WorkBoat September 2020

Ferries • Maritime Academies • Winches ®

IN BUSINESS ON THE COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS

SEPTEMBER 2020

Retrievers A close-up look at launch and recovery systems.

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ON THE COVER

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An MK IV over-the-horizon (OTH) RIB approaches the stern ramp SEPTEMBER 2020 • VOLUME 77, NO. 9

of the Coast Guard cutter Stratton. U.S. Coast Guard photo

FEATURES 16 Focus: Academy Blues Academies have to be creative when arranging sea time for their cadets during Covid-19.

20 Vessel Report: Storm Riders The coronavirus pandemic hits ferry ridership hard.

30 Cover Story: Full Recovery Virtual symposium discusses the ins and outs of launch and recovery systems.

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BOATS & GEAR 24 On the Ways • Second of three 4,500-passenger Ollis-class ferries for Staten Island Ferry launched at Eastern Shipbuilding in June • Another pilot boat for Louisiana’s Associated Branch Pilots • First of three 6,000-hp towboats from C&C Marine and Repair for Hines Furlong Line • Bisso Towboat to build another 6,008-hp ASD tractor tug at Main Iron Works • Bollinger Shipyards delivers 40th 154' fast response cutter to the Coast Guard • VT Halter Marine awarded $981,000 contract to conduct industrial studies for the Navy’s T-AGOS-class surveillance ship • Blount Boats to build 90' icebreaker/buoy tender for the state of Maryland • All American Marine launches second of two 78' aluminum cats for Great Western Attractions

36 Deck Duty There are several new winch options available for vessel owners.

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AT A GLANCE 8 8 9 10 11 12 13

On the Water: How could we not see this coming? — Part III. Captain’s Table: Where’s my TWIC discount?

Energy Level: More remote operations?

WB Stock Index: WorkBoat stocks jump 6% in July.

Inland Insider: Tank barge deliveries up through June.

Insurance Watch: What’s included in my commercial hull coverage?

Legal Talk: Covid-19 cruise line lawsuit dismissed.

NEWS LOG 14 14 14 14 14

Covid-19 sinks NOAA’s plans for Northeast fisheries surveys.

CDC extends no-sail order for cruise ships.

DHS arrests 19 immigrants at Bollinger Shipyards.

ACBL CEO Mark Knoy to retire.

TWIC card holders can now access TSA PreCheck at airports.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

DEPARTMENTS 2 6 40 47 48

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

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Editor’sWatch

Sea time during Covid-19

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ovid-19 has thrown a wrench into the U.S. educational system. Colleges and universities have had to scramble since the pandemic began in the spring, dealing with shuttered campuses, remote learning and virtual graduation.

The same holds true for U.S. maritime academies, where cadets and midshipmen must earn sea time to qualify for Coast Guard licenses to graduate and be eligible for shipboard jobs.

In this month’s issue, Betsy Haggerty covers the subject in her report that begins on page 16 (“Academy Blues”). In the story, Betsy reports that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and the six state maritime schools asked students to vacate campuses in mid-March and do distance learning until the end of the semester, effectively canceling hands-on classes and delaying the sea time necessary to earn credentials.

“Like the other academies, we realized that with the pandemic raging we could not put 250 students on a ship and call at multiple ports the way we usually do,” said Mark Coté, acting provost and engineering professor at Maine Maritime Academy. So the academies got creative and planned alternative sea-time programs.

This included Marad taking advantage of an unusual opportunity. The T/S Kennedy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s 540' training ship, had completed required maintenance at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., and needed to be sailed north. Marad turned the voyage into a training cruise for 44 cadets and midshipmen from four maritime academies — Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime,

David Krapf, Editor in Chief

Cal Maritime and USMMA — the first time cadets from multiple schools had trained together.

It gave the cadets more than a month of sea time and the small size of the student and faculty on board allowed for social-distance berthing. “Everyone said they had an amazing experience,” Coté said, “because they got to do things they would not typically be able to do. It was more hands-on than usual.”

All of the academies used innovative approaches including pier-side and short cruises to meet the goal of ensuring cadets had the ability to graduate.

dkrapf@divcom.com

WORKBOAT® (ISSN 0043-8014) is published monthly by Diversified Business Communications and Diversified Publications, 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 1348, Mandeville, LA 70470.

Annual Subscription Rates: U.S. $39; Canada $55; International $103. When available, extra copies of current issue are $4, all other issues and special issues are $5. For subscription customer service call (978) 671-0444. The publisher reserves the right to sell subscriptions to those who have purchasing power in the industry this publication serves. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, ME, and additional mailing offices. Circulation Office: 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. From time to time, we make your name and address available to other companies whose products and services may interest you. If you prefer not to receive such mailings, please send a copy of your mailing label to: WorkBoat’s Mailing Preference Service, P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WORKBOAT, P.O. Box 1792, Lowell, MA 01853. Copyright 20 18

by Diversified Business Communications.

Printed in U.S.A.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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www.workboat.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF

David Krapf dkrapf@divcom.com

SENIOR EDITOR

Ken Hocke khocke@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Kirk Moore kmoore@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

ART DIRECTOR

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

Doug Stewart dstewart@divcom.com

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

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

Why did MetalCraft Marine select the David Clark Digital Communication System?

Series 9100 Digital Communication System is installed on the new 10M Fast-Attack Interceptor demo boat from MetalCraft Marine.

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My experience with David Clark was extremely positive.

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Protect operations from cyberattacks

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he cyber landscape in the Marine Transportation System (MTS) is continually evolving. Computer systems and technology play an increasing role in systems, equipment, and operations throughout the maritime environment.

While advances in systems and technologies can improve the efficiency and scope of operations, there is a heightened risk of increased threats posed by malicious actors. These cyberactors have demonstrated a willingness to conduct malevolent activity against maritime critical infrastructure by exploiting internet-accessible operational technology (OT) assets. Internet-accessible OT assets are prevalent across maritime critical infrastructure. Legacy OT systems that were not designed to defend against current threats and ac-

tivities, along with a failure to take necessary actions to protect newer systems and equipment, create opportunities for vulnerabilities and exploitation.

The nature of maritime operations lends itself to interactions with multiple actors and touch points for cyberintrusion, necessitating a continually increasing focus on mitigating cyberthreats. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released an alert, “Recommend Immediate Actions to Reduce Exposure Across Operational Technologies and Control Systems,” which is directly relevant to the MTS. The maritime sector heavily utilizes the technologies discussed in this alert and the recommendations in it can help reduce cyber risk.

The Coast Guard continues to work with maritime stakeholders to develop guidance, policy, and recommended best practices. Recently released

policy includes Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-20. This NVIC provides guidance to Maritime Transportation Security Act-regulated facility owners and operators on complying with requirements to assess, document, and address computer system and network vulnerabilities.

As always, any potential threat to the cybersecurity of your vessel or facility should be taken seriously, and breaches of security or suspicious activities resulting from cyberincidents should be reported to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802. Your willingness to comply and report in a timely manner helps the U.S. respond quickly and effectively and makes the maritime critical infrastructure safer.

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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On the Water

How could we not see this coming? — Part III

T

By Joel Milton

Joel Milton works on towing vessels.

He can be reached at joelmilton@ yahoo.com.

o the casual observer it might seem that this example of the U.S. being woefully unprepared for responding to a predictable pandemic is simply another case of society’s blindness to a familiar risk. Nobody saw it coming.

But what if that wasn’t really true? What if somebody, or possibly quite a few somebodies, did in fact see it coming? And what if this person or persons tried to take actions so that the U.S. would be much better prepared to deal with it?

In fact, that’s exactly what happened. Former President George W. Bush was one of those people who “saw it coming.” It turns out that President Bush read John Barry’s “The Great Influenza” in the summer of 2005, in the turbulent wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Alarmed by historical facts, Bush pushed hard that fall to make large-scale preparedness for the next major pandemic a national priority.

But, much like the captain of a ship, the former

Captain’s Table Where’s my TWIC hardware store discount?

L

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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ast month, the Coast Guard called and said that they had some exciting news for me. My mind quickly began to mull over the possibilities of what this exciting news was.

The caller told me that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had finally ruled that the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) can now be accepted as a government ID. I was extremely disappointed. As many say, this was a gigantic “nothing burger.”

For years, we heard that you could use your TWIC card at the airport to quickly get through security. That was false. Another rumor was that you could use your TWIC to get a discount at one of the major hardware stores such as Home Depot.

That also was false. We were told that all transportation workers in the U.S. would be required to have a TWIC. That was false. Only mariners and truckers that enter ports must have a TWIC. Over the years I have criticized TWIC, saying it is one of the most ineffective TSA programs.

president quickly realized the limits of his power.

Specifically, the significantly limited impact a president has on an enormous, unwieldy and generally unresponsive bureaucracy such as the federal government. It can be argued that the unresponsive nature of our government was an intentional characteristic born of the fear and loathing the Founding Fathers had of monarchy and mob rule.

Or, perhaps, Congress, being a co-equal branch of government, ultimately decides exactly how the public’s money will be spent and is under no obligation to follow the president’s lead. Regardless, there are consequences that arise from it.

It turns out that President Bush’s apparent obsession was not entirely shared by the rest of government and, with all other developing crises, new demands and shifting priorities, ultimately never got the funding and follow through necessary for his vision to be fully realized.

In the prescient words of Mike Leavitt, who served as secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush administration and worked hard to prepare the U.S. for the inevitable, “In advance of a pandemic, anything you say sounds alarmist. After a pandemic starts, everything you’ve done is inadequate.” And so here we are.

Security aboard vessels is extremely important to me and to other vessel operators. That is why my company uses the Alternate Security Program (ASP) developed by the Passenger Vessel Association and approved by the Coast Guard.

