Sealift Inc.

Hydrotug, the world's first hydrogen-powered tugboat, has been launched at Armón Shipyards in Navia, Spain, marking a key milestone on the path toward wider adoption of the sustainable, climate neutral fuel in workboat applications.Remaining outfitting work will be completed over the next few months ahead of sea trials later this year. The groundbreaking vessel is scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year and enter full operations in the first quarter of 2023 for shipping and logistics group CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge) in Antwerp.The Hydrotug consists of two BeHydro V12 dual fuel medium speed engines that can run on hydrogen and traditional fuel.

The U.S. Coast Guard on May 20 announced it modified its current contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) so installation of the Athena combat weapons system and multi-mode radar system will be completed during the production phase of the offshore patrol cutter (OPC). The Athena system, radar and armament of the OPC are provided to the Coast Guard as Navy type-Navy owned government furnished equipment.Prior to this modification, installation of both systems was to occur after contract delivery while each cutter was in its homeport.

A towing vessel operating in a pushing-ahead configuration experienced a loss of all propulsion while operating on the Mississippi River. The loss of propulsion occurred approximately three hours after getting underway and about 3.5 hours after receiving fuel from a shore-side facility. Fortunately, there was no significant damage to the vessel, nor injuries to crewmembers because of this casualty.The subsequent investigation into the causal factors revealed that the vessel’s fuel tanks and fuel service system to the engine were heavily contaminated by water.

Norfolk, Va. ship repair yard Colonna’s Shipyard announced a series of senior management promotions along with a revised organizational structure effective July 2022.Jordan Webb, currently Vice President, Contracts, has been promoted to Vice President of Shipyard Operations. Randall Crutchfield, currently Colonna’s Chief Experience Officer and Executive Director of Steel America and Weld America, has been named Vice President of Industrial Operations and Facilities. Chris Marsh, Director of Trades for CSI

ZF Marine has appointed Walter Fienco to the position of Product Line Manager, Commercial Thrusters. In this role, Walter will lead ZF Marine’s commercial thruster product sales across the North and Central American and Caribbean markets.Fienco brings nearly 15 years of commercial thruster product experience to the position. During his tenure at ZF Marine, he managed/led the company’s engineering, technical support and aftermarket teams to successfully commission customer vessels. He was previously Senior Engineer, Customer Applications, for ZF Marine. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of New Orleans.