brownwater – Page 17 – Professional Mariner

06 Oct

Birdon gets contract for up to 27 inland buoy tenders

Rich MillerMaritime Newsbrownwater, Navigation, shipbuilding

(WASHINGTON) – The Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program has awarded Birdon America of Denver, Colo., an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity firm fixed-price contract with economic price adjustments for the detail design and construction of its river buoy and inland construction tenders. The initial award is worth $28.49 million. The contract includes options for the construction of 16 river buoy tenders…

05 Oct

Low water in Lower Mississippi causes multiple groundings

Rich MillerCasualty Newsbrownwater, Tugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(NEW ORLEANS) — The U.S. Coast Guard continues to respond to multiple barge groundings due to low water levels in the Lower Mississippi River. There are reports of barge groundings Tuesday near Stack Island, Miss., with a waterway restriction from mile marker 478 to 492, and Memphis, Tenn., with a waterway closure from mile marker 686 to 676. "Due to…

04 Oct

Opinion: Coast Guard must do more to restore navigational aids on Western rivers

Rich MillerMaritime Newsbrownwater, Navigation, U.S. Coast Guard

By Capt. Gregory L. Smith Imagine for a second driving your car through traffic in a strange city with missing or misleading road signs, traffic lights and lane markings. Over the past decade, that is exactly the kind of navigation Western river mariners have increasingly been expected to perform. Technology that would permit 100 percent virtual aids to navigation (ATONs) may become available…

03 Oct

Coast Guard medevacs crewman from dredge near Houston

Rich MillerCasualty Newsbrownwater, dredging, U.S. Coast Guard

(HOUSTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 37-year-old man Monday from a dredging vessel in Houston. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston command center watch standers received a medevac request at 9:26 a.m. from the captain of dredging vessel Terrapin Island stating a crewman had severely injured his hand and was in need of assistance. The incident occurred in the Houston…

19 Sep

Fuel barge aground after towboat collision on GIW

Rich MillerCasualty Newsbrownwater, towing

(NEW ORLEANS) — The U.S. Coast Guard began monitoring a barge with heavy fuel oil aboard that went aground after a collision at mile marker 43.5 on the Port Allen route of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIW) on Saturday. Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received notification that two towboats, Creole Crusader and the Jack Odom, collided at…

16 Sep

NTSB: Caution area not identified before train hit barge on riverbank

Rich MillerCasualty Newsbrownwater, towing

(WASHINGTON) — The National Transportation Board (NTSB) said Thursday that the pilot of a Mississippi River towing vessel and its captain pushed their tow up against a riverbank too close to a railroad track, leading to a collision and train derailment near Galland, Iowa. Marine Investigation Report 22/22 details the NTSB’s investigation into the Nov. 13, 2021, collision between the…

31 Aug

AWO presents third annual Safety Award to ERL

Rich MillerTugboats & Towingbrownwater

(CHICAGO) — Earlier this month, the American Waterways Operators' Tankering and Barge Operations Subcommittee presented AWO affiliate member ERL Inc. with the subcommittee's third annual Safety Award for the creation and testing of its EverGreen seal. The EverGreen seal replaces current braided Teflon gaskets and reduces cargo vapor emissions by more than 90 percent, improving safety for mariners and shore…

22 Aug

Second phase of Mississippi River channel deepening completed

Rich MillerMaritime Newsbrownwater, dredging, shipping

(NEW ORLEANS) — On Aug. 16, Louisiana elected officials, federal partners and maritime stakeholders joined the Big River Coalition to celebrate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) completion of the first two phases of the deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel, which currently provides a maximum draft of 50 feet for vessels calling on the Port of New…

01 Aug

Tanker spills oil during transfer on Lower Mississippi

Rich MillerCasualty Newsbrownwater, shipping

(NEW ORLEANS) — The U.S. Coast Guard responded to a discharge of oil from a tanker Friday on the Lower Mississippi River near Kenner, La. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watch standers received notification at 6:08 p.m. that the tanker Hafnia Rhine discharged oil during a fuel transfer operation with a fuel barge at Ama Anchorage, mile marker 115. Watch…

21 Jul

AWO, policymakers welcome COI compliance milestone

Rich MillerTugboats & Towingbrownwater, U.S. Coast Guard

(ARLINGTON, Va.) — The American Waterways Operators (AWO) welcomed the arrival of a historic milestone for transportation safety on July 19, when all tugboats and towboats in the United States must carry a Coast Guard-issued certificate of inspection (COI) to operate. Tuesday's deadline for 100 percent COI compliance signals full implementation of the Subchapter M towing vessel safety regulations, the…