Washington News

The ferry business, unlike more industrial parts of the shipping business, touches wide swaths of the world’s population across continents. The membership of Interferry, the leading trade group for the industry, with non-Governmental organization (NGO) status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) includes 200+ members from all parts of the ferry spectrum. These include passenger ferries (including fast ferries), Ro/Pax and cruise ferries operating globally. In selecting “the best” we looked beyond the league tables of “the most” (passengers) and “the biggest” (fleet size).

Alaskan Tanker Company (ATC) will retrofit the Ecochlor ballast water management system (BWMS) on board their fleet including three VLCC crude oil tankers and an option for one additional vessel. Each of these vessels are U.S. flag tankers with Zone 1 and Zone 0 hazardous areas.The Ecochlor BWMS is approved for installation in both US Flag and International vessels in hazardous areas rated Zone 1 or Zone 0 through their U.S. Coast Guard Type Approval certification. The installations will start in the fall of 2019 and run through 2021 at the Sembawang Shipyard…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said talks with China went well on Wednesday, as the world's two largest economies try to iron out an agreement to resolve their trade dispute."So far, so good," he said when asked by reporters on how the meetings in Beijing went. He did not say who he met.Mnuchin said earlier he hoped for "productive" trade meetings as the two countries seek to end a festering dispute that has seen both sides level tariffs at one other.U.S. tariffs on $200…

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) hired Matt Nani to join its team of naval architects and engineers as a Project Manager.  He will be responsible for the initiation, management and execution of diverse projects and will be based in the Seattle, WA office.Nani brings with him 11 years of experience in the marine industry including work with an operator, class society and consulting firm.   Nani is a licensed professional engineer in Washington and Texas, and he received a BS in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of New Orleans.

Kitsap Transit’s early test of a passenger-only ferry service between Bremerton and Seattle has proved successful enough that the agency is adding two new fast ferries to its fleet.The passenger-only ships will expand the marine highway being developed to help ease congestion in the Puget Sound area. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Washington, was hired to build the two ferries, with an option to build a third ship.Each of the 140-foot-long aluminum catamarans are powered by two MTU 16V4000 M65L engines and two Rolls-Royce S71 water jets, all being provided by Pacific Power Group.

West Coast U.S. shipbuilding and repair powerhouse Vigor has selected a Vancouver, Washington site to be the home for its new  all-aluminum fabrication facility.With a nearly billion dollar contract in its hip pocket to build the U.S. Army’s new landing craft over the next 10 years, Vigor is expanding it's shipbuilding operations to a new state-of-the-art aluminum fabrication facility with this project serving as the anchor for production.The facility as formerly the home of Christensen Yachts, deemed by the company as the best location to build the U.S.

The Department of the Navy (DoN) Forum for SBIR/STTR Transition (FST) will be held April 10-11, 2019 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass., co-hosted by the UMass Lowell Research Institute (UML RI).Lowell’s heart and soul is innovation. It’s a city where some of the first major textile mills opened in the mid-1800s, triggering America’s industrial revolution. Today Lowell is situated in one of the nation’s largest technology clusters. UML RI, located near Hanscom AFB in Lincoln, Mass., is emerging as a leader in bridging the gap between research and solutions that change people’s lives and provide world-class, cutting-edge technology to our warfighters.“This is a significant area for technology and innovation,” said Matthew McSwain, UML RI’s executive director.

The Port of Seattle joined with a broad range of maritime stakeholders in support of Governor Jay Inslee’s ‘Maritime Blue Strategy’.According to a press note, the Strategy aims to advance the region’s maritime-based, “blue economy” through increased collaboration between its diverse sectors to promote innovation and sustainable practices that support a competitive gateway with a 21st Century workforce.Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman served as a member of the Maritime Blue Advisory Committee.The Maritime Blue Strategy aims to make Washington State home to a world-class…

Three cargoes of U.S. crude are heading to China from the U.S. Gulf Coast, trade sources said on Monday, the first departures since late September and a 90-day pause in the two countries' trade war that began last month.The vessels left Galveston, Texas, last month and are scheduled to arrive at Chinese ports between late January and early March, according to shipbrokers and vessel tracking data. The shipments mark a change since Chinese buyers largely began avoiding U.S. oil during the trade dispute that flared last summer."It looks like China has resumed purchasing U.S.

Washington State partnered with DNV GL in late 2017 to develop the “Washington Maritime Blue” strategy for the sustainable development of the state’s $38 billion maritime industry. With that strategy now complete, the State unveils how it plans to achieve the vision of being home to a world-class, thriving, and sustainable maritime industry by 2050.At an event in Seattle, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s Maritime Innovation Advisory Council unveiled the results of their…

Captain Jeff Dixon has assumed the role of President of TOTE Services following the retirement of Rear Admiral Phil Greene Jr.Dixon joined TOTE Services in May 2017 and has served as the Vice President of Marine Operations – Government and Commercial since starting with the company.Prior to his time with TOTE Services, Dixon was a captain in the United States Coast Guard and spent 27-years on active duty. Most recently he served in command of Sector Jacksonville where he exercised Captain of the Port authority including the three strategic ports of St Mary’s/Fernandina…

The number of U.S. liquefied natural gas vessels that went to China in 2018 fell by around 20 percent from the prior year as the trade war between Beijing and Washington heated up.In recent weeks, however, that dispute has cooled somewhat with talks in China this week between Chinese and U.S. trade teams raising hopes additional tariffs can be avoided.As the trade war escalated during the last six months of 2018, only six LNG vessels went from the United States to China, down from 25 during the same period in 2017. China imposed tariffs on U.S.

