Harbor Masters News

Bremerton, Wash. boatbuilder SAFE Boats International (SBI) announced it is teaming up with U.K.-based electric powertrains provider Vita Power to develop a 100% electric, emissions-free patrol boat.Under a new memorandum of understanding to bring electrification to the patrol boat market, the partners have adapted one of SAFE Boats’ most proven hull designs - the 23’ Center Console - to be propelled by Vita Power’s V300 electric motor and battery package. Dubbed the “223e”, this concept provides a zero-emission solution for operators who are working long hours at lower speeds…

A grounding incident was avoided thanks to swift action by a team of harbor tugs and pilots aboard a Panamanian registered containership that lost power in Southampton, U.K., according to a local pilots group.At around 11 a.m. on January 26, the 20,000 TEU containership MOL Treasure departed the Port of Southampton bound for Le Harve, amid good, though gusty, weather conditions, with clear visibility and calm seas. But not more than an hour into the passage, the 400-meter-long MOL Treasure developed a significant reduction in engine power.An escort tug was already present…

Located on the eastern side of Martha’s Vineyard, the Edgartown Harbormaster provides search and rescue operations, routine patrols, and mooring management duties to the town. This RIB, designed for year round all weather operations, expands the Harbormasters capabilities while providing a safe and reliable vessel for their officers. Featuring a two person console enclosure, the 7.8 provides excellent open deck space for patients or equipment, easy access for officer boardings, unobstructed views, and most importantly a comfortable platform for long hours on the water. Powered by a 250HP Yamaha, the RIB will reach speeds in excess of 50mph while still providing unparalleled safety and unsurpassed performance.

Today many of us take aids to navigation for granted, and until they need to be replaced, we don’t realize how much we depend on them. Most marine navigation aids only require a routine inspection and maintenance after installation. Then they effectively continue their job so that mariners, harbor masters and other seafarers have one less thing to manage. However, it wasn’t always that way. The first marine aids to navigation were very different. Early mariners were guided into port by fires lit on hillsides to denote where the safe passage lay.

The Corpus Christi Ship Channel is open to restricted operations following a record six-day closure caused by Hurricane Harvey. Harvey has left many Gulf Coast petroleum refining centers either completely shut down or with operations significantly scaled back. An estimated 25 percent of the region’s refining capacity is operational, positioning Corpus Christi as the largest refining center on the Texas Coast that is fully operational. The ship channel’s restricted opening, authorized by the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port, will allow the seven local refineries to startup operations in an effort to serve the already short transportation fuels markets in the region and the nation.

Every port is different. But the harbor masters meeting in Vancouver this week are finding they all have much in common. “We all are dealing with issues of efficiency, the environment, and security and how to develop our ports to best accommodate our customers today and in the future,” says Capt. Kevin Richardson, president of the International Harbour Masters’ Association (IHMA) and a retired chief harbor master at the Port of Dover in the U.K. The congress is being hosted by the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, and the third largest in North America by tonnage.

The Coast Guard is seeking the public's help identifying the owner of a 13-foot white sailing dinghy found near Kaneohe Bay, Wednesday. Anyone with information that may help identify the owner of the sailing dinghy is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center at 808-842-2600808-842-2600 FREE FREE. Watchstanders at the Sector Honolulu command center received a report at 5:25 p.m., from MCB Hawaii Waterfront Operations that a Marine Corps helicopter crew spotted an unmanned adrift paddleboard while conducting training near Kaneohe Bay. Waterfront Operations launched a small boat crew to relocate the paddleboard. Once on-scene, the crew reported that it was not a paddleboard, but a small sailing dinghy with no mast, sail or means of propulsion.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) held a half-day emergency preparedness exercise, codenamed 'FEREX 2015' August 21. The annual ferry exercise (FEREX) aims to test the readiness of various agencies to respond to ferry mishaps in the Port of Singapore. More than 350 personnel from 10 agencies and companies took part in this full deployment exercise which includes deployment of resources at sea at the Eastern Special Purposes A Anchorage for rescue operations, manning of emergency operations centre at the Port Operations Control Centre at PSA Vista…

The Munkebo Maersk became the largest ship to ever sail up the River Thames as it called at DP World London Gateway, the U.K.’s newest deep-sea port hub. The 399-meter-long, 60-meter-wide, 195,000-ton Triple-E class vessel – equivalent in length to almost four football pitches and capable of carrying more than 18,300 TEUs – is one of the largest container vessels in the world, operating on Maersk’s new East-West Network. It was drawn alongside DP World London Gateway Port, adjacent to Europe’s largest logistics park, at 7:30 a.m.

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port reopened Port Allen in Kauai Monday morning after surveying crews deemed it  safe for transit. The maritime public is advised to be vigilant when entering ports and harbors and to cooperate with the direction of the Coast Guard and local harbor masters. Mariners seeking additional information on port and harbor openings should contact Sector Honolulu at (808) 842-2600 or monitor VHF Channel 16 or the Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbors Division at http://hidot.hawaii.gov/harbors/.

