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Pacific Coasts News

05 Dec 2023

Vessel to Complete Mexico's First Floating LNG Plant Sets Sail

(Photo: New Fortress Energy)

A storage vessel for Mexico's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant departed U.S. waters on Monday for Altamira, Mexico, according to ship tracking data, putting the offshore project on track to soon inaugurate exports.LNG developer New Fortress Energy last week said its 1.4-million-metric-tons-per-year Altamira floating LNG project had begun processing gas. The company earlier this year had postponed the inauguration amid delays in receiving the infrastructure."We're excited to announce that we've achieved first gas for our Fast LNG 1 unit…

07 Dec 2022

First US Floating Wind Auction Closes

© picsxl / Adobe Stock

Five developers selected to build the first floating wind farms in U.S. federal watersTo support the California Energy Commission’s planning goals of 2-5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045 as well as a federal target to deploy 15 GW of floating wind by 2035, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has concluded the auction date for five 33-year leases offshore California. Exhibit 1 summarizes the outcome of the auction and estimates the potential of the lease areas using BOEMs standard power density formula of 3 MW per square kilometer…

18 Oct 2022

US Offshore Wind Growing on Sturdy Foundations

© Cavan / Adobe Stock

Once again, the events of the last month have shown that the drive to grow the U.S. offshore wind segment has lost little steam. The foundations are firmly in place to support the deployment of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050.Floating wind farm technology demonstration projects are being developed for both Atlantic and Pacific coasts as a precursor to large-scale floating wind farm projects being constructed towards the end of the decade and beyond.

08 Sep 2022

Momentum Buildup Continues for US Offshore Wind

© Ian Dyball / Adobe Stock

Once again, the events of the last month have shown that the impetus to continue to grow the U.S. offshore wind segment has lost little steam. The foundations are firmly in place to support the deployment of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050.Attractive federal incentives are being put in place to promote offshore wind projects and the development of renewable hydrogen projects, which are ideal for pairing with offshore wind projects. Local supply chain…

04 Aug 2022

US Stays the Course Toward Offshore Wind Targets

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

The events of the last month have shown that, despite some negative factors, the impetus to continue to grow the U.S. offshore wind segment has lost little steam. The foundations are firmly in place to support the deployment of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050.Two major outer continental shelf (OCS) projects with around 940 megawatts (MW) of capacity have reached final investment decision (FID) and have commenced onshore construction.The number of…

27 Oct 2021

U.S. Offshore Wind Expansion: Here’s How Officials Decide Where Turbines May Go

Credit: bphoto/AdobeStock

The Biden administration has announced ambitious plans to scale up leasing for offshore wind energy projects along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. In an announcement released on Oct. 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that it will “use the best available science as well as knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders to minimize conflict with existing uses and marine life.” University of Massachusetts Boston public policy scholar David W. Cash, who worked at senior levels in state government for a decade…

21 Sep 2021

SAAM Towage Adds New Tug to its Panama Fleet

(Photo: SAAM Towage)

After a 30-day voyage from Altinova, Turkey, SAAM Towage's newest tug SAAM Palenque has arrived in Colón, Panama, where the company provides towage services on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.SAAM Towage Country Manager in Panama, Matia de Luiggi said, “We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new tug, which will be an important reinforcement for our fleet. A compact vessel with advanced fire-fighting systems, it has all the technical specs for safely, efficiently serving…

25 Feb 2020

Marine News' 2020 ATB Report

(Photo: Vane Bros.)

There’s a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A  mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50…

01 May 2019

Panama Canal Expansion Allows More NGL Transists

In June 2016, the Panama Canal Authority, the body that operates the Panama Canal, opened a third set of locks that facilitated transit of larger ships, the first such expansion since the canal was completed in 1914.In the years since the canal was expanded, the largest change in petroleum flows through the canal has been the increase of hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL), especially propane, from the U.S. Gulf Coast to destinations in Asia. HGL represents all natural gas liquids (NGL) and olefins.Most of the petroleum transiting the Panama Canal travels southbound from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Flows of HGL are the largest single petroleum commodity transiting the canal, according to data from the Panama Canal Authority.

02 Apr 2019

MAN to Power Canada's Joint Support Ships

(Image courtesy of MAN Energy Solutions Canada)

Canadian shipbuilder Seaspan Shipyards announced Tuesday it has awarded MAN Energy Solutions Canada of Vancouver, BC, a contract valued at $55 million ($41.2 million US) to provide propulsion and power generation components for Canada’s new Joint Support Ships (JSS).The contract was announced today but was awarded and signed late last year, a Seaspan Shipyards spokesperson confirmed to MarineLink.MAN will provide two MAN 12V32/44CR (Common Rail) propulsion engines equipped with environmental protection SCR technology…

13 Oct 2014

Marcon Sells 3,900BHP Tug Overseas

Photo: Marcon

Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Washington announced the sale of the 3,900BHP, U.S. flag twin screw tug Maria Brusco (ex-Ocean Service) from a U.S. owner to private overseas buyers for transfer to registry under foreign flag. The 127’ x 32’ x 14’ depth tug was originally built in 1967 by Burton Shipyard Inc. in Port Arthur, Texas as Hull 404 for International Bulk Transport of Wilmington, Delaware and operated for Sonat Marine of Philadelphia towing petroleum barges coastwise. The tug underwent a major reconstruction in 1987 under her previous ownership.

26 Jun 2014

The Rise of Primary and Secondary Maritime Schools

Maritime Academy offers the only elective class in small engine repair which is unique to public school education in Philadelphia (Photo courtesy Maritime Charter High School in Philadelphia).

