Mel News

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) said it has been cleared of any fault related to the 2008 Mel Oliver collision and resulting oil spill on the Mississippi River.The announcement comes after more than 13 years of legal proceedings and is the result of a settlement agreement reached on November 18, 2021, with the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Louisiana regarding the case.It was determined that fault for the collision and resulting oil spill belongs to Harvey…

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6,734 barrels (282,828 gallons) of No. 6 fuel oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans in July 2008.

Melanie Olsen is harnessing 10 years of missile defense and electronic warfare systems expertise to drive rapid technological innovation in marine research and monitoring. Today, on International Women in Engineering Day, the AIMS Team Leader for Technology Development Engineering shares her unique journey.Growing up in a third-generation farming family near the small settlement of El Arish in north Queensland, Melanie Olsen thought engineers were train drivers.When a James Cook University engineering lecturer visited her small rural high school with a quad helicopter…

USDA Study Underscores Value of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture.On August 28, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works R.D. James toured Mel Price Locks and Dam in Alton, Illinois, and held a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the importance of the waterways,  agriculture and the U.S. economy. At the event, Secretary Perdue briefed agricultural and waterways stakeholders on a newly released study – Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S. Agriculture – from the U.S.

WCI/NGFA Urge NESP Infrastructure Project to Move Forward.The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) today commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for releasing a significant new study that quantifies the cost-savings and competitive advantages that would accrue from investing in long-delayed improvements to inland waterways locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois River system.The study, entitled, Importance of Inland Waterways to U.S.

The subchapter M towboat rules, safety management systems, and an emerging culture shift on the inland waterways brings with it a fresh look at how to manage risk. Is it time for P&I clubs to return to brown water? And should inland operators welcome them home?A mass exodus from the inland marine sector by P&I clubs in the mid-1990’s was precipitated by many things. Today, these very same vessels have been put under the subchapter M regime, and most are adapting SMS as a culture in the process. Moreover, and without a doubt, the environmental record of this sector has improved 99% since the 1970’s. As all of that unfolds, the P&I clubs have begun to look at this sector more closely and…

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reacted to the Trump Administration’s release of an outline of its top-line FY20 budget numbers yesterday. Today, the Corps of Engineers released its account and project-specific funding levels. For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program, the FY20 budget proposes $4.827 billion, a 31% cut from the FY19 appropriated amount of $7.0 billion. Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) proposed funding in FY20 is $55.5 million, with a total of $111 million requested for the Lower Mon Project (Monongahela River, Pittsburgh), funding it to completion.

Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) reacted to the Trump Administration’s release of an outline of its top-line FY20 budget numbers yesterday. Today, the Corps of Engineers released its account and project-specific funding levels.For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program, the FY20 budget proposes $4.827 billion, a 31% cut from the FY19 appropriated amount of $7.0 billion.Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) proposed funding in FY20 is $55.5 million, with a total of $111 million requested for the Lower Mon Project (Monongahela River, Pittsburgh), funding it to completion.

High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO), essentially the leftovers of an oil refiner's output, will still flow from refineries around the world even after new rules start up in 2020 curtailing its use in the global shipping fleet, a Reuters survey showed.Sixty percent of the 33 refineries contacted by Reuters in a global survey will still produce HSFO in 2020 although the supply will tighten as 70 percent of these refiners plan to reduce their output.Starting that year, ships will have to use marine fuel…

Parat Halvorsen AS said it recently secured a contract to design and fabricate a complete, turnkey steam boiler module for the Floating Production & Storage Offshore (FPSO) vessel Aoka Mizu owned by Bluewater Energy Services BV. The FPSO is being decommissioned for the Lancaster project which is owned and operated by Hurricane Energy UK. The module will include 2 x 3200kW electric steam boilers based on the PARAT MEL design and will provide an additional 9,600kg/hr of saturated steam for the FPSO marine and process systems.

A plan set in motion by three European transmission system operators (TSO) aims to develop mammoth offshore wind farm infrastructure in the North Sea supported by at least one manmade island. First unveiled in June 2016, plans for the North Sea Wind Power Hub project will now press ahead to develop a large offshore renewable European electricity system following the signing of a trilateral agreement by TenneT TSO B.V. (Netherlands), Energinet.dk (Denmark) and TenneT TSO GmbH (Germany) in Brussels on March 23, 2017.

A unique program of three specialist events for the sub IMO / sub 24 meter professional sector is being held ‘back to back’ at the Grand Harbour in Southampton, U.K. this October. The fast moving workshop style program brings together an international group of experts armed with the latest knowledge to identify problems that affect the maritime sector worldwide – and highlight potential solutions. Event organizer and workshop lead John Haynes said, “We are really pleased with the diversity of high level presenters from military, commercial and SAR backgrounds.

Authorities are building a new containment boom to fight an oil spill in a major western Canadian river, officials said on Saturday, after the spill breached a previous barrier and threatened the drinking water of several communities along the coast. The city of North Battleford, which draws its drinking water in part from the North Saskatchewan River, shut its supply intake on Friday and switched to using ground water, provincial officials said in a telephone conference with reporters. Some 1,572 barrels of heavy oil and diluent leaked from Husky Energy Inc's Saskatchewan Gathering System pipeline on Thursday, flowing into the river. The Calgary-based company has shut the line, stopping the leak, and has been working to contain the spill.

