28 Feb

Newest Crowley oil barge features dual anchors for use at offshore terminals

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
Crowley Maritime continues to break ground in barge design and equipment with its newest 587-foot articulated tug-barge units, the first of which was christened in April. The 185,000-barrel barge, 650-1, is equipped with dual anchors for use at offshore oil terminals near the California coast. This system was installed at the request of ConocoPhillips, which has chartered the new vessel…
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28 Feb

Invader -Class Tugs – Turning back the Clock

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
These are the most bad-assed, sweetest-handling, powerful tugs going," said Larry Miles of Crowley's Invader-class tugs. One of Crowley's Invader-class tugs in Valdez, Alaska, in March 1999. Designed by a predecessor of what is now Elliott Bay Design Group, 25 of the boats were built in the 1970s.    Image Credit: photos by Alan Haig-Brown Miles is a port engineer…
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28 Feb

Ships must carry an immersion suit for every crewmember as of July 2006

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
Starting July 1, 2006, all cargo and bulk carriers over 500 gross tons will be required to provide immersion suits for every person onboard. Currently, under International Maritime Organization rules, at least three immersion suits must be provided for each lifeboat on a cargo ship. The importance of carrying enough survival suits for every member of the crew has long…
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28 Feb

Blessey, adding two new towboats, introduces 1,600-hp Dane F. Morgan

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
Blessey Marine is adding two more towboats to its expanding fleet this summer, the first of which was slated for a June delivery from the John Bludworth Shipyard in Texas. The new vessel, named Dane F. Morgan, is a 1,600-hp, Cummins-powered pusher with Twin Disc gears and 74-inch propellers from Sound Propeller Service. Blessey, which operates 33 towboats including this…
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28 Feb

NOAA installing sensors on bridges to measure air gap

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has installed sensors to measure clearances under two bridges spanning the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. A ship passes under the bridge over the C&D Canal at Chesapeake City, Md.    Image Credit: Courtesy National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration The two air-gap sensors were deployed March 1 on the Chesapeake City Bridge in Maryland and…
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28 Feb

Delta Queen

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
Much loved for more than half a century on the Mississippi, Delta Queen was named not for the Mississippi delta, but for the Sacramento River delta above San Francisco Bay. The ornate eagle name plate on the pilothouse, facing page, reflects the care with which the boat has been restored to its original elegance.    Image Credit: Alan Haig-Brown America…
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28 Feb

Police boat returns to duty

Professional Mariner StaffUncategorized
The storied history of Launch No. 5 floats in a circle of life, death and rebirth, the players so intertwined in family and work that there would seem to be one degree of separation, not six. Launch No. 5 approaches the Bear Mountain Bridge over the Hudson River north of Ossining, N.Y.    Image Credit: Brian Gauvin Designed by the…
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