ARC Keeps the Cargo Rolling
With a fleet of nine U.S.-flag RoRo ships, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC), is the U.S.’ premier commercial RoRo carrier of U.S. government and military cargo. As the world becomes an increasingly contentious place, Eric P. Ebeling, President & CEO, ARC, discusses the vast capabilities of the ARC fleet and logistics network, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for U.S.-flag ships in the international trade.By the numbers’ is a simplistic means to gauge the size and shape of any shipping company…
Four Migrants Die After Being Thrown from Speedboat
Four migrants died after being thrown from a speedboat yards from a beach in Cadiz in southern Spain, Guardia Civil police and rescue service said on Wednesday.The boat was carrying a total of 27 immigrants, 23 of whom arrived alive.Images published on social media and carried by local media, whose authenticity has not yet been confirmed by Reuters, show a black inflatable speedboat circling in heavy tides off the beach and people onboard pushing others off the side, who start to swim in the swell."We saw a drug trafficking boat arriving but they weren't trafficking drugs but with migrants.
Commercial Fishing on the Great Lakes is a Family Affair
Although the number of fishermen who make a living on the waters of the Great Lakes is much diminished from a half century ago, the region's commercial whitefish fishery continues to be viable and profitable.Henriksen Fisheries is one of about a dozen commercial entities in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan, focused on trap netting whitefish in Green Bay and the waters surrounding the Door Peninsula.Charlie Henriksen started his family-owned fishing business in Door County in 1987.Originally from Illinois…
Hydra Service Sold to Local Investment Group
Hydra Service, manufacturer of Dynapower pumps, motors and turbine starters, announced it has been purchased by a local manufacturing investment group led by Mick Webber. According to the company, the new ownership and existing management are committed to servicing and replacing old equipment, developing new products, opening channels to market, and attracting different customer segments.“When I started Hydra Service in 1981, we were a four-man shop that primarily serviced oilfield equipment,” said former owner Rick Bentley.
Low River Levels, Soaring Barge Freight Curb U.S. Grain Exports
Numerous barges have run aground on the lower Mississippi River, and grain barge shipping rates are soaring to historic highs this week, as drought has dropped inland waterways to levels not seen in decades.And with little rain in the forecast, the low water levels are hampering already sluggish grain exports at the U.S. Gulf Coast, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country.The logistical snarls come as the Midwest harvest progresses and the busiest crop export season starts…
Roundtable: North American Naval Architects Weigh In
Marine News spoke to leaders at three North American naval architecture and marine engineering firms about some of the latest trends impacting their business today. Mike Fitzpatrick, president, Robert Allan Ltd.; Jeff Bowles, director, DLBA Naval Architects; and Rich Mueller, president and CEO, NETSCo., weigh in on topics such as digitalization, decarbonization and the naval architect talent pool.How do you view the maritime industry’s ongoing shifts in areas such as digitalization and decarbonization…
Hezbollah: 'No one' will Extract Gas From Maritime Zones if Lebanon Unable To do So
The head of powerful armed group Hezbollah warned on Wednesday that "no one" would be allowed to operate in maritime oil and gas fields if Lebanon was barred from its "rights" in extracting from areas off of its own coast."If you don't give us the rights that our state is asking for ... then we could flip the table on everyone," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address."If you want to get to a formula where this country is barred from taking advantage (of these fields)…
Eye on Maritime Design: Can Wind Propulsion Work by Keeping it Simple?
While it is starting to look like some clever wind/power sail technologies are starting to appear, too often I have looked at the cargo cranes of geared bulkers and wondered if it makes sense to rig some sort of sail on them.I think the fancier approaches fight the “build a little, test a little, learn a lot” engineering maxim in new technology development, and maybe doing more simple stuff may be a better way to achieve lasting results quicker.A recent conversation with a sustainable propulsion advocate compelled me to run a few numbers.I found a bulker with a GA for a 2010 era 25…
Carboline: 'Bigger and Better' at 75 Years
St. Louis-based coatings specialist Carboline is celebrating its 75th year in business in 2022. From humble beginnings in 1947, Carboline has grown into a global organization that has launched more than 500 products, with more than seven research facilities, 20 manufacturing facilities and hundreds of warehouses. Still, the company has remained laser-focused on quality, innovation and top-notch service.“Our offering to the maritime market is very unique,” said Brad Treuting, Carboline’s director of sales for marine and offshore in the U.S. Gulf and East Coast.
Delfin Plans Louisiana Floating LNG FID in 2022
U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Delfin LNG said it plans to make a final investment decision (FID) to go forward with its Gulf of Mexico floating LNG export project off Louisiana in 2022."This is the best macro-environment that the LNG business has ever seen," Delfin Chief Executive Dudley Poston told Reuters this week, noting he was "very confident" the company would make FID this year.Delfin is one of a dozen or so North American LNG export projects that delayed decisions…
Iron Ore: China Demand Powers Fortescue Shipments to Record
Australia's Fortescue Metals Group Ltd on Thursday narrowly beat its full-year estimate for iron ore shipments after a record fourth quarter, as strong demand from top consumer China offset the impact of bad weather.The world's fourth-largest iron ore miner fared better than rivals Rio Tinto and BHP, whose June quarter output dropped because of weather disruptions in Western Australia.Despite those disruptions, surging prices of the steelmaking ingredient and robust demand from China are expected to drive bumper earnings at miners…
Riding the Tides: Interview with Jason Hayman, CEO, Sustainable Marine Energy
Harnessing the power of the tides is not for the squeamish, with the roster of trials and failures long and distinguished. Jason Hayman and his Sustainable Marine Energy crew are putting their tech to the test in one of the harshest spots on the planet, the Bay of Fundy, as his discussed with Marine Technology TV.Jason, to start, how did you come to a career in the offshore renewable energy field?I suppose my interest got piqued back in about 2003. I went to a lecture at the University of Newcastle and they had a wave energy crowd there and a tidal energy developer.
