Workboat articles from October 2008

Workboat archives from October 2008

Lessons learned.(Editor'sWatch)(accidents of barge tow with a tanker)(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... When a barge tow collides with a tanker, it is always an unwelcome development, one sure to portray the industry in a questionable light on the national stage. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] But the incident proved that the marine industry, in...

License holder seeks work in the marine industry.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... I recently qualified for my master's license and hope to work in the marine field as a second career. I have read with interest the articles on the difficulties of hiring and retaining maritime professionals. Most articles seem to be of...

Six-on six-off is 'deadly'.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... I believe that the issue of sleep deprivation is one of the paramount issues facing the maritime industry. It drives professional mariners out of the industry. The six-hours-on/off watch schedule is criminal and shows a blatant disregard for...

Sea Scout units need support from the industry.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Kudos to Capt. G.A. Rekart of Raymond, Wash., for pointing out that the Sea Scouts have been teaching young teenagers about boats and life on the water for almost 100 years ("Source for future mariners?" Mail-Bag, August 2008). A small and...

Another Avenue for youth maritime training.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Your Mail Bag item on the Sea Scouts in the August issue was good, but there is also another very active youth training organization--the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Sponsored by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Navy League, the Naval Sea cadets...

Still waiting for his TWIC.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... I went in to the Texas City, Texas, office and was screened on Feb. 8, 2008, paid my fee, and still do not have my TWIC card. I have been told by computer-generated e-mails that my data has been lost and that I will be contacted by the...

TWIC card used for ID at TSA security checkpoint.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... On June 26, I flew from Sarasota, Fla., to Boston. I decided that I would use my newly issued TWIC card for identification at the airport's TSA security checkpoint. Up to this point I have always used my Merchant Mariner Document or my passport...

Reader favors eight-hour watch rotations.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... In response to Joel Milton's article on the tired mariner, the six-on/six-off watch system really doesn't leave crew members with enough sleep. (On the Water, "Tired Mariners--Part II," June 2008) I don't think that going to sleep during...

Multitasking is now part of the job for tug captains.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Multitasking in the wheelhouse is now the order of the day aboard tugs and other vessels. Regardless of whether you're a hawsepiper or a ring knocker, if you want to be a captain in the marine industry you will have to do a lot of...

Maritime education article helped generate interest.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... Thanks for publishing the article on maritime education in the July issue ("School Days," page 48). I have gotten a lot of calls from the schools mentioned saying the articles have helped them. They all ask me for copies. We will keep you...

Service helps mariners wade through the TWIC enrollment process.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... While working as a maritime training consultant near Baltimore, I heard firsthand the numerous issues about TWIC pre-enrollment, making appointments and in particular the frustration mariners were having with the TWIC password process. I...

Had no trouble getting his TWIC card in Alabama.(MailBag)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2008... First let me say this: I am opposed to the TWIC card for brownwater operations. This is more for blue water than brown, but as far as getting the card here in Decatur, Ala., the process went great. I was able to pre-enroll, set up my...

On the water: be ready when it floods.(At AGlance)
October 1, 2008... Damage control is not just a political skill. It's really the naval discipline of responding to structural damage and/or flooding. Tug and tow-boat crews generally do little, if any, preparation for this type of emergency, but they should....

Captain's table: TWIC torture.(At AGlance)
October 1, 2008... I recently returned home from a visit to another planet. It was the office I visited to retrieve my TWIC card from the grasp of Lockheed Martin, the contractor in charge of the TWIC program. The company wouldn't release my card to me even...

WorkBoat Composite Index: Index returns to the black in August.(At AGlance)
October 1, 2008... After suffering big losses in June and July, the WorkBoat Composite Index stopped the bleeding in August by managing a small gain. The Index rose just over 13 points during the month, a gain of less than 1 percent. Despite the small gain,...

OSV day rates: strong summer for day rates.(At AGlance)(Statistical table)
October 1, 2008... It's been a great summer for U.S. Gulf workboat operators as day rates and utilization increased during June, July and August. August's numbers were the strongest, with some vessel categories recording increases of over $1,800 a day. These...

Inland insider: new corps project review process put to the test.(At AGlance)(Corps Civil Works Review Board)
October 1, 2008... The Water Resources Development Act requires that all Corps projects with price tags over $45 million be reviewed by an independent panel of outside experts. Expert Review Panel (ERP) members cannot be ex-Corps employees. The role of the ERP is...

