Charles Pilots News

With three Gladding-Hearn pilot boats already in their fleet, the Louisiana-based Lake Charles pilots have ordered another launch from the Somerset, Mass., shipyard.Based on the Cameron Pilot II delivered in 2019, the new all-aluminum pilot boat features the Deep V hull by Ray Hunt Design and has an overall length of 73’, beam of 23’, and draft of 5.3’. It will be powered by twin Cummins QSK38-M1, EPA Tier 4-certified diesel engines, each delivering 1,300 Bhp at 1,800 rpm and a top speed of over 27 knots.

Gothenberg, Sweden based Humphree was founded in 2002 by a team of engineers that sought to leverage their expertise in high-speed marine propulsion – or more specifically, hydrodynamics, electronics and digital controls – to create vessel stabilization packages that would be easy to install and use. And thus, Humphree’s interceptors were created.The compact and robust transom-mounted units feature an adjustable blade that activates vertically into the water stream beneath the hull to create a lift force.

Humphree makes inroads in North American markets with vessel stabilization technology.If you haven’t yet heard of Humphree – the Sweden-based supplier of vessel stabilization systems – then, more than likely, that’s about to change. The firm’s penetration into the North American commercial and leisure marine market has seen its equipment on several vessels, including high-profile deployments like the new Seastreak high-speed commuting ferry.Founded in 2002 by a team of hydrodynamic and marine engineers…

Louisiana-based Lake Charles Pilots has ordered a fourth pilot boat from Massachusetts-based shipbuilder Gladding-Hearn. The new all-aluminum vessel, due for delivery in 2018, will join three similar pilot boats already in the Lake Charles fleet. With a length overall of 70’, beam of 22’ and draft of 6.8’, the new pilot boat features the C. Raymond Hunt-designed Deep V hull. It will be powered by twin Cummins QSK38-M, EPA Tier 3 diesel engines, each delivering 1,300 Bhp at 1,800 rpm and a top speed of 27 knots. The engines will turn five-blade NiBrAl Bruntons propellers, connected to a pair of Twin Disc gear boxes. To optimize fuel economy, vessel handling and comfort, twin Humphree interceptors, with automatic trim optimization, will be installed at the transom.

Workboat requirements will soar as heightened safety requirements for LNG transit demand tighter oversight. The Louisiana Gulf is gearing up to export liquefied natural gas from Sabine Pass and Lake Charles in the state’s southwest and Plaquemines Parish in the southeast. Over the next five years, as LNG import terminals begin exporting and new terminals are built, more tugs and channel pilots will be needed, industry experts said last month. A convoy system will be employed to handle outgoing and incoming tankers. Safety rules for the region’s waterways are also almost certain to be revised.

In America, deep-V hulls are synonymous with the late C. Raymond Hunt who founded the firm with current president John Deknatel in the 1960s. The design was, conceived and patented by C. Raymond Hunt in 1963. The sharp entry forward keeps pounding to a minimum. There is no deep forefoot to cause bow steering and broaching. The V-shape is carried all the way to the transom, which results in evenly distributed displacement and lateral plane. Since 1978 C. Raymond Hunt Associates have collaborated more than 40 times with Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding to design and build tough…

The U.S. Coast Guard has removed the sunken drydock that has been blocking the Lake Charles, Louisiana, ship channel to large crude oil tankers, a spokesman said. "All sections of the sunken drydock have been removed from the Calcasieu River," the spokesman said. "The Army Corps of Engineers is conducting surveys to determine the need for additional dredging to return the channel to its project depth," he added. Until complete restoration of the channel, the Lake Charles pilots will be evaluating the navigable channel to determine beam and draft restrictions for safe passage, it added. The sunken dry dock had since mid-June stopped crude tankers getting to Conoco Inc.'s 243,000 bpd Lake Charles plant and Venezuelan-owned Citgo Corp.'s 310,000 bpd plant.

The Lake Charles Pilots, which operates on the Calcasieu ship channel in southwestern Louisiana, has ordered its third pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Delivery is scheduled for February 2008. According to Lake Charles pilot, Capt. Mike Miller, the new boat order was prompted by plans for more than 400 LNG tankers traveling to terminals on the Calcasieu River by 2008. “With all of this new traffic on the river, we wanted a stable boarding boat with a deep-V hull that can operate continuously to the outermost sea buoy, 30 miles off the coast. The sea conditions out there normally run three to five feet, but can often climb to ten feet,” he said. Featuring the C. Raymond Hunt-designed deep-V hull, the all-aluminum vessel measures 75.8 ft.

The Lake Charles Pilots, which operates on the Calcasieu ship channel in southwestern Louisiana, has ordered its third pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Delivery is scheduled for February 2008. According to Lake Charles pilot, Capt. Mike Miller, the new boat order was prompted by plans for more than 400 LNG tankers traveling to terminals on the Calcasieu River by 2008. Featuring the C. Raymond Hunt-designed deep-V hull, the all-aluminum vessel measures 75.8 ft. overall, with a 20.6-ft. beam and a 6.8-ft. draft. At the shear is a heavy-duty, 12-inch D rubber fender in addition to tires. With a top speed of 27 knots, the boat will be powered by twin Cummins QSK38M diesel engines, each producing 1350 Bhp at 1900 rpm.

In the Calcasieu Ship Channel, six vessels transited safely into the port and three are expected to transit outbound. The temporary Vessel Traffic Service staffed by Coast Guard personnel and industry stakeholders will control these movements. Contingency operational plans have been devised, as well as equipment and temporary dams placed in at risks areas, in the event of heavy rainfall in the area to counter any problems that may arise from such an event. All commercial docks have been cleared by the Coast Guard to receive vessels. “We’ve made outstanding progress the past few days in getting commercial traffic moving in the Intracostal Waterway and the Calcasieu Ship Channel,” said Coast Guard Captain Thomas Sparks, Captain of the Port of Lake Charles.

When a pilot learning to guide ships along the Mississippi River makes a mistake and crashes into a New Orleans wharf, the only thing that ends up damaged is his ego. That's because the mistakes happen in a ship simulator housed in an old movie theater in Covington, La. The $1 million simulator can place a pilot on the bridge of a ship anywhere along the river between the mouth of the Mississippi and Baton Rouge. Scenes projected on the walls of the simulator, located in what once was the old DeLuxe movie theater in downtown Covington across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, accurately depict every aspect of the 240 miles of waterway.