Barrow News

BAE Systems announced construction has begun on a new Applied Shipbuilding Academy at its Scotstoun shipyard on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, as the company bolsters its efforts to develop future talent.Designed to support the development of the entire workforce, from apprentices to senior leaders, the Academy will comprise of a Modern Trade Hall and a Flexible Learning Hub. It will also serve to upskill the existing workforce while attracting new talent.A historic industrial building will be retrofitted to become the Modern Trade Hall…

AUKUS defense ministers have reaffirmed their resolve to bolster security and stability and ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a region free from coercion and aggression.A statement was released after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia, and Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom, at the Defense Innovation Unit Headquarters in California on December 1.AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia…

Babcock International Group (Babcock) appointed Paul Armstrong to lead its marine sector, delivering a number of critical UK and international defence programmes, including the UK’s Type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy.With a career that started in shipbuilding in Barrow-in-Furness, Armstrong brings a wealth of wide-ranging industry experience to grow and develop one of Babcock’s core business sectors. Joining Babcock from Draken International, the aviation defence business where he was CEO responsible for operations in the UK…

Sea Forrest (SF), a provider of specialist marine electric propulsion and energy management solutions, has been awarded type approval from Bureau Veritas (BV) for its SEAGEN 11 modularized marine propulsion battery module system.SEAGEN 11 is the first marinized lithium-ion battery system for marine propulsion to be designed, built and assembled in Singapore. Together with the battery management system, which was also designed, built and programmed in Singapore in collaboration with GenPlus Pte Ltd…

The UK Ministry of Defense has awarded £3.95 billion (currently ~$4,81 billion) of funding to BAE Systems for the next phase of the UK's next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine program, known as SSN-AUKUS.According to BAE Systems, SSN-AUKUS will be the largest, most powerful, and most advanced attack submarine the Royal Navy has ever operated and will eventually replace the Astute class, which BAE Systems builds at its site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.The funding follows the AUKUS announcement in March by the leaders of Australia, the UK and the United States.

Artemis Technologies on Thursday announced what it described as "the latest evolution" of the Artemis EF-12 Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) and daughter craft, featuring a revitalized design that, the company says, raises the bar for crew comfort and operational excellence during offshore missions."The Artemis EF-12 CTV has been designed for everyday crew transfer operations, providing seamless transportation for personnel between port or vessel and offshore installations," Artemis Technologies said.Key Enhancements of the Revitalised Artemis EF-12 CTV…

HMS Anson, the fifth Astute class submarine, which BAE Systems has designed and built for the Royal Navy, has departed the company's shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and headed out to open sea for the first time.After being guided through the shipyard's dock system and rounding the tip of Walney Island, HMS Anson began her maiden journey to His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, home of the UK's Submarine Service. She will undertake sea trials before joining HMS Astute, HMS Ambush…

James Fisher and Sons plc and Uptime International have signed a memorandum of understanding to partner for the use of motion compensated gangways in the development of the pioneering Ulstein SX221 Diamond SOV. The duo said that the agreement would ensure the safety and efficiency of offshore personnel through autonomous and intelligent operations.The news is related to the Diamond Consortium’s ULSTEIN SX221 Diamond SOV concept, announced in June 2022. With James Fisher representing the Diamond Consortium…

PaxOcean Engineering Pte. Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore-based bunker vessel operator Hong Lam Marine and classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) to jointly develop an ammonia bunker vessel design.PaxOcean will focus on developing designs for ammonia-fueled and ammonia bunkering vessels, while Bureau Veritas will verify compliance with the most applicable and up-to-date rules, particularly those related to the handling of ammonia. Hong Lam Marine’s role is to provide input specific to operational data…

The research vessel Sikuliaq navigated among and around the chunks and slabs of Arctic sea ice above Alaska for several weeks on two voyages this fall, breaking through frozen slabs when it had to, just as its sturdy hull is designed to do. It's now on a third trip.The Sikuliaq, a 261-ft. ice-capable research vessel operated by UAF, pauses in the Arctic Ocean in June 2021 during its fifth year of operation. A few months later, it traveled farther north than ever before — almost 500 miles beyond Point Barrow.Satellite imagery produced at the Geographic Information Network of Alaska…

MPI Offshore, an offshore installation service firm owned by Van Oord, last week accidentally dropped three wind turbine blades into the sea, while conducting scheduled maintenance at Vattenfall's Ormonde wind farm in the Irish Sea, off the UK.According to the Kingfisher incident report, MPI Offshore's MPI Adventure jack-up vessel last week jacked up alongside Ormonde B01 wind turbine and dropped three 61 m turbine blades weighing 126 tonnes in total, and a blade clamping tool weighing 3000-3100kg overboard.A notice to mariners dated October 18 said that the dropped items were in the water adjacent to MPI Adventure near the wind turbine generator B01…

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore Singapore (BV) has launched a new Center of Excellence - the innovation Center of Alternative Renewables Energy (iCARE), supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).Aligning itself with Singapore’s goal of driving innovation to increase competitiveness in maritime, iCARE as a Center of Excellence (CoE) will drive sustainable growth and new technology in Singapore. By creating an enabling environment for value innovation in the industry…

Bureau Veritas (BV) said it has delivered an Approval in Principle (AIP) to LNG MARINE SDN BHD for its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel concept, which is also the first of its kind ever developed by a Malaysian company.According to BV, the vessel design will reflect industry best practice, as well as the latest features for LNG bunkering operations to cater for all types and sizes of LNG-fueled ships.BV said it reviewed the design and confirmed that it meets the technical and regulatory requirements and safety standards.

