Port Pilots News

Seattle shipbuilder Snow & Company announced it has been awarded a contract to build a pair of 50-foot pilot boats for the Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association, based in Louisiana. Designed by U.K.-based Camarc Design, the all-aluminum vessels have a refined hull with enhanced fuel efficiencies and reduced slamming accelerations, which provide excellent all-around seakeeping capabilities and a pilot specific shape to facilitate safe boarding operations.The vessels will be powered by twin Volvo Penta D13-800 EPA Tier 3 marine diesel engines…

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the world’s longest Green and Digital Corridor to enable low and zero carbon shipping.Signed by Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, and Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre on the sidelines of the biennial World Cities Summit, the MoU will bring together stakeholders across the supply chain to realize the first sustainable vessels sailing on the route by 2027.

A Maersk containership has been refloated after running aground in the Savannah River near Fort Jackson on Tuesday.The U.S. Coast Guard said it was notified at 6:09 p.m. via the vessel agent of Maersk Surabaya that the vessel had run aground.The 1,091-foot box ship was repositioned to the center of the shipping channel with the help of seven tugs. AIS ship tracking data shows the vessel was aground for about 2 hours. The Danish-flagged vessel is now safely moored, and no injuries…

Dozens of South Louisiana middle and high school students eager to learn about careers in the maritime industry enjoyed a cool, windy autumn day on the mighty Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish at the first-of-its-kind Maritime Field Trip.The daylong field trip was organized and coordinated by a group of maritime industry partners and featured Crescent River Port Pilots. The educational trip taught the students the importance of river safety and the dramatic impact mariners…

Shipbuilder Vigor said it has been awarded a contract from the Port of Los Angeles to build two 56’ pilot boats.The new vessels, designed by Camarc, will feature a twin chine heavy weather hull form for excellent seakeeping. The design accommodates multiple heavy fender systems facilitating safer pilot transfers in challenging weather. An articulated rescue davit provides man overboard recovery. The overall design also maximizes the available horsepower and performance from a…

Commercial workboat philanthropy on display on PT-305: WWII Museum’s PT-305 sails again after a far reaching donor-funded restoration. In March, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans launched its reconstructed PT-305, built locally by Higgins Industries in 1943. The museum acquired the boat known as the USS Sudden Jerk in 2007, restoration began in 2009, and it now sails Lake Pontchartrain as an interactive exhibit. PT-305, with a fifteen-man crew, belonged to a 12-ship squadron operating in the Mediterranean from 1944 until the war ended in 1945.

According to the Australian Reef Pilots (ARP), Australia is now the fourth biggest cruise market in the world. Part of the boom in cruising has to do with more specialty cruise ships coming to the region. The smaller size cruise ship segment seems purpose-designed to transit the remote waters of the Kimberley coast. However, larger-vessel cruise companies are now expressing interest in touring this remote and rugged north-west region as well as the Great Barrier Reef. In fact, the number of cruise ships using ARP’s services has increased by more than 89 percent since 2010.

A Chinese container ship that is one of the world's largest has run aground on the river Elbe near Germany's largest port Hamburg but shipping to the harbour continues as normal, German marine police said on Thursday. It ran aground after suffering a rudder breakdown while approaching Hamburg on Wednesday night, port pilots said. An attempt with tugs to refloat the 399.6-metre-long ship at high tide at midday on Thursday failed, and another attempt will be made during high tide on Thursday night, a marine police spokeswoman said. She said ships heading to and from Hamburg were able to sail past the stationary CSCL Indian Ocean normally but some larger ones might have to slow down.

Andrew Tung, CEO and Managing Director of Orient Overseas Container Line, was presented today with the prestigious “Port Pilot Award” by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. Tung is the 77th recipient of the award, which is presented to business and political leaders and advocates who have made contributions to international trade within the maritime industry. He is the first third-generation Port Pilot winner. His father, C.H. Tung (in 1987), and grandfather, C.Y. Tung (in 1977), were also recipients. “We’re pleased to present our prestigious Port Pilot Award to a very deserving Andy Tung,” said Doug Drummond, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners.

Summit Set for October 8, 2014 at UNO’s Lindy Boggs International Conference Center from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. With a focus on educating and engaging community stakeholders on maritime jobs opportunities, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and the University of New Orleans will host the 1st Annual Port of New Orleans Maritime Workforce Summit October 8. Moderated by Mark Romig, President and CEO of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corp., summit participants include state and local education officials…

The massive installation barge 'Hyundai 60' weighs in at 34,125t, is 187m long, equipped with a 1,800t crane, and was earlier engaged in pipe-laying & offshore installation works off the coast of Escravos. GAC Nigeria, with its local partner OMA Ivory Coast. says it provided a range of ship agency, husbandry & logistics services for her and her attendant fleet of support vessels in the Port of Abidjan. The barge was demobilised and moved to Abidjan for maintenance work while she's being held in stand-by until she is needed for the next phase starting in October 2014. Upon arrival, GAC worked with TRACE-certified local partner OMA Ivory Coast to provide the range of agency, supplies, crew and logistics support the 'Hyundai 60' needed for her stay in port.

