WorkBoat May 2019

Electronics • Mariner Medical Manual • Barge Report ®

IN BUSINESS ON THE COASTAL AND INLAND WATERS

Rebound

Will the offshore market finally strengthen in 2019?

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Jackson Offshore’s 252', 4,357-dwt PSV Thunder at work in the MAY 2019 • VOLUME 76, NO. 5

Gulf of Mexico. Jackson Offshore Operators photo

FEATURES 18 Focus: Fit for Duty Proposed rule aims to make mariner medical evaluations less subjective and more efficient.

22 Vessel Report: Bottomed Out The inland barge sector is seeing mixed results, while in the coastal market ATB construction remains steady.

32 Cover Story: Deepwater State

18

Is 2019 the year that the U.S. Gulf energy market finally sees marked improvement?

BOATS & GEAR 26 On the Ways • Dakota Creek builds 445-passenger ferry with Tier 4 emissions controls for the San Francisco Bay Ferry system • Conrad delivers third of three 80,000-bbl. ATBs to Vane Brothers • All American Marine launches second of three 77' low-wake, high-speed ferries for Kitsap Transit • SeaRobotics tests seven-meter autonomous surface vehicle for U.S. Naval Research Laboratory • New 332' IMR vessel for Otto Candies • Bouchard Transportation takes delivery of 55,000-bbl. ATB • Gulf Island delivers 6,800-hp Z-Tech tug to Suderman & Young Towing • Eastern Shipbuilding launches 100', 6,800-hp tug for McAllister Towing

38 Radio Waves Inland towboats now have more river radar choices.

22

AT A GLANCE 8 8 9 10 10 12 13

On the Water: Open door policy — Part IV. Captain’s Table: Waterways see more illegal charter operators.

Energy Level: Oil vs. natural gas in the Gulf.

WB Stock Index: WorkBoat stocks lose ground in March.

Inland Insider: Mariners are paid well, statistics show.

Insurance Watch: Workplace discrimination coverage.

Legal Talk: No paper charts on board?

NEWS LOG 14 14 14 15 17

Judge blocks Trump order to reopen offshore areas to energy development.

Harley Marine Services founder ousted.

OSVs could serve in disaster relief.

Coast Guard wants to improve recruitment and retention of women. $96,000 fine for Miami party boat operator’s illegal charters.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

DEPARTMENTS 2 6 42 47 48

Editor’s Watch Mail Bag Port of Call Advertisers Index WB Looks Back

1

Editor’sWatch

More waiting offshore

I

POWER FORWARD

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 2019 edition of the largest commercial marine tradeshow in North America.

Registration for the 2019 Show opens this summer!

t’s already been a year since our last offshore market report — a year that was again characterized by depressed activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry.

And not much has changed since about five years ago when the offshore downturn began to rear its ugly head.

As Bill Pike reports in this year’s offshore cover story that begins on page 32, many oil service operators expect the downturn to last well into next year.

Peter Laborde of Laborde Marine told WorkBoat that the market “is still at the bottom of the trough. Recovery is 18 months to two years away.”

Jackson Offshore Operators’ vice president and chief operating officer Matt Rigdon is looking at three or four years before business returns to normal levels. “We don’t think the market will return to normalcy until 2022, 2023,” Rigdon said.

IHS Markit’s Richard Sanchez looks for only one rig to be added in the Gulf in 2019. “The workboat industry is not very exciting now,” he said.

But there are some positives. Analysts Wood Mackenzie say that after four years of steady decline, exploration activity is expected to increase by 30% in the Gulf this year. Also, a large number of players have stayed in the region, betting on the Gulf of Mexico’s recovery.

Shell made a primary discovery — the Whale discovery — one of its largest exploration finds in the past decade in the Gulf, in February 2018.

Shell, which said it planned to bring the project on stream quickly, has already been assessing the results of the exploration and appraisal wells the company has drilled at Whale.

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BP, another major player in the GOM, has approved a major expansion at the Atlantis project.

“BP’s Gulf of Mexico business is key to our strategy of growing production of advantaged high-margin oil,” said Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive, upstream.

Looney added that these fields are still young — only 12% of the hydrocarbons in place across BP’s Gulf portfolio have been produced so far — and BP “can see many opportunities for further development.”

These developments will hopefully hasten the return to normalcy.

dkrapf@divcom.com

WORKBOAT® (ISSN 0043-8014) is published monthly by Diversified Business Communications and Diversified Publications, 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 1348, Mandeville, LA 70470.

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It’s because of an innovative engine design that offers water-cooled exhaust manifolds and a marine fuel system for increased safety, excellent environmental benefits, low fuel consumption, and an extensive service network.

Who‘s to blame for maritime tragedies?

I

enjoyed Pam Glass’s January Inland Insider column “Are accidents now management’s fault?” My response is my latest paperback effort, “Deep Sea Dominoes.”

The theme of the book sheds some new light on “owner” decisions and officer encouragements that likely contributed to these tragic decisions. Although I don’t believe I absolved the officers of responsibility in most of the cases I discussed, I certainly expressed empathy and offered some better understanding of the maritime culture in which they were making these decisions.

The human error spin is far too popular with the NTSB and other regulatory bodies as a catchall phrase to explain away these nautical and other worldwide tragedies. Likewise, redacted and withheld inquiry findings serve no future incident prevention purpose and are counterintuitive to taxpayer com-

mitments to revealing the truth. Additionally, the mechanical condition that so many of these lost ships were in was getting so little collateral discussion in history that I thought one book, balanced a bit differently, would at least stimulate some broader discussion.

I welcome your thoughts on my book and hope you’ll continue to draw attention toward fairer apportionment of disaster responsibility in the future.

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Engine has wet liners

I

think it’s important to clarify the particular benefit of the John Deere 4045SFM85 engine mentioned in the March story “Power Hungry” regarding the engine liners. This is important for anyone pursuing a long time usage of an engine alongside the limited space within many engine compartments and the limited interest in removing a marine engine once it’s in place.

Specifically, this engine has wet liners (dropped into the cylinder block “bore” and sealed at the bottom with an o-ring and at the top by the cylinder head gasket system and the outside of them is exposed to engine coolant), which are generally easily removed and can be replaced with fresh ones as needed. This could be done numerous times while the engine block stays comfortably secured to the vessel.

The competitive “parent bore” engines rely on the block directly for a home for the pistons and if damaged usually can be machined for fitting of a larger sized piston or the press fitting of a “wear” sleeve.

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On the Water

Open door policy – Part IV

F

By Joel Milton

Joel Milton works on towing vessels.

He can be reached at joelmilton@ yahoo.com.

inally, we get to the story of the 1,800-hp towboat Ricky J. Leboeuf (https://www.ntsb. gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/ MAB1704.pdf), which capsized and sank on the San Jacinto River near Channelview, Texas, on April 19, 2016. This incident contained all the ingredients for trouble, and trouble is exactly what the unfortunate towboat crew found.

After typical heavy Houston rains in the area of over five inches the day before the accident, the San Jacinto River gauge was at 15', which is major flood stage. This triggered two notable actions.

First, the Coast Guard VTS Houston-Galveston began to issue broadcast warnings about both the severe weather and flood conditions and the elevated risks to vessel operations associated with them. Specifically, this included the high current velocities in the river, a natural and predictable result of the high water levels. Also, the Ricky J.

Captain’s Table

Illegal charters threaten safety

U

By Capt. Alan Bernstein

Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats in Cincinnati, is a licensed master and a former president of the Passenger Vessel Association. He can be reached at 859-292-2449 or abernstein@ bbriverboats.com.

8

.S. waterways are becoming more congested.

Operators on commercial waterways report an increase in all types of vessels, including human powered craft, on the rivers. Many pleasure craft operators have little or no knowledge of the rules of the road, which has placed more pressure on licensed mariners to avoid accidents.

While congestion is an issue, our waterways are also becoming home to a growing number of illegal charter operators. These operations are being promoted through a growing array of web-based marketing platforms that tempt uninspected boat owners with promises of fast cash. The most common example of an illegal charter operator is an uninspected vessel of less than 100 tons that carries more than six passengers for hire.

These illegal operations threaten the safety of the paying passengers and endanger others on the waterways as they skirt Coast Guard and other safety regulations.

The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) recognizes that this is a growing issue that has the potential, if left unchecked, to become a major safety

Leboeuf’s operating company, D&S Marine Service, sent out its own advisories via email to its fleet that was working within the affected area.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board report, “These advisories included restrictions on a maneuver known in the industry as ‘downstreaming’ and a requirement to use assist towing vessels while operating in barge fleeting areas. The advisories also reminded crews that main deck watertight doors and hatches were to be closed on towing vessels. According to the Ricky J. Leboeuf crewmembers, this information was received on board the vessel, and both the captain and relief captain discussed with the crew how these conditions impacted vessel operations and the extra care needed to reduce the risk.”

If true, it seems clear that above and beyond their personal responsibility to independently maintain basic situational awareness of their immediate surroundings and conditions, the guys on the sticks that day had ample advance warning and guidance, and were apparently fully cognizant of the situation. And yet somehow, despite all of this, it all went wrong anyway.

problem and tarnish the reputations of legitimate passenger vessel operators who comply with rigorous Coast Guard regulations. In recent years there have been several passenger fatalities that have occurred aboard illegal charter vessels.

As a result, PVA has taken steps to curtail this alarming trend by urging the Coast Guard to step up its enforcement efforts against illegal charter operators. The push appears to be paying off.

In March, the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago said that the owner of two recreational pleasure boats was fined $80,000 for operating illegally on Lake Michigan. Last August, the Coast Guard in Chicago boarded 39 vessels suspected of carrying passengers illegally and issued $50,000 in fines to 22 illegal charter operators. Recently in Florida, after disregarding Coast Guard orders to stop, two Miami boat owners were criminally convicted of repeatedly conducting illegal charter operations. The owners were fined and were sentenced to six months home confinement. In January, another illegal charter boat operator in South Florida received a $96,000 fine.

