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Boating News

11 Oct 2023

Birdon Delivers 12th USCG Motor Lifeboat

(Photo: Birdon)

On September 22, Birdon completed work on the 12th Motor Lifeboat (MLB) and delivered it to the U.S. Coast Guard. This is the third and final boat to be delivered to Station Umpqua River, located along the Central Oregon Coast.“We’re proud to play a role in equipping the U.S. Coast Guard with state-of-the-art equipment it needs to perform lifesaving rescue missions,” said Patrick Kinser, West Coast MLB Program Manager.The 12th vessel was refurbished in Birdon’s Bellingham, Wash.

25 Sep 2023

AI Unlocks RIB Safety & Efficiency Gains

(Photo: Hefring Marine)

Facing rising costs, an Icelandic tour operator is using technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance safety and slash insurance premiums for its fleet of high-speed rigid inflatable boats (RIB).Reykjavík-based Whale Safari runs tourist RIBs for whale and bird watching excursions in Iceland. From an insurer’s standpoint, the endeavor—which sees vessels that seat up to 12 passengers achieving high speeds and g-force wave impacts—is inherently risky. To make matters worse for companies like Whale Safari…

25 Aug 2023

Volvo Penta Expands Marine Services in Central America

(Image: Volvo Penta)

Volvo Penta announced it has entered into a new partnership with SVF Panama, part of the SVF Group, to support its customers with marine services in Panama and Costa Rica.In recent years, Volvo Penta has steadily expanded its service and support network, partnering with companies that specialize in marine operations to provide technical support, field service, maintenance operations and parts supply for its customer base across the marine leisure and commercial sectors.“SVF is an ideal partner for Volvo Penta…

21 Aug 2023

Labor Shortages, Climate Change & Technology: They’re All Related

© Pajaros Volando / Adobe Stock

Many problems in our “New World” can be solved more quickly than ever due to the speed at which information now travels. Gone are the countless long days of research, because often our questions can be answered instantaneously at a computer terminal or on a handheld mobile device. Traditional investment, research, science and industry have all attempted to reconfigure their business practices to accept that information speed. Unfortunately, government regulation and bureaucracy have not…

07 Aug 2023

Australian Police Charges Two More Over Attempted Cocaine Import

Images courtesy of AFP

An Australian man and woman have been arrested for their alleged roles in attempting to import 850kg (1,874 pounds) of cocaine into Australia hidden on a bulk cargo carrier.Police allege a Dianella man, 37, and a Doubleview woman, 32, were a part of the Australian-based syndicate responsible for collecting the drugs and facilitating the logistics of the importation.Police have seized about A$90,000 cash allegedly hidden in the bathroom cupboard of the man’s home and five mobile…

31 Jul 2023

Shipshape: Simplifying Boat Control and Improving Maneuverability

(Image: Emerson)

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their…

05 Jul 2023

Cold Water Can Kill in Minutes

Source: MAIB

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has highlighted that, on average, crew have under 11 minutes to recover someone who has fallen overboard into cold water before they become unresponsive.An analysis of 20 accidents that occurred between 2017 and 2021 shows that the time decreases as the water becomes colder or the sea state rougher. In some cases, crew had just four or five minutes to coordinate a complex recovery.When examining the rate of successful recoveries…

15 Nov 2022

Mercury Marine Unveils V10 Outboards

(Image: Mercury Marine)

Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation, on Tuesday announced the launch of its new 5.7L 350 and 400hp Verado outboard engines, said to be the industry's first V10 outboards.The new outboards are compatible with the latest Mercury SmartCraft technologies and will also be offered with an optional dual-mode 48V/12V alternator to pair with Navico Group’s Fathom e-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system, providing boaters the opportunity…

02 Aug 2022

Towboat Pushing Barges Strikes Pleasure Boats in Texas

(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Six people were rescued from the water after a towboat pushing barges struck two pleasure boats near Goat Island, Texas, Saturday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received notification at 9:26 p.m. via VHF-FM channel 16 that the towboat and barge collided with two recreational boats, one with two people aboard, the other with four people aboard. in the Galveston Bay. The captain of the towboat reported that the people had fallen in the water and had either…

