Donjon News

A cargo ship that ran aground off St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month has been refloated and towed to a safe mooring location at the Crown Bay Sandfill dock, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Vessel owners and salvors will now coordinate further operations to remove the damaged cargo, remaining oil and conduct further salvage or repair operations for the Bonnie G.The Vanuatu-flagged vessel began taking on water and ran aground on October 4, leading the 12 people on board to be rescued after abandoning ship. No injuries were reported.To refloat the Bonnie G, DonJon-SMIT, Inc.

New Jersey-based marine services company Donjon Marine Co. Inc., has secured a contract to perform maintenance dredging in Flushing Bay and Creek, in Queens, N.Y.Donjon Marine was one of two online bidders for the $23,970,800 contract, which was awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) New York District. Work is scheduled to be completed by October 31, 2022. The Flushing Creek, also known as Flushing River, is a waterway that flows northward through the borough of Queens in New York City…

Lyon Shipyard Inc., in Norfolk, Va. has been awarded a $13,489,440 firm-fixed-price contract to provide the management, technical, procurement, production, testing and quality assurance necessary to plan, prepare and execute all maintenance, repair and alterations required to complete the docking phased maintenance availability onboard the USNS Narragansett (TSV-4), the U.S. Department of Defense announced.Work will be performed in Norfolk, Va., and is expected to be completed…

The containership Ever Forward has been refloated after more than a month aground in the Chesapeake Bay, near the Port of Baltimore. The Hong Kong-registered vessel was freed around 7 a.m. on Sunday after running aground on March 13 while en route from Baltimore to Norfolk, Va.Salvors removed a portion of the nearly 5,000 containers on board to reduce groundforce following two failed attempts to dredge around and tow out the 1,095-foot-long containership on March 29 and 30. The ship…

Evergreen Marine, the owner of a containership stuck aground in the Chesapeake Bay, has declared general average after two failed attempts to refloat the vessel.The Ever Forward has been stuck near the Port of Baltimore since March 13 despite the efforts of dredgers and salvors who have been working for more than a week to dig out and refloat the 1,095-foot vessel. Separate attempts to refloat the ship on Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful, meaning costlier and more complex salvage efforts will be required…

Salvors will attempt to refloat the Ever Forward on Tuesday following a week of dredging to free the grounded containership outside the Port of Baltimore.According to the port's executive director William Doyle, a team of five tugs, including two pushing on the ship's starboard side, two pulling from port side and one long pull from stern, will aim to dislodge the 1,095-foot ship, which went hard aground outside of the Craighill Channel near Gibson Island on March 13.During the refloat attempt…

Dredgers are working to free a containership that has been stuck for a week after running aground in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore.Port of Baltimore executive director William Doyle said dredging operations to free the Ever Forward kicked off on Sunday after the required permits were issued by state and federal agencies."U.S. companies Donjon Marine and Cashman Dredging & Marine Construction will lead the surgical dredging operation," Doyle said, noting Donjon's Oyster Bay and Cashman's Dale Pyatt—both clamshell dredges—are being used to dig out the 1…

The U.S. Coast Guard will next week hold a formal public hearing to consider evidence related to the April 2021 capsizing of the liftboat Seacor Power and the death of 13 of its 19 crewmembers in the Gulf of Mexico.The Seacor Power liftboat capsized, April 13, 2021, about seven miles south of Port Fourchon, La., in the Gulf of Mexico with 19 crewmembers aboard. Six crewmembers were initially rescued, and six were recovered unresponsive during the course of the response. Coast Guard boat and aircrews…

The American Jazz riverboat, which ran aground near Canton, Kentucky on July 8 with 120 passengers and six crewmembers aboard, has finally been set free.The Lake Barkley Grounding Unified Command freed the riverboat, American Jazz, Friday from Lake Barkley in Cadiz, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.At 3:22 p.m., salvage crews and the riverboat crew were able to free the riverboat from being ground by using a combination of a tug and barge setup along with the ship’s propulsion."Thanks to the amazing support of American Cruise Lines…

Salvors have raised the bow section of the liftboat Seacor Power, which overturned in heavy seas in the Gulf of Mexico in April.The Donjon-SMIT salvage team lifted the bow section to the surface of the water and transported it by barge on Saturday to the Modern American Recycling Services, Inc. (M.A.R.S.) facility in Houma, La.Meanwhile, salvage work continues at the wreck site, where crews recently conducted more acoustic surveys of the stern and accommodation sections. The updated surveys will be used to complete the rigging configuration to prepare the stern section for removal.

Salvors have started removing fuel from the tanks of a lift boat that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico last month, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The 234-foot Seacor Power could have been carrying up to 35,000 gallons of fuel, lube oil, hydraulic and waste oil when it overturned in rough weather on April 13, about eight miles south of Port Fourchon, La., according to the Coast Guard. No spills have been reported.Salvage crews arrived at the wreck site over the weekend and began lightering operations on Monday using a method called hot tapping…

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it will call off its search at sunset for the remaining eight crew members missing from the lift boat Seacor Power, which capsized in the Gulf of Mexico last week.The Coast Guard said its vessel and air crews worked with local agencies and good Samaritans to scour more than 9,200 square nautical miles of sea over the course of 175 cumulative hours after the 234-foot Seacor Power overturned in rough seas and hurricane force winds approximately 8 miles south of Port Fourchon, La., last Tuesday.

