Articles – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

U.S. Coast Guard Alaska Responds to Multiple Fishing Vessel Medevacs

On Aug. 25, Coast Guard District 17 command center personnel received a medevac request from the fishing vessel Northern Eagle at 6:20 a.m. for a 26-year-old crewmember experiencing abdominal pain. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter air crew launched from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and hoisted the crewmember at 8:15 p.m. about 23 miles northwest of St Paul Island. The man was then flown to St. Paul where he was transferred to commercial emergency medical services at 9 p.m. for further care in Anchorage. Also on Aug. 25, Coast Guard District 17 command center personnel received a medevac request from…

Guest Column: Cleanest Ports in the Nation

From an air quality and climate pollutant standpoint, the state of California has the cleanest ports in the U.S. The success of these ports’ clean air programs is a function of numerous factors. They include port policies, lease agreements, voluntary measures, regulations and an industry willingness to experiment with a variety of technologies, fuels and operational modifications. Most port-related emission categories are now measured in fractions of a percentage point of total emission inventories – i.e., very small numbers. As an example, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions for marine terminal equipment operating in the South Coast Air Basin make up about…

Newsmakers

James Fowler Appointed to Lead Crowley Shipping Crowley Maritime in mid-September announced that it has appointed industry leader James Fowler as senior vice president and general manager of its Crowley Shipping business unit, which serves U.S. and international maritime and logistics sectors. Crowley offers design, construction management and operation of a diverse range of vessels, port and offshore energy infrastructure, as well as advanced energy solutions including LNG. Its services include ship assist and harbor escort services, offshore energy installation and project management. Besides vessel design and mariner engineering group Crowley Engineering Services, Crowley Shipping also operates and manages liquid…

Alaska and Hawaii Shipping: Transformation and Recovery

The Alaska and Hawaii regions are in the midst of transformation and recovery. The Port of Alaska is not only undertaking long-awaited infrastructure projects to keep goods flowing in the future, the port itself may soon undergo a name change. In July, a panel recommended renaming it the Don Young Port of Anchorage to honor the longtime congressman who died in 2022. A final decision is expected by the state Assembly in the coming weeks. In Hawaii, the community continues to work toward recovery after an August wildfire killed an estimated 97 people, displaced at least 11,000 others and caused…

U.S. Navy’s 1st Hydrofoil Scrapped in Astoria

Sixty years after the fanfare of its christening, the 116-foot former USS High Point hydrofoil was scrapped in August at the Hyak Tongue Point Shipyard in Astoria, Ore. The event marked the end of the pioneering design of the U.S. Navy’s first full-size “Patrol Coastal Hydrofoil,” or PCH-1. It was the product of a decade of research and experimentation and was promoted as a potential submarine hunter during America’s Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Navy chose Boeing to build the revolutionary high-speed vessel with the ability to “fly” above the water on foils. The construction was sub-contracted to…

Evolving Threats: Adapting to Trends in Maritime Cargo Theft

The maritime industry exists to move goods and people via the oceans, lakes and rivers. These goods range from breakbulk—such as wheat, coal, gravel—to thousands of containers moving high-value cargo. Unfortunately, cargo theft in the U.S. is a $15 to $35 billion enterprise that affects seaports, airports, trucking companies and shipping companies daily. The cargo thefts are not necessarily focused on high-value goods such as semi-conductors and precious metals, but also on food and beverages. For instance, in the Seattle area, one thief posed as a Safeway employee and attempted to steal more than $700,000 of king crab for resale.…

Diving, Salvage, Other Underwater Projects Remain Tricky, Require Specific Expertise

While a lot of the work in the maritime industry happens above the water’s surface, often the jobs that take mariners underwater can be particularly tricky. But many of today’s professional divers are proficient in a variety of underwater tasks, including construction and engineering work, vessel salvage jobs, environmental projects and ship repairs. Pacific Maritime reached out to companies along the West Coast that offer diving and salvage services to find out about some of their recent projects. Power Engineering Alameda, Calif.-based Power Engineering Construction (PEC) has a long history of tackling complex jobs “where the risk is high, the…

Deck Machinery Update 2023: Innovation Never Sleeps

The innovation of deck machinery is an ever-present force in the maritime industry. While a winch will always be a winch, a newer model may pack the same power in a smaller footprint. A crane is always a crane, but the modern version may be all-electric. And the list goes on. Herein some of the deck machinery industry’s major players discuss their newest and best-selling products as well as industry trends. Markey Machine Seattle-based Markey Machine saw an ownership shift late last year, closing a growth investment with Christian Schiller and Brian Bogen. “The new ownership arrangement offers many advantages, particularly…

Panama Canal Adjusts Transit Numbers, Surcharge Amid Drought Conditions

The Panama Canal recently made a handful of changes to its operations, all of which were spurred by an ongoing drought that has hampered the flow of vessel traffic through the waterway. As of Nov. 1, the average number of transits through the Panama Canal is 31 transits per day: nine through the Neopanamax locks and 22 through the Panamax locks. The number is a slight decrease from the 32 daily transits previously allowed. The change was announced by the Panama Canal Authority in late September. Additionally, as of Oct. 1, modifications to the Canal’s Fresh Water Surcharge (FWS) took…

U.S., Pacific Islands Look to Enhance Maritime Partnerships

At a U.S.-Pacific Islands forum summit meeting at the White House on Sept. 25, President Biden renewed America’s commitment to enhancing the nation’s partnership with the Pacific Islands and their respective governments. President Biden announced a new slate of activities in conjunction with the event. Among those tied to the maritime industry are: Expanding the United States Coast Guard Presence in the Pacific: The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane is scheduled to arrive in region in late 2023 as the first ever USCG Indo-Pacific support vessel dedicated to collaborating with Indo-Pacific partners. By the end of 2023, USCG assets…