WorkBoat April 2024

Labor Pains

Worker shortages are delaying delivery of new Coast Guard assets.

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Content

FEATURES

14 Vessel Report: Multitaskers

Today's patrol boats can handle various missions in different locations.

20 Cover Story: Delay of Game

Worker shortages are behind Coast Guard's revised contract delivery dates.

BOATS & GEAR

16 On the Ways

• Bay Weld Boats completes landing craft/tour boat for Alaska

• C&C Marine and Repair delivers new cutter suction dredge •

BRIX Marine launches new survey vessel

• Gulf Island Fabricators delivers passenger/vehicle ferry to Texas

• Austal USA completes construction of first unmanned surface vehicle

• Main Iron Works delivers three new towboats to Ingram Marine

26 Tech Toys

New sonors, radars, and AIS transsceivers are here or coming soon

28 Outboard Power Guide

WorkBoat's annual directory of outboard engines

AT A GLANCE

8 On the Water: How to use an assist tug.

8 Captain’s Table: Build ties that deliver lasting dividends.

9 Energy Level: Oily CEOs aren't only ones positive about fossil fuels.

10 Nor'easter: Two right whale deaths, 1,000 miles apart.

11 Inland Insider: New barge deliveries up slightly

11 Tech Watch: A fleet of Roombas patrolling the ocean..

12 Legal Talk: Those who don't have a voice in the maritime community.

12 Insurance Watch: Reviewing coverages with your agent. NEWS

13 Mississippi River drought is over but concerns remain.

13 Illegal charter operators responsible for deaths.

13 American Queen Voyages files for Chapter 11.

Dumbing down

In all my years of covering the maritime industry (33), the most frustrating problem, the one that never goes away, rarely gets better, before getting worse again, involves labor issues. Trying to lure young people into the industry (one that’s not considered “cool” like, say, entertainment or computer programming) and keeping them there would qualify as the 13th challenge of Hercules.

In this month’s cover story, we take a look at workforce challenges facing the U.S. Coast Guard as it tries to buildup its eet of Coast Guard cutters, the backbone of the agency. These ships include the Polar Security Cutter (3), Offshore Patrol Cutter (25), and Waterways Commerce Cutter (30).

We don’t have enough people to build them. Consequently, delivery dates have had to be pushed back. The rst PSC was scheduled to be delivered this year, but the shipyard is going through a “re-baselining” that will push delivery back to 2029

“There is high demand for a relatively limited pool of shipyard workers and skilled tradespeople in general. That can make shipyard workforce development and retention challenging,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Chad Jacoby, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition of cer, said.

Challenging? Admiral, you have a way with understatement. Joey D’Isernia, chairman and CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which is building four OPCs, said his company has about 1,000 workers and needs at least 100 more, primarily skilled welders, electricians, painters, engineers,

Ken Hocke, Senior Editor khocke@divcom.com

and various technical positions.

Think things are bad in the maritime industry? Our armed forces are taking drastic measures to resupply their ranks. The Navy has been lowering its standards in order to swell its ranks by accepting recruits who fail the Armed Services Quali cation Test, people who don’t have a high school diploma or GED, and those who test positive for marijuana.

I don’t know what the answer to the workforce shortage is, but that’s scary. There’s a hundred res in the Middle East, the Ukraine/Russia war has Eastern Europe on edge, and China’s air force is playing tag with us over the skies of the western Paci c Ocean. Yet we have no choice but to lower our standards for entering our armed forces? Geez…

Power 2 .0

Efficient power for your needs

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Krapf / dkrapf@divcom.com

Ken Hocke / khocke@divcom.com

Kirk Moore / kmoore@divcom.com

Capt. Alan Bernstein • Bruce Buls • Robin G. Coles

Pamela Glass • Betsy Frawley Haggerty

• Max Hardberger • Joel Milton • Jim Redden

Hayden / bhayden@divcom.com

PROJECT MANAGER / ART DIRECTOR Doug Stewart / dstewart@divcom.com

eremiah Karpowicz / jkarpowicz@divcom.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE S

842-5439 / mcohen@divcom.com

207-842-5635 / kluke@divcom.com

207-842-5657 / krandall@divcom.com

207-842-5634 / dwalters@divcom.com

COORDINATOR

207-842-5616 / wjalbert@divcom.com

SALES DIRECTOR Christine Salmon salmon@divcom.com

PRESIDENT & CEO Theodore Wirth / twirth@divcom.com

GROUP VICE PRESIDENT Bob Callahan / bcallahan@divcom.com

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New Merchant Mariner Credential format

On March 1, 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard [began] issuing Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMCs) in a new format. This new mariner credential will replace the legacy passport-style red book and associated endorsement labels.

The complexity and degraded reliability of the custom printers used to print the MMC books necessitated a change to the credential printing process. The new mariner credential is formatted on 8.5"x11" waterproof and tear-resistant synthetic paper. It contains numerous security features including micro-printing, foiling, and intricate patterns. The new credential is printed on readily available commercial desktop laser jet printers and will vastly improve print services and availability. To learn more about the new MMC, please visit the National Maritime Center (NMC) website (https://www.dco.

uscg.mil/national_maritime_center/).

The new MMC document [is being] issued for all approved applications, to include credential endorsements, beginning March 1, 2024. You will no longer receive separate endorsement labels (i.e., stickers), but rather a new MMC document with the endorsements incorporated. The new credential will be issued on a day-forward basis, and all legacy credentials will remain valid until the indicated expiration date.

To validate a new MMC, use the Coast Guard’s credential veri cation tool at MMLD CredentialVeri cation

(uscg.mil). For a document search, select “MMC” as the document type and enter the document number. On the new MMC, the document number can be found on the red cover section beneath the corresponding barcode and will have the pre x “Z”.

If you have any questions, contact the NMC Customer Service Center by e-mailing IASKNMC@uscg.mil or calling 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).

Sincerely,

W. Clare

Bradley

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Commanding Officer

BY JOEL MILTON

On the Water

How to use an assist tug

This month we get to the how-to part of using an assist boat. Keep in mind that I’m

offering the perspective of a conventional tug operator, moving barges that are un-ballasted when not carrying cargo. There is still applicability to ATBs, however. The single biggest mistake that I see being made, over many years, is the distinct tendency to put the assist tug at the bow (or working bow) of the tow as the default setting when docking and getting underway. The idea is that the assist tug will push or pull its end of the tow while the primary tug twists the other end towards or away from the dock.

Seldom do these forces at each end of the barge equal each other, and the primary tug is usually hammering the engines hard to twist the barge, particularly when loaded. The assist tug must be stopped and re-started frequently

BY CAPT. ALAN BERNSTEIN

Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats in Cincinnati, is a licensed master and a former president of the Passenger Vessel Association. He can be reached at 859-292-2449 or abernstein@ bbriverboats.com.

Captain’s Table

Build relationships that deliver lasting dividends

My father taught me that the key to succeeding in business is making customers happy and building professional relationships that stand the test of time. In my more than 40 years in running a family business, I have witnessed this philosophy play out successfully repeatedly and I have stressed the importance of this concept with my family members, employees, and crew.

Maintaining good relationships goes beyond just keeping customers happy. It extends to vendors, suppliers, local, state, and federal government entities, and many others. This is a balancing act which is getting increasingly complicated with changing technology and evolving regulation. While it is one thing for me to have a commitment to customer service and developing good relationships with my many publics, I must emphasize that this is a two-way street and sometimes these others do not demonstrate the same attitude toward me.

As a lifelong mariner who has operated Coast Guard inspected passenger vessels for many years, I have logged hundreds of vessel inspections by an ever-changing assortment of Coast Guard inspec-

as it gets its end out ahead of the other. It usually winds up looking like a see-saw in action, often takes a lot longer than it needs to, is harder on the equipment, wastes fuel, and increases the likelihood of something going wrong.

The solution is simple: don’t do it. Don’t fight physics. Don’t work against yourself.

In the vast majority of cases, you will be better served by putting the assist tug as close to the center of mass of the combined tow and let it handle the pushing or pulling towards or away from the dock or pier. The primary tug can easily handle a little light twisting, one way or the other, to keep the barge flat relative to the dock. This method really shines when the assist tug is a tractor, whose power and maneuverability will easily overpower the primary tug when they’re at the other end of the barge.

