Public Works News

For Cheryl “Cherrie” Felder, the path to the maritime industry was both untraditional and seemingly meant to be. After studying African art, she began her career working in a museum in New Orleans before landing a role directing professional rodeo in the Big Easy.“It was a lot of fun, and I learned a whole lot,” Felder said. “But as you may imagine, New Orleans is not a rodeo town. After the third year, the board of directors decided, okay, that's it. No more rodeo.”And that’s when Felder’s doorway to the maritime industry swung open…

Demopolis Lock—which suffered a recent catastrophic failure—is a cautionary tale for other locks and those in Congress and the White House who may fail to see the urgency and importance of investing in the inland waterways system.The nation’s inland waterways lock and dam infrastructure, largely constructed in the 1930s, has seen modernization and rehabilitation across the system, albeit very slowly. Despite those efforts, lock failures continue, and the risk of failure persists.While…

A new environmentally friendly electric ferry service is planned to launch in Halifax, Canada.The province of Nova Scotia, along with the federal government and Halifax Regional Municipality, announced on March 4 a joint investment to build the Mill Cove Ferry Service, which will include five fully electric ferries, two terminals and a maintenance facility. All-electric propulsion, which slashes vessel emissions, noise and vibration, has been taking off in the ferry industry as the operational profile for these vessels—often including frequent…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on Thursday announced grants totaling $220.2 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to modernize the nation’s ferry systems. The program focuses in part on expanding ferry service in rural communities, helping communities acquire modern ferry boats (including electric boats that reduce carbon pollution), and upgrading shore infrastructure to support high-quality, low-emission ferry service.“For many communities around the U.S.…

Washington's Skagit County is inviting U.S. shipyards to bid for a contract to construct a new all‐electric car and passenger ferry.In 2017, Skagit County Public Works enlisted Glosten to design an environmentally friendly all‐electric replacement for the diesel‐powered ferry Guemes, which has serviced the half-mile route between Anacortes and Guemes Island since 1979.After some funding-related delays, the county approved the Seattle-based naval architecture firm's preliminary design in 2021…

A burned-out car carrier off the Dutch coast is being towed to port for salvage, Dutch authorities said on Thursday.The Fremantle Highway, which was travelling from Germany to Egypt when the blaze broke out on July 26, will be towed from its current location north of the islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog to nearby harbour Eemshaven, the Dutch public works and water management ministry said in a statement."Most of the ship has now been inspected and there are no indications that there is still fire on board," Rijkswaterstaat said, adding that the situation on board is now stable.The fire aboa

A fire blazed on a cargo ship off the Dutch coast with nearly 3,000 vehicles on board on Wednesday, killing one member of the crew and injuring several others, the coastguard said.Several crew members were forced to jump overboard after the fire began on Tuesday night on the 199-metre (655-foot) Panama-registered Fremantle Highway as it was en route from Germany to Egypt.The Indian Embassy in the Netherlands said in a social media post the fire had "resulted in the death of an Indian seafarer and injuries to the crew", and that it was in touch with family of the deceased.

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) recently held its annual Washington, D.C. meetings that included a Capitol Hill fly-in. WCI members from across the country participated in 100 meetings with House and Senate members to advocate for the nation’s inland waterways to ensure its reliability by modernizing its infrastructure.Meeting with stalwart champions of the inland waterways as well as newly sworn in members of the 118th Congress to educate them about the system’s importance demonstrates democracy in action…

The judge probing the 2020 Beirut blast has charged Lebanon's top public prosecutor, the then-premier and other senior current and former officials in connection with the devastating explosion, judicial sources said and court summons show.Judge Tarek Bitar unexpectedly resumed an inquiry on Monday after it was paralysed for more than a year by political resistance and legal complaints filed by top officials he was seeking to question.The explosion on Aug. 4, 2020 was caused by…

Mobile, Ala. boatbuilder Silver Ships recently delivered a multi-mission Explorer 40 Landing Craft vessel to the Suffolk County Public Works Department located on New York's Long Island.Suffolk County Public Works Department oversees all county properties and projects while maintaining safe public navigations including waterways, bridges, docks, marinas, sewerage systems and more. The custom-built Explorer workboat’s primary purpose is to transport heavy machinery and equipment to further support the department's efforts in the waters located in and surrounding Suffolk County…

The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…

An emergency dredging project is set to begin and be completed by the end of August to restore navigability in the Murderkill River, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced on Tuesday. Permitted by and with modification approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and DNREC regulators, the project calls for removing approximately 52,000 cubic yards of sediment from the river’s navigation channel. DNREC will then make beneficial reuse of the dredged sand to nourish up to 1…

