Columbia River Bar News

A 608-foot bulk carrier that suffered an engine failure and ran aground in the Columbia River Thursday has been refloated without injury or pollution, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received a report at 12:50 a.m. that the Marshall Islands-flagged Genco Auvergne had run soft aground due to a loss of main engine propulsion while transiting down the Washington side of the Columbia River, south of Skamokawa Vista Park.The vessel, which is said to be carrying grain and approximately 616…

Shaver Transportation of Portland, OR, operating vessels within the Columbia River region of the Pacific Northwest for over a hundred years, has selected Rapp Marine as the supplier of the two heavy-duty load handling winches on their latest tugboat. Rapp Marine has almost two decades of experience of designing and delivering rugged winches for workboat market, and has been around as a company for over a hundred years as well. The latest tugboat to the Shaver Transportation fleet is designed by Jensen Maritime of Seattle, WA and is under construction at Diversified Marine of Portland, OR.

NOAA administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., has appointed six members to the Hydrographic Services Review Panel, a federal advisory committee that gives NOAA independent advice for improving a range of services and products that support navigation and coastal resilience. Capt. “Providing coastal communities, boaters, and the commercial maritime industry with timely, reliable, accurate, and authoritative information is essential as we strive to keep commerce flowing through our nation’s ports,” Sullivan said. Rear Admiral Ken Barbor (ret.), U.S. Lawson W. Capt. Gary A. Scott R.

The largest floating drydock in the United States, the Vigorous, has arrived at Vigor Industrial’s Portland shipyard. What’s happening? Vigor Industrial’s new floating drydock, the Vigorous, is headed towards Portland. See our news release for details of arrival. What is the Vigorous? The Vigorous is the largest floating drydock in the United States. The Vigorous will be 300 feet longer and one and a half times the width of Vigor’s largest drydock, with more than three times the lifting capacity. What’s a floating drydock? A floating drydock is a U-shaped marine vessel used to service and build ships. Operators let water into the drydock through valves to submerge it, which allows ships to drive in and out of the drydock.

The country’s largest floating drydock, the Vigorous, is headed for Portland this weekend. The drydock, a piece of equipment used to lift vessels as large as cruise ships out of the water, is scheduled to arrive at the mouth of the Columbia Sunday. It will make its way up to Vigor Industrial’s Portland shipyard on the Willamette River by Sunday evening or Monday morning, depending on weather and river traffic. Fully assembled, the drydock will be 960-feet long. However, it is currently in three parts, which are stacked aboard a 738-foot heavy lift ship for delivery.

The country’s largest floating drydock, the Vigorous, is headed for Portland this weekend. The drydock, a piece of equipment used to lift vessels as large as cruise ships out of the water, is scheduled to arrive at the mouth of the Columbia Sunday. It will make its way up to Vigor Industrial’s Portland shipyard on the Willamette River by Sunday evening or Monday morning, depending on weather and river traffic. Fully assembled, the drydock will be 960-feet long. However, it is currently in three parts, which are stacked aboard a 738-foot heavy lift ship for delivery.

