As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Coast Guard’s heavy icebreaker Polar Star and crew returned to their homeport in Seattle Aug. 24, after an annual deployment to Antarctica and service life extension shipyard work in California. The 138-day voyage supporting Operation Deep Freeze 2024 was followed by the 399’ Polar Star pulling into Mare Island Dry Dock (MIDD) LLC. in Vallejo, Calif., to start the fourth phase of a five-year Service Life Extension Project (SLEP).

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has allocated $26.5 million in capital improvement grants under the Port Electrification Program. This competitive grant initiative, funded through Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA), is aimed at assisting public port districts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through electrification projects.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Port of Seattle, one of the busiest ports in the U.S. and responsible for managing the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, experienced a cyberattack on Saturday. This incident forced the government agency to shut down its systems to mitigate the impact.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Wind-assisted propulsion is “on the verge of a tipping point,” concludes Lloyd’s Register in a newly released analysis of the market. The presentation points to the growing familiarity with the technology and the pressure from regulations and customers driving owners and operators toward the technology while also highlighting challenges that remain ahead to realize the perceived potential for wind-assisted propulsion.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. With limited biofuel availability posing a significant challenge, ports are pivotal in advancing sustainable shipping practices. To gain insights from the perspective of a Port Authority, see interview with Rick Schiappacasse, Director Forest Products & Speciality Cargo, JAXPORT, Jacksonville Port Authority. Here, he shared how JAXPORT is leading the way in these efforts, particularly through the development and use of LNG as a cleaner fuel alternative.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Governor Maura Healey recently signed the 2024/2025 Massachusetts state budget, which includes $150,000 in funding for workforce development and career technical education initiatives in the recreational boating industry. The funding will continue the initiatives and progress that the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association has made to help address workforce challenges within the industry.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Issues that the Coast Guard faces with workforce recruitment and in maintaining mission readiness were among those in focus in a wide-ranging August 7 discussion with USCG Vice Commandant Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, held at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. Stressing that the Coast Guard plays a vital role in ensuring U.S. security, Admiral Lunday said that evolving cyber threats pose risks to maritime security and global commerce, while delays in shipbuilding projects and budget constraints further complicate the situation.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Seafarers’ increasing dependence on digital technologies for both work and leisure highlights the need for onboard connectivity that is fast, reliable, and ‘always on’, says Inmarsat report ‘The Digital Wave’. Published by Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, The Digital Wave: Transforming vessels into floating offices and remote homes examines how crews and shore-based teams are using digital technologies today – and the connectivity they rely on during work and leisure time.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Seattle-based Snow & Co. has delivered a 15m (49.7x15.9'x7.54') hybrid catamaran aluminum research vessel for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The vessel, R/V Resilliance, demonstrates Incat Crowther and Snow’s expertise in designing and building low emissions vessels that deliver practical solutions for their scientific mission requirements.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Gunderson Marine of Portland, Oregon, recently side-launched Makani Loa, a 438‘ x 105‘ (133.5m x 32m) container barge for Lynden/Alaska Marine Lines from its 58-acre (32.5-hectare) manufacturing site in the industrial area north of downtown Portland, on the western shore of the Willamette River.
It also announced the opening of a training center in spring of 2024 to address the demand for skilled tradespeople and to train students in metal fitting, fabrication, safety practices, and welding processes, including flux-cored arc, submerged arc, and shield metal arc. Trainees are offered $19.95/hr during an eight-week course. Qualified graduates can work full time at Gunderson, starting as welders or pipe­fitters and later becoming supervisors or managers. To learn more about the program and employment benefits, visit www.giwx.net/training-center.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and the American Sportfishing Association have partnered to create an education hub for ASA member organizations. The hub was introduced at the recent International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades show and will be housed within MRAA’s learning management system, MRAATraining.com.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report from the Mission to Seafarers reveals a mixed but somewhat more positive picture of seafarers’ well-being, with the happiness index increasing slightly to 6.99 in second quarter 2024, marginally up from 6.94 in the first quarter.
However, the seafarers happiness survey results reveal concerns over the emergence of two classes of life at sea for seafarers. There are suggestions of a “digital divide” when it comes to accessing the benefits of modern communications and connectivity at sea, as well as different levels of training and preparedness for new fuels and new technologies for crew on different types of vessels.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The White House reports that private sector partners are stepping up with new investments in the U.S. maritime sector, with a fact sheet noting that the following companies plan to expand or establish their operations in the United States as the result of recent actions by the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. allies and partners: HD Hyundai, Bollinger Shipyards, Davie Shipbuilding, and Konecranes.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. On August 23 1969, the coastal freighter MV Noongah departed Newcastle bound for Townsville with a cargo of steel and 26 crew. The 71-meter ship had been a regular sight along the eastern seaboard for a decade as it hauled cargo between cities up and down the coast. Two days later, the vessel disappeared in the night beneath ten-metre waves, lashed by a violent storm. Tragically, only five of the 26 crew would be rescued during one of the largest searches for survivors in post-war Australian maritime history. As for the MV Noongah, its resting place would remain a mystery. Until now.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Panos Koutsourakis, Vice President of Global Sustainability of the American Bureau of Shipping, shares trends and learnings from a recent survey into the targets, trends and technologies of port decarbonization

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. With ammonia-fueled and ammonia-ready tonnage already on order, ABS has released guidance focused on the bunkering of the fuel, the first such advisory for the industry. The ABS Ammonia Bunkering: Technical and Operational Advisory considers the aspects of bunkering ammonia as a fuel, providing the maritime industry with a better understanding of the challenges involved and how best to address them.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Corvus Energy released a statement announcing its role in powering the Crowley eWolf, the first fully electric ship assist harbor tugboat in the United States. The eWolf tugboat, designed by Crowley and constructed by Master Boat Builders, Coden, Ala., is set to operate in the Port of San Diego, Calif. The vessel uses an integrated electrical propulsion system from ABB, which features a Corvus battery system.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. On the same day as the inauguration of a new hydrogen-powered ferry for San Francisco's Blue & Gold Fleet, the Angel Island Tiburon Ferry (AITF) announced plans to electrify two of its existing vessels and build a new carbon fiber plug-in battery-hybrid catamaran.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. A consortium of operators, agencies and technologists are formally launching the operations of the first hydrogen-powered ferry in the United States, the long-awaited Sea Change. It follows one year after the commercial debut of the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferry to begin service, the Norwegian car ferry MF Hydra.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) has appointed Lacey Greene as vice president, new construction sales. Greene returns to Nichols Brothers after a period serving as business development coordinator at naval architect firm Elliott Bay Design Group.