West Coasts News

Offshore wind developer Vineyard Offshore announced that Rick Musiol, Jr. has joined the company as Director of External Affairs and Community Engagement. In this newly created position, Musiol will lead community engagement and corporate citizenship programs everywhere Vineyard Offshore has a presence.“As Vineyard Offshore expands its work on the East and West Coasts, our top priority is to be an active and engaged member of the community,” said Christian Scorzoni, Chief External Affairs Officer for Vineyard Offshore.

TDI-Brooks' latest dynamic positioning vessel, the RV Nautilus, has reached the shores of the East Coast of the United States ahead of work for offshore wind sector.After undergoing a six-month retrofit in Las Palmas, the 2000-built vessel will be put to work to provide support for offshore wind projects and various other subsea needs.With the length of 75-meters, the DP2 vessel is equipped with advanced technology, including a Geomil Manta-200 CPT that can be deployed through the mid-ship moonpool.The system can penetrate the soil up to 40-50 meters…

U.S.-based offshore wind developer Vineyard Offshore on Monday announced it has named Alicia Barton as the company’s new CEO, starting in January.Barton will take over for Lars T. Pedersen, who has led the company since it was founded in 2022 and before that led the team developing Vineyard Wind, the first commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States, now under construction.“I had the pleasure of working with Alicia during the very early days of the Vineyard Wind project and know she brings an outstanding mix of skills and talent to Vineyard Offshore,” Pedersen said.

Jeffery Bukoski, president of Palatka, Fla. shipyard St. Johns Ship Building, has been awarded the RADM Lauren S. McCready Award, which recognizes graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) who have made significant technical achievements in the marine industry or who have contributed organizational or managerial support to making such technical achievements possible.Bukoski, USMMA class of 1986, is a 35 year veteran of the U.S. marine industry, having worked at several government and commercial shipyards on the East…

Over the past year North Korea has moved to boost its navy with new nuclear weapons, including an underwater drone, warships, and its first operational missile submarine, unveiled on Friday.North Korea's navy has historically been dwarfed by the country's land forces, and overshadowed by its rapidly advancing ballistic missile program.Now, leader Kim Jong Un has said the navy will play a key role in the country's nuclear deterrence, and analysts say it may also assure support among naval commanders and boost national pride."Until quite recently…

CMA CGM announced it has finalized its acquisition of two container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey as the France-based shipping and logistics group grows its supply chain presence in the United States.The company announced in December 2022 that it struck a deal to acquire the Bayonne and New York terminals from Canada's Global Container Terminals (GCT). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but media reports indicated the deal could be worth around $3 billion."Through this strategic investment…

Last month, Birdon delivered the ninth and tenth boats for its 47’ Motor Lifeboat (MLB) Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Since the contract award in 2019, Birdon has established full-rate production facilities on both the East and West coasts to facilitate the delivery process. Birdon said it remains on schedule to complete work for up to 117 47’ MLBs by 2029.On June 9, Birdon delivered the ninth boat for the Coast Guard’s 47’ MLB SLEP. The vessel was completed in Birdon’s Bellingham, Wash.

Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Ltd, the Indian-flagged vessel-owning firm of Transworld Group of companies said Tuesday that it had acquired three container vessels within just one week. The three vessels have been renamed as SSL Godavari, SSL Kaveri, and SSL Thamirabarani, and according to VesselFinder.com, the vessels' previous names were Windermere, TS MANILA, and Sky Pride, respectively.The SSL Godavari has a capacity of 2,872 TEUs, while the SSL Kaveri and SSL Thamirabarani have a capacity of 2,553 TEUs and 962 TEUs, respectively. The company said the purchase made it "the national leader in the Indian containerized shipping industry with 12 feeder vessels with a total capacity of 26…

Harry Stewart recently took the helm as President and CEO of The Dutra Group, succeeding Bill T. Dutra, the man who founded the company at the age of 26 and led it for the last 50 years. With a renewed vigor for national infrastructure, there are myriad opportunities in the dredging and marine construction sectors, opportunities balanced by a similar number of challenges. We recently visited with Mr. Stewart for his insights, covering everything from taking over the seat from an industry legend…

2022 closed with significant developments to advance offshore wind (OSW) and the necessary, related work required at U.S. ports – on the east and west coasts and the Great Lakes. Some of these developments included:Funding – MARAD’s Port Improvement Development Project (PIDP) grants provided over $100 million for wind at four ports.Corporate leadership – Marine giants Foss and Crowley stepped up to lead development projects in California and Massachusetts.New industry focus – The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) started a program called POWERS – “Port Opportunities With Energy…

North and South Korea exchanged warning shots off the west coast on Monday, accusing each other of breaching their maritime borders amid heightened military tension.The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it broadcast warnings and fired warning shots to see off a North Korean merchant vessel that crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, at around 3:40 a.m. (1840 GMT Sunday).The North's military said it fired 10 rocket artillery rounds after a South…

Vestdavit has extended its range of boat-handling systems with a new telescopic davit specially designed and developed for a retrofit contract with the Royal Danish Navy.The Norwegian davit supplier has now secured the award to deliver a total of eight TDBS 8000 systems for launch and recovery of fast rescue boats that will be installed on four existing Absalon and Iver-class naval frigates.The davit is designed to function in a similar manner to a crane with a telescopic arm…

The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled fresh steps toward building offshore wind farms in waters off the coasts of Massachusetts, the Carolinas, and in the Gulf of Mexico.The announcement is the government's latest in an aggressive push to expand the nascent ocean industry to every U.S. coastline in a bid to wean the power sector off fossil fuels and address climate change.To date, most U.S. development of offshore wind has taken place in the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Northeastern states.

