One year ago, we reported on vacation river cruising, presenting an industry mostly on the optimistic side of growth and expansion for 2018. This year’s review is more geographically limited – to the Mississippi River, heartland cruises centered among New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis and St. Paul – but with links important for a lot of smaller cities in between.
After 26 years with Volvo and 7 as President of Volvo Penta Americas, Ron Huibers has decided to retire from his current role and move to another role within Volvo Penta. Succeeding Ron will be Martin Bjuve, currently CFO and SVP Business Office Volvo Penta. Planned transition date will be January 1, 2020.
Spanning 35 exciting years, USMI’s core values of Family, Integrity and Quality have served the firm and its military customers well. The next 35 promise to be just as compelling.Little more than one month ago, on April 16, 2019, Gulfport, MS-based United States Marine Inc. (USMI) celebrated its 35th anniversary of continuous Department of Defense production, with hopes of many more years to come.
U.S. coastal and river cruise operator American Cruise Lines continues to accelerate its newbuild program across its diverse fleet, adding new ships to its new Modern Riverboat Series as well as its fleet of new coastal ships and Victorian-style paddlewheelers. American, which introduced a new ship in 2017 and two new ships in 2018, will put its latest new vessel into service this summer
Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered a retrofitted pilot boat to the Delaware Bay pilots association. Brandywine, one of the shipyard’s early 53’ Chesapeake class launches built in 2004, is one of nine pilot boats built for the pilots since they took delivery of their first boat from the Mass. shipyard in 1957.
The crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin has finished replacing the summer buoys with seasonal winter buoys on the Chesapeake Bay, Md., Friday.Throughout the month of December the crew replaced 66 summer buoys and removed the Francis Scott Key buoy in preparation for the winter season. The seasonal buoys are kept in until late February or early March.
Seabulk Tankers, a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings, has announced the successful delivery of its first methanol parcel chemical shipment aboard the articulated tug-barge (“ATB”) Sea-Power/Sea-Chem I.The Sea-Power/Sea-Chem I loaded a 10,500 metric ton methanol parcel in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and discharged the parcel in Charleston, South Carolina and Chesapeake, Virginia.
The Virginia Pilot Association has ordered a Chesapeake-class launch from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, its ninth pilot boat built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard since 1983.Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding said that its Somerset shipyard delivered 19 Chesapeake-class pilot boats to 11 pilot associations throughout the United States.
Growing maritime sector use of electronic fuel management systems (EFMS) has prompted diesel power engineering specialist Royston to appoint a new US-based distributor for its advanced enginei technology.Standard Calibrations Inc. (SCI), a specialist measurement science company with extensive marine industry involvement, will now provide sales
American Cruise Lines announced that its second of a new class of modern riverboat, the American Harmony, moved under its own power to the shipyard’s outfitting pier for final touches. American Harmony was successfully launched at Chesapeake Shipbuilding this past November, 2018, and is well ahead of schedule for its August 17, 2019 inaugural cruise on the Mississippi River.
Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp. of Salisbury, MD has announced that it successfully launched the tug Salisbury, the 1st of 4 sister ship tugs for Vane Brothers. The new tug is a Sub-Chapter, M-Compliant Push Tug, both designed and built by Chesapeake Shipbuilding & Naval Architects. Chesapeake Shipbuilding has been designing and building commercial and passenger vessels since 1978.
The pilot house of the tug Huntington recently returned to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum after extensive metal refurbishing and repair.All restoration work was performed by E. H. Harvey Metal Working Co. of Easton, Md., and included sandblasting the exterior, removing lead paint, and preparing the exterior for final painting.