WorkBoat May 2021 by WorkBoat

Mariner Vaccines • Fireboats • Propulsion Systems ®

IN BUSINESS ON THE COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS

Energy Source

Government policy will affect the fortunes of offshore wind and oil and gas.

MAY 2021

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ON THE COVER

MAY 2021 • VOLUME 78, NO. 5

The Sheringham Shoal wind farm coexists with an oil and gas platform off the U.K., a scene unlikely to be replicated anytime soon in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Jose Vega Lozano for Equinor ASA

FEATURES 18 Focus: Shot in the Arm Mariners are finally receiving their Covid-19 vaccinations.

22 Vessel Report: Fire Fighter A look at fire protection at the Port of New Orleans.

30 Cover Story: Energy Mix The Biden administration charts different courses for offshore wind and U.S. Gulf oil and gas.

BOATS & GEAR 26 On the Ways • Breaux’s Bay Craft delivers 90' aluminum pilot boat to Texas • Atlantic Wind Transfers takes delivery of second Jones Act wind crew transfer vessel from Blount Boats • Cooper Marine & Timberlands takes delivery of 6,800-hp linehaul towboat from Blakeley BoatWorks • All American Marine sold to Bryton Marine Group • Austal USA to start steel production in April • Crowley, ESVAGT to provide more Jones Act offshore wind service vessels • Conrad delivers 240' deck barge to Ashton Marine • Silver Ships delivers 30' fire-rescue boats to Texas and New York

36 New Age More all-electric, low-emission propulsion systems are on the way.

AT A GLANCE 8 8 9 10 10 12 12 14

On the Water: Disappearing buoys — Part II. Captain’s Table: I am optimistic about 2021. Energy Level: Operators say they will restrict production growth. Inland Insider: More pressure on the industry to decarbonize. Nor’easter: Offshore wind needs more U.S.-flag vessels. WB Stock Index: WorkBoat stocks jump 14% in February. Insurance Watch: Report claims and keep them problem-free. Legal Talk: Meeting seaman status requirements.

36 DEPARTMENTS

NEWS LOG 16 16 16 16 16

Foss, DEME Offshore to construct Vineyard Wind I energy project. Biden’s infrastructure plan includes funds for inland waterways and ports. Bouchard Transportation pays $375,000 to mariner in whistleblower case. Comment period extended for use of passenger vessel SMS. Marad: $230 million in grants available for port and infrastructure projects.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

2 6 40 46 48

Editor’s Watch Mail Bag Port of Call Advertisers Index WB Looks Back

Editor’sWatch

It’s in the wind

We know that the WorkBoat Show is your annual chance to network, shop, connect, and get in the know among the best in the business. It is a maritime industry tradition. And through good times and bad, this is the marine industry’s show. With many things changing in the world right now, we want you to know that the International WorkBoat Show will be held as scheduled, December 1-3, 2021. For over 40 years the WorkBoat Show has been here for you and this year, more than ever, we cannot wait to host you in New Orleans.

roposed offshore wind farms in the U.S. are getting a lot of attention. If not trending, they’re certainly trendy. What has burned like an ember for years is now a grass fire. What’s fueling the fire is this country’s desire to get its energy from a more environmentally friendly source compared to oil and gas. People seem to want it. President Joe Biden is leading this charge toward change. He issued executive orders on Jan. 27 that called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and froze new leasing off the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), while simultaneously directing the Department of Interior (DOI) to review permitting processes and identify other steps the U.S. can take to double offshore wind capacity over the next decade. On March 29, Biden floated plans to offer $3 billion in federal loan guarantees for offshore wind development. So is this the beginning of the end for fossil fuels? Don’t bet on it. As Jim Redden wrote in this month’s cover story, “Despite the subsequent cancellation of a scheduled federal offering on March 17, the leasing moratorium, in and of itself, had little near-term impact on the Gulf of Mexico, where operators collectively hold more than 1,700 active leases not in production, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Earlier acquired leases and permits were not affected by the leasing interruption.” My guess is when all this shakes out (maybe by 2050), our energy future will include a menu of energy producing options such as wind, solar, hydrogen, wave technology and, yes, ai16109820207_editwatch_BPA_2021.pdf oil and gas. We’ll find cleaner and more

DEC. 1 - 3, 2021 NEW ORLEANS Morial Convention Center, Halls B, C, D, E & F Produced by

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3/8/21 12:58 PM

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efficient ways to use them all. Maybe even coal. But no matter what form of energy we use, nothing will burn, spin or process like the dirtiest business of them all — politics. And that’s the key to the future of the Gulf of Mexico, according to veteran energy analyst Allen Brooks. “I think the Gulf has several challenges. Yes, prices are up and that’s good. Cash flow for companies are improving and that’s good. But, then you have the unknown, which at the moment is what the heck is government policy going to be?” That would depend on who’s running the country.

1/18/21

10:00 AM khocke@divcom.com

WORKBOAT® (ISSN 0043-8014) is published monthly by Diversified Communications, 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 1348, Mandeville, LA 70470. Annual Subscription Rates: U.S. $39; Canada $55; International $103. When available, extra copies of current issue are $4, all other issues and special issues are $5. For subscription customer service call (978) 671-0444. The publisher reserves the right to sell subscriptions to those who have purchasing power in the industry this publication serves. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, ME, and additional mailing offices. Circulation Office: 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. From time to time, we make your name and address available to other companies whose products and services may interest you. If you prefer not to receive such mailings, please send a copy of your mailing label to: WorkBoat’s Mailing Preference Service, P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WORKBOAT, P.O. Box 1792, Lowell, MA 01853. Copyright 20 21 by Diversified Communications. Printed in U.S.A.

www.workboat.com • May 2021 • WorkBoat

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EDITOR IN CHIEF

David Krapf dkrapf@divcom.com

SENIOR EDITOR

Ken Hocke khocke@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Kirk Moore kmoore@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

ART DIRECTOR

PUBLISHING OFFICES Produced by:

• Capt. Alan Bernstein • Bruce Buls • Michael Crowley • Dale K. DuPont • Pamela Glass • Betsy Frawley Haggerty • Max Hardberger • Joel Milton • Jim Redden • Kathy Bergren Smith

Doug Stewart dstewart@divcom.com

Main Office: 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438 • Portland, ME 04112-7438 • (207) 842-5608 • Fax: (207) 842-5609 Southern/Editorial Office: P.O. Box 1348 • Mandeville, LA 70470 Subscription Information: (978) 671-0444 • cs@e-circ.net General Information: (207) 842-5610

CONNECTED The largest commercial marine trade show on the West Coast, serving commercial mariners from Alaska to California, returns in the Fall of 2021.

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Jeremiah Karpowicz jkarpowicz@divcom.com

Wendy Jalbert 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438 • Portland, ME 04112-7438 (207) 842-5616 • Fax: (207) 842-5611 wjalbert@divcom.com

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EXPOSITIONS

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PRESIDENT & CEO GROUP VICE PRESIDENT

(207) 842-5508 • Fax: (207) 842-5509 Producers of The International WorkBoat Show and Pacific Marine Expo www.workboatshow.com www.pacificmarineexpo.com

Christine Salmon (207) 842-5530 • Fax: (207) 842-5509 csalmon@divcom.com Theodore Wirth Bob Callahan bcallahan@divcom.com

Look for the Pacific Marine Expo Official Date Announcement this Spring and sign up for Expo updates at pacificmarineexpo.com

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Happy to see the Jones Act strengthened

enjoyed Pam Glass’ short Inland Insider column about the Jones Act boost in the February issue. I’m glad to see it being strengthened instead of being watered down. I was fortunate to be a Coast Guard senior marine inspector during the time of security rules coming in and the era of working hard to clean up the foreign and domestic vessel fleet. I saw firsthand when companies we might call “shady” try to cut corners and use the cheapest means available to conduct business. That of course is what the Jones Act protects. Over the years I saw the good effects from removing some very bad vessels and companies from visiting U.S. waters by enforcing standards. Also were those trying to skirt the pollution laws. We have got to be good

detectives of piping systems and OWS (oily water separator) systems. The same thing happened in the towboat industry over last several years, slowly forcing substandard vessels out of service and bringing others up to standard for those companies that wanted to bother getting it right. I noticed a few companies that were adept at keeping track of USCG command turnovers. They would request one time load line exemptions for moving large equipment, then go to a different command or waiting for a change of command to do it again, over and over. Using our system correctly we discovered the ploy and were able to put a stop to it. It was also similar with Jones Act exemption requests. Thank you for your column. I have always been a strong supporter of U.S. shipping and conducting inspections of our domestic fleet, with an eye

toward helping them see the need for regulation adherence instead of trying to get away with whatever. I retired from the USCG after 31 years but still do damage surveys and similar work. The main point is that I’m glad to see the strengthening of the Jones Act. Samuel Boucher A Marine Inspection Services Team LLC Sterling, Alaska

WorkBoat encourages readers to write us about anything that appears in the magazine, on WorkBoat.com or pertains to the marine industry. To be published, letters must include the writer’s address and a daytime phone number.

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On the Water

Disappearing buoys — Part II By Joel Milton

he red buoys and others that have disappeared from along the East Coast served a legitimate purpose: to allow vessels running along the coast to have physical navigation markers to help fix their positions and maintain overall situational awareness, thereby reducing the risk of grounding. Maritime safety authorities, company policies, educational curricula, industry best practices, etc., point out the obvious: that any aid to navigation (ATON) could be off-station, malfunctioning, sunk, destroyed or otherwise compromised. Therefore, ATONs should never be relied on for “safe” navigation. Likewise, you should never rely on radar, or your depth sounder, or your GPS receiver, navigation plotter, or ECDIS. In short, you should rely on nothing whatsoever because everything is prone to failure. It’s a disingenuous circular reasoning cycle that serves more as a way to assign liability than anything else. Mariners too, as amply demonstrated by history, are prone to failure. So are those who regulate and oversee us, and trainers and educators. The fact is that to varying degrees at various times we must

Captain’s Table

Should we be optimistic about 2021? By Capt. Alan Bernstein

ur yearlong struggle with the coronavirus pandemic has dragged on for so long that many of us have almost forgotten about how things were before. The waiting has been the worst — waiting for Covid tests, waiting to be vaccinated, and waiting for some sign that life is beginning to return to normal. During the pandemic, business planning has been a hitor-miss proposition. For BB Riverboats, business in 2020 was cut by approximately 90%. Often I wish for the proverbial crystal ball to help see what the future holds for my business, employees, and crew. One day news reports signal improvement in suppressing the spread of the virus, then reports on following days show an uptick in infection rates. With these fluctuating reports, should we still expect a resurgence in business this spring? Or should we just cross our fingers and hope for the best? Should we be optimistic about the future or should we be concerned? I have chosen to be optimistic. This is the only way I know how to cope with all of the dysfunction and uncertainty associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. 8

rely on all of these things in varying combinations as circumstances change. Ideally you want to have as many options or resources available as possible, so that you avoid getting boxed in and having to rely too much on any one of them. Or just one of them. Nevertheless, sometimes that’s exactly where you may find yourself. Single-point failure is the bane of human endeavor, but we’re still very prone to it. Virtually every act of modern human activity, particularly commerce, has become totally dependent on a 100% reliable, fully functioning Global Positioning System — and this seems to be acceptable and accepted. But today, however, take away someone’s smartphone and they just might never make it home. Doing away with those physical buoys removes yet another layer of protection — removes options for the navigator. While it’s likely to be inevitable that we continue to follow the technological advancement trajectory without questioning it, this change should not pass unnoticed or without comment. Joel Milton works on towing vessels. He can be reached at joelmilton@yahoo.com.