I am pleased that the Coast Guard is stepping up its enforcement efforts in many of our ports, but there is much more work to be done. Seizing the vessels of convicted illegal charter operators would be one way to send an even more chilling message. www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

WORKBOAT GOM INDICATORS

Energy Level

JAN. '19 WTI Crude Oil 52.94 Baker Hughes Rig Count 19 IHS OSV Utilization 31.4% U.S. Oil Production (millions bpd) 11.9

FEB. '19 56.95 22 30.7% 12.1*

Sources: Baker-Hughes; IHS Markit; U.S. EIA

*Estimated

Market confusion

WTI Price U.S. Prod 1000s bopd

GOM RIG COUNT

By Bill Pike, Correspondent

A

fter falling about 40% late last year, the price of oil rebounded over 30% in the first quarter of 2019.

With production closing in on two million barrels per day, Gulf of Mexico oil production represents about 16% of total U.S. oil production.

But what about natural gas? U.S. Gulf natural gas production averages about 2.6 billion cu. ft. per day, or only about 4% of U.S. natural gas supply.

That’s good, especially if you do some grade school math and conclude that oil production in the Gulf is four times more important than gas supply.

According to the EIA’s Natural Gas Annual, 59% of gross withdrawals of natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico were from oil wells in 2017, up from 13% in 1997. So, the bulk of gas production in the Gulf is a byproduct of oil production. That’s good news, especially for the workboat market in the Gulf because most of its activity is based on oil, not natural gas. And oil prices are doing moderately well.

That is not the case with natural gas prices, however, which are collapsing as the international market is flooded with supplies from several countries.

The supply crisis is compounded by a milder winter and warming spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which further depresses natural gas prices. As a result, “new LNG production from Australia, Russia and the U.S. has helped to push prices in Asia more than 50% lower this year after a warmerthan-normal winter,” according to Bloomberg. And, although the possibility of climate change is forcing a switch to natural gas from coal, global demand is not growing fast enough to absorb the oversupply.

All this is occurring as the LNG export market in the U.S. is poised to expand rapidly with the start-up of more Gulf Coast export terminals. At current prices, those start-ups now look www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

.

MAR. '19 59.29 23 31.4% 12.1*

MAR. '18 64.87 12 25.6% 10.4

GOM Rig Count Util. Rate %

GOM Rig Count 30 25 20 15

3/18

10

3/19

5 0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Mar-18 Apr-18 shaky economically.

While depressed May-18 gas prices dueJun-18 to a global glut could negatively affect these start-ups, the 18-Jul next cold winter cycle should bring 18-Aug 18-Sep Oct-18 18-Nov Dec-18 Jan-19 19-Feb 19-Mar

8

9

10 11 12 13

12 18 some relief. Until then, the industry 18 should be very happy 18that the Gulf of Mexico is a major oil 15province and a minor natural gas region.

16 18 18 23 24 19 22 23

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WorkBoat Composite Index Stocks dip 34 points

T

he WorkBoat Composite Index lost 34 points, or 1.66% in March. For the month, losers topped winners by a 3-2 ratio.

WorkBoat Operators posted a small increase during the month, rising about 3%.

Seacor Marine Holdings was off slightly despite its fourth-quarter operating revenues increasing 44% comSTOCK CHART

pared with the fourth quarter of 2017.

“Our business improved steadily throughout the year and we closed 2018 with our sixth consecutive quarterly increase in direct vessel profit, and nearly doubled our cash flow from operating activities from the prior quarter,” Chief Executive Officer John Gellert said in a statement commenting on Seacor Marine’s fourth quarter Source: FinancialContent Inc. www.financialcontent.com

INDEX NET COMPARISONS 2/28/19 3/29/19 CHANGE Operators 318.83 328.75 9.92 Suppliers 3403.41 3349.07 -54.35 Shipyards 2796.09 2594.51 -201.58 Workboat Composite 2054.49 2020.30 -34.18 PHLX Oil Service Index 93.45 94.73 1.28 Dow Jones Industrials 25916.00 25928.68 12.68 Standard & Poors 500 2784.49 2834.40 49.91 For the complete up-to-date WorkBoat Stock Index, go to: workboat.com/resources/tools/workboat-composite-index/

PERCENT CHANGE 3.11% -1.60% -7.21% -1.66% 1.37% 0.05% 1.79%

Inland Insider

Many mariners earn more than U.S senators

B

eing a mariner involves long hours, often dirty and dangerous work, and weeks of separation from home and family. But the work also has its benefits, most notably a good salary.

There aren’t too many other occupations in which someone without a college education can earn a six-figure salary before the age of 30.

This was part of the message delivered by Austin Golding, president of Golding Barge Line, Vicksburg, Miss., in early March to the Senate Commerce Committee. The hearing discussed the state of the maritime industry.

Golding told senators that the inland barge industry is dominated by familyrun businesses that pay a high living wage to mariners who are responsible for safely transporting fuels, grains and other commodities that make the U.S. and global economies tick.

“Our business can take a young man or woman and start them as an entry

10

level deckhand earning $30,000 annual salary,” he said. “Within one to two years they can be promoted to tankerman, which yields a salary of $70,000 a year. If a mariner is particularly talented and dedicated to their craft, they can train to be a pilot and be credentialed as such within five to seven years, sometimes faster. A towboat pilot starts out making $135,000 a year and can make over $200,000 with tenure.”

That must have been a surprise to many senators who make $174,000 a year.

“Our industry routinely takes young men and women out of high school and develops them into someone earning well over $100,000 a year before they are 30,” Golding said. “That is the American dream.”

Golding’s remarks got me wondering more about mariner salaries. So, I checked in at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found out a few interest-

results. “This improvement is especially notable as the last quarter of the year is usually a seasonally slow period of activity for our liftboats in the Gulf of Mexico and crew transfer vessels (CTVs) in the North Sea. To the extent there was some seasonal reduction, it was offset by improved results from nearly all other classes of vessels and a one-time recognition of previously deferred revenues in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.”

Seacor sold an additional six fast support vessels, two liftboats and one standby safety vessel during the fourth quarter. That gave the company a total of 16 vessel dispositions for 2018.

“The improvement in 2018 and positive beginning to 2019 is encouraging,” Gellert said. “We hope for continued upticks in demand and believe our asset base and geographical reach place us in a unique position.”

— David Krapf ing factoids. Of the 35,000 people employed as “captains, mates and pilots of water vessels,” Louisiana has the most with more than 6,000, followed

By Pamela

by Florida with Glass 5,600, and Texas with nearly 3,000. The median wage for the inland industry was $88,430 in May 2017.

Mississippi pays the highest wage with a median annual salary of $123,330. Next is New Hampshire with a $114,840 median wage and then Texas with $110,940.

And the best places to work with the highest salary? Houston ($120,960), Seattle ($100,040) and HoumaThibodaux, La. ($96,170).

Pamela Glass is the Washington correspondent for WorkBoat magazine and WorkBoat.com. She can be reached at pamelamglass@aol.com. www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

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Insurance Watch

Workplace discrimination claims

W

orkplace discrimination charges are filed against businesses every day. So developing a proper risk management plan utilizing education, documentation and insurance can help prevent, as well as provide coverage for, potential pitfalls.

Workplace discrimination can come in many forms. Racial discrimination, age discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment and disability claims are some examples.

In the world of risk management, prevention is the best practice. Providing regular training and education will help. And, as with other aspects of managing your risk, you do not need to go about this on your own. Your insurance company has a wealth of information available to assist you and they

encourage you to take advantage of this resource. From the company’s point of view, taking steps to reduce the risk of a claim is a sign of strength and smarts.

Take the time to use the resources available to you to establish best practices in hiring as well as what is acceptable in the workplace. Document training, so in the event of a claim you have something to fall back on to show that you established what is not allowed.

The type of insurance you purchase to cover claims of workplace discrimination is called employment practices liability insurance (EPLI). This important coverage not only provides for a claim that is filed against you but also for the cost of defending you against lawsuits which can often accompany such claims. This coverage can be add-

ed to your workers compensation policy, directors and officers policy or can be written as a standalone.

It is important to look at the different options because often the limits can vary between By Chris policies.

Richmond EPLI coverage that includes third-party coverage extends your policy to react to claims made by your customers or passengers.

Chris Richmond is a licensed mariner and marine insurance agent with Allen Insurance and Financial. He can be reached at 800-439-4311 or crichmond@allenif.com

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www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Legal Talk No paper charts?

N

o paper charts. I was on a bridge the other day and was told: “Nope, no paper.” I asked why.

Redundancy, they said. Was there a sextant aboard, a stub of pencil, or even a compass that didn’t require an electrical circuit? Who knows, but it got me thinking.

I looked up the regulations on maritime charts. I wanted to know whether you had to keep a paper chart aboard.

The first regulation I found set the threshold requirement that a vessel is required to have “marine charts, publications, and equipment” as required by the rest of the regulation. The next aspect of the regulation set out the specifics of the charts you needed including their scale, updates, etc.

And then the regulation identified the equipment you need aboard including a magnetic steering compass, a depth sounder and a whole bunch of other wizardry — some old, some new.

Nothing, however, about paper charts.

I next looked at the case law to see if I could find a court that dealt with the issue of whether the law requires a paper chart or if a chart displayed on a screen suffices. I couldn’t find any cases dealing with the issue.

And then I found Coast Guard NVIC # 01-16 and a July 10, 2017, Commandant Change Notice. This isn’t law, but it’s guidance as to how the Coast Guard views an issue. The NVIC’s title was “Use of Electronic Charts and Publications in Lieu of Paper Charts, Maps and Publications.”

Bingo, the NVIC provides a great history on the evolution of electronic charts. What I got from first reading the NVIC is that the Coast Guard seems OK with electronic charts and some electronic publications provided that they meet their requirements. The Coast Guard recommends a backup system which could be a “full folio of currently corrected paper charts” and the Coast Guard isn’t against the

continued use of paper charts if that’s what you like.

As for me, I’m keeping a paper chart handy. The flaw in this redundancy reasoning is that all these electronic charts rely (to my knowledge) on a GPS signal. When that signal shuts off or hiccups, it’ll be interesting how the fleet finds its way home. The law, in my opinion, should require paper charts on board. What do you think?

