Western Alaska News

Salvage, emergency response and marine services company Resolve Marine announced that its vessel the Resolve Pioneer has completed its ABS special survey and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) certificate of inspection following a drydock at Vigor Industrial in Portland, Ore. The drydock involved various technical upgrades, hull steel renewal, painting, overhaul and cleaning of the vessel.The 207-foot rescue boat is based in Western Alaska and provides critical emergency response and oil spill readiness 24/7. The Resolve Pioneer also helps to ensure that commercial vessels transiting U.S.

May 22 marks National Maritime Day. Congress established it in 1933 in commemoration of the steam ship Savannah and her maiden voyage, which was the first trans-Atlantic journey ever made by a steam-powered vessel. In the 203 years since the Savannah departed her eponymous port in Georgia for Liverpool, England, oceangoing technology has come a long way – and maritime shipping has become a supply-chain backbone that keeps goods arriving from all over the world. Much of this shipping…

Crowley said it recently took delivery of its new 55,000-barrel, articulated tug-barge (ATB), the Aurora/Qamun. The 410-foot vessel is the second ATB in Crowley’s fleet, after the Aveogan/Oliver Leavitt, to be dedicated to the Alaska market. The ATB is specially designed to add efficiency and range to transport clean petroleum products for Crowley Fuels, the company’s Alaska-based business unit.“This purpose-built vessel was specifically designed by our in-house naval architects to safely and effectively operate in the Last Frontier…

Kodiak is now home to the Pacific Rim Response Center (PRRC), a facility that serves as a hub for a comprehensive suite of maritime resources providing vessel support, marine casualty response, and oil and hazardous spill response. The PRRC was established as a collaboration between Paradigm Marine and strategic partners Alaska Chadux̂ Network (Chadux̂) and Global Diving & Salvage (Global), providing one consolidated location for a range of resources to serve the Western Alaska maritime industry.With personnel and assets staged in Kodiak…

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. announced today the launch of Qamun, a 55,000-barrel shallow draft double hull petroleum tank barge built by Greenbrier Marine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenbrier. Crowley Engineering Services provided on-site construction management using an Alaska-specific design by Jensen Maritime, its recently integrated naval architecture and marine engineering firm.The 350-foot barge, which will form part of an articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit, will be paired with the tug Aurora being constructed by Master Boat Builders Inc., Coden, Ala.

The Alaska Chadux̂ Network (ACN) and the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) have finalized an agreement to develop and implement a program to respond to oil spill impacted marine mammals throughout Western Alaska, the U.S. Arctic, and Prince William Sound. The Agreement includes funding from ACN for ASLC to further develop oiled marine mammal response protocols and resources. In addition, the new program will involve opportunities to train, exercise and drill with ACN responders, including ACN partners in local communities…

On a windy August afternoon in 2017, Akitsinnguaq Ina Olsen was relaxing in the old harbor of Nuuk, Greenland's capital, when a Chinese icebreaker sailed unannounced into the Arctic island's territorial waters."I saw it by chance," Olsen, 50, told Reuters. "My first thought was: 'They're already here!' They're pretty cheeky, those Chinese."She pulled out her phone and took a picture of the 167-meter long Chinese icebreaker Xue Long (Snow Dragon), before it turned around and disappeared.The…

Crowley said it overcame a number of challenges to lighter and deliver nearly four million gallons of military specification fuel to Eareckson Air Station on the Aleutian Island of Shemya in Alaska.Shemya’s radar and aircraft refueling station, Eareckson Air Station, and the 180 service members, contractors and civilians who operate it rely on Crowley’s twice-yearly fuel deliveries to supply fuel required for incoming aircraft for the Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force and other state and federal agencies.

Crowley Fuels has signed construction contracts to build a 55,000-barrel, articulated tug-barge (ATB) that is specifically designed to serve the Western Alaska market with delivery of clean fuel products.The 410-foot ATB will have enhanced performance features for the demanding river and sea conditions of Western Alaska, an area that depends on safe and reliable marine delivery services during the short open-water season. An ATB consists of a tugboat and barge that are connected from the bow of the tug to a notch in the stern of the barge by a hinged connection system…

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge (CITB), an independently managed subsidiary of Foss Maritime Company, has announced that operations on Alaska’s North Slope are officially underway for the 2019 ice-free season. Three newly acquired tugs, along with barges and shore equipment, will be operating out of Prudhoe Bay for approximately the next three months.“It is great to see these vessels on the water and ready to work,” said Jeff Johnson, President of CITB. “These shallow-draft tugs and barges…

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge (CITB), an independently managed subsidiary of Foss Maritime Company, entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Crowley Vessel Sales Group and completed the purchase of all of Crowley’s Prudhoe Bay, Alaska assets – including tugs, barges, heavy machinery and other vehicles and equipment.“These assets are already positioned on the North Slope,” said John Parrott, President and CEO of Foss. “They are operationally ready to perform shallow draft tug and…

Alaska marine transportation company Alaska Marine Lines said that it is expanding its service from Seattle and Anchorage to the Arctic Region in 2019.Bowhead Transport will provide the destination services at the North Slope villages of Point Hope, Point Lay, Wainwright, Utqiagvik (Barrow), and Kaktovik. Alaska Marine Lines will also service Deadhorse with its two annual sealifts.Bowhead, thru its teaming agreement with Alaska Marine Lines, will continue to participate in the door-to-shore service to the Arctic that it initiated over 30 years ago.The new stops will be added to Alaska Marine Lines' many ports of call, joining the major hubs of Naknek…

“If it works well, then why change it?” might have been the idea of the owner of a new Yukon River salmon tender building at WCT Marine’s shipyard at Tongue Point on the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. Owner R. Bodey had Tullio Celano draw up a set of plans from a vessel that he had owned some year before. He took these to Willie Toristoja and his crew at WCT Marine Construction, Inc in Astoria, Oregon where the steel hull and aluminum superstructure were well along by the end of November, 2016. The boat is designed to serve as a tender for salmon on the Yukon River.