TWIC was never intended to verify identities or provide access control, except maybe at U.S. ports. It was intended to root out the bad guys through background checks before they got on vessels. Many of my employees have been with me for many years. I know them and their families. For them, obtaining a TWIC is an inconvenience and unnecessary expense.

At the very beginning, TSA had a tremendous opportunity to get everyone in lock step by making the TWIC card the only credential that a mariner needed to carry by adding mariner licenses and endorsements to the card. That fell on deaf ears. So, mariners ended up with a TWIC that has little value to anyone outside of TSA and still costs each of us $140.

Is it possible that the TSA could abolish this program if a vessel operator had an ASP or a Coast Guard-approved security program? It could save companies thousands of dollars.

If not, can I at least use my TWIC card to get a discount at my local hardware store? www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

WORKBOAT GOM INDICATORS

Energy Level

More remote operations?

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MAY '20 WTI Crude Oil 32.80 Baker Hughes Rig Count 12 IHS OSV Utilization 25.4% U.S. Oil Production (millions bpd) 11.4

Sources: Baker-Hughes; IHS Markit; U.S. EIA WTI Price U.S. Prod*Estimated 1000s bopd

JULY '20 41.46 12 19.4% 11.1*

JULY '19 55.87 25 30.6% 12.2

GOM Rig Count Util. Rate %

GOM RIG COUNT

By Jim Redden, Correspondent

GOM Rig Count

I

t’s difficult to find any blue skies amid the coronavirus pandemic, but it could spur future advancement of one of the offshore industry’s long-sought objectives: full-scale remote operations.

For most of 2020, teleworking, or work from home, has become the new normal. This experience has exposed both the effectiveness and the associated cybersecurity risks of existing remote collaboration tools. Still to be answered in the eventual aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic is the subsequent effect on the continued development of enabling technologies for more secure remotely controlled operations.

“As a cyber researcher, I’m anxious to see how this is going to develop,” said Dr. Mate Csorba, global line leader, cybersecurity, for the Digital Solutions Group of DNV GL. “Will it accelerate now, or decelerate because of budget cuts? You can make it secure, but it will be expensive.”

As end users, operators would ultimately foot the bill, but developing the enabling digitization technologies that drive remote operations largely falls on service companies, like Halliburton and Schlumberger. “In fact, both Schlumberger and Halliburton noted in their earnings calls for the first quarter of 2020 that the current downturn could accelerate the adoption of digital technologies,” Daniel Holmedal, an analyst with Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, said in May. “This is especially true for technologies that enable remote operations, which remains an area where great cost efficiencies could be realized with more efficient operations.”

Given today’s commodity price environment and limited prospects for low-hanging cost savings opportunities, Holmedal said the industry is looking more toward digital technologies to realize cost efficiencies. For operators

JUNE '20 40.60 11 22.6% 11.0*

30 25 20 15

7/19

7/20

10 5 0

1

2

3

4

5

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with reasonably sound balance sheets, low oil prices makes it a good time to experiment with new well construction technologies, as the cost of implementation is equally low. “Growth (in digi-

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tal technologies) seems to have mostly centered around remote work, while technologies focusing on optimization of drilling and production seem to have hit some speed bumps,” he said.

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WorkBoat Composite Index Stocks gain over 6% in July

T

he WorkBoat Composite Index began the third quarter with a bang, with stocks rising over 6%, or 106 points. For the month, gainers topped losers by more than 2-1.

Tidewater Inc. was up over 11%.

Quintin Kneen, president and CEO of the offshore service vessel operator,

discussed the pandemic and its impact on mariners during the company’s second-quarter earings call on July 31.

“There are over 50,000 ships around the world of all different types and today an estimated 200,000-plus mariners are stranded on vessels and in need of repatriation. I’m taking a moment

STOCK CHART

Source: FinancialContent Inc. www.financialcontent.com

INDEX NET COMPARISONS 6/30/20 7/31/20 CHANGE Operators 259.79 270.36 10.57 Suppliers 2,862.40 3,062.05 199.64 Shipyards 2,660.42 2,815.98 155.56 WorkBoat Composite 1,742.73 1849.10 106.37 PHLX Oil Service Index 33.38 35.61 2.23 Dow Jones Industrials 25,812.88 26,428.32 615.44 Standard & Poors 500 3,100.29 3,271.12 170.83 For the complete up-to-date WorkBoat Stock Index, go to: workboat.com/resources/tools/workboat-composite-index/

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PERCENT CHANGE 4.07% 6.97% 5.85% 6.10% 6.68% 2.38% 5.51%

on today’s call to highlight their plight, as they appear to have been forgotten by governments rushing to address the more obvious concerns manifested by the pandemic.

“Shipping moves 80% of the global commerce and is an essential part of keeping the global economic recovery going. So my call to action is this: Please join us in supporting the formal recognition of these individuals as key workers. This would exempt mariners from travel restrictions and enable them to travel to and from ships. Groups like the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Maritime Organization, the International Labor Organization and the International Transport Workers’ Federation are all championing this issue. To the extent that you can help our cause, I urge you to do so.”

— David Krapf

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

Inland Insider Tank barge deliveries on pace to beat 2019

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ew inland tank barge deliveries in 2020’s first half has outpaced deliveries for the same period in 2019.

Barge operators on the Mississippi River and its tributaries took delivery of 78 new inland tank barges during the first half of this year, according to River Transport News’s midyear survey of new inland tank barge delivery and vessel documentation activity. “In terms of hulls, these deliveries were up 56% from the 50 inland tank barges delivered during the first half of 2019. Inland tank barges delivered in the first half of 2020 represented 1.624 million bbls. of aggregate capacity, up 47.3% from the 1.103 million bbls. of new inland capacity delivered during the comparable year-ago period,” RTN said.

While the numbers aren’t that impressive, it may signal that the industry has learned a valuable lesson about overbuilding. Industry orders peaked about five years ago, fueled by low steel prices and favorable investment terms.

Then the bottom fell out of the coal industry and the energy downturn set in. There were too many barges and not enough demand.

The drastic drop in demand forced the oldest and largest inland shipyard in the U.S., Jeffersonville, Ind.-based Jeffboat, to close its doors after more than a century of operation. Other shipyards were affected too.

Through June of this year, most new barges delivered were 30,000-bbl. bottoms. Forty of them were delivered in the six-month period, compared to 27 during the first half of 2019.

Arcosa Marine Products was still in the initial ramp-up stage of restarting production at its Madisonville, La., shipyard during the first half of 2019.

The shipyard delivered its first new tank barge to Houston-based E Squared Marine Service LLC last July, then went on to deliver 66% of the industry’s 30,000-bbl. inland tank barges for the

remainder of 2019, according to RTN. “Deliveries of new 10,000-bbl. tank barge equipment also increased substantially during the first half of 2020, relative to the year-ago period, with new deliveries increasing to 31 from 17. Even with the substantial year-overyear increase in 10,000-bbl. tank barge deliveries, the pace during the first half of this year was well behind that needed to match last year’s full year delivery total of 83,” RTN said.

As for new hulls, Ingram Barge Co. took delivery of 13 new tank barges during the first half of

By Ken Hocke, 2020, more than Senior Editor any other company. Marathon Petroleum was the top recipient of new inland tank barge equipment during the first half of 2020 in terms of aggregate capacity.

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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Insurance Watch What’s included in my commercial hull coverage?

A

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

s a commercial vessel owner, you have an insurance policy which covers the hull for damage. But besides the dollar amount that your boat is insured for, what else is included?

Here are a few coverages that you should make sure are included in your policy.

Negligence of masters, officers, crew or pilots.

The majority of hull claims are the result of the negligence of a crewmember. Of course, you must do your due diligence and act in good faith, but should something happen because of your actions, then it should be covered.

Negligence of repairers. When a loss is caused by a repairer’s negligence, then under this clause you have coverage. Most likely after you are paid by the insurance company, the company will then subrogate against the repairer for payment.

New for old. You might have a claim that requires replacing items that were not immediately

damaged, but due to a repair, the items need to be replaced. Insurance policies are written to make you whole, not better. Historically, when undamaged parts were replaced due to a repair, that part of the claim was reduced by a third. Today most policies are written new for old without deduction.

Sue and labor. This provides you with extra coverage for the expenses you might incur immediately after your claim for the defense, safeguard and recovery of your vessel. This is an amount equal to the coverage amount that you have for hull coverage and is payable even in the event of a constructive total loss.

Sighting of bottom. Should your vessel strike a submerged object or run aground, the policy will pay to have your boat hauled, even if no damage is discovered. But don’t expect to get the bottom scraped and a new paint job applied. That work is specifically excluded.

Malicious acts or vandalism. This is one area of coverage that is excluded from your policy and should be added back on. We always request this.

There is generally very little additional premium associated with adding this.

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

Insurance Watch Federal court dismisses Covid-19 cruise line lawsuit

S

By Daniel J. Hoerner

Daniel J. Hoerner is a maritime attorneywith Mouledoux, Bland, Legrand & Brackett LLC. He can be reached at 504-595-3000 or dhoerner@mblb. com.

ince the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, litigation was a foregone conclusion. The floodgates have now opened and court dockets are now bursting with lawsuits for wrongful death, personal injury and worker’s compensation claims arising out of the coronavirus global health crisis.

Early into the pandemic, headlines from around the world broadcast the plight of cruise ship passengers who were stuck in foreign ports while under quarantine. Some of those passengers were stricken with the illness, while others were captive, prohibited from disembarking out of concern that they would spread the virus due to their possible exposure to infected passengers. These events led to a wave of claims against the cruise line industry.

However, at least one group of passengers won’t be getting their day in court. A federal court in Los Angeles dismissed a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Line by passengers who were seeking to

recover damages for alleged “emotional distress” caused by fear of exposure to the virus. The plaintiffs in that lawsuit had not contracted Covid-19 while aboard the Grand Princess and, therefore, could not demonstrate any harm attributable to negligence or fault on the part of Carnival.

