WorkBoat May 2022

Great Lakes • Fireboats • Workforce Development ®

IN BUSINESS ON THE COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS

Liquid Gold It really comes down to supply and demand.

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Content

MAY 2022 VOLUME 79, NO. 5

FEATURES 20 Focus: Theyʼre Great!

More funding and focus on Great Lakes shipping.

24 Vessel Report: Put It Out The fireboat market is still red hot.

32 Cover Story: Rising Tide

Global turmoil is giving offshore oil and wind a boost.

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BOATS & GEAR 28 On the Ways

• BC Ferries takes delivery of fourth Salish-class ferry • First Damen Multi Cat 2309 crew transfer vessel delivered to the UK • MetalCraft lands contracts to build 80 boats • Conrad awarded Navy contract to build up to eight 151' berthing barges • Snow & Company delivers first of two 64' aluminum pilot boats to Savannah

40 Help Wanted

Workers have the upper hand in the current employment market.

AT A GLANCE 8 On the Water: Stay alert for dangerous spring weather.

8 Captain’s Table: What does our cyber future look like?

9 Energy Level: Midstream operators and carbon capture.

10 WB Stock Index: Index posts big gain in March.

10 Inland Insider: More funding for the inland waterways.

11 Insurance Watch: The importance of loss control.

12 Legal Talk: Vessel owners and negligence during hurricanes.

14 Nor’easter: Vessel radar and offshore wind.

NEWS LOG 18 Marad reaffirms Viking, Edison Chouest U.S. cruise vessel deal.

18 First woman to serve as U.S. Coast Guard commandant.

18 Kirby, Maersk become offshore wind partners.

18 New training ship for California Maritime Academy.

24 DEPARTMENTS 2 Editor’s Watch 6 Mail Bag 44 Port of Call 51 Advertisers Index 52 WB Looks Back

ON THE COVER

The Tubular Bells platform is contributing up to 45,000 bpd to the expected record oil production from the Gulf of Mexico this year. Photo courtesy of Hess Corp.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

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EDITOR'S WATCH

Gas it up?

BRIAN GAUVIN PHOTO

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SAVE the DATE! Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 2022 edition of the largest commercial marine tradeshow in North America.

he Biden administration has been carrying the torch for renewable energy since his campaign for president began, and it has ratcheted up since he moved into the White House. If you believe the recent reports from the United Nations, it may already be too late to save the planet, but he’s doing the best he can.

Biden is leading the charge toward change. He issued executive orders in January 2021 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. (Even with that, replacing oil and gas dependency with offshore wind on a one-for-one basis is fool’s gold for now.)

But the general public seems to like the idea of cleaner energy production, and many have backed the president’s efforts. Then came the war in Ukraine.

The need for more oil and gas production went into hyperdrive in March as the world supply of the liquid gold started drying up. The reasons are many and complex.

But many people in the U.S. don’t want to hear about all that. They have grown restless with being told that they must understand that it’s not a case of turning on a Gulf of Mexico spigot.

(The Gulf of Mexico, by the way, is expected to produce 2.3 million barrels per day in 2022 — a record.)

But oil and gas is a business first, and they are not in the business of spending ai16389015345_editwatch_BPA_2021.pdf large sums of money to increase pro-

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duction, just to have the Biden administration shut it all down when world markets stabilize six months or a year from now. Big oil plays the long game.

In Jim Redden’s cover story this month (see page 32), he points out that oil and gas operators don’t trust the Biden administration. “Though oil and gas are in the driver’s seat for now, the industry’s widely cyclical history and political uncertainty leave operators hesitant to make the huge spend required, especially for long-horizon deepwater projects,” Redden writes.

Consequently, Biden finds himself boxed in between his constituents’ demands to hold the renewables line and the demand for him to support what’s available to the general public now — increased oil and gas production.

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12/7/21

1:25 PM

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.

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MAIL BAG Likes the current TWIC program

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also consider utilizing other resources available to combat these malicious actors including: the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (https://www. ic3.gov/), their web browser’s reporting mechanism, their internet service provider, and local law enforcement.

While not all attacks can be prevented, the impacts can be mitigated.

To avoid falling victim to a spoofed website, the Coast Guard recommends maritime stakeholders: • Be wary of untrusted traffic.

• Avoid clicking on links from third parties.

• Utilize a secure web gateway (SWG).

• Keep systems updated.

• Enable multifactor authentication (MFA).

Marcel L. Muise Fredericksburg, Va.

apt. Alan Bernstein’s column in WorkBoat is always one of the first I turn to in each edition (March, Captain’s Table, “Negative effects of TWIC”). I have to say, though, I much prefer the TWIC program as is. If I remember right, its genesis pre-dated 9/11. The pilot program cut down pilferage at marine terminals. I think it was in Florida … 9/11 just accelerated the roll out.

More importantly for mariners though, before TWIC we had to travel to U.S. Coast Guard exam centers to get fingerprinted with each renewal. For me that was two states away, a 10-hour round trip drive, plus sitting in the REC during precious time ashore.

There are now many, many more TWIC enrollment centers which makes it easy. And the cost is now negated by not having to pay for TSA Pre-Check.

Beware of fake websites

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he Coast Guard encourages maritime stakeholders whose websites could be spoofed to regularly review their online presence and validate their legitimate websites.

Website authenticity can be investigated by searching the website’s registration information (registrant, location, dates, history, and record information) through services such as ICANN (https://lookup.icann.org/) or WHOIS (https://whois.domaintools.com/).

Maritime stakeholders who discover fraudulent or spoofed websites should immediately notify their customers and stakeholders of the illegitimate pages and report it to their local Coast Guard unit. Maritime stakeholders may

U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command Maritime Cyber Readiness Branch Alexandria, Va.

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www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

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AT-A-GLANCE

On the Water

Stay alert for dangerous weather

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BY JOEL MILTON Joel Milton works on towing vessels.

He can be reached at joelmilton@ yahoo.com.

eteorological spring (March 1-May 31) has sprung, at least in the southern U.S. It is moving steadily north now that the equinox is past and the Northern Hemisphere tilts closer to the sun and the atmosphere warms more and more each day. That heating ultimately fuels the most dangerous form of spring weather — tornado outbreaks.

Tornadoes can form anywhere and hit at any time of the day or night, year round and in every state. They usually occur in spring and summer in the late afternoon to evening window of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., after the sun has done its day’s work to heat the atmosphere and the supercells that spawn them have formed.

Nighttime tornadoes are particularly deadly because sleeping humans are usually unaware humans.

For mariners who work where tornadoes are more than just an extremely rare event, it’s just one more weather hazard that must be paid close attention to. And that is the point of this column:

Captain’s Table What does our cyber future look like?

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

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or the last several years the Coast Guard has become increasingly concerned about cybersecurity and the maritime industry. Coast Guard personnel have come to my dock to discuss cybersecurity and have distributed documents and information on the subject. They have even sent me a cybersecurity questionnaire.Clearly, cybersecurity is keeping them up at night.

I understand the negatives associated with a cyberattack on my company’s electronic financial systems, but I have struggled with understanding how a cyberattack might affect my company’s marine operations, given that our vessels are older and essentially use “cables and chains” for engine commands and steering. Our radar system and GPS could possibly be corrupted by such an attack, but these technologies are essentially used as backups for navigation, since nothing works better than looking out your pilothouse window.

I welcome new marine technologies, yet I look back fondly on my time on the Delta Queen in the 1970s when I would sneak away to the pilothouse to learn from experienced captains. I learned the

dealing with the constantly changing and sometimes overwhelming amount of stuff one must try their best to pay attention to. Our mental bandwidth (a.k.a. situational awareness) is variable and always limited. It degrades over time from work stresses and fatigue. That situational degradation, or complete absence of, is often a root cause of most accidents and tragedies.

By far the most helpful modern tool that I am aware of to help maintain that all-important situational awareness regarding weather is the SMS push alert, delivered via your mobile phone.

Nothing beats its speed and directness. The federal government’s Wireless Emergency Alerts system (WEA) is automatic. If you’ve ever received an Amber Alert you’ve experienced it in action. But it’s limited to only the most extreme circumstances.

To ensure that I have the full weather picture at all times, I subscribe to Storm Shield (www.stormshieldapp.com) which provides severe weather alerts for your exact location. It provides advisories, watches, and warnings for anything from a blizzard to a sandstorm, high winds to high heat, an overnight freeze or anything else you can imagine. importance of knowing where you are and what is outside the pilothouse windows. I was mentored by those who knew the rivers inside and out. They were familiar with the locations of every snag, and they knew the names of all the creeks and tributaries. In other words, they were well prepared to cope with any navigational challenge that cropped up. It is important that today’s mariners have a similar foundation in the basics of safe navigation and not rely solely on technology.

At the same time, technology and the internet are thoroughly woven into the fabric of our society, including the maritime industry. That is why cybersecurity is of growing concern to both business and government.

Everyone in our industry should take a good hard look at their systems that interface with the internet to determine how vulnerable they are to outside attacks. A cybersecurity assessment will provide answers to these questions. You may find that you do not have many vulnerabilities, but you may also identify some areas that need to be firmed up.

There are tools available to help you assess your company’s cyber weaknesses. For example, the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) provides its members with cybersecurity guidelines and a cyber risk assessment tool that can be used to identify any vulnerabilities. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

AT-A-GLANCE WorkBoat GOM Indicators

Energy Level

JAN. '22 WTI Crude Oil 89.16 Baker Hughes Rig Count 18 IHS OSV Utilization 20.1% U.S. Oil Production (millions bpd) 11.5

The middlemen

BY JIM REDDEN, CORRESPONDENT

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ipelines and other midstream components hold pivotal, if largely unheralded roles in the ambitious objective of eventually ridding the world of greenhouse gas (GHS) emissions, especially when it comes to carbon capture and storage initiatives, according to Wood Mackenzie.

“Midstream companies are wellplaced to play a significant role in the full carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) value chain,” said Rachel Schelble, the consultancy’s head of corporate carbon management and infrastructure. “First and foremost, operators can capture carbon dioxide (CO2) at their own facilities. Firms can also employ their expertise to build, own and operate greenfield infrastructure. And by developing sequestration partnerships they can ensure captured carbon is either used or stored permanently.”

The oil and gas community has embraced CCUS as a means of capturing and permanently burying, or otherwise storing, noxious emissions before they enter the atmosphere, thereby enabling the future use of fossil fuels amid a growing clamor to transition to renewable energy sources. Driven by North America and Europe, Rystad Energy projects global spending on carbon capture and storage will quadruple

FEB. '22 96.13 12 20.2% 11.6*

MAR. '22 103.29 14 21.1% 11.8*

MAR. '21 60.93 12 19.8% 11.1

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

GOM Rig Count

18 16 14 12 10 8

3/21

3/22

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to $50 billion by 2025, up from $4.4 billion in 2022. Of the 84 commercial developments announced, 63 will be in those two regions. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified decommissioned Gulf of Mexico oil and gas wells as attractive CO2 burial grounds.

Gulf of Mexico operator Talos Energy Inc. said on Feb. 25 that it intends to file permit applications “for several carbon capture projects this year” along the Texas and Louisiana coasts. In January, Talos and Freeport LNG Development LP teamed up in a plan to bury CO2 in a dedicated wellbore in Texas state waters, adjacent to the latter’s LNG pretreatment facility in Freeport, Texas. Injections are forecast to begin in 2024.