John K. Fulweiler of Fulweiler LLC is a licensed mariner and maritime attorney. He can be reached at john@saltwaterlaw.com or 1-800-383-MAYBy John DAY.

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The drilling platform Transocean Polar Pioneer at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, before Shell’s 2015 effort to explore the Chukchi Sea.

Judge blocks Trump effort to reopen Arctic, Atlantic for offshore energy

P

resident Trump exceeded his constitutional powers in reversing Obama-era prohibitions on offshore energy development in Arctic and Atlantic ocean waters, a federal judge ruled in Alaska.

In a March 29 ruling issued in Anchorage, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that while presidents have the power to withdraw offshore areas from leasing for energy development, only Congress has the power to reopen them.

“The wording of President Obama’s 2015 and 2016 withdrawals indicates that he intended them to extend indefinitely, and therefore be revocable only by an act of Congress,” Gleason wrote.

His administration approved Royal Dutch Shell’s 2015 attempt to explore the Chukchi Sea. But weeks before leaving office Obama used his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ban oil drilling in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off Alaska’s north coast, declaring a need to protect wildlife and native Alaskan com14

munities that depend on those natural resources.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called for Gleason’s decision to be appealed.

“I strongly disagree with this ruling, which asserts that past presidents can bind their successors and only Congress can overturn those decisions,” said Murkowski. “That is not the correct interpretation of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and could have catastrophic impacts for offshore development, which creates jobs, generates revenues, and strengthens our national security. I expect this decision to be appealed and ultimately overturned — if not by the Ninth Circuit, then by the Supreme Court.” — Kirk Moore

Harley Marine Services ousts founder and CEO

M

onths of legal battling culminated in April when Seattle-based Harley Marine Services announced that Harley Franco, its founder and chief

T

he Coast Guard’s advisory panel on offshore safety has completed a report on how offshore supply vessels, crewboats and other energy service vessels can be safely put to work assisting in disaster relief.

Proposed steps include creating a new “response, restoration, and recovery vessel” Certificate of Inspection (COI) endorsement. The so-called “Triple R Vessel” or TRV endorsement would allow operators to get preapproval of vessels that would be available to assist after hurricanes or other disasters, according to the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA).

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, several Louisiana OSV operators sought emergency approvals from the Coast Guard to allow them to haul relief supplies to Puerto Rico and between ports on the island.

They needed approval to deviate from the vessels’ COIs, but “due to an assortment of circumstances, this volunteer effort encountered a variety of challenges,” according to a task statement outlining the problem for the National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee. OMSA proposed that NOSAC form a subcommittee to study the problem.

OMSA assisted in the effort, and after five months NOSAC approved the subcommittee’s recommendations at the committee’s spring meeting in New Orleans on March 20.

— K. Moore

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Harley Franco

Petty Officer 1st Class Krystyna Duffy, a boatswain’s mate assigned to Coast Guard Station Golden Gate in San Francisco, pilots a 47' motor lifeboat near the Golden Gate Bridge.

According to the Seattle Times, dueling lawsuits were filed last summer. In one, Franco accused Macquarie and Godden of trying to oust him because he was against any plans to sell the company that he founded, and the Australian company and Godden accused Franco of misappropriating company assets and charging personal expenses to Harley Marine.

Franco founded the business in 1987, with one leased tug and barge under the name Olympic Tug & Barge Inc. In 1992, Olympic Tug expanded its fleet to four tugs and three barges that operated on Puget Sound. In 1994, it expanded again, this time to provide bunkering and lube oil services in the Columbia and Willamette rivers outside of Portland, Ore. A year later, the company expanded into dry bulk transportation and deck barge services.

In 1998, Harley Marine Services was formed as a holding company for acquisitions in the marine services field.

— David Krapf

Coast Guard must do more to retain women

R

Harley Marine Services

etaining active-duty women in the Coast Guard is a persistent problem for the service as women leave at a higher rate than men. Female Coasties blame poor leadership, gender discrimination, work burnout and family concerns as some of the main factors, according to a study released by the Coast Guard in March.

Although the Coast Guard has a higher retention rate among women than other military services, its leaders asked for the study as part of a broader

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Coast Guard \ PO3 Sarah Wilson

executive officer, had been relieved of his duties.

The Seattle-based marine transportation services company said in a press release that Matt Godden would remain as president of Harley Marine, and Jon Foster was named the “successor Chairman of the Board of Directors.”

“Since the beginning of 2019, Harley Marine has made significant progress in ensuring its long-term stability as one of the nation’s leading marine transportation providers,” Godden said in a prepared statement. “Harley Marine is renowned for its track record in safety and operational capabilities and we intend to continue with this unparalleled commitment to quality.”

“We believe that Matt, his leadership team, and all employees will aggressively move the company forward, effectively serving our valued customers across the country,” Foster said in a statement. “The company, Matt and his leadership team are well prepared to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the rapid changes in our industry.”

The Seattle Times reported on April 1 that the company “has been roiled since last summer by a legal battle between Franco on one side and Godden and Australian investment firm Macquarie, a large minority shareholder, on the other.” A spokeswoman for Franco told the Times that he would not comment, citing the ongoing litigation. Harley Marine did not respond to a request for comment from WorkBoat.

initiative to improve retention and recruitment, and create a more inclusive workplace that better reflects U.S. society According to the Rand Corp. study, retention gaps emerge in the first 10 years of service and then stabilize.

Among officers, 83.9% of men remain in the Coast Guard after five years, compared to 78.3% of women, a gap of 5.6%. At 10 years, the gap widens to 12.6% and at 19 years to 12.9%.

Among enlisted personnel, 71.1% of men remain after four years of service, compared with 62.4% of women, a difference of 8.7%. At both 10 and 19 years, just before members are eligible for retirement, the gap is 12.3%.

After meeting with over 1,000 active duty women and 127 men in focus groups across the country, researchers identified several root causes for women’s attrition: • Work environment: Poor leadership and few female role models, concerns about sexual harassment and assault, unfair weight standards and procedures for measuring body fat, being undermanned and overworked, assignments to undesirable locations and finding civilian work that pays more with fewer stressful hours. Many described perceptions of bad leaders being retained and promoted, and toxic commanders creating an “old boys club” environment that excludes women.

• Family concerns: Frequent transfers and remote locations often limit a civilian spouse’s career, deployment separation and repeated transfers are tough on children, lack of affordable and quality child care, and the percep15

NEWS BITTS FEDS, FISHERMEN SIGN OFFSHORE WIND PACT

tion that pregnancies carry a stigma due to pregnancy restrictions and parental leave.

The study found that women are less likely than men to be married or have children while in the Coast Guard, and that at some point in their careers women feel that they are forced to choose between family and the service.

“Regardless of a woman’s marital or parental status, family is an essential factor for many women in their decisions to leave or stay in the Coast Guard,” Kirsten Keller, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement.

“This includes the influence of spouses, children and the impact pregnancy may have on career advancement potential.”

On the plus side, female members cited health care and retirement and educational benefits as the main reasons they stay in their jobs, as well as satisfaction with the mission and work of the Coast Guard.

F

ederal energy and ocean officials signed a formal agreement March 26 with commercial fishing advocates to work together on planning for offshore wind energy development.

It is a milestone for the East Coast fishing industry, which is pressing hard to have more influence over how the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is overseeing private wind power developers.

The 10-year memorandum of understanding between BOEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) aims to bring “local and regional fishing interests together with federal regulators to collaborate on the science and process of offshore wind energy development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf,” according to a joint statement released in March.

BOEM officials stressed that domestic energy production is critical to the U.S. economy and security and that potential offshore wind energy is “located close to major coastal load centers, providing an alternative to long-distance transmission or development of electricity generation in these land-constrained regions.”

The statement also recognizes the fishing industry’s historic place in the region’s economy and culture, and fisheries’ ongoing economic role in the seafood and recreational industries.

“Any development on the Outer Continental Shelf must consider how these activities can affect current ocean users and the marine environment,” said BOEM acting director Walter Cruickshank. “We look forward to working with NOAA and RODA through early and constant communication ...” — K. Moore

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www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

— Pamela Glass

Judge hits unlicensed party boat operator with $96,000 fine

A

federal judge fined a Miami-area man $96,000 for ignoring Coast Guard warnings about his unlicensed and uninspected party boat operation — the stiffest criminal penalty to date in the Coast Guard’s ongoing crackdown on illegal charters.

Seth Allen Gissen operated his 60'×18'4"×4'6" Maritimo M60 convertible sportfish boat No Rules II from the backyard of his house in a gated waterfront community, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern Florida and the Coast Guard.

With its big foredeck and accommodations, the No Rules II was the scene of big parties, documented on social media, and the object of complaints from Gissen’s neighbors. It finally drew attention from local news media and Coast Guard officials. The Coast Guard issued the first warning to Gissen in October 2017, followed by a captain of the port order directing him to cease commercial operations until he complied with all federal rules and regulations On Aug. 4, 2018, a Coast Guard boat crew spotted the No Rules II operating with what appeared to be an overload of about 50 passengers and stopped the vessel. Coast Guard law enforcement agents determined that 11 male passengers had paid $5,500 to hire the boat for a bachelor party, according to court documents.

Seven days later a Coast Guard team saw the No Rules II on Biscayne Bay www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

carrying 21 passengers and boarded once more. Within weeks a grand jury indicted Gissen on charges of violating the captain of the port order, giving false statements to the Coast Guard and obstructing its investigation.

Gissen eventually entered a guilty plea and was sentenced in January to five years probation, the $96,000 fine, and an order from the judge that he stays off any vessel.

— K. Moore

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Recognizing that “there is no silver bullet solution,” the study offered several recommendations for improvements. Those include updating Coast Guard personnel management systems to address the needs of women, single parents and two-career households, minimize the impact of parental leave on promotions and evaluations, and improve child care, especially in remote areas and for overnight duty.

A flyboarder performs for a crowd on the No Rules II in 2016.

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Mariner Medical Manual

Fit for Duty

The Coast Guard says it expects mariner medical evaluations to be ‘less subjective and more efficient.’

By Dale K. DuPont, Correspondent

18

T

he Coast Guard’s recently released Merchant Mariner Medical Manual is an attempt to clarify and explain often frustrating rules that can put mariners in a bind over health issues and jeopardize their license.

