Skyview News

The newest addition to the Shoreline Sightseeing fleet in Chicago is powered by a pair of D13 400 hp Volvo Penta engines. MV Skyview is Shoreline’s first vessel with Volvo Penta engines, and according to Captain Chris LeBlanc, senior captain and Shoreline manager, Skyview is burning less than three gallons per hour for both engines during sightseeing tours. Other comparable boats in the fleet consume more than 10 gph. LeBlanc said the boat is smoother to run, easier to control and provides excellent torque, even at low RPMs, for docking and maneuvering in the narrow Chicago River.

Blount Boats of Warren, R.I. has delivered the M/V Skyview to Shoreline Sightseeing, marking the builder’s second delivery for the Chicago sightseeing company. With a LOA of 100 feet and maximum beam of 35 feet, the steel Subchapter K passenger vessel designed by Seacraft Design, LLC is certified to carry up to 318 passengers and will operate as an architectural tour boat in partially protected waters. The vessel is powered by twin Volvo D13 MH, 400hp diesels with twin 65 kW John Deere generators, ZF W325 gearboxes, 2.933:1 ratio supplied and commissioned by Allemand Industries, Harvey, LA.

ClearMetal, a predictive logistics company, closed a $3 million seed financing round from leading global investors— NEA, Skyview, and Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors. ClearMetal will use the investment to bring predictive intelligence to container shipping, something the company claims is a groundbreaking approach to solving a multi-billion dollar shipping logistics problem. “It’s the age-old issue that continues to plague the shipping industry: Carriers struggle to get the right asset to the right place at the right time,” said Chetan Puttagunta, Partner at NEA. “The industry now has the needed IT and data infrastructure in place—opening the doors for ClearMetal to apply an innovative, data-driven approach to address the global trade problem.