Imagination News

Chemship commissioned its first ship with wind assisted ship propulsion. This makes the MT Chemical Challenger the first chemical tanker in the world to be equipped with sustainable wind technology. The ship will serve on shipping company Chemship’s Trans-Atlantic route between the East Coast of the United States and the Mediterranean.This week four 16-metre-high aluminum wind sails were installed on board the 134-meter-long vessel. The VentoFoils from Econowind create a direct wind surface of 180 m2.

When construction work began on a new arts center in Newport, south Wales, in 2002, the builders on site could scarcely have imagined what they would dig up. While excavating the foundations on the banks of the River Usk, a section of a medieval wooden ship was uncovered which had been perfectly preserved by the river’s waterlogged silt. Archaeologists were called in and it soon became clear the vessel was extraordinary.This was not a coastal sailing boat that would have plied the Severn estuary up to the 19th century.

Furetank turned a former office building into a maritime educational center on Donsö outside Gothenburg: a state-of-the-art ship simulator complex for training, assessment and certification. Starting in the summer of 2023 it will be available for the shipping cluster on Donsö as well as external organizations.Furetank has ordered a large range of new-built vessels to be delivered in the coming years, and crewing these ships is a challenge. The new simulator center is seen as helping to alleviate some training bottlenecks…

Ifremer, Jean-Louis Etienne and the entire Polar POD team announced its construction by the Piriou shipyards in association with 3C Metal, under the direction of the project owner, Ifremer. The scientific program of this international oceanographic "station" is being overseen by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS), in partnership with the French National Centre for Space Studies (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales…

A new report from the Global Maritime Forum, prepared on behalf of the Getting to Zero Coalition, assesses progress toward the development of Green Shipping Corridors - maritime routes between major port hubs where zero-emission solutions are supported and demonstrated – and finds that activity during 2022 exceeded expectations. However as maritime Green Shipping Corridors progress toward implementation, some key industry stakeholders, especially cargo owners and fuel producers, will need to be engaged as soon as possible.

Of all the rivers in the world, the St. Lawrence River is undeniably one of the most challenging for mariners.This water highway is at some spots as narrow as a large river and, at others, as wide as a small sea. It has played a vital role over the last three centuries as an important artery for trade, communication, transportation and settlement. And since 1959, the year the St. Lawrence Seaway was inaugurated, it has been a gateway to the heart of the continent.The first European explorers who sailed the St. Lawrence discovered it was not easy to master: it was long, but never calm.

Shipbuilder and designer Ulstein is looking to take its revolutionary Thorium powered vessel concept from the drawing board to the deep blue sea. Is this the solution that industry, and society, have been searching for to enable a truly sustainable maritime future?Everything about the launch of ULSTEIN THOR was unexpected.The vessel concept, a 149m 3R (Replenishment, Research and Rescue) design with a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), took the industry, and wider society, by surprise.

In the United States, it is a frustrating time to be in the government shipbuilding business. Even though America depends upon maritime commerce and faces growing security risks at sea, shipbuilding is just not a major national focus.Up to now, shipbuilders have had it pretty good. For the past several years, big naval shipbuilders have enjoyed steady growth and strong performance. In 2020, Huntington Ingalls Industries enjoyed record revenue of $9.4 billion, an 8.5% margin and gave a quarter billion back to shareholders in dividends and stock buybacks.

There are many hallmarks of great civilizations, but perhaps none so universal as their desire to push the boundaries of human achievement through innovation. A key source of American pride has always been our ability to dream big. When it comes to ships, there is no more powerful example of this than the SS United States.“America’s Flagship” was more than a symbol of our nation’s post-war strength and global reach. She remains a singular and unrivaled marine engineering and design achievement.Curiously…

The first of many warnings about a deadly cargo in Beirut’s port came in February 2014, about three months after its arrival. It was made by Colonel Joseph Skaf, described by his family as a diligent customs official.Skaf, then the head of the anti-narcotics and money laundering division, informed the customs authority that the shipment of ammonium nitrate was “extremely dangerous” and posed a risk to the public.In his handwritten letter, reviewed by Reuters and authenticated by a source familiar with the case…

Polish divers say they have found the wreck of a German World War Two ship which may help solve a decades-old mystery - the whereabouts of the Amber Room, an ornate chamber from a tsarist palace in Russia that was looted by the Nazis.Decorated with amber and gold, the Amber Room was part of the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg, but was last seen in Koenigsberg, then a Baltic port city in Germany but now the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.It was from Koenigsberg that the Karlsruhe steamer set sail in 1945 with a heavy cargo…

The July/August edition of Marine Technology Reporter, the 15th Annual "MTR100", recognizes Graham Hawkes a subsea innovator, explorer, inventor and pusher of boundaries. A pioneer in the realm of ocean engineering, he’s designed and built more than 60 manned submersibles—everything from atmospheric dive suits to flying subs. As a test pilot, he’s maintained the deepest solo dive record for more than 20 years. He’s also the founder of HAWX Open Ocean LLC, created to design and…

“In God we trust. All others must have data.”When Ed Grimm took the helm of Southern Towing Company (STC)as President and CEO, he inherited an enviable team of leaders, engineers, mentors, communicators and analysts. Today STC is a clear leader on the inland waterways, pioneering and proving the business and safety value of Z-Drives on the river towboats.How did you come to the top spot at Southern Towing Company?I started in the energy industry at 16 working at an oil storage depot in New York Harbor, working there through high school and putting myself through college.

