Capt News

At the Maritime Risk Symposium 2024, scheduled for June 11-13 at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, RADM Matt Bell, USCG (Ret.) facilitates a panel entitled: Multi-Service and Maritime Industry Collaboration in the Arctic, to better understand how the changing dynamics in the Arctic region will necessitate increased collaboration between the maritime services and industry to mitigate the risks of Arctic maritime operations. Joining RADM Bell on the panel are:RADM Megan Dean, Commander, U.S.

Matson Navigation Company’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered containerships will feature a comprehensive range of integrated technologies from Kongsberg Maritime to optimize energy use and reduce emissions.The Norwegian company announced Tuesday that it will supply hybrid electrical systems, controlled and operated by its Energy Management System, for a series of three 3,600 TEU vessels that are being built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.-based shipowner. The Kongsberg Maritime scope of supply includes a Shaft Generator System…

A ship under the management of Wallem Group rescued a man who had been adrift in the Java Sea for two days last week after he had jumped from a fishing vessel, reportedly in preference to continuing to work without pay.The man was picked up by Angleviken as the LR2 tanker approached anchorage at Balongan, Indonesia on 20th April, after Capt. Bhanu Kundi sighted a floating object approx. 20 degrees port, at approx. 2.5 nm ahead of the vessel and distance from nearest land approx. 12 nm from the ship at 12.30 local time.

The U.S. Navy embarked the first Mine Countermeasures Mission Package (MCM MP) aboard USS Canberra (LCS 30), April 18, service officials announced. With the MCM mission package now onboard LCS 30, the Navy anticipates the first MCM Mission Package deployment in Fiscal Year 2025.As part of the embark process, the Navy installed sensors, unmanned vehicles, support containers and the software that enables Sailors to execute MCM operations from an Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship.

The first commercial vessel transited through a newly opened channel in the Port of Baltimore following the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.The Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel (LAC) was opened as a temporary solution to provide passage for a limited number of commercial vessels into the Port of Baltimore and a departure opportunity for some deep draft vessels currently unable to leave the harbor since the bridge collapse.The channel—the fourth to be opened…

The MSC Foundation, the MSC Group and Mercy Ships International have joined forces to build a new hospital ship.On 8 April, the chairman of MSC Group and MSC Foundation, Capt. Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group President and Member of the MSC Foundation Board, Diego Aponte, and Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens, finalized an agreement to kickstart the new project with a generous anchor donation from MSC Foundation.The new purpose-built hospital ship will expand the impact of Mercy Ships’ life-changing surgeries…

The Captain of the Port (COTP) has established the Fort Carroll Temporary Alternate Channel, which is on the northeast side of the main channel in the vicinity of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and will provide limited access for commercially essential vessels.The channel has a controlling depth of 20 feet, a 300-foot horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 135 feet, and will facilitate additional commercially essential vessel traffic through the port of Baltimore.“This additional channel increases the types of vessels able to transit inbound and outbound the port of Baltimore…

The Maritime Risk Symposium is an annual three-day conference in which government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, researchers, and solution providers convene to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. MRS2024 is scheduled to take place June 11-13 2024 at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, CA.A look @ Panel 5: Facilitator: Eric “Coop” Cooper, CAPT, USCG (retired)This panel will inform participants and generate discussion to improve understanding of the risk of gray zone activities pose to the economy…

The Unified Command began to remove containers onboard M/V Dali at the Key Bridge incident site, Sunday. Salvors removed containers from the Dali as part of the effort to gain access to the portion of the Key Bridge that lies atop the ship. The transfer of containers from the Dali will continue in the coming days, as weather permits.The removal of the containers is a critical step required to safely move the Dali and eventually fully re-open the Fort McHenry Channel. Removing containers allows for safe access to then remove the pieces of the Key Bridge that lie across the ship’s bow…

Crowley Maritime Corporation has owned and operated a lot of vessels since its founding in 1892. But the latest vessel to join its fleet is unlike any other that has come before it.Crowley’s new harbor tug, eWolf, is unique in that it runs 100% powered by batteries, not diesel engines, meaning it produces zero emissions and nearly no noise. Not only is the vessel the first fully electric tug in the Crowley fleet, but it is also the first of its kind in the United States.Faced with stricter regulations and commercial pressure to prioritize environmental…

The Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4) completed its routine planned maintenance in Rijeka, Croatia Feb. 8, 2024 at Viktor Lenac Shipyard.Military Sealift Command, Europe and Africa (MSCEURAF) and Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) executed the ship’s planned Mid-Term Availability (MTA), a depot-level maintenance period, to maintain safety and mission-essential equipment and ensure the ship will reach its planned service life.Maintenance work during the MTA included Safety of Life At Sea equipment such as communication…

HII announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division (NNS) recently began topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).EMALS, first integrated into USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), replaces the existing steam catapults currently in use on the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.Following successful “no-load” testing on catapults one and two, known as the ‘bow cats,’ the NNS team, alongside the John F. Kennedy crew, has now started “dead-load” testing.

