Sept-Oct 2024 – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Kongsberg Maritime: Celebrating 50 Years of Ship Design

Kongsberg Maritime, the Norway-based technology, equipment and services company that has offices in Washington state and British Columbia, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its ship design business this year. Kongsberg’s original design teams produced their first-ever models in 1974, and since then, the company has risen as a name in the vessel design industry. At the dawn of the offshore oil and gas industry in the 1970s, some of the very first vessels made specifically for the harsh operating conditions of the North Sea were designed by Kongsberg. The company’s UT design range became a benchmark for the industry…

How To De-Risk New, Greener Marine Technologies Using a Digital Twin

The marine sector lags far behind other transportation sectors when it comes to implementing greener technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Because marine infrastructure is relatively expensive and the life of each vessel can be 40 years or more, stakeholders are understandably slower to adopt new technologies. But with an urgent need to decarbonize the marine industry, how can operators accelerate the implementation of newer technologies such as all-electric vessels? When attempting to add new innovative marine transportation offerings to complement an established maritime operation, the challenges go beyond the electric vessel technology itself. Current marine infrastructure and schedules are…

Coast Guard Commissions 1st Pacific Northwest-Based Fast Response Cutter

The Coast Guard commissioned its 56th Fast Response Cutter, the first to be stationed in the Pacific Northwest, during a June 27 ceremony in Astoria, Ore. presided over by Pacific Area Commander Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson. David Duren is the first of three planned Fast Response Cutters (FRC) to be homeported in Astoria. The cutter’s namesake, Master Chief Petty Officer David Duren, enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1965 and retired in 1993. During his career, Duren received two Coast Guard Medals for exceptional heroism and the Douglas Munro Inspirational Leadership Award. He deployed on search-and-rescue cases more than any…

Newsmakers

PMSA’s Grubbs Elected to Containerization & Intermodal Institute Board Pacific Merchant Shipping Association Vice President Michele Grubbs has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII), a not-for-profit organization committed to supporting and promoting the business of international trade and the intermodal transportation community. CII announced her election July 24. Grubbs has been with PMSA since 2004, overseeing its Long Beach office. PMSA, an independent nonprofit association, represents ocean carriers, marine terminal operators, and the maritime industry on the U.S. West Coast. It advocates for owners and operators of marine terminals and vessels, actively…

Port of LA Completes $73M On-Dock Rail Expansion

The Port of Los Angeles on July 10 announced that it has completed construction of a major rail expansion project on Pier 400 that would improve cargo flow, reduce emissions and improve roadway safety at the port. Construction of the upgraded, expanded intermodal rail storage yard near the container terminal operated by APM Terminals began in 2021. The project added 31,000 linear feet of track with five new railroad storage tracks, a concrete rail bridge with lighting, an asphalt access roadway, new crossovers and turnouts, and modifications to the compressed air system, according to the port. Work also included the…

Seaspan Unveils New Marine Firefighting Ship Simulator

Regional fire departments in British Columbia can now receive hands-on practice at shipboard firefighting at a new training facility designed to enhance the skills of local firefighters and develop area expertise in marine firefighting and emergency rescue events. The Seaspan Responder is a fire simulator constructed out of shipping containers to resemble a tugboat and is stationed at the Maplewood Fire and Rescue Centre, the headquarters for the District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services (DNVFRS). DNVFRS is part of a regional fire and emergency services system, working alongside West Vancouver Fire & Rescue and the City of North…

Transport Secretary Buttigieg Attends Groundbreaking for POLB Rail Support Facility

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and officials from across the nation on July 18 attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Port of Long Beach’s Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, a $1.567 billion endeavor that the port has said will define its cargo movement future. About 500 people gathered for the groundbreaking event for the project, which is expected to double the footprint of the existing rail yard from 82 acres to 171 acres. It is being built in phases, each enhancing cargo movement, with construction scheduled for completion by 2032. In recognition of the facility’s importance to the…

Vigor Begins Production on U.S. Army Landing Craft

Shipbuilding and repair service provider Vigor Industrial has begun low-rate initial production on the Maneuver Support Vehicle (Light) vessel for the U.S. Army in Vancouver, Wash., the Portland, Ore.-based company announced June 4. The new generation military landing craft will replace the Vietnam-era Landing Craft Mechanized 8, Vigor said in its announcement. Vigor completed and launched the prototype vessel, the Elroy F. Wells, in 2022. This past June, work began work on the next phase of the new $1 billion job, which is expected to employ over 180 skilled workers in the project over the next five years. Vigor Vice…

Dedicated Cruise Ship Float Dock Opens in Skagway, Alaska

With thousands of visitors expected to head for the historic gold rush city of Skagway, Alaska during 2024, a new floating cruise ship dock debuted at the city’s port in late June. The 500-by-50-foot dock, located where ore shipments at the Port of Skagway were formerly loaded, accepted its first cruise ship of the season, the Konningsdam, on May 14, in advance of an official ribbon cutting ceremony on June 27, Municipality of Skagway Port Director Cody Jennings said. “This is a dedicated cruise ship dock,” Jennings said. “We expect to see 137 cruise ship calls, with an estimated 415,000…

Ex Seattle Port Police Chief Awarded $24M Following ‘Wrongful’ Firing

After a six-week trial, the former head of the Port of Seattle’s police department has been awarded $24.2 million in damages as part of a legal case under which he sued the port for unlawful firing, according to a July 22 Seattle Times report. Ex-chief Rod Covey was removed from his post in September 2021, several months after being placed on administrative leave by the port. An internal investigation by the port found he had violated the port’s code of conduct and human resources policies after a port police officer filed racial discrimination complaints against Covey and other superior officers.…