WorkBoat July 2025 by WorkBoat

Sea Changes

President, lawmakers eye rebuilding of U.S. ﬂeet.

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FEATURES

12 Vessel Report: Building Bigger

The U.S. dredging ﬂeet is growing in size and capacity.

22 Cover Story: Tall Order

Trump’s attempt to revive U.S. shipping is a heavy lift.

BOATS & GEAR

16 On the Ways

• New patrol boat built for Alaska State Troopers

• Moran christens tug in Port of Beaumont • Solar-powered research vessel under construction

• Moose Boats to build hybrid patrol boat

• Silverback delivers landing craft trio, building law enforcement vessel • Crewboat delivered to EMIS • MSC oiler christened • ThayerMahan christens novel underwater vehicle

• Austal USA lays keel for Navy T-ATS.

26 Power Guide

WorkBoat’s annual directory of marine diesel engines.

42 Rapid Response

Technology is aiding recovery in MOB incidents.

44 Like New!

Pilot boat operator reduces cost, downtime.

NEWS LOG

6 Empire Wind project revived by Trump administration.

6 'Fundamental changes' in store for US Coast Guard

6 Shipbuilder Conrad taps Cecil Hernandez as CEO.

6 Former merchant mariner is named to lead Marad

7 On the Water: The 'experience gradient.

7 Credentialing Insight: Physical credentials needed.

8 Energy Level: Maritime industry proﬁle rising.

8 Inland Insider: Corps lowers budget sights.

9 Capital Corridors: Cheer the SHIPS Act.

10 Insurance Watch: Premiums likely to reﬂect tariﬀs.

10 HSE: The message lawmakers must hear.

11 Legal Talk: A vessel can be liable for damage from its wake.

11 Captain's Table: Sea-time rules hinder licensing.

SAVE THE DATE

Maritime momentum

Iwant to go on record stating that the recent surge in government support for the U.S. maritime industry is the most encouraging development I’ve seen in my career covering this vital sector. While signi cant challenges and unanswered questions remain, the optimism among industry stakeholders — from vessel owners and operators to shipyards and suppliers — is unmistakable.

Based on my discussions, it’s clear that the combination of President Donald Trump’s Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance executive order issued on April 9 and the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act reintroduced on April 30 are generating a strong sense of momentum and con dence that meaningful, long-term reforms to strengthen the U.S. maritime sector are on the horizon.

The U.S. maritime industry — often overlooked compared with air, road, and rail transport — has long been a cornerstone of the nation’s economy and national security. It reliably moves goods and commodities, supports millions of jobs, and ensures military readiness through its commercial operations and shipbuilding infrastructure. While the industry has traditionally operated quietly and ef ciently behind the scenes, it now appears ready to step into the spotlight.

While the SHIPS Act and President Trump’s shipbuilding executive order primarily target large, oceangoing vessels, they include provisions that will affect the broader maritime industry, including the focus of this publication:

Eric Haun, Executive Editor ehaun@divcom.com

the workboat sector. Initiatives such as those that aim to create maritime prosperity zones and expand mariner training and education, for example, will bene t the entire sector, including the companies that own, operate, build, and support the vast workboat eet.

Turning this momentum into sustained progress will require clear implementation strategies, adequate funding, and continued bipartisan support. If that happens, the current wave of action could mark the start of a true renaissance for the U.S. maritime industry — one that not only addresses longstanding challenges in the bluewater eet but also unlocks new opportunities for innovation, workforce development, and competitiveness across the entire sector.

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR Eric Haun / ehaun@divcom.com

SENIOR EDITOR Ken Hocke / khocke@divcom.com

CONTENT EDITOR Benjamin Hayden / bhayden@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Kirk Moore / kmoore@divcom.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Tim Akpinar • Jonathan Barnes • Capt. Alan Bernstein • Dan Bookham

G. Allen Brooks • Bruce Buls • Eric Colby • Casey Conley • Michael Crowley

Jerry Fraser • Nate Gilman • Pamela Glass • Arnie Hammerman • Craig Hooper

Joel Milton • Richard Paine, Jr. • Chris Richmond • Tracy Zea

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Empire Wind project revived by Trump administration

Abargain between New York and the Trump administration reversed a shutdown of Equinor’s Empire Wind project, shocking offshore wind advocates and opponents alike.

The May 19 announcement that the 810-MW turbine array can proceed — in exchange for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s cooperation on natural gas pipelines — left offshore wind opposition groups in disarray, many now skeptical of the political support they threw behind President Trump’s 2024 election campaign.

A coalition of activists and commercial shing groups in New Jersey and New York beach communities pushed the Trump administration to block the project by Norway-based Equinor, one of the earliest U.S. turbine array plans dating back to 2017 near the approaches to New York Harbor. Soon shermen learned that the Thialf, a massive 661'x290' semisubmersible crane vessel owned by Netherlands-based construction company Heerema Marine Contractors and operating under the ag of Panama, was headed west toward New York to install turbines.

“Being invaded by foreigners on our home shing grounds is not America rst,” Rhode Island shing advocate Meghan Lapp wrote on social media.

After weeks of mounting fear over Trump’s longtime promises to kill U.S. offshore wind, industry advocates exulted in the turnaround.

“We thank President Trump and his administration for letting us get back to work revitalizing shipyards and manufacturing plants, enhancing our maritime sector, and securing our energy future,” said Liz Burdock, president and CEO of the Oceantic Network. “We thank leaders at every level of government who worked tirelessly to resolve the issues and help resume construction of Empire Wind 1.”

But political blowback from the Empire Wind switch could cost Trump and Republicans.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., a Trump ally who campaigned with him in 2024, went on social media after the surprise to assure his constituents “this changes absolutely nothing in regards to the ill-conceived projects that were originally planned off the coast of South Jersey.” — Kirk Moore

News Bitts

'Fundamental changes' in store for US Coast Guard

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Force Design 2028 — which she described as a ”blueprint needed to drive urgent action and win” — at the Coast Guard Academy commencement in New London, Conn., on May 21. ”The Coast Guard must not simply evolve. It must revolutionize how it functions and operates to ensure decisive advantage over adversaries,” said Noem. “This requires a fundamental change.” Noem also announced the nomination of Adm. Kevin E. Lunday to serve as the Coast Guard’s 28th commandant. Lunday will remain acting commandant until conﬁ rmed by the U.S. Senate.

Shipbuilder Conrad taps Cecil Hernandez as CEO

Theboard of directors of Conrad Industries Inc., Morgan City, La., has appointed Cecil A. Hernandez as the company’s new president and CEO. Hernandez joined Conrad in 1998 and went on to hold several leadership roles, including VP of ﬁ nance and administration, CFO, COO, executive VP, and president. Chairman and CEO Johnny Conrad will shift into an executive chairman role, remaining as chairman of the board and an executive oﬃ cer of the company.

Former merchant mariner is named to lead Marad

President

Donald Trump has nominated Capt. Stephen Carmel to serve as administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration. If confi rmed, Carmel would fi ll a position that has been vacant since Rear Adm. (Ret.) Ann C. Phillips resigned in January. A previous nominee, Navy Capt. (Ret.) Brent Sadler, has since had his nomination withdrawn. A former captain in the U.S. Merchant Marine, Carmel is currently president of U.S. Marine Management LLC, Norfolk, Va., which operates U.S.-fl agged vessels and supports federal contracts.

The 661'x290' semisubmersible crane vessel Thialf, operated by Heerema Marine Contractors, is underway to install turbine towers on the Equinor lease.

On the Water

The

‘experience gradient’

BY JOEL MILTON

Joel Milton works on towing vessels. He can be reached at joelmilton@yahoo.com.

Longtime readers of this column know that in my ongoing search for practical knowledge applicable to marine operations, I often look to the world of aviation, which shares more similarities than differences with the maritime domain. I frequently watch videos from one of my favorite sources, Pilot Debrief, a YouTube channel by a retired military pilot named Hoover who transitioned into civil aviation and offers excellent in-depth analyses of aviation mishaps, near-misses, and full-on disasters, mostly involving smaller aircraft. It’s interesting, thought-provoking, and extremely useful for selfimprovement.

Credentialing Insight

Physical credentials needed as Coast Guard updates system

InBY NATE GILMAN

Nate Gilman, president of MM-SEAS USCG Licensing Software, uses his hawsepiping experience to support mariners and workforce development. Connect on LinkedIn.

a temporary step back for employers and mariners, the U.S. Coast Guard has canceled Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) 06-23, effective April 22, meaning all mariners must physically possess their valid merchant mariner credential (MMC) and medical certificate for all work, ending the digital verification allowance for domestic voyages. The cancellation was officially attributed to the National Maritime Center (NMC) having resolved all issuance delays. However, this policy change also coincides with the permanent shutdown of the Coast Guard Homeport portal and its essential Credential Verification Tool on April 12. Consequently, the mechanism enabling the digital verification outlined in MSIB 06-23 is no longer available. Although requiring physical documents feels like a return to older methods, it is important to view this within the context of the Coast Guard’s broader commitment to modern-

A similarity between nautical and aeronautical operations is that human factors almost always play a part in most accidents. A term Hoover uses to describe an important aspect of the sometimes-complex dynamics between pilot and copilot, particularly as influenced by their differing experience levels, is the “experience gradient.” When a highly experienced pilot is paired with a much less experienced copilot, this is referred to as a “steep experience gradient.” A steep gradient can lead to the copilot, regardless of who is flying, being overly and sometimes dangerously deferential to the pilot. That pilot, having “been there, done that” for so long, may have grown procedurally sloppy while simultaneously being intolerant of ever being questioned or challenged by the junior partner, even when their decisions are clearly foolish or reckless.

To visualize this, think of a 500-millibar upper-level weather chart showing a steep barometric pressure gradient between adjacent high- and low-pressure systems. The greater the difference between the high and low pressures, the closer the isobars appear, indicating an area where strong, gusty winds are likely to occur. That is where the action is. It is also where things can get “interesting” when the inevitable human factors assert their influence.

izing the mariner credentialing system. The previous MSIB 06-23 policy was a successful step, demonstrating the value and efficiency of digital verification. While the underlying infrastructure is gone, the need for such a system remains clear.

The maritime industry needs a simple and efficient way to confirm mariner qualifications electronically. A robust digital verification system is vital for everyone involved. For mariners, it means getting back to work faster after credential issuance, reducing financial hardship caused by waiting for mail delivery. It streamlines their career progression and provides greater certainty. For employers, it allows for quicker, more efficient crewing, ensures compliance with regulations, reduces administrative burdens, and helps keep vessels operating without unnecessary delays. For the Coast Guard, it enhances maritime safety and security by ensuring only properly credentialed mariners are operating vessels and frees up valuable resources from manual verification tasks.