Kvichak Marine Industries recently delivered Astoria, a self-righting 74’ all-aluminum pilot boat, to the Columbia River Bar Pilots (CRBP) of Astoria, Oregon. Astoria is the third CRBP pilot boat designed by Camarc, Ltd., of the UK and built by Kvichak. The pilots christened Astoria at a ceremony last week where the vessel has joined Columbia, built in 2008. Chinook, built in 2000 is retiring this spring. The pilots operate the vessels over the bar at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton was commissioned into service March 8 at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla. The Sexton is the second of six Fast Response Cutters to be homeported in Key West, and the eighth vessel to be delivered through the Coast Guard’s Sentinel-class FRC recapitalization project. The cutter is named after Machinery Technician 1st Class Charles W. Sexton, who drowned during a rescue operation conducted off the coast of Washington. On Jan. 11, 1991, Sexton was aboard a motor lifeboat dispatched to assist the 75-foot fishing vessel Sea King…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said it responded to a 739-foot cargo ship aground in the Columbia River just north of the Astoria Northern Anchorage in Astoria, Tuesday. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River learned that the Panamanian-flagged motor vessel Mokpo Star ran aground after the crew attempted to adjust their position in the river using their anchors without proper authorization at approximately 4:30 p.m. Sector Columbia River personnel boarded the vessel along with a Columbia River Bar Pilot to investigate the cause of the grounding, potential pollution and how much fuel the vessel contained. The Coast Guard also ordered the vessel to hire a tug to be on immediate standby and to activate its required vessel response plan.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. has delivered the Charles Sexton, the eighth Fast Response Cutter (FRC) to the United States Coast Guard. The announcement was made by Bollinger President, Chris Bollinger, “We are very pleased to announce another successful on-time and on-budget FRC delivery to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Charles Sexton was delivered to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla., and will be stationed at USCG Sector Key West. The 154-foot patrol craft Charles Sexton is the eighth vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program.

The recent editorial (MarineNews February edition) by Jeff Cowan entitled “The Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) Quandary” raised more than a few eyebrows here at the American Waterways Operators (AWO) and among AWO members who operate ATBs. Mr. Cowan has it backwards: far from being unsafe, ATBs in fact represent a significant advancement in safety in the coastal tugboat and barge industry and have a long history of safe operation. Mr. Cowan’s piece also contained several factual errors…

Kvichak Marine Industries was awarded a contract to build a self-righting 72’ all-aluminum pilot boat, Astoria, for the Columbia River Bar Pilots (CRBP) of Astoria, OR. The continued success and reliability of the Columbia and Chinook lead CRBP to once again choose Camarc, Ltd., of the U.K. as the designer and Kvichak Marine as the builder for the Astoria. The pilots operate the vessels over the bar at the mouth of the Columbia River. Known for its extreme weather and turbulent waters, the Columbia River Bar is where the Columbia River collides with the Pacific Ocean.

The Coast Guard has since Sunday taken action in three unrelated marine safety cases, which has protected the environment, protected mariners and protected the maritime transportation system in the port of Portland, Oregon. Sector Columbia River’s recent activity began around 11 a.m. Sunday with notification from the 648-foot car carrier Morning Spruce of the vessel’s loss of engine power while 12 miles southwest of the Columbia River bar, leaving the vessel adrift in 12-foot seas. The Coast Guard Captain of the Port issued an order directing the owner of the Morning Spruce to immediately contract for tow vessels to hold the ship offshore. In addition to its cargo, the Morning Spruce was reportedly carrying a combined 543,000 gallons of heavy oil, diesel and lube oil.

ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard is coordinating actions to protect the Oregon Coast from any threat posed by the 648-foot, Singapore-flagged car-carrier Morning Spruce that lost all power and was adrift in 12-foot seas, for approximately 4 ½ hours, southwest of the Columbia River entrance Sunday. At approximately 3:30 p.m., Sunday, the Morning Spruce’s engineer was able to restore the ship’s power. The Coast Guard has directed the Morning Spruce to remain offshore until repairs to the ship have been verified.

The Coast Guard responded to the capsizing of a barge approximately eight miles from the Columbia River bar near Astoria, Ore. The crew of the 100-ft Canadian tug General Jackson contacted the Coast Guard to report their 295-ft barge had capsized at about 7:30 a.m, April 13. A Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter crew from Group/Air Station Astoria and a 47-ft motor lifeboat crew from Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Wash., were sent to the scene. The barge was loaded with scrap metal and contains approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel.