27 Jul 2022

Emergency Dredging Planned for the Murderkill River

The Murderkill River, shown here where it meets the Delaware Bay at Bowers, will be dredged in August to improve navigation for commercial and recreational vessels. (Photo: DNREC)

An emergency dredging project is set to begin and be completed by the end of August to restore navigability in the Murderkill River, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced on Tuesday. Permitted by and with modification approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DNREC regulators, the project calls for removing approximately 52,000 cubic yards of sediment from the river’s navigation channel. DNREC will then make beneficial reuse of the dredged sand to nourish up to 1…

26 Jul 2022

UKHO to Stop Paper Chart Production in 2026

Copyright dvoevnore/AdobeStock

The death of the paper chart may finally be coming to fruition, as the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) announced its intention to develop options for the withdrawal from global paper chart production by late 2026, as commerical and pleasure boating use of electronic charts continues full steam ahead, and theADMIRALTY Maritime Data Solutions digital navigation portfolio can be updatedin near real-time, greatly enhancing safety of life at sea (SOLAS). The phased withdrawal of paper…

12 May 2022

Propspeed Teams Up with Marine Protection Systems

(Photo: Propspeed)

Underwater foul-release coatings company Propspeed said it has partnered with Marine Protection Systems to educate and provide solutions to prevent corrosion and minimize damage to vessels and the marine biosphere.The insulative properties of Propspeed combined with correct anode solutions greatly improve efficiencies, reducing fuel burn and operational costs, while also minimizing the environmental impact that corrosion and coating loss has on the oceans. Propspeed and Marine…

06 May 2022

Ocean Craft Marine Finds Great Lakes Region Ambassadors for Its Boats

Credit: Ocean Craft Marine

Ocean Craft Marine, the manufacturer of Amphibious Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), has signed a brand ambassador partnership with local Chicago-area boat enthusiasts Ted Widen and Mark Kaplan. Widen and Kaplan will represent Ocean Craft Marine in the Great Lakes region to increase brand awareness and provide sales and marketing of the AMP RHIBs to prospective customers in the Midwest."With a passion for the boating lifestyle, both Ted and Mark are the perfect ambassadors for the Ocean Craft Marine brand and our Amphibious RHIBs…

28 Mar 2022

Brunswick Names Cattelan CTO

Alexandra Cattelan (Photo: Brunswick Corporation)

Brunswick Corporation announced it has appointed Alexandra Cattelan as its chief technology officer, effective immediately. Cattelan will be responsible for continuing to advance Brunswick’s ACES strategy and, more generally, for maintaining Brunswick’s position of technology leadership in the marine industry.Cattelan has more than three decades of experience leading electric propulsion and advanced mobility programs and organizations, most recently serving as vice president, engineering, connected, controls, electrification and autonomous systems for Polaris Industries.

21 Mar 2022

Legislation Introduced to Establish Great Lakes Authority

© Ulf / Adobe Stock

New legislation introduced in Congress aims to create a federal entity dedicated exclusively to advancing solutions to the challenges faced by the eight states of Great Lakes region.Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin together, contain a large core of the United States’ commercial and defense industrial base, as well as the largest freshwater system anywhere on Earth, but lawmakers say the Great Lakes region lacks the support present in other regions where the federal government has an array of commissions…

01 Mar 2022

Plug in Power Infrastructure for Electric Boats fast-tracked in Europe

Credit Aqua superPower

Aqua superPower announced a strategic partnership with AC charge point developer e-concept, which has developed a novel design of charging posts that have been approved for use in certain sensitive environments including the canals in Venice. Aqua superPower will be developing charging infrastructure for marine and inland water applications deploying e-concept’s AC charging posts where environmental, cultural and heritage factors need to be considered.e-concept manufactures public and private recharging stations for electric boats and for the transition towards electric marine transport.