Until a new digital solution is implemented, the industry must adapt to the current procedures. Physical documents are mandatory, so mariners must always carry their valid MMC and medical certificate. Employers and crewing coordinators needing official verification beyond inspecting the physical documents must email the NMC directly at IASKNMC@ uscg.mil, using the subject line “Credential Verification,” while anticipating potential delays. They can also directly contact the NMC via phone at 1-888-427-5662 or through live chat during business hours. Credential verification via all methods is limited to verification of five mariners at a time.

The Coast Guard continues to advise mariners to apply for credentials at least 90 days in advance and notes that renewals can be post-dated up to eight months.

Energy Level

Maritime industry profile rising

BY G. ALLEN BROOKS

G. Allen Brooks is an energy analyst. In his over-50year career in energy and investment he has served as an energy security analyst, oil service company manager, and a member of the board of directors for several oilfield service companies.

The last time Americans paid attention to the maritime industry was during the pandemic, when shipping’s crucial role in delivering goods from China became clear. Images of dozens of ships anchored off West Coast ports waiting to unload filled the news. But once the pandemic ended, so did public interest in shipping.

Ships are back in the news as China struggles with tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach account for a significant portion of containerized imports from China and have seen ship traffic decline nearly 50% from last year. Long Beach has experienced more ship cancellations in April and May than in 2024. Containerships are returning to China empty.

Every four containers translates into a port job. Fewer containers mean fewer workers. The reduced container volume will impact freight forwarders, warehouse workers, and truck drivers. Retailers usually maintain sufficient domestic inventory to support sales for seven to eight weeks; after that, assuming nothing changes, shelves will empty and prices will rise, according to managers and economists.

Investors are told to watch the Dow Jones Transportation Index to follow the tariffs’ economic impact. That index measures all aspects of transportation – airlines, railroads, logistics, trucks, rental cars, and ships; therefore, it is sensitive to the earnings impact of a slowdown in global trade. The maritime industry makes up just 1.6% of the index’s total capitalization, with only two of the 20 companies — Kirby Corp. and Matson, Inc. — representing the U.S. maritime sector. Kirby is the leading domestic petroleum shipper on the Mississippi River, along all three U.S. coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii, and Matson is a Pacific Ocean container carrier and North American logistics company.

The ongoing tariff battle is expected to secure better trade terms for the U.S., leading to changes in trade routes and volumes. These shifts align with the administration’s broader goal of revitalizing domestic shipping and shipbuilding. This initiative stems from a growing awareness of the nation’s dependence on foreign maritime capabilities.

To support this effort, the government is offering increased financial support and incentives. Rebuilding America’s maritime industry promises to create thousands of well-paying jobs and long-term career opportunities. As a result, expect the maritime sector to gain greater visibility in the media and in the minds of the American public.

Inland Insider

Corps lowers budget sights

TheBY TRACY ZEA

Tracy Zea is president and CEO of the Waterways Council Inc., the national public policy organization advocating for a modern and well-maintained national system of ports and inland waterways.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a comparatively austere Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Work Plan that includes $200 million for inland waterways construction — less than half what it received in FY 2024. Nearly $50 million is to come from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which is funded through a 29-cent-per-gallon diesel fuel tax paid for by commercial operators on the inland waterways system. Funding for the Corps’ Civil Works mission is typically included in the annual Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. Commercial operators are the only users of the inland waterways system to pay a tax for new and major rehabilitation of inland navigation facilities.

The FY25 Work Plan’s $200 million for lock construction is down from the record $456 million in FY 2024 and is well below the Corps’ aspirations for inland construction projects in FY25. But, because regular appropriations were not enacted, the full-year Continuing Resolution that is currently funding the federal government, while based on FY24 levels, does not guarantee specific programs within the Corps’ Civil Works mission will receive financing in FY25.

The Corps selected the following inland waterways construction projects to receive funding in FY25: Montgomery Lock (Ohio River), $44 million to continue work on the project; Chickamauga Lock (Tennessee River), $32.19 million to continue work on the project; and T.J. O’Brien Major Rehabilitation (Calumet River, part of the Illinois Waterway), $122.9 million to close out construction of the project. In addition, the Corps has targeted $2.4 million for an inland waterways study for Bayou Sorrel (Gulf Intracoastal Waterway) that would complete the feasibility phase of the project.

While the Waterways Council Inc. (WCI) was disappointed with the funding levels for Chickamauga and Montgomery Lock construction projects, a zero-dollars allocation in the FY25 Work Plan was a distinct possibility. Further, the Bayou Sorrel funding was a very welcome win in this Work Plan because it puts that project one step closer to a director’s report, a final recommendation from the Corps on lock replacement to address navigation and flood risk objectives.

At press time, WorkBoat was awaiting the release of the president’s FY26 budget. WCI is urging Congress to pass a timely FY26 appropriations bill to ensure that ongoing navigation construction projects continue without delay. Let’s finish these critical projects as soon as possible to return transportation cost savings to the nation.

Capital Corridors

Cheer the SHIPS Act

BY CRAIG HOOPER

Dr. Craig Hooper is the founder and CEO of the Themistocles Advisory Group, a consulting firm specializing in maritime and national security strategy. He has been a keen observer of navies and coast guards for over two decades.

In Washington, D.C., the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act is heading for a vote. But that isn’t exactly the news. The real Washington story is that the SHIPS Act has already made an enormous difference. Today, the maritime community has an obligation to celebrate — and then build upon — the surprising success of this comprehensive effort to reinvigorate America’s moribund shipbuilding sector.

Beat-down and chronically demoralized stakeholders in the U.S. maritime industry may find their new circumstances something of a shock. This is just the beginning.

Legislative initiatives usually don’t mean much until they are passed, but, in mere draft form, the SHIPS Act has been unusually influential in pushing America’s long-ignored maritime sector — along with the SHIPS Act’s congressional sponsors — to the political forefront. The promise of the SHIPS Act has already spurred investment, directly influenced White House executive orders, and put America’s waterfront into mainstream conversation.

The change in fortune has been stunning. A year ago, few outside Washington expected America to elect a president focused on reindustrializing America’s waterfront. And nobody thought that waterfront communities would, right now, be poring over President Donald Trump’s maritime-oriented executive orders to try to become a future opportunity zone.

The SHIPS Act is set to be even more influential going forward.

The recipe for the SHIPS Act’s disproportionate influence is simple. Over the past four years — and particularly over

the past two years, while the SHIPS Act was crafted — a steady diet of supply chain crises and accidents pushed “the maritime” into the mainstream. American voters are finally understanding the importance — and fragility — of maritime commerce for the U.S.

As a result, America’s maritime industry has become a rare vein of bipartisan political gold, ready for political action. With voters activated to support the maritime industry, they’re set to vote for their waterfront.

The primary drivers of the SHIPS Act, Rep. Mike Waltz, R.-Florida and Sen. Mark Kelly, D.-Arizona, represent regions that harbor few big and established maritime industries. This shouldn’t be a surprise. America’s maritime industry is so balkanized and demoralized that legislators from shipbuilding centers couldn’t do much to contribute. Kelly and Waltz were optimistic, and with no big maritime interests to protect, staffers from the major SHIPS Act sponsors approached the maritime industrial base with an open and collaborative mindset.

This lack of exposure to traditional big maritime interests paid off. Waltz and Kelly, aided by indefatigable staffers, were ideal diplomats, unconstrained by prior opinions on maritime policy. To them, there were no sacred cows, and nothing was off base. This openness to new solutions and new partners, coupled with a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary focus in drafting the legislation, resulted in teamwork and willingness to compromise.

The bill also benefited from being overlooked by official Washington. For decades, the maritime has been a depressing, dead-end industry. Few outside a handful of Washington, D.C., strategy talking shops really cared. The SHIPS Act drafters were mocked at times as overly optimistic, and their efforts doomed to almost certain failure. But that allowed the bill to mature in peace. By the time big K Street lobbyists and major industry stakeholders woke up and started plying their influence, the legislation was already baked in. Key legislative stakeholders had developed their own information-gathering networks, and largely didn’t need to rely on lobbyists to “better understand” the legislation.

Continued on page 46

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Insurance Watch

Premiums likely to reflect tariffs

BY DAN BOOKHAM

Dan Bookham is a vice president with Allen Insurance & Financial. He specializes in longshore, offshore and shipyard risk. He can be reached at 1-800-236-4311 or dbookham@allenif.com.

Insurance companies meet often with their agents and brokers to monitor market conditions. This year, across all product lines, the most frequently flagged concerns are the potential impact of tariffs and ongoing economic uncertainty. Savvy insureds should factor this into their buying decisions.

Tariffs on imported goods have already inflated the cost of repairs and replacements covered by insurance. Insurers are likely to pass these increased claims costs onto policyholders through higher premiums.

Supply chain disruptions may factor in as tariffs settle and costs adjust. As seen during the pandemic, such disruptions can delay repairs and extend claims duration, raising administrative costs for insurers and frustrating policyholders.

Industries relying heavily on imported materials will face increased operating costs, potentially leading to higher

Health, Safety, and Environment

The message lawmakers must hear

EBY RICHARD PAINE, JR.

Richard Paine, Jr. is a licensed mariner and certified maritime safety auditor with over 25 years of maritime industry experience. He is currently a senior VP at the Hornblower Group and can be reached at rjpainejr@gmail.com.

arlier this spring, on the 100th day of the new administration, I was on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers and other officials to discuss the necessary support of the passenger vessel industry. I was joined by many of top leaders in the industry and members of the Passenger Vessel Association. Our goal was to ensure that Congress is fully aware of the ongoing need for federal support across the greater maritime industry.

In recent months, several reports have highlighted how the U.S. maritime industry lags behind China in terms of fleet size and new vessel construction. Nearly 90% of all global new ship construction projects are completed in Asia, including China (62%), South Korea (21%) and

commercial insurance premiums. The replacement value of inventory, parts, fuel, and other overhead may drive the need for higher exposures and policy limits.

While tariff negotiations continue, the insurance industry will remain exposed to the broader economic uncertainty they create. A downturn or recession could lead businesses and individuals to cut coverage, raise deductibles, or cancel policies, reducing premium income. Increased uncertainty may also raise the risk of business defaults, affecting commercial lines such as trade credit insurance.

Volatility in investment income also affects premiums, as insurers rely on returns to maintain profitability. When returns fall, they may tighten underwriting — while seeking more revenue — by raising scrutiny and eligibility requirements. Writing less business is a blunt but often-used tool to limit losses from rising claims costs.