The 292-page proposed rule consolidates guidance previously scattered in a variety of documents. As a result, the Coast Guard says it expects medical evaluations will be “less subjective and more efficient.”

Nice try, said mariners, trade groups and others who weighed in, but they still have questions and concerns about issues such as certificate cancellation policies, responsibility for bad decisions, the frequency of exams, and fitness for credentials versus fitness for duty.

The draft manual drew favorable comments on the Designated Medical Examiner (DME) pilot program, though many want a widespread rollout sooner rather than later. Long under discussion

as a way to speed medical reviews, the DME program would allow Coast Guard-certified local doctors to determine mariners’ fitness. Mariners could still choose to use their personal doctor whose report would be reviewed by the Coast Guard.

Among the manual’s major changes: the Coast Guard will no longer require medical certificates for entry level mariners on vessels not subject to STCW who do not serve as food handlers; and the addition of a specific procedure for cancelling a certificate when the agency receives “credible information” a mariner is no longer fit.

“This manual’s process for removing restrictions or waivers, or restoring medical certificate eligibility, seems uncomfortably weighted toward taking away one’s ability to sail, without considering that many conditions — even very serious ones — are temporary in nature,” commented one person identified as “a licensed unlimited tonnage www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Photo courtesy of Ben Powell/BARGE

Proposed rule aims to speed mariner medical reviews.

Kirk Moore

deck officer.” Making it too difficult for mariners to prove their fitness for duty encourages them to hide their medical history or leave conditions untreated “to avoid potentially negative entries in their records and an unclimbable hill to gain back eligibility to work.”

The Coast Guard’s goal was to clear things up. Putting everything into one document “means that the regulated community will not have to consult multiple sources to find necessary information,” said Dr. Adrienne Buggs, the Coast Guard’s medical officer. The detailed discussion “provides transparency and reduces confusion for mariners and their medical practitioners and promotes consistency in the Coast Guard’s medical evaluation processes.”

The agency said it welcomed suggestions on how the manual could be improved. And it got them.

CANCELLATION The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) wants the Coast Guard to clarify what would trigger an investigation of a mariner’s fitness, the definition of “credible information” that could lead to cancellation, and how employees can protect themselves from false reports. (Mariners can lose their medical certification and still retain their credential.) And PVA members are concerned, for example, that someone could be wrongly labeled as having sleep apnea if they have a personal history of obesity or a neck circumference of more than 16" for a woman and 17" for a man. Sleep apnea, diabetes and coronary artery disease affect many mariners, the draft notes.

PVA suggests that medical professionals doing the exams be familiar with a mariner’s duties. They also want to know how often medical conditions in the manual will be re-evaluated.

“Medical advancements, improved treatment methods, and technology within the industry have allowed mariners with conditions once immediately disqualifying to continue to work and be valuable members of the crew,” PVA said.

The American Waterways Opera-

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

By making it too difficult for mariners to prove their fitness for duty, it encourages them to hide medical histories or leave conditions untreated.

tors (AWO) raised the cancellation issue as well. The draft doesn’t specify how the Coast Guard expects to get information on a mariner’s health. “Any requirement of employers to report must be tempered against privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), that prevent the disclosure of protected health information,” AWO said. The manual needs to spell out employers’ obligations, if any.

The American Pilots’ Association (APA), which represents almost all state-licensed pilots in the U.S., wants cancellation procedures established through a formal rulemaking.

“There is simply too much at stake for the mariner — his or her career and livelihood — for the Coast Guard to use an informally established process that is not ‘legally binding’ to cancel a mariner’s medical certificate,” APA said.

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, whose members do mariner physicals, challenged a statement in the proposal that said mariners could rely on Coast Guard decisions, but “the government is not bound by the mistakes of its employees, especially in a situation where public safety is at issue.”

The wording, the medical group said, “seems to remove any blame on the Coast Guard for erroneous certification decisions which may lead to mishaps or untoward medical situations at sea. If the Coast Guard will not be responsible

for the decisions made by its employees regarding medical certification, then who shall be?”

ACOEM wants more clarification on waivers and restrictions. “Our members have seen mariners with similar conditions and medications inconsistently given waivers and limitations on their certificates,” they said. “A waiver should be rare and not a common occurrence if the Coast Guard is to keep up with typical transportation medicine practice.”

Some who commented want physical exams every five years to coincide with the credential instead of every two. Others suggested random exams similar to drug testing or exams given only past a certain age.

Several people raised concerns about fitness for a credential versus fitness for duty. The occupational medicine group wants the manual to give a “clear mandate for owners, operators, and unions to assume full responsibility for determining the fitness of their own mariners based on operational requirements.”

Fitness for medical certification “is necessarily a snapshot of the mariner’s medical and physical condition at a single point in time,” Dr. Buggs said via e-mail. “Fitness-for-duty status can change suddenly due to an acute illness, injury or incident” and is determined by an employer.

Standards in the law are the minimum acceptable ones. Employers can establish medical and physical ability 19

standards that are more stringent than the Coast Guard’s “based on factors such as specific duty requirements, austere work environments, and operational tempo,” she said.

Dr. Brian Bourgeois, owner of West Jefferson Industrial Medicine LLC, New Orleans, and a member of the Coast Guard’s Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee (MEDMAC), said the main problem he sees is overuse of prescribed opioids.

And mariners’ biggest health challenge is “proper care of medical conditions.”

As for when the final manual would be out, Dr. Buggs said the Coast Guard first has to review the comments and make any necessary revisions. The comment period closed Jan. 14.

Editor’s Note: To view the manual and all comments, go to www.regulations.gov and enter USCG-2018-0041.

USCG photo by PA2 Mike Hvozda

Mariner Medical Manual

NTSB APPLAUDS USCG MEDICAL MANUAL

T

he Coast Guard drew praise for the proposed Merchant Mariner Medical Manual from a former critic — the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The NTSB suggested the Coast Guard overhaul its medical review process and require reporting of the results of all physicals after the October 2003 Staten Island Ferry accident that killed 11. The assistant captain, who did not disclose his medical condition and the medications he was taking, lost consciousness before the ferry Andrew J. Barberi slammed into a pier. The upshot is the current NVIC 04-08 which lays out medical and physical evaluation guidelines.

“The combination of the Coast Guard’s increased oversight of medical certification and development of medical guidance ap-

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However, the NTSB continues to find effects from impairing substances (alcohol and over-the-counter, prescription, or illicit drugs) to have contributed to the probable cause across all modes of transportation.”

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Barges

Bottomed Out

Conrad Industries

Tank barge sector improves, new hopper barges still depressed.

The Clean Jacksonville is the first U.S.-built LNG bunkering barge.

By Kirk Moore, Associate Editor

22

A

surging economy, acquisitions and better prospects for tank barge operators have all helped to boost the barge sector in the last year. Upbeat 2018 fourth-quarter reports from public companies brought some optimism, after a year that saw the closure of the oldest U.S. inland barge builder.

The Trump administration’s trade feud with China brought retaliatory tariffs on soybeans that dragged down exports by around one-third, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But as negotiations continued and tensions cooled, exports began moving again in the last weeks of 2018, a year that meanwhile saw big growth in U.S. corn exports as South American farmers contended with a poor growing season.

“It has hurt, it was a loss of volume. It was intended to be punitive, and it was,” said Brent Dibner, president of Dibner Maritime Associates LLC, a maritime and logistics consultancy in

Chestnut Hill, Mass. “Now it appears as negotiations continue, there’s a rapprochement. Obviously, the loss of Chinese volume has hurt. It will gradually tighten.”

The administration’s efforts to boost U.S. steel production and the overall growth of the economy likewise are anticipated to put more raw materials and metal products onto the waterways, with U.S. Steel, Nucor Corp. and other producers planning expansions.

The soybean spat was followed by a near-record corn season, “so there was some tradeoff there. It wasn’t as bad as people thought it would be,” said Sandor J. Toth, publisher of River Transport News (RTN). U.S. trade policies are helping to drive steelmakers’ confidence of recovery too, so “on balance it’s to the benefit of the barge industry,” he added.

Despite the coal industry’s political support in the White House, barge deliveries of coal overall www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Trinity Industries and its spin-off company Arcosa accounted for most of the small amount of newbuild hopper barges built in 2018-2019.

noted.

Houston-based Kirby Corp. reported that its fourth quarter 2018 operating margin was 11.6% compared to 8.6% in fourth quarter 2017, with revenue in the inland market up by 20%, primarily through Kirby’s $419 million acquisition in early 2018 of the Higman Marine fleet of 159 barges and 75 towboats.

Consolidation continued in January

USDA

EARNINGS UP FOR SOME Publicly traded barge companies reported positive results after a protracted downbeat period. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Seacor Holdings reported that its inland transportation group had operating income of $8.3 million in the fourth quarter 2018, up from $5.9 million in fourth quarter 2017.

The fourth quarter and first calendar quarter of each year usually reflect a surge in demand to move grain following the U.S. fall harvest. “Notwithstanding the reduced exports of soybeans in 2018 due to the trade dispute with China, pool results in the current year quarter and the fourth quarter of 2017 were similar,” the Seacor report

Barges on the Lower Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, La.

Trinity Industries

Kirk Moore

continues to drop, beset by competition from cheap natural gas and utility operators giving up in the face of environmental costs.

Since 2015 Alabama Power has retired or converted to natural gas 13 of its 23 coal-fired plants. The Tennessee Valley Authority has likewise closed half of its coal units.

For builders of inland barges, demand remained sharply depressed, with the 2018 closing of Jeffboat LLC the biggest casualty of a three-year tumble in the market. In contrast, builders of articulated tug-barges (ATB) are busy, with Conrad Shipyard, VT Halter Marine, Bollinger Shipyards and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding among those delivering new ATB units.

Grain barges near New Orleans. Analysts say a plunge in 2018 soybean exports to China was somewhat offset by high demand for U.S. corn. www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

when Kirby bought up Cenac Marine Services LLC and its fleet of 63 30,000-bbl. tank barges, 34 inland towboats and two offshore tugs. Both of those deals brought in young fleets – Higman vessels average eight years and Cenac’s barges average four years in age. That bulked up the nation’s biggest tank barge fleet, reducing newbuild expenses.