Bureau Veritas (BV) said it has been working with GILLS PTE LTD in Singapore to assess the performance of its air lubrication system designed to improve ship efficiency and decrease fuel burn by reducing the drag of an underwater hull. GILLS, which stands for gas injected liquid lubrication systems, deploys NACA profiles to create self-generating micro-bubbles for ‘turbulent modulation’ which has a ‘hull-tightening’ effect, reducing drag and energy requirements. The self-generating…

Crew transfer vessel company Northern Offshore Services (N-O-S) has signed a contract with the offshore wind farm giant Ørsted to provide vessels for its British west coast operations.N-O-S will provide crew transfer support to Ørsted’s UK West Coast Hub through the provision of seven CTVs over the next three years. The first vessels will start at the beginning of 2021 and will be accompanied by more vessels gradually until the summer. The N-O-S crew transfer vessels will operate on Walney…

Allseas' giant heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit will remove the DP3 and DP4 platforms in Morecambe Bay off the U.K. for independent oil and gas operator Spirit Energy.The two normally unmanned installations used to produce gas as part of Spirit Energy’s complex of eight installations in Morecambe Bay. As the field has matured, the reserves the platforms previously tapped into have been produced by the larger, manned Central Morecambe platform nearby.The 12 wells that were connected…

A long-serving nuclear cargo vessel has made its final voyage and will be decommissioned in Scotland.Earlier this month, Oceanic Pintail set sail from Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, for the final time, and now 98% of the 3,865-tonne vessel will be recycled by Leith firm Dales Marine Services, an EU List approved supplier of vessel decommissioning.Oceanic Pintail, operated by International Nuclear Services (INS), was launched in 1987 and has served the U.K. nuclear industry for the last 33 years.Peter Buchan…

Bureau Veritas (BV) has opened a new remote survey center in Singapore, with more new locations to follow, as the testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services provider continues its digital transformation and push to prove remote class services amid travel restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. The newest site joins existing BV remote survey centers in Rotterdam, Piraeus, Istanbul and Dubai.Classification societies and other marine services providers have long striven to increase remote services in an effort to boost efficiencies and reduce costs.

New marine fuel rules to boost diesel prices for at least a year -analystsGlobal prices for diesel and marine fuels should rise by October ahead of a January switchover to new, very low-sulfur marine fuels, and remain higher for at least a year as refiners shift production to make more of the new fuels, analysts said.Marine fuels containing no more than 0.5% sulfur by weight, down from the 3.5% currently used, to power ocean-going vessels will be required for ships without exhaust scrubbers on Jan.

Martyn Thomas is the Chief of Staff at Stream Marine Training Ltd (SMT Ltd.) following many years working for both global training providers and cruise companies. SMT is a maritime skills and technology business providing fire-fighting, sea survival, survival craft and HSE training to the global maritime, oil and gas, renewables and construction industries.Thomas works out of SMT’s head office in Glasgow where SMT trains the majority of its theoretical based courses, including Alternative Fuels…

Bureau Veritas Marine Singapore (BV), in collaboration with PSA Marine,  completed a remote marine survey for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual fuel harbor tug, PSA Aspen. Supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the project marks the first time a harbor tug registered under the Singapore Registry of Ships has undergone a fully accredited annual survey conducted remotely, without a surveyor physically present onboard the vessel.Marine services provider…

The Coast Guard needs a ship that can do more than just break ice; it needs a multi-mission ship to provide for the nation’s security, asserting its sovereign rights, and protecting its long-term economic interests. That ship is the Polar Security Cutter.Since Russia cashed the check in 1867 for the purchase of Alaska the U.S. has been an Arctic nation. Today, it is one of eight countries that have territorial land or seas above the Arctic Circle or in the polar region (six of those countries have Arctic Ocean coastline or an exclusive economic zone above the Arctic Circle). The U.S.

Metal Shark announced Monday its Bayou La Batre, Ala. shipyard has delivered its first newbuild, a 120’ x 35’ river towboat for Florida Marine Transporters, Inc. (FMT) of Mandeville, La.The four-decked, welded-steel, USCG Subchapter “M”-compliant towboat Stephanie Pasentine, which bears the distinction of being Louisiana-based Metal Shark’s first-ever steel newbuild and also its first inland towboat, was designed by John W. Gilbert Associates, Inc.The vessel’s twin Cat 3512C marine diesel engines deliver 2…