Snow News

Kimberly Lutz and America’s Watershed Initiative (AWI) are making every effort to sustain the Mississippi River for generations to come.The Mississippi River is one of the world’s largest river systems and is arguably America’s most critical waterway. Flowing over 2,350 miles, spanning, at points, up to eleven miles, and discharging approximately 593,003 cubic feet of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico, the Mighty Mississippi is awe inspiring in terms of its natural characteristics as well as its commercial impact on both the American and global economies.

Heavy fog has suspended the operation of ships travelling through the Qiongzhou Strait off the coast of China's Guangdong province and several cities, including Shanghai, have issued warning advisories, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday.Several ports suspended the flow of traffic starting late Tuesday and the specific time of the resumption of navigation will be determined as sea visibility improves, state broadcaster CCTV news reported.Port cities in the southwestern region of Guangxi…

Seattle shipyard Snow & Company has launched a new 15-meter hybrid catamaran research vessel that will be operated by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.The plug-in hybrid research vessel, Resilience, will be delivered to the Department of Energy's (DOE) PNNL-Sequim marine research facility in 2024.The Incat Crowther designed vessel, equipped with both standard diesel engines and electric motors, will be the first hybrid vessel in the DOE fleet. The vessel will be powered by an advanced parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system…

Erik Thun Group selected Berg Propulsion’s Dynamic Drive technology to optimize efficiency on board all 10 of its latest newbuildings. The Swedish owner confirmed its decision after pilot installations exceeded energy efficiency gain expectations, with the integrated drive solution helping to save 10% of fuel, rising to 20% in some operational conditions.As part of Erik Thun’s rolling fleet renewal strategy, the owner recently expanded its newbuild program with Dutch yard Shipsveerf Ferus Smit B.V to include four 5…

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

Two Chinese icebreaker research vessels and a cargo ship set sail on Wednesday for the Antarctic with more than 460 personnel on board to help complete construction of China's fifth station on the world's southernmost continent.China's biggest flotilla of research vessels deployed to the Antarctic will focus on building the station on the rocky, windswept Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, a deep Southern Ocean bay named after a 19th century British explorer.Work on the first Chinese station in the Pacific sector began in 2018.

A few weeks ago I was talking to some professional fire fighters and was regaled with EV fire fighting disasters. They told me that EV caught fire all the time, that EV fires were much more dangerous than gasoline fires, and that fire trucks could not carry enough water to put out an EV fire. When I asked if they had fought any EV fires, they told me their information came from reliable sources and then asked me if I would park my Chevy Bolt in my garage. They focused on my Chevy Bolt, since it is widely regarded as a fire hazard.

Arctic sea ice likely reached its minimum extent for the year at 4.23 million square kilometers (1.63 million square miles) on September 19, 2023, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder.The 2023 minimum is ranked sixth lowest in the nearly 45-year satellite record. The last 17 annual minimum extents are the lowest 17 in the satellite record.NSIDC scientists stress that the Arctic sea ice extent number is preliminary…

ABB has received an order from the Guangzhou Shipyard International to supply an Azipod® DI propulsion system for the new compact icebreaker of China’s Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering. The ship is expected to be delivered in 2025, after which it will begin to carry out operations in the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean.A complete electric propulsion system including two 4.5MW Azipod® units will drive the vessel through harsh weather and thick first-year ice to enable research on behalf of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life.Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch…

Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs. They are procured and managed by two Naval Sea Systems Command program offices—PMS 300 and PMS 325.Compared to warships and auxiliaries…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced it has delivered a new ocean cruise ship for shipowner Viking from its shipyard in Ancona.The newly built Viking Saturn will be placed in the small cruise ship segment. Like its sister ships, Viking Saturn is about 47,800 tons, 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers.According to Fincantieri, the “Viking Saturn”, the tenth of this class, has been designed by experienced naval architects and engineers, including an interior design team of Los Angeles-based Rottet Studios and London-based SMC Design…

OSLO, March 20 (Reuters) - Norway's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that EU ships cannot fish for snow crab off the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic in a case also deciding who has the right to explore for oil and minerals in the region.At stake was whether EU vessels had the right to catch snow crab, whose meat is considered a delicacy by gourmets in Japan and South Korea, in the same way as Norwegian vessels did.But what is valid for the snow crab, a sedentary species living on the seabed…

Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company on Tuesday launched a new pilot boat it is building for the San Francisco Bar Pilots.The 67-foot-long, all-aluminum vessel Golden Gate was designed by U.K. firm Camarc Design and is capable of speeds up to 30 knots.The vessel is is powered by MAN D2862 LE 438 1,200HP US EPA Tier 4 engines that drive Hamilton HTX52 waterjets through Twin Disc MGX 6599 SC gearboxes. The vessel is also equipped with Northern Lights M944T3F 38kW generators.It has…

Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company announced it has been awarded a contract to build a pair of 50-foot pilot boats for the Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association, based in Louisiana. Designed by U.K.-based Camarc Design, the all-aluminum vessels have a refined hull with enhanced fuel efficiencies and reduced slamming accelerations, which provide excellent all-around seakeeping capabilities and a pilot specific shape to facilitate safe boarding operations.The vessels will be powered by twin Volvo Penta D13-800 EPA Tier 3 marine diesel engines…

Norway's Supreme Court will on Tuesday hear arguments on whether EU ships can fish for snow crab off the Arctic islands north of Norway, in a case that could decide who has the right to explore for oil and minerals in the region.At stake is whether EU vessels have the right to catch snow crab, whose meat is considered a delicacy by gourmets in Japan and South Korea, in the same way than Norwegian vessels do.A Latvian fisheries company applied to the non-EU country in 2019 for a fishing license to catch the species…

Snow & Company of Seattle started construction of a 50-ft. hybrid research vessel for the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.Dubbed RV Resilience, the boat is designed by Incat Crowther with propulsion integration provided by Pacific Power. Hybrid propulsion will be accomplished by joining twin Volvo Penta D8-510 (374kW) marine engines, and two Danfoss Editron 20kW motor-generators. Power is stored using a Spear Trident battery system. This combination allows the vessel to operate in a zero-emission “quiet” state…

Danfoss Power Solutions’ Editron division has been chosen by the Pacific Power Group and Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company to provide the drivetrain system powering the U.S. Department of Energy’s first hybrid-electric research vessel. Due to enter operation in February 2023, the vessel will be used by PNNL-Sequim.The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a research center specializing in research advancing sustainable energy through decarbonization and energy storage.

Damen Shipyards Group hosted a keel laying ceremony for a series of four customized Stan Tug 1706 ICE vessels under construction for the Swedish Navy at Albwardy Damen in the UAE to be delivered from 2023.Swedish Defense materiel organization FMV Director Naval Division Patric Hjorth performed the keel laying ceremony, which started with three coins placed in a stainless steel plate: a Swedish Crown, a Dutch Rijksdaalder and an Emirates Dirham. The plate with the coins was then…

Tore Hoem, adventures director at Hurtigruten Svalbard, has lived on Svalbard, the remote Norwegian archipelago just a few hundred miles from the North Pole, for more than two decades, long enough to witness the sea ice retreat significantly and more rain creep into the early and late snow season.These alarming effects of climate change are among key drivers behind the Hurtigruten Group’s sustainability efforts, including a new hybrid-electric excursion vessel recently put into service in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s largest inhabited area.

A Norwegian Cruise Line ship has canceled the remainder of its voyage and will return to Seattle after striking an iceberg off the coast of Alaska on Saturday.The Norwegian Sun was transitioning to Hubbard Glacier in Alaska when the ship made contact with a small iceberg. No injuries were reported. The 78,309 GT ship was "engulfed by dense fog, limiting visibility and resulting in the ship making contact with a growler", a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson told Cruise Hive.A growler is an iceberg less than 6.6 feet across that floats with less than 3.3 feet showing above water, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.Following the incident, the 848-foot ship diverted to Juneau, Alaska, for further assessment.

Seattle shipyard Snow & Company has started building a new 15m hybrid catamaran research vessel for operation by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.The Incat Crowther designed vessel will be powered by an advanced parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system, consisting of two Volvo Penta D8-510 main engines, capable of producing 374 kW each, supplemented by two Danfoss Editron EM-PMI375-T200-2600 motor-generators. Power is stored using a state-of-the-art Spear Trident battery system…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has floated out the Viking Saturn, the latest cruise ship Fincantieri is building for the shipowner Viking, at the shipyard in Ancona, Italy.Present at the ceremony were Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, and Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri. The godmother of the ceremony was Elena Del Mastro, the shipyard employee.The Viking Saturn will be placed in the small cruise ship segment.