Christens New News

Maaskade Group's Sima Charters has christened its latest newbuild crew tender vessel in the Netherlands.The high-speed aluminum monohull vessel, SC Ruby, was built by Neptune Marine.The 23-meter-long vessel is equipped with triple Volvo Penta IPS 1050 propulsion and features a Seakeeper gyrostabilization system for increased workability.

On Friday, March 8, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) christened its new ferry in Galveston Bay.Named for the first female chair of the TxDOT and first Latina Secretary of State, Esperanza “Hope” Andrade, the vessel was designed by the The Shearer Group and built by Gulf Island Fabricators in Louisiana.Stretching 293 feet, the double-ended ferry showcases cutting-edge propulsion technology and pioneering battery energy storage systems.The ferry is outfitted with diesel-powered and electrical engines and Siemens Energy’s BlueDrive PLUSC power and propulsion system…

Galveston, Texas based dredging contractor Callan Marine announced it has christened its newest cutter suction dredge (CSD), General Arnold, built by C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chasse, La.The 32-inch CSD was ceremoniously christened in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 20, 2024, and will immediately begin work on Phase Four of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project. The project will beneficially reuse 100%of the dredged material removed from the channel deepening and widening.The General Arnold is the newest, largest, and most environmentally friendly dredge in the U.S.

American Glory, the second Coastal Cat in American Cruise Lines’ new series of 100-passenger ships, was christened in Key West, Fla. on Sunday. The ceremony took place at Mallory Square where the ship docks when visiting Key West along the company’s newest U.S. itinerary—Florida Gulf Coast & Keys cruises, operating roundtrip from St. Petersburg.Charles B. Robertson, President & CEO of American Cruise Lines, gave remarks and introduced American Glory’s Godmother, the Honorable Teri Johnston, Mayor of Key West.

New York Waterway on Monday christened its new vessel Arthur E. Imperatore, named in honor of the company's late founder. The vessel will provide scenic tours of New York Harbor in addition to commuter transportation.Built locally by Yank Marine in Tuckahoe, N.J., the Arthur E. Imperatore is a brand new, low-emission 2,000-horsepower, Tier 3 compliant ferry designed to carry 600 passengers. The vessel has a service speed of 21 knots. One of the largest and most modern commuter ferries in the New Jersey-New York Harbor…

A new cutter suction dredge (CSD) has been christened for Westlake, La. based dredging contractor Mike Hooks.The 27-inch CSD Lorraine Hooks was built at Southwest Shipyard in Galveston, Texas and delivered to its owner earlier this year 2023. The newbuild is named after the wife of the company's founder.C-Job Naval Architects, based in the Netherlands, served as systems integrator and was responsible for the full design scope including the majority of the dredge equipment for the dredge on behalf of Mobile, Ala.

Ingram Marine Group this week held a christening ceremony in New Orleans for Steve Alley, the fifth new towboat in the series of 10 ordered by the Nashville-based operator.The four-decked, welded-steel, USCG Subchapter M-compliant towboat was designed by Ingram Marine Group, Louisiana shipbuilder Main Iron Works, and naval architect Ashraf Degedy, PE.The 78-foot-long, 32-foot-wide newbuild is outfitted with twin Caterpillar Marine tier 3 diesel engines and Reintjes gearboxes, John Deere generators, and 76-inch Michigan special propellers.

Bayonne Dry Dock & Repair Corp held a christening ceremony on December 9 for its new mobile boat hauler, dedicated in honor of Christopher Edward Cranston, a NYPD Detective who died of a 9/11-related illness in July 2019.The late Staten Island native—a first-responder during and in the aftermath of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks—was the brother of the Bayonne, N.J. ship repair yard’s president, Mike Cranston, who said the new lift is a fitting tribute to someone who always prioritized family and service.

Carnival Cruise Line, also known as America’s Cruise Line, is teaming up with Italy's cruise line Costa Cruises, its sister company, to create a new concept for Carnival’s North American guests when Costa Venezia cruise ship joins the Carnival fleet sailing from New York in the spring of 2023. Costa Venezia will be followed by Costa Firenze arriving in the spring of 2024 to sail from Long Beach.Under the concept called "COSTA by CARNIVAL" Carnival will operate the ships, which…

Italian cruise line Costa Cruises on Thursday held a christening ceremony for its new flagship, the Costa Toscana, in the port of Barcelona, Spain.The LNG-powered, Italian-flagged ship sailed away from Civitavecchia, Italy on Monday, making a stop in Naples on Thursday, before arriving in Barcelona on Thursday for the christening ceremony. The 337-meter ship is one of the largest ocean liners and can accommodate 6,554 passengers. Chanel, a Cuban-Spanish singer, dancer, and actress…

The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard christened the newly built tugs Pennsylvania and Wisconsin at the company’s Cleveland facilities on Wednesday.“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is remarkable that the Towing Company has persevered with the successful completion of these two new tugs, despite the adversity the pandemic brought to bear, not only on us, but the industry, not to mention the country and the entire world. The Towing Company, as always, showed its resilience and its resolve to muscle through these difficult conditions…

A naming ceremony was held at Damen Shipyards Gorinchem for the new tug Peter Wessels on August 14, just four months after the vessel was ordered by Hamburg-based Neue Schleppdampfschiffsreederei Louis Meyer GmbH & Co. KG (Louis Meyer).The accelerated delivery was made possible by Damen’s long-standing policy of both offering a wide range of standard designs that can then be customized to meet the exact needs of each customer, and of building for stock to guarantee fast deliveries.

