Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Cape Cod News

13 Sep 2023

Turbine Installation Kicks Off at U.S. First Commercial-scale Offshore Wind Farm

Credit: Avangrid

Avangrid, Inc., a U.S. offshore wind developer and part of the Spanish Iberdrola Group on Wednesday announced the start of the wind turbine installation campaign for Avangrid’s Vineyard Wind 1 project offshore Massachusetts, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States. The installation campaign follows the transportation earlier this week of the first GE Haliade-X Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) from the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal to the wind energy development area more than 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.“Over the past year…

28 Aug 2023

American Cruise Lines’ First New Coastal Cat Enters Service

(Photo: American Cruise Lines)

American Cruise Lines introduced its first new Coastal Cat, American Eagle, during a christening ceremony in at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy campus on Buzzards Bay last week.Carol Robertson, wife of American Cruise Lines’ founder the late Charles A. Robertson, served as godmother for the ship and christened the 100-passenger American Eagle with one of her handmade, ribbon-wrapped champagne bottles. The American Eagle is named after the first American Cruise Lines’ ship, which the couple launched in the 1970s.The ceremony began with remarks from Robertson…

22 Jun 2023

Titanic Sub Pieces Found on Ocean Floor; No Survivors

(Photo: OceanGate Expeditions)

The five people aboard a missing submersible are thought to be dead, according to the company that owns the vessel, bringing a grim end on Thursday to the massive search for the vessel that was lost during a voyage to the Titanic."These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans," OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement. "Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families…

22 Jun 2023

Titanic Sub Search: Debris Field Found, Oxygen Feared to Have Run Out

(File photo: OceanGate Expeditions)

The desperate search for a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic entered a critical juncture on Thursday when air was expected to run out for the five people aboard, but officials vowed to continue scouring the remote North Atlantic.A remotely operated vehicle deployed from a Canadian vessel to the ocean floor discovered a "debris field" near the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday morning on Twitter, adding that experts were "evaluating the information."Another…

21 Jun 2023

Search for Missing Titanic Sub Focuses on Area Where Sounds Detected

(File photo: OceanGate Expeditions)

Rescuers searching for a missing submersible near the wreck of the Titanic on Wednesday concentrated their efforts on a remote area of the North Atlantic where a series of undersea noises have been detected, though officials cautioned the sounds may not have originated from the vessel.With estimates suggesting the air supply on board the submersible could run out by Thursday morning, an international coalition of rescue teams has swept a vast expanse of the ocean for signs of the Titan…

21 Jun 2023

Missing Titanic Submersible Update: Searchers Detect Subsea Sounds

Copyright chocolatefather/AdobeStock

Search teams detected underwater sounds while scanning the North Atlantic for a tourist submersible that vanished with five people aboard during a deep-sea voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said early on Wednesday.The detection of the sounds by Canadian aircraft on Tuesday, day three of the search, was reported by the Coast Guard as the clock ticked down to the last 24 hours of the missing craft's presumed oxygen supply.Robotic undersea search operations were diverted to the area where the sounds seemed to originate…

20 Jun 2023

Titanic Tourist Sub Still Missing as Rescuers Race Against Time

File photo: OceanGate Expeditions

Rescuers were in a race against time to find a missing submersible on Tuesday, two days after it lost communication while taking wealthy tourists to see the wreckage of the Titanic in deep waters off Canada's coast.One pilot and four passengers were on board the submersible that disappeared on Sunday. The operating company said it had the capacity to stay underwater for up to 96 hours - giving those aboard until early on Thursday before air ran out.U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral…

09 Jun 2023

North American Lobster Industry Confronts 'Ropeless' Traps After Whale Entanglements

© norrie39 / Adobe Stock

An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life.Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch…

06 Jun 2023

Threat to Whales Complicates US Research into Seaweed for Biofuel

© Tony / Adobe Stock

In Cape Cod Bay, 10-year-old Pilgrim and her calf skim the water's glassy surface alongside the Shearwater research vessel to feed on tiny crustaceans.The two are among the last surviving 340 or so North Atlantic right whales left migrating along the U.S. East Coast – down from 480 right whales in 2010.The biggest threats they face include being struck by passing ships or getting entangled in ropes used for lobster fishing off the U.S. East Coast - scientists have recorded 98 such injuries or deaths of whales since 2017.Now, the whales face another threat as the U.S.