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In February, Talos signed a preliminary agreement with pipeline operator EnLink Midstream to pursue carbon transportation and sequestration in Louisiana. Repurposing oil and gas pipelines to transport CO2, however, will require some major tweaking, said Schelble.

“Carbon dioxide needs to be transported at pipeline pressures between 1,200 and 2,200 psi. With crude pipelines operating at 600 psi to 1,000 psi and natural gas pipeline pressures ranging from 500 psi to 1,400 psi, significant upgrading may be needed,” she said.

Nevertheless, “Several projects and collaborations are already in the works.”

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AT-A-GLANCE

WorkBoat Composite Index Stocks jump over 7.6% in March

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he WorkBoat Stock Index posted a 236-point gain in March, or 7.6%.

For the month, winners topped losers 22-3.

Among the winners was Tidewater Inc., which saw its stock price rise almost 50% in March. On March 9 the offshore service vessel operator announced it had agreed to purchase

STOCK CHART

Swire Pacific Offshore Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Ltd., for approximately $190 million.

Houston-based Tidewater provided its “strategic rationale” behind the purchase, including: • It creates industry’s largest fleet of OSVs: SPO’s fleet of 50 OSVs consists of 29 AHTS vessels and 21 PSVs;

Source: FinancialContent Inc. www.financialcontent.com

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

2/28/22 377.27 4,604.93 4,118.36 3,096.54 69.40 33,892.60 4,373.94

3/21/22 410.79 5,012.32 4,178.17 3,333.15 79.96 34,678.35 4,530.41

NET CHANGE 33.52 407.39 59.81 236.61 10.56 785.75 156.47

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

Inland Insider

Marine industry shedding secondclass citizenship role in Washington

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

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’ve been covering the workboat industry for a long time now and have many memories of writing stories about the difficulties the industry has had getting its story told in Washington and across the U.S., and how hard it is to secure sufficient, consistent funding for lock and dam improvements from Congress. Inland waterways, and maritime in general, always seem to work in the shadows of the big transportation guys — highways, railroads, airlines and trucks get all the attention and money.

But in the past five or so years, there’s been a most welcome and remarkable shift underway.

Funding for inland waterways has been continuously on the rise, and aging, crumbling lock and dam infrastructures are now ground zero for construction cranes, deep digs and, once completed, state-of-the art mechanical wonders that will assure the long-term, uninterrupted movement of freight along the nation’s waterways.

The investments from taxpayers have been enormous, as these projects are costly, not just because they take years to complete and involve

PERCENT CHANGE 8.89% 8.85% 1.45% 7.64% 15.22% 2.32% 3.58%

Tidewater will own a fleet of 174 OSVs, increasing its total fleet size to 203 vessels, including crewboats, tugs and maintenance vessels.

• Fleet high-grading: adds 18 large PSVs and 10 large AHTSes to Tidewater’s fleet, with the age profile of large PSVs and large AHTSs improving by 0.6 years and 2.7 years, respectively.

Quintin Kneen, Tidewater’s president and CEO, commented, “I am excited to have acquired a high-quality fleet with a strong reputation in the maritime sector globally. I believe that the timing of this acquisition will allow Tidewater to capitalize on the continued improvement in the offshore supply vessel market, providing Tidewater with significant additional earnings and free cash flow generation potential as utilization and day rates continue to improve. All 50 acquired vessels are currently active and working throughout the world, allowing Tidewater to immediately leverage this new asset base.” — David Krapf

lots of manpower and construction materials, but also because they have been put off much too long and have suffered from stops and restarts due to funding hiccups in Washington.

Consider the progress: • The Olmsted Lock and Dam project on the Ohio River has finally been completed, nearly 20 years overdue and severely over budget. But its completion is a big deal because funds can now be used for other back-logged waterways projects.

• The Army Corps of Engineers budget for civil works projects, which includes waterways construction and maintenance, has been steadily and consistently on the rise.

• Congress just allocated $2.5 billion of the big infrastructure spending bill for inland waterways construction projects. This is a huge development that will fund to completion five out of the 15 top priority projects.

• Federal grants continue to flow to develop marine highways projects, many involving container-on-barge concepts, in several ports around the country, and for port infrastructure projects.

• The industry has successfully fought back attempts to disrupt the Jones Act, most recently efforts to secure Jones Act waivers during the U.S. ban on Russian energy imports. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

AT-A-GLANCE

Insurance Watch Why loss control is important

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busy ship repair facility we work with recently had a follow-up visit from its USL&H (United States Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act) insurance carrier.

Loss control had visited the client previously and this visit was designed to accomplish three goals: It was a chance for key players to meet in person, facility personnel to provide an update on previously noted deficiencies, and the loss control manager to view the yard during the not-so-kind New England winter.

As you know, the premium for USL&H is based on jobs performed as well as payroll. Generally, the more employees a company has the more premium the company will pay. Loss history is also a factor: The more paid claims a company incurs the higher the premium will be. It is in everyone’s best interest — from the employee staying safe to the shipyard paying the premium to the insurance

BY CHRIS RICHMOND 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

company paying the claims — to keep claims to a minimum. This is where loss control comes in.

The visit made clear where safety improvements had been made and where they still needed to be made. Among the deficiencies observed were missing safety guards on machinery, chafed power cords and cluttered walkways. A key area of improvement to the yard was the installation of metal grating on gangways to the ships for better grip and to help minimize slips in the winter months.

A follow-up report was provided to the client’s safety manager with a request for written verification of completion of the safety recommendations within 45 days. An offer to provide safety trainings on site was extended. These visits can be fine-tuned to the client’s specific needs.

There is no cost for the loss control manager’s visit and they are a great opportunity to remind employees of their stake in workplace safety.

Management can use safety training meetings to echo the message that safety keeps claims down, which keeps premiums down, all of which can help make the company more profitable.

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AT-A-GLANCE

Legal Talk Negligent preparation makes owner responsible for hurricane damage

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BY CINDY MULLER Cindy Muller is a maritime partner in Jones Walker’s Houston office. She can be reached at 713-437-1859 or cmuller@ joneswalker.com.

n Skanska USA there is a cautionary tale for vessels owners who believe that “force majeure” is a defense to breakaways that occur during hurricanes.

There, a Florida federal court denied a vessel owner’s petition for limitation of liability for claims arising out of damage caused when 27 of its barges broke free from their moorings during Hurricane Sally in September 2020 and struck the Pensacola Bay Bridge, causing extensive damage.

The court found the vessel owner negligent for failing to properly secure the barges in preparation for the storm. The court also found that management had knowledge of these negligent acts, which prevented the vessel owner from limiting its liability.

A vessel owner is entitled to exoneration from, or limitation of, its liability for claims caused by

its vessels if the vessel owner’s negligence was not a direct cause of the accident, or if the vessel owner or a managing agent had no knowledge of the negligent acts that caused the accident.

Because this case involved an allision, the court applied the “Louisiana Rule,” under which the moving vessel must prove either that it acted with reasonable care, or that the allision was an unavoidable accident.

A vessel owner acts with reasonable care when it uses all reasonable means and takes proper action to guard against, prevent, or mitigate the dangers posed by a hurricane. The court rejected the “vis major” argument which applies when damages would have occurred no matter what.

To determine if the vessel owner acted with reasonable care, the court looked at the weather information available. The court also considered whether the vessel owner knew or should have known of the possibility of severe weather while executing its Hurricane Preparedness Work Plan.

Finally, the court analyzed the space availability and resources to demobilize and moor the barges in protected waters, as specified in the plan.

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AT-A-GLANCE

Nor’easter

The radar shadow of offshore wind

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

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long-awaited report on offshore wind turbine arrays and vessel radars offers some insight into potentially weird electronic effects of giant structures U.S. energy planners and wind developers foresee off the East Coast.

The paper from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (available online at https://www.nap.edu/download/26430#) summarizes evidence so far out of the European offshore wind industry since the early 1990s. But it offers no definitive predictions for how it will go in U.S. waters.

The report says changes should start now to ensure vessels can operate safely around the wind turbine generators envisioned by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and wind developers.

“Marine vessel radars are not presently optimized to operate in a WTG (wind turbine generator) environment,” the report states up front. “Marine

WTGs are very large structures, with towers on the order of several hundred meters and blade lengths exceeding 100 meters. Being heavily composed of steel, the nominal WTG structure has a large radar cross section.”

With the potential for building hundreds of turbines on the East Coast outer continental shelf, “the combination of high radar reflectivity and vast number of WTGs leads to many strong reflected signals entering the radar receiver, further complicated by other factors, such as multipath and range ambiguous returns,” the report says. “In addition, blade motion generates aspect-dependent, Doppler-spread interference. These various effects, left unresolved, combine to complicate navigation decision-making.”

Mariners can adapt to operating radars around wind turbines, especially with the latest radar equipment and appropriate training, the report says.

But adjusting to the image clutter and scatter from turbines will obfuscate their view of smaller vessels amid the turbine fields — a potentially critical problem for search and rescue operations, the report says.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

AT-A-GLANCE

‘Marine vessel radars are not presently optimized to operate in a WTG environment.‘ That’s been a persistent concern heard from the New England fishing community, although the Coast Guard has said it will be able to operate around wind turbines spaced in grids 1 nautical mile apart as developers and BOEM are planning off southern Massachusetts.

In the New York Bight, some fishermen say one answer should be requiring automatic identification system transponders on turbine towers.

In waters off New Jersey — busy with traffic ranging from 1,200' container vessels, ATBs and barge tows, down to 40' gillnet fishing boats — AIS on every tower would add those turbine locations to the digital seascape in wheelhouses.

The National Academies report draws

on some studies from wind turbine arrays off the United Kingdom. But the authors stress the proposed size and scale of U.S. offshore projects will involve a whole new scale of bigger turbines with much more profound radar effects.

The wind power industry is looking to taller, more powerful turbines in excess of 800' above sea level and 14-MW output. The potential extent of radar shadows cast by those turbines — obscuring radar images of smaller vessels — is concerning to the maritime community, from commercial fishermen to deep-draft vessel operators worried about spotting smaller vessels when they exit wind turbine fields close to traffic separation lanes outside major

ports like the New York-New Jersey Harbor complex.

As steel structures the size of moderately high-rise New York City midtown buildings, turbines will “have significant electromagnetic reflectivity and the capacity to interfere with radar systems in their vicinity,” the report states. “Additionally, the rotating blades can return large and numerous Doppler-shifted reflections as the blades move relative to a receiving radar system.”

The report lays out detailed recommendations too for changing the design and use of vessel radars, including new training standards, evaluation and standardization of radar mountings to minimize interference, and “deployment of reference buoys adjacent to wind farms to provide mariners a reference target to appropriately adjust marine vessel radar gain and other control settings to assist in the detection of smaller targets operating in the vicinity of wind farms.”

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NEWS LOG

Marad reaffirms Viking Line, Edison Chouest cruise vessel deal

News Bitts First woman to serve as USCG commandant

I

New 450', 386-passenger riverboat.

T

Viking rendering

he Maritime Administration has reaffirmed its opinion that a deal to allow Switzerland-based Viking Line to sail U.S. waters is a bonafide time charter.

Viking plans to start Mississippi River cruises in June on the 450'×75', 386-passenger Viking Mississippi being built by Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO). River 1 LLC, a Chouest affiliate, would time charter “a cruise vessel that it would construct, own and operate, to Viking USA, a non-citizen,” for an initial term of eight years with options extending to 30 years total, according to documents on Marad’s website.

U.S.-flag operators questioned Marad’s initial opinion that the deal was a time charter and not a bareboat charter and said it was not open about its deliberations. Their interests must be considered before the agency “acts to change the standards and processes it has historically applied in ‘time charter’ determinations,” passenger vessel operators told Marad.

