ISLAND SERVICE

MacDonald VP, Procurement at Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that Wendy MacDonald has been promoted to vice president of procurement, replacing Matt Jackson who has been named vice president, Caribbean island services. MacDonald will remain domiciled in Jacksonville and report to Susan Rodgers, Crowley's senior vice president of corporate services.  MacDonald is responsible for all materials management and purchasing for the corporation.  She also oversees facilities development and travel.  MacDonald joined Crowley in 1992 as a management trainee and has held various positions within the company's container shipping organization, including manager of freight services for the Puerto Rico/Caribbean services group, manager of pricing for the Latin America services group, and most recently director of inland operations. MacDonald has a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on marine transportation and intermodalism from California Maritime Academy.  (www.crowley.com)

Kauai, U.S. Coast Guard Prepare for Superferry's Return

The Hawaii Superferry's fate in Hawaii is uncertain. All eyes are on the legal courts on the island of Maui, who are still in the midst of deciding the legality of the Hawaii Superferry's inter-island services. The Hawaii State Legislature, meanwhile, is preparing to call a special session to vote on the same topic should the local court ban the Hawaii Superferry. And environmentalists throughout the island state are pushing for the public to voice their disapproval of the ferry.

Trinidad and Tobago Order Ferry Fleet

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.

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.

Blount Boats Awarded Contract for Casco Bay Ferry

Blount Boats, Inc. has been awarded a contract by the Maine Department of Transportation to build a 110-ft passenger ferry for the Casco Bay Island Transit District. The design specifications are similar to the Aucocisco III, which were developed by Seaworthy Systems. The proposed 399 passenger, Sub-Chapter K vessel will operate year round ferry service to islands in Casco Bay, Portland, Maine. The vessel will be equipped with electronically controlled diesel engines that meet the latest

Sea-Level-Rise Forecasts Major Climate Impact to Pacific Islands

Dynamic modeling of sea-level rise, which takes storm wind and wave action into account, paints a much graver picture for some low-lying Pacific islands under climate-change scenarios than the passive computer modeling used in earlier research, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. A team led by research oceanographer Curt Storlazzi of the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center compared passive "bathtub" inundation models with dynamic models for two of the

Vessels: The Manitowoc Company Launches Second Staten Island Ferry

Marinette Marine Corporation, a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, Inc. launched the ferry Sen. John J. Marchi for New York City's Department of Transportation on Saturday, May 8. This 310-ft. ferry is the second of three Staten Island Ferries to be built as part of a $120-million contract that was awarded to Manitowoc in 2001. The launch ceremony featured Michael R. Bloomberg, mayor of New York, as the keynote speaker, with Mrs

Makin Island Takes Top Honor at Local Surface Line Competition

Crewmembers from Pre-Commissioning Units (PCU) Makin Island (LHD 8) and Mesa Verde (LPD 19) wrapped up the first Pascagoula Surface Line Week (SLW) competition on Feb. 9. This week of events matched the two amphibious ships against each other for the honor of ‘Top Gator’ in events, which were divided into two categories, professional and athletic. In the professional events, participants competed in Cable Building with Soldering

Opal Receives Awards

Opal Marine, the UK’s largest sailboat distributor has collected a host of awards for outstanding sales of Island Packet yachts in the UK. The awards were presented to Island Packet Sales Director, Bob Stokes during the recent annual Island Packet dealer’s banquet and awards ceremony in Annapolis, USA. For the third year in a row Opal picked up the “Million Dollar Club” award which is aimed at an elite group of dealers who have succeeded in

Bermuda Voices Concerns About Ship Size

Bermuda's transport minister came out against allowing a new generation of huge cruise ships capable of carrying up to 3,000 passengers to dock at the islands. Transport Minister Ewart Brown said the British territory did not want the massive cruise ships to dock because of environmental and infrastructure concerns. A draft government policy on the cruise ship industry will reflect concerns that the island's shipping lanes would need to be dredged to handle the massive ships