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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Bayou payday: Dredges dig in to bring Lower Mississippi to 50 feet
22 Dec

Bayou payday: Dredges dig in to bring Lower Mississippi to 50 feet

Professional Mariner StaffBrownwater, Uncategorized, , , , , ,
A long-awaited project to deepen the Lower Mississippi River ship channel to 50 feet from the Gulf of Mexico to Baton Rouge, La., is now underway. It will eventually allow larger ships to call at ports and refineries farther upriver than is currently possible, reducing shipping costs for exporters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates it will take four…
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01 Dec

Pandemic delaying full impact of global 0.5 percent sulfur fuel cap

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry News, Uncategorized, , , ,
The full impact of the global 0.5 percent sulfur fuel cap, implemented by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Jan. 1, 2020, has yet to be felt due to the slowdown in trade caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent decrease in fuel usage. According to Kathy Metcalf, president and CEO of the Chamber of Shipping of America, the…
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