Innovation Center News

A maritime technology company based in Aberdeen has been awarded funding from Scottish Enterprise to support the development of an app-based version of its breakthrough draft survey technology. Tymor Marine’s DRFT MRKS software uses artificial intelligence with deep learning applied to video capture to provide an accurate measurement of the weight and load of a vessel.The grant funding from Scottish Enterprise will allow Tymor’s team to build on the operational capabilities of the software…

This is the dawning of the age of AI and Big Data, huge agglomerations of new and transformative energy; almost self-generating, always strengthening and pulling at the reins, seeking to break free and run, a prospect both exciting and terrifying. That image can imply a human is holding the reins. How quaint: these days, AI itself may be holding the reins.In a review of innovation in 2023 – across any industrial or economic sector, not just maritime – AI looms large, a game-changer equivalent to IBM’s programming advances in the 1940s.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has announced that it is currently developing the Mitsubishi Ammonia Supply and Safety System (MAmmoSS®), an ammonia handling system to support the utilization of ammonia as marine fuel.As part of this development project, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has begun demonstration testing of the Ammonia Gas Abatement System (AGAS), a subsystem of MAmmoSS to safely treat surplus ammonia.Using the AGAS demonstration facility at the Nagasaki District MHI Research & Innovation Center…

DNV and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) have established a Future Ship Joint Innovation Center in Shanghai.The Center will allow both companies to cooperate on ship and offshore field technical innovation. The Center will set up three joint work groups on decarbonization, digital twin/digital ship, and smart shipping, focusing on developing future-proofed vessel holistic solutions.The Center will be established and operated by SDARI and DNV China following the Strategic…

A race is being run by nuclear scientists and ship designers. The prize? “Decarbonization’s” holy grail — believed to be a “small” thorium-fueled, molten-salt rector’s unlimited power to propel sea trade. At the same time, a recently revived discussion among leading marine-nuclear thinkers revolves now around how to put an ultra-modern, as-yet non-existent marine reactor aboard a modern commercial vessel. As with nuclear power generally, shipborne reactors produce national discussion first, then discovery.

United States Coast Guard service is a family legacy for Dan Keane, who today serves as the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, CT."My dad was in the Coast Guard (for nearly 37 years), so this is a way of life for me,” said Keane in explaining that a Coast Guard career “was just something I always knew I wanted to do … it’s a family tradition for me.”The Coast Guard R&D center in New London is “relatively small with just over 80 people here at the RDC” said Keane…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded ABS a contract to research barriers to the adoption of advanced nuclear propulsion on commercial vessels.The $800,000 research project – awarded by the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy last year and formally contracted through its U.S. Industry Opportunities for Advanced Nuclear Technology Development funding opportunity – will address challenges to adopting new reactor technology in commercial maritime applications. ABS will develop models of different advanced reactor technologies for maritime applications and develop an industry advisory on the commercial use of modern nuclear power.Support will be provided by the Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC), based at Idaho National Laboratory.

Batteries for maritime power have been picking up big momentum, benefiting from the most basic concept within Econ 101: supply and demand.On May 19 Corvus Energy announced it would establish a lithium ion battery manufacturing facility in Port Bellingham, Wash., just north of Seattle. Corvus Energy is a leading supplier of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for marine applications. Its systems already power more than 30 North American vessels, as well as 29 hybrid port cranes and 11 land-based drilling rigs.Geir Bjørkeli…

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…

Intellian has opened its new Research and Development Center in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, a new home for the engineering team with the latest product and quality verification facilities, helping to accelerate product development. In particular, antennas using emerging phased array technology will benefit from a new compact test range to assist with development and testing.The expansion also allows production to be significantly increased in the existing Innovation Center, meeting…

Power solutions provider Fairbanks Morse said it has named James "Jay" McFadyen as Vice President and General Manager of Aftermarket.McFadyen has more than 30 years of experience in the marine, defense and aerospace industries with leading global companies including Rolls-Royce, GE, and most recently as Vice President for Leonardo DRS-Naval Power Systems. Recognized as an innovator, McFadyen twice won GE’s award for Engineering Accomplishment of the Year and formed the first business unit at Rolls-Royce to be recognized as an Innovation Center of Excellence.

