Wavebreaker Blog

Welcome to the Wavebreaker Blog.  Whether you are an experienced maritime professional, new to the industry or just looking to learn more, the Wavebreaker Blog is a great place to get industry updates and information, perspective pieces and insights about the industry.  We welcome your feedback too. If you’d like to write a post, let us know!  Send us an email with your feedback or interest in writing to marine.coe@skagit.edu

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Still Going Places: American Tug marks its silver anniversary with a full order book from boaters who want to explore.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. La Conner, Wash., sits about an hour north of Seattle, nestled amid Fidalgo Island’s tulip fields and across the Swinomish Channel from the Swinomish Reservation. This boatbuilding hub with stunning views of Mount Baker has been home to American Tug for a quarter century. Even after a recent expansion, the builder’s order book runneth over. Seven boats were finished in 2023, with another 10 poised to launch this year. The yard has around 33 employees with aspirations for 45 to 48 skilled workers.

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MAN Cryo selected to design fuel supply system for world’s largest hydrogen powered ferries

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. MAN Cryo will supply some of the key technology in the two giant hydrogen-fueled ferries on order for Norwegian ferry operator Torghatten Nord. With a length of 117 meter and a capacity of up to 120 cars, they will be the world’s largest hydrogen fueled ferries and will operate on Norway’s longest ferry route between Bodø and Lofoten, with a distance of around 166 kilometer.

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Brix Marine delivers versatile workboat to Alaska

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Brix Marine, Port Angeles, Wash., delivered the new 46'x16'x4'9" aluminum workboat Jackpot Bay to Chenega Corp., Anchorage, Alaska. Chenega Corp. is a Native village corporation headquartered in Anchorage, but the village of Chenega and its traditional Native lands are located on a remote island in the southwestern corner of Prince William Sound, about 120 miles southeast of Anchorage.

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Chamber of Marine Commerce: Seaway navigation season off to a strong start

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Chamber of Marine Commerce reports that early tonnage figures show a strong start for the 66th Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway navigation season demonstrating the resilience, predictability, and sustainability of the binational system.

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The National Security Importance of the Jones Act Recognized on National Maritime Day

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Today, the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the domestic maritime industry, recognizes the critical importance of the economic and national security benefits the 650,000 men and women of American Maritime deliver to the nation.

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Congress seeks solutions to rebuild U.S. maritime dominance

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. With an eye toward the growing global power of China, Congress has crafted a new National Maritime Strategy that among other things recommends continued modernization of the inland waterways system, expansion of mariner training programs and investments in U.S. shipyards.

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Crab fishing vessel North American sinks at Washington dock

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. On May 14, 2024, a well-known Bering Sea crab vessel sank at a dock on the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle. F/V North American had partially sunk alongside a pier on the south side of the canal, which is east of the Ballard Bridge.

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EBDG and ioCurrents ink MOU on data driven marine innovation

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is the announcement of the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Seattle based naval architect firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) with Kirkland, Wash., headquartered ioCurrents (IOC), a data analytics specialist with a focus on maritime fleet optimization. Under the agreement, EBDG and IOC will explore new ideas for collecting and evaluating operating and performance data to reduce vessel costs and emissions and yield other potential benefits to the maritime industry.

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Bipartisan group of lawmakers releases roadmap for revitalizing U.S. maritime

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Representative Mike Walz (R.-Fla.) along with Senator Marco Rubio (R.-Fla,) and Representative John Garamendi (D-Calif.), have released a roadmap for revitalizing the U.S. maritime sector. Entitled “Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy” it provides a comprehensive vision for planning guidance, strategic objectives, and actionable steps to revitalize the U.S. maritime sector.

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An Idea That Stuck

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is about the Gougeon brothers and how they reformulated epoxy to create today’s top brands West System and Pro-Set.

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68.5′ Research Vessel for the University of Hawai’i at Mañoa

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is the announcement of All American Marine (AAM) and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, delivery of an innovative research vessel on behalf of the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). This state-of-the-art research vessel is a 68.5’ x 25’ semi-displacement aluminum catamaran hull is developed by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand.

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Navy Secretary Calls for Restoring "Atrophied" U.S. Shipbuilding Sector

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is in reference to the atrophy of America’s shipbuilding capabilities. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro warns the current level of shipyard capability is “wholly inadequate to pace our 21st-century competitors.”

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UK's Shipyards Look for New Ways to Plug Workforce Gaps

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is in reference to the UK's top defense shipbuilders trying new ways to solve persistent gaps between the workforce they have and the workforce they need, like introducing top-notch automation and creating new entry-level opportunities. 

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Three agencies sign MOU on offshore safety and environmental protection

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. To strengthen interagency cooperation in the advancement of safe and environmentally sustainable non-mineral (renewable) energy development, including offshore wind, on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with two Department of the Interior bureaus: the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The MOU will serve as a guide for coordination of respective roles for offshore safety and environmental protection in federal waters, and outlines agency leadership for specific oversight functions.

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Marad opens 2024 round of small shipyard grants

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is the U.S. Maritime Administration (Marad) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the federal Small Shipyard Grant Program. The $8.75 million available in this round may be applied for by privately owned shipyards for new capital projects or certain workforce training projects.

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Port of Tacoma Okays Maritime Center Design Funding

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The following article is about the Port of Tacoma commissioners authorizing $7 million toward the Port Maritime Center, which would pay for master planning, legal fees and community engagement and bring the project to 60% design. The total cost of the design is estimated at $13.5 million, according to a port commission staff report.

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