I train mates to instead default to using the assist tug in the center of mass on probably 90+% of jobs, and that they should have to legitimately talk themselves out of it due to unusual circumstances before doing it differently. Once you try it, you’ll never look back.

tors. Most of these Coast Guard inspectors have been knowledgeable and professional. From timeto-time I have interacted with an inspector who has been uninformed, arrogant, and had extremely poor customer service skills. Unfortunately, this person can cast a dark shadow upon all of the others who are doing a good job. No matter who your inspector is, good or bad, it is important to find common ground and understanding.

The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) has long recognized the importance of involving Coast Guard personnel in its meetings, conventions, and events as a way of building relationships and greater understanding. During the recent PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2024 in Portland, Ore., I was impressed with the number of Coast Guard attendees from Admiral Wayne Arguin, and a variety from Coast Guard headquarters in Washington D.C., to those from local and regional offices. These individuals made presentations, attended sessions, interacted with passenger vessel operators and vendors, and were generally immersed in all the convention had to offer. The communication established there was very valuable.

Experience tells me to work to find common ground with your Coast Guard inspectors and to build professional relationships that promote mutual understanding and goodwill. You will find that this approach will deliver lasting dividends.

Joel Milton works on towing vessels. He can be reached at joelmilton@ yahoo.com.

Energy Level

Oily CEOs aren’t only ones positive about fossil fuels

BY G. ALLEN BROOKS, CORRESPONDENT

In 2023, Big Oil posted its secondbest pro t year in the last decade. It also brought the monumental COP 28 environmental decision marking the “beginning of the end” of fossil fuels. But the CEOs of ExxonMobil and Chevron were warning people that the Oil Age was far from over because billions of people are striving to improve their living standards which means increased oil demand.

Moreover, the challenges of transitioning to green energy are greater than environmental activists appreciate.

“The transition to clean energy is happening worldwide and it’s unstoppable,” a leading energy transition cheerleader, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, said. “It’s not a question of ‘if,’ it’s just a matter of ‘how soon’ — and the sooner the better for all of us.”

Report after report told us how bad oil and gas are for the world’s climate.

“We are not selling a product that is evil,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth countered. “We’re selling a product that’s good.”

Few people acknowledge how critical petroleum is to our lives. Without it, we would have lifestyles mirroring those of Medieval Times, something few of us wish to relive.

Wirth also questioned the IEA’s forecasts. “I don’t think they’re remotely right. … You can build scenarios, but we live in the real world and have to allocate capital to meet real world demands,” he told the Financial Times in an interview.

Surprisingly, this year Wirth and Darren Woods of ExxonMobil are being joined by key executives in the energy transition. At the January World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Joe Kaeser,

chairman of Siemens Energy, a major wind turbine manufacturer, told The Telegraph newspaper, “Every transformation comes at a cost and every transformation is painful. And that’s something which the energy industry and the public sector — governments — don’t really want to hear.” He warned, “I believe that for a while [customers] need to accept higher pricing,”

Wait a minute. We are constantly told that green energies are cheaper than fossil fuels because their fuel is “free.” The head of France’s TotalEnergies, CEO Patrick Pouyanné recently told the Financial Times the truth.

“I know that there is a theory which says renewables are cheaper, so it will be a lower price,” said Pouyanné. “We don’t think so because a system where you [have] more renewable intermittency is less ef cient . . . so, we think it’s an interesting eld to invest in.” This is his justi cation for continuing to invest in creating an integrated power business.

The most shocking message came from Kaeser: “If you want to have cheap energy, you need to be gasred. That’s the cheapest way, the most secure way if you calculate the whole thing, from the beginning to the end.”

The truth about hydrocarbon’s future is now coming from green energy players in Europe, the home of the anti-fossil fuel movement. Kaeser and Pouyanné are joining Wirth and Woods, not as prophets, but as realist CEOs.

BY KIRK MOORE, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Contributing Editor Kirk Moore was a reporter for the Asbury Park Press for over 30 years before joining WorkBoat in 2015. He has also been an editor for WorkBoat’s sister publication, National Fisherman, for over 25 years.

Nor’easter

Two right whale deaths, 1,000 miles apart

T wo young female North Atlantic right whales found dead off Massachusetts and Georgia brought new calls from environmental groups to tighten restrictions on vessel speed limits and shing to protect the endangered species.

Fishermen and vessel operators object to being blamed. Claims, counter-claims, and de ections have grown since the National Marine Fisheries Service warned of the right whales’ steep decline in 2017. More recently offshore wind power critics emerged as another pressure group, insisting that offshore survey work and turbine construction are a dire threat to whales.

A whale that came ashore at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Jan. 28 was identi ed as a calve born in 2021. Examined on the beach, investigators found rope with markings they traced to the Maine state waters lobster shery.

Immediately after the whale stranding, accusa-

tions ew on social media that it was tied to work on the Vineyard Wind project. But longtime critics of lobster shing zeroed in on ndings about rope from the whale necropsy.

“For years, some representatives of the Maine lobster industry have claimed that its gear has never been linked to a recent death of an endangered North Atlantic right whale. That claim has always been specious and at odds with scienti c understanding,” wrote Francine Kershaw, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council on the group’s website.

In federal court NRDC and other environmental groups pushed the National Marine Fisheries Service to put more restrictions on lobster shing — until Maine’s Congressional delegation managed to get the eet more time to make changes.

Under re after the NMFS report, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association was resolute. “This is the rst reported entanglement of a right whale in Maine lobster gear in 20 years, and the rst death attributed to the shery,” the association said.

The same pressure now is being leveled at operators of small vessels between 35' and 65' in length, with environmental advocates demanding they be subject to 10-knot speed limits in areas off the East Coast when NMFS declares slow zones to protect right whales on the move.

Ships over 65' have been subject to the 10-knot speed advisory since 2008 — although analyses by federal researchers and environmental groups show vessels routinely exceed that, according to Automatic Identi cation System (AIS) data. Those reports found that speeding is common in approaches to Southeast container ports like Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga. Some of the 70 surviving adult female right whales migrate through those waters to give birth to calves during the winter.

Along with births, there are deaths. On Feb. 16, NMFS said a dead whale spotted oating off Savannah, Ga., was identi ed as a young female, rst seen by whale researchers as a calve in December 2022. Towed 20 miles to Tybee Island for a necropsy, the whale showed “evidence of blunt force trauma including fractures of the skull. The injuries are consistent with a vessel strike prior to death,” according to a NMFS update. Environmental groups have pressed their case for an expanded speed limit.

BY PAMELA GLASS

Pamela Glass is the Washington, D.C., correspondent for WorkBoat. She reports on the congressional committees and federal agencies that affect the maritime industry, including the Coast Guard, Marad and Army Corps of Engineers.

Inland Insider

New barge deliveries up slightly

A

ccording to the annual survey of new hopper barge construction by River Transport News, which tracks the inland river industry, newbuild activity was slightly elevated last year compared to 2022, but remained lackluster as operators hold back on investing in new barges.

Barge lines took delivery of 318 new jumbo hopper barges in 2023, 41% higher than the 225 barges delivered the previous year, but “shipyard activity remained well below levels that prevailed in the years prior to 2017,” the survey said. In 2016, for example, 1,000 new hopper barges were delivered before the number hit the skids in 2017 and has remained at depressed levels ever since.

Companies have been discouraged by high interest rates and record high prices for the main components of barges — plate steel. Steel prices dropped a bit last year, slightly stimulating demand, but remained elevated. A gap developed

BY BENJAMIN HAYDEN

Ben Hayden is a Maine resident who grew up in the shipyards of northern Massachusetts. His passion for storytelling came about on a freelance film that highlighted businesses, farmers, and fishermen while sailing up the coast of Maine.

Tech Watch

A fleet of Roombas patrolling the ocean

Afew months ago, I interviewed Joe Wolfel, CEO of Terradepth, a subsea technology and bathymetric data storage company. We discussed the company’s Absolute Ocean (AO) platform, its subsea drone innovations, and the mission-specific energy demands of autonomous subsea vehicles.

