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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Mike News

27 Mar 2024

Pilot Called for Tugboat Help Before Baltimore Bridge Disaster

Source: US Army Corps of Engineers

The pilot of the container ship that knocked down a highway bridge into Baltimore Harbor had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes earlier, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship's "black box" data recorder.The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a traffic artery over the harbor built in 1976, lacked structural engineering redundancies common to newer spans, making it more…

27 Mar 2024

Divers Recover Two Bodies After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

Divers on Wednesday recovered the remains of two of the six workers missing since they were tossed into Baltimore Harbor from a highway bridge that collapsed into shipping lanes when a faltering cargo freighter rammed into the structure, officials said on Wednesday.The bodies were pulled from the mouth of the Patapsco River a day after the massive container ship lost power and its ability to maneuver before plowing into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, knocking…

27 Mar 2024

Recruiter to Cooperate in Deal with Workers Suing Major US Shipbuilders

© Joseph Creamer / Adobe Stock

A maritime industry recruiter has agreed to work with plaintiffs and share worker compensation data in a lawsuit accusing major U.S. shipbuilders of limiting employee mobility, marking the first settlement in the case.Attorneys for a proposed class of engineers and architects suing General Dynamics, Huntington Ingalls Industries and other companies disclosed the settlement with Faststream Recruitment on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia federal court.The October lawsuit said the shipbuilders violated U.S.

27 Mar 2024

Authorities Warned of Ship Approach Moments Before Baltimore Bridge Collapse

(Photo: David Adams / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Federal investigators on Wednesday examined the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge while emergency teams searched for bodies and details emerged of the intense efforts to save lives in the minutes before the steel span collapsed."Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There's a ship approaching that just lost their steering," someone said on police radio minutes before the 1:30 a.m. crash on Tuesday.While voices were heard discussing next steps, including alerting any work crews to leave the bridge…

27 Mar 2024

Baltimore Rescuers Lose Hope for More Survivors from Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies

Rescuers have lost hope of finding more survivors of the Baltimore bridge collapse, the coast guard said, as efforts switched on Wednesday to looking for bodies of the missing and more answers to why a container ship smashed into the span.Search divers were expected to return near dawn to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of the bridge in Baltimore Harbor to search for six workers missing and now presumed dead.The disaster has forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S.

27 Mar 2024

Divers to Search Baltimore Harbor

Search divers were expected to return near dawn on Wednesday to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of a bridge knocked down in Baltimore Harbor by a faltering cargo ship, leaving six workers missing and presumed dead.The disaster also forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and created a traffic quagmire for Baltimore and the surrounding region.As the odds of their survival vanished, the search for the six workers was suspended on Tuesday evening…

24 Mar 2024

German Wind Sector Welcomes Offshore Terminal Funding

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

The German Offshore Wind Energy Foundation said the government's decision to help fund the expansion of an offshore terminal is important to achieve expansion goals for wind energy at sea.In a statement late Friday, the foundation said it welcomed a government move to contribute to the costs of expanding the terminal at the port of Cuxhaven, on the North Sea coast.The government has agreed to finance the 30-hectare (74 acres) expansion of the offshore terminal, together with the state of Lower Saxony and the private port industry…

20 Mar 2024

Elliott Bay Design Group Acquires Coastwise Engineering

(Photo: Coastwise Engineering)

Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) has acquired Coastwise Corporation. The Anchorage, Alaska-based firm—an expert in shallow draft, high-speed aluminum and cold weather engineering—has been rebranded as Coastwise Engineering and will operate as a division of EBDG.As part of the agreement, EBDG acquires Coastwise's assets and adds a staff of more than 50 employees. Coastiwse owner and principal, Patrick Eberhardt, joins EBDG as a full-time employee…

17 Mar 2024

Venture Global LNG to Buy Fleet of LNG Vessels

© Andriy Sharpilo / Adobe Stock

Venture Global LNG said on Sunday it would acquire a fleet of nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport vessels, expanding its ability to sell and ship its own cargoes.Venture Global LNG has exported hundreds of cargoes since it started liquefying gas for export in 2022 from the first of its three planned facilities in Louisiana. The vessels it used were owned by other companies and leased.The nine vessels in Venture Global's future fleet will be built in South Korea with the first to be delivered later this year…

18 Mar 2024

New Electric Ferry Service Launching in Halifax

(Image: Government of Nova Scotia)

A new environmentally friendly electric ferry service is planned to launch in Halifax, Canada.The province of Nova Scotia, along with the federal government and Halifax Regional Municipality, announced on March 4 a joint investment to build the Mill Cove Ferry Service, which will include five fully electric ferries, two terminals and a maintenance facility. All-electric propulsion, which slashes vessel emissions, noise and vibration, has been taking off in the ferry industry as the operational profile for these vessels—often including frequent…

05 Mar 2024

Wärtsilä Partners Up with EBDG to Reduce Port Emissions Across North America

EBDG-designed floating CHAMP barge next to containership (Credit: EBDG)

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has entered into a collaboration agreement with U.S.-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) to further develop its Clean Harbor Alternative Mobile Power (CHAMP) Barge design.Featuring Wärtsilä’s methanol engine technology, the collaboration introduces a solution to reduce emissions from large vessels in situations where conventional shore power is limited or not available.The floating mobile power…

26 Feb 2024

Many Different Vessels but One Goal – Passenger Safety

© Olivier / Adobe Stock

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

22 Feb 2024

Vitol Bunkers Receives its First Biofuel Barge in Asia

Marine Future biofuel bunker barge (Credit: Vitol Bunkers)

Vitol Bunkers has taken delivery of the Marine Future vessel, its first specialized biofuel bunker barge in Singapore.The addition of this specialized IMO type 2 notation bunker tanker to the V-Bunkers fleet will make it possible to supply biofuel blends including B24, B30 and up to B100, depending on customer specifications.Built in China, Marine Future is 102.6m in length and has the capacity to carry about 7,000 MT of biofuels.The current fleet of bunker tankers in Singapore are classified as ‘oil tankers’ and are therefore restricted to a maximum of 25% bio component in biofuel blends.

