Workboat articles from December 2005

Workboat archives from December 2005

Where are the workers?(EDITOR'S WATCH)
December 1, 2005... The buzz in the Gulf of Mexico workboat industry circles continues to revolve around Hurricane Katrina. The common greeting at industry gatherings these days is "how did you do" in the storm rather than "how's business." But as people get...

Coasties that assisted during Katrina need some help.(MAIL BAG)
December 1, 2005... I had the opportunity to work very closely with a number of Coast Guard personnel during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I spent several days at the Aviation Training Center and MSO Mobile, Ala., as well as Alexandria Command in Louisiana. ...

Does anyone really want to be a mariner anymore?(MAIL BAG)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... After reading the Katrina issue, I wrote out three pages of stuff about the low level of interest in maritime employment ("Help Wanted," October, page 28.). Then I asked myself, why bother to send it in when your readers are not the problem....

On the water: better schools could help.(AT A GLANCE)
December 1, 2005... Hawsepipers aren't perfect. As a recent letter in the Mail Bag said, there are plenty of paper captains out there who don't care enough about their jobs. They don't bother to learn any more than what's needed to pass the license exam, much of...

Captain's table: can states effectively regulate maritime safety?(AT A GLANCE)
December 1, 2005... Maybe it's time to take a fresh look at who has jurisdiction for regulating commercial navigation on federal and non-federal waters. As the Ethan Allen tour-boat disaster on Lake George, N.Y., showed, U.S. Coast Guard marine safety...

WorkBoat Composite Index: Index posts first loss in six months.(AT A GLANCE)
December 1, 2005... For the first time in six months, the WorkBoat Composite Index posted a loss. In October, the Index lost 4.5 percent. Losers topped winners by a ratio of 4 to 1. Winners included Manitowoc Co. and Todd Shipyards. Losers included several...

OSV day rates: rigs, boats are at full utilization.(AT A GLANCE)
December 1, 2005... Gulf of Mexico rig utilization remained essentially flat during October. As of Oct. 31, 126 rigs were contracted out of a total fleet of 158. The total fleet number still includes several jackups that were sunk or still have not been located as...

Inland insider: beware of the unfriendly tiger.(AT A GLANCE)
December 1, 2005... There is an unfriendly tiger lurking in your gas tank. Years ago a major gasoline refiner's advertising campaign featured putting a friendly "tiger in your tank" that would help improve car performance. It has now been replaced by inflation, an...

Q&A: a talk with James McCarville, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.(AT A GLANCE)(Interview)
December 1, 2005... WorkBoat: How is cargo traffic through the port region? McCarville: There has been steady growth from 1993-2003. But in 2003-2004, we had a 20 percent drop due to efficiencies, not to a decline in the market. For example, we lost 4 million...

Legal talk: OPA '90 liability limit may increase.(AT A GLANCE)
December 1, 2005... There have been no changes in liability limits under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 since it became law. That could soon change. OPA '90 liability limits may increase substantially for some vessels. The current proposal to increase OPA '90...

Nashville, Tenn.-based Ingram Barge Co.
December 1, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Nashville, Tenn.-based Ingram Barge Co. is keeping hope afloat by donating services to Habitat for Humanity's Operation Home Delivery, a program to help rebuild the Gulf Coast region. Habitat for Humanity is...

USDA provides funding to free up barges for grain.(NEWS LOG)
December 1, 2005... To help ease the barge crunch in the busy harvest season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently made $7.6 million available to unload barges loaded with grain that were stranded in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. The...

High-speed Cat comes to Portland, Maine.(NEWS BITTS)
December 1, 2005... The Portland (Maine) City Council has approved a deal that will restore international ferry service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Portland lost ferry service to Nova Scotia last spring when the owners of the Scotia Prince...

Danos & Curole sells off marine equipment.(NEWS BITTS)
December 1, 2005... Larose, La.-based Danos & Curole Marine Contractors LLC, an oil and gas service provider, completed the sale of its marine assets to Hercules Liftboat Co., Houston, in November. The sale includes eight liftboats and the infrastructure related...