Wolfel emphasized the necessity of high-resolution data sets for seafloor operations, underscoring AO’s role in facilitating data upload, sharing, and privacy controls, aiding decision-making about Earth’s resources.

“Whatever your operations entail on the ocean floor, whether you’re putting something down, picking it up, knowing that something’s there, or understanding the condition that it’s in, you are going to need a high-resolution dataset,” said Wolfel.

Subscribers to AO gain access to publicly available data and the ability to upload, share, or keep private their own datasets. For entities involved in ocean data collection, such as surveyors or marine engineering firms, AO offers a secure and easily shareable platform, allowing them to differentiate

between hot-rolled coil and plate steel prices, RTN said, which prompted Arcosa Marine Products, a Missouri-based barge manufacturer, to make some changes in barge designs in late 2022 to use hot-rolled coiled steel instead of more pricey plate steel to make hopper barges. This led to a surge in new orders at the end of 2022 for barges that were delivered last year.

Heartland Barge Management took possession of the most new jumbo covered hopper barges in 2023 (151), followed by Campbell Transportation (54) and Crounse Corp (40).

Covered barges led the way, with 223 delivered last year, up from 168 in 2022. Open hopper barges totalled 95 last year, up from 58 in 2022. Arcosa Marine was the most active shipbuilder, delivering 197 covered and open barges.

Looking ahead, RTN expects this year’s deliveries to remain sluggish, about the same as last year. This prediction has a lot to do with steel prices, which are expected to remain elevated into 2024. “In addition, barge markets as measured by spot rates have cooled considerably since the end of 2022 and early 2023.”

and deliver data to their clients effectively.

AO’s application programming interface (API) allows for real-time data collection, transmission, and visualization. The open-source nature of the API encourages users to create applications for visualizing and interacting with data, fostering collaboration, and enabling datasets to be shared and even sold through the platform. As a centralized data repository, AO provides a massive training dataset for machine learning models, also enabling users to develop their own AI applications.

The significance of having this data set was reiterated by companies using the platform. At last month’s Subsea Tieback Show, a representative from Oceaneering International told me, “We use Absolute Ocean. It’s a bad-ass program. Costs a pretty penny, but it’s worth every cent.”

When industry experts rave about a tech solution that isn’t their own, you know it’s legit.

In addition to their AO platform, Terradepth plans to scale observations by deploying their own robotic assets.

“We need to have oceangoing robots patrolling, such that we have ocean data in advance. Then somebody can click on Absolute Ocean and get what they need,” Wolfel said.

Think of a fleet of Roombas patrolling the ocean.

BY TIM AKPINAR

Tim Akpinar is a Little Neck, N.Y.based maritime attorney and former marine engineer. He can be reached at 718-224-9824 or t.akpinar@verizon. net

Legal Talk

Protecting those who don’t have a voice in the maritime community

T his column often deals with the legal rights of commercial mariners and vessel owners. These two sectors tend to be well represented legally, between Jones Act attorneys and attorneys for P & I clubs. However, it could be worth looking at the legal rights of a lesser-known group, one that lives in the very waters our commercial vessels use. Earlier this year in January, a dead right whale was found on the shores of Martha’s Vineyard.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) considers the North Atlantic right whale one of the world’s most endangered large whale species. While a single whale washing up on a beach may not seem like cause for a national crisis, the overall population of the species is small. According to recent estimates, only around 350 individual whales remain.

This is not a new issue in the maritime industry. The existence of speed restrictions in certain

BY CHRIS RICHMOND

Insurance Watch

Reviewing coverages with your agent

At a recent conference I was speaking to a new owner of a commercial passenger vessel. He had stayed with the former owner’s insurance company and after reviewing coverages with the agent realized there were multiple gaps. While this was a beneficial meeting for the new owner, it revealed serious gaps in coverage for the previous owner. Here’s a short list:

• Changes in operation. When the original policy was written, the vessel operations consisted of just day cruises. As the business grew so did the operations. Multi-day overnight cruises were now standard. However, the policy warranties expressed day cruises and not overnight.

• Changes in navigation. While the vessel’s normal cruising area had not changed, one thing that had changed was that the vessel was traveling to a festival in a city outside of its warranted navigational territory. Had there been a claim while en route to or while at this port, coverage would have been denied due to a breach of navigational warranty.

• Propulsion upgrade. When the original policy

designated areas, is evidence of the need to protect right whales. The International Fund for Animal Welfare estimates that nine out of 10 North Atlantic right whale deaths are caused by ship strikes or entanglements.

Sadly, there is no shortage of gear out there that can lead to entanglements, given the international nature of commercial fishing. It could be difficult to control when a net or line will fail and become a risk to wildlife. But the simple measure of reducing vessel speed is something we do have direct control over.

Most vessels over 65' are requested to reduce speed to 10 knots or less while passing through certain designated areas (Seasonal Management Areas) on the U.S. East Coast between November and July. Just as interactions between cars and pedestrians can be less lethal at lower speeds, the same holds true for ships and cetaceans.

NOAA has a unit that enforces these speed restrictions. In 53 cases spanning from 2022 to 2023, NOAA imposed fines of $882,806. Enforcement measures don’t rely solely on AIS (Automatic Identification Systems). NOAA also uses portable radar units and patrols Seasonal Management Areas.

was written, the owner had additional coverage for the small boat that he used in conjunction with his larger boat. The policy had a stated value and a description of both the tender as well as the outboard. When it was time to replace the tired old outboard with a brand-new unit, the owner failed to pass this information along to his agent. While the tender was still insured, it did not reflect the increased value of the new motor.

• Extra crew. The operator’s policy has coverage for a stated number of crew. When the owner took the vessel on longer trips, he increased his crew count to better man the boat. What he didn’t do was update his crew coverage on his policy. Had there been a crew claim and it was determined that there were more crew on the vessel than stated in the policy, he could have faced a penalty based on the percentage he under reported. Insurance is one of the larger expenses that you have with your vessel and operation. You want to do all you can before a claim occurs to ensure that you get paid in the event of an accident. Insurance claims should not be a roll of the dice. Take the time to review with your agent what you currently have and make sure to keep him or her up to date with any changes.

Mississippi River drought is finally over but concerns remain News Bitts

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has of cially declared an end to the severe drought that disrupted barge transportation along the Mississippi River system for more than a year.

Draft restrictions on vessels have been lifted, and dredges no longer operate to maintain nine-foot navigation throughout the Mississippi River, which is one of the busiest waterways in the U.S. About 589 million tons of cargo transit through more than 4,000 miles of the river’s navigable channels, according to the Corps.

Drought conditions hobbled transportation beginning in September 2022, producing historic low river levels that stranded barges, delayed barge shipments and disrupted grain exports, while causing saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico to move into the Mississippi and contaminate drinking water in places like New Orleans.

The rebound of water levels came too late for the busy grain harvest last fall. Barges had a dif cult time meeting the demand from farmers to move crops due to tow restrictions imposed because of low water levels.

“For the U.S. soybean industry, having our supply chain — including the Mississippi River — operate at full throttle during our key September to February export period is critical,” said Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition in Ankeny, Iowa. “Unfortunately, that did not occur.”

Although the drought may be of cially over, the water level situation is still fragile, Steenhoek noted. “River gauge readings are considerably lower compared to years such as 2018, 2019 and 2020,” he said. “In addition, much ground in the Midwest remains severely dehydrated, which means that it will require signi cant and persisted precipitation to occur to recharge the soil and provide residual water to maintain water levels on the river.”

A long dry spell could quickly cause water levels to drop again, he said.

Drought recovery depends greatly on the amount of rain that falls this spring and where along the river system the precipitation occurs.

— Pamela Glass

Illegal charter operators responsible for deaths

The Coast Guard charged the owner and operator of an illegal charter vessel of misconduct and neglect in the death of a seven-year-old boy and 48-year-old woman when the 24’ vessel Stimulus Money capsized on the Hudson River in July 2022. Richard Cruz and Jaime Pinilla Gomez, were arrested and served with a complaint March 8, according to a statement from the Coast Guard Sector New York. Cruz and Gomez are each charged with one count of misconduct and neglect of ship officer resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the Coast Guard.

