Phosphate Freighter Gets Unstuck in Tampa Bay
According to a report from the St. Petersburg Times, A 575-ft ship filled with fertilizer was stuck all day Jan. 3 in Hillsborough Bay was freed early the next day and made its way to the Port of Tampa. (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
Gov-Elect Scott Names Vinyard to Run DEP
According to a report from the St. Petersburg Times, Florida Gov-elect Rick Scott selected a Jacksonville shipbuilding executive and sometime lobbyist as his top environmental regulator. Herschel Vinyard Jr., 46, director of business operation for BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards, will become the newest secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, if his appointment is confirmed by the state Senate. (Source: St. Petersburg Times)
St. Petersburg Shipbuilding Industry Sees Decline
Shipbuilding in St. Petersburg, according to the St. Petersburg Times, is shrinking. In the past, the city’s three largest shipyards - Admiralteyskiye Verfi, Baltiysky Zavod and Severnaya Verf - were overloaded with state orders for submarines and ships, tankers and ice-beakers. But today, many shipbuilding engineers and workers are facing a different circumstance. State orders are no longer able to support the industry. Instead, more successful are those who export their frigates and submarines to India and China. These days any land in St. Petertsburg, but especially along the coast, is in high demand. Shipyards are attracting property developers rather than researchers and developers.
