October 2022 – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Baja California Seaports: An Overview

The seaports along Mexico’s Pacific coast generally don’t receive a lot of attention north of the border in the United States, but although they’re typically smaller and not as high profile, some of them are as bustling as their counterparts elsewhere in North America. Part of the reason why is the country’s blossoming manufacturing industry. Mexico has 16 international seaports allowing for the expedited arrival and departure of goods. Baja California, a Mexican state south of California, is home to five of those international seaports—Ensenada, Isla de Cedros, Rosarito, Sauzal de Rodriguez and San Felipe—all of which except Isla de…

Passenger Ferries: Becoming Cleaner, More Sustainable

Those in charge of passenger-only ferry design, construction and operations continues to march toward cleaner, more sustainable models and practices. Whether it’s ferries that get commuters to and from work or catamarans that carry researchers to their oceanic missions, West Coast vessel builders and operators are moving people in a way that produces less pollution. That move toward zero emissions is expected to quicken with President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Passed in November, it includes “historic levels of funding,” almost $300 million, to enhance access to ferry service and build greener ferries, according to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).…

Crowley Expands Engineering Services, Integrates Seattle Design Firm

Crowley Maritime has expanded its vessel design services with the strategic integration of the Seattle-based marine interior design company JE Russell Consulting, Crowley announced Sept. 1. The addition is expected to enable Crowley’s engineering services group to add the capability to complement vessels’ existing designs with interior designs, consulting and other service offerings. “With the addition of the JE Russell team, Crowley’s established leadership role in diverse and innovative vessel design, naval architecture and construction management grows,” said in a statement. “This newly embedded synergy provides enhanced solutions from the beginning for customers seeking high performance, sustainable vessels with thoughtful,…

Seaport Cybersecurity – A Serious Undertaking

In January 2022, port facilities in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands reported large-scale ransomware attacks that disrupted operations at oil terminals and prevented tankers from delivering energy supplies throughout the region. The attacks impacted at least 17 terminals, including those in Hamburg, Ghent, Antwerp-Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. The reported ransom demands were around $14 million, well above the average demand. In 2019, a Singapore-based public-private initiative called Cyber Risk Management (CyRiM) studied a hypothetical cyberattack against 15 Asian seaports. In their analysis – called the Shen Attack – the theorized cyberattack would be launched by a computer virus carried by a…

NVOCCs Caught in the Middle: Ocean Shipping Reform Act 2022 Requirements for Reporting Demurrage and Detention

The FMC needs to pump the brakes and allow the industry to catch up. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, passed by Congress without industry input and signed into law on June 16, has left the industry in a difficult position regarding how to comply with the new requirements for invoicing demurrage and detention (D&D) charges. At issue is the Container Availability Date, which must now be included on all invoices as the critical piece of information that determines the fair assessment of D&D charges. However, container availability differs from the date a container is discharged from a vessel,…

A Tragic End for Astoria’s 98-Year-Old Ferry and Its Owner

Abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) are such a growing problem on the Northwest coast that the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force organized an ADV workgroup in 2018. The latest move came Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL) publishing a memorandum on Aug. 9, 2022 that outlined a three-year ADV removal plan with a budget of $40 million. The DSL estimated there were 19 commercial ADVs and 175 smaller recreational derelict boats statewide. The largest and most significant were the 95-year old 125-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alert and the 100-foot World War II U.S. Navy tug Sakarissa sunk…

Yang Ming Names New 11,000 TEU Vessel

Container shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport has added a new 11,000 TEU container vessel named YM Throne to its fleet. The vessel is chartered from Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. and was built by Imabari Shipbuilding Co. The naming ceremony for YM Throne took place at Imabari Hiroshima Shipyard in Mihara, Japan on Aug. 5, while Yang Ming’s attendees joined the ceremony remotely from their Taipei office. Hsieh-Lung Yeh, Director-General of the Maritime and Port Bureau, MOTC officially named the ship, while Shu-Chu Li, wife of Director-General of the Maritime and Port Bureau, MOTC performed the ceremonial cord-cutting. “To further…

Shipping Industry Removing Indian Ocean High-Risk Area Designation

After more than a decade of counter-piracy operations, the shipping industry is removing the designated High-Risk Area (HRA) in the Indian Ocean. Notification of the removal, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2023 was forwarded in an Aug. 22 submission the International Maritime Organization for the next meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee, which is scheduled to start Oct. 31. “The removal of the HRA reflects a significantly improved piracy situation in the region, largely due to concerted counter-piracy efforts by many regional and international stakeholders,” the International Maritime Organization explained in a statement. No piracy attacks against merchant…

Vessel Profile: It Takes a Village to Build a Hybrid-Electric Ferry

Seattle’s Elliott Bay Design Group shapes a new hybrid-electric, double-ended ferry for Casco Bay Lines of Maine. A 164-foot, double-ended hybrid-electric ferry from Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) was chosen by Casco Bay Lines (CBL) of Portland, Maine, to enter the construction phase at Senesco Marine of North Kingston, R.I., this fall. The new ferry is expected to enter service in 2024 to replace the existing Machigonne II diesel-powered ferry that operates between Portland and Peaks Island, Maine. Crowley Maritime announced in August that they were selected by Senesco Marine to provide design verification and production packaging for the…

BASF, Samsung Collaborating on Carbon Capture, Storage for Maritime Vessels

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has reached an agreement with German multinational chemical company BASF for a collaborative feasibility assessment of capturing CO2 onboard maritime vessels using BASF technology for flue gas applications. The companies announced the agreement on Sept. 9. The scope of the collaboration includes a marinization study as well as engineering design and construction of the carbon capture unit. BASF will support with its expertise on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and with its own technology, contributing to sustainability by substantial energy savings compared with conventional technologies. SHI is to evaluate the feasibility of installing…