Abeam News

Resolute, one of two high-speed passenger catamarans delivered by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, to the Government of Bermuda, Ministry on Transport in 2002, has returned to service after a compete refit. In turn, the vessel’s sister ship, Serenity, has been delivered to the shipyard for the same types of upgrades — scheduled for completion by next March.Designed by Incat Design (currently Incat Crowther), Resolute carries 250 passengers. It measures 84 feet (27.7m) long…

The Italian Navy has taken delivery of the newly built logistics support ship LSS Vulcano from Fincantieri's Naval Integrated shipyard in Muggiano, Italy.The 193-meter LSS Vulcano is part of the FLOTLOG (Flotte Logistique) program, which includes the construction of four LSS destined to the French Navy, by the temporary consortium between Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Naval Group under the Italian-French LSS Program led by OCCAR (Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation). The construction of the forward sections of these ships has been commissioned to Fincantieri…

Resolute, one of two high-speed passenger catamarans delivered by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation to Bermuda's Ministry on Transport in 2002, has returned to the shipyard for a complete refit. The project’s completion is scheduled for May 2021.Designed by Incat Design (currently Incat Crowther), the all-aluminum 250-passenger vessel measures 84 feet long, 30 feet abeam and draws 5.3 feet.Among myriad items to remove, repair or replace is replacing the vessel’s Detroit Diesel engines with new engine controls and monitoring systems to operate twin MTU 10V2000M72 diesel engines…

Ensure adequate maneuvering space!Recently there were three marine casualties that resulted in the sinking of towing vessels on the Lower Mississippi River. One of the casualties resulted in a fatality. These cases are all under investigation by the Coast Guard, but the preliminary fact finding indicates there are some similarities between the three incidents. In all three cases towing vessels became pinned against another object in an aspect that exposed the vessel broadside to very strong currents.

The second of two new high-speed catamarans from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has been delivered to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA).Funded by a grant from the Federal Transit Authority (FTA), M/V Glory will pair with her sister-ship to provide year-round commuter service in Boston Harbor, replacing the high-speed ferries built by the Somerset, Mass. shipyard in 1997.Designed by Incat Crowther, the all-aluminum ferry is 88.7 feet LOA, 28.8 feet abeam, and draws approximately four feet loaded.

Marine News showcases the best of North America’s 2017 workboat deliveries. There is something for everyone. Notwithstanding the lingering offshore energy downturn, there were plenty of bright spots for North American shipyards in 2017. If a hull was delivered in 2017, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For starters, it is always exciting when a domestic yard delivers a vessel – or multiple vessels, for that matter – to foreign buyers. We can compete in a foreign arena; on price, quality and on-time delivery. This year was no different. No less important is the environmental footprint of a vessel, and there was plenty to report on from that angle in the past 12 months. The domestic waterfront is indeed getting greener and cleaner.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has taken delivery of Champion, the first of two new 150-passenger, high-speed catamarans built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. The new vessels – funded by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – will operate year-round commuter service in Boston Harbor, in addition to two high-speed ferries built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 1997. Designed by Incat Crowther, the all-aluminum ferry is 90 feet LOA, 28.8 feet abeam, and draws approximately four feet loaded.

The launching ceremony of the bow section of the LSS logistic support unit Vulcano, took place at the shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia (Naples) in the presence of the Italian Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti. The unit was ordered to Fincantieri within the renewal plan of the Italian Navy’s fleet. Godmother of the ceremony was Maria Teresa Piras, widow of the vessel tenant Emilio Attramini, young Italian Navy Officer, who died in 1977 in the air disaster of the Monte Serra.

Norwegian owner of offshore inspection vessels Reach Subsea has secured a contract for its Edda Fonn vessel.   According to Reach Subsea, the contract is for an ROV/survey work covering the next 40 days for Edda Fonn. Commencement will be this week. The details in the contract are confidential.   Edda Fonn is a vessel used for IMR, survey and light construction services.  The company claims that Edda Fonn is a high quality, cost effective and flexible vessel for IMR, survey and light construction services.   The vessel has an overall length of 84.7 meters, 18 meters abeam, 700 square meters aft deck and a 7.2×7.2 meters working moonpool. Reach Subsea hired the vessel on a 3-year contract from Ostensjo Rederi in December 2014.

