American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and C&C Marine and Repair have christened the M/V ACBL Mariner, said to be the most powerful and capable towboat ever built for operations on the Mississippi River.The christening ceremony took place in New Orleans in the presence of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.The ACBL Mariner boasts 11,000 horsepower, and can push up to 64 barges up the river at one time.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy firms on Friday were lumbering back from hurricane disruptions as offshore oil and gas producers ramped up operations after halving the key energy region's output, ports reopened, and onshore terminals accepted oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.Hurricane Francine shut in up to 42% of the region's offshore oil and 53% of its natural gas production.
Energy facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast have begun scaling back operations and evacuating some production sites as Tropical Storm Francine swept through the energy-rich region, and was poised to strengthen into a hurricane later Tuesday.Francine was advancing toward the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, set to become the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season, which concludes on November 30.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas producers were evacuating staff and curbing drilling to prepare for Tropical Storm Francine on Monday as it churned through the energy region on a path to bring high winds and drenching rains to the U.S. mid-South.Francine is likely to bring life-threatening storm surge to the upper Texas and Louisiana coasts and hurricane-force winds to Southern Louisiana this
The pilot of a towboat that struck an industrial cargo pier near Saint Rose, La., last year had fallen asleep, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday.The pilot of the Marquette Transportation owned and operated towing vessel John 3:16 was experiencing the effects of fatigue during his watch on September 12, 2023, while navigating the Lower Mississippi River.
Deliveries will begin in 2028 if all goes well. Delays and escalating costs have bedeviled the procurement process up until now.Washington State Ferries on Thursday published an invitation to bid on building five new hybrid-electric ferries, an overdue achievement that promises to eventually bring more reliability to cross-Sound ferry service.
A shortage of U.S. mariners presents a major threat to the United States’ national and economic security, and the problem is growing day by day.According to a 2017 study prepared by the Maritime Workforce Working Group and released by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), the estimated pool of U.S. mariners actively sailing with unlimited tonnage credentials was comprised of 11,768 mariners.
If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana)
Australia's Birdon Group announced its U.S. subsidiary has reached a deal to acquire Metal Shark Boats' shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Ala.Birdon America said it will utilize the 32-acre facility for vessel repair work as well as newbuild activity, including construction of the U.S. Coast Guard's $1.187 billion 27-vessel Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program awarded to Birdon in 2022.
Panama City Fla. based Eastern Shipbuilding Group announced it has been awarded a contract to complete construction of two ultra high-spec 400 class multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) for Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS).The newbuilds were originally started by Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La. before Hornbeck terminated the contracts in 2018 over what it described as "performance issues".
The U.S Coast Guard on Wednesday suspended operations at the offshore energy services hub Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as hurricane Francine bore down on the coast, according to a shipping advisory.The temporary closure of Port Fourchon, home to marine and equipment suppliers to offshore oil producers, follows the suspension of marine traffic at the deepwater Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP)
U.S.-based boat builder Metal Shark is expanding its presence in its home state of Louisiana with the addition of a third manufacturing facility and a new recruitment effort.The expansion follows the recent divestiture of its Alabama-based ship refit and repair business, after the company sold its operations to Birdon America.