Bering News

A new safety alert issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) urges vessel owners and operators to provide each crewmember with a personal locator device. These devices improve a mariner’s chance of rescue during an emergency.During an emergency at sea, a mariner’s chance of survival decreases if search and rescue cannot quickly and accurately identify their location. Personal locator devices, such as personal locator beacons (PLB) or satellite emergency notification devices (SEND), can accurately pinpoint a person’s location.

Attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the Red Sea have hit world trade. Between November and December 2023, the number of containers travelling through the Red Sea each day fell by 60% as ships moving goods between Asia and Europe diverted their routes around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.This route results in at least ten days more sailing time, so has caused freight prices to surge and has triggered costly delays to production. The region has become a bottleneck for the global economy before.

The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel, the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC Cape Newagen (WPB 95318).

The first US-built trawler-processor for Alaskan pollock in over three decades is now undergoing sea trials in the Northern Pacific, testing an integrated technology package from Kongsberg Discovery tailored to locate, inspect, and engage fish with unparalleled efficiency.The 100-meter-long Arctic Fjord, designed by Kongsberg Maritime and built by Louisiana’s Thoma-Sea Marine Constructor, will start full-time operations for 2024’s pollock A season in the Bering Sea.Speaking ahead of this week’s Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle…

Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said on Tuesday it has set up a joint venture with Dubai's DP World to develop container shipping through the Arctic as part of an initiative heavily promoted by President Vladimir Putin.The deal with one of the world's top port operators is the most tangible sign yet of Moscow's ability to attract big international partners to help it realise its ambitious plans for what it calls the Northern Sea Route.Putin has talked up prospects for the Arctic corridor…

Russia must boost production facilities for the construction of ice-breaking vessels in order to meet its targets for increasing trade via the Northern Sea route, Moscow's official in charge of Arctic development has said.The government has been in talks with India and China on such projects, Alexei Chekunkov, the head of Russia's Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, told RBC media.Russia has long viewed the route, which runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

Two new routes have been designated under the U.S. Marine Highway Program (MHP), U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced this week during a visit to Alaska.The newly designated M-11 in Alaska will add over 6,500 miles to the marine highway system, and the M-79 route extends the reach of the Ohio River system by nearly 250 miles in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. These designations allow any eligible applicant on these routes to apply for future U.S. Marine Highway Program grants…

A Kremlin aide urged the Russian government on Thursday to adopt legislation allowing foreign-flagged vessels to use the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which Moscow wants to turn into a new Suez Canal.The NSR runs from Murmansk near Russia's border with Norway eastwards to the Bering Strait near Alaska.Although the route is physically challenging, it could cut sea transport times between Europe and Asia at a time when Russia's trade with Western countries is at post-Cold War lows following Moscow's decision to send troops into Ukraine."We have been left without transit routes.

The United States in recent weeks has been tracking what is believed to be a Russian military spy ship off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands.The U.S. Coast Guard said in an update on Thursday that it has been keeping tabs on the vessel, a suspected "intelligence gathering ship", for several weeks. Video footage released by the agency showed the ship in waters off the Hawaiian coast on January 11.The ship has been identified as the Kareliya (SSV-535), a Vishnya-class intelligence ship used by the Russian Navy for signals intelligence gathering.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley returned to homeport at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, on Thursday, following an extended seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle.While in dry dock, the crew and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs.The engineering department oversaw 76 work items including major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders, and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage, and water tanks.

New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration and remembrance. Three years ago, on December 31, 2019, as the new year was being rung in across the lower 48 states, a tragedy was playing out in icy Alaskan waters. The fishing vessel Scandies Rose, with seven crew members aboard, encountered severe icing conditions and high winds and waves as it transited from Kodiak to fishing grounds in the Bering Sea. The crabber tried to make it to Sutwik Island to shelter from the storm; however…

Capt. Tony Russell (CG Ret.) has been named as the Executive Director for the Center for Arctic Study and Policy (CASP) at the Coast Guard Academy.CASP serves as a Coast Guard-focused academic think tank to promote research, broaden partnerships, and educate future leaders about the complexities of the Arctic region. Through interdisciplinary efforts across the Academy, and in collaboration with U.S. Coast Guard sponsors and external partners, the Center promotes effective solutions…