A keel laying ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Riva Trigoso (Sestri Levante, Genoa) for a Logistic Support Ship (LSS), as construction work continues on the first unit of the Italian Navy’s fleet renewal plan, which has been commissioned to Fincantieri. The vessel will be delivered in 2019. The LSS is a vessel that provides logistics support to the fleet, endowed with hospital and healthcare capabilities thanks to the presence of a fully equipped hospital, complete with operating rooms…

The steel cutting ceremony of the LSS logistic support unit’s bow section was held today at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia. Construction works, therefore, officially started on the first unit, as provided in the renewal plan of the Italian Navy’s fleet, which has been commissioned to Fincantieri. The section is 94 meters long, 24 meters wide, 16.3 meters high, weighing about 4,100 tons. In the coming months it will be launched and transported by sea to the shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia)…

The growth trend continues in the Brazilian shipbuilding industry, a trend that has been relatively constant during the last five year. While shipbuilding is ‘ship shape,’ the reality of the Brazilian ship repair industry is somewhat muddled, populated by only a few dedicated repair yards as the focus has been squarely on newbuild. On the other hand, Brazil’s ship conversion industry has enjoyed steady growth, growth directly related to orders from Petrobras, mostly to convert VLCC tanker hulls to FPSOs. According to Ariovaldo Rocha, President of SINAVAL (Ship Construction, Repair and Offshore National Syndicate), the investments in the shipbuilding industry have reached around $56.5 billion in the last decade and since 2004 the industry growth has averaged 19.5% per year.

For its recent retrofit of two antiroll tanks onto GulfMark UK’s Highland Defender and Highland Guardian, Shipdock Amsterdam said it is most proud of its rapid response and production speed, along with the ratio of 150 metric tons of steel deployed and processed relative to the contract’s limited total lead-time. In consideration of the fact that all work, from scratch, was carried out within one single location as a complete turnkey package by two Damen Shipyards subsidiaries, is a close second on the shipyard’s satisfaction scale.

"In the early hours of Saturday 9th August, a product tanker transiting 200 nautical miles south of the Nigerian shoreline encountered a radar contact of a drifting vessel along its track. After taking normal navigational measures to open the closest point of approach (CPA) from the drifting vessel and passing abeam at 6.5 nautical miles, the tanker’s crew heard a burst of gunfire; first from their starboard quarter when 6 or 7 shots were fired and later from forward of the ship’s accommodation structure, but this time a burst of automatic fire. Although visibility was poor in the darkness and haze, one crew member reported seeing the outboard engine wakes of up to three small craft that engaged in a chase of the tanker, during the period of gunfire.

MARIN has upgraded two part task simulators into full tug simulators, which have  been used in training & studies for TOTAL, Port of Rotterdam, Meyer Werft and OLT Toscana, amongst others. For years MARIN’s Nautical Center has made extensive use of full mission bridge simulators for nautical studies and training and for many of these simulations tugs play an important role. Although it is possible to use computer (or autopilot) controlled tugs, it is preferable to have the tug masters themselves control the tugs.

Marintec South America Completes 10 Editions with the Brazilian Shipbuilding and Offshore Industry Pursuing Excellence and Global Competitiveness. Brazilian shipbuilding and offshore industry want to occupy a new space in the naval industry in the world map. The resumption of investment, driven by orders from Petrobras planned by 2020, created a promising scenario for the shipyards and the chain of services and supplies. The goal now is another: Creating a sustainable market in the long term and strengthen the global competitiveness of domestic firms. This is the balance at the tenth Navalshore - Marintec South America - Conference and Exhibition of Shipbuilding and Offshore 2013 event held between August 15-17 at the SulAmerica Exhibition Centre, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ).

