Smith Maritime News

A sunken derrick barge has been raised from the Gulf of Mexico seafloor following several months of planning, engineering, on-site preparations and the heaviest salvage lift ever accomplished in the Americas, said marine services and wreck removal specialists Resolve Salvage and Fire Americas.The 350 ft x 100 ft derrick barge DB1 sank 30 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico on October 22, 2017, when adverse weather caused it to drag anchors and contact the offshore platform that the DB1 was engaged in removing.

Smith Maritime recently hauled a barge load of equipment on behalf of CAT5 Resources to help rebuild cellular communication infrastructure in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.   Smith Maritime’s barge Marilyn Monroe was loaded at its terminal in Amelia, La. with vehicles, housing, bulk fuel, food and most importantly, self-powered cellular communication towers to reestablish communication on the island.     Marilyn Monroe was towed by the tug Elsbeth 2, powered by fully mechanical Mitsubishi engines supplied by distributor Laborde Products and rated 1,675 HP at 1,600 RPM each.

The winners of ISWAN's International Seafarers' Welfare Awards 2016 were announced on 24th June at a high-profile ceremony held in Manila, the Philippines. The ceremony forms part of ISWAN's celebrations in the Philippines for the IMO Day of the Seafarer. The awards were presented by IMO Secretary General Mr Kitack Lim to seven recipients who have provided exceptional services for the welfare and wellbeing of seafarers. The Welfare Personality of the Year Award is named after Dr Dierk Lindemann who sadly passed away on 17 March 2014. Dr Lindemann served as the Shipowner's Group spokesperson at the ILO and took a lead role in the adoption of the Maritime Labour Convention. Shipping Company of the Year: Masamichi Morooka - Chairman of ICS.

Olympic Tug and Barge, a Harley Marine Services Company, has selected four JK Fabrication emergency tow storage reels for new barges being built at Zidell Shipyard in Portland (the first two) and Vigor Shipyard there also (the last two units). Given earlier success at U.S. Coast Guard testing in southern California, earlier orders from Olympic, Smith Maritime, U.S. barge and HME Construction, and acclaim from ABS and marine surveyors, JK has applied for U.S. patent on the unit.

For its third repower with Smith Maritime, Laborde supplied three Mitsubishi S12R-Y2MPTK Tier II engines rated at 5,000 hp for the tug Rhea. For its maiden voyage, Rhea towed a huge piece of oilfield equipment from Texas to Cape Verde Islands off of Africa before moving on to Nigeria, towing continuously for seven weeks. Rhea is a small, powerful, agile, sea-going tug capable of withstanding the rigors of ship and barge towing or ocean rescue service in all weather conditions. It’s fitted and built for extended service at sea or in distant and remote locations.

When business depends on commercial vessels, it's essential for these boats to stay in good condition. Unreliable engines and equipment can lead to days or weeks off the water for repairs, resulting in lost customers. To ensure its fleet is always prepared for the job, Smith Maritime depends on Laborde Products. For its third repower with Smith Maritime, Laborde supplied three Mitsubishi S12R-Y2MPTK Tier II engines rated at 5,000 hp for the tug Rhea. For its maiden voyage, Rhea towed a huge piece of oilfield equipment from Texas to Cape Verde Islands off of Africa before moving on to Nigeria.

Crowley Maritime Corp. subsidiary Titan Salvage, based in Pompano Beach, Fla., and its partner T&T Salvage, a maritime emergency and salvage company based in Galveston, Texas, recently completed a challenging wreck removal project off the coast of Chile. The job, which involved the removal and scuttling (the process of strategically sinking a shipwreck) of a grounded bulk carrier on Llolleo Beach, required the use of unique, ship-to-shore equipment – such as an aerial téléphérique and a pneumatic pontoon system…

QinetiQ Maritime contracted by UK'sMinistry of Defence (MOD) to research co-ordinated defence against attacks on Royal Naval ships. The contract is to carry out research into the co-ordinated defence of the Royal Navy fleet against the emerging threat of attacks from small, fast and agile boats that might be used by pirates, terrorists or other hostile forces. The contract has been awarded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), a trading fund of the MoD which maximises the impact of science and technology for UK defence and security. The research brings together two innovative concepts from QinetiQ with the potential to deliver an integrated solution for the Royal Navy to counter the small boat threat.

An expert in ocean and coastal towing, Smith Maritime, needed dependable diesel power when its 90 ft Elsbeth III was in need of repowering prior to towing the 520 ft USS Hoyt S. Vandenberg to the Florida Keys. The Vandenberg was sunk six miles offshore, becoming Florida's largest artificial reef. The company turned to Laborde Products, who had previously supplied Smith Maritime with Mitsubishi heavy-duty marine propulsion engines and ordered three new 1,180 hp Mitsubishi S12R-Y1MPTA engines. "We're 100% satisfied with these engines," said Capt. Latham Smith, Smith Maritime founder.

Smith Maritime was contracted by a Nigerian company to deliver a 200' lift boat for oil field maintenance. Smith Maritime selected the 5,000 hp tug Rhea and 400' barge Atlanta Bridge for the voyage. The barge was equipped with pumps to allow for controlled sinking and recovery in order to float the lift boat on and off. But they ran into a hitch. Shortly before departing, Smith Maritime discovered the African port was unable to furnish power for the pumps. Within hours Smith Maritime received delivery of a 60 kW Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT, formerly Iveco) diesel generator from Laborde.

