Bay Bridge News

Spearheaded by the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), Bay Ferry 2050 is a visionary initiative aimed at transforming the San Francisco Bay Ferry service into an eco-friendly and forward-thinking transportation system. With a focus on fleet electrification, community engagement and the exploration of alternative propulsion technologies, the project sets the stage for a more community-minded, sustainable, operationally strong, fiscally sound and environmentally conscious…

Harry Stewart recently took the helm as President and CEO of The Dutra Group, succeeding Bill T. Dutra, the man who founded the company at the age of 26 and led it for the last 50 years. With a renewed vigor for national infrastructure, there are myriad opportunities in the dredging and marine construction sectors, opportunities balanced by a similar number of challenges. We recently visited with Mr. Stewart for his insights, covering everything from taking over the seat from an industry legend…

The United States' largest dredging contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on Wednesday announced the receipt of $107 million in new contract awards along the U.S. East Coast.The awarded dredging work includes: Norfolk Harbor Navigation Improvements Project (Capital, Virginia, $56.8 million), Charleston Lower Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project (Maintenance, South Carolina, $15.4 million), Tampa Harbor Maintenance Dredging 45-Foot Project (Maintenance, Florida, $13 million)…

Seemingly overnight, a new structure appeared on San Francisco’s waterfront. Situated at Pier 22½ just behind historic Firehouse 35 and nestled beside the Bay Bridge, this floating building is San Francisco’s new Fire Station 35. The facility is an answer to the city’s long-awaited need for updated fire and marine safety on the Bay.The overnight materialization of Fire Station 35 on San Francisco’s waterfront was due to the method in which it was built. To reduce public impact and avoid disruption along the bustling Embarcadero…

Even as the minimum Random Drug Testing Rate is raised to 50 PCT, the Coast Guard wants its mission to consist of 90% outreach and just 10% enforcement. Really.The domestic waterfront got some less-than-happy news when the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the calendar year 2019 minimum random drug testing rate had been set at 50 percent of covered crewmembers. It’s safe to say that nobody is happy about it, much less the Coast Guard itself.In truth, the Coast Guard had little to say about the matter. 46 CFR part 16.230(f)(2) requires the Commandant to set the minimum random drug testing rate at 50 percent when the positivity rate for drug use is greater than one percent.

SSA Terminals, the operator of Oakland International Container Terminal, submitted last week a $30 million order for three 300-foot-tall gantry cranes, which are expected to be delivered in 18 months.The cranes will go to Oakland International Terminal on Oakland Estuary and will become the tallest on the West Coast, port officials said.The project aims to prepare the port to handle the world's largest container ships, which can be up to 1,300 feet long and carry nearly 23,000 cargo containers. The containers can be stacked up to 12-high above deck on the largest vessels, officials said.“This demonstrates the faith that business partners have in Oakland as a trade gateway,” said Port Maritime Director John Driscoll.

Port of Oakland’s container terminal operator, TraPac, concluded a USD 67 million waterfront expansion in January 2019 as it opened a new vessel berth to arriving container ships.The milestone signals completion of a two-year project at Oakland’s second-largest terminal that has nearly doubled TraPac’s footprint from 66 to 123 acres; boosted its fleet of ship-to-shore cranes from four to seven; and added a third 1,400-foot-long dock for berthing mega containerships.“We are grateful to dockworkers, truckers, carriers, cargo owners and all of our stakeholders for working with us during this buildout,” said TraPac Operations Vice President Brian Bauer.

The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to discontinue 166 navigational aids within the Virginia Inside Passage (VIP) due to shoaling and other navigational safety concerns throughout the area. Fixed aids to navigation will be removed as Coast Guard resources permit over the next several years and will be listed under an Advance Notice in future Local Notice to Mariners. The decision follows a 2013 proposal, which identified 241 navigational aids for removal. The Army Corps of Engineers completed water surveys in 2015…

Mariners do best when they avoid the edges of the sea – the shoals, rocks, and other hard spots. Coming into contact with the edges of the sea at other than a slow walking speed can ruin an otherwise pleasant voyage. Unfortunately, though, vessels have been making hard contact with the edges since Noah’s Ark grounded on Mount Ararat, rendering the Ark unseaworthy. For a while, it was thought that the leadline would reduce groundings, but one can’t be swinging the leadline constantly. Lighthouses were another early means of identifying hard spots by means other than direct contact.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said it is now testing 25 electronic aids to navigation (eATON) to augment existing physical aids and mark unique and potentially hazardous navigation features in the San Francisco Bay Area. Commonly referred to as “virtual” buoys, the eATON are being transmitted through the Coast Guard’s Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) for display on ships’ electronic charting systems and radars. As part of ongoing efforts to increase the safety of navigation on the Bay the Coast Guard…

The Coast Guard informs it is now testing 25 electronic aids to navigation (eATON) to augment existing physical aids and mark unique and potentially hazardous navigation features in the San Francisco Bay Area. Commonly referred to as “virtual” buoys, the eATON are being transmitted through the Coast Guard’s Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) for display on ships’ electronic charting systems and radars. It is explained that as part of ongoing efforts to increase the safety of navigation on the Bay the Coast Guard, in close consultation with waterway users, identified multiple offshore and inshore locations to deploy the eATON.

