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The fiercely competitive domestic boatbuilding industry looks for any advantage in the day-to-day battle for bottom line efficiencies. ‘XR Technologies’ offer an edge to shipyards as they grow their workforce.In the shipyard, skills such as welding and coating are in high demand. The ability to lay down a proper bead, or perfect the mil build on a ship’s hull can make the difference between a successful project and a failed inspection. XR technologies are valuable compliments to traditional training programs (XR is an umbrella category for virtual reality [VR]…

A ‘work in progress,’ the North American brown water, shallow draft sectors have experienced a tumultuous year of evolution, changing market conditions, a rapidly shifting regulatory environment and new opportunities. Anything but boring; and within the pages of Maritime Reporter’ & Engineering News’ Annual Yearbook, Joseph Keefe, editor of sister-publication MarineNews, takes a deep dive into the issues driving the domestic waterfront.Workboat EmissionsMore than one year ago, Volkswagon learned the ultimate (and painful) meaning of the iconic U.S. adage of “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – or at least pay the staggering fine.” And pay it forward, Volkswagen did.

Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time – or at least pay the staggering fine. And pay it forward, Volkwagen will. The auto manufacturer got caught using software to trick emissions control software during testing on some cars – nearly 500,000 2.0 liter and 83,000 3.0 liter diesel vehicles – in order to get a passing grade, after which the cars operated in violation of the Clean Air Act. The years of cheating on vehicles from model years 2009 to 2016 sold and leased in the U.S., resulted in emissions of up to 40 times the permitted level of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter.

Independent Spanish shipbuilder Hijos de J Barreras has again showed its mettle by delivering two specialized vessels within the space of just a few days, and by landing a three-ship contract to take its orderbook into mid 2003. Three years after being spun-off from the former Astilleros Espanoles (AESA), the Vigo yard demonstrates how a well-managed and motivated undertaking can successfully make the transition into private control. It provides a template for broader Spanish endeavors to slim the state's holding in a number of industrial sectors, not only shipbuilding. Barreras always displayed something of an independent style within AESA (now IZAR), of which it was part for nearly a quarter-century.