City Center News

Fastener Fair USA is back, taking place at Music City Center in Nashville, TN from May 16-17, 2023. This year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with new exhibitors, industry-leading products, and a range of educational and networking opportunities.Fastener Fair USA is a unique opportunity for members of the entire fastener supply chain to connect, network, and learn about the latest trends, products, and technologies in the industry. The event features nearly 200 exhibitors showcasing a wide range of products and services…

Van Oord announced on Tuesday it has christened its new trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Vox Apolonia, built by Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd shipyard in Singapore.The newbuild is the second in a series of three new dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled TSHDs being built for the Dutch dredging and marine services contractor.The 10,500-cubic-meter-capacity Vox Apolonia and its sister vessels Vox Ariane and Vox Alexia, fall into the mid-class section of Van Oord’s TSHD fleet. measuring 137.5 meters long and 27.6 meters across the beam.

A new electrically powered, autonomously operated ferry service is slated to launch in the Stockholm city center this spring.Norwegian shipping company Torghatten plans to have services in place this spring in Riddarfjärden, between two inner-city quays. The ferry that will operate on the crossing is an autonomously operated electric vessel that runs on batteries. It has been designed and built by the Bröderna Aa shipyard in Hyen, Norway and the autonomous operation system is provided by technology supplier Zeabuz in Trondheim…

After cancelling its event in January 2022, the organizers of Nor-Shipping announced that the exhibition is now scheduled to take place from April 4-7, 2022 in Oslo and Lillestrøm. Alongside the activities based in and around Nor-Shipping’s 22,000 sq m exhibition facilities in Lillestrøm, a range of events will take place in Oslo City Center.

Norwegian cruise shipping company Havila Voyages said it has taken delivery of its first newbuild, Havila Capella.The 124-meter ship will soon begin sailing from Tersan Shipyard in Turkey toward the Norwegian coast ahead of its first sailings on the traditional coastal route from Bergen from December 1.Havila Voyages CEO, Bent Martini, said, "We are many who have waited a long time for this, and now the first ship is finally in our hands and we will start preparing for setting sail towards Norway."Mehmet Gazioğlu…

Lebanese security officials warned the prime minister and president last month that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut’s port posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if it exploded, according to documents seen by Reuters and senior security sources.Just over two weeks later, the industrial chemicals exploded in a massive blast that obliterated most of the port, killed at least 163 people, injured 6,000 more and destroyed some 6,000 buildings, according…

Holland Shipyards Group recently delivered a newbuild hybrid ferry Gaarden to Schlepp- und Fährgesellschaft Kiel (SFK) in Germany. The vessel will operate as a cycle- and footferry within the waters of the Kieler Fjord.Gaarden, measuring 32.4 by 8.8 meters, is equipped with a hybrid drivetrain that can be powered by either generators or by means of a battery bank. The battery system will be used for sailing within the city center.The order contract for the vessel signed in May…

Dutch start-up Skoon Energy and the Port of Amsterdam have launched a floating battery service to bring mobile stored power into the port and inner city of Amsterdam.According to a release from the sea port, the battery, which is placed on a barge and powered by local, renewable energy, will help balance the electricity grid. Because it is placed on a barge, the battery can deliver electricity anyplace close to water.Skoon operates a platform that enables mobile battery sharing to optimize the economics for battery owners and user. This concept of battery sharing facilitates all services for energy users who are in temporary need of electricity.In April and May, the number of river cruise calls is at its peak, due to the flower field season.

Five participants will be taking part in a pilot project in Port of Rotterdam Authority  which will focus on mobile shore-based power solutions for sea-going vessels.The project was established by the municipality of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the participants in the project are: ENGIE Ventures & Integrated Solutions BV; PON Power & its subsidiaries; Aggreko Benelux; Mobiele Stroom BV and JP Energy Systems.The project will focus on various mobile shore-based power solutions for sea-going vessels, said a press note.Shore-based power has been compulsory for ships docking at Rotterdam’s more than 500 inland berths for years.

New capabilities allow “roboats” to change configurations to form pop-up bridges, stages, and other structures.MIT’s fleet of robotic boats has been updated with new capabilities to “shapeshift,” by autonomously disconnecting and reassembling into a variety of configurations, to form floating structures in Amsterdam’s many canals.The autonomous boats — rectangular hulls equipped with sensors, thrusters, microcontrollers, GPS modules, cameras, and other hardware — are being developed…

Over recent years the United Arab Emirates has emerged as an important maritime hub with grand ambitions. Mark Venables visited the region to discover what is driving that growth.When the UAE was elected to the IMO Council as a Category B member, it immediately raised its profile within the maritime community. The Emirates have taken a significant step forward in the maritime world.Despite this success, the region remains a challenging market for shipping and logistics. One of…

The economic importance of nautical tourism for Schleswig-Holstein is continuing to increase. More than 2.2 million passengers are expected in the port of Kiel alone this year, forecasting record numbers like 600,000 cruise passengers and 1.6 million ferry travelers.Last year, passengers generated a turnover of about 68 million Euros in Kiel. The consumer spending of the port’s ferry passengers amounts to more than 53 million Euros. These are complemented by another 15 million Euros spent by cruise passengers and the crews.

