January 2022 – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Crowley Commits to Net-Zero Operations by 2050

Transportation and logistics services company Crowley Maritime announced in December that it is committing to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its business by 2050. To reach its target, Crowley estimates that it will reduce overall emissions by 4.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year, or the equivalent of removing more than 900,000 cars from the road every year. “Crowley is on a mission to become the most sustainable and innovative maritime, logistics company in the Americas,” company chairman and CEO Tom Crowley said. “Working together with our customers, suppliers, policymakers and others across our value chain, we can…

Crowley Charters Cleaner, More Powerful Compact Tier IV Ship Assist Tug

Crowley Maritime’s ship assist and escort services group has agreed to charter its third Tier IV ship assist tug, Athena. Slated to operate in Puget Sound, Athena was under construction in the fall and is expected to be complete by the end of 2021, the company said in a November statement. “Athena will provide innovation and performance for customers in the Pacific Northwest,” Crowley Shipping Vice President Paul Manzi said. “The first two tugs produced by Diversified Marine and Brusco Tug & Barge have delivered high value and performance to our fleet. They provide a remarkable amount of power in…

Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star Departs Seattle for Antarctica

America’s only heavy icebreaker departed its homeport in Seattle in mid-November with a crew of 159 U.S. Coast Guard members, headed toward Antarctica. This year marks Coast Guard cutter Polar Star’s 25th journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military mission to resupply U.S. Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Through Operation Deep Freeze, the U.S. Coast Guard provides direct logistical support to the foundation and maintains a regional presence that preserves Antarctica as a scientific refuge. Each year, the Polar Star crew…

Harbor Commissioners Commit to Decarbonizing Hueneme Port Operations

Oxnard Harbor District Commissioners voted on Nov. 15 to adopt a resolution to committing to decarbonizing operations at the Port of Hueneme as part of its pursuit of a zero-emission future. “Adoption of this resolution shows our long-standing commitment to achieve zero emissions with clean energy and to reach this goal with honesty and integrity to do what is morally right for the planet,” Oxnard Harbor District President Jason Hodge said. The Port of Hueneme, which is owned by the Oxnard Harbor Commission, was recently awarded a $200,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to help identify actions and milestones…

Port of Seattle to Study Waste-to-Fuel Feasibility

The Port of Seattle has agreed to participate in a joint study with King County, Washington for the potential for converting municipal solid waste into renewable fuels. Each party has allocated up to $250,000 to pursue the technological and economic analysis by early 2023. The study could help the region find other uses for its waste stream while charting a course to significantly reducing emissions from aviation and other hard-to-decarbonize fuels, according to the port, which added that work will also help support economic development of the clean energy sector in the Seattle region. The technology and chemical process to…

Abrams Marine Group Acquires Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy

San Diego-based Abrams Marine Group, Inc. has acquired Virginia-headquartered Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy (MAMA), the two entities revealed Dec. 1. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. MAMA offers 90-plus U.S. Coast Guard approved deck and engineering courses along with customized instruction. Facilities for the vocational training center include a 31,000-square-foot main campus. “MAMA is a great training organization with a highly regarded team and world class facilities,” Abrams Marine Group CEO Dave Abrams said. “The company is located in a strategic location for the growth of both our defense and commercial business segments.” Abrams, who also owns San Diego-based Training…

2 Cruise Ships Begin Service at West Coast Ports

The Port of Long Beach-homeported Carnival Cruises vessel Carnival Radiance kicked off a short season on Dec. 13 after a lengthy hiatus due to a complete makeover. The vessel, formerly known as the Carnival Victory, spent nearly two years out of commission while it underwent a $200 million stem-to-stern makeover in Spain, according to a report in the Cruise Industry News trade publication. The revamp, which began in March 2020, was originally only expected to take six weeks, but wasn’t finished until October 2021 due to pandemic-related delays. The 2,984-passenger vessel now features new and rebuilt public areas and cabins,…

CMA CGM Buying Fenix Marine Services from EQT Infrastructure

EQT Infrastructure has agreed to sell its stake in Fenix Marine Services to French shipping company CMA CGM for $2.3 billion. Fenix, one of the largest terminals at the Port of Los Angeles, provides container handling services to shipping lines. It handles about 2.3 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually and employs more than 145 people, according to EQT. Fenix, under EQT Infrastructure’s ownership since 2017, has grown into one of the larger and more efficient container terminals operating in the LA-Long Beach port complex. EQT backed significant investments in new equipment and systems at the terminal, including some of…

Port of Vancouver Completes Vancouver Mountain Highway Underpass Improvements

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which operates the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia, has announced the completion and opening of the upgraded Mountain Highway underpass on Vancouver’s North Shore. The underpass, adjacent to Lynnterm Terminal in the District of North Vancouver, was to vehicle traffic as of November. “Contributing to new road and rail infrastructure will help ease the impacts of growing trade on local communities, while fulfilling the port authority’s federal mandate to enable Canada’s trade through the Port of Vancouver,” the Port Authority said in a statement. The project was jointly funded by Transport Canada and the…

Austal Assuming Lease of Marine Group Boat Works at Port of San Diego

Alabama-based Austal USA has received approval from the San Diego Board Port of Commissioners to assume the lease of Marine Group Boat Works at the Port of San Diego. Austal and Marine Group Boat Works entered a 45-day exclusive period in November to seal the agreement. Austal USA has said that it plans to use the 15-acre site to focus on ship repair for U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command, and U.S. Coast Guard ships. The site, immediately adjacent to U.S. Naval Base San Diego, will include a newly-built dry dock designed specifically to handle small surface combatants and other small-to-medium…