November/December 2023 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

MARAD Designates New Marine Highway Routes in Alaska

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has designated two new Marine Highway routes, one including seasonal barge routes in Alaska, in an effort to speed up movement of goods, strengthen supply chains and support local economies in Alaska. Buttigieg made the announcement in Juneau on Aug. 16, on the last day of a three-day whirlwind tour of Alaska, where he met with residents of the city Kotzebue, toured the Port of Alaska and traveled aboard an Alaska Marine Highway System ferry to visit Southeast Alaska towns. “By expanding our marine highway system, we can strengthen our supply chains, improve port operations…

Evolving Threats: Adapting to Trends in Maritime Cargo Theft

The maritime industry exists to move goods and people via the oceans, lakes and rivers. These goods range from breakbulk—such as wheat, coal, gravel—to thousands of containers moving high-value cargo. Unfortunately, cargo theft in the U.S. is a $15 to $35 billion enterprise that affects seaports, airports, trucking companies and shipping companies daily. The cargo thefts are not necessarily focused on high-value goods such as semi-conductors and precious metals, but also on food and beverages. For instance, in the Seattle area, one thief posed as a Safeway employee and attempted to steal more than $700,000 of king crab for resale.…

U.S. Navy’s 1st Hydrofoil Scrapped in Astoria

Sixty years after the fanfare of its christening, the 116-foot former USS High Point hydrofoil was scrapped in August at the Hyak Tongue Point Shipyard in Astoria, Ore. The event marked the end of the pioneering design of the U.S. Navy’s first full-size “Patrol Coastal Hydrofoil,” or PCH-1. It was the product of a decade of research and experimentation and was promoted as a potential submarine hunter during America’s Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Navy chose Boeing to build the revolutionary high-speed vessel with the ability to “fly” above the water on foils. The construction was sub-contracted to…

Alaska and Hawaii Shipping: Transformation and Recovery

The Alaska and Hawaii regions are in the midst of transformation and recovery. The Port of Alaska is not only undertaking long-awaited infrastructure projects to keep goods flowing in the future, the port itself may soon undergo a name change. In July, a panel recommended renaming it the Don Young Port of Anchorage to honor the longtime congressman who died in 2022. A final decision is expected by the state Assembly in the coming weeks. In Hawaii, the community continues to work toward recovery after an August wildfire killed an estimated 97 people, displaced at least 11,000 others and caused…

Newsmakers

James Fowler Appointed to Lead Crowley Shipping Crowley Maritime in mid-September announced that it has appointed industry leader James Fowler as senior vice president and general manager of its Crowley Shipping business unit, which serves U.S. and international maritime and logistics sectors. Crowley offers design, construction management and operation of a diverse range of vessels, port and offshore energy infrastructure, as well as advanced energy solutions including LNG. Its services include ship assist and harbor escort services, offshore energy installation and project management. Besides vessel design and mariner engineering group Crowley Engineering Services, Crowley Shipping also operates and manages liquid…

Guest Column: Cleanest Ports in the Nation

From an air quality and climate pollutant standpoint, the state of California has the cleanest ports in the U.S. The success of these ports’ clean air programs is a function of numerous factors. They include port policies, lease agreements, voluntary measures, regulations and an industry willingness to experiment with a variety of technologies, fuels and operational modifications. Most port-related emission categories are now measured in fractions of a percentage point of total emission inventories – i.e., very small numbers. As an example, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions for marine terminal equipment operating in the South Coast Air Basin make up about…

U.S. Coast Guard Alaska Responds to Multiple Fishing Vessel Medevacs

On Aug. 25, Coast Guard District 17 command center personnel received a medevac request from the fishing vessel Northern Eagle at 6:20 a.m. for a 26-year-old crewmember experiencing abdominal pain. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter air crew launched from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and hoisted the crewmember at 8:15 p.m. about 23 miles northwest of St Paul Island. The man was then flown to St. Paul where he was transferred to commercial emergency medical services at 9 p.m. for further care in Anchorage. Also on Aug. 25, Coast Guard District 17 command center personnel received a medevac request from…

Coast Guard Cutter Healy Embarks on Arctic Ocean Mission

The Coast Guard cutter Healy and a team of researchers have embarked on a months-long mission to gain insight on how warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean is being introduced into the Arctic at the shelf water level, deep basin interior and upper ocean. The mission was announced by the U.S. Coast Guard on Aug. 26. According to the USCG, researchers from the National Science Foundation and International Arctic Research Center will service the Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS), in hopes of developing an understanding of water circulation in the region and will sample the water column in…

Coast Guard Medevacs Fisherman 93 Miles Off San Diego Coast

A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew medically evacuated a 50-year-old male from the sport fishing vessel Spirit of Adventure about 93 miles west of Point Loma, on Aug. 16. Crew aboard the Spirit of Adventure contacted Coast Guard Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center at about 1:40 p.m. requesting assistance for a passenger who was displaying symptoms of a heart attack. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Sector San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, including a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team paramedic, to assist. Once on the scene, the helicopter crew recovered the patient and transported…

Coast Guard Cutter Returns After 57-Day Arctic Ocean-Bering Sea Patrol

The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley returned to its homeport of Kodiak, Alaska on Labor Day following a 57-day patrol in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. The Alex Haley is a 282-foot Medium Endurance Cutter that performs search and rescue, fisheries law enforcement and vessel safety inspections across Alaska and has been homeported in Kodiak since 1999. Nicknamed the “Bulldog of the Bering,” the vessel supported multiple strategic-level objectives for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District and the U.S. Northern Command during its 57-day mission, including providing presence along the U.S. Maritime Boundary Line and supporting U.S. Navy assets during…