Maritime Vessels Directory

We recently checked in with Tracy Zea, Waterways Council Inc.’s new President & CEO, on what’s in store for the U.S. inland waterways for the remainder of 2020.To start, give us some insight on your background and how you came to lead WCI.I was born and raised in Chandler, Ariz., and attended South Dakota State University, receiving a degree in Political Science. After college, I found my way to Washington, D.C. via an internship with Senator Thune (R-S.D.). After the internship, I was hired by the House of Representatives, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Imports at major U.S. container seaports could hit their lowest level in four years as the novel coronavirus pandemic pummels a U.S. economy that was already grappling with negative effects of the U.S.-China trade war, experts said.Total container imports could fall 9.4% in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates' Global Port Tracker report.That reflects pain in the U.S. retail sector, which is smarting from government-mandated store closures and bracing for fallout from the recent expiration of a supplemental $600 weekly unemployment benefit that put $18 billion into the U.S. economy each week.Amazon.

Armstrong Marine USA Inc. launched the 11.3- by 4.2-meter Naiad rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) Bay Voyager II in late July. Builder sea trials in Port Angeles, Wash. indicate a cruise speed of 25 knots.The vessel was originally built for San Francisco-based tour company Bay Voyager, but is now for sale from Armstrong Marine.The USCG Subchapter T vessel has capacity 28 passenger plus two crew. It features Naiad’s heavy-duty fendering system and a full width aft canopy. The semi-open cabin provides passengers with unobstructed views throughout the vessel. A head compartment is incorporated beneath the console.

Containerships with a collective cargo carrying capacity of 5.3 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) are now fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber) to remove sulphur oxides (SOx) from the exhaust gasses generated by the combustion processes in marine engines and thereby comply with the IMO 2020 global sulphur regulation which came into force on January 1, 2020.By the start of July, the share of the containership fleet with scrubbers installed exceeded that of the crude oil tanker fleet. At that time, the container shipping sector became the most scrubber-fitted among the main cargo carrying ship types.

The first of the U.S. Navy's new YT-808 tugs being built by Dakota Creek Industries (DCI) has been outfitted with a sophisticated marine electronics package from Furuno. Mackay Marine selected and installed a comprehensive suite of electronics that will assist YT-808 in fulfilling its ship-handling duties for the full range of U.S. Navy surface warships, barges and submarines. The helm aboard the new vessel includes a 12kW FAR2218BB Radar, DS80 Doppler Speed Log, GP330B GPS Receiver, FA170 AIS, and RD33 Data organizer. The tug also includes a 14" multi-touch MFD, the NavNet TZtouch TZT14, featuring upgraded C-Map cartography and a 24" DRS4DNXT Solid-State Dome Radar.