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Ship Propulsion News

20 Feb 2024

Chemical Tanker is World's First Equipped with Wind Propulsion

(Photo: Chemship)

Chemship commissioned its first ship with wind assisted ship propulsion. This makes the MT Chemical Challenger the first chemical tanker in the world to be equipped with sustainable wind technology. The ship will serve on shipping company Chemship’s Trans-Atlantic route between the East Coast of the United States and the Mediterranean.This week four 16-metre-high aluminum wind sails were installed on board the 134-meter-long vessel. The VentoFoils from Econowind create a direct wind surface of 180 m2.

08 Jan 2024

IACS Launches New Piping Recommendation

© TawanSaklay / Adobe Stock

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has launched a new recommendation, 177, to enhance the quality of machinery piping systems in shipbuilding.Piping systems convey different fluids at various temperatures and pressures to all parts of the ship, including to nearly every enclosed space on a vessel. As such, and because these systems are a means through which many of a ship’s control systems operate, it is crucial that these systems are designed to…

22 Dec 2023

Vigor Completes Works on USCGC Vessel Ahead of Time

USCGC John McCormick (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)

Vigor Alaska, a Titan Company, successfully completed a dry dock and repair work solicitation on U.S. Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick this month, returning it to service ahead of schedule.The $3.65 million contract was awarded in September 2023 and represents the first non-emergent maintenance solicitation awarded to the Ketchikan Shipyard since 2011.USCGC McCormick is homeported at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan, only 3.5 miles from the Ketchikan Shipyard.This was also the first time a vessel of USCGC McCormick's class has been serviced at Ketchikan Shipyard…

27 Nov 2023

Danfoss Drives Forms Dedicated Marine Division

© Alexey Novikov / Adobe Stock

Danfoss Drives on Monday announced the formation of a dedicated marine business unit.The company said the move will allow it to provide tailored solutions for its customers in the marine industry“This organization allows Danfoss to delve deep into the intricacies of maritime applications and understand the nuances of ship propulsion, control systems and electrification in ways that broader, more diversified companies might not,” Danfoss said in a statement.In addition to product experts in the field…

12 Oct 2023

Schottel Building New Logistics Center in Dörth, Germany

Maritime propulsion specialist Schottel said Tuesday it is expanding its thruster factory in Dörth, Germany, to include a logistics center with a capacity of around 4,000 square meters.A contract for the expansion has now been signed with general contractor Goldbeck from Koblenz.The new building will be annexed to the existing facility and will provide 2,634 square meters of industrial floor space and 1,326 square meters of offices. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 7.5-million-euro structure is to take place at the end of this year…

12 Sep 2023

Vigor Begins Vessel Maintenance Project for USCG in Alaska

File photo: USCGC John McCormick steams through the Gastineau Channel to Juneau, Alaska. (Photo: John J. Mike / U.S. Navy)

The U.S Coast Guard has awarded Vigor Alaska, a Titan company, a $3.65 million contract to perform maintenance and repairs on U.S. Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick at the Ketchikan Shipyard.Work on the project begins this week and will cover comprehensive maintenance and repair of the vessel. After USCGC John McCormick is dry docked, the team at Ketchikan Shipyard will inspect the hull plating, conduct maintenance on the ship's propulsion system and renew hull coatings, as well as several other key maintenance and repair operations.

05 Jul 2023

AI-Based Semi-Autonomous Voyage Planning System Tested

Source: Yara Marine Technologies

Yara Marine Technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) application developers Molflow, Chalmers University of Technology and social science specialists from Halmstad University and Gothenburg University have collaborated over three years to develop and trial an AI-based semi-autonomous voyage planning system.Initiated in August 2020, the Via Kaizen project explores how AI and machine learning can enable more energy-efficient voyage planning for ship operators. The project demonstrated…

21 Jun 2023

World's Largest Cruise Ship Starts Sea Trials

(Photo: Dirk Schwarz, courtesy Meyer Turku)

Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas—the world's largest cruise ship—has commenced sea trials in the Baltic Sea.The 250,800 GT vessel, the first in Royal Caribbean's new Icon-class, has been under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland since June 2022. The fully assembled ship was floated out in December and is now undergoing final outfitting and testing.This first set of sea trials—which tests the performance of the ship's propulsion systems, navigation systems and other ship features…

19 Apr 2023

ONE Orders Wind-Assist Technology from Econowind

Source: Econowind

Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) has decided to install two containerized wind assist units on one of their operated container feeder ships before the end of 2023.The 143-meter, 1036 TEU capacity Kalamazoo is owned by Singapore-based Norse and the wind assist systems will be supplied by the Netherlands-based company, Econowind.The two containerized units will be equipped with the latest wing design from Econowind, the VentoFoil. These have smart suction systems in order to control the airflow around the wing-shaped element ensuring maximal trust per surface area.