Economic hardship can also exacerbate social inflation, with increased litigation and higher jury awards, especially in liability lines. This trend has been growing and could accelerate under worsening economic conditions.

The combination of tariffs and economic uncertainty is likely to create a challenging 2025 for the U.S. insurance market. Policyholders should expect upward pressure on premiums across multiple lines. The ability of both insurers and policyholders to manage risk and adapt to evolving conditions will be crucial to mitigating these impacts.

Japan (9%). The U.S. shipbuilding industry is currently producing only a limited number of merchant ships, while smaller shipyards are focused on building passenger vessels, cruise ships, and tugboats. Although these vessels serve different purposes, each plays a vital role in supporting the global economy.

Federal funding remains essential to revitalizing the U.S. maritime industry. Continued support from Congress is needed for vessels, shipyards, technological advancements, and both physical security and cybersecurity efforts.

The Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, focused on American shipping, shipbuilding, and workforce development, continues to generate important discussion. However, other critical programs also need support, including federal grants for small shipyards, port security, cybersecurity, energy initiatives, and efforts to ensure the safe use of our domestic waterways. Just as important is fully funding the U.S. Coast Guard, which plays a key role in overseeing these waterways and safeguarding maritime operations tied to over $5 trillion in global commerce each year.

We all need to use our voices to advocate for the industry. A phone call, email, or visit to a policymaker’s office will always be welcomed. Remember, elected officials are especially attentive to constituents who live and vote in their districts.

Legal Talk

A vessel can be liable for damage from its

wake

CommercialBY TIM AKPINAR

Tim Akpinar is a Little Neck, N.Y.-based maritime attorney and former marine engineer. He can be reached at 718-224-9824 or t.akpinar@verizon.net.

mariners are no strangers to the notion that a vessel can be liable for damage caused by its wake. Workboat crews appreciate the impact of their vessel kicking up a rolling wall of water near delicate shorelines or kids on small dinghies.

The Inland Rules can be complex in certain encounters, where a privileged vessel can become the burdened vessel in the blink of an eye. But as far as vessel wakes go, the analysis is straightforward. For the most part, a vessel is usually liable for damage from its wake. This was illustrated in an incident on Lake Powell in Arizona involving a 76' tour boat and 29' pleasure boat in September 2019.

Both vessels were underway near Navajo Canyon. The pleasure boat was headed up a channel approaching a turn into the canyon. At the same time, the tour boat rounded a

Captain’s Table

Sea-time rules hinder licensing

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.

Ihave been employed aboard passenger vessels since 1970, when I started as a very inexperienced deckhand and dining room attendant on the famed Delta Queen steamboat. My classroom was on-the-job training, and I quickly learned all that I could in long hours of hands-on work while plying our nation’s rivers. This practical experience gave me the basic sea service time that allowed me to pursue a career as a licensed mariner. Today, I proudly hold a 100-ton inland masters license, a 1,600-ton western rivers masters license, and an unlimited master of towing vessel license.

Because I worked long hours underway, I was able to accumulate the necessary service hours that I needed to become a licensed mariner. Today, a license candidate must accumulate at least 360 days underway to qualify to take an exam. In the towing, deep-sea, offshore supply, or other maritime industries, this method is acceptable because crew normally work eight- to

left turn to exit the canyon, passing the smaller vessel on its port side.

The tour boat’s wake caused the bow of the pleasure boat to rise into the air before crashing down, resulting in the owner’s wife suffering two fractured vertebrae. The smaller vessel raised a number of issues, claiming that the tour boat was not properly positioned in the channel, and that the tour company was aware its vessels generated dangerous wakes. In response, the tour boat operators argued that the smaller vessel was negligently operated.

The court examined Inland Rules 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9. When the dust settled, the court assigned equal blame to both vessels, attributing 50% of the fault to each. It also allowed punitive damages against the tour boat company after concluding that they were aware of wakes from their vessels (Meador v. Aramark Sports & Ent. Servs., No. CV-19-08345-PCT-JJT).

It’s easy to underestimate the power of large vessels. In 2013, the wake of a chemical bulk carrier at high speed on the Mississippi caused the 62' tug Kristen Alexis to capsize, showing that it’s not just small pleasure boats that are vulnerable (Marquette Transportation Company v. Chembulk Westport, CA 13-6216). And if we observe the way Great Lakes bulk carriers steaming at the slowest of speeds can literally strip water off beaches hundreds of yards away, we realize it doesn’t necessarily take a heavy hand at the throttles to create tremendous hydrodynamic forces.

12-hour days. A day of sea service is accrued after eight hours underway, and 1.5 days is credited after 12 hours.

At BB Riverboats we run lunch, dinner, and excursion cruises lasting one to three hours. While our employees may work an eight-hour day they fall short of the required sea time minimums in most cases. This is a big problem for passenger vessel industry employees who aspire to get a license and then do not get credit for their time working aboard a vessel.

Engine room jobs are good examples of this as employees spend many hours working in the engine room of the Belle of Cincinnati when it is not underway. Most of these hours cannot be counted. I encourage employees to seek an endorsement as a qualified member of the engine department or even to become a designated duty engineer, of which there is an industry shortage, but I know that it is an uphill battle to get sea time even though they work long hours. I believe it does not matter if the vessel is underway or not, a mariner should receive credit for every hour he or she logs when working on board.

I believe that the Coast Guard should consider allowing employees on small passenger vessels to accrue the work hours that will allow them to accumulate sea time to at least meet the minimum requirements. If proficiency is the goal of licensing, then testing will be the determining factor.

This is a barrier to entry for employees with larger career goals in the industry. It is an even larger problem for owners and managers who are in dire need of licensed mariners. We are operating in a system that is working against us.

Building bigger

The U.S. dredging ﬂeet is growing in size, capacity.

By Eric Haun, Executive Editor

Dredging contractors across the U.S. have been steadily expanding their eets to keep up with strong demand for their services.

“The state of the U.S. Jones Act private sector dredging industry is healthy and highly competitive,” said William P. Doyle, CEO of the Dredging Contractors of America, a trade group representing the U.S. dredging industry. “The industry continues with its $3 billion construction of new dredges and associated vessels and equipment.”

Recent years have seen American shipyards construct several new dredges, including cutter suction dredges, trailing suction hopper dredges (TSHD), and clamshell dredges. Currently under construction are new TSHDs for Manson Construction Co., Seattle, Great Lakes

Dredge & Dock Corp., Houston, The Dutra Group, San Rafael, Calif., and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as a new clamshell dredge for Curtin Maritime Corp., Long Beach, Calif.

BIG BUCKET

Martin Curtin, CEO of Curtin Maritime, said that the increasing number of port-deepening projects worldwide, needed to accommodate larger ships, as well as “an obscene amount of beach nourishment and shoreline resilience projects,” are driving demand across the dredging industry.

“We’re seeing a large uptake in the dredging markets wholesale. Every genre — whether it’s cutterhead, suction hopper dredging, or mechanical clamshell — all three are seeing large increases in volume and projects. So, you’re seeing a lot of investment across

the board between new hopper dredges being built, new cutterhead dredges being built.”

As a clamshell dredging specialist, Curtin Maritime is investing exclusively in the mechanical dredging market. Its new dredge, the 254'x86' DB Catalina, under construction at LAD Services, Morgan City, La., will be a recordbreaker, surpassing the company’s 250'x77' DB Avalon — built in 2022 by Conrad Deepwater South, Morgan City — as the largest mechanical clamshell dredge in the Western Hemisphere.

“We have not seen a lot of capex” — capital expenditure — “in the clamshell dredging markets,” said Curtin. “Everybody’s building new hopper dredges and new cutterhead dredges. We felt the eet on the clamshell side was aging and outdated. And so we thought that, coupled with the dif culty of mechanical dredging and our speci c skill set, was the area that we wanted to continue to expand in.”

When designing the DB Catalina in partnership with The Shearer Group Inc., Houston, Curtin Maritime took cues from its DB Avalon build but ampli ed its size and capacities. “Ultimately, it’s just a larger version of the same thing,” Curtin said. “The large maintenance bucket on the DB Avalon is a 70-cubic-yard bucket, the DB Catalina’s is 100 … The DB Avalon is 110-metric-ton single-line capacity as far as its dredge capacity. This one is 160-metric-ton, so it’s just shy of one and a half times the size.”

The hybrid-electric dredge is also highly ef cient, with automated dredging capabilities and the option to operate as a fully electric-plug-in for zero-emissions performance. “Energy is harnessed through regenerative braking as the bucket lowers, charging onboard supercapacitors. The energy is then deployed to assist hoisting of the bucket, alongside the [two main Wabtec 12V250 Tier 4] generators,” said Davlyn Freitas, project manager at Curtin Maritime. “This system results in lower fuel consumption and allows for smaller generators to be installed due to lower peak energy load demand.”

Curtin Maritime

Scheduled to be delivered later this year, Curtin Maritime’s new clamshell dredge, DB Catalina, will be the highest-capacity mechanical dredge in the Western Hemisphere.

A LOT OF HOPPERS

Another record-setter slated to join the Jones Act dredge eet is the 419'10"x81' Frederick Paup, which is being built for Manson at Seatrium AmFELLS, Brownsville, Texas. It will offer 15,000-cubic-yard dredging capacity, surpassing Manson’s 13,500-cubic-yard Glenn Edwards as the largest self-propelled hopper dredge ever constructed in the U.S.

(The TSHD Ellis Island, built in 2017 by Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., Panama City, Fla., for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, also has 15,000-cubic-yard capacity, but it is not self-propelled. It is paired with the tug Douglas B. Mackie and operated as an articulated tug barge.)

Designed by Manson in partnership with Hockema Group, Seattle, the Frederick Paup will be powered by three Tier 4 Wabtec 16V250MDC main engines. It will be propelled by three stern Z-drive units with a pair of bowthrusters forward. It is equipped with two 12V250MDC gensets, also from Wabtec.

Originally scheduled for delivery in 2023, the delayed Frederick Paup is now on track for delivery this year.

Another TSHD on pace to be delivered this year is the 346'x69' Amelia Island, a second 6,500-cubic-yard TSHD built by Conrad Shipyard, Amelia, La., for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. It follows the Galveston Island delivered in 2023. The sister vessels were designed by C-Job, Hoofddorp, the Nether-

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ to-be-named medium-class trailing suction hopper dredge is slated to enter service in 2027.

lands. Each features a pair of Tier 4 Wabtec 12V250MDC main engines and two 6L250MDC gensets for 16,500 total installed horsepower. The Amelia Island features two 800mm suction pipes and will be able to dredge at depths of up to 100'. The dredge will be equipped with a direct high-power pump-ashore installation, dredging system automation, dynamic positioning and tracking, and other features to minimize environmental impact, according to Great Lakes.