Legal talk: third party claims for marine industry workers.(At AGlance)
October 1, 2008... The Jones Act is probably the most recognized law in the maritime industry. But a recent case from the 5th Circuit in Mississippi put the spotlight on another very important law for maritime workers--the Longshore and Harbor Workers'...

Insurance watch: shipyard insurance basics.(At AGlance)
October 1, 2008... Be prepared to become extremely confused. How? Try figuring out what forms of liability insurance a shipyard needs to stay in business. I'll try to clear it up by going over the basics and why the coverages can get extremely complicated. First,...

News log.(OCTOBER 2008)
October 1, 2008... Over two dozen workboats celebrated Baltimore's industrial maritime heritage with a parade along the city's Inner Harbor during Tugfest '08 in August. The event was sponsored by the Baltimore Museum of Industry, home to the steam tug Baltimore,...

Lessons learned from 2005 help protect offshore structures against Gustav.
October 1, 2008... As far as damage to offshore oil and gas facilities from Hurricane Gustav is concerned, it appears that the buildup far exceeded the actual event. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This time, advance preparations were aided by lessons learned...

Former Washington ferry system engineer awarded $2.8 million.(NEWS BITTS)
October 1, 2008... In August, a federal jury in Seattle awarded $2.8 million to a former employee of Washington State Ferries in a whistieblower lawsuit. Ken Marable, who had worked for the state's ferry system for 34 years, including time as a chief engineer,...

New Brubswick-Nova Scotia ferry receives another reprieve.(NEWS BITIS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Ferry service between Saint John, New Brunswick, and Digby, Nova Scotia, on the Bay of Fundy, has received a second funding reprieve from the governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scoria. The government funding will go toward operation...

Cost Guard issues Safety alert in walk of Mississippi oil spill.(NEWS BITIS)
October 1, 2008... In the wake of July's collision between a barge tow and tanker on the Mississippi River, the Coast Guard issued a Marine Safety Alert remining the inland towing industry to properly man their vessels with adequate numbers of qualified and...

Deep seated: deepwater and ultradeepwater are offshore bright spots.(Deepwater Market)
October 1, 2008... There appears to be no end in sight to the brisk deepwater and ultradeepwater rig and production activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. More than 30 floating rigs (defined as semisubmersibles and drillships) were contracted in mid-August, with...

Safe Guard: the Coast Guard wants to reshape its marine safety program.(Safety)(Table)
October 1, 2008... By its own admission, the U.S. Coast Guard's marine safety program has been short on money, experienced personnel and competency at a time when broad changes in the maritime industry are placing more and more demands on the agency's safety...

It's academic.(Newsmaker Interview)(Merchant Marine Academy)(Interview)
October 1, 2008... Federal and state maritime schools are playing an increasingly important role in addressing the national manpower shortage in the marine industry. They are retooling their course offerings to make studies more relevant to the needs of the...

Speedway: bar keeps getting raised for high-performance boats.(Fast Boats)
October 1, 2008... What's a fast boat? Back in 1893, the fastest boat in the world steamed to a record 31.6 mph. In 1978, an Australian named Ken Warby established the current record of 317.6 mph. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bill Hansen, president of...

On the ways: Washburn & Doughty delivers tug, gets back to business.(CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS)
October 1, 2008... Washburn & Doughty delivered the 121'*36'*18' ATB tug Linda Moran to Moran Towing on Aug. 11. The delivery was quite a feat, taking place just three weeks and four days after a fire tore through the East Boothbay, Maine, shipyard's boatbuilding...

Boatbuilding bitts.
October 1, 2008... Fairhaven Shipyard & Marina recently purchased D.N. Kelly & Son Shipyard. The deal consolidates the services of two long-established marine facilities on the Fairhaven, Mass., waterfront under the same management structure. The new company is...

Spillover: Mississippi River accident puts the inland industry in the crosshairs.
October 1, 2008... The July barge tow collision that resulted in an oil spill that closed nearly 100 miles of the Mississippi River for days has put the inland industry's operations in the spotlight. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Among other issues, pressure is...

Inland Z's: Southern towing sees many advantages to Z-drive propulsion.(120' Pushboat)
October 1, 2008... Will Z-drive propulsion do for pushboats what it has done for tugs? That's hard to say, but someone is finally trying out the popular technology on boats built for pushing barges on America's inland water-ways, so maybe we'll find out. ...