Britain's newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales sails into home port of Portsmouth Naval Base for the first time.The £3.1 billion warship left Rosyth dockyard, Scotland, where it was built in September before undergoing eight weeks of sea trials.The ship’s arrival into Portsmouth represents the culmination of 16 years of work by the ACA – a unique alliance relationship between BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales, and the UK Ministry of Defence.More than 10,000 people across the UK have been involved in the program to deliver the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, with six British shipbuilding yards across the country playing a vital role in the ships’ design and construction.Sir Simon Lister…

NAVTOR and ScanReach signed an agreement that that is intended to supply shipowners with a connected, comprehensive and real-time view of vessel and fleet operations.The collaboration will connect an onboard wireless IoT platform to a secure channel for sharing data between ship and shore, with the goal to deliver a seamless stream of information running from onboard sensors to land-based facilities, and back, enabling optimal decision-making, 24/7.“Both ScanReach and NAVTOR share the vision of utilizing technology to enable smarter shipping…

Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales was sworn-in during a ceremony held at the Panama Canal Administration Building in Panama City, becoming the fourth Panamanian Administrator of the waterway shortly before it celebrates its 20th year under Panamanian administration on December 31, 2019.Administrator Vásquez an economist with more than 30 years’ experience in the public and private sector said: "Just a few months short of the 20th anniversary of the transfer of the Canal to the Panamanian people, we face a distinctly different reality today. Trade now travels along different routes.""This new global reality, in which the Canal operates, requires us to redefine and adapt our business.

Construction of Ponant's new polar exploration vessel Le Commandant Charcot has begun  with the traditional steel cutting ceremony at Vard's shipyard in Tulcea, Romania.Delivery of the new flagship, the most ambitious ever designed both in terms of travel experience and respect for the environment, is scheduled for 2021.The vessel will bear the name of a great French explorer: Le Commandant Charcot. An explorer by vocation with a true passion for sailing, Jean-Baptiste Charcot is one of the emblematic figures of French polar expeditions.By naming its forthcoming polar exploration vessel after him, Ponant is paying tribute to this “gentleman of the poles”, a man respected by all.

"Koselig" is a Norwegian adjective used to describe situations that give a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation. The NorShipping exhibition and conference, one of the largest in northern Europe, could definitely be described as koselig. Occurring in Oslo, Norway between June 4-7, 2019, the conference featured close to 1,000 exhibitors from around the world. With the prominently featured Blue Economy Hall, terms such as marine sustainability and environmental ocean awareness held the center stage at a number of the events. In true Norwegian fashion, most of the major press announcements were delivered in semi-intimate gathers with copious amounts coffee by maritime CEOs and VPs who enjoyed being called by their first names.

In its 2019 “Annual Energy Outlook” the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that electric generation from renewables (wind, solar, hydro) will go from 500 billion KWh in 2018 to 1500 billion KWh in 2050, just 30 years from now.“The AEO highlights the increasing role of renewable energy in the US generation mix,” said EIA Administrator Linda Capuano. “Solar and wind generation are driving much of the growth. In fact, our reference case projects that renewables will grow to become a larger share of U.S.

On August 18, 1990, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was enacted into law. Section 4202 of that Act amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA or Clean Water Act) to require tank vessels and marine transportation-related facilities to prepare and submit to the US Coast Guard plans for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worse case discharge, and to a substantial threat of such a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance carried in bulk as cargo.

New holographic technology is set to revolutionize training procedures, fleet management, ship performance and engineering maintenance in the maritime sectorHave you ever wished you could move around your fleet of ships, in full 3-D, without ever moving from your desk? Have you ever wanted to be able to delve into the complex inner workings of one of your vessels and inspect its internal structure while sitting in your office? Have you ever been performing maintenance work within…

40 years ago, on September 13th, 1978, Jacques R. Saadé launched the first maritime line between Marseilles and Beirut, with only one ship and 4 employees. The day marked the beginning of an extraordinary humane and entrepreneurial adventure, said a press release.According to the statement, 40 years later, CMA CGM has become a recognized world leader, with 34,000 employees and a presence in more than 160 countries. History: It is amid the Lebanese war that Jacques R. Saadé decided to settle in Marseilles to protect his family. As a visionary man, he anticipated the evolutions of international trade and was convinced of the crucial role containerization was about to play.

Damen Shipyards Group has signed a cooperation agreement of understanding with clean energy startup Skoon Energy to further advance the energy transition underway in the shipping industry.Skoon was founded in 2017 by Daan Geldermans and Peter Paul van Voorst, two students of the Delft University of Technology. The company focusses on the large-scale electrification of ships’ propulsion via management of a battery sharing network and strategically located charging hubs with a 100 percent clean energy supply.