Barge hits St. Johns River jetty, grounds after being towed away
01 Jun

Barge hits St. Johns River jetty, grounds after being towed away

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, , , , , , , ,
A barge carrying coal ash hit a jetty marking the entrance to the St. Johns River east of Jacksonville, Fla., with the breached vessel ultimately grounding more than a mile south on the Atlantic shoreline after being towed away.  The tugboat Margery had the 418-foot Bridgeport under tow when the barge hit a submerged section of the south jetty at…
Read More
Cybersecurity 101: Playing it safe when logging in at sea
01 Jun

Cybersecurity 101: Playing it safe when logging in at sea

Professional Mariner StaffCyber Sercurity, Trends and Currents, ,
Mariners spend less time online than the average landlubber with constant access to Wi-Fi and 5G cell towers, but they often rely on the internet more for managing their lives. Paying bills, shopping or connecting with family and friends during months-long assignments are all done online — using the spotty and often sluggish remote access available to seafaring crews. And…
Read More
Taking on climate change: Carbon capture for marine applications
01 Jun

Taking on climate change: Carbon capture for marine applications

Professional Mariner StaffClimate Change, Correspondence, , , ,
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015 with the intent to peak and then sharply reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to keep the average global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably limited to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. In response to the U.N. initiative, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…
Read More
Transition in the wind as shipping warms to alternative propulsion
01 Jun

Transition in the wind as shipping warms to alternative propulsion

Professional Mariner StaffCargo vessels, Containership, Correspondence, Offshore Wind, Propulsion, , , , ,
In the light of the current scramble for alternative, low-carbon fuels that will take until the 2030s to substantially penetrate the maritime fuel mix, wind propulsion is gaining more attention from vessel owners and operators. Gavin Allwright, the secretary-general of the International Windship Association (IWSA), discusses the uptake of this technology and what is behind a spate of recent public…
Read More
Maritime Publishing acquires Professional Mariner magazine
02 May

Maritime Publishing acquires Professional Mariner magazine

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime News, , , , ,
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…
Read More
Classic tug takes on winter to prevent Mohawk Valley flooding
02 May

Classic tug takes on winter to prevent Mohawk Valley flooding

Professional Mariner StaffSeaways & Waterways, Tugboats & Towing, , , , , ,
Far too often, Erie Canal communities have been threatened by flooding in the spring due to the formation of ice jams. Tugboats might not be a solution most people would consider to mitigate the problem, but New York’s Reimagine the Canals program is now utilizing a tug to break up sheet ice along the route shared by the canal and…
Read More
‘High highs, low lows’: Great Lakes-Seaway ports ride out pandemic
02 May

‘High highs, low lows’: Great Lakes-Seaway ports ride out pandemic

Professional Mariner StaffCargo vessels, Seaways & Waterways, , , , ,
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System carried an impressive amount of cargo in 2020 despite COVID-19 limitations. Overall tonnage for the navigation season, which ran from March 25, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2021, was only down 1.7 percent compared with 2019 for U.S. and Canadian ports that use the waterways.  How was that possible? “Despite the incredible challenges of the…
Read More
Versatile Weeks dredge tender built tough from bottom up
02 May

Versatile Weeks dredge tender built tough from bottom up

Professional Mariner StaffVessels at Work, , , , , ,
Jack K., a 62.5-foot Cummins-powered dredge tender, is described by Weeks Marine’s project manager as a Swiss army knife for the tugboat set. The newbuild will assist dredges, tow dredges, push barges, handle anchors and move pipe, primarily along the Gulf Coast, while also carrying an oceans classification for towing equipment offshore. The versatile vessel was designed by MiNO Marine…
Read More
Barge runs into shorefront homes after tug master falls asleep
02 May

Barge runs into shorefront homes after tug master falls asleep

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, , , , , , ,
An empty gravel barge careened into several waterfront homes near Gig Harbor, Wash., after the tugboat’s captain fell asleep at the controls.  The 71-foot, 1,800-hp Island Chief was pushing the barge south in the Colvos Passage when it veered toward land at about 0715 on March 15. The barge hit one house and damaged decks and property at two other…
Read More
Ship autonomy points toward savings, but be wary of higher cost
02 May

Ship autonomy points toward savings, but be wary of higher cost

Professional Mariner StaffCorrespondence, , , , , , , ,
The order is given and it’s full speed ahead for robot vessels called maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS).  The technologies being researched and developed are showing no signs of stopping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has defined four categories of MASS with differing degrees of autonomy: • Degree one: Seafarers are on board to operate and control shipboard systems and…
Read More