West Coast short-sea routes proposed.(NEWS LOG)
December 1, 2005... A California trucking company is looking to develop short-sea shipping routes along the state's coast as a way of reducing current and future gridlock on area highways and in West Coast ports. The plan is still on the drawing board, but...

Coastal Marine acquires Winch Company's assets.(NEWS BITTS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2005... Coastal Marine Equipment Inc., Gulfport, Miss., a manufacturer of marine deck machinery and supplier of machinery for the double-hull newbuild and retrofit barge market, has acquired the assets of McElroy/Catchot Winch Company Inc., Ocean...

U.S. Shipping declines option for more ATBs.(NEWS LOG)
December 1, 2005... In 2004, Senesco Marine was awarded a $45.4 million contract by U.S. Shipping Partners Ltd. to construct an articulated tug/barge (ATB) unit. The contract for the 150'X46' tug and 512'X71', 140,000-bbl. tank barge included options for three...

NTSB cites fatigue in Alaska ferry grounding.(NEWS LOG)
December 1, 2005... The most likely cause of a 2004 ferry accident in Alaska was fatigue, according to federal investigators. The LeConte, a 217' Alaska Marine Highway System ferry, was en route from Angoon to Sitka when the accident occurred. During the trip,...

Half of U.S. Gulf's daily oil production shut in.(NEWS BITTS)
December 1, 2005... As of Nov. 15, almost half of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico daily oil production was still shut in as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. On Nov. 15, over 727,000 bbls. per day of oil were shut in, the equivalent of 48.47 percent of the daily...

European plan: Europe's waterways are ahead of the U.S., but face some common obstacles.(INLAND WATERWAYS)
December 1, 2005... The European and American inland waterways systems have more in common than many think. The U.S. inland industry generally believes that its European counterparts have it pretty easy across the pond. Waterways in countries such as Austria,...

Technically speaking: SNAME conference features scores of technical papers.(SNAME CONFERENCE)
December 1, 2005... Towing regulations, virtual-reality welder training and double-hull barge construction were just a few of the subjects discussed at an October industry conference in Houston. Over 65 panels and papers were presented at the Society of Navy...

Boat people: family-run OSV company considers its employees a part of the clan.(ABDON CALLAIS OFFSHORE)
December 1, 2005... Shortly after World War II, when the Gulf of Mexico energy industry was in its infancy, Abdon Callais found a way to augment his income from commercial fishing by working in the budding offshore service sector. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Alaska Ship & Drydock to build experimental ferry.(ON THE WAYS)
December 1, 2005... First there was the X-craft. Now there's an E-Craft. Both projects received funding from the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) and both have potential military applications. The 193'X50' E-Craft, however, is being built as a civilian ferry...

Austal USA.(BOATBUILDING BITTS)(Editorial)
December 1, 2005... Austal USA recently received confirmation of full funding for the Hawaii Superferry project. The Mobile, Ala., yard said it began construction on the first ferry in June 2004 based on initial funding and "a strategic decision by Austal to...

Conrad Industries.(BOATBUILDING BITTS)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Conrad Industries, Morgan City, La., announced the award of two contracts for new tugs. One will be a 99', 4,200-hp Z-drive for South Puerto Rico Towing Corp. and the other will be the 16th ST (small-type) tug for the U.S. Army. Both will be...

Workskiff Inc.(BOATBUILDING BITTS)
December 1, 2005... Another military contract will be providing ongoing work for Workskiff Inc., Burlington, Wash. The builder of small aluminum boats recently announced an order from the U.S. Navy for six oil-spill response boats and two utility boats in the...

Boudreaux's Boats builds survey vessel for LSU.(ON THE WAYS)
December 1, 2005... Boudreaux's Boats, Lafitte, La., designed and built a 41'X17'X3' fiberglass survey vessel, the Coastal Profiler, for Louisiana State University's Coastal Studies Institute in Baton Rouge, La. The boat was delivered to LSU in late August, just...