These dismissed legal claims differ significantly from those by passengers and crew who became ill from Covid-19 while cruising. Those cases are still in litigation and likely will be for years. The passengers whose claims were rejected are typical of suits brought for fear of becoming ill, as the mere worry of contracting a disease is not a viable cause of action in most jurisdictions, including under maritime law. The Carnival case is consistent with the basic legal premise that a party must suffer actual harm or damages before the right to legal recourse is granted. Nonetheless, the dismissal of the lawsuit does not end their claims entirely, as appeals are expected.

The Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating, and pandemic-related litigation will continue to work their way through our legal system for years to come.

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13

SEPTEMBER 2020

NEWS LOG

NEWS BITTS

Covid-19 sinks NOAA’s plans for Northeast surveys cluding 19 scientists and research staff.

— Kirk Moore

NOAA

CDC extends no-sail order for cruise ships The research vessel Henry B. Bigelow.

O

n the heels of delaying its Northeast fisheries observer program this summer, the National Marine Fisheries Service cancelled three planned research surveys for the remainder of 2020 on the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s research vessel Henry B. Bigelow as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

“These are difficult decisions for the agency as we strive to balance our need to maintain core mission responsibilities with the realities and impacts of the current health crisis,” officials at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center said in a statement issued July 10.

“Since March, we have been rigorously analyzing various options for conducting cruises this year and are taking a survey-by-survey, risk-based approach.

After much deliberation, we determined that there was no way to move forward with these surveys while effectively minimizing risk and meeting core survey objectives.”

Plans for survey work in April, May and June were cancelled as the pandemic hit its first peak in the Northeast. The science center had hoped to bring crew back to the fisheries research vessel in early July to begin preparing for the planned late summer and fall surveys.

However, the early July goal for bringing crew back to the ship was cancelled.

The 208.6'×49.2'×19.4' Bigelow, built

by VT Halter Marine and launched in 2005, can carry a crew of up to 39, in14

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he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) extended through Sept. 30 its no-sail order for cruise ships that carry at least 250 overnight passengers and crew in U.S. waters.

The order ties up cruise ships for good reason but is still costing ports that host the vessels a big chunk of revenue.

The order issued in mid-July affects mostly big foreign-flag lines, but U.S.flag operators with smaller vessels have also had trouble restarting cruises after the coronavirus shutdown because of a mix of state and local restrictions.

The CDC’s first no-sail order was issued in mid-March for 30 days then extended in April through July 24. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents the major foreign lines, in June extended the suspension of cruises from U.S. ports until Sept. 15. The CDC said it supports CLIA’s move but because not all operators belong to the trade group it wanted to be sure “that passenger operations on cruise ships do not resume prematurely.”

CDC statistics show that from March 1 through July 10 cruise ships had 2,973 Covid-19 or Covid-like illness cases in addition to 34 deaths. These cases were part of 99 outbreaks on 123 different cruise ships. As of July 3, nine of the 49 ships under the no-sail order had ongoing or were resolving outbreaks.

“Even when only essential crew are on board, ongoing spread of Covid-19 still occurs,” the CDC said. If full-scale sailing resumed, passengers and crew on board would be at increased risk of infection “and those that work or travel on cruise ships would place substantial

HOMELAND SECURITY MAKES 19 ARRESTS AT BOLLINGER SHIPYARDS

T

he Department of Homeland Security showed up at Bollinger Shipyards’ Lockport, La., facility in July and arrested 19 unauthorized immigrants as part of a federal investigation, according to a report from The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/NOLA. com. Fourteen of the 19 workers were processed and released, while the rest were placed in ICE detention, according to the report.

ACBL’S CHIEF TO RETIRE

M

ark Knoy, president and CEO of American Commercial Barge Line Inc., announced in July that he planned to retire to spend more time with his family. He will reportedly leave Jeffersonville, Ind.-based ACBL by year end. “I have wrestled with this decision for the last few years,” Knoy said in an e-mail to employees. “I’ve always desired to leave ACBL in good order, and I think now is the right time.”

TWIC CARD CAN GET HOLDERS THROUGH SECURITY FASTER

T

he Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has expanded TSA PreCheck eligibility to all active Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) holders who are U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or lawful permanent residents. TWIC holders may now use those credentials to obtain TSA PreCheck when taking a flight. For those with active credentials, the benefit is effective immediately.

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

unnecessary risk on healthcare workers, port personnel and federal partners (i.e., Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard), and the communities they return to.” — Dale K. DuPont

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Maritime Academies/Covid-19

Academy Blues

By Betsy Frawley Haggerty, Correspondent

16

W

ith Covid-19 throwing the U.S. educational system into turmoil, colleges and universities have been scrambling since March to deal with shuttered campuses, remote learning, virtual graduations and partial re-openings.

The nation’s seven maritime academies, where cadets and midshipmen must spend time at sea and earn Coast Guard licenses to graduate and be eligible for shipboard jobs, have faced bigger challenges.

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point, N.Y., and the six state maritime schools — California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime), Vallejo; Great Lakes Maritime Academy (GLMA), Traverse City, Mich.; Maine Maritime Acad-

T/S Kennedy, the 540', 15,000-hp training ship assigned to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, needed to be sailed north from Alabama this summer. Marad turned the voyage into a training cruise for 44 cadets and midshipmen from four maritime academies.

emy, Castine; Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay; Texas A&M Maritime Academy, Galveston; SUNY Maritime, Throggs Neck (Bronx), N.Y. — asked students to vacate campuses in mid-March and do distance learning until the end of the semester, effectively canceling hands-on classes and delaying the sea-time necessary to earn credentials. All seven academies and universities are planning to bring students back at least part time for the fall semester, with a combination of online and socially distanced hands-on classes. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Arranging sea time for cadets is challenging during Covid-19.

SUNY Maritime

TRAINING CRUISES Marad took advantage of an unusual opportunity. T/S Kennedy, the 540', 15,000-hp training ship assigned to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, had completed required maintenance at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., and needed to be sailed north. Marad turned the voy-

Maine Maritime Academy

“Like the other academies, we realized that with the pandemic raging we could not put 250 students on a ship and call at multiple ports the way we usually do,” said Mark Coté, acting provost and engineering professor at Maine Maritime. Maine had 50 “Super Seniors” who had completed everything except their last sea term, and the academy wanted to accommodate them, he said. Other academies had similar issues, so the academies got creative and planned alternative shipboard programs.

“It really brought the academies together as we worked through issues, developed best practices and shared what we were doing. This cooperation is one of the most positive things to come out of this pandemic,” Coté said.

The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (Marad) also pitched in, with the USCG extending sea time accommodations and setting up special exam times and locations for the third assistant engineer and third mate licenses that students need in order to graduate and start their careers.

A group of engineering students and faculty from Maine Maritime who had tested negative for Covid-19, boarded the 499', 17,000-hp T/S State of Maine this summer for what the college called a 28-day FAST cruise — FAST because the ship was mostly held fast to a pier while students lived aboard.

age into a training cruise for 44 cadets and midshipmen from four maritime academies — Great Lakes, Maine, California and the USMMA — the first time cadets from multiple schools had trained together. (No students from Mass Maritime were aboard since they had completed their sea-term in the winter, before Covid-19 broke out, and they had fulfilled their sea time requirements and graduated in June.)

“This provided those aboard with more than a month of sea time,” a Marad spokesman said, adding that, “the small size of the student/faculty population allowed for social-distance berthing and practicable compliance with relevant Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.”

This summer, SUNY Maritime students went on a 30-day “Pier Cruise” aboard the 565', 17,250-hp T/S Empire State VI, which remained docked beside the academy at Fort Schuyler.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

The ship returned to Massachusetts on July 23, and the cadets, who had been quarantined together aboard ship, headed back to their respective schools. “Everyone said they had an amazing experience,” Maine Maritime’s Coté said, “because they got to do things they would not typically be able to do. It was more hands-on than usual.”

According to student blogs posted on Maine Maritime’s website, cadets led the anchoring detail multiple times, took control of watches, executed Williamson turns, did real-time navigation and performed routine maintenance.

Meanwhile, 60 Maine Maritime students and 207 cadets from SUNY Maritime embarked on pier-side training cruises in July.

In Maine a group of engineering students and faculty who had tested negative for Covid-19, boarded the 499', 17,000-hp T/S State of Maine for what the college called a 28-day FAST cruise — FAST because the ship was mostly held fast to a pier while students lived aboard. They stood watch as if at sea, worked on mechanical systems, operated and maintained engines and earned the required sea time to obtain their licenses.

Coté said he thinks that all of the Maine students who participated in the FAST cruise and Kennedy transit would take Coast Guard exams in Castine the week of Aug. 10. “If they pass, 17

they will be able to get their degree and license and be ready to start their careers 10 months earlier than if we had not had this special program.”

In New York SUNY Maritime students gathered for a 30-day “Pier Cruise” aboard the 565', 17,250-hp T/S Empire State VI, which remained docked beside the academy at Fort Schuyler. Cadets participated in ship maintenance and repair, watchstanding including bridge-simulation training, navigation/voyage planning and engine watch standing, but they lived on shore in single dormitory rooms for safe distancing.

“Students will get some sea-time credit and complete some required assessments,” director of communication Odalis Mino said. “But upcoming seniors have been delayed by several months and will need to make up the sea time they lost this summer.”

In addition to sending students on the Kennedy transit, GLMA scheduled three, seven-to-nine day training cruises that started in July in local waters with 17 cadets aboard the 224' T/S State of Michigan. All cadets and crew were quarantined and tested before boarding the ship, and stayed aboard, with no shore leave, for the duration of each trip.

This limited program was in place of the school’s normal two-month training cruise. Nevertheless, GLMA Superintendent Jerry Achenbach said, “it will go a long way toward meeting our goal of ensuring cadets have the ability to graduate as per their model schedule.”

