Innovation Award News

NOV’s telescopic leg crane has recently received recognition for its exceptional contribution to the offshore industry. At the Offshore Support Journal (OSJ) Industry Gala Dinner & Awards on February 7, the crane won the OSJ Innovation of the Year Award 2024, acknowledging its significant impact on offshore support vessel design, build, and operational aspects over the past year, marking a milestone for the heavy lift industry.This award follows another win at the Maritime Awards Gala on November 6…

Ship management services provider Anglo-Eastern Ship Management has selected maritime communications provider Inmarsat to connect its crew.Anglo-Eastern, which uses Inmarsat's Fleet Xpress services, in 2019 became one of the first companies to sign up for Inmarsat’s crew internet solution, Fleet Hotspot, which, Inmarsat says, provides its seafarers "with reliable, high-speed connectivity and the  freedom to use their devices on board." According to Inmarsat, Anglo-Eastern doubled the free internet allowance for its crew in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on crew welfare.

Singapore-based offshore support vessel owner Vallianz Holdings is working to speed up the digitalization of its fleet of offshore support vessels (OSV) with a comprehensive package of connectivity services from Inmarsat.According to Inmarsat, its Fleet Xpress solution supports a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) applications for crew welfare, cyber security, data capture and analysis, and more. Through Fleet Data, provided on the Fleet Edge platform, Vallianz can collect, transfer…

Mobile satellite communications specialist Inmarsat’s Fleet Hotspot has won the Mission to Seafarers Innovation Award at the Seafarers Awards Singapore 2022.Presented in a ceremony at the Regent Singapore hotel on 6 October, the award recognises Inmarsat for its outstanding contribution to crew welfare."With the well-being of seafarers under heightened scrutiny since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing crew-change crisis, recent amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 have made crew connectivity a requirement for shipowners.

Unique collaboration on green fuels, new propulsion technology and hull-form optimization in the workboat sector will lay the foundation for global emissions reduction efforts.The workboat sector, comprising one of the strongest categories of the UK’s Ship Register and including many Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs), is leading the charge in developing innovative technologies that will ultimately reduce emissions throughout the wider maritime industry. This is according to the Workboat Association (WA)…

W&O Supply said it has been recognized by shipbuilder Austal USA as a 2020 Supplier Innovation Award recipient.A global marine distributor of pipe, valves, fittings, actuation and other engineered solutions, W&O said its Mobile Operation has been a major supplier of defense related valve and piping systems since Austal’s inception in the Mobile, Ala. market, for both the LCS Independence Variant, as well as the EPF, U.S. Navy Projects.W&O’s innovation award, announced at Austal’s Supplier Day which took place last month in Mobile…

Norwegian/Swedish shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s role in developing the pioneering Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative has been recognised with another award from the automotive sector, as efforts to improve vessel recycling practices step up a gear."Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s founding role in the Ship Recycling Transparency Initiative (SRTI) has been recognised with a second automotive industry award," the  logistics and shipping solutions provider said in a press note.Wallenius Wilhelmsen was recognised with the Greener Supply Chain award at the Automotive Logistics Europe Awards for its work with the SRTI, which helps cargo…

Cox Powertrain, maker of the world’s first 300 hp diesel outboard, was announced as the winner of the Marine Power and Propulsion category at the annual Seawork International Innovation Awards for its CXO300.The awards are sponsored by A-Plan Insurance.

Offshore marine logistics company, Topaz Energy and Marine has entered into a long-term agreement with the GE company Baker Hughes (BHGE) for its proprietary lubricant condition monitoring system, VitalyX.The two firms will collaborate on boosting the maintenance and upkeep of Topaz’s fleet of vessels and increase the field time for each vessel.VitalyX is expected to be deployed on the entire module carrying vessel (MCV) fleet for Topaz in late 2019 and is the largest single collaboration with the technology since being first unveiled at BHGE’s Annual Meeting in January.Utilising the Internet of Things (IoT) by combining the latest sensor hardware with condition monitoring software…

Princess Cruises and Fincantieri has announced the signing of the final contracts for the construction of two next-generation 175,000-ton cruise ships, which will be the largest ships built so far in Italy with deliveries scheduled in Monfalcone in late 2023 and in spring 2025.This announcement follows the initial signing of a memorandum of agreement between the two parties in July 2018.The vessels will each accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and will be based on a next-generation platform design, being the first Princess Cruises ships to be dual-fuel powered primarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG is the marine industry’s most environmentally friendly advanced fuel technology and the world’s cleanest fossil fuel…

Safety solutions provider Survitec is returning to Seawork International in Southampton from July 3-5, a year after winning the Spirit of Innovation award at last year’s event. The focus of Survitec’s stand this year will be SOLAS 360; a brand-new concept aimed at improving overall safety levels through offering the products and services required in a holistic and consistent manner, available through one supplier. SOLAS 360 includes lifeboats, liferafts, personal lifesaving appliances…

As Volvo Penta continues its strategic penetration of the commercial maritime sector, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News checks in with Ron Huibers, President, Volvo Penta of the Americas. When we first met with you a few years ago, Volvo Penta was in the early stages of a strategic move into the commercial maritime sector in North America. Please update your progress. Historically, we have been strong in the marine commercial markets outside of North America. Five years ago…