Seaspan Cavalier Repower: Long Life, Big Hours
“We got 59,115 hours on those engines, without ever removing a head,” says Seaspan International’s Port Engineer Kevin Tweedy, “And they were still running. So, at 5,000 to 5,500 hours per year, we could easily have done 60,000 hours.”But the company schedule worked to do a like-for-like repower. The pair of 850-horsepower Tier 1 Cummins KTA38 diesels were pulled out, and a brand-new set of 850-horsepower Tier 2 KTA38s went in.The Seaspan Cavalier was built in 1974, along with three sister ships.
Company in Focus: ShipMoney Helps to Enable Efficient Seafarer Pay
Stuart Ostrow developed ShipMoney as a means to make the process of paying crew more efficient and cost-effective for both vessel owner/operators and the crew. Little did he realize then that his company would be instrumental in helping seafarers during their greatest time of crisis.Stuart, to start, how did you come create ShipMoney and get into a career in the maritime business?I'm the definition of an accidental salesman. By professional training, I'm a Big Six CPA, and I was always one of those frustrated accountants. Many years ago, I read a business plan that talked about prepaid.
Groundbreaking Tech Unlocks Optimal Routing and Usability
End-users trialing the VoyOpt voyage optimization service say it beats the competition in terms of the number of data sources it aggregates, ease of use and bottom-line benefits.Fuel consumption is the leading cost driver in shipping and remains the top fiscal concern of shipowners amid uncertainty surrounding bunker costs and availability. “Managing fuel consumption effectively means owners need increasingly to adopt new performance tools that leverage cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence.
Charging Ahead: Brent Perry & his Sterling PBES Team Drive Maritime Battery Tech
Brent Perry, CEO of Sterling PBES is a 40+ year veteran of the marine business, and one of the pioneers in delivering battery solutions to boats and ships at sea. Please give us a by the numbers look at Sterling PBES today?Right now we are sitting in a position where we had anticipated delivering somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-21 million worth of product, which is about 35 megawatt hours. And we’re scheduled to blow past that to almost $40 million. And we’re looking at the following year as a year of over a $100 million…
Interview: Heavy Lifting with John DiMartino and Tandemloc
Starting from his father’s basement in Bayport, New York, John DiMartino and his brother Bill have built a custom, heavy lift powerhouse in Tandemloc. It’s a story of building something from nothing; a story of plotting a path and adjusting for multiple course changes along the way. Ultimately, it’s a story of engineering ingenuity and heavy lift success.When John DiMartino graduated from SUNY Maritime in 1980 with a BS Marine Transportation Management, his career path started as projected…
Mauritius Says Almost All Oil Removed from Damaged Bulker Wakashio
Mauritius’ Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said on Wednesday nearly all remaining oil had been removed from a damaged Japanese ship, which leaked about 1,000 tonnes in a threat to tourism already hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.“At the time I’m talking to you, almost all the oil has been removed from the ship,” Jugnauth told reporters, according to remarks shared by his office.All fuel had been removed from tanks, but there was some residue in parts of the ship, his office added.Tourist…
Cox Powertrain Leverages the Power of Digitalization
It is not something that pops to mind often: the massive, market-changing advantages of a high-powered, fuel-efficient, cleaner V8 diesel outboard engine. Then, you aren’t a salmon farmer with aquaculture farms in the Norwegian fjords or an islander in the Maldives who drives a Zodiac to work. But, if you are Joel Reid, these are just some of the many things on your mind.Joel Reid is the Global Sales Director of Cox Powertrain a British start-up based in Shoreham-by-Sea, close to Brighton, UK.
New Crayboat Delivered to Geraldton Fisher
Geraldton-based Dave Perham, an operator from Australia’s Western Rock Lobster fishery, has taken delivery of a new lobster boat from Dongara Marine designed to have much lower fuel consumption than comparable vessels.Completed in late April 2020, some 12 months after contracts were signed, Force of Nature is a 22.4-meter Southerly Designs monohull which, like other recent Dongara Marine fishing and pilot boat newbuilds, combines an aluminum hull with a composite superstructure.The new boat is an upgrade from Perham’s current vessel…
BOATBUILDING: From Estonia with Love
Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, the classic Maine boat designer and builder will build to Baltic Workboats design for the domestic workboat market.Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, the classic Maine boat designer and builder will announce at this year’s International WorkBoat Show that it has entered into the domestic workboat market as the Jones Act builder for the Estonian, Baltic Workboats wave piercing pilot boat, currently popular with Danish and Belgian pilots.How do you feel about taking on something as unusual as building a pilot boat designed and built in Estonia…
Interview: Ed Grimm, CEO, Southern Towing Company
“In God we trust. All others must have data.”When Ed Grimm took the helm of Southern Towing Company (STC)as President and CEO, he inherited an enviable team of leaders, engineers, mentors, communicators and analysts. Today STC is a clear leader on the inland waterways, pioneering and proving the business and safety value of Z-Drives on the river towboats.How did you come to the top spot at Southern Towing Company?I started in the energy industry at 16 working at an oil storage depot in New York Harbor, working there through high school and putting myself through college.
Military Veteran Finds Calling in Maritime Program
Jennifer Allen is a U.S. military veteran who lives with PTSD. She is also a recent MERTS graduate pursuing a career in the maritime industry.MERTS (Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station) is a small campus situated just east of Astoria on the banks of the Columbia River. It is part of Clatsop Community College and houses a variety of programs including a robust maritime curriculum offering U.S. Coast Guard certifications and associate degrees.“Before coming to MERTS I was going through a rough patch,” Jennifer said.