News – Page 149 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

08 May

USCG Cutter Returns to Honolulu

Sarah SpanglerNews, Vessel Profiles

By Karen Robes Meeks After 37 days at sea, crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) returned to Hawaii following patrols that covered 7,118 square nautical miles that supported counter-Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing and regional security operations in Oceania. "I'm extremely proud of our crew, overcoming the challenges Coronavirus has brought and successfully conducting our first operational patrol," said Capt. Alan McCabe, commanding officer, Midgett. "Now more than ever, ensuring our persistent presence in the region is vital to protecting national interests. We are proactively conducting our missions and appreciate the excellent support from within the Service.” The presence…

05 May

Port of Olympia to Re-Open Some Facilities May 5

Sarah SpanglerNews

By Karen Robes Meeks Starting May 5, the Port of Olympia will reopen Billy Frank Jr. Park and Trail, Port Plaza, Swantown Boatworks, Swantown Marina public boat launch, Swantown boat launch parking lot, and the Swantown restrooms near BC docks. The decision comes after Governor Jay Inslee sanctioned the partial re-opening of some outdoor activities, provided that safety and health practices are honored. For Billy Frank Jr. Park & Trail, part of the trail will stay closed to curb pedestrian traffic within the Swantown Boatworks operational area. Those enjoying the Port Plaza should practice social distancing. Swantown Boatworks will be…

05 May

Port of Camas-Washougal to Open Two Launch Ramp Lanes

Sarah SpanglerNews

By Karen Robes Meeks Amid the opening of some recreational fishing and traffic expected to increase as a result, two lanes will be open at Port of Camas-Washougal 's launch ramp for launching and retrieval beginning May 5. The most eastern and western lanes will be open for boaters as long as social distancing is practiced. “The Port will continue to monitor launch activity and allow recreational launch ramp usage as long as it complies with social distancing requirements recommended by federal, state and local health officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” announced Port CEO David Ripp. “Should distancing…

01 May

USCG Intercepting Illegal Fishing Vessels

Pacific MaritimeNews

The US Coast Guard has been intercepting a number of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels within American EEZ areas in the Central and Western Pacific for the first time in eight years. Although fishing boat interdiction is a common task for the Coast Guard off the coast of Texas, where Mexican fishing boats are routinely intercepted, IUU fishing by foreign vessels is almost unheard of in the Pacific Ocean EEZ regions. In both cases, the Coast Guard was conducting surveillance flights in zones off Guam and Hawaii with HC-130 aircraft based near Pearl Harbor when the IUU boats…

01 May

Seen Off South Africa

Pacific MaritimeNews

A clue that China is possibly preparing a new space launch mission is the appearance of the missile-tracking vessel Yuan Wang 7 off the coast of South Africa in late March. The 27,180-gt ship, which was built in 2016, called at the Port of Durban for supplies and bunkers before proceeding to the South Atlantic range off the Namibian coast. Photo courtesy of T. Jones.

01 May

Eastern Canada’s Groupe Océan Moves West

Pacific MaritimeNews

Québec-based Groupe Océan is stepping up its operations in British Columbia after winning a number of contracts since the middle of last year. It has since formed Ocean BC Towing Inc in Vancouver, BC and has equipped the new company with three state-of-the-art tugs, including the 2003-built Ocean Stvens and two new 28-meter boats recently completed by the Damen Group yard in Vietnam. This follows the signing of a service contract with Cargill Limited. Another related Groupe Océan company, Ocean Dredging DM Inc, has been contracted by the Coast Tsimshian Northern Contractors Alliance to carry out dredging, backfilling and riprap…

01 May

Twin Double-Ended Bio-Fuel Ferries for Norway

Pacific MaritimePropulsion Technology

Norwegian ferry operator Norled expects to take delivery of twin double-ended ro/pax ferries from the Ada Shipyard in Turkey during the first quarter of 2021. To be employed on the Finnøy connections in southwestern Norway, each of the 74-meter-long vessels will be able to accommodate up to 199 passengers and crew and carry 60 cars. Propulsion and maneuverability will be provided by two Schottel SRE 270 EcoPellers fitted with 1.85-meter diameter fixed pitch propellers – one at each end of the ferry – driven by two bio-diesel engines through twin-in-single-out gearboxes to give a service speed of 11.5 knots.

01 May

LPG-Burning LPG Carriers Ordered

Pacific MaritimePropulsion Technology

Norway’s Avance Gas Holding has ordered two 91,000 cubic meter capacity LPG carriers from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company that will be fitted with dual-fuel LPG-burning engines to allow the ships to burn a portion of their cargo as fuel. The first of the new vessels is scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of next year while the second will follow in early 2022.

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

Fuel-Cell Ferry Moved to AAM Yard

Pacific MaritimeTerminal Operations

Wilton, Connecticut-based SW/TCH Maritime has switched fabrication of the hydrogen fuel-cell powered ferry Water-Go-Round from the Bay Ship & Yacht yard at Alameda, California to the All American Marine (AAM) yard at Bellingham, Washington following a number of construction delays, with the uncompleted 70-foot aluminum vessel moved between the two facilities by barge. SW/TCH, which is funding completion of the vessel with private capital after the California Air Resources Board invested $3 million to help launche the project, has not announced an entry-to-service date for the experimental craft yet.