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National Park Service News

19 Jan 2024

Yankee Freedom Orders New Passenger Ferry for Dry Tortugas National Park

(Image: Incat Crowther)

Key West, Fla.-based Yankee Freedom has ordered a new 300-passenger, high-speed catamaran from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation for passenger service between Key West and the Dry Tortugas National Park. The new vessel will replace Yankee Freedom III, a 250-passenger catamaran built for the 70-mile run by the Mass.-based shipyard in 2012. Delivery of Yankee Freedom IV is planned for 2026.The new larger vessel, designed by Incat Crowther, retains the strong brand presence Yankee Freedom has established with tourists to the national park, said company officials.

19 Sep 2023

SECNAV Names Ship After Harriet Tubman

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro today named a U.S. Navy ship after American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman, Sept. 17. The future USNS Harriet Tubman (T-AO 213) follows the tradition of naming John Lewis-class oilers after civil rights leaders. Secretary Del Toro made the announcement during an Emancipation Celebration at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek, Md. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Omar Powe

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced that a future John Lewis-class oiler, T-AO 205-class, will be named after American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman.SECNAV Del Toro made the announcement during an Emancipation Celebration at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek, Md. National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, who is also a U.S. Navy veteran, joined Secretary Del Toro for the announcement at the park.The future…

31 Aug 2023

Statue City Cruises Awarded New Operating Contract

© fototehnik / Adobe Stock

Statue City Cruises announced it has been awarded a new 10-year contract from the National Park Service to continue as the authorized provider of ferry service to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island.Statue City Cruises, part of the Hornblower Group's City Experiences portfolio, has operated the service for more than 15 years. The new contract begins March 1, 2024.Visitation on board Statue City Cruises is currently at 87% of pre-pandemic levels with several days so far this year exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

03 Oct 2022

Bristol Harbor Group Wins USACE IDC Contract

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) won an Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) for naval architecture and marine engineering services for the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Philadelphia District, Marine Design Center. This contract continues BHGI’s partnership with the Marine Design Center (MDC). Some of the projects BHGI has worked on for the USACE include, but are not limited to, retrofits, finite element analyses, electric load analyses, vibration analyses, computational fluid dynamics analyses, as well as barge, towboat and dredge design.In partnership since 2010, BHGI and the MDC team have worked on a wide variety of projects both for the USACE and other federal agencies, including the United States Coast Guard, NASA, and the National Park Service.

28 Jun 2021

New Workboat to Serve Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

A new utility/passenger vessel has been delivered and will soon go to work for the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) to serve Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.The all-steel newbuild, designed by New Orleans-based TAI Engineers, LLC, has been named Annie Moore after the first immigrant, a 15-year-old Irish girl, who signed the Ellis Island register."TAI has designed and built many boats and ships, but this project is particularly special to me," said Anil Raj, President of TAI. "My very first arrival to the United States was via New York in 1969.

03 May 2021

Suspected Migrant-smuggling Boat Breaks Apart off San Diego; Four Dead

Four people were killed and more than two dozen injured on Sunday when a boat suspected of attempting to smuggle migrants into California broke apart off Cabrillo National Monument at San Diego's rugged Point Loma, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The initial call arrived just before 10 a.m. (1700 GMT) and prompted a large emergency response, including the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local agencies, as the magnitude of the incident became clear.The 40-foot (12-m) cabin cruiser had been pummeled to pieces by the surf by the time rescue boats arrived…

10 Nov 2020

Armstrong Delivers 45' Pilot Boat to Alaska

(Photo: Armstrong Marine USA)

Port Angeles, Wash. boatbuilder Armstrong Marine USA said it recently delivered the 45’8” by 16’ semi-displacement catamaran, Serac, to the National Park Service (NPS) for use in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, in Alaska.NPS selected Armstrong Marine’s proposal to build the Jutson Marine design in a competitive solicitation process last year. The vessel will be utilized for crew/cargo transfer and pilot operations in the park.The shaft and wheel propulsion system is comprised of twin John Deere 200-horsepower diesel engines…

01 Apr 2020

US Shipyards Forge Ahead Through COVID-19

The 56-foot icebreaking tugboat being built by Blount Boats for N.Y. Power Authority (NYPA). (Photo: Blount Boats)

As the novel coronavirus and its impacts continue to spread across America, U.S. shipbuilders, by and large, continue to build. While most yards have been deemed essential to marine transportation and/or national security and have been able to maintain operations, the situation at and around every shipyard is different, and there are several builders across the country that have had to temporarily suspend activity. In either scenario, it’s far from business as usual for America’s…

03 Mar 2020

BHGI Scores USACE Contract

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) was recently awarded an Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) for naval architecture and marine engineering services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Philadelphia District, Marine Design Center. This contract continues BHGI’s partnership with the Marine Design Center (MDC). Some of the projects BHGI has worked on for the USACE include, but are not limited to, retrofits, finite element analyses, electric load analyses, vibration analyses and computational fluid dynamics analyses as well as barge, towboat and dredge design.In partnership with MDC since 2010, BHGI and the MDC team worked on a wide variety of projects both for the USACE and other federal agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and NASA.