It has been a year full of anxiety. I am not a health care professional, but I believe that optimism is critical if you are going to successfully work through the issues that have caused the anxiety in the first place. I believe that the worst is behind us now and tomorrow is a new day with exciting opportunities to build back our businesses. When I was a teenager, I remember my father telling me that when you are in business you need to put a smile on your face, be cheerful and be nice to people. Most of all, you must respect your customers’ needs and wants. If you do this, then you will come out ahead every time. I am enthusiastic about 2021. Our phones are ringing again, our social media is active, online sales are good, and demand for private events is decent. I am confident that we will continue to move forward. Many passenger vessel operators from around the country feel the same way as I do. This is a good sign. After all, the key to success is simple: be optimistic, smile, and life will get better.

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.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

WORKBOAT GOM INDICATORS

Energy Level

JAN. '21 WTI Crude Oil 52.78 Baker Hughes Rig Count 16 IHS OSV Utilization 18.9% U.S. Oil Production (millions bpd) 10.9

FEB. '21 61.55 17 19.1% 10.0*

WTI Price U.S. Prod 1000s bopd

Sources: Baker-Hughes; IHS Markit; U.S. EIA

Operators to restrain production growth

*Weekly Estimated

MAR. '21 60.93 12 19.8% 11.1*

MAR. '20 21.03 18 29.3% 13.0

GOM Rig Count Util. Rate %

GOM RIG COUNT

GOM Rig Count

By Jim Redden, Correspondent

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

fter years of unrestrained production growth — spending be damned — fiscal discipline has taken hold as once reluctant operators bow to investor pressure and resist their notorious tendency to call up rigs and completion crews at the slightest uptick in prices. “If oil prices continue to improve this year, we will not increase capital in support of production growth,” Occidental Petroleum Corp. President and CEO Vicki Hollub assured analysts in a Feb. 24 call. Occidental holds drilling rights to some 1.6 million acres of shale-targeted acreage in the Permian Basin in west Texas and southeast New Mexico. Even as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark prices reached a two-year high of $67.87 bbl in early March, estimates compiled by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show Occidental is far from alone. The seven shale plays the EIA tracks were expected to collectively produce just under 7.5 million bpd in April, roughly 1.2 million bpd less than aggregate April 2020 shale oil production when Covid-induced demand destruction aggravated a crude

3/20

3/21

glut and sunk WTI prices to previously unheard of negative territory. Nearly 4.3 million bpd of April production is expected to flow from the Permian Basin, where Diamondback Energy operates exclusively and has no plans to open the taps full bore. Mar-20in a mar“We are still operating ket supported by Apr-20 supply that’s been May-20to allow global purposefully withheld Jun-20 inventories to decline as demand 20-Jul recovers from the depths of the global Aug-20 pandemic. Diamondback continues Sep-20 to see no need to 20-Oct grow oil production into this artificially undersupplied Nov-20 market,” said CEO Travis Dec-20 Stice. And this from ConocoPhillips, Jan-21 which holds shaleFeb-21 assets across Texas, Wyoming, Oklahoma and North 21-Mar

9 10 11 12 13

Dakota: “Demand recovery is taking longer, spare supply remains and inventories remain elevated. It makes no sense to grow into this market environment, so we’re choosing to stay at a sustaining level for the year,” said CEO Ryan Lance. Meanwhile, like their 18 offshore counterparts, companies17with leases on federally owned lands12in New 11 Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and else12 where, had to contend with President 13 Biden's Jan. 27 freeze on new leasing 14 of government-owned lands. 13 One of those, Cimarex 13Energy Co., admitted to “overreacting” 17 by immediately diverting all activity from 16 New Mexico to privately17owned Texas properties. 12

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Inland Insider

submitted a plan to the IMO to create an International Maritime Research and Development Board, a $5 billion program to fast-track research and development into decarbonizing Reducing carbon emissions technologies that would be financed by a $2-per-ton fee on marine fuel. By Pamela Glass, Washington Correspondent Carpenter said the tug, towboat and barge industry faces dual challenges of being “an industry whose vessels rely on he head of the American Waterways Operators said the fossil fuels for propulsion, and as one that transports (safely maritime industry needs to be actively involved in initiaand effi ciently) more than 400 million tons of petroleum, tives to reduce carbon emissions, or others will make policy petroleum products and coal each year. We need to be cleardecisions that will affect their shipping operations well into eyed about both of those challenges.” the future. She said the inland navigation industry should consider “As an industry, we need to be at the table or we will find this as an opportunity to “build on our position as the lowest ourselves on the menu,” Jennifer Carpenter, AWO’s president carbon-emitting mode of surface transportation. Maritime is said at a March conference organized by Marine Log. today, and can be in the future, a key part of the solution to The shipping industry is under increasing pressure reducing greenhouse gases from transportation.” worldwide to decarbonize its operations and reduce carbon It’s imperative for the industry to engage now, both in emissions, and reaching these goals is “the biggest industry technology development and in public policy, “because while challenge of our era,” said Carpenter. this is a long-term challenge that won’t be solved overnight, And reducing the industry’s carbon footprint is not only decisions will be made in the near term that will affect our being pursued by the Biden administration and Democrats in industry for years to come.” Congress. “We need to be an active contributor to the development “It’s our industry’s customers, its end users, its banks and of public policy that spurs rather than constrains innovation, investment houses, it’s the international community,” she said. “And we need to expect that transportation — and mari- and enables our industry to survive, adapt and thrive for the long haul,” Carpenter said. time — will be in the crosshairs.” She cited numerous recent initiatives: Biden’s goal of reaching a net-zero-carbon U.S. economy by 2050 and moves Pamela Glass is the Washington, D.C., corresponby the International Maritime Organization to eliminate dent for WorkBoat. She reports on the congresgreenhouse gases from shipping this century and cut them by sional committees and federal agencies that affect 50% from 2008 levels by 2050. the maritime industry, including the Coast Guard , Marad and Army Corps of Engineers. Further, she said a group of governments and maritime advocacy organizations working in international trade has

Nor’easter

Offshore wind industry is still short on vessels By Kirk Moore, Contributing Editor

whirlwind of events this spring pushed the offshore wind industry’s hopes to the forefront, with the Biden administration’s March 29 announcements that it would seek $3 billion in federal funding to support industry development and start as many as 10 more environmental reviews this year for East Coast projects. The administration’s new goal of 30,000 megawatts of offshore generation by 2030 includes opening another 800,000 acres in the New York Bight for possible wind leases. The Bureau of 10

Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) initiated an environmental review of Ørsted’s planned 1,100-MW Ocean Wind project off New Jersey. Meanwhile a record of decision from BOEM was expected soon on the 800-MW Vineyard Wind project. The developers announced their plan for construction using Belgium-based DEME Offshore’s wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), supplied from New Bedford, Mass., by U.S.-flag Foss Maritime tugs and barges. For now, that so-called “feeder” busi-

ness model is a necessary work-around for wind developers contending with a tight worldwide supply of WTIVs, and the dictates of the Jones Act for using U.S. vessels and crews to move cargo between U.S. points. But it won’t last for long, said Karl Humberson, director of project construction for Dominion Energy, the Virginia-based utility company developing offshore wind and building the first U.S.-flag WTIV. “A feeder barge solution will work, we’ve seen it work, we’ve used it ourselves,” said Humberson, whose company built the twin turbines, 12MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project as its precursor. “But when you look long term … there’s a reason Europe and Asia have www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

moved to purpose-built vessels,” Humberson said during a March 31 webinar, “Operating on the (Wind) Farm” presented by WorkBoat. “As much as a feeder barge solution can work, I think the real question is, is it the optimal way to do the work?” Instead, Humberson said that Dominion officials decided, “Okay, this is what the industry needs.” Dominion’s 472'×184'×38' WTIV, under construction by Keppel AmFELS at its Brownsville, Texas, shipyard, will be one of the largest in that class, with a Huisman main crane boom length of 426' and lifting capacity of 2,200 tons – enough the handle the next generation of 12- to 14-MW turbines standing over 800 feet tall. The ship is “actually not for the Dominion project. We’re building it for the industry,” Humberson stressed. “The vessel is a merchant vessel. It is there for people to use.”

That is a sensible plan, said Rafael Riva, vice president of commercial operations at Lloyd’s Register. “You need to keep operating a $400 million asset,” said Riva, whose organization is working on a Jones Act-compliant WTIV design for the U.S. market. “These ships don’t get built overnight … the planning really has to start now.” “We can’t look at the U.S. market in isolation,” added Ross Gould, vice president for supply chain development with the Business Network for Offshore Wind. With larger turbines and more projects in the pipeline worldwide, “that is going to mean a lot of new construction” to serve both those markets and the U.S., he said. “Some of my colleagues have called 2021 ‘the year of the vessel,’ ” Gould added. “The charter rates are going to get higher and higher to bring these (foreign WTIV) vessels over to do the work,” said Charles Donadio, president

of Atlantic Wind Transfers, which operates crew transfer vessels for Dominion and Ørsted. “I think we’ll see a few more of these feeder vessel scenarios happening until we get some purpose-built vessels here in the U.S.” For the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project, Dominion had Belgium-based Jan De Nul Group install the two turbines with its WTIV Vole au Vent. The major Siemens Gamesa turbine components from Europe were carried by the flat deck carrier BigRoll Beaufort from Esbjerg, Denmark, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. 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.