MasterCraft Boat Company continues its leadership accolades in the towboat category with a prestigious innovation award for its most advanced towboat to date, the 2018 XStar, said a press release from the company. Just announced at the Miami International Boat Show, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Boating Writers International honored MasterCraft with this award as one of 17 winners out of 62 total evaluated products. “With the new XStar, validation came when ranks of pro wakeboarders outside of the MasterCraft team were raving about its versatility and what it will allow them to do off the wake. It’s truly the first wakeboard boat in the world that is so versatile that it enables progression for anyone from family riders to the world’s best…

I-Tech AB has been recognized as the technology innovation leader in the European marine biocides market, resulting in the company receiving the 2017 Technology Innovation Award from Frost & Sullivan. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality that is gaining rapid market acceptance. Based on its recent analysis of the European biocides market, Frost & Sullivan found that the long-term environmental and economic benefits of using I-Tech’s unique bio-repellent antifouling ingredient…

AkzoNobel said it scooped two honors at the recent ICIS Innovation Awards for the Interline 9001 ultra-performance cargo tank coating supplied through its International brand. As well as being awarded with the overall Innovation Award, Interline 9001 also received the Best Product Innovation Award from ICIS, the trusted information provider for the global chemical and energy industries. The awards recognize the impact the new coating has had on the chemical tanker industry, specifically how it tackles the issue of absorption from aggressive cargoes…

FUSION announced today that its STEREOACTIVE purpose-builtportable marine stereo has won the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Innovation Award in the Watersport Equipmentcategory at the 2017 Miami International Boat Show. “We are very proud of the passion and dedication our design and engineering team has put into STEREOACTIVE and are deeply honored to be recognized by the NMMA,” said Chris Baird, managing director of FUSION Entertainment. “After 10 years in the industry, we really wanted to push the boundaries and enable smaller boats to easily and cost effectively add quality, purpose-built entertainment to their vessel.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Boating Writers International (BWI) today presented Volvo Penta with a 2017 Innovation Award for the Volvo Penta Joystick for Inboard. It is the first and only joystick for twin inboard shaft installations that includes both docking and driving modes and integrates all five steering components: thruster, rudders, gear shift, slip and throttle. “The Joystick for Inboard propulsion delivers substantial benefits to boat builders, dealers and customers, allowing us to offer a complete helm-to-prop solution for inboard applications that makes docking and driving a shaft boat effortless and intuitive,” said Ron Huibers, president of Volvo Penta of the Americas.

The finalists of the 2017 Mersey Maritime Industry Awards (MMIAs) have been announced. The winners will be revealed at a prestigious black tie dinner that will have a Ministerial presence and promises to bring together the best of the maritime industry right across the Maritime, Logistics and Energy spectrum in the region. The MMIAs are organised by sector representative body Mersey Maritime and the Awards recognise the excellence and diversity that exists across all sectors of the maritime industry in the North West. Chris Shirling-Rooke, Chief Executive, Mersey Maritime, said: “The number and quality of entries for the 2017 MMIAs has risen for the third consecutive year, which will make for an exciting awards evening when the winners are announced on 9th March.

Cyberhawk Innovations is delighted to be recognised as a finalist at the 2017 Offshore Achievement Awards for the categories Safety Innovation and Export Achievement. The world leader in aerial inspection and survey using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), otherwise known as drones, continues to pioneer the use of this technology to conduct close up inspections of live and difficult to reach structures. The company has been named as a finalist for the Safety Innovation award as a result of its UAV inspection solution for the internal inspection of tanks and confined spaces in the offshore oil and gas industry. In 2015, Cyberhawk carried out the world’s first inspection of an internal storage tank on board a Maersk FPSO in the UKCS…

Hull Vane on New Patrol Vessel for Port of Rotterdam Shipyard Kooiman recently started building a new 25-meter patrol vessel for the Rotterdam Port Authority. The vessel will be delivered in the summer of 2017. The order followed a public tender process in which several shipbuilders competed with their designs. The design incorporates several innovations to improve the efficiency. Public tender The principal focal points in the tender were the vessel’s complete life-cycle costs, a minimal amount of emissions and a minimum of wave formation.

On November 10, DEME and Royal IHC have been awarded a DPC Innovation Award for the world’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD). The DPC Innovation Awards consisted of 13 categories looking at the most innovative and forward-thinking projects that the dredging and port construction industry has to offer. DEME and Royal IHC won the award in the “Innovation in Dredger Design” category. Since a few years, DEME has embarked on a comprehensive fleet expansion programme and a number of vessels are currently being built to significantly increase efficiency, both in terms of productivity and environmental performance.

A combined Defence and industry team has won the International Association of Contract and Commercial Management Innovation Award for Operational Improvement. The FFG Enterprise is a collaboration between Defence's Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, Royal Australian Navy, Thales Australia and BAE Systems Australia, working together to sustain and deliver seaworthy guided missile frigates. Deputy Secretary Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, Mr Kim Gillis, said the award recognises the FFG Enterprise as conducting world’s best practice in relational contracting and collaboration. “Since its inception in 2014, the…

The launch ceremony of DEME’s 3,500m3 LNG-powered trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) MINERVA took place on 3 December at Royal IHC's shipyard in Kinderdijk, The Netherlands. The official name giving and christening ceremony will take place in the spring of 2017 in Zeebrugge, Belgium. "The launch of this vessel is an important milestone for the dredging industry,” says IHC's Executive Director Shipbuilding, Arjan Klijnsoon. “IHC had already started to investigate the integration of LNG into dredging vessels in 2012, enabling us to understand the challenges of this green solution. This gave us a solid basis to work from when DEME started its tender process, and helped us to materialise DEME’s preliminary design for two LNG-powered TSHDs.