As the oil industry awaits a much-needed rebound, Foss Maritime’s robust presence in the Arctic region underscores its commitment to the region, the environment, and a business plan that looks ahead to the next chapter. Reports of the death of commercial Arctic activities have been greatly exaggerated. While Arctic energy projects have, by and large, been put on the back burner – like most things related to energy in other places – there are still many projects ongoing; and still others being planned.

Coast Survey has issued provisional charts for barge operators and others traversing Alaska's challenging Yukon River, relying solely on satellite images to create the electronic navigational charts that only display shoreline and shoals (shallow areas). The ENCs, which display no depth soundings, will give the mariners annually updated information to help their navigation along the changeable river. "The Yukon was literally uncharted," Kampia told the group. "After some analysis and brainstorming, we decided to create a prototype ENC using only satellite data.

This month’s featured INSIGHTS executive is Steven A. Candito, President and CEO of the National Response Corporation (NRC). He has extensive experience with OPA 90 compliance issues with particular focus on vessel owner and insurance matters. Candito was previously an attorney with Haight Gardner Poor & Havens, specializing in maritime litigation and environmental law. He also served as a marine engineer aboard Exxon USA’s domestic tanker fleet from 1980 to 1985. Candito is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

U.S. The Captain of the Port, Western Alaska, detained and released two vessels in February and March, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. The Liberia-flagged container ship Hansa Madgeburg was detained February 20 and the Panama-flagged refrigerated cargo ship Suah was detained March 3 after the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment (MSD) Dutch Harbor personnel identified multiple detainable deficiencies. Coast Guard examiners were conducting a port state control exam on the container ship Hansa Magdeburg when a test of the vessel’s oily water separator showed that it was inoperable, potentially allowing improperly treated oily water from the engine room bilge tanks to be discharged overboard.

The latest addition to the Coastal Transportation fleet, MV Coastal Standard, was built at Dakota Creek Industries Shipyard in Anacortes, Wash. with a design developed to maximize cargo carrying capacity while minimizing construction and operating costs, according to the shipbuilder. With help from its SCHOTTEL propulsion system, the vessel also scores high marks in safety, maneuverability and operability. The vessel’s owner, Seattle-based Coastal Transportation, owns and operates a fleet of cargo vessels sailing from Seattle to ports throughout Western Alaska and the Aleutian Islands…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is monitoring repairs aboard the liquid natural gas (LNG) carrier Excel in Homer, Alaska. The vessel was received an order from Coast Guard Sector Anchorage to remain anchored in Kachemak Bay near Homer after the 908-foot, Belgium-flagged vessel experienced a loss of propulsion due to a failed engineering gasket while inbound to Cook Inlet. The Excel was examined by USCG inspectors from Marine Safety Detachment Homer, who conducted a Port State Control annual exam and verified the engineering gasket was replaced. While preparing to get underway, the vessel experienced an automated engineering casualty and canceled its voyage until a Bureau Veritas (BV) classification surveyor could arrive and verify the engineering casualty was fully resolved.

A Unified Command consisting of representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of the Interior, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, City of Seldovia and the responsible party, formed to respond to a 6,000 gallon diesel fuel discharge into the Gulf of Alaska has completed fuel removal from the damaged tank trailer aboard the motor vessel Thor's Hammer Tuesday. Response crews and contractors from Alaska Chadux Corporation removed the 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel remaining in the punctured tank, as well as 28 bags of oily waste collected by the motor vessel Thor's Hammer’s crew. The 6,000 gallons of spilled diesel is no longer recoverable due to weathering and evaporation.

Matson, Inc. has promoted Kenny Gill to the position of Vice President, Alaska. In his new role, Gill has management responsibility for all Matson operations in Alaska, including terminal operations, customer service, sales and financial performance of the company's terminals in Anchorage, Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. Gill previously served as Senior Director of Operations for Horizon Lines' Alaska division. His appointment follows Matson's May 29, 2015 acquisition of the Alaska operations of Horizon Lines and subsequent retirement of Marion Davis…

Alaska Marine Lines celebrated the launch of its newest barge, Skagway Provider, at a ceremony July 7 at Gunderson Marine in Portland, Ore. where the vessel was constructed. The heavy deck cargo barge will make its maiden voyage from Seattle to Southeast Alaska July 29 and will begin serving Alaska Marine Lines customers on the Seattle to Southeast Alaska route. “We are proud to offer our customers additional capacity between Seattle and Southeast Alaska via the Skagway Provider,” said Kevin Anderson, president of Alaska Marine Lines.

Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC was charged with environmental and maritime crimes for operating the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drilling unit Kulluk in violation of federal law in Alaska in 2012, the Department of Justice announced. Under the terms of a plea agreement filed in federal court today, Noble will plead guilty to eight felony offenses, pay $12.2 million dollars in fines and community service payments, implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan, and will be placed on probation for four years. In addition, Noble’s parent corporation, Noble Corporation plc, headquartered in London, England, will implement an Environmental…