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WorkBoat Composite Index Stocks post another strong month

fter rising almost 14% in February, the WorkBoat stocks posted another strong month in March, gaining 175 points, or almost 6%. For the month, winners topped losers by a 9-4 ratio. In late March, shipbuilder Gulf Island Fabrication reported its 2020 fourth-quarter and year-end results. Consolidated revenue for the fourth

quarter was $57.6 million, compared to $79.4 million for 2019’s fourth quarter. The year-over-year decrease was primarily attributed to the company’s fabrication and services division and, to a lesser extent, its shipyard division. “This past year brought unprecedented challenges, including the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on labor

STOCK CHART INDEX COMPARISONS Operators Suppliers Shipyards Workboat Composite PHLX Oil Service Index Dow Jones Industrials Standard & Poors 500

Source: FinancialContent Inc. www.financialcontent.com

2/26/21 342.55 5,013.51 2,777.31 3,027.23 55.78 30,932.37 3,811.15

3/31/21 332.84 5,391.31 3,081.47 3,201.94 53.70 32,981.55 3,972.89

NET CHANGE -9.71 377.80 304.15 174.71 -2.08 2,049.18 161.74

For the complete up-to-date WorkBoat Stock Index, go to: www.workboat.com/resources/workboat-composite-index

Insurance Watch Keep claims hassle-free By Chris Richmond

nsurance is often one of your company’s biggest expenses and one that you hope is rarely needed. But please don’t think that reporting a claim is going to adversely affect your policy’s premium. Even if you think that the incident is minor and not worth reporting, a quick call to your agent can prevent some major hassles down the road. Here are a few things to remember to keep a claim hasslefree. • First, report the claim to your agent. Alerting your agent does not reflect negatively on you. In fact, insurance adjustors appreciate this type of reporting because it gives them a baseline right at the time of the claim. Recording the essential facts in a timely fashion helps greatly in case something develops from the incident six months down the road. And, as a bonus, you get to touch base with your agent. • Second, should the claim involve damage to property, keep the damaged items secure so they will not suffer any further damage. If you have to make emergency repairs, document the damage first so an adjustor can see it. You don’t want the damage to get worse due to your inattention. 12

PERCENT CHANGE -2.83% 7.54% 10.95% 5.77% -3.73% 6.62% 4.24%

availability and productivity negatively impacting our results as well as crude oil volatility, which reduced the volume of work in our traditional end markets,” Richard Heo, Gulf Island’s president and CEO, said during the company’s March 29 quarterly conference call. However, Heo said the company “substantially strengthened our foundation” over the past year through the consolidation of resources and process improvements, and expanding its end market focus to reduce reliance on the offshore oil and gas industry. During the quarter, Gulf Island completed its final two harbor tugs, delivering the last tug in January. This allowed the company to close its Jennings, La., and Lake Charles, La., facilities, consolidating its shipyard operations into the Houma, La., location. This should “further improve our resource utilization, centralize key project resources and deliver additional cost savings,” Heo said. — David Krapf

• Third, save receipts. Once repairs start on your vessel or property, the bills will accumulate. Keep all associated receipts and send them to your agent who will then forward them to the adjustor. If you are doing repairs yourself, keep track of your own time. • Were there witnesses to the accident? Record their names and contact information. Did anyone take photos or video with their cellphone? Are there security cameras which could have captured the event? All of these can help you with your claim. Finally, we are back to where we started. Report your claim. Too often I hear from a client that something happened six or eight weeks ago. The time to call your agent is right after the incident occurs so, with your assistance, the adjustors can start their investigation and document all the facts. Strike while the iron is hot and get all the facts down while they are fresh in your mind, and in the mind of any witnesses. You will be happy that you did.

Chris Richmond is a licensed mariner and marine insurance agent with Allen Insurance and Financial. He can be reached at 800-439-4311 or crichmond@ allenif.com

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Legal Talk

The requirements for seamen status By Daniel J. Hoerner

n February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a significant ruling on the test for seaman status. However, unlike most cases on this issue, the challenge to the employees’ classification did not deal with their legal rights and remedies under the Jones Act. Instead, it stemmed from a claim by an able-bodied (AB) seaman and his co-workers for overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires that any employee who works over 40 hours a week must be compensated at a rate not less than one-and-a-half times his regular wage. However, traditional seamen are exempt from this rule. In Adams v. All Coast LLC the workers claimed that they were not seamen within the meaning of the law because the majority of the work they performed was not maritime in nature and did not contribute to the operation of their employer’s vessels. Rather, they spent at least 80% of their work time operating cranes and assisting with the transfer of cargo to and from vessels while the vessels were jacked up and stationary. The remainder of

the time was devoted to vessel operations, and the workers ate, slept and performed most of their tasks aboard vessels. In reversing the district court’s summary judgment holding that the workers were, in fact, seamen based on their work aboard a fleet of commonly owned vessels, the Fifth Circuit looked to case law addressing the meaning of a seamen in the context of Department of Labor regulations. Those criteria define a seaman as an employee who (1) is subject to the authority, direction and control of a vessel’s master, and (2) whose service aids the vessel as a means of transportation. In Adams, the crewmembers did not meet the second element of this test. Rather than serve the vessels’ transportation function, the crew worked on vessels mainly to load and unload cargo. Consequently, this group of workers did not satisfy the requirements for seaman status as defined under Department of Labor standards and were, therefore, entitled to overtime wages under the FLSA. Daniel J. Hoerner is a maritime attorney with Mouledoux, Bland, Legrand & Brackett LLC. He can be reached at 504-595-3000 or dhoerner@mblb. com.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

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EME Offshore US will team with Foss Maritime to construct the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind 1 offshore energy project, using the “feeder” concept of a foreign-flag wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) supplied onsite by Jones Act-compliant U.S. vessels, Vineyard Wind developers announced in March. The joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners would be the first truly utility-scale offshore wind energy project in U.S. waters. Now on the verge of winning approval for its construction and operations plan from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the project could be begin delivering energy into the Massachusetts power grid in 2023. Belgium-based DEME is the installation contractor, with offices in Massachusetts to serve as the base of operations. A DEME WTIV jackup vessel working on the Vineyard Wind lease, starting 15 miles offshore from Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., would be supplied by Foss vessels from the port of New Bedford, Mass. The feeder-vessel model was used in the first U.S. pilot projects, the 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island by Deepwater Wind/Ørsted and the 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind by Dominion Energy. Dominion is backing construction of its own first U.S.-flag WTIV, amid widespread concern in the industry that global demand for services of those heavy-lift 16

vessels could slow the development of offshore wind projects in U.S. waters. For Vineyard Wind, Foss Maritime, a longtime U.S. maritime service contractor with union labor, will provide the Jones Act-compliant feeder vessels. That’s a big political selling point for offshore wind in Northeast states, where organized labor has lots of clout with pro-wind energy governors and lawmakers. — Kirk Moore

Biden’s infrastructure plan a boost to workboat industry

n April 1, President Biden unveiled an ambitious plan to improve the U.S.’s aging infrastructure that proposes funds for inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry (border stations) and ferries. Waterways advocates were happy to hear Biden lay out his vision for an infrastructure overhaul at a carpenters training center outside Pittsburgh, where three major rivers converge at one of the busiest spots for navigation along the inland river system. “It is not a plan that tinkers around the edges,” the president said. “It is a once-in-a-generation investment in America.” Among many other elements of the proposal, Biden calls on Congress to invest an additional $17 billion in inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry and ferries, which, he says, “are vital to our nation’s freight.” No more details were immediately available about how that money would be spent, or what the president’s priorities would be in this sector. It’s clear that his initiatives will put climate change and clean energy as priorities. He includes in his waterways initiative a “Healthy Ports program to

NEWS BITTS BOUCHARD PAYS $375,000 TO MARINER

ouchard Transportation Co. Inc. and three former and current management officials have paid $375,000 in restitution to the brother of one of two mariners killed in a barge explosion off the Texas coast in 2017. The mariner alleged the company fired him for cooperating with investigators and reporting safety concerns to the Coast Guard. The explosion occurred on Oct. 20, 2017, off Port Aransas aboard the ATB Buster Bouchard/B. No. 255.

PASSENGER VESSEL SMS COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED BY USCG

he Coast Guard is extending the comment period for the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) published Jan. 15, 2021, that seeks comments on the potential use of Safety Management Systems (SMS) to improve safety and reduce marine casualties on board U.S.-flagged passenger vessels. The Coast Guard is extending the comment period to June 1, 2021. Comments must be received by the Coast Guard on or before June 1.

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arad is encouraging states and port authorities to apply for $230 million in discretionary grant funding for port and intermodal infrastructurerelated projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the funding at a White House offshore wind energy program event.

Go to workboat.com/news for the latest commercial marine industry news.

mitigate the cumulative impacts of air pollution on neighborhoods near ports, often communities of color.” — Pam Glass

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Mariner Vaccinations

Shot in the Arm

Mariners are finally starting to receive their Covid-19 vaccines. By Pamela Glass, Washington Correspondent

s Covid-19 vaccine supplies continue to increase and states begin ramping up their vaccination programs, maritime transportation workers are starting to get their turn at the jab. But it’s been a long slog, demanding patience and continued safety vigilance for those working in the industry who want to be vaccinated. Mariners have had to work through the pandemic, delivering barge tows loaded with supplies and cargoes without interruption along the inland and coastal waterways, guiding and offloading ships in the ports and navigating big cargo vessels. For this, they are considered essential workers, but they haven’t been deemed essential enough for priority vaccinations. This is finally changing as states, who make their own vaccination rules, are either including mariners in priority groups, or opening up their entire population to vaccinations as the vaccine supply increases. President Biden set a goal that by April 19, 90% of U.S. adults would be eligible for shots, and 90% would have a vaccination site within five miles of their homes.

Capt. Randy Suttles

After months of waiting, mariners finally begin to get access to Covid-19 vaccinations.

PRIORITIZE MARINERS According to a list compiled by the American Waterways Operators (AWO) in late March, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia consider maritime transportation workers eligible for priority shots in their states. Other states have indicated that they will include mariners as their vaccine supplies and rollouts expand this spring. For months, the maritime industry has been lobbying state and federal governments and various health agencies to secure priority Covid-19 vaccinations for U.S. mariners. But the effort has met with only partial success, as decisions are fragmented, with guidance coming from the federal government, but final decisions on priority vaccination groupings being made by state health officials and governors, or in some cases, local county officials. Some states, for example, prioritize grocery workers but others do not. Other states give the elderly the jab first, while others do not. Same for teachers. In just about every state, mariners, often lumped together with other infrastructure workers, are omitted from priority groupings. “What we’re seeing is a patchwork approach when high level guidance and decisions are made at the local and state levels,” said Caitlin Stewart, director of regulatory affairs at the AWO. She said states have different drivers for setting their priority groups, such as protecting vulnerable people in nursing homes or immunizing teachers so that schools can reopen. “Our argument is that maritime transportation workers are critical to the national supply chain and the ability of other frontline workers to do their jobs. You can’t fill grocery

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

shelves without products to put there.” Another complication for mariners is that they often live in one state, report to work in another, and get off their vessel in yet another location. Different vaccination rules among states can create a confusing mess. At barge operator Campbell Transportation Co. in Houston, Pa., management is emphasizing vaccine education to its 470 employees, providing them with easy access to learn about eligibility in the states where they live or work through the company’s website. “As with most operators, we have employees who live all around the place,” in states with differing vaccination rules, said Gary Statler, vice president of administration. He said there are employees who want to have the shot, others who don’t, and some that are hesitant. Campbell is neither encouraging nor discouraging vaccinations of its employees, leaving that decision up to

In just about every state, mariners, often lumped together with other infrastructure workers, are omitted from priority groupings. the individual. “We haven’t had a lot of employees who have reached out in frustration that they aren’t able to get it,” Statler said. “Right now, our approach is working with our employees as far as providing information on how to do it.” NATIONAL STRATEGY NEEDED While infections in the inland industry have been relatively small, and connected to exposure mostly off vessels,

the situation is far more serious in the nation’s ports, where some 1,000 West Coast longshore workers have been infected with Covid-19 and over a dozen have died. Many more have been off the job because of the pandemic, causing port congestion and delays, according to the Maritime Labor Alliance. Labor unions have offered educational and logistical support, including use of union facilities as vaccination sites. For many in the maritime industry, the vaccination process has been far too slow in reaching them. AWO and other organizations have appealed to federal health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control to give mariners priority status on the guidelines they provide to state governments, while also reaching out to some two dozen individual states where mariners work. The industry has also contacted Congress, the White House, and appeared at congressional hearings.