15 Feb 2023

RINA and ABB to Cooperate in Shipping Decarbonization

(Photo: RINA)

Classification society RINA announced it is partnering with ABB to develop new concepts to reduce emissions in shipping for various vessel types.Under a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU), the partners will aim to develop commercially viable solutions, including fuel cell systems with carbon capture, to move the shipping industry forward with decarbonization. The agreement also focuses on promoting the use of hydrogen, and the introduction of modern approaches to ship propulsion.ABB will focus on the development of suitable solutions based on latest technologies…

15 Feb 2023

Adding a Flap Improves Flettner Performance -Study

(Image: Blue Wasp Marine)

Adding a flap to a Flettner rotor can lead to improved performance and significant reductions in both emissions and fuel consumption, according to a recent assessment.The study, conducted by wind-assisted ship propulsion specialist Blue Wasp Marine on behalf of the Technical University Delft (TU Delft) and the Sea Axe Fund, leveraged in-house developed Pelican software to assess the potential of a straightforward adjustment to a Flettner rotor, a vertical cylinder that spins and develop lift due to the Magnus effect.In the circumstances covered by Blue Wasp’s tests…

07 Feb 2023

Maritime Transport: Fuels, Emissions and Sustainability

Copyright AdriFerrer/AdobeStock

International trade by sea has long been a key part of the world economy and approximately 90% of traded commodities is reliant on shipping. Once wind-propelled in the days of sail, the current generation of ships now heavily rely on fossil fuels. Fossil fuel propulsion contributes to global warming with carbon emissions approximating 940 MtCO2e per year and also has health implications for communities surrounding ports through the release of air pollutants. The environmental impact of fossil-fuelled engines is further compounded by their use in port infrastructure…

13 Jan 2023

BV, ThorCon Developing Molten Salt Nuclear Power Barge

ThorCon 500 MW MSR power plant in ship hull cutaway view (Image: ThorCon)

Testing, inspection and certification specialist Bureau Veritas and nuclear power technology developer ThorCon have entered an agreement for the technology qualification and the subsequent development of a 500-megawatt (MW) molten salt nuclear power barge for operations in Indonesia.The concept developed by ThorCon is a molten salt fission reactor that operates at low pressure and uses liquid fuel. The liquid fuel enables much higher operating temperatures, leading to greater…

06 Jan 2023

What’s Next for Eastern Shipbuilding?

(Credit: Eastern Shipbuilding Group)

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

01 Nov 2022

Region in Focus: Norway’s West Coast Shipping Tech Hub

Photo credit: NTNU

Two load-bearing pillars of Norway’s leading maritime industry cluster in Sunmøre on the country’s west coast – offshore energy and the expedition cruise sector – took severe knocks from plunging energy prices in the 2010s followed by COVID-19. However, a recent tour of the region found the cluster in recovery mode.At the time, the cluster’s diversification strategy was to dive into the emerging expedition cruise sector: small, highly sophisticated ships designed to operate in some of the world’s most sensitive environments incorporated features including the highest ice-class…

29 Sep 2022

Wind-powered Cargo Capacity Surpasses One Million DWT

Mitsui OSK Line’s installation of wind propulsion technology on a 99,000DWT bulker tips the balance of wind-powered cargo capacity over one million DWT (Photo: MOL)

The latest installations of wind propulsion technology on large commercial vessels have tipped the amount of cargo that can be transported on vessels that make use of wind as a renewable energy source over the one million tonnes of deadweight (DWT) milestone.The timing of wind-powered ship propulsion passing this pivotal milestone comes in the same week that the industry celebrates World Maritime Day and its theme "New Technologies for Greener Shipping".In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in equipping vessels to harness the power of the wind.

