Publication > Professional Mariner – Page 156

27 Sep

TWIC: too much time, money for a program of doubtful worth

Professional Mariner StaffA Mariner's Notebook, Publication > Professional Mariner

In response to the 9/11 tragedy, Congress passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA 2002). It mandated that our government develop a biometric identification card for all U.S. merchant mariners, as well as other maritime workers needing unescorted access to secure areas of marine terminals and commercial vessels. With great fanfare, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card…

27 Sep

Mate piloting tug in collision with duck boat likely to get prison term

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The tugboat mate involved in the fatal collision with a duck tour boat in the Delaware River likely will go to prison and surrender his merchant mariner's license. Matthew R. Devlin pleaded guilty to misconduct in August under the federal Seaman's Manslaughter Statute. The U.S. Attorney's office in Philadelphia said the likely sentence will be over three years in prison.…

27 Sep

Victoria Star: Great scenery and good food on a cruise of the San Juan Islands

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The crew on Victoria Star gives a whole new meaning to the term "cook/deck hand." On some workboats the term means mediocre meals served by reluctant recruits. But Victoria Star earns its keep carrying up to 149 passengers on tours through the spectacular tree-covered San Juan Islands in Washington's Puget Sound. Victoria Star is a 100-foot former Gulf of Mexico…

27 Sep

With a surplus of U.S. gas, LNG terminals look to export markets

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

An anticipated boom in natural gas imports to the United States led to a flurry of new proposals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, but the recent development of new techniques to extract natural gas from shale formations has turned the natural gas market upside down, with companies now seeking to build terminals to export LNG. The terminal at…

27 Sep

Some progress noted in deterring pirates, but mistreatment of mariners persists

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

If you go by the numbers, the shipping industry is making headway in the fight against Somali pirates: There have been fewer vessels seized this year compared with 2010, and fewer hostages are being held for ransom. But the practice of mistreating mariners while they are in captivity does not show any signs of abating, industry observers say. A Coast…

27 Sep

Smaller tugs give East Coast bunkering company room to maneuver

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

Over the past eight years, 21 new Vane Brothers tugs have been delivered from Thoma-Sea Boat Builders, of Houma, La., and Chesapeake Shipbuilding, of Salisbury, Md. Vane Brothers' Charles Burton, shown here operating in Philadelphia, is a 94-foot, 3,000-hp Sassafras-class tug built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md., and designed by Frank Basile's firm, Entech and Associates in Houma, La.…

27 Sep

Two boaters hurt in collision with water taxi near Fire Island, N.Y.

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The U.S. Coast Guard and local police are investigating a collision between a water taxi and motorboat that seriously injured two men in the Great South Bay off New York's Fire Island. Police said the 35-foot water taxi Courier operated by Fire Island Water Taxi and a 20-foot Grady-White collided July 10 about 700 yards northwest of Atlantique. The Coast…

27 Sep

Little tugs conduct a big environmental cleanup on the Hudson River

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

In 1609, Henry Hudson explored a river whose water was as pure as the name of its source implies. Today, 200 miles of the Hudson River, which flows from Lake Tear of the Clouds in New York's Adirondack Mountains, is one of the largest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund sites in the United States. The EPA reports that as much…

27 Sep

NOAA sends survey vessel on mission to improve Arctic charts

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

In response to the need for better charts of the Arctic Ocean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has sent the 231-foot research ship Fairweather on a two-month mission to conduct hydrographic surveys in Kotzebue Sound. The Arctic is experiencing a prolonged shipping season resulting from a significant loss of sea ice. Critical areas are "increasingly transited by the…

27 Sep

Silting may have played role in Lower Mississippi grounding

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A tanker carrying a full load of carbon black ran aground in the Lower Mississippi River after exiting the navigation channel, possibly while trying to avoid silting in the channel. A difficult salvage operation was needed to refloat the 800-foot Ratna Puja, which grounded June 13 just above Head of Passes, five miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Eventually five…