York Harbor News

Many claim to have ‘saltwater in their veins,’ but all you have to do is walk into the corner office of John McDonald, the new Chairman and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), to see that him saying “I was born into maritime” is not hyperbole. The first thing that greets you is a Dusan Kadlec nighttime painting of the Brooklyn Bridge, a painting that has special meaning to him as he fondly remembers being on a boat in New York harbor in 1983, his father USCG Captain of the Port of New York at that time, watching the fireworks over the bridge for the celebration.

The U.S. Coast Guard is actively conducting icebreaking operations in New York Harbor and the Hudson River in response to worsening ice conditions caused by prolonged extreme cold and Winter Storm Fern. Ice conditions have developed and expanded quickly across New York Harbor and the Hudson River, with significant ice formation now affecting the waterway from New York Harbor north through the Hudson Valley. Shore and drift ice are present throughout the area, and forecasts indicate continued ice growth over the coming days as cold temperatures persist.

McAllister Towing’s newest tractor tug, the Gerard McAllister, has arrived in the Port of New York.American made at Washburn & Doughty, the tug is the fifth in a series of six 84-metric-ton bollard pull, low-emission tractor tugs. She is McAllister’s 42nd tractor tug and the 13th with over 80 metric tons of bollard pull.Driven by 6,770 horsepower in her CAT engines, the Gerard McAllister is built to handle the largest ships arriving on the U.S. East Coast. She joins her sister vessel…

McAllister Towing’s newest tractor tug, the Gerard McAllister, was delivered from Washburn & Doughty, the fifth in a series of six 84-metric-ton bollard pull, low-emission tractor tugs. She is McAllister’s 42nd tractor tug and the 13th with over 80 metric tons of bollard pull, underscoring the company’s continuation toward a more powerful, hi-tech, and sustainable fleet.Driven by 6,770 horsepower in her CAT engines, the Gerard McAllister is built to handle the largest ships arriving on the U.S. East Coast.

Expansion into Harbor Tug sector helps Master Boat Builders nearly double in size, from 200 to 400 employees building eight to nine vessels per year, and the prospect of a new drydock plus additional partnerships and government construction contracts promises to power the company forward further, faster. Garrett Rice, President, Master Boat Builders, discussed the impetus for the company’s growth, and the growth in U.S. shipbuilding overall since the start of 2025 when President…

The Trust for Governors Island unveiled its new hybrid-electric ferry, the Harbor Charger, the first of its kind in New York State and aa addition to the Trust’s existing ferry fleet. The arrival of the new boat coincides with the 20-year anniversary of Governors Island opening to the public, as well as major recent progress in its development as a leading destination for climate research and education—marking a significant milestone in its transformation. The Harbor Charger was…

The investigation into why a Mexican Navy training ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, shearing the top of its masts, will look into a possible engine failure and the role of a tug boat that assisted it in backing out of its pier, officials said on Monday.The ship's engine was the key focus for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Brian Young, who is leading the agency's investigation."We will look at the status of the engine, we will look for any failures, we will look for engine inspections and we'll talk to the crew on what may have possibly happened with the engine…

Colonial Pipeline's main U.S. gasoline artery is expected to be shut through Friday as the company continues to search for the source of a suspected leak in Paulding County, Georgia, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.Line 1, one of two mainlines on the more than 5,500-mile Colonial system, was shut on Monday night after Colonial received reports of a gasoline release and began investigating. The pipeline moves gasoline from Texas to North Carolina and was earlier expected to resume service on Tuesday night…

The domestic passenger vessel answers the call for cleaner and more efficient platforms. It is truly an electric time to be a part of this niche industry.In the shadow of a rapidly changing political landscape, the domestic passenger ferry sector is nevertheless seeing an increasing number of newbuild vessel orders. Older fleet vessels, some approaching financial and operational obsolescence – also environmentally undesirable on a waterfront that more than ever demands cleaner carbon signatures – are going the way of the dinosaur.

Corvus Energy has been selected as the supplier of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for Statue City Cruises’ ferries servicing the iconic Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island routes in New York Harbor.Corvus Energy ESS will be integrated aboard Statue City Cruises’ current fleet of nine ferries and will reduce fuel consumption and emissions along the New York/New Jersey waterfront.Since 2008, Statue City Cruises, which is part of Hornblower’s City Experiences portfolio, has been the…

Last month's CrowdStrike IT outage that grounded scores of flights created new problems for California's fuel market, forcing U.S. traders to store jet fuel destined for the state on waterborne tankers, storage broker The Tank Tiger told Reuters this week.The outage exacerbated existing constraints on petroleum storage in California, where policies aimed at ending fossil fuel usage have made it harder to setup new oil and gas infrastructure."When it comes to petroleum products storage in California, there has been no room at the inn for several years," Ernie Barsamian, founder of U.S.