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Campbell Transportation provides its mariners with Covid-19 vaccine information through its website.

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not been given higher priority or categorized as frontline essential workers in the guidelines the CDC has given states, even though the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Coast Guard consider mariners essential workers.

“This suggests that a national strategy for mariner vaccination, or at minimum, clear federal guidance for states, is urgently needed to efficiently immunize these essential workers and ensure the safety and continuity of waterborne transportation,” Del Wilkins, president of Illinois Marine Towing Inc., Joliet, Ill., told a House subcommittee hearing in February. “We’re not asking to cut the line. We’re asking to work with you and the administration to ensure the timely and efficient immunization of a relatively small segment of the country’s frontline essential workforce that has an outsize impact on our economy and security.” To help mariners secure vaccinations, AWO has prepared two template letters for companies to give to their workers explaining to a vaccine provider that mariners are essential workers and live and work in congregate settings.

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“The response was varied. Some invited the conversation, while others had more of a closed process on vaccination allocation,” AWO’s Stewart said. “We’ve seen some breakthroughs but it has been a patchwork as states approach (vaccine allocation) differently.” Nonetheless, maritime workers have

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3/8/21 12:55 PM

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

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Fireboats

Fire Fighter Prevention and protection against fire at the Port of New Orleans is a big task.

By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor

o matter how you look at it, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) is an impressive entity. It encompasses parts of three parishes on the Mississippi River. It’s made up of 30 miles of urban waterfront and generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business — cargo (46%), rail (31%), cruise ships (16%), and industrial real estate (7%). Breakbulk and heavy-lift commodities remain a strong part of the port’s cargo mix and focus. Yet, according to port officials, its containerized cargo growth has surpassed 600,000 TEUs annually. Port NOLA can handle vessels up to 10,000 TEUs in size. It currently has six container gantry cranes, with four new 100' gauge gantry cranes under construction, 3,000' of linear berth space able to accommodate vessels with drafts up to 45', and the ability to transload bulk from container to barge. In addition, there is a twice-weekly containeron-barge service operated by Seacor AMH, weekly direct services to and from Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean, South America and Central America, a 140,000-sq.-ft. dockside cold storage facility, a planned cold storage expansion that will double its current capacity, and a refrigerated terminal.

For global ocean carriers that haul breakbulk commodities, Port NOLA offers 13,511' of berthing space available at six terminals for breakbulk cargo including heavy lift/project cargo and temperature sensitive cargo, and 1.6 million sq. ft. of transit shed area for the temporary storage of breakbulk cargo. Cruise ships should resume calling on the port later this year. Port NOLA has two cruise terminals to handle passengers. Overnight river cruises are already underway, offering cruises along the Mississippi River into America’s Heartland. In addition, there are also a number of day cruise tour boats and ferries that operate within Port NOLA’s jurisdiction. All of this cargo, ships, boats, wharves, docks, and storage facilities have one thing in common — they can all burn. That’s why all of the port’s tenants pay for fire and police protection. FIRE PROTECTION As far as fire protection is concerned, the port’s 95'×26' fireboat Gen. Roy S. Kelley handles those responsibilities. It’s been the lone fighter of fires since the port’s other fireboat, Deluge, which was built in 1923, was taken out of service in 1994. www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Capt. Claude Klein

The Port of New Orleans’ fireboat Gen. Roy S. Kelley has a pumping capacity of 14,500 gpm.

Capt. Claude Klein began working on the port’s fireboats as a captain in 1979 and became the master captain of the Deluge two years later. He was also the master captain of the Kelley from the time it was delivered in 1994 until he retired in 2019. “When they were going to build the Kelley, the (Port of New Orleans) Dock Board got input from the fireboat captains because we were the ones who worked aboard the boats every day,” said Klein. He said he would tell his crew that when they got to a fire the first consideration went to the boat, then personnel, then property. “The boat comes first because without the boat, the crew can lose their lives and you have no boat to fight the fire,” said Klein. “If it’s too dangerous, pull out and find another way in.” Klein said safety is the operative word, whether its tenants, the boat’s crew or the general public, which has

been more important since the old Warehouse District became gentrified starting in the 1990s. “That gave us a lot more responsibility because now you had all these people who had no experience with the river down there moving around, not realizing how dangerous the Mississippi could be. I had to fish quite a few bodies out of there over my 40 years.” Once, late at night when the fireboat was tied up at Algiers Point across the Mississippi from the French Quarter, a young woman appeared alongside the boat, having swum from the other side — a distance of about a mile. “When we pulled her out, one of her legs was missing,” said Klein. “But it wasn’t what we first thought. She told us she had taken her prosthetic leg off before she jumped in. By the time she finished swimming, she had sobered up.” That’s a lot of responsibility for just one boat and nine crewmembers — three captains, three engineers and

three deckhands that work three shifts — 24 hours on and 48 hours off. Klein said currently the Kelley is down one deckhand. The scuttlebutt is port officials are considering cross-training its Harbor Police officers to split time between their police duties and deckhand duties on the Kelley. No decision has been made so far. “In the name of safety, that would be a terrible idea,” said Klein. “Those deckhands train with that equipment every day. A policeman has his training duties for the Harbor Police Department. How is he going to do both? That’s just not enough time on the boat. It’s a safety issue.” ABOARD THE KELLEY The Gen. Roy S. Kelley is a robust firefighting machine, but after years of being on call 24/7, the boat was due for a refurbishment. Thus, at the end of 2014, the fireboat went into Stewart &

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It returned to service in early 2015 as a multipurpose public safety vessel. “We actually worked up plans for a new boat and those plans are still there,” said Klein. “There just wasn’t enough money available.” The Kelley has a total pumping power of 14,500 gpm. The boat’s firefighting system includes two North American 16HJ3 three-stage waterjets, operated through diversion valves into the water main system with variable PSI settings; four Stang 2,500-gpm fire monitors capable of horizontal fire stream trajectory of 300' each; four Stang 1,000 gpm under wharf fire monitors; three multiple connection hose manifolds that accommodate 1.5", 2.5", 3", and 5" fire hoses; a split delivery system to allow both monitor and hose operation at one time with different PSI settings; a fully automated system to allow one firefighter to operate all monitors at one

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Capt. Claude Klein

Fireboats

The fireboat Gen. Roy S. Kelley was delivered in 1994 and refurbished in 2015.

time from the wheelhouse; and various lengths and diameters of fire hoses. The foam system features 2,000 gals. of Ansulite 3x3 low viscosity alcohol resistant AFFF concentrate and two 2,500-gpm fire monitors and three hose

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connections. Klein said there had been talk at one time about possibly replacing the Kelley with one or two smaller aluminum fast response fire/rescue boats. “If you go with a smaller boat, you’re downgrading the port’s assets,” said Klein. “For one thing those boats sit too low in the water for where we operate, and they can’t pack the pumping capacity of the Kelley.” The Kelley also carries a full first aid response package, 8'×25' sea rescue platform 1' above the waterline, a 3,000-lb. crane, 500' of storage space for oil containment, fore and aft towing bitts, 16' rescue boat, halogen floodlights on deck for night rescue, and a stern steering control console. Though the Kelley is the only fireboat at the port, there are other vessels in port that have firefighting abilities, such as some of the commercial tugs. But Klein said while it’s good to have that option, you can’t depend on it being there for you all the time. “No tug captain is going to risk damaging his boat,” he said. “They’ll do what they can but can’t get too close. Plus, there’s no guarantee the tug’s going to be able to drop everything and come running, if it’s on a job.” (Port NOLA has a Harbor Police patrol boat, but it has no firefighting abilities.) Both Plaquemines (Parish) Port Harbor & Terminal District to the south and the Port of South Louisiana to the www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

GEN. ROY S. KELLEY SPECIFICATIONS Builder: Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. Inc. Refurbishment: Stewart & Stevenson Operator: Port of New Orleans Mission: Multipurpose public safety vessel — firefighting, patrol, port tours, search and rescue, emergency response Length: 95' Beam: 26' Draft: 7' Firefighting System: (2) North American 16HJ3 three-stage waterjets, operated through diversion valve into water main system, variable PSI settings; (4) Stang 2,500 gpm fire monitors capable of horizontal fire stream trajectory of 300' each; (4) Stang 1,000-gpm under wharf fire monitors; (3) multiple connection hose manifolds that accommodate 1.5”, 2.5”, 3”, 5” fire hoses; split delivery system to allow both monitor and hose operation at one time (different PSI settings); fully automated system to allow one firefighter to operate all monitors at one time from wheelhouse; various lengths and diameters of fire hoses. Foam System: 2,000 gals. Ansulite 3x3 low viscosity alcohol resistant AFFF concentrate; (2) 2,500-gpm fire monitors and/or three hose connections Navigation Equipment: (2) Furuno 1940 radars with open scanners; (2) Motorola H 5058R VHF radios; (3) 1.5 million candle power search lights — two forward, one aft, magnetic compass Special Equipment: Full first aid response package; 8'x25' sea rescue platform 1' above waterline; 3,000-lb. crane; 500' of storage for oil containment; fore and aft towing bitts; 16' rescue boat; halogen floodlights on deck for night rescue; stern steering control console Main Propulsion: (4) Detroit Diesel 12V-92TA, 900 hp @ 2,300 rpm Propeller: (2) fixed-pitch Waterjet: (2) North American 16HJ3 three-stage, 6,752 gpm @ 181 PSI each (inboard, steerable and also operate firefighting system) Speed (knots): 20+ Crew: 3 Accommodations: 24 passengers in air-conditioned cabin; minigalley; (2) bathrooms; PA system Delivery Date: 1994 (original); 2015 (refurbishment)

north have boats with plenty of firefighting ability. But the needs of their own ports have to come first. The Lower Mississippi River is one of the toughest places to work, especially at this time of year when the water is high and the current is running at five or six knots. “It’s pretty simple,” said Klein. “First and foremost is safety.” (Port of New Orleans’ officials agreed to take part in this story and a set of questions was sent to them; however, the answers were not returned as WorkBoat went to press. This story, if needed, will be updated on workboat.com.) www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

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Breaux’s Bay Craft delivers 90' pilot boat to Texas

