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Recreation News

21 Mar 2024

Inland Waterways Focus: The Pacific Northwest Columbia-Snake River System

© Rich / Adobe Stock

"The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth.” - President Biden, Memorandum of September 27, 2023.Those abundant benefits directly impact about 13 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower extends that plentitude to millions more, powering cities and industry from Idaho to California.

08 Feb 2024

Volunteer Fire Department in Indiana Gets Its First Boat

The Bellmore Fire Department uses the boat for the first time in early January while responding to a nighttime report of a dog in the water. (Photo: Marathon Petroleum Corporation)

A volunteer fire department in western Indiana has increased its capabilities to respond to incidents on lakes and waterways after getting an unexpected grant.The Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department purchased its first boat through funding from Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum’s midstream segment, MPLX.The department’s chief said he had considered budget cuts to make the purchase possible before MPL surprised him with a check for all the necessary funding.Bellmore…

25 Jan 2024

Californian Port Gets $427M Boost for New Offshore Wind Infrastructure

© creativenature.nl / Adobe Stock

The U.S. government has awarded a major grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District for the construction of a new marine terminal to be primarily used for floating offshore wind-related activities.The grant for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind MVP (Minimum Viable Port) project comes through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) grant program, which received a substantial funding increase…

19 Oct 2023

US EPA Proposes Changes to Ballast Water Regs

© tempakul / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a supplemental proposed rule to reduce the spread of invasive species though ballast water that occurs with normal operation of large marine vessels.Following public input on EPA’s 2020 proposed rule—including meetings with states, tribes and other stakeholders—the agency is now issuing a Supplemental Notice to share new data and control options raised by stakeholders. This supplemental proposal will bolster the development…

30 Aug 2023

Insights: Maritime and an Honest Discussion About AI

Copyright Kras99/AdobeStock

The maritime industry is often criticized as being slow to adopt new technologies. While ship building is an age-old industry, it is also varied: fishing, commercial, inland, marine construction, energy, passenger, recreation, defense, and the list goes on. Each sector serves a different purpose, and bespoke vessels fulfill different missions, operate in different environments, and are subject to different regulatory profiles. As a result, our industry abounds with unique solutions…

25 Jul 2023

Eastern Shipbuilding to Build New Hopper Dredge for the USACE

McFarland is one of four oceangoing hopper dredges owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Photo: Dave Evinger / USACE)

Panama City, Fla. based Eastern Shipbuilding Group has been awarded a contract to design and build a new hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The $256,955,264 firm-fixed-price contract will see Eastern design and build the new medium-class hopper dredge (MCHD) for scheduled delivery in August 2027. Eastern was one of three bidders for the project.The new 6,000-cubic-yard-capacity hopper dredge will replace the USACE Philadelphia District's high-powered deep draft hopper dredge McFarland, built in 1967.

25 Jul 2023

Titan: The Right to Kill Oneself Redux

St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada- OceanGate-June 2023: Polar Prince towing OceanGate Expeditions submersible vessels on a barge as it leaves for the Titanic wreck site to tour below the ocean.
Copyright Dolores Harvey/AdobeStock

In November 2020 I wrote a column in MREN that discussed the right of people to engage in crazy marine ventures. The example I used in that column was an attempt to row from South America to Antarctica. In it I also made note of the inherent unseaworthiness of single-handed ocean racing and noted that such foolishness often resulted in the public spending lots of money providing rescue services.The Ocean Gate Expedition Titan venture has now managed to set an entirely new standard…

22 Jun 2023

Corps Launches Lower Miss 'Mega-study'

© Aneese / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is kicking off a five-year, $25 million "mega-study" with the goal to help guide effective and practical management of the Lower Mississippi River.The Corps said the the study will help it to identify recommendations for the comprehensive management of the region across multiple purposes, including hurricane and storm damage reduction, flood risk management, structure and nonstructural flood control, floodplain management strategies, navigation…

13 Jun 2023

US Marine Economy Worth $432 Billion in 2021

Credit: Douglas Croft

America’s marine economy contributed $432 billion in economic impact in 2021, making up nearly 2% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).That is according to the most recent statistics from the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account released by two Department of Commerce agencies —NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The marine economy statistics include activities in the US ocean, coasts and major water bodies such as the Great Lakes, Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay.From 2020 to 2021…

31 May 2023

Career Moves: US Offshore Wind Powering Up

(Photo: STAR Center)

In addition to wind, offshore wind demands human energy, individuals with knowledge and skills first to build and then operate and maintain the dozens of projects required to meet President Biden’s 2030 goal of 30 GW of offshore generation. In an October 2022 National Renewable Energy Laboratory report – “U.S. Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment” – the authors estimate that it will require, on average, between 15,000 and 58,000 employees annually, depending on domestic content scenarios, to build out a huge new wind machine.Mariners and mariner training are integral to offshore wind.

09 May 2023

USACE Mobile District Adds New Survey Vessel

(Photo: Jeremy Murray / USACE)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority held a ceremony to officially welcome a new survey vessel to its fleet in Columbus, Miss., April 28, 2023.The Miss Agnes, built by Theodore, Ala. based Silver Ships, is a custom 26-foot multibeam and single beam capable marine survey vessel that features an enclosed center console, a three-monitor survey station, and an air conditioner unit that is paired with a generator.