“Here, the economic consequences are substantial, since approval of the charter means entry into the Jones Act coastwise passenger market by a large foreign cruise line.”

In a bareboat charter, no crew or provisions are provided.

In its final action published in March, Marad rejected their objections, saying it gave adequate rationale for its earlier opinion. “Marad applies well-known, black-letter maritime law to distinguish between bareboat and time charters, which we provided in the detailed summary,” the agency said.

The Coast Guard has said it saw no problem documenting the vessel with a coastwise endorsement.

Among the findings that Marad said support a time charter designation: ECO will provide and pay the crew, and the master — employed

by ECO’s vessel manager — will “command the vessel’s operation” and have “authority over Viking’s hospitality contractor staff with respect to operation of the vessel.” ECO will also pay the vessel’s operating expenses.

Neither Viking nor ECO responded to a request for comment on Marad’s final action. — Dale K. DuPont

18

n April, President Biden nominated Adm. Linda L. Fagan to serve as the 27th commandant of the Coast Guard. Upon confirmation, Adm. Fagan will be the first woman to serve as commandant of the Coast Guard.

Adm. Fagan currently serves as the 32nd vice commandant. Previously, Adm. Fagan served as commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. Pending confirmation, Adm. Fagan is expected to relieve the current commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Karl L. Schultz, during a change of command ceremony planned for June 1 in Washinton, D.C.

Kirby, Maersk become offshore wind partners

K

irby Corp. announced in March it had signed an agreement for its wholly owned subsidiary, Kirby Offshore Wind, to provide barge transportation services for offshore wind towers and turbines to Maersk Supply Service. Maersk has been selected by Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP, as the installation contractor for the project off the coast of New York.

New training ship for Cal Maritime

P

resident Biden has signed a $1.5 billion spending bill that would assure completion of an ambitious program to replace obsolete training vessels at five state maritime academies with a fleet of highly modern and technically advanced multipurpose vessels.

The spending package includes funding for the fifth and final National Security Multimission Vessel (NSMV) that will go to the California Maritime Academy.

Go to workboat.com/news for the latest commercial marine industry news, or download our mobile app.

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www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

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FOCUS Great Lakes

They’re Great!

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Great Lakes becoming an economic juggernaut?

Last lockage of the 2021 season — the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tug Owen M. Frederick followed by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay and the 635' Sam Laud.

By Dale DuPont, Correspondent

T

he need for an additional lock the size of the Poe Lock, at Sault St. Marie, Mich., was first cited by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report in 1986 and authorized in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

One of the two parallel locks enabling ships to travel between Lake Superior and the Lower Great Lakes, the “lynch pin of the Great Lakes Navigation System” has no backup. An aging and deteriorating infrastructure means unscheduled outages are increasing.

A 2015 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report put a hefty price tag on downtime. “It is hard to conceive of a single asset more consequential” to the North American economy than the Poe, DHS said. A six-month closure could reduce gross domestic product by $1.1 trillion and mean the loss of 11 million jobs.

The parallel MacArthur Lock is

20

smaller than the Poe in all dimensions.

Those messages and others’ pleas finally got through. Tucked into the recent bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was a chunk of federal money to finish a new Poe-sized lock, the third of three phases of a $1.4 billion project to modernize the Soo Locks.

PHASED IN Phase I, upstream dredging of a channel for the new lock, was begun in the spring of 2020 and due to be finished this summer. Phase II consists of the upstream approach walls started last spring and expected to be done in 2023. The design of Phase III, which includes a hands-free mooring (HFM) system, is complete, and contracts are expected to be awarded before June 21.

The goal is to open the new lock no later than 2030, a Corps spokesman said. Work depends on the weather and possible need for more money, espe-

cially considering inflation. Nevertheless, the funding was a milestone worth celebrating.

“It’s fantastic news for the entire seaway, the Great Lakes and everyone who uses it,” said Joe Starck, president, Great Lakes Towing Co., Cleveland, which has two tugs at the locks. The biggest issue is maintenance and repair.

“If we lose that lock, it would doom the system. You don’t want to be building a new lock under duress. It’s a miracle that it’s actually happening.”

For Mark Barker, president of Interlake Steamship Co., Middleburg Heights, Ohio, the largest privately held U.S.-flag fleet on the Great Lakes, “It gives us the security that we’re going to get a redundant lock. We’re excited we have the funding commitment.”

Interlake has nine vessels that carry bulk cargoes and in June expects to christen what is believed to be the first ship for U.S. Great Lakes service built on the lakes since 1983. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis., launched that ship — the 639'x78'x45', 28,000-dwt bulk carrier Mark W. Barker in October.

Users praise the engineers for keeping the locks working.

The funding is “not just critical for the carriers, it’s more critical for our customers,” said James Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, which represents the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet. “Politically, it’s huge to have a significant amount of funding,” so contracts don’t have to be rebid every year, which could save millions.

“It’s more likely to keep the project on track.

“The Corps’s done a really good job of designing it. I’m optimistic the Corps will bring it in on time and on budget,” Weakley said. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Great Lakes HANDS-FREE MOORING The new lock has a lot of redundancy with the Poe, which allows for interchangeable components and helps with operation and maintenance, said Rachel Miller, the project’s supervisory civil engineer.

One of the construction issues is that the new lock is being built on the site of locks built a century ago. “There’s some very old material in there, and we have to remove components of the existing locks,” she said. “It’s a challenge.”

One new feature will be a hands-free mooring (HFM) system that uses suction pads instead of lines to hold vessels locking through. HFM has been in operation on 13 St. Lawrence Seaway locks for several years. Mounted on vertical rails inside the lock chamber, the pads provide up to 20 tons of holding force.

The seaway project was the first use of the technology on an inland waterway, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s St.

THE ONLY PASSAGE BETWEEN LAKE SUPERIOR AND OTHER GREAT LAKES

T

he Soo Locks system, a National Historic Landmark on the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., is the only water passage between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes.

• Two operating locks are the current 1,200’x110’ Poe Lock, opened in 1969 — the only one that can handle the lakes’ largest vessels and the 800’x80’ MacArthur Lock, opened in 1943. A new Poe-size lock will be on the site of two locks no longer used commercially : the Davis, built in 1914, and Sabin, built in 1919.

• The Poe handles 91.7% of all Soo tonnage. Cargo includes iron ore, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the total and is critical to steel mills on the lower lakes, as well as coal, grain and aggregates.

• In 2021, 8,265 vessels with 72 million tons of cargo locked through compared to 5,982 with 60 million tons in Covid-impacted 2020.

• Water level in Lake Superior is 21’ higher than Lake Huron.

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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21

FOCUS Great Lakes PASSENGER VESSEL NUMBERS EXPECTED TO BALLOON

Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., which said it provides safer, more efficient freight movement. Not all vessels are HFM compatible, so line handlers will still be needed.

Vessels on both locks use line handlers. A new lock is “definitely going to expedite things for us. The majority of the salties have to go through the Poe lock,” said Dan Gallagher, chief line handler for Soo Linehandling, a Great Lakes Group affiliate.

They have 12 handlers, four people per vessel.

22

Pearl Seas

F

our years ago, Port Milwaukee had just over 1,100 cruise passengers and in 2019 about 3,300. Then Covid intervened and shut down cruising — temporarily. This year port officials expect 10,000 passengers with 27 cruise ship visits — a testament to the growth of the Great Lakes as a destination for overnight cruises especially on smaller ships.

“We refer to it as the familiar unfamiliar,” said port director Adam Tindall-Schlicht. “Cruise passengers have the ability to stay close to home and explore the sheer enormity of the Great Lakes.”

The port recently received a $3.5 million state grant to expand its infrastructure to handle larger ships, since Milwaukee is a turnaround point for several lines. TindallSchlicht called the grant a significant catalyst for the $7 million project and said he was “incredibly optimistic” they’ll have more funding from public and private sources.

Milwaukee’s numbers are indicative of the whole region’s popularity.

This year, the Great Lakes Cruise Association expects eight ships with 20,735 berths to visit the lakes, and next year 10 ships with 27,000 berths.

“We’ve been at this for 22 years. We’ve been teaching geography,” said executive director Stephen Burnett. “Our mission has been to try and expose the diversity of the Great Lakes,” including tiny communities where expedition ships can stop. They passed the tipping point of getting the message out several years ago. Now, “cruise lines are coming to us.”

Furthermore, “it’s probably the safest place in the world to go cruising,” he said.

“Interest in small-ship cruising and boutique experiences has grown everywhere, and the demand for smallship domestic cruises around the USA, especially on the

Passenger vessel operator Pearl Seas has been sailing the Great Lakes since 2014.

Great Lakes, continues to outpace other destinations,” said David Luxeder, director of marketing for Pearl Seas Cruises. A sister company to American Cruise Lines (ACL), Pearl Seas’ Pearl Mist has been sailing the Great Lakes since 2014.

“Pre-Covid, we regularly sold-out our summer Great Lakes cruises, so after nearly two years' pause in cruising the region, we are seeing tremendous interest for our 2022 small ship cruises,” especially an 11-night Great Lakes itinerary, he said. While passengers may want a longer trip, they also “still prefer to explore a little closer to home, and in smaller groups.”

People “want to cruise now without complications and uncertainty, and the Great Lakes check all those boxes,” said Michael Hicks, spokesman for American Queen Voyages, whose brands include Victory Cruise Lines, which sails the lakes, and American Queen Steamboat Co. Even before the turmoil in Ukraine, passengers were looking for cruises that were simple and easily accessible.

They, too, have seen a demand to cruise in North America and discover the Great Lakes, which he termed “an untapped market so convenient to get to with incredible ports.” This February their Great Lakes bookings were up 25% over January. — D. K. DuPont

The line handlers lost some weather protection this past season when one of their shelters was removed because of construction. Jeff Harrington, the locks’ chief of operations, said they’re working on replacing it.

“It’s critical they get this new lock built,” said Capt. Jon Olney, president of the Western Great Lakes Pilots Association, Brimley, Mich., whose area includes the locks. It will be “a good help for all the shipping interests on the Great Lakes.”

Pilots’ biggest challenges are “delays

in trying to get through,” he said. “Ships don’t operate on a consistent schedule.

One can’t go up until the other one’s gone down.

“We’ve had ships that would go to anchor because the delay’s going to be so long,” Olney added. And the MacArthur’s seasonal closure, which is longer than the Poe’s, puts more traffic through the Poe. He and others were skeptical a new lock would become a reality. “I doubted it would ever happen,” Olney said. But, he added, “they are well on their way.” www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

VESSEL REPORT Fireboats

The 32 Courageous fireboat was delivered to Boca Raton (Fla.) Fire Rescue.

Put It Out

By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor

N

othing gets everyone’s attention — especially in the marine industry — quicker than the word FIRE. Wherever boats are found, onboard or off, you’ll find tools to fight fires. And when you’re fighting a fire on or from the water, the most important of these tools is the fireboat.

It’s also the most expensive.

Capt. Claude Klein was the master captain of the Port of New Orleans’ fireboat from 1994 until he retired in 2019.

In an interview last year, he said the most important thing to remember when fighting a fire is to protect the fireboat.

“The boat comes first because without the boat, the crew can lose their lives and you have no boat to fight the fire,” he said. “If your position is too dangerous, pull out and find another way in.”

These types of vessels are precious commodities to their owners. They protect property and, at times, save lives.

