The following is a press release issued by American Waterways Operators: (ARLINGTON, Va.) -- The reality TV series that is currently airing on the History Channel, Great Lake Warriors, portrays companies involved in vessel operations on the nation’s Great Lakes, focusing on the oftentimes challenging and harsh weather conditions during the winter months. It is important to emphasize that Great Lake Warriors is a reality TV show, and the primary goal of reality TV is to provide sensational content. As such, it is difficult to ascertain whether certain situations on the show were taken out of context or edited in a way to make them more dramatic. What is clearly lost in efforts to make more dramatic television, however, is the far less sensational, day-to-day vessel operation responsible for moving…
Washburn & Doughty Associates, of East Boothbay, Maine, has delivered twin z-drive docking tugs to Moran Towing Corp. The first, James A. Moran, launched in October 2011, marked a new class of escort/docking tug. The 93-foot tug is named for James A. Barker, the son of Moran CEO Paul Tregurtha’s longtime business partner, James R. Barker. The tug sets a new standard for Moran’s growing fleet of z-drives, with enhanced escort capabilities stemming from a deep forward keel, exceptional tracking and broad beam. The 38-foot beam greatly expands crew accommodation space, while adding space to the engine room. James A. Moran will serve the port of Savannah, Ga. Moran is based in New Canaan, Conn. Brian Gauvin Seaspan Eagle is a 92-foot ASD escort tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd.…
Several inland shipyards saw no shortage of towboat orders in 2011 and some made several multi-boat deliveries to new and repeat customers. Among the 2011 deliveries were a mix of long-range line boats and local service boats. The largest was the 6,140-hp Paul Tobin, delivered to the Ohio River division of AEP River Operations by Gulf Island Marine Fabricators in Houma, La. It is the last in a series of 10 166-by-48-by-11-foot towboats designed by Corning Townsend of CT Marine, in Edgecomb, Maine. Like the others, it is powered by a pair of General Motors (EMD) 12-710 Tier II diesel engines. The 108-inch, five-blade stainless steel propellers from Sound Propeller turn in stainless steel nozzles from Rice Propulsion through Lufkin reduction gears with a ratio of 4.345:1. Electric power comes…
Capt. John Cater IV and the crew of the tugboat Wye River spent an October afternoon accommodating a U.S. Coast Guard examiner who checked over virtually every aspect of the 4,200-hp vessel. The visit was neither punitive nor even mandatory. MST1 Joshua Gonzalez, a towing vessel examiner with Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, boarded Wye River at Philadelphia’s City Dock as part of the current round of voluntary, “industry-initiated†towboat examinations. Gonzalez reviewed documents on the 96-foot tug and confirmed that the mariners were properly credentialed. He carefully inspected the Vane Brothers vessel's equipment ranging from firefighting systems and hydrostatic release casings to searchlights and survival suits. "I've done examinations where these are completely missing or the bolts are rusted," Gonzalez said while checking seals on the starboard blower exhaust…
This time last year, the drilling moratorium was giving shipbuilders headaches well beyond the Gulf. Those concerns are still around. Despite the announcement that more than 20 million deepwater acres in the western Gulf will be auctioned off to leasing in December, permits for deepwater drilling are not being issued fast enough to satisfy shipyards hungry for workboat orders. And now there's a new worry. With the bipartisan deficit panel due to report by Nov. 23, the industry faces the prospect of federal budget cuts. Navy shipbuilding is the most obvious target. But governments spend money on nonmilitary vessels too — this year, for example, the feds picked up 50 percent of the $17.4 million tab for two 28-vehicle ferries in Texas — and programs such as Title XI construction…
The tugboat mate involved in the fatal collision with a duck tour boat in the Delaware River likely will go to prison and surrender his merchant mariner's license. Matthew R. Devlin pleaded guilty to misconduct in August under the federal Seaman's Manslaughter Statute. The U.S. Attorney's office in Philadelphia said the likely sentence will be over three years in prison. Devlin, 35, of Catskill, N.Y., piloted Caribbean Sea when its sludge barge struck a disabled duck tour boat, DUKW 34, on July 7, 2010, in Philadelphia. Two passengers on the anchored tour boat were killed. In court, Devlin apologized to the victims' families and explained that he was told during the voyage that his own 5-year-old son had experienced a life-threatening complication during eye surgery. "I really wish I could…
An oceangoing barge carrying housing supplies for Haiti earthquake victims was lost after its tugboat stalled and a line parted while a Cuban salvage ship attempted to tow the stranded vessels to safety. The crew of nine from the tug Muheet, including one U.S. resident, were held in Cuba against their will for five weeks after the rescue. The U.S. Coast Guard denied a report that it had asked for permission to enter Cuban waters to assist the tow but that Cuba wouldn't allow it. A barge is under tow during a voyage to deliver humanitarian supplies to Haiti earthquake victims. The vessel eventually sank during a salvage operation in Cuban waters after the tugboat Muheet stalled due to a fuel problem. Photo courtesy Harbor Homes LLC) The 60-year-old tug…
Mica likens TWIC to a 'library card' Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, fired away at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) May 10 for producing, after spending nearly $500 million in 10 years, transport worker security cards "no more useful than library cards" and no approved biometric reader. Testifying before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Mica, one of the authors of the legislation that created TSA, addressed a new report in which the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said it was able to obtain authentic Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) security cards using fraudulent identification documentation and gain access to ports using counterfeit TWICs. "GAO also found that, among other things, TSA is unable to confirm that TWIC holders maintain their eligibility…
Cleveland Ship bids for Grumman shipbuilding systems Cleveland Ship LLC has tendered an offer for the shipbuilding unit of Northrop Grumman Corp., in Los Angeles. The exact amount of the multibillion-dollar bid was not disclosed. Cleveland Ship was formed three years ago to build a new class of U.S. Navy oilers. The Northrop ship division is worth as much as $4.6 billion, based on data compiled by Bloomberg in July. The unit’s biggest asset is Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Newport News, which employs 20,000 people and is the nation’s only yard capable of building nuclear aircraft carriers and one of two that builds nuclear submarines. Also the unit consists of Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., and Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans plus two smaller facilities on the West Coast. Earlier, Cleveland…
America needs oil. So whatever the short-term impact of the Deepwater Horizon blowout, offshore drilling will continue, most likely with regulatory changes as sweeping as those brought about by OPA 90 after Exxon Valdez. Delivered by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and converted to a shuttle tanker by Detyens Shipyards in Charleston, S.C., Overseas Cascade (above) was brought in by BP after the Gulf blowout as tanker support for vessels taking oil from the scene. (Photo courtesy Aker Philadelphia Shipyard) Builders of rigs and support vessels stand to benefit from tighter controls, particularly if build-American provisions are extended to deepwater drilling. "If you don't want to pop a hole in a pipeline, build it to the highest standards," said Matt Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America. But the question for…