Investment firm obtains majority ownership of Hornblower

Funds managed by Strategic Value Partners LLC (SVP) and its affi liates, a global alternative investment fi rm, will acquire majority ownership of Hornblower and provide a signifi cant equity investment in the business.

American Queen files for Chapter 11

American Queen Voyages (AQV) ceased operations in February and fi led for bankruptcy. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company also announced the cancellation of all future cruises. AQV attributed the closure to changes in travel preferences aff ecting the overnight cruise industry, rendering the company fi nancially unsustainable. The announcement followed the cancellation of three season-opening sailings.

Doug Stewart

Water levels are always a concern on the Miss. River.

Multitaskers

Today’s patrol boats can handle various missions in different locations.

By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

The days of creating patrol boats by outfitting general use motorboats and fishing trawlers with machine guns and obsolete naval weapons are long gone. That was World War II.

Jump ahead 80 years and patrol boats have evolved into platforms that have the latest navigation, communications, and propulsion systems, while being designed and built with highly efficient hulls that move easily and rapidly through the water and can carry out multiple missions in locations across the globe.

Three cases in point: MetalCraft Marine is building 65 patrol boats that will mostly operate in foreign waters; a high-speed 35-footer from Moose Boats that’s outfitted with fire-fighting systems; and Inventech Marine Solutions’ 40' patrol boat for a sheriff’s department in Florida, which hits 72 mph.

MetalCraft Marine

MetalCraft Marine, Cape Vincent, N.Y., working on a contract with the U.S. Navy to design and build 45 Force Protection Small (27'x8'6") and 20 Force Protection Large (39'6"x12') patrol boats, recently delivered a 27-footer to the Navy and is due to deliver a 39-footer. The Navy’s Force Protection program evolved from the attack on the guided missile destroyer USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000, that killed 17 Americans.

Eventually, when American military vessels dock in potentially hazardous ports “there will be two (Force Protection) boats for every ship,” said MetalCraft Marine’s Bob

Clark. “No one’s getting near them.”

The American military vessel will have a large sonoboom around it with sonobuoys at the ends of cables that reach almost to the bottom to detect an unwanted presence. A Force Protection patrol boat will open the boom when deliveries are being made to a ship and then close it when completed. The 39' Force Protection vessels, with four machine-gun posts, will be stationed in remote, open ports, such as Guam in the Western Pacific and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The 27' Force Protection vessels, with two machine gun posts, will work out of enclosed harbors.

Clark said a prominent design feature of the Force Protection vessel is comfort. “The Navy has finally realized they can’t have someone in Middle East heat for 12 hours and expect them to be very fit and functional,” he said.

The same consideration goes for cold weather. “Crutching yourself

up to keep body heat in is very fatiguing.” Thus, all the boats will have generators for air conditioning, “which is very rare for an 8 meter,” and diesel heaters for cold weather deployment.

Force Protection patrol boats are powered by outboards — Mercury, Yamaha and Honda. The 27-footers get twin 150-hp outboards and the 39 footers twin 175-hp outboards. Clark noted that the contract stated that “they could not exceed 35 knots,” which is why, he said, “they are very light on horsepower.” Whereas “years ago, every patrol boat would be 50 knots.” Then horsepower levels started dropping, to 45 knots, 40, 38 knots, now 35 knots. The reason was often “horseplay. Kids do stupid things,” Clark said, often “bumping up against another boat. Doing it for fun.”

Moose Boats

Moose Boats, Vallejo, Calif., is

MetalCraft

Today’s Force Protection boats purposely have less horsepower than their predecessors.

scheduled to deliver a new 35'x13'6" patrol boat to Santa Barbara, Calif.’s Harbor Patrol the first quarter of 2025. This will be more than just a high-speed chase down the bad guys vessel.

“They focused on a boat that could do many things, go fast for law enforcement, a rescue boat, and firesuppression boat,” said Moose Boats’ vice president of sales Ken Royal,

The all-aluminum Moose Boats Model M2 catamaran hull will have a pair of 300-hp Cox Marine diesel outboards. With the Cox diesels, Royal described the 35 footer “as a bit of a go-fast boat.” He’s anticipating 38 knots top speed and 32 knots cruising. That’s good when the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol needs to get somewhere in a hurry, and when that’s related to a fire suppression mission, it is, as Royal noted, “much safer to respond to a fire incident with a diesel-powered boat than gasoline powered.”

Another Moose Boats M2 design feature that Royal emphasized was the catamaran hull. “Our boats, rather military, patrol, or fireboats are stabile because they are catamarans. That’s where we have a pretty good niche.” Being a catamaran, as opposed to a monohull, “you can put a lot of weight in various places on deck and not be concerned where you put that weight.”

The catamaran’s fairly generous beam also allows for a walk-around cabin configuration between the gunnels and the cabin.

Inside the wheelhouse will be three shock-mitigating seats from Shoxs and a patient’s bench. The electronics package will center on a Raymarine Axiom 12 Pro hybrid multifunction display with chartplotter, radar, GPS, depth sounder and 3-D sonar.

Outside the cabin on the hull’s port aft-quarter, will be “a proprietary dive door that telescopes out and down into the water,” said Royal. It has steps, allowing someone to come out of the water and walk onto the boat. It can then be collapsed on itself, becoming part of the hull. On the

starboard quarter a board can be lifted up, allowing swimmers to be pulled onto the deck.

When the call is to extinguish a fire, the 35-footer will have two 1,500 gpm Task Force Tips fire monitors, one on top of the cabin, the other in front of the cabin. When encountering a pier fire, the bow’s large push knee allows the bow to push and hold against a pylon. “to secure the vessel in place while throwing water at the fire,” said Royal.

Inventech Marine Solutions

Inventech Marine Solutions, Bremerton, Wash., delivered a 40'x11'6" patrol boat with a foam-collar system to the sheriff’s department in Palm Beach County, Fla., this past December. It’s the third patrol boat Inventech has sent to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department.

The 40-footer is powered by four 400-hp Mercury V10 Verado outboards that when matched up with Inventech’s aluminum hull with a deep 22° deadrise at the transom and what Inventech Marine Solutions’ CEO Micah Bowers said is a “really refined entry,” was “able to do top speeds of 71 to 72 mph.”

Wheelhouse electronics include

a 32", flat-screen TV that allows viewing videos coming in from other vessels and tracking all inputs to their department. It’s integrated into the night-vision camera system and the onboard Garmin’s. “So tactical team members can navigate with chart plotting screen or with night vision camera looking for someone in the water while underway.” When not in use, the screen is electrically lowered into its cabinet.

Wheelhouse refinements include the use of Mercury’s new fully electric smart cylinders for steering. “It’s the very first boat we ever built with the smart cylinders,” said Bowers. The Florida sheriff’s department “wanted a steering system that’s instantaneous feedback between “input at the steering wheel to the motion at the outboards.” With the previous Mercury electronic helm, the sheriff’s department “felt in tactical situations it was not as responsive as they needed.” In contrast, the new steering system was judged to be “exceptionally responsive. They thought it was premier. They also said the boat’s performance in a tactical situation was the best they’d experienced.”

Additionally, the cabin was moved further aft than normal.

The Moose Boats Model M2 catamaran represents more than just a vessel designed for chasing down bad guys.

Moose Boats

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS

Bay Weld Boats completes landing craft/tour boat for Coldwater Alaska

Bay Weld Boats, Homer, Alaska, recently delivered a new 36'x13'x6.2' purpose-built aluminum landing craft, the North Cape, to the adventure tourism company, Coldwater Alaska, which provides water taxi services, wildlife tours, and freight runs to remote locations around Cook Inlet.

Unique to this build and delivery is the role that Brad Conley has between both companies. Conley is the general manager and lead designer at Bay Weld Boats; he’s also the owner of Coldwater Alaska.

“It’s a privilege to be at a crossroads where my day job allowed me to design a boat for my family’s business. The North Cape is the product of some very specific ideas and concepts that were born from operating along the coast of Alaska,” Conley said. “The goal was this: an inspected vessel (USCG T-Boat) that was comfortable for passengers, able to handle moderate Alaska weather, and still function as a landing craft for accessing remote beaches and coast.”