METAL SHARK

Last summer, Jeanerette, La.-based shipbuilder Metal Shark introduced the 38 Defiant NXT, a welded-aluminum 24

monohull pilothouse model based on the company’s 38 Defiant platform. The first new vessel, the 43'x12" Fire Boat 2, was delivered to Orange Beach Fire Rescue in Orange Beach, Ala. The new 38 Defiant NXT utilizes the same hull form as the original but with an entirely new topsides arrangement designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team.

A Wing urethane-sheathed, closed-cell foam collar provides impact resistance during alongside maneuvers, a robust bow-pusher knee provides added utility, and a large dive platform and aft cockpit scuba tank racks have been added for divers.

Orange Beach Fire Rescue’s new 38 Defiant NXT is powered by twin 550-hp Cummins QSB 6.7 inboard diesels mated to HamiltonJet HTX30 waterjets through Twin Disc MG-5065 SC transmissions. The configuration enables the fully equipped fireboat to cruise at 30 knots and reach top speeds in excess of 40 knots. The 38 Defiant NXT is available with a range of propulsion types and can reach top speeds of 50+ knots when powered by triple outboards.

For firefighting, the Orange Beach fireboat delivers a flow rate of 3,000 gpm, with twin 1,500 gpm Darley fire pumps www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Metal Shark

Boatyards are bringing the fight to the fire.

Orange Beach (Ala.) Fire Rescue got the first new 38 Defiant NXT.

driven via PTO from the main engines.

Each pump draws from its own dedicated in-hull sea chest, feeding a central manifold with crossover capability, which in turn supplies the entire system. From the fire control station at the port helm, flow is directed as desired via electronically actuated valves. The vessel is equipped with a remote-operated Elkhart Scorpion EXM electric rooftop monitor, two Elkhart Copperhead manually operated monitors aft, dual handline outlets, and a 5" Storz connection.

“Redesigning one of our best-selling models at the peak of its popularity was not a task we approached lightly, but through our efforts we made significant improvements to an already outstanding platform,” Metal Shark CEO Chris Allard said at the time the boat was delivered. “Orange Beach Fire Rescue’s new 38 Defiant NXT fireboat and the multiple other fireboats now in production are a direct result of our goal to consistently offer the industry’s most advanced designs through ongoing product evolution.”

Metal Shark’s new 38 NXT has proven to be very popular. The 38 Defiant NXT fireboat for South King County (Wash.) was recently delivered, while the yard is currently putting the finishing touches on an NXT fireboat for Chicago Fire. There are also two new NXTs under construction for MiamiDade Fire Rescue, and one each for St.

John’s (S.C.) Fire District, and Virginia Beach (Va.) Fire Department.

In addition to all the 38s, Metal Shark is building a 32 Defiant fireboat for Stafford County (Va.) Fire & Rescue, and a 25 Courageous for East Dover Fire Department, Toms River, N.J. Last year, in addition to two 50 Defiant fireboats as well as a 36 Fearless center console delivered to MiamiDade Fire Rescue, and the 70 Defiant delivered to Canaveral Fire Rescue, Metal Shark also delivered a 32 Courageous fireboat to Boca Raton Fire Rescue and a 32 Defiant NXT fireboat to Horry County (S.C.) Fire Rescue.

NORTH RIVER BOATS

North River Boats, Roseburg, Ore.,

North River Boats

Metal Shark

Fireboats

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

has been building fireboats and fire/ rescue boats for decades. The company got into building fireboats and fire/rescue boats to offer prospective buyers a fresh approach to meet the exact needs from department to department.

North River’s larger fireboats are based upon the boatbuilder’s Sounder hull design with lengths up to 40' and beam widths of 8.5', 9.5', 10.5' and 11.5'. The hulls operate in offshore and inshore waters throughout the Pacific Northwest, from Alaska to California. But North River has also delivered fireboats to the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast.

“At North River, customization is the key,” said Russell Sparkman, North River’s director of marketing.

“The Sounder hull is the proven hull form, and the upper deck and structures are highly tailored to meet the needs or mission of the individual fire and rescue departments.

“With each boat we build, with each unique set of problems that we solve for a client, we create a new set of options and features to suggest, offer or recommend to future fire and rescue boat buyers, Sparkman said.”

After listening to customer feedback and inquiries over the past several years at conferences, trade shows, calls into the office, etc., North River felt there was a need in the marketplace for a boat that is smaller and lighter weight than the larger boats based on the Sounder hull.

North River felt there was a need for a smaller, lightweight fireboat.

25

“Our goal for the Freedom design was to develop a platform that would fit the budget and needs of smaller fire departments, sheriff’s departments — which are often one-part law enforcement, one-part fire department — port authorities and smaller municipalities,” said Sparkman. “This meant designing a platform that can be configured with outboard motors, inboard jet for shallow water operation, or sterndrive if desired.”

Standard features of the Freedom design include a center console with windshield, drop-down bow door and fully self-bailing deck. The boats come in lengths from 21' to 26' with an 8'6" beam and are DOT legally trailerable in all 50 states and towable by a ½-ton or ¾-ton pickup. “We’ve even seen instances where the Freedom has been towed by ambulances,” said Sparkman.

The Freedom has an option for a 500-gpm Darley fire pump that has a through-hull intake. The pump can be easily removed, via a quick-couple fitting if extra deck space is needed forward of the console.

“In recent years, we have delivered about 24 fire and rescue boats, between the Sounder-based boats and the Freedom,” said Sparkman.

METALCRAFT MARINE

MetalCraft Marine recently delivered two high-profile fire rescue boats to the east and west coasts of Florida, just weeks apart. The exclusive communities of Ocean Reef in Key Largo and Boca Grande on Boca Grande Island both selected MetalCraft Fire Interceptors to provide protection and security to their citizens.

The Fire Interceptor is a fire-rescue version of the shipyard’s Interceptor that is used by several friendly foreign militaries around the world as well as fleets operating in USCG and U.S. Navy programs and numerous select police forces.

“The selection made a lot of sense to decision makers as both communities have a very protected side of the island and a very rough exposed-to26

MetalCraft Marine

VESSEL REPORT Fireboats

New fire rescue boat protects Boca Grande Island in Florida.

open-ocean side and their men don’t get to choose when someone is in distress and needs their help,” said MetalCraft’s contracts manager Bob Clark. “Let’s face it, fire-rescue crews don’t get that many calls on really nice days for a cruise.”

The boats are slightly different in length with Ocean Reef’s at 37'8" LOA and Boca Grande at 35' 1.5" and come with MetalCraft’s standard 10-year hull warranty. Both are fitted with ABYC required anti-corrosion meters with data logging, so if the boat has been in an area with high stray current it is recorded for better observation. Ocean Reef has a Phaser generator for a climate-controlled cabin space.

The Boca boat has twin Mercury 350 Verados and will do 60 mph.

Ocean Reef went with Merc 300-hp Sea Pro engines and the boat achieves a respectable 46 mph. Mercury offers a three-year, non-declining warranty for its engines for government and commercial use, including military.

Clark pointed out that the Mercury engines are made in Wisconsin, “not China.”

As high-performance military vessel designs, the boats have a very low beam-to-length (BLR) ratio, which serves to dramatically reduce pitching and vertical slamming impact (vertical acceleration). The low BLR also means that in canals and harbors they produce a very low wake signature.

The Interceptor hull is designed to

have its main hull chines sitting at or slightly above the waterline displacing less water as it moves along, meaning it takes less horsepower to push it along at hull speed or slightly above to about 30% more than hull speed.

Another big feature for military action is reduced horsepower at cruise planing speed, Clark said. “The optimal planing speed for least use of fuel for most boats is somewhere in the 22-28 knot range. Militaries commonly look for 200 nautical miles or greater range on a vessel. And they want to get there as fast as possible,” he said. “That takes a lot of fuel and that adds weight, lots of it. At some point this can become self-defeating.

The Fire Interceptor with all the added weight of the fire pump, piping and lots of associated gear, crew and the fuel, needs as little hull resistance as a designer can provide.”

Clark said the Fire Interceptor’s low-resistance hull surprises everyone when it can cruise for hours on end at 28 knots optimum fuel burn, meaning it can beat a slower boat by as much as six nautical miles per hour and burn the same amount of fuel, Clark said.

“There are theoretical calculations for this and then there are hard test data numbers,” he said. “In a recent test boat that had a specific range requirement we were able to reduce the tank size by 9%. Now this needs to be tested again because now you have the reduced weight of the tank itself. Can we save 10%?” www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

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BC Ferries takes delivery of fourth Salish-class LNG ferry

BC Ferries

The Salish-class vessel names and artwork are intended to recognize and honor Coast Salish people as the original mariners on the Salish Sea.

W

ith its March arrival from Poland, the Salish Heron became the fourth and final vessel in BC Ferries’ new Salish class. The first three, the Salish Orca, Salish Eagle and Salish Raven, all went into service in 2017. All four were built by Remontowa Shipbuilding, Gdansk, Poland, under design/build contracts and Lloyd’s classification.

The 107-meter (351') steel ferries can carry up to 138 cars and trucks and 600 passengers. Three of the Salish-class ships run between the south end of Vancouver Island and the southern British Columbia mainland through the Gulf Islands. A fourth Salish class operates farther north and connects Comox on the island with Powell River on the mainland. All routes include crossing the Strait of Georgia, which means at least 15 miles of open water. Because of difficult sea conditions, each end of the doubled-ended boats is protected with a curved visor that rotates up on arrival for unloading, and down when running to prevent spray from hitting the car deck.

The ferries are all powered by trios of Wartsila 8L20 dual-fuel engines (6,000 hp total). The Salish class was the first in the BC Ferries fleet of 35 vessels to be powered by LNG. Jamie Marshall, vice president of shipbuilding and innovation, said that LNG made sense environmentally and economically. “There’s a huge reduction in NOx and SOx emissions from LNG, compared to even the cleanest diesel, 28

which we use,” said Marshall. “And a 100 percent reduction in particulates.”

On the financial side, Marshall said the bottom-line cost of LNG is about half that of diesel. The success of the LNG-powered Salish-class boats inspired BC Ferries to convert two larger, Spirit-class ferries to dual-fuel LNG during their recent midlife overhauls. “When we converted the Spirits to LNG, we went from a million dollars fuel cost per month per ship to half of that,” he said.

BC Ferries partnered with FortisBC, a subsidiary of Newfoundland-based power company Fortis Inc., to establish an LNG fueling program. Fortis operates two natural gas liquefaction facilities in British Columbia. One is in Delta, just north of the U.S. border and adjacent to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, and the other is on Vancouver Island. Both facilities have trucks to take the super-cool liquid gas to the vessels, either at Tsawwassen on the mainland or Comox on the island.

A single wheelhouse in the center of the boat looks down at two passenger decks with seats, benches and tables outside. Below that the open car deck is fitted with MacGregor hydraulic hatches that open to allow access to a lower garage deck with 9'6" clearance. With the hatches closed, other cars and trucks drive over them when getting on or off the ferries. “This is a European innovation that they’ve been using for a long time,” said Marshall. Of the www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Damen Shipyards

138-vehicle capacity, the lower car deck can handle about 40%.

Two elevators serve the two passenger decks with accessible washrooms, kids play area, workstations, pet area, cafeteria, gift shop and an induction loop hearing system. Wood-look paneling is used throughout. There are lots of large windows.

Another notable feature of the new ferry and her sisters is the exterior artwork. All boats are adorned with murals created to reflect the name of the boat. The murals have been painted by four indigenous artists who work in traditional Coast Salish style.

