maritime news – Page 3 – Professional Mariner

01 Jun

Larger, faster Sabine pilot boat built to go the distance

Professional Mariner StaffPilot Boat, Vessels at WorkLNG, mariners, maritime industry, maritime news, Port Arthur, Sabine Pilots, Spindletop, Texas

Oil has fueled the Texas economy since the Spindletop field near Beaumont began gushing at a rate of 100,000 barrels per day in 1901. This year, Breaux’s Bay Craft of Loreauville, La., delivered Spindletop, a 90-foot pilot boat, to the Sabine Pilots of Port Arthur, Texas. Spindletop was conceived and built to keep pace with growth in the petroleum trade,…

01 Jun

Five die, eight missing after liftboat capsizes near Port Fourchon

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsCoast Guard, Gulf of Mexico, marine casualties, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime casualties, maritime fatalities, maritime news, NTSB, SEACOR Power

Five people died and eight others remain missing after a liftboat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico near Port Fourchon, La., after encountering hurricane-force winds while underway. The 234-foot SEACOR Power rolled over at about 1630 on April 13, roughly 7 nautical miles from the port. The vessel came to rest on the seafloor partially submerged. Winds had exceeded 80…

01 Jun

Tanker’s speed, hydrodynamics cited in Houston T-bone collision

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News30015T, Genesis River, Houston Ship Channel, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime industry, maritime news, Voyager

The speed of a tanker was a primary factor in a T-bone collision in the Houston Ship Channel that nearly tore a barge in half and caused a chemical spill, federal investigators determined. The 754-by-122-foot Genesis River struck a barge pushed by the towboat Voyager at about 1515 on May 10, 2019 near the Bayport Ship Channel. Genesis River hit…

01 Jun

Tow operator disputes NTSB findings after barge breach at lock

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsJamie Whitten Lock and Dam, mariners, maritime industry, maritime news, PBL 3422, Savage Inland Marine, Savage Voyager, Tennessee-Tombigbee

Federal investigators determined that crew inattention was the probable cause of a barge accident at the Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway that spilled nearly 2,800 barrels of crude oil. Savage Inland Marine, then the operator of the towboat Savage Voyager and the barges SMS 30056 and PBL 3422, disputed those findings. The company has filed a…

01 Jun

Crew escapes after engine rod failure leads to towboat fire

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsCity of Cleveland, Lower Mississippi River, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime industry, maritime news, NTSB

The 140-foot City of Cleveland was pushing 18 barges up the Lower Mississippi River when the captain heard a sound similar to a log hitting a propeller. Moments later, the port engine stopped and flames erupted from the engine room. The nine crewmembers on the towboat escaped to a barge and were later rescued by a good Samaritan vessel. No one was…

01 Jun

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

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsBridgeport, Coast Guard, Global Diving & Salvage, Margery, mariners, maritime accidents, maritime industry, maritime news, tugboats

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…

01 Jun

Taking on climate change: Carbon capture for marine applications

Professional Mariner StaffClimate Change, CorrespondenceCO2, IMO, mariners, maritime industry, maritime news

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)…

01 Jun

Transition in the wind as shipping warms to alternative propulsion

Professional Mariner StaffCargo vessels, Containership, Correspondence, Offshore Wind, Propulsioncargo vessel, energy, IWSA, mariners, maritime industry, maritime news

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…

02 May

Mariners not a priority for states during COVID vaccine rollout

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsCDC, COVID-19, essential workers, MarAd, maritime news, pandemic

As millions of Americans receive their COVID-19 vaccines, there is a vital group of workers who are still not being given priority: mariners. Because the vaccines are being administered by state governments, there is no mechanism nationally to put mariners at the front of the line, even though they are crucial in delivering essential goods across the country. As of…

02 May

Low sulfur fuel supply meeting demand, but quality issues remain

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsIMO, International Maritime Organization, maritime news, sulfur cap

While bunker supplies to meet the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 sulfur cap have been adequate so far, there are still concerns in the industry about fuel quality that could lead to compliance and operational issues. The IMO reported only 55 cases of 0.5 percent fuel being unavailable worldwide in the 12 months after the low sulfur mandate went into effect…