BAY TRANSPORTATION

WETA Awarded Blue & Gold Fleet Five-Year Contract

Water Emergency Transportation Authority Awards Ferry Operating Contract to Blue & Gold Fleet. At its October 6 Board of Directors meeting, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) awarded Blue & Gold Fleet ("B&GF") a five-year contract for the operation of WETA's San Francisco Bay Ferry services. San Francisco Bay Ferry, which recently assumed operation of the Alameda/Oakland and Harbor Bay Ferries, provides daily commute and excursion service between Alameda, Oakland, San Francisco, and Harbor Bay. In early 2012, San Francisco Bay Ferry plans to launch new ferry service between South San Francisco and the East Bay and to assume operation of the City of Vallejo's Baylink ferry operating between Vallejo and San Francisco. Under the new contract, B&GF will be responsible for the daily operation of all these services at an estimated five year cost of $44.5 million.      "I am very pleased with this contract award," says Nina Rannells, Executive Director of WETA. "It marks the beginning of a new era for San Francisco Bay Ferry and the continuation of a great partnership with Blue & Gold Fleet. It is great to have this long-term agreement, and we are grateful to WETA for acknowledging Blue & Gold Fleet's unique capabilities and highly skilled employees," says Taylor Safford, President of Blue & Gold Fleet

Moose Awarded U.S. DOT Contract

Aluminum boat maker Moose Boats won a contract from the Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD), for the construction of two Moose 340C Catamaran Patrol Boats. These patrol boats will be assigned to the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet located in Benicia, Calif. The Suisun Bay Fleet consists of dry cargo ships, tankers, military auxiliaries and other types of reserve ships in the custody of the Maritime Administration.

Coast Guard Stops Vessel From Collision

Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) San Francisco directed three tugboats to help divert a 700-foot dry-dock barge from colliding with the San Francisco Bay Bridge today. At approximately 8 p.m. today a night watchman from Pier 70 in San Francisco noticed that the dry-dock vessel had broken loose and notified the Coast Guard. Upon notification, the Coast Guard directed three tug boats to intercept the adrift vessel.

Hearing on National Strategy for Maritime Security

The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure conducted a field hearing on the National Strategy for Maritime Security. The purpose of the hearing, held in Camden, New Jersey, was to continue oversight of federal programs intended to enhance security in the maritime domain. RADM Craig Bone, USCG and Mr. Mark O. Hatfield, Jr., TSA, testified that maritime security encompasses threats from all criminal or

Marina Gets Grant to Launch Ferry Service

A private marina will reportedly receive $20 million in federal money to launch a ferry service from Sonoma County to San Francisco and Oakland, SignonSanDiego.com reported The money went to North Bay Ferry Service of Larkspur, which is owned by Skip Berg, a former owner of Infineon Raceway who also owns the Port Sonoma marina. The port sits on the Petaluma River at the Sonoma and Napa County lines, near the race track.

San Francisco Bay Area WTA Appoints New CEO

On October 30, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority Board of Directors appointed Steve Castleberry as the WTA’s new Chief Executive Officer. He will take the helm on January 1, 2004. Castleberry has been serving as the WTA’s manager of System Planning since shortly after the inception of the organization. Prior to joining the WTA, he served as deputy director of the Alameda County Transportation Authority. (ACTA)

Tampa Bay Shipbuilding Gets Orders for Barges

Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., the company that bought Maritrans Inc., said it will build three articulated tug barges, each with a construction value of about $90m. The barges will be constructed at Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., while the tug boats will be constructed at Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. in Mobile, Ala., according to a release from Overseas Shipholding. Tampa Bay Shipbuilding, which is an affiliate of Bender and located at the Port of Tampa

News: California to Build 31 New Ferries

Governor Davis Signs Senate Bill 915 The San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA) announced that the recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 915 (D-Perata, Oakland) gives it the go ahead to develop seven new Bay Area ferry routes, expand existing ferry routes, and build 31 new boats. Signed October 10, 2003, the bill makes the WTA a permanent transit agency. "We are on the brink of a new and exciting future for ferries on San Francisco Bay

Awarded: $17.1m in U.S. Shipyard Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration today announced $17.1 million in grants to 14 small shipyards in 10 states.  The grants are part of the Assistance to Small Shipyards program. “Small shipyards are vitally important for the health of the maritime industry, and for the nation’s economy,” said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.  The purpose of the grants is to make capital and infrastructure improvements that facilitate the

Ice-breaking Tug Returns to USCG Base

Great Lakes icebreaking mission complete, USCG Thunder Bay returns to base The 140-foot ice-breaking tug Thunder Bay  augmented the USCG fleet on the Great Lakes during Operation Taconite, a major Great Lakes ice-breaking operation this ice season. The crew participated alongside other Coast Guard icebreakers in operations that facilitated the safe navigation of vessels and cleared paths for more than 67 commercial freighters