Plant Technology News

Analysts and commentators are quick to point out that fossil fuels will power maritime equipment, and indeed dominate the fueling marketplace, well into the future. However, they will do so alongside new fuels, and new technologies, that will be introduced to the maritime sector in the coming years. In its September, 2023 report “Beyond the Horizon: View of the Emerging Energy Value Chains”, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) explains that, “During the recent 80th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80)…

UAE-based logistics giant DP World announced its BOXBAY high-bay storage system will be installed to boost container handling efficiency at its terminal in Busan, South Korea.BOXBAY was developed by DP World in a joint venture with German plant technology supplier SMS group, who first created and proved the system for handling heavy metal coils. Refined for port logistics, the fully automated rack-like container storage system allows direct access to each container at any time…

Thyssenkrupp on Monday said it was looking for partners for its steel and warship divisions, singling out just three lines of businesses that will stay within the struggling German industrial icon.Hoping to stop the bleeding of cash and restore investor confidence, the group also pooled businesses worth 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) of sales and employing 20,000, about 13% of total staff, that are either to be sold or shut down."With this reassessment of the portfolio, we have taken some difficult decisions that were long overdue and will now implement them systematically…

As a new decade starts, offshore wind development continues to progress. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to write that the development of the development of offshore wind (OFW) continues to, uh, well, develop.Apologies for that mild sarcasm. But even a quick look-back at OFW always raises the same familiar question: is the glass half empty or half full?Consider developments in the east coast leader in offshore wind: New York.In a webinar in December New York’s NYSERDA –…

Virginia officials have established a well-planned, extensive strategy to build out an offshore wind industry, including wind towers for electricity generation and the supply chain to support that extensive infrastructure and operations. The State’s big picture is ambitious: developing 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2028.As currently envisioned, VA’s offshore wind development will likely start this year with two 8-megawatt wind turbines 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. This is a Dominion Energy pilot undertaken in partnership with the Danish wind company Orsted.

The technology company The Linde Group has been awarded a contract from Chinese chemical and energy company Inner Mongolia Huineng Coal Chemical Co Ltd to supply a mid-scale LNG plant near Beinichuan in Inner Mongolia."This will be Linde’s seventh and largest LNG plant to date in China and is in response to growing demand from customers in China," said a release from the company.Linde's Engineering Division will be responsible for engineering, procurement and site services for the LNG plant with a nameplate capacity of 750,000 tons of liquefied natural gas per annum.The plant’s technology is based on Linde’s proprietary LIMUM process…

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced $18.5 million in new Department of Energy (DOE) funding for a consortium that will conduct research aimed at reducing the cost of offshore wind in the U.S. As it seeks to capitalize on momentum in the offshore wind market, the U.S. still faces several challenges, such as deep water requiring floating foundations, the need for models predicting how Atlantic hurricanes will impact offshore turbines, and supply chain and operations and maintenance solutions to address the challenges of building and maintaining turbines at sea.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced plans to work with Asahi Kasei Engineering Corporation (AEC) on a project to verify predictive detection of abnormalities in marine rotary machineries using vibrating sensors. The research will focus on the use of vibrating sensors to monitor the condition of key auxiliaries, such as pumps or purifiers, on a car carrier and VLCC that are under construction, using analysis software. The participants expect this project to create not only a standalone onboard monitoring system, but also to allow incorporation of data into the "Fleet Monitor" platform of real-time communication between ship and shore as a part of the Ship IoT system, allowing analysis of abnormalities as soon as they occur.

Wärtsilä Corporation inform that Kari Hietanen, Executive Vice President at Wärtsilä Corporation, has been appointed President of the European Engine Power Plants Association (EUGINE). This is a newly established association of European manufacturers of engine power plants. Wärtsilä explains that there are 14 founding corporate members in the association, which acts as the voice of the industry in regulatory and policy matters relating to energy. The objective of EUGINE is to accelerate the acceptance of engine power plant technology as an essential and value adding energy source in Europe. EUGINE aims to ensure that engine power plants are considered a viable and competitive solution for providing flexible energy, and that such flexibility is recognized and rewarded in the energy market.

Offshore Production more and more important for Oil and Gas Supply Deep water production from the offshore sector will grow considerably in China and worldwide in order to further secure own supplies. Siemens has developed solutions to improve the reliability of and production time for offshore drilling and production platforms. Siemens is teaming up with Chinese shipyards to build up a reputation as key player in the international offshore market which is currently dominated by countries like Korea and Singapore. Offshore market moves from shallow water jackets to deepwater floaters. The challenges in China lies in the exploration and development of new oil and gas deposits in areas that are more difficult to access, such as in the South China Sea.

The examination of metallic materials and failure analysis for the sectors of ship operation systems, civil engineering, plant technology and machinery will now also be offered in Hamburg by GLP, the testing laboratory of Germanischer Lloyd. To complement the branches in Mülheim, Herne and Stuttgart, the operating area of materials testing and failure analysis is being expanded into the North German region. The service spectrum of routine materials testing includes destructive and non-destructive tests, metallography, corrosion examinations, chemical analyses as well as investigations employing light-optical and scanning electron microscopy.

The examination of metallic materials and failure analysis for the sectors of ship operation systems, civil engineering, plant technology and machinery will now also be offered in Hamburg by GLP, the testing laboratory of Germanischer Lloyd. To complement the branches in Mülheim, Herne and Stuttgart, the operating area of materials testing and failure analysis is being expanded into the North German region. The service spectrum of routine materials testing includes destructive and non-destructive tests, metallography, corrosion examinations, chemical analyses as well as investigations employing light-optical and scanning electron microscopy.

The board of directors of General Dynamics elected two new vice presidents of the corporation: Frederick J. Harris, 60, who will succeed Richard H. Vortmann as president of subsidiary National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO); and Chris Marzilli, 46, who will succeed Mark A. Fried as president of business unit General Dynamics C4 Systems. Harris and Marzilli will assume their new positions and become vice presidents of the corporation on January 1. Harris started with General Dynamics Electric Boat in 1973 as a senior engineer in the Trident ballistic-missile submarine program. He held positions of increasing responsibility, including Program Manager - Advanced Propulsion Plant Technology Program for the Virginia-Class Submarine…

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, announced that effective January 1, 2006, Frederick J. Harris, 60, will become president of NASSCO, succeeding Richard H. Vortmann, 61. Vortmann will become chairman of the board of NASSCO. “The 23-year span of Dick Vortmann’s leadership as president of NASSCO encompasses dramatic changes in both the company and the shipbuilding industry, and he has kept a steady hand on the organization’s helm throughout his tenure,” said Michael W. Toner, General Dynamics executive vice president and group executive for Marine Systems. “Fred Harris, who has served the Electric Boat subsidiary of General Dynamics and its customers with an intense focus on quality…