Professional Mariner – April 2023 – Page 3

Insufficient lookouts cited in Caribbean collision that sank tanker

Tropic Breeze was underway in the Northeast Providence Channel north of Nassau, Bahamas, with nearly 150,000 gallons of petroleum cargo when a U.S.-flagged yacht slammed into the vessel from behind. Within 25 minutes, the 160-foot tanker sank in more than 9,000 feet of water. Its seven crewmembers escaped into a life raft and rescue boat and were ultimately carried back…

Tugboat collides with ship, grounds near Corpus Christi

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a collision between a tugboat and a tanker that the tug was assisting near a refinery in Ingleside, Texas. The 6,770-hp tugboat Mark E. Kuebler collided with the Saudi Arabia-flagged tanker Nisalah at about 1600 on Jan. 22. The tugboat then left the channel and grounded near the South Texas Gateway oil terminal. “The…

Chipping away at pilot safety challenges

Even in an industry where many occupations come with hazards, the lot of marine pilots has a particularly large range of risks and dangers. In conditions that are often less than ideal, the pilot boat crew and the pilot in particular must expose themselves to wind and wave in relatively small vessels with minimal protections or anchor points. And,…

A Big Mistake

Federal regulation and control over merchant mariner licensing has a long history. It began over 171 years ago with the enactment of the Steamboat Act of 1852, which established the Steamboat Inspection Service and required merchant marine officers on steam powered vessels carrying passengers to be licensed by them. In 1936, the Steamboat Inspection Service was renamed The Bureau of…

American President Line’s President Wilson

The sleek President Wilson was one of a pair of ocean liners built and launched in 1947 at the Bethlehem shipyard at Alameda, Calif., that introduced new standards of luxury on the transpacific route linking San Francisco with the Far East. The 610-foot, 15,546 grt. liner sailed for American President Lines from 1948 to 1973 and was one of…