The national association representing the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance and repair industry announced its annual member safety awards for the 2024 calendar year, recognizing 14 shipyards for their achievements in safety. The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) recognized shipyards from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Jacksonville, Fla., for “setting the benchmark for prioritizing the industry’s greatest asset — its people — while strengthening…
Although it’s been in the public consciousness for well over a decade, virtual reality (VR) has only recently gained a foothold in maritime simulation. VR both complements existing simulators while also expanding the training environment, offering the potential to immerse trainees to more scenarios than traditional full mission bridge simulators. The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) just completed construction of eight VR bridges,…
Maritime pilots are high-level professionals who have received specialized training to ensure they are local port experts. Pilots are used primarily when a commercial vessel navigates toward a port that’s often unfamiliar to the captain and crew. These specially trained local experts meet the ship, climb on board and navigate the vessel to its destination. Pilots are used for container,…
The tugboat Cingluku and its barge Jungjuk sailed toward Shakmanof Cove on Alaska’s Kodiak Island at about 10 knots on a clear spring morning. Without warning, the barge grounded on a rocky shoal a foot or two below the surface. The articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit remained stuck against the rock some 400 yards from shore for four hours, until the…
It’s not hard for Rear Admiral John Okon, the new president of the State University of New York Maritime College, to pitch prospective students on the benefits of a maritime education and career. He just tells his own story, which began in upstate New York and later took him into the upper echelon of the U.S. Navy, where he served…
Gary Peterson has spent a lifetime on the water, primarily as a recreational sailor around San Diego. He also teaches boating safety courses twice a year for the Coast Guard Auxiliary for San Diego County. Every now and then, a student in the boating safety course would ask a question that stumped him, or which he wished he could answer…