Comment on Revisions to Tonnage NVIC
The Coast Guard is seeking public comment on a possible revision to the Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 11-93 Applicability of Tonnage Measurement Systems to U.S. flagged vessels for the purpose of updating it and improving its usefulness to their customers in both the public and private sectors. Go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-4645.pdf, to review and comment on the draft of NVIC 11-93, change 3. Comments to the docket are due by Monday, April 5th. Questions may be referred to Mr. Marcus Akins at Coast Guard Headquarters at 1-202 475-3349.
Crewboats More Size, Weight And Power
In recent years the demand for large crew boats has continued to grow in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and has increased in some foreign markets, such as West Africa and Mexico. As their size has grown, so has the horsepower employed by these boats as customers demand greater load capacities and greater speed. "The trend in the 170-ft. (51.8 m) class of boats is to more power and faster speeds," affirms Swiftships' A.J. Blanchard, at the Morgan City yard, "These boats have gone up in power from four 1,000-hp engines to four 1,350-hp engines and bigger jets. We've had more interest from both U.S. and foreign customers in all jet boats since the increase in jet size has removed concerns over the loaded speeds," Blanchard adds.