The North Cape weighs 19 gwt, draws only 18", and has twin Yamaha 300 outboards on the stern. The vessel tops out at 38 mph, with cruising speeds between 22-25 mph.

Unloaded, at cruising speed, the vessel averages 1.2 mpg. At max capacity, 23 guests and two crewmembers, cruising speeds average 0.8 mpg.

“During an average day the North Cape will be out whale

watching in the morning, transporting hikers to a remote beach for the afternoon, and then loading up ATVs and building materials in the evening. The catamaran/landingcraft design is really the pinnacle of having this versatility,” Conley noted.

The catamaran hull is comprised of 5086 aluminum that is 0.25" thick on the bottom. The raised pilothouse contains Diamond Sea Glaze bonded windows, and the 13.5'x11.5' cargo deck space has a set of forward controls.

“The forward steering helm is a huge advantage for landing on rocky beaches,” Conley noted.

The main deck weight capacity is 4,600 lbs., where allterrain vehicles or freight are stored after driving up the vefoot-wide landing gate.

In true Alaskan fashion, bearing only the essentials, the vessel does not have a generator, nor any freshwater systems on board.

The new landing craft holds a total of 390 gals. of fuel.

The vessel uses Dometic SeaStar’s Optimus electronic power steering package with a joystick. The Garmin electronics suite includes two screens and two radios.

There are a lot of interchangeable components to this boat that increase its versatility as a tourism vessel. Dependent on the client’s needs, the landing craft platform serves as a great tool for spear shing trips or lowering the gate for photogra-

Bay Weld Boats

New Alaska landing craft/tour boat will carry people and freight.

phy trips to get lower to the surface of the water.

The North Cape is the fourth Bay Weld boat in the Coldwater fleet.

— Benjamin Hayden

C&C Marine and Repair delivers new cutter suction dredge to Callan Marine

Callan Marine, Galveston, Texas, christened its newest fleet asset, the 32", 278.4'x72'x16' cutter suction dredge General Arnold in Corpus Christi, Texas, in March. The new dredge will begin work on phase four of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project, which plans to beneficially re-use all dredged material removed from the channel’s deepening and widening.

General Arnold was designed inhouse and built by C&C Marine and Repair, Belle Chasse, La.

Ships service power comes from four Wabtec 16V250MDC EPA Tier 4 engines, generating a combined 24,000 hp and utilizing exhaust gas recirculation technology to reduce emissions to sub-Tier 4 levels. The dredge has a maximum digging depth of 97'; however, in coastal dredging applications, the addition of an idler barge lengthens dredge ability to 500'.

Additional equipment includes one submersible pump with a 69" impeller powered by a 2,500-hp electric motor, two main deck pumps, each with an 84" impeller and each powered by a 6,000-hp electric motor, a cutter head powered by a submersible 2,500-hp electric motor, a Christmas tree anchoring system for offshore dredging applications, and diesel-electric operation utilizing EPA Tier 4 generators.

The dredge can hold 362,950 gals. of fuel, 46,873 gals. potable water, and 152,108 gals. fresh water. Additional oil capacities include 6,130 gals. lube oil and 2,870 gals. gear oil.

“The General Arnold demonstrates Callan Marine’s commitment to Gulf Coast dredging,” said John Sullivan, CEO and managing principal of Callan Marine, in a prepared statement.

BOATBUILDING BITTS

The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) recently christened its new 293’x66’x16’ double ended hybrid ferry, the Esperanza “Hope” Andrade in Galveston Bay. The vessel was designed by The Shearer Group (TSGI), Houston, and built by Gulf Island Fabricators, Houma, La. The ferry can accommodate 495 passengers and 70 cars or eight 18-wheel trailers on its 293’x66’ vehicle deck. When fully loaded, the vessel weighs 2,180 tons. Saildrone launched its first aluminum Surveyor class unmanned surface vehicle (USV) off the Austal USA production line on Mobile Bay, Ala. on March 4. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti was on site that day to inspect the vehicle, ahead of the new USVs being tested under

contract to the U.S. Navy. Primarily designed for ocean mapping and maritime domain awareness, the 65’ Saildrone Surveyor USV is powered by wind with its 44’ tall sail wing, solar panels, and a 78-hp, high-efficiency auxiliary diesel generator for long range, high endurance missions in the open ocean.

Swiftships,Morgan City, La., announced a significant development in its collaboration with the Egyptian Navy, as the State Department approved additional funding for 93' Coast Patrol Craft (CPC) Kits and related equipment. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) recently confirmed its authorization for a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Egyptian Government, including 93' Patrol Craft Kits and associated equipment. This approval is valued at $129 million.

BMT announced in February the launch of its 182’ (48-meter) service operation vessel (SOV). The new SOV is equipped to facilitate autonomous technology, featuring an adaptable ROV bay, a control room for ROV operations, and the flexibility to host uncrewed surface vessels (USV) up to 16.4’. It also includes a dedicated bay for a 27.8’ daughter craft.

Following the sale of its Alabamabased ship refit and repair business to Birdon America, Metal Shark is expanding its presence in its home state of Louisiana with the addition

The Shearer Group

The ferry can accommodate 495 passengers and 70 cars or eight 18-wheel trailers.

65' uncrewed surface vehicle for the U.S. Navy.

Saildrone

ON THE WAYS

“Callan Marine believes in the capital dredge market and the need for large cutter suction dredges to construct the nation’s largest capital improvement projects. We are continuing to grow our fleet with the latest technology and equipment, serving our clients with safety and integrity.”

The vessel accommodates 34 crew, with each stateroom equipped with a thermostat, head, and set of atscreen TVs. Crew accommodations also include a workout room, crew lounge and daily laundry service.

Additional electronics include a Kronhe flow meter, an ITS density meter,

BOATBUILDING BITTS

of a third manufacturing facility and an aggressive recruitment effort. Metal Shark is boosting production capacity with the opening of its third Louisiana location, a 40,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility, adjacent to Tabasco’s headquarters on Avery Island in New Iberia, La.

In March, Ingram Marine Group, Nashville, Tenn., held a special christening ceremony for three new 69’x30’ vessels: the Patrick L. Morton, Teresa Sprouse, and Gary L. Holman. Each vessel is named after a long-term Ingram associate and built at Main Iron Works, Houma, La. These are the sixth, seventh, and eighth new vessels built in a series of 10 ordered by Ingram Marine Group. They are four-decked, welded steel, USCG Subchapter M-compliant towboats designed by Ingram, Main Iron Works, and Ashraf Degedy, PE. The new towboats are outfitted with twin Caterpillar Marine tier 3 diesel engines and Reintjes gearboxes, John Deere generators, and Michigan Wheel propellers.

Bay-Houston Towing and Suderman & Young Towing Co. recently awarded construction contracts to Sterling Shipyard to build new 105'x46' tugs. The Port Neches, Texas, shipyard will build multiple Robert Allan Ltd. RAstar 3200-W design tugs. The first tug is expected to be delivered in October 2025. The tugs will be powered by a pair of EMD 16 E23B HD Tier 4-compliant

and DSC VISION survey equipment.

The General Arnold joins Callan Marine’s existing fleet of dredges including the 32" General MacArthur, the 28" General Bradley, the 18" General Pershing, the 18" General Marshall, the 16" General Patton, the 12" General Eisenhower, and the 8" General Swing.

The dredge is ABS certi ed Maltese Cross A1 Barge. — B. Hayden

BRIX Marine launches new survey vessel

BRIX Marine, Port Angeles, Wash., announced the launch of its latest survey boat, the 30'x10'11" 3011-CTC, Lugudi Barana, built for a port authority in Guatamala.

The 3011-CTC has a lightship weight of 9,500 lbs. It is powered by a pair of 200-hp outboard engines and has a

engines putting out a total of 8,800 hp and propelled by two Schottel SRP-610 units generating an estimated bollard pull of 105 metric tons. When performing escort operations, the escort tugs will be capable of providing an estimated steering and braking force of 115 metric tons and 162 metric tons, respectively, at speeds up to 10 knots. The tugs will be fitted with a towing winch on their aft deck for coastal towing service.

