News Briefs – Page 79 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

06 Oct

Amergent Techs Scores San Diego Port Security Contract

Sarah SpanglerNews, News Briefs

The San Diego Unified Port District recently awarded Amergent Techs Inc. a two-year, $101,500 contract to review, assess and update its Homeland Security Strategic Plan. “We are proud to have earned the confidence of the port to provide a strategic risk assessment and determine mitigation strategies for the entire port complex,” said Jessica Whipple, Amergent Techs Vice President of Operations. Amergent Techs will help the port develop a comprehensive strategy that encompasses a multitude of threats that will require technical expertise, such as the use of improvised explosive devices, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive devices, cyber threats, and Unmanned…

29 Sep

AltaSea Webinars to Feature Top Female Marine Experts

Sarah SpanglerNews, News Briefs

Three women known for their expertise in ocean exploration and conservation will be featured in an upcoming webinar hosted by AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles. The Oct. 9 event will feature Dr. Carlie Wiener, the director of Communications and Engagement Strategy at the Schmidt Ocean Institute; Dr. Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute, and Ocean Exploration Trust Chief Operating Officer Allison Fundis. “These remarkable women have broken the glass ceiling at the bottom of the ocean, exploring what has been traditionally a man’s domain,” said Jenny Krusoe, founding executive director of AltaSea. “Collectively, they…

01 Jul

Astoria Completing $10 million Renewal of Six Waterfront Bridges

Pacific MaritimeNews, News Briefs

By Peter Marsh In the boom years of the 1890’s, there were more than 20 salmon canneries on the Astoria waterfront, but a century later, when developers began restoring these properties, they concentrated their efforts on the five blocks from 6th to 11th Street in the downtown area. Over the next 20 years, several successful businesses had replaced the canneries, including breweries and restaurants with front seat views of the Columbia River. In 2017, this business model was threatened when the Oregon Department of Transportation condemned the short bridges that allowed for vehicular access to the piers and supported the…

01 Jul

BC Company Plans Deepsea Nodule Mining

Pacific MaritimeNews, News Briefs

Vancouver, Canada-headquartered DeepGreen Metals Inc is working with Swiss-based offshore contractor Allseas Group S.A. to convert a former deepwater drillship into a pilot nodule mining vessel. The Petrobras-owned Vitoria 10000, which measures 228-meters by 42-meters and has accommodation for up to 200, was purchased at action last year for $15.5 million. It is to be fitted with a 4.5 kilometer-long riser currently being developed by Allseas that will allow testing of a DeepGreen-developed nodule collection system by the middle of next year. DeepGreen holds exploration rights for two polymetallic nodule areas in the South Pacific granted by the governments of…

01 Jul

BC Ferries Resumes Service

Pacific MaritimeNews, News Briefs

BC Ferries resumed service on the Nanaimo (Departure Bay) – Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) route on June 3 with four round trips per day and is actively working on plans to resume service throughout its network as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

19 Jun

Aqueos Corporation Completes Virginia Wind Farm Project

Sarah SpanglerNews, News Briefs

California-based Aqueos Corporation has completed a diving contract for support of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) Generation Project development on the US East Coast. The project required extensive upfront planning and detailed project development. Aqueos deployed an IMCA compliant diving system and personnel onto a 175-foot class lift boat to support the work. The work consisted of trenching the HDD pull in conduit, installation of sealing flanges, pull-in monitoring operations and protecting the HDD exit site by installing 45-tons of washed local gravel. This project provided Aqueos with an opportunity to present our capabilities to leaders of the Offshore…

01 Jun

AMHS Limits Operations Due to COVID-19

Pacific MaritimeNews, News Briefs

Despite an expanded budget (see Pacific Maritime Magazine, May 2020) the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) does not plan to expand ferry service until COVID-19 travel restrictions are relaxed and demand for passenger service increases. As of the end of April the ferry system was only operating two services, one linking Southeast communities around the Upper Lynn Canal and a shuttle operation between Ketchikan and Metlakatla. Sailings to Pelican and Tenakee Springs, which were to have been resumed in May, have been canceled, as have runs between Valdez and Cordova on Prince William Sound, and there is currently no connection…

01 May

Auto Carrier to Test Bio-Fuel

Pacific MaritimeNews Briefs, Propulsion Technology

United European Car Carriers (UECC), jointly owned by Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and Sweden’s Wallenius Lines, has begun a three-month trial testing of bio-fuel supplied by Amsterdam-based GoodFuels in its ro/ro vessel Autosky. The testing will involved use of 3,000 tons of sustainable biofuel by the 6,670-dwt auto carrier which operates between Zeebrugge, Belgium and Santander, Spain. The use of bio-fuel, which requires no changes to the ship’s engines, is expected to result in a reduction of more than 6,500 tons of CO2 emissions on a well-to-wake basis. UECC also has a pair of ro/ro newbuilds under construction that…

01 May

Australia’s New Icebreaker Delayed 19 Weeks

Pacific MaritimeArctic, News Briefs

Delays continue to plague Australia’s new icebreaker Nuyina being built by the Damen shipyard in Galati, Romania (see Pacific Maritime Magazine, Jan 2020). The new vessel, to be outfitted at the Damen facility in Holland, is now not expected to arrive at its home base of Hobart, Tasmania until November of this year. Because of this, plus required crew familiarization training, its first Antarctic voyage has been delayed until January of next year. The Australian Department of the Environment and Energy is studying contingency plans in order to have supplementary shipping capability available to undertake Antarctica station resupply operations in…

01 May

Australia Contracts Icebreaker Replacement

Pacific MaritimeNews, News Briefs

The Australian Antarctic Division has contracted Luxembourg-based Maritime Construction Services (MCS) to resupply several Australian research stations in Antarctica between December of this year and March 2021 because of delays in construction of the new Australian icebreaker Nuyina by Holland’s Damen Group (see Pacific Maritime Magazine, Jan. 2020). For the work MCS will supply its ice-classed multi-purpose vessel Everest, a state-of-the-art 25,000-kW ship with 1,400 square meters of deck space and accommodation for 140 personnel in 100 cabins. The DP3 rated vessel, which is equipped with several deck cranes of varying capacity, will also be available for underwater work and…