90' all-aluminum pilot boat.

battle lantern, and throw rings. “The boat ran six pilots out in its first hour of operation,” said Breaux. The Herbert S. Hiller firefighting system includes one fixed CO2 suppression system with three bottles in the machine room. The Delta ventilation system includes four 11" blowers with temperature and speed control and Delta moisture eliminators with automatic vent dampers. Main propulsion comes from four Scania DI16-82-M diesel engines producing 800 hp at 2,100 rpm each. The mains connect to four HamiltonJet HM461 waterjets through Twin Disc MGX-5146 marine gears. The propulsion package gives the boat a running speed of 27 knots and a top speed of 30.6 knots. The new pilot boat also features Humphree HA1100 interceptors with active ride plus stability within a vessel motion control system. Inside the pilothouse are 15 NorSap 1600 chairs and one NorSap 1700 captain’s chair with controls, VHF speaker and microphone in headrest, steering and three VHF push to talk buttons on an armrest. “We went to Breaux for a custom-built pilot boat that would maximize safety and comfort for our 17-mile stretch in the Gulf of Mexico and could not be happier with our choice,” said Kenneth Leslee Hurd, boat superintendent, Sabine Pilots. “The Spindletop with its four Hamilton jets coupled to the 4,800-hp Scania engines, Humphree active ride trim tabs, and Breaux’s new hull design, she cuts through our constant three-four-foot chop that we run on a

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

n early March, Breaux’s Bay Craft, Loreauville, La., delivered the 90'×23'×12'4" aluminum pilot boat Spindletop to the Sabine Pilots, Port Arthur, Texas. The pilots serve the Texas ports of Orange, Port Arthur and Beaumont. “This is the biggest all-aluminum pilot boat built in the U.S.,” said Roy Breaux, the shipyard’s owner. “There are bigger ones in other parts of the world, but this is the largest in the U.S.” Breaux’s Bay Craft has specialized in the construction of aluminum offshore crewboats for decades. However, the shrinking oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico and the pandemic have forced the shipyard to further diversify. “We have produced hundreds of pilot vessels in the past, but we delivered our first pilot boat with the New Generation DeepV bottom to the Tampa Bay Pilots Association, a 54-footer, in November 2019,” said Breaux. “This same bottom was used on the Spindletop.” Designed by Breaux’s Bay Craft and C. Fly Marine Services, Mandeville, La., the new Spindletop has two boarding platforms on the bow, port and starboard, and two overhead on the pilothouse, port and starboard. Rescue assist equipment includes a SeaLift custom-built rescue platform on the transom with a 24-volt hydraulic unit and a transom jib pole with a 120-volt electric winch. The rubber bumper system is a combination of D bumpers and aircraft tires around the perimeter. Coast Guard-approved equipment includes lifejackets for 16 people, Revere Coastal Commander life raft, flare kit,

Blount Boats

daily basis with ease. Another great feature from Hamilton is their new AVX (boat mouse) system that allows the operator to maneuver the vessel with ease in restricted areas.” Accommodations include two double bunk staterooms, a settee seating area, full head and shower, and one head treatment unit with fresh-water flush. Ship’s service power is provided by twin Northern Lights gensets, sparking 38 kW of electricity each. Tankage includes 4,000 gals. of fuel in two tanks — one 1,500-gal. forward tank and one 2,500-gal. aft tank; 360 gals. fresh water; and 100 gals. lube oil. The electronics suite is made up of two 4' open array Furuno DRS12ANXT radar; four Furuno TZT19F 19" monitors; twin Furuno MCU004 remote control for MFD; Seatronx sunlight readable touch screen monitor; Furuno SCX20 satellite compass; Furuno FA170 AIS; Furuno DFF3D sonar; Furuno weather station; FLIR Systems M400XR stabilized thermal/visible camera with JCU; four FLIR thermal and visible imaging cameras for temperature measurement; three Icom M605 VHF radios with two Icom command microphones; one 10" monitor with six cameras with DVR for boarding areas — aft deck, machinery space and jet room; KVH Tracvision 3 motion satellite system, Sirius XM for weather overlay; three 32" TVs with DirectTV; and two Kingdel Windows 10 microcomputers. “With our fifth Breaux-built pilot boat, she will last us many years to come — disembarking and delivering pilots to ships safely,” said Hurd. “If any pilot groups would like to visit, they need to come and experience the ride, comfort, and quietness themselves.” Breaux’s Bay Craft is currently building a 70' pilot boat for the Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots in Corpus Christi, Texas. — Ken Hocke

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

65' crew transfer vessel for operations and maintenance support.

Blount delivers second offshore wind CTV to Atlantic Wind Transfers

lount Boats newest all-aluminum wind farm crew transfer vessel, the Atlantic Endeavor, was delivered late last year to Atlantic Wind Transfers, North Kingstown, R.I. On Jan. 1, the new CTV was at Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm to provide operations and maintenance support for two Siemens Gamesa 12-megawatt turbines, 27 miles off Virginia Beach, Va. The 65'×28.4' twin-hulled catamaran CTV was designed by Chartwell Marine, Hampshire, England. The design is a modification of Chartwell Marine’s Chartwell 24 to make it compliant with environmental regulations and right whale legislation. The Atlantic Endeavor is the second Jones Act CTV built by Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., for Atlantic Wind Transfers. The Atlantic Pioneer, delivered in April 2016, was the first, and also the first CTV built for the U.S. offshore wind farm market. Together they make up two of the three wind farm boats built in the U.S., said Marcia Blount, president of Blount Boats. The Atlantic Endeavor is similar to the Atlantic Pioneer but “a lot taller, a

lot more volume,” said Blount’s Luther Blount III. The additional volume “is to reduce slamming and the negative effects in heavy sea conditions.” It also reduces the vessel’s tendency “to bob around so much” when at the wind farm’s tower. The Atlantic Endeavor, with a two to three-man crew, can transport as many as 24 wind-farm technicians at a service speed of 24 knots and when needed a 29-knot sprint speed. Power for that comes from a pair 1,400-hp MAN V12s matched up with HamiltonJet HM651 waterjets through ZF 3050 gearboxes. Electrical power comes from a pair of Cummins Onan 29-kWgenerators. On deck is a Palfinger PK6500M knuckle boom crane and a Nabrico anchor winch. — Michael Crowley

Blakeley BoatWorks delivers 6,800-hp linehaul towboat to Cooper T./Smith

lakeley BoatWorks delivered the 110'×33' linehaul towboat Gretchen V. Cooper to Cooper Marine & Timberlands Corp. (CMT) in March. BBW and CMT, both located in Mobile, Ala., are wholly owned subsidiaries of Cooper/T. Smith. The company said the new 6,800-hp towboat, which has a maximum 8'6" working draft, is 27

On TheWays the U.S.’s first linehaul towing vessel powered by a Tier 4 Caterpillar highspeed engine system with selective catalytic reduction. Currently, Tier-4 diesel engine standards are the strictest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions requirements for new engines found in inland marine vessels. Tier-4 compliant engines are designed to significantly reduce emissions of particulate matter, or black soot, and nitrogen oxides to near zero levels. The engines are also manufactured to save fuel and reduce emissions by more than 86% for large applications like marine vessels. The new towboat is powered by two Cat C3512E 3,400-hp Tier 4 engines operating at 1,800 rpm and coupled to Twin Disc MGX-5600 gears. DDR Flow Control, Gray, La., a joint venture between Louisiana companies Donovan Controls and The Del Rio Company, developed and

produced a redundant dual pump DEF transfer skid so the towboat could comply with Tier 4 emission regulations. “Our DEF skid was designed for these types of applications,” said co-owner Brad Del Rio. “Gretchen is pushing all the time, so all of the features we implemented into our product are proving that they are needed, and Gretchen is proving the Cat SCR system is the easiest way to comply with T4 regulations.” The Cats are connected to Southeastern Propeller 88'×74'×9', 4-bladed stainless-steel wheels to provide thrust through twin J&S Machine Works 9" ABS Grade two propeller shafts with Cutlass shaft bearings, Thordon rudder bearings, and Kemel shaft seals. Gulf Coast Air and Hydraulics supplied the steering system for the two 9" main and four 8" flanking rudders. Hydra Force LLC provided a pair of Quincy reciprocating air

compressors, with ventilation fans from Donovan Marine. Schuyler Maritime LLC supplied varying sizes of rubber fendering around the perimeter of the vessel and push knees. Thompson Caterpillar also supplied electrical power with two Cat C4.4 Tier 3 generators with R.W. Fernstrum keel coolers throughout. Stone Construction provided a Mitsubishi mini-split HVAC system in all interior spaces. Blakeley BoatWorks provided all custom woodwork and interior finishes. Bozant supplied aluminum and rubber-framed windows. On deck, Donovan Marine supplied a pair of Patterson 40-ton deck winches. Blakeley installed all electronics, communications, and an alarm system. The towboat has a capacity of 44,200 gals. of fuel and 10,000 gals. potable water. The vessel is outfitted with six crew staterooms housing eight

start steel production in April 2022. The addition of steel capability is designed to keep Austal USA as a major contributor to the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base, the company said. Austal USA plans to bring its manufacturing processes and facility design to the steel shipbuilding market, shipyard officials said. U.S.-based Crowley Maritime and Danish shipping company ESVAGT announced plans recently to boost purpose-built, Jones Act vessel availability in support of the emerging offshore wind energy market through a joint venture. The partnership will bring together two maritime solutions providers to serve the emerging industry. Consistent with the requirements of the Jones Act, Crowley will own

All American Marine has been sold.

ll American Marine (AAM) has been sold to Bryton Marine Group. The sale was announced by AAM in March. Bellingham, Wash.-based AAM is known for its aluminum vessel design and manufacturing. AAM builds highly specialized vessels including high-speed catamarans, monohull cruise boats, research vessels and passenger ferries. British Columbia-based Bryton Marine is a builder of 30' to 150' premium welded aluminum commercial, recreational and adventure boats. Family owned since 1992, the company’s portfolio includes Brix Marine and Weldcraft boats. Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., broke ground on its new steel manufacturing line in March positioning the company to

Austal USA

All American Marine

BOATBUILDING BITTS

Austal will be able to build in both aluminum and steel.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

110’ linehaul towboat has Tier 4 engines.

derrick cranes in the U.S. The company operates on the Tennessee-Tombigbee River system, Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and the Ohio, Illinois, Arkansas, Cumberland, Black Warrior, Tennessee, Tombigbee, Mobile, and Mississippi rivers. “The ongoing investments that CMT is making across our fleet best ensures that our customers will continue to receive the safest, most environmentally friendly, and highest level of service in