The 47 Texas A&M Maritime students aboard the school's 223' training ship General Rudder got more intense seamanship training than they expected during a short summer training cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, when Hurricane Hanna roared through the Gulf with high winds and torrential rain on July 24.

“They navigated around it and everyone was safe, but they have some great sea stories to tell,” Rebecca Watts, the school’s director of communications said. They also earned sea time toward their licenses. All cadets at A&M were 18

Texas A&M Maritime Academy

Maritime Academies/Covid-19

In July, 47 Texas A&M Maritime students took part in a short Summer Sea Term training cruise aboard the school's 223' training ship General Rudder.

scheduled to return to campus on Aug. 19, she said. Covid-19 testing, masks and social distancing were required.

Some classes were scheduled to be offered online but more than 75% of students would have face-to-face classes as well.

In May, California State University announced that most classes on its 23 campuses would be virtual for the fall semester, with some exceptions for limited in-person learning and research.

Cal Maritime was one of the exceptions and students returned in July. “We’re happy to say Cal Maritime is back!

We’re conducting classes in a safe healthy manner while continually monitoring the situation alongside public health and state and local officials,” the college posted on its Facebook page.

USMMA welcomed plebes (freshmen) back to the campus in July and was moving ahead cautiously with offering both online and in-person education, a Marad spokesperson said, who added, “maritime education and training has a significant hands-on component. All academies are using innovative approaches to do just that while observing all the safety protocols.”

JOBS AVAILABLE And once they graduate “jobs are out there,” a Marad official said, “but as the U.S. large-size fleet has shrunk, so have opportunities for bluewater

mariners. At the same time opportunities have opened up in brownwater and green water operations.”

But even where there are jobs, the virus has slowed hiring. “It is not a good environment right now for both seasoned mariners and new folks because companies want to limit people traveling to the ships and keep people whom they know to be virus-free on board. So, it’s a different merchant marine our students are trying to go into,” said Maine Maritime’s Coté.

Capt. Steve Kress, vice president for operations at McAllister Towing, is optimistic that things will change.

“The demand for more movements, construction, arrivals and departures will grow every day as America opens up. This is an essential industry and while Covid threw us a curveball, the industry will rebound with great strength, and 2020 grads will be just fine.”

Kress is bullish about the critical role maritime academy grads can play in the 21st century tugboat industry.

“As tugs become more modern with highly efficient tiered engines, steerable propulsion and automated deck machinery, our crews have become a mix of highly seasoned mariners and new maritime grads. These graduates are the building blocks assisting the transition from traditional towing tugs to the new generation of boats.”

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Ferries

Storm Riders

The coronavirus pandemic suppresses ferry ridership.

T

hroughout the spring ferries were being delivered to operators at a steady clip to replace aging vessels or beef up fleets – or both. And more are on the way to meet what had been growing demand from commuters seeking relief from congested roads or peace and quiet on a getaway island.

But passengers all but vanished in many spots as ferry services were walloped by the coronavirus. Fewer vessels ran, capacities were reduced, crewing was a challenge and delivery timetables changed as ridership plunged in some cases by 80% or more.

Consider these numbers from the two largest ferry markets in the U.S. as Covid-19 spread: • Washington state forecast in February that 1.95 million people would ride its ferries in April.

The actual number was 522,500. Revenue was expected to be $15.2 million. It was $5.3 million.

• Ridership on the Staten Island Ferry, one of the New York City area services, was 261,432 this May, a fraction of the May 2019 total of 2,297,143.

As summer rolled out, operators were adding routes, running more often, juggling schedules and crew, and continuing extensive sanitation regimes. Green initiatives and other projects were on track. Still, it’s a slog back to the robust ferry market of not so long ago.

“Ridership recently hit historic lows. As low as when we first began as a state system in the 1950s,” said Washington State Ferries (WSF) spokesman Ian Sterling.

In late June, WSF was operating two-thirds of its 21 vessels. With 100-150 crew considered high risk, “it is an ongoing challenge to operate even a reduced schedule. We’ve adjusted by reducing the number of boats on several runs which allows us to combine crews when needed,” he said.

The system employs about 1,800 people, most at terminals and on vessels.

A recent fare increase of 2.5% for vehicles and 2% for passengers “was approved pre-pandemic and was designed to meet the system’s then existing fare box recovery goals,” Sterling said, “so it was never meant to make up the current short-

Staten Island Ferry’s Michael H. Ollis and Sandy Ground at Eastern Shipbuilding last year. The Sandy Ground, the second of three 4,500-passenger Ollis-class ferries, was launched at Eastern in late June.

20

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

David Krapf

By Dale K. DuPont, Correspondent

Washington State Ferries

falls.”

WSF has funding to start on one of five 144-car, 1,500-passenger Olympic-class hybrid-electric ferries with high capacity energy storage systems at terminals. The new vessels, originally expected to be delivered in late 2022 by Vigor’s Seattle shipyard, would reduce fuel consumption by up to 95%. Delivery is now expected in late 2023 or early 2024.

Siemens’ design is expected to be done by the end of summer for the conversion of three Jumbo Mark II ferries from diesel to hybrid-electric propulsion — a project using $35 million from the nationwide Volkswagen federal emissions settlement.

A yard has not been chosen yet for work on the first vessel, Tacoma, which should be complete by spring 2022. “We may have a number of options as the work can likely be completed in-water,” Sterling said.

The Puyallup will be the second, due the spring of 2024. Work on the Wenatchee has not been scheduled.

The hybrid timetable has been somewhat affected by the virus “as the design effort relies on contributions from a complex domestic and international supply base, and almost all global businesses have had finite impacts to their operations from the Covid pandemic,” said Vigor spokesman Jill Mackie.

Supply chain issues have affected the Staten Island Ferry as well. Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. (ESG), Panama City, Fla., launched the Michael H. Ollis in November, the first of three new 320'×70'×21'6" double-ended ferries designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, Seattle. The 4,500-passenger vessel was to have been towed to New York harbor in August, but that date has been impacted by the virus, a New York City Department of Transportation spokesman said.

“We don’t know when to expect it.

This Covid situation has put a monkey wrench in things,” said Capt. James C. DeSimone, the ferry system’s chief operating officer.

In late June Eastern launched the

Design work is expected to be completed soon for the conversion of three Washington state Jumbo Mark II ferries from diesel to hybrid-electric propulsion.

second Ollis-class ferry, the Sandy Ground, originally due to be delivered in 2021, with the third in 2022. The ferries will be powered by four EMD 12-710 EPA Tier 4 marine propulsion engines, producing a total of 9,980 hp.

The ferries will replace the Samuel I. Newhouse and Andrew J. Barberi, both commissioned in 1981, and the 55-year-old John F. Kennedy.

COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES Staten Island Ferry and many other operators nationwide have adopted strict health and safety measures.

Passengers must wear face coverings.

Seats are marked off to encourage social distancing. Vessels are rotated in and out of service for cleaning and are continually sanitized. Drivers are encouraged to stay in their vehicles.

NY Waterway, which has been steadily restoring routes, was running ferries and buses at 50% capacity.

The private Weehawken, N.J.-based operator normally handles 10 million passengers a day on its 36 boats that operate on 23 routes.

“No one has ever been through a situation like this before,” said spokesman Pat Smith, but NY Waterway “is a very nimble company.”

A survey by the operator found that more than 97% of North Jersey commuters — 92% ferry commuters — said they expected to resume commuting to New York City once Covid-19 measures are lifted. Forty-one percent of the 2,371 respondents plan to commute five days a week compared to 71% before the quarantine. But 42%

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

expect the frequency to eventually increase.

In May, NY Waterway took delivery of the 599-passenger, 109'×31'×12' Franklin D. Roosevelt, from Yank Marine, Tuckahoe, N.J. Designed by LeMole Naval Architecture in Tuckahoe, the second aluminum ferry is due in October with the final one expected in April.

NYC Ferry, the public system operated by Hornblower, has added to its fleet this year with more on the way.

St. Johns Shipbuilding, Palatka, Fla., delivered two Incat Crowtherdesigned, 354-passenger aluminum catamarans. Halimar Shipyard, Morgan City, La., and Breaux Brothers Enterprises, Loreauville, La., each delivered one of the 354-passenger, 97'1"×27'11"×11'6" ferries.

Another from Gulf Craft LLC was on its way to New York harbor earlier this summer, and NYC Ferry was expecting two additional vessels from Metal Shark. Both have shipyards in Franklin, La. As of late June, NYC Ferry was operating 15 vessels during the week and 17 on the weekend compared to 20 and 21 respectively last year at the same time. The high passenger demand NYC Ferry has experienced since starting operations in 2017 was expected to return post-pandemic.

St. Johns is also in the midst of a four-ferry order for Fisher Island, the ultra-wealthy Miami residential community. The third 152'×52'×12', 150-passenger, 30-vehicle ferry, designed by Elliott Bay Design Group, 21

Fisher Island Club

Ferries

St. Johns Shipbuilding is building four ferries for Fisher Island, the ultra-wealthy Miami residential community. The third ferry is due in September.

is due in September and the fourth in November.

Another private community — Hat Island in Puget Sound — expects to take delivery of a new ferry in October. The 49-passenger, 45'×18'4" semi-displacement catamaran being built at Armstrong Marine USA Inc., Port Angeles, Wash., will replace the

existing 55'×17' Hat Express.

“The ferry was getting a little bit old,” said Kim Gleason, island manager. They thought they’d do better with a smaller, more efficient catamaran. “If we’re getting full, we can add a run.”

The annual passenger load to and from the Port of Everett is about 13,000.

The Texas Department of Trans-

portation (TxDOT) also is building a replacement ferry – this one for the run between Galveston and Bolivar Island.

The 293'×66'×16', 499-passenger, 70-vehicle, double-ended diesel-electric ferry designed by The Shearer Group Inc. (TSGI), Houston, is being built at Gulf Island Shipyards, Jennings, La. Delivery of the ferry, which is 28' longer than the current fleet of six, is scheduled for September 2021.

