Professional Mariner – December 2025 – Page 2

Great Lakes icebreaker gap threatens U.S. maritime dominance

When Americans think of our coastlines, most picture the beaches of the Atlantic, the Pacific or the Gulf. But the Great Lakes are America’s fourth coast — a 2,300-mile expanse reaching deep into the nation’s industrial heartland. Each year, this system moves more than 135 million tons of cargo worth over $26 billion, carrying the raw materials that power American…

As icebreaker drought grips the Great Lakes, a historic boom is coming to the poles

While Great Lakes carriers continue urging Congress to fund a second heavy icebreaker for inland waters, the federal government and U.S. shipbuilding industry are charging ahead with polar icebreaker expansion — though the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security’s recent track record has been characterized by delays and ballooning budgets. In 2022, lawmakers approved funding for a new…

Veteran tug crew makes escort work look easy in Port of Oakland

On a drizzly Saturday morning, the 5,080-horsepower, 73-foot tractor tug Revolution spun tight circles just inside the Port of Oakland’s Outer Harbor, churning the water white. Capt. Tony Salazar began the rotations slowly and sped up, creating centrifugal force as the pirouettes progressed. “You’ll feel it start laying, you know what I mean? It will get you dizzy.” Salazar eventually…

Dozens of containers tumble off boxship offloading in Port of Long Beach

Just as a viral video taken on Sept. 9 zoomed in on a pile of containers that seemed to have “spilled” off the aft-most stack of the boxship Mississippi, another stack in a bay just forward of the bridge slowly began to lurch. Piled at least approximately seven containers high, the stack crashed aft of the ship’s starboard beam onto…

Winds push Mississippi River tug into dock walkway

The sudden onset of strong beam winds likely caused a March 2024 undocking mishap on the Lower Mississippi River. The tug Cocodrie wound up with a 100-foot walkway sitting on its aft deck after contact at the Valero St. Charles Refinery in Louisiana, where the vessel was attempting to depart with a barge in tow. The 69-foot-long, steel-hulled Cocodrie and…

Undetermined failure in washdown system sinks aged industrial vessel in Alaska

As they were en route to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, in November 2024, the captain and deckhand aboard the 110-foot industrial vessel Cape Douglas suddenly found nearly 4 feet of water in the engine room. A high-water bilge alarm, located in the center of the engine room, had not activated. “The captain told investigators that, based on his experience with Cape…

Origin of towboat fire undetermined, but old wiring a likely culprit

The towboat Lucinda Smith had been moored in New Bedford, Mass., for several months when a smoke alarm went off late at night on Dec. 7, 2024. Investigating the alarm, the engineer observed smoke coming from under the door and through the vents of the first mate’s stateroom. “He stated that when he opened the door to the stateroom to…

Distracted, fatigued pilot led to tow’s collision with moored barges on Mississippi River

On an early spring 2024 morning near Baton Rouge, La., a towing vessel pushing 22 barges on the lower Mississippi River struck several moored barges, causing one minor injury and roughly $810,000 in damage, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Investigators said the pilot’s fatigue and personal cell phone use contributed to the April 17,…

We may not be elves, but we are Santa’s helpers!

It’s that time of the year: the holidays. With this season comes the Christmastime excitement, when children eagerly await the presents underneath their trees. Mariners have always had a special connection with Christmas, too. Not only because the ships we sail on carry the vast majority of the gifts that are given, but because of our relationship with Santa Claus,…