Cruise lines balk at pollution proposal

Mar 22, 2010 0 Comments

The IMO’s Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) is meeting this week in London to discuss a variety of topics related to environmental protection in the maritime environment.  The centerpiece of the meeting is the reduction of greenhouse gases from international shipping.  The committee is expected to adopt a set of amendments to the MARPOL international [...]

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End of the line for the S.S. United States?

Mar 21, 2010 0 Comments

The S.S. United States – once the flagship of the U.S. Merchant Marine, and one of the grandest ships ever constructed in the U.S. is now closer to what many fear to be her final days.  The ship is reportedly being shown to potential scrappers by the ship’s current owner, Norwegian Cruise Lines, a subsidiary [...]

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Last Victory Ship to depart mothball fleet

Mar 17, 2010 0 Comments

This comes our way via the Benicia Herald – The last Victory cargo ship moored in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet is expected to be towed today to San Francisco Ship Repair, a spokesman from Office of Congressional and Public Affairs said. The SS Winthrop Victory is scheduled to depart the fleet at 10:30 a.m. [...]

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Tug gets the squeeze from container ship

Mar 15, 2010 0 Comments

This came to us via Towmasters.  We have a video that shows an assist tug getting squeezed or pinched against a pier by a CMA CGM container ship during what appears to be a mooring evolution gone horribly wrong.  It took place in the Port of Constanta, Romania and appears to have happened sometime in [...]

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USMMA in dire need of critical upgrades

Mar 15, 2010 0 Comments

A recent panel commissioned by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) released a report titled “Red Sky in the Morning:  USMMA” which detailed a critical need for recapitalization of aging and deteriorating facilities at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY.  The report concluded that the Academy has reached a “tipping point” at which failure [...]

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