New-York-based McAllister Towing and Transportation Company has welcomed a newbuild tractor tug to its fleet under the name of Isabel McAllister.

The christening and the launch ceremony for the newbuild tug took place earlier in January, according to an update shared by Brian Buckley McAllister, President at McAllister Towing.

Built by Washburn and Doughty Associates, the tug is rated at 6,770 horsepower, boasting an 84 tons bollard pull.

It is powered by two, Tier IV Compliant, Caterpillar 3516E engines, with an SRP 490 FP Z-Drives propulsion system supplied by Schottel.

Isabel McAllister boasts capacity of 30,000 gallons of fuel, 4000 gallons of potable water, and 500 gallons of AFF foam.

The vessel also features two John Deere 4045 AFM85 Tier III, 99 KW generators, with a 72 horse power Markey DEPCF-52 towing gear.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today met with President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee to be the 79th Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan.

In the meeting, Chairman Wicker and Mr. Phelan discussed current shipbuilding and maintenance challenges, the need for accountability in the Navy, and the Chairman’s vision for a larger and more innovative U.S. Navy.

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with John Phelan, President Trump’s selection to lead the Department of the Navy. We had a good discussion about rapidly improving American strength on the seas and building a skilled manufacturing workforce to support our sailors and marines,” Senator Wicker said. “Mr. Phelan would bring impressive business and management experience, as well as real enthusiasm for solving the Navy’s hardest problems, to the job. I look forward to leading his confirmation hearing.”

John Phelan is a longtime private equity executive and business leader, who serves on several charitable boards including the Spirit For America, an organization tasked with supporting U.S. troops abroad.

Generally, government owned vessels, particularly ones engaged in law enforcement, are seemingly last in line when it comes to fuel efficiency. Not so in France, as the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGAMPA), in late 2024 sealed the deal and commissioned the SOCARENAM-MAURIC consortium to design and build an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) which combines hybrid propulsion and wind sails, among other energy saving/emission reduction enhancements.

According to the government agency, “this order is part of a dual strategic approach: modernizing the fleet dedicated to the control and surveillance system (DCS) and the commitment towards environmental exemplarity of DGAMPA vessels.

The wind-assisted propulsion solution, combined with diesel-electric hybrid propulsion and IMO TIER III compliant engines, are designed to position the vessel “at the forefront of maritime ecological transition,” wrote DGAMPA.

As with all vessel designs, there is not a silver-bullet solution to increased efficiency, and this vessel will also have a hull design optimized through computational fluid dynamics, enhanced insulation with optimized energy management, photovoltaic panels, and an active trim control system.

The 54m OPV is…

Maritime communications and connectivity company Navarino Group has acquired Dutch internet connectivity and IT solutions provider to the maritime industry Castor Marine.

Castor Marine will continue to operate independently within the Navarino Group, leveraging additional resources to expand its capabilities. Customers can expect uninterrupted service as well as access to an expanded portfolio of solutions.

Key benefits of the deal include an expanded service portfolio, enhanced global presence and accelerated innovation, driving forward the digital transformation of the maritime industry.

“Welcoming Castor Marine into the Navarino Group allows us to deliver even greater value to our customers. Together, we can offer enhanced services and exceed the high standards our customers have come to expect of us,” said Dimitris Tsikopoulos, CEO of Navarino.

“I’m excited to see what Castor Marine will achieve as part of the Navarino Group. This milestone unlocks new possibilities for our people and amplifies our offering,” added Ivo Veldkamp, CEO of Castor Marine.

Kongsberg has unveiled plans to integrate the maritime-focused business Kongsberg Digital into Kongsberg Maritime to further align its portfolio with future customer needs and technological advancements in the maritime industry.

The integration of Konsberg’s business units will take place in the first quarter of 2025.

The business to be transferred represented revenues of approximately $53 million in2023. The transfer involves around 500 employees located in 14 countries. These employees will be transferred from Kongsberg Digital to Kongsberg Maritime upon completion of the transaction.

“By consolidating our digital maritime initiatives within Kongsberg Maritime’s integrated portfolio of solutions, we are optimizing our approach to this transition and reaffirming our goal of being a frontrunner in the decarbonization and digitalization of the maritime industry,” said Geir Håøy, President and CEO in Kongsberg.

“By transferring maritime operations to Kongsberg Maritime, Kongsberg Digital will use the proceeds to focus relentlessly on advancing our digital twin, energy simulations, SiteCom, and our subsidiary FutureOn.

“In all these areas, we have built a solid customer base and a leading market position. Going forward, we will in…

Ocean services provider DeepOcean has signed a charter contract for the high-spec subsea vessel Orient Adventurer.

The new capacity aligns with the company’s service offerings and subsea capabilities across both the offshore renewables and conventional energy sectors in multiple regions.