Education for the next generation, employment for life. A new source of talent emerges for maritime stakeholders everywhere. Primary and secondary maritime schools are sprouting up across the country, inspiring K-12 students to learn about the exciting, yet sometimes obscured domestic waterfront. The goals of these maritime school programs are many and multifaceted, but at the core they motivate and engage students by bringing something new and exciting to the classroom while giving teachers an effective means for capturing the attention of their classes.

12 Jun 2014

Melting Sea Ice Opens Arctic Passages for Invasive Species

For the first time in roughly 2 million years, melting Arctic sea ice is connecting the north Pacific and north Atlantic oceans. The newly opened passages leave both coasts and Arctic waters vulnerable to a large wave of invasive species, biologists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center assert in a commentary published in 'Nature Climate Change' and excerpted here. Two new shipping routes have opened in the Arctic: the Northwest Passage through Canada, and the Northern Sea Route, a 3000-mile stretch along the coasts of Russia and Norway connecting the Barents and Bering seas. While new opportunities for tapping Arctic natural resources and interoceanic trade are high, commercial ships often inadvertently carry invasive species.

21 Apr 2014

U.S. Coast Guard Doing Less with Less

Dennis L. Bryant

Funds appropriated for use by the US Coast Guard are about to be decreased – again. The service’s funding has decreased in four of the previous five fiscal years, generally by 1% each year. The Administration’s budget request for FY 2016 has just been submitted to Congress. It calls for a 6.2% decrease in Coast Guard funding. For FY 2015, the Coast Guard was appropriated $10,438,120. For the upcoming year, the Administration is requesting only $9,796,995. The budget request identifies various minor cuts.

27 Feb 2014

Survey Guidelines Bring US Closer to Atlantic Oil Reseves

The Obama administration on Thursday laid out a framework for assessing the amount of crude off the Atlantic coast, another step toward possibly allowing oil production in an area that has been out of reach for decades. The plan was released as part of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) final environmental review of the possible impacts of seismic testing to gauge oil reserves in the Atlantic Ocean. If approved, the proposal would require measures aimed at avoiding vessel strikes of marine animals, the closure of certain areas to protect the migration path of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, and the use of underwater microphones to improve detection of marine mammals during seismic airgun surveys.

02 Oct 2013

Today in U.S. Naval History: October 2

1799 - Establishment of Washington Navy Yard 1939 - Foreign ministers of countries of the Western Hemisphere agree to establish a neutrality zone around the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America to be enforced by the U. S. Navy For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

14 Jun 2013

China Consortium to Build Panama Canal Alternative

Nicaraguan lawmakers grant a 50-year concession to a Chinese company to design, build & manage a shipping channel across the Central American nation to compete with the Panama Canal, reports Reuters. The $40 billion proposal by HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd's (HKND Group) calls for linking Nicaragua's Caribbean and Pacific coasts and includes plans for two free-trade zones, a railway, an oil pipeline and airports. Hong Kong-based HKND Group is understood to have obtained the Nicaraguan goverment concession. Source: Reuters

21 Sep 2011

Stretching the Bounds of State Sovereignty

The operation of vessels in international commerce has never been more complicated than it is today, particularly from the standpoint of regulatory compliance. A vessel operator must be cognizant of international, national, state and local regulatory requirements. In an ideal world, the regulations of subjects such as navigation safety, crew licensure or pollution would be uniform so that an operator could understand the law and more easily comply. In cases where the requirements of one jurisdiction differ from those of another, it would certainly be helpful to know where the line of demarcation between one jurisdiction and another could be firmly drawn. The regulation of air pollution emitted from large oceangoing vessels has been the subject of an international treaty for many years.

18 Feb 2010

Freedom’s Maiden Deployment

Photo courtesy U.S. Navy

The Navy's first littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1), left Naval Station Mayport Feb. 16 for her maiden operational deployment to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) areas of focus. During the independent deployment, Freedom will participate in counter-illicit trafficking (CIT) operations off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. A U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) is embarked aboard Freedom to facilitate CIT operations.

01 Oct 2009

This Day in Naval History – Oct. 2

1799 - Establishment of Washington Navy Yard 1939 - Foreign ministers of countries of the Western Hemisphere agree to establish a neutrality zone around the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America to be enforced by the U. S. Navy (Source: Navy News Service)

02 Oct 2008

This Day in Naval History - Oct. 02

From the Navy News Service 1799 - Washington Navy Yard is established. 1842 - The sloop, , wrecks with the loss of three lives in the . 1939 - Foreign ministers of Western Hemisphere countries agree to establish a neutrality zone around the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and to be enforced by the U.S. Navy. The zone is established at a Congress of American States meeting in .

30 Jan 2001

Hvide Completes Lightship Transaction

Hvide Marine Incorporated (HMI) received Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance and has completed the purchase of the remaining 24.25% equity interest in Lightship Tankers LLC previously held by Newport News Shipbuilding. The transaction, originally announced on December 22, is valued at $11 million and gives HMI 100% ownership of these five 1998- and 1999-built double-hull, state-of-the-art product tankers. The five Lightship tankers -- HMI Ambrose Channel, HMI Brenton Reef, HMI Cape Lookout Shoals, HMI Diamond Shoals, and HMI Nantucket Shoals -- are engaged in the domestic Jones Act trade, which limits the shipment of cargo between U.S. ports to U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-flagged and U.S.-owned vessels.

02 Oct 2007

This Day in Navy History

October 2, 1799 - Establishment of Washington Navy Yard 1939 - Foreign ministers of countries of the Western Hemisphere agree to establish a neutrality zone around the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America to be enforced by the U. S. Navy [Source: www.history.navy.mil]