Iran said on Monday it was ready to respond to any hostile U.S. action, but it did not consider the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Gulf last week as a significant threat.The USS John C. Stennis entered the Gulf on Friday, ending a long absence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington."The presence of this warship is insignificant to us," Iran's Navy commander Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency."We will not allow this warship to come near our territorial waters in the Persian Gulf," he added.Sayyari said the U.S. navy was allowed to sail in international waters near Iran, just as the Iranian navy could sail in the Atlantic Ocean near U.S.

The United States last week exported more crude oil and fuel than it imported for the first time on record, underscoring the nation's growing influence as a supplier of oil to the world.Exports of crude surged in the week to Nov. 30 to more than 3.2 million barrels per day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.When adding in all imports and exports of crude and refined products, for the week the U.S. exported a net 211,000 bpd – the first time that has happened, according to U.S.

Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia (N64498-19-D-0001); Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia (N64498-19-D-0002); and General Dynamics Electric Boat, Groton, Connecticut (N64498-19-D-0003), are being awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity multiple award contracts with firm-fixed-priced ordering provisions for Submarine Safety (SUBSAFE) and Level I engineering and technical services in the amounts of $827,674,072; $874,341,811; and $1,110,350,671, respectively. This requirement is for management and technical services for the support installation, troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance of main and auxiliary weapons…

Venezuela's navy "intercepted" a ship exploring for oil on behalf of Exxon Mobil Corp in Guyanese waters over the weekend, Guyana's foreign ministry said in a statement, while neighboring Venezuela said the incident occurred within its territory.The latest incident in a century-old border dispute comes after a series of offshore oil discoveries have given Guyana the potential to become one of Latin America's largest producers. In OPEC member Venezuela, by contrast, crude output has tumbled to the lowest levels in nearly 70 years amid an economic crisis.The Ramform Tethys vessel…

Iran says ready to respond, but U.S. aircraft carrier no threatIran is ready to respond to any hostile U.S. action, but it does not consider the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Gulf last week a significant threat, an Iranian navy commander said on Monday.The USS John C. Stennis entered the Gulf on Friday, ending a long absence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington."The presence of this warship is insignificant to us,"…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they plan to upgrade their speed boats in the Gulf with radar-evading stealth technology and new missile launchers as tensions rise between Tehran and Washington in the vital oil shipping route.Ending a long absence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region, the USS John C. Stennis entered the Gulf last week, and was shadowed by the Revolutionary Guards' speed boats.There have been periodic confrontations between the Revolutionary Guards vessels and U.S. military in the Gulf, although the number of incidents has dropped in recent months."We are trying to increase the agility of the Guards' speed boats and equip them with stealth technology to facilitate their operations…

The United States may soon get funding for a new heavy icebreaker ship, the head of the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday, as global warming spurs the race to stake out the Arctic, which is rich in oil, gas, and minerals.The United States has two operational icebreakers - a heavy one, the Polar Star, which is more than 42 years old and has outlived its life expectancy by a dozen years, and a medium one, the Healy cutter.By comparison, Russia has about 40 to 50 icebreakers, purpose-built vessels that can rescue other ships…

Hepburn and Sons LLC team has welcomed CAPT Timothy Crone as its newest Director. CAPT Timothy Crone, USN (Ret) will serve as Hepburn’s Director, Advisory Services.CAPT Crone, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the US Naval Academy and completed a Master of Science in Justice, Law and Society from American University. He has also received a Master of Arts in National Security Policy and Strategic Studies from the U.S.

Leonid Mikhelson, the head of Russia's gas producer Novatek, said on Tuesday the company will need to speed up construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reloading facilities after Washington slammed Norway for helping it to tranship gas.Allowing ship-to-ship transfers in Norwegian waters from Yamal in Arctic Russia, one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, undercuts Europe's energy diversification efforts, the U.S. State Department said last month.Mikhelson…

Poland's state-owned gas company Polish Oil & Gas Company (PGNiG) and Port Arthur LNG, LLC, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, have entered into a definitive 20-year sale-and-purchase agreement for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction-export facility under development in Jefferson County, Texas. The agreement defines basic terms and conditions of a 20-year contract to be finalized between the parties for the sales and purchase of two million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG…

The Northwest's boat builders Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) has won a design and build contract to build two new high-speed passenger-only ferries for Kitsap Transit with an option for a third.The Kitsap County, Washington public transit agency launched a new fast-ferry service in July 2017 between Bremerton and downtown Seattle with plans to add service connecting Kingston and Southworth to Seattle.Earlier this year, Kitsap Transit purchased the “Finest,” a 350-passenger high-speed catamaran from New York Waterways and shipped it to Puget Sound.Following a refurbishment at NBBB…