The Company also announced that its distribution to unitholders for the first quarter will remain at $.77 per unit, or $3.08 per unit annualized. The distribution will be payable on November 14, 2008 to unitholders of record on November 7, 2008. President and CEO Timothy J. Casey said "Our first quarter results were satisfactory in light of the exceptional developments in the energy markets which disrupted demand in certain of our markets. There were also several factors that affected us which we believe are transitory in nature and which should ease as we progress in fiscal 2009. Our results for the first quarter reflected certain higher…

Moody's Investors Service said it has affirmed K-Sea Transportation Partners LP's non-investment grade debt ratings, which were under review for possible downgrade after a $205 million acquisition, according to a report on http://money.cnn.com. K-Sea shares jumped $2.10, or 5.9 percent, to $37.58 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $33.90 and $48.50 during the past 52 weeks. The ratings service began its review of the oil tank barge operator's ratings on June 27, after the company announced it had agreed to acquire transportation operators Smith Maritime Ltd. and Sirius Maritime LLC for $205 million.

It was supposed to be the world's largest artificial coral reef for scuba diving, located off the coast of Key Largo. More than eight years ago, a group of divers from the area devised a plan to sink a 510-ft. (155.4-m) retired Dock Landing Ship (LSD) to the bottom of 130 ft (39.6 m). of water. For the next several years, Spiegel Grove became Key Largo Chamber of Commerce's pet project. With various local dive shops, businesses and dedicated individuals participating in this venture, the vessel, which had been decommissioned in 1989, was towed last June from the James River Reserve Fleet, to a shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., so that workers could ready the vessel for its intentional sinking.

The 6,000 ton container barge Guantanamo Bay Express, departed Jacksonville, Florida at around midnight on November 12th under tow of the US flag SPENCE on her scheduled service to the US Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Unfortunately, 30 knot gusts and 12 foot seas led to a parted tow wire allowing the barge to drift on to the rocks of the north Mayport Jetties. The owners of the barge took prompt action and engaged Titan Maritime to undertake salvage operations. Titan immediately mobilized the Smith Maritime tugs ELSBETH (1…

After the earlier sale of the U.S. tank barges "B No. 120" and "B No. Inc. additional large tank barges and three ocean-going tugs. in West Africa. scattered across North and Central America and obtaining U.S. Administration approval for sales of the U.S. abroad. The 143', 3,280BHP twin screw tug "Mr. Seattle. "Mr. Inc. of Port Arthur, Texas. twin 96" x 54" fixed pitch props in 1964. for many years in the U.S. Gulf Coast "oil patch". a number of years. operations. renamed "Mnemosyne"). respectively and retired in January 2005 due to OPA'90 regulations. While in U.S. petroleum service with a capacity of abt. 95,581bbl. ballast, using the U.S. both built in 1987 and owned by Capt. Green Cove Springs, Florida. 5,100BHP and 72 tons of bollard pull. Marine through Marcon.

Rachel Smith has joined McAllister Towing as a sales associate in the company's ocean towing division. Smith, who previously was with Smith Maritime, will draw upon her extensive experience in contract towing, marketing McAllister tugs and barges on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, as well as the Caribbean to South America.

For over 20 years, the Elsbeth II, a 110-ft. Smith Maritime tugboat, has done extensive deep sea towing and delivered military vessels around the world. When it came time for Smith Maritime owner Captain Latham Smith to replace one of Elsbeth II's three engines, he relied on a Gulf Coast distributor for help. Laborde provided the perfect fit for Elsbeth II - a Mitsubishi heavy-duty marine engine. "My new Mitsubishi engine performance far exceeds my expectations," said Capt. Smith. A 6,000 hp ocean tug with a shallow draft and triple screws, the Elsbeth II needed the Mitsubishi S16R-Y1MPTA engine from Laborde to complement its heavy-duty design and operations. At 1,600 rpm, the engine provides 1,568 hp. "I love Mitsubishi's simple design and power," said Smith.

K-Sea Transportation Partners LP said it's buying Sirius Maritime LLC of Seattle and Smith Maritime Ltd. of Honolulu for $205m. New York-based K-Sea is buying 11 petroleum tank barges and 10 tugboats in the deal. The ships have 777,000 barrels of capacity. Sirius Maritime is owned by Gordon Smith, Robert Dorn and Wayne Sundberg. Smith also owns the Honolulu operation. K-Sea said it's paying $195m in cash and assumed debt and is issuing $10m in common stock for the companies, adding the deal should close in July or early August. Source: BizJournals

K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P. has completed the acquisition of Smith Maritime, Ltd. of Honolulu, Hawaii and Sirius Maritime, LLC of Seattle, Wash. President and CEO Timothy J. Casey said: “We are very excited about welcoming the Smith and Sirius operating teams to K-Sea. This acquisition immediately increases our barrel-carrying capacity by 770,000 barrels, or 22% of our capacity of 3.5 million barrels at June 30, 2007. In addition, our ongoing vessel newbuilding program, under which we have ten new tank barges under construction, will add 524,000 barrels over the next three and one-half years. “These transactions strengthen our operations on the West Coast and also expand our geographical presence to Hawaii, thus providing a further platform for future growth.