Dunlap News

President Joe Biden is pushing to ease supply shortages and tame rising prices in time for Christmas, but unsnarling U.S. supply lines could take far longer, experts told Reuters.Biden brought together powerbrokers from ports, unions and big business on Wednesday to address shipping, labor and warehousing pain in the U.S. supply chain, and announced new around-the-clock port operations in Los Angeles.As his Republican opposition seizes on possible Christmas shortages to connect Biden's economic policies to inflation…

Washington State Ferries' (WSF) Jumbo Mark II class ferry Wenatchee, the largest in the WSF fleet, entered drydock at Everett Ship Repair, LLC (ESR) on November 10.The vessel is 460’ x 90’ with a docking displacement of 4675 LT. ESR’s drydock, the Faithful Servant has underwent improvements to expand its capabilities, and can now service vessels up to 460’ x 100’ with drafts up to 32’, including all of WSF fleet.The docking evolution started with moving the Faithful Servant drydock…

Network Innovations and its inland waterways connectivity solution eliminates “dead spot” coverage woes. And, not a moment too soon.The bane of inland operators – or at least one of many – has always been the dearth of reliable and economical vessel-to-shore communications. Even in America’s heartland where cellular coverage is routinely billed as seamless, so-called ‘dead spots’ persist. Sometimes, this happens at the worst possible moment for an operator who has myriad far flung assets on dozens of remote inland waterways. For a long time, satellite service has not been deemed economically feasible for inland operators. Beyond that, unlike blue water deep sea operators, there was little need to download data or employ software solutions in every day operations.

Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat said it has partnered with satellite communications provider Network Innovations and maritime transportation provider Dunlap Towing to install Fleet One across its fleet of 12 vessels. For Dunlap, the Dutch Harbor and Pacific Coast routes in Alaskan waters have traditionally been challenging and its existing service did not offer the reliability required to transmit important operating and safety reports, communicate back to shore or make critical inter-fleet voice calls, according to Inmarsat.

Every month Eastern Car Liner (ECL) loads aerospace containers for transport back to Japan to be reloaded with new airplane parts. Typically, this is the only cargo loaded on this vessel at the Port of Everett – until recently. This weekend, for the second time, Everett-based log supplier, Forest Marketing Enterprises, Inc. (FORMARK) will be delivering nearly 3.3 million board feet of logs to the Port of Everett to be loaded under deck of the ECL chartered ship. This shipment is the second of six total shipments for the year, of what is expected to be a multi-year business partnership. “This is a strategic partnership that will benefit jobs, commerce and natural resources in Everett and Washington State,” said Carl Wollebek, Chief Operating Officer at the Port of Everett.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy Hosts 7th Annual Women on the Water Conference. Last week, The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in conjunction with the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) hosted the 7th Annual Women on the Water (WOW) Conference. The annual conference, which is hosted by a different U.S. maritime academy each year, brought together over 125 maritime professional mariners and maritime academy cadets. The three day conference began with opening remarks from Maritime Administrator Paul N. Jaenichen, Sr. He welcomed the audience of mostly women by thanking the attendees. Mr. Jaenichen went on to explain; “Today, our nation relies on maritime transportation more than ever before -oceangoing vessels carry nearly 70 percent of U.S.

Netherlands’ based WEKA Boxcoolers B.V., manufacturer of copper nickel boxcoolers, was recently purchased by Dunlap & McCullough Holdings LLC, a holding company owned by Paul Fernstrum, Sean Fernstrum, and Todd Fernstrum. Paul Fernstrum, Sean Fernstrum, and Todd Fernstrum also own R.W. Fernstrum & Company. The purchase of the Netherlands’ based company was finalized April 30, 2014. In 2001, R.W. Fernstrum & Company partnered with WEKA Boxcoolers to manufacture and sell boxcoolers in North and South America, a partnership that has grown synergistically over the years. WEKA Boxcoolers B.V. and R.W. Fernstrum & Company will remain independent companies. Cees de Kwant along with rest of the WEKA team will continue to operate WEKA Boxcoolers in Krimpen a/d Ijessel.

Superior Energy Services has been named one of Houston’s 2013 Top Workplaces by the Houston Chronicle for the second year in a row, announced David Dunlap, Superior Energy Services’ President and CEO. The list honors 150 workplaces in the Houston area ranging from small companies with less than 150 employees to large companies employing more than 500 people. This is the second year for Superior Energy Services to receive recognition within in the “Top Large Companies” category. The results are based on an employee survey conducted by Workplace Dynamics LLC.

Superior Energy Services (Superior) announce that the Houston Business Journal (HBJ) has recognized Blaine Edwards, a Superior assistant general counsel, as the Best Associate General Counsel of a Small Legal Department for the 2013 Best Corporate Counsel Awards. Founded eight years ago, this program seeks to recognize the most prominent companies and top, in-house lawyers who contributed to Houston’s economic success this past year. As the only in-house litigator at Superior, Edwards considers his job very challenging and rewarding. He is responsible for a varied, worldwide docket of cases.

