Shipbuilding Center News

Offshore wind caught a favorable gust with the 2020 election of Joe Biden, and the following breeze from the early 2021 reconfiguration of the U.S. Senate toward Democrats. Though widely touted as a growth engine for maritime businesses (as well as shoreside trades), the latter years of the Trump administration seemed to see delay after delay.The class society DNV has been involved in offshore wind since its outset in the early 1990s, and now has 2,000 energy experts working in its efforts supporting this power source.

During the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Fincantieri and Rosneft signed a Heads of Agreement for the formation of a joint venture focused on design and engineering of a new type of vessel to be built at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex. The parties will also explore the possible development of those professional competences required to support the shipbuilding phase of the project. Cooperation with Fincantieri will enable to enhance the technical potential of Zvezda Shipbuilding Cluster and lay the basis for creation of innovative equipment. The cooperation will be carried out in compliance and subject to the applicable EU, U.S. and international trade rules.

In response to the Government of Canada’s announcement of a series of enhancements to strengthen the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Seaspan Shipyards’ president Brian Carter issued a statement commending the government’s efforts and reinforcing the shipbuilder’s role in producing ships for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy. “We are pleased to receive the Government of Canada’s support for the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and applaud its commitment to continuous improvement,” Carter said.

At the 21st World Petroleum Congress Rosneft, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Gazprom, NOVATEK, Gazprombank, Sovkomflot, United Shipbuilding Corporation signed a Joint Venture Agreement in relation to the implementation of vessel, drilling rig and marine equipment construction and design projects on the 16th of June. The document was signed in the presence of Vice-Premier Arkady Dvorkovich. It was signed by Rosneft CEO and Management Board Chairman Igor Sechin, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov, Gazprom Deputy Management Board Chairman Vitaly Markelov, NOVATEK Management Board Chairman Leonid Mikhelson…

Irving Shipbuilding is currently focused on the 30-month AOPS Project Definition Contract of the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS) program, signed on March 7, 2013. Together with its Tier 1 subcontractors, Irving is working to  produce a detailed AOPS ship design that delivers best value to Canada while ensuring it meets the 2015 deadline to cut steel on the first ship. Ongoing projects for Canada also require continued focus. The shipyard has successfully delivered…

Petrobras’ plans to build a center of excellence for the shipbuilding industry in Brazil were highlighted in the presentation made by Paulo Sergio Rodrigues Alonso, Petrobras Local Content Advisor to the CEO and the Executive Coordinator of Prominp, during an event sponsored by the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce (Bratecc), which took place today May 8, in Houston, an event occurring in parallel with the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Paulo Alonso stressed that the biggest challenge today is to push the pre-salt forward in the shipbuilding industry and the shipyards.

Petrobras plans to build the center, which is intended to help shipbuilders meet the company's pre-salt oil & gas exploration needs. The plans to build a center of excellence for the shipbuilding industry in Brazil were highlighted in the presentation made by Paulo Sergio Rodrigues Alonso, Petrobras Local Content Advisor to the President and the Executive Coordinator of Prominp, during an event sponsored by the Brazil-Texas Chamber of Commerce (Bratecc), in Houston, an event occurring in parallel with the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Paulo Alonso stressed that the biggest challenge today is to push the pre-salt forward in the shipbuilding industry and the shipyards. "NASA's slogan is well-fitting in this situation 'Failure is not an option'.

SCRA announced a contract award totaling $1.7 million for the Shipbuilding Center of Excellence. The Center, known as the Center for Naval Shipbuilding Technology (CNST), is a Navy ManTech Center of Excellence, chartered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop advanced manufacturing technologies and deploy them in U.S. shipyards. CNST is managed and operated by SCRA affiliate ATI (Advance Technology International). The initial, two-year contract was awarded in August of 2009 and allowed for three follow-on, one-year extension options. The most recent award represents the first of the three potential option years and will be spent on Center operations and project development and management.