Two in the fleet – the Gibb Gilchrist, the oldest at 43 years, and John W. Johnson, the youngest at 10 years – are diesel electric.

Safety was the main reason a dieselelectric design was chosen, said Joshua Sebastian, engineering manager with The Shearer Group. In a normal propulsion operation, if you lose the house generator, “you can lose all power to the boat,” he said. With a battery system, the vessel still has full power to safely operate.

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat Ask About our boAt DonAtion ProgrAm USCG photo by pA1 tom SperdUto

T

he first zero-emission, all-electric passenger/vehicle ferry in the U.S. marked its first anniversary this spring after a conversion that cleared a few hurdles. Alabama’s Gee’s Bend Ferry completed its annual COI, “and that was very successful. The vessel has worked as envisioned and is doing it safely,” said Tim Aguirre, general manager, HMS Ferries Inc., which operates the ferry for the Alabama Department of Transportation. “We knew there would be challenges with it.”

Among them was the rural location, which meant the electrical infrastructure had to be improved. “If you’re going to have a speedy charge, they have to have a more robust infrastructure,” he said.

The 95’x42’x5’, 15-vehicle/132-passenger ferry makes five round trips daily across the Alabama River between Gee’s Bend and Camden.

While charging stations are on both sides of the river, the boat was designed so it could charge on just one side. “We have more margin than we could have hoped for,” Aguirre said. Charging takes 20-25 minutes on one side or 10-15 minutes on both sides.

Another challenge was the Coast Guard’s lack of regulations for lithium-ion battery-powered Subchapter T vessels.

“We brought the Coast Guard in right at the beginning,” Aguirre said.

“Glosten (naval architects) did an outstanding job of submitting all of the

C&C

The Gee’s Bend Ferry conversion at Master Marine involved removing four 125-hp engines and adding two battery banks.

HMS Ferries Alabama

FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC FERRY IN THE U.S. REACHES MILESTONE

plans early on. There was a fair amount of give and take.”

Glosten sent the Coast Guard its basic design and what they wanted to do, and the agency replied with what it expects for an equivalent level of safety, said Sean Caughlan, senior marine engineer at Glosten.

Citing increased interest in battery and other new types of stored energy technology, the Coast Guard last October issued design guidance for lithium-ion battery installation on commercial vessels.

“From a design point of view, one of the first challenges we had was how big to make the batteries,” Caughlan said. What’s an appropriate lifetime for batteries on a battery-powered vessel? For a 20-year life, for example, “You’d have to make the batteries much larger than you need.”

They settled on a 10-year life and others are now considering a fouryear life. “You would never make that choice of an engine that only lasts four years,” he said. “Now that the vessel’s operating, I think we got it right.”

Aguirre said, “We can honestly say it’s a zero-emission vessel.”

— D.K. DuPont

MARINE AND REPAIR

Est. 1997

Inland Towboats • Dredges • Tank Barges • Deck Barges • Conversions • Specialized Projects

ALL FABRICATION PERFORMED INDOORS Climate-Controlled, Robotic Barge Blasting & Paint Facility Patent Pending • Licensing Available 701 Engineers Road • Belle Chasse, Louisiana 70037 • (504) 433-2000 • www.ccmrepair.com • sales@ccmrepair.com www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS

On TheWays

ON THE WAYS

Eastern Shipbuilding Group

Second ferry for New York launched at Eastern Shipbuilding

The Sandy Ground, Ground, the second of three new ferries for Staten Island Ferry, was launched at Eastern’s Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla., in June.

I

n late June, Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. (ESG) launched the 320'×70'×21'6" Sandy Ground (Hull 220), the second of three new Ollis-class ferries for the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) Staten Island Ferry Division. The launch took place at Eastern’s Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla. These vessels are the first new class of boats added to the Staten Island Ferry fleet since 2006 and feature modern engines and technology, as well as many of the celebrated features of past Staten Island ferries, including outdoor promenades.

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The new double-ended 4,500-passenger ferries were designed by Elliot Bay Design Group. Each ferry will feature four Tier 4 Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) 12-710 engines with a combined 9,980 hp at 900 rpm. Two of the EMD marine propulsion engines power one Reintjes DUP 3000 P combining gear and one 36 RV6 ECS/285-2 Voith Schneider propeller at each end of the vessel.

Ship’s service power is provided by three Tier 3 marine continuous duty diesel generator sets — Caterpillar C18 driving 480 V, 60 Hz, 3-phase generators rated at 425 kW at 0.8 P.F. at 1,800 rpm. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

— Ken Hocke

Gladding-Hearn delivers pilot boat to Louisiana

D

elta Launch Services, the operating company for the Associated Branch Pilots working out of Venice and Southwest Pass, La., took delivery of the 52'6"×16'11"×4'8" Sea Pilot on July 22.

The Sea Pilot is the sixth Raymond Hunt-designed St. John’s-class launch built for the pilots association by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding since the William H. Johnson and the Nola were built at the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 2003. The Bar Pilot followed in 2007, the Mississippi Delta in 2013 and the Assistant in 2018.

What is it about the St. John’s-class launch that’s made Delta Launch Services stick with the same design for the past 17 years? “The bottom line,” said Peter Duclos, Gladding-Hearn’s president, “is it’s been reliable, safe and a great sea boat in a very challenging environment” at the end of the Mississippi River. That environment comes with “lots of current all the time, silty water, lots of debris, lots of

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding

The Sandy Ground has a 13' draft, a crew of 16, seating for 2,551 passengers, and carries 30,000 gals. of fuel.

The new ferry is ABS classed Maltese Cross A1, Ferry Service, River Service, Maltese Cross AMS Notation, and USCG certified, Subchapter H Passenger Vessel.

Eastern has made great progress but is still recovering from the onslaught of Hurricane Michael which devastated the Florida Panhandle, including Panama City in 2018.

“The launch of this iconic Staten Island ferry marks a significant milestone in the recovery of Bay County and Northwest Florida,” Eastern’s president Joey D’Isernia said in November 2019 when the first Ollis-class ferry in the series, the Michael H. Ollis, was launched.

52'6" pilot boat will operate where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

traffic and good-size ship’s wakes.”

The Sea Pilot’s power package matches that of the Assistant. It consists of a pair of 671-hp Caterpillar C18 Tier 3 main engines matched up with Twin Disc MGX-5136A gears with 2:1 ratios that spin Brunton 5-bladed nibral props. That was enough power to get the Sea Pilot up to 26 knots in sea trials, the same number the Assistant hit during its sea trials.

The Sea Pilot has a crew consisting of a captain and deckhand. In the wheelhouse are six Llebroc pilot seats, but at times some pilots will be standing. That’s because the Sea Pilot is Coast Guard Subchapter-T certified and, like the Assistant, can carry up to 12 passengers for hire, plus the two crew. That allows the Sea Pilot to transport pilots from other pilot associations between different zones, whereas most pilot boats only carry their own pilots. “Though most of the time there will be significantly less than 12,” said Duclos.

Down below in the fo’c’sle are three berths, an enclosed head and a settee.

Both the fo’c’sle and wheelhouse are heated and cooled by three reversecycle air conditioning units. A Northern Lights 12-kW genset provides onboard power.

Pilots disembark onto an incoming vessel via hinged boarding platforms on the roof. If someone should end up

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

in the water, at the stern is a winch operated rotating davit set above a recessed platform for rescue operations.

— Michael Crowley

C&C Marine to deliver new towboat to Tennessee

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n mid-September, C&C Marine and Repair, Belle Chasse, La., is scheduled to deliver the Scarlett Rose Furlong, the first of three identical 6,000-hp, 170'×50'×11'6" towboats for Hines Furlong Line, Nashville, Tenn.

CT Marine, Portland, Maine, designed the towboat, which will be working the Lower Mississippi River.

All three towboats will be powered with triple Tier 3 2,000-hp Cummins QSK60-M diesels that originally were to be matched up with a 160' hull design, based on a 6,600-hp, triple-screw Z-drive towboat CT Marine designed for Marquette Transportation in 2018. But because Hines Furlong “wanted as much as they could get going north and inherently Z-drives cannot push north with the same output as a conventional nozzle boat,” that plan was scrapped, said CT Marine’s owner Christian Townsend.

“We took the Z-drives out and basically redesigned the entire hull,” Townsend said, stretching it out to 170' in the process and dropping the horsepower to 6,000. Now it’s still triple screw but with Reintjes WAF 1173 25

On TheWays

Barry Griffith

gears with 7.429:1 reduction ratios, CT Marine 28SL Kort nozzles and 100" stainless steel props.

Aft of the props are CT Marine’s patented Twin-Diff steering system that’s been in development for the past

the rudders saved 10% to 15% on fuel.

In addition, the shaft and wheel can be pulled without having to deal with the rudders, and “vibration is tremendously reduced and it tremendously increases the steering force.”

The first of three 6,000-hp triple-screw towboats for Hines Furlong Line.

five years. It features double steering rudders behind each wheel. The double rudders have several advantages over conventional steering.

For one, it’s a fuel saver: testing on Ingram Barge Co. towboats showed

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Combining the Twin-Diff steering with the nozzles gives the Scarlett Rose Furlong “our handling characteristics but also the ability to get more out of the boat going north,” said Townsend.

Three 275-kw Cummins gensets provide electrical power. One is basically a spare, though all three will be operating together “so the hours on all three are equal,” said Townsend. If one generator goes down, the vessel’s operation will not be affected.

The entire superstructure is floating with a 2'6" barrier that’s primarily designed to keep noise out of the superstructure.

For a crew of 11 to 12 there are two rooms with bunks and eight private rooms. The engineer’s suite ties into his private office that overlooks the entire engine room. There is also a gym.

Townsend was asked what he thought was innovative about the Scarlett Rose Furlong. “It’s the entire hull form and propulsion design” and calls it the culmination of 50 years of CT Marine.