The U.S. Coast Guard is working with local response agencies and the Virginia and Maryland Pilots Tuesday after receiving a report of a collision between two ships in the Thimble Shoal Channel and are responding to several subsequent reports of ships dragging anchor in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The 79-foot rig vessel, Petite, and the 1065-foot container ship, MSC Charleston, reportedly collided due to weather in the main ship channel at approximately 7:30 p.m. There was no initial report of damage, pollution or injuries to either vessel, and both are safely anchored pending a Coast Guard investigation. Winds gusting to 70 mph at Cape Henry caused 12 ships anchored in the vicinity of Lynnhaven to drag anchor and caused the 751-foot bulk carrier…

Building for the possibility of shortsea shipping involves many variables. The novel concept of rebirthing short sea shipping into what it once was or could be, may remain just that, a novelty. It would be paramount to overcome the “my way, on my terms” philosophy that so heavily drives traffic away from the seas and inland waterways and onto asphalt freeways that cannibalize natural resources. The plight of road warriors may even further drive coastal commuting straight into Davy’s Locker with the rapidly expanding development of non-marine-use shore side infrastructure.

With popular television shows such as “Modern Marvels” and “How It’s Made” showcasing larger structures and assemblies being designed, built and often welded, it’s important that manufactures and builders be equipped to handle such construction landmarks. In the last twenty-five years, huge construction projects have gone underway and some have since been completed with more and new projects to start every day. Such projects as the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge, Burj Khalifa in Dubai and Virginia Class Submarines were and are some projects driving the welding industry.

The Swedish Club Academy focuses on China during a five-day Maritime Resource Management road show at the end of March. MRM training aims at establishing safe operational cultures where teamwork and effective communication are key components, even to the extent of encouraging crew members to ‘challenge’ decisions made by their masters and superiors. “People with high rank can make mistakes too, and when they do the team members who detect it must be assertive enough to voice their concerns,” says Martin Hernqvist, Managing Director of The Swedish Club Academy.

George M. Jones joins Los Angeles Maritime Law offices of Charles D. Naylor. An experienced trial attorney, Mr. Jones brings to the firm more than 20 years of maritime law experience. “I’ve known George for almost 20 years, and amongst fellow maritime lawyers, he has a reputation for being one of the best –  for his legal expertise, character and integrity,” said maritime attorney Charles D. Naylor. At the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor, Mr. Jones is leading the firm’s Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) claims team…

Overseas Reymar cleared to sail; Coast Guard Calls on Harbor Safety Committee to review Critical Maneuvering Areas; investigation continues. The U.S. Coast Guard has completed interviews, evidence collection, and a thorough safety inspection onboard the oil tanker Overseas Reymar which has been anchored in San Francisco Bay’s Anchorage 7 since the vessel’s allision with a support tower of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Monday morning. Coast Guard inspectors and representatives from the vessel’s Flag State have determined the Overseas Reymar is safe to sail. This determination was based on a careful assessment of the vessel’s structural damage, and the inspection and testing of critical propulsion, auxiliary, navigation, safety, and environmental protection systems.

NTSB investigating allision between oil tanker and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board today announced it is investigating an allision Monday between the oil tanker Overseas Reymar and one of the supports of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The NTSB named Barry Strauch the investigator-in-charge. Strauch will coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard, which classified the accident today as a "major marine casualty," because the incident exceeded the threshold of more than $500,000 in property damage.

The Coast Guard is investigating a vessel allision with the San Francisco Bay Bridge. The 752-foot Marshall Island's-registered tanker Overseas Reymar reported to the Coast Guard at approximately 11:20 a.m. that it had allided with tower six of the Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay. The vessel was immediately directed to an anchorage area just west of Alcatraz Island by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port. The vessel was in ballast at the time of the incident. There were no reports of injuries and no reports of pollution.

The Coast Guard is investigating the incident where the tankshilp reported to the USCG it had allided with Tower Six of the bridge. The 752-foot Marshall Island’s-registered tanker Overseas Reymar reported to the Coast Guard at approximately 11:20 a.m. that it had allided with tower six of the Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay. The vessel was immediately directed to an anchorage area just west of Alcatraz Island by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port. The vessel was in ballast at the time of the incident. There were no reports of injuries and no reports of pollution.

San Francisco Bay Ferry's much-anticipated service between the East Bay and South San Francisco will launch on Monday, June 4, giving commuters a fast, stress-free alternative to the daily grind of traffic on the Bay Bridge and along Highway 101. Commuters will have the option to enjoy a comfortable and scenic 40- to 50-minute ride aboard sleek, modern vessels equipped with free WiFi and a host of other amenities. And, their fare is free for the first week of service. Commuters may reserve their free seat on a first-come, first-served basis by visiting www.sanfranciscobayferry.com.

Owners of tankship 'Dubai Star' reach settlement in civil suit brought by San Francisco, Oakland Dept. Bay area East Bay beaches and birds took the brunt of the damage, but the Dubai Star spill was also bad news for crab fishers says SF Weekly. The owner and operator of a tanker that spilled oil in the bay has agreed to a $1.96 million settlement with San Francisco, Oakland and the California Department of Fish and Game. The Dubai Star leaked between 400 and 800 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay in October 2009 about 2 1/2 miles south of the Bay Bridge. Teresa Drenick, with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, said…

The owners and operators of a container ship that slammed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007 and spilled thousands of gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay have sued the Northern California pharmacists they claim negligently dispensed prescription drugs to the pilot of the Cosco Busan, according to news in 'The Washington Post'. The ship’s owner, Regal Stone Ltd., and operator Fleet Management Ltd. Alleged in court papers filed in San Francisco Superior Court Friday that the pills “recklessly” provided by pharmacists at a Longs drug store in Petaluma, Calif. had so clouded pilot John Cota’s judgment and dulled his reflexes that they led to the crash.