Publication > Professional Mariner – Page 163

25 Jan

Samson: Commitment to quality and safety

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

Rafael Chou makes synthetic ropes do amazing things, even seemingly impossible ones. A vice president of Samson, Chou directs the cordage company's research and development efforts. Under his supervision, a staff of 20 people at the company's research and development center in Ferndale, Wash., create new high-performance products and improve existing ones. One of the most remarkable products to come…

24 Jan

Technology helps locate and rescue mariners who fall overboard

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The risk of falling overboard hasn’t changed much in the 6,000 years since humans first used a log to float across a river, but the technology to mitigate it has come a long way. Man-overboard (MOB) systems can alert the crew immediately if someone falls in, and many can help locate them in the water. How each system achieves these…

23 Sep

Onboard systems don't always provide clean, safe water

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

One morning while out on deck having my first cup of coffee, I started talking with Dan, a QMED (qualified member of the engine department) who was enjoying his usual breakfast of a cigarette and black coffee. We were on a ship working off the coast of Panama, so when conversation turned to the subject of coffee, I touted the…

10 Aug

Oil spill means work for many mariners, but longer term, future remains cloudy

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

Louisiana towboat captain David Whitehurst is accustomed to picking up his next job by phoning around to vessel operators and “hustling” his services. This summer, however, it’s his phone doing the ringing. The Deepwater Horizon disaster and massive oil-spill response in the Gulf of Mexico have stoked unusually high demand for professional mariners and deck hands, as BP Plc. hires…

10 Aug

Gulf maritime responders suffer flu-like symptoms, mental anguish

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

Since the second week of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, workers hired by BP Plc. have experienced flu-like symptoms after performing oil-spill cleanup and recovery tasks in the Gulf of Mexico. Louisianaâ€™s Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) said those reporting medical complaints had been performing tasks such as busting sheen, conducting offshore work, burning oil, deploying boom and…

15 Jul

When times get tough, it's time to polish your resume

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

The last month or so before graduating from Cal Maritime, whenever I'd start to work on my resume, I would always decide that my time was better spent studying instead. So, after passing my third mate's test, with graduation a week away, I finally began writing it. Sitting in the school library reading a book on making resumes, I had…

22 Jan

All crewmembers need to be able to operate watertight doors

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

In March 2008, my friend Rosel was working as a deck hand on the 189-foot fish processing ship Alaska Ranger (See PM #114) in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea. After leaving Dutch Harbor, the 35-year-old ship fought its way through the ice on its way north. At about 0300 seawater began flooding into the rudder room, adjacent to…

22 Jan

Salvors complete removal of stern of bulker that grounded off Gibraltar

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

After over four months of work, Donjon Marine Co. has completed the salvage of M/V Fedra, the 738-foot bulk carrier that ran aground off Gibraltar in October 2008 during a storm. Bill Kratz, Donjon Marine's salvage master, said that the most difficult part of the job was carefully cleaning up the potential pollutants from the engine room and making…

06 Aug

Some U.S.-flag ships to carry security teams under new rules designed to deter piracy

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner

The lifeboat from Maersk Alabama is hoisted aboard USS Boxer following a pirate attack in April off Somalia. Pirates used the lifeboat to hold the captain of Maersk Alabama captive. (Courtesy U.S. Navy) Citing the recent pirate attacks on Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun off the coast of Somalia, the U.S. Coast Guard has updated security requirements for U.S.-flagged…

24 Nov

Massachusetts setting up escort program for double-hull vessels on Buzzards Bay

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Publication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

Under a new Massachusetts law, all double-hull vessels transporting petroleum products across Buzzards Bay will have tug escorts and state pilots provided to them free of charge. Oil covered rocks along Buzzards Bay after a barge towed by a tug struck a ledge in April 2003. About 98,000 gallons of oil were spilled in the accident. (Courtesy National Oceanic and…