The vessel names and the artwork are intended to recognize and honor Coast Salish people as the original mariners on the Salish Sea. For the Salish Heron, Maynard Johnny Jr., from Chemainus, British Columbia, was selected to create the design.

— Bruce Buls

Damen delivers first new Multi Cat 2309 to UK

The Multi Cat 2309 is Damen’s new, midrange CTV model.

power each. including The Multi Cat 2309 is Damen’s new, midrange CTV model.a pair of Volvo Penta D16 In order to provide its clients with engines producing a total of 956 hp at a premium service, HST has added 1,800 rpm. The engines connect to two some custom features to its new vessel, 1,500-mm (59") Promarin fixed pitch

BOATBUILDING BITTS

C

onrad Shipyard LLC, Morgan City, La., has been awarded a contract by the Navy for the design and construction of up to eight 151'x49'x14' yard, repair, berthing and messing (YRBM) barges. The YRBM barges provide a temporary home away from home and workplace for service men and women whose vessels are in port for repairs and/or maintenance. Conrad’s design incorporates functional spaces which allow the sailors to work, sleep, and eat comfortably. The fixed-price contract has a potential value of over $140 million. YRBMs are ABS A1 accommodation barges that provides pier side living accommodations for up to 199 mixed gender personnel, messing for

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Conrad Shipyard LLC

M

ore crew transfer vessels (CTV) will be coming to offshore wind farms along U.S. coastlines in the coming years.

For now, though, most of that action remains in Europe. UK crew transfer operator HST recently took delivery of the first of a new class of Damen Multi Cats — the 2309. The addition of the 76'6"×31.3' Multi Cat HST Hazel to HST’s fleet of crew transfer vessels (CTVs) is the first stage of the company’s strategy to become a total solutions provider to the offshore renewables sector.

The Multi Cat 2309 is a new, midrange model. HST’s new CTV now allows them to offer its clients workboat services, such as marine logistics, general contracting, anchor handling, dredger service, supply towing, and surveying, alongside its crew transfer business.

The 162-gt boat’s cargo deck area measures 321 sq. ft. Ship’s service power comes from two Volvo Penta gensets, sparking 90 kW of electrical

300 personnel, and space for medical offices, classrooms, workspaces, laundry rooms, storerooms and lounge areas. Conrad expects to deliver the first YRBM barge to the Navy in late 2023. If the Navy exercises options for the additional barges, peak production is expected to occur from 2023 through 2025.

In early March, Snow & Company, Seattle, delivered the Savannah, the first of two new 64'x19'6" aluminum pilot boats to the Savannah Pilots Association. Designed by the UK’s Camarc Design, the single-chine, flush-deck 5086 aluminum vessel, with a full load draft of 3.63', is the third pilot boat that Camarc has designed

New barges can berth up to 199 Navy personnel.

29

ON THE WAYS

Snow & Company

for the Savannah pilots. Savannah is powered by MTU 12V2000M86 marine engines, Hamiltonjet HTX 52 waterjets with electronic AVX controls, ZF 3055 marine gears, and Geislinger carbon fiber driveshafts/Silenco couplings.

The propulsion package is designed to give the new boat maneuverability and a top speed of 35 knots. Ship’s service power comes from two Phasor 30-kW generators. The new boat has a full load displacement of 102,000 lbs. Other features of the pilot boats include tankage for 1,200 gals. of fuel and 150 gals. fresh water; seating for seven pilots and two crew — six Beurteaux pilot seats, one Stidd pilot seat, and two Stidd crew seats; aircraft tire fendering; 500-lb. SWL capacity rescue davit; day galley and pilot accommodations; and a complete electronics package from Mackay Marine.

Schottel has signed an agreement with Norfolk, Va.-based Lyon Shipyard that positions both companies for the expansion of the U.S. offshore wind industry. The agreement was based on the company’s shared long-term strategy to support both the existing market and the up-and-coming offshore wind farm industry. U.S. wind farm operations will need a large fleet of Jones Act-qualified service operation vessels (SOVs), which will be fitted with thrusters and DP systems. The vessels will also require periodic drydocking,

64' pilot boat for Savannah Pilots.

30

maintenance and thruster overhauls.

Under the deal, Lyon Shipyard invested in a 500-sq.-m. Z-drive maintenance building, and Schottel provides Lyon with technicians and technical support.

Volvo Penta’s advanced hybrid solution for Hurtigruten Svalbard’s new 48’x13.8’, 12-passenger sightseeing vessel Kvitbjørn (Polar Bear), recently had its first test at sea. The tests were performed by Volvo Penta to make sure the solution was ready for official customer sea trials in the icy waters of Svalbard, Norway. The vessel has the potential to transform the sustainable tourism industry by allowing guests to experience the wonders of Svalbard without disturbing the area’s nature and habitat, thanks to its near-silent operation, Volvo Penta said. Kvitbjørn will be formally unveiled in May at a special launch ceremony in Svalbard, before going into a three-year pilot test with Hurtigruten Svalbard.

Kirby Corp., and subsidiary Kirby Offshore Wind, has signed an agreement to provide barge transportation services for offshore wind towers and turbines for Maersk Supply Service.

Maersk has been selected by Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP, as the installation contractor for the project off the coast of New York. Kirby’s contract with Maersk represents a 20-year framework agreement with the Empire Wind

propellers through Twin Disc MGX5170 DC marine gears with 5.03:1 reduction ratios. The propulsion package gives the new CTV a speed of 9.9 knots and a bollard pull of 16.2 tonnes. The vessel has a draft of 6.5'.

The Kalkman electrical driven bowthruster has also been upgraded for enhanced maneuverability and the crew cabins have been fitted with satellite television and high-speed interconnectivity with fleet system and VSAT. Additional equipment upgrades include a five-ton pull winch and a heavy duty crane with a lifting capacity of 25 tons at 5.8 m (19') outreach. On the aft deck a tugger winch with 12 tonnes of pull has been installed along with an A-frame with plough for cable laying.

Additional redundancy throughout the vessel is another feature, designed to ensure both reliability and versatility.

The HST Hazel was built at Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld in the Netherlands. It will initially be based out of HST’s home port of Swansea, Wales.

“The acquisition of the HST Hazel is just the beginning of our strategy of extending our services to become a total solutions provider,” HST managing director Tom Nevin said in a prepared statement. “We are doing this in response to the preference of our offshore renewables customers for a single point of contact for all their offshore support.”

Accommodations include heated and air-conditioned spaces with combined galley and mess. There are cabins for seven crew, divided in three single and two double cabins. Sanitary facilities are provided. A store is foreseen close to the galley/mess. A deck store is provided in front of the deckhouse.

“We are delighted to have HST as the launch customer of our new Multi Cat 2309 design,” said Damen’s UK and Ireland sales manager Frederik van der Linde. “Because HST is already successfully operating four Damen FCS 2710s, we are able to offer them convenient and cost-efficient service support as their fleet expands and diversifies, all via a single point of contact. This will www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

ON THE WAYS

MetalCraft Marine inks deals to build 80 boats

M

etalCraft Marine had a big week in March, signing a contract with the Navy for 45 8-meter (26.25') Interceptor model patrol boats and 20 12-meter (39.2') Interceptors. The new boats will be force protection small (FPS) and force protection large (FPL) boats respectively that will be stationed at U.S. military bases around the world. The contract is worth more than $43 million.

In addition, the Navy picked up an option for 14 more boats MetalCraft is building on an existing contract. The shipyard also signed contracts for two boats for a naval installation facility and two fireboats. Details of those contracts were not released.

Bob Clark, MetalCraft’s contracts manager, said it was the shipyard’s “biggest week ever.”

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, DN.Y., said the new contract will allow MetalCraft Marine’s Watertown, N.Y., shipyard to add new jobs.

“MetalCraft Marine and its workforce have proven time and time again that they can provide superior products to the federal government, so it’s no surprise that the Navy picked them for this important work,” Schumer said in a prepared statement. “This contract will not only help protect our troops across the globe, but it will also boost the North Country’s economy. As MetalCraft plans to add jobs locally to support this new demand, I will continue to work with them to help secure future agreements like these.”

— K. Hocke www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Everett Ship Repair

give them peace-of-mind and more time to focus on their customers. We are confident that HST Hazel will outperform expectations.”

The new Multi Cat HST Hazel is Bureau Veritas I Maltese Cross Hull, MACH tug (16-ton), unrestricted navigation, AUT-UMS classed.

Tankage includes 17,940 gals. fuel oil and 12,480 gals. fresh water.

— Ken Hocke

The drydock Emerald Lifter, with a lifting capacity of 2,000 tons, will be relocated to the Everett Ship Repair facility at the Port of Everett, Wash.

projects being the first. Kirby Offshore Wind will provide Jones Act-compliant feeder barges and tugboats that will transport wind towers and turbines from the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to a specialized Maersk wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). Kirby will invest in two new ABS-classed feeder barge and diesel-electric hybrid tugboat units which will be constructed in U.S. shipyards for a total cost of between $80 million to $100 million. Each feeder barge will have the capacity to transport next-generation turbines of 15 megawatts and higher as turbine technology advances. The capital investment for the new vessels will be incurred through progress payments over the 2023 to 2025 time frame.

Kirby’s offshore marine facility in Staten Island, N.Y., as well as its marine headquarters in Houston, will be the base of operations for the company’s offshore wind activities.

Everett Ship Repair LLC’s (ESR) expansion plans continued recently with the shipyard’s purchase of a second drydock and a crane barge. ESR recently purchased the drydock Zidell 220, renaming it the Emerald Lifter.

The drydock, with a lifting capacity of 2,000 tons and working deck area of 220’x62’, will be relocated to the ESR facility at the Port of Everett, Wash. ESR will also bring in a 150-ton Link Belt LS518 lattice boom crawler crane with 150’ boom and will position

the crane on a 180'x49' barge that will service both drydocks. Currently ESR owns and operates the Faithful Servant, a 430’x110’, 8,000-ton capacity drydock. With the acquisition of the Emerald Lifter, ESR will be able to off er services to a wider range of vessels. The combination of the two drydocks lends itself well to serving ATBs as it can now serve both tug and barge in the two drydocks simultaneously, company officials said. The Emerald Lifter will provide services to both the commercial and government market segments with a focus on tugboats, fi shing vessels and other workboats.

Caterpillar Marine has joined forces with California-based Pacific6 Enterprises to pilot a parallel battery hybrid propulsion system for a first-of-its kind aquaculture farming vessel. Powered by a Cat C18 engine and battery hybrid solution, the next-generation hybrid architecture boat will leverage proven electrical components and power electronics from Caterpillar’s construction and mining product lines. The vessel will be built at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash. Pacific Mariculture, a subsidiary of venture capital group Pacific6 Enterprises, is currently pioneering development of the first-ever off shore mussel farm in the U.S., which will be located off the coast of Southern California.

31

COVER STORY

Rising Tide Offshore oil and wind riding tailwinds amid global turmoil.

By Jim Redden, Correspondent

R

ussia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 forced the Biden administration into an uneasy détente with the oil and gas producers, urging a ramp up in short-term production. It has also led to an intensifying allegiance to offshore wind and its kin as longer-term alternatives to fossil fuels.

The presidential capitulation came as U.S. oil prices hovered around $100/bbl. and Gulf of Mexico operators, having weathered a demand-wrecking pandemic and a devastating hurricane season, are on pace for what Wood 32

Mackenzie estimates will be record production of 2.3 million bb/d this year, owing to three significant deepwater developments coming online.

