As the maritime industry swings into the fifth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port of New Orleans and the three pilot associations guiding ships on the Mississippi River between Southwest Pass and Baton Rouge continue to operate as normal — but with strict CDC, Coast Guard and in-house protocols regarding hygiene and crew oversight to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.
For nearly four years, E.N. Bisso & Son’s Gladys B. was the lone z-drive tugboat designed by Robert Allan Ltd. working the Mississippi River. Now, it has some company.
Mazu Capt. Nick Payne stood by while mate Brandon Conner approached the containership Molly Schulte midway between Bayport Channel and Barbours Cut in the Houston Ship Channel.
In 1999, Bisso Towboat of Luling, La., introduced the first tractor tug on the Mississippi River with the delivery of Cecilia B. Slatten.
In front of the Lake Charles pilot station in Cameron, La., the 70-foot Cameron Pilot II went from zero to 28 knots in a matter of seconds, and did it as smoothly as the hand of Capt. Mark Foster advancing the throttles.
On a sun-splashed February morning, the Crescent Towing tugboat Mardi Gras met the 751-foot tanker Flagship Sage south of New Orleans on the Mississippi River.
As summer came to a close and high water finally receded on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, the fleets at Cairo, Ill., and Paducah, Ky., were busy making up tows following nearly nine months of disruptions.
Belle Chasse Marine Transportation (BCMT) began operations in 1977 on the Mississippi River with one crew boat.
In late September, with the main chamber closed for repairs, there were 17 tows waiting to lock on the Ohio River at the Willow Island Locks and Dam in Newport, Ohio.
Capt. Ray Parker signaled to the deck hand to lift the vehicle ramp. With that, and a toot on the horn, the nation’s first all-electric passenger/vehicle ferry slipped its mooring in Camden, Ala., and entered the Alabama River.
It was a busy March day aboard Tidewater Transportation’s Captain Bob, catch-up time due to annual lock closures by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Columbia and Snake rivers.
First light was breaking as Capt. Bob Asher maneuvered Karl E. Johnson across the Mississippi River to the Southern Illinois Transfer (SIT) fleet at Ste. Genevieve, Mo.
With the sun rising, Pyxis made its way up the Napa River and docked at the Vallejo Ferry Terminal.
On two ride-alongs aboard Brazos Pilot, rough sea conditions did not hinder the new pilot boat from making the sea buoy at the entrance to the harbor at Freeport, Texas.
The swimmer, Lt. Ben Lonngren, reached into a crevice in the rocks and with repeated strenuous efforts dislodged Rescue Andy.
On the first day of 2017, everything seemed hunky-dory as the New York Power Authority (NYPA) assumed ownership of the New York State Canal Corp.
With sea trials completed, Brett Snow eased the first in a new series of U.S. Navy workboats into Ballard Locks on Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal.
Cape Henlopen, crisp white and dazzling under a deep-blue sky over Delaware Bay, made its slow approach to the breakwater at Cape May, N.J., the ferry’s captain mindful of the shallow harbor.
Shaver Transportation has added a brawny new tugboat capable of handling just about any work that comes its way.
Containerships and tankers calling U.S. ports are getting bigger.
Springtime on the Kaskaskia River saw a smothering flood of water and the delivery of a new pushboat for Southern Illinois Transfer (SIT).
Bucking a brisk March wind, Enhydra, the hybrid-propelled pride of San Francisco’s Red and White Fleet, made for the Golden Gate Bridge.
It seemed fitting that McAllister Towing, synonymous with New York City, would present its biggest gun for the parade of naval vessels participating in the city’s annual Fleet Week show.
In 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville of the French Mississippi Company sailed up the Mississippi River and established La Nouvelle-Orleans, now New Orleans, the Crescent City.
