Blake News

Blake Powell, president at JMS Naval Architects, discusses his career, company and latest trends in naval architecture and marine engineering.Please give a brief professional bio, including education, experience and overview of current duties as president of JMS Naval Architects.I earned my degree in Naval Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley where I attended on a Navy ROTC scholarship and was commissioned as a Diving and Salvage Officer after I graduated.

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm BMT unveiled its new design for a 48-meter service operation vessel (SOV).BMT said the mid-sized vessel sits in between crew transfer vessels (CTV) and typical SOVs, providing a more cost-effective solution to achieving operational requirements as operators in the offshore market look for ways to reduce their operational expenditure (opex). Incorporating a methanol-ready design, the SOV features an optimized hull form and machinery configuration, built on a dynamic diesel-electric platform.

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.

U.S. offshore oil producers on Tuesday were keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Ian's track as the powerful storm shut-in at least 480,000 barrels of oil production as it heads toward Florida.The hurricane entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Eric Blake.Ian weakened after crossing Cuba and was packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), the NHC said.

When it came time to replace their 50-year-old station vessel New York, the Sandy Hook Pilots Association thought long and hard, weighing their options to determine the best possible solution. They traveled the country, to Houston, San Francisco and up to the Columbia River, and even to Europe—the Elbe River in Germany and Rotterdam in the Netherlands—to ride with other pilots in search of an answer.“We looked at everything from SWATH (small-waterplane-area twin hull) boats to helicopters to big boats in Europe…

California shipbuilder Moose Boats said it has delivered a new patrol boat to the Santa Cruz Port District in Santa Cruz, Calif.Santa Cruz Port District is responsible for patrolling, maintaining, and managing the facilities for the Santa Cruz Harbor including law enforcement, search and rescue, maintenance and dredging. As the lifecycle of their previous vessel approached, the District was able to secure funding for a new Moose Boat.On January 24, representatives from the District collected their new boat from Moose Boats in Vallejo, Calif.

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and Hydronalix, Inc. of Green Valley, AZ, signed a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) entitled AISUM Prize Challenge Hardware Support. Agreement number: NCRADA-NSWCCD-21-419. NSWC Crane is hosting an Artificial Intelligence for Small Unit Maneuver (AISUM) Prize Challenge with contestants from industry and academia. With the strategic goals of developing software that can be supported by a variety of hardware, non-proprietary robotic autonomy baseline component architecture and software were required.

FPSO specialist Bluewater has secured a contract extension for its Bleo Holm FPSO with Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited and its JV Partner RockRose Energy.The FPSO, deployed in the UK, will see the contract extended until December 31, 2024. Repsol Sinopec will have further options to extend the charter.The Bleo Holm FPSO is located in UKCS Block 13/28a on the Blake and Ross Fields, 72 miles northeast of Aberdeen, since 1999.José Luis Muñoz, Repsol Sinopec CEO said: "I am very pleased that this contract has been extended.

Puget LNG and GAC Bunker Fuels have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fuel from Puget LNG’s terminal to GAC’s customers in the Pacific Northwest.When the Tacoma LNG Terminal becomes operational in the second quarter of 2021, it will be the first such terminal on North America’s west coast providing direct shoreside loading access for a bunker barge.GAC Bunker Fuels, a division of the Dubai-based GAC Group, will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Jones Act-compliant LNG bunker barge to be constructed…

The U.S. Navy last week retrieved one of its crashed helicopters from 19,075 feet below the surface of the North Pacific, setting a record for the deepest aircraft recovery at sea.The helicopter, a twin engine Sikorsky Seahawk, crashed off the coast of Okinawa, Japan last year while operating from the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). The air crew was able to escape the MH-60S before it sank and no lives were lost in the accident.Responding to a U.S. Pacific Command Fleet request…

Hundreds of firefighters battled through a second day from the air, land and water on Monday to save a U.S. war vessel swept by flames while moored at a San Diego shipyard, as the number of sailors and civilians injured in the blaze rose to nearly 60.The USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship whose size ranks second in the U.S. Navy fleet to that of an aircraft carrier, remained largely shrouded in thick, acrid smoke on Monday as the vessel began listing to its starboard side.The fire…

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) is underway for the first time since being sidelined by an onboard coronavirus outbreak that infected hundreds of sailors and led to the firing of the ship's commander.Theodore Roosevelt was in the Asia-Pacific region when a number of its sailors began falling ill with COVID-19, forcing the aircraft carrier to eventually dock in Guam on March 27. One sailor who was infected died, and more than 1,110 out of the roughly 4…

Adm. Philip S. Davidson, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), became the Navy’s newest “Old Salt” during an award presentation Oct. 22 at the Pentagon.The “Old Salt” award is given to the active duty officer who has held the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) qualification for the longest amount of time."It is a tremendous honor to receive this award. I have been fortunate to be part of this organization for more than 35 years, serving alongside a number of amazing men and women.

