Engine Department News

The offshore wind industry in the United States is growing exponentially, with multiple projects in the development stages off of the Atlantic coast. The total megawatt capacity of U.S. offshore wind farms is anticipated to reach 22,000 by 2030 and 43,000 by 2050. To support this growth, U.S. Department of Energy reports estimate over 40,000 new jobs will be created by 2030.The new jobs anticipated to support the offshore wind industry include a wide range of types, including engineers, trade workers, surveyors, scientists, technicians, managers, and seafarers.

Maritime autonomous surface ship (“MASS”) technology continues to advance at a rapid pace around the globe. Although it’s not being embraced as quickly in the United States commercial market as other parts of the world, U.S. industry professionals and regulators look forward to continued development and implementation as a means to improve efficiency and safety.OpportunitiesThe U.S. Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) hosted “Achieving Critical MASS: Spotlight on the U.S. Vessel Automation Industry” July 22 and 23, 2019, encouraging discussion between U.S.

Mariners looking for insurance have a new option that is touted as being fast and affordable, cared for immediately in an online format that is designed to be more expedient than ever.360 Coverage Pros launched a new Marine License Insurance Program for mariners that offers an entirely online buying experience combined with low monthly payment options and instant proof of coverage.Until now, the process of securing a marine license insurance policy involved requesting quotes,…

Global maritime group Mercmarine has unveiled a new state-of-the-art engine room simulator at its training base in Sri Lanka. Hailed the most advanced simulator of its type in the country, the Transas 5000 TechSim marine engine room simulator was officially opened by Ministry of Ports and Shipping secretary L P Jayampathy in Colombo. Mercmarine’s purpose-built training facilities in Colombo and Galle have delivered deck and engine related courses in all qualifications for more than two decades, and currently cater for more than 160 students.

Overnight engine repairs and a meeting with Ferry Advisory Committee executives are detailed In this excerpt from the latest 'Washington State Ferries Weekly Update', by Capt. George A. Capacci, Interim Assistant Secretary WSDOT/Ferries Division. WSF crews constantly monitor the mechanical and support systems on all of our vessels. This week, the Vessel Engine department and Eagle Harbor maintenance crews completed overnight repairs on several vessels, including the Walla Walla, Spokane, and the Hyak. These repairs included replacing internal bolts that secure the piston on one of the Walla Walla’s main engines; repairing a cracked exhaust expansion joint on the Spokane; and replacing a seal on the Hyak’s generator.

A recent marine casualty involving a severe injury to a crewmember aboard an inspected passenger vessel reminds us that these hazards happen in any segment of the maritime industry. Moving, rotating and reciprocating machinery may include (but are not limited to) rotating or spinning shafts, fan blades, fan or serpentine belts, gearing, hydraulic ram assemblies, couplings, arms, linkages, windlasses, drums, blocks, booms and sheaves, etc. In this instance, a crewmember’s hair became entangled with a rotating propeller shaft as the crewmember was on watch and conducting rounds.

U.S. Coast Guard Safety Alert for Commercial Fishing Vessels. According to U. S. Bureau of Labor statistics, in 2012 commercial fishing was the second most dangerous occupation in the country, with over 117 fatalities per 100,000 workers.i This alert serves to remind commercial fishing vessel owners, operators, and crew members of the dangers associated with working around moving deck machinery, rigging, and equipment. A recent marine casualty resulting in the death of a crew member highlights the need to remain evervigilant to unsafe practices and conditions. In this instance, the crew member was standing in a hazardous location on the vessel’s working deck…

Resolve Maritime Academy recently completed its installation of Transas engine room simulator platform, the ERS 5000 TechSim. As part of the Academy’s Simulation Training Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the engine room has booked classes for January 2014. The ERS 5000 TechSim has allowed Resolve Maritime Academy to expand its course offerings to engineers from all sectors of the maritime industry including the offshore, tanker and cruise sectors. The engine room simulator is connected to Resolve Maritime Academy’s full mission bridge simulator…

The Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 (MLC 2006) is now in force – although not here in the United States. How much different is what happens on MLC compliant ships from what transpires on U.S.-based, domestic workboats? The Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 (MLC 2006) came into effect on August 20, 2013. Globally, the new rule impacts many aspects of how seafarers are treated, working conditions and a myriad of less well defined requirements that leave some operators scratching their heads to figure out. The United States has not ratified the Code and probably never will. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have work and rest rules under U.S. law, as well. We do. Regulation 2.3 of the new MLC Code also delineates hours of rest and work for mariners.

If there’s anything Capt. Guy Sorensen’s learned in his decades of working with professional mariners it’s that they learn in a variety of ways, times and places. They have to. After spending weeks and months at sea, that precious homeport time can be hard to fill up with training. “That’s why we launched our home study programs,” said Sorensen, who founded the Virginia-based Chesapeake Marine Training Institute in 1992 following a career in the U.S. Coast Guard. “It’s important to us to accommodate all students and offer them a high quality education…

Inconsistent Rules Create Uneven Application of Standards. (Captain) Jeff Cowan explores the how and why of the safety gap that comes as a direct result. Oil tankers and cargo vessels face a number of oil spill prevention regulations especially along the U.S. coast. Surprisingly, many of the regulations governing T-2 and T-3 sized tankers which carry between 120,000 and 146,000 barrels of oil do not apply to the new Articulated Tug Barges (ATBs) that may carry as much if not more (400,000+ barrels).

