News – Pacific Maritime Magazine

01 Oct

BRIX Marine Reveals New Research Vessel Pre-Build

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsbrixmarine, catamaran, researchvessel

Port Angeles, Wash.-based aluminum vessel maker BRIX Marine on Sept. 23 announced a pre-build of a new Long Island Sound Study-commissioned catamaran research vessel designed for environmental research. The 44-foot catamaran, which is being constructed for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is expected to support marine and water quality research by gathering data necessary to help better understand Long Island Sound’s ecosystems. The new vessel is set to include a walkaround structure and a larger advanced onboard lab so scientists can synthesize water sampling and trawl fishing activities data and is outfitted with a pair of 750HP…

01 Oct

ONE, HMM, Yang Ming Form New Shipping Alliance

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online NewsHMM, one, premieralliance, YangMing

For the next five years, Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) and Yang Ming Marine Transportation are committing to an ocean carrier partnership under the newly named Premier Alliance, the shipping companies announced Sept. 7. The partnership, which is scheduled to launch in February, stems from a cooperative agreement that included the three companies and Hapag-Lloyd, which is now teaming with Maersk under the Gemini Corporation banner. The Premier Alliance is made up of mainline services across the major East-West Tradelines, including services between Asia and the North American West Coast. “We are very pleased to announce that…

01 Oct

American Waterways Operators Honors Crowley Mariners

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsawo, crowley, heroaward

The American Waterways Operators advocacy organization has honored Crowley Maritime mariners with the American Waterways Honor and Excellence in Rescue Operations (HERO) Award for their rescue efforts this year, the company announced Sept. 24. Among the heroic efforts that were recognized included Crowley’s Guard tug crew members who retrieved a man who was knocked off his sailboat off Anacortes, Wash. in April, and crew members of the tug Apollo who helped a ship in the San Francisco Bay alert first responders in June after a passenger fell into the water. Apollo was on site until the person was safe, according…

01 Oct

San Francisco Bay Ferry Nets $11 Million for Fast Electric Ferries

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsferries, reefprogram, sfbayferry

Efforts by the San Francisco Bay Ferry transit service to purchase three high-speed battery ferries are moving forward with the help of an $11 million Federal Transit Administration grant, it was announced Sept. 16. The grant is expected to fund SF Bay Ferry’s trio of 150-passenger battery-powered ferries that would serve Treasure Island, Mission Bay, Downtown San Francisco and other San Francisco waterfront communities. “San Francisco’s waterfront is thriving, and this award will make sure that they are connected and accessible using state-of-the-art zero-emission congestion-reducing ferries,” SF Bay Ferry Board of Directors Chair Jim Wunderman said. So far, the ferry…

01 Oct

LA Harbor Board Gains New Member

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsnewsmakers, pola

California State Assembly Speaker Emeritus John A. Pérez is the newest member of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, the agency that governs the Port of L.A. The Sept. 20 announcement came following the Los Angeles City Council’s unanimous approval of Pérez’s appointment. Pérez, an L.A. Mayor Karen Bass nominee, brings a breadth of experience in labor and government, including serving on the Board of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, California League of Conservation Voters and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. He was elected to the California Assembly to represent Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding areas in…

24 Sep

Kitsap Transit Secures $13.5 Million for New Fast Ferry

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsferries, fta, kitsaptransit

Kitsap Transit may soon be able to replace an aging ferry operating its Kingston-Seattle route with the help of federal funding. The Washington-based transportation organization is expected to receive $13.5 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s Passenger Ferry Grant program toward the purchase of a new fast ferry, covering almost 80% of the $17.5 million project, it was announced Sept. 11. Kitsap Transit would underwrite about $4 million of the project. “This funding allows us to buy a new boat to operate a route that has been running with a backup vessel – m/v Finest – that is older and…

24 Sep

Container Dwell Times Rise at San Pedro Bay Ports Amid Volume Increases

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscontainervolumes, pmsa, pola, polb

Cargo dwell times have been on the rise at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach amid significant volume increases at the nation’s two busiest seaports, according to data released Sept. 13 by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. Containers that linger at the ports before leaving by rail stayed an average of 8.20 days, compared to the 2023 peak season high of 6.54 days. Meanwhile, truck-bound cargo lingered an average of 2.95 days in August, the highest since the 3.21 day-average during peak season last year. “In August, the increases in dwell times reflect the need for ongoing coordination…

24 Sep

WSF’s Wenatchee Ferry Set to Return This Summer

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsferries, vigor, wsf

Washington State Ferries’ vessel Wenatchee, which is in the midst of a major propulsion system and hybrid-electric power upgrade at Vigor shipyard, is expected to return to service in the summer of 2025, WSF announced Sept. 19. Vigor has been working on the vessel since WSF awarded the company a contract in September 2023 to upgrade the agency’s Jumbo Mark II class ferries with hybrid-electric power capabilities and finish needed propulsion system upgrades on the 1998-built Wenatchee, the 1997-built Tacoma and the 1999-built Puyallup. “There are no issues with the technology itself, but as is common with major vessel retrofits,…

24 Sep

Seaspan Completes CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier Vessel Life Extension

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsccgs, seaspan, vancouverdrydock, vessellifeextension

Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock facility confirmed Sept. 12 that the Canadian Coast Guard’s CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s Vessel Life Extension project has been completed, wrapping up one of the biggest, most complicated ship repair and overhaul projects the drydock has tackled. The project to modernize the 272-foot-long CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier, one of six CCG-operated Martha Black-class icebreakers, took more than 100 separate upgrades, according to Seaspan. The work included replacing the ship’s three 2100kW generator sets and propulsion drive cycloconverters, repairing and refitting the rudder and shafting and installing a new towing bollard with new underdeck structure and a new…

24 Sep

Cargo Volumes Up at Port of LA

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online Newscargovolumes, pola, TEUs

Cargo volumes at the Port of Los Angeles rose 16% last month from the same time a year ago, according to data released Sept. 18. Los Angeles moved 960,597 TEUs in August, considered the busiest non-pandemic month on record at the port. Loaded imports soared 18% to 509,363 TEUs from August 2023, while loaded exports dipped 3% year over year with 121,744 TEUs. Also, the port handled 22% more empty containers than it did in August 2023 with 329,491 TEUs, data show. So far this year, Los Angeles has processed 17% more cargo overall than it did the first eight…