02 Jun 2023

Tower Sections for Vineyard Wind I Offshore Wind Project Arrive in U.S.

Credit: Iberdrola

Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola said this week it was making progress in the construction of Vineyard Wind I, the largest commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, with the receipt of the first shipment of components for the 62 wind turbines that will make up the farm at the port of New Bedford. Specifically, the shipment consisted of the tower sections, manufactured in Portugal. The components arrived in the U.S. aboard the heavy load carrier UHL Felicity.The…

03 Nov 2022

Cable Installation Kicks Off at U.S. First Commercial Scale Offshore Wind Farm

©Vineyard Wind

Cable installation has kicked off at Vineyard Wind, the U.S. first commercial scale offshore wind farm, at a site located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, the company developing the namesake wind farm, also announced that it expects to begin nearshore cable work off the south coast of Cape Cod in the coming days. The work is being conducted by Prysmian Group, the subsea cable manufacturing and installation firm based in Italy.Prysmian recently announced plans to build the first U.S.-based offshore wind subsea cable factory in Somerset…

31 Oct 2022

Interview: Dan Keane, Commanding Officer, USCG RDC

Photo: Greg Trauthwein

United States Coast Guard service is a family legacy for Dan Keane, who today serves as the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, CT."My dad was in the Coast Guard (for nearly 37 years), so this is a way of life for me,” said Keane in explaining that a Coast Guard career “was just something I always knew I wanted to do … it’s a family tradition for me.”The Coast Guard R&D center in New London is “relatively small with just over 80 people here at the RDC” said Keane…

09 May 2022

Hydraulic Hose Failure Sparked Fishing Vessel Fire -NTSB

​(Photo taken from the U.S. Coast Guard HC-144 aircraft showing the bow of the Nobska on fire before the rescue. Source: U.S. Coast Guard)

A hydraulic hose failure led to an engine room fire aboard a fishing vessel off the coast of Massachusetts, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. Marine Investigation Report 22/13 details the NTSB’s investigation into the April 30, 2021, fire board the fishing vessel Nobska. The five-member crew was ground fishing in Georges Banks, about 80 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, when a fire started in the engine room and quickly engulfed the vessel. After unsuccessful attempts to extinguish the fire…

07 Apr 2022

US Offshore Wind: Figuring Out the Business

© Collin Gravois / Adobe Stock

If awards were given for dominating the sustainable energy spotlight, offshore wind (OSW) would surely be in line for top honors.Consider:Big money: BOEM’s February sale of New York Bight offshore wind development rights drew a record $4.37 billion in developers’ bids. Not only is that real money, but just as critically, “This week’s offshore wind sale makes one thing clear: The enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is undeniable and it’s here to stay,” exclaimed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.Off Broadway: In January…

16 Mar 2022

Massachusetts Maritime Academy Teams Up with Union Apprentice Program for Offshore Wind

© MMA

With the passing of the historic infrastructure bill in August 2021, the backbone of the United States will undergo a transformation over the next several years, and for this, workers will be needed in all facets of the construction industry.Building Pathways South (BPS), a pre-apprenticeship program in Southeastern Massachusetts, is preparing young adults for opportunities available today as well as down the road, including in the growing U.S. offshore wind industry.Yvonne Tobey…

14 Feb 2022

VIDEO: U.S. Coast Guard Medevacs Fisherman Off Nantucket

©Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard earlier this week medevaced a fisherman from a vessel 58 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachussets.Coast Guard Sector Southeast New England watchstanders received a notification from the fishing vessel Jean Marie on Wednesday, reporting that a crewmember was having trouble breathing, and was requesting assistance.A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched, hoisted, and transferred the fisherman to Hyannis Airport…