Haiphong has been long viewed as a cradle of the Vietnamese ship building industry with such well-known names as Bach Thai Buoi and Nguyen Huu Thu in the past and Bach Dang, Nam Trieu, Pha Rung and Ben Kien today. Annually, shipbuilding firms in Haiphong city accounts for about 50% of the whole sector’s capacity. The city has continued to assert itself as a centre for building new ships and repairing large tonnage ships. By 2010, Vinashin is expected to invest nearly VND 4,000 billion in shipbuilding establishments in Haiphong, raising capacity for building new ships and repairing ships with a view to earning revenue of VND 8,000 billion.

According a new report on China’s shipbuilding industry from Research and Markets, from 2006 to 2010, the total demand for ships in China will reach 31 million dead weight tons (DWT), and the annual demand will be 6.2 million DWT on average. The report, dubbed China Shipbuilding Industry Report, 2005–2006, notes that China’s ship completions rank third over the past 10 consecutive years, and the shipbuilding capacity has increased from 3.462 million DWT in 2002 to 12 million DWT in 2005. The boom of China’s shipbuilding industry is closely linked with the development of marine industry, says the report. Although the global marine market declined in 2005, new opportunities emerged.

According to Research and Markets, which provides an in-depth study on supply-demand, competitive pattern and latest market changes in Chinas shipbuilding industry, as well as presents and analyzes the development and operating strategies, competitiveness and the prospect of major manufacturers in details, from 2006 to 2010, the total demand of ships will reach 31 million DWT, and the annual demand will be 6.2 million DWT on average. In 2005, the cumulative sales revenue of Chinas shipbuilding industry amounted to $13.9b, up by 42.6 percent over the year of 2004, and the profits amounted to $539.4m, far more than that of 2004, which was $206m. The export is also promising and the earnings broke through $4b in 2005.

Vietnam National Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) plans to invest $630 million in a variety of projects to produce components and materials for the industry, in an attempt to improve the local content ratio from 25 percent to 65 percent of components used in the country’s shipbuilding industry, according to a Vietnam Shipping Times report. Under the plan Vinashin will produce rolled steel to build the hulls of ships, manufacture 300-30,000 horsepower diesel engines, steering systems and ship cranes. Locally-made steel will account for 25.6 percent of total steel in ships constructed in Vietnam, while the local content ratio of engines will amount to 23.2 percent, and that of steering systems, 6.3 percent, according to the report.

Matson Navigation Company, Inc.’s (Matson) new containership MV Manukai was christened today by Margaret Inouye, wife of Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, at a ceremony held at Philadelphia Kvaerner Shipyard, Inc. (KPSI). The vessel is the first of a two-ship, $220 million contract with KPSI. Among those present for the ceremony were Senator Inouye, Governor Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, Charles M. Stockholm, chairman of the board, Alexander and Baldwin, Inc., and Allen Doane, president and CEO, Alexander and Baldwin, Inc., and chairman of the board, Matson. The Manukai is the first new Matson vessel built since 1992, when the MV R. J. Pfeiffer entered the company’s service, and the first new Matson ship of the 21st century.

China has begun work on what will become its biggest and most technically advanced shipbuilding center with an annual capacity of 1.8 million tons. The first stage of the shipbuilding center, located in Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone along the banks of the Yangtze River, is expected to be completed in three years. It will then have an annual capacity of 1.05 million tons, and contain two 300,000-ton dry docks. Three major Chinese companies, China State Shipbuilding Corp., Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp. and Shanghai Electric (Group) Corp., have set up a company to operate the shipbuilding center. China Shipbuilding will hold more than 50 percent of the company, to be called Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co.

East Isle Shipyard, Prince Edward Island's largest shipbuilder, has secured a $21 million contract to construct two new tug boats for customers in the Dominican Republic as well as a third tug for Atlantic Towing, Limited. The new contract means employment for 120 shipyard workers. The shipyard had been idle since September of 2002 when a fourth tug for the Panama Canal Authority was completed. "This contract for three tugs demonstrates confidence in the skill of our Island shipyard workers. The Government of Canada’s contribution reflects its commitment to supporting a skilled and innovative workforce and helping to stimulate investment in the shipbuilding industry…