Even so, operators decry what they view as overreaching regulations, slow permitting and leasing uncertainty — punctuated by the since-resolved judicial invalidation in late January of winning bids in the first Gulf of Mexico lease sale under President Biden.

Though oil and gas are in the driver’s seat for now, the industry’s widely cyclical history and political uncertainty leave operators hesitant to make the huge spend required, especially for long-horizon deepwater projects. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Photographic Services, Shell International Ltd.

Production platform in the Perdido ultra-deepwater corridor, where Shell closed out 2021 with a promising discovery well.

Vessels line the then-calm waterways of Louisiana's Port Fourchon, well before Hurricane Ida made a direct hit in late August.

Offshore Operators, which owns six fully contracted platform support vessels (PSV). Whereas two production assets historically could share a single PSV, the increase in directional drilling, wireline running, and other assorted operations has increased PSV demand.

“What’s interesting is the amount of activity going on independent of [mobile drilling rigs],” he said. “That’s the real dynamic change in the marketplace.”

Noble Corp.

“At least in the short term, I think we’re going to see a more cautious playbook, even with $100 oil,” said Colin White, Gulf of Mexico oil analyst for Rystad Energy. “This should be the year we surpass the two-million-barrel-a-day mark (in the Gulf), but obviously it’s contingent on how this hurricane season plays out.”

Last year, Hurricane Ida reduced September 2021 Gulf of Mexico oil production by some 500,000 bbl/d.

With production fully restored, 2022 saw commodity prices steadily improving, along with day rates for both deepwater drilling rigs and support vessels. As of March 18, S&P Global’s Petrodata listed 29 drilling rigs under contract in the Gulf for a marketed utilization rate of 82.9%. The majority of active rigs are engaged in development drilling and identifying opportunities to tie back to existing production systems, rather than new exploration.

The active rig count, however, presents an incomplete picture of contemporary activity, given the increased operations now conducted by platform-stationed workover and drilling rigs, said Matthew Rigdon, executive VP and COO of Jackson

Greater Lafourche Port Commission

COVER STORY

The drillship Noble Stanley Lafosse is under contract for Murphy Oil in the Gulf of Mexico for $300,000/day.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

FIRST OIL Throughout 2022, first oil is expected from the Shell, BP and Murphy Oil-operated Vito, Mad Dog Phase Two and Khaleesi/Mormont/Samurai fields, respectively, with initial and peak oil production ranging from 80,000 to 120,249 bpd. Shell is also evaluating the reserve potential of the Blacktip North well, discovered on Dec. 8 in the ultra-deepwater Perdido Corridor.

White said more new fields are critical as discovered reserves dwindle.

“We’re not seeing a huge amount of exploration activity and the problem is a lot of the underlying fields are going in base decline and we’re no longer seeing the big greenfield investments to replace those,” he said.

To that point, U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) data lists six new well drilling permits approved for waters deeper than 1,000' over the first three months of 2022. By comparison, BSEE approved 10 new deepwater well permits from Jan. 1-March 19, 2021.

Rystad estimates the Gulf holds some 1,287 awarded, but undrilled, leases, giving wary operators ample places to explore. “There are plenty of opportunities available, but it’s just a matter of when clients will feel comfortable spending the money,” said Rigdon. “Operators are being cautious on spending.”

33

COVER STORY US Gulf PSV 4,000+ dwt fleet US Gulf PSV 4,000+ dwt fleet

120 100

120

100 80

100

80 60

Number of vessels

Number of vessels Number of vessels

US Gulf 120 PSV 4,000+ dwt fleet

60 40 40 20 20 0

80 60 40 20

6 7 8 9 0 1 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 6 7 8 9 0 1 01 01 01 01 02 02 01 01 01 01 02 02 02 01 01 01 01 02 02 y2 y2 y2 y2 y2 y2 p2 p2 p 2 0 an 2 p2 p2 p2 n02 n2 n2 n2 n2 n2 a a a a a a a a a a a e e e e e e Ja J J J J J J M S M S M S M S M S M S 16 17 18 16 17 18 16 17 18 6 19 6 19 19 7 20 7 20 20 8 21 8 21 21 9 22 9 0 9 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20n1 20 201y 20 01p620 20n1 20 201y 20 01p720 20n1 20 201y 20 01p820 20n1 20 201 02 01 y y y p p p n n n 2 2 2 a a a a a a a a a a a e e e e e e y y y y2 p p p p2 n n n n n2 Ja J J J J J M S M S M S Ja M S Ja M S Ja M S J a J a ay Ja Ma Se Ma Se Ma Se M Se Ma Source: IHS Markit

DAY RATES SOAR

Cold Stacked

Fleet

Cold Stacked

Fleet

© 2022 IHS Markit

Stacked Fleet © 2022 IHS Markit day higher than Cold the original contract.

Regardless, and vessel owners CEO Jeremy Thigpen pointed to the US Gulf PSVrig4,000+ dwt fleet are signing new contracts with day Deepwater Conqueror drillship that US that Gulfmake PSV up 4,000+ dwt fleet 120 rates for some of the was signed up for an additional Chevron Gulf of Mexico well at a $335,000 120 120 day rate.

100 “We are also observing a consider100 able uptick in direct negotiations to 100 80 secure ready-to-work assets in the 80 region. With the active fleet contracted 80 60 through the better part of 2022, we anticipate supply will remain tight,” 60 60 40 Thigpen told analysts on Feb. 23.

Restructured Noble Corp., which 40 40 20 recently combined with Maersk Drilling, said on Feb. 16 that Murphy 20 20 Oil had exercised the first two of five 0 6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9 0 one-well 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 20 21the drillship 1 1 1 1 2 21 for 22 Noble 1 1 1 1 20options 21 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 y2 y y y y y p p p p p p n02 n n n n n n a a a a a a a a a a a a a 0J J J J J J J per day.

M Se M Se M Se M Se M Stanley S e Lafosse M for $300,000 Se 6 7 8 9 1 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 6 7 8 9 0 1 20 similar 7202 182trend 8202 19202for19 01 01 01 02 unfolded 01 01 01 02 182has 01 01 01 016201 016201 16201 017202 01720A 20 1 1 19 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 0n 0 0 0 y y y p p p p p p n n n n y 2 ay n y 2 ay n y 2 ay 20 2 2 2 2 20 2 2 2 20 a a a a a a a a a a e e e e e e y y2 pS p p p nJ n n n J J J J J M S M S M S J an J M M S M S a a a a a a a a e e e e deepwater support said J J J J M S M S M S vessels, M RichS Ma ard Sanchez, senior marine analyst II Cold Stacked Fleet Source: IHS Markit © 2022 IHS Markit for S&P Global. “We’re seeing much Cold Stacked Fleet stronger rates. Last weIHS were Coldyear, Stacked Fleet Source: IHS Markit © 2022 Markit Source: IHS Markit looking at around the $15,000 per day range,” versus twice that now.

On March 9, Tidewater agreed to buy Swire Pacific Offshore to form the largest global support vessel fleet.

“Vessel supply continues to tighten, which has been evident in the large vessel classes over the past few quarters and is now also reflected by the Sales@allamericanmarine.com | 360.647.7602 quickly reducing supply of easy-toPictured: Sea Change - North America’s first Hydrogen-Fuel Cell Powered Commercial Vessel

Number of vessels Number of vessels

Innovative Unique Proven

cash bleeding over the past few years.

Source: IHS Markit Deepwater driller Transocean said new contracts for ultra-deepwater floaters stipulate ratesPSV more than $100,000/ US Gulf 4,000+ dwt fleet

Number of vessels

Source: IHS Markit

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34

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

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Doug Stewart photo.

COVER STORY

The U.S.-flagged Southern Tide, a 6,330 dwt PSV, re-located to Suriname-Guyan in March

reactivate ships in the mid-sized vessel classes,” said Quintin Kneen, Tidewater President and CEO. Between January and early February, privately held Hornbeck Offshore in two separate transactions added 13 offshore support vessels

(OSV), ranging from 3,200 to 4,750 dwt.

Available high-spec vessel capacity has been further strained by relocations from the Gulf to the growing Suriname-Guyana deepwater theater.

Sanchez said some 23 U.S.-flagged

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PSV and anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) boats are now working in the Caribbean hot spot.

In addition, emblematic of a nationwide predicament, vessel owners also are struggling to locate and keep qualified mariners, with inter-company poaching now standard operating procedure.

“Right now, labor costs for both contractors and vessel owners are going up significantly, if you can find someone,” said Sanchez. “Drillers are back to poaching dynamic positioning officers and other hard-to-get people from the boat companies, which further drives up the cost for the boat owners.”

UNEVEN LEASING On March 18, following a nearly two-month hiatus, the Biden administration agreed to resume leasing of federally controlled waters and land, after modifying how the government would calculate the societal cost of greenhouse gas emissions. The decision effectively grants high bidders the 308 blocks they bought in Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257 in November, which a federal court voided, citing faulty regulatory environmental analysis.

At the same time, the American Petroleum Institute (API) called for the administration to accelerate the long delayed five-year offshore leasing program to remove the uncertainty the industry says is hampering future investment.

There is no such ambiguity, however, in the offshore wind program, where BOEM plans up to seven potential federal lease sales this year.

The record-shattering New York Bight sale of Feb. 23-25 set the stage for similar offerings on tap for the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, the Carolinas, California, Oregon and even the oildominant Gulf of Mexico.

The New York Bight offering drew $4.37 billion in high bids for six lease areas covering some 480,000 aquatic acres between New Jersey and Long Island, N.Y. According to www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

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BOEM, Bight Wind Holdings LLC, a consortium of RWE Renewables and National Grid, topped all provisional bidders, offering $1.1-billion for 125,964 acres.

The lessees will join a growing suite of Upper East Coast wind farms under various stages of development, including leases controlled by subsidiaries of traditional oil and gas producers Equinor, BP and Shell.

Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted and Eversource, a New England utility, jointly hold one of the largest portfolios and have begun initial construction on two commercial-scale wind farms off New York.

A third, off Rhode Island, is in the permitting stage. When completed, it is estimated that the trio will generate 1,714 MW of power.

Sunrise Wind, the largest of the three at 880 MW, is expected to begin operation in 2024 off Montauk, N.Y.

Ørsted A/S

COVER STORY

Sister SOVs Edda Mistral and Edda Passat on duty at the Ørsted Race wind farm in the UK North Sea. Ørsted has a heavy presence in the U.S. northeast offshore wind sector.

The consortium’s 130-MW South Fork Wind project off Long Island is eyeing a year-end 2023 start-up. Meanwhile, the consortium is working on permits for the Revolution Wind development

off Providence, R.I., in hopes of delivering 704 MW of electricity to Rhode Island and Connecticut in 2025.

Elsewhere, the high-profile Vineyard Wind Farm off Martha’s

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COVER STORY

VESSEL DEMAND According to the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), a considerable number of specialized installation and support vessels will be required to help meet the Biden administration’s wind energy aspirations.

“There are estimates that approximately 110 specialized vessels will be needed to support the government’s goal of 30 gigawatts by 2030,” Greg Lennon, VP of Global Offshore Wind, said during an ABS webinar on Feb. 17.

Edison Chouest Offshore, for one, expects to deliver the first Jones Act-qualified wind farm service operations vessel (SOV) to the northeast in the summer of 2024. The 260' ECO Edison, which is being constructed across ECO shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, will support the Ørsted and Eversource wind farms.

