Legend News

American Glory, the second Coastal Cat in American Cruise Lines’ new series of 100-passenger ships, was christened in Key West, Fla. on Sunday. The ceremony took place at Mallory Square where the ship docks when visiting Key West along the company’s newest U.S. itinerary—Florida Gulf Coast & Keys cruises, operating roundtrip from St. Petersburg.Charles B. Robertson, President & CEO of American Cruise Lines, gave remarks and introduced American Glory’s Godmother, the Honorable Teri Johnston, Mayor of Key West.

Senator Wesley Livsey Jones gave his name to the famous “Jones Act” governing U.S. domestic maritime trade. But what do really know about him? It turns out that he was much more than a leading merchant marine policy maker. (i)Jones had a long career in the U.S. House of Representatives before he was a Senator, was an effective legislator, an astute politician, one of the hardest working legislators of his era, and always viewed as honest and forthright. His many maritime legislative successes included the Merchant Marine Act…

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group announced it will upgrade all four vessels in its Alaskan Class fleet with new methanol-ready engines from MAN Energy Solutions.The vessels Alaskan Explorer, Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Legend and Alaskan Navigator, all approaching 20 years in age, will receive significant engine and operational improvements, resulting in environmental benefits as well as extending their commercially useful life, OSG said.The lifecycle engine upgrades involve a series of technical and commercial enhancements…

The U.S. Coast Guard’s newest Legend-class national security cutter, Calhoun (WMSL 759), departed from HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Sunday, November 19.“We congratulate the NSC team of shipbuilders on a job well done,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding NSC Program Manager Amanda Whitaker. “Watching Calhoun sail away is a proud moment for us all and we look forward to watching this highly capable national security cutter serve for decades to come.”Calhoun is scheduled for commissioning in 2024 and will be homeported in Charleston…

American Cruise Lines introduced its first new Coastal Cat, American Eagle, during a christening ceremony in at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy campus on Buzzards Bay last week.Carol Robertson, wife of American Cruise Lines’ founder the late Charles A. Robertson, served as godmother for the ship and christened the 100-passenger American Eagle with one of her handmade, ribbon-wrapped champagne bottles. The American Eagle is named after the first American Cruise Lines’ ship, which the couple launched in the 1970s.The ceremony began with remarks from Robertson…

The 47th Annual Interferry Conference takes place in Hobart, Tasmania on November 4-8, 2023. With focus on elevating the customer experience and sustainability, expert presentations will feature the latest trends in tourism, service automation and onboard entertainment, as well as ship construction and conversion trends, optimised operations, and safety measures.How global tourism trends have changed and will develop post COVID-19 are part of the keynote of Robert Dougan from Tourism Australia, who kicks off the conference on Day 1.

A Suez Canal tugboat sank on Saturday and one of its crew was missing after it collided with a Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker though shipping traffic in the strategically important waterway was largely unaffected, the canal authority said.Convoys of ships passing through the canal from the north were not affected, while the passage of ships travelling from the south returned to normal by about midnight on Saturday, Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said in a statement.The tanker, Chinagas Legend…

The U.S. Coast Guard‘s newest national security cutter, Calhoun (WMSL 759) has successfully completed builder’s sea trials, HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division announced.The ship—the 10th Legend-class cutter built by Ingalls for the Coast Guard—successfully tested propulsion and auxiliary equipment, as well as various ship systems, the Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder said.“Every successful sea trial is a major accomplishment for our shipbuilders, and the NSC team has worked hard to ensure the Coast Guard receives another highly capable and advanced cutter for the fleet…

American Cruise Lines on Monday announced construction has begun on American Legend, the fourth new Coastal Cat in the company’s Project Blue series.Described by American Cruise Lines as a "nimble go-anywhere ship", the 100-guest American Legend is being built for coastal operation and features a new hull design that is a hallmark of the series. All American’s new Coastal Cats are being built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md.The first three ships in the series—American Eagle…

Harry Stewart recently took the helm as President and CEO of The Dutra Group, succeeding Bill T. Dutra, the man who founded the company at the age of 26 and led it for the last 50 years. With a renewed vigor for national infrastructure, there are myriad opportunities in the dredging and marine construction sectors, opportunities balanced by a similar number of challenges. We recently visited with Mr. Stewart for his insights, covering everything from taking over the seat from an industry legend…

The United States in recent weeks has been tracking what is believed to be a Russian military spy ship off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands.The U.S. Coast Guard said in an update on Thursday that it has been keeping tabs on the vessel, a suspected "intelligence gathering ship", for several weeks. Video footage released by the agency showed the ship in waters off the Hawaiian coast on January 11.The ship has been identified as the Kareliya (SSV-535), a Vishnya-class intelligence ship used by the Russian Navy for signals intelligence gathering.

