01 Mar

Maritime administrator says time is running out for Merchant Marine

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
William G. Schubert, the Department of Transportation's new maritime administrator, doesn't mince words. William G. Schubert, recently appointed head of the U.S. Maritime Administration, wants the sectors of the industry to stop fighting each other and to begin working together in support of their common interests.    Image Credit: Courtesy US Maritime Administration 'We cannot afford to have a fractious…
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01 Mar

Professional Mariner #66 – Aug/Sep 2002

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
Imagine being able to know the name, speed, destination and even the cargo of an approaching ship simply by looking at an electronic display in your wheelhouse. Soon, you won't have to imagine; the concept will shortly become reality with AIS — automatic identification system — a new technology designed to improve maritime safety, security and vessel traffic management. AIS…
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01 Mar

Superconducting motors about to move from the lab to ships

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The scientific principle was discovered in 1911: Certain materials, when cooled to their critical cryogenic temperatures, create a path that offers zero to very little resistance to the flow of electricity passing through the materials. Known as superconductivity, this phenomenon has the potential to dramatically increase the efficiency of electric motors by largely eliminating the normal electrical resistance in rotor…
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01 Mar

Marad says it will have enough mariners to support war in Iraq

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
In the event of a war with Iraq, there will be enough civilian mariners to crew U.S.-flagged vessels for the strategic sealift that would be required to supply American troops, according to the country's top Maritime Administration (Marad) official. USNS Bob Hope, a 950-foot ro-ro ship, loaded Army vehicles and equipment in October in Charleston, S.C. The ship was activated…
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01 Mar

Improving crew comfort

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
From where he stood on the stern deck, 3rd Mate John Carlisle could see — far above — a shape dancing in the sky astern of the tanker. The ship was mid-Atlantic and making 15 knots, still some days from its destination, Europort in Rotterdam, so what could it be — this figure in the sky that appeared to be…
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01 Mar

Salvors set a capsized barge right

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
In August of 2000, Smit International bought British Columbia's second-largest towing company, Rivtow Marine. Mitch Hughes, Rivtow's fleet systems manager, stayed with the new company and took part in the salvage of the very large crude carrier Atigun Pass off the coast of Washington shortly after. Working with the Rotterdam head office, Hughes and the Vancouver office scrambled a crew…
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01 Mar

Enhanced vision

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center showed how terrorists could turn civilian aircraft into guided missiles. Those attacks also brought home the realization that terrorists might try to turn cargo containers into weapons of mass destruction. Detecting biological, chemical or nuclear weapons hidden in cargo containers has become an urgent issue at U.S. ports. This mobile X-ray…
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