The following is the text of a press release issued by the American Waterways Operators: (WASHINGTON) -- At a cost of $1.5 million to taxpayers, a week-long closure of a two-mile stretch of the Little Calumet River above electrical barriers placed to repel Asian carp from gaining access to the Great Lakes, a fish poisoning of more than 100,000 fish has yielded no Asian carp. The operation was spurred by one positive hit of the non-peer reviewed Asian carp eDNA tests. No live fish have been seen beyond the electric barriers. The American Waterways Operators (AWO), the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, pointed out today that currently, evidence of an imminent threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes ecosystem does not exist…
Bollinger delivers first of 234s Bollinger Shipyards, of Lockport, La., has delivered the first of three 234-foot supply boats to BeeMar LLC, of Houston. The yard had previously delivered five 210-foot supply boats to the same customer. "We should have the other two in our fleet by mid-summer," said Darrel Plaisance, vice president of operations for BeeMar. All eight of these vessels feature Tier 2 Cummins engines. Halter adds to BoTruc fleet VT Halter Marine, of Pascagoula, Miss., has delivered one of two DP-2 230-by-56-by-18-foot platform supply vessels to L&M BoTruc Rental, Inc., of Golden Meadow, La. The contract for both vessels was $45 million to $50 million. The second vessel will join the Bo-Truc fleet in the fourth quarter of 2010. BoTruc, one of the first suppliers of…
A longer-than-expected review process has delayed the release of the U.S. Coast Guard’s proposed inspection rules for tugboats, towboats and barges, with the public’s first look at the document not likely to occur until this spring at the earliest.The Coast Guard had hoped the proposed rules would be unveiled in spring 2009. The draft is the product of nearly five years of talks involving the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC), a congressionally authorized group that includes industry representatives, shippers, port and terminal personnel, labor officials and the public.The next step in the process — publication of the draft, or Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), in the Federal Register — is contingent upon approval of the document by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The agency, which had not received…
Foss Maritime’s new hybrid escort tug Carolyn Dorothy undergoes a bollard pull test in Seattle. (Gregory Walsh) Bollard pull testing, which produces a good measure of a tugboat’s pulling power, is becoming standard practice for newly built steel tugs, especially for those that are fully rated by a classification society. While most tractor-style tugs designed for ship-assist work and tanker escorting have long been subjected to bollard pull testing, new rules from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) require at least one vessel (typically the first) in every new class of ABS-classed conventional tugs to have its bollard pull tested and certified. As a reflection of this new requirement, Moran Towing Corp., of New Canaan, Conn., recently had its newest ATB tug, Lois Ann L. Moran, undergo bollard pull testing…
The timber barge Swiftsure Prince began listing after breaching its hull in the Queen Charlotte Islands. The barge was later deliberately run aground. A proposed reduction in the sea-time requirements for becoming a mate of a towing vessel of 200 tons or more has many in the industry concerned. The rule change is designed to provide an alternative path for licensed mariners to move into the towing industry. Right now, all mariners, even experienced ones, must complete 36 months of service on a towing vessel, which includes 12 months at an entry-level position. "This makes it impractical for an experienced master of an inspected vessel to become master of a towing vessel,€VbCrLf wrote Eric Verdin, CEO of Delta Towing LLC of Houma, La., in the petition asking for the new…
BROWN-WATER NEWS October, 2007 About the AuthorCarlo Salzano has been in journalism ever since graduating from La Salle University in 1948 as a chemistry major. That's right, chemistry. He started as a copy boy at the Philadelphia Inquirer, moved on to United Press International in Philly, Charleston, WV, Baltimore and Washington. After 14 years, he joined Traffic World magazine and stayed on for 23 years, ending as editor, before retiring in 1990. Most of Carlo's time with Traffic World was spent covering the maritime community and he continued in that field while freelancing throughout his "retirement." Carlo is married and has three children and eight grandchildren. RENT ISSUE AMERICAN SHIP REVIEW AMERICAN TUGBOAT Senate Passes Bill to Fund Waterway Projectsby Carlo Salzano With its fingers crossed and an eye on…
Dear Subscribers, The following excerpts are from Professional Mariner's October/November edition. If you haven't already, we hope you will sign up for upcoming Newsletters which will include Blog Highlights, Nav Problems, Expert Q & A, Ship Building News and next week's Rules of the Road edition.If you missed our July 18th BrownWater Newsletter, we will resend it on Friday, August 17th to those that sign up. Click the Forward Email link at the bottom of this newsletter to pass along to colleagues. Your Current Issue (107) North American Oil Transportation Industry Steps Up This issue is IN THE MAIL! -------------------------------------------- EmailNewsletters Blog Highlights Rules of the Road BrownWater News Ship Building News Expert Q&A Professional Mariner Quick Links SubscribeRenew Register Business Directory Search Archives October/November Issue…
In an effort to reduce accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board is renewing its efforts to get the Coast Guard to adopt regulations that would reduce fatigue among mariners, including rules that would prescribe longer periods of uninterrupted sleep. The NTSB has been urging the Coast Guard since 1989 to revise regulations governing working hours. At a November 2007 meeting the NTSB reviewed its Most Wanted List of safety measures. At that time, the board classified the Coast Guard's response to an earlier NTSB recommendation on fatigue as "unacceptable." In June 1999, the NTSB added a recommendation on fatigue to its Most Wanted List, urging the Coast Guard to establish working-hour limits based on scientific knowledge of human sleep needs. The Coast Guard declined to adopt the NTSB's recommendation. In…