Crowley/ESVAGT

and operate the vessels with its experienced U.S. mariners, while Crowley and ESVAGT will share in the economics of the venture. ESVAGT is a leading service operation vessel (SOV) operator in Europe and will provide technical advice on the design, construction, and operation of SOVs. Conrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La., delivered a 240' ABS deck barge to Ashton Marine LLC, Muskegon, Mich., in early March. The 240'×60'×14' AM 3600 can carry 3,600 tons of bulk materials and project cargo throughout the Great Lakes area. The barge is equipped with two 50' spud well pockets for easy conversion into a spud barge. Ashton Marine has one of the newest fleets on the Great Lakes, with two oceangoing tugs — the 4,000-hp Meredith

ESVAGT is the leading service operation vessel (SOV) operator in Europe.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Elliott Bay Design Group

Cooper/T. Smith

crewmen, 4 1⁄2 baths and a full galley arrangement. “Our customers expect Blakeley BoatWorks and Cooper Marine & Timberlands to drive industry innovation, and our building and operating one of the industry’s most environmentally friendly towboats marks our unwavering commitment to always exceed their expectations,” Angus R. Cooper III, president, Cooper/T. Smith, said in a statement. “Naming a boat after my wife Gretchen meant that we couldn’t just settle for building a standard towboat and therefore, the Gretchen V. Cooper will be one of the most powerful towing vessels operating on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and will lead the way for a new industry standard for reduced emissions on towboats.” CMT has a fleet of 20 towing vessels and more than 400 hopper barges. The company said it has one of the largest fleet of dry bulk gantry and floating

our region,” said James Fowler, managing director of marine and stevedoring operations for CMT and executive vice president for Blakeley BoatWorks. “As was true when BBW built some of the nation’s first Subchapter M new construction towing vessels and now, as we deliver a new linehaul with the latest and most advanced carbon reduction technology, BBW eagerly stands ready to deliver on our industry’s newest and most challenging jobs.” — K. Hocke

240' deck barge will operate on the Great Lakes.

Ashton and 2,600-hp Candace Elise — and two 200'×35' hopper barges capable of moving up to 1,900 tons of cargo each. Silver Ships, Mobile, Ala., recently delivered a 30'×10' fire/rescue boat to the League City Fire Department in Texas and one to the Bayport Fire Department in New York. Both vessels are a part of Silver Ships’ Endeavor series and feature Darley fire pumps and twin outboards for efficient emergency response. Both boats feature Task Force Tips monitors and valves, bow doors, patient pass-throughs and fire monitors on the bows.

Energy Mix Biden administration charts different courses for offshore wind and oil and gas

By Jim Redden, Correspondent

week after the inauguration, President Joe Biden officially staked out his longsignaled position in the societal tug-ofwar between the offshore hydrocarbon and wind energy forces. In fortifying a clearly defined line of demarcation, Biden issued executive orders on Jan. 27 that at once called for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and froze new leasing off the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), while simultaneously directing the Department of Interior (DOI) to review permitting processes and identify other steps the U.S. can take to double offshore wind capacity over the next decade. On March 29, Biden floated plans to offer $3 billion in federal loan guarantees for offshore wind developments. The political climate leaves Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producers navigating a murky economic

and regulatory quagmire, even as the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is helping ease the pandemic’s assault on demand and prices. “Operators don’t have the willingness to go against the economics, which the industry historically has done at times, but it’s been done on the basis of confidence in the future,” said veteran energy analyst Allen Brooks. “Right now, you don’t have confidence in what’s going to be allowed in the Gulf.” The regulatory path is much clearer off the blustery Northeast where the nation’s first utilityscale offshore wind farm is on track to begin generating electricity by 2023 off Massachusetts. While other projects are in various stages of development, previous presidential disinterest, the pandemic, infrastructure limitations and other factors have tempered the aggressive timelines of the mainly European developers, said Alexander www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Royal Dutch Shell

The Olympus tension leg platform (TLP) in Shell’s deepwater Mars development.

After BHP exercised an option, the Transocean Deepwater Invictus drillship will likely continue working in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the summer at an increased day rate of $215,000. www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Ørsted US Offshore Wind

Jackson Offshore Operators Transocean Ltd.

The five-turbine Block Island offshore wind farm off Rhode Island.

Fløtre, offshore wind product manager for Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy. “The (growth) profile is steep and we see an acceleration and a gain in momentum due to the Biden administration and the focus they have on offshore wind. We do see a lot of growth coming from the U.S., but it will mainly be a 2025 and onwards story,” he said from Oslo. “We expect around 15 gigawatts (GW) of offshore capacity to come on line by 2030.” Any attempt, however, to develop that capacity farther down the East Coast after July 2022 could create an intriguing plotline and place Biden in a political pickle. At the urging of coastal state governors, in September the fossil fuel friendly Trump administration, nonetheless, imposed a 10-year ban on oil and gas leasing and development along the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. “Technically, wind is harvesting the resources of the offshore, so wind is covered by the OCS Lands Act and should be subject to the same moratorium,” Brooks said. For now, after weathering a year punctuated by Covid-19, bankruptcies, thousands of layoffs and a record hurricane season, the offshore oil and gas industry now confronts a political storm emanating from Washington, D.C. GULF BOTTOMS OUT The banner headline across the front page of the Jan. 28 Houston Chronicle said it all: “Biden fasttracks shift from fossil fuels.” Despite the subsequent cancellation of a scheduled federal offering on March 17, the leasing moratorium, in and of itself, had little near-term impact on the Gulf of Mexico, where operators collectively hold more than 1,700 active leases not in production, according to the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Earlier acquired leases and permits were not affected by the leasing interruption. Though oil prices have risen, albeit unsteadily, political-driven uncertain31

IHS Markit

Workboat utilization rate in the Gulf of Mexico as of February 2021.

November 2019 and January 2020. “We expect once the dust settles that permitting approvals will return to a process we can work with,” said Roger Jenkins, president and CEO of independent deepwater producer Murphy Oil Corp. “It’s not in the government’s best interest to halt operations in the Gulf for a host of financial and legal reasons.” The market is currently calling the shots. In the Covid-19 and hurricaneravaged past year, Gulf oil production fell 13% to an annual average of 1.65 million bbl/day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which predicts production will average around 1.7 million bbl/day in 2021 and 2022.

Royal Dutch Shell

ties stand in the way of any respectable recovery. “I think the Gulf has several challenges,” said Brooks. “Yes, prices are up and that’s good. Cash flow for companies are improving and that’s good. But, then you have the unknown, which at the moment is what the heck is government policy going to be? “Right now, I think the best we can hope for is that we’ve passed the bottom and things will be a little bit better.” At issue is the regulatory environment going forward and concerns of a return to what many saw as the overly stringent permitting requirements under the Obama administration, where a number of functionaries are now aligned with President Biden. “If conditions in the U.S. become so onerous that it really disincentivizes investment, we’ve got other places where we can take those dollars,” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said two days after Biden’s leasing pause. Apparently anticipating what could come, operators rushed through drilling permits while Trump was still in office. Between the Nov. 3 election and the Jan. 20 inauguration, BOEM sister agency, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), issued 28 Gulf of Mexico new well drilling permits, more than double the approved permits issued between

Among the few projects still on schedule for first oil this year, Shell Offshore is set to begin production from its Vito floating production deepwater project in Mississippi Canyon, with peak oil equivalent production of around 100,000 boed. However, with carbon intensity and other environmental, societal and governmental (ESG) factors carrying outsized weight in investment decisions, Shell, like many of its contemporaries, said it will gradually begin reducing oil production and has no plans for further so-called frontier exploration. Mindful of carbon intensity, European-based oil companies also are among the leading developers of emerging U.S. offshore wind projects. “The U.S. leasing model, with option fees and high capital investments just to secure an area, kind of favors the big oil companies,” said Fløtre. Meanwhile, with the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price hovering around $60/bbl, only 11 rigs were active in the Gulf in March as of April 9, according to Baker Hughes, seven fewer than even those working a year ago, around the time the WTI price sunk to an historic negative value. With every rig sidelined, the already distressed vessel support sector takes an appreciable hit. “Anytime one of those drillships, especially, finishes up, you’re looking at at least three boats being turned loose,” said IHS Markit Senior Marine Analyst

The start-up of the Vito floating production system this year in Mississippi Canyon will be Shell Offshore’s 11th producing asset in the largely deepwater Gulf of Mexico. www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Richard Sanchez. “And the jackup market has been extremely weak with no more than three or four working at any one time.” In February the ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic were clearly visible within the high-end offshore support and platform supply vessel (OSV/ PSV) fleet, with day rates across the Gulf as low as $15,000, Sanchez said. “Before Covid, things were looking good. Overall, in the Gulf, I want to say we had 100 to 105 boats working and after Covid, it fell to the mid- to low 70s,” he said. One potential landing spot for Jones Act-compliant vessels can be found in the nascent wind energy sphere. Though far less vessel-intensive than oil and gas development, Sanchez said the early development stages of a wind farm could require from two to four vessels for foundation tests and another one to six vessels for various functions during and after installation. “Over the next five years, I think we’re going to see more demand from offshore wind,” he said. THE SAUDI OF WIND For the time being, the emerging U.S. offshore wind energy business is concentrated off the Northeast, where it has been said the typically perennial trade winds are to electrical power generation what Saudi Arabia is to oil. “There’s huge potential here and the technology is at the point right now where you’re talking about a level of capacity for generations that was more or less unthinkable even 10 years ago,” said Andrew Doba, spokesman for Vineyard Wind LLC, which is on pace to become the nation’s second, and by far, largest commercial offshore wind farm within two years. Comprising 62 turbines, the estimated $2.2-billion, 800-megawatt (MW) project is expected to begin construction later this year, following a series of setbacks that included issues with commercial fishing and the December cancellation by the then lame duck Trump administration. “We have all the associated state and www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

local permits, so the next step is for DOI to issue a record of decision,” Doba said in late March. “We’re set to reach financial close in the second half of 2021 and begin construction later this year.” A partnership of European-based Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the Vineyard Wind farm will be connected to the local utility grid by subsea

cables running from a 160,000-acre site in OCS waters just south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. The project is second only to the much smaller five-turbine, 30-MW Block Island Offshore Wind Farm, which has been operational off Rhode Island since December 2016. The Vineyard project was expedited under Biden’s BOEM, which resumed the review process in early February

Custom Monohulls and Catamarans High-volume pumping systems Custom deck layouts Maximum visibility cabin Service, support, and training Custom nav and safety packages Midwest dealer: Renewed Performance Company Licensed, authorized builder of SeaArk Marine industrial and military vessels

GE Renewable Energy

A GE Haliade-X prototype, regarded as the most powerful wind turbine on the market.

and released the final Environmental Impact State (EIS) in March. On the way out the door, the previous admin-

istration terminated the entire permitting process after Vineyard requested a pause to review its initial design

