Tugboats and towing – Page 3 – Professional Mariner

12 Mar

Tanker pilot transposed tugboat positions, leading to pier strike

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, Tugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — On Oct. 14, 2024, about 0412 local time, the crude oil tanker Platanos was undocking from the Martinez Refining Company wharf pier near Martinez, Calif., in the Carquinez Strait, when the vessel’s port quarter made contact with a concrete dolphin and a fender support panel of the pier. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported. Damage…

10 Mar

Fireboats respond to burning barge in Delaware Bay

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(PHILADELPHIA) — The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies responded to a barge fire Tuesday in Delaware Bay. Late Tuesday afternoon, the barge was currently being towed to approximately 2 miles off Maurice River Cove, N.J., to remove the threat from the main ship channel, where firefighting efforts will continue. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay has established a safety zone,…

26 Feb

Gunderson-built docking pier arrives in Antarctica

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsshipbuilding, Tugboats and towing

(PORTLAND, Ore.) — The McMurdo docking pier, constructed by Gunderson Marine & Iron and designed by Glosten for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has arrived at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, following a 9,159-nautical-mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean and Southern Ocean. The pier, towed from the Pacific Northwest by TradeWinds Towing, was underway for 69 days, averaging 5.5 knots over…

25 Feb

Salvors remove grounded barge from entrance to San Juan Harbor

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsSalvage, Tugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — The unified command managing response efforts for the grounded barge Defiant announced the successful refloating and removal of the vessel from the Castillo San Felipe del Morro shoreline on Wednesday. The unified command said response personnel and contracted salvors refloated Defiant at 2:22 a.m., just before the arrival of high tide. Salvage crews and tugboat…

25 Feb

Injury highlights hazards to crew in tug-to-barge transits

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — While moored at a refinery in Chalmette, La., a towing vessel crewmember fell approximately 30 feet into the tow notch of an oceangoing articulated tug-barge (ATB) after overextending their reach and losing their footing while climbing the barge’s set-in pigeonholes. The fall resulted in multiple head and facial fractures and the crewmember became pinned within the tow notch,…

10 Feb

Fuel barge runs aground at entrance to San Juan Harbor

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan personnel are responding alongside local emergency agencies to a fuel barge that ran aground at about noon Monday off the San Juan Harbor port entrance by the San Felipe del Morro Castle. No injuries have been reported and there are no signs of pollution. The barge currently holds approximately…

10 Feb

WCI calls for ‘central hub’ to improve inland project oversight

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newsbrownwater, Tugboats and towing, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

(WASHINGTON) — The Waterways Council Inc. (WCI) has released a white paper prepared by HDR titled "Inland Navigation Construction Organization: A New Programmatic Approach for Delivering Major Projects." The paper outlines the necessity for creating a new integrated and programmatic inland navigation construction organization (INCO) within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to drive accountability and execute multiple inland waterways…

05 Feb

Crew seals generator space, contains fire aboard Lake Erie ATB

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — On Dec. 30, 2024, about 1609, the articulated tug-barge Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder, with a crew of 16, was anchored in Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio, when a fire broke out in the generator space of the barge Pathfinder. The crew sealed the space and released the vessel’s fixed gas fire extinguishing system, putting out the fire. There were no…

30 Jan

Robert Allan Memorial Scholarship for 2026 open for applications

Professional Mariner StaffLicensing & Trainingshipbuilding, Tugboats and towing

(VANCOUVER, British Columbia) — The Robert Allan Memorial Scholarship award for 2026 is open for applications until June 30. The Robert Allan Memorial Scholarship was established in 1982 through a bequest from the late Robert F. Allan, with additional support from his friends and colleagues. Robert Allan Ltd. continues to actively support the scholarship through ongoing contributions, and the fund…

26 Jan

Laborde provides Mitsubishi power for Blessey’s first Tier 4 towboat

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry Newsbrownwater, propulsion, Tugboats and towing

(CHANNELVIEW, Texas) — Capt. Daniel Armstrong, a new-construction 2,600-horsepower towboat and the first Tier 4 vessel in the Blessey Marine Services fleet, has entered service powered by a Mitsubishi S12R marine engine supplied and supported by Laborde Products. The vessel was christened on Jan. 14 at Web Fleet in Channelview. Capt. Daniel Armstrong, built by Vessel Repair of Port Arthur,…