Western Washington News

Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship namesake, USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) held a decommissioning ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va. on July 22 before its inactivation next month.The ship’s decommissioning ceremony was held on the quay wall, alongside the moored USS Whidbey Island. The ceremony was attended by nine of her previous Commanding Officers and over 50 plankowners. “The last crew of Whidbey Island performed with great dignity and resiliency,” said Cmdr. Matt Phillips, the ship’s final commanding officer.

Federal water managers are changing release and storage schedules at several Pacific Northwest dams because of a late season and strong atmospheric river that began June 9. Significant amounts of rainfall have fallen across the Columbia River Basin filling reservoirs and rivers.To assist in managing river stages at Vancouver, Wash., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, is increasing storage behind the John Day Dam in Eastern Oregon. Where most dams on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers are “run of river” projects…

Joe Hudspeth is the Director of Business Development for Global Marine at BAE Systems in Endicott, N.Y. BAE Systems offers complete, efficient propulsion and auxiliary power systems utilizing electric technology. Hudspeth has been involved with maritime sales, marketing and product development since 2000. He currently serves as a regional co-chairman for the Passenger Vessel Association, is a judge for the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association student design competition, and frequently speaks and writes on maritime and ferry related issues. Hudspeth lives in Bellingham, Wash.

Washington State Ferries, the nation’s largest ferry system, carried nearly 24.5 million passengers in 2017, its highest ridership since 2002. Ridership increased for the ninth consecutive year and was up by more than 250,000 over 2016. “We expect our ridership to continue to grow as more people move to Western Washington,” said WSF head Amy Scarton. “As part of the state highway network, the ferry system is a critical link between more affordable housing on the west side of the sound and key employment centers on the east side.

Joining members of the maritime community to assist families of the six crew members of the FV Destination that went missing in the Bering Sea on February 11, 2017, Peoples Bank is now collecting donations for the families of the missing crew members. Donations to the F/V Destination Memorial Fund can be made at all Peoples Bank locations throughout Western Washington, and Peoples Bank, a long-time banking partner for the North Pacific Fleet, will not take any fees associated with the contributions made to this fund. Fully 100 percent of all donations made at Peoples Bank branches will be donated directly to the crew members’ families. The F/V Destination was registered in Sand Point, Alaska, and sailed out of Seattle.

January of 2017 saw the retirement of one of the veterans of the Samson family. Tony Bon, CEO through 2015 retired as of December 31, 2016. Bon shares his impressions of the time he’s been with Samson and the high points of both the company and the industry it serves. In the Navy they have an expression to describe a captain that moves up through the ranks: “He came up through the hawse pipes.” Bon’s journey to the corner office at Samson is a similar story. In 1974, after leaving Berklee College of Music in Boston, Bon needed a job.

Two activists strapped themselves on Friday to the anchor chain of a Shell Royal Dutch Shell vessel docked in Washington state that will be part of a fleet sent north to Alaska to resume drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic. The women used camping gear and hammocks to attach themselves to the massive chain on the barge in Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle, the activist group ShellNo said. They attached themselves to the vessel, the American Trader, around 3:30 a.m., the group said. Both are students at Western Washington University, KIRO-TV reported. Bellingham police were not immediately available to comment on whether the pair would be arrested. Images from local media show the two swinging from the chain.

Drought pressures will increase in California and western areas of the United States this spring even as the dry season begins, the government's Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday. "Periods of record warmth in the West and not enough precipitation during the rainy season cut short drought relief in California this winter and prospects for above-average temperatures this spring may make the situation worse," Jon Gottschalck, chief of the Operational Prediction Branch at the Climate Prediction Center, said in issuing its spring outlook. The center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also said rivers in western New York and eastern New England have the greatest risk of spring flooding in part because of heavy snowpack coupled with possible spring rain.

The Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), a member of the YCF Group of companies and exclusive administrator of the world’s largest quality ship register, has appointed Christian Mollitor to the position of vice president. This newly created role represents a return to LISCR for Mollitor. Having formerly held the position of Assistant Department Head of Seafarer Certification and Documentation, he left the registry in 2001 to further develop his career. This…

Vigor Industrial made two promotions in its sales and marketing team, advancing Bryan Nichols to Manager of Sales and Marketing and Grant Fosheim to Sales and Marketing Associate. Bryan Nichols joined Vigor Industrial in 2011 as a sales representative. He will now serve as Manager of Vigor’s Sales and Marketing division, which is focused on the new build and major refit markets. He will supervise Vigor’s sales staff and play a key role in developing the company’s overall sales and marketing strategy.

Polar Tankers Inc., a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips Co., has agreed to pay $588,000 to help compensate the public for environmental harm caused by the October 2004 crude oil spill into Puget Sound’s Dalco Passage near Tacoma. The payment would come under a proposed settlement agreement or consent decree filed this week in U.S. District Court, Western Washington Division involving Polar Tankers and the United States, state of Washington, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Puyallup Tribe of Indians. A consent decree in federal court makes no finding of guilt or innocence. The U.S. Attorney General’s action was made at the request of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S.

