Powering the North American Maritime Fuel Transition
Offshore service vessels, along with workboats serving harbors and inland rivers, have embarked on an industry-wide voyage toward reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Philip, a faculty member with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Transportation and Operational Resilience (VECTOR) and former CEO of Ingram Barge Company, provides this context: “The Maritime Sector has long provided shippers with the most fuel-efficient and sustainable freight transport option…
Elakha: Repowering a Valued Research Vessel
Ocean science is in high demand by scientists studying ocean acidification, wave energy, seabed composition, changing water temperatures, fish populations and dozens of other research projects. The Oregon State University (OSU) has a proud history in the field. The wide variety of research project require a variety of vessels.One boat that has made large contributions to research is the 54- by 16.5-foot Elakha which was built in 2001 at Rozema Boat Works of Mount Vernon, Wash.
Mitsubishi Names New US West Coast Distributor
Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine America (MTEA) has appointed Cascade Engine Center, located in Seattle, as its marine engine division's new West Coast distributor effective August 11, 2020Cascade Engine Center will have responsibility for Alaska, Washington State, Oregon, California and Hawaii.“The addition of the Mitsubishi Heavy Duty engine lineup to Cascade Engine Center will complement our current commercial engine business, allowing us to support most commercial marine applications on the West Coast,” stated Tim A.
Cascade Engine Center's Scania Reach Expands
Scania USA Announces Expansion of Marine Territory for Distributor, Cascade Engine Center, LLC.As of September 1st, Cascade Engine Center, LLC has been assigned additional marine territory in the West Coast of the United States to include Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.Cascade Engine Center currently represents Scania’s latest marine platform: 13- and 16-liter engines for auxiliary and propulsion applications; and currently distributes themin Alaska, Gulf Coast, Hawaii, Idaho…
Norway Builds Drone Fleet for coastal “Sulfur Patrols”
Norway is growing its arsenal of military grade drones for missions that’ll take them into the exhaust streams of ship’s funnels. With the IMO now supporting the 0.1 percent sulfur cap on marine fuel from Jan. 2020, and with southern Norway below the 62nd parallel officially a European Emissions Control Area, or ECA, the Norwegian Maritime Authority, the NMA, is cracking down on illegal sulfur emissions.Oslo’s NMA and its domestic enforcement allies — the Norwegian Coast Guard (Kystvakten)…
Marine Jet Power Expands Sales and Service Network
Columbus, Ohio based provider of waterjet propulsion Marine Jet Power, Inc. (MJP) said it has entered a partnership with Simplex Americas LLC to serve as the newest sales and service provider in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The agreement names Simplex Americas as an authorized retailer and service provider for MJP’s water jets covering the U.S. coastal regions of Washington and Oregon. Simplex Americas represents the interests of Blohm + Voss Industries exclusively for Simplex, Simplan, Turbulo products in the U.S., Canada, Central America, Caribbean and the South American Pacific coast.
US Navy: Bigger is Better, but at What Cost?
The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.
Navigating the ABCs of SCR
On the way to Tier IV compliance, it turns out that experience counts. In late February, the nation’s first Tier IV, Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) tugboat was christened. That’s probably not earthshaking news all by itself – after all, SCR isn’t all that new – but the event likely ushers in a new era of powerful domestic workboats that also come with a greener environmental footprint. How all of that comes together is a bigger story, and one which will play out again and again in the coming year or two.
Shallow-Draft Yukon River Tender
“If it works well, then why change it?” might have been the idea of the owner of a new Yukon River salmon tender building at WCT Marine’s shipyard at Tongue Point on the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. Owner R. Bodey had Tullio Celano draw up a set of plans from a vessel that he had owned some year before. He took these to Willie Toristoja and his crew at WCT Marine Construction, Inc in Astoria, Oregon where the steel hull and aluminum superstructure were well along by the end of November, 2016. The boat is designed to serve as a tender for salmon on the Yukon River.
