U.S. Coast Guard – Professional Mariner

26 Apr

Moran receives highest Coast Guard award for environmental protection

Professional MarinerTugboats & Towingsafety, U.S. Coast Guard

(NEW CANAAN, Conn.) — Moran Towing Corp. has been awarded the William M. Benkert Marine Environmental Protection Award, a U.S. Coast Guard award that recognizes marine organizations for outstanding achievements in safety and environmental protection. Moran received the Osprey Award, the highest tier of the Benkert Award. “We are honored to receive this prestigious recognition from the Coast Guard,” said…

26 Apr

Fourth channel allows deep-draft ships to depart Baltimore

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

(BALTIMORE) — The captain of the port on Thursday established a fourth channel, the Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel, which will run the length of the northeast side of the federal channel at the Francis Scott Key Bridge and provide additional access to commercially essential traffic. The bridge collapsed on March 26 after being hit by the containership Dali. The…

24 Apr

New report details ‘persistent’ maritime cyberthreats

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsCyberthreats, Ports, shipping, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command (CGCYBER) has released its annual Cyber Trends and Insights in the Marine Environment report, with many of the findings mirroring previous studies. Four key takeaways from the new report: • Many of the same findings and recommendations discussed in the 2021 and 2022 reports were noted again in 2023. • Emerging technologies create…

24 Apr

Coast Guard seeking applicants for towing safety panel

Professional Mariner StaffTugboats & Towingbrownwater, safety, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard is accepting applications to fill 18 vacancies on the National Towing Safety Advisory Committee. This committee advises the secretary of homeland security, via the commandant of the Coast Guard, on matters relating to shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal waterway navigation and towing safety. Completed applications must reach the Coast Guard on or before June 10.…

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…

23 Apr

NTSB: Obstructed valve led to partial sinking of towboat

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

(WASHINGTON) — An obstructed check valve on a bilge pump led to the flooding and partial sinking of a towboat last year while moored at a shipyard near New Orleans, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. The towboat Joanne Marie was found partially submerged a day and a half after being moored and deactivated at the Bollinger Quick…

16 Apr

Fourth body recovered after Baltimore bridge collapse

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsSalvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(BALTIMORE) — The Unified Command recovered the body of another missing victim, the fourth of six, at the Francis Scott Key Bridge incident site Sunday. The bridge collapsed after being hit by the containership Dali on March 26. At the request of the family, the victim’s name is not being disclosed at this time. The victim, a construction worker, was…

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.…

08 Apr

Coast Guard reports increase in ship detentions in 2023

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsPort state control, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — In 2023, a total of 10,959 individual vessels, from 80 different flag administrations, made 81,854 port calls to the United States, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. In all, 8,278 port state control (PSC) exams were conducted. These exam numbers decreased over the 2022 total of 8,706. The total number of ships detained in 2023 for environmental protection,…

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…