VESSEL REPORT Dredges

The new 347'x79'6" trailing suction hopper dredge Adele, scheduled for delivery in late 2028, represents The Dutra Group’s largest-ever capital investment.

In March, The Dutra Group ordered a new 10,464-cubic-yard TSHD from Eastern Shipbuilding. The 347'x79'6" Adele, to be constructed at Eastern’s Allanton and Port St. Joe, Fla. facilities, is scheduled for delivery in late 2028.

“The Dutra Group is committed to the U.S. dredging market, and we understand that we need to continuously reinvest in capital assets to stay competitive,” said Will Wallgren, the company’s vice president of business development and government relations.

Before ordering the largest capital investment in the company’s history, Dutra analyzed the U.S. dredging market, including how demand is changing and where a new hopper dredge would be most productive, said Wallgren. “As the operators of the 9,870-cubic-yard TSHD Stuyvesant, we wanted a new dredge that would complement our existing capability,” he said. “We saw this new construction as an opportunity to broaden our ability to better respond to the market across multiple sectors, channel deepening, operations and maintenance, beach nourishment, and performing marsh and wetland fill or restoration work.”

The twin-screw dredge will be based on the Beagle Mk2 design from Royal IHC, Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. “The Adele is being constructed first and foremost to ensure the highest level of crew health and safety. Digging capability, fuel efficiency, and ease of opera-

tions have all been maximized. Also, the Adele will have enhanced capacity for pump-off operations,” said Wallgren.

The Adele’s hopper has a V-shaped cross section and is provided with a single row of bottom doors for quick offloading of dredged material. The design also incorporates a bow connection for efficient material pump-off. The hull shape features a bulbous bow to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.

“The decision to go with the IHC Beagle was driven by numerous factors,” said Wallgren. “It is a proven design that is essentially construction ready. That presented an opportunity to fast-track the dredge to market. Also, picking this design naturally aligned us with two critical partners, Royal IHC and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, who already have a successful history of working together.”

Other Royal IHC-designed dredges built by Eastern include the 8,550-cubicyard Magdalen, delivered to Weeks Marine Inc., Cranford, N.J., in 2017, and a 6,000-cubic-yard medium-class hopper dredge currently under construction for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for scheduled delivery in 2027.

The Corps’ new 320'x72' dredge will join its Ready Reserve fleet, replacing the 57-year-old McFarland, which is operated by the Corps’ Philadelphia District. The new dredge will be equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system that meets EPA Tier 4 standards.

“USACE hasn’t built a deep-draft hopper dredge in about 45 years,” said John Primavera, regional business director for USACE North Atlantic Division, in a statement when first steel was cut for the new dredge in April. “This new dredge is going to play a critical role in helping us deliver our navigation mission, which enables maritime commerce to flow on our nation’s waterways. This strengthens our economy and supports our national security.”

POLICY WINDFALL

The Trump administration’s push to bolster the U.S. maritime industry could provide a boost for the dredging sector, possibly even driving more newbuild activity, according to DCA’s Doyle.

“The dredging industry is a vital part of the Jones Act [sector]. We’re here to support the maritime industry as well as national and economic security,” said Doyle. “Recent actions by the president and Congress provide opportunities for dredging and marine construction — whether that be upgrading and dredging for existing shipyards or building new shipyards in the United States.”

In addition to a potential increase in workload, policy changes could help stimulate further dredge fleet renewal. “The dredging industry looks forward to tax incentives, loan guarantee restructuring, and other financial programs supporting construction of dredges in U.S. shipyards,” Doyle added.

Wallgren agreed: “President Trump is focusing a long-overdue light on the state of our nation’s maritime readiness, both commercially and militarily.

“As a part of the larger maritime community, it’s impossible not to be excited about the rapid changes we’re seeing in the recognition of the role our industry plays in supporting the U.S. economy, our national security, and defense,” he said. “[The president’s] executive orders are a grand slam for the U.S. and the Jones Act, America’s first America First law: we must build our own assets in our own shipyards, we must own them, they must be American-flagged, and most importantly, they must be crewed with American labor.”

The Dutra Group

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CONSTRUCTION

Bay Weld Boats delivers a patrol vessel to the Alaska State Troopers

Bay Weld Boats, Homer, Alaska, has delivered a new aluminum patrol vessel built for the Alaska State Troopers to operate in the waters of Bristol Bay.

Designed and constructed in house, the patrol boat Kellutuq, delivered in March, is purpose-built for law enforcement missions in shallow, remote environments while offering overnight comfort and endurance for extended patrols, shipyard of cials said.

The 36'x11' vessel draws only 22". Propulsion comes from twin Cummins QSB 6.7L diesels, each delivering 425 hp at 3,000 rpm, coupled with MJP twin UJ305 waterjets through ZF 280-1 gears with a 1.056:1 ratio.

The boat cruises between 26 and 30 knots, with a top speed of 37 knots. Steering and controls are managed by a Glendinning two-station electronic control system that features a joystick control and 4" LCD displays at both helm stations. Redundancy is built into the hydraulic system, with twin Eaton 3.8 cu. pumps tied to live power take-offs on each marine gear.

“This build for the troopers was unique in that we used our tried-and-proven 35-foot medium-class V-berth cabin patrol vessel platform that has been typically powered by outboards,” Bay Weld’s owner and president, Eric Engebretsen, told WorkBoat. “We adapted the plan to t an

inboard diesel and waterjet propulsion system with joystick control package. This adaptation allowed us to give the troopers a familiar platform to operate with systems commonality, while accommodating the need for a shallow draft and highly maneuverable vessel for the area it is intended to patrol.”

Kellutuq is equipped for both performance and patrol longevity, according to the builder. It carries 500 gals. fuel, allowing a range of up to 500 nautical miles, and holds 100 gals. fresh water. Sleeping accommodations include three bunks in the berth and a convertible dinette, allowing overnight capacity for up to four troopers. The galley includes a full-featured kitchen, and a head with shower ensures comfort on multiday assignments.

Electronics aboard include a full Garmin navigation suite: three GPSMAP 8616xsv displays (two at the main helm and one aft), Fantom 24 radar, SideVU and traditional transducers, Garmin autopilot, Starlink connectivity, and both police and VHF radios.

The rear cargo deck measures 10'x13' and supports up to 4,000 lbs. of equipment. Additional gear includes a pot puller with davit, transom boarding door, buoy fendering, diesel heater, and an eight-battery bank system powered by a Fisher Panda 5-kW marine diesel generator. — Ben Hayden

Bay Weld Boats

The Kellutuq is designed for work in shallow, remote waters.

Newest Moran tug is hard at work in Texas port of Beaumont

Moran Towing Corp., New Canaan, Conn., christened its newest tugboat, the Mary Jane Moran, in April, at the Port of Beaumont, Texas.

“We are thrilled to introduce the Mary Jane Moran to the Sabine-Neches Waterway,” said Ted Tregurtha, Moran CEO and president. “She is a replacement for the Cape Ann, which was decommissioned recently after serving Port Arthur for many years.”

The vessel was designed by Crowley Engineering Services, Seattle, and built by Master Boat Builders Inc., Coden, Ala. Mary Jane Moran joins Moran’s growing fleet of tugs tasked with ship-assist and escort missions. The 86'x36'x15'8" vessel weighs 192 gt and draws 16'.

The steel-hulled tug is equipped with twin Caterpillar 3512E engines delivering a combined 5,100 hp and a bollard pull of 67.55 tons. The Cats connect to two Kongsberg US 205 Z-drives, enabling speeds up to 12.5 knots.

“The Mary Jane is one of several new classes of vessels we have introduced to our eet that are designed to be nimble while also escort-class certi ed,” said Tregurtha. “Combined with her relatively shallow operating draft, she is well prepared to be in the right place at the right time in complex operating environments like the Sabine-Neches…The Mary Jane Moran features some of the latest technology in low-emission engines and propulsion, and carries the Low Emissions Vehicle notation from ABS.”

Ship’s service power comes from a John Deere 4045 generator. Kongsberg also provided the vessel controls and US205FP thrusters. Additional electronics on board are Furuno. The Mary Jane Moran is classified with ABS for towing service and escort work and also carries +A-1 Towing Service and +AMS certi cations.

With accommodations for a crew of six, tankage includes 21,750 gals. fuel oil; 4,940 gals. water; and 575 gals. lube oil.

Tregurtha noted that since joining the eet, the new tug has already completed more than 500 jobs. — B. Hayden

The Mary Jane Moran will provide ship-assist and escort services in the Sabine-Neches Waterway.

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ON THE WAYS

Powered by the sun, new boat will bring students to the water

The49'x20'3"x3'8" aluminum hull carries the name Fire y, a catchy title that’s bound to be remembered as the new vessel maneuvers out of Camden, N.J., and travels the Delaware River for Upstream Alliance, Annapolis, Md., intent on fostering a healthy on-the-water relationship between those who use the rivers and the environment.

Carrying 32 passengers, Fire y will essentially be “an education vessel,” said Erica Carle, chief operating of cer for Upstream Alliance. “It will take mostly middle school and high school students to learn about science, technology, engineering, math and the environment.”

In the Camden, N.J., area, there has been a “big need for education, especially on-water education,” said Carle. “Most people don’t go in the water, don’t even touch it, gure it’s a dirty river, and it was before, but it has been cleaned up.”

Fire y won’t be your typical 32-passenger river boat. Operating in the Delaware Bay area, it will be solar-powered, making 8- to 10-hour cruises most every day, maybe a dinner time cruise and then plug in and recharge all night. “It’s sort-of breaking new ground for all-solar electric,” said Dave Gerr, Fire y’s designer at Gerr Marine Naval Architects and Yacht Designers, New York.

This isn’t Gerr’s rst venture into all-solar vessels. About eight years ago,

Gerr designed the 44' Solaris, a 100% solar-powered tour boat for the Hudson River Maritime Museum. “It was the rst 100% solar-electric boat approved by the U.S. Coast Guard for passenger carrying,” said Gerr. He added that “it’s been running for eight years at 5 knots, carrying 32 passengers and has never been plugged in and never had an ounce of fuel pumped into her.”

A Solaris copy won’t work for the Upstream Alliance’s Fire y because “we wanted a boat bigger and faster than Solaris, and when you go up in size, the boat’s weight increases and the power requirement increases.”

