Americas Cup Innovation & a Carbon-Free Shipping Future
The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) represented by BMW Oracle Racing and the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the Americas Cup defending champion, represented by Team Alinghi were entwined in a 2.5-year legal battle over multiple court cases, including hearings in the New York Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, prior to the 33rd edition of the race, due to take place in 2010.The parties disagreed about the location, format, and restrictions on boat design, all of which were changed by the courts prior to the race.
Designing Ships Around Emissions: The Right Path or a Fork in the Road?
When discussing ship design, the maritime industry has been tossing around a number of new terms and definitions. Sustainability, alternative fuel “ready”, digitization and lifecycle are a few of the terms becoming more commonplace amid the industry’s search for zero emissions solutions. As IMO MEPC 80 meetings push emissions reduction to meet “well to wake” requirements, we will learn much of the challenge is tied to energy and infrastructure ashore. Electrification and the development…
Back to the Drawing Board: The Worst Ship in History – Exxon Valdez
While Greg Trauthwein never assigns me column subjects, each time the Great Ships issue comes around I go with the theme. However, I try to take a view askew on that subject and have found that these are the rare columns where I am criticized for my views. Greg must enjoy that, and this year he asked me to write a column on the worst ship designs. That was the entire assignment, and it was unclear if he asked me to discuss the worst ship designs for 2023, or in the history of ship design.
Maritime Innovation: Fostering Creativity and Working to Make Bright Ideas Work
This is the dawning of the age of AI and Big Data, huge agglomerations of new and transformative energy; almost self-generating, always strengthening and pulling at the reins, seeking to break free and run, a prospect both exciting and terrifying. That image can imply a human is holding the reins. How quaint: these days, AI itself may be holding the reins.In a review of innovation in 2023 – across any industrial or economic sector, not just maritime – AI looms large, a game-changer equivalent to IBM’s programming advances in the 1940s.
Achieving Digital Transformation in the Marine Industry
Like so many other industries in transportation, the marine industry is being challenged on multiple fronts—from a shortage of manpower and emerging digital technologies to sustainability requirements. In the face of these growing pressures, ship designers increasingly rely on digital transformation to stay competitive and deliver higher-quality products. Digital transformation offers many solutions across a ship’s lifecycle, from design and crew training to interconnectivity and automation…
Robotics in the EngineRoom
When talk turns to autonomous ships, a first question always centers on how routine and emergency repair and maintenance will be conducted. Trey Taylor, Director of Digital Innovation, Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), discusses FMD’s research and development on next-gen engine room robotics.The FMD team that Trey Taylor leads is relatively new, kicking off in 2019 with a baseline product that was looking at monitoring equipment, “being able to provide that information back to our…
ClassNK AIP for MARIC's Alternative Fuel Vessels
ClassNK issued Approvals in Principle (AiPs) for four ship designs developed by Marine Design & Research Institute of China (MARIC).The four designs include:a 210k methanol dual-fueled bulk carrier, a 210k ammonia dual-fueled bulk carrier, a 210k LNG dual-fueled bulk carrier, and an 88k LPG dual-fueled very large gas carrier
AIP for SDARI Ship Designs
ClassNK awards AiPs for SDARI’s green fuels powered vehicle carriers for ammonia ready LNG dual fueled 7,000CEU, and both methanol/ammonia dual fueled 10,000CEUClassNK has issued Approvals in Principle (AiPs) for three vehicle carrier designs developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI). The first AiP acknowledges an ammonia ready LNG dual fueled vehicle carrier with a capacity of 7,000 CEU, a significant first in China’s independently developed design.
Digitalization: Maritime Charts its Course
Maritime players plotting pathways to data collaboration with digital projects in line with new BV-backed research study.Digital technologies are increasingly being leveraged by shipping players to facilitate data collaboration among different actors in areas like ship design, vessel performance and port calls as a new Thetius research study backed by Bureau Veritas (BV) shows this will be vital to drive decarbonization, an OrbitMI-hosted panel heard at the recent Shipping Insight event in the US.“Data-powered…
Enclosed Spaces: Engineering Solutions
If you think the human element is the only cause of enclosed space deaths, think again.Enclosed space incidents are cited as the largest cause of on-duty fatalities in commercial shipping. The risks can’t simply be engineered out, but there’s a powerful coalition wanting action nonetheless.There’s a tendency to blame failure to follow procedures, they say. Investigations seldom focus on the practicality of those procedures or the influence of the operating environment and vessel design, they say.
NPS Research on Coast Guard Icebreaker to Enhance Arctic Readiness
During a seven-week Arctic transit aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB 20), researchers from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) will study the impact of the extreme environment on crew performance and potential mitigations, as well as advanced Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies in adverse sea conditions.The studies, which commenced with Healy’s departure from Kodiak, Alaska on Aug. 26, will be led by principal investigator Dr. Nita Shattuck, a professor in the NPS Operations Research (OR) department.
ABS Grants AiP for 15,000 TEU Ammonia-powered Container Ship
Classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has awarded Seaspan Corporation and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) in collaboration with Foreship an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design of a 15,000 TEU ammonia-powered container vessel.Ammonia is seen a promising alternative marine fuel. However, there are currently no ships capable of sailing on ammonia, ABS said.In 2022, Seaspan and the MMMCZCS jointly initiated a project to better understand the challenges and opportunities of designing a large ammonia-fueled container vessel.
