The following is text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard: (HONOLULU) — The Coast Guard continues to investigate the loss of 21 cargo containers from the barge Ho Omaka Hou and monitor response operations in Hawaii on Tuesday (June 30). All cargo was successfully removed from the barge over the weekend, and it returned safely to Honolulu on Monday, where a further damage assessment is being conducted. Of the 21 missing containers, 12 remain unlocated. One was initially located north of Hilo and sank. One washed ashore at Onomea beach, where it was refloated and towed to Hilo Harbor. The rest were recovered to Hilo Harbor and were removed from the water. On June 22, the tug Hoku Loa operator reported to the Coast Guard a loss…
Capt. Joe Farish eased the tugboat Sheri Lynn S. off the Picton Terminals dock before 0730. It had snowed overnight, and the channel in from Lake Ontario was smooth on the calm, overcast December morning. With the tug’s full-vision wheelhouse, Farish had visibility all around him. Looking forward, he could see one deck hand readying lines on the port bow, and he could turn to spot the other clearing the remaining snow and ice off the spacious aft deck. Through the sky windows, an indispensable feature when docking and undocking ships, a crane and the top of the cliff beyond were visible. The tug broke through ice near the dock while awaiting assist instructions from the bulk carrier Lake Erie. Radar and AIS displays showed the ship less than…
The following is text of a news release from Sea Machines: (BOSTON) — Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a leading developer of autonomous marine systems, has announced that the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) have approved the company’s SM200 commercial wireless helm for installation aboard a class of U.S.-flag tugboats that support articulated tug-barge (ATB) sets. An industry first in wireless vessel control, the two bodies granted their approvals after a review of Sea Machines’ technology and the SM200’s applications aboard these tugs, deeming the system satisfactory for shipboard installation and trials. Sea Machines managed the review process in partnership with its dealer Rio Controls & Hydraulics of Houston. The SM200 introduces flexible control for mariners, meaning the primary operator is no longer bound to a…
It has taken decades to build the fuel supply chain for the 50,000-vessel global merchant fleet. The pending 0.5 percent sulfur cap on marine fuel stands to upset this entrenched structure, with price volatility likely as a result. To comply with a 2016 regulation enacted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), vessels must either treat their exhaust, use an alternative fuel such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), or begin using fuel oil containing 0.5 percent sulfur or less by Jan. 1, 2020. Contained in Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the regulation reduces the sulfur limit from its current level of 3.5 percent. In response, fuel suppliers have adjusted refining processes, while operators are adapting to changes in fuel prices and quality…
There are electric ferries and tour boats, along with proposals for fully electric containerships, bunker tankers and barges. But how will all-electric vessels measure up to the extreme power demands of harbor tugs, or the distance and speed requirements of pilot boats? Two companies have taken on these challenges. In July, the Ports of Auckland in New Zealand ordered the world’s first full-size, fully electric ship-handling tug from Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands. The acquisition of the RSD-E Tug 2513 will help Auckland toward its goal of becoming emissions-free by 2040. And the naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, unveiled plans for an all-electric pilot boat in 2018. Both companies are using existing designs and boats, reconfiguring them for all-electric propulsion. Damen’s all-electric tug is based…
After loading crude oil on the Lower Mississippi River, the articulated tug-barge Buster Bouchard and B. No. 255 sailed for Corpus Christi, Texas. Oil leaked from a forward cargo tank for most of that voyage, allowing fuel and vapors to build up in the forepeak, according to federal investigators. Before dawn on Oct. 20, 2017, as the ATB prepared to get underway near Port Aransas, Texas, those vapors ignited and caused a series of explosions. Two crewmen working at the bow of the barge died and roughly 2,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators could not determine the source of ignition on B. No. 255. However, the agency reached damning conclusions about Bouchard Transportation’s safety culture and maintenance program. The NTSB…
These have been some lean years for a lot of American shipbuilders. But yards that kept the lights on, and their workforce intact, are benefiting from an apparent rebound in new tugboat and towboat construction. There are several factors influencing the uptick, perhaps none as significant as the approaching deadline for all tugboats to meet Coast Guard Subchapter M standards. Ahead of the July 20, 2022, deadline, operators are laying up or scrapping older tonnage, and in many cases they’re building new vessels to replace them. Market conditions are also forcing bigger operators to respond. Neo-Panamax ships are routinely calling on East Coast ports, and more powerful tugboats are needed to safely escort and assist them. The same trend is happening on the Gulf Coast, which has seen ever-larger supertankers…
Naval architects are often quick to point out that U.S. tugboat operators trail their European and Asian counterparts when it comes to adopting new technology. Lately, however, the gap appears to be narrowing. One diesel-electric, ship-assist tugboat has already been delivered, and at least five more are planned or under construction. These tugs represent the first non-conventional propulsion system on a U.S.-built tugboat since Foss Maritime’s Carolyn Dorothy was delivered almost a decade ago. This new generation of hybrid tugboats has one big difference from the original concept on Carolyn Dorothy: No battery power storage on board. One after another, all three operators with hybrid projects made clear they had little interest in battery-electric hybrid systems. “We explored batteries but quickly moved on,” said Shawn Bennett, CEO of Baydelta Maritime,…
Capt. Mike Harbarth steered Delta Teresa away from San Francisco’s Pier 17 and headed east. He slowed the new diesel-electric hybrid to a crawl as a sailboat or two clambered past. Then he started showing off. The gleaming tugboat spun clockwise and counterclockwise as nearly 100 people snapped pictures from shore. Most significant of all, the vessel performed these maneuvers without its main engines. Delta Teresa, named for the wife of Peter Zwart, Baydelta Maritime’s late vice president of operations, is the first tractor tugboat in the world with Rolls-Royce (now Kongsberg) diesel-electric propulsion. Captains can run the vessel using electric motors powered by up to four Caterpillar gensets or using just the twin 2,650-hp Cat 3516 Tier 3 main engines. Both systems can run simultaneously for maximum power. Bollard…
Baydelta Maritime has a tradition of naming its tugboats after its owners’ wives and daughters. Delta Teresa, named for Teresa Zwart, the wife of Baydelta’s late vice president of operations, Peter Zwart, represents a break from that tradition. Zwart was instrumental in Delta Teresa’s construction and outfitting, and he performed similar work on other Baydelta tugs through the years. Zwart died unexpectedly in January at age 68, and he never saw his final boat to completion. Speaking through her daughter, Teresa Zwart described the May 4 christening at San Francisco’s Pier 17 as a bittersweet day. Shawn Bennett Although it fulfilled one of her husband’s longtime wishes to see a vessel named in her honor, his absence was felt by dozens of friends and former colleagues gathered for the ceremony.…