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upon switching turbine suppliers. After a technical review determined the selection of General Electric Renewable Energy’s new-generation Haliade-X turbine generators would not change the initial construction and operation plan (COP), Vineyard asked BOEM to reconsider the application on Jan. 25. Vineyard may be getting a jump start on what could evolve into a significant gridlock in the next four years. Rystad’s Fløtre suggested European joint ventures entered the U.S. with overly aggressive timelines, hoping to seamlessly leverage their longtime offshore wind experience to a far less-developed market. “What we see is those timelines might be ambitious due to the fact there’s no value chain, no infrastructure in place and the grid needs to be tailored to take in all that capacity,” he said. “The Jones Act also poses an issue for that aggressive capacity deployment.” If all goes well, Vineyard will be dwarfed later this decade by two projects off New York and Massachusetts awarded early this year to a joint venture comprising traditional European oil companies Equinor and BP. The latter paid around $1.1 billion on Jan. 29 for a 50% stake in the two-phase Empire Wind off New York, approximately 20 miles south of Long Island, and Beacon Wind 1, located south of Nantucket, Mass. First power from Empire Wind is anticipated by 2024 or 2025. Beacon Wind 1 is planned to begin operation in 2028 at an initial design capacity of 1,230 MW. “Empire Wind is planned to be in operation in the mid-2020s, with a planned installed capacity of 816 MW,” according to an Equinor spokesman. “At this stage no decision has been made on turbine size or numbers for our U.S. wind projects.” “With all these projects being pushed toward 2025, it gets a little bit congested, and we don’t expect the value chain to be able to handle those wind farms on top of the ones applying post-2025,” Fløtre said.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Vessel Design

New Age By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

ometimes it takes a bit of a nudge to try something different. The prodding might originate from afar or from a close-up encounter. That “nudge” away from reliance on the traditional diesel-powered vessel might have been provided to some workboat operators at the 2019 International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans when they boarded Harbor Docking & Towing Inc.’s Ralph, a new 93'×38'×15.5', 6,700-hp hybrid Z-drive tug designed and built at Washburn & Doughty, East Boothbay, Maine. “We had a tremendous amount of people in the engine room and on the deck,” John Buchanan, president of HDT, Lake Charles, La., recalled. A major part of the attraction was the Ralph’s propulsion system. The Ralph, along with its sister tug the Capt. Robb, are the first tugs built in the U.S. with Caterpillar’s hybrid propulsion system, comprised of a pair 2,550-hp Tier 4 Cat 3512E main engines matched up with two electric thruster motors, rated at 800-hp each, from ABB Marine & Ports, Miramar, Fla. A pair of 565-kW Caterpillar C18 generators and a single 200-kW Cat C7.1

HDT’s hybrid-powered tug Capt. Robb is at the bow of the tanker Garibaldi Spirit and the tug Carl, a standard ASD tractor tug, is on the stern.

genset for on-demand electrical power to Cat MTA 628 Z-drives completes the power package. From Buchanan’s standpoint, the problem a tug has when relying only on Tier 4 diesel engines is “it takes them longer to spool up, and sometimes with tugboats you need that power now.” In contrast, “that torque is instant” with the hybrid design with its electric thruster motors. That lets the diesels “spin up faster and allowed us to go with smaller main diesel engines without sacrificing bollard pull,” Buchanan said. How responsive are the Ralph and Capt. Robb compared to more traditionally powered tugs? “They are more responsive than any other tug out there,” said Buchanan, and that gives them a label that’s probably never been given to a tug: “It’s a sports car.” “The future,” is how Buchanan has referred to the shift to hybrid propulsion systems for the Ralph and the Capt. Robb. “Having a 6,000-horsepower big main diesel engine that you idle around www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Harbor Docking & Towing

Expect to see more all-electric, low-emission, lower maintenance propulsion systems.

ABB Marine & Ports

with all the time is really inefficient. I think those days are numbered.” Whereas the hybrid package has the horsepower needed to work ships but also transit “super efficiently and very environmentally friendly to and from the job.” While Buchanan has been completely satisfied with the Ralph and the Capt. Robb’s hybrid propulsion system, he’s sounding as if he’s coming close to going one step further along the electrical power path to embrace a complete all-electric battery package. “I think our next two builds may be fully electric — not a hybrid,” Buchanan said. Up to this point HDT had stayed away from relying on battery power “because battery technology was just not here yet, but it’s getting close. We may entertain battery banks.”

90'×32' catamaran tour boats and ABB Marine & Ports designed their electrical propulsion systems that feature lithiumion batteries. It appears that the Maid of the Mist’s new boats probably nudged some vessel owners to consider different types of propulsion, for there “have been a lot of inquiries on commercial vessels,” said ABB Marine’s Ed Schwarz. Some have gone past the inquiry stage. Currently ABB is working on the design of an all-battery powered ferry for Washington State Ferries. “We should wrap up the design in the coming months,” said Schwarz.

ABB Marine & Ports

ELECTRIC, ZERO EMISSIONS Another first of its kind for this country’s traditionally powered workboat market — and one that relies on battery banks — took place Oct. 6, 2020, when passengers took the first Maid of the Mist tour of Niagara Falls aboard the Nikola Tesla and the James V. Glynn. They are the first new, all-electric, zero-emission passenger vessels built in the U.S. Propulsion Data Services, Marblehead, Mass., designed the

Maid of the Mist’s all-electric powered James V. Glynn takes passengers on a tour of Niagara Falls.

The Nikola Tesla and James V. Glynn are each powered by a pair of Spear Power Systems lithium-ion battery packs (316 kWh total capacity). www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

In another case, ABB will provide the propulsion system for a diesel-electric hybrid ferry for Casco Bay Lines to operate out of Portland, Maine. Charging while docked in Portland and operating in battery-powered mode whenever possible, the new propulsion system will eliminate up to 800 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually. In the coming months don’t be surprised to see announcements for harbor workboat vessels — Schwarz isn’t at liberty to say what type — some of which will be all-electric. Then throw in electrically propelled harbor vessels with hydrogen fuel cells. Like the hybrid-powered Ralph and Capt. Robb, with the Nikola Tesla and the James V. Glynn’s all-electric power, “there’s immediate response. You have immediate torque availability,” said Schwarz. Plus, there’s no diesel emissions, noise or vibrations to distract passengers from enjoying and viewing Niagara Falls. A reason to opt for battery dependent electrical propulsion is the batteries can be changed when needed. “The technology is not limited to today’s batteries,” said Schwarz. New battery types or new battery densities can be incorporated into a vessel’s electrical propulsion system, be it in five years or 10 years. “It’s a good investment,” he said, “because future costs will be less and you’ll either get more energy density for the same price or pay less for the 37

Elliott Bay Design Group

Vessel Design

Casco Bay Lines’ new ferry will be powered by a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system.

same energy density. It’s kind of future proof.” In addition, being electric, Maid of the Mist tour boats can be remotely monitored. Why haven’t more workboat operators taken advantage of electric power

options? For tug operators expense is a factor. “Tugs are expensive,” noted Buchanan, and tug owners know what works for them and aren’t willing to build something outside of their comfort zone. Another source of reluctance

is the electric technology involved. It “scares a lot of people. It’s a different animal,” said Buchanan, and vessel operators worry their work force won’t be able to handle the electrical work. From Schwarz’s standpoint, the workboat industry is one of “referencing.” “People do what they see,” he said. Being the first “to do it in the U.S. (such as building the Tesla and Glynn) is very inspiring for the market and probably made it a little more real.” But even without the Nikola Tesla and the James V. Glynn examples, Schwarz feels it wouldn’t have been long before someone would have built an all-electric passenger vessel in the U.S. That’s because there are numerous examples outside the U.S., all part of a worldwide global transportation trend that’s shifting to electrically driven, low-emission, lower maintenance propulsion systems.

Introducing

+ Wind WorkBoat + Wind is a brand new quarterly digital publication dedicated to the growing Offshore Wind Market in the United States from the only publication devoted to covering the entire U.S. workboat market. In this issue, you can learn about the significance of the Biden administration’s calls to double offshore wind by 2030, explore the ways the Jones Act will impact the future of offshore wind, discover the potential offshore wind has for U.S. mariners as explained by OMSA and much more. Download WorkBoat + Wind Vol. 1 now! >>> workboat.com/resources/wind

Interested in advertising? sales@workboat.com

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

www.njtransit.com/PNBEvent

PortofCall

Your Source For Employment, Equipment & Services

EMPLOYMENT

SHORE OFFSHORE SERVICES Has Immediate Openings!                   

Derrick Barge Deck Foreman Leadermen Rigger Derrick Crane Operator Deck Crane Operator Tower Operator Welding Foreman Welder (6 GR Certified) Clerk Chief Engineer Chief Electrician Mechanic Oiler Electrician Steward Night Cook Galley Hand Tug Boat Captain Able Body Seamen

Minimum 2 years offshore experience onboard a derrick barge required. Applicants must have a valid TWIC card.

Email resume to:

jobs@shoreoffshore.com

PORT OF CALL Advertising Contact: Wendy Jalbert wjalbert@divcom.com (207) 842-5469

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

For Port of Call advertising, email wjalbert@divcom.com or call 207-842-5496

EMPLOYMENT IMMEDIATE OPENINGS: Captains, Mates, Engineers, AB’s and Deckhands Dann Ocean Towing is A leading provider of marine towing services, serving the Eastern Seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and beyond. To Apply Please Visit www.DannOceanTowing.com 3670 S Westshore Boulevard Tampa, FL 33629

Phone (813) 251-5100

MARINE GEAR Hoss Winch Co., LLC

NOW HIRING!!!

Need To Fill All positions aboard DP2-Dive Support Vessel • MASTER—STCW II/2 Master 3000 Tons and Unlimited DP Cert. • CHIEF MATE—STCW II/2 Chief Mate 3000 Tons and Unlimited DP Cert. • SECOND MATE—STCW/OICNW II/1 and Unlimited DP • CHIEF ENGINEER—STCW IIl/2 CE 3000KW/ 4000HP • ASSISTANT ENGINEER—STCW lll / 1 OlCEW • ABLE SEAFARER DECK—STCW II/5 AB Unlimited • ABLE SEAFARER ENGINE—STCW lll/5 Oiler/ Motorman • CRANE OPERATOR—API Operator License Knuckle Boom • OS WITH COOKING SKILLS—Food Safety Certificate • GALLEY HAND —Food Safety Certificate

As we continue our dredge fleet expansion with the future addition of our 8,500 CY Hopper Dredge “RB Weeks” which is currently under construction, we are accepting resumes for UL Masters and

UL Chief Engineers.

Must have DP-2 DSV experience, current mariners credentials, passport & physical. Send resumes & copies of license to:

At Weeks Marine, we recognize our greatest resource is our employees!

Absolutely NO Phone calls please.

SEE OUR LISTINGS

Please visit the Careers link located on our home page to submit your resume.

workboat.com/resources/jobs/

EOE-Disability/Vet

SSR2-JOBS@HYDRAOC.COM

www.weeksmarine.com/careers

LAW

NEW & REFURBISHED WINCHES Call or email for a quote or custom winch requirement!

cgonsoul@gmail.com

850-255-5266

JOB WATCH

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

PortofCall

Your Source For Employment, Equipment & Services

MARINE GEAR & SUPPLIES

Advertising Contact: Wendy Jalbert wjalbert@divcom.com

SIMPLE. RUGGED. RELIABLE. KIENE Cylinder Pressure Indicators for measuring diesel engine firing pressures...