The flag of the second 45,500 dwt bulk carrier, ordered by Navibulgar was hoisted in the Chinese Shipyard Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.The godmother Mrs. Wang Xiaoying - Deputy General Director, Operational Department of Export Import Bank of China named the newly built vessel “Midjur” and wished her happy sailing.The naming ceremony in the Chinese Shipyard is part of the celebration events of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bulgaria.Officials included the Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Velik Zanchev, Grigor Porojanov - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the People's Republic of China…

Canada's Island Tug and Barge (ITB) christened the second of two new ATB tugs, the Island Regent, at its headquarters in Burnaby.The Island Regent was designed by acclaimed Robert Allan Ltd. naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Reliant, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB), said a press release from the subsidiary of Tidewater Canada.Bob Curcio, Tidewater President and CEO said: “The first ATB, the Island Raider and ITB Resolution, has performed exceptionally well in its first year of service. We are excited to have the Island Regent and ITB Reliant joining it soon.

Island Raider, the newest articulating tug in Island Tug and Barge’s (ITB) fleet, was christened September 28, during an afternoon ceremony at ITB’s headquarters in Burnaby, B.C.The new vessel is first of two in a series built by on-site at ITB’s Annacis Island facility along the Fraser River. The Island Raider, along with its sister the Island Regent (delivery February, 2019), was designed by renown Robert Allan Limited naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Resolution, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB).

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) christened Suquamish, its fourth Olympic Class auto/passenger ferry, to serve passengers on the Mukilteo/Clinton route beginning in 2019. The christening ceremony was held at Vigor's Harbor Island Shipyard in Seattle, where the new 144-car ferry has entered the final stages of construction and preparation ahead of sea trials starting in mid-2018. In addition to summer operations on the Mukilteo/Clinton route, the new ferry will also serve as a maintenance relief vessel in the winter, filling in when other vessels are out of service.

Virginia’s Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) has christened its newest passenger ferry, the first of three to be delivered to the agency as part of a $7 million program to replace the fleet’s aging vessels, the newest of which was delivered in 1990 and the oldest of which has been in service since 1982. Designed by BMT and constructed by Armstrong Marine in North Carolina, the new vessel is a 149-passenger, 78-foot, aluminum ferry powered by twin Volvo D13-400 Tier III-compliant engines, spinning 36-inch propellers via Twin Disc reduction gears.

On Saturday, December 17, General Dynamics NASSCO christened the Liberty, the third ECO Class tanker under contract with customer SEA-Vista LLC. Mrs. Debora Denning, wife of SEACOR vice president Tom Denning, christened the ship with the traditional break of a champagne bottle on the side of the ship. Designed for improved fuel efficiency, the 610-foot-long, 50,000 deadweight ton, LNG-conversion-ready ECO Class tanker symbolizes the emerging direction of the shipping industry in the U.S. toward cleaner modes of transporting product. The ship’s advanced “ECO” design achieves 33 percent increased fuel efficiency through several features, including a G-series MAN ME slow-speed main engine and an optimized hull form.

The US Navy is christening the tenth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship on 21 March at the Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) shipbuilding division visitor control centre. The ship is being named in honour of late John P Murtha, who represented Pennsylvania's twelfth congressional district from 1974 to 2010. Having served in the Marine Corps for 37 years, Murtha saw service in the Korean War and in Vietnam, and earned the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. "When you have the namesake of a ship, John P. Murtha, and his wife to join with us and his character and what he represented in the Marines and halls of Congress…

The first of three Arctic Class tugs being built at the Foss Rainier, Ore. Shipyard was christened Thursday, April 9, at the Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma, Wash. The vessel, the Michele Foss, will see its first assignment on an oil field sealift this summer from South Korea to the Alaskan Arctic. Mike Magill, Vice President of Foss' Technical Services, made opening remarks at the christening, praising the hardworking men and women who constructed the vessel. "As we know, a construction project of this magnitude requires significant teamwork to accomplish," Magill said.

Oceangoing petroleum barge company Bouchard Transportation Co. celebrated the christening of two new vessels, M/V Kim M. Bouchard and B. No. 270, on Tuesday July 14, 2015 in New Orleans. The ceremony was honored by the Monsignor James Vlaun who blessed the vessels, and Marie Romais, wife of Dimitri Romais, Chartering Manager of SeaRiver Maritime and was attended by executives from Bouchard, VT Halter Marine and several of Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. The B. No. 270 was launched at VT Halter Shipyard Operations in Pascagoula, Miss., on Friday, May 1, 2015. The tug Kim M.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) christened Chimacum, the third Olympic Class vessel to join the Washington State Ferries (WSF) fleet. The ceremony took place at Vigor's Harbor Island Shipyard in Seattle, and marked the vessel’s final stage of construction and its preparation for sea trials. In a traditional maritime ceremony, Washington State Ferries Assistant Secretary Lynne Griffith broke a bottle of champagne to officially welcome the new ferry to the fleet. Gov.

Cenac Towing Company (Cenac Towing), a third-generation owned global marine transportation company, announced continued growth despite the oil and gas industry’s downturn. Recently, Cenac Towing acquired Main Iron Works, a tug construction company, and this week, Cenac Towing will christen its brand new 2000 Hp Twin Screw Conventional Tug, The Jean Pierre Cenac. The innovative marine transportation company, run by industry veteran Arlen “Benny” Cenac, attributes the growth to continued innovation, quality service and the unique familial culture that is experienced not only by employees but also by customers and partners. “The importance of hospitality in everyday life is too often overlooked.