Design Tools News

HydroComp is a well-established, small engineering firm focused on hydrodynamic and propulsion system simulation, providing design tools for engineers and naval architects to focus on vessel performance, including emissions. Don MacPherson, HydroComp’s long-tenured Technical Director, discusses the impacts of tightening emissions regulations, with insights on maximizing new vessel designs and refits.Don, maritime has been in the crosshairs of regulators to reduce emissions. What do you see as the top new regulatory issues that are impacting ship and boat design…

Cruise operator Hurtigruten Norway has unveiled early concept plans for its first zero-emission ship.Initially announced in March 2022, under project name ‘Sea Zero,’ the ship is being touted as "the world’s most energy-efficient cruise ship". Tasked with developing energy-efficient and carbon-neutral technology solutions, Hurtigruten Norway and its consortium of 12 maritime partners and research institute SINTEF shared key findings following its first year of research."When we initially announced the ‘Sea Zero’ project over a year ago…

How technology can bring data to life, from design through to operations, helping improve efficiency and reduce emissionsOver the last year, climate change – or more appropriately climate action – has emerged as the critical issue impacting the future of global industries. Companies are under pressure to outline plans to transition to a more sustainable way of doing business – and the shipping and maritime communities are no exception.Transportation emissions – which typically include road, rail, air and marine – are responsible for an estimated 24% of the world’s carbon emissions.

In a typical year, the waters surrounding British Columbia’s Port of Vancouver host approximately 3,000 deep sea commercial vessels and 19 of the 35 ferries operated by BC Ferries, one of the largest ferry operators in the world. These waters are also home to a wide variety of aquatic wildlife, including the southern resident killer whales (SRKW), which have been listed as endangered in Canada since 2003.With vessel-generated acoustic disturbances identified by Fisheries and Oceans Canada as one of four key threats to the SRKW…

Inland river pushboats operate in a harsh environment. Transiting our rivers, bays, lakes and inland waterways, these vessels push barges between hubs of commerce. Swift currents, trash and debris, heavy traffic and narrow waterways are day-to-day realities for these vessels and operators.Pushboats have two typical modes of operation: steady-state (long haul running) and transient-dynamic operations (backing, maneuvering and acceleration). Unlike almost any other vessel type,…

Robert Allan Ltd. is a consulting naval architectural firm, established in Vancouver, Canada in 1930. Mike Fitzpatrick has been a driving force in the company’s growth since joining the firm in 2003. As a key member of the initial employee ownership group, he was named president and CEO in 2015, responsible for corporate direction, business development, management of senior project managers, and project priorities, schedules and profitability. Fitzpatrick is a 1995 graduate of the University of New South Wales in Australia, with a Bachelor of Engineering in naval architecture.

The evolution of marine design is increasingly influenced by three drivers: New three-dimensional design tools, the increasing complexity of power systems, and new access to high-latitude shipping routes. While new digital design tools are a natural progression of the current Information Age, new propulsion energy requirements and Polar shipping routes are reactions to the legacy of the ebbing Industrial Age. Three-Dimensional Design WorkflowsA young naval architect recently stated…

From the standpoint of vehicle propulsion physics, an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is little different from your personal ski boat or a tanker. It shares the Vessel-Propulsor-Drive system model, which allows a Propulsor to convert Drive energy into thrust for the purpose of moving a Vessel. The basic principles of thrust equilibrium and motion are common to all three, as are the translation of rotational energy into axial thrust by the central element of the system – the…

The classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has issued an Approval in Principle (AIP) to Dutch-based SBM Offshore for its proprietary wind floater design.The global provider of floating production and mooring systems (FPSO) said that the wind floater is a TLP concept and has been designed for the full life cycle, including in-place conditions, as well as wet tow with the wind turbine installed, and mooring hook-up phase.The AIP demonstrates the successful design of the floater, compliant with ABS’ design standards, said the offshore oil and gas company.“We are very proud of this Approval in Principle and it is a testament to the expertise and innovative spirit at SBM Offshore.

The Duclos family is iconic in boatbuilding circles, as the Somerset, Mass.-based Gladding-Hearn, Duclos Corporation, has built a strong heritage in the pilot boat and fast ferry sectors, and in total more than 425 vessels have been delivered since it was founded in 1955. Today a trio of second-generation siblings run the yard, brothers and co-presidents John and Peter Duclos with sister Carol Hegarty serving as CFO. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visited the yard recently…

In today’s marine-scape of declining newbuild activity, many boatbuilders are seeking to buoy up productivity by reducing time to market. But how do you go about contracting intricate concurrent design and production flows without loss of quality, let alone the risk of production spiraling out of control? The general tendency is to overlap design phases. However, this potentially creates a greater number of uncertainties. Ship design includes multiple disciplines and specialties in spiraling activity cycles.

Deltamarin said it aims to help ship owners and operators boost vessels’ energy efficiency with its new smart simulation tool, offering several items with significant fuel saving potential (3-6 percent of total fuel costs). Deltamarin’s “Energy and Environmental Efficiency” (EEE) ship design process includes several dimensions, such as practical design tools for modeling the energy consumption, a consistent follow-up method of the performance indicators and a bunch of useful project practices that enable taking the design ideas and results and implementing them in real life. Energy flow modeling is at the heart of the EEE work, and Deltamarin sad it has recently developed a new-generation design tool for this purpose.