Keel Coolers Trouble free marine engine cooling since 1927!

THE WALTER MACHINE CO, INC Tel: 201-656-5654 • Fax: 201-656-0318 www.waltergear.com

Easy to use—simple and reliable. Reduce maintenance costs. Improve engine availability. Use to balance cylinders. Pinpoint engine problems. Optimize fuel consumption. Fits any standard indicator valve. Recommended and used by major engine builders. • Minimal investment to monitor engine condition.. • • • • • • • •

Call or e-mail for info! 1-800-264-5950 info@kienediesel.com www.kienediesel.com

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

For Port of Call advertising, email wjalbert@divcom.com or call 207-842-5496

MARINE GEAR & SUPPLIES 36-inch Diameter Modular Plastic Pontoons

In-Mar Solutions offers Wynn Marine Heavy Duty Straight-Line Wipers

The Best Idea Since the Indian Canoe

Wynn Type C (internal Motor) and Type D (external motor) Straight-Line Wipers offers the most advanced design in linear action window wiper systems for marine and other specialized applications. Optimum window coverage can be achieved and enhanced by utilizing a twinbladed or dual-arm/blade design.

Uses: Pontoon boats, house boats,

workboats—replace old steel or aluminum pontoons Heavy Duty: Molded from sturdy, medium density polyethylene (MDPF) and filled with polyurethane foam for increased stability Modular: Each bow, middle and stern modules are 10 ft. in length Displacement at full submersion:

Bow module supports gross weight of 3,100 lbs. and middle/stern each supports 4,200 lbs.

5602 Sea Grapes Way The Village, FL 32163 Phone: 419-675-0002 info@wilsonpontoons.com

Toll Free: 877-456-2531

www.plasticpontoon.com

www.inmarsolutions.com 

info@inmarsolutions.com

(225) 644-7063

BOLLARD™ MARINE GENERATORS Designed & Built for the Harsh Marine Environment

99kW LOWEST COST OF OWNERSHIP MORE COPPER MEANS IT RUNS COOLER & USES LESS FUEL

tured by

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MER Eq

EPOXY COATING PROVIDES ENHANCED CORROSION RESISTANCE

800.777.0714

Locate a dealer www.merequipment.com

Tugs / Workboats Barges / Dredges Hundreds of boats for sale Tel (516) 536 7375 rigs@sunmachinery.com

www.sunmachinery.com www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

PortofCall

Your Source For Employment, Equipment & Services

MARINE GEAR & SUPPLIES

Now Manufacturing and Installing Fire Retardant Bunk Curtains

We are a Custom Manufacturer of Wheelhouse Tinted Shades & Crew Quarter Blackout Shades

THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL

We custom build every shade to fit each window in our facility.

for removing coatings and rust

They are Incredibly durable, driven by over-sized clutches and operated by a stainless steel pull chain. We offer measurement and installation services in Southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. We carry $5,000,000 workers’ compensation, and liability insurance policies with U.S.L.&H. and the Jones Act.

Download our order form to purchase your shades today.

Contact: Edward Kass III | 504-615-5833 | ekass@solarboatshades.com | www.solarboatshades.com

Rustibus® is designed to de-scale and power brush ship decks, hatch covers, tank tops, etc. free from paint and rust! USA OFFICE Ph: 832-203-7170 houston@rustibus.com

Place your ad! Contact: Wendy Jalbert wjalbert@divcom.com | www.workboat.com/resources/jobs/ 44

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

For Port of Call advertising, email wjalbert@divcom.com or call 207-842-5496

MARINE GEAR & SUPPLIES

MARINE MACHINING & MANUFACTURING

BARGE PUMPS

Your One-Stop Shop for Your Marine Drive Needs Sales and Service

Sales and Service

• A17, A19, A22 and A22HS • Propeller Shafting Bar Stock lengths up to 36’ • C.N.C. Machined Propeller Shafting • Precision Propeller Shaft straightening & repair

• Custom Machined Shaft Couplings up to 30” diameter • Michigan Wheel Propellers • Propeller Repair

W O R L D L E A D E R I N B O AT S H A F T I N G World's Largest Stocking Distributor of AQUAMET 33475 Giftos Dr., Clinton Township, MI 48035 ◼ PH. 586-791-8800

www.marinemachining.com - www.aquamet.com

IMO ROTARY SCREW ASPHALT PUMPS BYRON JACKSON TURBINE PUMPS BLACKMER ROTARY GEAR PUMPS OUR 110TH YEAR

DUVIC’S PUMPS “Greater Downtown” HARVEY, LA 70059 Box 1237 • 504-341-1654 PH/FX

SERVICES

MB Brokerage Co. | MB Barge Co. | BG Fleeting

Barges | Boats | Cranes Vessel Chartering Services Chris Gonsoulin, Owner (850) 255-5266

cgonsoul@gmail.com

www.mbbrokerage.net Coast Guard & State Pilotage License Insurance Available Coverages; Legal Defense for CG, NTSB and State Pilot Hearings; Federal and State Civil Actions Reimbursement for Loss of Wages Group Coverage Also Available R.J. Mellusi & Co., 29 Broadway, Suite 2311 New York, N.Y. 10006 Tel. 1(800)280-1590, Fax. 1(212)385-0920, rjmellusi@sealawyers.com www.marinelicenseinsurance.com

Become a Certified and Accredited Marine Surveyor

Fishing Vessel Qualified. Complete course and examination for all vessel types and uses. 1-800-245-4425 or navsurvey.com www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

PortofCall

Your Source For Employment, Equipment & Services

ADVERTISERS INDEX Ahead Sanitation Systems Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Metal Shark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

All American Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

MTU - A Rolls-Royce solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV2

Blount Boats Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Pacific Marine Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

BMT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Research Products/Incinolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

C & C Marine and Repair LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

R M Young Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

David Clark Company Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

R W Fernstrum & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Duramax Marine LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV3

Sea Machines Robotics Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Furuno USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Subsalve USA Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Gilbert Associates Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Waterline Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

International WorkBoat Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 20

WorkBoat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Karl Senner, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV4

Yank Marine Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Lubriplate Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

ZF Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Metalcraft Marine Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

WORKBOAT CLASSIFIEDS

EMPLOYMENT SPECIAL 2 - 3" PRINT ADS 2 - MONTHS ONLINE 2 - DIGITAL JOB WATCH NEWSLETTERS

ONLY $595.00 (over $1200.00 value)

CALL WENDY JALBERT TODAY 207-842-5616 46

www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Why Because it’s the hub of the commercial maritime industry. Read in-depth news, features and market info in WorkBoat Magazine Access the most comprehensive online resource for commercial maritime professionals at WorkBoat.com Connect, learn and power your business forward at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans

IN PRINT • ONLINE • IN PERSON workboat.com / workboatshow.com

Produced By Diversified Communications

@WorkBoat

LOOKS BACK MAY 1961

• Francis J. Barry, president of Circle Line Sightseeing Yachts Inc., has been selected New York’s Waterfront Man of the Year, 1960. A recent example of the type of service Barry rendered for the port was the primary role he played in averting a major strike of some 3,500 tugboat, tanker, and barge crewmembers in New York and other East Coast ports last January.

• Twelve new covered hopper barges for transportation of dry bulk commodities are being added to the fleet of Rose Barge Line Inc., Marseilles, Ill. Built by Dravo Corp., Pittsburgh, the 195'×35'×11' barges will carry approximately 1,450 tons of cargo with an 8'6" draft. • Barbour Metal Boat Works, St. Louis, delivered a new 54'×20' twinscrew towMAY 1971 boat, • The oceangoing tug Arthur Foss has moved one of largest tows undertaken by a single tug. The tug moved the 796', 38,500-ton Phillippine Sea from San Diego to Tacoma, Wash., where it was scrapped. The 1,244-mile tow was the largest move ever by a single tug in the 82-year history of the Foss Launch and Tug Co. • Ensign Marine Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is in full MAY 1981 produc-

• Mardi Gras came early this year for some 12,000 people from across the U.S. and nearly 100 foreign countries, who converged on New Orleans for a busman’s holiday at the third annual WorkBoat Show. Already work has begun on the 1982 WorkBoat Show, scheduled for Jan. 8-10 at the Rivergate International Exposition Center on the 48

the Jay Gene, recently to Eugene Luhr and Company Inc., Columbus, Ill. The 670-hp pushboat is equipped with two Detriot Diesel GM diesels driving Michigan props. tion on a 36' power boat. The original hull, designed by the U.S. Navy as a gun boat and landing craft, has been in operation for several years. Many are currently in use in Vietnam.

banks of the Lower Mississippi River. • Marine Builders Inc., Clarksville, Ind., plans to build a new $5 million boatyard which will double the production capabilities of the towboat and barge building company. • A quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per share has been announced by Twin Cities Barge, St. Paul, Minn. www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat

Duramax Marine Products and Knowledge You Trust. ®

All Made in USA

Duramax Marine® is the world leader in water-lubricated bearing technology and has gained the trust of marine professionals around the world, setting performance records our competitors are still trying to meet. www.DuramaxMarine.com

DryMax® Rudder Seal

DryMax® Shaft Seal

DuraCooler® SuprStak® Keel Cooler

DuraBlue® Rudder Bushings

Johnson® Cutless® Bearings

This axial system provides excellent sealing and can accommodate large increases in radial clearances due to wearing down of rudder stock bushings. Designed to deliver long service life.

Shaft Sealing System has nitrile rubber seal that rotates with the shaft and creates a hydrodynamic seal. Seal is easy to maintain, reliable, and boasts a low life cycle cost and total cost of ownership.

SuprStak® with TurboTunnel design is engineered to “jet” turbulent seawater in a tunnel-like configuration that greatly enhances heat transfer.

Composite Rudder Bushings and Thrust Washers that are self-lubricating and pollution free. They are dimensionally stable with ultra low friction and extremely long wear life.

Water-Lubricated Rubber Bearing Technology that has nothing more to prove. It’s the longest life bearing in harsh abrasive laden river applications.

Duramax Marine® is an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company

Products And Knowledge You Trust

p: 440.834.5400 f: 800.497.9283

“Within HFL, Karl Senner LLC is viewed as an extension of our maintenance and engineering department as they take the necessary time to understand our specific needs while also offering timely advice and support.” —Kent Furlong, Hines Furlong Line, Inc.

Karl Senner, LLC is proud to equip the M/V Ron Nokes with two REINTJES WAF 873 gearboxes with internal hydraulic multi-disc shaft brakes, and an Emerson Control System.

Vessel Owner: Hines Furlong Line Vessel Operator: Kirby Inland Marine Shipyard: Steiner Construction Vessel Architect: CT Marine

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P R O P E L L I N G

504-469-4000

E X C E L L E N C E

KARLSENNER.COM

WorkBoat May 2021

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