Rolls-Royce and Finnish state-owned ferry operator Finferries have successfully demonstrated the world’s first fully autonomous ferry in the archipelago south of the city of Turku, Finland.The car ferry Falco, used a combination of Rolls-Royce Ship Intelligence technologies to successfully navigate autonomously during its voyage between Parainen and Nauvo. The return journey was conducted under remote control.During the demonstration, the Falco, with 80 invited VIP guests aboard, conducted the voyage under fully autonomous control.

Canada-based Corvus Energy has announced that its fully automated factory in Norway and semi-automated factory in Canada will increase production capacity eight-fold.The manufacturer of energy storage solutions for marine, oil and gas, and port applications revealed the plans for a new fully automated factory for maritime batteries in Bergen, Norway in a press release."We are proud to announce that contracts for the factory location and the production equipment were finalized and signed this week. The new factory will be located at Midtun in Bergen, about a mile south of the city center," the release said.The supplier chosen for the production equipment is Intek Engineering AS of Raufoss…

When talk turns to the digital revolution sweeping through the maritime industry, one need look no further than Wärtsilä, which has evolved from a shipbuilding company to an engine manufacturer, and is now embarked on a historic digital transformation led by Marco Ryan, Chief Digital Officer & EVP. We met with Ryan recently in Hamburg, Germany, to discuss the path and pace forward.To start, please lay out the scope of your responsibilities.At a high-level my job is to architect and deliver the transformation (of Wärtsilä) to a smart technology company.

Hong Kong-based port operator Hutchison Ports has agreed to partner with NAWAH Port Management (NPM) to manage existing and future operations at the Port of Basra in southern Iraq. Hutchison Ports will assume oversight of day-to-day commercial and operational activities at NPM, operating under the name of Hutchison Ports Basra. NPM is a containerized terminal operator at the Port of Basra located along the Shatt Al Arab waterway in Iraq. The company services the shipping needs for a full spectrum of customers across Iraq – from large, multinational companies to local Iraqi merchants. NPM’s proximity to the city center and major oilfields, and its operations are viewed as key competitive advantages versus other ports in the region.

Peace Boat will showcase its plans for Ecoship, a unique concept cruise vessel, at Nor-Shipping 2017. The Japanese-based organization, which works to promote peace, human rights, sustainable development and respect for the environment, will take one of the largest spaces in the event’s exhibition Hall A, dedicated to the new industry concept of Disruptive Sustainability. Peace Boat is an international nongovernmental and nonprofit body. It has operated for the last 34 years, chartering cruise vessels to voyage worldwide conducting educational programs…

Liverpool City Region (UK) shipyard Cammell Laird has announced it will be honoring its illustrious naval and military heritage next month by being headline sponsor of the UK’s Armed Forces Day (AFD). The AFD celebrations will take place in Liverpool this year on June 24, with more than 1,000 serving personnel, veterans, cadets and marching bands taking part in a parade followed by a full program of events near the city’s iconic waterfront. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret, CBE,…

Pacific Partnership 2017 made its initial mission stop in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, March 7, with the arrival of Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast transport USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4). This marked the first mission to Sri Lanka in the 12-year history of the annual civil-military operation, and the Pacific Partnership mission in Sri Lanka continues through March 18 and will make follow-on mission stops in Malaysia and Vietnam. Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, and aims to enhance regional coordination in areas such as medical readiness and preparedness for man-made and natural disasters.

Two local contractors in Nigeria recently took delivery of 10-inch Wolverine Class Dredges, designed and manufactured by DSC Dredge at its facility in Greenbush, Mich. As the political capital of Delta State, Asaba is a rapidly expanding city along the banks of the Niger River Delta. There is a growing demand for infrastructure improvement projects, including roads and livable space along the Niger River. Yet, this fast-flowing river brings sand downstream from the interior of the nation.

The result of a five-year-long EU project, the world’s fastest Air Supported Vessel (ASV), fully powered by lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS), has been launched at Latitude Yachts in Riga, Latvia. The new first of its kind vessel BB Green operates at a speed of 30 knots (56km/h) and holds up to 70 passengers plus bikes. It will initially be used for demonstration purposes across Europe. The ASV technology reduces water resistance by having the ship operate on an air cushion.

In 1966 North German Lloyd (NDL) carried out Germany’s first multimodal door-to-door shipment. The customer was delighted as cargo could no longer ‘get lost’ on the way. An interesting, almost forgotten story from the beginning of the container era. The announcement by the American shipping company Sealand at the beginning of 1966 that they would establish a container service between the East Coast of the U.S.A. and Europe caused action at Hapag and NDL. A few short weeks later a member of the Hapag executive board…

A short drive west of Johannesburg on the edge of a fading bohemian high street stands 27 Boxes, a mosaic-colored retail center built entirely of old shipping containers. Opened in August, it consists of 27 iron containers stacked Lego-like into three floors of stores ranging from a green grocer, al fresco coffee houses and a Philadelphia-style grill house, to a toddler-wear boutique and bicycle rental shop. Retail expansion in South Africa, especially in the small business sector…