Burning sensation: add-on catalyst system should make fuel consumption cleaner and more efficient.(Fuel)
October 1, 2008... Ever since Western Towboat's Ocean Navigator was built in Seattle in 1986, the engine room installation of its two 1,550-hp Caterpillar 3516 engines was similar to hundreds of other conventionally powered tugs. Late this summer, however, a new...

Stephen Berthold has founded Pan-handle Maritime Consulting LLC.(WBBusiness)
October 1, 2008... Stephen Berthold has founded Pan-handle Maritime Consulting LLC, Lynn Haven, Fla. Berthold, formerly with Panama City, Fla.-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc., has over 30 years experience in marine sales and marketing, vessel operations,...

Joe Rella is the new president and COO at Austal USA.(WBBusiness)
October 1, 2008... Joe Rella is the new president and COO at Austal USA, Mobile, Ala. Rella replaces Bob Browning, who is now managing director and CEO of Austal Ltd. Rella joined Austal about a year ago from Jeffboat LLC, where he was the vice president of sales...

Dr. Robert Ranzenbach has joined Donald L. Blount and Associates Inc.(WBBusiness)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Dr. Robert Ranzenbach has joined Donald L. Blount and Associates Inc. (DLBA), a naval architecture and marine engineering company based in Chesapeake, Va. Ranzenbach, a naval architect and aerospace engineer, joins the company as the new...

Aluminum Chambered Boats (ACB), Bellingham, Wash.(WBBusiness)
October 1, 2008... Aluminum Chambered Boats (ACB), Bellingham, Wash., has placed an order for 84 UltraJet 305 waterjets with UK-based Ultra Dynamics Ltd. ACB was awarded a contract by the U.S. Marine Corps to build an additional 42 MKIII Bridge Erection Boats....

Steve Levine has joined Globe Wireless as the company's director of sales, North America.(WBBusiness)
October 1, 2008... Steve Levine has joined Globe Wireless as the company's director of sales, North America. Globe Wireless provides communications and IT solutions to the maritime industry. Levine's background includes nine years with Stratos Global where he was...

Phelps Dunbar LLP has announced that Robert H. Nicholas Jr. recently joined the firm's Houston office.(WBBusiness)
October 1, 2008... Phelps Dunbar LLP has announced that Robert H. Nicholas Jr. recently joined the firm's Houston office. Nicholas is counsel in the firm's regional admiralty and tort practice group. He concentrates his practice in the admiralty, environmental...

Instrument series.(WBProducts)
October 1, 2008... Camas, Wash.-based Furuno USA recently announced the marketing of its new FI50 instrument series. The FI50 series is designed to provide an array of precise information to enhance safety at sea, no matter what the conditions. There are six...

Security drills video.(WBProducts)
October 1, 2008... Maritime Training Services, Seattle, a producer of onboard training materials, has released a new safety video entitled: "Security Drills: Nine Steps to Success." The new video is designed as an interactive program to assist ship security...

Sonar upgrade.(WBProducts)
October 1, 2008... Salem, N.H.-based L-3 Communications Klein Associates Inc. has introduced an upgraded version of its System 5000--the System 5000V-2. The System 5000 was the first commercial side-scan sonar system to employ multi-beam technology, according to...

Tank coatings.(WBProducts)
October 1, 2008... Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, Cleveland, now offers its Opti-Check Optically Active Pigments (OAP) in a variety of coating products, allowing tank-lining applicators to check the coating instantly for pinholes, holidays and...

New EPIRB.(WBProducts)
October 1, 2008... ACR Electronics, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has received FCC approval for its next generation EPIRB. The GlobalFix iPRO is a 406-MHz EPIRB featuring technology that makes it the first EPIRB in the world to offer an exclusive digital display screen...

WBCalendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2008... Oct. 7 OMSA MEETING Offshore Marine Service Association quarterly meeting, Hilton Lafayette, Lafayette, La. 504-734-7622 www.offshoremarine.org Oct. 15-17 SNAME MEETING The 2008 SNAME Maritime Techology...

Work boat looks back.(WBArchives)
October 1, 2008... OCTOBER 1948 * Moran Towing & Transportation Co. has received approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission to haul cargo between ports and points on the Gulf of Mexico. Moran, which operates 37 harbor, coastwise and ocean tugs,...