Professional Mariner – May 2023 – Page 2

MarAd updates security warning for Middle Eastern waters

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) has issued a revised advisory warning that regional conflict, heightened military activity and increased political tensions continue to pose threats to U.S.-flag merchant vessels operating in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea and western Indian Ocean. U.S. Maritime Advisory 2023-003 further states…

Credential lost in the mail? The NMC can help

The National Maritime Center (NMC) has offered guidance for mariners whose credentials have been lost in the mail. The agency, which is a component of the U.S. Coast Guard, uses the U.S. Postal Service to send credentials. Sometimes, things get lost in the mail. For mariners who think their credentials have suffered such a fate, there are options. The…

Fagan: Building a global Coast Guard

Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, recently delivered her first State of the Coast Guard Address at the Reserve Organization of America. “It is an exciting time for the Coast Guard and our workforce,” she said. “For nearly 233 years our service has provided safety and security for the American people. Today we uphold that tradition and…

Alaska’s Marine Highway System: Slowly backing away from the brink

The good news has sometimes been slowing in coming for the Alaska Marine Highway System. When the ferry M/V Matanuska returned to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, late in the evening on June 20, 2022, it marked the end of a three-year service interruption to a port that had once been a key destination. New border crossing requirements between the U.S.…

Drillship breakaway in Mississippi traced to bollard failure

The captain of the drillship Valaris DS-16 awoke on a blustery late winter night to the sound of a mooring line parting. Others snapped in rapid succession as strong winds pushed the vessel away from the dock at Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss. For the next 20 minutes, the 752-foot Marshall Islands-flagged ship drifted across Bayou Casotte channel toward the…

Cutting torch used to free mariners from partially submerged tugboat

Crew from the tugboat Sea Cypress used a cutting torch to free two fellow crewmembers who were trapped inside the partially submerged vessel. Crew aboard the 75-foot tugboat issued a mayday call on VHF channel 13 at 0538 indicating the vessel was capsizing near the mouth of the Sabine River, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A Sabine Pilots…

Lack of training contributed to $1.8 million Ohio River towboat fire

The towboat Capt. Kirby Dupuis was upbound on the Ohio River with 13 barges in tow when its captain saw a flash on the engine room video display. The towboat’s fire detection system triggered seconds later. The captain sounded the general alarm and instructed the crew to begin firefighting operations. They ultimately tried, and failed, to activate the Novec 1230…

Faulty assumption about crane height cited in Louisiana bridge strike

With the clock approaching midnight, the captain of the towboat Robert Cenac contacted the home office with a question: How tall was the crane boom on the barge he was hired to push? An Al Cenac Towing official sent text messages to a representative from the barge’s owner seeking that information. Minutes later, without getting a firm response of the…

NTSB: Hot work near combustible material started Natchez fire

The fire that damaged the steamboat Natchez while it was out of service in New Orleans likely started after sparks from hot work landed on cardboard boxes only a few feet away, federal investigators determined. A deck hand working a security detail on the vessel discovered the fire at 1945 on May 3, 2022. The 47-year-old paddle-wheeled tour boat was…

Tugboat crewman falls overboard, dies stepping between barges

A veteran mariner working for Centerline Logistics died in New Jersey after falling and becoming trapped between two moored fuel barges in the Kill Van Kull waterway. The incident happened at about 0600 on March 16 at Centerline’s dock in Bayonne, N.J., located near the Duraport Marine and Rail Terminal. The mariner has not been identified publicly. “A career professional…