Publication > Professional Mariner – Page 70

30 Sep

Canal expansion complete, East Coast welcomes ‘neo-Panamax’ ships

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

The “neo-Panamax” era officially began on June 26 when COSCO Shipping Panama passed through the Panama Canal’s new Agua Clara locks built to accommodate larger ships. Within two weeks, ships that sailed through the wider, deeper canal system began calling at major East Coast ports, including Miami, Charleston, Norfolk and New York-New Jersey. The 10,000-TEU MOL Benefactor was the largest…

30 Sep

Cruise line drops bid to restore SS United States to ocean service

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Technical difficulties and projected high costs have scuttled a plan to reconstruct the historic ocean liner SS United States and return it to sea as a luxury cruise ship. After a six-month feasibility study, Crystal Cruises, which had announced its intention to buy and retrofit “America’s flagship,” said in early August that the ship is structurally sound but the rehabilitation…

30 Sep

Canada getting new navy supply vessel in containership conversion

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

One major Canadian shipbuilder has a contract to convert a containership into a support vessel for the Royal Canadian Navy and another major Canadian builder has offered plans to the federal government for its own ship conversion. Chantier Davie Canada announced in May that it had cut the first steel for a Resolve-class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR) vessel at its…

30 Sep

Life at sea vs. life in space: Which crews are more connected?

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

Mariners, especially those in bluewater service, may feel like they’re on a different planet when it comes to Internet access and communicating with families ashore. But who is really better connected: a crew in the middle of the ocean, or one that is orbiting in space? “When mariners are on land we get used to connectivity, so going out to…

30 Sep

Coast Guard releases new form for reporting marine casualties

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

For the first time in nearly 40 years, the U.S. Coast Guard has released a revised form for reporting a marine casualty, commercial diving casualty or a casualty related to activity on the outer continental shelf. The newly renovated CG-2692 is the result of a three-year initiative by the Coast Guard. The new form replaced the previous version as of…

30 Sep

Firefighting deficiencies pace increase in foreign ship detentions

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

The U.S. Coast Guard recorded a 41 percent increase in the number of foreign-flagged vessels detained in 2015, the highest annual increase in 17 years, according to a recent report from Port State Control. The most common deficiencies involved firefighting systems, with the category accounting for 21 percent of detentions. Several detentions were the result of intentional manipulation of fire…

30 Sep

Steel, stone anchor promising future for Arkansas towboat operator

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner, Tugboats & Towing

At mile marker 783 on the Arkansas bank of the Mississippi River, Mid-River Terminal has two deck barges, one with a crane aboard, the other providing moorage for two towboats: the 67-foot Joe Ellis, named for the father of the company’s owner and president, Rick Ellis, and the sparkling new 70-foot Dianna Lynn, named for the owner’s wife. Both towboats…

30 Sep

Subchapter M fire rules provide new protection for mariners

Professional Mariner StaffPublication > Professional Mariner

In the not-too-distant past, stepping aboard a tugboat may have meant going to work with little or no fire and safety training, little related equipment and having to learn by trial and error — and hopefully the kindness of an old salt or two. On many of those occasions, the learning errors were quite costly in the form of property…

30 Sep

Houston pilots dispute NTSB’s findings in ship channel collision

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

On a foggy day in the Houston Ship Channel, the pilot aboard Conti Peridot made an urgent radio call to his counterpart on Carla Maersk. “Try to miss me, coming across the channel,” Conti Peridot’s pilot said, according to a National Transportation Safety Board accident report. For an hour, the 63-year-old pilot had struggled to control the 623-foot bulk carrier…

30 Sep

Alaska tug crewman crushed between barges during line repair

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News, Publication > Professional Mariner

A tugboat crewman died after getting caught between two barges in the Naknek River in southwest Alaska. The accident occurred at 1145 on June 29 when two barge workers were repairing a fouled line connected to a mooring buoy. Spencer Brewer, 20, of Seattle, Wash., fell into the water and was crushed between the barges while trying to climb onto…