A 2022 fire aboard the Staten Island Ferry Sandy Ground was caused by a combination of engine design flaws and insufficient training for engineering crewmembers, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed on Tuesday.The incident occurred on December 22, 2022, as the ferry, carrying 884 passengers, was navigating New York Harbor between Staten Island and Manhattan. The fire ignited in the engine room, resulting in $12.7 million in damages. Despite the severity, quick…

U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford will reroute affected shipments after a bridge collapse in the U.S. shuttered the Port of Baltimore, but the companies said on Tuesday the impact will be minimal."We expect the situation to have minimal impact to our operations. We are working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports," GM said in a statement.The Port of Baltimore is the busiest U.S. port for car shipments, handling at least 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

As zero carbon cargo efforts are progressing, it is becoming more apparent that the lowest hanging fruit is in the last few miles. This is where a large amount of carbon is expended in delivering small parcels to stores and consumers’ doors.This is particularly apparent in dense pack cities like New York City, where delivery vans clog streets and water crossings. The NYC Economic Development Commission recently issued a Request For Expression of Interest in waterborne micro cargo delivery.

Preservation efforts are underway to renovate an 85-year old vessel known as “America’s Fireboat”.Designed by noted naval architect William Francis Gibbs and built in 1938 at United Shipyards on Staten Island, the vessel Fire Fighter would go on to serve a long and storied career before being decommissioned and eventually transferred to The Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum in 2013.The iconic fireboat is undergoing extensive renovations to return the vessel to her original glory, the museum announced this week. Escorted by the U.S.

The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) has announced the winners of the Marine Environment Protection Awards for 2023.Winners include MSC Cruises for Sustainability, Tote Services for the Industry Award, Captain Bridget Cooney as an Individual, Dr. Jason Zuidema for Seafarers, New York Harbor Middle School led by example this year for Maritime Academies, Port XChange for Innovation, Maritime Blue in the Non-Profit category, and NOAA’s OR&R for Government.The Awards will be presented at NAMEPA’s Annual Marine Environment Protection Conference…

The Dutra Group, based in San Rafael, Calif., has been awarded a contract to perform maintenance dredging in Brooklyn, N.Y.The $9,639,000 firm-fixed-price contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District.

U.S.-based shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) announced its support for women at SUNY Maritime College with a three-year pledge totaling nearly $90,000, in an effort to make strides in reducing the gender gap in the maritime industry and create equal opportunities for all. The funding will go towards scholarships for women and a student government organization at the college, Women of Maritime, which cadets launched to build community and bring more awareness to…

New York Waterway on Monday christened its new vessel Arthur E. Imperatore, named in honor of the company's late founder. The vessel will provide scenic tours of New York Harbor in addition to commuter transportation.Built locally by Yank Marine in Tuckahoe, N.J., the Arthur E. Imperatore is a brand new, low-emission 2,000-horsepower, Tier 3 compliant ferry designed to carry 600 passengers. The vessel has a service speed of 21 knots. One of the largest and most modern commuter ferries in the New Jersey-New York Harbor…

Offshore service vessels, along with workboats serving harbors and inland rivers, have embarked on an industry-wide voyage toward reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Philip, a faculty member with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Transportation and Operational Resilience (VECTOR) and former CEO of Ingram Barge Company, provides this context: “The Maritime Sector has long provided shippers with the most fuel-efficient and sustainable freight transport option…

New York City is set to receive its first public hybrid-electric ferry, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday.The first-of-its-kind vessel—currently under construction at Conrad Shipyard’s facility in Morgan City, La.— will begin transporting passengers to Governors Island in summer of 2024. It will replace the diesel-powered Lt. Samuel S. Coursen, the Trust for Governors Island’s current vehicle and passenger ferry, which was commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1956 and has been…

With travel and tourism nearing pre-2020 levels, and transit systems benefiting from a return to work, passenger vessels have seen renewed activity. In its year-end review, John Groundwater, Executive Director of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA), which advocates for the sector in Washington, D.C. wrote: “As we are nearing the end of the calendar year, we are delighted to report that our industry, and our members, are reporting far and wide that they have experienced very…

A newly announced zero-emissions electric ferry scheduled for launch in 2024 will be the first to service New York City as the marine industry continues to make strides to decarbonize its operations.The high-speed passenger vessel is the result of a partnership between local operator New York Cruise Lines and Stockholm-based Green City Ferries AB (GCF). It will be operated by New York Cruise Lines subsidiary New York Water Taxi on the Hudson River between Brooklyn and Manhattan.The newbuild, a Beluga24 catamaran developed by GCF, will have a capacity of 147 passengers and 28 bicycles.