Decarbonizing the supply chain in the coming years will take a collective effort from stakeholders and the robust availability of green fuel to make that happen, panelists said at a Feb. 28 session on “The Route to Carbon-Neutral Shipping and a Multi-Fuel Future.” The panel, which took place during the TPM23 and TPMTech Conference by S&P Global Market Intelligence in Long Beach, Calif., brought together four experts to discuss the industry’s role and challenges in trying to decarbonize operations. Panelists included Julia Bedanova, chief operating officer of Million Dollar Baby, a Los Angeles-based baby and children’s furniture company; Paolo Montrone,…
West Coast shipyards have been busy recently with everything from minor maintenance to major re-power projects. Some yards are also working on enhancing onshore operations and increasing their equipment’s capabilities. Pacific Maritime Magazine reached out to yards up and down the coast to find out the latest news on yard improvement and other projects. Some updates that stand out include managing double-duty operations; notable work with dual-fuel technology; challenging Tier 4 re-power jobs; the restoration of a historic wooden steamship, and installation of larger lifts and expanded drydocks. Seaspan Shipyards Seaspan, based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, has been busy,…
Above the surface or underwater, oil and hazardous material spill response and recovery in marine environments is making strides, thanks to technological advances and equipment upgrades, resulting in safer and more efficient work. Autonomous systems are gaining traction, helping increase safety and productivity. Drones are helping make the job more efficient and practical. Skimmers, containment vessels and collection systems are showing promising improvements in both volume and recovery efficiency. Crane barges and other supporting craft utilized in responding to incidents are showing strength and maneuverability in recent case studies. Staying on top of technological advances goes hand in hand with…
North River Boats has built the new 26-foot survey vessel Sounder for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) of Los Angeles. The Sounder is the flagship for a larger series of customizable workboats at North River Boats, based in Roseburg, Ore., that can be scaled from 23 feet to 60 feet in length with beams ranging from 8 feet, 6 inches to 16 feet. For the company, the combination of the boat hull, trailer-able size, topline outfitting and electronic configuration puts the Sounder in play as the most versatile survey vessel of its size on the market. The vessel…
Shaver Transportation, which provides ship handling services at all the ports of the lower Columbia River and barge hauling services down the Columbia-Snake River system, has been operating tugs on the Columbia since 1880 when its sternwheel steamboats towed sailing ships up the river to Portland. Today, the Shaver family still owns and manages the company and continues to develop new approaches to tug design in their fleet of 16 tugs and 22 grain barges, ranging from eight ASD (Z drive) ship-handling designs to powerful push tugs in the 90- to 100-foot range. One feature that covers most of this…
2022 was a wild ride for most major California seaports. The Golden State is home to the nation’s busiest seaports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which both have seen congestion-inducing record influxes of cargo, but also drops in market share as consumers emerge from the pandemic to spend their money on services rather than products. The Port of Oakland and Port of San Diego have also seen growth in cargo numbers as both are seen as local alternatives to congested ports. Retaining that market share has been further complicated by outside factors, from COVID-19-related…
The West Coast maritime construction industry never rests. West Coast maritime construction companies have been busy over the last year with projects from Hawaii to Antarctica, as well as from coast to coast. By no means a comprehensive summary, herein is a peek at a few of the notable West Coast-based maritime construction companies and their recent jobs. Whether the work is dredging for a Navy facility pier or replacing the oldest radar tower in the U.S., workers in the industry rarely shy from a high-seas challenge. While many call the work extraordinary, marine construction professionals call it an average…
Maritime shipping volumes stalled at some West Coast ports in 2022, but even still, there remained a large need for ocean and coastal towing services to guide commercial vessels of all sizes to shore. In fact, according to an analysis released in March by the global firm Technavio Research, the tugboats services market is expected to grow by $2.42 billion between now and 2026, with 33% of that growth originating in North America. The report, titled “Tugboats Services Market by Application and Geography—Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026,” states that the market will witness a year-over-year growth of 14.24% in 2022 and…
The Oregon Department of Transportation’s I-205 Improvements Project involves some challenging engineering on the Abernethy Bridge, across the Willamette River south of Portland. This stretch of I-205 carries more than 100,000 vehicles daily and needs a major upgrade to become a “seismically resilient lifeline” in the event of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, according to the Oregon DOT. Many local contractors are delivering large amounts of material and equipment by road to designated drop-off zones, but WCT Marine, at the Hyak Tongue Point shipyard in Astoria, is using the river itself to ship dozens of steel pilings to support temporary…
Called “the most attractive ship to ever visit the port,” the United Fruit Company’s Talamanca made her maiden arrival at the Port of Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 1932. The ship docked at Berth 188 in Wilmington with 100 passengers and 45,000 stems of ‘Grade 9’ bananas, 19,000 of which were discharged at the company’s facility. In the years prior to World War II, the port served as the West Coast’s primary unloading spot for bananas shipped from Central America and the Caribbean. In 1937, off-loading at the port using slings and pallets was replaced by specially designed conveyor equipment…