Towboat likes tight quarters of the Houston Ship Channel
17 Jul

Towboat likes tight quarters of the Houston Ship Channel

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner
Capt. Ralph Castillo was maneuvering the 70-foot pushboat, San Brooklyn, making his way through the narrow passage tightened with traffic and typical of the City Docks stretch of the Houston Ship Channel in Houston. San Brooklyn is owned by Shamrock Marine, a subsidiary of Houston-based Buffalo Marine Service and the sole provider of bare boat equipment to its parent company.…
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Bow of reefer ship tears gaping hole into side of bulk carrier in collision in Caribbean Sea
16 Jul

Bow of reefer ship tears gaping hole into side of bulk carrier in collision in Caribbean Sea

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A bulk carrier sustained heavy damage after being T-boned by a reefer ship in the Caribbean Sea about 60 miles north of Haiti. The 492-foot Timor Stream ran bow-first into the 557-foot Seagate at about 0545 on March 10. Timor Stream’s bow bore a massive gash in Seagate’s hull and superstructure and punctured one of the ship’s fuel tanks. The…
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Chief engineer dies following fire aboard recently refurbished tugboat on Lake Ontario
15 Jul

Chief engineer dies following fire aboard recently refurbished tugboat on Lake Ontario

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A tugboat’s chief engineer was killed in a fire on Lake Ontario during the vessel’s first voyage after an ownership change and major refurbishment. Matthew James Hoban, 49, died after being severely burned in the March 27 blaze aboard Patrice McAllister. Five other crewmembers were treated for minor injuries. The 4,400-hp tug, formerly known as Cleveland, was en route to…
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14 Jul

Captain found dead after falling from tugboat off Rhode Island

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The U.S. Coast Guard said it will probably never know how the veteran captain of a tugboat fell overboard to his death off Newport, R.I. Brendan O’Leary, 48, of Marblehead, Mass., captain of the 91-foot Stephen-Scott, fell off the boat on April 25. There were no witnesses. His body was found floating 10 days later. Coast Guard spokesman Adam Stanton…
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12 Jul

NTSB recommends propeller alarms after Staten Island Ferry probe

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A Staten Island Ferry crash that injured 50 people in 2010 was caused by a solenoid failure that led to a loss of propulsion control in a cycloidal propeller, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. As a result of the accident, the NTSB recommends that passenger vessels be equipped with alarms that would warn the crew if propeller response…
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11 Jul

Testimony confirms crew was confused about which span to transit

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Mariners controlling a cargo ship that destroyed a Kentucky bridge span were confused about whether they were guiding the ship toward the proper span in the moments before the accident. The roll-on/roll-off vessel Delta Mariner crashed into Eggners Ferry Bridge on the evening of Jan. 26 while on a northbound voyage in the Tennessee River system. The 312-foot ship struck…
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Car carrier detained after going adrift near Columbia River entrance
10 Jul

Car carrier detained after going adrift near Columbia River entrance

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Maritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A car carrier went adrift while approaching the Columbia River and was later detained for a week after the U.S. Coast Guard found safety deficiencies. The 648-foot Morning Spruce experienced a problem with an engine turbocharger system Feb. 26 while still in the Pacific Ocean. The Singapore-flagged ship was powered down until repairs could be made. Morning Spruce was carrying…
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09 Jul

Coast Guard: Hatch not dogged before tug listed at N.H. bridge

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A tugboat repositioning a barge as part of a bridge reconstruction project in Portsmouth, N.H., partially flooded and listed after a hatch was not dogged down securely, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Lt. Nathaniel L. Robinson, supervisor of the Marine Safety Detachment Portsmouth, said the Piscataqua River’s 3-knot current pushed Miss Stacy broadside to the flow and water washed over…
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08 Jul

Ship battered by Gulf of Alaska storm loses containers overboard

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
A cargo ship lost 29 containers overboard during hurricane-like conditions in the Gulf of Alaska. The 981-foot containership Cosco Yokohama encountered high winds and rough seas Jan. 21-22 while on its eastbound transit from Asia, said Claudia Kühl, a spokeswoman for the ship’s owner, E.R. Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie. of Hamburg, Germany. Aside from the 29 boxes that plunged into…
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