BAY-HOUSTON TOWING
Bay-Houston Towing’s Third Conrad Z-Tech Tug
Bay-Houston Towing Co. has taken delivery of their third Z-Tech 7500 tug. The Z-Tech 7500 design is the largest of the Robert Allan line of Z-Tech tugboats. The Hunter M was delivered to Bay-Houston in April of this year by her builder, Conrad’s Orange Shipbuilding yard after dock and sea trials in Orange, Texas. The Hunter M is the final boat in the series of Z-Tech 7500’s to be completed by Orange Ship Building. The arrival of the Hunter M brings to 18 the number of harbor tugs in Bay-Houston Towing Company’s fleet. The Hunter M’s principal dimensions are: Length 98.5 ft Beam 39.3 ft Hull Depth 16.4 ft The tug is powered by two Caterpillar 3516C engines, which produce 3150 horsepower each for a total of 6300 horsepower and a bollard pull of 75 tonnes. The EPA Tier II rated Caterpillar engines are mated to Model SRP-1520 Schottel drives. The Hunter M is fully FiFi 1 compliant, with twin Caterpillar C-18 engines powering the fire pumps, each rated at 5300 gpm. Electrical power is provided by two John Deere gensets, each rated at 125 kw. The winch on the Hunter M is a Markey Model #DYSF – 52 Escort Line Winch. The winch has an automatic render/recover mode, and is equipped with an application specific Markey tension meter. The winch will have a brake capacity of 500,000 pounds.
Bay-Houston Orders Z-Drive Tug
Bay-Houston Towing Co. contracted with Orange Shipbuilding Co., Inc. of Orange, Texas to produce a second generation Robert Allan Ltd. designed Z-Tech tug. The design offers: · The forward deck (over the skeg) has a low, flat sheer, creating a spacious, relatively flat and safe working deck, without any obstructive anchor chains, etc. · For "sea-going" operations, the Z-Tech tug works astern in tractor mode
Hope Shipyard Delivers the M/V Trinity Bay
Hope Services Shipyard of Dulac, La. delivered the M/V Trinity Bay on March 4 to Higman Marine Services of Houston, Texas. The delivery marks the 35th vessel Hope has constructed for Higman. The M/V Trinity Bay is the second 78-ft by 34-ft by 10-ft inland towing vessel Hope has manufactured for Higman. The first vessel of this size, the M/V Baffin Bay was delivered in November 2010. It is powered by a pair of Cummins KTA‐38M diesel engines providing 2,000 horsepower
Towline Aboard Stranded 'Kulluk' Rig
Aerial and onboard inspections confirm the vessel remains firmly aground & stable on Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, with no sign of leakage of pollutants. Naval architects on the survey team confirm the Kulluk is structurally sound and fit for towing to safe harbor in nearby Kiliuda Bay. The exact timing for potential towing activity is dependent on weather, tides and operational readiness. Once the Unified Command team managing the incident confirms it is safe and ready to move forward
USCG – Members Sought for HOGANSAC
The US Coast Guard seeks applications for membership on the Houston/Galveston Navigation Safety Advisory Committee (HOGANSAC). The committee advises the Coast Guard on matters relating to safe navigation of vessels to and from the ports of Galveston, Houston, and Texas City, and throughout Galveston Bay. Applications should be submitted by February 14, 2009. 73 Fed. Reg. 76368 (December 16, 2008).
Houston Ship Channel Re-opens
An evacuation alert was rescinded Wednesday afternoon for a one-mile ring around a Rohm and Haas Co. chemical plant near Houston after a dangerously overheated tank of highly flammable acrylic acid was cooled by firefighters, the company said. A mile-long stretch of the Houston Ship Channel, which had been closed as a precaution on Wednesday morning, was reopened at about 6:00 p.m. local time. It was the second evacuation along the row of refineries and plants near Houston in three days
Crowley Completes Tow of the Ex-USS Iowa
Crowley Marine Services completed its third tow of an historic U.S. Naval battleship April 21, when the company's tug Sea Victory finished the 6,500-mile tow of the USS Iowa from Newport, R.I., to Suisun Bay, Calif. The Sea Victory's tow plan took the Iowa from Narragansett Bay, through the Crooked and Windward Passages to Cristobal, Panama. She then continued Northwest along the coast of Central America toward California
Coast Guard Rescues Three from Sinking Tug
A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Port O'Connor rescued three men off the sinking tug, Charles Alfred, May 27 in San Antonio Bay, approximately six miles south of Seadrift, Texas.The crew of the Charles Alfred contacted the Coast Guard at 9:25 p.m. and reported that they were sinking. Two boat crews from Station Port O'Connor, Texas, and a helicopter crew from Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, responded. The three crewmembers were safely rescued from the tug and taken to Station Port
Port of Houston Upcoming Youth Maritime Expo
The third annual Maritime Youth Expo will be held at the Port of Houston's Bayport Cruise Terminal, Saturday 6, April 2013. Hundreds of area high school maritime students and Sea Scouts will have the opportunity to hear mariners talk about opportunities on tow boats, harbor tugs and barges, learn about maritime salvage and see salvor equipment in action, and watch state-of-the-art Coast Guard helicopters and small boats perform on-water demonstrations
