Waterways

Dredging to deepen the shipping channel to the Port of Savannah has resumed after an 18-month pause, Col. Daniel Hibner of the Army Corps of Engineers recently announced as the second half of the $973 million expansion has started to get under way.

As tugs and pushboats become larger and more complex, one sector of the industry is growing by staying small. The truckable towboat is having its moment and Marine Inland Fabricators (MIF) is happy to meet the growing demand.

A huge container port in North Iceland would only be profitable in 40-50 years – if global warming melts most of the sea ice in the arctic. Two Northeast Iceland municipalities plan to build an international container port in Finnafjörður to link Asia, Europe, and the eastern United States. A new report from the University of Iceland’s Institute of Economic Studies, however, suggests that the viability of the venture is questionable.

Dredging and reclamation works are often interrupted by unexploded ordnance (UXO). This is especially an issue encountered around the North and Baltic seas, but also in lakes, rivers, and land.

The one-year study will begin March 2020.

Efforts by Kenya to tap the unexploited potential of the maritime industry, commonly known as the ‘Blue Economy’, came into sharp focus recently when a youth gathering in Mombasa raised concerns over the delay by the government in creating an integrated policy framework to chart a way forward.

Until the advent of drones, helicopters were the only option for aerial tasks that required remaining stationary in midair or called for low-flying flexibility not offered by airplanes. But the use of helicopters has occasionally resulted in fatal crashes like a 2017 crash at the Port of Los Angeles that killed both the pilot and a photographer who was taking pictures of cruise ships.

The Merchant Marine Act (1920) outlines one of the most consequential non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in U.S. history, and June 5th will mark its 100th anniversary. Often called the Jones Act after its sponsor, Sen. Wesley L. Jones (R-WA), the intent was to incentivize the building and maintenance of a domestic fleet of commercial ocean vessels that would be owned and operated primarily by U.S. citizens. The Jones Act set this requirement to ensure both national defense and a “proper growth of commerce” using the “best type of ships.” Regulators have since interpreted this to mean that the vessels must also be built by U.S.-owned shipyards. Most countries have some form of cabotage restrictions but the U.S. stands out with its domestic build and repair requirements in the maritime sector.

From 1 January 2020, the maximum sulphur content of marine fuels is reduced to 0.5% (down from 3.5%) globally – reducing air pollution and protecting health and the environment. Sulphur Oxide (SOx) emissions from ships’ combustion engines cause acid rain and generate fine dust that can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as reduced life expectancy.

In November of 2019, Danny Wan was appointed to the position of executive director of the Port of Oakland. In naming him to the top position, the port drew from among its ranks — Wan has served for 13 years in a variety of advisory and executive management roles, including port attorney. In this conversation with SupplyChainBrain editor-in-chief Bob Bowman, Wan outlines his vision of the port’s future.

High water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River will remain a big concern for shoreline communities. In response, New York State created the REDI commission, which plans to improve infrastructure and make communities more resilient to flooding.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a voluntary speed restriction for boaters around Nantucket, after the Center for Coastal Studies and Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket observed 14 endangered North Atlantic right whales off the south coast of the island Sunday.

The estate of a man who drowned when the dredge support vessel he was operating capsized in Charleston Harbor is suing the company that owned the boat.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation ("Great Lakes") (GLDD), the largest provider of dredging services in the United States announced today the receipt of several major dredging awards totaling $83 million.

Indiana’s Burns Harbor has a lot to teach Chicago and Illinois about what a well-funded and modern port could mean for our city and state.

OTTAWA — Call it the case of the missing icebreaker. The fate of the Canadian Coast Guard’s next heavy icebreaker has been wrapped in mystery since the federal government quietly removed the $1.3-billion project from Vancouver shipyard Seaspan’s order book in May.

The City is polluting its own nature reserve.

A defining moment in the history of the oil-refining and shipping industries is at hand.

U.S. members of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) are pleased that many port related programs championed by AAPA are included in the two legislative appropriation packages released by Congress yesterday. Once funding is in place, ports look forward to continuing to deliver consumer goods, jobs and the quality of life Americans depend on.

Galveston, Texas, based dredging contractor Callan Marine recently launched the General MacArthur, one of the largest cutter suction dredges in the U.S. market, at the C&C Shipyard in Belle Chasse, La.

Goal is to improve safety and reliability of maritime transportation in the Arctic region.

Biblia will use the dry dock to service its own tugboats and will offer similar repair and maintenance services to other vessel owners in the area from its Savannah River facilities.

New 2,000 passenger Universal Class ships would be operated for hotel brands aiming to enter the cruise market

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has announced its seventh investment project, committing $300 million in financing to the Port of Montreal’s plan to build a new container terminal in Contrecoeur.

What is even more interesting is that seven of the top ten ports are now from China.

The shift of container shipping services toward U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports and away from West Coast ports is far from over, according to industry veteran John McCown, founder of Blue Alpha Capital and former CEO of liner company Trailer Bridge.

A human skull and partial skeleton dredged up from the murky depths of the River Thames is likely to be a convict thrown overboard from an 18th century detention heart ship.

There is no shortage of spaceports in the United States. When launch sites come to mind, one usually thinks of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and neighboring Kennedy Space Center, or perhaps Vandenberg Air Force Base in California or Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Perhaps, also, Spaceport America in New Mexico, the future home of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (see “An ‘operationally ready’ spaceport”, The Space Review, August 19, 2019)

The shift of container shipping services toward U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports and away from West Coast ports is far from over, according to industry veteran John McCown, founder of Blue Alpha Capital and former CEO of liner company Trailer Bridge.

NO STOPPING LAPSSET JUGGERNAUT. Beaches destroyed and 'moved' back, coral dying, fish disappearing , turnoff for tourists but it's all for the greater good.

A rising tide of sustainably minded travelers are looking to cruise the old-school way.

The Chinese research vessel was conducting activities near India‘s sensitive Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Dredging began this week and will widen the port's main shipping channel to more than 1,400 ft and deepen it to 55 ft, improvements that will allow the simultaneous passage of two, ultra-large box ships

The following is the Nov. 27, 2019, Congressional Research Service report, Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress.

On Jan. 1, the new International Maritime Organization regulation for reducing the sulfur content of marine fuels from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent will take effect. With the change comes the need for inspections and enforcement to give the new rule "teeth" and force compliance.

Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S will cut hundreds of jobs to cut costs as the shipping giant prepares for significantly higher fuel costs next year and plans to invest more heavily in inland logistics services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (11/30/19) — Last week, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul reintroduced the Harbor Equity Act (S. 2923), which modifies the existing criteria used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge smaller harbors.

The floods, which have become more frequent, disrupt the city's rhythm, suspending Vaporetto boat lines that connect stops on the Grand Canal to outlying sites like Murano and Burano