Professional Mariner – May 2024 – Page 2

Crowley awarded option to MSC contract

The Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) has awarded Jacksonville, Fl.-based Crowley Government Services Inc. a $16 million, one-year option under a previously awarded contract for the operation of the tanker Stena Polaris. The option is for “the fixed-price portion of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract with reimbursable elements to exercise a one-year option period for the operation of the tanker,” according…

Furuno offers new multi-function display series

Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. has unveiled a new series of multi-function displays (MFDs) designed to bolster navigational safety and efficiency for tugboats and workboats. The new series – named NavNet TZtouchXL – “incorporates state-of-the-art radar, electronic chart, and sonar capabilities into wheelhouse workstations, tailored to withstand even the most challenging maritime conditions,” according to the company. “When integrated with…

Resolve Marine’s North Pacific business surged in 2023

Specialized marine service provider Resolve Marine saw its business in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and at its base at Dutch Harbor, Alaska experience substantial growth in 2023. In the Pacific Northwest, the Florida-based company offers marine response and support services, including ship husbandry projects, vessel salvage, and underwater inspections jobs out of a new 10,000 square-foot facility that opened earlier…

Plans advance for proposed Salem Offshore Wind Terminal

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Crowley Wind Services, and the city of Salem have announced the transfer of ownership and plans for the proposed Salem Offshore Wind Terminal. The transfer agreement includes MassCEC’s purchase of 42 acres on Salem Harbor and a 5-acre parcel transfer to the city including the port’s existing deep-water berth. The proposed terminal site, previously…

South Fork wind farm goes online

Ørsted has installed and powered up all 12 turbines at its South Fork Wind project, off Long Island, N.Y. with the first utility-scale U.S. offshore electricity-producing wind farm now delivering power to Long Island and the Rockaways. At full capacity, the 130-megawatt wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 70,000 homes. The farm is located roughly 35…

Maritime veteran named to head Washington State Ferries

Washington State Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar has announced that Steve Nevey will serve as assistant secretary for its Washington State Ferries (WSF) division. In his new position, Nevey will serve as head of the ferry system, replacing Patty Rubstello, who retired after a 33-year career with the state Department of Transportation. For the past two years, he served as director…

Drawn to the sea and the life of a marine engineer

It was his uncle and the work of writer Jack Kerouac, the guru of the ‘50s ‘Beat Generation,’ who got a young Eric White thinking about going to sea in the first place. “My uncle went to Mass Maritime and sailed as well,” he recalls. “I didn’t grow up doing much of anything maritime, but he used to have a…

Baltimore bridge collapses after containership allision

At 12:39 a.m. on March 26, 2024, the Singapore-flagged containership Dali left the Port of Baltimore, bound for Sri Lanka under charter to Denmark-based Maersk with 4,700 containers aboard. Signs of trouble began to appear at about 1:25 a.m. when several alarms sounded after the 985-foot ship entered the main channel. Steering commands and rudder orders were issued, and at…

Speed, hydrodynamic forces blamed in tug, tanker collision

The National Transportation Safety Board says speed and hydrodynamic forces played a major role in a collision between a tugboat and a tanker in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel last year. The collision took place on Jan. 22, 2023, when the tugboat Mark E Kuebler collided with the tanker Nisalah near Ingleside, Texas. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries. The agency’s report revealed that…

March is an unlucky month for the McAlpine Locks and Dam

In the late afternoon of March 8, 2024, ten of the 15 coal-laden barges being pushed upriver broke away from M/V Amber Brittany near the McAlpine Locks and Dam on the Ohio River, near Louisville, Ky. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, “after exiting the McAlpine locks and passing alongside the vane dike at Mile 604, the head of…