While the role of wind farm SOVs bear similarities to their oil and gas counterparts, “the internal structure of an SOV is very bespoke,” said Braid.

“The underdeck of an SOV is this giant warehouse, connecting to an elevator system that goes up to an articulated gangway that transfers technicians directly to the transition point to the wind turbine,” he said. “If you covert an existing OSV for use at a wind farm, you need to either pull out www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

U.S. LNG EXPORTS HELP FILL SUPPLY GAP

T

he Ukrainian invasion further aggravated the gas supply shortfall, leaving Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters scrambling to meet growing European and Asian demand with terminals expanding and new facilities on the boards.

The U.S. is the world’s largest LNG exporter with most of the capacity concentrated off Louisiana and Texas. On March 1, a fifth export terminal officially joined the ranks as Venture Global LNG of Virginia and Tokyo-based JERA Global Markets Pte. Ltd loaded the first cargo from the fast-tracked Calcasieu Pass The Malta-flagged Minerva PSARA LNG tanker taking on LNG export facility cargo at Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass export terminal in in Cameron, La. At late 2021. total capacity of 10 MTPA, the facility holds the global greenfield speed record, having gone from final investment decision to production in 29 months, according to Venture Global.

Venture also began construction last year on the 20-MTPA Plaquemines LNG terminal in Plaquemines Parish, La., and expects to do the same next year on the CP2 LNG facility, also in Cameron Parish, La. The greenfield terminals are included in two 20-year sales and purchase agreements Venture signed with New York-based global LNG buyer New Fortress Energy Inc. on March 16.

Earlier this year, the nation’s largest LNG exporter, Cheniere Energy, completed construction of the sixth processing train at the pacesetting Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana. Cheniere exported 2,018 TBtu from the Sabine Pass and newer Corpus Christi, Texas, export facilities in 2021, a 46% increase over 2020.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects U.S. LNG exports will average 11.3 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) in 2022, up 16% from last year. — J. Redden

the mud and brine tanks or you lose a lot of space.”

As for wind developers eventually moving into the Gulf of Mexico, Chett Chiasson, executive director of Port Fourchon, sees no compatibility issues with traditional oil and gas assets.

“It is my position and that of my board of commissioners that moving forward

Cheniere Energy Inc.

Vineyard, Mass., remains on track for a 2023 start-up. A consortium of Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is developing the 800 MW commercial-scale project.

The Interior Department completed its environmental review of the Carolina Long Bay lease sale proposal in late March. The lease sale won approval and a wind energy auction for two leases — one offshore North Carolina and one offshore South Carolina — is scheduled for May 11.

it will take an all-of-the-above approach, including the development and use of offshore wind, to meet the energy needs of this country,” said Chiasson, who is also executive director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission. “Furthermore, Port Fourchon is positioned perfectly to meet and exceed those needs as a service supply port.”

39

BOATS & GEAR Workforce Development

Help Wanted

Plenty of opportunities at Maine Maritime’s Fall Career Fair in 2021.

By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

T

o say the last two years have been tough would be a mild description of Covid’s impact on Florida Marine Transporters in Mandeville, La., a company with over 100 towboats, 250 tank barges and 350 dry barges that’s actively engaged in inland and coastal transportation.

“It affected us a lot,” said Timmy Callais, Florida Marine’s vice president operations, dry cargo, while adding that the situation “has gotten better.”

Callais said the Covid outbreak led to older members of the company’s workforce electing to stay home, and they haven’t been coming back. Some took early retirement, and some went looking for different jobs, “instead of riding the boats.”

Callais said others were lured away from working on inland waterway vessels by government stimulus checks.

“That’s what killed us; [We] had people that went home to get that and stayed home.” The effect was immediate, he said, because “the workforce in the maritime industry is very slim and it’s hard to get young people involved in our industry.”

40

BED JUMPERS Florida Marine has recruiters out trying to replenish the company’s workforce and operates a training school for those Callais refers to as green hands. “They stay on campus for two weeks, like they are riding the boat,” he said. “They don’t go home at night. They cook and clean and do the chores they would be doing if riding the boat.”

Are there any incentives that have worked to help retain experienced crews or bring in new hires? “Not really,” Callais said. “Right now it’s money, not who has the newest barges or the newest boats. It’s a big shortage with people just bouncing around from one company to another for more money.

You get them, then the next guy that pays more, they jump.

It’s a price war.” Callais has a name for those who chase the money: he calls them bed jumpers. Whoever pays the highest price that’s where the bed jumpers end up.

That money game makes it difficult for a company like Florida Marine Transporters because, as Callais noted, “the rates don’t support our throwing all the money out there.”

One part of the transportation business that Callais feels can currently come up with the money is the grain industry. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Maine Maritime Academy

Employees have the upper hand in the current maritime work environment.

“That’s hot now,” he said in mid-March.

“Those companies can afford to pay them money.” However, the grain business is a seasonal market and when it slows down boats are tied up and crews sent home. “At Florida Marine we run all the time,” he emphasized.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Callais, summing up the impact of Covid on the coastal and inland marine transportation systems.

“Started as a deck hand, worked my way up to the pilothouse, was captain out on the waters for 20 years, and I have never ever seen it like this.”

Ken Hocke

Workforce Development

BOATYARDS Shipbuilding is a different sector of the marine industry but one facing some of the same issues as Florida Marine.

Aaron Obregon is with the Phoenix Labor Group in Ocean Springs, Miss., which provides contract labor services to shipyards for skilled workers such as

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

“Green hands” at Florida Marine’s training center live there while they train.

marine electricians and TIG welders.

The Phoenix Labor Group hires employees and then rents them out to shipyards, where they are under the shipyard’s supervision. Obregon doesn’t feel the Covid outbreak affected

the companies in the shipbuilding trade that Phoenix Labor Group works with as much as it did other maritime industries.

While he didn’t see a big slowdown, “we did see people leave because they felt they didn’t have to work.” That was mainly due to government stimulus checks during the Covid crisis. After shipyard workers left it was “hard getting them back because they could make a similar amount of money without working.”

In addition, Obregon said, “There’s been a slow but steady surge of work all over the Gulf, East Coast and other places. That’s been one of the reasons lately. We’ve had trouble recruiting.” It was true through most of 2021 and into the beginning of 2022.

As a general rule, shipyards pay more than other commercial trades, though for some time those wages were stagnant. However, in the past few months,

41

BOATS & GEAR Workforce Development some shipyards have increased wages.

More money and the surge in work opportunities results in the same problem Florida Marine Transporters is facing; it encourages the group of skilled workers that tend to chase the dollar — who stay for weeks or months with one company and then move on.

It’s “an issue we face but not a major issue,” said Obregon. Still, it’s a bigger problem now with the surge in work opportunities, making it harder to find skilled shipyard workers willing to stay with a company and not move on.

Obregon said a long-term labor issue facing shipyards not directly traced to Covid is the dwindling of the skilled trade force. “The consensus is there’s just not enough warm bodies coming into the trade,” he said.

To improve its recruiting chances, the Phoenix Labor Group “has definitely expanded its digital footprint toward the end of the Covid surge. It’s now much

bigger and that has helped tremendously,” Obregon said.

MAINE SOLUTION One solution to the marine transportation sector’s hiring problems was on display in spring 2021 at the Maine Maritime Academy’s graduation in Castine, Maine, where, if you were a graduating senior your chances of landing a job in the maritime world were exceedingly good. “Ninety percent, or just under 200 seniors, got jobs, and not a single student was in my office last summer asking for help to get a job,” said Deborah Harman, Maine Maritime Academy’s commercial ship’s coordinator.

The outlook for this spring’s graduates is equally encouraging. In midMarch Harman said a dozen companies would be coming “in the next four weeks” to recruit seniors. “It’s back to normal,” she said. Additionally, Maine

Take us with you on the go!

Maritime Academy’s fall career fair had what Harman called a “nice turnout.”

This year has been “the best year for that — attendance of recruiters,” she said.

That’s opposed to the previous two years when no more than four or five companies showed up for spring recruitment. During the worst periods of the Covid epidemic, “a lot of companies really reined it in and cut back,” Harman said. “They held back and kept their own crews.”

Harman noted that one of the incentives offered by recruiters was giving students “the time off they were looking for” once hired. She feels the original salary offers must have been “fairly decent, because when the pay is down, we’ll see people applying to different things, moving around. We haven’t seen a lot of that yet.”

Many students took jobs with companies operating offshore.

Our team has been hard at work creating some new features to add to the WorkBoat brand family.

Download our new mobile apps to see what we have been up to!

Workboat News • Browse news and read the latest from voices in the industry • Download full issues of WorkBoat Magazine for offline reading • Read the latest from our brand partners, and so much more

Search WorkBoat in your App Store or use your mobile device camera to scan this QR code!

42

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

SAVE the DATE! Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 2022 edition of the largest commercial marine tradeshow in North America.

NOVEMBER 30 DECEMBER 2, 2022 NEW ORLEANS Morial Convention Center, Halls B, C, D, E & F

Produced by

Presented by

BRIAN GAUVIN PHOTO

PORT OF CALL Employment, Equipment & Services

BOAT

EMPLOYMENT

FOR SALE OR CHARTER

NO W Accepting Applications!

SHORE OFFSHORE SERVICES Has Immediate Openings!

800 hp push boat for sale or charter.

Can charter bare boat or with crew.

Call for price- 912-213-9228

EMPLOYMENT

• Tug Captain (Domestic) • AB and OS Deckhands • Unlicensed Deck Engineers At Weeks Marine, we recognize our greatest resource is our employees!

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

www.weeksmarine.com/careers

**NOW HIRING**  Parts

& Service Sales Representative

 Service

Coordinator

 Technical

Support Representative

 Diesel

Technician

For full job descriptions go to:

https://workboat.com/resources/jobsmarketplace/now-hiring

EOE-Disability/Vet

OFFSHORE POSITIONS WANTED Experienced Utilities, Preps, Bakers & Cooks for offshore. Must have T.W.I.C. Minimum 2 years offshore experience. Must pass drug test.

JPAAD RESOURCES STAFFING Email resumes to: j.padd206@yahoo.com

Contact: Wendy Jalbert To place a port of call ad! wjalbert@divcom.com

EJE DREDGING SERVICE

For More information

CALL 910-443-3026 44

All deck officers must hold valid Vanuatu GMDSS– General Operator’s Certificate (GOC) (IV/2)

Minimum 2 years offshore experience onboard a derrick barge required.

Applicants must have a valid TWIC card.

Dann Ocean Towing 100 Ton - Licensed Mate

Chief Engineer 2000 HP Mate 1600 NC DDE Oiler

VANUATU FLAGGED TUG CREWS:  Able seafarer deck–II/4 or II/5  Chief engineer—III/3  Able seafarer engine—III/4 or III/5

jobs@shoreoffshore.com

DECK & ENGINE

• • • • •

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 QMED/OILER

Email resume to:

HIRING

Seeking (2 ea) for shallow draft hopper dredge “MISS KATIE” assigned to Wanchese NC. All work in coastal NC. Competitive pay with benefits.

                   

Do you love Chicago?

Are you a people person?

Does the chance to say “I’m on a boat” every day make you smile?

America's number one boat tour is looking for motivated people to join our team.