Construction of hopper barges hit a new low in 2018 when just 214 were delivered to operators, RTN reported.

Those numbers came on the heels of the shutdown of Jeffboat, the nation’s oldest inland shipyard in Jeffersonville, Ind., after its owner American Commercial Lines determined that there was too little prospect of future work to keep the facility operating.

In fall 2018, Dallas-based Trinity Industries spun-off its tank barge building division as part of Arcosa Inc., a new publicly traded group of Trinity’s infrastructure-related business lines. Trinity previous had closed two shipyards in 2015 and 2016, laying off more than 600 workers, as demand 23

Barges dropped off.

But last year it delivered 75 new barges to Ingram Barge Co., Nashville, Tenn., accounting for the most newbuilds of 2018. Trinity spokesman Jack Todd said there will be enough work in 2019 to reopen the yard at Madisonville, La. LNG, ATBS Most notable among special purpose

barges was the Clean Jacksonville, the first LNG bunker barge to be built in North America. Delivered by Conrad Orange Shipyard, Orange, Texas, to Tote Maritime’s Jax LNG LLC, the 232'×48'8"×15'8" vessel will fuel Tote’s Puerto Rico Marlin-class containerships at their Jacksonville, Fla., homeport.

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In January VT Halter was awarded a $78 million contract from the Navy to build two accommodations barges for sailors to live aboard when their ships are laid up for repair or overhaul. The barges, to be delivered by July 2020, will have berths for up to 600 sailors and accommodate up to 1,100 for meals.

They will be the Navy’s first new floating living quarters built in some years, with updated amenities to improve quality of life for service members. The agreement includes an option for four additional barges and services from Halter. The company estimates the total deal could be worth $240 million.

Halter is also building the first U.S.flag offshore LNG bunkering barge for New Orleans-based Q-LNG. The 324'×64'×32.6' barge will be mated to a 128'×42'×21' tug and have a capacity of 4,000 cu. meters of fuel. A second ATB with double the cargo capacity of 8,000 cu. meters is planned.

The growth of the ATB fleet in the coastal petroleum products trade continued, with at least 10 projects reported in WorkBoat’s 2018-2019 construction survey. That may lead to some oversupply in conventional tankers, now faced with competition from the quick cycling abilities of ATB operators, said Dibner.

But with the growth of LNG and other energy technologies, including electric cars, Dibner thinks the entire industry will see slow but ultimately significant changes.

“We’re getting close to the point where we will eventually see a downturn of gasoline and diesel. It will be subtle, it will take time, but it will happen,” he said. “We are at a stage where in the next 10 years we are going to see a peaking of petroleum transport.”

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat 3/22/19 10:11 AM

CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT WORKBOAT YARDS

On TheWays

ON THE WAYS Dakota Creek delivers ferry with Tier 4 emission controls

T

he first U.S. passenger ferry with Tier 4 emissions controls went into service with the San Francisco Bay Ferry system in March. The 445-passenger high speed Pyxis is the fifth new ferry built for the fleet since the Hydrus class started in 2017 and serves the growing 28-mile Vallejo route.

“They operate on a longer route than the Hydrus boats.

We’re a one-hour trip,” said Martin Robbins, general manager of the ferry system’s Vallejo division. “These are waterjet boats, so they’re designed for 34 knots. They will make 37 or 38 knots running light.”

Delivered in February by Dakota Creek Industries Inc., Anacortes, Wash., the 142.7'×40'×5.4', all-aluminum Pyxis is the first new boat on the northern bay route since 1997, and the first of three to be delivered by the end of 2019. It is similar in design to the earlier waterjet ferries also conceived by designers at Advanced Multihull Designs (AMD) of Australia, sized up to accommodate steady demand growth on the route, said Robbins.

“It’s largely the same design, 2.6 meters (8.5') longer so we can get passenger capacity up from the mid-300s to 445,” he said. “We’ve seen steady growth for five to six years. We slowed down a little bit, and that might have been because of our capacity limits. The parking lots are full and we’ve

26

WETA

New 445-passenger ferry is working in San Francisco Bay.

had to turn people away. Hopefully these new boats will help turn that around.”

Power comes from two MTU 16V4000M65 engines rated at 3,433 hp each, driving a pair of HamiltonJet HT810 waterjets through ZF 9055 gears. Propulsion integration

by Pacific Power Group, Kent, Wash., includes the Tier 4 emissions controls — a first for U.S. ferries and an expensive endeavor that other operators have thus far avoided.

“We didn’t have any choice, it’s the law” under California state mandates, said Robbins. PPG supplied power packages and emissions controls for the Hydrus-class boats that surpassed its nominal Tier 3 ratings, classing them as the cleanest U.S. passenger ferries.

Operated by the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), the bay ferry system has long been a pioneer in cleaner boats. The 320-passenger Solano, delivered by Dakota Creek in 2004, was equipped with an early, experimental selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions system that was not so efficient “but it proved very educational,” said Robbins. “In the next 12 to 14 years the technology has become more advanced.”

Sisterships Lyra and Vela are scheduled for delivery in June and December. WETA officials say the Pyxis was www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Conrad delivers another ATB to Vane Brothers

C

All American Marine

onrad Shipyard, Morgan City, La., has delivered the third of a new class of articulated tug-barges to Vane Brothers Company, Baltimore.

The ATB is the last of a series of three like units built for Vane. The first ATB, the tug Assateague, built at Conrad’s Orange, Texas, facility, is paired with the 80,000-bbl. barge Double Skin 801, which Conrad built in Amelia, La. All three ATB tugs were designed by Greg Castleman of Castleman Maritime. Bristol Harbor Group designed the barges. The second ATB, the tug Chincoteague, is paired with the barge Double Skin 802.

“It was a good project the way the boats turned out,” said Castleman.

“Performance has been as expected, maybe even a little better.”

The ATB is made up of the 110'×38', 4,400-hp tug Wachapreague and 403'×74'×32', 80,000-bbl. barge Double Skin 803. The tug and barge are connected with a Beacon Finland JAK 700 coupling system. The barge is equipped with bowthrusters and thermal heaters for asphalt cargo. The tug has a design draft of 15'4" and is powered by two 2,200-hp Cummins QSK60M, Tier 3 engines. Fourbladed Hung Shen bronze propellers, measuring 102" each, are turned by Karl Senner-supplied Reintjes WAF 873 gears with 7.087:1 reduction ratios.

The tug is also outfitted with internal hydraulic shaft brakes, Vulkan torsional couplings, and Aventics control

Conrad Industries

designed and built at a cost of $23 million. — Kirk Moore

Third in a series of three ATBs for Vane is now at work.

system. The tug has accommodations for a crew of 10. Crew access to the barges is via a Schoelhorn-Albrecht custom-made gangway.

“Working with Jim Demske (Vane’s senior port captain) and all the people at Vane was a real pleasure,” said Castleman, whose business is “parked” for the time being. “I’m still operating as far as past projects that might have follow-ups are concerned, but I’m working for SeaOne Holdings (Houston) on ships that will deliver natural gas and natural gas liquids and really enjoying it.”

The new Assateague-class of ATB tugs has been developed using American Bureau of Shipping rules for a classed vessel, feature raised forecastles and will admeasure under 500 gt.

— David Krapf and Ken Hocke

All American launches low wake, high speed ferry for Kitsap Transit

A

ll American Marine Inc. (AAM) has launched the second of three low-wake, high-speed passenger vessels for Kitsap Transit.

The 77' Reliance, an aluminum catamaran with a composite superstructure, was launched in Bellingham, Wash., in March. The vessel was designed

by Teknicraft Design, Auckland, New

New ferry will run between Bremerton, Wash., and downtown Seattle.`

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Zealand, and will operate on Kitsap’s current cross-sound ferry route between Bremerton and downtown Seattle.

The design of the new vessel was based upon the ultra-low-wake Rich Passage 1 (RP1), built by All American in 2011. AAM, the exclusive builder of Teknicraft hulls in North America, was tapped as the sole source to build this vessel. Teknicraft’s patented hydrofoilassisted hull design has a low-wake wash energy signature that will not degrade the sensitive shore lines of Rich Passage, shipyard officials said.

The Reliance was designed to carry 118 passengers and travel at a service speed of up to 36 knots. AAM constructed the hulls with high tensile strength 5383 aluminum alloy. The passenger cabin and deck were made from composites. The hydrofoil was molded in carbon fiber and automatically adjusts as the vessel transits Rich Passage.

Main propulsion will come from four Tier 3 Caterpillar C-18 diesel engines connected to HamiltonJet 403 waterjets. The shipyard utilized lightweight aluminum honeycomb panel materials for finishing the interior spaces and applied high performance bottom paint to help meet speed and wake requirements.

In 2005, through a series of federally funded wake wash studies, it became evident that the wake signature of a Teknicraft standard hydrofoil-assisted catamaran produced the least amount of wake wash energy within its vessel class. Kitsap Transit contracted with Pacific International Engineering, Edmonds, Wash., to spearhead the ongoing research efforts in conjunction with All American and Teknicraft to further enhance and optimize the vessel’s design.

Teknicraft’s principal naval architect, 27

On TheWays

SeaRobotics

Nic de Waal, worked with hydrodynamicists from the University of Iowa’s IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering Research Center as well as naval architects from INSEAN in Rome, Italy, to model an ultra-low wake hull.

Coastal specialists from Golder Associates, Redmond, Wash., evaluated the proposed vessel’s performance in terms of wake generation and resistance. The vessel optimization study utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques to help refine the shape of the hull and hydrofoil to produce lower wake heights with less wake energy.

“Our hydrofoil supported hull has been developed and refined over the last decade to become a leader in catamaran technology,” de Waal said in a statement announcing the launch. “With the additional benefit of sophisticated and intensive CFD modeling over recent periods, we now have one of the most advanced and environmentally friendly hulls in terms of the combination of low wake, high speed, and low fuel consumption.”

As a result of the studies, All American built the Rich Passage 1. RP1 was placed into ferry service by Kitsap Transit in 2017.

