Chamber of Marine Commerce: Canada’s new ballast water rules ‘half-baked’
24 Jun

Chamber of Marine Commerce: Canada’s new ballast water rules ‘half-baked’

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Seaways & Waterways
(OTTAWA) — New ballast water regulations released by Transport Canada on Wednesday unfairly target Canadian ship operators, who have spent billions of dollars on new fuel-efficient eco-ships, while giving an extra six years for compliance to owners of older vessels — including virtually all U.S. ships operating in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence inland waterway, according to the Chamber of Marine…
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Long-sought Houston Ship Channel expansion gets federal go-ahead
01 Jun

Long-sought Houston Ship Channel expansion gets federal go-ahead

Professional Mariner StaffCargo vessels, Containership, Seaways & Waterways, Tanker Ship, Tugboats & Towing, , , , , ,
After a decade-long campaign by maritime industry stakeholders, Congress has authorized the expansion of the Houston Ship Channel for safer and more efficient navigation. The project will widen and deepen the nation’s busiest waterway, which is accommodating increased traffic and ever-larger ships. The green light came on Dec. 27 with enactment of the Water Resources and Development Act of 2020…
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Classic tug takes on winter to prevent Mohawk Valley flooding
02 May

Classic tug takes on winter to prevent Mohawk Valley flooding

Professional Mariner StaffSeaways & Waterways, Tugboats & Towing, , , , , ,
Far too often, Erie Canal communities have been threatened by flooding in the spring due to the formation of ice jams. Tugboats might not be a solution most people would consider to mitigate the problem, but New York’s Reimagine the Canals program is now utilizing a tug to break up sheet ice along the route shared by the canal and…
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‘High highs, low lows’: Great Lakes-Seaway ports ride out pandemic
02 May

‘High highs, low lows’: Great Lakes-Seaway ports ride out pandemic

Professional Mariner StaffCargo vessels, Seaways & Waterways, , , , ,
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System carried an impressive amount of cargo in 2020 despite COVID-19 limitations. Overall tonnage for the navigation season, which ran from March 25, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2021, was only down 1.7 percent compared with 2019 for U.S. and Canadian ports that use the waterways.  How was that possible? “Despite the incredible challenges of the…
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