November/December 2023 – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

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…

Safety in Shipping Report Highlights Developing Risks, Changing Landscape

New risks are emerging in the shipping industry—from excess capacity, economic factors, decarbonization and increased fire perils driven by changing cargo trends—countering the upsides of a continued long-term drop in vessel losses due to improvements in safety and ship design. These developing trends, detailed in a new report from global insurer Allianz, are worth watching for West Coast shippers as part of various changes that promise to reshape the global shipping landscape. The upside of this year’s Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Safety and Shipping Review, an annual look at losses and safety trends in shipping, is the continuation of…

EPA Seeks Ideas About Zero-Emission Port Projects

In May, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a request for information (RFI) about how the agency can best develop funding programs to support the build-out of zero-emission energy and transportation infrastructure at ports. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides $4 billion to the EPA to develop grant and rebate funding programs to reduce greenhouse gases and improve air quality. There are two focuses: a $1 billion Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program and the $3 billion Grants to Reduce Air Pollution at Ports. Funds go to eligible recipients, with the money not dependent on annual federal budget cycles. The EPA’s…