New Jersey Coast News

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will initiate the environmental review of a proposed wind energy project offshore New Jersey.At its closest point, the approximately 81,129-acre lease area, OCS-A 0549, known as Atlantic Shores North, is located 8.4 miles from the New Jersey coast and approximately 60 miles from New York.The Atlantic Shores’ proposal currently includes installation of up to 157 wind turbine generators, eight offshore substations, one permanent meteorological tower, and two temporary metocean buoys - for a total of up to 168 offshore structures.

The unified command consisting of the Coast Guard, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Office of Emergency Management, and Monmouth County Department of Health, received oil sample lab results from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory Friday, linking together oil spill cleanup efforts in both New York and New Jersey.Vane Brothers Company, as represented by Gallagher Marine Systems, has been identified as the responsible party.

A wind energy developer owned by France's TotalEnergies and a unit of Macquarie said on Monday it is bidding to build a wind farm off New Jersey's coast, expressing confidence in the sector after a series of U.S. setbacks.Spinning power from coastal wind turbines is central to President Joe Biden's plan to decarbonise the U.S. economy by 2050, but his installation targets are slipping out of reach due to soaring costs, high interest rates and supply chain delays.Bucking that trend…

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of potential impacts from offshore wind energy leasing activities in the New York Bight, a portion of the Atlantic Ocean located offshore New York and New Jersey, and found no significant impact.The New York Bight WEAs are located in an area of shallow waters between Long Island (to the north and east) and the New Jersey coast (to the south and west)"The final Environmental Assessment (EA) assesses potential impacts from the issuance of leases within nearly 800…

“30 by 30” is the rallying cry for all concerned with the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind business. In Spring 2021, the Secretaries of Energy, Interior and Commerce resolved to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generated from offshore turbines by 2030. Consultants McKinsey, in a recent article frame the value proposition for this clean fuel source, writing: “During the industry’s 30-year evolution, costs have fallen so sharply that offshore wind now compares favorably with competing energy sources.” For vessel owners, renewable energy brings opportunity.The thrust of near-term U.S.

At one time the most powerful lighthouse in the United States was Twin Lights in Highlands New Jersey. Today it is a wonderful little museum and right now it has a very interesting show of paintings by Maarten Platje on the War of 1812. One painting is called the Great Chase and it tells this amazing story of the US Frigate Constitution being becalmed off the New Jersey coast and becoming engaged in a rowing race to keep out of range of a powerful British Squadron. The Constitution escaped and went on to have her amazing victories that year…

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a 50/50 partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America, announced the launch of ocean survey operations today within the Atlantic Shores lease area, in order to inform future turbine development.Survey operations encompass 183,000 acres located 8-20 miles off the New Jersey coast between Barnegat Light and Sea Isle City and are expected to conclude by the end of October, weather permitting.The survey vessel Geosea will be utilized to characterize the seabed, collect samples and determine placement of data collection buoys, which will be deployed later this year to help measure wind…

The Center of Excellence for Offshore Renewable Energy at the State University of New York Maritime College and the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler, are hosting the Ocean Wind Energy Conference on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at the Maritime Academic Center, SUNY Maritime College.Serving as the keynote speaker is Alana Duerr, Ph.D., Director, Offshore Wind North America, DNV GL - Renewables Advisory, who will offer insight to opportunities for maritime industry support of Ocean Wind Energy development and sustainment for many years to come.

NYC Economic Development Corp. Signs on as Event Sponsor.The Center of Excellence for Offshore Renewable Energy at the State University of New York Maritime College and the Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler, proudly announce their partnership in hosting of the Ocean Wind Energy Conference on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9 a.m. in the Maritime Academic Center, SUNY Maritime College. Featured presentations by industry leaders such as Keynote Speaker Dr. Alana Duerr, Director of DNV GL…

Fugro said it has been awarded contracts by Ørsted to undertake geotechnical investigations at two large-scale offshore wind development sites in the U.S. Ørsted is pursuing the development of the two new projects: Bay State Wind, located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. and Ocean Wind, 10 miles off the New Jersey coast – to bring wind energy to American consumers and businesses. The marine site characterization at both sites involves specialized sampling and in situ testing which Fugro will perform from its DP2 geotechnical drillship, Fugro Explorer. For laboratory testing and reporting services Fugro will draw on its expertise from Norfolk, Va. and Houston as well as Wallingford, U.K.

Statoil, Shell, DONG Energy turn to U.S. offshore wind; oil firms bring big budgets, offshore tech and risk experience. Some European oil majors have made inroads into the emerging U.S. offshore wind energy market, aiming to leverage their experience of deepwater development and the crowded offshore wind arena at home. Late entrants to the offshore wind game in Europe, which began with a project off Denmark 25 years ago and is now approaching maturity, they are looking across the Atlantic at what they view as a huge and potentially lucrative new market. Norway's Statoil has won a licence to develop a wind farm of the New York coast, is marketing its new floating turbine to California and Hawaii and is retraining some oil and gas staff to work in its wind division.