All together he figures about 30,000 hours went into designing the boat.

That included the work by 80 engineers that work for CT Marine. It also includes the 20 different lines plans made by his father, Corning Townsend, the founder of CT Marine.

“My dad’s hull is as sexy underwater as we can get a 170' hull. It’s superbly efficient and provides really good thrust cleanly.”

— M. Crowley

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

BOATBUILDING BITTS

B

Callen Marine LLC

isso Towboat Co. Inc. announced in July that it had awarded a contract to Main Iron Works LLC, Houma, La., to build another 6,008-hp Tier 4 Coast Guard-inspected ASD tractor tug. The tug will be nearly identical to the Andrew S, which Main Iron delivered to Bisso in November 2019. The 6,008-hp Andrew S was the first Tier 4 ASD tractor tug built for use on the Mississippi River. It was also the fourth new ASD tractor tug built by Main Iron for New Orleans-based Bisso Towboat in five years. Changes in the new tug include Z-drives from Schottel instead of Kongsberg, gensets from Caterpillar (118 kW) instead of John Deere (99 kW), and beefing up and upgrading the fendering system. The tug will feature two Caterpillar 3516E Tier 4F main propulsion engines generating 3,004 hp each at 1,800 rpm. The engines will drive two Schottel SRP 460 FP azimuthing thrusters with 98.4"-dia. stainless steel propellers in stainless steel nozzles. Estimated bollard pull is 78 tons.

In May, C&C Marine and Repair, Belle Chasse, La., delivered the General MacArthur, a 290'×72'×16' cutter suction dredge (CSD) to Galveston, Texas-based Callan Marine LLC. With an 11'4"draft, the new dredge has a digging depth of 97', a suction diameter of 34", and a discharge diameter of 32". Main propulsion comes from three Caterpillar MAK VM32C diesel electric engines, producing 24,000 hp.

Ship’s service power is the responsibility of a Caterpillar C18 genset, generating 600 kW of electrical power. The CSD has a crew/passenger capacity of 34. Tankage includes 369,480 gals. of fuel; 46,655 gals. potable water, 46,275 gals. fresh water; 6,450 gals. of engine lube oil; 2,930 gals. gear oil; and 2,930 gals. hydraulic oil. The fuel day tank has a 10,655-gal. capacity. In late July, Callan Marine announced that a fifth CSD, the General Bradley, will be added to the company’s fleet next year. The new 341' diesel-electric powered CSD

290' dredge for Texas owner.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

The 163rd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the Coast Guard over a 35-year period.

will have three ABC 12DCZ engines providing 9,260 hp and have a discharge diameter of 28".

Bollinger Shipyards LLC has delivered the 154'x25' fast response cutter (FRC) Oliver Henry to the Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. It is the 40th FRC delivered under the current program. The Oliver Henry is the second of three FRCs to be homeported in Apra Harbor, Guam. Additionally, later in 2020, Bollinger will deliver the first of six FRCs that will be homeported in Manama, Bahrain. For the FRC, which has a draft of 9'6", Bollinger is using a design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. Main propulsion comes from twin MTU 20V4000 M93L diesel engines, producing 2,900 hp each.

Halter Marine Inc. has been awarded a $981,000 contract for industrial studies for the Navy’s auxiliary general ocean surveillance ship (T-AGOS(X)) program. The Navy awarded the contract for the T-AGOS-class series of vessels, which ultimately will replace the existing fleet of four T-AGOS 19 and one T-AGOS The Navy is expected to 23 small wateraward the design and construction plane area twin contract for the T-AGOS in 2022. hull (SWATH) ships, which are reaching the end of their service lives. The contract is for a 12-month study to perform trade-off studies and analyses of the Navy design. Pascagoula, Miss.-based Halter Marine has teamed with Gibbs & Cox as the ship designer.

In June, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Polaris New Energy held a keel laying ceremony to mark the start of construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge.

The barge, Clean Canaveral, will be part of an articulated tug-barge unit that will initially operate along the U.S. East Coast, providing LNG bunkering solutions to NorthStar Midstream’s customers. The 340'×66'×32'10" barge is being built in a series of prefabricated, complete hull sections.

After several months of pre-fabrication work of its modular sections by the shipyard’s team, the 55-ton modules were set into place at Bay Ship in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The 5,400-cubic-meter barge will be fitted with four 1,350-cu.-meter IMO Halter Marine

Main Iron Works

Bollinger Shipyards Inc.

The new tug will be the fifth ASD tractor tug constructed by Main Iron for Bisso Towboat in the past six years.

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On TheWays

78' excursion vessel for Puget Sound.

Type C tanks. It will utilize a cargo handling system designed and developed by Wärtsilä Gas Solutions. The barge will be ABS classed and is slated for completion in late 2021.

Blount Boats Inc., Warren, R.I., has been awarded a $9.1 million contract to build a 90'×26'×10' icebreaker/buoy tender for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The vessel will be designed by BMT Designers & Planners Inc., Arlington, Va., and have a steel hull and an aluminum deckhouse. Cummins will supply the main engines and the vessel will be outfitted with a Melcal deck crane. Delivery of the new icebreaker is scheduled for June 2022.

Alabama Shipyard has been awarded a $23.7 million contract for a 96-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and drydocking of the 754.6'×107' fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE 6). Work will be performed in Mobile, Ala., and is expected to be complete

by November 2020. The ship is the lead ship of the Supplyclass fast combat support ships. Supply was commissioned in 1994 and decommissioned in 2001, after which the vessel was transferred for service with the U.S. Military Sealift Command.

All American Marine Inc. (AAM) launched the Orca II, the second of two 78'×27' aluminum catamarans for Great Western Attractions (GWA) recently. The passenger excursion vessels will operate in Puget Sound. Designed by Teknicraft in Auckland, New Zealand, these identical Subchapter T-certified vessels were constructed at All American’s 57,000-sq.-ft. facility on Bellingham Bay. The 149-passenger catamarans are powered by twin Caterpillar C18 engines producing 803 hp at 2,100 rpm each. The mains will be connected to Veem nibral propellers. AAM has also been

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All American Marine

BOATBUILDING BITTS

awarded a contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to construct a 50' aluminum research catamaran for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The twin-engine Teknicraft-designed vessel will be constructed by AAM to USCG Subchapter T standards. The boat will carry up to 18 personnel on board on a near coastal route.

Hard Drive Marine has announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Bellingham, Wash. Hard Drive Marine’s product lineup has grown in recent years to include the production of workboats and marine hardware for spill response, including in-service contractor boom cleaning tools and assistance in rapid boom deployment in the case of an environmental event.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced in July approximately $47.5 million in grant awards to selected projects nationwide to improve access, safety, and reliability of U.S. ferries and their passengers. Twelve projects in 12 states will receive funding from the FTA’s Passenger Ferry Grant Program. The grants will fund projects to purchase, replace, or rehabilitate passenger ferries, terminals, and related infrastructure and equipment.

Life Proof Boats, Bremerton, Wash., is expanding into the Northeast through a partnership with LC8 Marine, Plymouth, Mass., as its first official sales and service center.

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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Learn how Cummins IMO III solutions are in their own tier at cummins.tech/imo.

Š2020 Cummins Inc.

Full Recovery Virtual Vir tual symposium sorts the nuts and bolts of launch and recovery systems.

By Jim Redden, Correspondent

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T

he growing role of lightweight deployable craft, particularly rigid inflatable boats (RIB), in maritime defense arsenals has brought with it evolving technologies and concepts to ensure they are safely, and quickly, put to sea and returned uneventfully to the mother ship.

In what had all the flavor of a NATO technical summit, the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Virtual Launch & Recovery symposium remotely mustered nautical engineers and other experts from international government and private sectors in mid-July to examine the intricacies of launch and recovery systems (LARS). Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the symposium’s 15th version — and first one held virtually — replaced the biennial Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC), which will be held belatedly next summer at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore.

Many of the exchanges during the annual tech fest centered on the prospects for standardizing LARS interfaces of parent ships and the increased interest in deploying autonomous surface vessels (ASV) to remove the human element in surveillance, minesweeping and the like. Autonomous vessel builders, however, should not count the Coast Guard (USCG) as a potential customer, as its missions generally require boots on the water, said USCG Chief Engineer Rear Adm. Nathan Moore.

“We would not be looking for fully autonomous vehicles. At the end of the day, for us in the Coast Guard, our missions are such that for search and rescue and law enforcement we have to have humans on the boat to actually prosecute the mission,” he said.

Citing the advanced digitalization aboard contemporary parent cutters and patrol boats, Moore suggested an ASV, in tandem with automated www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

A 35' long range interceptor (LRI) being launched from the 418' Coast Guard national security cutter Bertholf.

COAST GUARD FAST RESPONSE CUTTER PROGRAM ON TRACK

U.S. Coast Guard

The July 15 commissioning of the Sentinel-class fast response cutter Harold Miller at its Galveston, Texas home port.

U.S. Coast Guard

T

LARS, also would aggravate what is already one of the biggest challenges facing the USCG: mitigating cybersecurity breaches. “For a sailor, the idea that someone out there is tapping a touch screen to launch a boat is a little frightening,” he said.

Aside from cybersecurity issues, he said the overall challenges of launch and recovery “are significant” and go beyond the open water. As the USGC embarks on a program to replace the fleet of smaller boats deployed for missions in rivers and other inland waterways, attention has shifted somewhat to the execution of shore-based launch and recovery cycles. “We’re in the middle of looking at what kind of launch and recovery systems we need for those

he Coast Guard’s (USCG) Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) newbuild program is on schedule and budgeted through the next four years, despite an earlier report suggesting otherwise.

“The Coast Guard currently has 56 fast response cutters under contract, which will keep FRC production moving forward into fiscal year 2024,” Brian Olexy, a spokesman for the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate, said in July.

