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Island Service News

31 Oct 2022

MARAD Awards Nearly $39 Million in Marine Highway Grants

© raoyang / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $39 million in grants to 12 marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The funding will help expand marine highway services on the United States’ navigable waterways to reduce congestion, alleviate supply chain bottlenecks, and move goods more quickly from ships to shelves.“At a time of record demand for goods, it’s more important than ever to…

30 Jun 2022

Maggie Cat Joins Sealink's Townsville Fleet

(Photo: Incat Crowther)

The newly launched Maggie Cat, an Incat Crowther 31, will partner with Coolgaree Cat in a refreshed Sealink line-up operating out of Townsville. Coolgaree Cat entered service in late 2020 and operates between Townsville and Palm Island. Maggie Cat will operate as SeaLink’s flagship to Magnetic Island.Both vessels were designed by Incat Crowther, developed in close collaboration with Sealink, with a goal of through-life efficiency, durability and robustness in the open waters off Townsville.

29 Apr 2022

New Container Barge Launched for Matson

(Photo: Matson)

Matson's new flat-deck container barge was christened and launched during a ceremony at the Greenbrier Gunderson Marine shipyard in Portland, Ore. on Saturday, April 23, 2022.The new barge, christened Haleakala, will be deployed in Matson’s Neighbor Island service in Hawaii starting this summer, connecting cargo to and from the U.S. West Coast through its hub terminal in Honolulu.With a carrying capacity of 620 TEU and room for 72 refrigerated containers, the new Haleakala is…

09 Mar 2021

Casco Bay Lines Orders Hybrid-electric Ferry

(Image: Elliott Bay Design Group)

Maine ferry operator Casco Bay Lines has committed to an integrated hybrid-electric power and propulsion solution for its new vessel, in a technology step change along one of the longest-established ferry routes in the United States.The new 50-meter ferry will feature ABB Marine & Ports’ hybrid power, propulsion and a shore charging system, supporting diesel-electric and zero-emissions battery-powered modes, as well as a combination of both. With the ferry operating in zero-emission mode, the passengers will benefit from a smoother, quieter and cleaner ride.

04 Sep 2019

Expedition Cruise Market Powers Ahead

National Geographic Endurance for Lindblad. Source: Ulstein Verft AS

While nothing lasts forever, the cruise industry – and particularly the ‘expedition’ cruise sector – remain on a historic run with no indication of a near-term slowdown.The leisure travel sector, of which expedition cruising is a part, offers numerous possibilities for delivering new “experiences” unlike industrial shipping businesses (or even conventional ferry and passenger transport), which can only grow as fast as the demand in a particular sector.Though there is no precise definition of “expedition”…

12 May 2017

Cochin Shipyard Builds 4 Ships for Andaman & Nicobar

Government of India-controlled Cochin Shipyard Ltd is constructing four passenger-cum – cargo vessels for Andaman & Nicobar Administration under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of Government of India. As per orders placed by the A&N Administration, two of these vessels will have a capacity of 500 persons-cum-150 tonne cargo and the remaining two will have a capacity of 1200 persons-cum-1000 tonne cargo. These vessels will have state of the art facilities for passengers and comply with latest international/national rules and regulations. They will be fitted with diesel electric propulsion plants driving two azimuth thrusters for good manoeuvrability.

19 Mar 2014

MacGregor Wins Damen RoRo Contract

Each of the new ice-class ferries will be equipped with MacGregor bow doors, a bow ramp/door, a stern ramp, shell doors and a hoistable car deck system

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured a contract from Dutch shipbuilding group, Damen Shipyards, for the design and delivery of key components for RoRo access equipment for two 80m ice-class RoPax ferries destined to operate in Canada. The investment in these new vessels is part of the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Government's vessel renewal programme. The first ferry is scheduled for delivery in 2015 and will operate on the Fogo Island and Change Islands service. The second is scheduled for delivery in 2016 and will operate on the Bell Island service.