For companies interested in operating in Brazil, it is important to understand the country. •    ABAC – Brazilian Coastal Ship         Owners Association. In addition, it also lodges the companies of the Port Support segment. Syndarma is a proponent of the Brazilian maritime sectors, demonstrating to the public the importance of the employment of Brazilian registered vessels in Brazilian waters as well as the necessity to expand the Brazilian merchant fleet, the return of its position of importance to the country’s external commerce and its participation on the exploration of the O&G reserves on the Brazilian coast. Syndarma has 48 associated companies in the coastal…

“The collaboration between Nortek and the entire PUMA team has resulted in an tool that provides unique information to the sailing crew. They can now measure leeway, a first in sailing, and use it to measure ocean currents much more precisely than ever before,” said Atle Lohrmann, CTO of Nortek. “This is the biggest advancement in sailing instrumentation since the invention of the GPS,” said Hopkins, who runs performance testing for PUMA and worked with Nortek on the project. “Nortek adapted their new DVL technology to our sailing performance needs, to measure very high speeds along the boat's track and very low speeds across it. Leeway is the sideways skidding angle a boat makes as it sails forward.

Early on the morning of October 28th, the BRAtt departed Point Roberts, Washington State bound for Seattle. Captain Ron Burchett and his able crew Alan Burchett and Ben Flodquist started out in 12 to 15 knot easterly winds and a two foot chop. With Boundary Bay abeam, the winds increased to NE 20 – 25, with four foot seas on the forward quarter. The ride was lively for this 28-ft tug, but with the heavy ballasted skeg the motions were very good with just moderate spray and no green water on deck.

Cascade General had its knowledge and expertise put to the test with the emergency replacement of a faulty generator on P&O's Sea Princess. Measuring 857 ft. (261.2 m), the vessel, which was built by Fincantieri in 1998, was in drydock at the Portland shipyard for approximately nine days in September. The project began on the vessel's exterior with the rigging crew building a 20-ft. loading platform on the drydock floor. Concurrently, work was completed inside the engine room to clear an exit path for the 47-ton GEC Alstom generator. Two of Sea Princess' four propulsion transformers at 20-tons each, were disconnected and moved aside, catwalks lifted and all wiring and piping blocking the exit route labeled and cut.

New York Water Taxi, whose bright yellow water taxis shuttle passengers between locations on the New York Harbor, is adding two new vessels to its six-boat fleet. Next spring, the water taxi service will take delivery of two 72-foot catamarans, under construction at Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. The new vessels are classic Incat Designs-designed ferries -- offering simplicity and efficiency, reliability, low sound level, and low wake. The water taxis are designed to reach the same 26-knot speed and with the same crew size as New York Water Taxi’s current vessels…

Northern Transportation Company Ltd. of Hay River, Canada, recently completed a major refit of one of their quad screw pusher-towing tugs, the Edgar Kotokak. Vancouver's Robert Allan Ltd. provided design and engineering services for the refit which improved the operational efficiency of the tug. The refit included new CAT 3512B engines and replaced the open propellers and rudders with integrated Nautican Nozzles and Triple Rudders. Although total engine power increased from 4,500 to 5,640 hp on the Edgar Kotokak, and obviously bollard pull trials showed improvement, anecdotal evidence from the first month or so of operation seems to indicate that both the nozzles and Triple Rudders together with the new engines have improved the overall fuel efficiency.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered its fifth high-speed water taxi, Gene Flatow, to New York City-based New York Water Taxi. Like the four sisters before her, the bright yellow, all-aluminum catamaran, designed by Incat Crowther, measures 72 ft long and 27.3 ft abeam, and draws 5 ft. The water taxi is USCG-certified to carry 149 passengers but limited to only 99 passengers when operating at the City’s “water taxi” designated docks. The vessel is powered by twin Cummins QSK 19-M diesel engines, each rated at 800 Bhp at 2100 rpm.