SeaTac Marine Boosts Barge Capacity on Alaska Route
Seattle-based SeaTac Marine Services announced it has acquired a new heavy deck cargo barge. The 2010-built barge can haul up to 11,000 tons and with nearly 30,000 square feet of deck space, making it one of the larger barges in the Pacific cargo trade. The 300 x 100 feet barge was purchased from Signet Marine in late 2020. Specializing in general cargo and heavy lift machinery, the Atlas will fit well into SeaTac Marine’s regular shipping schedule to Anchorage and Seward. SeaTac Marine is modifying the barge to maximize cargo protection and space.
Seattle’s Terminal 5 Closer to Becoming ‘Big Ship Ready’
The Port of Seattle has completed the environmental analysis of Terminal 5 and has prepared the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the project to modernize the cargo-handling facility in order to serve larger cargo vessels. The proposed upgrades to Terminal 5 are wharf rehabilitation, berth deepening, electrical service and improvements to the upland portions of the property. “Based on public comment we are including a number of improvements, such as shore power for vessels…
Seattle Fears Arctic drilling, Shell Moves Rigs
Shell Oil Co is poised to restart oil drilling in the Arctic in the near future once it receives the go-ahead from the U.S. government, which could happen soon. The decision to allow the oil company access has been controversial among environmentalists groups as well as local communities that could be affected by the drilling. Seattle city leaders are fighting to keep Arctic oil drilling equipment out of the Puget Sound as the Shell works on a deal to store the equipment with the Port of Seattle near the mouth of the Duwamish River. The Obama administration may reaffirm a 7-year-old government auction of oil leases in the Chukchi Sea - a decision critical to Shell's plans to resume drilling in those Arctic waters this summer. Even before the pending decision, Shell Oil Co.
Action Eliminates Threat of Spill
NRC Contractors, Adam Wilkison, Collin Potts and Ron Broadway, put up a barrier of think plastic to prevent fuel from escaping the containment area around a damaged tank at the BP Harbor Island Seattle Terminal Dec. 6. The Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and BP worked with NRC contractors to keep any of the fuel from entering Puget Sound. NRC contractors meet to discuss their plans to keep diesel fuel from escaping a damaged tank and entering into Puget Sound at the BP Harbor Island Seattle Terminal Dec.
New Fireboats for Seattle
In 2004, Jensen Maritime Consultants (JMC) partnered with the City of Seattle’s Fire Department to develop two vessels that will significantly upgrade the City’s marine fire fighting ability, as well as provide a mobile marine command vessel for operations in all manner of catastrophes, including bio-terrorist incidents. Seattle is a city that is almost surrounded by water – built between Elliot Bay, Lake Washington and Lake Union, it has innumerable rivers cutting through it, with more than 190 miles of navigable coastline. However, any vessels going from the salt water side of Puget Sound to the fresh water side of Lake Washington must travel through the Chittenden Locks.
Tugboat Sinks at Duwamish River
A 101-foot tugboat sank at its moorage off the mouth of the Duwamish River and nearly dragged down a second tug, the AP reported. The cause of the sinking of the tug island Brave was unknown. More than 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel in the tugboat's tanks leaked before company divers sealed the fuel tanks. The amount that escaped was undetermined but appeared to be small and was contained by booms. Someone driving over the Spokane Street Bridge notified the company about 11 a.m. on January 22 that the Island Brave and Patricia S, to which it was tied, were listing north of the bridge and east of Terminal 5. The Island Brave sank beneath the surface about 1:15 p.m. A large crane on a barge was brought to the scene in time to pull upward on the sinking tug so the Patricia S could be cut free.
Manson Christens New Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge
Manson Construction Co. recently christened the newest edition to its dredging fleet, a trailing suction hopper dredge dubbed Bayport, at the company's yard on the Duwamish river in Seattle. Bayport is a larger sister ship to Manson's current self-propelled hopper dredge Newport, with an overall size of 303 x 54 x 26-ft. and 5,000 cu. yard capacity. Construction of Bayport was a fast track project for the company. The dump barge hull was reconstructed to become this self-propelled, self-contained hopper dredge, and design work began only in November 1998. The barge, which had been working on a USACE project in San Francisco, was brought to Manson's Seattle yard in February 1999, and since that time was completely transformed under the guidance of Manson's Dave Gertsch and Dave Nielsen.