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…

New classification rules for U.S. fishing vessels address safety issues through collaboration, new rules and an eye towards economy. The commercial fishing industry fatality rate is 30 times higher than the average of other US industries. According to an analysis of commercial fishing fatalities for the period 2000 – 2009 conducted by the Alaska Pacific Regional Office of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), vessel disasters account for 51 percent of fatalities, with the top two initiating events cited as flooding (25 percent) and instability (16 percent).

Congressman Frank Pallone has issued the following statement in response to the Department of the Interior’s announcement of the proposed lease sale for nearly 344,000 acres off of the New Jersey coast for commercial wind energy development. “I am pleased that the Department of the Interior is moving ahead to pursue energy development in the Atlantic from renewable resources. Here in New Jersey, we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of our vast coastline to produce clean, renewable energy. By working to harness the natural wind power off of our shores, New Jersey can lead the way in building a far more sustainable energy industry right here at home. “Wind energy development also has the potential to create jobs, while simultaneously expanding our domestic clean energy resources.

The history of marine safety is soaked in water and written in blood. “I think that most people will tell you that changes in marine safety are almost exclusively disaster-driven,” agrees Dr. Josh Smith, a professor at Kings Point and interim director of the American Merchant Marine Museum. It hasn’t always been that way. Actually, it’s been worse. Despite some efforts early on to exert some control over shipping practices, going to sea has been accepted as a risky undertaking as long as man has floated vessels.

NOAA announced that the wreck of the ship USCS Robert J. Walker, a steamer that served in the U.S. Coast Survey, a predecessor agency of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Walker served as survey ship, charting the Gulf Coast ‒ including Mobile Bay and the Florida Keys ‒ in the decade before the Civil War. It also conducted early work plotting the movement of the Gulf Stream along the Atlantic Coast. Twenty-one men died when Walker sank in rough seas in the early morning hours of June 21…

The Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy will host an academic workshop, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, at the U.S. This one-day workshop will bring together a diverse group of scholars, practitioners and stakeholders from across the country to discuss how to achieve resilient ports and marine transportation systems in an era of extreme storms, rising seas and the melting Arctic ice sheet. The workshop features two panels that highlight research currently being conducted by postdoctoral fellows at the center.

More than 153 years after it was lost in a violent collision at sea, government and university maritime archaeologists have identified the wreck of the ship Robert J. Walker, a steamer that served in the U.S. Coast Survey, a predecessor agency of NOAA. The Walker, while now largely forgotten, served a vital role as a survey ship, charting the Gulf Coast ‒ including Mobile Bay and the Florida Keys ‒ in the decade before the Civil War. It also conducted early work plotting the movement of the Gulf Stream along the Atlantic Coast.

A June 19 report from The Philadelphia Inquirer said preliminary results of a two-year study just released by the state Department of Environmental Protection reported that developing wind turbines off New Jersey's coast would have a "negligible" impact on the environment. Officials said the $7m study is meant to provide a scientific baseline for direct planning for the turbines. The final report is expected early next month. New Jersey's study covered 1,360 square nautical miles off the coast between Seaside Park and North Wildwood. It was conducted by the research firm Geo-Marine Inc. (Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer)

1849-Revenue Captain Douglas Ottinger reported completing the construction and furnishing of eight life-saving stations on the New Jersey coast between Sandy Hook and Little Egg Inlet, marking the beginning of Federal life-saving efforts. 1944-The Coast Guard-manned USS LST-69 exploded at Pearl Harbor. None of her crew were killed but 13 were seriously injured. 1951-The Coast Guard announced the formation, within the Washington, DC area, of a new Organized Reserve Training Unit (Vessel Augmentation). The mission of this new unit was to develop a force of experienced personnel, well-trained in all shipboard billets, with particular emphasis on anti-submarine warfare, and the use of radar, radio, and other branches of electronics.

1801- Treaty of peace with France was ratified on this date, thereby ending the "Quasi-War," in which cutters of the Revenue Marine had rendered outstanding service. 1880- Date of a terrific gale on the New Jersey coast. Six vessels came ashore with 47 persons on board all but two survived. Nineteen USLSS crewmen won Gold Life-Saving Medals during the rescue of the persons aboard the wrecked George Taulane. 1943- A U-boat torpedoed the transport USS Dorchester off the coast of Greenland. Two of her escorts, CGCs Comanche and Escanaba, responded. The crew of Escanaba used a new rescue technique when pulling survivors from the water. This "retriever" technique used swimmers clad in wet suits to swim to victims in the water and secure a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship.

Lost after a violent collision at sea, government and university maritime archaeologists have identified the wreck of the ship 'Robert J. Walker', a steamer that served in the U.S. Coast Survey, a predecessor agency of NOAA. Twenty sailors died when the Walker sank in rough seas in the early morning hours of June 21, 1860, ten miles off Absecon Inlet on the New Jersey coast. The crew had finished its latest surveys in the Gulf of Mexico and was sailing to New York when the Walker was hit by a commercial schooner off New Jersey.

The three amphibious ships supporting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts off the coast of New York & New Jersey return to their homeports in Virginia. Operations in support of relief have shifted into the recovery phase and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are fully operational and providing sustained assistance as requested by state and local authorities. Navy and Marine Corps forces aboard the ships systematically transitioned the services…