The international maritime industry, led by the International Chamber of Shipping, has joined together to express their concern for the seafarers from the Galaxy Leader who have been held hostage and call on the Houthis to release them.Monday February 19, 2024 marks the three-month anniversary since the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader and its 25 seafarers in the Red Sea.The roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier was seized on November 19.“The 25 seafarers who make up the crew of the Galaxy Leader are innocent victims of the ongoing aggression against world shipping…

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC), under the command of Capt. Michael Chien, has won the Commodore Viggo C. Bertelsen Jr. and Vice Admiral John P. Currier Auxiliary Integration Award in the category of Applied Innovation. The award was presented by Commander Steven Koch, who leads the Auxiliary (AUX) in New England, at a command all hands. The Auxiliary is the 25,000-member volunteer organization supporting the Coast Guard across 11 missions.Regional Auxiliary Commodore Michael West noted…

Marine Towing of Tampa announced it is expanding its ship assist services to Florida's east coast following a deal with E.N. Bisso & Son to acquire towing assets formerly owned by SEACOR Holdings' Seabulk arm.In September 2023, SEACOR divested its U.S. harbor towing operations, selling to Bisso 12 tugs across ports in Florida and Alabama.Under a recently executed asset purchase agreement with Bisso, Marine Towing of Tampa acquired the Port Canaveral operations and assets from the SEACOR-Bisso deal and will operate them in Canaveral under a newly formed affiliate…

The U.S. Navy’s newest Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessel Vanguard (OUSV3), was recently launched from Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala. Vanguard is the first USV for the Navy purpose-built for autonomous operations from the keel-up.Vanguard is being jointly developed by a team led by Austal USA and L3Harris. Once outfitting and testing is completed, Vanguard will autonomously transit to San Diego, joining sister ships, OUSV2 Ranger and OUSV4 Mariner, as part of the Navy’s USV Division 1.

New York based McAllister Towing announced it has taken delivery of its new shipdocking tractor tug Grace McAllister from East Boothbay, Maine shipyard Washburn & Doughty.Equipped with 3516E Tier IV Caterpillar engines powering twin Schottel SRP 490 Z-drive units, the 93- by 38-foot vessel produces 6,770 horsepower and achieved over 85 metric tons during bollard pull certification. Markey winches are installed on the tug's bow and stern.Grace McAllister has received Low Emission Vessel class notation from ABS.

While Greg Trauthwein never assigns me column subjects, each time the Great Ships issue comes around I go with the theme. However, I try to take a view askew on that subject and have found that these are the rare columns where I am criticized for my views. Greg must enjoy that, and this year he asked me to write a column on the worst ship designs. That was the entire assignment, and it was unclear if he asked me to discuss the worst ship designs for 2023, or in the history of ship design.

This is the dawning of the age of AI and Big Data, huge agglomerations of new and transformative energy; almost self-generating, always strengthening and pulling at the reins, seeking to break free and run, a prospect both exciting and terrifying. That image can imply a human is holding the reins. How quaint: these days, AI itself may be holding the reins.In a review of innovation in 2023 – across any industrial or economic sector, not just maritime – AI looms large, a game-changer equivalent to IBM’s programming advances in the 1940s.

Two next-generation Damen ASD Tugs 2813 have been delivered to the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GPHA).Commissioned during a ceremony on December 14, the newbuilds Capt. Edward A. A. Awuviri and Nestor Percy Galley—named after two former Director Generals—were built at Damen Shipyards’ dedicated tug building facility Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam.The vessels each deliver 83 tonnes bollard pull ahead and up to 77 tonnes astern, making them capable of maneuvering the range of large vessels that use the Ghanaian ports of Takoradi and Tema…

Shipmanagement trade group InterManager is urging the shipping industry to increase its focus on safety amid a recent surge in deaths in enclosed spaces on ships.Three seafarers and five shore workers died over the past week in accidents in enclosed spaces, bringing this year’s known deaths to a total of 31, according to InterManager.The trade association keeps records of these incidents on behalf of the wider shipping community, sharing them with regulators in its role as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Greater Houston Port Bureau Board of Directors announced Vincent DiCosimo, vice president of government affairs at Targa Resources, will assume the position of the chairman of the board on January 1, 2024. DiCosimo has served as first vice chairman on the Port Bureau’s board for the last three years.Bernt Netland, the outgoing chairman of the Port Bureau Board said, “Vincent has been a part of the Port Bureau’s board for many years and has been active in his role as vice chair. He is an experienced and respected leader in the port region.

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.