Oscar B: Power in the River Currants
Since 1925 there has been some form of car ferry crossing of the lower Columbia River from Puget Island on the Washington side to Westport Slough on the Oregon side. In 1959 Wahkiakum County took over operation of the ferry and in 1962 had a steel-hulled ferry, named for the county, built by Nichols Boat Works at Hood River Oregon. This 12-car ferry served until 2015 when the county took delivery of a larger 23-car ferry. This ferry, named Oscar B, after Oscar Bergseng who served as ferry captain for 17 years. He died in 1985 after serving further years as ferry commissioner.
Yanmar Names US/Canada West Coast Distributor
Valley Power Systems has entered into a distributor agreement with Yanmar America Corporation for the sale and service of Yanmar’s commercial marine diesel engine line throughout the states of California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. In business for over 65 years, Valley Power Systems provides power and propulsion products for the commercial and pleasure craft marine industries from manufacturers such as MTU, Electro-Motive (EMD), Scania, Northern Lights, Technicold and now Yanmar Commercial Marine.
Harley Marine Selects Cat Power & Propulsion
Seeking a complete power and propulsion system designed specifically for tug operations, Seattle-based Harley Marine Services turned to Caterpillar—ordering four Cat 3516 marine propulsion engines and four Cat Propulsion Marine Thruster Azimuth – Tug (MTA-T) rated drives. These units will power two new Harley Marine harbor tug vessels currently under construction at Diversified Marine Incorporated, a shipyard in Portland, Oregon. “Much of Harley Marine’s fleet is powered by Cat engines…
EPA Awards Clean Diesel Grants to US Ports
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $5 million in grant funding for clean diesel projects at U.S. ports. The selected projects in California, Oregon, New Jersey and Texas will improve the air quality for people who live and work near the ports, and reduce emissions of the greenhouse gasses that lead to climate change, EPA said. “EPA and ports have a shared interest in working together to find practical solutions to reduce pollution for the benefit of workers and communities…
Towboat Delivered to Tidewater Transportation & Terminals
Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, has taken delivery of Crown Point, a new custom-built towboat commissioned at Portland’s Vigor Industrial. Crown Point is the first of a series of three towboats being built at Vigor for Tidewater, and will join the company’s current fleet of 16 vessels and 160 barges. Marc Schwartz, Maintenance & Engineering Manager at Tidewater, expressed, “The launching of the Crown Point, and the forthcoming Granite Point and Ryan Point vessels, marks an important step for Tidewater.
Pacific Marine Power Now Offering Volvo Penta Products
Pacific Marine Power is now providing the full range of Volvo Penta diesel and gasoline marine engines, generator sets, and controls to customers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, the company announced today. The Volvo Penta marine engine lineup includes their Inboard Performance System (IPS) 350 through 1200 propulsion engines, which include forward‐facing, steerable propulsion units. The IPS diesel marine engines can provide up to 900 HP for better acceleration…
Keeping to the Schedule in the Pacific Northwest
When a tightly scheduled repower for the Kodiak-based trawler Sea Mac in early December took a very bad turn, Mike Fourtner used his 25 years of fishing experience and leadership to pull together a team at Cummins Northwest to solve the problem. For the past year, Mike Fortner has been Marine Regional Sales rep for Cummins Northwest. “The new engine had crossed oceans from the factory by ship to Columbus, South Carolina. It was hauled thousands of miles across North America by truck…
New Power for Alaskan Tug
It has been said that, “There is no reason to design or build an ugly boat.” This is clearly a dictum that those who designed and built the Noman O adhered to. Built in 1970 as the Duncan Foss by the Albina Shipyard under hull number 419, at Portland, Oregon, the tug has a fine shear that sweeps down the 75-foot length from a high sea-going bow to a low fantail that carries most of the boat’s 24-foot midships beam. The classic rounded west coast style wheel house carries aft to…
Twin Disc Mid-Atlantic Hires Ricky White
Mill Log Equipment Company DBA Twin Disc Mid-Atlantic informs it has hired Ricky White as the Territory Manager for the southern Mid-Atlantic States to include the state of North Carolina (less the Outer Banks), and South Carolina. Ricky will operate out of the full service Rock Hill, SC location and will report directly to Mill Log Equipment Group of Companies’ Director of Sales & Marketing, Don Lindsey. “As we continue to bring our customers the highest quality industrial and marine transmission components in the industry…