08 Nov

New captain fired after Massachusetts ferry runs aground on sandbar in Boston Harbor

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A captain in training was fired after a fast ferry to Provincetown, Mass., ran up on a sandbar in Boston Harbor. Provincetown III left the marked channel Aug. 25 and ran up on Nixes Mate, a sandbar between Deer Island and Long Island. Bay State Cruise Co. spokesman Michael Glasfeld said the captain, who had been training for about a…
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08 Nov

Off-duty steward on sternwheeler falls from docked vessel and drowns in Columbia River

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A crewmember drowned after falling from a sternwheel cruise ship in the Columbia River. Andres Leshaun “Dre” Staples, 35, was killed in the Aug. 7 incident on Queen of the West. The 221-foot sternwheeler was moored at Rainier, Ore., when the off-duty steward fell into the water at 0105, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Neither Coast Guard investigators nor vessel…
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Declutching in swift current causes laker full of iron ore to run aground in Lake Huron
08 Nov

Declutching in swift current causes laker full of iron ore to run aground in Lake Huron

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner
An ore carrier ran aground in Lake Huron after it declutched in a tight space while approaching the St. Clair River. The American Steamship Co. lake freighter Buffalo, ran aground at approximately 2130 on Aug. 1 in Lower Lake Huron, near the entrance to the river on the Canadian side of the lake about a mile from Sarnia, Ontario. The…
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08 Nov

Cruise ship with 120 passengers aboard runs aground near an island in the Detroit River

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The U.S. Coast Guard is trying to determine why a 257-foot cruise ship ran aground in the Detroit River. Yorktown, which was bound for Cleveland with 120 passengers, became stuck at about 2000 on Aug. 25 near Fighting Island, according to the Coast Guard. The accident occurred near the town of Wyandotte, about 15 miles south of Detroit. Petty Officer…
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08 Nov

Battery-related fire damages famed hybrid tug, puts it out of service

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A fire occurred in the battery compartment of the hybrid tug Campbell Foss just after the tug finished a ship assist in the Port of Long Beach. The vessel’s engineer was hospitalized. Technicians blamed the blaze on a software error that caused long-term overcharging of the lithium polymer batteries. The fire started at about 1540 on Aug. 20. It spread…
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08 Nov

To stay warm and dry at sea, think high-performance clothing

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner
Having just joined the ship the day before, we were anchored off St. George Island, Alaska, at the beginning of a trip delivering a fish processing ship from the Bering Sea to Seattle. A late winter storm pounding us with 50-knot winds and blowing snow was delaying our departure. As night approached, the ship’s electrician came up to the wheelhouse…
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Los Angeles establishes green ship index with financial incentives
26 Sep

Los Angeles establishes green ship index with financial incentives

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The Port of Los Angeles is the first seaport in North America or the Pacific Rim to adopt an Environmental Ship Index (ESI) program. Carriers can receive up to $5,250 each time their newest and cleanest vessels call at the port. Fourteen major European ports and more than 700 ships are already participating in the ESI program that rewards vessel…
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26 Sep

Industry hopes to stop Jones Act waivers for strategic oil moves

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
While the Obama administration has given assurances that it will strive to use U.S.-flag vessels for movements of oil from the nation’s strategic reserves, industry representatives remain worried about a repeat of 2011 when U.S. vessels were all but shut out during a significant drawdown of the reserves. Testifying before Congress in June, Deputy Secretary of Transportation John D. Porcari…
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To save historic ship, public given chance to ‘buy’ bits of ‘Big U’
26 Sep

To save historic ship, public given chance to ‘buy’ bits of ‘Big U’

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner
Building what many consider to be the world’s greatest ocean liner took the efforts of thousands. Saving her for posterity may take the efforts of millions. Gutted and then mothballed for close to two decades, the historic SS United States has hovered between life and death as efforts by potential saviors and developers to restore the ship or turn it…
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