Port Engineers News

Everett, Wash. repair yard Everett Ship Repair said it recently completed hull repairs and upgrades of the MV Excellence, a steel-hulled mothership processing vessel built in the 1970s in Japan. The vessel, measuring 367.5 feet in length and 56 feet in width, is undergoing extensive upgrades to the onboard ammonia-based refrigeration system. The modernization of this system will provide additional refrigeration capacity to the vessel, without an increase in power demand.The new refrigeration equipment was installed in a large opening cut below the waterline, necessitating drydocking.

While pundits have long proclaimed the U.S. maritime industry dying or dead, the recent delivery of Great Lakes laker Mark W. Barker suggests an innovative future instead.Jacksonville Shipyard was a well-known repair yard that was particularly well known for servicing the Jones Act tanker fleet and Gino Ferrari was its New York representative. Each Christmas season Gino hosted a reception at the Four Seasons restaurant for tanker Owners.Gino Ferrari was a close friend of the company and my father always received an invite.

An oil tanker has docked but has yet to load at Libya's Es Sider port, engineers said on Tuesday, despite groups saying that the port was closed.Last Thursday, groups at Libya's Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil terminals closed them and exports were halted in an apparent expansion of a partial blockade of the country's energy output.(Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali; Writing by Lina Najem;Editing by Louise Heavens)

Recognizing a need in the market following the implementation of Subchapter M, the Towing Vessel Inspection Bureau (TVIB) launched a drydock and internal structural examination certification course..Subchapter M brought many new changes to the towing vessel industry, and now that two and a half years have gone by since the U.S. Coast Guard issued the first Certificates of Inspection (COI), towing vessel operators are beginning to address compliance with another key component of…

Libya's state oil firm NOC on Friday condemned calls to shut oil export terminals in eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a summit in Germany where he will face pressure to halt his campaign to take the capital.Tribal leaders in eastern and southern Libya called on Thursday to shut the terminals in protest at what they called the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli's use of oil revenues to pay for foreign fighters.Eastern Libya and part of the south of the country is controlled by the Libya National Army (LNA) of Haftar…

Cambridge Pixel, a developer of radar display, tracking and recording sub-systems, has supplied its radar video trackers and display technology to Marico Marine as part of a major investment by the Port of Dover into safety systems at Europe’s busiest ferry port.Engineers at Marico Marine (Southampton, England) needed a low cost, open, softwarebased radar tracker for integration with its new vessel traffic service (VTS) system in Dover.It was important that the tracker worked…

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has planned to retrofit its work boats with green fuel and also placed orders with Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) for procuring six new vessels, based on methanol mix.CSL will get the work done by Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Ltd (HDPEL) in Howrah, with which it has formed a joint venture, said sources.The PTI reported that IWAI has also planned to retrofit its work boats with green fuel.The shipyard has a tie-up with Sweden based company which is a leading entity in the use of methanol for marine fuel, he said, adding that the Cochin Shipyard would retrofit boats at its facility in Kolkata.The nodal agency for inland waterways will use the clean-burning fuel for the barges sailing up National Waterway 1…

Embracing and spanning the full breadth of Great Lakes geography and business mix, GLG’s Joe Starck has his multi-missioned firm looking to the future – in more ways than one.The Great Lakes Group (GLG) takes its beginnings from its 1899 incorporation by industrial icon John D. Rockefeller, who formed the Great Lakes Towing to satisfy the demands of a Midwest industrial revolution that brought bigger ships to the region. Existing vessels, unable to keep up with demand, were supplemented and replaced by a fleet of as many as 100 tugboats; the first steel tugs in the region. GLG still has a tug that was part of that original operation.

On the 18 th October, the Port’s Engineering team successfully replaced the existing 1.8m diameter sluice valve at the south east corner of our Prince Phillip Lock with a refurbished spare as part of their on-going regime of programmed maintenance. Site preparation work and detailed planning had been carried out for several weeks prior to the changeover to ensure a successful outcome and to minimise disruption to the flow of ships through the lock. Following motivational bacon sandwiches and team briefings, work began at 4.30am to disconnect and lift the eight metre tall valve assembly up and out of the sluice pit where it had been working tirelessly for more than 30 years.

Software developer Helm Operations announced that over the last two months it has signed on 15 more commercial maritime companies to its planned maintenance and compliance software, Helm CONNECT. The companies come from a variety of commercial maritime industries, such as the fishing, passenger vessel, research vessel, inland / coastal barging and pilotage vessel sectors. The reason for the broad appeal of Helm CONNECT is its simplicity, the developer said. “Businesses are craving software that’s easy for their people to use,” explained Rodger Banister VP Marketing at Helm Operations. “They want software at work to be as easy to understand…

The Great Lakes Towing Company & Great Lakes Shipyard announced it is now hiring with 50 jobs currently available. The shipyard is now seeking candidates to fill a range of positions including naval architects, shipyard welders and pipe fitters, project managers and more. The Great Lakes Towing Company, owner and operator of a fleet of shipdocking tugboats on the U.S. Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence River Seaway, and Great Lakes Shipyard, a full-service ship repairs and construction operation on the Great Lakes, announced plans to hire 50 employees before the end of the first quarter of 2016 to support continued growth driven by client demand. "At The Towing Company, we’re looking for great people to join our team and grow with us,” said Joe Starck, the company’s president.

Before port states became hyper-sensitive to security issues, shore leave was natural part of a seafarer’s life. You worked long and hard hours at sea, often for extended periods of time on long voyages. When the ship reached port, you went ashore and decompressed, connecting with family and friends. That and much more changed after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The IMO adopted the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code mandating enhanced security onboard vessels subject to the SOLAS Convention.

