Two River News

The decision to overtake a tow in a large river bend occupied by multiple vessels during high-river conditions led to the grounding of a tanker and contact with river intake fender systems in New Orleans, La., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.Marine Investigation Report 22/11 details the NTSB’s investigation into the March 16, 2021, grounding of the tanker Bow Tribute and subsequent contact with the fender systems protecting two river intakes owned by the city’s sewerage and water board.

Wärtsilä signed a seven-year optimized maintenance agreement to support the operations of two river pusher tugs owned by Hidrovias do Brasil and operating in Northern Brazil. Both boats operate with Wärtsilä 20 engines, often in shallow waters and remote locations: challenging operating conditions make the planning and execution of maintenance difficult. Included in the agreement are Wärtsilä’s Data-Driven Dynamic Maintenance Planning and Expert Insight innovations to deliver remote operational and technical support…

German shipbuilder Neptun Werft said on Thursday it has delivered two new river cruise ships to the shipping company Viking River Cruises (Basel).The ships, to be named Viking Gymir and Viking Egdir, are the last two river cruise ships in the builder's current order book, ending a string of 65 sister ship deliveries for Viking River Cruises ordered at Neptun Werft from 2010 onward."More than a decade ago we launched this series of ships, which has been extremely successful and very popular with passengers.

On August 16th, 2019 Eastern Shipbuilding Group, a Panama City, Florida shipyard building both government and commercial vessels, successfully delivered the tug Capt. Jim McAllister. This is the fifth vessel to be delivered by the shipyard since Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm – which devastated the region. This delivery marks another milestone in Eastern’s accelerated return to normal operations, as well as its commitment to long term sustained recovery and economic stability for the industrial base of the Florida Panhandle.

The Old River Control Structure and its future implications for the Mighty MississippiPrior to about 1500, the bodies of water now called the Mississippi River and the Red River (also known as the Red River of the South) were roughly parallel along their southern reaches, each emptying separately into the Gulf of Mexico. About 1500, the Mississippi, which has a long history of meandering, developed a large bend to the west in the vicinity of what is now Point Breeze, Louisiana. That bend, sometimes referred to as Turnbull’s Bend, connected with the Red River and had the effect of making the Red River basically a tributary of the Mississippi, with only a small portion of its waterflow continuing south. That southern waterflow is now called the Atchafalaya River.

The Interlake Steamship Company said its articulated tug-barge unit (ATB) Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder has departed winter layup on Saturday, February 24, to begin early-season shuttles of iron ore for ArcelorMittal, an integrated steel and mining company with blast furnaces at the head of the Cuyahoga River. A workhorse of Interlake’s nine-vessel fleet, the 700-foot Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder is one of Interlake’s two River-Class vessels, a designation given to ships that can traverse the narrowest harbors of the Great Lakes.

Genting Hong Kong appointed travel industry veteran Tom Wolber as President and CEO of Crystal Cruises, effective September 15. Wolber brings to the role over three decades of experience in general management, operations, newbuild construction and business development. He joins Crystal most recently from the Walt Disney Company where he served in various executive roles for 28 years, 10 of which were with Disney Cruise Line where he served as Senior Vice President of Operations. Wolber helped transform Disney Cruise Line into a global cruise line.

Genting Hong Kong is a rapidly growing global travel brand, spreading its wings – literally and figuratively – into ocean cruise, yacht, river cruise, air and shipbuilding. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News speaks with key executives at Genting Hong Kong: Mona Lai, SVP Corporate Communication; Gustaf Gronberg, SVP Shipbuilding & Marine Operations; and Jarmo Lakso, Managing Director, MV Werften, for insights on the future growth strategy. Genting Hong Kong has been an active newsmaker in the cruise sector during the past year.

