Workboats News

While in New Orleans, Maritime Reporter TV visited with Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) and Diversified Marine to discuss the Electrified Truckable Tug.Hitting tightening maritime emission targets will require innovation and collaboration across the sector, the type of teaming recently announced between Elliott Bay Design Group and Diversified Marine with the introduction of the electrical truckable tug.“This is a great collaboration with Diversified Marine; they had a tug design and they came to us to electrify it,” said Steve Carlson, Principal in Charge, EBDG.

Anyone who knows Aaron Smith, president and CEO of OMSA, knows that he is passionately focused on the U.S. maritime industry and staunchly defending the U.S. Jones Act fleet and mariners. We caught with Smith on the sidelines of the Workboat Show in New Orleans last week. Highlights of the conversation are below – including an update on the American Offshore Worker Fairness Act – the full interview can be seen on Maritime Reporter TV.Let’s talk a bit about the offshore energy industry today.

There’s plenty to go around for everyone, no matter it comes from.I will admit that attending the 2024 Workboat Show in the Big Easy just ten days after settling into the MarineNews Editor’s chair (for this, the second time around) had my full attention. The event typically evokes the specter of drinking from the proverbial fire hose in routine times, but attending and digesting all it has to offer, right out of the gate, makes the task just little bit edgier. Ultimately, last week’s trade show exuded terrific energy, from exhibitors to attendees alike.

The California Volkswagen (VW) Zero-Emission Freight and Marine (ZEFM) Program Administrator is preparing to open a statewide solicitation offering up to $25 million to owners of cargo handling equipment, heavy-lift forklifts and marine vessels for zero-emissions projects:• Repowering marine vessels, including ferries, tugboats, and towboats to zero-emission;• Replacing heavy-lift forklifts (with a lift capacity of 8,001 lbs. or greater) with zero-emission alternatives; and• Replacing…

Since its September launch, Nauticworx.com, the new digital platform designed for efficient workboat spot chartering, has attracted several early adopters.The companies have joined the platform to publish their real-time project needs for temporary workboats or list vessels with regional availability in the spot charter market.Nauticworx aims to simplify the complex spot market by bringing brokers, fleet owners and charterers together on one matchmaking platform, enabling seamless connections between asset providers and project managers across sectors like offshore wind…

Baker Marine Solutions is unveiling its newest towing vessel design and the International WorkBoat Show.The BMS 1882 - A 6000 HP Inland Towboat is designed for the inland waterway and transportation market.At a length of 170ft, the design boasts accommodation for a 10-person crew while providing ample living, recreation and leisure spaces to ensure crew comfort and habitability.Powering this 6000HP vessel can be achieved in both a hybrid diesel electric design or standard traditional design.BMS 1882 is named in honor of the largest diesel towboat currently operating on the Mississippi River…

Vessel owners are making new fuel choices, but increasingly, they have options to help reduce the risk of doing so.The latest engine developments aim to make it easier for owners to avoid the chicken-and-egg fuel price and availability risks of new fuels.As Roger Holm, President of Wärtsilä Marine and Executive Vice President at Wärtsilä Corporation recently pointed out, the challenge is that owners won’t commit to a fuel today that is expensive, only produced in small quantities and may be usurped by another fuel that scales faster and more affordably.

There is a small but global fleet of clean up boats preventing trash from flowing into the ocean. More than that, these battery-powered, autonomous boats are performing a growing range of other tasks.For the developers of Clearbot, the inspiration to be involved in removing trash from waterways arose from personal experience. They had watched villagers in India catching fish in rivers carpeted with trash and surfers in Bali manually hauling in trash from otherwise beautiful beaches.Samyuktha Sriram…

Mobile, AL-based Blakeley BoatWorks has announced the completion and delivery of Hull 107, formally named M/V Claire Ellen, to Cooper Marine’s Louisiana operations.Designed by Farrell and Norton and built by Blakeley BoatWorks, the 70-foot long, 28-foot wide, 1,600 horsepower vessel is fully compliant with the latest United States Coast Guard Subchapter M regulatory requirements. The new pushboat is the sixth 70 foot workboat delivered by Blakeley to to Cooper Marine-Louisiana.

Wilson Sons will start building in 2025 a new range of three powerful tugboats with sustainable technology at its shipyard in Guarujá, São Paulo. It plans on renewing and modernizing its fleet of more than 80 tugboats, which operate along the Brazilian coast.The three vessels are ASD 2312 (23 x 12m) tugs with azimuth propulsion and 70 tons of bollard pull, and are capable of supporting 366-m super container ships on docking and undocking maneuvers in the country's main ports.The new tugs follow the IMO TIER III standard established by the International Maritime Organization…

The divers with Code 760, Regional Dive Locker at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility took delivery of a new purpose-built dive boat in May.The new boat replaces an Explosive Ordnance Disposal support boat built in 1991 that PSNS & IMF acquired in 2007.According to Mike Richardson, Diving Operations manager, Code 760, the new boat will help the divers accomplish their mission more effectively and comfortably.“The new boat is a purpose-built dive boat with a Marine Knuckle Boom crane,” said Richardson.