Callan Marine

New cutter suction dredge will work the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.

Three new vessels measuring 69'x30' have been delivered: the Patrick L. Morton, Teresa Sprouse, and Gary L. Holman. Ingram Barge Co. / Facebook.

fuel capacity of 200 gals., using two 100-gallon tanks.

The BRIX Marine hull features 5086 alloy aluminum hull skins, 5052 alloy aluminum interior transverse frames, and longitudinal T-bars. The vessel’s self-bailing aluminum decks, watertight bulkheads, and anodes for cathodic protection are designed to further enhance its safety and longevity.

“We are thrilled to introduce the Lugudi Barana, our latest addition to the BRIX Marine LabCat lineup,” Perry Knudson, managing director at BRIX Marine, said in a statement announcing the delivery. “With its advanced features and rugged construction, the Lugudi Barana re ects our commitment to advancing marine surveying capabilities.”

The new survey boat is equipped with an extended “T” transom, welded aluminum handrails, and a generatordriven hydraulic system. The vessel’s

“T” Transom A-frame, hydraulic winch, and Spectra line are designed to ensure seamless deployment of survey equipment, facilitating precise data collection.

Inside the vessel, the full-width walkthrough cabin provides a comfortable and functional workspace featuring BRIX Headliner insulation, Loncoin

II vinyl ooring, and ergonomic helm seats. The cabin includes survey stations equipped with laminated work surfaces and power outlets.

Lugudi Barana is equipped with a Garmin electronics suite, including GPS, radar, and VHF radio, enhanced navigation and communication capabilities during survey operations.

Brix Marine 30' aluminum survey boat is working in Guatamala.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group could use another 100 workers to help build the Offshore Patrol Cutters.

ADelay of Game

Worker shortages are behind the Coast Guard’s revised contract delivery dates.

By Stephen Blakely, Correspondent

fter years of working to successfully obtain congressional funding to rebuild several of its aging eets, the Coast Guard is now facing additional delays because of a lack of shipyard workers.

The setbacks in the Coast Guard ship programs are merely the latest example of much larger and well-known national workforce problems that are constricting the economy as

a whole. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls the worker shortage a “national crisis” because “businesses can’t grow, compete, and thrive,” while there are too many jobs without people to ll them.

Coast Guard of cials have said that the worker shortage at shipyards along the Gulf Coast is delaying three of its programs already funded by Congress to modernize its eets:

Doug Stewart

• The Polar Security Cutter Program (PSC) will produce three heavy polar icebreakers for $1.9 billion, replacing the aging 399' cutter Polar Star (now more than 50 years old) and a smaller cutter. The new PSC is being built in coordination with the Navy by Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, but Coast Guard of cials say it’s facing delays due to a lack of highly trained welders and design engineers. Delivery of the rst cutter was scheduled for this year; the Coast Guard told WorkBoat that “the shipbuilder is undergoing a re-baselining effort that will ultimately result in a revised contract delivery date,” now projected for 2029.

• The Offshore Patrol Cutter Program is being constructed by both Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla. (the rst four) and by Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., (the next 11). An eventual total of 25 ships are planned to replace the service’s aging medium-endurance cutters, at a cost of about $12 billion; the rst of this eet, the USCG Argus, was launched last October. The next three ships, currently under construction, have been delayed by production and manufacturing problems as well as hurricane damage on the Gulf Coast. The Coast Guard said the ships are their “highest investment priority,” lling the gap between openocean National Security Cutters and coastal Rapid Response Cutters.

• The Waterways Commerce Cutter Program, under contract with Birdon

America with several shipyards in Louisiana and Alabama, will cost $922 million. The program aims to replace 30 of the Coast Guard’s aging inland construction and buoy tenders, The rst new vessel was expected by 2025, but the revised schedule now calls for delivery of the rst two variants in Fiscal Year 2026. The inland eet maintains more than 28,200 marine aids throughout 12,000 miles of inland waterways,

generation of cutters and boats, and we rely on a skilled commercial workforce in traditional areas like welding, pipe tting, electrical work, and fabrication — as well as high-tech work supporting network and communications capabilities — to deliver assets on schedule to address our ever-growing mission demands.”

According to Joey D’Isernia, chairman and CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding

among other duties.

“There is high demand for a relatively limited pool of shipyard workers and skilled tradespeople in general. That can make shipyard workforce development and retention challenging,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Chad Jacoby, assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition of cer, told Workboat.

“The service is investing in the next

Group, his company has about 1,000 workers and needs at least 100 more, primarily skilled welders, electricians, painters, engineers, and various technical positions. When lacking a particular skill set, he said, “we leverage partnerships with trusted contractors to ensure that we can maintain the pace of our operations,” and that strong risk-reduction measures are “one key aspect of

Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding Inc.

The Polar Security Cutter Program is a multiple year initiative to acquire up to three multimission PSCs to recapitalize the Coast Guard’s fleet of heavy icebreakers.

our strategy.”

D’Isernia said that shipbuilders are trying to deal with labor shortages “beyond mere poaching of workers from other sectors,” by leveraging workforce development grants, state and local incentives, and “establishing our own comprehensive training programs aimed at attracting young talent entering the job market.”

The other shipyards did not respond to requests for comment.

DEMOGRAPHICS AT WORK

Underlying the U.S. labor shortage is a complex mix of demographic and cultural trends.

Birthrates worldwide have been declining for years. The American fertility rate, already below what is needed to maintain a native-born population, is still shrinking; the only reason the nation’s population is growing at all is because of immigration.

The workforce is rapidly aging as post-war Baby Boomers ood into retirement. According to Census data, those age 65 and over were 17% of the

population in 2020 (they were only 4% in 1900); by 2040, seniors will account for 40% of everyone in the country. Labor force participation has been

The Coast Guard is spending $922 million to replace 30 of its aging river construction and buoy tenders.

falling for years and hit a historical low of 60% during Covid in April 2020. It has recovered somewhat since the pandemic (to 62.5% in January 2024), but is still below pre-Covid rates. More than 50 million workers quit their jobs during the pandemic-driven “Great Resignation” in 2022, following the 47.8 million who did so in 2021.

Unemployment is historically low — just 3.7% in January 2024, after spiking to almost 15% in 2020 during the height of Covid.

Unaffordable childcare is forcing many parents (mostly women) to stay out of the workforce. Between 2000 and 2022, 16,000 childcare centers were forced to close and many more cut their hours, dramatically reducing accessibility and affordability of childcare. Half of all workers and nearly 60% of parents cite lack of childcare as their reason for leaving the workforce.

Competition for skilled workers is

erce and expensive. Since there is a limited talent pool for skilled labor, costs are soaring as employers poach each other’s workers with pay raises and bonuses. A 2023 survey found that 70% of companies in the aerospace and defense sector saw increased turnover from 2022-2023, driven by compensation. One result: The Defense Department is moving away from xed-price contracts.

The tight labor market is also straining the Pentagon’s ability to ll its allvolunteer ranks in all branches of the armed forces. For instance, the Navy has been scaling back its physical and academic standards in order to attract recruits who fail the Armed Services Quali cation Test or don’t have a high school diploma or GED and is also making it easier to keep boot camp recruits who test positive for marijuana.

Because of persistent recruiting shortfalls, “the all-volunteer force faces

one of its greatest challenges since inception” in 1973, the Defense Department’s chief of cer for personnel and readiness told Congress last December.

SOLUTIONS AND POLITICS

Among the many proposals to deal with the maritime worker shortage include the following:

• Expand, with federal support, the growing local and state emphasis on trade schools and vocational education to produce more carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and welders, and reduce the emphasis on purely academic education.

“What’s urgently needed is a national campaign to address the critical shortage of skilled shipbuilders,” said Eastern’s D’Iserna. “This isn’t solely an industry concern; it’s a national defense imperative…our adversaries and allies are investing heavily in their shipbuilding capacity, highlighting the urgency

for us to do the same.”

• Expand and promote apprentice programs among commercial shippers, an initiative the American Waterways Operators (AWO) has long promoted among its members.

