Professional Mariner – May 2023 – Professional Mariner

Union says Panama Canal “close call” highlights safety concerns

An international maritime union is highlighting safety concerns within the Panama Canal after an apparent close call involving an assist tugboat and a post-Panamax ship within the lock chamber. A video amplified by the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots’ (MM&P) affiliate in Panama shows a tugboat rapidly running out of space within the Agua Clara locks on March…

Metal Shark delivers ferry to NY operator

Fire Island Ferries of Bay Shore, N.Y., has taken delivery of a new 70-by-23-foot vehicle ferry that will serve the resort community. Elliott Bay Design Group (EDBG) of Seattle designed Fire Island Maid, which has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. It features a hydraulic ramp for loading and unloading heavy equipment, according to a news release. Its deck can…

Eastern Shipbuilding lays keel for Long Island ferry

Eastern Shipbuilding Group marked the keel laying for a 302-foot vehicle and passenger ferry for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co. of Connecticut. The shipyard, based in Panama City, Fla., cut steel for hull No. 228 in January ahead of the keel laying held in March. Delivery is scheduled for March 2024, the shipyard said in a news release. The…

C&C Marine wins contract for 11,000-hp towboat

C&C Marine and Repair has won a contract with American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) to build an 11,000-hp towboat capable of moving up to 56 barges at once. CT Marine of Portland, Maine, has designed the twin-screw towboat measuring 198 feet long and 50 feet wide. It will have a 47-foot eyeline from the wheelhouse to see over the barge…

Foss terminal in New Bedford to open this summer

Foss Offshore Wind plans to open its New Bedford, Mass., offshore wind terminal this summer. The 27-acre terminal site will support Vineyard Wind 1, the first commercial-scale offshore wind project currently under construction south of Martha’s Vineyard. The Foss terminal will have berthing facilities for a wide range of vessels involved in the offshore wind trade. This will include crew…

Crescent River pilots order two pilot boats

Snow & Company Inc. has won a contract to build two 50-foot pilot boats for the Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association. The vessels will operate on the Lower Mississippi River. The all-aluminum vessels designed by Camarc Design have a refined hull with enhanced fuel efficiencies and reduced slamming accelerations, which provide excellent all-around seakeeping capabilities and a pilot-specific shape to…

Mackinac ferry to go all-electric

A Mackinac Island passenger ferry will be converted to zero-emission electric power with the help of a $3.06 million award from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Fuel Transformation Program Part 2. Star Line, now known as the Mackinac Island Ferry Company (MIFC), will replace two diesel engines with two brand-new electric propulsion motors on the 84-foot…

New USCG fast response cutter delivered

The Coast Guard recently accepted delivery of the new fast response cutter Maurice Jester at the Bollinger shipyard in Key West, Fl. The new Sentinel-class cutter is the 178th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 52nd fast response cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program. The USCG’s Sentinel-class cutters are 153 feet…

Green shipping: Moving forward with wind and alternative fuel technologies

Ocean carriers, international organizations, marine engineering firms and shipyards are quietly working toward a future where diesel-powered vessels are as relevant to the maritime industry as steamships, all in a concerted effort to meet the ambitious decarbonized shipping goals set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). According to the U.S. Department of State, if the collective worldwide maritime industry were…

AMVER ship rescues distressed boaters in Gulf of Mexico

A foreign-flagged cruise ship that is part of the global automated mutual-assistance vessel rescue (AMVER) system rescued three distressed boaters some 400 miles off the Alabama coast. U.S. Coast Guard watch standers in New Orleans received an alert from an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) at about 0720 on March 26 from the 44-foot recreational vessel Snail Mail. The vessel’s owners…