Larger, faster Sabine pilot boat built to go the distance

Larger, faster Sabine pilot boat built to go the distance

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,…
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Texas mariner dies after falling from tugboat near Jacksonville

Texas mariner dies after falling from tugboat near Jacksonville

A Texas man working on a tugboat in Jacksonville, Fla., died after falling into the St. Johns River while trying to board a dredge barge. Oziel Martinez, 41, fell from the tugboat Pops at about 0300 on Nov. 22 while attempting to step onto the clamshell dredging barge New York. Martinez was not wearing a life jacket and did not…
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Casualty  Briefs

Casualty Briefs

Crewman missing, presumed dead after falling from ship off Texas A 27-year-old mariner sailing aboard the tanker Sagami is missing and presumed dead after falling into the Gulf of Mexico near Sabine Pass, Texas.  The victim, whose name and nationality were not identified, worked aboard the 557-foot tanker registered in Panama. He fell overboard at about 1906 on Dec. 2…
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Texas Game Wardens gain crime-fighting advantage in the Gulf of Mexico

Texas Game Wardens gain crime-fighting advantage in the Gulf of Mexico

It’s a cat-and-mouse game on the high seas: Unlicensed commercial fishermen from Mexico head north into Texas waters in small, swift boats called “lanchas,” hoping to catch a haul of seafood before the authorities catch them. One day this summer, the crew of one such fishing boat saw something unusual. Heading toward them was a sleek silver vessel boldly marked…
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