Kirby Marine News

Proman Stena Bulk, the joint venture between tanker company Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman, announced the successful completion of the first ever barge-to-ship methanol bunkering on the U.S. Gulf Coast.The JV tankers Stena Pro Marine and Stena Prosperous were refueled with methanol via barge while discharging clean petroleum products at a terminal in the Port of Houston in the first week of April.Stena Pro Marine was bunkered with 1,408MT of methanol, and Stena Prosperous was refueled with 1,203MT during the operation.

Much has changed since Marine News’ 2022 shipbuilding report published in March last year, and business opportunities in certain market segments continue to grow. But the shipyards that are looking to cash in are still facing many of the same challenges.For example, many American shipyards and their partners throughout the shipbuilding supply chain are still finding it difficult to attract and retain the workers they need. If you’re a skilled craftsperson looking for a job in shipbuilding, you’re in luck, because there are plenty of openings at shipyards across the country.

America's largest tank barge operator Kirby Corporation on Tuesday announced a net loss of $248.5 million for the first quarter, down from $44.3 million earnings for the same period last year. The company also withdrew its full year earnings guidance.The sharp deceline in energy prices and oil and gas activity negatively impacted the revenue and operating income of Kirby's distribution and services segment, leading the Houston-based company to implement workforce reductions, furloughs and reduced work schedules…

The tug Falcon was built by Modern Marine Inc. in 1978. In the intervening years, companies that employed her have changed hands a number of times until 2013 when Vane Line Bunkering of Baltimore, Maryland purchased Kirby Marine’s Philadelphia bunkering division. The parent company, Vane Brothers, immediately began plans to update and upgrade the classic 75x25-foot tug. Central to this was the repower of the vessel. They arranged with Cummins Power Systems to replace the boat’s pair of aging Detroit 12V71s with modern Cummins K38-M engines. The U.S.

Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Washington reported the sale of the U.S. flag, twin screw tug “Pacific Patriot” (ex-Pacific King) from Kirby Marine Offshore to U.S. West Coast buyers on private terms. This was the 300th tug brokered by Marcon and 1,351st sale or charter since the sale of the vintage and some would say very “classic” 1950s built, 135’ supply boat “Low Tide” from Tidewater in the early 1980s. Built in 1980 by Main Iron Works in Bayou Blue, Louisiana, the 1,700BHP “Pacific Patriot” measures 77’ x 26.5’ x 11’ depth of hull and is powered by twin CAT D398SCACs driving fixed pitch propellers in kort nozzles, developing a bollard pull of 26.4 tons and free running speed of 12kn.

Part of the Houston Ship Channel has been closed to marine traffic to enable response operations following the recent collision between UTV MISS SUSAN and the bulk carrier M/V SUMMER WIND approximately 100 yards off the Texas City Dike, near lights 25/26 which led to the partial sinking of the Kirby Marine tank barge. Coast Guard inform that progress continued throughout the day Sunday in response to a bunker fuel spill in the Houston Ship Channel that resulted in the release of approximately 168,000 gallons of product.

The Coast Guard informs that response efforts by the Unified Command to contain oil leaking from the partially submerged Kirby Marine tank barge continue Saturday overnight. Four skimming vessels remain on-scene to continue recovering spilled bunker fuel oil. Officials with the unified command, who are overseeing the spill containment and recovery efforts, anticipate the ability to fully reactivate their efforts beginning at first light Sunday. An additional 20 response vessels are staged and are prepared to resume operations early on Sunday.

Kirby’s Investment Grows – and Pays off Handsomely. Houston-based Kirby Corporation runs an in-house training center that today instructs 3,000 students yearly in 26 different courses – many of which are U.S. Coast Guard approved. Located in Channelview, the 23-year old, state-of-the-art center is conveniently located in the northeastern curve of the Houston Ship Channel. Last month, MarineNews spoke with Jim Guidry, Kirby’s Senior Vice President of Vessel Operations and a 20-year company veteran, about the center.

