Professional Mariner – American Ship Review 2024 – Page 2

NEEBISH ISLANDER III: Product of a collaborative effort

Officials from the Eastern Upper Peninsula Transportation Authority (EUPTA), local residents, and others braved a cold Michigan drizzle at the river town of Barbeau to dedicate Neebish Islander III, the state agency’s newest passenger/vehicle ferry. The celebration concluded, the craft was ready to begin work on a year-round service on the St. Mary’s River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula transporting residents…

TOBIN: Built to work the river

Custom designed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hydrographically map the mouth of the Mississippi River, the mission-specific marine survey vessel Tobin is the latest and largest marine surveying vessel of Silver Ships’ Endeavor series of multi-function workboats. Tobin joins a fleet of vessels operating out of the USACE Venice Sub Office “that works year-round to provide river…

TAANI: A floating, high-tech research laboratory

Courtesy of funding from the National Science Foundation, the state-of-the-art oceanographic research vessel R/V Taani has joined the U.S. Academic Research Fleet to operate as a critical component of Oregon State University’s ongoing oceanographic research work. During the summer of 2017, the NSF awarded OSU a grant of $121.8 million to launch the construction of the lead vessel, representing the…

Explorer Series: A class to meet any need

It speaks highly of a company when it prides itself in manufacturing products that provide effective platforms for a diverse menu of options based on the requirements of the customer. A good example of such a company is Alabama-based Silver Ships which produces six series of aluminum workboats designed, built, outfitted, and suited to meet its customers’ specific operational needs.…

TAMPA: New, improved and ready to serve

The Tampa Bay Pilots Association has taken delivery of Tampa, a refitted Chesapeake-class pilot boat built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in 2003 at a time when the Massachusetts shipyard was introducing the then-new class of mid-size, high-speed launches. In 2015, the Tampa pilots took delivery of the shipyard’s first updated Chesapeake-class MKII, which was designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates incorporated Volvo Penta’s…

Four new Gemini Class ferries ‘green’ San Francisco Bay

On May 23, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District have held a ceremony in Oakland, Ca., to announce the completion of the Clean Air Conversion Project for the four Gemini-class 112-foot x 29-foot catamaran ferries. All eight of the original Tier 2 MTU 2000’s were replaced by eight Tier…

Marine coatings improve as needs demand

According to business analytics firm, Markets and Markets, the global marine coatings market is worth nearly $4 billion globally and has been growing consistently at nearly 4 percent annually due to the increased number of vessels, large and small, being built around the world. But it’s not just growth measured financially, there are also new and emerging product capabilities. In…

2024 DELIVERIES

Currently, 154 active, private shipbuilders of all sizes are spread across 29 U.S. states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration. The majority of shipyards are located in coastal states, but there also are active shipyards on major inland waterways such as the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and the Ohio River. In addition, there are…

2024 ON THE BOOKS

Order books are starting to fill at a slow, but better-than-expected pace for shipbuilders across the country. Leading the growth incline is the $1 billion order placed by Matson Navigation with Philly Shipyard for the construction of a trio of 3,600 TEU Aloha Class containerships. Measuring 854 feet in length, the three new Aloha Class vessels will match the length…

Pacific Far East Lines’ Pacific Bear

After World War II, PFEL purchased a number of the low-cost surplus ships, all of which were given names ending with the word “Bear.” The line operated a regular scheduled service in the transpacific trades linking San Francisco and Los Angeles with ports in the Far East including Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka, Busan, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, and Manila. During the Vietnam…