29 Oct 2018

Mobile BWTS Tested on Great Lakes

New system allows for contingency ballast water treatment in a variety of ecologically-sensitive and emergency conditions. Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. recently led a demonstration of the mobile ballast water treatment system, Ballast Responder, on board the 730-foot bulk carrier Tim S. Dool on the Great Lakes. “Equipment was operational within eight hours of arrival and the first set of tanks were fully treated, neutralized, and ready to discharge only 20 hours later,” said Glosten Principal and ballast water treatment expert Kevin Reynolds, PE. The mobile ballast water treatment system was developed by Glosten in cooperation with Global, the US Geological Survey, and US National Park Service.

11 Jun 2018

Mobile System Used for Treating Ballast Water

(Photo: Glosten)

Glosten and Global Diving & Salvage say they have used a mobile system to treat ballast water on board a 350-foot marine vessel moored in Coos Bay, Ore.The firms deployed the Glosten Ballast Responder successfully treating all 3,990 tons of ballast water on board. The contingency response team deployed from Seattle the morning of May 21 and certified all ballast water on board as safe for discharge by the evening of May 23.“The system and team performed very well,” said Glosten Principal and ballast water treatment expert Kevin Reynolds, PE.

17 May 2018

USS Slater Receives National Maritime Heritage Grant

Photo: Richard Andrian/Destroyer Escort Historical Museum

The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum has received a $200,000 grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS) through the National Maritime Heritage (NMH) grant program, for the repair of USS Slater’s mast and hull.Thirty-four of these grants totaling $2.6 million were awarded in collaboration with the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs). With these funds, organizations and agencies conduct education and preservation…

12 Mar 2018

Responders Tracking Containers Lost off North Carolina

(File photo: Maersk Line)

The U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA and Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring the tracking and assessment of more than six dozen stray cargo containers lost due to high winds and heavy seas about 17 miles off Oregon Inlet, N.C. On Sunday, March 4, the cargo ship Maersk Shanghai alerted watchstanders at Sector North Carolina’s command center that they lost about 70 cargo containers during a heavy roll. Maersk later confirmed the total number of containers lost overboard was 76 as well as their contents. A. P.

12 Feb 2018

Interview: Terry MacRae - CEO, HMS Global Maritime

Terry MacRae, President & Chief Executive Officer, HMS Global Maritime

Terry MacRae founded Hornblower Yachts, LLC (doing business as Hornblower Cruises & Events) in 1980, and serves as Chief Executive Officer, the President and is also its owner. MacRae is the Co-founder of HMS Global Maritime and the American Queen Steamboat Company, and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Alcatraz Cruises, LLC, Statue Cruises, LLC, Hornblower Canada Co., Hornblower Cable Cars, Inc. and HNY Ferry, LLC (doing business as NYC Ferry). He leads one of the largest and fastest growing charter, dining cruise, and ferry operating companies in the nation.

24 Jan 2018

A 'Ferry' Good Year

The new NYC Ferry service kicked off in 2017 (Photo: Dale Barnett)

New routes, new challenges and plenty of newbuilding as 2017 gives way to the New Year. A year ago, the maritime industry could be found clinging to the edge of their seats to see what the coming year had in store. 2017 was set to be a telling year and indeed it was. With the elections finalized, the political impact, if any, was sure to be seen. While fuel prices have remained low and continuing to hamper the offshore workboat market, consumer confidence has held high and new vessel construction is strong – particularly in the ferry segment.

24 Aug 2017

Bay Ship and Yacht to Perform Maintenance on Balclutha

Bay Ship & Yacht has been chosen for the third time to perform maintenance on the 131-year-old historic ship, Balclutha. (Photo: Business Wire)

Bay Ship and Yacht Co. has announced it has once again been honored with the contract to perform maintenance on the historic sailing ship Balclutha. This is the third time the reputable ship yard has been chosen to perform much-needed detailed maintenance on the 131-year-old ship. A three-mast, steel-hulled square-rigged sailing ship, the Balclutha is one of the last of her kind. “The Balclutha is truly a gem of American history. It is a rare day that you are able to see one of these grand old ladies high and dry in dock,” said Richard Maguire, Business Development Manager, Bay Ship & Yacht.