MAN Developing Methanol Retrofit Solutions for Medium-speed Engines
MAN Energy Solutions announced it will begin developing retrofit solutions for medium-speed marine engines as part of a research association including WTZ Roßlau gGmbh and TU-Darmstadt. The three-year research project, ‘CliNeR-ECo’, is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) with initial work having already commenced at the beginning of 2023.CliNeR-ECo aims to develop concepts for diverse, medium-speed, marine engines that will enable the retrofitting of entire ship fleets at reasonable economic and technical costs.
Northern Lights CCS: Trailblazing the Path to Europe’s Net Zero Emissions
In the global quest for achieving net zero emissions and slowing down global warming, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology has emerged as an important solution. Among the notable projects being developed in the field is the Northern Lights offshore carbon capture and storage project in Norway, a country with long experience with offshore CO2 storage.The transition to a sustainable energy future requires innovative solutions that go beyond simply halting fossil fuel projects.
ABS AIP for Provaris’ Compressed Hydrogen Technology
ABS has presented Provaris Energy with an approval in principle (AIP) for its innovative gaseous hydrogen floating storage concept in a ceremony at NOR Shipping.The solution, dubbed H2Leo, has a design capacity range of 300 to 600 tonnes of hydrogen, expandable to up to 2,000 tonnes. The unit is designed for various hydrogen supply chains and applications, including bunkering for the maritime sector, intermittent/buffer storage for green hydrogen production, and long-duration storage for excess renewable energy.The AIP is the latest support from ABS for Provaris…
Kongsberg Maritime Unveils Next-gen Offshore Vessel Designs
Norway's Kongsberg Maritime on Tuesday showcased a new line of offshore ship designs in its UT Design portfolio. The new anchor handler (AHT) and platform supply vessels (PSV) have the option to include alternative energy sources and fuels, such as methanol, ammonia, and hybrid-battery power.The AHT and PSV designs have received Approval in Principle from class society DNV to operate with ammonia-fuelled engines and they can incorporate an offshore charging capable plug-in hybrid option…
SHI European 'Road Show' Showcases New Ship Designs
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) held aTechnology Road Show in Europe as an official debut of its new design ship.SHI held its "Samsung Technical Seminar in Athens" at the Marriott Hotel in Athens, Greece, and announcing details on a pair of new designs: an LNG carrier and a container ship.SHI reports the event attracted 70 people from 35 companies, including shipowners such as Minerva, GasLog, Shell and Total."The technology road show is SHI's active marketing method for new design and innovative technologies and is the most effective way to increase contact with customers…
Tom Perrine, Austal VP of Engineering, Retires
Austal USA Vice President of Engineering, Tom Perrine, has retired after eight years of service with the company and over 40 years in the shipbuilding industry. During his tenure, Perrine led Austal USA’s engineering department overseeing the work of over 250 engineers, naval architects, designers, and other engineering support staff and overseeing the department’s shift to include steel design and construction.During Perrine’s tenure with the company, Austal USA delivered 23 surface combatants and auxiliaries to the U.S.
Data Processes 4x Faster: How Ulstein Does It
How do you excel at ship design? Bart Daman, Manager Naval Architecture at Ulstein Design & Solutions BV in Rotterdam, has an answer: "In our case, by combining specialist knowledge and expertise focused on certain niche markets with data-driven work. This allows us to quickly develop new high-quality ship designs. Our customers experience the difference, and we often hear that they are impressed by the quality of the information we provide. From quotations to full construction specifications…
Schottel to Propel Four China-built Wind Turbine Installation Vessels
Schottel azimuth thrusters will propel four newly built wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) for Ouyang Offshore in Shanghai.The first vessel will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2022, and these vessels will be able to install giant 16 MW wind turbines.To ensure DP mode maneuverability and precise positioning, each vessel will be outfitted with two electrically driven Schottel Rudder Propeller type 430 azimuth thrusters and two Schottel Transverse Thrusters type STT 4."For 70 years…
Tom Perrine Recieves Rosenblatt-Michigan Award
Tom Perrine, Austal USA vice president of engineering, was recognized by the University of Michigan as the 2022 Rosenblatt-Michigan Award recipient. The award is presented annually by the University of Michigan College of Engineering’s Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in recognition of outstanding professional achievement, integrity and devotion to excellence and innovation in ship design.The award honors the name of its first recipient, Lester Rosenblatt…
Aurelia’s 100% Hydrogen-powered Design Gets RINA Approval
Aurelia Green Ship Concept Design's newly unveiled ship design featuring 100% hydrogen propulsion has received approval in principle (AIP) from RINA based on the newly published RINA Rules for Hydrogen Fueled Ships and the RINA Guide for the Approval in Principle of Novel Technologies.The new design concept is the ACD01 1000, a RoRo vessel with electric propulsion using highly compressed H2 as fuel. Beyond the green design, the difference is marked by the ship's hydrogen-based engine system…
FSG, Oceanex to Develop Climate-neutral ConRo vessel
German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) and Canadian shipping company Oceanex are teaming up to design a climate-neutral and highly efficient ConRo (container RoRo) vessel.As part of a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU), the partners aim to jointly to investigate the utilization of and technologies associated with alternative fuels such as ammonia, methanol, synthetic and biofuels as well as hydrogen.FSG said it will perform a comprehensive lifecycle…