Ocean Tugs News

Bollinger Shipyards announced it has christened the USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6), the lead vessel of the U.S. Navy’s new Navajo-class of towing, salvage and rescue (T-ATS) ships.During a ceremony on Saturday, Arlando Teller, Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation, served as keynote speaker, joined ship sponsor Jocelyn Billy as she broke a ceremonial bottle of sparkling wine across the bow of the new vessel.“This isn’t just any ship; it's the first of its kind.

Marlink subsidiary Telemar said it signed a five-year service maintenance deal with Fairplay Towage to deliver bridge maintenance services across 50 of the company’s port and ocean tugs in Germany, Holland and Belgium.The contracts will consolidate service of critical bridge navigation equipment to a single provider, and scheduled service will be planned to agreed timeframes.The contract includes managing GMDSS declarations, annual radio survey, annual radar inspection, exchange of reserve-power batteries for GMDSS and SART/EPIRB/GMDSS handheld batteries.

Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard is reporting a flurry of activity in 2020 as it navigates the COVID-19 outbreak and prepares for a packed order book in the coming months.Navalrocha commercial director Sergio Rodrigues said the shipyard had recorded several landmarks during a highly memorable period in its history, completing its first multimillion Euro refit for a seismic survey vessel before managing its first ballast water treatment system (BWTS) installation.The projects were accompanied by a series of other deals involving bunker tankers…

US-based Crowley Maritime Corp. announced on Wednesday that it has realigned its marine services organization and introduced new leadership.In a move that aims to provide better support to customers, Crowley Marine Services, part of the company’s shipping arm, will now be comprised of three distinct, yet interrelated business segments: offshore services, ship assist and tanker escort and engineering services – those provided by Crowley and subsidiary Jensen Maritime Consultants.Jeff Andreini…

A ‘work in progress,’ the North American brown water, shallow draft sectors have experienced a tumultuous year of evolution, changing market conditions, a rapidly shifting regulatory environment and new opportunities. Anything but boring; and within the pages of Maritime Reporter’ & Engineering News’ Annual Yearbook, Joseph Keefe, editor of sister-publication MarineNews, takes a deep dive into the issues driving the domestic waterfront.Workboat EmissionsMore than one year ago, Volkswagon learned the ultimate (and painful) meaning of the iconic U.S. adage of “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – or at least pay the staggering fine.” And pay it forward, Volkswagen did.

Marine News showcases the best of North America’s 2017 workboat deliveries. There is something for everyone. Notwithstanding the lingering offshore energy downturn, there were plenty of bright spots for North American shipyards in 2017. If a hull was delivered in 2017, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For starters, it is always exciting when a domestic yard delivers a vessel – or multiple vessels, for that matter – to foreign buyers. We can compete in a foreign arena; on price, quality and on-time delivery. This year was no different. No less important is the environmental footprint of a vessel, and there was plenty to report on from that angle in the past 12 months. The domestic waterfront is indeed getting greener and cleaner.

Harley Marine Services’ new tug OneCURE and the 80,000BBL, double hull, oceangoing barge Edward Itta have completed sea trials as combined articulated barge unit (ATB) on October 26, and the vessels have been accepted for delivery. The vessel trials, performed by Conrad Shipyard 10 miles south of Port Fourchon, included crash stops at various speeds, basic and high-speed maneuvering, systems monitoring and tests of main engine steering. Harley Marine Offshore Port Engineer, Randy Boyne, who was onboard, reported that the vessels responded as expected.

Louisiana shipbuilder Conrad Shipyard said it has been awarded a contract to build two 3,000HP ocean service tugboats for Seattle’s Harley Marine Services. The two new vessels, designed by Entech Designs, LLC, will be 100-feet in length, with a beam of 34’. They will be powered by Caterpillar 3512C Tier 4 ARated Diesel Marine Engines, and equipped with two Caterpillar C4.4 99Kw at 1,800RPM generators. The two vessels are scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2018 and first quarter of 2019 respectively.

