Ports – Professional Mariner

23 Apr

Baltimore lawsuit: Dali ‘unseaworthy’ before bridge strike

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsNTSB, Ports, Salvage, shipping, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The mayor and city council of Baltimore have filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, causing its collapse and killing six people working on it at the time, Reuters reported. The lawsuit, filed in Maryland federal court on Monday, seeks unspecified damages from the registered…

22 Apr

SAAM Towage brings all-electric tugs to Port of Vancouver

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & TowingClimate change, Ports, propulsion, shipbuilding

(VANCOUVER, British Columbia) — SAAM Towage and its coalition of partners in the public and private sector have unveiled the first 100 percent electric, zero-emission tugboats that will service local clients in the Port of Vancouver starting this spring. The official launch took place at the Port of Vancouver on April 10 and opened with a traditional welcome from the…

22 Apr

Third temporary channel established at Key Bridge

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, shipping

(BALTIMORE) — The captain of the port (COTP) has established the Fort Carroll Temporary Alternate Channel, which is on the northeast side of the main channel in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and will provide limited access for commercially essential vessels. The bridge collapsed on March 26 after being hit by the containership Dali. The Fort Carroll…

11 Apr

Great Lakes group honors Sen. Stabenow for maritime efforts

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) on Wednesday recognized the significant contributions U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has made throughout her congressional career protecting the Great Lakes Navigation System and supporting American jobs with investment in U.S.-flagged Great Lakes shipping. Stabenow, who co-chairs the bipartisan Senate Great Lakes Task Force, has been the driving force behind the…

08 Apr

Key Bridge update: Salvors removing containers from Dali

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The Unified Command began to remove containers aboard M/V Dali at the Francis Scott Key Bridge incident site on Sunday. The ship struck the bridge on March 26, causing it to collapse. Salvors are removing containers from Dali as part of the effort to gain access to the portion of the Key Bridge that lies atop the ship.…

03 Apr

Key Bridge update: Second alternate channel established

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, Salvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The captain of the port (COTP) on Tuesday established a second temporary alternate channel on the southwest side of the main channel near Hawkins Point in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge for commercially essential vessels. The bridge collapsed March 26 after being hit by the containership Dali. This action is part of a phased approach…

03 Apr

Iron ore shipments surge on Great Lakes in March

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipping

(CLEVELAND) — Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 1.6 million tons in March, an increase of 25.5 percent compared to 2023. Loadings also topped the month’s five-year average by 47.5 percent. Year to date, the iron ore trade stands at 4.4 million tons, an increase of 16.8 percent compared to a year ago. Iron ore shipments are…

02 Apr

First vessel transits temporary Baltimore bridge channel

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, Salvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The tugboat Crystal Coast, pushing a fuel barge, transited the temporary alternate channel created by the Key Bridge Response Unified Command at 3 p.m. Monday. It is the first vessel to use the channel since the bridge collapsed into the federal waterway on Tuesday. The barge is used to supply jet fuel to the Department of Defense (DOD)…

01 Apr

Army Corps leading effort to clear Baltimore bridge debris

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, Salvage

(BALTIMORE) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District has activated its emergency operations center, clearing the way for engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists to begin the complex process of clearing the damage and debris along the Fort McHenry Channel following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, to restore safe navigation in and out of…

26 Mar

Baltimore bridge collapses after boxship strike

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, Ports, shipping

(BALTIMORE) — The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning after a support column was struck by a containership, sending at least seven cars into the Patapsco River, launching a search-and-rescue operation and prompting Gov. Wes Moore to declare a state of emergency, The Baltimore Sun reported. In a Tuesday morning news conference, Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace…