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[Op/Ed] WRDA: Dredging up Progress
Digging out the small ports and harbors that serve as the on-ramps to the maritime super highway is important work. We support the WRDA language that makes our water commerce system work productively. The Presidentially-appointed Mississippi River Commission in its public meetings alongside the members of Big River Coalition and the MVFCA has heard from interests, discussed and supported this approach for more than five years.
As Operators Look for the Bottom, Gulf Gloom Persists
Gulf of Mexico vessel operators want to see sustained, higher oil prices. After a rough two years, supply boat owners and operators in the Gulf of Mexico hope crude oil prices will improve in 2017. That would encourage activity among the offshore drillers that they service and would put unemployed boats back in the water. Vessel owners aren’t necessarily banking on a good year ahead, however. “Utilization of OSVs and PSVs in the Gulf is below 50 percent now…
Workboat vs. Jet Ski: A Mysterious Collision and Its Consequences
As summer slowly fades to memory and commercial vessels have less frequent encounters with recreational vessels of all sizes, shapes and descriptions on America’s inland waterways, it might be a good time to review a strange, but not completely unusual incident that occurred in Louisiana on a navigable channel in the lower Mississippi River late last May. A workboat was pushing a small barge through…
Incentivizing Spill Response Innovation
Researchers tackle the tough problems despite a lack of funding and official incentives to move forward. Progress, in particular for Arctic spill response equipment and techniques, is being made.
Tech File: BoomVane - A Powerful Boom Deployment System
The BoomVane is one of the most useful and interesting tools available to oil spill responders for shoreline and single vessel boom deployment. Maintaining an effective oil containment boom configuration with two vessels is difficult to coordinate. The Elastec BoomVane solves that problem. BoomVane can also tow heavier booms greater distances than an outrigger arm resulting in wider sweep swaths. Illinois-based Elastec is the manufacturer and owner of the proprietary BoomVane technology.
Changing Spill Risk in a Changing Arctic Landscape
Industry analyst and environmental consultant Dagmar Schmidt Etkin, PhD, takes a hard look at a rapidly shifting operational landscape in the Arctic. Always an honest broker of information, Etkin tells it like it is. Oil spill risk is present anywhere that oil is present in reservoirs, or is transported, consumed, stored, and handled in some way. The Arctic is no exception. Not only are there oil reserves in the Arctic…
Towing Industry Safety: AWO & USCG Joint Analysis … By the Numbers
For 16 years, the National Quality Steering Committee has used three measures to track overall trends in safety and environmental protection. While not all-encompassing, the measures are considered to be useful indicators of towing industry trends. Crew fatalities per 100,000 towing industry workers. Gallons of oil spilled from tank barges per million gallons transported. The number of vessel casualties (overall or by incident severity).
Marine News Boat of the Month: October
Tuco Marine’s Arctic Workboat Daughter Craft is Marine News' October 2016 Boat of the Month. Danish producer Tuco Marine has introduced an all new Arctic Workboat Daughter Craft. Developed in response to international requests and specifications, the unique craft has been in every detail optimized for Arctic and/or cold weather operations. In a nutshell, the Tuco Marine ProZero series of Daughter Crafts…
Overcoming the Propeller Supply Bottleneck
Hydrocomp’s ProCad facilitates in-house Process Control of Propeller Design and Manufacture. Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. (MARTAC) is a Florida-based company building next-generation unmanned vessels for military applications. In preparation for the “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) military exercises in Pearl Harbor this last July, MARTAC needed a new propeller design for their MANTAS series high-speed vessels.
Electric Motors for Marine Applications
Empire Magnetics President Richard Halstead discusses the critical considerations necessary for engines operating in Arctic waters. A large number of vessels sail in more than one ocean, from warmer seas to arctic waters, so motors for marine applications must be versatile enough to operate in a variety of conditions. While the greater majority of my experience involves building motors for use in fin controls on mini submarines…
Sailing into the Arctic’s Future
Last month, a large cruise ship completed its inaugural cruise through the Northwest Passage. The historic journey brought nearly 1,700 passengers from Seward, Alaska, past the rugged wilderness and isolated villages of the Arctic, to the concrete jungle of New York City. Along the way, passengers and crew were treated to a stunning contrast of climates, geography and culture. While understandable…
Ohmsett: Advancing Spill Response Every Day
The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility has been an integral part of the spill response community for more than three and a half decades. Tucked away on the shores of the Sandy Hook Bay in central New Jersey resides Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility. It has been an integral part of the spill response community for more than three and a half decades.
Interview: Todd Schauer - President, American Salvage Association
Todd Schauer is Director of Operations at Resolve Marine Group, as well as President of the American Salvage Association. After graduating from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a degree in Naval Architecture in 1991, he followed that up with graduate degrees in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. And, while his considerable U.S. Coast Guard experience includes shipboard engineering…
US Offshore Wind Comes to Life
Marine News contributor Robert Kunkel asks: Are we ready to support the farms? On August 19, 2016, we watched as the fifth tower and associated nacelle was raised on the Deepwater Offshore Wind Farm approximately 3 miles offshore of Block Island, Rhode Island. This is the first Offshore Wind farm erected in the United States and, without a doubt, a huge step forward for this controversial project and alternative energy supply.
Fair Contracting in Casualty Response
ISU’s President weighs in on the current state of international salvage, a changing landscape and the need for mutual fairness from all stakeholders in the global salvage and response arena. The last three decades have seen a significant reduction in marine casualties which is to be welcomed by all. Better ships; better inspection and port state control; the SOLAS convention; improved operational practices…
Foss Maritime: Hard at Work in the Arctic
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…
Op-Ed: Alaska's Golden Offshore Opportunity
Offshore energy presents a golden opportunity for Alaska and the United States. As we enter the final quarter of the year, one of the last and most pressing pieces of business facing the Interior Department is to finalize its next offshore leasing program, which will specify exactly which parts of the United States’ Outer Continental Shelf will be open to oil and gas development between 2017 and 2022.
CARB Powers Clean Air in California
California Commercial Marine Operators Take Advantage of Grant Money to Repower with Eco-Friendly Engines. Capt. Joe Nazar recently repowered his whale watching…
The Advent of Subchapter M
A primer: the new rule and guidance for operators as they search for the right mix of compliance options to meet their specific and unique needs. For several years, the towing vessel industry has been waiting for final publication of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Subchapter M regulation. While some have begun to proactively comply with the expected regulation, the unknowns of the new requirements have left many standing by for a final decision.
Why Should I Care About Thermal Insulation?
There are a million important things to worry about on any vessel, so why does high-performance thermal insulation deserve a place on the list? Answer: Because it has a very important role to play in keeping your vessel out on the water, being operated safely by a crew and safely carrying passengers. What is High-performance Thermal Insulation? When we talk about high-performance thermal insulation…