About Us Professional Mariner magazine has been a valuable resource for the owners and operators of commercial maritime vessels of all types in the U.S. and Canada since 1993. The magazine is written for professionals who work in the maritime industry, both onboard vessels and onshore. The editorial emphasis is on training and licensing, maritime casualties, technology, engineering and regulatory trends and issues. Professional Mariner publishes twelve print issues a year, 9 regular issues plus 3 special annual issues. These annuals are American Tugboat Review, American Ship Review, and the American Training Directory. Professional Mariner also offers e-mail newsletters, a website and a digital replica of the print magazine (the digital edition has world-wide reach). The magazine is owned by Maritime Publishing which also publishes The Log Newspaper. Professional Mariner was originally published by Navigator Publishing in Portland, Maine by Greg…
The Zen-Noh Grain Corp. (ZGC) export elevator near Convent, La., is one of the busiest on the Lower Mississippi River. It runs around the clock loading American grain into ships heading overseas. Bisso Towboat Co. of Luling, La., and its three azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tugboats positioned just upriver, play a key role in keeping the terminal running efficiently. Day in, day out, its crews dock, shift and undock loaded vessels. “They don’t like any downtime,” Capt. Ruben Dupre III, Bisso’s vice president of safety, said of the terminal operator. “As soon as one (ship) leaves, they want another one coming in.” On a sunny spring morning, Capt. Sean Fortier left the Bisso Towboat dock at mile 165 with the company’s newest tug, the 6,008-hp Capt. Joseph Bisso. He steered downriver…
Professional Mariner magazine has a new editor at the helm. Publisher Dave Abrams appointed associate editor Casey Conley to the top editorial post effective June 1. He replaces Rich Miller, who last fall announced his intention to retire. Miller will stay with the magazine in a consulting role. “I’ve been reading Casey’s articles for years now, and I am confident that his past experience as an investigative reporter and writer have prepared him well to move up into the editor’s role,” Abrams said. “As editor of American Tugboat Review and American Ship Review, Casey has experienced what it takes to pull a publication together from beginning to end. “Rich has done an outstanding job in setting up Casey for success, and I am thrilled Rich will remain with our team on a part-time basis,” Abrams continued. Conley came to Professional Mariner with…
Maritime Publishing of San Diego has acquired Navigator Publishing, the parent company of Professional Mariner and sister magazine Ocean Navigator. The sale included both print magazines and their respective websites, newsletters and email marketing products. The agreement, which closed in mid-March, brings Professional Mariner and Ocean Navigator together with Pacific Maritime magazine and Fishermen’s News. Maritime Publishing previously acquired those publications from Philips Publishing Group of Seattle. Both magazines, which ceased publication early in the COVID-19 pandemic, will re-launch this spring. Businessman Dave Abrams will serve as publisher for the new media company. Abrams is CEO of the Training Resources Maritime Institute (TRLMI) in San Diego, the largest private maritime training facility in the Western United States. TRLMI is the parent company of Maritime Publishing. “We are…
(SAN DIEGO) — Maritime Publishing of San Diego announced Monday that it has acquired Professional Mariner and Ocean Navigator magazines from Portland, Maine-based Navigator Publishing. According to Dave Abrams, CEO of Training Resources Limited, the parent company of Maritime Publishing, “We are in the business of providing mariners with knowledge through education. Professional Mariner and Ocean Navigator have been providing knowledge through current industry news and original editorial content for decades, so they are a natural extension of our existing business. The titles give us the ability to provide mariners with advocacy, news and information about the industries and adventures we train them for." Alex Agnew, president of Navigator Publishing, added, “I am very excited to be passing the torch to Dave and his team at Maritime Publishing. I believe…
At the age of 10, Corning Townsend began a life immersed in the maritime world. Working his summers as a galley boy under Capt. Irving Johnson on the brigantine Yankee, the young Townsend, mentored by the legendary mariner, rose to third mate in three years aboard. Today, the 73-year-old Townsend is easing off of a 60-hour workweek, passing more of the business over to his son, Christian. From his perch in Edgecomb, Maine, Townsend can look back on a distinguished career as a naval architect and the founder of CT Marine. Following a soccer accident in his senior year of high school, Townsend dropped out and went back to sea for what he calls “the best year of my life.” After a stint in the merchant marine, Townsend enrolled in…
It’s a trio of firsts on the West Coast with the construction of the pushboat Crown Point by Vigor Industrial for Tidewater Barge Lines. Reinvigorating its fleet, Tidewater is adding the boat and two sisters to its lineup — the first new tugboats in 30 years, and the first specifically designed and built for service on the Columbia/Snake River system. For Vigor, this is the first time it has built propulsion vessels at its Portland, Ore., yard since 1945, while for designer CT Marine this is the first foray into boats for the West Coast. The first of the three Tidewater boats, Crown Point, has passed all its sea trials and begun work on the Columbia River. “It was time to upgrade our fleet and these boats are part…
Ten years ago, American Tugboat Review reported on Marine Towing of Tampa’s (MTT) transition to ASD propulsion with the delivery of three 92-by-32-foot tugs from Washburn & Doughty. Independent was delivered in 2004, followed by Freedom in 2005 and Liberty in 2007. This year, MTT sold Independent to McAllister Towing to make way for the 93-by-38-foot ASD tug Patriot, also built in Maine at Washburn & Doughty’s East Boothbay yard. Independent was renamed Moira McAllister and moved to McAllister’s Charleston, S.C., operations. The fourth tug in the MTT fleet, Endeavor, is one of the ship docking modules developed by Hvide Marine, now Seabulk Towing, in the late 1990s. “That’s the number of tugs we want to stay at,” said Jim Brantner Jr., MTT’s port captain and son of the company’s…
Baydelta Maritime LLC, of San Francisco, contracted in August 2013 with Nichols Bros. of Freeland, Wash., for a new 100-by-40-foot z-drive tractor tug. Delta Audrey will be the ninth Delta-class tug Nichols has built, six of them for Baydelta Maritime. The tug is ABS load line certified and powered by twin Caterpillar 3516C marine diesel engines with a combined horsepower of 6,800. Each engine is mated to a Rolls-Royce US 255 FP z-drive system. The propulsion package will produce a bollard pull of more than 90 tons. The tug is also equipped with two C6.6 Caterpillar generators. The tug is fitted with two Markey winches (a hawser winch in the bow and a towing winch aft), Smith Berger towing pins, and SSR Marine fenders. Harley Marine z-drive Brian Gauvin…
Shipyards love contracts for multiple vessels, which mean steady work and a guaranteed order book. Many yards have had their wishes granted in the last few months with blockbuster orders from heavy hitters such as Edison Chouest Offshore, Hornbeck and Harvey Gulf. The result is a much more positive outlook at this time this year than last. “It’s like night and day right now compared with the last time I talked to you,” Andre Dubroc, general manager at Master Boat Builders in Bayou La Batre, Ala., told American Ship Review. “I didn’t even know where I was going to get the next contract.” On his order books: five 200-foot offshore supply vessels for Abdon Callais Offshore and six for an undisclosed owner. With memories of Deepwater Horizon receding, the Gulf…