Fire y is being built at Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, Thomaston, Maine, with an anticipated launch date at the end of July. Fire y carries several unusual design features “to make the boat workable,” said Gerr. Start with the 24 solar panels that he described as “some of the most ef cient solar panels in terms of kilowatts generated per square foot.”

They are Jinko Solar JINKO JKM430M-72HLM-TV 430W bifacial panels that Gerr noted are stock panels but

“unusual in a couple of ways.” On the Fire y they are bifacial, which, he said, is “a relatively new development, with solar on the top and the underside of the panel.” The undersides are exposed, facing down to the cockpit. They receive “ambient light energy re ected up from the deck and radiation throughout the air.” The top of the panels provides 80% to 85% of the propulsion work. The underside provides another 10% to 15% propulsion using re ected light.

Fire y is powered by a pair of QuietTorque 60.0 LC electric motors from Electric Yacht, Golden Valley, Minn. “They are 50 kW, which is 66 hp each,” Gerr said. The drives aren’t connected directly to the solar panels but to another of Fire y’s “unusual” design features, Lithionics lithium-ion batteries, which Gerr noted serve the same function as fuel tanks on a dieselpowered boat.

“The more battery capacity you have, the bigger your fuel tank capacity is” Gerr said, noting that lithiumion batteries have the most storage capacity per unit weight and per unit volume of any electric technology. But that technology is not inexpensive. Fire y’s 48 lithium-ion propulsion batteries plus two lithium-ion-phosphate house batteries (for lighting, navigation, pumps, etc.) are the most expensive part of the vessel, costing half-a-million dollars. There’s also a lithiumion battery re suppression system.

Fire y’s motors and battery technology should give the 49-footer a maximum speed of 11 or 12 knots and a 9-knot cruising speed.

What’s the future for the Fire y experience? Well, it just might extend well beyond New Jersey and the Delaware River, for as Carle noted, “One of our board members wants to build 10 Fire ies at different locations along the East Coast.” — Michael Crowley

The solar-powered catamaran Fireﬂy is scheduled to be launched at Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding at the end of July.

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ON THE WAYS

BOATBUILDING BITTS

Washington State’s King County Sherriﬀ’s oﬃce contracted Moose Boats to build a 46' dieselelectric hybrid patrol boat. The vessel will use Moose Boats’ M1 design and will combine Volvo Penta D11 625-hp diesel engines with inline Danfoss electric motors and a Corvis Battery system. HamiltonJet will supply the electric propulsion.

Silverback Marine, Tacoma, Wash., recently delivered three 26'6"x8'6" oﬀset-cabin Sherpa landing crafts to the N.Y. Power Authority, intended to support infrastructure projects at various regions along the Erie Canal. The vessels are powered by twin Mercury Seapro 200-hp outboard engines with 100 gals. fuel capacity. The landing crafts each feature a Garmin 1242 suite, Webasto Diesel heater, and NextGen 3500W genset. Norsap seating and Roca W12 wipers are provided by Imtra Silverback Marine has also begun building the ﬁrst U.S. law enforcement vessel to feature Petestep hull technology. Under contract for New Mexico State Parks, the 21'x8'6" vessel will feature an 18"-wide bow door for landings, full-perimeter non-marking fendering, and an enclosed helm area. SHOXS suspension seating, dual weapon lockers, and a full WHELEN lighting and siren package are included. Powered by a Mercury SeaPro 300-hp outboard engine, the vessel is expected to have a top speed over 60 mph.

Main propulsion comes from four Colt-Pielstick diesel engines generating a total of 40,000 hp.

was christened during a ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego, in April. The 746' Sojourner Truth can carry 162,000 bbls. diesel ship fuel, aviation fuel, and dry stores cargo. The John Lewis class have a full load displacement of 49,850 tons and a top speed of 20 knots.

Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply Inc., Vicksburg, Miss., has taken delivery of a new 47'x12'5" crewboat, Big Valley 325. Powered by twin 300-hp outboards, the vessel expands Ergon’s crewboat ﬂeet to three and will support midriver refueling, ﬂeeting, and supply operations from its locations in Vicksburg and Memphis, Tenn.

Military Sealift Command’s newest ﬂeet replenishment oiler, USNS Sojourner Truth (T-AO 210),

ThayerMahan, Groton, Conn., christened its ﬁrst persistent uncrewed undersea surveillance vessel, the Outpost TM001. The Outpost system supports AUKUS Pillar II, the second phase of the trilateral security agreement between Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. Developed in partnership with Ocius Technology of Australia, the 22' Outpost is designed to increase antisubmarine warfare surveillance capacity.

Austal USA, Mobile, Ala., held a keel-laying ceremony for the future USNS Solomon Atkinson (T-ATS 12), the seventh Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship for the MSC. The T-ATS is a 263'x59' oceangoing tug, salvage, and rescue ship designed to support the Navy’s ﬂeet operations. Two weeks prior, Austal christened the future USNS Billy Frank Jr. (T-ATS 11).

Silverback Marine delivered a trio of Sherpa landing craft for Erie Canal work.

USNS Sojourner Truth, christened in April, boosts the Navy's global logistics capabilities.

U.S. Navy

Ergon Marine added the Big Valley 325 to support its river operations.

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Tall Order

Trump’s attempt to revive U.S. shipping is a heavy lift.

By Ken Hocke, Senior Editor

In April, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order — “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” — aimed at rebuilding the U.S. shipbuilding industry and reducing what he described as China’s grip on global shipping. He also established a new Of ce of Maritime and Industrial Capacity at the National Security Council in the White House.

Trump told reporters the U.S. plans to spend “a lot of money on shipbuilding” to restore the country’s capacity in the sector.

Not normally known for understatement, Trump didn’t go far enough in his assessment of the situation. The 472'x184' offshore wind installation vessel Charybdis, for example, built at Seatrium AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, is said to have cost upwards of $715 million. That might be comparing apples to oranges, but it speaks to industry construction costs.

The order calls for signi cant federal investment in American shipyards and the maritime workforce and outlines a new Maritime Action Plan to be coordinated by the Maritime Administration (Marad). The plan includes the establishment of a Maritime Security Trust Fund, shipbuilding tax incentives, and the launch of strategic commercial eet programs.

Marad said it will work with other federal agencies to create a exible investment program to fund commercial vessel construction and shipyard modernization.

In 2023, U.S. shipyards accounted for just 0.1% of the world’s new ship construction, while China built more than 50% of the global total, according to the Marine Engineers

Bene cial Association (MEBA).

Earlier this year Roland Rexha, MEBA’s secretary-treasurer, called the order a “vital rst step” in restoring American leadership in global shipping and creating middle-class union jobs.

“For nearly half a century, our nation’s maritime industry has steadily declined due to neglect, underinvestment, and unfair competition driven by China and other adversaries,” Rexha said, pointing to the Covid-19 pandemic as a key moment that revealed America’s limited ability to transport its own goods domestically and internationally.

In a January report from the Of ce of the U.S. Trade Representative entitled, “Report on China’s Targeting of Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors of Dominance,” ndings point to several Chinese practices that are concerning.

The report came about after ve labor unions led a Section 301 petition regarding the acts, policies, and practices of China to dominate the global maritime industry. The petition was led pursuant to the Trade Act of 1974, which Congress intended to expand U.S participation in international trade and reduce trade disputes.

“Petitioners allege that China targets the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sector for dominance and engages in a wide range of unrea-

The 774' Janet Marie, Pasha Hawaii’s second LNG-fueled containership, was built by Seatrium AmFELS in Brownsville, Texas, in 2023.

Maritime Hawai‘i photo

sonable or discriminatory acts, policies, and practices that provide unfair advantages across maritime industries, such as shipbuilding, shipping, and maritime equipment,” according to the report.

“The disclosed discriminatory acts include implementing industrial planning and policies that are designed to unfairly capture market share, distort global markets, and advantage Chinese enterprises; directing mergers and anticompetitive activities; providing non-market advantages to Chinese rms to dominate key upstream inputs and technologies; providing advanced nancing mechanisms advantaging Chinese industry; creating a Chinese network of upstream suppliers, foreign ports and terminals, shippers, and equipment and logistics software that allow advantageous use of information; tolerating intellectual property theft and industrial espionage; and controlling shipping freight rates and capacity allocations,” the report said. The petitioners also allege that China threatens to discriminate against U.S. commerce and disrupt supply chains.

IF YOU BUILD THEM…

According to the of ce of Sen. Mark Kelly, R-Ariz., only 80 U.S.- agged ships are active in international trade. Kelly is part of a bipartisan group that brought back the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, and

its companion bill, the Building SHIPS in America Act this spring (The legislation was rst introduced in December.).

Trump’s executive order is aimed at rebuilding the U.S. shipbuilding industry, but the president and members of Congress who champion the executive order seem to be ignoring a crucial and productive piece of the “shipbuilding industry.” Tier II shipyards have been constructing hundreds of boats and ships a year for decades, including many Coast Guard and Navy assets. These include very few oceangoing vessels, granted, but should that dismiss them from America’s shipbuilding industry?

“There used to be more than 300 U.S. shipyards just half a century ago regularly releasing hundreds of big beautiful American-flagged ships out to sea,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in an op-ed that appeared in the Washington Examiner in April. “Today, just roughly 20 public and private shipyards remain, with major production sites shut down from coast to coast and down to the Gulf…”

Do many politicians know the difference between a Tier I and Tier II shipyard? Are they familiar with the vessels that are built at shipyards best known as Tier II yards like Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla.; Austal USA, Mobile, Ala.; Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana and Mississippi; Fincantieri’s Wisconsin yards — Bay Shipbuilding

and Marinette Marine, among others? Or are they just looking at Tier I yards like Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss., and Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Va.; and General Dynamics’ NASSCO, San Diego; and Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, which have mostly concentrated on building warships for decades?

Eastern, Austal USA, Bay Ship, Marinette Marine, and Bollinger either now have the capacity or could ramp up to build all but the largest oceangoing commercial vessels. Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Philadelphia, and Seatrium AmFELS have built containerships.

One of the main features of the SHIPS bill is the creation of a Strategic Commercial Fleet Program aimed at increasing the U.S.- agged eet to 250 vessels. The ships would have to be U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed, and capable of serving national defense interests. While temporary use of foreign-built ships would be permitted, that allowance would be phased out after scal year 2030.

Eighty U.S.- ag vessels active in international trade suggests that 170 would have to be built between now and the 2030 phase-out of foreign-built vessels. If all 12 of the shipyards mentioned participated, they would each have to build 14 ships in the next ve years to reach the 250 number. Even if Duffy’s number (20) is right, that’s still 8.5 ships per shipyard in ve years.

