Is this finally the bottom? That’s the question being asked along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where nearly four years after the global oil market collapse, demand for new offshore vessels remains virtually non-existent.
The push in Washington for a 355-ship Navy is alive and well, but a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has cast doubt on the possibility of the service reaching that goal due to ballooning acquisition costs and “poor outcomes.”
September 2018 • Irving Shipbuilding launches HMCS Harry DeWolf, the first Arctic and offshore patrol ship (AOPS) being constructed under Canada’s oft-delayed National Shipbuilding Strategy. August 2018 • Foss Maritime closes its shipyard in Rainier, Ore., resulting in the…
Northern California has long been a hub for innovation, so it’s probably fitting that the greenest large excursion boat in the United States is now based at San Francisco’s Pier 43 1/2.
Owner/operator: Red and White Fleet, San Francisco, Calif. Designer/builder: Teknicraft Design, Auckland, New Zealand/All American Marine, Bellingham, Wash. Dimensions: L: 128’ B: 30’ D: 6’ Mission: Hybrid electric tour boat Crew size: Six Hull: Aluminum monohull Performance: Maximum speed: 13…
Crowley Maritime’s El Coqui, one of the world’s first combination container/roll-on/roll-off ships (con-ros) fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG), made its maiden voyage from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 27.
Owner/operator: Crowley Conro LLC, Wilmington, Del./Crowley Global Ship Management, Jacksonville, Fla. Designer/builder: Warstila Ship Design, Norway and Poland units/VT Halter Marine, Pascagoula, Miss.; Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla. Dimensions: L: 720’ B: 105’ D: 31’ Mission: Container/roll-on/roll-off liner service,…
While the sun rose, the trailing suction hopper dredger Magdalen, like a caterpillar working a leaf, was feeding off the seafloor six and a half miles from Surf City on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island.
Owner/operator: Weeks Marine Inc., Cranford, N.J. Designer/builder: Royal IHC, Kinderdijk, Netherlands/Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla. Dimensions: L: 356’ B: 79’ D: 25.3’ Mission: Trailing suction hopper dredger Crew size: 21 Hull: Steel monohull Propulsion: (2) GE 16V250 diesel engines,…
The fast ferry Seastreak Commodore, resplendent in early morning light, appeared on the East River like the intro to a Hollywood movie.
Owner/operator: Seastreak LLC, Atlantic Highlands, N.J. Designer/builder: Incat Crowther, Belrose, Australia/Gulf Craft, Franklin, La. Dimensions: L: 150’ B: 40’ D: 6.5’ Mission: High-speed passenger ferry Crew size: Seven Hull: Aluminum catamaran Performance: Service speed: 35 knots Propulsion: (4) MTU 12V…
The traditional system for refueling ships at anchor or dockside by a push tug and bunker barge is so well established that many American mariners would conclude this must be the only way to get the job done.
Owner/operator: Maxum Petroleum, Rancho Dominguez, Calif./Rainier Petroleum Corp., Seattle, Wash. Designer/builder: Elliott Bay Design Group, Seattle, Wash./Jesse Co., Tacoma, Wash. Dimensions: L: 127’ B: 32’ D: 13’ Mission: Self-propelled bunker tanker Crew size: Two to four Hull: Double-hull steel Performance:…
The Virginia Pilot Association, like many of its counterparts around the world, is bound by history and tradition.
Owner/operator: Virginia Pilot Association, Virginia Beach, Va. Designer/builder: C. Raymond Hunt Associates, New Bedford, Mass./Gladding- Hearn Shipbuilding, Somerset, Mass. Dimensions: L: 55’ B: 17’2” D: 4’11” Mission: Pilot boat Crew size: Two Hull: Deep-V aluminum monohull Performance: Maximum speed: 32…
Anyone who is passionate about fishing knows that once the grip takes hold, it’s difficult to shake.
Designer/builder: Luiz de Basto Designs, Miami, Fla. (interior and exterior)/Burger Boat Co., Manitowoc, Wis. Dimensions: L: 103.6’ B: 26.5’ D: 7.4’ Mission: Private motor yacht Crew size: Up to five in two cabins Guests: Nine in four staterooms Hull: Steel…
Only a handful of supply, platform and other large offshore vessels will be produced in the United States this year as builders remain affected by the global oil downturn of 2014.
Although the crew boat shipyards, tucked among the sugarcane fields lining Bayou Teche in south Louisiana, are in a deep slump, Gulf Craft, Breaux Brothers and Breaux’s Bay Craft are still employing skeleton crews on a smattering of orders.
Compared to other vessel classes, ferry construction in North America is decidedly booming these days.
Fireboat construction remained steady during the past year as U.S. municipal departments took delivery of multiple notable vessels, including the 108-foot Vigilance built for the Port of Long Beach, Calif.
Most scientists concur that climate change is affecting the Earth’s oceans, impacting weather patterns and aquatic species in the process.
If one thing is certain about North American yacht building in the past decade, it’s the ever-increasing air of secrecy.
This register lists vessels of interest to professional mariners completed by North American shipyards in the year ended Sept. 1, 2018.