• Make a much greater investment in the marketing and advertising of maritime jobs (which currently tend to be invisible to most students).

• Beef up the nation’s maritime academies, the primary feeder schools for the merchant marine. According to 2023 data from the U.S. Maritime Administration, enrollment rates for all seven academies steadily declined between 2007 and 2022. Just two of the seven academies produced almost half of the Unlimited License graduates in 2023 (SUNY Maritime in the Bronx, N.Y., and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.). The two heartland academies produced the fewest annual graduates in 2023

(Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, Mich., at 4%, and Texas A&M Maritime Academy in Galveston, Texas, at 6%.

• Make workplace changes that will appeal to the younger and more diverse workforce of today — especially women and minorities — and adapt to

THE PERFECT CTV FOR THE IMPERFECT SEA

Wind farm turbine transfers in heavy seas pose unique challenges. Nothing we haven’t solved in building o shore pilot boats for over 60 years and high-speed catamarans for the most demanding applications.

Our standard and custom-designed highspeed CTVs are rugged, comfortable and especially suited for operators who put a high value on reliability, fuel e ciency and safety.

GLAD D IN G- HEA RN

#IMX2024 invites maritime and logistics pros to Nashville to collaborate on making marine transportation even more costeffective, safe, and environmentally friendly. This event is perfect for teams of all sizes working along inland rivers, lakes, and intracoastal waterways of the United States.

Doug Stewart

The workforce is rapidly aging as post-war Baby Boomers flood into retirement; however, the labor force has recovered slightly since the end of the pandemic.

the younger generations’ cultural differences. AWO, for instance, has been pushing the Department of Transportation to adopt more exible and less

onerous testing for marijuana, given that many states (unlike the federal government) have legalized the drug.

A top priority for the U.S. Chamber of

Commerce has been to expand legal immigration (while also controlling illegal immigration) to ll jobs that native-born Americans can’t or won’t take. Specically, it wants the government to grant far more temporary foreign-worker visas for skilled workers in specialty occupations (such as technology) and for migrant farm workers (who are essential to American agriculture).

However, that idea recently hit a deadend when a major bipartisan immigration reform bill supported by President Joe Biden was derailed in the Senate, a victim of election-year politics.

Even before details were released, former president and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump came out against the bill, and House Republicans effectively killed it. Opposition to immigration (including legal immigration) is central to Trump’s re-election campaign and his plans for a second term.

Doug Stewart

The Coast Guard says the Offshore Patrol Cutter is its highest investment priority filling the gap between the open ocean National Security Cutter and the coastal Rapid Response Cutter.

New sonars, radars, and AIS transceivers are here or coming soon.

By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

The world of marine electronics has never been a static industry. There’s always something new. Possibly it’s very unusual, such as the story of the FarSounder sea oor mapping program. Maybe just a new player in this country’s marine market, which is emtrak Marine Electronics. It could be adding a completely new technology to an existing electronics product, which is what Koden has done. Other times it’s tinkering with well-proven technologies to increase their longevity in the marine market, which is what Furuno will be doing.

FAR Sounder

FarSounder, manufacturer of the Argos forward viewing 3D sonars designed to provide a real-time threedimensional image of what lies ahead of your vessel, introduced its rst 3D sonar in 2004. In 2017, the ability to build a sea oor map was added with FarSounder’s Local History Mapping feature. Then in 2023 a program for vessels with FarSounder’s system of forward-looking sonar to share sea oor maps with other FarSounder vessels was introduced.

Enrollment in the program is just beginning. “The pilot program is set up to share data between people

that have the Far Sounder system,” said Cassie Stetkiewicz, Far Sounder’s director of operations. Participants in the program will receive a software update to begin collecting and sharing data. There is no cost to be part of the program.

electronics. Stetkiewicz estimates that could begin happening by the end of this year. Future bene ts include access to cloud tide corrected and cleaned versions of the sea- oor data that other vessel operators have submitted. Then there’s a long-term goal

While Far Sounder is currently working to get vessel operators enrolled in the initial program, phase 2 will be nding “a way to take all that data and push it out to different systems,” to make it available to vessel operators without FarSounder

that’s mentioned on the FarSounder web site of building “a complete map of the sea oor across all the world’s oceans.”

FarSounder offers three Argos sonars: Argos350 with a 350-meter range, Argos500 with a 500-meter range and

Argos1000 with a maximum-1,000-meter range. Real-time sonar data is displayed as a 3D representation and as a “top down” view overlaid on an electronic navigational chart.

em-trak

A relatively new kid is moving into this country’s marine electronics neighborhood. That would be em-trak Marine Electronics, the British electronics manufacturer that is “wellknown globally,” said Alec Buchness, VP of sales for em-trak Marine Electronics Americas market. the company is just starting to make itself a permanent player in the U.S..

A relatively new product that Em-trak is offering is the A200 AIS Class A. It’s designed for the commercial market, is IMO Solas certied and comes with a 3-year global manufacturers’ warranty. The integrated color display makes it an important tool for tracking and collision avoidance, company of cials said.

Then this June em-trak will be offering a radio designed for smaller workboats, the Nexus-Base VHF/ DSC radio with AIS Class B+ transceiver. “What makes it attractive,” said Buchness “is it will have built-in VHF radio and AIS combination.”

Radio with AIS Class B+ transceiver coming in June. em-trak Marine Electronics

Koden

Si-Tex Marine Electronics recently released the updated version of the Koden Radarpc MDS-1100 Series that transitions a vessel’s PC-based charting systems into a full-featured radar system.

“Basically it’s a new product,” said Si-Tex’s vice president of sales Allen Schneider. It’s designed to work with the Rose Point ECS software, which is “commercial navigation software used by most river tugs and most coastal tugs.”

Interface the PC with the 3.3-pound MDS-11R Control Box and a Koden dome or open-array radar antenna and — depending on the antenna — you’ll have a radar range up to 96 miles. On the screen, you can select a full radar image or chart plotter with radar overlay.

Ethernet data communication allows the MDS-1100 Series to interface with just about any PC, and multi-PC network systems can be constructed.

Furuno

Furuno is “about ready to do a refresh on some of our commercial radar series,” said Furuno’s national sales manager Matt Wood. Expect an increasing emphasis on the development of solid-state radars in the FAR-

22X8 Series and the FAR-3000 Series and less for magnetron radars. These are navigation and chart radars “used on tugs, crewboats, workboats of all kinds as navigation and chart radars,” noted Wood. He added that Furuno is coming up on the 10th anniversary for the FAR-22X8 and the FAR-3000.

“We’ve seen the market gravitate much more to solid-state radars with their extraordinary low maintenance and up-keep costs,” Wood said.

Granted, solid-state radars are more expensive than equivalent magnetron radars, but because the operator of the solid-state radar doesn’t have to

replace an antenna’s magnetron once or twice a year and doesn’t have as rigorous a maintenance schedule. “We gure buying a solid-state radar pretty much pays for itself within three to four years,” said Wood. “The commercial market,” he noted, “has embraced solid state technology and we expect that to continue.”

For Furuno to “refresh” its radar offerings required having to overcome supply chain dif culties. Mindful of the fact that “some manufacturers have had to discontinue lines because of a lack of available parts,” there will be an emphasis on “coming up with a model series where parts will be a lot more interchangeable. We are trying to build some ef ciencies so you have a pretty affordable radar up front, and it continues to be affordable over its entire product cycle to maintain.”

Wood feels that the solid-state radar “is one of the best examples I can think of where a signi cantly higher capital expenditure is really going to pay dividends on the operational expenditure side.” Yet, despite Furuno “putting more eggs in the solid-state basket,” Wood said there’s still a role for the magnetron radar in Furuno’s lineup. “No one has come up with a replacement for good, old magnetron, so we offer both.”

Furuno is about ready to do a refresh on some of its commercial radar series.

FARSounder

Furuno

FARSounder is trying to provide a realtime three-dimensional image of what lies ahead of your vessel.

C2024 OUTBOARD DIRECTORY

ox Powertrain/Cox Marine introduced a new diesel outboard engine – the 350 V8 at the Miami Boat Show in February.

