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Conversion Project News

05 Feb 2024

Vard to Convert IT Infinity PSV to Cable Laying Vessel

IT Infinity (Credit: Vard)

Norwegian ship designed and builder Vard has secured a contract from I.T. International Telecom Marine (IT) to convert its platform supply vessel (PSV) IT Infinity into a cable laying vessel (CLV).The PSV was built at Vard Brattvaag and delivered to Volstad Maritime in 2008 under the name Volstad Princess.SD Standard Drilling acquired the vessel in 2017 before it was sold to IT in 2021 and was renamed IT Infinity.The work will be carried out by Vard Brattvaag in Norway and the vessel will be delivered in the third quarter of 2024…

07 Dec 2023

COSCO Signs Up for Methanol Retrofits

(Photo: MAN Energy Solutions)

COSCO Heavy Industry Shanghai Co. Ltd. has signed a contract with MAN Energy Solutions for the methanol retrofit of four main engines from COSCO Line’s Camellia and Virgo -class vessels – 13,800 and 20,000 teu respectively. Currently equipped with single-fuel MAN B&W 11S90ME-C10.5 engines, the vessels will be retrofitted to dual-fuel MAN B&W 11S90ME-LGIM10.5 units capable of operating on fuel-oil or methanol, in the process becoming the first vessels in COSCO’s fleet to sail on methanol.The contract also includes an option for the retrofit of an additional nine vessels from the line’s 20…

05 Oct 2023

MerlinGroup to Retrofit Vessel with Stage V Engines

Source: MerlinGroup

Netherlands-based inland shipping company MerlinGroup is starting a conversion project for the Sayonara to retrofit Stage V engines.The Sayonara will be equipped with two DAF MX 13-390 Stage V engines, supplied and fitted by CCM3 from Werkendam. The Sayonara is expected to resume operations on Dutch, Belgian and German rivers in Q4 2023.The retrofit will make it future-ready and able to sail anywhere with minimal emissions of harmful substances.The company, which operates on a participation model of cooperation between company and equal partners…

19 Sep 2023

Concordia Damen Converts Inland Shipping Vessel into TSHD

Source: Concordia Damen

Concordia Damen recently delivered a special project that involved the conversion of a Dutch barge into a Nigerian dredger. The trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Sayonara has now arrived and is at work on the Lagos Lagoon.Three years ago, the Werkendam shipyard came into contact with a Nigerian dredging company via Damen Shipyards Gorinchem. This eventually led to the start of the complex conversion project in December 2021. After extensive testing to ensure that the vessel…

07 Aug 2023

Norwegian Firm to Supply Helideck for Hornbeck's Offshore Wind Vessel

Credit: Hornbeck Offshore

Marine Aluminium AS has won a contract to supply the U.S. offshore vessel firm Hornbeck Offshore Services a helideck for its new conversion project. The 21-meter helideck has a landing capacity of up to Sikorsky S-92-sized helicopters.As previously reported by Offshore Engineer, Hornbeck Offshore will convert one of its recently acquired 280-foot offshore supply vessels (OSV) to a service operation vessel (SOV) to meet the growing demand of the U.S. offshore wind market, as well as to serve the demands of the offshore flotel market.

03 Aug 2023

WETA's Bay Ferry 2050: Water Transit Reimagined

(Photo: WETA)

Spearheaded by the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), Bay Ferry 2050 is a visionary initiative aimed at transforming the San Francisco Bay Ferry service into an eco-friendly and forward-thinking transportation system. With a focus on fleet electrification, community engagement and the exploration of alternative propulsion technologies, the project sets the stage for a more community-minded, sustainable, operationally strong, fiscally sound and environmentally conscious…

13 Jul 2023

Hornbeck Offshore Eyes U.S. Offshore Wind Work with OSV-to-SOV Conversion Project

Credit: Hornbeck Offshore Services

U.S. offshore vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore Services, best known for its offshore oil and gas support vessel services, is looking at business opportunities in the growing U.S. offshore wind sector as well as in offshore accommodation services in the oil and gas area.For that, Covington, La. based Hornbeck Offshore said Wednesday it had contracted Eastern Shipbuilding Group to convert one of its recently acquired 280-foot offshore supply vessels (OSV) to a service operation vessel (SOV) to meet the growing demand of the U.S.

