Weather Systems News

The loss of the Stellar Daisy in 2017 was a tragic reminder of the importance of wave data to ship design and operation. The vessel sank in the South Atlantic Ocean, with 22 of 24 crewmembers lost. The structural failure of the vessel was attributed to several factors including material fatigue and the forces imposed on the hull as a result of the weather conditions.Survey requirements for some vessel types have since been tightened, but even before this tragedy, work was underway to evaluate the wave data used to determine ship structural integrity requirements.

Dozens of ships in the Caribbean have already been diverted to avoid Hurricane Irma, but how exactly does shipping cope with extreme weather - a post by UK Chamber of Shipping. Hurricane Irma, much like its predecessor Hurricane Harvey, has sent shipping into disarray, particularly for cruise passengers. Around 40,000 holidaymakers are estimated to have been affected by disruption to scheduled cruises this week and this figure could rise further as Irma speeds through the Caribbean towards southern Florida. The hurricane has already devastated areas of the British Virgin Islands, St Martin, Barbuda, St Barthelemy and Anguilla. AIS data shows 12 cruise ships are currently still in Irma’s path, but the good news is that the passengers onboard have a good chance of remaining safe.

New recommendations coming out of the investigation into the 2015 sinking of U.S. cargo ship El Faro call for efforts to improve the weather information available to mariners. All 33 crew on board died when the 790-foot El Faro sank close to the eye of Hurricane Joaquin near the Bahamas on October 1, 2015, two days after leaving Jacksonville, Fla. en route to Puerto Rico. Now, as part of its ongoing investigation into the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)…

A new system has been developed by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to help better manage sea trial schedules for vessels built at its Ulsan yard. The new Sea Weather Forecasting System, developed by HHI in collaboration with Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST), analyzes sea weather information such as wave height, wind speed and current patterns on an hourly basis in seven offshore areas including Ulsan, Gunsan and Jeju Island to manage the shipbuilder’s sea trials schedules up to 72 hours in advance.

As glacier melt in the Arctic continues to accelerate, the foot of the Atlantic's most powerful ocean current keeps pressing harder and harder on the brake pedal, resulting in the weakest Gulf Stream in the last 1,000 years. The slowing Gulf Stream water currents is threatening shifts in U.S. and European weather, as well as coastal sea levels including in New York and Boston. The cooling above the Northern Atlantic would only slightly reduce the continued warming of the continents. The scientists certainly do not expect a new ice age, thus the imagery of the ten-year-old Hollywood blockbuster ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is far from reality. However, it is well established that a large, even gradual change in Atlantic Ocean circulation could have major negative effects.

The freezing weather that swept the United States in the first two months of the year led to a surge in cruise bookings as winter-weary holidaymakers headed south to warmer climes. "Many companies have recorded their best booking month ever in January," Christine Duffy, head of trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), told Reuters at the ITB travel trade fair in Berlin. Large parts of the United States have been gripped by freezing temperatures and snow storms since the start of the year as a series of Arctic weather systems swept the country.

Cargo operations at Port of New Orleans terminals continued uninterrupted today, despite the closure of Southwest Pass at the mouth of the Mississippi River in anticipation of affects from Tropical Storm Karen. “The entire Port community continues to monitor the storm and we have implemented Phase II of our Hurricane Preparedness Plan,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO. “Phase II includes securing all equipment and facilities and removing any debris that could become a hazard during a tropical storm.

The NTSB recently investigated an accident that required the crew to abandon a weather-damaged liftboat in near-hurricane-force conditions. The company hurricane plan did not account for rapidly and locally developing low pressure weather systems. This reduced the crewmembers’ ability to properly plan for the developing storm and to make an early decision to leave the vessel through routine means before the onset of the storm. The vessel had recently been equipped with two new inflatable throw-over-type liferafts. However, the liferafts were inflated on deck instead of in the water when the crew prepared to abandon the vessel. This led to the liferafts blowing away from the vessel and vanishing in the high winds and seas.

It all started back in the mid 1990’s when the seemingly new fangled internet became a tangible information portal for home computer users. As the prohibitive costs started to dissipate, the so called ‘e’-volution took off, thus making access to email, blogs, and personalized web pages more tangible and popular, even to the point of being expected. Today, the internet has nearly become lifeblood and people are all but helpless without some form of streaming connection to the information superhighway.

Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (AWT) announced that Unicom Management Services (Cyprus) Ltd has now been using its BonVoyage software (BVS) for 10 years to help its ship Captains steer clear of heavy weather in order to avoid vessel damage and prevent crew injury. After first adopting BVS in 1999 as part of a trial on three ships, SCF Unicom observed that the onboard software was helping its Captains to reduce heavy weather damage to those ships. The company then quickly expanded use of BVS to approximately 17 ships within its managed fleet…

the new Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. most respected agencies in the federal government. the U.S. Department of Commerce. "Jack Kelly is uniquely capable of filling this position. Weather Service," said retired Navy VADM Conrad C. Lautenbacher. Administration. assistant administrator of the National Weather Service. technological change. for GTE Information Systems. loss, and program management. "I look forward to this challenging new position," Kelly said. account for about $3 trillion, or one-third, of our Nation's GDP. Kelly retired from the Air Force in 1994 after serving for 31 years. retired as director of Weather Headquarters. supported all Air Force and Army operations. in U.S. troops made great strides in providing better support to U.S.

Back in 1986 when I first started reporting on workboats, the most modern thing in the pilothouse may have been the coffee maker. Navigation was mostly "between the sticks" and via compass and communication was mostly VHF. Today's vessels, especially those working offshore, have a myriad of electronic devices that make the job easier, more precise and most importantly, safer. The new series of 10 supply boats being built by Bender Shipbuilding & Repair, Mobile, Ala. for Rigdon Marine, Houston, Texas are good cases in point. The 210-ft. by 54-ft. vessels are models of efficiency, load carrying capacity and performance. The electronics necessary to keep this sophisticated ship running at peak performance is truly staggering.

Tropical Storm Barry, the second of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Barry had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, barely strong enough to be classified as a tropical storm. Tropical weather systems are given names when top winds reach 39 mph. At 3 p.m., EST, the center of the storm was about 320 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River at latitude 26.3 north, longitude 84.8 west. It was headed to the northwest at about 5 mph and was expected to turn gradually to the west-northwest on Friday. Forecasters said it could strengthen in the next 24 hours and storm alerts could be issued for the north-central Gulf coast on Thursday night.