11 Nov 2022

US Inland Waterways: Looking for Rainmakers

(Photo: Ingram Barge Company)

As 2022 moves into its final months, low water levels and drought form the basis of the news impacting inland waterways operators and barge companies. In the first week of October, numerous barges were reported grounded in the Mississippi River, particularly south of Baton Rouge. This has consequences: barge rates jumped 218% in St. Louis, compared to 2021.Low water was so severe that on October 7 Ingram Barge CEO John Roberts issued a force majeure notice (force majeure - unforeseeable…

31 Oct 2022

Crowley, Humboldt Bay to Develop and Operate California Wind Terminal

(Image: Crowley)

Crowley signed an agreement on Thursday with the Port of Humboldt Bay to exclusively negotiate to be the developer and operator of a terminal to serve as California’s first hub for offshore wind energy installations. Through Crowley’s Wind Services group, the company will enter into negotiations with the port to lease and serve as the port’s developer of the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal. The services provided will support tenants in the manufacturing, installation and operation of offshore wind floating platforms…

26 Oct 2022

Insights from the 50th International Congress of Maritime Museums

Oslo Norway - October 19, 2019: Viking drakkar in the Viking Museum in Oslo Norway. Copyright warasit/AdobeStock

For many, the ocean is life. It provides transportation, work, commerce, food, recreation—tales as old as time and shared by people across the globe. These stories are lived day to day, passed down between generations, and shared with the public through various media. Maritime museums assume responsibility to share these histories while honoring the communities shaped ocean exploration and commerce. In a decade where ocean health and climatic events have become a primary focus…

15 Sep 2022

Inland Waterways Report: Columbia-Snake River System

(Photo: Tidewater Transportation and Terminals)

It’s amazing to consider that a commercial vessel in the Pacific Ocean, approaching the mouth of the Columbia River, can continue its eastward journey to finally tie up at the Port of Lewiston, in Lewiston, Idaho, America’s most inland West Coast port, 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean.The Columbia and Snake Rivers form that critical east-west waterway, an economic powerhouse regionally, nationally and internationally. According to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)…

25 Aug 2022

Keeping the Inland Waterways Open: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements

Copyright Michael/AdobeStock

Inland waterways, sometimes called ‘nature’s superhighways’ provide a strategic advantage related to security, economics, and trade for any nation whose geography, topography, and climate enable this natural infrastructure. Economic benefits are realized in small rural areas through large urban communities that utilize the system for efficient transportation and improved markets. However, deliberate operational, resource, and policy efforts, along with broad stakeholder integration, are required to maintain and operate such a system.

15 Jun 2022

Blue Economy Contributes $361 Billion to US GDP

© Tierney / Adobe Stock

America’s marine economy contributed about $361 billion of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2020. That is according to the most current results of the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account released today by two Department of Commerce agencies, NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).These numbers are from the first year of the coronavirus pandemic and represent a 5.8%, or $23 billion, reduction in real terms (adjusted for inflation) from 2019, outpacing the general…

25 May 2022

US Inland Waterways: Big Money, New Projects, Help Wanted

(Photo: North Mississippi Industrial Development Association)

New federal money promises dramatic impacts throughout the United States’ inland waterways system in 2022 and beyond. This report focuses on America’s central rivers; the Western rivers will be covered in a future report. These central rivers reach 11,000 miles, from Pennsylvania to Florida and from Texas to South Dakota.Consider the money within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “Civil Works Program Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), 2022 Construction Spend Plan.”In Arkansas…

22 May 2022

Op-ed: Building on Don Young’s Legacy of Protecting Alaska Oceans

© Lars Johansson / Adobe Stock

May 22 marks National Maritime Day. Congress established it in 1933 in commemoration of the steam ship Savannah and her maiden voyage, which was the first trans-Atlantic journey ever made by a steam-powered vessel. In the 203 years since the Savannah departed her eponymous port in Georgia for Liverpool, England, oceangoing technology has come a long way – and maritime shipping has become a supply-chain backbone that keeps goods arriving from all over the world. Much of this shipping…

02 Feb 2022

Passenger Vessel Sector Faces Winding Path Back to ‘Normal’

Washington State Ferries’ first new hybrid-electric ferry, which will be an Olympic-class vessel similar in design to Suquamish (pictured), will be named Wishkah and is scheduled to enter service in 2025. (Photo: WSF)

The year just ended, 2021, might be described as being about “trying to get back to normal”, across the entire transportation spectrum, two years into the pandemic. During this time, the decarbonization and electrification waves have swept across maritime passenger transport. The passenger side of the business is dependent on multiple funding sources; increasingly, this money will be driven by environmental and social considerations.The long-awaited funding of “infrastructure”-related projects…

09 Dec 2021

ACBL Found Not at Fault for 2008 Mississippi River Collision and Oil Spill

Three tugs hold up a barge that was split in two on the Mississippi, July 23, 2008. At about 2 a.m. that day the 600-foot tanker Tintomara and the Mel Oliver tug and barge collided and approximately 400,000 gallons of number six fuel oil spilled from the barge. (Photo: Chris Lippert / U.S. Coast Guard)

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) said it has been cleared of any fault related to the 2008 Mel Oliver collision and resulting oil spill on the Mississippi River.The announcement comes after more than 13 years of legal proceedings and is the result of a settlement agreement reached on November 18, 2021, with the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Louisiana regarding the case.It was determined that fault for the collision and resulting oil spill belongs to Harvey…

29 Nov 2021

U.S. Oil Drilling Review Proposes Higher Fees, Development Curbs

Credit: otmman/AdobeStock

The Biden administration proposed a slew of changes on Friday to the nation's federal oil and gas leasing program, including hiking fees on drilling companies and limiting their access to sensitive wildlife and cultural zones.The recommendations followed a months-long review aimed at ensuring drilling on federal lands and waters benefits the public. But in a sign of the extreme controversy surrounding the issue, environmental groups slammed the proposals as too weak and the industry…

11 Oct 2021

ACBL to Pay Over $2 Million for Mississippi River Oil Spill

(Photo: Chris Lippert / U.S. Coast Guard)

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6,734 barrels (282,828 gallons) of No. 6 fuel oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans in July 2008.