Diesel Machinery News

Caterpillar Inc. will be the only marine diesel engine manufacturer featured at the Diesel Technology Forum event held in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. Titled “Clean Diesel Power: Ready for Tomorrow, Working Today,” the Diesel Technology Forum will transform America’s “power capital” into the “clean diesel power capital” when dozens of manufacturers display their newest technology for the nation’s Congressional representatives. “Providing policymakers an up…

Providing a beacon for the industry by embracing the world's first, fully electronically-controlled two-stroke marine engine, Norwegian chemical tanker specialist Odfjell is starting to see operating benefits resulting from its pioneering step. Long-run performance of the system applied to the main engine of the 37,500-dwt parcel tanker Bow Cecil last fall will have a signal bearing on shipowners' future commercial uptake of the technology, as encapsulated in MAN B&W's ME diesel program. In the meantime, the engineers aboard Bow Cecil have found the electronic system to be a valuable tool in optimizing combustion performance, facilitating engine tuning and adjustments in accordance with changing operating conditions and with regularly experienced, marked variations in bunker properties.

Swelling U.S. interest in fostering the development of coastwise shipping may be set against the backcloth of an anticipated 55 percent growth in demand for domestic freight transport over the period 2000-2010. Aside from its breathtaking scale, one of the most remarkable aspects of the U.S. projection is its similarity to the forecast, 50-percent increase in European road freight volume within the same timeframe. U.K.-based technical consultancy BMT Nigel Gee and Associates, no stranger to the North American market, has prepared a high-speed RoRo freight and passenger carrier design for SeaBridge, a new company founded by Mediterranean shipping and North American trucking interests. While offering a solution to U.S.

Rising Korean aspirations as to market influence and technological standing could alter the established order in an important segment of the engine business. While MAN B&W announced opening contracts for its new L21/31 design as a marine auxiliary, Hyundai Heavy Industries was preparing to roll-out its first-ever, self-originated engine type targeted at a similar power range. The H21/32 signals the emergence of Hyundai, the world's largest producer of marine diesels, as a designer in its own right. The company's development of the in-house Himsen brand denotes a move towards increased technological self-reliance, given the wholesale dependence up until now on manufacturing licenses from foreign engine firms.

Slipping out through the Finnish archipelago on a Sunday morning at the end of October, Voyager of the Seas cut a figure of unprecedented scale in the passenger ship sector, symbolizing both the surging growth in the cruise market and the fertility of the Finnish maritime technology cluster. The 137,200-gt cruise ship, whose towering superstructure and an air draught of 208-ft. (63.5-m) belies a relatively tender draft of just over 28-ft. (8.8-m), marks a new highpoint in the industry's unerring endeavors to foster long-term sustainable business development in the seagoing leisure sector. Although the shipbuilding price from Kvaerner Masa-Yards was around $500 million…

Slipping out through the Finnish archipelago on a Sunday morning at the end of October, Voyager of the Seas cut a figure of unprecedented scale in the passenger ship sector, symbolizing both the surging growth in the cruise market and the fertility of the Finnish maritime technology cluster. The 137,200-gt cruise ship, whose towering superstructure and an air draft of 208-ft. (63.5-m) belies a relatively tender draft of just over 28-ft. (8.8-m), marks a new highpoint in the industry's unerring endeavors to foster long-term sustainable business development in the seagoing leisure sector. Although the shipbuilding price from Kvaerner Masa-Yards was around $500 million…

The Finnish shipbuilding industry has been in a state of flux for much of 1999 and entering 2000, with the Kvaerner shipbuilding pullout dominating the headlines. But while the search for new owners of the company's yards in Finland has kept the boardrooms busy, the business of pulling in valuable new orders to keep the facilities busy and building top-quality ships has not missed a step. The big and modern shipyards in Helsinki and Turku are world-renowned for the production of high-value, technically advanced ships, and this reputation and accrued expertise will surely remain well after the Kvaerner nameplate comes down. Whereas Kvaerner's exit from shipbuilding has been top news throughout the year, foreign investment and ownership within Finland is hardly a new topic.

Bringing her first cargo to Europe following completion by Samsung Heavy Industries, the 306,000-dwt British Pioneer has given new expression to environmental-consciousness in the crude oil transportation sector. While the security of her 2.1-million barrel cargo containment has been enhanced by the compulsory double hulling, the non-mandatory continuation of the double shell aft better safeguards the bunker spaces, reducing the risk of fuel oil spillage in the event of the aftship being breached. In addition, her potential impact on marine life has been lessened through the adoption of a newly unveiled, tin-free antifouling. Although it currently comes at a very substantial price-per-liter premium…

MAN B&W Diesel A/S, Denmark, has been awarded the contract to supply a complete propulsion package, including computer controlled surveillance, for Dalian Maritime University’s new 2250-ton ocean-going training ship. As the largest maritime university in China, Dalian Maritime University (DMU) enjoys a high reputation internationally as a centre of excellence for maritime education and training. The DMU is made up of 12 colleges and 4 departments and has approximately 15,000 students. Since 1953, DMU has trained over 40,000 highly competent personnel, the majority of whom have become the backbone of the navigation sector. Sales Manager…