15 Sep 2021

Vineyard Wind Secures $2.3 Bln Loan, Allowing Construction to Start

© Fokke / Adobe Stock

Vineyard Wind, which is on track to be the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, closed on a $2.3 billion loan and will begin construction in Massachusetts later this year, its owners said on Wednesday.The senior debt financing allows the project, a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, to mobilize its contractors and suppliers to begin work, the companies said.The U.S. government approved Vineyard Wind in May, billing it as the inauguration of a new domestic industry that will help eliminate emissions from the power sector…

04 Mar 2021

Video: Thirty-one Rescued from Sinking Vessel off Eastern Canada

(Photo: 
Joint Rescue Coordination Center Halifax)

Thirty-one fisherman have been rescued from a fishing vessel that caught fire and began to sink off the coast of Eastern Canada.At 7:05 p.m., Tuesday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax notified watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard First District Command Center that the 143-foot Atlantic Destiny was disabled with a fire on board, and was taking on water in 26-foot seas and 35-mile-per-hour winds.A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing crew…

25 Nov 2020

Three Rescued from Barge After Tug Sinks off Rhode Island

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three mariners from a disabled 108-foot barge off Point Judith, R.I., November 25, 2020. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Three mariners were rescued from a disabled barge Wednesday after their tug sank off the coast of Point Judith, R.I.At 8:17 a.m., watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, in Woods Hole, Mass., received a call via VHF Channel 16 from the tug Warthog, reporting their vessel was taking on water, and had a barge in tow. A Coast Guard Station Point Judith 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew immediately launched to assist, and when they arrived on scene, the tug was completely submerged, and all three Warthog crewmembers were on the 108-foot barge.

19 Feb 2020

Measuring the Hostile Ocean Beneath Hurricanes

Fig.1: A Slocum glider from Teledyne Webb Research, en route to deployment. Credit: Rutgers University.

Unmanned Vehicles Collect Data for Improving Storm ForecastsThe influences of ocean conditions and currents on living environments are now more widely appreciated—from the Earth’s climate and severe weather conditions to fisheries and biodiversity. Sustained and widespread measurements are needed to provide essential clues for understanding the oceans, for effective monitoring of environmental changes, and for helping to clarify the long-term effects of global warming.To meet this challenge, ocean researchers have invented various types of unmanned observing platforms.

30 Mar 2020

Coast Guard Corrals Wayward Buoy in Long Island Sound

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) sits at anchor. The Newport, Rhode Island-based buoy tender maintains 144 Aids to Navigation (ATON) that guide mariners into some of the oldest and busiest ports in the U.S., including Boston, Massachusetts; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Portland, Maine. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Emily E. Torsney)

Built to guide mariners through safe waters, the Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11 was dangerously adrift in the Long Island Sound.When ferry operators traveling between Orient Point and Fishers Island, New York, first reported the buoy off station on Jan. 17, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) was already underway but foul weather kept the cutter from removing it.This was the beginning of a two-week saga that would involve several Coast Guard units. Like the Loch Ness monster of the Long Island Sound, the 35-foot-tall green buoy was occasionally seen but hard to catch.

28 Jul 2021

Ocearch Launches 41st White Shark Research Expedition

Credit: Ocearch

Non-profit organization Ocearch said Tuesday it was embarking on its 41st ocean research expedition "to help solve the life history puzzle of the Northwest Atlantic white shark."Alongside 42 scientists and 28 research institutions the organization will collect data to support 23 science projects that will help form a complete picture of the ecology, behavior and health of the white shark in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. The company said it was headed back to the area where they first began their Northwest Atlantic White Shark Study nine years ago, off the coast of Massachusetts.

18 Jul 2021

500 Local Jobs: Vineyard Wind Signs Labor Union Deal for U.S. Offshore Wind Farm

Credit: phi771/AdobeStock / Image cropped

Vineyard Wind on Friday announced a deal to use union labor to help construct what will become the nation's first major offshore wind project off the Massachusetts coast near Martha's Vineyard.The labor agreement with the Southeastern Massachusetts Building Trades Council covers 500 jobs, most of which will go to local workers, the company said in a statement. It also includes hiring targets for women and people of color.The pact is the first in the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry and comes as President Joe Biden…