On September 14, five Signet Maritime ASD/Z-Drive tugboats, the SIGNET ENTERPRISE, SIGNET RELIANCE, SIGNET MAGIC, SIGNET WEATHERLY, and SIGNET VOLUNTEER successfully completed the Towout of LLOG’s DELTA HOUSE semisubmersible production facility to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. In June 2011, Signet also assisted with LLOG’s highly successful OPTI-EX Floating Production System (FPS) for the Who Dat development field located in Mississippi Canyon 503/504/547. Signet Maritime’s Tractor fleet escorts DELTA HOUSE to the Gulf of Mexico. Signet’s International Operations Complex located in Ingleside, Texas was responsible for assisting with the arrival of each hull on a heavy lift vessel (HLV), offload in the deep hole, lifts & sets, stability (incline) testing, and sail-out.

The surge in the shale gas industry in the U.S., as well as stepped up oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, is creating enormous demand for marine assets to transport fuels and supplies. To seize this growth opportunity, mid-size marine operating companies with annual revenues from $10 million to $1 billion must address several important issues. First, what is the most efficient way to finance equipment to keep up with the robust demand? Is ownership of the vessel through a loan structure the best option, or would a lease make better use of working capital?

Damen Marine Components will supply a total eight 5,050 millimeter propeller nozzles for four ultra long distance towing and anchor handling vessel newbuildings. They are the largest nozzles that DMC will have manufactured with its spinning machine technique to date. The order was granted by Caterpillar Propulsion of Gothenburg. Caterpillar is to provide the complete main propulsion units and has commissioned Damen Marine Components, a member of the Damen Shipyards Group, to design, engineer and produce the nozzle and head box sets.

3301 S. Fincantieri Marine Group LLC (FMG) is the United States division of Europe’s largest shipbuilder, Italian group Fincantieri. FMG is one of America’s leading midsized shipbuilders for commercial and governmental customers. FMG runs three facilities in the Great Lakes region for shipbuilding, repair, outfitting and conversion: Marinette Marine, Bay Shipbuilding and ACE Marine. The Marinette Marine shipyard centers on design and production of U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships…

Caveats and some doubts remain. Marine companies along the Gulf of Mexico will be busy in 2013 producing offshore vessels to meet expected growth in the region’s deepwater drilling sector over the next several years. Vessel repairs will be active too. Worker training will be stepped up to address a skilled labor shortage. And nearly three years after BP’s spill off coastal Louisiana, safety will remain a priority. But with the nation teetering on a fiscal cliff – which may spur tax increases and government spending cuts – demand for official and military vessels could be affected…

Signal invests $40m in Orange, TX shipyard; Building ATBs currently for Kirby Ocean Tranporation Co. A ubiquitous presence in the Gulf of Mexico ship construction and repair market is Mobile, Ala.-based Signal International, a Marine and Fabrication company which employs about 1800 in its four production facilities across Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Signal specializes in new construction, ship repair, and rig repair. Signal can handle marine construction and repair needs with three dry docks…

Nearly two years ago, the Obama Administration tightened rules for removing “idle iron” – old oil platforms and pipelines – and on plugging unused wells in the Gulf of Mexico. That September 2010 move was part of a federal crackdown on deepwater oil and gas operations following the 2010 BP spill. Since then, heavy-lift companies have continued to rid the Gulf of unused structures and other firms have positioned themselves for that work. Under the 2010 rules, wells that hadn't been used for five years were to be abandoned or “zonally isolated” within three years after Oct. 15, 2010.