23 Jan 2013

Maersk Closes South Sea Island Service

Maersk Line announce that the ‘Tahiti Express’ service to/from French Polynesia will close down at end of April 2013. The last vessel sailing on the Tahiti service is the BC San Francisco, 1317, expected to depart (ETD) from Auckland (New Zealand) on 23 April 2013 and expected to arrive (ETA) at Papeete (French Polynesia) on 29 April 2013. Maersk add that they regret the inconvenience this may cause, will make every effort to assist regarding the service change.

18 May 2011

Port of Tauranga: Three New Services

Three new weekly container services are calling at Port of Tauranga, all from long term customers of the port. Pacific International Lines (PIL) - a Singapore based, family-owned company - have announced a new service coming out of the West Coast of the United States, calling Melbourne and Sydney in Australia and then Tauranga, before heading back to Brisbane, Taiwan and China. This new service will begin calling Tauranga in July. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) - also a privately owned company…

15 Sep 2009

Trinidad and Tobago Order Ferry Fleet

Photo courtesy Austal

In its third significant commercial order for the year, Austal will design and construct four 134.5 ft high speed passenger catamaran ferries for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Designed to carry 405 passengers at a speed of approximately 37 knots, the aluminium vessels are intended to help reduce road congestion in Trinidad and Tobago by establishing a water taxi service between San Fernando and Port of Spain in southwest Trinidad. The water taxi service is part of the Trinidad and Tobago Government’s “Vision 2020” strategy plan…

28 Oct 2008

Change in WA Ferry Service

Customers on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route should be aware of the reduction in capacity, but the change should not inconvenience customers. Customers are encouraged to arrive early for their desired sailings. The Sealth is coming out of a nine-week drydock period for planned maintenance. When the Sealth arrives in Anacortes, the 144-car Elwha will head south for three days of service on the Seattle/Bremerton route, and then into drydock until early December for its scheduled maintenance. The other vessels currently serving the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route are the 144-car and the 124-car Chelan, with the 87-car providing inter-island service.

10 Feb 2005

Memo to the New Staten Island Ferries: Welcome to New York

How long does it take to build a double-ended municipal ferryboat? Any boat with two bows should have two answers, if not more. If by "build a ferryboat" we mean from the moment we start laying the keel to the moment the boat hits the water, we could say a ferryboat takes eleven months to build. Or anyway, that's how long it took Marinette Marine, Inc., a division of Manitowoc Corporation, to build the first in "the new Kennedy class" - at 310-feet and 7.1 million pounds loaded, with a $40-million price tag, the largest vessel constructed by the yard. Altogether, there are three. "The second two were identical," said Marinette Marine's Duane Roehm, Vice-President, Program Management and Planning, "but during the construction of the first, there was a strike.

14 Oct 1999

American Cruise Ship Takes Shape

The much-watched progress of two new cruise vessels under construction for AmericanClassic Voyages at Ingalls Shipbuilding are quickly taking shape, at least in the area of equipment selection. The ships are destined for Hawaii inter-island service, and will be the largest U.S. flag cruise ships ever built, and the first large passenger vessels built in the U.S. in more than 40 years. The project has generated an understandable amount of interest in the world shipbuilding community, and competition to secure an order on the ship has been fierce. Last month it was divulged that the Mermaid podded propulsion system was selected to propel the first two vessels, with an option for a third. Each ship will be equipped with two Mermaid propulsors, each with a rated power of 12.5 MW.

02 Mar 2000

WSF Searches for Solutions to Budget Cuts

Two significant efforts are under way at Washington State Ferries to shape the ferry system following passage of Initiative 695 (I-695), which eliminated $52 million from the WSF budget. One is a short-term project: Rewriting the sailing schedule for remaining years in the current budget. The second is to examine ways of raising revenue in future years to restore ferry service, including a statewide ballot measure that would approve higher ferry fares. Given the difficult task of cutting service, the ferry system has adopted goals of maintaining core weekday service as much as possible, and trimming night, non-essential mid-day and off-season recreational trips. Under this plan, passenger-only service will be eliminated, and 10 ferries will be taken out of service.

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