La Quinta Channel Reopened
The La Quinta Channel has been reopened to vessel traffic Thursday evening, after a vessel sank near Ingleside, Texas on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The closure began Tuesday when the vessel Cristi sank with two crew memmbers aboard approximately 100 yards north of Ingleside Point. Due to the location of the sunken vessel, the La Quinta Channel was closed to vessel traffic.One crew member was rescued by a good Samaritan vessel, and the other is still missing. Coast Guard aircraft and vessel assets scoured more than 143 square miles in search for the missing crew member, but the search was called off on Wednesday evening after approximately 31 hours.The vessel was successfully raised and removed from the channel, the Coast Guard said.
Crew Member Missing from Sunken Vessel in Texas
The US Coast Guard said it is searching for a crew member missing from a vessel that sank in the La Quinta Channel near Ingleside, Texas, Tuesday morning.Two men were reported to be working on board the vessel Cristi when it sank approximately 100 yards north of Ingleside Point at 10:30 a.m.One crew member was recovered by a good Samaritan vessel with no reported medical concern, the Coast Guard said.Coast Guard air and boat crews are searching for the second crew member with…
GLDD Wins $164 Million in Dredging Awards
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (Great Lakes), provider of both dredging services in the United States and environmental and infrastructure services, announced the receipt of a several dredging awards totaling $164 million. the Delaware River Deepening Variation Order (Capital, Delaware, $14.3 million). The scope of work for the four coastal protection projects includes sustenance of beachfronts with sand excavated from off-shore borrow which is then used to rebuild dunes and restore the shorelines eroded by winter storms.
Dredging Contract Awarded for Corpus Christi LNG Terminal
U.S. dredging services provider Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced it was awarded a contract for work on an export terminal under the development of Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC (CCL). CCL, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc., is developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal at a site located on the north shore of Corpus Christi Bay in San Patricio and Nueces Counties, Texas. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation’s portion of the LNG project involves the dredging and slope protection of two LNG carrier ship berths, dredging of a material offloading and tug mooring basin and expansion of an existing La Quinta Channel turning basin.
Signet America Launched
On October 29, 2007, the first of class Signet America, a new AZ-30/80 Class tug, was launched at J. M. Martinac Shipbuilders in Tacoma,Wash. The new tug is scheduled to be delivered to its owners, Signet Maritime Corporation of Houston in 2008. Signet America is the first of this new class of ship-handling/escort tug, and was developed by Robert Allan Ltd., Naval Architects of Vancouver, B.C., to suit the unique operational requirements of this owner and the physical restrictions (primarily a limiting draft of 17 ft.…
Local Yards Start to Feel the Impact
The U.S. Gulf of Mexico region is again poised to prosper, spurred by the buzz of activity surrounding the oil patch, and specifically the renewed vigor with which companies will explore and develop deepwater fields for the production of natural resources. Though the resumption of business at "full throttle" has taken perhaps a bit longer than many observers would have initially predicted, particularly given the continued high price of oil and gas and the "pro" oil industry political team occupying the White House, it is a safe bet that, at least for the next several years, the offshore oil business will ensure that the marine business in the GOM region is a prosperous one.
USACE Recommends Plan for Corpus Christi Ship Channel
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is planning on the completion of its three-year feasibility study and has recommended a channel improvement plan to widen, deepen and extend Corpus Christi's current channel system. The $190 million dredging project is planned to have an estimated completion date of 2007 and would immediately improve ship and barge transportation, further preparing the Port of Corpus Christi for the future. The Port is the local sponsor of this federal planning process lead by the U.S. Army Corps. Underway is the second part of a two-phase planning process to determine the feasibility of the project and to develop an Environmental Impact Statement.