The successful launch of the Reliance will provide Kitsap Transit with a backup vessel on the BremertonSeattle route. A third sistership, Lady Swift, is currently under construction at AAM and will launch this summer.

“Reliance is not your typical ferry. It was built to be very lightweight and to fly smoothly through the wake sensitive zone,” said Matt Mullett, All Ameri-

can’s CEO. “This vessel was strictly modeled on the proven hull design, but additional enhancements and modernizations were added without hampering performance.” — K. Hocke

SeaRobotics tests new autonomous surface vehicle for the Navy research lab

A

t the end of last year, SeaRobotics, Stuart, Fla., completed factory acceptance testing of its new entry into the autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) workboat market — the SR-Endurance 7.0 meter system — for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

The system is optimized for sonar research through the utilization of an optionally manned helm configuration and a serial diesel electric propulsion system. Outfitted with an instrumented launch and recovery system (LARS), and supporting hydrographic winch system, the aluminum SR-Endurance 7.0 is capable of deploying towed sonar/instrument systems, dipping sonar/ systems, or ROV systems.

The 23'×9'6" boat was delivered with a remote control and autonomous tow body winch and over boarding system designed for deploying towed and dipping sonar systems. The SR-Endurance 7.0 also has a hull mounted pipe flange for integrating hull mounted sonar systems.

“Having built numerous ASVs in the six-to-11-meter range, we are now offering a commercial workboat for the research and survey markets,” Geoff Douglass, SeaRobotics ASV develop-

Autonomous vessel can be manned going through congested areas.

28

ment manager, said in a statement announcing the delivery. “In many operational scenarios the advantages derived from a variable depth sensor such as a multibeam or side scan sonar, sub bottom profiler, or magnetometer, as well as the surface motion mitigation, make towed systems valuable in autonomous operations.

With a one-meter (3.28') draft and powered by a Torqeedo Deep Blue diesel electric hybrid drive, the 5,500lb. (dwt outfitted) SR-Endurance 7.0 has an endurance of up to six days at survey speed (10 knots) and up to 10 hours between automatic battery recharge. The boat’s quiet platform for sonar/sensor research belies its 80-hp strength, company officials said. The multipurpose LARS and payload interface enable the integration of numerous user configured payload systems. A standard 6" pipe flange with cableway is mounted under the hull to provide additional instrument mounting options for additional instruments.

The optionally manned helm enables manned operation in congested waterways and for ramp operations when required. With the flip of a switch, semi-autonomous operations, remote piloting and direct remote-control functionality is provided. Navigation is supported by a pre-programmed or remotely operated pan/tilt/zoom video system, 360° video coverage with four situation awareness cameras, radar, AIS, low bandwidth Iridium broadband, and a high bandwidth line of sight RF link. Controls and steering are the responsibility of a SeaRobotics CyberHelm system.

The SR-Endurance 7.0 ASV can be configured with various propulsion configurations. The aluminum general purpose hull offers a large back deck area for mission reconfigurable payloads. The rear cargo deck measures 4.5m×2m (14.76'×6.56').

“We were delighted to design and build this new system, one which proved to be of critical importance to the research of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory,” said Don Darling, SeaRobotics president. — K. Hocke www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

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Schottel

he new articulated tug-barge unit Evening Breeze/B. No. 252 has been delivered to Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc., Melville, N.Y., by VT Halter Marine Inc. and Bollinger Shipyards. The 112'×35'×17', 4,000-hp tug Evening Breeze left VT Halter’s Pascagoula, Miss., facility on March 12 to pair up with the 317'6"×70'×28', 55,000-bbl. B. No. 252 built at Bollinger, Lockport, La. The tug and barge are linked by an Intercon coupler system. The Evening Breeze, sistership to the Evening Star delivered in 2015, is the first Bouchard tug to meet Tier 4 emission requirements.

The 332.1'×65.6' inspection maintenance and repair (IMR) vessel Paul Candies, built by Candies Shipbuilders for its parent company Otto Candies LLC, Des Allemands, La., is equipped with three different Schottel propulsion systems. Its two Combi Drives feature two transverse thrusters and one retractable Rudderpropeller, designed for maximum maneuverability and a high free running speed. With its two SCD 560 STP Schottel azimuth thrusters, the diesel-electric vessel reaches a speed of 14 knots. The 2,600-kW SCD 560 STP features the Schottel twin propeller concept.

By sharing the load between two propellers, there is an increase in propulsion efficiency and a reduction in fuel consumption over single propeller systems, Schottel officials said.

Gulf Island Shipyards has delivered the Ted C. Litton, a 98'6"×42'8"×16'5" Z-Tech 30-80-class terminal/escort tug, to Suderman & Young Towing Co., Houston. The tug was designed by Robert Allan Ltd., Vancouver, British Colombia, and built at Gulf Island’s Jennings, La., location. Main propulsion comes from two Caterpillar 3516E, C rating, Tier 4 diesel engines, each producing 3,386 hp at 1,800 rpm. The Cats are connected to Schottel SRP 510 FP Z-drives, giving

30

332' inspection maintenance and repair vessel built in Louisiana.

the new tug a bollard pull of 80 tonnes and a minimum speed of 13 knots.

Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., has delivered the 154'×25'5"×9'6" Joseph Doyle, the 33rd fast response cutter (FRC), to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard took delivery of the new boat in Key West, Fla., in March.

For the FRC, Bollinger is using a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. Main propulsion comes from twin MTU 20V4000 M93L diesel engines, producing 2,900 hp each. The patrol boat has a flank speed of 28 knots.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc., Panama City, Fla., launched the 100'×40'×16'4" escort/rescue Z-drive tug Capt. Jim McAllister for McAllister Towing in March. The tug is being built at Eastern’s Allanton, Fla., facility and is scheduled for delivery later this year.

Main propulsion for the Capt. Jim McAllister will come from twin Caterpillar 3516E, Tier 4 diesel engines producing 3,386 hp at 1,800 rpm each. The Cats connect to Schottel SRP-4000 fixed pitch Z-drives in drop-in tubs. Ship’s service power will come from three Cat

Bollinger Shipyards Inc.

Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc.

On TheWays BOATBUILDING BITTS

Fast response cutter will operate out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

C7.1 turbocharged gensets, sparking 118 kW of electrical power at 1,800 rpm each. For firefighting, a Cat C 9.3 Tier 3 auxiliary diesel engine is connected to a Fire Fighting Systems (FFS) FSP 150×200 fire pump and an FFS 300M monitor, pushing 3,000 gpm. On deck will be a stern-mounted Markey Machinery series DEPF-42-40 towing winch, and a bow-mounted Markey DEPCF-52-75 hawser winch.

The first of the Navy’s new T-ATS class of open ocean towing, salvage and rescue vessels, the 262.8'×59.06'×24.61' Navajo, will be built at Gulf Island Shipyards, Houma, La., under a $63.5 million contract. It will be based on an existing commercial offshore towing design to replace the Navy’s current T-ATF and T-ARS 50 ships. Features will include an ABSclassed DP-2 system, deck machinery by MacGregor to provide bollard pull of 160 tons, and a 6,000-sq.-ft. working deck.

Metal Shark recently opened a European engineering office, Metal Shark Croatia. Located in Rijeka on Croatia’s northern Adriatic coast, the office currently employs about 20 naval architects, machinery systems engineers, and electrical engineers. www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

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Deepwater State Is there finally some light at the end of the tunnel for offshore?

By Bill Pike, Correspondent

32

O

ver the past year, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry has been characterized by more depressed activity. Major oil companies such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have essentially abandoned the region with activity levels at significant lows.

The activity slump is partially a result of low oil prices that have plagued the industry recently.

Last year, a recovery in oil prices looked promising but prices in the fourth quarter tumbled from just over $75 bbl. for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to less than $45 bbl. Although the WTI price rose 32% in the first quarter to $60.14 bbl., it has not returned to the highs of 2018. This has stifled a strong recovery and has been driving sustained depressed activity levels in the U.S. Gulf.

The roller coaster price of oil over the past year

has been driven both by international production issues and the continuing explosion of shale oil production in the U.S., particularly in the Permian Basin and New Mexico.

Production in Saudi Arabia, a key international producer, has remained fairly steady, with periodic, unsustained cuts having little effect on the rising production levels in the country. In Venezuela, a once prominent producer and OPEC member, production has fallen to almost nothing, due to the continuing political issues in the country. And in Russia, oil production, which has seen a continuous rise over the last few years, hit a post-Soviet record high of 11.16 million barrels per day (bpd) last year on an annual average basis, according to data from its energy ministry.

Each of these factors and others have contributed to destabilized oil prices. www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Is 2019 the year when the Gulf of Mexico offshore market finally shows some life?

a strong year for the Gulf of Mexico.

OPENER: JOO Breeze or JOO Lightning or JOO Sunset“In addition to exciting new projects, which could usher in more than $10 Is 2019 the year when the Gulf Mexico finally shows life?

Butof it was U.S shaleoffshore production market billion of investment into some the region, drove the lack of confidence. a couple of historic firsts set to occur CREDIT: Jackson Offshore that Operators

WTI OIL PRICE

Jackson Offshore Operators

U.S. crude oil production hit a record next year could set the stage for years 12 million bpd in the week ending to come,” said Turner.

Feb. 15, an increase of 100,000 bpd In its annual outlook, US Gulf of from the previous week, U.S. Energy Mexico: 5 things to look for in 2019, Cover Story Information Administration (EIA) WoodMac said that after four years of petroleum data showed. This consteady decline, exploration activity is firmed that U.S. production is growing expected to increase next year by 30%.

Deepwater State Shell and Chevron will lead the way, faster than forecasts suggested just a months ago. U.S. crude oil exports but the actual growth in exploration Is there finally some light atfew the end of the tunnel for offshore? will come from new entrants, Woodalso hit an all-time high that week, Mac said. surging to 3.6 million bpd, beating Merger and acquisition activity in previous record of 3.2 million bpd

By Bill Pike, Correspondentthe the Gulf of Mexico is also expected to set in November 2018. The EIA now pick up, according to WoodMac. that U.S.of crude oil producOver the past year, theestimates U.S. Gulf Mexico oil and gas industry has been “There appears to be plenty for sale tion will average 12.4 million bpd this characterized by more depressed such in deepwater Gulf as of Mexico,” Turner year andactivity.