Patti Shipyard building new ASD tug.(ON THE WAYS)
December 1, 2005... In early November, Patti Shipyard Inc. in Pensacola, Fla., signed a contract to build a 102'X32'X13' ASD tug for an East Coast owner. Eric Blumhagen, a senior naval architect at Jensen Maritime Consultants, Seattle, and project manager for...

Bludworth towboats for Republic Barge.(ON THE WAYS)
December 1, 2005... John Bludworth Shipyard LLC, Corpus Christi, Texas, is constructing two 84'X30'X11' steel-hulled towboats for Hockley, Texas-based Republic Barge Transportation Co. John L. Bludworth III designed the double-chine vessels with 1/2" plate...

Extra! Extra!(COVER STORY)
December 1, 2005... This year's Top 10 news stories cover several subjects that span all of the workboat industry's main market sectors. Predictably, Hurricane Katrina's devastating impact on the Gulf Coast topped this year's list of stories. But that wasn't the...

Significant boats of 2005.(RECOGNITION AWARDS)
December 1, 2005... Each year, we review all the boats that have appeared in WorkBoat during the previous year. Of these, WorkBoat's editors choose 10 that we feel deserve special recognition. Some are chosen for design or technological advances, while others are...

Sharp dresser: new Delaware research vessel is ready for multiple missions.(RESEARCH VESSEL)
December 1, 2005... After many years of planning, testing, consulting and fundraising, the University of Delaware's new research vessel, the Hugh R. Sharp, is finally a reality. The $18 million vessel was recently completed after nearly a year of construction...

Big yellow taxi: New York company's new boats handle commuters and more.(72' WATER TAXIS)
December 1, 2005... When Tom Fox, president and CEO of New York Water Taxi, went to International Catamaran Designs in Australia to design a pair of new aluminum catamaran ferries, he was seeking boats that would be able to do more than just get riders from point...

Show listings.(INTERNATIONAL WORKBOAT SHOW)(Directory)
December 1, 2005... As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 International WorkBoat Show, scheduled for Nov. 30-Dec. 2 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, has been cancelled. As a service to our readers, below is a list of companies that...

New product designed to cut fuel costs.(Product Spotlight)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Makers of the new PureFlow[TM] Diesel System say that fuel savings of 6 percent have been confirmed in laboratory testing. Tests conducted on marine diesel engines showed an increase in fuel efficiency and a corresponding decrease in total...

30kw genset.(PRODUCT LOCKER)
December 1, 2005... Seattle-based Northern Lights has developed a genset for workboats that need big power in a small package. The new M944W produces 30kw of electrical power and is built for long life at full load. From the cupronickle heat exchanger to the...

3-D software upgrade.(PRODUCT LOCKER)
December 1, 2005... Since releasing the 2005 version of ShipConstructor, the AutoCAD-based 3-D product modeling software for shipyards and designers, Albacore Research Ltd. (ARL), Victoria, British Columbia, has been working closely with customers worldwide to...

Durable clutch plates.(PRODUCT LOCKER)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Tribco Inc., a Cleveland-based manufacturer of friction material, has developed Braketex[R] and Clutchtex[R], a 100 percent Kevlar[R] fiber composite friction material for brake and clutch plates, brake pads, and shoes. The new products are...

Boat mats.(PRODUCT LOCKER)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... PatioMats, Portland, Ore., has introduced Reversible PatioMats, which can be used inside or outside a boat cabin or anywhere else you would use indoor/outdoor carpeting. Reversible PatioMats are made of 100 percent virgin polypropylene that has...

Looks back.(WB ARCHIVES)
December 1, 2005... December 1955 * (The following is an excerpt from an "As WorkBoat Sees It" editorial.) Anyone in the barge and towboat business who feels inclined to question the need for an organization like the National Waterways Conference can find...