Agility News

Navico Group, a division of Brunswick Corporation, announced a multimillion-dollar investment in its Lowell, Mich. facility to create two Centers of Excellence in metal fabrication and electrification. The investment is intended to increase quality, capacity and efficiency, as well as improve product manufacturing capabilities, the company said.“Navico Group is committed to being a leader in metal fabrication and electrification for the industries we serve, and this investment is a testament to that” said Brett Dibkey, Navico Group President.

Robotics company Greensea IQ has launched its most advanced EverClean service robot to date.The company says the improvements represent a significant leap forward in the realm of supervised reliable autonomy with over-the-horizon operational capability for underwater hull maintenance.OPENSEA is Greensea IQ’s extensively refined and modified software system that provides the robot's capability to deliver fast and efficient hull cleaning. The new EverClean robot features depth aided navigation, smarter obstacle avoidance, improved manoeuvring and enhanced user interaction capabilities.

Danfoss Drives on Monday announced the formation of a dedicated marine business unit.The company said the move will allow it to provide tailored solutions for its customers in the marine industry“This organization allows Danfoss to delve deep into the intricacies of maritime applications and understand the nuances of ship propulsion, control systems and electrification in ways that broader, more diversified companies might not,” Danfoss said in a statement.In addition to product experts in the field…

A new council aiming to improve the way U.S. government does business in ship acquisition and ship maintenance convened at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore on Thursday.In kicking off the inaugural meeting of the Government Shipbuilders Council (GSC), Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro underscored the council’s mission to address common and singular challenges among those that contract in shipbuilding; identify opportunities to leverage each organization’s resources to maximize government savings in costs…

Gibraltar ship repair and conversion yard Gibdock said it recently hosted the Vulica Shipping Company-owned bulk carrier Donald M James for a 30-day project which brought a first opportunity to work with a new type of coating from GIT Coatings (Graphite Innovation & Technologies Inc).The 229-eterm-long ship entered Gibdock’s No.1 Dock for extensive works, including renewal to cargo holds, piping, thrusters, tail shafts and rudders. The yard also applied shipping’s first antifouling…

The U.S. Navy took delivery of the next-generation landing craft, Ship to Shore Connector (SSC), Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) 108, from Textron Systems."These next-generation craft provide our Navy and Marine Corps team with essential agility and speed to complete their missions,” said Capt. Jason Grabelle, program manager for Amphibious Assault and Connectors Programs, Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. “SSC provides the fleet with agility and speed to assist with current and future mission requirements.”LCACs are built with configurations…

Cadeler A/S and Eneti Inc., two offshore wind turbine and foundation installation companies, have announced the commencement of a share exchange offer for all the outstanding shares of common stock of Eneti.The offer is being made pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, announced on June 16, 2023. The offer is expected to close within Q4 2023.The combined group will be named Cadeler, and be headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with its shares to be listed on the New York…

UV-based water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has introduced what it says is arguably the smallest UV BWTS in the marketplace, targeted at meeting increased demand for ballast water treatment systems from operators of workboats, yachts, research ships, OSVs, and similar-sized vessels. The new BIO-SEA L01-0030 Mini – more compact than the company’s existing low-flow BIO-SEA L range – is a fully automated filtration + UV-based system designed to treat ballast water flow rates…

Wilhelmsen and Thyssenkrupp announced on September 29 their joint venture company, Pelagus 3D, marking the entry of a new player into global maritime and offshore services market."Pelagus 3D envisions to be the largest one-stop, on-demand digital manufacturing partner for the maritime and offshore industries. It uses Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing to deliver maritime spare parts more efficiently in terms of time and cost, allowing customers to ensure their vessels’ seaworthiness and keep their operations moving on schedule…

Waterjet propulsion systems manufacturer Marine Jet Power (MJP), along with its authorized representative in Taiwan UDC Marine, announced the continuation of a partnership with Lungteh Shipyard to produce more Tuo Chiang-class Corvette for Coastal Defense.The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes have a length of 60.4 meters, displacement of 685 tons, a range of 1,800 nautical miles, and a maximum speed of 43 knots. To date, four ships have been completed and the additional orders will begin production this fall.Featuring quad MJP 850 CSU waterjets…

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their…

Maersk and Hong Lam Marine have conducted the world’s first ship-to-container ship methanol bunkering operation of a Maersk’s container vessel at the Raffles Reserved Anchorage in Singapore.This was also Singapore’s first methanol bunkering and it was conducted with the support of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), government agencies and research institutes.Maersk’s container vessel – the world’s first container vessel sailing on green methanol – was successfully refuelled with approximately 300 metric tonnes of bio-methanol via Hong Lam Marine’s Singapore-registered tanker…

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. shipyard Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) is expanding its partnership with a local technical college in an effort to advance the maritime manufacturing industry and meet growing workforce demand within the region.In fall 2022, FBS and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) designed a specialized training program for FBS employees to advance their welding and ship/pipe-fitting techniques. Since the launch, 97 participants have successfully completed this five-week course offered through the NWTC Sturgeon Bay campus.

