Publication > Professional Mariner – Page 4

04 Aug

Pandemic delivers economic blow

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Few maritime companies have been spared from the effects of COVID-19, and Vinik Marine is no exception. The threat of contracting the coronavirus, combined with the economic downturn and its impact on petroleum consumption, has hit the New Jersey company hard. “First, it’s scary on a personal level,” said company owner Capt. Mike Vinik. “I don’t want my crews to…

04 Aug

US maritime sanctions advisory: Navigating choppy waters

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

In May, the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. Coast Guard issued a joint sanctions advisory for the maritime industry. The advisory builds on and expands several prior sanctions advisories for the maritime community issued in 2018 and 2019. The latest advisory is intended as a guidepost to help…

04 Aug

Beyond COVID: Port NOLA tugs, crews roll on

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

As the maritime industry swings into the fifth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port of New Orleans and the three pilot associations guiding ships on the Mississippi River between Southwest Pass and Baton Rouge continue to operate as normal — but with strict CDC, Coast Guard and in-house protocols regarding hygiene and crew oversight to prevent the transmission of…

03 Aug

NTSB: Failure to heed storm warning doomed Stretch Duck 7

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Stretch Duck 7 entered Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo., on a warm summer evening with 31 people on board. Barely 10 minutes later, a powerful storm front passed, generating 70-mph winds and 3-foot waves on the previously flat lake. The World War II-era DUKW amphibious vessel sank 250 feet from an exit ramp after waves flooded the duck boat…

03 Aug

Stretch Duck 7: Key NTSB findings

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

• Ride the Ducks did not effectively use all available weather information to monitor the approaching severe weather and assess the risk to its waterborne operations. • Ride the Ducks should have suspended waterborne operations for Stretch Duck 7 and the other last tours of the day in anticipation of imminent severe weather. • Ride the Ducks should have…

03 Aug

Stretch Duck 7: Chronology of sinking

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

1120 on July 19, 2018: The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center issues a severe thunderstorm watch for western and central Missouri, including Branson and nearby Table Rock Lake, that was valid until 2100. 1800: Stretch Duck 7 returns to the company “duck dock” in Branson, about six miles from Table Rock Lake, after completing a 90-minute tour on…

03 Aug

Vehicle carrier catches fire, burns for over a week in Jacksonville

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

A vehicle carrier caught fire while moored at the Port of Jacksonville (Fla.) and continued to burn for more than a week, generating extreme heat and explosions that injured local firefighters. The fire aboard the 600-foot Hoegh Xiamen started at about 1545 on June 4 while the ship was tied up at Blount Island in the St. Johns River. Authorities…

03 Aug

Explosion injures crewman, leaves boxship adrift in North Atlantic

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

One crewman was injured during a “severe” engine failure aboard a Danish containership that left the vessel adrift in the North Atlantic. The 872-foot Laura Maersk reportedly had an explosion in the engine room June 4 at about 1430 while the ship was roughly 275 miles off Ocean City, Md. The crewmember suffered burns and other injuries deemed non-life-threatening, the…

03 Aug

Strong outdraft ‘overwhelmed’ pilot before tow hit dam, NTSB says

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Mary Lucy Lane looked out of shape as its 12-barge tow neared Markland Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Warsaw, Ky. A challenging crosscurrent from the dam sucked the downbound vessels farther out of position during their final approach. Mary Lucy Lane’s pilot steered the vessels away from the dam gates, but the starboard barge string bumped against…

03 Aug

Inquiry finds captain’s inexperience in fleeting areas led to sinking

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

St. Rita had embarked on a short transit at a Lower Mississippi River fleeting area, one barge on its hip, when the vessels became caught in the fast-moving current and were pinned broadside against the fleet. The 66-foot, 1,500-hp towboat heeled over and sank at mile marker 132 near LaPlace, La., at about 1430 on March 7, 2019. All five…