07 Oct 2022

Molten Salt Reactors: Maritime’s Nuclear Option

Multipurpose: an illustration of Ulstein International’s nuclear-powered Thor showing its ship-to-ship resupply boom and passenger transfer, and below a close-up of a replenishment operation. Image courtesy Ulstein International

A race is being run by nuclear scientists and ship designers. The prize? “Decarbonization’s” holy grail — believed to be a “small” thorium-fueled, molten-salt rector’s unlimited power to propel sea trade. At the same time, a recently revived discussion among leading marine-nuclear thinkers revolves now around how to put an ultra-modern, as-yet non-existent marine reactor aboard a modern commercial vessel. As with nuclear power generally, shipborne reactors produce national discussion first, then discovery.

08 Sep 2022

New Research on Combined Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Batteries in Vessel Propulsion

ionn Iversen, Chief Scientist at NORCE and Svenn Kjetil Haveland, VP of Development Projects at Corvus Energy, discuss the research project “Optimized Hydrogen Powered Maritime Mobility” or “OptHyMob” for short, to coordinate the operation of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries for optimum lifetime and lower total cost of ownership. (Photo: Corvus Energy)

Corvus Energy announced it has been selected to lead an IPN project – a program funded by the Research Council of Norway to promote innovation in the industry. Corvus Energy joins forces with research institute NORCE and other partners for the project which has been awarded 13,9 million NOK in funding.The industrial project, titled “Optimized Hydrogen Powered Maritime Mobility” or “OptHyMob” for short, will improve operations of hydrogen-driven marine vessels in order to reduce costs and extend the lifetime of both the hydrogen fuel cells and the batteries in hybrid configurations.

29 Jun 2022

Berge Bulk Vessel Set for WindWings Install

(Image: Berge Bulk)

Berge Bulk will equip its Newcastlemax bulker Berge Olympus with WindWings in an effort to evaluate the wind-assisted propulsion technology as a means to reduce vessel emissions.The dry bulk shipowner reached an agreement to install four BAR Tech WindWings by Yara Marine Technologies on board the 210 DWT bulk carrier in the second quarter of 2023.“This partnership with BAR Tech and Yara Marine is a great step towards our transition to zero-emissions operations,” said James Marshall, CEO of Berge Bulk. “At Berge Bulk, we believe in the results that can be achieved by harnessing wind power.

02 Jun 2022

Deltamarin Designing Train Ferry for Fennorail

(Image: Deltamarin)

Finnish ship designer Deltamarin said it has signed a contract with Oy Fennorail Ltd for conceptual design of a train ferry capable of carrying both train and truck cargo.The so-called EUROCARRIER train ferry is being engineered to connect Finland to the European TEN-T railway networks and create a connection across Eastern Europe to Central Europe and the Mediterranean. Approximately 400,000 trucks per year, or almost 1,100 trucks per day travel on car ferries between Finland and Estonia.

31 May 2022

First Emissions-free Pusher Tug Elektra Delivered

(Photo: BEHALA)

A first-of-its-kind emissions-free push boat has been christened and delivered in Germany.The unique and innovative vessel, Elektra, was built over the course of nearly 2.5 years at Hermann Barthel GmbH in Derben and features battery-electric propulsion system combined with hydrogen and fuel cell technology, reportedly the world's first for a push boat. It will now undergo long-term prior to commencing commercial operations.The basis of the newly developed hybrid system is the battery package…

24 May 2022

European Ports and Interferry Set Sustainability Priorities

ESPO secretary-general Isabelle Ryckbost with Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan (Photo: Interferry)

A meeting between the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) and global trade association Interferry has agreed a common work programme to promote an environmentally sustainable future for the European ferry business through the provision and use of onshore power supply (OPS).Underlining the shared challenges and priorities of their Europe-wide memberships, ESPO and Interferry confirmed the following joint approach:1.Ferries must be recognized as a sustainable passenger transport mode that link Europe’s cities and regions, as well as providing a green mode of urban transport.

23 May 2022

Brunvoll Propulsion for Esvagt's 'Green' SOV

Credit: HAV

Norwegian ship propulsion specialist Brunvoll will supply azimuth propulsion and maneuvering system for Esvagt's green fuel SOV, to be built in Turkey.The vessel, a HAV Design 833 SOV, will be built at Cemre Shipyard. The Danish vessel owner Esvagt has said that the vessel will be "the world’s first service operation vessel that can operate on green fuels."Brunvoll's delivery will be propulsion azimuth thrusters, retractable azimuth thrusters, tunnel thruster and BruCon condition…

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