Professional Mariner – April 2024 – Page 3

Ohio River towboat narrowly escapes sinking

Early in the evening of Saturday, February 10, the M/V Tom Frazier was southbound on the Ohio River from Paducah, Ky., with a tow of 15 empty barges at River Mile 355.1, when the barges broke away, and the towboat began taking on water. With its engine room rapidly flooding, the captain was able to ground the towboat near the…

Marine safety systems surge in importance

The implementation of new marine safety systems is expected to surge through the end of the decade, according to ResearchandMarkets.com. Several factors account for the expected growth such as the influence of international maritime regulations, incidents of maritime accidents, and a heightened focus on environmental protection within the maritime industry that impact how companies operate their vessels, said the Dublin,…

NTSB issues personal locator device alert

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a safety alert urging vessel owners and operators to provide every crewmember with a personal locator device. During an emergency, a mariner’s chance of survival decreases if searchers cannot quickly and accurately identify their location. The use of personal locator devices, such as personal locator beacons (PLB) or satellite emergency notification devices (SEND), is “strongly…

Training mariners for a safe and efficient career at sea

Despite the downsides of a maritime career, a professional life at sea can provide high pay and good benefits, interesting and meaningful work, and exciting experiences that stretch to the horizon and beyond. A variety of mariner jobs beckon with learning the right way to do things in the wheelhouse, on deck and below, playing a critical role in developing…

Shipyards train for the future

The latest data from the U.S. Maritime Administration accounts for 154 active, private shipyards and another 300 private shipyards “conducting repair or other shipbuilding or repair services” in 29 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those facilities, as of 2023, have 105,652 workers on their payrolls with employment in shipbuilding sector “increasing steadily over the past five years,” according to…

New Merchant Marine Credential format unveiled

On March 1, the U.S. Coast Guard began issuing merchant mariner credentials (MMCs) in a new format that replaces the legacy passport-style red book and associated endorsement labels. The MMC consolidates the credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single document, and streamlines the application process by removing the requirement that all mariners appear at one of 17 Regional Exam…

New eLog software OK’d for use on U.S.-flag ships

ABS-affiliated software-as-a-service company ABS Wavesight has had its eLogs software formally approved by the U.S. Coast Guard for use by U.S.-flag ships. The approval makes ABS Wavesight, first unveiled in 2022, one of only three maritime software providers to receive such approval on the basis of the USCG’s guidance under USCG NVIC 01-23. NVIC 01-23 provides guidance to the owners and…

ARC acquires a new RO/RO carrier

Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC) has added a ninth such U.S.-flag vessel to its fleet. The roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) ship is a former Wallenius-Wilhelmsen large car/truck carrier, the Tulane, built in 2012. The ship was re-flagged to U.S. registry and renamed ARC Honor in a ceremony conducted with the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Incheon, South Korea.…

The two Wind Energy Areas encompass a combined 195,012 acres of water off the coast of Oregon.

BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) has designated two final Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) for development off the Oregon coast. The Coos Bay WEA covers 61,204 acres approximately 32 miles offshore, while the Brookings WEA is 133,808 acres in size and is located about 18 miles off the coast, close to the border with California. If fully developed, the final…

Pacific Northwest ports gear-up

In 2015, the Federal Maritime Commission approved a plan that authorized the creation of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) by the ports of Tacoma and Seattle. The Alliance established a framework for, among other goals, the joint management of the ports’ marine cargo operations and the design and execution of marketing strategies to build business volumes. December 2023 container…