Arguably the best equipped and most environmentally sound maritime campus in the country, Mass. Maritime also finds itself (not by accident) at the leading edge of a fundamental change in how maritime academies deliver education in a changing marketplace. At the heart of that effort is a comprehensive workboat simulation and training program. Clinging tightly to its maritime roots and firmly anchored in the crystal clear waters that surround its picturesque campus, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy last month sent the largest graduating class in its 212-year history out into the workplace. Not all of today’s graduates aspire to go to sea…

Most Americans will recall an iconic automobile engine from their youth. It might be an early 1950s Ford V-8 flat head or a 1970s Dodge 426 Hemi. Over the decades other engines have been added to the list. In a similar fashion mariners have identified classic marine diesels. One such is the Cummins 38-liter 2300-cu. inch engine known over the years as the KTA38. Canadian fisherman John Lenic has been running one in his 1978-built steel purse seiner Ocean Marauder. Still running on the original engine he swears by it.

Already the operator of the largest fleet of inland tank barges on U.S. inland waters, Kirby Marine Transportation, has recently added twelve more push boats to its fleet. The twelfth in a series of sister vessels was delivered from Raymond and Associates of Bayou LaBatre, Ala. in late July 2010. All twelve of the 1700 hp boats are 76 by 35-ft in length. Each boat is powered by a pair of Tier 2 compliant Cummins K38-M diesels rated for 850 hp each at 1800 rpm. The engines turn big 76 by 56-inch five-blade props through Twin Disc TD MT540 gears with relatively large ratios of 7:1.

The medium sized pusher towboat is a stable of the U.S. Inland waterways marine transport. Built to work comfortably in the confines of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway they must also have enough power to handle the distances and currents of the Mississippi. Recently some owners have built tugs to updated deigns. Kirby Marine has had a series of boats built at Raymond and Associates LLC shipyard in Bayou LaBatre Alabama. Florida Marine also had a series of new towboats built. These continue to be delivered from Eastern Shipbuilding.

Kirby Corp. reported second quarter earnings per share of $.44 versus $.39 a year ago, beating a Wall Street consensus estimate of $.40, reported Lazard Frères & Co., LLC. The marine transportation segment benefited from 94 inland barges leased from Dow Chemical Company in February, the Lazard report said. Lazard noted that the weakness in the company's core chemical and petrochemical business is expected to continue at least through the third quarter, while refined product, fertilizer and black oil volumes should continue to be strong. The company is expected to benefit from lower interest rates and a declining debt balance. As a result, Lazard has raised its 2001 EPS estimate to $1.60 from $1.53 and its 2002 EPS estimate to $1.72 from $1.69.

A chemical tanker collided with a moored barge near the San Jacinto Monument on Dec. 15. The Captain of the Port Houston/Galveston closed the ship channel from San Jacinto Port Dock 4 to Light 133 due to oil spilled from the collision. The tanker Ievoli Splendor , a 544-ft. chemical tanker, was mooring up at the Vopak Terminal in Deer Park, Texas, when the collision with the Kirby Marine barge happened causing a spill of heavy grade fuel oil C5. Containment boom has been deployed around the ship and the dock to contain the fuel/oil. The extent of damage to the ship and barge is not known. The Ievoli Splendor is presently moored at San Jacinto Port Dock 5. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Houston and the Texas General Land Office are responding to the incident.

Kirby Corporation announced the signing of an asset purchase agreement with Coastal Towing, Inc. ("Coastal") to purchase from Coastal seven black oil tank barges and 13 inland towboats. The transaction, estimated at $17.1 million in cash, is being financed through Kirby's operating cash flow and available credit under Kirby's bank revolving credit agreement. Kirby and Coastal have also entered into a Barge Management Agreement whereby Kirby will serve as manager of the combined black oil tank barge fleet, which will include Coastal's 51 remaining barges and Kirby's 65 barges, for a period of seven years. In a related transaction, on September 25, Kirby purchased from Coastal three black oil tank barges for $1.8 million in cash.