Superior Energy Services’ (Superior) President and CEO, David D. Dunlap, was honored as the 2013 Transformational CEO at the recent Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala for the Gulf Coast Area. Dunlap joined Superior in 2010 and has helped to position the company for long-term growthby focusing on U.S. land expansion and international growth. Under Dunlap’s leadership, Superiorhas grown exponentially through a focus on exceeding customers’ expectations and strategic acquisitions…

Roy Dunlap invented a mechanical  pressure switch that prevented oil tanks from overflowing and founded SOR Inc. SOR® founder Roy Dunlap leveraged the static-o-ring (SOR) technology to invent a highly accurate mechanical pressure switch that helped prevent the overfilling of oil tanks. This simple but innovative design resulted in a switch of flawless accuracy that would change the oil & gas and power generation industries forever. The static-o-ring pressure switch was developed…

Rear Admiral Susan L. Dunlap commissioned into the United States Maritime Service by Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of administration, faculty, staff and the Regiment of Midshipmen. Maritime Administrator David Matsuda also attended the commissioning ceremony along with Marlise Streitmatter, chief of staff for the Department of Transportation. "We're thrilled to welcome Captain Dunlap on-board to help continue the important work of training and preparing the next generation of Merchant Mariners," said deputy secretary Porcari.

Austal USA held a combined groundbreaking ceremony today, to celebrate the start of work on three new facilities including Phase 2 of the Modular Manufacturing Facility (MMF); a new office complex; and an additional waterfront Assembly Bay. The ceremony was held at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, where construction is underway on the U.S. Navy’s Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) program. This event was attended by several notable dignitaries, including Alabama Governor Robert Bentley; Rear Admiral Joseph F.

Early on the morning of October 28th, the BRAtt departed Point Roberts, Washington State bound for Seattle. Captain Ron Burchett and his able crew Alan Burchett and Ben Flodquist started out in 12 to 15 knot easterly winds and a two foot chop. With Boundary Bay abeam, the winds increased to NE 20 – 25, with four foot seas on the forward quarter. The ride was lively for this 28-ft tug, but with the heavy ballasted skeg the motions were very good with just moderate spray and no green water on deck.

The Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System's (SRDRS) Rescue Capable System (RCS) replaced the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle Mystic (DSRV-1) as the U.S. Navy's deep-submergence submarine rescue asset on Sept. 30. Mystic and the DSRV program began deactivation on Oct. SRDRS is a rapidly deployable rescue asset that can be delivered by air or ground, installed on pre-screened military or commercial vessels of opportunity (VOO) via a ship interface template, and mated to a distressed submarine within a 72-hour time to first rescue period. Mystic is a small rescue submarine capable of deploying via air or ground to a port where it is mated to a specially-configured submarine which serves as the host platform for the voyage to the disabled submarine.

Military Sealift Command's Singapore-based Sealift Logistics Command Far East changed leadership as Navy Capt. Jim Romano relieved Navy Capt. Susan Dunlap. The change of command ceremony, held near SEALOGFE's headquarters office at Sembawang Wharves, was the command's first since it moved to its current location from Japan in July 2006. Dunlap, SEALOGFE's first Singapore-based commodore, led the charge to establish a permanent MSC footprint on the city-state island nation. SEALOGFE operates an average of 50 ships in the eastern Pacific and Indian oceans, delivering fuel and supplies to U.S. Navy forces at sea, transporting military cargo between ports, responding to humanitarian crises and conducting other special operations.

The area directly south of Lafayette, La., is authentic bayou country, known for Cajun culture, excellent food, unique music and, for boat lovers, the crew/supply boat capital of the world. Four boat yards in this area build these multi-engine, all- aluminum, speedy vessels, almost exclusively. Each yard turns out up to six crew/supply boats a year. In fact, three of the shipyards are located within just a few miles from each other in the tiny hamlet of Loreauville, La., a town that seems to be made up mostly of aluminum welders. That, of course, is an exaggeration, but not by much. Not every vessel delivered from these shipyards goes to work supporting the search for oil and gas…

A device that increases the efficiency of barges is gaining in popularity on the West Coast, especially for Seattle to Alaska and Southeast Alaska runs. Many people report that Hydralift skegs substantially increase the efficiency of towed barges. This results in either increased towing speed or reduced fuel consumption because the horsepower required to tow at the same speed decreases. The Lynden Companies, Alaska Railbelt Marine (ARM) and Alaska Marine Lines (AML), have several barges with Hydralift skegs and another currently under construction. They are using the barges on Seattle to Alaska runs and runs within Southeast Alaska. Western Towboat Company, Inc., which does all the towing for ARM and AML, has two gravel barges with Hydralift skegs themselves.

When Dunlap Towing of LaConner, Wash., bought the James T. Quig a couple of years ago, they renamed her the Rosario. Now the good tug is getting a lot more than a name change. The boat, built in the late 1970s or early '80's, originally had a single engine installed but she had been designed with enough beam for a twin engine installation. She has been operated with a single 900 hp main but now she will get two Cummins KTA38 main engines to be operated at 800 hp each to nearly double the boat's output to 1,600 hp. The beamy 64 x 21-ft. boat can easily handle the two engines. With the beam carried well aft, Dunlap's operations manager…