Articles – Page 37 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

A Tragic End for Astoria’s 98-Year-Old Ferry and Its Owner

Abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) are such a growing problem on the Northwest coast that the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force organized an ADV workgroup in 2018. The latest move came Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL) publishing a memorandum on Aug. 9, 2022 that outlined a three-year ADV removal plan with a budget of $40 million. The DSL estimated there were 19 commercial ADVs and 175 smaller recreational derelict boats statewide. The largest and most significant were the 95-year old 125-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alert and the 100-foot World War II U.S. Navy tug Sakarissa sunk…

Yang Ming Names New 11,000 TEU Vessel

Container shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport has added a new 11,000 TEU container vessel named YM Throne to its fleet. The vessel is chartered from Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. and was built by Imabari Shipbuilding Co. The naming ceremony for YM Throne took place at Imabari Hiroshima Shipyard in Mihara, Japan on Aug. 5, while Yang Ming’s attendees joined the ceremony remotely from their Taipei office. Hsieh-Lung Yeh, Director-General of the Maritime and Port Bureau, MOTC officially named the ship, while Shu-Chu Li, wife of Director-General of the Maritime and Port Bureau, MOTC performed the ceremonial cord-cutting. “To further…

USCG, Partners Respond to Oil Spill Off Catalina Island

On the morning of Sat., Sept. 3, members of the U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies responded to an oil spill caused by a 40-foot yacht that sank near Two Harbors on Catalina Island. The yacht, which reportedly was submerged in 65 feet of water, had about 210 gallons of fuel, batteries, a portable generator and cleaning products, according to the Coast Guard. “Due to the pollution threat this vessel represents to the environment and surrounding area, the Coast Guard opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to hire an oil spill response organization to conduct clean-up operations,” the Coast…

Vessel Profile: It Takes a Village to Build a Hybrid-Electric Ferry

Seattle’s Elliott Bay Design Group shapes a new hybrid-electric, double-ended ferry for Casco Bay Lines of Maine. A 164-foot, double-ended hybrid-electric ferry from Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) was chosen by Casco Bay Lines (CBL) of Portland, Maine, to enter the construction phase at Senesco Marine of North Kingston, R.I., this fall. The new ferry is expected to enter service in 2024 to replace the existing Machigonne II diesel-powered ferry that operates between Portland and Peaks Island, Maine. Crowley Maritime announced in August that they were selected by Senesco Marine to provide design verification and production packaging for the…

Shipping Industry Removing Indian Ocean High-Risk Area Designation

After more than a decade of counter-piracy operations, the shipping industry is removing the designated High-Risk Area (HRA) in the Indian Ocean. Notification of the removal, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2023 was forwarded in an Aug. 22 submission the International Maritime Organization for the next meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee, which is scheduled to start Oct. 31. “The removal of the HRA reflects a significantly improved piracy situation in the region, largely due to concerted counter-piracy efforts by many regional and international stakeholders,” the International Maritime Organization explained in a statement. No piracy attacks against merchant…

BASF, Samsung Collaborating on Carbon Capture, Storage for Maritime Vessels

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has reached an agreement with German multinational chemical company BASF for a collaborative feasibility assessment of capturing CO2 onboard maritime vessels using BASF technology for flue gas applications. The companies announced the agreement on Sept. 9. The scope of the collaboration includes a marinization study as well as engineering design and construction of the carbon capture unit. BASF will support with its expertise on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and with its own technology, contributing to sustainability by substantial energy savings compared with conventional technologies. SHI is to evaluate the feasibility of installing…

Western Baltic Engineering Reveals Plans for 1st Electric Pusher

Lithuanian ship designer Western Baltic Engineering (WBE) is unveiling new designs for what it believes is the first ever electric pusher vessel for use on Europe’s inland waterways called the Electric Eel. In an announcement, WBE said the first electric pusher is due to be built next year for the Lithuanian Inland Waterways Authority, a public body operating under Lithuanian Government Ministry of Transport and Communications. “We are so excited to unveil this electric pusher design,” WBE’s Head of Sales & Marketing, Eglė Mikalauskienė, said. “The Electric Eel has huge potential to help cut carbon emissions on inland waterways across…

Newsmakers

Austal USA Appoints New VP of Global Services and Support Austal USA in mid-August welcomed Michelle Kruger as the company’s vice president of global services and support. Kruger, who will work out of Austal’s San Diego waterfront services facility, is responsible for the company’s global post-delivery repair and warranty efforts, including the development of business strategy and strategic alliances. As the primary customer interface for ship repair and maintenance services, she now leads Austal’s pursuit of future government and commercial business opportunities and post-delivery initiatives. Kruger is a marine engineer with decades of maritime industry experience in new construction, repair…

From the Editor: Terminal Blockades

In mid-August, the Port of Oakland announced that its monthly loaded container volumes dropped 28% as compared to the same month in 2021. The reason for the dip? According to the port, it was a nearly week-long protest at the port during July that virtually shuttered each of the port’s container terminals. During the protests, which began July 18 and ended July 23, the port’s shipping terminals were effectively shut down. Specifically, the port said that protestors blocked and slowed traffic, particularly trucks, that were attempting to enter and leave the container shipping facilities located at the port’s inner and…

Alaska Marine Lines Puts New Reefers into Service

Alaska Marine Lines was able to move 852 containers of Bristol Bay sockeye harvest this year, thanks to new refrigerated containers that were sent in May to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The containers, which were revealed by the company on Sept. 8, are the latest in AML’s refrigerated operations. They feature temperature-controlled software that can vary the fan speed and control the compressors to match the conditions and current cooling demand. That translates into a power draw one-fifth that of older containers. Less power required to run the reefers means fewer generators running, less fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions. “In…