Articles – Page 3 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

NW Seaport Alliance Inaugurates Rail Connection, Launches Offshore Wind Study

The Northwest Seaport Alliance—the marine cargo operating partnership between the Seattle and Tacoma seaports—has launched a feasibility study to evaluate offshore wind business opportunities, plus recently inaugurated a new intermodal rail connection. The study, which was publicly announced March 18, aims to, according to the NWSA, assist the Seaport Alliance in “positioning the gateway to support the burgeoning offshore wind supply chain market.” The study is tied to Biden administration having set a goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of power produced by offshore wind by 2030, and an ultimate goal of 110 GW by 2050. To meet the supply chain…

Refrigerated Cargo Demand: Prepping for the Next Surge

Despite the volatility of the refrigerated cargo market in recent years, some service providers plan to continue making investments in equipment and infrastructure to prepare for the next surge of reefer demand, according to a recent panel focused on the cold chain business. The panel, titled “TPM Cold Chain: Recovering From the Abyss: How Service Providers Are Preparing for the Next Volume Surge,” was held March 6 at TPM24, the annual maritime industry event in Long Beach organized by the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global Market Intelligence. The panel featured Port of Hueneme President and CEO Kristin Decas, J.B.…

USCG Launches New Merchant Mariner Credential Format

On March 1, the U.S. Coast Guard began issuing merchant mariner credentials in a new format that replaces the red passport-style book with related endorsement labels, according to the National Maritime Center. “The complexity and degraded reliability of the custom printers used to print the (credential) books necessitated a change to the credential printing process,” according to USCG, adding that the new credentials are going to be “printed on readily available commercial desktop laser jet printers and will vastly improve print services and availability.” The new format is expected to be on 8.5-inch by 11-inch “waterproof and tear-resistant synthetic paper”…

Newsmakers

Robinson Named Vice President of Vigor Fabrication Jayson Robinson has been named Vigor’s Vice President of Fabrication, taking the helm of the complex and marine fabrication divisions with facilities in Clackamas and Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, Wash. Robinson joined Vigor, a Titan Acquisition Holdings company, as the director of quality in 2018 and has been serving as the assistant vice president since last fall. He now assumes the responsibility of maintaining and growing Vigor’s team and positioning the company in key end markets, including nuclear, aerospace, infrastructure and marine vessels. Robinson takes over a department that has recently added leaders…

West Coast Shipyards Upgrading Facilities, Tackling Big Projects

Yard infrastructure projects, facility upgrades and work on notable vessels have kept West Coast shipyards busy over the past year as they take on major jobs and expand operations. Some have purchased new cranes and expanded drydocks, others completed maintenance and repowers on historic boats and a few handled unique projects. Pacific Maritime reached out to yards to find out the latest news, notable jobs and yard improvement projects. Bay Ship and Yacht Co. The big news out of Alameda, Calif.-based Bay Ship and Yacht Co. is the change to employee ownership though an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Bay…

Green Tech Coming to Marine Propulsion – Just Don’t Ditch the Diesel

It’s common to think “green” when discussing new technologies, including in the marine fuel and propulsion arena. And based on discussions with developers of marine propulsion systems, the green movement is coming – it’s just not quite there yet, and the technology won’t replace standard diesel engines anytime soon. Dave Hughes, a U.S. marine sales manager for Scania, the large Swedish manufacturer, is excited about new green technologies. However, he told Pacific Maritime, he believes diesel power and other traditional propulsion systems will still be in operation and in demand for some time. “There’s been a lot of research and…

Ship-to-Shore Cranes: A Target for Foreign Adversaries

Setting the Stage The frenzied buzzing of the seaport manager’s cell phone interrupted his weekly staff meeting. There were urgent text messages and voice mails signaling that there was a major problem at Container Terminal 5. One text message said, “Crane 5A has stopped functioning! Crane 5C can’t be stopped! Help!” Apparently when one of the world’s largest container ships containing over 20,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) docked at Terminal 5, all hell broke loose. But why? Even though this is a hypothetical story, the U.S. Government and FBI are worried that such a scenario could come true. On Feb.…

IMO Opening Regional Office in Fiji to Serve the Pacific

The International Maritime Organization is opening a Regional Presence Office in Suva, Fiji to serve countries and territories in the Pacific Islands region. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez and Fiji’s Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport of the Republic of Fiji, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at IMO Headquarters in London on March 18 to seal the arrangement. “The Regional Presence Office will support the maritime needs and priorities of countries in the Pacific Islands region,” the International Maritime Organization explained in a statement, “aligning IMO actions with national and regional development policies, while providing advice…

Ocean Tech Company MarineLabs Secures Historic Funding

MarineLabs, a British Columbia-based maritime weather intelligence technology company, has received $4.5 million in a seed funding round, marking the largest investment of its kind in Canadian history for an ocean-tech company, it announced in mid-March. The funding, which is expected to directly benefit Canada’s marine industry, was led by BDC Capital’s Sustainability Venture Fund with participation from North Vancouver-based Seaspan Shipyards, a leader in Canada’s ship design, engineering, building and ship repair industry. The $4.5 million is expected to be utilized to accelerate product development, expand market reach and strengthen MarineLabs’ position as an industry leader, the company said,…

Floating Offshore Wind Port & Vessel Summit Set for Sacramento

The inaugural Floating OSW (Offshore Wind) Port & Vessel Summit is scheduled for Feb. 22 in Sacramento, Calif., presented by Oceantic Network, a nonprofit focused on harnessing the power of offshore wind and other ocean renewable energy. The summit, according to Oceantic, is expected to convene key decisionmakers and innovators for a day-long West Coast-centric event to set goals, identify challenges and propose pathways to success for critical port infrastructure and supporting the sector’s vessel demands. Representatives with various entities, including the California Association of Port Authorities, consulting and technology services company ICF, General Dynamics NASSCO and the California Energy…