Under a new contract with Dong Fang Offshore (DFO), DeepOcean will take on the Orient Adventurer as part of its fleet from early 2026 until the end of 2027.

The agreement includes options for up to four additional years.

DeepOcean will utilize Orient Adventurer globally for offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M), installation, as well as high-end inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR), construction, and recycling of offshore oil and gas infrastructure.

Orient Adventurer, formerly named Polar Onyx, is currently serving on an offshore wind contract in Southeast Asia, demonstrating its track record in offshore renewables. This builds on its extensive experience in conventional energy markets across various regions, from the North Sea to Brazil.

The vessel is equipped with a 250-tonnes crane and a vertical lay system (VLS) with 275-tonne capacity, distinguishing it from most comparable vessels.

DeepOcean will install two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in…

RAK Ports, a group of five ports located in the United Arab Emirates, has become the first in the region to achieve compliance with the Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC), the UK standard for port marine safety.

Although RAK Ports operates outside of the UK, the principles of the PMSC draw on internationally recognized legislation and best practice for port marine safety management.

The port operations undertaken variously across the group of five ports are extensive, supporting tens of millions of tonnes of bulk export and import, container operations, shipyard operations, marine development staging and support, plus petrochemical, cruise, and port centric manufacturing.

UK marine consultancy and survey company ABPmer was appointed by RAK Ports to conduct an audit of its compliance with the PMSC principles, as well as conformity with its Marine Safety Management System (MSMS), a requirement of the PMSC. Saqr Port Authority has developed their MSMS over the last several years.

ABPmer found that RAK Ports, located in Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, was fully compliant with the principles of the PMSC, such as accountability for marine safety, risk assessment, and the effectiveness of the MSMS, and had a high level of conformity with the procedures and process…

Singapore-based shipbuilder Strategic Marine has delivered its first Surface Effect Ship (SES) to All Energies Services (AES), specifically designed for offshore crew transfer operations within the oil and gas sector.

The contract marks a major step in Strategic Marine’s ongoing collaboration with AIRCAT Vessels, ESNA – Espeland and Skomedal Naval Architects and AES bringing a 35-meter SES vessel to life.

The SES vessel reaches speeds of over 50 knots and offers seamless offshore transfers in challenging sea conditions of up to 2.5 meters.

“We are delighted to deliver our first SES to AES, a testament to Strategic Marine’s commitment to providing innovative, high-speed solutions for the offshore market. This vessel represents a significant leap forward in comfort, efficiency, and environmental responsibility, and we look forward to further expanding our capabilities of building SES vessels in the years to come.

“Our ongoing partnership with AIRCAT and ESNA has been instrumental in making this vision a reality, and we anticipate continued success as we push the boundaries of what’s possible in crew transfer operations,” said Chan Eng Yew, CEO of Strategic Marine.

A Finnish court today denied a request for the release of an oil tanker suspected by police of damaging an undersea power line and four telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea last week. The incident was one of several since 2022 in which underwater critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea has suffered suspicious damage. Baltic Sea nations are on high alert and NATO has said it will boost its presence in the Baltic Sea.

The following is a timeline of major ‘incidents’ since September 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• SEPT 2022: NORD STREAM BLASTS

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, built across the Baltic Sea by Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom to pump natural gas to Germany, were damaged on Sept. 26, 2022.  Swedish seismologists registered several subsea blasts, some 17 hours apart, off the Danish island of Bornholm, that ruptured three out of four pipelines in the Nord Stream system, releasing methane into the atmosphere. In the investigations, Sweden found traces of explosives on several objects recovered from the site, confirming it was a deliberate act, but Sweden and Denmark closed their investigations without naming suspects in 2024. No one has taken responsibility.

Some Western officials have suggested Moscow blew up its own…

• “With all the archival data and that real archaeological data coming together, we’ve built the most accurate virtual model ever of Monitor, and I’m not just talking just the shell of it. Every single nut and bolt is there.” Tane Casserley

The USS Monitor was commissioned during the Civil War for the Union Navy in answer to the Confederate Navy’s new ironclad ship CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack), touted as being capable of breaking the Union blockade at Hampton Roads, Virginia. Swedish-American inventor, John Ericsson came up with a unique low, freeboard design that included a first-of-its-kind rotating gun turret.

Monitor was launched on January 30, 1862, and on March 9th, famously fought the Virginia at the Battle of Hampton Roads. Despite the battle being a draw, it effectively signaled the end of age-of-sail naval warfare. Monitor was lost on December 31 in a storm off Cape Hatteras, taking 16 of her officers and crew with her.

In this episode, host Kathy A. Smith talks with NOAA’s Tane Casserley about Monitor, plans for the 50th anniversary of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, and how digital technologies are reimagining the way the public interacts with the iconic shipwreck.

About Tane Casserley

Tane Casserley joined…