Electronic Technologies News

Global trade enabler DP World has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Ukraine to collaborate on matters of mutual interest, including the development of logistics capability in the country. On a recent visit to Ukraine, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem signed the MoU with the Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan and later met with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, senior ministers and officials. At the meetings, Mr. Bin Sulayem also delivered a letter of intent from DP World for its P&O Maritime subsidiary to develop the tug and pilot boat services of Odessa port on the Black Sea.

Design of the next generation of anti-ship missile decoys is set to commence following the signing of two contracts between the Australian Defense Force and BAE Systems Australia Pty Ltd. Defense Materiel Organization Chief Executive Officer Warren King said the contracts represented continued investment in the jointly developed Australian—United States Nulka capability. “These contracts support both the acquisition of Nulka decoys and the engineering design of the next generation of shipboard Nulka launch systems for the Royal Australian Navy,” he said.

dB Control awarded $3.3M, five-year contract to supply high-power products to U.S. dB Control Corp., manufacturer of high-power microwave amplifiers, radar/electronic countermeasure (ECM) transmitters, and high- and low-voltage power supplies, has been awarded a contract worth an estimated $3.3 million by the U.S. Navy to produce high-power products and services . The contract is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) with one base year and four option years. “Having provided the U.S. Government products and services for over two decades, we’ve earned our reputation as a reliable supplier for their mission-critical applications,” said dB Control Marketing Manager Steven Olson.

Carrying an estimated 90% of world trade and billions of passengers every year, international shipping represents the life blood of the global economy. Safety, always a major concern for seafarers, has made huge advances in the last century. However, the massive increase in traffic in recent decades requires, among other things, new or better global communication and navigation solutions resting on internationally-agreed standards to maintain and improve safety levels. Shipping was among the very first industries to adopt widely implemented international safety standards.

"There is a powerful agent, responsive, quick, and easy to use, pliable enough to meet all our needs on board. It does everything. It supplies light and heat for the ship and is the very soul of our mechanical equipment. Jules Verne's classic novel first appeared in 1869. Today, the Navy is standing at the threshold of remarkable capabilities that Jules Verne could barely imagine-a "revolution at sea" akin to the change from sail to steam and from oil-fired plants to nuclear power. But the process for the Navy has not been easy. As a Navy integrated electric drive (IED) insider told me privately: "Innovation is one thing; if you're asking us to change the way we do business…

After 50 years at the helm, founding President Harold Mathers has retired from ZF Mathers. Mathers signed papers a year ago transferring ownerships of the company to ZF Marine, the world’s largest supplier of marine propulsion systems. Russ Polansky, formerly branch manager of ZFI Marine in Seattle, was appointed to head up the AF Mathers facility. As part of the agreement with ZF Marine, Mathers stayed actively involved in day-to-day operations until a smooth transition had been made. Mathers credits the company’s long history and sustained profitability to a team that includes a core group of loyal employees. He reported that he did not seriously consider a buyout proposal until ZF Marine approached him two years ago. “I expected to retire some day, but I wasn’t in any great hurry.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., has completed a major conversion of the Crescent Towing tug, NED FERRY that transformed the boat from a single engine vessel with 3500 HP, to a twin-engine vessel with 4,000 HP. It is the third of eight Crescent Towing 105-foot sister ships to undergo the same upgrades and modifications at Bollinger Algiers LLC, the New Orleans based repair and conversion shipyard facility. Her old engine was replaced with two Caterpillar 3512B engines coupled to Reintjes WAF673 reduction gears driving 83-inch Bollinger stainless steel propellers. They were installed in 84-inch type 37 kort nozzles with stainless steel inner rings and leading and trailing edges.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., has completed a major conversion of the Crescent Towing tug, Ned Ferry that transformed the boat from a single engine vessel with 3,500 hp, to a twin-engine vessel with 4,000 hp. It is the third of eight Crescent Towing 105-ft. (32 m) sister ships to undergo the same upgrades and modifications at Bollinger Algiers LLC, the New Orleans based repair and conversion shipyard facility. Ned Ferry's old engine was replaced with a pair of Caterpillar 3512B engines coupled to Reintjes WAF673 reduction gears driving 83-in. Bollinger stainless steel propellers. They were installed in 84-in. type 37 kort nozzles with stainless steel inner rings and leading and trailing edges.

The California Department of Fish and Game and ChevronTexaco are jointly sponsoring the Electronic Technologies for Oil Spill Response in the Marine Environment Workshop. The workshop will be held on January 13-15, 2004 in San Ramon, CA. Space is limited to the first 100 persons.

Power systems specialist Rolls-Royce now derives nearly $1.5 billion of total annual sales of $8.7 billion from the marine market, and an important element of its growth strategy in the marine domain is the development of its electrical capabilities, products and technology. The increasing use of electrical drives and other sub-systems, and a move towards highly automated, integrated shipboard networks, is evident in both the commercial and naval sectors, in the technology-intensive, specialized vessel categories which form the group's heartland business areas. The success of electrical power and propulsion systems in application to high capacity cruise vessels has proved to be one of the most significant technological developments in commercial shipping over the past decade and a half…