Professional Mariner – December/January 2022

Cadet’s rape allegation brings fresh scrutiny to Sea Year program

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and Maersk Line Ltd. are facing scrutiny after a female cadet shared a detailed account of her rape aboard a merchant ship during Sea Year training. The cadet made the allegation in an anonymous post on a whistleblower website that includes other stories of harassment and sexual assault from men and women during Sea…

Hydrogen fuel cells approach maritime industry milestone

Two vessels that will operate on the West Coast are pioneers in the maritime industry’s push to adopt zero-emissions propulsion. In mid-August, All American Marine launched the 70-foot Sea Change, a 75-passenger ferry powered entirely by hydrogen fuel. It will operate in San Francisco Bay, becoming the first commercial ferry in the world powered by hydrogen fuel cells, according to…

Hurricane Ida dealt blow to south Louisiana maritime hubs

The Gulf Coast is still recovering from Hurricane Ida, which caused significant damage to the maritime and energy infrastructure across south Louisiana. Ida made landfall on Aug. 29 in Port Fourchon, La., as a Category 4 hurricane. Vessels that rode out the storm in port registered gusts as high as 228 mph, according to Thad Angelloz, a spokesperson for the…

Mass. offshore wind tender promises maritime industry boost

Massachusetts regulators and utilities are vetting competing proposals from two offshore wind developers to supply clean energy to New England ratepayers. Both proposals, offered by Mayflower Wind and Vineyard Wind, would bring significant benefits to the maritime industry, such as port redevelopment and new vessel construction. All told, the plans promise new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in…

Maine eyes floating wind turbines despite fishing industry objections

The state of Maine and multiple private partners are collaborating on a floating wind turbine demonstration project in the Gulf of Maine’s deep waters. Fishing groups in the state known for its lobster catch are opposing the plan, which aims to gain new insights into floating wind turbine technology. “It’s really helpful to think of the research array as…

Bouchard Transportation assets divided to resolve bankruptcy case

Any future for Bouchard Transportation evaporated this summer when a bankruptcy judge approved a plan to sell the company’s assets. Judge David Jones of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on August 26 approved a plan to divide the Long Island company’s assets between two buyers to give partial recovery for creditors. Efforts by Bouchard to…

No quick fixes seen for shipping bottlenecks, port congestion

From the hills of San Pedro, Calif., you can see the problem firsthand: Towering cranes unload containerships at every available berth, and stacks of containers swell in the freight yards. Loaded containerships occupy every available anchorage inside and outside the long seawall. The number of ships waiting to unload in recent weeks at the adjacent ports of Los Angeles…

Port of Virginia avoids major container backlogs

Dozens of ships are waiting for berths off Los Angeles. Puget Sound is so overloaded, rarely used anchorages have filled up. And now, the cargo backlogs are spreading to the East Coast ports of Savannah and New York-New Jersey. The Port of Virginia, meanwhile, continues to operate normally despite similar surges in cargo that have bedeviled other ports. Joe Harris,…

Electric tour boats create new tradition for historic Niagara Falls operator

On a drizzly summer morning, Capt. Kaitlynn McHenry guided Maid of the Mist’s James V. Glynn off the dock in Niagara Falls State Park. Instead of rumbling engines, the vessel got underway with a subtle whoosh. The 90.5-foot catamaran James V. Glynn and its sister vessel, Nikola Tesla, are the first zero-emission tour boats operating in the United States. Electricity…

Diesel-electric hybrid propulsion proves value for U.S. operators

It’s been more than two years since Harbor Docking & Towing Co. added its first diesel-electric hybrid tugboats. That decision has paid off in multiple ways for the Lake Charles, La., operator. The Caterpillar hybrid system aboard Ralph and Capt. Robb delivers 91.5 tons of bollard pull while offering flexibility from different propulsion settings. The system is fully optimized for Harbor…