It’s a common story in the U.S. shipbuilding industry today. A piece of equipment that used to be available for delivery on short notice—maybe in one or two weeks—now must be ordered months or more in advance, and it costs double. Add to this rising steel prices and the labor issues that have pervaded nearly all industrial sectors since the early days of the pandemic, and it’s clear that business is far from usual for American shipyards.Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO, Ben Bordelon…

The Port of Los Angeles announced it has appointed Dina Aryan-Zahlan to Chief Harbor Engineer, lead of the Port’s Engineering Division. Aryan-Zahlan replaces David Walsh who retired in December 2021.Aryan-Zahlan most recently served as the Port’s Assistant Chief Harbor Engineer since 2015, where she oversaw the planning, development and design of infrastructure and facilities that support the diverse operations of the nation’s busiest seaport, including wharves, terminals, rail…

Lebanon has awarded France's CMA CGM CMACG.UL a contract to develop and operate the container terminal in Beirut port for 10 years, including plans to rebuild and expand infrastructure damaged in a massive chemical explosion in 2020.CMA CGM said it would invest $33 million, including $19 million over the first two years to upgrade infrastructure at the terminal and digitalize operations, and that it would target capacity of 1.4 million 20ft equivalent units (TEUs), up from 650,000 currently.The deal expands CMA CMG's presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Alternatives to fossil fuels are emerging throughout the maritime universe, and vessels working in U.S. rivers, waterways and harbors are at the cusp on this trend. While the alternative fuels spectrum is wide, battery power and electrification—a technology that has seen a decade of shipboard applications already—is particularly suited for smaller vessels.Crowley Maritime Corp will be taking delivery of a completely electric tugboat, dubbed eWolf; the boat- which will include kit for advanced vessel control tied to an electric propulsion system from ABB…

Israel is ready to renew efforts to solve its dispute with Lebanon over the delineation of their territorial waters in the Mediterranean, but it will not accept that Beirut dictates the terms of the negotiation, its energy minister said on Tuesday.The talks mediated by the United States were launched a year ago to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up exploration in the potentially gas-rich area. The talks stalled in May.U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein is due in both…

Naval architects and marine engineers sit on the front lines of the maritime industry’s battle toward decarbonization. Morgan Fanberg, President, Glosten, discusses the challenges and opportunities ahead.Put in context the challenge ahead for ship owners and ship designers to meet emission targets of 2050?I started my career in 1998 and as a young marine engineer, the challenges that I faced were taking old boats and meeting SOLAS requirements, developing ship yard packages for modifications such as oily water separator upgrades (for example).

After years of much talk but little action, major infrastructure funding from Congress now looks like it might actually happen. This in turn has prompted a restoration of the availability of earmarks, which had been, until about a decade ago, part and parcel of the congressional funding process. Within our nation’s inland waterways industry, hopes have been high that the rejuvenation of our country’s transportation infrastructure will include our inland waterborne commerce, and that…

Skagit County Public Works and Seattle-based vessel designer Glosten are seeking proposals from electrical integrators to provide the vessel and shore electrical systems and the automated charging plug for the all-electric ferry design to replace the M/V Guemes.The Washington State Legislature recently passed SHB1502, providing authority for the county to select this equipment during the vessel’s contract design. The selected integrator will be required in the bid specifications…

Seemingly overnight, a new structure appeared on San Francisco’s waterfront. Situated at Pier 22½ just behind historic Firehouse 35 and nestled beside the Bay Bridge, this floating building is San Francisco’s new Fire Station 35. The facility is an answer to the city’s long-awaited need for updated fire and marine safety on the Bay.The overnight materialization of Fire Station 35 on San Francisco’s waterfront was due to the method in which it was built. To reduce public impact and avoid disruption along the bustling Embarcadero…

America is home to some of the finest shipbuilders in the world. This industry is becoming increasingly vital to our national security as we seek to build a larger Navy capable of confronting China. Unfortunately, our shipyards are aging and are too small to expand our fleet at the pace that is needed. As lawmakers consider what to include in an upcoming infrastructure bill, I am leading a bipartisan effort to provide a significant boost to infrastructure at our nation’s shipyards.My proposal…

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday there should be no preconditions for talks with Israel over their Mediterranean border dispute, key to Lebanon's hopes to find gas reserves amid its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.Negotiations between the old foes were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, yet the talks have since stalled.A statement by the Lebanese presidency issued after the resumption of talks on Tuesday said the U.S.