Harland & Wolff welcomed 13 new apprentices to its flagship Belfast site as part of its very first ‘Apprentice Induction Day’.The scheme will run in line and with partnership from Northern Regional College and will see apprentices range from 17 - 28 years old, with a mixture of genders. Held on Friday, September 3, the day gave the newest recruits a chance to tour the site as well as learn more about the company’s heritage and significance within national and international maritime sectors.Harland & Wolff Apprenticeships are offered across three distinct functions…

Belfast-based shipyard Harland & Wolff has appointed a new General Manager, Tom Hart to its Appledore site.Harland & Wolff, famous for building the Titanic, is today a multisite fabrication company, operating in the maritime and offshore industry through five sectors: commercial, cruise and ferry, defense, oil & gas, and renewables and six services: technical services, fabrication and construction, decommissioning, repair and maintenance, in-service support and conversion.Hart joins Harland & Wolff (Appledore) from Dubai-based Drydocks World where he was Director of Projects & Engineering.

Ben Reed is a mechanical engineer from the U.K. now leading New Zealand-based waterjet manufacturer HamiltonJet as managing director.Raised in Shropshire, Reed graduated from Loughborough University of Technology in 1995 and later became a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. He’s worked for a U.K. gas utility company developing natural-gas-powered engines; Ford Motor Company as a Systems Analyst, and 17 years for Caterpillar UK in diesel engine and transmission development for off-highway machinery and military products…

U.S.-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is developing a first-of-its-kind vessel to support America's burgeoning offshore wind industry.The nation's largest dredging services provider announced Thursday it is working with Ulstein Design and Solutions B.V. to design and develop the first U.S.-flagged Jones Act compliant, inclined fallpipe vessel for subsea rock installation. The specialized vessel would be built at a U.S. Gulf Coast shipyard and could be operational as early as the first quarter of 2024, GLDD said.

A total of 302 of 2,693 containership sailings, or 11%, have been canceled in May on all the main line trades, according to the latest data from maritime intelligence company eeSea, revealing the extent of the impact of COVID-19 on global shipping.In the first six months of 2020, a total of 1,675 sailings have been canceled, or 11%; which comes out at 13% for 2M, 17% for Ocean Alliance and 17% for THE Alliance, while only 8% of non-alliance sailings have been canceled.However, the number of sailings alone only tells part of the story.

Blount Boats, Inc. becomes the eighth shipyard company to join Green Marine.“We’re already committed to delivering vessels that exceed our clients’ expectations and now wish to go beyond compliance in our work in terms of the environment as well,” says Marcia Blount, the company’s president. “The Green Marine framework is tailor made for the marine industry and scalable to our size of operations. It will provide guidance towards greater sustainability for our shipbuilding activities.”Green Marine further expands its shipyard and U.S. East Coast membership by welcoming Blount Boats, Inc.

Essar Ports, India's second-largest, private-sector port and terminal company by capacity and throughput, posted a record 20 per cent cargo growth in April-September period of the ongoing financial year (ending March 31, 2020) with a throughput of 27.29 MT.The Essar Group company, h operates four terminals on the east and west coasts of India, said in a press note that the growth has been driven by a 183.21% increase in third-party cargo compared to that in the corresponding period in the previous financial year. Cargo from captive customers grew by 6%.Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports Ltd, said: “Significant boost in third-party business has been the key driver for our growth in overall volumes.

Missouri Port Authorities Team Up To Advance Plan For Statewide Initiative That Focuses On Innovative Inland Waterway Container-On-Vessel Freight Service.Missouri Governor Michael Parson visited the Mississippi River town of Herculaneum on August 12 to find out more about statewide efforts to deliver a new option to transport freight along the inland waterways and what role an innovative waterway vessel could play in moving larger volumes of goods and commodities along both the Mississippi River and Missouri River and their tributaries.

On August 20, 2019, Dutra’s new Jones Act built Hydraulic Dump Scow ES15 was successfully launched, christened, commissioned and will finish sea trials and additional testing this week. Next week the ES15 will head to Massachusetts to to work on the Boston Harbor Deepening Project.ES15 is a 6,000cy Hydraulic Dump Scow built in Corn Island Shipyard in Grandview, Indiana, located at 734 Mile Marker on the Ohio River. Departing from Corn Island, IN  on August 27, 2019, the vessel will head south on the Ohio River…

Birdon America Inc. has been awarded a $190 Million dollar contract to perform a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) fleet of 47 foot Motor Lifeboats (MLB).The contract is a firm-fixed price (FFP), indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) for the design, development, testing, and upgrade/build of USCG MLBs over a period of 5 years with an option for an additional 5 years. The current in-service MLBs were designed by the USCG and built from 1997 to 2003. These boats, designated 47B MLB, are now approaching the end of their original 25-year service life. The goal of the SLEP is to extend the 47…