Louisiana-based shipbuilder eliminates preheat and saves time with Dynasty 400 TIG welders.As a well-known shipbuilder specializing in the design and production of vessels, Metal Shark Boats doesn’t shy away from tackling tough and diverse jobs. It’s a philosophy that has fueled the company’s growth from small shop to major industry player.Launched more than three decades ago as a small family-owned operation crafting custom fishing boats, the transition to Metal Shark Boats began…

Teekay Tankers Ltd. has launched a vessel dashboard portal called The Helm that is designed to give pool partners a transparent, real-time direct link to commercial, technical and market data pertaining to their vessels.For Teekay Tankers CEO, Kevin Mackay, The Helm is a way Teekay Tankers can harness digital technology and big data tools to stay at the forefront of tanker market trends: “Our commercial team has been building out its service offering to customers and partners over the last couple of years. These services deepen our customer relationships and deliver a consistent revenue stream in all markets.”“Mackay continued, We have been in the tanker pool business for more than 10 years.

Weather and climate-related disasters cost the United States a record $306 billion in 2017, the third-warmest year on record, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Monday. The report from the federal agency underscores the economic risks of climate change, even as President Donald Trump's administration casts doubts on the causes of it and has started withdrawing the U.S. from a global pact to combat it. NOAA said western wildfires and hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma contributed to making 2017 the costliest year on record.

More than 80 maritime professionals attended two one-day events focused on the sub IMO / sub 80-ft. sector in Southampton, U.K. this Spring. The Man Overboard Prevention & Recovery Workshop brought together an international group of experts armed with the latest knowledge to identify problems that affect the maritime sector worldwide. Workshop lead John Haynes opened the day saying said, “Expectations, requirements and capabilities are changing for many maritime organizations. High profile roles are evolving close to shore and offshore in U.K., European and international waters.

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced one injured person, and a Coast Guard Station Juneau response boat – medium crew transported five people from a hard-aground pleasure craft near Cube Cove, approximately 65 miles northeast of Sitka, Alaska, Thursday afternoon. The Jayhawk crew hoisted and transported the injured woman to awaiting medical personnel in Juneau. The remaining five mariners were picked up by good Samaritans, transferred to the Station Juneau RB-M and transported to Juneau. Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders received a request for help over VHF channel 16 reporting the vessel was hard aground, taking on water and one passenger sustained an apparent head injury. The Jayhawk and RB-M crews were dispatched to the scene.

Gulf of Mexico vessel operators want to see sustained, higher oil prices. After a rough two years, supply boat owners and operators in the Gulf of Mexico hope crude oil prices will improve in 2017. That would encourage activity among the offshore drillers that they service and would put unemployed boats back in the water. Vessel owners aren’t necessarily banking on a good year ahead, however. “Utilization of OSVs and PSVs in the Gulf is below 50 percent now, down from about 70 percent a year ago and 90 percent two years ago…

A four-person team from the ship's company of HMAS Melbourne raised $3,000 when they pushed their personal limits in the Oxfam Australia 100 kilometre Trail Walk Challenge. Led by Sub Lieutenant Katrina Burkett the team set off from the Sydney suburb of Brooklyn, hiking to Balgowlah Heights, with the aim of raising and awareness and money for the impoverished. With only 48 hours to complete the course, the team comprising Chief Petty Officer Electronics Technician Len Harrison, Able Seaman Communication and Information Systems Blake Ridge and Able Seaman Communication and Information Systems Jacob Macgregor, was pushed as they negotiated gullies, hills and rocky outcrops by day and night.

USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), representing the newest class of surface combatant, was commissioned on October 15 in ceremonies at Baltimore. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus was the principal speaker. “This ship is an example of a larger initiative to increase operational stability and give the U.S. a strategic advantage,” he said. “Our Navy and our Marine Corps, uniquely, provide presence – around the globe, around the clock – ensuring stability, reassuring allies, deterring adversaries and providing the nation's leaders with options in times of crisis,” Mabus said.

All American Marine, Inc. (AAM), together with Argosy Cruises of Seattle, Wash., has signed a contract for the construction of a 125-foot aluminum monohull tour boat for operation in Puget Sound’s Elliott Bay. This project will mark the first keel laid at All American Marine’s new shipyard currently under construction in Squalicum Harbor at the north edge of Bellingham Bay. AAM will to open the new state-of-the-art 57,000-sq. ft. boat building facility in January 2017. The Port…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be dredging MIlford Harbor over the next two weeks, says a press release from Milford Mayor Ben Blake’s office. Army Corps will be using a 150-foot vessel called the Currituck, which is a special purpose dredge barge. Over the next two weeks, the crew of the Currituck will remove the silting and shoaling along the federal channel by relocating approximately 14,000 cubic yards of material to a near shore site, off of Bayview Beach. “The dredging will be at no cost to the city and will help ensure that Connecticut’s most popular recreational harbor remains safe to navigate,” said Mayor Ben Blake. Built by the Barbour Boat Works from North Carolina in 1974…