RV Sikuliaq: Modern Electric Propulsion & Power Management
While ships have used electricity to help power vessels for a long time, new and sophisticated diesel-electric technologies are making serious gains in efficiency, noise and environmental impact, and is becoming the propulsion system of choice for some high profile names. A recent case is the diesel-electric powered, RV Sikuliaq (pronounced “see-koo-lee-auk,” an Inupiaq term meaning “young sea ice.”), a vessel embarking on a lifetime of studies in the polar sea region, including examining the effects of climate change and increased human presence in the Arctic.
WHOI: Fukushima Radioactivity Detected Off West Coast
Monitoring efforts along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada have detected the presence of small amounts of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 100 miles (150 km) due west of Eureka, California. Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found the trace amounts of telltale radioactive compounds as part of their ongoing monitoring of natural and human sources of radioactivity in the ocean. In the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami off Japan, the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant released cesium-134 and other radioactive elements into the ocean at unprecedented levels. Since then, the radioactive plume has traveled west across the Pacific, propelled largely by ocean currents and being diluted along the way.
Distressed Mariners Rescued Near Seward, Alaska
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Long Island towed a disabled cabin cruiser, in danger of running aground, to safety near Seward Thursday. The Long Island crew rendezvoused with the disabled vessel and its crew 300 yards from shore, took the vessel under tow and transported it to Seward where they transferred the tow to the Seward Fire Department. The crew of the 37-foot Mystery Lady notified Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders after they lost propulsion one mile off shore in Resurrection Bay. The watchstanders directed the launch of an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and diverted the Long Island crew from a patrol in Prince William Sound.
Chinese Liftboat Hoists Shell's 'Noble Discoverer'
'Noble Discoverer', the massive drillship that is an integral part of Royal Dutch Shell's Arctic oil drilling ambitions, is getting a lift to Asia. The drill rig has been loaded onto the cargo deck of another vessel, the 708-foot Chinese-flagged heavy lift ship Xiang Yun Kou, which arrived in Resurrection Bay, not far from the Alaskan community of Seward, reports the Alaska Dispatch. Under the watchful eye of the Coast Guard, the Xiang Yun Kou began lowering itself into the water…
Alaskan Waters Sightseeing Catamaran Ordered
CIRI Alaska Tourism Corporation (CATC) orders a 150-passenger catamaran for KFT to add to its 12-vessel fleet, with delivery in early 2014. CATC is making investments in its Seward-based Kenai Fjords Tours operation as well as at its Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge. Designed by Teknicraft of New Zealand and constructed by All American Marine in Bellingham, Wash., the new vessel will join two sister ships, the Aialik and Orca Voyagers. The ships' design offers stability, spacious seating, wrap-around viewing decks, oversized, fog-free windows and LCD video monitors.
NOAA Mariner Dies When Survey Launch Capsizes
Eric Koss of Woodinville, Wash., was killed August 13 when the hydrographic survey launch he was piloting in Prince William Sound, Alaska, capsized after being struck by high waves, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said today. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Koss, a member of the crew of the NOAA hydrographic survey ship Rainier, and two other crew members, David Fischman and NOAA Corps Ensign Jennifer Johnson, were in a small launch conducting surveys of the sea bottom off Point Elrington, Elrington Island, in Resurrection Bay. The work had been underway in rough seas, conditions that were normal for that area. The launch was apparently hit by high waves, which turned the boat sideways and capsized it.
SAFE Boat Dedication Scheduled for May 17
Secure Around Flotation Equipped (SAFE) Boat 256610 will be officially dedicated to use by United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Station Seward on May 17. The 10 a.m. ceremony at the Seward Boat Harbor south boat ramp in Alaska will includ music by the Air Force Band of the Pacific brass quintet and followed by orientation rides on the vessel and tours of the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Mustang. The 25-ft. vessel, formerly assigned to Coast Guard Station Ketchikan, was delivered in August 2002 to AUXSTA Seward. The SAFE boat, like its sister vessel SAFE Boat 256611 assigned to the Auxiliary in Whittier, will primarily serve in a 40-mile radius from Seward, supporting the Coast Guard in search and rescue. Both boats are owned by the U.S.
