Maersk Withdrawal of Iran Service Perhaps a Game-changer
Maersk Line container ships no longer to call at Iran ports, closing off a major supply chain to the country. Maersk ended all cargo shipments to the Persian Gulf port of Bushehr on Sept. 30, and started refusing all outbound cargo on Sept. 24, making Iran's isolation from the world of trade almost complete, reports the 'Boston Globe'/Reuters. Those dates now seem to have been a precursor to the chaos in Iran last week, when its currency, the rial, plunged and protests against high food prices spread throughout the country. Source: Boston Globe/Reuters.
Law to Restrict LNG Tankers from Narragansett Bay
A recently adopted law effectively bans tankers carrying liquefied natural gas from entering Narragansett Bay -- a restriction Rhode Island lawmakers hope will prevent an LNG terminal from being built in nearby Fall River, Mass. Coast Guard officials say the law may prove illegal and could seek to block it. The Boston Globe reported that the bill, signed on July 11 by Gov. Don Carcieri, prohibits LNG tankers from coming within hundreds of yards of multiple obstacles and hazards, including people, docks, waterfront facilities, hunting grounds or anywhere workers are welding. As a result, LNG tankers can't legally enter even the widest entrances to Narragansett Bay, said Rep. Raymond Gallison Jr., D-Portsmouth, the bill's sponsor.
Bourne Tug in Need of Rescue
The Boston Globe reported that an old tugboat, New York Central No. 16 will be demolished soon to make way for a CVS pharmacy. A Raynham man started working to save the boat. But with an estimated $250,000 needed to rescue the tug, its future is murkier than the waters of New York Harbor it once plowed. Tugboat No. 16 has been a Cape Cod landmark since local maritime history buffs rescued it from a scrapheap on Staten Island in 1982. Developers said this month they plan to destroy the old tug, one of the last of the steam-powered boats that tugged barges filled with goods up and down the Hudson River. Maritime enthusiasts such as Schneider hope to save the boat from demolition…
Proposal: Safety Zone around LNG Tankers
The state Senate of Massachusetts could soon consider a bill that would effectively ban tanker ships carrying liquefied natural gas from moving along Narragansett Bay and the Sakonnet River. Lawmakers in the House passed the bill on May 10. If approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Don Carcieri, the legislation could severely hinder the operations of a proposed LNG facility in Fall River, Mass. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved Weaver's Cove Energy's plan to build a $250m LNG terminal at a former Shell Oil site on the banks of the Taunton River. The terminal would be serviced by tankers that move through Narragansett Bay.
Feature: Boston Tug Muster 2003 Classic Powerhouses and Modern Behemoths
There was a tense moment at the Boston Tug Muster, held this year on the last day of May. At 10 A.M. sharp, the official opening moment of this 19th annual event, there were no tugs at the rallying point, Pier 4, Charlestown. At 10:05, still no tugs. By 10:10, only Innovator, possibly the shortest tug in town, had cruised by. It passed along the pier as if looking for old friends, and finding none, performed its trademark about-face and seemed to be departing. Maybe the gents aboard had got the date wrong? Last year's Muster, after all, was in August. On the pier itself, among Muster officials, a nasty question was starting to form: What if you gave a Muster, and nobody came?
