I3 News

The future is painted bright for companies dealing in hybrid and electric marine propulsion, as vessel owners and operators pursue cleaner technologies to comply with ever-stricter environmental regulations while also seeking ways to improve their bottom line.Case in point is Germany-based electric drives manufacturer Torqeedo, which has to date delivered more than 100,000 electric propulsion products for a wide range of recreational and commercial customers.The hybrid/electric market is one that’s ripe for growth, says Dr. Ralf Plieninger, COO and CTO, Torqeedo.

Deep in the blue waters of Key West, Honest Eco’s founding captain, Billy Litmer, said its dolphin watching tours help their guests “understand and interact with wildlife from a curious yet courteous proximity.”In creating his eco touring company, Litmer invested in everything he needed to guarantee an unforgettable experience for his guests--knowledge, custom boats, and quality gear.His boat is called Squid, and Billy built it from the hulls up. He asked David Walworth, an MIT educated boat designer and builder, to design the perfect boat for the dolphin watching excursions.

Torqeedo is supplying electric propulsion systems for a fleet of 15 new passenger excursion boats recently delivered to Vinpearl’s newest resort development at Hoi An, Vietnam.The nine-meter FRP displacement craft, built by Song Lo Shipbuilding in Nha Trang, are powered by Torqeedo Deep Blue 80 inboard electric motors with BMW i3 lithium batteries. “We are very happy with the performance of the Deep Blue system for these boats,” said Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of Song Lo Shipbuilding Company. “They are very quiet and provide a smooth ride.

Demand for electric mobility is sweeping across the globe, and it’s rapidly gaining traction in the marine industry. The electric mobility revolution is largely being driven by the land transportation sector. Industry statistics predict that electric vehicle sales will surpass combustion engine vehicles within the next 20 years. Many countries in Europe and Asia have already adopted aggressive deadlines to phase out sales of combustion-powered vehicles, and some cities such as London are planning to banish them from their roads entirely.

“RECAB is a provider of rugged computers; we are a hardware company,” said Bjørn Espen Aase, Managing Director, RECAB Norway. We met with RECAB at the recent Norshipping in Oslo to catch up with this fast-growing computer integrator, a company which sees its business spread across many industries that demand high-performance rugged computing. “We are a typical subcontractor for the big players like Kongsberg and Rolls-Royce, for example. We are enabling world-class applications so they can put their software on top and integrate with the sensors.

General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, has implemented a NextGen-911 emergency service solution for Morgan County, Ohio. The NextGen-911 solution enables Morgan County to easily accept emergency information from a variety of sources and provides first responders with faster, more accurate details to aid in response. Morgan County's NextGen-911 system is one of the first to be compliant with the National Emergency Number Association's (NENA) i3 architecture standards, which facilitate local and nationwide interoperability. General Dynamics replaced the county's traditional Enhanced 911 (E911) call…

Eniram Limited, the fast-growinginnish provider of energy management technology and data analytic services to the shipping industry, today announced that it had been named by Cleantech Group (CTG), developer of the i3 market intelligence platform, as one of CTG’s five picks as a European Cleantech Company of the Decade. This one-off award was made in connection with the 10th anniversary Cleantech Forum Europe, held in Stockholm this year. The award was made in Stockholm’s City Hall, the venue of the annual Nobel Prize ceremony.

Satellite service provider Intelsat S.A. announced today that more than 1,000 industry professionals have undergone training in the Intelsat-sponsored Global VSAT Forum (GVF) training program. Primary and subcontractor bandwidth customers, third-party installers, field service organizations and operators supporting customers are eligible for free or discounted Intelsat-sponsored GVF online training. "By sponsoring training for our customers and connected organizations, we are helping them become more efficient while making an impact on reducing interference across the arc," said Intelsat's Ron Busch, chairman of the Space Data Association.

ITI GmbH today announced that for the first time a marine application of the interdisciplinary simulation software SimulationX has passed Germanischer Lloyd’s (GL) type approval certification. The SimulationX software module marine propeller for the calculation of ice impact induced loads on the powertrain was designed and developed by ITI in collaboration with GL in accordance with the specifications laid down by GL, the Finnish-Swedish Maritime Administration and the IACS. The software certification conducted by GL proves the software’s high quality standards and is evidence of ITI’s commitment to safe, reliable and energy efficient ship propulsion systems.