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BC Ferries Gets $68m for Sinking

BC Ferries reportedly received $67.9 million in insurance compensation for the sinking of the Queen of the North earlier this year, www.canada.com reported. The settlement was noted in the company's year-end financial details, in which net earnings increased $14.7 million, or 2.6 per cent, over last year to $49.9 million. The company said $6.6 million of the proceeds from the insurance settlement offset insurable losses, and the balance will be recognized in the first quarter of its 2007 fiscal year. The Queen of the North was traveling from Prince Rupert, B.C., to Port Hardy, B.C., when it rammed at full speed into Gil Island on March 22 and sank 400 m to the ocean's floor. (Source: www.canada.com)

GE Power Conversion Comes Up Trumps in 'MSC Preziosa' Trials

'MSC Preziosa' successfully completes sea trials with its GE Power Conversion electrical power & propulsion system. Built from the STX yard in Saint-Nazaire, France, MSC Preziosa is the latest ship in MSC’s Fantasia-class and the 12th in the MSC fleet. The vessel has recently completed a series of sea trials including propulsion and maneuverability (speed ranges, full speed, crash stop, power plant and propulsion interactions

Moose Boats Delivers Patrol Boat to LA County

Moose Boats delivered a M2-35’ for law enforcement, search and rescue efforts and fire fighting capabilities to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. This vessel is the second purchase by the Department following a M2-33 vessel delivered in 2005 and will be deployed for rescue, patrol and fire fighting operations out of their Marina del Rey Station. The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Harbor Patrol Unit serves as a first responder rescue unit for the entire shoreline of Los

New Tug Named

Adsteam Marine Limited has named the first of three new tugs that are an integral part of a phased capital program to upgrade the company’s fleet in its United Kingdom ports. The state-of-the-art Adsteam Ferriby – a 24/11 class tug that takes its name from two towns that straddle its new workplace, the River Humber on the UK’s east coast – underwent rigorous checking and sea trials in the Netherlands before delivery.

Janet M. McAllister Welcomed To NY

It’s ironic that New York City’s most powerful tugboat is named after two year old Janet M. McAllister, who, dressed smartly in a sailor suit, christened her namesake in a ritual at New York City’s South Street Seaport in late July. She is the daughter of Buckley McAllister, vice president and general counsel of the family-owned company. The event, to welcome the 96-ft. (29.2 m), 5,000-hp, Eastern Shipbuilding-built tugboat home

Maritime Services Plays Role in Robin Hood Film

For the Ridley Scott movie, Robin Hood, which opened at the Cannes Film Festival, the Dover beaches were recreated at Freshwater West, in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The last 15 minutes of the film is set on the beach with 130 horses doing a full speed gallop charge into 600 actors.  Maritime Services International (MSI) was called in to source a suitable vessel that could be converted into a 12th century landing craft for the French invasion fleet

MARAD Awards $3.1M Contract to New Bay Area Ship Recycler

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced that it has awarded two contracts for a total of $3.1m to Allied Defense Recycling of Petaluma, Calif., to clean and recycle two Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet ships, the SS Solon Turman and the SS President. The two ships are scheduled to be towed from Suisun Bay to the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard facility in for recycling in December.

PrimeServ Las Palmas Opens For Business

PrimeServ Las Palmas held its official opening at the beginning of October 2010 in front of an audience from the Canary Islands, the Spanish mainland, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s power-plant and marine sectors, and which included colleagues from around Europe. PrimeServ Las Palmas has de facto been open for business since the beginning of 2010, and transported guests to its new facilities aboard a catamaran powered by MAN engines to demonstrate how customers can conveniently berth

BMP3 Continues to Defeat Pirates

On 6 January, the MV Front Warrior and the MV BW Austria defeated pirate attacks through the use of Best Management Practices. The MV Front Warrior, a Bahaman flagged Oil tanker was attacked at 0232Z approximately 300 nautical miles South East of Muscat. Rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) were fired at the vessel from 1 skiff in order to attempt a boarding. The ship’s crew used fire hoses to deter the pirates as well as razor wire on the perimeter

NTSB: Crew Mistakes Caused Heeling of Cruise Ship

The National Transportation Safety Board today determined that the probable cause of an accident involving the cruise ship Crown Princess was the second officer's incorrect wheel commands, executed first to counter an unanticipated high rate of turn and then to counter the vessel's heeling. Contributing to the cause of the accident were the captain's and staff captain's inappropriate inputs to the vessel's integrated navigation system while it was traveling at high speed in relatively