Professional Mariner – December 2024

FTA awards $300M in ferry grants, bolstering clean propulsion

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded nearly $300 million in ferry grants to support 18 projects in 14 states, with nearly two-thirds of all funding going to support projects in Alaska. The awards, announced earlier this fall, represent funding from three different grant programs, all of which allocate money from the federal infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Congress…

Philly Shipyard delivers NSMV to Mass. Maritime

Members of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy community gathered on Oct. 11 to celebrate the arrival of the national security multi-mission vessel (NSMV) Patriot State, which will serve as its new training ship. Patriot State is the second of five NSMVs ordered by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) to enter service. The first, Empire State, arrived at the State University of…

Blount Boats celebrates 75 years in business

Over the last decade or two, Blount Boats has delivered steel-hulled ferries and tugboats as well as aluminum-sided catamarans for the offshore wind industry. Going back even further, the shipyard has delivered offshore supply vessels, dinner cruisers, small cruise ships and vehicle ferries. Now in its 75th year in operation, the yard’s long history in boatbuilding along Narragansett Bay in…

Mr. Brian joins Bisso Towboat’s ASD fleet

Bisso Towboat Co. has added another azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tugboat to its Lower Mississippi River ship-assist fleet with the delivery of the 100-by-38-foot Mr. Brian from Main Iron Works. The 5,000-hp tugboat, named for Brian Cyprowski, the company’s longtime vice president for operations, is based near its home office in Luling, La. The tug primarily performs ship-assist work at…

Gulf LNG Tugs orders 4 low-emission tugs for LNG facility

Gulf LNG Tugs, a joint venture comprised of Moran Towing, Bay-Houston Towing and Suderman & Young Towing, has ordered four new low-emission tugs from two Gulf Coast shipyards to support a new liquefied natural gas export terminal. Master Boat Builders of Coden, Ala., will build two of the Robert Allan Ltd. RApport 2800-series tugs, and Sterling Shipyard of Port Neches,…

Professional Mariner names new editor

Maritime Publishing has named Tim Henry as the new editor of Professional Mariner magazine. Henry, a lifelong sailor with 10 years of maritime industry reporting experience, has previously worked for newspapers within the United States and overseas. He also edited a sailing publication in Northern California. He replaces Casey Conley, who led the magazine from April 2021 until February 2023,…

Unreliable, aging vessels compromise the US icebreaker program

The U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaker program has faced significant challenges in recent years, with the increasing unreliability of its aging vessels impacting operations in the Arctic and Antarctic threatening to leave the U.S. behind as other countries vie for an edge in these critical regions. The Coast Guard, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for…

Contract signed to convert former US flagship into artificial reef

The nonprofit that owns the famed ocean liner SS United States has reached agreement with Okaloosa County in Florida to convert the 990-foot ship into the world’s largest artificial reef. On Oct. 1, the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, governing the Destin-Fort Walton Beach region of Florida, signed a contract with the SS United States Conservancy to buy the…

Wind-assisted propulsion technology moves closer to widespread adoption

Ambitious decarbonization policies and the economics of energy efficiency have nudged ship owners and operators toward a potential watershed moment in the proliferation of wind-assisted propulsion. According to a recent analysis by Lloyd’s Register, the current wind-assisted propulsion systems market — which primarily includes Flettner rotors, rigid sails, suction wings and kites — “is on the verge of a tipping point” and expected to pass the…

Companies fined, captain sentenced to prison for illegal oil discharge

A Turkish national who ordered his crew to illegally discharge oily waste from an oceangoing tanker and then tried to hide it from U.S. authorities has been sentenced to eight months in prison. Capt. Abdurrahman Korkmaz, 37, pleaded guilty in June 2024 to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships after ordering crew to discharge the oily waste into…