Divers recovered two unresponsive crewmembers from the overturned lift boat Seacor Power on Friday, bringing the death count to four with nine still missing after the vessel capsized in extreme weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.U.S. Coast Guard and other local responders have been scouring the area by sea and air since the 234-foot Seacor Power overturned in rough seas and hurricane force winds approximately 8 miles south of Port Fourchon, La. Six crew members were rescued, four have been pronounced dead and nine are still missing.

Lawmakers in the U.S. are reintroducing legislation aiming codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet.“Inadequate icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes is costing us thousands of American jobs and millions in business revenue. We must boost our icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes to keep our maritime commerce moving,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who introduced the bipartisan Great…

New legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will codify the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking mission on the Great Lakes and increase the icebreaking capacity of the Great Lakes fleet.The Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act aims to increase Great lakes icebreaking capacity, which the lawmakers say will help the businesses and workers that rely on the maritime industry to transport their goods to market and grow the regional economy.“In recent years…

Dutch dredging and marine services giant Boskalis has acquired the U.S.-based maritime emergency response specialist Ardent Americas.Ardent, created by the 2015 merger of salvage divisions of Svitzer and Crowley, specializes in emergency preparedness and response, wreck removals, subsea services and decommissioning for the offshore oil and gas industry. Ardent Americas was a subsidiary of Ardent Global Marine Services, headquartered in IJmuiden, the Netherlands.Boskalis has also…

Dredgers are expediting operations in New York to make way for the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort, which will dock in the epicenter of America's COVID-19 outbreak to assist hospitals that become overrun by the pandemic.Dredging contractor Donjon Marine Co., Inc. was contacted last week and asked to begin dredging Manhattan Cruise Terminal’s Berth 4 in anticipation of the arrival of the ship, which under the order of President Trump will serve as a relief hospital facility for non-coronavirus patients needing hospital care.

A modest event designed as a get-together for commercial workboat operators in upstate New York is now celebrating 20 years as a three-day community festival.On September 11, 1999, local resident John Callaghan had an idea to bring in some friends who ran tugs on the Hudson River and NYS Canal System for a quick one-day get together, right at the entrance to the famed Erie Canal. Callaghan, then a tug captain himself for the state canal system, brought in seven tugs and cooked several dozen hot dogs.

Committed to providing tugboat and towing vessel operators with a platform to meet regularity requirements and collaborate with local resources, the annual event also reminds us that Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.On September 28 2018, American Marine Associates, LLC (AMA) coordinated and hosted the 3rd annual Green Apple Spill Response Exercise in Bayonne, NJ. The Green Apple Spill Response exercise was established specifically for the tugboat and towing vessel industry operating in New York Harbor.

SMIT Salvage has acquired two five-year marine salvage contracts to serve as the exclusive marine salvage and engineering support contractor for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the division of the U.S. Navy responsible for engineering, building, buying and maintaining Navy ships and submarines.The Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. subsidiary will provide the U.S. Navy with marine salvage, salvage-related towing, ocean engineering and towage services in the event of an emergency or incident in two of the three geographic zones in the world as defined by the U.S. Navy.SMIT Salvage held a contract for one zone covering the area between the Suez Canal and the international date line for a number of periods totaling more than 30 years, which it was able to renew.

A 623-foot bulk carrier was refloated in the St. Lawrence Seaway Saturday after running aground near Wellesley Island, N.Y. last Wednesday.   The Antigua Barbuda flagged vessel Pacific Huron was refloated under the direction of the Donjon-Smit salvage master, two Canadian tugs, the Evans Mckeil and the Ocean A. Simard. No injuries or pollution have been reported.   A pilot boarded Pacific Huron to navigate the vessel to its anchorage location at Mason Point.   On Sunday divers conducted an underwater hull survey, and the classification society inspected the ship’s propulsion system.

A primer for navigating the ‘ups and downs’ of marine money for domestic stakeholders. Vessel financiers are resourceful and adaptable to changing markets. On the domestic side, financiers of Jones Act and “brown water” assets have continued to serve their customers through shifting shoals in both broader capital markets and in the marine markets – both known for their ups and downs. Marine finance can take many forms. In the broadest sense, funding can be done through loans, where the vessel is owned by the borrower…

In the waning days of 2016, the outlook brightened dramatically for the big U.S. dredging contractors. Just before Congress dispersed for the Holidays, then-President Obama signed a pivotal piece of legislation – the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, S612. Authorized needed investment in America’s ports, channels, locks, dams, and other infrastructure that supports the maritime and waterways transportation system and provides flood protection. Authorized U.S.