13.2 millionMajor bpd next oil year,companies said.

“We believe the quality of the with most of the growth coming from ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have essentially abandoned the region with assets is high. If oil prices cooperate, the Permian Basin. activity levels at significant lows. The activity slump is partially resultM&A of low oil we could seeaa thriving market in 2019.”

BRIGHTER FUTURE? prices that have plagued the industry recently.

A key factor to ensuring a strong Drilling should increase in 2019, acLast year, a recovery in oil prices looked promising but prices infuture the fourth year ahead and in the will be cording to a report by analysts Wood holding on to the industrywide Mackenzie.

Production will get Texas a quarter tumbled from just over $75 bbl. for West Intermediate (WTI) toef-less ficiency gains made since 2014, the boost as Shell’s Appomattox deepthan $45 bbl. Although the WTI price rose in the first quarter ($62 WoodMac reportbbl. said. on April 4), water field in the Gulf of Mexico is “In the last four years, deepwater brought on line and Chevron’s Anchor it has not returned to the highs of 2018.

This has stifled a strong recovery and has operators have focused heavily on project in Green Canyon Block 807 is been driving sustained depressed levels in the U.S. Gulf. standardization and lean operations, expectedactivity to move forward, WoodMac industry collaboration to achieve fiscal said. discipline,” said Turner. “Reverting Senior researcher William Turner of to inefficient ways of doing things is Wood Mackenzie expects 2019 to be WTI OIL PRICE

Source: Business Insider, https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti SOURCE: BusinessInsider https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oilwww.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat 33 price?type=wti

U.S. OIL PRODUCTION U.S. OIL PRODUCTION

Source: Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/us_oil.php.

SOURCE: Energy Information Department Energy, ToU.S. Exxon and othersoflike Conoa real threat that operators needAdministration, to https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/us_oil.php. coPhillips, the Gulf of Mexico has look out for in 2019. The challenge to been displaced by cheaper shale foroperators and the service sector alike mations onshore and by new offshore will be to hold onto lessons learned, BRIGHTER plays like Guyana, where Exxon’s mitigate efficiency risks where possible FUTURE? Drilling should increase in 2019, according to afield report analysts giant Liza is by expected to Wood produce and properly plan for higher costs and Mackenzie.

Production will get a boost as Shell’s Appomattox deepwater field in 120,000 bpd in its first phase. longer schedules where unavoidable.” the Gulf of Mexico is brought on line. According to same Woodtime Mackenzie, exploration At the that ExxonMobil in the GOM could increase by 30% with new by several companies. wasplays considering GOM PRODUCERS shedding some of its Senior researcher William Turner of Wood Mackenzie expects 2019 to be a In 2017, ExxonMobil began to coninvestments in the Gulf, ConocoPhilstrong year for the Gulf assets of Mexico. to exciting which sider selling deepwater in the“In addition lips officials saidnew thatprojects, the company could usher in more than $10 billion of investment into the region, a couple Gulf of Mexico that produced about would stop searching for oil and of gas historic firsts set to occur next year could set stage forfields, yearsand to come,” said 50,000 bpd. At that time, the company in the deepwater that it planned Turner. had stakes in Gulf assets that produced to sell offshore leases it doesn’t intend the equivalent of more than US 200,000 to drill.

In its annual outlook, Gulf of Mexico: 5 things to look for in 2019, bpd and 730 million cubic feet of gas is not aexploration coincidence that ExxWoodMac said that after four years of steady It decline, activity is daily, according to company onMobil is now will one of thethe biggest expected to increase next yeardata. by 30%. Shell and Chevron lead way, but While Exxon is the valuable pubplayers in entrants, the Permian Basin, with the actual growth in most exploration will come from new WoodMac said. licly traded oil company, it is only the Chevron planning to operate in its ninth-largest operator in the Gulf. stacked plays for years to come.

34

But a large number of players have stayed, betting on the GOM’s recovery. Shell, which maintains a strong position and interest in the U.S. Gulf, was the largest bidder in the most recent GOM lease sale, offering nearly $95 million in 88 bids in licensing round 252.

Shell made a primary discovery, one of its largest exploration finds in the past decade in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, in February 2018. In a conference call, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said: “When we announced the Whale discovery last year, I said we’re looking to accelerate the development cycle and bring the project on stream faster. So, I’m pleased to announce that we’re already assessing the results of the exploration and appraisal wells that we have drilled at Whale.”

BP is also a major player in the GOM and has approved a major expansion at the Atlantis project.

“BP’s Gulf of Mexico business is key to our strategy of growing production of advantaged high-margin oil,” said Bernard Looney, BP’s chief executive, upstream. “We are building on our world-class position, upgrading the resources at our fields through technology, productivity and exploration success.”

Looney said that these fields are still young — only 12% of the hydrocarbons in place across BP’s Gulf portfolio have been produced so far. “We can see many opportunities for further development, offering the potential

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Images for illustrative purpose only.

THE CALM BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE

STORM

NO MATTER WHAT MOTHER NATURE THROWS AT YOU, TRUST THE FLIR M400 THERMAL NIGHT VISION CAMERA TO BE YOUR EYES IN THE DARK SO YOU CAN NAVIGATE STRESS-FREE.

sector alike will be to hold onto lessons learned, mitigate efficiency risks where possible and properly plan for higher costs and longer schedules where unavoidable.”

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook.

be on the conservative side.

Peter Laborde of Laborde Marine, IHS Markit’s Richard Sanchez New Orleans, agreed. “The market is noted that the morePRODUCERS optimistic market still at the bottom of the trough. RecovGOM watchers project that the industry will ery is 18 months to two years away.”

In 2017, ExxonMobil began deepwater assets in the WORKBOAT ACTIVITY add one to twoto rigsconsider this year, but selling that Jackson Offshore Operators’ vice Gulf Given the roller coaster ride the oil prices50,000 do not appear to beAt strong president chief operating officer of Mexico that produced about bpd. that time, theandcompany had stakes in workboat industry has been on over enough to draw additional activity.

Matt Rigdon is looking at three or four that produced the equivalent 200,000 bpd.returns and to730 theGulf last fewassets years, with more down Sanchez looks for only of one more rig to be thanyears before business normal cycles than up cycles, it is no wonder added in 2019.

“The workboat industry levels.

“In deepwater, the market million cubic feet of gas daily, according to company data. While Exxon ishasthe that opinions about the market tend to is not very exciting now,” he said. been flat since mid-2018, at approxi-

to continue to create significant value through the middle of the next decade and beyond,” he said.

SUBSEA/IMR VESSEL MARKET PICKS UP ome things are changing in the offshore service vessel market. One of those is the need for subsea/inspection maintenance and repair (IMR) vessels. These vessels are responding both to the explosion in subsea equipment and the aging shallow-water infrastructure.

A combination OSV and IMR vessel, these vessels are generally characterized by a large crane on deck. With some 4,000 structures of varying ages and health in the GOM, they have their work cut out for them.

Subsea/IMR vessels fall into two general categories, depending on their size. Light construction vessels provide a multitude of light well intervention services, including maintenance and repair, mechanical installation, perforation, zone isolation, fluid sampling, chemical treatment and production testing (PLT). All are aimed at lowering costs and improving efficiency and output.

The fleet of heavier vessels includes a number of multipurpose supply vessels (MPSVs) equipped to perform a variety of complex deepwater support operations, including subsea construction, installation, maintenance, repair, pipe laying, platform decommissioning and ROV support.

36

Harvey Gulf International Marine

S

The subsea, inspection maintenance and repair vessel Harvey Intervention.

Among the GOM workboat operators with subsea/IMR vessels are Edison Chouest, Bordelon Marine, Hornbeck Offshore, Tidewater, Otto Candies, and Harvey Gulf. The focus of some operators now is primarily the subsea/IMR market. — B. Pike

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

mately 20 vessels,” he said. “In my opinion, any significant increase in vessels numbers is unlikely this year.

Perhaps we will add one vessel but there won’t be a boom.

“We don’t think the market will return to normalcy until 2022, 2023,” Rigdon continued. “Probably the biggest concern with regard to the timing of this prediction is what levels of production will we see from onshore unconventional production in the next few years.”

The prospect of large-scale mandatory drydockings contributes to the muted outlook. With large numbers of vessels stacked for long terms and active vessels seeking drydock extensions, a potential drydocking crisis looms.

“With regard to mandatory upcoming drydockings in the $1 million to $2 million range, owners are looking at current day rates and it doesn’t

make sense,” said Sanchez. “Those with big fleets can, and do, withdraw boats with pending drydockings from the market and replace them with other vessels.”

Rigdon agreed. “The market will be tight in the coming months due to the number of vessels that must be drydocked. Over half of the deepwater vessels now in operation were delivered in the 2014-2015 time frame.

They are now due for the mandatory five-year special survey.”

But he sees a potential upside. “The fall in working OSVs due to drydocking will put supply and demand almost in equilibrium,” Rigdon noted. “The second factor in favor of day rates is that the spot market for vessels is, more or less, vanished. One of our customers looking for a spot market vessel had only one vessel offered in a recent opportunity announcement.”

The outlook for day rates are mixed.

According to Sanchez, shallow water is currently more active than deepwater, with day rates up $800 to $1,000 over average rates over the last four years. “For big vessels, day rates have improved some but big boat owners don’t want to sign less than 90-day contracts which may make day rate negotiations a bit more strenuous,” said Sanchez.

The day rate for large OSVs is $13,000 to $17,000 on average, with spot rates up to $20,000. Larger vessels (4,000 to 6,000 dwt) need day rates of $25,000 per day to begin repaying everyone and cover construction and operational costs.

“The industry overbuilt its fleet in 2013 and 2014 and haven’t seen a recovery that uses all the extra vessels,” Sanchez said. “Stronger oil prices would help. In this respect, workboat owners are suffering from their own success.”

They protect us.

Every day. Every night.

And they need your support.

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The United States Coast Guard Inspire leadership, learning and a legacy of service by supporting the brave men and women of the United States Coast Guard through the Coast Guard Foundation.

