21 Nov

International container feeder service launched between Boston and Halifax

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
New York-based American Feeder Lines (AFL) has inaugurated weekly container service linking Halifax, Nova Scotia; Portland, Maine; and Boston. AFL, a start-up company, has said it intends to create a true short-sea shipping company that would move U.S. domestic cargo aboard U.S.-flag ships between U.S. ports. On the AFL website the company states its mission: "Our thesis is simple: Build,…
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21 Nov

From Chicago to Peoria, navigating the Illinois Waterway

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
  Despite the dismal economy and a few towing stoppages while Chicago flushed a surplus of rainwater into the Illinois Waterway (IWW), Robert Barnes, general manager of Illinois Marine Towing (IMT), remained buoyant. "We've been doing great through this economy," he said from his office near the IWW in Lemont, about 28 miles southwest of Chicago. "It's a good company…
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21 Nov

4G wireless broadband provider claims fix for GPS interference

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
The company behind a controversial new 4G wireless broadband service that critics say could interfere with GPS signals claims it has fixed the problem. Sanjiv Ahuja, the chief executive of Virginia-based LightSquared, said his company will move its radio spectrum farther away from the core GPS frequencies, preventing interference to the vast majority of devices. In a statement released in…
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21 Nov

Fuel barges need lightering after grounding near Houston Ship Channel in Galveston Bay

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Two barges ran aground after breaking away from their towboat near the Houston Ship Channel in Galveston Bay. Lightering was necessary to refloat them. The towing vessel Capt. Hard and its reassembled tow sail back to a berth to be reloaded with cargo following a lightering operation in the Houston Ship Channel. The 297-foot barges had broken free from the…
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21 Nov

International ship operators urge creation of U.N. armed onboard anti-piracy force

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Frustrated by Somali pirates who have turned the Indian Ocean into a "wild west" of lawlessness, international shipping groups have petitioned the United Nations to create an armed military force to help protect merchant vessels. In an August letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, four trade associations — the International Chamber of Shipping, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), Intercargo…
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21 Nov

Master beaches tour boat after wave breaks window and damages bridge electronics

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
The captain of a Lake Michigan tour boat intentionally grounded the vessel after a wave blew out a window and caused the boat's electronics to malfunction, forcing passengers to exit by ladder and wade ashore. The 55-foot Pictured Rocks, operated by Sleeping Bear Dunes Cruises of Frankfort, Mich., was heading back to port during a sunset sightseeing cruise July 25,…
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21 Nov

Lake Champlain ferries form a temporary link as new bridge takes shape

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Bian Gauvin The ferry Raymond C. Pecor Jr. was designed by John W. Gilbert Associates and built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group, of Panama City, Fla. The vessel is 216 feet long, with a beam of 43 feet 6 inches, and has a speed of 10 knots. It can carry 50 vehicles and 204 passengers. Like sentinels, the Lake Champlain Transportation…
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27 Sep

Maine passenger schooner runs aground twice within eight weeks

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating two separate groundings this past summer involving a commercial sailing schooner near Portland, Maine. The commercial schooner Wendameen aground on a shoal in Maine's Casco Bay on July 30, the vessel's second grounding of the 2011 season. (Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard) The 88-foot Wendameen, a two-masted wooden vessel owned by Portland Schooner Co.,…
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