Shipyards would need to ready their facilities to build ships they have never constructed before. Designers and architects would be tasked with developing ships outside their prior experience. And there would be additional stress on an already depleted shipyard workforce.

“Realistically, it can take months to go through the design and contracting phase on building a new class of vessels,” said Matt Paxton, president, Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA). “However, there are ways to streamline this process, using a vessel construction manager, to get the construction process underway expeditiously,” as was done with the national security multimission vessel series constructed at Philly Shipyard.

The infrastructure expansion on the south side of Austal USA’s current waterfront facility will include a new assembly building, waterfront improvements, and a new shiplift system.

One champion of the SHIPS bill is Crowley’s chairman and CEO Tom Crowley. His company built two 720'x105' LNG-fueled combination container/roll-on, roll off vessels — El Coquí and Taino — at the former VT Halter Marine shipyard, now Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss. They are dedicated to servicing Puerto Rico from Jacksonville, Fla. (The sisterships were named WorkBoat’s Boat of the Year in 2019.)

“We commend Senators Kelly and Young, along with Representatives Kelly and Garamendi, for their leadership in introducing the SHIPS for America Act,” said Crowley. “This comprehensive legislation thoughtfully addresses many critical challenges facing the U.S. maritime sector. To strengthen the U.S. economy and national defense, the final bill must enable robust growth of our nation’s international U.S.-owned, -crewed, -flagged, and -built merchant fleet.”

In WorkBoat’s May issue, Craig Hooper, founder and CEO of the Themistocles Advisory Group, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm specializing in maritime and national security strategy, wrote that “America is simply not generating enough naval architects and engineers to quickly push America’s waterfront into production. With too few architects and engineers, requirements are misunderstood, technical innovations depart from the possible, and the

schedule slips everywhere, as engineers struggle to develop a final design.”

Whatever the obstacles, Eastern’s president and CEO, Joey D’Isernia, is ready to get the restoration started.

“Eastern has a long and proven history of building a wide variety of complex commercial vessels,” said D’Isernia. “Our shipyards have already delivered some of the most sophisticated and sizable vessels operating today, including the iconic Staten Island Ferries (320'x70'), the ferry Long Island (302'x52') and the R.B. Weeks trailing suction hopper dredge (364'x79').”

Are those vessels counted among MEBA’s 0.1% or only cargo carrying, oceangoing vessels included, dismissive of Tier II shipbuilding?

D’Isernia said his shipyards can build whatever the president is looking for. “As we understand it, the goal is to rebuild a resilient U.S.-flagged commercial fleet, including tankers, containerships, general cargo vessels, and vehicle carriers,” he said. “America’s shipbuilding advantage lies in its engineering innovation, steadfast ingenuity, and the strategic importance of domestic production.”

Marad said 90% of global goods are moved by sea, but U.S. presence in international shipping has shrunk dramatically. China is now outproducing the U.S. in [Tier I] shipbuilding by a factor of 250 to 1.

“We can’t just sit back. We have to

do something,” said Jennifer Carpenter, president of the American Maritime Partnership. “We have to build up the fleet even if it’s two one year and five next year.”

Carpenter, who is also the president and CEO of the American Waterways Operators, said she applauds the president and Congress for what they are trying to do. “We don’t have to match China,” she said, “but we need to have more big ships under the U.S. flag.”

WORKFORCE CONCERNS

If the U.S. fleet can’t crew 17 of the 80 ships it now has, where are the mariners going to come from to crew 250?

Calculated at the current 21.25% rate, 53 of the 250-ship fleet the SHIPS’ authors are looking for would be tied up with no one to operate them.

“Recently, I had the opportunity to get an up-close look at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. Since World War II, the Academy has operated as a critical training ground to prepare mariners today for the rough waters of tomorrow,” Duffy wrote in his April op-ed. “But what I saw was a dilapidated campus where first-rate students are trained under second-class conditions. Mold contaminates dorms and classrooms. Tar drips from the ceilings. Water damage is everywhere. Simply put, the Academy has become a disturbing reflection of our maritime industry after decades of neglect.”

And where are the shipyard workers coming from? Recruitment, training, and retention has been a festering problem going back many years.

During a visit to Master Boat Builders in 2023, the Coden, Ala., yard’s president, Garrett Rice, bemoaned the modern-day pool of shipbuilding recruits. “We recently had a week where we brought in 45 to 50 people,” he said. “I think we kept seven.”

The average age of U.S. mariners, including shipyard workers, is about 50 years old. Meanwhile, younger generations don’t seem interested in working in the maritime industry in any capacity. Known as the “silver tsunami”, this problem will only worsen as efforts to

Eastern Shipbuilding, which built the 364' R.B. Weeks dredge for Weeks Marine, can ramp up to build larger oceangoing vessels, according to its president and CEO, Joey D’Isernia.

increase eet capacity revs up.

“Despite strong demand for ships, talent supply has struggled to keep pace — especially as industry labor needs and jobs have evolved,” according to a McKinsey & Co. report entitled “Charting a New Course: The Untapped Potential of American Shipyards.”

The report goes on to say that in addition to skilled-trade labor, gaps in other shipbuilding professions cannot be overlooked. “Shipbuilding is as much about scheduling, production control, and critical chain management as it is about steel fabrication,” the report noted.

Still the big question is how can the industry get young people interested in a sector that’s not considered “cool”? One way to attract young people is to go after them early. Maritime High School, Des Moines, Wash., near Seattle, and New York City’s Urban Assembly Harbor School are successful models for other schools to copy.

Founded in the early 2000s as part of a citywide secondary school overhaul, the Harbor School is a high school specically created to train future mariners, marine scientists, and industry leaders. As of last year, its enrollment was about 500 students in ninth through 12th grades.

New York City’s secondary schools now include a wide variety of education/ vocational options that middle school kids can choose from. Students rank their choice from one to 12. Harbor School is so popular that it gets many more number-ones from prospective students than it can accommodate. The school is currently expanding, however, and hopes to double its year-class size.

That’s positive news. Unfortunately, though, the president’s initiative doesn’t give time to wait for high school kids to become full- edged mariners.

“There are currently local, regional, and national hiring programs that are designed to attract the next generation of the shipyard workforce,” said SCA’s Paxton. “Private industry will be able to ramp up hiring to build these vessels once contracts are signed. Like any other industry it responds to market demand. American shipyards will have the cer-

tainty they need to invest in ramping up their workforce once orders are placed for these vessels.”

Eastern’s D’Isernia said the president’s executive order recognizes that shipbuilding is a strategic industry and drives a demand signal for an earnest focus on

domestic yards and labor. “With consistent national policy and budget cycles, less onerous regulations, targeted investment, and public-private collaboration, we believe America can compete — and win — in commercial and government shipbuilding once again,” he said.

Bollinger Shipyards

In cooperation with local partners, Bollinger Shipyards launched its Shipﬁtter Bootcamp last summer to recruit, hire, and train the next generation of skilled shipbuilders.

Photo by Seaman Matthew Cavenaile

2025 POWER GUIDE

By Ben Hayden, Content Editor

This is WorkBoat’s annual Diesel Directory. While much of this information can be found online, we do the work of compiling it all in one place so that vessel owners, operators, and builders can reference it quickly and reliably.

In 2025, the market continues to diversify. Traditional diesel engines still power much of the commercial fleet, but many operators are evaluating hybrid options, emissions-reduction technologies, and new power configurations to meet shifting operational and regulatory demands.

“2025 has certainly provided an interesting landscape for marine

power needs in the industry,” said Zack Melancon, marine sales manager at Louisiana CAT. “There has certainly been a shift toward power solutions that require more than just the traditional diesel engine, and it varies across each segment. Some are looking for hybrid solutions that may include diesel electric propulsion, energy storage systems, batteries, or a combination of multiple solutions. Some are interested in reducing their carbon footprint due to tax initiatives or regulatory and legislative pressures. Some are looking for increased power density for higher horsepower needed for their vessel’s operational capacity.”

Manufacturers are investing in a

range of solutions to keep up. Louisiana CAT, for example, is expanding its product lineup to include hybrid and electric offerings, batteries, higher power density engines, alternative fuels such as methanol and ethanol, emissions upgrade kits, and digital tools like supervisory controls and emissions monitoring.

“The energy transition remains a key influence on our product strategy,” Melancon said, noting that adaptability is a priority as the industry explores new technologies. Whether you’re repowering or building new, this engine guide provides a snapshot of the available options powering North America’s commercial fleet in 2025.

Shipyard workers install a Rolls-Royce 12V4000M65L EPA Tier 4 engine. A selective catalytic reduction system will be installed separately following engine placement.

Rolls-Royce

CATERPILLAR MARINE

Ph: 985-674-5163

2270 7th St., Mandeville, LA 70471 www.cat.com/en_US/ • E-mail: info-usa@catpropulsion.com

2025 POWER GUIDE

C9.3

2025 POWER GUIDE

• ALL HORSEPOWER RANGES ARE NOT LISTED. FOR MORE OPTIONS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER. CATERPILLAR MARINE POWER SYSTEMS (MAK)

Ph: +49 (0) 40 2380-3000 • Fax: +49 (0) 40 2380-3535 Neumuehlen 9 • 22763 Hamburg, Germany www.mak-global.com • E-mail: ju_marketing@CAT.com

MaK 12 VM 46 DF

FOR

CUMMINS INC.

Ph: 800-DIESELS

4500 Leeds Ave. • Suite 301 • Charleston, SC 29405 www.cumminsengines.com • E-mail: marine.communications@cummins.com

B6.7L

2025 POWER GUIDE

ALL

(Stage V) 6 908.9 —

RANGES ARE NOT LISTED. FOR MORE OPTIONS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL

CUMMINS RECON PRODUCT LINE

Ph: 800-DIESELS

4500 Leeds Ave., Suite 301 • Charleston, SC 29405 www.cumminsengines.com • E-mail: marine.communications@cummins.com

ENGINES

• ALL HORSEPOWER RANGES ARE NOT LISTED. FOR MORE

DAIHATSU INFINEARTH (AMERICA) INC.

Ph: 516-822-3483/3484 • Fax: 516-822-3485 350 Broadway, Suite 302. • Jericho, NY 11753 www.dhtd.co.jp

JOHN DEERE POWER SYSTEMS

Ph:

www.deere.com/marine

2025 POWER GUIDE

ELECTRO-MOTIVE DIESEL INC.