Email Resume to: jobs@cruisechicago.com For full job description go to:

www.workboat.com/resources/jobsmarketplace/100-ton-licensed-mate

NOW HIRING! As our fleet continues to grow, we are looking for experienced wire boat:

- Captain - Mates

- Engineers - AB Deckhands

We Offer:  A company committed to safety  Competitive Day Rates  Equal Time Opportunities  Paid Travel

Apply online: www.dannoceantowing.com Email: hiring@dannoceantowing.com Phone: (813) 251-5100

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

PORT OF CALL

EMPLOYMENT

The New Jersey Maritime Pilot and Docking Pilot Commission The New Jersey Maritime Pilot and Docking Pilot Commission is seeking applicants for the state docking pilot apprenticeship program. The program, which is a prerequisite to a New Jersey license, is open to any United States citizen who meets the requirements listed at N.J.A.C. 16:64-5.3. Full details on the program and the requirements will be included with the application form.

The form may be obtained without charge by writing to: The New Jersey Maritime Pilot and Docking Pilot Commission Attn: Andre Stuckey One Penn Plaza East, 9th Floor Newark, NJ 07105 or by signing onto our website at:

Accepting applications

www.state.nj.us/transportation/maritimepilot.

Applications shall be filed by mail at the above address no later than June 10, 2022.

Selection of apprentices, as needed, will be made from an approved list of qualified applicants authorized and maintained by the Commission for a two-year period. The list will be developed on the basis of qualifications provided in the application, interview process and under the applicable laws and regulations of the State of New Jersey. Selections will be made without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sex, or liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States. This program shall be operated on a non-discriminatory basis.

Captains, Engineers & ABs Email your resume and credentials to:

jobs@tradewindtowing.com www.tradewindstowing.com (No phone calls please)

THE RIVER IS CALLING IMMEDIATE OPENINGS American Queen Voyages™ seeking

3rd Engineers & Chiefs Work aboard the award-winning fleet and enjoy all the comforts the inland waterways offer.

COMPETITIVE WAGES STARTING AT $500, UP TO $750 FOR CHIEFS PER DAY • 401K • Short Rotations, 4 weeks on 4 weeks off • Comprehensive Benefits

• Sailing close to home means convenient travel to and from the boat, cell coverage and internet, easy access to medical services and more

Your Voyage Begins Today www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

45

PORT OF CALL Employment, Equipment & Services

EMPLOYMENT

WE ARE HIRING!

Master and Mates of Towing (min 200T) Licensed Engineers—Deck Engineers AB's and OS Northstar Marine has been serving the professional marine industry since 1990. We provide a variety of marine related services including, barge and vessel rentals, lift boat services, marine spill response, hydrographic & geophysical survey support, offshore wind and diving services to both the public and private sectors.

SE EK IN G QUA LI FIE D & E X PE RI ENC ED PER SO NNE L to work on our subsea construction fleet.

AVAILABLE POSITIONS

              

Please submit resume to:

Jobs@nstarmarine.com

Master Senior Chief Officer Chief Officer Second Officer Chief Engineer Second Engineer Third Engineer Fourth Engineer Electro-Technical Officer Electrician Instrument Technician Bosun Able Seafarer Able Seafarer (Engine) Welder

              

Crane Operator Crane Technician Materials Coordinator Chief Pipelay Engineer Fitter Technician Supervisor Hydraulic Technician PLC Technician Electrical Technician Mechanical Technician Pipelay Operator Deck Mechanic Deck Coordinator Offshore Const Manager SR Offshore Const Supervisor

              

Offshore Const Supervisor Offshore Operations Engineer Deck Supervisor Rigging Supervisor Assistant Rigging Supervisor Rigger (incl Lead rigger) Rigger Welder ROV Superintendent ROV Senior Supervisor ROV Supervisor ROV Senior Pilot Technician ROV Pilot Technician HSE Advisor Medic Administrator Offshore Administrator

Send resumes to:

offshorevesseljobs@technipfmc.com

Place your EMPLOYMENT ad!

Contact: Wendy Jalbert / wjalbert@divcom.com

Seeking fleet deckhands 3 locations

Waggaman, LA - Vacharie, LA - Destrehan, LA ADM is seeking a full time laborer to work as a deckhand under the direction of a Captain on a tug boat at our American River Transportation Company (ARTCo) fleeting locations Complete benefits package, including 401K/ESOP Pension, Health, Life, Vision and Dental Insurance For job description go to:

https://www.workboat.com/resources/jobs-marketplace/seeking-fleet-deckhands

46

Please visit our website to apply:

www.adm.com/careers www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

PORT OF CALL

EMPLOYMENT

LAW

SEEKING MARITIME INSTRUCTOR Instructor/Trainer to teach STWC and other maritime courses Must have minimum 200 Ton Masters license or equivalent military experience.

Full time or part time- days or evenings Competitive pay.

Call or email resume at:

904-766-4797

information@maritimeschool.org

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

MARINE GEAR / SUPPLIES / SERVICES

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 2022 • WorkBoat

www.workboat.com/resources/jobs-marketplace You'll also find Marine Gear, Equipment, Services, and more in our Marketplace.

47

PORT OF CALL Employment, Equipment & Services

MARINE GEAR / SUPPLIES / SERVICES

MARINE MACHINING & MANUFACTURING 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 PH. 586-791-8800

33475 Giftos Dr., Clinton Township, MI 48035 ◼

www.marinemachining.com - www.aquamet.com

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

THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL

for removing coatings and rust

www.inmarsolutions.com 

info@inmarsolutions.com

(225) 644-7063

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

48

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

PORT OF CALL

MARINE GEAR / SUPPLIES / SERVICES Heated Work Boat Cabin Glazing

Keel Coolers

Electrically Heated Interlayers

Trouble free marine engine cooling since 1927!

For estimates please call: 724-256-9151

www.hotlineglassusa.com

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

MB Brokerage Co. HOSS Winch Division

220 Ton Mobile Boat Hoist • Marine Travelift brand; model 200 CII • upsized from standard 32’x30’ model to 34’ inside clear • height x 34’ inside clear width, max 30’ vessel width • Bought new in 2009, in excellent operating condition • Master Marine, Bayou La Batre, Alabama • $595,000 USD As is where is • Buyer arrange and pay for relocation.

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

cgonsoul@gmail.com

850-255-5266 www.HossWinch.com

For purchase inquiries: s.roppoli@mastermarineinc.com

Now Manufacturing and Installing Fire Retardant Bunk Curtains

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

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

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

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

49

PORT OF CALL Employment, Equipment & Services

MARINE GEAR / SUPPLIES / SERVICES

36-inch Diameter Modular Plastic Pontoons The Best Idea Since the Indian Canoe

 1992 S/N 2808-299

 Width increased to 38’  Located in Freeport Texas 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

 As is, buyer arrange disassembly and transportation For purchase inquires:

mwoods@gandhtowing.com

FOR SALE

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

This LARC is in very good condition.

USCG certified for 27 passengers.

Certificate is not active.

Many upgrades.

Toll Free: 877-456-2531

www.plasticpontoon.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 50

$175,000

LARC-V FOR SALE Family owned for 18 years

Call Capt Shane Steward

941-650-9491

Replaced the Cummings 555 with a Cat 3306 Replaced all 4 hubs with new manufactured hubs.

Replaced all 4 rims and brandnew tires. Two of the hubs and all 4 tires have less than 20 miles on them.

New seats stored and ready for use.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

PORT OF CALL

MARINE GEAR / SUPPLIES / SERVICES

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

9kW - 550kW Gensets LOWEST COST OF OWNERSHIP MORE COPPER = LOWER OPERATING TEMPS & LESS FUEL CONSUMPTION

ured by

ct Manufa

t

uipmen

MER Eq

CUSTOM SPECS AVAILABLE

800.777.0714

Locate a dealer www.merequipment.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX Ahead Sanitation Systems Inc . . . . . . . 41 Airmar Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 All American Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 BMT Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Coast Guard Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 David Clark Company Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Duramax Marine LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CV3 Furuno USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 International WorkBoat Show . . . . . 2,43 Karl Senner, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CV4 Laborde Products Inc . . . . . . . . . . . Cvr, 5 Lubriplate Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Maritime Partners LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 McDermott Light & Signal . . . . . . . . . . 35 Metalcraft Marine Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 MTU - A Rolls-Royce solution . . . . . .CV2 North River Boats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Panolin America Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Pacific Marine Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Research Products/Incinolet. . . . . . . . 36 RIBCRAFT USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 R M Young Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Rouses Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 R W Fernstrum & Company . . . . . . . . . . 6 Subsalve USA Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Tradepoint Atlantic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Transport Products and Service Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 TriCab USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Trimaco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Willard Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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

BARGE PUMPS

IMO ROTARY SCREW ASPHALT PUMPS BYRON JACKSON TURBINE PUMPS

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

BLACKMER ROTARY GEAR PUMPS

Barges | Boats | Cranes Vessel Chartering Services

OUR 110TH YEAR

Chris Gonsoulin, Owner (850) 255-5266

DUVIC’S PUMPS

cgonsoul@gmail.com

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

www.mbbrokerage.net www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

51

LOOKS BACK MAY 1962

• The Holiday, a new 70' sightseeing vessel with a 22' beam, 8.5" draft and carrying capacity of 350 passengers, has joined the fleet operated by Seattle Harbor Tours. The boat is powered by a 400-hp Waukesha diesel which gives the boat a cruising speed of 10 knots.

Electric power is produced by a GM 20-kW light plant.

• The first of two new 350' passen-

ger and cargo vessels for Northland Navigation Co. Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia., is under construction at Burrard Drydock Co. Ltd., North Vancouver. The new boats, scheduled to begin service early in 1963, will each be powered with a single StorkWerkspoor diesel, rated at 4,200 hp at 150 rpm.

• The Houston Division of Todd

Shipyards Corp. completed two new 248'x50'x11' heated asphalt barges for Asphalt Barge Corp.

MAY 1972

• Federal Barge Lines Inc., St. Louis, has added the 5,300-hp Tom Talbert to its fleet. The new towboat, designed and built by the St. Louis Division of Pott Industries Inc., is named for Thomas W. Talbert, chairman and president of United Barge Co. Federal and United are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Pott Industries, of which Talbert is also a director. The Tom Talbert has St. Louis Ship's hydrodyne hull and measures 168'x40'x11' with a normal draft of 8'. The boat is heavily

framed longitudinally and transversely with the aft deck raised to provide additional strength to the stern.

• The U.S. House of Representatives has passed its Public Works Committee's water pollution control bill, HR11897, after amending the measure, to eliminate the federal preemption provision with respect to the control of watercraft waste. The amendment also gives states the right to prohibit any vessel discharge.

MAY 1982 • Delivery was expected this month on a 45' tug for Layne Dredging Co., Tampa, currently under construction at Atlantic Marine Inc., Ft. George Island, Fla. The twin screw tug, Jonnie C., is the second vessel built at Atlantic Marine for Layne Dredging. The first, Patrick L., was delivered 17 years ago and was the first boat ever built by Atlantic Marine. Power on the Jonnie C. will come from a pair of Detroit Diesel 52

6-71 engines, rated at 235 hp each.

• J&S Marine Services, Brazoria, Texas, has delivered the 40' crewboat Bobcat to Exxon Oil for use in servicing the oil company's rigs in Trinity Bay, near Galveston. Bobcat represents a joint venture involving J&S and Steward & Stevenson Inc. The boat employs a pair of Detroit Diesel 8V71 main engines, linked to Michigan Wheels 28/28, 4-bladed propellers. www.workboat.com • MAY 2022 • WorkBoat

Duramax Marine® Engineered to Perform.

Since 1895.

Made in USA

Duramax Marine® is the world leader in waterlubricated 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

Engineered to Perform. Since 1895.

p: 440.834.5400 f: 440.834.4950