Professional Mariner – October/November 2024

NTSB urges Coast Guard action on passenger vessel safety

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is again urging the U.S. Coast Guard to mandate safety management systems (SMS) on all U.S.-flagged passenger vessels. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy reiterated the request in a Sept. 2 letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Admiral Linda Fagan, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. The letter…

Icebreaker Healy returns early after engine room fire

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy (WAGB 20) returned to Seattle early from a seasonal Arctic mission after sustaining damage from a fire in late July. According to the service, the 25-year-old icebreaker experienced an electrical fire on one of two main propulsion motors on July 25, 2024. The ship was underway near Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, at the…

NOAA makes $54M available to remove derelict vessels

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is making up to $54 million in grant funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address marine debris throughout the United States, including within the Great Lakes and U.S. overseas territories. According to the agency, these grant opportunities allow NOAA to support large-scale marine debris removal projects, as well as the installation,…

Hybrid-electric research boat arrives at PNW lab

With its lush, mossy forests and environmentally conscious residents, the Pacific Northwest has a well-earned reputation for sustainability. A new hybrid-electric research boat should fit right in. The 50-by-16-foot Resilience arrived at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Sequim, Wash., in July 2024. The aluminum catamaran designed by Incat Crowther and built by Snow & Company in Seattle will…

Brix Marine launches Raven for Alaska tour operator

Brix Marine has launched the 48-by-17.6-foot whale watch vessel Raven for Allen Marine Tours of Alaska. The aluminum catmaran is the second vessel the Port Angeles, Wash., shipyard developed for Allen Marine, which is based in Juneau, Alaska. Raven is powered by four 450-hp Yamaha outboard engines and has capacity for 49 passengers and three crewmembers. It is a sister…

Offshore wind project approved off Maryland waters

At full build-out, the project could generate roughly 2 gigawatts of electricity, which could power more than 700,000 homes. Construction and maintenance of the turbines and related electrical infrastructure could support more than 2,500 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Offshore wind supports a sizable number of maritime industry jobs in vessel design, construction and…

Proposal would raise Great Lakes pilotage rates by 7 percent

Great Lakes pilotage rates would rise by 7 percent in 2025 under a proposed rule filed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which also comes with a 4.75 percent average pay raise for American pilots. Pilots’ pay under the plan would increase by nearly $21,000 to $461,611 a year. The proposal also would increase the overall cost of Great Lakes pilotage…

Facing eviction, SS United States may be scuttled off Florida coast, reimagined as massive artificial reef

The future for the famed ocean liner SS United States, which is facing eviction from its longtime home in Philadelphia, could be underwater. Florida’s Okaloosa County in late August signed a contingent contract with the vessel’s owner, the SS United States Conservancy, to acquire the 990-foot ship to create the world’s largest artificial reef off Destin-Fort Walton Beach in the…

IMO ban on heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters has limited effects initially

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) instituted a ban on heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the Arctic Ocean in July. But the environmental groups that supported the rule warn its effects will be limited due to widespread exemptions and Russia’s nonparticipation. “It completely gutted the effectiveness of the heavy fuel oil ban,” Bryan Comer, an environmental scientist and the marine program…

Maersk pays mariner more than $700k following whistleblower case

Company also agrees to change internal policies for reporting safety concerns Maersk Line Limited (MLL) will change internal safety reporting policies following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor that found the shipping company violated federal law by firing a mariner who reported apparent safety concerns directly to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Labor Department announced the settlement in…