Maritime Vessels Directory

INSIGHTS: Thomas C. Escher, Chairman, Red and White FleetIn 1960, Tom Escher, the grandson of the founder and now the current owner, started working as a sweeper and a mechanics helper on the Red and White vessels. In 1997, Escher purchased the Red and White Fleet, becoming the third generation of the family to own and operate the business. In September 2018, Red and White Fleet welcomed Enhydra, the newest and largest addition to the fleet. Enhydra is the first 600-passenger hybrid-drive vessel operating in the United States. Escher will be building more zero pollution passenger vessels.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies are searching for three crew members missing following a collision between two towing vessels on the Mississippi River at mile marker 123, near Luling, La., Sunday.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders in New Orleans were alerted at 5:37 a.m. on Sunday that towing vessels RC Creppel and Cooperative Spirit had collided and that four members of the RC Creppel were missing.The Cooperative Spirit was reportedly transiting upbound on the river when it entered a barge fleeting area and allied with barges before colliding with the towing vessel RC Creppel, causing the RC Creppel to sink and barges to breakaway.

The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has placed the shipping industry on high alert amid a rising death toll in China and reports that the fast-spreading illness is reaching new shores.The flu-like coronavirus, first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on December 31, has killed more than two dozen people in China and is believed to have infected more than 900 worldwide, according to several media reports. Cases have been confirmed in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, and internationally in travelers returning from China to Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the U.S.

Carnival Cruise Line's next flagship was floated out at Meyer Turku Shipyard in Finland, the builder announced on Friday.The 180,000-gross-ton, 5,200-passenger cruise ship Mardi Gras will be the largest in the Carnival fleet upon delivery in October 2020.Ben Clement, Carnival’s senior vice president of newbuilds, says the the “one-of-a-kind” ship is a “game-changer”.Meyer Turku CEO, Jan Meyer, agrees. “I believe Mardi Gras will be a truly special ship,” Meyer says. “She will be the first to use our now proven liquefied natural gas (LNG) cruise ship propulsion system in North American markets and feature many other sophisticated technologies – including BOLT

Matt Tremblay, SVP, Global Offshore, ABS, discusses the next hot growth market ... offshore wind. While the market grows, the question begs: Is the U.S. marine industry ready to meet demand?The American Bureau of Shipping convened a conference to discuss the pace and direction of the U.S. offshore wind market, including challenges and opportunities for maritime, offshore, subsea and logistics markets. Matt Tremblay, SVP, Global Offshore, ABS, moderated the event and shares some of its findings here.Where do you see opportunities today for growth in the U.S. offshore wind sector?There’s a lot of opportunities and growth that we’re going to experience over the next five to 10 years.