Towing Company to Pay $10M for Spill
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued a Press Release stating the Bouchard Transportation Co. was sentenced to pay a $10 million fine in connection with the oil spill in Buzzards Bay on April 27, 2003. A loaded tank barge being towed by a company tug grounded while outside the channel. The tug and barge were outside the channel because the mate on duty had left the pilothouse unmanned. The company was aware of repeated concerns raised about the mate’s
Duma Looks Deep Down for Energy
US's Duma Energy Corp. says it has received new 3D seismic data in its search for deeper oil reserves in its Galveston Bay producing fields. This new data, which covers three of Duma's fields in Galveston Bay, is part of a broader effort by several other large independent oil companies to
Maersk Floats First Tripple-E
A milestone was reached with the semi-launch of the first Triple-E at the shipyard in Okpo, Korea. To make room for completing the next ships, the drydock was filled with water and the partially completed hull towed into the bay. A bulkhead wall sealed off the end to keep this half ship dry
Baker, Lyman Hires Senior Consultant for TSMS
Baker, Lyman and Co., Inc. hired John Scarborough as senior consultant. He is an authorized agent for Germanischer Lloyd on the Corsair Towing Safety Management Systems (TSMS) Strategic Alliance for Subchapter M compliance software for the domestic towing industry.
Two Vessels Grounded off Scotland Coast
Two ships ran aground Tuesday off the west coast of Scotland, according to Herald Scotland. The first vessel, the 87-meter passenger cruise vessel Serenissima, was lodged on sand and gravel at a spot known as the Corran Ledge in Oban Bay Tuesday night as it made its way from Ireland to the port
STX Appoints New Vice President of Operations
STX Marine announced Bill Lind has joined its team to further develop their growing portfolio in the Gulf Coast. Bill joins STX Marine as Vice President of Operations (Houston, Texas) to continue STX Marine’s success in providing engineering servicesto clients worldwide
New Fireboats Headed to Houston
A two-week voyage through four Great Lakes and the Mississippi River will bring to the Port of Houston Authority the first of three high-performance fireboats to replace the current fleet. "As the nation's busiest port in terms of foreign tonnage and home to one of the world's largest
New Houston-Puerto Ricon Direct Service
U.S.-flagged container ship ‘National Glory’ kicks off the new service when she departs Houston for San Juan May 29, 2013. The new 14-day service, which is being provided by National Shippers of America (NSA), is called "Isla Verde Express" and will provide customers
By the Numbers: Subchapter M Statistics
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (Aug. 9, 2004), established new authorities for towing vessels. Out of that came a proposed regulatory scheme requiring towing vessels to become inspected vessels and obtain a Certificate of Inspection (COI)
Escort Tugs in San Francisco Bay
Providing Tugs For the Intricate Escort Regulations Of SF Bay Responding to the oil spills of the Exxon Valdez in 1989 and the American Trader in 1990, California enacted the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act (OPA 90)
Subsea 7 Wins GofM Pemex Contract
Subsea 7 S.A. announce a contract award by Pemex to its Mexican joint venture valued at approximately US$90-million. The contract comprises the engineering, fabrication and installation of an 8km pipeline, related risers, two slug catchers (a slug catcher is a storage vessel used to separate oil
Kvichak Deliver Oil Spill Skimmers to the US Navy
Kvichak Marine Industries, Inc. recently delivered fifteen 30’ Rapid Response Skimmers to the U.S. Navy. With the addition of these skimmers the Navy will be operating over 85 Kvichak-built skimmers worldwide as the Navy’s tier one response asset.
Great Lakes Shipyard Contracted for USCG Cutter Repairs
Great Lakes Shipyard hauled out the United States Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay (WTGB-105) using its 770-ton capacity Travelift. The repair contract, awarded to the Shipyard in early March, includes routine drydocking and underwater hull maintenance such as inspection and testing of propulsion
Orion Announces $9 Million Contract
Orion Marine Group, Inc., a heavy civil marine contractor serving the infrastructure sector, announced a contract award of approximately $9 million. Orion Marine Group was recently awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge approximately two million cubic yards of material
Houston Stays Top in Brazil Container Trade
The Port of Houston maintains its position as Brazil's largest U.S. seaborne trade partner by value and weight, newly compiled statistics show. From 2010 to 2012, the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) handled a total of 311,314 twenty-foot equivalent units of trade with Brazil
Great Lakes Towing Frees Stranded Freighter
Great Lakes Towing Company tugboats 'Wyoming' & 'Idaho' free the grounded freighter 'Spruceglen' in Lake St. Claire. The Great Lakes Towing Company, which celebrates 115 years of service this year, provides tugboat and towing services, ship assist, logistics and cargo transportation