A June 15 article in National Defense implied production could be delayed as no new FRC procurement funding was included in the fiscal year 2021 budget request.

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said at the time the service needed to allocate funds for other priorities, such as polar security cutters (PSC), but intended to add FRC procurement funding during the budget process.

The USCG will acquire up to 64 Sentinel-class 154'x25' FRC cutters, with 58 designated for domestic operators and the remaining six to be assigned to Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, Olexy said.

On April 3, Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., delivered the 38th FRC, the Harold Miller (WPC 1138), which was commis-

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

sioned on July 15 at its Galveston, Texas, home port. The cutter’s patrol area will take in 900 miles of coastline from Carrabelle, Fla., to Brownsville, Texas.

Meanwhile, Rear Adm. Nathan Moore, the Coast Guard’s chief engineer, said the U.S. polar security cutter program needs no less than six PSCs, three of which should be engineered for heavy icebreaking service.

“The reality is, the United States is far behind where we need to be in terms of icebreakers. You just have to compare us to the other nations that operate icebreakers,” he said during the American Society of Naval Engineers’ Virtual Launch & Recovery symposium in July.

The current PSC fleet is comprised of one 420' medium icebreaker and one 399' heavy icebreaker, which is nearly 45 years old.

In April 2019, the Integrated Program Office (IPO) of the USCG and Navy awarded Pascagoula, Miss.-based VT Halter Marine a $746 million contract for the detailed design and construction of the Coast Guard’s lead PSC. Construction is set to begin next year with a planned 2024 delivery.

— J. Redden

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Ribcraft USA

STANDARDIZATION? The prospects for developing common standards that would make LARS interchangeable between ship classes occupied much of the symposium, focusing largely on the field results of a multinational joint industry project (JIP) in The Netherlands. Spearheaded by the Royal Netherlands Navy and the UK Ministry of Defence, the decadeold Launch and Recovery System of Any Small Navy Crafts (LAURA) JIP eventually settled on candidates worth pursuing further, chiefly a cradle designed to automatically lock in the vessel. The JIP concluded off the Dutch coast last September with full-scale trials of the cradle concept, using an unmanned RIB from a 66-meter (216.5') mother ship in three-meter (9.8') seas, a test that proved to be “90% successful,” said Dr. Thijs Hasselaar, senior project manager for the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN).

For Michel Janssen, head of the Department of Military Maritime Technology for The Netherlands Defence Materiel Organization (DMO), the sea trials verified that standardization is a worthwhile option to pursue, especially for navies with few assets. “In my view, standardization and interoperability works for small navies like The Netherlands. We want the RIBs we are going to buy to be able to operate from different ships, not only in our navy, but

U.S. Coast Guard

assets,” Moore said. “So, we need input from industry.”

An MK3 over-the-horizon (OTH) RIB underway.

within NATO if possible,” he said.

Not so much, however, for the USCG, which operates a multiclass fleet comprising roughly 250 cutters and 1,900 boats, carrying out different missions in divergent environmental conditions, said Ryan Roberts, chief of naval architecture for the USCG Surface Forces Logistics Center. “Standardization would have some challenges for us.

Continuing down that path on the boat side should be carefully considered, especially how it could have unintended effects on the design at large, and that starts with constraining your design space very early. The juice has to be worth the squeeze.”

No stranger to creating and maintaining standards, classification society DNV GL said that any standardization effort must involve the actual designers and builders. “Our view of standardization is slightly different from the one the navies may have,” said Aldo Matteucci, head of lifting appliances. “We traditionally try to develop standards

Ribcraft has been providing the Navy with 7-meter shipboard RIBs since 2014.

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that are not too prescriptive, meaning they are risk based. We identify risks and ask the manufacturers to come up with solutions,” he said.

For the builders of military-grade shipboard vessels, the LARS interface is secondary to the weight specifications set out in military contracts, said Matthew Velluto, director of business development at Ribcraft USA, Marblehead, Mass. “The biggest driving requirement for the Navy, or any shipboard application, is the weight limitation of the hoist in the davit they may be using and the effect of weight on the overall stability of the mother ship,” he said.

For davit-based LARS, deployable vessel designers have to consider the type of hoisting mechanism to be employed, be it a single-point, dual-point or A-frame. “Obviously, they’re trying to get more standardized in that, which is helpful from a shipbuilder’s standpoint,” he said. “What you need, at least from the Navy requirements, is the ability to build a boat that is compatible among multiple ship classes.”

Ribcraft works primarily with the Navy and, as of late July, had completed the design and began production of the first of 48 11-meter (36') RIBs specially engineered for use in explosive ordinance disposal (EOD). Prior to the five-year $43 million contract award in March for the 11-meter RIBs, Ribcraft had provided a number of 7-meter (23') shipboard RIBs to the Navy.

Standardization aside, some of the discussions during the symposium went deep into the weeds, veering to such areas as the comparative safety of side

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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and stern launch and recovery tactics.

Moore said the nature of USCG missions generally favors ramp deployment astern. “I don’t necessarily think one is safer than the other,” he said. “Stern launch and recovery are all about speed. It’s all about catching the bad guys or conducting a search and rescue.

You just open the door, trip it and gravity pulls the boat out. But, ships move and while stern launch and recovery systems are a bit easier, they also potentially are very dangerous.”

AUTONOMOUS Meanwhile, together with standardization, The Netherlands is also pushing the development of unmanned craft, with plans to have autonomous mine countermeasure vessels operational within five years, Janssen of The Netherlands DMO said. “The introduction of autonomous and unmanned systems

will also be a catalyst for standardization,” he said. “The development of unmanned systems will grow rapidly, but the lifetime of those systems will be much shorter than that of the mother ship, so we need to find a solution for the possibility of having to change the launch and recovery interface for a ship a few times during its lifetime.

“As we move to unmanned vessels, the electronic interfaces become even more important,” Janssen said Considering the technological sophistication of today’s deployable craft, as reflected in the Navy’s EOD RIB variant, moving to autonomous operations should not be a major leap, suggests HamiltonJet CEO Ben Reed.

“Electronically actuated controls have become common and deliver advantages such as three-axis control and GPS-based stationkeeping,” he said in an email. “These systems will play a

critical role in the future of warfare as the military focuses on keeping people out of harm’s way.”

The New Zealand-based developer of waterjet propulsion and associated control systems provides an optional remote control or autonomous interface, as well as technologies that compensate for the motions and wake of the mother ship to help enable a safe launch and recovery cycle. HamiltonJet is providing twin HJ292 waterjets and control systems as part of the Ribcraft EOD RIB contract.

Manned or otherwise, deployable vessels, typically in the 7-meter-to24-meter range, will continue to be the flexible workhorses of the waterborne military, with myriad assignments from search and rescue to interdiction, said Velluto. “One of the things we see from the military is that they ask an awful lot of these little boats.”

F

or duly certified shipbuilders, a military contract provides a lifeline when clients in other industries are in free fall. Just ask the principals of the shipyards division of Houston-based Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. The Navy exercised options that awarded the company’s Houma, La.-based Gulf Island Shipyards LLC a two-year, $129.9-million contract on March 26 to build two additional Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue vessels (T-ATS). The new contract swelled the company’s backlog to an historic high, just as its oil and gas business cratered in the wake of the Covid-19-related economic plunge.

“These awards put our shipyard backlog at an all-time high and will add critical man hours to our backlog that will provide a strong base of work for our Houma shipyard operations going into 2021 and 2022,” said Gulf Island Fabrication President and CEO Richard Heo. “In addition, the further diversification of our shipyard division’s backlog away from oil and gas will help us as we navigate through this challenging low oil price environment.”

Gulf Island was awarded an initial $63.5-million contract in March 2018 for the design and construction of the new T-ATS-class of open-water salvage vessels. The since-designated Navajo-class vessels are built to a minimum 263'x59' with payload capacity of 1,796 tons.

Elsewhere, when United States Marine Inc. (USMI), Gulfport, Miss., was awarded a five-year $108 million Department of Defense

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United States Marine’s lineup includes a 60' combat assault craft.

United States Marine Inc.

MILITARY CONTRACTS GIVE SHIPYARDS FINANCIAL BREATHING ROOM

(DOD) contract in April to build an undisclosed number of 41' combatant craft assault (CCA) boats, the company not only retained its more than 180 employees, but plans to “expand as production proceeds,” CEO Barry Dreyfus Jr., told WorkBoat in July. “Right now, we are in pre-production for the craft.”

The five-year CCA contract was awarded through the DOD’s unified U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). USSOCOM/U.S. Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Command special boat teams will operate the CCAs. The work is expected to be completed by April 2025.

Part of the contract includes the first nine-meter (29.5’) multiuse expeditionary response craft (MERC) USMI has produced in a year, Dreyfus said.

Meanwhile, despite the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, USMI has managed to meet all delivery dates. “In fact, after DOD lifted the travel ban for military personnel, we had a total of nine craft accepted within a two-week period of time,” Dreyfus said.

— J. Redden

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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Winches

Deck Duty

By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

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A

discussion at last year’s International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans started out something like this: “I don’t have enough room for a winch, but I need a winch up there on the bow.”

That was Glosten Associates’ Peter Soles talking with Markey Machinery’s Scott Kreis.

Seattle-based Glosten was designing a 60'×28' harbor tug that would be built at Washburn & Doughty, East Boothbay, Maine, for the DOT’s St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.

“They wanted a way to handle soft line and wanted an electric winch,” said Kreis, Markey’s vice president of sales. But there wasn’t room enough on the bow for a drum, a working head, a drive and motor, plus space for a deckhand to move around. Nevertheless, Kreis told Soles that Markey could build a winch for the tug.

