Professional Mariner – March 2025 – Page 2

Change of command at U.S. maritime agencies

As a new administration comes to power in Washington, several agencies have appointed (or removed) new leaders to head their organizations. Leadership changes at the top of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and the Maritime Administration (MarAd) are likely to impact the maritime industry as a whole, though the specific maritime policy initiatives of the new administration — and…

New York City and Staten Island Ferry test renewable diesel

A pilot program at one of the nation’s largest ferry operators is testing renewable, non-petroleum-based diesel in its vessels to determine the viability of the alternative fuel. Early tests suggest that renewable diesel can be used as a “drop-in” fuel without making modifications to engines. When Professional Mariner spoke with NYC Ferry in early February, it was one week into a three- to…

New industry, new training: Offshore wind in maritime academia

With the rise of the American offshore wind industry comes the corresponding rise in mariner training and vessels. Regarding the former, several maritime training institutions and academies have already incorporated wind farm instruction into their curriculums and simulations. The space offshore wind occupies in the academic and training seascape likely parallels its place in the overall maritime economy: it’s a small…

Working a wind farm in New England

On the first Tuesday of February, Captain Joshua Rand was catching scallops in the cold waters off Barnstable, Cape Cod, Mass., where he grew up. Well before sunrise on Wednesday morning, he was aboard WINDEA Intrepid at a dock on Pope’s Island in New Bedford, Mass., with his four-person crew preparing for a voyage to Vineyard Wind. Rand grew up…

Poor communication and bad winches led to snapped line striking crew

A poorly operating winch and numerous miscommunications during a docking procedure led to a mooring line being caught in a thruster, snapping, and seriously injuring a deck hand on a roll-on/roll-off ferry in Quebec, Canada, in March 2023. Analysis by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) revealed that the breakdown in communication during the unmooring operation, exacerbated by the use of two…

Bulker breaks free from mooring during Texas gale

A dry bulk carrier broke free from its mooring and drifted across a ship channel, striking a tugboat and causing an estimated $2.5 million in damages. Officials at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that the dry bulk carrier Chang Hang Hui Hai was moored at dock No. 12 in the Brownsville Ship Channel in Brownsville, Texas, on Jan.…

SAFETY ALERT: LNG lockout/tagout procedures and hazardous zone markings

The U.S. Coast Guard said that in the wake of a recent marine casualty, which was associated with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and resulted in a fire and severe injuries to two crewmembers, it’s imperative that mariners working in hazardous zones create robust lockout protocols. “This incident shows the critical importance of hazard awareness, proper marking of hazardous zones, and…

Inexperienced renter combined with blind-spotted bridge crew led to small vessel’s capsize

A novice boater renting a small powerboat in Vancouver Harbor, British Columbia, crossed in front of a nearly 656-foot cargo vessel in October 2022 and was likely capsized by the ship’s wake. An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found that the boater was unaware that they’d entered a navigation channel and failed to see the approaching ship.…

SAFETY ALERT: Vessel Control Systems must adhere to recognized standards and be vigorously tested

After a high-speed passenger ferry struck a New York pier while docking — resulting in numerous passenger injuries and more than $500,000 in damages to the vessel and pier — a U.S. Coast Guard investigation, conducted in parallel with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), revealed “numerous safety issues, including concerns with the vessel’s control system configuration.” The Coast Guard…

Barge strike in New Orleans lock traced to wakes from passing ships

The towboat Kitty pushed two loaded tank barges into the Algiers Lock on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway just downriver from New Orleans when something unexpected happened: The tow started moving backward. Suction from passing ships in the Mississippi River pulled the 1,560-hp towboat and its two barges partially out of the lock, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined. Just as suddenly…