04 Aug 2017

Suisun Bay Vessel Removal Project Completed

Maritime Administration Executive Director Joel Szabat joined federal, state and local officials and environmental groups to mark the completion of an agreement to remove 57 non-retention vessels from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) by September 30, 2017. The departure of the Cape Borda for recycling reaches the milestone two months ahead of schedule. “Our progress in Suisun Bay is the result of hard work and smart collaboration,” said the Maritime Administration’s Executive Director Joel Szabat. “There is perhaps no greater symbol of the maritime industry’s environmental progress than what has been accomplished here. In 2009, MARAD entered an agreement with local officials and environmental groups to expedite disposal of 57 non-retention SBRF vessels…

14 Jun 2017

US Coast Guard Shipwreck Found – 100 Years Later

In 1914, USRC Cutter McCulloch was ordered to Mare Island Navy Shipyard where the cutter’s boilers were replaced, the mainmast was removed and the bowsprit shortened. In 1915, McCulloch became a US Coast Guard Cutter when the US Revenue Cutter Service and US Life-Saving Service were combined to create the United States Coast Guard. (Credit: Gary Fabian Collection)

The shipwreck remains of a historic U.S. Coast Guard cutter have been discovered off of Southern California 100 years after the vessel was lost at sea. In its heyday, the Coast Guard Cutter McCulloch – commissioned in 1897 as a cruising cutter for the U.S. Treasury’s Revenue Cutter Service, a predecessor of the Coast Guard – saw its share of action, having served with Commodore George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 as part of the U.S. Asiatic Squadron that destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first major battle of the Spanish-American War.

09 Feb 2017

Coast Guard Sees Hawaii Illegal Charters Increase

In the last 24 hours, the Coast Guard has identified two tour boats operating illegally out of Pohoiki Boat Ramp and is ramping up enforcement in response to a perceived increase in illegal charters operating in the area to view lava streaming into the ocean from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano. "Safety is always our top priority," said Capt. David McClellan, chief of prevention, Coast Guard 14th District. "For boat operators, it is important to maintain situational awareness and not unnecessarily put yourself, your passengers or your boat in danger. Commercial tour boat and charter operators must possess the appropriate merchant mariner credential to operate.

19 Jul 2016

Book Review: Privateers of the Revolution

Photo: Schiffer Publishing

Privateers of the Revolution: War on the New Jersey Coast 1775-1783 is the revelatory narrative of the 538 Pennsylvania and New Jersey privateers, privately owned ships of war some called pirates. Manned by over 18,000 men, these privateers influenced the fight for American independence. From the halls of Congress to the rough waterfronts of Delaware River and Bay to the remote privateering ports of the New Jersey coast and into the Atlantic, a stirring portrait emerges of seaborne raiders…

21 Apr 2016

Postal Stamp Celebrates Maritime History

©2016 USPS

The U.S. Postal Service has previewed a new stamp highlighting California’s San Francisco Maritime Historical Park with a photograph of an iconic three-masted sailing ship. The stamp is the 14th of 16 new Forever Stamps to be revealed over a three-week period to celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary. The stamp image is a portion of a photograph by Tim Campbell, showing the square-rigger Balclutha. Just visible to the right of the deep waterman/salmon packet sailing vessel is the 1907 steam tugboat Hercules.

22 Mar 2016

BOEM Proposes New Regulation for OCS

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today released proposed regulations that would provide additional clarity and certainty for its Marine Minerals Program regarding negotiated, non-competitive leases for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) resources such as sand, gravel and shell. The proposed rule describes the negotiated, non-competitive agreement process for qualifying projects, and codifies new and existing procedures for using OCS sand, gravel and shell resources for shore protection, beach restoration or coastal wetlands restoration projects undertaken by federal, state and local governments. It also addresses the use of OCS resources for construction projects authorized or funded by the federal government.

22 Mar 2016

US, Cuba Open Doors to Marine Science Cooperation

When Barack Obama became the first president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge, his visit highlighted not only a new course in international relations, but showcased on-going scientific collaborations with the country only 90 miles off the Florida coast. "Ocean currents know no boundaries,” said Billy Causey, regional director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region. “They’re a conveyor belt, moving important marine life between our countries. Late last year, NOAA, the U.S. National Park Service and Cuba’s National Center for Protected Areas agreed to share research to help the countries work together on some of the Caribbean’s most ecologically significant resources.