Workboat articles from March 2003

Workboat archives from March 2003

All news, but not all the time. (Editor's Watch).(Editorial)
March 1, 2003... David R. Krapf Each month it seems like it's feast or famine for us in the headline business. Some months everything hits the fan at once, and other times a slow news week turns into a slow news month. This month was anything but...

Mail bag.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... Who's crewing all those new vessels? I have read with great interest and concern the letters from Jonny Weelman about foreign seamen working aboard "foreign-flag" vessels (August WorkBoat, page 9, "Are illegal vessel crews working in the...

On the water: second-class mariners. (At a Glance).(International Convention of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers)
March 1, 2003... Years ago the International Maritime Organization determined that mariners needed serious improvement in job performance and safety, especially personal safety and survival training. Research showed that many vessels and mariners were lost...

Captain's table: more federal security grants available. (At a Glance).(Transportation Security Administration; port security grants)
March 1, 2003... The Transportation Security Administration announced recently that it would make $105 million available for port security grants in 2003. It may not seem like much considering the hundreds of ports and thousands of other interests that must...

WorkBoat's Composite Index: index begins '03 on a down note. (At a Glance).(Industry Overview)
March 1, 2003... The WorkBoat Composite Index began 2003 where it left off-with more losses. In January, the Index slid almost 5 percent, eclipsing losses posted by the broad market. Losers topped gainers by more than 2-1, with operators posting the biggest...

Inland insider: barge industry needs strong leadership. (At a Glance).(Column)
March 1, 2003... Most agree that the barge industry has been blessed with good leadership from a public policy perspective. Over the last two decades, the industry has been successful on a number of fronts. For example, the government committed to the cost...

OSV day rates: operators still waiting for market upturn. (At a Glance).(offshore support vessels)
March 1, 2003... Day rates were lower in every category in January except larger crewboats. Crewboats were also the only category that posted utilization increases. Supply boat utilization was relatively unchanged, but day rates were significantly lower. ...

Legal talk: sexual harassment in the maritime world. (At a Glance).
March 1, 2003... Maritime employers who ignore sexual harassment complaints are as susceptible to liability as their shore-based counterparts. However, with maritime workers, the way in which that liability is assessed has some peculiar wrinkles. ...

Kirby posts strong 2002 earnings. (News Bitts).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A weak economy and sluggish petrochemical movements didn't prevent Kirby from posting its second-best earnings year ever. Excluding a fourth-quarter impairment charge for a reduction in the useful lives on 114 single-hull barges and a book...

STCW in full effect. (News Bitts).(International Convention of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... On Feb. 1, STCW '95 took full effect when the one-year grace period for mariners who work on towing vessels under 200 gross tons on near-coastal voyages to obtain their STCW certificates expired.

Weather extremes wreak havoc on marine transportation. (News Log).
March 1, 2003... Recent cold temperatures in the Northeast and iow water on the Mississippi River have resulted in delays, and in some cases shutdowns, of marine traffic. In New York Harbor and along the Hudson River, the U.S. Coast Guard has had to use up...

Port security hearings bring questions, worries. (News Log).(Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and International Ship and Port Facility Code )
March 1, 2003... The Coast Guard kicked off its cross-country maritime security tour in New Orleans recently and found out what they already knew: Many in the marine industry think they should be left alone. Hearings were held in six cities and concluded in...

Seabulk names new Offshore president. (News Bitts).(Seabulk International Inc. appoints Larry D. Francois)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In January, Seabulk International Inc. named Larry D. Francois as the new president of Seabulk Offshore, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company's offshore marine services subsidiary. Francois has executive responsibility for Seabulk's...

First Wave stops work on drill rig. (News Bitts).(First Wave/Newpark Shipbuilding, Crest Hidayat Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In December, First Wave/Newpark Shipbuilding halted repair and conversion work on a semisubmersible drilling rig for Crest Hidayat Ltd., a Malaysian-based company. Houston-based First Wave said it stopped work on the project at its East Pelican...

ACBL will rebound from financial woes, industry analyst says. (News Log).(American Commercial Lines L.L.C. files for Chapter 11 protection)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... When Jeffersonville, Ind.-based American Commercial Lines LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently, it did not signal the beginning of the end for the tug-and-barge giant. Brent Dibner of Dibner Maritime Associates, Boston,...

Bush's 2004 Corps budget proposes shifting some O&M costs to industry. (News Log).(operating and maintainance costs moved away from Corps of Engineers Civil Works budget )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... President Bush wants to place more of the financial burden of operating and maintaining the inland waterways system on the backs of its users. The administration's fiscal year 2004 budget request for the Corps of Engineers Civil Works...

Uninspected vessel label under discussion. (News Log).(American Waterways Operators)
March 1, 2003... Would U.S. tug and barge companies have anything to gain if "uninspected" vessels were no longer allowed to operate on U.S. inland and coastal waterways? That question was put on the table by the American Waterways Operators during its...

Report critical of Canadian Coast Guard. (News Log).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Canadian auditor general's office issued a report in December that's highly critical of the Canadian Coast Guard's efficiency and management practices. "I am concerned about the longstanding nature of many of the management issues...

E-tug: interest in online sales of marine equipment is increasing. (Focus: Internet Auctions).(Equipmentfacts.com)
March 1, 2003... Jeff Smith needed a tug and he needed it fast. Smith, owner of a small fleet of barges and tugs on the East Coast, had a client for a long-term charter of a truckable tug, but he didn't have a boat available. He didn't want to lose the...

