Features – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Alaska & Hawaii Ports: Upgrades and Improvements

By Mark Edward Nero Alaska and Hawaii may not be part of the contiguous U.S., but being physically apart from the rest of America doesn’t mean that their maritime industries are lying dormant, waiting for something to happen. In fact, commercial maritime operations throughout the Aloha State and the Last Frontier have been busy planning infrastructure upgrades and performing terminal improvements. Here are some of the noteworthy developments at major seaports in each state. Port of Alaska Perhaps the most notable news at the Port of Alaska came in the form of a fairly simple change. In June, a ceremony…

Innovations in Deck Machinery

By Karen Robes Meeks The growing cost of doing business and the regulatory push for more emissions-reducing standards have prompted the maritime industry to find ways to make vessels greener and more efficient. That extends to the realm of deck machinery, where companies have been improving upon product lines of reels, cranes, winches, power blocks and other forms of equipment and technology in recent years. Deck machinery and vessel services provider MacGregor, for one, has said that there’s “a growing market for electric deck systems.” “As with electric cranes, electric deck machinery enables significant OpEx savings – especially when factoring…

Smaller California Ports Have Major Infrastructure Plans

By Sara Hall Smaller ports in California have some big infrastructure projects in the works. The ports are focusing on increasing cargo capacity, enhancing community experiences and developing facilities focused on sustainability. Pacific Maritime reached out to smaller ports up and down the coast to find out what plans are on tap. Redwood City The Port of Redwood City, the only deep-water port in the South San Francisco Bay, is working on a number of projects that focus on a variety of operations. The port not only services cargo ships, but also community and recreational uses, Port of Redwood City Executive…

Dynamo Twins: Saviors or Just Good Boats Doing a Job?

By Norris Comer Port of Vancouver embraces two new all-electric ElectRA 2300-SX tugboats SAAM Towage Canada, a subsidiary of Chilean parent company SAAM, announced in April that the company’s first all-electric, zero-emissions tugboats were ready for Port of Vancouver service. The new tugboats, dubbed Dynamo and Dynamo II, are the first ElectRA 2300-SX builds based on a design by Vancouver-based naval architecture firm Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL). Turkish builder Sanmar Shipyards and Norwegian electric power systems company Corvus Energy are also key collaborators. The official launch of the two tugboats was met with much fanfare from government officials, private sector…

Fred Wahl: A Legendary Life of Boats

The man’s name is on the company sign—Fred Wahl Marine Construction. And the Reedsport, Ore.-based commercial shipyard and boatbuilder, which began with Wahl and his toolbox, celebrates 50 years in business this year. When in his presence on the banks of the Umpqua River, Teddy Roosevelt’s “walk quietly but carry a big stick” stance comes to mind. “Since I’m almost 78, I don’t get here real early anymore,” the soft-spoken Wahl said. “I get here about 9:30 or 10 (a.m.) and I make my rounds. Visit my lead people and see what kind of disasters we’re running into. “Pretty much…

Kongsberg Maritime: Celebrating 50 Years of Ship Design

Kongsberg Maritime, the Norway-based technology, equipment and services company that has offices in Washington state and British Columbia, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its ship design business this year. Kongsberg’s original design teams produced their first-ever models in 1974, and since then, the company has risen as a name in the vessel design industry. At the dawn of the offshore oil and gas industry in the 1970s, some of the very first vessels made specifically for the harsh operating conditions of the North Sea were designed by Kongsberg. The company’s UT design range became a benchmark for the industry…

Ferries Get Refreshed, Go Green

In recent years, West Coast ferry operators and public transportation agencies have been actively investing in vessel retrofits, new builds and shoreside infrastructure projects needed to support newer, greener ferries. One of the biggest ferry investment announcements took place last November, when the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration announced about $220.2 million in grants from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help pay for service expansion to rural areas, buy vessels and enhance shoreside infrastructure. The 13 grant recipients included the Washington State Department of Transportation, whose Ferry Division received $4.8 million to refurbish six ferries built between…

Q&A: Washington State Ferries Leader Steve Nevey

Washington State Ferries, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and carries tens of millions of riders each year. In late February, state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar announced that career mariner Steve Nevey was being named the assistant secretary for WSF. Nevey, who began in his new position on March 16, succeeded Patty Rubstello, who stepped down from the role after more than 33 years of service with the Washington State DOT. During the two years before being promoted to his current role, served as WSF’s director of marine operations,…

Smaller Pacific Northwest Ports Have Big Infrastructure Plans

Smaller ports in the Pacific Northwest have some big infrastructure projects in the works, focusing on increasing cargo capacity, enhancing community experiences and developing facilities focused on sustainability. Pacific Maritime Magazine reached out to smaller ports up and down the coast to find out what plans are in the works. Port of Astoria The Port of Astoria offers services to commercial and recreational boaters at two marinas and a boatyard, and to commercial and cargo vessels, cruise ships and other vessels at its three deep-draft marine terminals. They have a number of projects in the works, but the highlight is…

Navigation Technology 2024

Across various industries, companies are increasingly incorporating more technology into their operations and the maritime industry is no different, as shippers now employ data programs to track cargo vessels and use artificial intelligence to perform organizational tasks. Some of the more exciting advances happening in the maritime industry have been in the development of navigation technology as mariners abandon paper charts in favor of electronic charting display and information systems, or ECDIS, serving not only as the primary means of navigation, but also as a backup. “Marine technology has been getting more and more advanced in both the recreational and…