Page 35: of Marine News Magazine (March 2022)

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Feature

Shipbuilding lion in grants to help buy, repair and from their operations. In December, buoy and inland construction tenders modernize ferry boats and terminals. Master Boat Builders started building as part of the waterways commerce

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Crowley’s eWolf, the ? rst all-electric cutter (WCC) program. In total, the

Emergency Transportation Authority ship assist tug in the U.S. The 82-foot Coast Guard plans to acquire 16 river (WETA) will receive $3.4 million to harbor tug is expected to be complet- buoy tenders, 11 inland construction construct a new zero-emission ferry. ed and ready for service in mid-2023 tenders and three inland buoy tenders

The Casco Bay Island Transit District at the Port of San Diego. to replace its aging inland tender ? eet.

in Portland, Maine, will receive $3.6 A ? rst of its kind methanol-to- Another closely watched Coast million to replace a passenger ferry hydrogen fuel cell powered towboat Guard build program is the Heritage nearing the end of its useful life, with a is set to hit the water in 2023. The Class Offshore Patrol Cutter, the ? rst new ferry equipped with a diesel elec- Hydrogen One is being developed four of which are being built by East- tric hybrid propulsion system. Kitsap by owner Maritime Partners in coop- ern Shipbuilding Group in Florida.

Transit in Kitsap County, Wash., will eration with naval architecture ? rm The Coast Guard has called the OPC receive $7.7 million to replace a die- EBDG and hardware suppliers e1 its “top acquisition priority”, and it sel vessel with a new, environmentally Marine and ABB. intends to order 25 of the vessels in friendly battery-electric passenger- Another emerging opportunity for total. Eastern has bid for the second only ferry and necessary charging in- U.S. shipyards in the “green” realm is frastructure to carry passengers across lique? ed natural gas (LNG) bunker-

Sinclair Inlet, between Port Orchard ing barges like the one currently under and Bremerton. construction at Fincantieri Bay Ship- building for Crowley. Set to be deliv-

GREEN WORKBOATS ered in late 2023, the barge will be the

The green trend is also driving busi- largest of its kind in the U.S. and will ness in the workboat market, with be operated under long-term char- several hybrid-electric and alternative ter to Shell. Bay Shipbuilding is also fuel vessel projects currently ongoing building another noteworthy vessel, as the maritime industry continues The Interlake Steamship Company’s to develop and implement new tech- recently launched Mark W. Barker, nologies for cleaner vessel operations. the ? rst new Great Lakes bulk carrier

Duclos said Gladding-Hearn is seeing to be built in nearly four decades. The “lots of interest hybrid and all electric 639-foot laker is expected to be com- vessels of all kinds”, and that, “We pleted and underway in Spring 2022.

will de? nitely be seeing some of these for the right applications.” GOVERNMENT SHIPBUILDING

Seabulk’s new Robert Allan Ltd.- Facing a shortage of commercial designed electric-hybrid tugboat, shipbuilding projects, a number of

Spartan, was delivered in January from U.S. shipyards have turned to govern-

Master Boat Builders’ (MBB) Coden, ment work to keep busy, and several

Ala., shipyard. The yard’s president of these yards are now hard at work

Garrett Rice recently told Marine building, or jockeying to build, vessels

News that MBB sees growing inter- for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) est in hybrid- and fully-electric tugs and U.S. Navy. Of note, the USCG as operators work toward decreasing is soon expected to select shipyards or in some cases removing emissions to design and construct its new river www.marinelink.com MN 35|