River Delaware News

Somerset, Mass. shipbuilder Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation informs it has secured another pilot boat order from the Pilots’ Association of the Bay and River Delaware. The vessel will be the pilots’ association’s fourth Chesapeake Class launch and 11th pilot boat built by Gladding-Hearn since 1957. Delivery of the new pilot boat is scheduled for 2024.With a deep-V hull designed by Ray Hunt Design, the new all-aluminum launch measures 53.6’ overall, with a 17.8’ beam and a 4.9’ draft.

The Mariners’ Advisory Committee for the Bay and River Delaware, the Pilots Association for the Bay and River Delaware, and the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay applaud the inclusion of a $4.6 million request for aids to navigation, or ATONs, in President Obama’s FY17 U.S. Coast Guard budget justification. "Thanks to efforts last year by Sens. Cory Booker, Robert Casey, Christopher Coons, and Robert Menendez, the president's FY17 budget includes a proposal for an additional $4.6 million for U.S. Coast Guard to improve safety and navigation aids on the Delaware River," said Jonathan Kemmerley, chairman of the Mariners’ Advisory Committee. "I was encouraged to see the president's budget request include $4.6 million to be used for improving navigation on the Delaware River.

On June 20, a diverse coalition of 58 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of leading business, maritime and labor organizations signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) urging that the committee mark up and approve S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform, science-based national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens.

On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S. 2094, a bill that would establish a uniform national framework for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, and urging swift Committee consideration and approval. S. 2094, introduced on March 6 by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), has 23 bipartisan co-sponsors, nearly one-quarter of the Senate.

Beginning December 1st, 2013, the Captain of the Port (COTP) Sector Delaware Bay is setting a Seasonal Ice Alert for navigation within the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, all existing tributaries, and the New Jersey and Delaware Shore. With the onset of fall and winter, colder air and water temperatures are expected in the coming months. Mariners observing any ice conditions are asked to report them using the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay Ice Reporting Form located on the unit's website at http://www.uscg.mil/d5/sectDelawareBay/icereporting.asp. Mariners can also report conditions to the CG Sector Delaware Bay Command Center on VHF Channel 16 or call (215) 271-4807.

The Coast Guard Marine Industry Training Program offers incredible opportunities for Coast Guard employees to intimately learn specific facets of the marine industry. Participants of the program work directly for industry partners for up to 1 year. In addition to building superior government/industry working relationships, the program affords industry sponsors an opportunity to share detailed business considerations and limitations, so that Coast Guard regulatory activities most effectively promote safety, while limiting undue burden on the maritime industry.

The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing to establish a security zone around escorted passenger vessels operating on waters of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean within 12 nautical miles of the entrance to Delaware Bay. Other vessels would be required to operate at minimum speed when within 500 yards of escorted passenger vessels and would be prohibited from coming within 100 yards of such vessels. Comments on the proposal should be submitted by 28 July 2004. 69 Fed. Reg. 36032 (HK Law)

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and the Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI), announced that MITAGS/PMI have been contracted to provide ship modeling for three major pilot groups. The Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware has contracted MITAGS/PMI to develop a hydrodynamic model of the “Stena Vision Class” Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), including a simulated visual database for the entrance of the Delaware River to Sun Oil Dock near the Philadelphia Shipyards. The model and database are an integrated part of a comprehensive training program that has been created for all new Delaware Pilots for each class of vessel. The course will also cover advanced control systems, such as Azipod and Kamewa.

The Pilots' Association for the Bay and River Delaware operates one of the few private vessel traffic and information services (VTIS) in the world. The approach to the Delaware Bay consists of three traffic separation schemes (TSS), and an unofficial offshore anchorage. The bottom's natural contours allow vessels with drafts up to 55 ft. to enter the Bay. The dredged channel leading to the ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia can handle ships with drafts up to 40 ft. Overall, the navigable channels continue upriver for over 100 miles. The port ranks seventh in the nation in terms of ship arrivals, and is the number one tanker port on the East Coast. Oil refineries, heavy industry, recreational interests, and wildlife sanctuaries share the coastline.