editorial
Flying start For lng Flying from Chicago to Newark should be fairly straightforward. People do it all the time. Somehow, however, I wound up landing at Logan Airport in Boston just as the Red Sox were clinching the American League East division title. Believe me, it was nothing planned—I’m a diehard Yankee fan from way back (does anyone remember Horace Clarke and the Alou brothers, Matty and Felipe?). But Mother Nature and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport would have it their way— leading me to miss the last connecting flight that evening from Boston to Newark. With the help of my little droid, however, I was able to reserve a room at a hotel about 3 miles from the airport and grab dinner— a Philly cheese steak sandwich—from a late night deli. I wound up climbing into bed at about 2 AM for a 6 AM flight home. While my travel plans may have been blown off course, LNG as a marine fuel has a flying start. The reason I was in Chicago was to moderate a panel on LNG Marine Bunkering at the HHP Summit. The panel included Bill Hutchins, Project Engineer, Shell Trading US, Per Egil Vedlog, Design Manager, Ship Technology—Merchant, Rolls-Royce Marine AS, Alexander HarsemaMensonides, Sales Director, Marine Service GmbH, Captain Randolph Helland, retired USCG and Regulatory Consultant, Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute, and Keith Meyer, Chief Executive Officer, LNG America. Based on the discussions among panelists and attendees at the HHP Summit, as well as Marine Log’s Global Greenship
Conference held the following week in Washington, DC, liquefied natural gas as marine fuel is very much on vessel operators’ radar. It’s a clear choice for vessel operators in North America, where abundant, cheap natural gas is available and the world’s largest Emission Control Area is in force. Certainly, Seabulk Tankers agrees. It signed a contract last month to construct two 50,000 dwt product tankers that will be “LNG ready” at General Dynamics’ NASSCO. The San Diego shipyard is quickly filling up with Jones Act tonnage. Kevin Mooney, NASSCO Vice President of Programs, told delegates during his luncheon address at Global Greenship that the shipyard was exploring ways to increase the capacity of the shipyard with its Korean partner Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Stay tuned. Besides coverage on the Seabulk Tanker order in our Update section, this month Mike Toohey discusses the important role the inland waterways and ports play in the economic health of the U.S. and its competitiveness in the global marketplace cannot be understated. Toohey, President and CEO of the Waterways Council, points out that “…failing to invest in inland waterways and ports will jeopardize the United States’ ability to provide low-cost transportation required to remain competitive in a global marketplace to the tune of $270 billion in exports by 2020 and nearly $2 trillion in exports between 2012-2040.” Congress needs to act on the passage of H.R. 3080,
John R. Snyder, Publisher & Editor jsnyder@sbpub.com
the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which would help put the wheels in motion for many critical waterway infrastructure projects. It has already received approval from members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Of course, getting Congress to do anything is a lot to ask. As I write this, we are experiencing Day 2 of the government shutdown, which forced government workers to stay home, national parks to close and some government websites to become unavailable. Special thanks to two readers, Brett Snow of Snow & Company, and Jennifer Montgomery, Pacific Rim Shipbrokers, who commented on the editorial in the August 2013 issue, “Pirates and the Approaching Green Storm.” Both alerted me to the movie, “A Hijacking,” which somehow I missed during its limited run in theatres this past summer. The movie looks powerful and intense, putting a human face on the issue of piracy. Released by Magnolia Pictures, the movie depicts the hijacking of the cargo ship MV Rozen by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean and the subsequent tense ransom negotiations between the pirates and the shipping company’s CEO. You can check out the trailer for the movie on www.magpictures. com/ahijacking. And, besides numerous awards, the film also received a 97% rating on rottentomatoes.com. In limited release this past summer, the movie will be available on DVD on October 15.
MaritiMe trivia Trivia Question #7 What is considered the oldest known marine chart? The first sailor or lubber who correctly answers the Maritime Trivia question will receive a color J. Clary collector print. Email your guess to: marineart@jclary.com
There was no winning answer submitted for last month’s trivia question, “What BIRD feathers did fishermen believe could ward off disaster and storm?” Answer: The wren, which was long esteemed as a sacred bird in England. An old tradition was to hunt the wren on a special day, with feathers of the birds bagged during the hunt used as a charm to ward off shipwrecks.
2 MARINE LOG October 2013