurricane Sandy. HMS Bounty sank Oct. 29, 2012, about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C. The 180-foot, three-masted, full-rigged vessel had been built for the 1962 MGM film “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlon Brando.   The…
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Tall-ship captains appalled at Bounty captain’s decision not to seek shelter
23 Jan

Tall-ship captains appalled at Bounty captain’s decision not to seek shelter

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The sinking of HMS Bounty has intensified a long-running debate in the tall-ship community: Do you head offshore for sea room when a major storm is coming or batten down in port and send the crew ashore. Over the years, some tall ships have escaped damage while others have been sunk by hurricanes in open water. The loss of Bounty…
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23 Jan

Grand jury indicts boat captain in Virgin Islands parasailing death

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The criminal case is a signal that the U.S. Coast Guard and federal prosecutors may be more willing to use manslaughter under the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute and other charges against parasailing providers who operate in treacherous weather or with unsafe equipment. Kyle Coleman, 32, surrendered his merchant mariner’s license and has been indicted on the federal count of misconduct or…
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23 Jan

Probe: Pilot in Detroit River grounding lacked credential for the locale

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The pilot of a cruise ship that ran aground in August 2012 near Detroit lacked a valid endorsement for those waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which suspended the mariner’s license for six months. The Coast Guard has also levied a $3,000 fine against V. Ships Leisure USA, operator of the 216-foot Yorktown, for not having a properly certified…
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Alaska tour boat runs aground while trying to get closer to bears
23 Jan

Alaska tour boat runs aground while trying to get closer to bears

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
An Alaska tour catamaran ran aground on a rock in Glacier Bay as its pilot was maneuvering to give passengers a closer look at brown bears on shore. On Aug. 19, 2012, while taking visitors on a day-long excursion around Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, the captain of Baranof Wind maneuvered along Tarr Inlet north of Russell Island to…
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23 Jan

TSB: Poor pilot exchange, bank suction may have led to St. Lawrence Seaway grounding

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Failure to inform a pilot that the steering stand was offset from the centerline and insufficient channel lighting were among the risk factors when a cargo ship ran aground in Montreal in 2011, Canadian investigators said. The grounding of the multipurpose cargo vessel BBC Steinhoeft on March 31, 2011, closed the St. Lawrence Seaway for 10 hours. The 453-foot ship…
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