Genting Cruises has confirmed its build program for the MV WERFTEN shipyard group following the launch of the first Asian luxury cruise ship, Genting Dream, in Singapore, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China. Executive Chairman, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, stated during the three events that Genting is committed to the long-term development of the cruise industry in Asia. With the rapid growth of the cruise industry in Asia but only a limited number of yards capable of building large cruise ships…

This year’s cruise shipping season ended in Kiel on Saturday (October 8th) with a call by the “AIDAvita”. Overall, the port of Kiel was visited 147 times this year by 26 different cruise ships of more than 9.3 million GT, compared to 133 cruise ship visits in 2015. That was an increase in tonnage of 8.1 % over last year. More than 485,000 passengers boarded or disembarked at the port’s various terminals – 5.8 % more than in 2015. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said: “We can look back on Kiel’s best cruise shipping season to date.

The Interlake Steamship Company’s Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder, an articulated tug-barge unit (ATB), departs winter layup today to begin early-season shuttles of iron ore for ArcelorMittal, an integrated steel and mining company with blast furnaces at the head of the Cuyahoga River. A workhorse of Interlake’s nine-vessel fleet, the combined 711-foot Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder is one of Interlake’s two River-Class vessels, a designation given to ships that can traverse the narrowest harbors of the Great Lakes.

Two river-sea oil tankers of project RST 22M are to be built to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) class. A relevant agreement is signed by RS with Armada Shipyard that will construct the ships for the Palmali Group of Companies. At present, RS experts are engaged in the plan approval of the ships. According to the agreement, RS will render classification of the newbuildings and survey under construction for compliance with applicable statutory requirements. RS experts will perform survey of hull construction and the installation of machinery, electrical and automation equipment, and will check the ship compliance with approved technical documentation, all the applicable international and national requirements, as well as participate in the mooring tests and trials.

The 100m long RoRo ferry was launched for the Croatian national shipping company Jadrolinija as the second of a series of 4 such vessels, and the two river barges for Sweden's Wisby Tankers AB. The ferries are designed for two-way direct sailing for the transportation of 600 passengers in summer months or 320 passengers in the winter period in the closed lounge. The ferries will also be able to transport 145 standard vehicles or 16 trailers of 40 tonnes each. All the vessels from the series will be 99.8 m long…

IHC Caland NV won orders worth about $141.9 million. The orders include building a RoRo ferry for a French client, an offshore support vessel for a British firm, a tug for a Dutch customer and two river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises. "These new orders will take up a substantial part of the capacity at the group's shipyards well into 2002," IHC Caland said. It added that its offshore division had been ordered by a large international oil company to design a floating production and storage unit that can be used off West Africa and Brazil. It did not identify the client. IHC's offshore division also expects to win another major order from an international oil group. The company said it would give further information on this at a later date.

Roswitha Engert-Zöller and her husband, Capt. Albrecht Zöller, dream of riding a working towboat on the Mississippi River. But their life cruising through picturesque European villages aboard their family owned and operated power barge would be the envy of most North American mariners. The opportunities for owner-operator vessels are the norm on Europe’s inland waterways, rather than the exception as on America’s rivers. Rivers and canals have been important to the commerce of Europe since the Middle Ages. Horse drawn barges carried farm products to local markets while others helped to carry the riches of the Mediterranean and beyond to the burgers of Northern Europe.

Image Marine of Western Australia, a member of the Austal Group, has ordered Hamilton Waterjets for two River Catamarans to operate in Portugal. Each of the two 121 ft. (37-m) catamarans will be fitted with twin Hamilton Model HM651 waterjets, which will be controlled using Hamilton's MECS electronic control system, to give an operational speed of 29 knots.

Launched in 1972, Marine Builders Inc. has remained a model of consistency, churning out a healthy mix of towboats and - more recently - passenger vessels, each year of its existence. Beginning with Quarto 1, launched back in 1971, towboat construction has always been the company's bread and butter, but the company has built drydocks, dredges, cruise vessels, barges; and has even formed a new sister company which builds pedestrian bridges over waterways. Company President and Owner David W. Evanczyk began his boat-building career in the 1960's with Yates Marine Construction, in Wheeling, W.V. Evanczyk moved to the Louisville area at the request of Jack Yates, with the intent to form a new shipyard company in the area.