Professional Mariner – January 2024

Electric propulsion surges ahead

Wärtsilä said it has agreed to work on a pioneering project to build the first zero-emission, high-speed, electric ferries in the U.S. Finland-based Wärtsilä will collaborate with the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), which operates the San Francisco Bay Ferry system, in finalizing the vessel’s design and charging system concepts. Part of the Rapid Electric Emission-Free Ferry Program initiated by…

MV Cindy L. Erickson finally receives its due

The towboat MV Cindy L. Erickson went to work for Marquette Transportation Co. in February 2018, but frustratingly adverse river conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic combined to delay the vessel’s official christening until just recently. Named for the company’s first employee – the daughter of company founder Ray Eckstein – the towboat is the second boat the company named in…

New LNG bunker barge enters service

The bunker barge Clean Everglades has joined Seaside LNG’s fleet of Jones Act-compliant LNG barges extending the company’s LNG bunkering business to the Gulf of Mexico. The new barge is operated by Polaris New Energy (PNE), the bunkering arm of Seaside LNG. Seaside LNG contracted Fincantieri to build the 340-foot articulated tug barge (ATB), which is similar in design and appearance to…

New fireboats for Maryland fire agency

Shark is building two welded-aluminum fireboats for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department in Maryland. The new 50 Defiant NXT monohull pilothouse fireboats were designed by the boat builder’s in-house engineering team and are now under construction at its Franklin, La. shipyard. The new builds were ordered to replace the department’s 20-year-old main fireboat, Lady Anne, which was built by MetalCraft Marine. When delivered,…

LDD Takes Delivery of Two New Cats

Houston-headquartered Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has taken delivery of Cape Hatteras and Cape Canaveral – the first two Damen 3013 Multi Cats built in the U.S. Steel was first cut for the boats at the Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, La. in July 2021. Fully compliant with U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stability criteria, the two…

Bermuda receives new Gladding-Hearn pilot boat

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp., has delivered a Chesapeake-class pilot boat, certified to Lloyd’s Register class, to the Bermuda Government, Department of Marine and Port Services. The delivery follows that of a 61-foot pilot/rescue vessel to Bermuda’s port services in 2011. The new all-aluminum launch, St. George, replaces a 10-knot steel pilot boat built by the Massachusetts-based shipyard in 1980. With…

All American Marine delivers new Hawaii tour boat

All American Marine has delivered a highly customized vessel for Honolulu-headquartered Hawaii Dolphin Tours. The 70-passenger vessel Poseidon is a 50-foot x 17-foot semi-displacement aluminum catamaran hull developed by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand. The vessel was built at All American Marine’s facility on Bellingham Bay, Wash. and is based in Oahu, adding significant capacity to…

Panama Canal to Offer LNG Bunkering

U.S. energy logistics and shipping firm Crowley has secured the first permit from the Panama Maritime Authority to provide liquified natural gas (LNG) bunkering on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, according to the Florida-based firm. Crowley will manage the ship-to-ship LNG transfer services for fuel and cryogenic tank cooldown services, with a potential start date sometime in 2024.…

New report shows dredging is competitive and growing

The U.S. dredging industry is “fiercely competitive” and growing, according to The Mike Hooks Report, which details the latest trends in the U.S. federal dredging market. The Mike Hooks Report: An Analysis of the FY22 U.S. Federal Dredging Market was authored by Michael Gerhardt, senior director of government affairs at Mike Hooks, LLC, the Louisiana-based dredging and marine contractor. Every…

Northern Lights unveils new diesel generators

Seattle-headquartered Northern Lights’ new C4105 and C6105 series of commercial marine power generators are on the market. “Built for reliability, durability, simplicity, and high performance,” the new generator series is a robust commercial marine diesel generator that stands up to heavy-duty demands and offers long-term economic advantages,” the company said. The new generator series have kilowatt ratings from 126 to…