As cruise ship and other passenger vessel operators look toward the eventual resumption of voyages following the coronavirus health crisis, synthetic applications specialist Bolidt is launching an antibacterial flooring system intended to improve limit the spread of multiresistant bacteria.Originally designed for use in land-based applications such as hospitals and kitchens, the pioneering technology is not only bactericidal but also hygienic and easy to clean, according to the Netherlands-based developer.Jacco van Overbeek…

A new model aims to help commercial and public organizations resume operations safely as restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic begin to ease.Building on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ABS Consulting said its Restart Risk Model offers a way for organizations to systematically evaluate the risk of disease transmission to their sites, operations and work areas, and develop a plan…

An event officially signalling the start of construction on Qingdao International Cruise Terminal in China was held alongside a global promotion launched to attract investment. At the event, the People's Government of Qingdao signed a cooperation agreement with Shandong Port Group for a RMB10 billion project, and inked contracts with a number of partners for 14 industrial projects with a total investment of RMB31.35 billion.The government of Qingdao's Shibei District is pushing…

Hindsight, they say is 20/20, and in this regard renowned design house Gibbs & Cox has nine decades in the rear view mirror on which to lean. We recently caught up with Chris Deegan, President and CEO of Gibbs & Cox, celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2019, to discuss the organization’s rich history and promising future.When you took the top spot at Gibbs & Cox in 2016, what were your goals for the organization?As a company that designs everything from yachts to work boats to destroyers, I wanted to reassert G&C as the global leader in the naval architecture and marine engineering industry.

Naval Group has just joined b<>com, a European innovation center based in France. This partnership brings together the European leader in naval defense and the researchers and engineers of the innovation center with a wide range of expertise.It will help to accelerate technological advances in the field of new digital and communication technologies. The two partners will work together on breakthrough solutions and innovations to reinvent digital solutions for naval defense solutions.The global naval defense market, estimated to have received €40 billion in available revenue in 2018, is growing steadily by about 4% each year. Nonetheless, there is fierce competition between European, Chinese, Russian, and South Korean companies.

NCE Maritime CleanTech business cluster is establishing a new Norwegian catapult center to build up expertise and testing facilities for its partner organizations. The center aims to be at the forefront in making the Norwegian marine industry greener, smarter and more innovative.NCE Maritime CleanTech’s initiative Sustainable Maritime Norwegian Catapult Center was announced as one of the three winners among the 15 business clusters that applied to Siva, the Industrial Development Corporation of Norway, to fund a new catapult arrangement.

One-on-one with Suzanne Beckstoffer, an accomplished engineering leader and business woman, the first woman president in SNAME’s 125 year history.As the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2018, it will celebrate another historical milestone at the start of 2019 when Suzanne M. Beckstoffer takes the helm of SNAME as president, the first woman to hold this position in the association’s history. We met recently with Beckstoffer to discuss her distinguished shipbuilding career…

The autonomous and smart shipping industry is set to receive a boost, after the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Department for Transport (DfT), in collaboration with the National Oceanography Center’s (NOC) Marine Robotics Innovation Center, successfully secured £1 million in a bid to accelerate the U.K. into a world-leading position in this area.The funding, awarded by the U.K. Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Regulators’ Pioneer Fund…

The Port of Seattle joined with a broad range of maritime stakeholders in support of Governor Jay Inslee’s ‘Maritime Blue Strategy’.According to a press note, the Strategy aims to advance the region’s maritime-based, “blue economy” through increased collaboration between its diverse sectors to promote innovation and sustainable practices that support a competitive gateway with a 21st Century workforce.Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman served as a member of the Maritime Blue Advisory Committee.The Maritime Blue Strategy aims to make Washington State home to a world-class, thriving and sustainable maritime industry by 2050 in partnership with business…

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) in New London, Connecticut, is the service's only command conducting research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) support for all 11 statutory missions. Since its commissioning in 1972, RDC has been involved in over 2,000 projects and initiatives that have significantly benefited the Coast Guard and the components of the Maritime Transportation System. As the demand for research and development capability grows within the service…

The newly formed Maritime Global Technologies Innovation Center (MGTIC) is a collaborative incubator hosted at SUNY Maritime College that sets out to foster technology developments in the maritime space through entrepreneurial innovations. “Shipping interests exist in an increasingly complex environment and are impacted by new problems every day. At the same time, entrepreneurs and researchers seek to remedy these problems,” said MGTIC co-founder Dr. Christopher Clott, ABS Chair of Marine Transportation and Logistics at SUNY Maritime College.

Carnival Corporation & plc will establish a new industry apex in connectivity capabilities today at sea when it attempts to make an unprecedented level of bandwidth available to guests on board Regal Princess from its Princess Cruises brand. Using its newly developed connectivity service, MedallionNet, and working with SES Networks, the world-leading provider of satellite-enabled connectivity solutions, Carnival Corporation and Princess Cruises will attempt to achieve bandwidth of 1.5 gigabits per second, the most ever delivered to a mobile platform. The record attempt will demonstrate that connectivity is no longer a limitation to cruise vacations. Guests using MedallionNet have access to the internet at speeds that eclipse typical land-based hotel connectivity performance levels.