The Maritime Minute
News from The American Maritime Partnership, January 6, 2012
FIVE HUNDRED NEW CONTAINERS CAP $23 MILLION INVESTMENT IN NEW EQUIPMENT AT MAJOR U.S.-FLAG OPERATOR: The addition of 500 new 40-foot “High-Cube” containers brought Crowley Maritime’s total investment in new equipment to more than $23 million in 2011. The new containers, which have a capacity of 2,700 cubic feet, will be used in liner operations to Puerto Rico and other destinations. The containers, which contain more durable North American oak wood flooring, feature a combination of security enhancements and upgrades that deter and prevent unauthorized access into containers and loaded cargo. In total, the company has more than 45,000 containers.Click here to read more.
DUTRA GROUP ACQUIRES HOPPER DREDGE “STUYVESANT”: The Dutra Group announced that it has added a hopper dredge, the Stuyvesant, to its fleet of dredges, marking an historic day in the company’s history. At 372 feet in length and 72 feet wide, the Stuyvesant is the second-largest hopper dredge in the United States. The Stuyvesant joins a growing fleet of Dutra dredging equipment that actively clears shipping channels and performs other important maritime-related work in the United States. Bill Dutra, President and CEO of The Dutra Company, said “This ship will be a welcome addition to our fleet and its size will allow us greater flexibility in our operations.”Click here to read more.
U.S. COAST GUARD LAUNCHES “OPERATION TACONITE” TO KEEP GREAT LAKES FLEET MOVING AS ICE FORMS ON THE FOURTH SEACOAST: The U.S. Coast Guard stood up Operation Taconite on Dec. 21, which means its icebreakers and crews are primed and ready to keep cargo moving on the Great Lakes as winter sets in. U.S.-flag “lakers” can move as much as 16 million tons of cargo, or 20 percent of their annual total, during the ice season that stretches from mid-December to mid-April. (During the severe winter of 1993/94, the Coast Guard broke ice until May 18.) The primary cargos shipped during the ice season are iron ore for steel production and coal for power generation.
NEW OFFSHORE SUPPORT VESSEL TAKES “GREEN” TO NEW LEVEL: The newest Offshore Support Vessel (“OSV”) to join the Jones Act fleet was constructed to the standards demanded by the American Bureau of Shipping to certify it “Enviro+, Green Passport.” This certification means the 292-foot-long HARVEY SUPPORTER will have a trained environmental officer onboard at all times and state-of-the-art equipment and procedures for ballast water, sewage and garbage. The vessel, the first of three “Tiger Shark Class” OSVs ordered by Harvey Gulf International Marine of New Orleans, La., is already at work in the Gulf of Mexico. Its sister ships are under construction at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s yard in Panama City, Fla., and will enter service in 2012.