Hoods News

VT Halter’s new state-of-the-art blast and paint facility, already paying dividends for the shipyard’s bottom line and the environment alike, is poised to lift your bottom line with improved coatings and reduced corrosion.When it comes to marine coatings, preparation is everything. If that’s the case, then Gulf Coast-based VT Halter has all the boxes checked when it come to making sure that every vessel component and exposed surface that leaves its facility is ready for whatever harsh conditions come next. That’s because, in April of 2018, VT Halter Marine unveiled a state-of-the-art blast and paint facility that today allow ship sections to be prepared, blasted and painted in a controlled environment.

Marine propulsion manufacturers are not just responding to but are anticipating tighter performance demands from the U.S. EPA  and the IMO by introducing both new and upgraded systems based on state-of-the-art propulsion technologies. Tom Mulligan reviews the latest engine product launches.AIP for MAN cryo Liquid Hydrogen Fuel-Gas systemMAN Cryo, a subsidiary of MAN Energy Solutions, has developed a marine fuel-gas system for liquefied hydrogen in cooperation with Fjord1 and Multi Maritime 0f Norway.

RIBCRAFT designs and builds safe, durable, performance oriented rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) that fulfill the most demanding military and professional applications. With over twenty-five years experience, RIBCRAFT provides high quality professional grade RIBs and inflatables for military agencies, law enforcement, safety professionals, tour operators, private industry, and other marine professionals. As an American owned RIB manufacturer, RIBCRAFT is committed to providing organizations with excellent service and extremely well constructed RIBs built to withstand hard…

Construction of FDNY’s newest fireboat, William M. Feehan, has been completed by shipbuilder MetalCraft Marine Incorporated, and is slated for delivery and christening in the coming weeks. The name of the new boat honors veteran firefighter William Feehan, who at 71 was the oldest of 343 firefighters to pass away in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. The vessel’s nameplate, displayed prominently alongside the cabin, is milled from an I-beam lifted from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Hurricane Fred strengthened early Monday in the eastern Atlantic as it approached the Cape Verde Islands, while the remnants of Tropical Storm Erika brought flooding to parts of South Carolina, according to U.S. forecasters. The center of Fred is expected to pass near or over the northwestern Cape Verde Islands, an archipelago off the west coast of Africa with a population of 525,000. Fred had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (137 kph), but was expected to gradually dissipate after passing the Cape Verde Islands, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

A reliable solution for response and prevention that can save money, time and regulatory aggravation is here. The threat of oil pollution has long been a problem in the shipping community. You don’t have to look too far to review the myriad of oil spills that have plagued the industry. The Exxon Valdez spill that occurred 25 years ago has recently come to the forefront once again as there is evidence that the ramifications of the spill are still being felt in the fragile eco-system of several Alaska beaches.

Imtech Marine provides complete Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning to new eco-friendly Research Vessel ‘Sonne’. Energy savings realized by Dynamic Simulation techniques. Imtech Marine was selected as supplier of the new Research Vessel ‘Sonne’. Imtech designs and installs the complete HVAC system for accommodation areas, laboratories and machinery spaces, as well as the redundant cold and warm water supply system with a combination of turbo chillers and absorption chillers.

Cargotec has secured orders for three new mobile Siwertell ship unloaders for ports in Turkey, Denmark and Sweden. The Siwertell road-mobile unloader enables clean, dust-free, handling of dry bulk material, and its minimal exhaust and sound emissions also means that it has the advantage of being able to be used in sensitive sites or those close to populated areas. The first of these new orders has now been commissioned and sees a diesel-powered, trailer-based Siwertell 10 000 S unit with a dual bellows system and dust filters in operation for Muhammet Gümüstas, in Trabzon, Turkey. The new unit handles cement at a rated capacity of 300t/h.

OK, your ship has just pulled into port and will start unloading soon. The first mate has told everyone that while shore side paperwork is being completed there will be a mandated fire drill to fulfill international requirements. A designated fire team hooks up several lengths of fire hose to a fire hose station on the main deck. You are the junior crew member so you are told to drag the nozzle with hose attached to the bow of your ship. When you arrive there water is started and you are told to aim the water stream over the side for 30-minutes.

1918-There was an explosion at the T.A. Gillespie Company munitions yard in Morgan, New Jersey. Coast Guardsmen from Perth Amboy responded. When fire threatened a trainload of TNT, these men repaired the track and moved the train to safety, thus preventing further disaster. Two Coast Guardsmen were killed in this effort. 1956-Two U.S. Air Force F-89 aircraft crashed in rugged mountain terrain about four miles from Mount Olympus, Washington. For seven days, the Coast Guard directed a highly coordinated search for the lost plane and crews. Finally, aircraft and helicopters from the CG Air Station, Port Angeles, Washington, assisted by aircraft and ground search elements from other services, located and evacuated the two crew members on 5 October.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that a Jones Act seaman or his survivors cannot recover nonpecuniary damages from a non-employer third party. In the instant case, a seaman contracted (and eventually died from) silicosis while working as a sandblaster maintaining protective coatings on offshore oil platforms. Plaintiff seaman worked on vessels owned by defendant shipowner and wore allegedly defective hoods manufactured by defendant shoreside companies. The trial court held that plaintiff seaman (and then his survivors) were not entitled to recover nonpecuniary damages in the wrongful death suit against the shoreside manufacturers. Plaintiff survivors appealed.

The US Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis issued a Safety Alert advising that certain emergency escape hoods manufactured by Brookdale International Systems, Inc. are being voluntarily recalled by that company. Even though such devices are not Coast Guard approved, they are carried on some vessels. Companies that have such devices on their ships should contact the manufacturer at http://www.evacsafety.com to determine whether your particular item is subject to the recall. source: HK Law

Prevention and control of fire aboard ships present a number of unique problems. Special attention must be paid to fire safety, and in particular to evacuation procedures from enclosed areas that can fill quickly with the toxic fumes generated by fire. A number of cruise lines are addressing this situation by providing their crews with a type of fire safety device that protects against these potentially lethal gases. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has joined several other major companies in the cruise industry with the decision to equip its fleet of cruise ships with EVAC-U8 Emergency Escape Smoke Hoods. These fire-safety products protect against smoke inhalation in the event of a shipboard fire.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has joined several other major companies in the cruise industry with the decision to equip its fleet of cruise ships with EVAC-U8 Emergency Escape Smoke Hoods. These fire-safety products protect against smoke inhalation in the event of a shipboard fire. EVAC-U8 smoke hoods have been installed on the 12 ships operated by Royal Caribbean, along with Celebrity Cruises’ five ships, for use by crew members. In the spring of 1999, Princess Cruise Lines deployed between 300 and 700 EVAC-U8 smoke hoods on each of the nine ships in its fleet, also for crew safety in the event of a fire emergency. Disney Cruise Lines has recently purchased EVAC-U8s for its ships as well.

Imagine you're onboard a cruise ship and a fire breaks out and you realize that you are trapped in your stateroom — left to inhale the fatal smoke and gas wafting through the vents. Contrary to popular belief, more than 85 percent of fire related deaths occur, not from burns, but from this type of inhalation. Enlisted to remedy this situation is Caretaker AS, a privately held Norwegian company that manufactures, sells and installs an innovative and patented computerized evacuation and survival system — specifically geared toward the Hospitality and Lodging industry. Already installed in two hotels in Oslo, Norway, Caretaker is striving to find its niche within the cruise industry.