DNV GL has honoured three engineers for their scientific research with the DNV GL Award for Young Professionals. Presented by DNV GL – Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, the award is designed to find innovative ideas for increasing safety, efficiency and sustainability in shipping. Seeking to honour the best research, it aims to support young graduates in the maritime field. Overall, 25 graduates took part in this year’s competition. “With a fresh view on the most pressing challenges we face in shipping today, young professionals are a driving force in developing the innovative solutions we need to advance the industry as a whole. This…

Software solution provider for ship design and operation NAPA Group (Napa Ltd.) has appointed Ilmo Kuutti as its new President. Kuutti assumes the position from Juha Heikinheimo, who served as President of NAPA Group for five and a half years. Kuutti holds a master’s degree in naval architecture from Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. He started his career in shipyards, where he undertook various roles throughout the 1980s. Since joining NAPA in 1991, he has been taken on various leadership positions…

HydroComp PropElements 2017 – the propeller “design for performance” code from HydroComp,Inc. of Durham NH USA – is the latest build of the company’s commercial software for marine propeller design and analysis. Propeller specialists will find it an essential addition to their software tools, and also tackles the component-level hydrodynamic needs of naval architects. Why PropElements? Still an uncharted domain for many naval architects, propeller design is an iterative process following a typical design spiral – from initial sizing through detail design. System-level propulsion design and analysis tools (such as HydroComp NavCad) are used in early design stages to identify principal propeller parameters (e.g.…

A research team led by University of South Florida College of Marine Science professor Dr. Steven Murawski has been awarded a $1 million grant to explore how oil spills, such as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) in 2010, impact the economic, ecological and social system aspects of fishing communities. The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced Thursday a total of $2.1 million in grants. Murawski’s team, which also includes Dr.

The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) designs inland towboats and barges, with a focus on the inland sector. Inland barges built to TSGI designs number in the thousands, along with a myriad of towboat, dry dock and other specialty designs. TSGI provides naval architecture, marine engineering, marine surveying and technical support to clients worldwide. Commercial vessel designs include towboats, inland barges (liquid cargo, dry cargo, crane) and miscellaneous vessels such as dry docks and casinos. The firm has 10 employees.

Global maritime software, services and data analysis company NAPA announced the release of new tools and interfaces with class society software to streamline ship design compliance with Common Structural Rules for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers (CSR BC&OT; formerly known as “harmonized CSR”) from the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). Updates to 3D structural design software, NAPA Steel, and the release of state-of-the-art geometry modeling tool, NAPA Designer, will deliver a shift from 2D to 3D design requirements.

As marine experts gather for the Ocean’s 14 conference in St. John’s Newfoundland, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) announced a program aimed at finding economical and viable business based technological solutions to improve the safety and performance of marine vessels such as cargo ships and fuel tankers. Building on NRC’s extensive experience in the commercial and military markets as well as access to world-class facilities, the Marine Vehicles program will focus on technologies and processes for reducing operating costs of vessels, contributing to safe Arctic and offshore oil and gas operations. The end result is to support a sustainable and competitive shipbuilding industry in Canada for military vessels, marine commercial transportation and offshore resource industries.

At the SMM exhibition and conference in Hamburg, Germany, Wärtsilä is introducing its latest development of large Controllable Pitch (CP) Propellers, based on the previously known E-hub type. The new CP propeller system offers greater efficiency and a reduced environmental impact. The new Wärtsilä CP propeller system addresses the demands of medium and large size vessel owners, and is particularly applicable for special vessels that are equipped with dynamic positioning capabilities, as well as vessels having ice notation, the manufacturer said.

Tighter regulations on exhaust emissions are prompting rapid change within the global shipping industry. Orders for scrubber systems have soared higher than before, suppliers of emissions monitoring software are rapidly taking increasing orders, and the market for natural gas-powered engines continues to break new ground. Choosing the most cost-effective way to reduce exhaust emissions is vital for the industry. Regulations for Emissions Control Areas (ECAs) are now enforced across many countries and there are further designation zones under discussion.

In collaboration with Autodesk, SSI said its dealer in the Benelux, CADMatch, has organized CADMatch Maritime Day for Thursday April 3, 2014, in Oosterhout, NB. This event is a seminar on concurrent engineering. SSI CEO Darren Larkins will be a guest speaker at the conference and he will discuss best practices for implementing this engineering method using SSI's Autodesk based ShipConstructor solution. The realities of engineering and designing marine projects today make the ability to perform concurrent engineering a competitive requirement.

HydroComp, Inc. began as a business venture in 1984 to meet the specific needs of naval architects and shipbuilders in the area of resistance and power predictions. Thirty years later, HydroComp has grown into a multifaceted corporation with clients from design to construction to academia in more than 60 countries. Founded in 1984 in New Hampshire, U.S. by Jill Aaron (Managing Director) and Donald MacPherson (Technical Director), HydroComp was a pioneer in the very specific area of applied hydrodynamics. This focus shaped a line of unique naval architectural software packages beginning with our flagship product NavCad, and which now include SwiftCraft, PropExpert, PropCad, SwiftTrial and most recently, PropElements.