Page 6: of Marine News Magazine (July 2016)

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EDITOR’S NOTE rrespective of the editorial focus of this edition of MarineNews, it is inadvisable to begin without acknowledging the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard’s long awaited, much anticipated and far reach- ing subchapter M towboat rules. The preliminary take on the advance text that the Coast Guard

I provided in mid-June is that the rule will be more forgiving than it otherwise might have been. The

Coast Guard itself says it endeavored to soften th e impact of the new regulations in its ? nal version.

If that’s the case, one has to wonder whether the ultimate impact on safety will be similarly dulled.

Without getting into the weeds on what it all means, the Coast Guard asserts that subM will affect about 5,500 U.S. ? ag towing vessels engaged in pushing, pulling, or hauling alongside, and the 1,100 companies that own or operate them. Ultimately, they say, this translates into a net bene? t of $4.9 million for industry, not counting un-monetized bene? ts such as reducing [email protected] the risk of accidents that have secondary consequences on waterways, highways, and railroads.

That’s interesting but encouraging math.

On the other hand, the apparent grandfathering of certain hulls and equipment and the ulti- mate delay to full compliance won’t be good news to shipyards hoping to change their luck with increased business. The 798-page document that I viewed prior to deadlines for this edition was daunting. Interpreting what it all means will be equally dif? cult. Stay tuned.

On a brighter note, MarineNews Associate Publisher Greg Trauthwein arrived back from yet another incredibly dif? cult [?] assignment in Gothenburg, Sweden just in time to ? ll us in on some remarkable developments in the world of propulsion technology. Volvo Penta’s newest equipment for the workboat world – as only Greg can attest to after having driven much of it – will no doubt very soon make a huge splash in your world. Before that, it debuts here, within this edition, starting on page 30.

Separately, we have learned over time that propulsion technology today involves so much more than just engines and/or the devices driven by them to move vessels through the water.

That’s because the need for combining speed, ef? ciencies, emissions control and fuel economy are changing the way naval architects design hull forms. Matching the propulsion arrangement to the hull in a ? t-for-purpose manner isn’t just a fad. For example, it is the way of the future for forward-thinking ATB operators – such as Bouchard – who hope, among other things, to maximize their bottom line. That story begins on page 24.

This month, it seems only ? tting that I end with a few remarks on how we began this edi- tion. Our usual INSIGHTS feature typically revolves around the Editorial Calendar, and this version is no different. In this case, I once again turned to my good friend and fellow Mass.

Maritime alumnus Bob Kunkel, who speaks with authority on all things ‘propulsion.’ That he does so, primarily from an OEM agnostic position, makes his ‘insights’ that much more valu- able. See if you don’t agree.

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Joseph Keefe, Editor, [email protected]

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