Today, software developer Helm Operations announced that it has signed Pacific Pilotage Authority (PPA) Canada to its Helm CONNECT Preventive Maintenance software. PPA operates five pilot boats and provides complete pilotage services for all ports on Canada’s west coast including Vancouver and those within the Fraser River. Ekkebus continues, touching on a core element of Helm software’s purpose. Ron deBruyne, CEO and Founder of Helm Operations is proud to have Helm CONNECT serve PPA and says. Helm CONNECT is designed to be intuitive in every way. Helm works closely with workboat personnel when building the product through direct consultation with real life users, like port engineers, crew and shore-based personnel.

Software developer Helm Operations has signed on offshore rig moving and ocean towing services company Louisiana International Marine (LIM) to its Helm CONNECT Preventive Maintenance software. Louisiana International Marine operates six tugs that are ABS classed hull and machinery, A1 towing, and ISM certified. "We chose Helm CONNECT because [Helm] made it easy to do business with them. First off, their preventive maintenance and compliance software is the easiest we've ever seen, and secondly we didn't have to wait weeks to get a price quote from them,” said Anthony Roberts, Manager of Marine Traffic / Operations for Louisiana International Marine. Ron deBruyne, CEO and Founder of Helm Operations said he was excited to be working with Louisiana International Marine.

101 W. Sherwin-Williams is a global protective and marine coatings company that delivers smarter asset protection and unmatched service and specification support to its customers from 4,000 locations worldwide. From alkyds to zincs, the company offers a complete line of time-tested, high performance coatings and systems to combat corrosion, supported by the largest group of NACE-certified coatings inspectors in the industry. With more than 140 years in business and a culture of product innovation, Sherwin-Williams today is the single source of supply for coatings solutions made to your specifications and delivered on time, every time.

Sherwin-Williams’ WB Acrolon 100, developed through waterborne technology, delivers aesthetics and protection in one topcoat. It all adds up to extended maintenance and recoat cycles. Inland river crews have a lot on their plate. When your job is to be a deckhand, you don’t want to spend much time being a painter. There’s never a good time to be a painter. However, keeping vessels free of corrosion and looking good is part of the job. So crews must attend to painting the freeboards, superstructures and decks, usually on the go.

BMT Designers & Planners, Inc. (BMT), an operating company of BMT Group Ltd, has delivered its training program to assist Port Engineers (PEs) with maximizing investments in the repair and sustainment of their maritime assets. With the complex management of ship repair constantly changing, PEs are tasked with understanding many challenging requirements. These include surface preparation and preservation, drydock evolutions and safety, propulsion system alignment, welding processes and procedures, nondestructive testing, inspections, general shipyard safety and more.

Unconventionally lowering costs, safely and improving the bottom line. That’s the Victaulic way. In the towing segment of the marine industry, sometimes it does seem that boats are under perpetual repair. A tugboat that’s tied up in maintenance and not able to work is a lost revenue opportunity. As a result, limiting time out of service by performing repair and retrofit services dockside is of critical importance. For example, McAllister Towing & Transportation was able to accomplish repairs not just quickly, but at a lower cost and in a safer manner than conventional methods.

Fisher Maritime Consulting Group said project manager's professional development courses specifically developed for the marine industry are being presented again in several venues in 2014. To date, more than 4,000 persons from approximately 500 organizations in 24 countries have attended Fisher Maritime Consulting Group’s professional training programs. The three-day intensive course for project staff, "Contract Management for Ship Construction, Repair and Design," is accredited by both RINA and SNAME. This course is appropriate for shipowners as well as shipyard personnel involved in the development and management of projects that will be accomplished at shipyards. It is being presented in 2014 in Seattle, London, Halifax, Perth and Auckland.

Marine product providers turn to high tech tools to enhance service, information and – yes – their bottom lines. There’s an APP for that. You’ve heard it before and in many contexts. Increasingly, the global waterfront is getting into the act, too. Typically available for iPhones and/or any kind of smart phones, these Apps are perfect for the busy executive. Putting information at your fingertips, when you want it and no matter where you might be; is at the heart of it all. Like New Wave Media, MarineNews magazine’s parent, many companies are harnessing the utility of a well-designed App to deliver clear, concise data. Where Maritime Global News brings the latest news, updated regularly, marine vendors of all kinds are using Apps to deliver the good news about their products.

Michael E. Ford, 75, of Waretown, NJ, passed away on January 4, 2014. Born in Washington, DC and raised in Chevy Chase, Md., he graduated from the #United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY, in 1960 with a degree in Marine Engineering, and earned a master’s degree in International Business from Bernard M. Baruch College, New York, in 1979. He served his country as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve. Following his graduation from Kings Point, he sailed for the Alcoa Steamship Company, raising his Coast Guard license to Chief Engineer, unlimited.

Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings launched SeaGuard, an app that provides users with protective coating recommendations for VLCC/VLBCs, chemical tankers and OSV/PSVs. The app debuted on October 9 at The International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans. The app is optimized for both iOS and Android. The app is designed to help port engineers and fleet managers access accurate and up-to-date coatings information via mobile technology. It’s a convenient alternative to bulky binders stuffed with outdated product data sheets.

Jose Femenia, former Head of Engineering and Director of the Master of Marine Engineering Program at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, has been named a consultant at utiliVisor. UtiliVisor is an energy advisory firm that offers comprehensive energy monitoring and analysis services for the marine industry, providing accurate, reliable solutions to boost the fuel efficiency of vessels. Mr. Femenia will serve as a technical advisor for utiliVisor clients on shipboard propulsion and power systems. “Jose’s background at the U.S.