Biden signs bill targeting ocean shipping costs
20 Jun

Biden signs bill targeting ocean shipping costs

Rich MillerMaritime News, Uncategorized
(WASHINGTON) — On Thursday, President Joe Biden, joined at the White House by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act into law. In August 2021, Garamendi introduced the act with Johnson to provide the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) with the regulatory power to support…
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Human error, insufficient training cited in Golden Ray capsizing
30 Nov

Human error, insufficient training cited in Golden Ray capsizing

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The vehicle carrier Golden Ray capsized in St. Simons Sound due to a crucial vessel stability miscalculation and inadequate training and safety procedures, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded. Investigators said the chief officer entered incorrect ballast levels into a shipboard computer, indicating the vessel had more water than it actually did. As a result, Golden Ray’s center of gravity was “significantly higher” than calculated. “Golden Ray capsized because it did not possess enough righting…
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11 Nov

November 2021 Shipbuilding News

Professional Mariner StaffShipbuilding Newsletter, Uncategorized
Bay Shipbuilding launches new Great Lakes freighter  Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and The Interlake Steamship Co. celebrated the launch of Mark W. Barker, the first new U.S.-built Great Lakes freighter in nearly 40 years.  The 639-by-78-foot, River-class self-unloading ship is slated for completion next year. It will operate within the Great Lakes and carry raw materials such as salt, iron ore and…
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Man charged after pipe bombs are found on Ohio River towboats
31 Oct

Man charged after pipe bombs are found on Ohio River towboats

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, Tugboats & Towing, Uncategorized
(CHARLESTON, W.Va.) — An Ohio man has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession of one or more unregistered destructive devices found aboard towboats on the Ohio River. According to the criminal complaint filed Oct. 28, law enforcement officers recovered suspected destructive devices from two towboats on Oct. 21 and Oct. 25. The complaint alleges that Nathaniel Blayn…
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NTSB cites poor communication, erratic steering in Sabine Pass collision
31 Aug

NTSB cites poor communication, erratic steering in Sabine Pass collision

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The mate piloting an outbound offshore supply vessel in Sabine Pass steered erratically and ignored crew warnings in the minutes before a collision with an articulated tug-barge (ATB), federal investigators said. The mate helming the supply boat tested positive for alcohol after the incident, although authorities could not say conclusively that he was impaired during the accident voyage.  The 167-foot…
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Hawaii container loss attributed to lack of stowage plan
31 Aug

Hawaii container loss attributed to lack of stowage plan

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Uncategorized
The loss of shipping containers from a Young Brothers deck barge last summer off Hawaii’s Big Island stemmed from insufficient loading practices at the company’s Honolulu cargo hub, federal investigators said. Fifty containers loaded on the aft deck of Ho’omaka Hou collapsed and 21 fell overboard on June 22, 2020 while under tow to Hilo by the tugboat Hoko Lua. Eight containers were…
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Eastern partners with Bayou Metal Supply on OPC production
24 Jun

Eastern partners with Bayou Metal Supply on OPC production

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry News, Shipbuilding, Uncategorized
(PANAMA CITY, Fla.) — Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Louisiana’s Bayou Metal Supply to provide material and labor in support of the production of the U.S. Coast Guard offshore patrol cutter (OPC) program. ESG is the prime contractor of the OPC program and landed this materials and labor relationship to strengthen its bid for…
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12 Mar

Shipbuilding News March 2021

Professional Mariner StaffShipbuilding, Shipbuilding Newsletter, Uncategorized
Philly Shipyard cuts steel for second training ship Philly Shipyard has begun construction on the second of up to five national security multi-mission vessels (NSMVs) for the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd). The shipyard, located on the Delaware River, held a formal steel-cutting ceremony on March 3 alongside the facility’s plasma cutting machine. Plates cut during the event will be joined…
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