United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr., announced that, yesterday, CLEOPATRA SHIPPING AGENCY, LTD., a Greek vessel management company, pled guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and was sentenced to pay a $300,000 fine and serve a three-year term of probation requiring implementation of an environmental compliance program. U.S. District Judge James J. Brady ordered that $150,000 of the fine be awarded to the CLEOPATRA employee who reported the violation to the United States Coast Guard. In pleading guilty, CLEOPATRA agreed to the following facts.

With more than 1,500 young men and women graduating from the seven U.S. maritime academies this year, employment opportunities for the class of 2012 remain plentiful, according to the American Maritime Partnership. “We congratulate the maritime academy graduates for passing the extensive U.S. Coast Guard exam and pursuing a career that will help grow the U.S. economy and keep our country strong and safe,” said James Henry, President of the Transportation Institute, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Maritime Partnership.

Data show that more than 75 % of marine casualties are the result of human error. Fatigue is documented as the primary cause of 16% of maritime casualties and is a factor in an additional 37% of casualties. Experts suggest that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that fatigue is a factor in the vast majority of marine casualties caused by human error. Lack of rest has been the lot of seafarers at least since voyages beyond the sight of land became common. Until recently, little has been done formally to address the problem. Governments routinely issue minimum manning certificates for vessels that, while meeting the safe manning level requirements established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ignore the realities of life and work on a modern vessel at sea.

Crowley Awards Three United States Merchant Marine Academy Cadets with Scholarships at the Connie Awards Luncheon. Continuing in its tradition of supporting academic excellence, Crowley Maritime Corporation awarded Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships to three deserving cadets from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, N.Y., during Monday's Containerization and Intermodal Institute (Connie Awards) luncheon in Newark, N.J. The USMMA cadets, Benjamin Faulter…

Renee Marazon, CEO of The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation, has announced that The Maritime Foundation has been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard to offer Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW training) effective immediately. The STCW training and certification is required for all mariners. The training includes personal survival, personal and social responsibility, basic first aid, and basic firefighting. Course topics include: Personal Safety and Social Responsibility; Terminology; Accommodations; Safety Management Systems; Drugs and Alcohol; Food; Pollution; Survival; Fall Protection; Confined Spaces; Lock Out/Tag Out…

Nearly 800 young men and women are graduating from the seven maritime academies in the United States this year, and many will be working on a vessel almost before the ink on their U.S. Coast Guard license is dry. U.S.-flag vessel operators are clamoring for qualified deck and engine officers, so the class of 2011 will soon be gainfully employed. “We welcome our new shipmates,” said James Henry, President of the Transportation Institute, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Maritime Partnership. “It is no small accomplishment to pass the extensive U.S. Coast Guard exam required for a deck or engine license. There are seven maritime academies in the United States, one each in California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan and Texas, and two in New York.

U.S. Coast Guard Port State Control Officers (PSCOs) are discovering Fuel Oil Quick-Closing Valves (QCVs) intentionally blocked, modified, and poorly maintained preventing them from operating as designed during an emergency. QCVs are positive shutoff valves on fuel oil systems serving to isolate fuel tanks in the event of a fire and also prevent “fueling” of a fire in circumstances where system piping and components are compromised. In some circumstances they could be the only means of securing the fuel to a flammable liquid fire. These valves are designed to be remotely operated.

United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that United States District Judge James C. Dever III, sentenced Vaja Sikharulidze, a citizen of Georgia, to one-year probation to include seven days of home detention, which reflected a sentence reduction based upon his substantial cooperation in the investigation. A Criminal Information was filed on April 23, 2010. sikharulidze pled guilty on May 3, 2010 to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Sections 1901, et. seq. Sikharulidze, 59, was the Chief Engineer of the Motor Tanker Chem Faros, a 21,145 gross-ton ocean-going cargo ship.

Cooperative Success Maritime S.A., the operator of the M/T Chem Faros, a 21,145 gross-ton ocean-going cargo ship that regularly transported cargo between foreign ports and the United States, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal court for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), and to making material false statements, the Justice Department announced. U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever III for the Eastern District of North Carolina sentenced the company to pay a $850,000 penalty of which $150,000 will be paid to the congressionally-created National Fish and Wildlife Fund as a community service payment.

Crowley's commitment to provide scholarship opportunities to deserving students continued on Dec. 7 as four U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadets were presented Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships at the Containerization and Intermodal Institute's Connie Awards luncheon in Newark, N.J. Cadets John Buehler, Patrick Delargy, Andrea Morrison and Kyle O'Connor were awarded with Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial scholarships based on their exemplary academic records and financial need. Midshipmen Marie Ebers was also awarded the Containerization & Intermodal Institute's Richard A.

In an effort to ensure the next generation of career mariners is the best in their fields, Crowley presented four exemplary United States Merchant Marine Academy students with Thomas B. Crowley, Sr., scholarships Monday at the Containerization & Intermodal Institute's (CII) annual Connie Awards luncheon in Newark, N.J. The event, attended by approximately 300 guests, provided the backdrop for the scholarship presentations to Midshipmen Patrick Showell, Donald ("Buddy") Finnie, Joseph Gaudiano and Bradford Lawhon.

Military Sealift Command’s dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Lewis and Clark won the 2008 Department of the Navy safety excellence award in the Military Sealift Command category, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced yesterday. The 689-ft. ship is currently operating out of Norfolk, Va., and is crewed by 124 civil service mariners and a small military detachment of 11 active-duty Navy sailors. Lewis and Clark’s crew was recognized for developing new operational procedures…