New Legislation Aimed at Building Wetlands while Deepening Mississippi River in anticipation of Panama Canal Expansion completion. Congressman Cedric Richmond ha introduced the DREDGE Act of 2012-Dredging for Restoration and Economic Development for Global Exports. The bill would give the Army Corps of Engineers the authorization to dredge the Mississippi River to 50 feet so that larger vessels transiting the expanded Panama Canal can access the River. In addition, the bill creates a pilot project to promote the rebuilding of wetlands using existing sediment dredged from the River. “The Mississippi River is undoubtedly the most important river in the United States,” said Congressman Richmond.

Kvichak Marine Industries, of Seattle, WA, has recently delivered the M/V Samuel A. Church, a 50’ x 15.5’ pilot vessel to the Crescent River Port Pilots (CRPPA) of Louisiana. A christening ceremony was held last week at the Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans before the vessel was delivered to its homeport in Pilottown, LA. The Crescent River Port Pilots operate on the Mississippi River between Pilottown and New Orleans. Kvichak is currently building a second 50’ pilot boat for the CRPPA with delivery scheduled for September 2012.

Kvichak Marine Industries, of Seattle, WA, has recently been awarded a contract to build two 50’ x 15.5’ pilot vessels for the Crescent River Port Pilots (CRPPA) of Louisiana. The Crescent River Port Pilots operate on the Mississippi River between Pilot Town and New Orleans, LA. Designed by Kvichak Marine, the all-aluminum vessels will be powered by twin Detroit Diesel 60 series engines rated for 600 BHP coupled to Twin Disc MG5114SC marine gears. Hamilton 364 waterjets are the chosen propulsors. This combination allows for excellent maneuverability and a top speed of ~ 32 knots.

According to a September 21 report from The Log Newspaper, a fleet of tugboats and the San Diego Port Pilots guided a drydock measuring 400 ft in length and 63 ft in height from BAE Ship Systems, through San Diego Bay, and to its new home at Knight & Carver YachtCenter. The drydock, named Diligence, can lift vessels weighing up to 4,000 tons. (Source: The Log Newspaper)

In an unpublished decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a claim filed by a mariner against various pilot boards based on the statute of limitations and failure to meet the age restriction. In the instant case, plaintiff mariner, who is an African-American, tried for a number of years to be accepted by the Crescent River Port Pilots Association and the Board of River Port Pilots Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans as an apprentice pilot. Eventually, he brought this action alleging discrimination on the basis of race. The court found that his older claims were barred by the statute of limitations and he could not succeed with the more recent claims because by then he was at least 40 years old…

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies has been selected by the Crescent River Port Pilots Association to present a Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) program to the member pilots. The Crescent River Port Pilots Association will be learning a highly sophisticated program designed to dramatically reduce the risk of collisions and groundings and the consequent loss of life, property and environmental damage. The VTS installation for the port of New Orleans is expected to be in operation by 2000. The new training by MITAGS will be crucial for the successful operation of the new VTS for the port. The training package will consist of a two-day computer session, and a five-day radar simulator-based training segment.

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in Linthicum Heights, Md., recently trained several Thai mariners. This program was part of a multi-million dollar dredge procurement contract awarded to Ellicott Machine Corp. Intl. by the Harbour Department of Thailand. Thai mariners included Chief of Port Inspection, Senior Port Pilots and Merchant Marine instructors. The session followed an international training program, held in June, which focused on Bridge Resource Management training for Japanese pilots. Ellicott chose MITAGS for the training portion of the contract after a visit to the facilities last year. One MITAGS instructor noted several of the Thai pilots performed flawlessly in shiphandling exercises in the full-mission bridge simulator.

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and the Crescent River Port Pilots Association (CRPPA) have announced the partnering efforts of the Crescent River Port Pilots and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District (USACE-MVN) to develop and produce the innovative Mini-Inland Electronic Navigational Chart, dubbed Mini-IENC. The Mini-IENC provides essential, special vertical and horizontal navigation clearance information to the CRPPA while piloting the Carnival Conquest under the low lying Chalmette Powerlines located Mile 89.2 on the Lower Mississippi River. Additionally, the Mini-IENC is being used extensively for Vessel Traffic Management and Decision-making ship handling exercises by the CRPPA in the MITAGS ship-handling simulator.

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.