MSC Lana Voy-JA618R made its inaugural call at Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), marking the launch of a new Middle East Loop 1 (MEL 1) Service. To mark the event, KICT held a maiden voyage ceremony, attended by Mr Keith Lau, Chief Executive Officer of KICT along with senior representatives of MSC Agency Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, importers and exporters using this MEL 1 service and KICT staff. “We are excited to have this new service calling at KICT and are pleased to note MSC’s direct service to the Middle East from Karachi” said Keith Lau. Operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company, this new service follows a rotation of Karachi-Jabel Ali-Sharjah- Sohar-Karachi, additionally serving all upper Gulf destinations via Jabel Ali. The weekly service calls at KICT every Monday.

Florida treasure hunters found a trove of $4.5 million worth of Spanish gold coins 300 years to the day after a fleet of ships sunk in a hurricane while en route from Havana to Spain, the salvage owner said Wednesday. The 350 coins found on July 30 include nine rare pieces, known as royal eight escudos, which were being transported to the King of Spain, according to Brent Brisben. His company, 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels, owns the rights to the wreckage. Only 20 such coins were known to exist prior to the recovery of the nine royals, Brisben said.

2015 will mark the 300th anniversary of the sinking of a dozen Spanish ships known as the 1715 Plate Fleet; plata being the Spanish world for silver. On the 30th of July 1715 twelve galleons, overloaded with Mexican gold and silver, left Cuba and sailed north carried by the Gulf Stream. Just off the coast of Florida between present day Sebastian and Fort Pierce they were struck by a ferocious hurricane. Some of the ships sank in deep water, some broke up in shallower water, and others ran aground near shore.

Yoon Sang-Jick, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea, held a meeting to check pending issues faced by Korean shipbuilding and offshore plant industry at Seoul Palace Hotel recently. The meeting was intended to examine current status of overseas and home industry and seek response proposals. Some 20 presidents from allied organizations attended, such as MOTIE, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MEL), shipbuilding and offshore plant industry…

Joseph E. LeBlanc Jr. passed away on June 27, 2014. He was 87 years old. Joe was president of Three Rivers Rock Quarry in Smithland, Ky. (a division of Harbert Construction), Three Rivers Towing, Harcon Barge Lines and Louisiana Limestone during the late 60s and 70s. He also worked later for Luhr Brothers at their St. Genevieve, Mo. Facility and was General Manager for Boyce Machinery in Morgan City, La. for a few years and also worked as a consultant and for NREC in Houma after he retired. Prior to working for Harbert, LeBlanc was employed by Thomson Tractor in Birmingham, Ala.

Steven Libert, president of the Great Lakes Exploration Group, announced he has located what is believed to be the remains of Le Griffon, the first European ship to have sailed the upper Great Lakes. The 45-ton barque carrying seven cannons was built by the legendary French explorer Rene-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle who was attempting to establish a Northwest Passage through Canada. La Salle wanted to provide a faster way to connect France with its trading partners in the Far East and Le Griffon was to be a vital link in the route between Niagra and Illinois.

Tests by Parat Halvorsen on oil spill response equipment (OSR) for offshore supply vessels reveal significant deficiencies with systems using hot water coils. Norway's Parat Halvorsen undertook a series of trials after a number of lower cost hot water coil alternatives came on the market the market. Any spilled oil is recovered by OSR-equipped vessels and stored in tanks until it can be delivered to recovery stations on land. The recovered oil has to be heated to maintain a sufficient viscosity for offloading. Parat Halvorsen offers a heating solution based on steam injection from a boiler onboard. It has supplied equipment to a significant number of OSVs delivered by yards including Havyard, STX Norway, Kleven and Ulstein.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced today that five foreign flagged ships were under detention in U.K. ports during June 2013 after failing a Port State Control (PSC) inspection. Latest monthly figures show that there were two new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in U.K. ports during June 2013 and three vessels remained under detention from previous months. The overall rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last twelve months was 3.18% this is a slight decrease from May’s twelve month rate. Three of the detained vessels were registered with a flag state listed on the Paris MOU white list, one was registered with a flag state on the grey list and one was unregistered.

Parat Halvorsen as has been rewarded a new contract with Vard Singapore Pte. Ltd for their NB792, a Platform Supply Vessel to be constructed at their shipyard Vang Tau in Vietnam. The 1250kW electric boiler will be delivered as a combined Hot Water & Steam Boiler. Parat will deliver a complete boiler plant consisting of all necessary equipment for tank heating (fulfilling the NOFO 2009 requirements) and in addition also the hot water supply for central heating and domestic water system.

Thomas "Tom" Weinberg will serve a second consecutive term as Chairman of the Canaveral Port Authority Board, accepting the job after an unanimous vote during the January Commission meeting. A fourth-generation Brevard County, Florida resident elected from District 5, Weinberg begin his Board tenure in January 2011. He is a licensed realtor who has held several local, state and federal positions, including Chief of Staff for former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez and Deputy County Administrator for Orange County, Florida government.