The Coast Guard is searching for a possible missing kayaker in the Kaulakahi Channel off Kauai, Sunday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu  received notification from the charter vessel HOLO HOLO that reported sighting an unmanned 15-foot yellow, two-person inflatable kayak adrift approximately seven miles seaward of Barking Sands Beach, Kauai. The only marking is a Pacific Extreme label. A red life jacket and a black and yellow paddle towel were found aboard. The charter vessel monitored the area and no one appeared to be in distress. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point was launched to the scene to search for anyone in distress.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said it is seeking the public’s assistance after receiving a report of an unmanned adrift, black and grey inflatable dinghy offshore approximately two and a half miles west of Kaanapali, Maui, Monday. The passenger ferry Molokai Princess reported the dinghy adrift at approximately 7:45 a.m., and took it in tow back to Kaunakakai Harbor, Molokai. The dinghy is approximately 10 feet long with a 6-horsepower outboard engine. There are no markings on the vessel…

In partnership with the Port of Dover Consultancy, BMT Isis (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, has announced the launch of a two day, interactive training course and workshop for Harbor Masters, Port Managers and Port Authorities. Entitled ‘Managing Port Safety and Security’, the course will provide delegates with a better understanding of what’s required to help meet the guidance contained within the Port Marine Safety Code. With contributions from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and Port Skills and Safety (PSS)…

As international controversy continues about the “wheres,” “whys” and “how much” of maritime piracy in key international shipping areas, an important debate now focuses on the use of “floating armories” in efforts to restore security on the high seas. In particular, private security companies relying on unregulated floating armories—meant to avoid arms smuggling laws when they lay offshore ports in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean—have created their own, apparently-deepening concerns, as recent U.S. government efforts in this regard show.

The Port of London Authority and John Deere worked together to keep London’s river Thames safe during the Olympics. Thousands of spectators made their way along Putney Bridge, basking in the sunshine and soaking up the atmosphere. With the 2012 Olympics in London this summer, following on the heels of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant, the city had never been so vibrant. On the Thames, dozens of ships cruised along the waterfront, including a new range of patrol boats. Commissioned by the Port of London Authority (PLA) to keep London’s river safe…

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) advises that thickening sea ice, resulting from particularly low temperatures across Eastern Europe, is causing disruption to shipping across the Black Sea. While relevant port authorities are working hard to keep shipping lanes open, vessels heading to Eastern Black Sea ports in Russia and the Ukraine are experiencing berthing delays. The Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port in Russia was closed for two days this week due to strong winds and freezing temperatures. Vessels arriving today and over the weekend will now have a one or two day wait to berth. Harbormasters in Odessa, Ukraine, are now demanding a letter of guarantee from owners and operators of non ice-classed ships…

New developments in wreck removal and the ever-increasing size of ships provided the focus for the International Salvage Union’s London conference on March 7. Looking at the prospects for a new Wreck Removal Convention, the Institute of Maritime Law’s Richard Shaw warned that adoption of the draft at the May diplomatic conference in Nairobi was not a foregone conclusion. Richard Shaw said that the new Convention, if adopted, would provide comfort to harbormasters and shore authorities asked to provide refuge for marine casualties. He added that the convention provides freedom to contract. A Coastal State may not impose a particular salvor on an owner.

"Tugboats of New York" is one of those rare constructions where everything works just about perfectly. The text is insightfully, appreciatively, and masterfully written. The illustrations are informative, handsome, and sometimes — deliberately, one gathers, given some of the credits — quite beautifully artistic. The photo captions are detailed and often lengthy, turning the book into sort of an A-V show on paper. And what paper. The stock is coated and 60-lb. heavy, bright, easy on the eyes, apparently formulated to last the next century or two. The illustrations glisten with a sheen more reminiscent of actual photographic prints than something screened into a book.

systems within their STN Atlas VTS installations. in the efficiency and safety of their operations. operator complete control over it. automatically. receive its messages. within a designated area for which there is a central control. options unavailable on the AIS system. reporting intervals and content of the transponder signals. from the display if crowding makes it desirable. the radar track table data back to the port control. data links between each station and the control headquarters. linked to a TDMA receiver. pilots and harbor craft. a TDMA unit operating within the area.

The Alaska USCG, in conjunction with local harbormasters and the uninspected passenger vessel industry, is promoting a new Five-Star Safety Rating Program for the industry. This initiative is voluntary and is designed to upgrade the safety of the smallest size class of passenger vessels. The safest vessels will earn a Five-Star Safety Rating. Small, uninspected passenger vessel operations have expanded dramatically in Alaska, with thousands of Alaskans and tourists embarking on them every year. There are more than 2,000 of these vessels in Alaska that can carry six or less passengers for hire and are not inspected by the USCG. In the wake of the sinking of two of these small passenger vessels in Alaska this past summer…

Britain will introduce new port safety rules resulting from lessons learned from the Sea Empress tanker oil spill in 1996. The UK Government will introduce a Port Marine Safety Code early next year, Shipping Minister Keith Hill said at a harbor masters' seminar. "Recent maritime history, including the grounding of the Sea Empress in 1996, has demonstrated the need to improve port safety to save lives and safeguard the environment," Hill said. The code would bring in a new safety management regime, establish a yardstick for harbor authority responsibilities for port safety and promote good practice, he said. The Sea Empress spilled over 70,000 tons of oil when it grounded trying to enter the Welsh port of Milford Haven.

Avondale Industries, Inc. has agreed to pay $357,750 in penalties for safety and health violations at its shipyard in Avondale, La., and implement a revised safety and health program as part of a settlement agreement announced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "We are pleased Avondale has agreed to resolve this matter," said Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman. "Avondale's new management has shown they are serious about eliminating safety hazards. OSHA originally inspected the shipyard in October 1998 following union complaints of possible imminent danger from falls, and other health issues. Based on that inspection, OSHA issued 60 citations against the shipbuilder last April and proposed fines of $537,000.