30 May 2023

Four San Francisco Ferries Refit with Cleaner Engines

(Photo: San Francisco Bay Ferries)

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) announced that WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project has been completed, resulting in a substantial decrease in air pollution emissions from four San Francisco Bay Ferry vessels serving Oakland, Alameda and Richmond.In September 2021, WETA's Board of Directors approved a $5.5 million project to upgrade the engines and reduce emissions on the agency’s four Gemini-class vessels.

28 Nov 2022

Marine News' Top Vessels of 2022

Mark W. Barker (Photo: Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding)

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted the most notable newbuilds delivered in 2022. From sturdy and nimble workboats, to the first new Jones Act laker in a generation, each vessel on display showcases the industry’s engineering prowess and technological ingenuity, with the focus on improving efficiency in operations. The maritime industry has no shortage of challenges to overcome, and each of Marine News’ top vessels will, in one way or another, aid efforts to tackle them.Mark W.

02 Nov 2022

NETSCo Promotes Two Senior Leaders

David Hossenlopp (Photo: NETSCo)

NETSCo, a naval architecture and marine engineering firm located in Columbia Station, Ohio, has promoted two of its senior employees to new leadership roles. David Hossenlopp, P.E, has been promoted to the position of Chief Naval Architect, and Nick Hunter, P.E. to Senior Naval Architect / Marine Engineer.“David has been with NETSCo since 2013,” said Richard Mueller, CEO/President, “and throughout this time he has very successfully been involved with a large variety of projects…

31 Oct 2022

DOT Announces $703M in Port Funding; 41 Projects in 22 States

Copyright bannafarsai/AdobeStock

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that designed to help improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Following is the full list of FY 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Grant Awards:ALASKANorth Extension Stabilization Step 1 Project ($68,700,000), Anchorage, AlaskaThe Project will reconfigure and realign the shoreline within the “North Extension” (the area north of the existing general cargo terminals) at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

12 Sep 2022

Royal IHC Hands Over Converted Amazon J-Lay Vessel to McDermott

Credit: Royal IHC

Dutch maritime equipment and technology firm Royal IHC has handed over the converted J-lay vessel Amazon to McDermott International.Royal IHC said: "For this project, Royal IHC has converted Amazon into the modern and state-of-the-art J-lay vessel it is today. The patented system, with dynamic top tension capacity of 1.500 tonnes, can handle a variety of pipes, including normal flowlines, export lines, and pipe-in-pipe configurations, ranging in size from 4.5 to 25 inches in diameter and inline assemblies.

13 Jun 2022

WETA's New Ferry Enters Service in San Francisco

(Photo: WETA)

A new high-speed passenger vessel entered service for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) on Monday.The newbuild, Dorado, is the first in a series of four new ferries being built for WETA by Mavrik Marine in La Conner, Wash. Construction on the second vessel in the Dorado class, Delphinus, is underway. Vessel construction was funded through the Federal Transit Administration and the State of California’s Proposition 1B in collaboration with the California Office of Emergency Services.

17 May 2022

Marine Coatings: Self-Indicating Tech Provides Anti-corrosion Certainty

Photo courtesy Nippon Paint Marine

In the months and years before the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was getting used to the idea of reducing its reliance on oil with more focus on liquefied natural gas (LNG). Consequently, shipyards and shipowners responded to the shift by building new or recommissioning existing LNG carriers and storage vessels.However, reducing dependence on Russian oil and gas from much of the world market – where it was the second biggest exporter of the product – has instigated a greater scramble…

17 Mar 2022

Converted OSRV Added to Sandy Hook Pilots Fleet

Photo courtesy Sandy Hook Pilots

Sandy Hook Pilots Association welcomed its new Pilot Station Boat New York, a converted Oil Spill Response Vessel (OSRV), which, at 208 feet long, is the largest in the Sandy Hook Pilots fleet.While welcoming the its new addition, Sandy Hook Pilots retired its predecessor, also named New York, which has been a familiar sight in the Port of New York and New Jersey harbor for nearly 50 years.On February 3, the new P/B New York sailed to its new home, the Sandy Hook Pilot base in Staten Island…

16 Feb 2022

Shipbuilding: Fincantieri Marine Group Invests Mightily to Deliver for the US Navy

Fincantieri Marinette Marine rendering with completed construction and FFG-62 on shiplift. Photo courtesy FMG

When he served as the commander of NWSC Carderock, Mark Vandroff woke every morning knowing that his counterpart in China had just gone to bed and had spent that day trying to make China’s Navy superior. His job, he figured, was to “get cracking and work to make our Navy even better.” Now the CEO at Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM), Vandroff brings that passion for navy shipbuilding – and delivering on the new USN Constellation-class frigates contract – to work every day.Introducing a new class of warship usually comes with a heaping helping of pain, from cost overruns to technical glitches.