Kirby Corp. signed an asset purchase agreement with Coastal Towing, Inc. to purchase from Coastal seven black oil tank barges and 13 inland towboats. The transaction, estimated at $17.1 million in cash, is being financed through Kirby's operating cash flow and available credit under Kirby's bank revolving credit agreement. Kirby and Coastal have also entered into a Barge Management Agreement whereby Kirby will serve as manager of the combined black oil tank barge fleet, which will include Coastal's 51 remaining barges and Kirby's 65 barges, for a period of seven years. In a related transaction, on September 25, 2002, Kirby purchased from Coastal three black oil tank barges for $1.8 million in cash.

A chemical tanker collided with a moored barge near the San Jacinto Monument at approximately 9 p.m. today. The Captain of the Port Houston/Galveston closed the ship channel at 11 p.m. from San Jacinto Port Dock 4 to Light 133 due to oil spilled from the collision. The tanker Ievoli Splendor, a 544-foot chemical tanker, was mooring up at the Vopak Terminal in Deer Park, Texas, when the collision with the Kirby Marine barge happened causing a spill of heavy grade fuel oil C5. Containment boom has been deployed around the ship and the dock to contain the fuel/oil. The extent of damage to the ship and barge is not known. The Ievoli Splendor is presently moored at San Jacinto Port Dock 5. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Houston and the Texas General Land Office are responding to the incident.

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a crewman missing from a tugboat that was sucked under a barge earlier this morning on the San Jacinto River. According to reporting sources, the 55-ft. tugboat Thoroughbred was sucked under a barge near the Southwestern Ship Yard/Kirby Marine Fleeting area one mile south of the I-10 overpass. Three crewmembers have been reported safe, however the fourth remains missing. A Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Houston, and a rescue boat from Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Houston, are currently searching for the missing crewman. A second rescue boat from Station Galveston, Texas, as well as the Harris County Sheriff’s Department dive team have been asked to assist in the search.

"Very poor weather, major repairs to a lock on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and rapidly escalating fuel prices, not lower business levels, are the factors causing Kirby to revise its first quarter forecast," were a few reasons that Joe Pyne, Kirby Corporation's President CEO, cited for the company's lowering of its earnings guidance for the 2003 first quarter to $.26 to $.30 per share from previous guidance of $.36 to $.40 per share. Navigational delays due to fog along the Gulf Coast, both high and low water issues on the Mississippi River, and major repairs to a critical lock on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, have resulted in increased transit times. Navigational delays increase transit times, which reduce revenues and increase operating expenses.

Kirby Marine has 241 active towboats and 887 active tank barges with a total capacity of 16.4 million barrels. The company’s ongoing repower program that has seen 46 Cummins engines installed to date. More recently the publicly traded corporation has announced plans for two new builds the first of which will be delivered in September 2006. The 90x35x10-foot vessel will be built by Quality Marine of Houma Louisiana to a design by Maine-based naval architect Corning Townsend. The new vessel will be powered by a pair of Cummins KTA38 M2 engines rated at 1050 HP each at 1600 RPM each. The engines will turn into Twin Disc MG5600 gears with 6.4:1 rations. The propellers are 82x63-inch and mounted on 7.5-inch tail shafts.

Following on the success of its 90 x 35-ft. series of towboats, Kirby Marine has taken delivery of the first in a new series of 76 x 35-ft. boats. Building at the Raymond and Associates LLC shipyard in Bayou LaBatr, Ala., the Capt. Bill English, is the first of four currently under construction with the possibility of eight more to follow. Although shorter than the earlier series, these boats retain the robust beam of their cousins. Mark Davis, Kirby’s representative at the shipyard explained that it is important to the firm to retain crews. “The extra beam lets us make the boats a little nicer and then we add internet access and flat screen TV with surround sound for the crew,” he said. In the engine room the new towboats continue the use of Cummins engines.