Ph: 708-387-6398 • Fax: 708-387-5845 9301 W. 55th St. • La Grange, IL 60525 progressrail.com/powerproducts • E-mail: grwest@progressrail.com

FNM MARINE DIESEL ENGINES

Ph: 800-856-9639 • Fax: 586-268-9320 35418 Mound Road • Sterling Heights, MI 48310 www.fnmmarinenorthamerica.com

FPT INDUSTRIAL NORTH AMERICA (DISTRIBUTORS)

Peter Emerson, Sales Manager

Ph: 833-458-1378

500 Diller Ave.

New Holland, PA 17557

Distributors: MSHS (MSHS.com)

Stauffer Diesel (staufferdiesel.com)

ADR Power Systems (adrpowersystems.com) fpt-na@fptindustrial.com

Madsen Power Systems (madsenpower.com) fptindustrial.com Klassen Diesel (klassendiesel.com)

* Super charged and turbo charged •• KC and HXC configurations ALL HORSEPOWER RANGES ARE NOT LISTED. FOR MORE OPTIONS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER.

MAN ENGINES & COMPONENTS INC.

Ph: 954-960-6744 • Fax: 954-946-9098 591 S.W. 13th Terrace • Pompano Beach, FL 33069-3520

www.man-mec.com • E-mail: jmilbert@man-mec.com

2025 POWER GUIDE

Engines fulfill latest EPA emissions standard, unless otherwise indicated • IMO Tier II •• IMO Tier III R (Repower or Amendment only) ALL HORSEPOWER RANGES ARE NOT LISTED. FOR MORE OPTIONS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER.

MITSUBISHI TURBOCHARGER AND ENGINE AMERICA INC.

Ph: 630-268-0750 • Fax: 630-268-9293

Two Pierce Place • 11th Floor • Itasca, IL 60143 www.mitsubishi-engine.com

* Engines listed under High Output are actually Light Duty. ALL HORSEPOWER RANGES

MOTEURS BAUDOUIN

Société Internationale des Moteurs Baudouin

Technoparc du Brégadan 13260 Cassis, France

Ph: +33 488 688 500 • www.baudouin.com

ROLLS-ROYCE SOLUTUIONS AMERICA, INC.

Ph: 248-560-8000 • Fax: 248-560-8001 39525 Mackenzie Drive, Novi, MI 48377 www.mtu-solutions.com • E-mail: jeff.sherman@ps.rolls-royce.com

Series 4000 (EPA T3)

Auxillary / Gen Power — Contact Distributor for further ratings

Other models and ratings avaialble — please consult with your local distributor Dimensions listed here should NOT be used for installation purposes. Consult Installation drawings.

SCANIA USA INC.

Ph: 210-403-0007 • Fax: 210-403-0211 121 Interpark Blvd. • Suite 1002 • San Antonio, TX 78216 www.scaniausa.com • E-mail: na.contact@scaniausainc.com

2025 POWER GUIDE

(Emissions Legend: a=U.S. EPA Tier 3, b=U.S. EPA Tier 2, c=IMO Tier III, d=IMO Tier II, e=EU Stage IIIA, f=CCNR II, g=RCD • ALL HORSEPOWER RANGES ARE NOT LISTED. FOR MORE OPTIONS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER

STEYR MOTORS GMBH

Ph: 850-784-7933

2310 S. Hwy. 77, Ste. 110, #338 • Lynn Haven, FL 32444 www.steyr-motors.com USA/NORTH AMERICA DISTRIBUTORS Laborde Products, Covington, LA, Ph: 985-892-0107 Boatswain’s Locker, Costa Mesa, CA, Phone: 949-642-6800

* Waterjet Only. ALL

VOLVO PENTA

LISTED.

Ph: 757-436-2800 • Fax: 757-436-5150 1300 Volvo Penta Dr. • Chesapeake, VA 23320 Ph: 757-436-2800 • Fax: 757-436-5150 www.volvopenta.com

2025 POWER GUIDE

WABTEC CORP.

Contact: Patrick Webb • Ph: 251-222-0020 • E-mail: patrick.webb@wabtec.com 30 Isabella Street • Pittsburgh, PA 15212-USA

YANMAR MARINE

Ph: 770-877-9894 • Fax: 770-877-9009 101 International Parkway • Adairsville, GA 30103 www.yanmarmarine.com

*Due to space constraints, not all engine models are included. See your local dealers for complete lineups of all their engines.

BOATS & GEAR Maintenance

Like new!

Pilot boat operator reduces cost, downtime.

By Eric Colby, Correspondent

Mike Hanna has worked for the Association of Maryland Pilots for 41 years. He began his career on the Maryland, a 200' oceangoing tug converted into a pilot boat, stationed off Cape Henry, Virginia Beach, Va., to assist pilots during their round trips along Chesapeake Bay. After the Maryland was retired, the association shifted to a shore-based operation, where Hanna started as a launch operator and eventually moved up to the pilot tower. He later became the Cape Henry station manager and, ultimately, the marine manager for the entire company. In this role, he oversees hiring, training, and the building and maintenance of pilot boats at all four of the association’s stations, spanning from Maryland to Virginia.

Hanna and his team of launch captains at the Cape Henry pilot station have developed a maintenance program that keeps boats built in the 1980s looking and running as well as they did the day they were delivered.

“Our goal is not to have any downtime,” said Hanna. “With our maintenance program we have reduced the downtime considerably, and it’s a lot less expensive to maintain [a boat] than it is to repair.”

The association’s eet has 12 boats built by GladdingHearn Shipbuilding, Halmatic, and others. Hanna implemented the maintenance program on the three-boat eet at Cape Henry because they operate in the most challenging conditions. He’s also part of an effort to form a pilot boat alliance under the umbrella American Pilots’ Association where pilot boat captains can share information and give each other tips on how to maintain boats at a higher level to help reduce downtime.

“When you talk with some other groups, you realize there’s a lot more you can be doing,” said Hanna. “We had our rst meeting of the pilot boat alliance at the [International] WorkBoat Show two years ago, and I learned that many are using the Sinex program.”

Vessel software from Sinex Solutions allows eet owners to track boat repairs. Currently, the Association of Maryland Pilots has the records in three-ring binders.

“With the Sinex program, we can quantify anything we want,” Hanna explained. “I learned about it from the rst pilots’ alliance meeting, and then we nd out that right next door, the Virginia pilots are using it.”

The Association of Maryland Pilots runs a ﬂeet of 12 pilot boats.

FAMILIARITY BREEDS COMPETENCE

Common sense tells us that the more you know about a piece of equipment, the better equipped you’ll be to handle an issue when one pops up. “The more time our guys spend in the engine room, the more things they find and the more familiar they are with the systems and the operations of the boat,” said Hanna. After all, a clean bilge makes it easier to spot a leak.

While some ports have an engineer dedicated to vessel maintenance, Cape Henry does not. Instead, the launch captains have varying levels of technical skills, and those with more knowledge teach the others how to make repairs.

The captains work 12 hours on, 12 hours off for a week, with the following week off. There are four launch captains per watch, and they change shifts in pairs at 0400 and 0500 and 1600 and 1700. “During the shift change, we let them take it easy until 0800 and then everybody goes to work,” said Hanna.

At Cape Henry, there are three 53' Gladding-Hearn boats. The boats are rotated, with two in service and one being maintained, not repaired. “Typically now, it’s not that something’s wrong, it’s that boat’s turn to come in for maintenance,” said Hanna.

The launch captains have a checklist, similar to a pre-flight checklist for aircraft. The morning crew goes through

"Our goal is not to have any downtime. With our maintenance program, we have reduced the downtime considerably, and it's a lot less expensive to maintain [a boat] than it is to repair."

it every day, and when the shift change takes place 12 hours later, incoming captains repeat the process.

Even for something as simple as replacing a light bulb, a damage report is filed so there’s a record. Hanna said that because the boats have been running continuously since the improved

maintenance program was developed, the station has stopped tracking downtime. “We used to years ago, but we don’t even track it anymore,” he added. “We know we reduced both [cost and downtime], but I can’t put a real number on it.”

THE PROCESS

On each pilot boat, systems include propulsion, generators, heat and air conditioning, and electronics. Each launch captain has his or her own skillset with one, for example, having a solid background in electronics. Most of the boats are powered by twin diesel inboards. When a major issue arises, the Cape Henry pilot station brings in Ayers Marine Electronics, Chesapeake, Va., for electronics, and Grand Slam Diesel Services, Virginia Beach, Va., and Western Branch Diesel, Portsmouth, Va., for engine work. Grand Slam has been working with the launch captains, teaching them how to rebuild diesel engines.

-Mike Hanna, Association of Maryland Pilots Association of Maryland Pilots

One launch captain, Jordan Peters, showed an interest in polishing and cleaning the aluminum Gladding-Hearn pilot boats, and that led to him tracking down a course in Texas on how to properly Cerakote the aluminum on the vessels to protect it.

After returning from the class, Peters started applying the protectant to all aluminum components on the boats, and he started his own company, Coastal Metal Polishing, in Virginia Beach, Va.

All of the Association of Maryland Pilots’ launch captains have been educated on how dissimilar metals interact and how the Cerakote protects. “The Cerakote process we have in place is really extending the life of our aluminum boats and certainly reduce any major hull repairs as a result from corrosion,” said Hanna.

A closer look at the nether reaches of the bilge revealed that the hull bottom was pitting beneath the bronze rawwater strainers. “Aluminum hulls rot from the inside out,” said Hanna. “We could see underneath those components that there was pitting on the aluminum. I’d rather pay my employees to have a highly maintained boat.”

Mike Hanna and the Association of Maryland Pilots have developed a maintenance program intended to keep its boats looking and running as well as they did the day they were delivered.

Rapid response

Technology is aiding recovery in MOB incidents.

By Eric Colby, Correspondent

Imagine you’re a crewmember on a working vessel and one of your crewmates falls overboard. Instantly, you jump into action, grabbing a specially-made, lightweight pole with an ergonomically-designed hook. Even if the person in the water is unconscious, the pole gently grabs the individual. In seconds, you guide the victim to the bow of the boat, where a specially-designed conveyor belt hauls the person safely back on deck.

Imagine no more. A Scottish company, Zelim, has developed the Swift man-overboard (MOB) recovery conveyor belt that lowers into the water with special fins that pull a victim aboard.

“When you’re in a time-critical environment, we’ve been proven in trials to be at least 20 times quicker than the competition,” said Sam Mayall, CEO and founder of Zelim. “Finding someone in the water is a game of chance. And rescuing people once you have them alongside, it’s difficult to get them back on board.”

Zelim is among a handful of companies that have been working to improve the equipment that vessels and offshore platforms use to recover MOB victims as safely and as quickly as possible.

FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE

Mayall previously worked on deck as a professional mariner. He has seen friends go overboard — some were injured, others killed.

“The key theme through the instances was the time taken to find people and the time then taken to rescue them,” said Mayall.