The Coast Guard’s 353-ton, 154-foot fast response cutter (WPC) is capable of deploying independently to conduct missions that include port, waterways and coastal security; fishery patrols; search and rescue; and national defense. The service plans to build 64 of them to replace the 110-foot Island class patrol boats. The FRC has a range of 2,500 miles, but the endurance of the 24 crewmembers is normally limited to about five days based on the quantity of provisions carried. Both the 110s and 154s have about the same speed and range…

Sea ice predictions have improved markedly since the founding of an international forecasting and monitoring network 14 years ago.“These forecasts are quite encouraging in their increasing accuracy,” said Uma Bhatt, an atmospheric sciences professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Bhatt spoke about the Sea Ice Prediction Network at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting last month.As the amount of sea ice in the Arctic declines, thins and becomes more mobile…

Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash.With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping. Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year.“That’s a direct result of increased human maritime activities…

Volvo Penta has secured a contract to provide quad IPS propulsion systems for the four new offshore wind farm crew transfer vessels (CTVs) that will be built at Blount Boats for American Offshore Services (AOS). The new 30-meter (99-ft.) twin-hull CTVs will be powered by four IPS900 propulsion drives, two in each hull. The fully integrated system will also include Volvo Penta’s GPS-based Dynamic Positioning System and integrated joystick controls, allowing for convenient and easy maneuverability even in conditions of strong currents and high waves.

Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping, and I consider this a position the whole shipping industry must adopt.”Running from Murmansk near Russia’s border with Norway to the Bering Strait near Alaska…

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) is supporting O'Hara Corporation as they modernize their 204' factory trawler, Alaska Spirit. The vessel has been successfully fishing Alaska's Bering Sea since 1989 when it was converted from an offshore supply vessel to a head and gut factory trawler. O'Hara has committed to a complete vessel overhaul to improve habitability, efficiency and optimize vessel performance.The multi-year project kicked off in 2017, shortly after O'Hara acquired the vessel and selected EBDG as their designated engineering partner.

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia wanted to retain its "superiority" in the Arctic and that it planned to renew its icebreaker fleet to bolster its presence there.Moscow has stepped up its efforts to tap the region's commercial potential, including by increasing freight traffic on the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Murmansk in the Russian Arctic to the Bering Strait near Alaska.In recent years Russia has also reopened abandoned Soviet military, air and radar bases in the energy-rich region as it vies for dominance against traditional rivals Canada…

Designer and builders of specialized vessels Vard said it has signed an agreement for the design and construction of another stern trawler for Russian fishing company Luntos Co. Ltd., due for delivery in the third quarter of 2022.The order, which follows the first placed in 2019, is for a new fishing vessel with a length of 87 meters and a beam of 18 meters, will be built at Vard Vung Tau shipyard (Vietnam).The newbuild is designed to ensure optimal productivity, sustainability and operational efficiency…

A nuclear-powered ice breaker Russia says is the world’s largest and most powerful set off on Tuesday on a two-week journey to the Arctic as part of Moscow’s efforts to tap the region’s commercial potential.Known as Arktika, the nuclear icebreaker left St. Petersburg and headed for the Arctic port of Murmansk, a journey that marks its entry into Russia’s icebreaker fleet.Russian state firm Rosatomflot has called the vessel the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker.

The Bering Sea ice cover during the winters of 2018 and 2019 hit new lows not seen in thousands of years, scientists reported on Wednesday, adding to concerns about the accelerating impact of climate change in the Arctic.Satellite data provides a clear picture of how sea ice has changed over the last four decades in the region between the Arctic and northern Pacific oceans. Beyond that, the only ice records available were those recorded in ship logs and other observations.So scientists turned to peat land, which holds organic compounds from plants dating back millennia, on the remote St.

The owners of four Iranian fuel cargoes that were confiscated by U.S. authorities last month mounted a challenge to the seizure, asserting their rights to control the cargo, according to a court filing on Tuesday.The U.S. Justice Department last month announced the seizure of 1.116 million barrels of fuel it said was destined for Venezuela. The oil industries of Venezuela and Iran, both OPEC nations, are under U.S. sanctions, and Iran earlier this year irked Washington by sending gasoline cargoes to Venezuela.In the Tuesday filing with the U.S.