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education, today announced that Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger, Chairman and CEO of Bollinger Enterprises, LLC and retired Chairman and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, has been selected for membership in this prestigious organization. Mr. Bollinger joins 12 other exceptional business, civic and cultural leaders from across North America in receiving 2023 honors.

The commanding officer of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter has been permanently relieved of duties following a grounding incident in August.On August 26, Capt. Marc Brandt had been temporarily relieved as commanding officer of USCGC James (WMSL 754) pending the results of an investigation into an onboard mishap. The investigation found that on August 8, James ran aground while underway causing damage to the cutter. No personnel were injured.The Coast Guard announced Monday that Vice Adm.

Two load-bearing pillars of Norway’s leading maritime industry cluster in Sunmøre on the country’s west coast – offshore energy and the expedition cruise sector – took severe knocks from plunging energy prices in the 2010s followed by COVID-19. However, a recent tour of the region found the cluster in recovery mode.At the time, the cluster’s diversification strategy was to dive into the emerging expedition cruise sector: small, highly sophisticated ships designed to operate in some of the world’s most sensitive environments incorporated features including the highest ice-class…

For many, the ocean is life. It provides transportation, work, commerce, food, recreation—tales as old as time and shared by people across the globe. These stories are lived day to day, passed down between generations, and shared with the public through various media. Maritime museums assume responsibility to share these histories while honoring the communities shaped ocean exploration and commerce. In a decade where ocean health and climatic events have become a primary focus…

SAAM Towage announced it will receive a new tug for its fleet in Panama, the SAAM Quibian, purchased from Türkiye-based Sanmar Shipyards.SAAM Towage’s Technical Manager Pablo Cáceres explained that “this tug’s equipment has been specially selected to reinforce our customers’ needs in Panama, while its compact design ensures safe maneuvers.”SAAM Quibian, the third tug to join the SAAM Towage Panamanian fleet, owes its name to the legend of a brave chief from the Caribbean coastal…

The commanding officer of USCGC James (WMSL 754), has been temporarily relieved of duties following an onboard mishap, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Friday.Vice Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, effected the relief due to a loss of confidence in Capt. Marc Brandt’s ability to command the cutter in wake of the mishap, in which no personnel were injured. Brandt has been temporarily assigned to Coast Guard Atlantic Area.Lunday appointed Capt. John Driscoll…

U.S. shipyards are making improvements to building ships for the Navy and Coast Guard today and in the future. In some cases, it means phasing out one class of ship and getting ready for the next. Or, it can be a drastic make-over.The yards include mid-tier yards all the way up to very large facilities devoted exclusively to warships. The ships range from the 353-ton Fast Response Cutter to the 100,000-ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin…

HII christened Legend-class national security cutter Calhoun on Saturday at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division.Calhoun (WMSL 759) is named to honor Charles L. Calhoun, the first master chief petty officer of the U.S. Coast Guard. Calhoun served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946 as a torpedoman second class. He enlisted in the Coast Guard that same year and held varying positions of leadership over the course of his career.“Today’s…

HII launched the Legend-class national security cutter Calhoun (WMSL 759) on Saturday at the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss.With the assistance of tugs, Calhoun came off the floating dry dock Saturday, after first being translated via Ingalls’ rail car system. The dock was moved away from the pier and then ballasted to float off the ship.Ingalls Shipbuilding is the sole designer and provider of the Coast Guard Legend-class national security cutter.

A major project to lengthen and renovate three Windstar cruise ships has been completed.The conversions were led by the Fincantieri yard starting in 2019 with the first of the three sister vessels, the Star Breeze, being completed in 2020. This was followed by the Star Legend in mid- 2020, and finally the Star Pride in October 2021. The renovation included the ships being extended in length from 135 meters (443 feet) to 160.6 meters (527 feet). The project was part of Windstar’s $250 million Star Plus initiative.The ships were each cut in half at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Palermo…

Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo has delivered the Star Pride, the third ship of the extension and modernization Star Plus Initiative project of cruise operator Windstar Cruises.The program, worth $250 million dollars and involved the cruise ships “Star Breeze” and “Star Legend”, delivered respectively in 2020 and last May, and now “Star Pride.”Under the extension and modernization program, Fincantieri was responsible for the installation of a new 25.6 meters mid-body section; the total renewal of the propulsion engines and diesel generators for a more environmentally responsible navigation…

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division authenticated the keel of Legend-class national security cutter Calhoun (WMSL 759) late last week.“This is a very special keel authentication ceremony for a multitude of reasons,” said George Nungesser, Ingalls’ vice president of program management. “While we were able to work steadily and safely though the pandemic, visitation to the shipyard made commemorating major shipbuilding milestones a challenge.