And that was when a rescue was attempted. In other situations, personnel went overboard in conditions that were deemed too dangerous for the crew to launch a fast-rescue craft.

Zelim photos

The Zelim SWIFT Rapid MOB Recovery system uses a rescue conveyor to retrieve unconscious individuals from the sea.

“Everyone assumes you put your hero capes on, jump in the rescue boat, and everything will be ne,” said Mayall. “The reality is that a rescue boat is quite small and it’s quite a big ocean, so there’s a risk putting three guys in a boat to save one.”

Mayall and his partners, Chief Operating Of cer Stewart Gregory and Chief Technical Of cer Doug Lothian, started Zelim in 2017 with a plan for an uncrewed rescue boat with an integrated conveyor belt. “Unmanned rescue was the original idea on the back of the napkin in the pub after a day on the water,” said Mayall.

After investors backed Zelim with $10 million, the company developed the Swift MOB recovery unit. What makes the Swift so effective is that the end of it oats, so the conveyor belt stays at the same point in the water relative to the person being guided onto it. It’s made from an aluminum frame with foam padding. The belt is

The standard size Swift unit measures about 6' and is designed for a vessel with a freeboard of about 3'3". The company can make larger custom units. Retail prices start at $39,000. The Swift unit comes with a lightweight, telescoping carbon- ber pole with an ergonomically designed hook that makes it easier to guide a victim onto the conveyor.

Mayall said the company developed four prototypes before getting approval from coast guards in the U.S., U.K., and Canada as well as other rescue agencies.

The company name, Zelim, is short for Zero Limits, and the business has about 40 employees at its headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In addition to the Swift conveyor, Zelim offers ZOE Intelligent Detection, an AI-powered system that

pairs cameras from Teledyne FLIR and other suppliers with proprietary software written by Zelim to track and nd crew who fall overboard. ZOE, which stands for Zelon Optical Enhancement, can be used on any large vessel where the crew wants more enhanced vision of its surroundings. An upgraded version includes additional cameras for tracking someone who falls overboard.

Zelim also offers the Guardian uncrewed vessel, which is launched from a host vessel and operated with a remote to rescue personnel from the water. It uses ZOE technology to track the person and then the Swift conveyor to safely bring the victim aboard the host vessel. It has a traditional deep-V hull with a 400-hp electric inboard motor that powers a waterjet, eliminating the possibility of a propeller strike. Mayall said the boat, which is still in certi cation testing, will be priced similarly to other fast-rescue boats.

BOATS & GEAR Man Overboard

EXPANDED REACH

Founded in 1979, Norwegian company Dacon began as a maritime training provider. Today, it operates three divisions, including one dedicated to marine rescue equipment that offers a series of rescue nets.

For larger vessels and offshore facilities like oil platforms equipped with a crane or davit, the Dacon Rescue Scoop stows along a bulwark or railing and can be used as a scrambling net. As the name implies, it’s a big scoop made of netting that lowers into the water and gently retrieves MOB victims.

The product is designed to recover the person quickly as well as keep the victim horizontal, which Dacon says is safer. “All the products we deal with are made with keeping a person horizontal,” said Kim Vågeskar, Dacon’s division manager for rescue equipment.

Vågeskar said that the Rescue Scoop has been the company’s most popular product, with more than 900 sold. About 10 years ago, when there was a downturn in offshore oil production,

the company shifted gears to focus more on manual rescue nets.

The Dacon Rescue Frame has telescoping fiberglass poles and webbing so it can be formed into a cradle that keeps the victim horizontal during a rescue. It’s foldable, so it takes up little space, and it doubles as a climbing net.

“We decided to put more focus on that, and now we sell it to just about

Capital Corridors

Continued from page 9

Helpfully, the Biden Administration took a benign approach to the SHIPS Act. Energized by its late-2023 “Maritime Statecraft” strategy, the U.S. Navy actively participated in shaping the bill, but staffers kept the effort away from program-oriented personnel who might have been more prone to bend the draft legislation toward their own particular ends.

But the real reason behind the influence of the SHIPS Act — and the reason why the maritime industry should take heart about the future — rests in the motley crew of maritime-minded legislators, activists, and advocates who fought hard for the bill.

The SHIPS Act has already helped make careers, pushing informed maritime advocates into higher office. SHIPS Act founder Waltz, a run-of-the mill four-term congressman from Florida’s 6th district, was plucked from the back benches to serve as President Trump’s national security adviser. Marco Rubio, a former SHIPS Act sponsor, is now secretary of state and is serving as Waltz’s replacement as the interim national security advisor. Kelly, after being evaluated as a possible candidate for vice president, will, thanks to the SHIPS Act, be positioned to run for higher office in a few years.

Lower-level activists and advocates are moving up as well.

anything that floats,” said Vågeskar. “We went from selling about 100 of those a year to now we sell more than 500 each year, plus a couple hundred nets of other varieties like scrambling nets and power-assisted nets.” Prices range from $1,200 to about $5,000 for manual nets depending on the size. The most popular size is just under 6' long.

Evolving from a fractious November 2023 workshop at the Center for Naval Analyses, the SHIPS Act framework was largely cobbled together by a “maritime mafia” — a small, bipartisan team dedicated to recovering America’s lost position in the maritime. These outsiders — of which I was one — are also moving up. Waltz and Rubio staffers are scattered throughout the administration, and other supporters are stalking the halls of the Old Executive Office Building.

The group has been around for a while, waiting to make a difference. In mid-2022, Heritage Foundation research fellow Brent Sadler began gathering a diverse team of maritime experts. Most became contributors to the SHIPS Act, and several are set to serve in government. Steve Carmel, an early participant in the Heritage discussions, has been nominated to serve as Marad Administrator, replacing Sadler, who dropped out. Sadler will likely be considered for another, influential maritime-related posting. Others may end up in the Department of Homeland Security, supporting what may become the Coast Guard secretariat or in the Department of Defense.

For American shipbuilders and mariners, there’s a lot of folks out there cheering for them in both government and in the voting booth. America’s maritime community hasn’t had it this good for some time. And it doesn’t look like this will be just a one-time thing, either. If passed, the SHIPS Act’s positive influences will be felt for years to come.

Dacon

Rescue nets from Dacon are designed to retrieve man-overboard victims in a horizontal position.

THE FUTURE; UNDERWAY.

The cutting-edge of commercial marine meets a 45-year maritime industry tradition at The International WorkBoat Show. As the maritime industry embraces innovation, The WorkBoat Show remains at the forefront, driving progress and propelling the industry forward.

Join us in December alongside Underwater Intervention to experience the dynamic synergy between the commercial marine and subsea industries.

Wheelhouse positions: Captain, Mate, Purser Engine Room positions: Chief Engineer, 1st Assistant, 2nd Assistant, Oiler, Fishmeal Technician

Galley positions: Chief Steward, Cook, Prep Cook, Galley Assistant, Housekeeper

Deck positions: Bosun, Deck Boss, Deckhand, Deckhand Trainee

Factory positions: Baader Technician, Surimi Technician, Quality Control, Foreman, Factory Mechanic, Processor

LOOKS BACK

• American Commercial Barge Line, Jeffersonville, Ind., has opened barge terminal facilities at Transit Shed #2, Lake Calumet Harbor, Ill. The shed will provide 72,000 sq. ft. of storage with sprinklers, is non-combustable, and faces over 600' of dockage. Facilites include two dockside tracks, a 15' covered loading platform, two tracks for rail deliveries, and full utilities services.

Blount Marine Corp., Warren, R.I., has been awarded a contract for the construction of two 76' offshore oil well supply vessels for Tidewater Marine Paci c Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif. The vessels will be of the Botruc design pioneered by Blount in 1957 for offshore oil eld work. Built to carry up to 32 passengers, each boat will have a 50-ton deck cargo capacity and provision for liquid cargo below deck.

Delivery will be made under power via the Panama Canal.

JULY 1975

• A brand new Victorian-styled sternwheeler riverboat re ecting the elegance of a bygone era is now under construction at Moss Point Marine Inc. for the Moody Foundation, Galveston, Texas. The 152'x40'x8'6" Colonel will be able to accommodate up to 800 passengers. The boat’s power will come from two Caterpillar 3408 diesel engines that produce 365 hp each at 1,800 rpm.

• The 45' Kevin P, a harbor towboat recently delivered by James K. Walker Marine, Moss Point, Miss., is truly an unusual boat. It was turned over to its owners, L&L Oil Co., Belle Chasse, La., more than 14 weeks ahead of schedule. The new boat is a single-screw job, powered by an 8V-71 Detroit Diesel, which gives the Kevin P 300 hp.

• The steady ow of 70' towboats being produced by the F.B. Walker &

Sons Shipyard, Pascagoula, Miss., is actually a second generation of boats designed by the yard’s engineering group. Recent deliveries in this class include the Pinto, Prancer, and the Ruby E., built for George Engine Co., Harvey, La., who handled the sales. The Pinto and Prancer went to Missouri River Barge Line, while the Ruby E. was sold to Zito Towing Co. Each of the boats is powered by twin 12V-149 Detroit Diesel engines.

• A report addressing the technologies, economics, operational, and environmental factors affecting the exploration and development of energy resources in deepwater and Arctic areas was recently released by the Of ce of Technology Assessment. The study concluded that access to U.S. government lands for oil and gas development is essential to the country’s future energy needs.

OPTIMIZING PROPULSION, PERFORMANCE, SAFETY, & RELIABILITY “

“With the capacity to carry over 100 cars and 1,000 passengers, construction of the ferry LONG ISLAND was a big deal for our family and company. A project of this scale requires exceptional partners.

The Senner family delivered high specification REINTJES gears and thrusters on time and on budget, doing their part to make the ferry LONG ISLAND a success. The vessel has not missed a day since it was delivered and has greatly increased safety, comfort, and reliability for our customers. We are grateful for Karl Senner’s commitment to excellence and proud to continue our long-standing partnership with them.”

BUCKLEY MCALLISTER | MCALLISTER TOWING

“

Karl Senner, LLC is proud to equip the M/V Long Island with two REINTJES WAF 3445 Reverse Reduction Gearboxes and 4 Station Control System for main propulsion, as well as two REINTJES WVS 234 Reverse Reduction Gears for bow thrusters, Bow Thrusters, and 4 Station Control System for bow thrusters.

OWNER: Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferr y SHIPYARD: Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc.

NAVAL ARCHITECT: Gilbert Associates Inc

SALES LOCATIONS:

NEW ORLEANS, LA | SEATTLE, WA

BOSTON, MA | FORT LAUDERDALE, FL