20 Dec 2021

Drydocks World Completes Bokalift 2 Conversion

(Photo: Drydocks World)

Dubai shipyard Drydocks World said it recently completed its latest conversion project for Dutch dredging and heavy lift company Boskalis.The former drillshipship, now a crane vessel named Bokalift 2, has been converted in preparation for carrying out a variety of offshore operations. Its maiden project will be the transport and installation of wind turbine foundations off the coast of Taiwan.The conversion scope included the fabrication and installation of 9,000 tons of steel blocks on both sides of the vessel to increase the stability of the vessel and the installation of a new work deck.

16 Nov 2021

Wärtsilä to Launch Two-stroke Future Fuels Conversion Platform

(Image: Wärtsilä)

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä said it is set to launch a new engine combustion technology platform designed to enable the "fast and cost-effective" conversion of two-stroke main engines to operate on clean-burning future fuels.The company's Two-Stroke Future Fuels Conversion platform is due for commercial launch during the first quarter of 2022, as the maritime industry continues to work toward decarbonized shipping operations.The retrofit conversion will initially enable operation with liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel…

08 Oct 2021

World's First: Wärtsila, Eidesvik to Equip OSV with Ammonia-fueled Combustion Engine

Credit: Wartsila

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Eidesvik and Finland-based marine equipment manufacturer Wartsila are going to convert an offshore supply vessel (OSV) to operate with an ammonia-fuelled combustion engine with the required fuel supply and safety system. "This project will be the first of its kind ever in the world and has a provisional completion target by the end of 2023," Wärtsilä said.The offshore vessel considered for a retrofit currently has Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines operating primarily with LNG fuel. The conversion will allow the vessel to operate with a 70 percent ammonia blend.

05 Oct 2021

Drydocks Starts Conversion Works on Perenco's Brazil-bound FSO

Credit: Drydocks World

DP World's subsidiary Drydocks World Dubai has started converting an Aframax tanker capable of carrying 700,000 barrels of oil to a Floating Storage and Offloading Unit (FSO) for Dixstone, part of Perenco.As part of the extensive modification and life extension work at the FSO Pargo project, Drydocks will apply a new hull coating, which will ensure the FSO's performance remains reliable for the next 20 years of offshore operations.The work will also involve fabrication and installation of an external turret for weather waning…

20 Sep 2021

Ship of the Month: Mercy Ships and the Quest to Build Global Mercy

Global Mercy is diesel electric (4 x Wärtsilä 6L32s, just under 3MW).  Designed by DeltaMarin in Finland, the ship uses ABB pods for propulsion for a 12-knot service speed. Photo courtesy Mercy Ships

Mercy Ships is known globally for its charitable work performing medical procedures in developing countries. For the first time, the organization has a new ship, Global Mercy, recently delivered from a shipyard in China. Jim Paterson, Marine Executive Consultant, Mercy Ships takes Maritime Reporter & Engineering News inside the construction of the world’s largest civilian hospital ship.Jim Paterson already had a career and Chief Engineer’s Certificate when he joined Mercy Ships nearly 34 years ago, in search of a life change to make a difference.

11 Apr 2021

Shipbuilding: Is there a different future for ship repair and conversion?

© Photocreo Bednarek/AdobeStock

There is an old adage that states that a repair yard can economically build new ships, but a new construction yard should never touch ship repair jobs. In my experience there is a lot of truth to that statement, and it does not mean that new construction yards are run by less capable people; it simply means that ship construction and ship repair and conversion are fundamentally different business models. Ship construction uses a script, while ship repair and conversion is improvisation. I will not drive the theater comparison completely home, but it has some validity.

26 Nov 2020

Keppel Offshore & Marine Wins $74,7M FPSO Conversion Work

Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine has won a contract from an unnamed repeat customer worth about S$100 million (USD 74,7 million) for the fabrication and integration work on a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO).Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2022, Keppel Shipyard’s scope of work includes the fabrication, installation and integration of topside modules, riser balconies and spread mooring support structures, as well as supporting the customer on pre-commissioning and commissioning work.

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