19 Nov 2021

New Report Tracks Sources of Marine Litter

(Photo: GESMAP)

The sources and impact of sea-based marine litter form the focus of a new report by the Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), an advisory body to the United Nations sponsored by 10 UN entities. The report outlines the various sources of marine litter and the impact and assesses the current availability of data and identifies knowledge gaps for the main categories of sea-based sources of marine plastic litter. The Working Group was established by GESAMP…

27 Oct 2021

Self-driving 'Roboats' Ready for Testing on Amsterdam's Canals

(Image: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions)

Visitors to Amsterdam may soon spot a self-driving watercraft the size of a small car cruising silently through its ancient canals, ferrying passengers or transporting goods or trash.It will be the electric-powered "Roboat", a catchier name than "autonomous floating vehicle" for a project shortly due to start test journeys aimed at improving the crowded city's transport options."We have a lot of road traffic and congestion, e-commerce, logistics cluttering the small streets in the city…

26 Aug 2021

US Coast Guard Commissions New Unit in Paducah, Ky.

The crew of Station Paducah stand in front of a 29-foot Response Boat-Small II boat at the station commissioning, Aug. 26, 2021 held in Paducah, Ky. Station Paducah is the third of five new Coast Guard stations to be commissioned in the Coast Guard 8th District Western Rivers Sectors. (Photo: Jonathan Lally / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new station, Coast Guard Station Paducah, during a ceremony held Thursday at the Carson Center in Paducah, Ky.Presiding over the ceremony was Capt. Amy Beach, commander of Sector Ohio River Valley. Station Paducah’s officer in charge is Chief Petty Officer Michael Sheahan.The station is responsible for search and rescue, recreational boating safety, ports, waterways, flood response, and coastal security. The station's area of responsibility ranges from mile marker 867 to mile marker 981 on the Ohio River…

17 Aug 2021

What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate…. in Ship Construction!

The 17th Century ship Vasa. © warasit/AdobeStock

My brother, who is the executive editor of my favorite boating magazine (Soundings), and I occasionally send strange tidbits to each other by email. For some reason he sent me an email about the 17th Century ship Vasa and focused on one of the causes of the vessel’s failure to float properly.This is the Wikipedia paragraph he focused on:"The use of different measuring systems on either side of the vessel caused its mass to be distributed asymmetrically, heavier to port. During construction both Swedish feet and Amsterdam feet were in use by different teams.

26 May 2021

Moose Boats Delivers Fireboat to Rochester, NY

(Photo: Moose Boats)

California-based boatbuilder Moose Boats has delivered a new fireboat to the Rochester, N.Y. Fire Department. The M2-38, dubbed Marine 1, is the first Moose in the Great Lakes. With a roof monitor, a cockpit monitor, a 5” large diameter hose Storz discharge, and the ability to pump over 1,500 gallons per minute, this boat will offer greatly increased capabilities to the city and its surrounding communities, the builder said.Rochester Fire Department's new boat has an extended walk-around cabin configured with three shock-mitigating crew seats…

04 May 2021

Fairlead Licenses Rafnar's ÖK Hull for US Builds

(Photo: Rafnar)

Portsmouth, Va.-based Fairlead said it signed an exclusive agreement with the Icelandic company Rafnar to build its patented ÖK Hull in the U.S. for both manned and unmanned applications.“This is very exciting news for Fairlead,” said Fairlead president, Fred Pasquine. “Rafnar has similar agreements with companies in several other countries, but Fairlead is the first company to partner with Rafnar in the U.S.”The Rafnar ÖK Hull hull-and-keel technology that impressed Fairlead leadership several years ago during a hull test in the U.S.Bob Bodvake…

28 Apr 2021

Pauline Duclos, CFO of Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Dies at 87

Pauline Duclos. (Photo: Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding)

Pauline Delia (Duperre) Duclos, age 87, wife of George Duclos, the former CEO of Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, died peacefully on April 24, 2021, surrounded by her family. The daughter of the late Jean Baptiste and Claire (Paradise) Duperre, she was born in 1933 in Warren, R.I. Pauline spent most of her life in Westport, Mass., enjoying summers on the Watuppa Pond and moving to the Pond permanently in 1960.Pauline is survived by her four children: John (Kimberly), Peter (Kimberly)…

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