Now traversing the Northwest Passage, the Ocean Watch crew - four professional sailors, a scientist and an educator - recently completed the deployment of three NOAA Global Drifter Program buoys. Dr. Ignatius Rigor, research scientist at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (UW-APL) Polar Science Center and Coordinator of the International Arctic Buoy Program (IABP) is directing these activities. This project, one of 8 scientific projects planned throughout the 13-month Around the Americas expedition…

All American Marine, Inc. and Teknicraft Design, Ltd. have successfully made a proposal to Kitsap Transit to bring a new passenger ferry to Rich Passage. On Tuesday, April 21st, the commissioners of Kitsap Transit unanimously approved $5.3m for the purchase of a 77 ft ultra-low wake Teknicraft catamaran and on May 18th, All American Marine received the signed notice-to-proceed. The high speed passenger catamaran will carry 118 passengers and operate between Bremerton and Seattle, Washington at speeds of 29 to 38 knots.

John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Rear Adm. Jeffrey M. Garrett, Commander, Thirteenth Coast Guard District, and Russell Barker, Special Agent in Charge of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Northwest Region, announced that today, the Honorable Franklin D. Burgess, United States District Judge of the Western Washington District of Washington, sentenced JAMES GARRETT BALDWIN, age 31, of Aberdeen, Wash., in Federal District Court to twelve months and one day's imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release for one count of Communicating a False Distress Message to the United States Coast Guard. The court also ordered Baldwin to pay $194,587 in restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Höegh Fleet Services A/S, a Norwegian operator of a fleet of ocean going cargo ships, was sentenced to pay a $3.5 million fine for seven felony charges relating to the falsification of records concealing the intentional dumping of waste oil into the ocean. Previously, on September 25, 2003, Vincent Genovana, an engineering officer on the M/V Höegh Minerva, pleaded guilty to falsifying documents and covering up evidence in order to obstruct or influence a United States Coast Guard investigation. In addition to the fine, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton ordered Höegh Fleet Services A/S to develop and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan for its fleet of 38 vessels that call on U.S. ports, and serve four years on probation.

Western Marine Electronics (WESMAR) has just released a new and informative roll fin stabilizer video that goes into detail about stabilizer operation. Co-sponsored with one of WESMAR’s local dealers (LaConner Maritime Service out of LaConner, WA) the eight-minute television segment was produced by Captain’s Log™: The Boating TV Show and was aired in late February on Western Washington stations. The owners of the 56-ft. Selene, R-Turn, graciously allowed the use of their boat to demonstrate the effect that the stabilizer has on vessels experiencing rough waters. With the stabilizers deactivated and then activated, viewers can see an obvious difference between the rolling vessel when chopping through rough water to the activated system offering a calm and comfortable ride.

Three Vericor Power Systems' TF50 marine aeroderivative gas turbines have been selected to power the 118 Wallypower high-speed yacht being built by Intermarine Shipyard, Sarzana, Italy for Wally Yacht. This is Wally Yacht's first foray into high-speed power yachts, and the company's initial application of gas turbines. Wally Yacht, based in Monte Carlo, Monaco, is a world-renowned designer of high-speed sailing and power yachts. The 118-ft. yacht will feature three TF50 gas turbines in a Combined Diesel Or Gas (CODOG) turbine configuration. Two TF50s will be used as side or "wing" engines, with one small auxiliary diesel engine connected to each wing engine. The diesels will provide for very slow maneuvering only.

Dick Dorsett recently joined the Port of Tacoma as Governmental Affairs Manager. In this position, he manages the Port’s State Legislative agenda and works with local and regional communities on a number of key issues, including transportation and the environment. "Dick brings the Port a wealth of experience in state and local government," said Julie Collins, the Port's Director of Economic Development and Governmental Affairs. An attorney at law, Dorsett was Executive Director of the Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging before joining the Port. From 1988 to 1999, he was Deputy Director for Pierce County Government Relations, responsible for comprehensive issues management and policy development.

Marine Resources Group announced that Kirstin Sandaas has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Kevin Orstad has joined the company in the position of Group Controller. Sandaas joined MRG in the spring of 2004, and since that time has worked closely with the financial and operating divisions at the MRG group of companies. Her contributions include assisting in two corporate acquisitions, implementing an MRG-wide 401(k) program and assessing enterprise-wide systems solutions. Prior to joining MRG she held the position of Director of Finance at Sea Coast Towing. She served as Finance Manager at Optiva, makers of the sonicare toothbrush, working as an integral part of the team that helped sell the company to Philips Electronics.

Fourteen projects to restore Puget Sound, Hood Canal and associated marine waters will take a big step forward this summer with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Puget Sound Marine Conservation Fund. The Fund was established last year as part of the settlement of a criminal case with Evergreen International Shipping Line. John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, was joined by Jay Manning, the Director of the Washington State Department of Ecology to announce the successful grant recipients today. “These grants will help in ways large and small to improve the health of Puget Sound,” said United States Attorney John McKay.

It's never easy being a commuter across Puget Sound. Vessels break, weather intrudes and boats overload. But it just got a little bit easier. Washington State Ferries has introduced a new service to help commuters plan their trips, in spite of breakdowns or weather problems. The new service, email notification, sends electronic messages to customers signed up for a specific route or routes. The service is working for many ferry commuters. More than 900 have signed up, even though the new system is still in the testing mode. "As a commuter, I get as frustrated as anyone when there's a disruption in service, but things do happen," writes Bremerton commuter Edward Shanahan.