The solution was the DESMG-17 variable-speed

Markey built this upgraded DEPC-52 75-hp electric hawser winch for Brusco Tug & Barge’s 6,000-hp tug Noydena, which has been chartered to Crowley Maritime and renamed Hercules.

electric bow winch, with its electric motor and drive mounted beneath the deck. The air ramp that activates the brake also went below deck to prevent air from freezing in the winter. “There hasn’t been a winch like that,” said Kreis. The DESMG-17 winch holds at least 400' of 1-1/16" HMPE line.

The air actuated band brake has a 100,000-lb. capacity.

Washburn & Doughty is also building the third in a series of Jensen Maritime-designed ship assist and escort tugs for Moran Towing, New Canaan, Conn. The 86'×35'×10' tug is powered by two 2,550-hp Caterpillar engines and, as was the case with the first two tugs, a Markey DEPC48 electric hawser winch will be at the bow and a www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

Scott deMers, Systems Interface Inc.

For operators, winch options keep improving.

Patterson Manufacturing

CEW-60 electric capstan winch back aft.

The electric hawser winch with a 50hp variable frequency drive will have Markey’s render/recovery controls, a brake capacity of 612,000 lbs. and hold 600' of 9" HMPE line. The CEW-60, a 15-hp two-speed electric capstan winch with an 18" barrel, can pull up to 18,000 lbs.

An upgraded Markey winch is the DEPC-52 single-drum electric hawser winch that went on the 82' Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL)-designed Noydena, a Rapport tractor tug built by Diversified Marine, Portland, Ore., and delivered to Brusco Tug & Barge, Longview, Wash., late last year. (The 6,000-hp Noydena was subsequently chartered to Crowley Maritime and renamed the Hercules.)

The Markey hawser winch went from 50 hp to the now 75-hp model. “We had been building a smaller sister for many of the Brusco tugs, but starting with the Noydena, we upped the size,” said Kreis. Both the increased horsepower and a larger drum were needed to accommodate 700' of 10" circumference line, instead of 600' of 9" HMPE line for the 50-hp model.

A second DEPC-52 hawser winch is slated for a tug under construction and an order was recently placed for a third winch.

The winch requirements on four harbor tugs for Seattle’s Foss Maritime being built at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Freeland, Wash., and designed by Jensen Maritime, were pretty straightforward: make it very simple, very compact but capable of everyday harbor towing and emergency towing.

This isn’t a big offshore tug so there wouldn’t be room for a double-drum tow winch on the aft deck. “We worked with Foss for a few years to define what the winch should have,” said Kreis.

The answer was a brand new winch design, the TESS-43AS 75-hp electric tow winch. It features a split drum with a divider plate separating 2,600' of 2 ¼" wire rope for emergency towing and 600' of 2" HMPE line for everyday harbor operations. “You don’t find winches

Patterson’s YoYo winch with new Gravity Handle.

like this,” said Kreis, “unless you order a double drum with line and wire rope.”

In the near future, expect to see Markey unveil a very different winch.

It’s “a brand new winch class that’s under development,” said Kreis. “It will leverage some of the mature technology we’ve developed for escort winches.”

MANUAL WINCH Patterson Manufacturing’s manually operated YoYo winch is a favorite tool for a deckhand making up barge connections. It features a single stack design with a 1 1/8"-wide drum that allows 1" cable to wrap upon itself, eliminating line fouling and bird nests.

Thus, the line never binds up.

“It’s the only winch in the industry that can be functionally operated by one person without having it bind up,” said Taylor Grapes, president of Pittsburghbased Patterson. That might explain why the YoYo winch has been Patterson’s bestseller with over 20,000 sold in the past 10 years.

With that kind of track record, you’d think no improvements are needed, but not in this case. An almost builtin problem with manually operated winches, whether from Patterson or another manufacturer, is something called stored motion injuries. They are caused when the winch operator leaves the ratchet handle engaged once the barge connection has been made, instead of returning the ratchet handle to its rest position. Then when the winch is released the ratchet handle spins around, nailing the operator and

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

causing injuries.

Grapes said this is a fairly common problem and several companies have tried to reduce stored energy injuries for about 15 to 20 years. It hasn’t been an easy problem to solve. But no longer, at least not since early 2019 when Patterson introduced its Gravity Handle for the YoYo winch. (Currently it has patent pending status.)

The Gravity Handle utilizes a counterweight, so when the operator releases the handle and forgets to return it to the resting position, the counterweight “pulls the handle backwards and puts it in the rear position,” said Grapes.

It’s a maintenance-free feature and is available on all new YoYo winches and can be retrofitted on most earlier YoYo winches. “Put it in the rest position and it won’t smack back on the operator,” said Grapes JONRIE INTERTECH When Seabulk Towing, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., takes possession of the first of two RAL-designed (and Master Boat Builders, Coden. Ala., built) ART 90-98 Rotortugs, a key piece of deck equipment on the 98'6"×43'6"×19' tug will be the latest in JonRie InterTech's ongoing development of its 240-Series escort winch.

As opposed to the 240-Series winch that went on the 6,008-hp tug Andrew S built for Bisso Towboat in 2019, the newest 240-Series escort winch has been designed for the 6,770-hp Seabulk Towing tugs which will have an estimated 90 tons of bollard pull.

37

“We beefed it up,” said Brandon Durar, JonRie’s president, “and made it suitable for new boats that are almost 7,000 horsepower.” The new 240-series winch was computer modeled in 3-D using finite element analysis to better understand the stresses the winch would be subjected to.

“We went back and reengineered everything,” said Durar. “More than just beefed up, we looked at every aspect of it from the foundation to the braking.”

That means dual 10" stainless steel brake drums for 720,000-lb. braking capacity, as opposed to 600,000-lbs. on the Bisso tug.

Among other changes is a newly designed honeycombed drum with a larger and stronger barrel and flange that’s able to spool 600' of 8.5" hawser.

Line pull is 50,000 lbs. and line speed is 75 feet per minute, though a twospeed option allows for a line speed of 150 fpm.

On the stern of the Seabulk tug will

JonRie InterTech LLC

Winches

JonRie InterTech’s latest 240-Series escort winch was designed for Seabulk Towing’s new Rotortugs.

be a JonRie Dual Series 500 towing winch and outboard hawser winch. A new feature is an independent Hägglunds drive level wind with a clutch-

out feature so the carriage will float under a load and a diamond shaft with a long lead, allowing the carriage to move under extreme loading.

Are you seeking a job in the maritime industry?

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JOB WATCH

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat WB_JobWatch_Half.indd 1

4/28/20 2:21 PM

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Baudouin engines are already operating in the Virgin Islands on the Sea Express II, and our certified EPA Tier IV solution has now been commissioned to run on New York City waters.

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WORKBOAT HELPS JOB SEEKERS AND EMPLOYERS FIND THE RIGHT FIT EVERY DAY. Advertising Contact: Wendy Jalbert wjalbert@divcom.com 40

www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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

EMPLOYMENT IMMEDIATE OPENINGS: Captains, Mates, Engineers, AB’s and Deckhands Dann Ocean Towing is A leading provider of marine towing services, serving the Eastern Seaboard, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and beyond.

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www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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

ADVERTISERS INDEX Ahead Sanitation Systems Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Bloom Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Browns Point Marine Service, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 C & C Marine and Repair LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 CAIG Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Clean Gulf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Coast Guard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Cummins Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 David Clark Company Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Duramax Marine LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV3 FPT Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Furuno USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Imtra Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 JonRie InterTech LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Karl Senner, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV4 Knud E. Hansen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Konrad Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Lubriplate Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Metalcraft Marine Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 MOPS Marine License Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Moteurs Baudouin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Motor Diagnostic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 MTU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV2 Panolin America Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Philadelphia Gear, A Timken Brand . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Platypus Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Rigidized Metals Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 R W Fernstrum & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Subsalve USA Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Tandemloc, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Tulsa Winch Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 WorkBoat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

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47

LOOKS BACK SEPTEMBER 1960

• An air-conditioned, all aluminum 55' twin-screw executive boat, the Swiftwind, was recently completed by Diesel Shipbuilding Co., Jacksonville, Fla., for Swiftwind Inc., a group of Jacksonville businessmen. Powered by turbocharged GM 671 diesels turning 27"×30" Federal nibral propellers, the boat cruises at 23 mph and has a top speed of 26 mph.

The new boat sleeps six in three staterooms, has three heads, two showers, and an all electric galley, which gets its service power from a 15-kW Cummins Onan genset.

• A 233' icebreaker with a 12,000mile cruising range at 11 knots, was delivered recently to the Canadian Department of Transport by Yarrows Ltd., Victoria, British Columbia. Shell plating for the SEPTEMBER 1970 Camsell • The Pacific Coast maritime industry lost one of its best known and respected figures on Aug. 4 when Thomas Crowley passed away. Crowley, long time leader of the tug and barge industry on the West Coast, was 94. He founded Crowley Launch and Tugboat Co. in the Golden Gate city before the turn of the century.

• The Toups Towing Co., Marrero, La., has taken SEPTEMBER 1980 delivery

• Lloyds of London and the Institute of London Underwriters has lost a court battle with McDermott International and must pay the company a $24.8 million claim plus interest and $100,000 in attorney’s fees. The suit resulted when the insurance groups refused to pay McDermott’s claim for the value of a 6,000-ton platform jacket which was 48

ranges from 1" to 1-1/4". The new vessel is powered by two electric propulsion motors rated at 2,125 hp each. Prime power for the motors is produced by four Fairbanks Morse OP diesels. of the new towboat Claude J. Toups Sr., from Ortis Brothers Boat Co. The twin-screw, all steel vessel is 65'×24' with a 6' draft. The boat is powered by 12V-7IN Detroit Diesel diesel engines.

lost overboard during a winter storm in the English Channel while being towed to Brazil from Ardersier, Scotland.

• This year marks the 125th anniversary of the oldest tugboat company in San Pedro and Los Angeles harbors.

Wilmington Transportation was founded in 1855 as a lighterage service

by Gen. Phineas Banning. www.workboat.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • WorkBoat

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