The U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command today announced an organization re-alignment designed to increase efficiency while maintaining effectiveness. MSC is implementing the plan to realign three core aspects of the Washington, D.C.,-based command's shore side operations: the roles of three of the command's Senior Executive Service personnel, the number and structure of programs that conduct the command's seagoing missions, and the reporting structure of several field activities. MSC is repositioning three of its key Senior Executive Service members to better manage this new program structure. One SES will be the program executive over MSC's government-operated ships…

Crowley Maritime Corporation's vessel construction boom is continuing with its recent order of two additional high-bollard-pull Ocean Class tugboats from Bollinger Shipyards. The latest contract brings the number of new 10,880-horsepower tugs being constructed for Crowley to four, and adds to the more than $1b the company is investing in new tugs, high-capacity barges and articulated tug barge tank vessels (ATBs). The new tugs, Ocean Sun and Ocean Sky, will join the Ocean Wave and Ocean Wind in the Crowley fleet over the next two-and-a-half years. Ideally suited to work with Crowley's new 455 series heavy deck strength barges…

Otto Candies, LLC announced the promotions of P.B. Candies and Brett Candies to co-directors of the traffic, sales and marketing departments. Additionally, John Stevenson and Shane Candies have joined the Sales and Marketing Team. Stevenson was a former Senior Sales Representative with McDonough Marine Service. Shane Candies was the former Marketing Manager for Litton Marine Systems. Otto Candies, LLC is a Marine Transportation and Towing Contractor located in Des Allemands, La. Founded in 1942, the company operates a state-of-the-art fleet of Offshore Supply Vessels, Ocean Tugs and Ocean Deck Barges.

Otto Candies, LLC announced the promotions of P.B. Candies and Brett Candies to Co-Directors of the Traffic, Sales and Marketing Departments. Additionally, John Stevenson and Shane Candies have joined the Sales and Marketing Team. Stevenson was a former Senior Sales Representative with McDonough Marine Service. Shane Candies was the former Marketing Manager for Litton Marine Systems. Otto Candies, LLC is a Marine Transportation and Towing Contractor located in Des Allemands, Louisiana. Founded in 1942, the company operates a state-of-the-art fleet of Offshore Supply Vessels, Ocean Tugs and Ocean Deck Barges.

Hinge-Ship is a patented concept designed to combine the advantages of both deep draft and shallow draft shipping within the confines of a single vessel. The concept, if proven viable, could help to further the mandate of shaving valuable time from the transportation of goods from "point A to point B," as it would literally eliminate the need for storage at transshipment points and the transfer of cargo to other vessels, and all of the time and cost inherent in both. The essence of the design is that the vessel is split on centerline, and provided with a hinge. This arrangement, according to its designer John H. Leary, P.E., of Leary Engineering in New Orleans…

Crowley Marine Services Paraguay has accepted delivery of Papu Sur, the second of two new Papu-Class river push boats to be deployed in its Mercosur barge feeder service. With a fleet that includes two additional ocean tugs, Papu Viento and Papu Mar, Papu Sur will broaden the feeder service's daily sailings between Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Asuncion and other ports situated along the Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay river system. Four flat-deck ocean and river barges are also part of the new group of Sur vessels. Measuring 112 ft. in length, Papu Sur, along with sister vessel Papu Norte were designed and constructed for Crowley Marine's subsidiary, Vessel Management Services. Both vessels will be owned and operated for the Mercosur trades by Crowley's Paraguay S.R.L.

USS Bridge became the last of four U.S. Navy Supply-class fast combat support ships to leave commissioned service for an even more active role with the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command at a formal transfer ceremony June 24. Now known as United States Naval Ship Bridge, she joins more than 30 civilian-crewed ships providing combat logistics services to the Navy fleets worldwide. USNS Bridge, which as a Navy ship was crewed by a complement of 544 active-duty Sailors, will now have a civilian crew of 160 mariners.

According to the Baltimore Sun last April 21, 100,000 visitors came to town the day before, just to see the boats. Most had arrived for the Volvo races, an endurance test of sorts. But without so much press, from as far off as Seattle, another 48 came for a ship whose endurance was legend already. For a near half-century with the Coast Guard, the Tamaroa fought famously bad seas - and before that, enemy fire. Her quiet admirers arrived Balto with scrapers in hand, wrenches at the ready, plans in mind. Tamaroa had taken world wars and nature's wrath in stride. But civilian life got her down. Her preceding nine years were spent in near-isolation, open to intruders and the elements, gathering rust. April 20 was the day all that would change. Some of the 48 came to relive, some to renew.