27 Sep

SUNY Maritime College picks Navy admiral, pioneer aviator, as its first female president

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Wendi Carpenter, a U.S. Navy rear admiral, has been named the first female president of SUNY Maritime College. Rear Adm. Wendi Carpenter on Aug. 8 toured the Military Sealift Command's USNS Kanawa in Norfolk, where she met its captain, Jim Dolan, a 1981 SUNY Maritime graduate, and George McCarthy, the MSC's East Coast port captain and a 1980 graduate. (Photo…
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27 Sep

After seven years, Coast Guard releases proposed towing vessel inspection rules

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
After seven years of discussion, the Coast Guard finally has released its proposed rule that would establish the nation's first mandatory inspections for towing vessels. The 75-page draft was made public Aug. 11. It would require towing companies to implement safety management systems or undergo annual Coast Guard inspections. It specifies requirements for machinery aboard towing vessels and the use…
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27 Sep

102 rescued from passenger ferry that ran aground in Virgin Islands

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Five passengers were injured when a ferry ran hard aground on the tip of an island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The bow section is elevated and stuck on the rocks in an area that also includes sensitive coral reefs. The vessel remained stranded for six weeks. (Photo courtesy Sea Tow Virgin Islands) All 102 occupants of Royal Miss Belmar…
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29 Aug

Floods, budget woes cloud outlook for Mississippi River channel depth

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
Record flooding of the Mississippi River created a problem with shoaling as millions of tons of silt and debris were carried down to the mouth of the river. The shoaling threatens to severely impact the ability of deep-draft vessels to transit the 290 miles of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, La., to the Gulf of Mexico. The Army Corps…
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29 Aug

Seamen's Church marks the expansion of its N.J. mariner center

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
One of America's largest maritime ministries held a grand reopening of its new and improved International Seafarers' Center at New Jersey's Port Newark. Seamen's Church President Rev. David M. Rider says a blessing during the rededication of the new International Seafarers' Center. Below, the center at Port Newark is fully open after undergoing a $13 million renovation. (Dom Yanchunas photo)…
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29 Aug

EPIRBs with GPS can result in quicker response times and more lives saved

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
The U.S. Coast Guard is encouraging the use of GPS-enhanced emergency position indicting radio beacon (EPIRB) units. Traditional EPIRBs rely on satellite Doppler shift to identify the location of the device. In a Marine Safety Advisory issued in May, the Coast Guard said the GPS units normally save 30 to 100 minutes in obtaining an accurate location. "Several recent casualty…
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29 Aug

Argo Merchant grounding off Nantucket produced lessons in tracking oil spills

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner
In December 1976, Capt. Georgios Papadopoulos commanded Argo Merchant on a venture beginning at Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. The destination was Salem, Mass., where the tanker was scheduled to deliver a winter's supply of home heating fuel. The 18,743-ton, 644-foot ship was loaded with a cargo of 7.7 million gallons. Personnel and mechanical problems, complicated by bad weather, resulted in…
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29 Aug

Wireless e-mail improving quality of life for mariners

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner
For mariners at sea, boosting morale can be as simple as getting a message from home. While technology has not always made it possible or affordable, crewmembers now have the capability to keep in touch via their smartphones or laptops - inexpensively and in the privacy of their own cabins. Advances in wireless networking have made it a reality, taking…
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29 Aug

Trucking firm hires Foss to transport wind turbines on ocean barges

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing
Last year Anderson Trucking Service (ATS), a St. Cloud, Minn.-based company that specializes in transporting heavy haul and unusual cargo, had to get 40 massive wind generators from Washington state to California as quickly as possible. Two hundred trucks and 400 trailers of the company's fleet of 2,500 trucks and 6,500 trailers are dedicated to transporting wind turbine components. However,…
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