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EDITOR’S NOTE ell into the New Year, the North American brown water market ? nds itself in the midst of a ‘good news/bad news’ scenario. Where you as an equipment OEM, vessel

W operator, vendor and/or boatbuilder ? t into that complicated equation, of course, depends on where you sit. For those stakeholders ? rmly situated in the ferry sector, it has been a good run – and it isn’t yet over. In the offshore energy support arena, the malaise continues but a glimmer of hope has emerged with higher oil supported by encouraging global demand.

Similar stories abound in all sectors.

Separately, the so-called $2.9 billion VW Environmental Mitigation Trust settlement is the subject of increasing scrutiny on the marine side of the propulsion ledger. Workboat operators now ponder the possibility of repowering existing tonnage with more environmentally friendly [email protected] engines (in part) on somebody else’s nickel. With some operators are skating on razor thin margins to begin with, it is worth a closer look. Unfortunately, however, the scrutiny of what emanates from your stack isn’t the only regulatory issue facing some workboat operators. That’s because the subchapter M towboat rules, long awaited, are now of? cially here.

This month’s edition brings the nation’s estimated 5,500 vessel-strong towboat sector right up to speed on all things ‘subM.’ Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask? It’s all inside, starting on page 14. Industry subject matter expert Pat Folan provides an in-depth look at how we got to present day, what that means for you and your operation and what’s likely to come in the near term future. We follow that up with some additional real world advice from

ABS; the U.S.-based IACS classi? cation society that also ? nds itself deeply immersed in the fray as father time quickly eats into 2018.

Speaking of ‘hot’ sectors, the past 18 months have seen a fair bit of recapitalization in the

North American ? shing ? eets. Those who didn’t build new tonnage look to repower, and when they do, they want reliability, low cost-of-ownership, service, support and more bollard pull. No problem, said engine OEM YANMAR, whose aggressive push into the North American com- mercial engine markets was punctuated just this year by its ? rst repower job in the Paci? c North- west. It turns out that ? shing vessel operators want it all – and that’s exactly what YANMAR and its new local West Coast distributor, Northern Lights, provided. That story kicks off on page 38.

With the ? rst quarter of 2018 almost in our choppy, roiled wake, it remains to be seen as to whether a robust, broader economy can carry the transport sectors – in particular, the marine industries – along with it. For my part, and respecting the time honored Keefe family tradi- tion of ‘buying high and selling low,’ I’ll refrain from any lofty predictions. However, and with offshore wind lurking quietly on the back burner, you just never know what will transpire. That said; the marine industry has an uncanny way of reinventing itself every few years. This time will be no different.

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Joseph Keefe, Editor, [email protected]

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