13 Feb 2024

Exxon, Enbridge Sued by Competitor

© Juozas55 / Adobe Stock

Exxon and Canada-based crude pipeline operator Enbridge were sued in Illinois federal court on Tuesday over claims they barred a competitor from building a terminal to ship oil by barge from the Chicago area to refineries in the Midwest and Gulf of Mexico.The antitrust lawsuit from energy infrastructure developer Ducere seeks more than $11 million in damages for work the Illinois company said it already paid for on the project and for lost future profits.Exxon, Enbridge and their…

02 Feb 2024

American Salvage Association Names New Executive Director

Mike Dean (Photo: ASA)

The American Salvage Association (ASA) announced that Mike Dean has been appointed Executive Director. In this role, Dean is responsible for providing strategic leadership and direction to the organization and ensuring that ASA’s mission and objectives are achieved. He oversees day-to-day operations, financial management, government affairs, working committees and ASA staff. Dean reports to ASA’s president, Joseph Farrell, III and works closely with ASA’s Executive Committee.Dean is an industry veteran…

22 Jan 2024

Red Sea Shipping Attacks Pressure China's Exporters

© ABCDstock / Adobe Stock

For Chinese businessman Han Changming, disruptions to Red Sea freight are threatening the survival of his trading company in the eastern province of Fujian.Han, who exports Chinese-made cars to Africa and imports off-road vehicles from Europe, told Reuters the cost of shipping a container to Europe had surged to roughly $7,000 from $3,000 in December, when Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement escalated attacks on shipping."The disruptions have wiped out our already thin profits…

02 Jan 2024

SIU President Emeritus Michael Sacco Passes Away

Michael Sacco (Photo: Seafarers International Union)

Seafarers International Union President Emeritus Michael Sacco died December 28, 2023, in St. Louis, surrounded by family members. He was 86 years old and passed away from natural causes.Mike was the longest-serving president in SIU history, having led the organization from 1988 until his retirement in February 2023, a period spanning nearly 35 years.The Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters, AFL-CIO, represents professional United States merchant mariners sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels in the deep sea…

21 Dec 2023

ACBL Names Schappell SVP of Logistics & Network Operations

Steve Schappell (Photo: ACBL)

Jeffersonville, Ind. based marine transportation company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) announced Steve Schappell has been appointed Senior Vice President of Logistics and Network Operations after entering the role on an interim basis in September.Schappell, who joined ACBL in July 2021 as Vice President of Supply Chain and Continuous Improvement, was selected for the position over several external candidates, the company said.Reporting directly to ACBL CEO Mike Ellis, Schappell is responsible for ACBL's Fleets, Terminals, and Interchange business unit.

18 Dec 2023

Ask What Your Government Can Do For Your Industry (A 2023 Retrospective)

© rrodrickbeiler / Adobe Stock

John F. Kennedy’s famous locution, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but you can do for your country” remains the rallying call for civic action and public leadership. The message remains foundational to the success of the United States, particularly as we head into an election year that once again appears to be filled with divisiveness and vitriol. That said, before we flip the calendar, it is important to set JFK’s message aside for a moment and reflect upon what our political leadership in Washington…

30 Nov 2023

Dredge Construction Booming in Competitive US Market

(Photo: Eastern Shipbuilding)

A dredge building boom that has been underway in the United States for several years is still going strong as the market remains highly completive for solid project workloads in both the public and private sectors.According The Mike Hooks Report, an analysis of the FY22 U.S. federal dredging market compiled in September 2023 by Michael Gerhardt, senior director of government affairs at Mike Hooks, LLC, 52 Jones Act dredging companies were awarded federal dredging contracts in FY2022.

17 Nov 2023

Bringing the Capital Construction Fund Program Ashore

© William A. Morgan / Adobe Stock

On May 5, 2023, the White House announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was “taking the next step to invest $3 billion in its Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment and technology and to help ports develop climate action plans to reduce air pollutants, improve air quality and public health in neighboring communities, and advance environmental justice.” That “next step” was the issuance of a Request for Information to inform EPA of the availability…

03 Nov 2023

US House Passes Bill to Harden Sanctions on Iranian Oil

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

The U.S. House of Representatives easily passed a bill on Friday to bolster sanctions on Iranian oil in a strong bipartisan vote.The Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) bill, which passed 342-69, would impose measures on foreign ports and refineries that process petroleum exported from Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.U.S. lawmakers are debating several pieces of legislation to pressure Iran after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

31 Oct 2023

M3 Marine (Offshore Brokers) UK Ltd Appoints Robert Day as Managing Director

Credit: Ian Dyball/AdobeStock

M3 Marine (Offshore Brokers) UK Ltd (M3OBUK) – a newly established London-based broking company focusing on the offshore and renewables sectors, announced on Tuesday the appointment of Robert Day as its Managing Director.Day brings with him almost a decade of experience, having previously held the role of Associate Director and Head of Offshore at VesselsValue, where he ran the offshore desk which specialized in valuations, broking, market analysis, and business development with a focus on offshore support vessels…