Publication > Professional Mariner – Page 68

30 Nov

Horizon, Metal Shark building new fleet of New York City ferries

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Horizon Shipbuilding and Metal Shark have begun construction on a new fleet of high-speed ferries for Hornblower’s New York City commuter service. Hornblower of San Francisco has ordered 19 high-speed aluminum catamaran ferries to operate the Citywide Ferry Service. The first 12 vessels are expected when the service launches next summer. Hornblower announced the vessel construction contract with Horizon and…

30 Nov

Calling all nominees for annual Plimsolls

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Do you know an individual or organization that has made an important contribution to safety in the maritime industry? Professional Mariner invites you to nominate them for a Samuel Plimsoll Award. Each year, Professional Mariner presents Plimsoll Awards to honor outstanding achievement in the pursuit of greater safety for mariners. There are two Plimsolls for outstanding service — one for…

30 Nov

Mariners step up gap training to meet new STCW deadline

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Mariners face another deadline to remain compliant with the updated Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). By Jan. 1, deck and engineering officers must comply with new training requirements for management and teamwork under the 2010 STCW Manila Amendments, which also created a mandate for other mariners for additional renewal and skills refresher courses. The U.S. Coast…

30 Nov

Stone-moving tugboat fleet leads New York canal renaissance

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

In a matter of months, activity at the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company (NYSMH) accelerated at what Rob Goldman, company president, described as a frenetic pace. “It’s nuts,” he said in July at his office in Troy, N.Y., at the head of navigation on the Hudson River. Just a few months earlier, Goldman and partners Tim Dufel and…

30 Nov

Longtime interest in Gulf-built tug comes full circle for Mohawk

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

The story of the tugboat Michael, acquired by Mohawk Northeast in 2015, began in Florida a decade earlier when the family-owned construction company decided to upgrade its fleet. The process involved three family members: Allan Heinke, who founded the Connecticut-based company in 1968 and serves as president; Michael Heinke, vice president and manager of Mohawk’s marine division; and Michael’s brother…

30 Nov

More than 500 evacuated as cruise ship burns off Puerto Rico

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A cruise ship carrying cars, cargo and more than 500 people caught fire near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and continued to burn for almost four days. The Panama-flagged Caribbean Fantasy was sailing between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and San Juan when the fire was reported at 0742 on Aug. 17. The ship was roughly 2 nautical miles from San Juan…

30 Nov

Bunker fuel ignites after tanker strikes mooring dolphins in Houston

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

An oil tanker struck two mooring dolphins while leaving a dock in the Houston Ship Channel, puncturing one of the ship’s fuel tanks and igniting the fuel inside. Flaming diesel spread across much of the channel, threatening other vessels and terminals in Buffalo Bayou until the flames were extinguished. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on Sept. 6 as the…

30 Nov

High water too much for tugs, mooring setup in bulker breakaway

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

An insufficient number of tugboats and an inadequate mooring arrangement were leading factors in the 2015 breakaway of a bulk carrier on the rain-swollen Lower Mississippi River, National Transportation Safety Board investigators determined. The 751-foot bulker Privocean broke away from the Convent Marine Terminal in Convent, La., at 1553 on April 6, 2015, then floated across the river and struck…

30 Nov

Shell icebreaker Fennica struck uncharted reef, Coast Guard says

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

Shortly after leaving Dutch Harbor, Alaska, in July 2015, crewmembers on the icebreaker Fennica heard a loud noise they initially thought was the anchor returning to its pocket. But over the next two hours, the chief mate noticed water rising in the 380-foot ship’s No. 4 ballast tank, and further investigation showed it was slowly flooding. Soon after that discovery,…

30 Nov

Investigators cite pilot’s failure to hold station in towboat collision

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

Federal investigators say a towboat pilot’s failure to hold position along the riverbank was a leading factor in a 2015 collision on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn. Barges guided by the downbound towboat Margaret Ann struck the stern of the towboat William E Strait at about 1122 on Dec. 14, 2015, at mile marker 727.4. William E Strait took…