Guido Perla and Associates, Inc. (GPA) said that Kvichak Marine, a Seattle-Based designer and builder of aluminum vessels, has launched a Fast Pilot Boat for which GPA provided total production engineering for the construction of the hull, piping, propulsion, outfitting and electrical systems. The Pilot Boat, measuring 22 m long, is an all welded aluminum monohull of significant deadrise with a double chine. The vessel is designed as an all-weather pilot launch and will provide exceptional sea-keeping…

Millennium Maritime began providing ship assist and escort services to the Los Angeles harbor area in. late-April, with the first of two new 4,400 bhp (3,282 bkW) Z-drive sister tugs designed and built by Marco Shipyard. The 105 ft. Millennium Falcon is powered by two Cat 3516B marine diesel engines, each rated 2,200 bhp (1,641 bkW) at 1,600 rpm, supplied by N C Power Systems, Seattle. The electronically controlled Cat engines drive Ulstein stern Z-drive propulsion systems with 94.5 in. four blade propellers inside Ulstein high performance nozzles. The second Millennium vessel is currently under construction at Marco and is scheduled to enter service in. August 2000.

Every year, MarineNews chooses a handful of vessels delivered in the past 12 months and bestows upon them the distinction of “Great Boats.” The boats are chosen for innovations in design, construction and utilization. Following are the 17 vessels or groups of vessels chosen as the Great Boats of 2000. Crowley Marine Services delivered Alert, Attentive, and Aware, a series of three 140-ft., 10,000-hp Prevention and Response Tugs (PRTs), to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Valdez, Alaska. Specifically designed and developed for Alyeska, the boats will be used by Crowley in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System trade. Alert was deployed in February; Attentive was delivered in June, and Aware was delivered in July.

A man is in serious condition after one of two commercial tugs towing a log barge capsized, becoming lodged beneath the giant boat and throwing its captain into the water, according to a Daily Astorian report. One of the sunken tug Tiger’s crew members jumped into the water to help the captain, while another crew member threw the two men a line until they could be pulled to safety with help from a Columbia River Bar Pilots helicopter and a pilot boat. The U.S. Coast Guard launched a 47 ft. (14.3 m) motor lifeboat and a utility boat from Station Cape Disappointment, which stood by as the second tug, the Howard Olsen, took control of the barge and the capsized boat, according to the report. Astoria police, the Astoria Fire Department and the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office also responded.

The Coast Guard is searching for a Columbia River bar pilot who fell from a container ship near Astoria, Ore., Monday evening. The pilot fell overboard, while climbing down the ladder from the 558-foot merchant vessel Dry Beam to a Columbia River pilot vessel. The Coast Guard launched two 47-foot motor lifeboats from Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, Wash., and an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Astoria, shortly after receiving the report Monday night. The 47-foot motor lifeboats searched for an hour before returning to the station due to severe weather conditions. The Jayhawk searched for the man until 12:30 a.m., before they too had to return due to heavy rain and fog that limited visibility to less than 100 feet.

The U.S. Coast Guard used helicopters to search for a bar pilot who went overboard in rough weather near the mouth of the Columbia River. The bar pilot, who has not been identified, fell into the Pacific Monday night while trying to transfer from an outgoing freighter he had guided across the Columbia River Bar to a vessel that takes bar pilots back to their station, the Coast Guard said. Two 47-foot rescue boats had to return to Cape Disappointment because strong winds and rough seas made the initial search effort too dangerous. (Source: Associated Press)

CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy will honor its best and brightest at a ceremony to be held on the college campus in early November. The college will formally recognize alumni success and achievement, student academic success, and faculty achievement at its annual Celebration of Achievement on Thursday, Nov. In total, 16 individuals associated with the college will be recognized for their outstanding accomplishments. teaching and academic commitment, student curiosity and scholarship, and alumni professional and civic success. Initiated in 1997, the college’s Wall of Honor was created to recognize alumni, who, through achievements in professional and civic life, have brought honor to themselves and to Maine Maritime Academy.

Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) honored its best and brightest at a ceremony held in early November. The college formally recognized alumni success and achievement, student academic success, and faculty achievement at its annual Celebration of Achievement on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006. Included among those recognized were three outstanding college alumni. All were inducted into the college’s Wall of Honor. Initiated in 1997, the college’s Wall of Honor was created to recognize alumni, who, through achievements in professional and civic life, have brought honor to themselves and to Maine Maritime Academy. Inductees are selected from nominations made at large by alumni and the public.