To learn how you can help, call (860) 535-0786 or visit our website at www.coastguardfoundation.org Ask About our boAt DonAtion ProgrAm USCG photo by pA1 tom SperdUto

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

37

Electronics Lighting

Radio Waves More radar choices for river vessels.

By Michael Crowley, Correspondent

38

O

ver the years, river towboats have not had as many radar choices as coastal and oceangoing vessels. But that’s been changing, starting with the introduction of Furuno’s 4-kW FR1908VBB radar last year.

Then in March, Furuno delivered the first 12-kW FR1918VBB river radar.

Furuno’s first river radar, a version of one of its large ship radars, was the FR2125V that came out in the late 1990s. The “V” identified it as having a vertical display with a fore-and-aft view of the river, as opposed to the horizontal view that’s more suited to coastal and oceangoing vessels. It was probably also the first radar with that target presentation and performance features optimized for the river environment, including the ability to

build a river tow on the screen with barge icons.

“The representation of your tow was scalable on the radar screen,” said Matt Wood, Furuno’s national sales manager. “You were able to look at the size of the tow and action of the vessel and predict your motion on the river environment.”

Other than going from a CRT to an LCD display, there were few changes to the FR2125V over the ensuing years as Furuno concentrated on other radar systems. But in the last few years the company has worked with dealers in the Gulf and river regions to come up with an improved river radar. That’s the FR1908VBB, which is a bit of a hybrid of technologies taken from river radars used in Europe and signal processing and radar technologies that have gone into Furuno’s general www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

Furuno

Furuno’s FR1908V radar was designed specifically for navigating rivers.

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

BEIJER ELECTRONICS X2 EXTREME DESIGNED FOR THE OPEN DECK available in April.

Some examples of how Beijer operator panels have been used include the retrofit of an alarm system on a tug where the addition of a Beijer operator panel was a key element in developing a monitoring system for the entire vessel. Using Beijer’s software, data was brought into the X2 Marine color touch screen from the alarms, as well as data from the main engines and generators. Since the X2 Marine has quad processors there wasn’t a data or display lag in the graphics.

In another example, a vessel operator used the X2 Marine to monitor ballast water.

Sensors detect where the water comes from and any kind of impurities. “Tie that all into one system and our operator panels can be the eyes and ears of what’s going on,” said Hayes.

In another case, a Beijer operator panel was used for monitoring a vessel’s HVAC system to keep track of the temperatures throughout an area of a boat. The panel would be interfaced to thermostats and controls. “The panel is used to control that.

They can automate the controls or you could manually override them,” said Hayes.

Something that probably sets Beijer apart from its competitors is the number of marine classification societies that have approved the company’s panel displays. That list includes Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register, Det Norske Veritas Germanischer, China Classification Society and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.

– M. Crowley

Koden

D

o you want to keep track of the systems on your vessel without any interruptions, no matter what the operating conditions are?

That could mean operating in heavy seas, dealing with sometimes intense machinery vibrations or extreme heat or cold.

One place to start looking would be Beijer Electronics. The Malmö, Sweden-based company has two versions of operator panels designed for the marine environment, the X2 Marine and the X2 Extreme. Either one can be mounted in the wheelhouse, the engine room, anywhere in between or on deck.

“Need an operator interface on the outside of the boat? These are designed to do that,” said Jeff Hayes, Beijer Electronics regional product manager. Both are designed for “all kinds of rugged related stuff,” he added, including “shock, heavy vibrations and people knocking against it.”

A version of the X2 Extreme that’s especially suited to the open deck and has only been available for the past six months is the sealed model. “The entire thing is sealed from the elements,” Hayes said. “You can stick it outside without having to mount it in a cabinet. Just put it in the weather.” Drop it in the water and its operations aren’t affected.

An even newer product for the marine environment is the WAVE 2. It’s a monitor with screen sizes up to 27" that is designed for a vessel’s wheelhouse. The WAVE 2 comes with either a resistive or capacitive touch screen. The capacitive touch screen allows you to expand or shrink screen images to suit your needs. WAVE 2 monitors should be

X2 extreme panels are designed for rugged environments and are certified by major classification societies.

Beijer Electronics

commercial market.

The LCD display and the ability to build a barge and towboat screen image using icons with length and width measurements in feet remains. A rate of turn indicator that puts turn data on the screen and a rudder position indicator are also part of the package. Being that the FR1908VBB was designed for river work, the radar’s ultra-short pulse length gives superior resolution out to the riverbank, buoys and oncoming vessel detection.

One of the new radar’s features that Wood feels sets it apart from other river radars “is the ability to put the radar on the entire screen, even behind menus. Ninety-five percent of the radar operation is available on the screen.

That maximizes the amount of viewable screen and target availability.”

Thus, the operator is always able to watch his vessel, tow and the immediate environment.

The major difference between the 4-kW FR1908VBB and the 12-kW FR1918VBB is power — the power to see things up close. “It’s not so much about seeing far but seeing well short,” Wood said.

Just because Furuno has come out with a couple of new river radars doesn’t mean it has ignored the rest of the commercial market. Take Furuno’s FAR21X7 radar for example. Over 60,000 of them have been sold since it was introduced in 2004. But this year, Furuno will cease production of the FAR21X7, though it will probably be available for sale into 2020. In its place a new generation of IMO compliant radars has been introduced, the FAR22X8BB. The FAR22X8BB combines the 21X7’s onscreen menu presentation and keyboard with the antenna of the FAR3000 radar, Furuno’s current radar series. “Now you have the advanced signaling processing of the FAR3000 and the familiar keyboard of the X7 radar,” said Wood.

The FAR22X8 is available in 12-kW, 25-kW X-Band, 30-kW S-Band or 250W Solid State S-Band configurations, along with some of Furuno’s newer

39

Electronics features. That includes automatic clutter elimination, where one click of a button clears up false targets and false echos in congested water, and fast target tracking, where anything in motion is constantly monitored. “You get immediate assessment if there’s a danger,” said Wood.

KODEN Koden began shipping its new KAT330 Class A AIS transceiver in March.

One difference between the KAT-330 and its predecessors is that it is much easier for a commercial operator to update the status of his vessel, whether he’s steaming, anchored, what the destination is, “whatever he’s doing,” said Allen Schneider, vice-president with Si-Tex Marine Services, Riverhead, N.Y. “The older system was menu driven and kind of a pain,” he said. The KAT330 has a new interface, and is icon

Koden’s KAT-330 Class A AIS transceiver features a 5" color display.

based “so it’s very easy for the operator to change his status.”

The KAT-330 has a waterproof and weatherproof 5" high-definition LCD

color display with adjustable back lighting that will take C-Map MAX charts. A high-powered integrated long-range Wi-Fi feature allows for “interfacing to laptops for pilots,” said Schneider. “This is a very much updated Class A AIS. It’s a whole new animal.”

Another new electronics unit from Koden is the IMO-certified, 72-channel KGP-922 GPS. Something that makes the KGP-922 different from earlier Koden GPS units is its color display. Previous GPS products came only with a black and white display and a menu system that was hard to operate.

The KGP-922 “is a new color LCD display and much easier to operate,” said Schneider.

In addition, at $1,000 instead of about $1,400, “I think it’s about the lowest priced one on the market.”

News & Updates

Stay connected

40

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

POWER FORWARD

The International WorkBoat Show is a trade-only conference and expo for commercial vessel owners, operators, and builders as well as the vendors and suppliers that serve them. It’s your annual chance to network, shop, connect and learn among the best in the business. Don’t miss out on this maritime industry tradition.

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Registration for the 2019 Show opens this summer!

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www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

For Port of Call advertising, email wjalbert@divcom.com or call 800-842-5496

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ADVERTISERS INDEX Advertiser / Page Ahead Sanitation Systems Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

McDermott Light & Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Beijer Electronics Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine America, Inc 29

C & C Marine and Repair LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Motor-Services Hugo Stamp Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Coast Guard Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

MTU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Conrad Shipyard, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Pacific Marine Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

David Clark Company Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Research Products/Incinolet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Duramax Marine LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV3

R M Young Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Fincantieri Marine Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

R W Fernstrum & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FLIR Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Scania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Furuno USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Smith Berger Marine Inc/Marco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

International WorkBoat Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,41

Tandemloc, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Karl Senner, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV4

Twin Disc Incorporated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV2

Lubriplate Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Volvo Penta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

47

LOOKS BACK MAY 1949

• With increasing supplies of steel plate and slowing of demand, voluntary steel allocations for boat and barge builders are on the way out, steel industry sources say. Production of steel has been increasing each month and order backlogs have been erased as a result. The Commerce Department’s Office of Industry Cooperation has the legal authority to

continue the allocation program until next fall, but OIC officials have told barge builders that the program would not stay in effect any longer than is necessary. The voluntary program was a compromise with the White House that was made in 1947. It relieved steel producers of prosecution under antitrust laws, provided that the steel allocations were approved by the OIC. • The MAY 1959 House seems • Led by a pair of Canadian icebreakers, a string of about 75 oceangoing ships and canallers inaugurated deep-draft transportation April 25 on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The seaway will be formally dedicated by President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II of England on June 26. Built in five years by the U.S. and Canada at a cost of $475 million, the seaway is the largest artificial waterway MAY 1969 built since

• President Nixon has urged Congress to approve highway, airway and waterway user charges that were proposed in the Johnson administration’s budget. That budget called for a two cents per gallon tax on fuel for tugs and towboats with annual increases to 10 cents a gallon. The fuel tax would generate an estimated $7 million in the first year. Nixon’s announcement 48

content this session to wait on the Senate to start the perennial drive to approve the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has again assumed jurisdiction over the controversial project. the Panama Canal was completed. Ship tolls are expected to pay for the seaway in 50 years. It is estimated that the seaway can handle 80% of the world’s current oceangoing fleet.

was the first official comment on the transportation user charge by the new administration.

• Rose Barge Line Inc., St. Louis, has purchased Kenner Shipyard, Kenner, La., an affiliate of Universal Marine, New Orleans. Kenner Shipyard provides maintenance and painting services for barges in the New Orleans area. www.workboat.com • MAY 2019 • WorkBoat

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