Power play; towboats: fewer newbuilds, more repowerings. (Vessel Report: Pushboat Market).
March 1, 2003... "Towboat construction has ground to a halt." Well, not quite. That was our assessment of the towboat market in a report that appeared in WorkBoat back in 1995. At that time, towboat construction had slowed to about five or six a year. ...

Alaska ferry under construction at Conrad. (On the Ways).(Conrad Industries Inc., Alaska Marine Highway System)
March 1, 2003... Morgan City, La.-based Conrad Industries Inc. is building a 149-passenger, 18-vehicl steel ferry for the Alaska Marine Highway System. The $9.5 million ferry will be the first for AMHS to provide point-to-point service between two...

Rodriguez building two more tugs for Cheramie. (On the Ways).(Rodriguez Boat Builders Inc., IMMC/Huey L. Cheramie Inc. )
March 1, 2003... Rodriguez Boat Builders, Bayou La Batre, Ala., has two offshore tugs under construction for Galliano, La.-based IMMC/Huey L. Cheramie Inc. The Niz C. Gisclair, a 72'x28x10' off-shore tug, is due to be completed in mid-March. The 93'x32'x12'...

More research vessels from Gladding-Hearn. (On the Ways).(Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding Duclos Corp. build Roger Long designed research vessels)
March 1, 2003... You'd be foolish to give up on something that's proven, and Roger Long of Roger Long Marine Architecture, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is no fool. Eight years ago, he designed the 50-foot oceanographic boat Gulf Challenger for the University of...

Newest Kvichak project will fly over ice. (On the Ways).(Kvichak Marine Industries Inc. hovercraft)
March 1, 2003... Although it can float on water if needed, Kvichak Marine Industries' latest project is really designed to float on air. Now an official licensee of Griffon Hovercraft Ltd., Southampton, England, Kvichak expects to deliver its first...

Washburn & Doughty Associates. (Boatbuilding Bitts).(Towing & Transportation tug boats)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Freedom, the first of two 92'X32' Z-drive tugs being built for Boston Towing & Transportation, was launched on Jan. 31 by Washburn & Doughty Associates, East Boothbay, Maine. The sister tug, the Liberty, will follow in a few months. The...

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. (Boatbuilding Bitts).(Port of Los Angeles fireboat)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Around the same time, Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash., launched one of its latest projects, a 105'X29' fireboat for the Port of Los Angeles. With a total firefighting capacity of 31,000 gpm, the new boat will have as much...

Gunderson Inc. (Boatbuilding Bitts).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Chuck Garman of Gunderson Inc. in Portland, Ore., reported recently that the barge builder is busy with numerous projects for a variety of clients. The latest launch was an 80,000-bbl. barge for Sause Brothers. Almost an ATB, the barge has a...

Keith Marine Inc. (Boatbuilding Bitts).(Dream Cruises Inc. contract)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A new dinner-cruise vessel, the Endless Dreams, was recently delivered to Dream Cruises Inc., Newport Beach, Calif. The 125'X32' vessel, designed by DeJong & Lebet and built at Keith Marine Inc., Palatka, Fla., can carry 468 passengers plus 32...

Bollinger Shipyards Inc. (Boatbuilding Bitts).(remodels Coast Guard patrol boat, Matagorda)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... In February at Bollinger Shipyards Inc., the 110' Island Class patrol boat Matagorda was decommissioned. Over the next nine months it will undergo extensive modifications before reemerging as a 123' cutter with enhanced capabilities. The Coast...

Textron Marine and Land Systems. (Boatbuilding Bitts).(Coast Guard lifeboat order)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Another Louisiana builder, Textron Marine and Land Systems, New Orleans, is close to completing its Coast Guard order for 117 47' motor lifeboats. The final MLB will be delivered in May, according to Lt. Cmdr. John Bragaw, the USCG's commanding...

Dock solid: huge government drydock provides Victoria's shipyards with an environmentally friendly facility.(Esquimalt Graving Dock, Victoria Shipyards Company Ltd. and Point Hope Maritime )(Cover Story)
March 1, 2003... Victoria isn't like Vancouver. It's not a large, cosmopolitan city. It doesn't have a huge harbor, and it's not the commercial "centre" of British Columbia. But Victoria has a few things that Vancouver doesn't. For one, Victoria is the...

Weight lifter: new liftboat for Supervisor Energy can work in 180 feet of water. (Boats & Gear: Superior Liftboat).
March 1, 2003... In the world of workboats, the liftboat is like gumbo--a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It's part jackup rig, part crane barge, part floating hotel, and part tug. Conceived in southern Louisiana in the early days of the oil...

Smoke out: technology is available to help reduce diesel engine emissions. (Boats & Gear: Diesel Engines).
March 1, 2003... California is the land of alternatives. From personal lifestyles to government mandates, California has--depending on your perspective--progressively led the way or gone over the top. Air pollution issues illustrate the situation. ...

Communications upgrade. (Product Locker).
March 1, 2003... Sea Tel inc. says its new 4003 Broadband Maritime Communications System (BMCS) is designed to provide business-class connectivity for at-sea communications requirements. The broadband-at-sea service provides an Internet speed at 512 kbps...

Fuel injectors. (Product Locker).
March 1, 2003... Interstate Diesel, Cleveland, is marketing a new fuel injector for the marine industry called the Ecotip Special Injector. The new injector, which can comply with different pollution control regulations, has a patented, variable fuel delivery...

Shaft bearings. (Product Locker).
March 1, 2003... PYI Inc. has introduced its new line of shaft bearings. The CARAVEL involute shaft bearings have spiral grooves designed to increase water flow, produce a longer shaft life, increase bearing life, and decrease vibrations. The bearings, built...