"It's a pretty big step up because of the torque (776 lb. ft.)," said Wayne Buckheit, sales manager, Texas Diesel Outboard, a dealer in Kemah, Texas. "We'll have a couple on a boat in late summer."

Buckheit, who is spending most of his time signing up other dealers, said the 300-hp Cox diesels are showing some impressive fuel savings, and he expects the 350s to do the same. "We had a boat we replaced a pair of gas powered 300 outboards on, replaced them with a pair of 300s, and added a quarter mile per gallon of diesel."

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced in January that it has recently concluded a stock purchase agreement with Ger-

many's Deutz AG, which owns marine electric propulsion manufacturer Torqeedo, to acquire all of Torqeedo's shares. The stock acquisition is premised on the acquisition of the clearances, permits, etc., required by competition laws and other regulations.

Yamaha's aim in acquiring Torqeedo is to strengthen the its development capabilities in the electric eld of its marine case strategy, which outlines the general direction for the marine products business in the current medium-term management plan. Torqeedo appears here independent of Yamaha's listing, because no name change has been announced.

The acquisition is also meant to accelerate the company's efforts for achieving carbon neutrality in the marine industry as well as aid in fast-tracking the establishment of a small electric propulsion lineup.

Doug Stewart

COX POWERTRAIN LTD./COX MARINE

The Cecil Pashley Building, Unit 8, Cecil Pashley Waym Shoreham (Brighton Way) Airport, Lancing, West Sussex, UK Bn43 5FF

+44 (0) 1273 454 424 / www.coxmarine.com / info@coxpowertrain.com • Texas Diesel Outboard, 2103 Anders Lane, Kemah, TX 77565/Wayne Buckheit, Sales Manager/ 281-535-0200/info@texasdieseloutboard.com

JET DRIVE SERIES

MERCURY MARINE

W6250 Pioneer Road, P.O. Box 1939, Fond du Lac, WI 54936-1939 920-929-5040 / www.mercurymarine.com

OUTBOARD

SUZUKI MARINE USA LLC

13521 Prestige Place, Tampa, Fla. 33635 813-687-7200 / www.suzukimarine.com

OUTBOARD DIRECTORY / 2024

TORQEEDO INC. NORTH AMERICA

171 Erick Street, Unit D-2, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 815-444-8806 / www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us

*Due to space constraints, not all engine models are included. See your local dealers for complete lineups of all their engines.

**Some Displacement measurements are in Cu. In. and some in CC.

Wheelhouse positions: Captain, Mate, Purser

Engine Room positions: Chief Engineer, 1st Assistant, 2nd Assistant, Oiler, Fishmeal Technician

Galley positions: Chief Steward, Cook, Prep Cook, Galley Assistant, Housekeeper

Deck positions: Bosun, Deck Boss, Deckhand, Deckhand Trainee

Factory positions: Baader Technician, Surimi Technician, Quality Control, Foreman, Factory Mechanic, Processor Please

1 OlCEW

• DECK FOREMAN 3+ Yrs experience in deck supervisory role

• BOSUN STCW II/4, II/5, VI/2, VI/6 AB Unlimited

• ABLE SEAFARER DECK STCW II/5, STCW II/4 AB Unlimited

• ABLE SEAFARER ENGINE STCW ll/5 , STCW II/4 Oiler/Motorman

• CRANE OPERATOR API Operator LicenseKnuckle Boom

• Wiper - OS License

• OS/RIGGER Qualified Rigger API RP2D or Equivalent

• COOK Food Safety Certificate

• GALLEY HAND Food Safety Certificate

• ELECTRICIAN Minimum 5 Yrs Mechanical/ Electrical Experience on all Vessel Types (DP2 & Conventional)

• CONSTRUCTION SUPERINTENDENT –5 + Yrs Industry Experience – Current Offshore Certifications

• ROV SUPERVISOR 5+Yrs Industry Experience with 360+ Days In Senior Pilot Tech Role and Current Certifications

• ROV PILOT TECH 150-hurs Piloting Experience/180+ Days Offshore as Pilot with Current Certifications

Must have DP -2 DSV experience, current mariners’ credentials, certifications & physical. Send resumes & copies of credentials to: SSR2-JOBS@HYDRAOC.COM

Offshore Positions Wanted

Experienced Riggers, Painters, Cooks & Galleyhands for Offshore.

Must have T W I C Miniumum 2 years offshore experience

Must pass drug test

JPADD RESOURCES STAFFING

Email Resumes to: j.padd@yahoo.com

 Captains: Need a minimum of 200 Ton Near Coastal License with Master of Towing, 1600 ton preferred, with a valid TWIC, USCG Medical Certificate, NY harbor experience is preferred. Coastwise towing experience on wire tugs and /or Tractor tug experience is a plus

 Mates: Need a minimum of 200 ton Near Coastal License with Mate of Towing, 1600 ton preferred, with a valid TWIC, USCG Medical Certificate, NY harbor experience is preferred. Coastwise towing experience on wire tugs and /or Tractor tug experience is a plus

 Engineers: Need a valid MMC, TWIC, USCG Medical Certificate, We prefer a Licensed Engineer with Tug experience, but will consider unlicensed personnel that have tug experience.

Send resumes to: revans@mcallistertowing.com or employment@mcallistertowing.com

Or apply online at: https://www.mcallistertowing.com/aboutmcallister/employment-opportunities

LOOKS BACK

APRIL 1964

• Construction of one of the longest wharfs to be built at one time at the Port of Los Angeles, is now underway to prepare for the harbor's new international shipping terminal. The Guy F. Atkinson Co., contractors for the $3.1 million project, are building the 3,550' long concrete wharf, which will accommodate six ocean-going vessels simultaneously.

• Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding Corp. has been awarded a contract from the city of Newark, N.J., for the design and construction of a reboat for the protection of about 15 miles of waterfront property in that city. Rated output of the boat will be 4,000 gpm, the equivalent of four medium-size re trucks. The vessel will deliver water from three xed monitors and six out-

APRIL 1984

APRIL 1974

• President Nixon's action in holding up funds for construction of the CrossFlorida Barge Canal is illegal, so ruled a federal judge recently in Jacksonville, Fla.

• The Nashville Bridge Co. division of American Ship Building Co. has received a $40 million contract for construction of barges and towboats. The contract calls for construction of 48 double-skinned barges and four 6,150-hp towboats.

• The San Diego Marine Construc-

lets for standard 2-1/2" re hoses. The shipyard recently established its reboat division.

• Halter Marine Inc., New Orleans, recently delivered the second of its new Sea Shuttle-class crewboats to Asie Crewboats SDN BHD, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Asie Dua joins her sistership, Asie I, working off the Malaysian coast. The 112'x25'x12' Asie Dua is powered by four Detroit Diesel 12V-71TI engines coupled to Twin Disc MG-514 gears on a 2.5:1 reduction ratio. The all-aluminum crewboat

features a 60'x20' aft deck and can carry up to 80 LT of cargo.

• SeaWay Express recently christened the rst of two 487'x104' tripledeck superbarges built by Marine Power and Equipment, Seattle. The barges are designed for a new generation of trailer freight measuring 48' to 50'x8.5'. SeaWay will use the barges to move up to 18,000 trailers annually each way between Seattle and Alaska.

tion Co., a subsidiary of Campbell Industries, recently announced receipt of a construction contract for four Navy fuel barges totaling approximately $800,000. The barges are a new design in the YON-245 class. Each will be capable of carrying any of ve different varities of fuel, with a capacity of up to 1,500 tons. Deliveries of the rst two barges are scheduled for Sept. 1 and Oct. 1, 1974. The third and fourth will be delivered early 1975.

“Shaver Transportation has been working with Karl Senner, LLC since 1989. Time is testament to the reliability of their products and support, being amongst the best in the industry.”

JON LUND | VP ENGINEERING | SHAVER TRANSPORTATION

Onboard Karl Senner, LLC supplied two REINTJES WAF 873 / 7.087:1 Reverse Reduction Gearboxes with internal hydraulic multi-disc shaft brakes, temperature control valves, torsional couplings, and a two station control system.

Shipyard: Florida Marine Shipyard & Repairs, LLC

Owner: Shaver Transportation Co.