“It was the best of times, it was somewhat confusing times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of the learning curve, it was the season of light, it was the season of, uh, still not enough light.” ― Deepest apologies to Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859As the world zeroes in on alternative energy sources and products that can deliver power and performance, there are advances that could sway even the most hardened skeptic. But challenges remain—tough challenges.Two successes: renewable diesel and biodieselRenewable diesel (RD) is required now (since January 1…

Birdon America, Inc. reports its contract to supply Bridge Erection Boats (BEBs) to the Netherlands Army is moving forward on schedule.Six Birdon BEBs are in the final stages of assembly, with delivery expected by the end of September. The contract, awarded in 2023 to General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS), involves the provision of three sets of Wide Gap Crossing systems. Each set includes the Improved Ribbon Bridge (IRB), Bridge Adapter Pallets (BAP), and BEBs. The current tranche is the first of three…

Gulf LNG Tugs of Port Arthur on Thursday announced it has placed orders for four new escort tugs to serve the Port Arthur LNG export facility in Texas. Two will be constructed by Master Boat Builders in Coden, Ala., and two by Sterling Shipyard in Port Neches, Texas. Gulf LNG Tugs—a joint venture comprised of Bay-Houston Towing, Moran Towing Corporation and Suderman & Young Towing Company—said the new high horsepower, highly maneuverable RApport 2800 tugboats have been designed by naval architect Robert Allan Ltd.

At a special dedication ceremony at the Port of Leith this week, five Sanmar-built tugs were given a traditional marine blessing with their godmothers present. They form part of the large fleet of tugs and workboats operated by Targe Towing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forth Ports Limited, which provide towage, emergency response and other services 24 hours a day principally on the Forth and Tay, two of the UK’s busiest waterways, the North East ports of Scotland and offshore.The ceremony also marked…

A new RAmparts 2300 series tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and built at Estaleiro Rio Maguari (ERM) in Belém, Brazil was delivered to Sulnorte Serviços Maritimos in August 2024. SN Cariri is the seventh RAmparts 2300 built by ERM in recent months.The RAmparts 2300 series features compact yet powerful Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) tugboats measuring around 23 meters in length. Despite their small size, they are equipped with high-performance twin diesel engines driving azimuthing thrusters—that deliver exceptional maneuverability and significant bollard pull…

MAN Engines has introduced its MAN D3872 LE432 workboat engine with a displacement of 30 liters.The V12 engine has an output of 1,213kW (1,650hp) at 2,100rpm, making it suitable for medium-duty applications such as wind farm supply vessels, ferries, passenger ships and fishing boats.Further power variants of the MAN D3872 (1,471 and 1,618kW or 2,000 and 2,200hp at 2,300 rpm) for light applications have already started in production.The MAN D3872 engine has a completely new basic engine and benefits from improved coolant delivery through a new coolant pump and thermostat housing…

Albatros Arctic Circle ApS has taken delivery of a new ProZero 13.5m Arctic Workboat from Tuco Marine / ProZero Workboats. This vessel, built on the ProZero hull concept, is designed to operate in the cold Greenlandic waters and is approved by the Danish Maritime Authority to transport up to 12 passengers according to the specific regulations for Greenland and Arctic operations.The new boat is tailored for day trips and whale watching, offering high comfort and excellent opportunities for social activities in the cabin, the builder said.

U.S. maritime services company Curtin Maritime announced it has appointed Sandra Grujic as its new chief financial officer and a member of the company's executive leadership team.Grujic brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as a finance and accounting executive at Crowley"We are so excited to welcome Sandra to the Curtin Maritime family," said Martin Curtin, CEO at Curtin Maritime. "Her expertise in financial planning, strategy, budget management, and forecasting will be instrumental as we expand our operations and position ourselves as an industry leader.

Donegal, Ireland-based Seabound Engineering has been awarded a contract to build a new vessel for one of the largest mussel farming companies in the U.K.The 25-meter mussel harvester, designed by Rockabill Marine Design (RMD), is expected to be delivered by June 2026.“We are proud to collaborate with a major U.K. mussel producer and bring Rockabill Marine Design’s vision to life,” said Thomas Havlin, Managing Director of Seabound Engineering. “This is an exciting opportunity for Seabound…

Turkish shipbuilder UZMAR Shipyard announced it has delivered the new tugboat Balahu to P&O Reyser for operations at the Port of Barcelona, one of Spain's busiest ports.The Balahu is an asymmetric tractor tug (ATT), designed by Spanish ship design firm Cintranaval to provide exceptional maneuverability, ideal for handling large vessels in high-traffic port environments. It features a propulsion system powered by Kongsberg azimuth stern drive (ASD) units and offers a bollard pull of 73.5 tonnes.The vessel is powered by two MAN Energy Solution 12V175D MM+ 12-cylinder high-speed diesel engines…

In the course of the market launch of the MAN D3872 for workboats, MAN Engines is expanding its portfolio with additional performance for heavy-duty applications. The new MAN D3872 in the LE427 variant for heavy-duty applications has an output of 920 kW (1,250 hp) at 1,800 rpm and is equipped with an exhaust gas aftertreatment system consisting of a diesel particulate filter and SCR system.This means that the engine meets the strict emission standards of the EU Stage V for inland navigation with the limits of 1.8 g/kWh nitrogen oxides (NOx)…

KST Dragon, a RAmparts 2500-CL ship handling and escort tug, arrived in her home port of Singapore on September 11, 2024. The vessel will soon commence operations for KST Maritime, a subsidiary of Italian parent company MedTug SpA.The RAmparts 2500-CL design was developed by Canadian naval architecture firm Robert Allan, Ltd. in collaboration with builder, Cheoy Lee Shipyards of Hong Kong, and has been a successful series since 2018. KST Dragon is the first of two RAmparts 2500…