Cloud enterprise software company IFS said Tuesday that Havfram, the Norwegian offshore wind company with its two subsidiaries Havfram Wind and Kontiki Winds, has chosen to implement IFS Cloud.Havfram opted for the solutions to manage the urgent needs around its subsidiaries` core businesses, such as the transport, installation of wind turbines and development of offshore wind farms.Bjørn Ola Smievoll, VP IT, Havfram, said: "The choice of IFS Cloud as an ERP solution was largely…

Offshore wind turbine and foundation installation companies Cadeler and Eneti announced they have agreed to merge through a stock-for-stock exchange.The combined company will be named Cadeler, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with its shares to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in addition to its current listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) with a proforma market capitalization in excess of €1.2 billion. The combined group will operate four vessels on water today and six large-scale state-of-the-art new builds scheduled for delivery from 2024 to 2026.

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently caught up with Karl Lander, Director of Regulatory Compliance and Outreach at maritime tech startup Armach Robotics, to hear the latest progress on its unique, small platform, intelligence-driven hull cleaning solution.Companies like Plymouth, MA, headquartered Armach Robotics (Armach) are justifiably convinced that cleaning hulls is set for wider adoption in the coming years, as the principle of coating hulls with substances designed to be noxious to marine life becomes increasingly problematic.

Maritime communications and connectivity company Navarino and radio and satellite communication (satcom) solutions provider Cobham Satcom have extended their strategic partnership based on integration of next generation SAILOR XTR antennas with Navarino’s global connectivity services.Navarino, the world’s largest Inmarsat Fleet Xpress Value Added Reseller, also offers a full portfolio of Ku-Band solutions leveraging networks from Intelsat and SES. With Cobham Satcom as a partner…

The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) and Panama’s main maritime associations concluded the meetings for the revision of the General Merchant Marine Law, law 57 of August 6, 2008.A total of 188 articles were reviewed; 70 were modified; 10 were eliminated and more than 12 new articles were proposed, and all of them were approved in consensus. These amendments aim at improving the competitiveness of the Panama Ship Registry for remaining at the forefront of the maritime sector.For this Administration…

At least one liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel gave up on Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas by Thursday after a growing number of analysts and other sources said the facility would likely not exit its seven-month outage until February or later.The Wilforce vessel, which was expected to reach Freeport in late January, changed its destination to Spain, according to ship tracking data from Refinitiv.Last week, at least two vessels, Elisa Larus and Corcovado LNG, also changed their destinations from Freeport to other ports.Although Freeport LNG on Thursday said that the plant is still on track to restart in the second half of January…

The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel arrived on Friday at Freeport LNG's long-idled export plant in Texas since the facility shut in a fire in June last year, according to ship tracking data from Refinitiv.The vessel Kmarin Diamond is operated by a unit of oil major BP, one of Freeport's big customers, according to several vessel tracking services.News of the vessel's arrival helped boost U.S. natural gas futures by over 5% in post-settlement trade on Friday as the second biggest U.S. LNG export plant will consume a lot of gas once it starts production again.The contract had closed at a 25-month low earlier in the week due mostly to mild weather and low heating demand.Freeport has said it would soon start sending gas to one of the plant's three liquefaction trains…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA delivered Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) to the U.S. Navy. This is the second Navy ship named after the coastal Florida city; both ships were built in Mobile.EPF 13 is now the largest surface ship in the U.S. Navy fleet with autonomous capability. EPF 13 went to sea five times over a several-month duration allowing Austal USA and their industry partners, L3Harris and General Dynamics Mission Systems, to test and analyze…

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

Intellian expanded its XEO Series, a Ku/Ka electronically switching dual-band multi-orbit VSAT antennas, with the addition of the X100D and X150D. The XEO Series were first unveiled in March 2022 at the Satellite Show, leading to Intellian’s design of the X100D, available later this month, and the X150D, launching in early Q3 2023.According to the company, the XEO Series are the world’s first commercially available Ka/Ku-band through a single feed, electronically switchable, multi-orbit antennas, making them ideal for customers requiring high-bandwidth, availability and maximum agility.