Integrated Technology News

The first US-built trawler-processor for Alaskan pollock in over three decades is now undergoing sea trials in the Northern Pacific, testing an integrated technology package from Kongsberg Discovery tailored to locate, inspect, and engage fish with unparalleled efficiency.The 100-meter-long Arctic Fjord, designed by Kongsberg Maritime and built by Louisiana’s Thoma-Sea Marine Constructor, will start full-time operations for 2024’s pollock A season in the Bering Sea.Speaking ahead of this week’s Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle…

Moises DelToro at GE Vernova’s Power Conversion business, discusses how deploying a Ship’s Electric Grid is a flexible way to accommodate growing energy demands for naval and coast guard vessels.A new age of electrificationWe’re in a new naval era and it is reshaping views about fleet mixes and capabilities. Modern fleets need to be mission-configurable, highly capable for military advantage, adaptable for technology insertion, but still affordable. The growing demand for vessel power is increasingly an enabler for mission systems, not just for platform propulsion.

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has signed a contract with Norwegian vessel operator Olympic to outfit two new Construction Service Operation Vessels with a technology suite. The contract is worth around NOK 64 million (around $6,4 million).Two KONGSBERG US 205 PM L FP L-drive azimuth thrusters will be situated fore and aft in the TWIN X-STERN double-ended hybrid-powered vessels."The KONGSBERG US thruster family has set the industry standards for decades being one of the company’s all-time best-selling propulsion products.

Five Wärtsilä 32 engines capable of operating with methanol will power a new Offshore Wind Installation Vessel (WIV) being built for Dutch contracting company Van Oord at Yantai CIMC Raffles shipyard in China, in what is the first such order for the Finland-based marine engine and equipment maker.Dutch marine and offshore services company Van Oord in October 2021 ordered the jack-up for offshore wind turbine installation. The vessel will be able to install next-generation wind turbines of up to 20MW.

Kongsberg Maritime (KM) said it will supply an equipment and simulation package for the maritime training vessel MS Gann, helping both to reduce the vessel’s emissions and enhance the education offered on board. The contract, worth 41.2 million NOK, is part of an extensive refit and will include KONGSBERG’s SAVe Energy battery system and hybrid shaft generators, in addition to power management, propulsion control and monitoring systems.MS Gann – which ran passenger services along…

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has secured a $40 million contract to supply an integrated technology solution for the first U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) - the Charybdis.The vessel, being built at Keppel AmFELS shipyard in the U.S., is being constructed for US energy company Dominion Energy. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 and will be among the largest of its kind.The new WTIV will be able to transport and install several sets of next-generation wind turbines and their foundations.

Norwegian offshore support vessel owner Island Offshore has awarded a contract to Kongsberg Maritime to supply turnkey hybrid battery solutions for three platform supply vessels.Two vessels Island Crusader and Island Contender, previously operated with a combination of Bergen LNG engines and Bergen Diesel engines, while the Island Commander deploys four diesel engines. Now, they will be equipped with battery packs and shore connections."The conversion of all three into hybrid…

Norwegian inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) company WellConnection Group has acquired Scotland-based Independent Oilfield Services (IOS) in a deal which marked its entrance into the UK market.WellConnection Group with bases in Stavanger, Mongstad and Hammerfest in Norway have made a strategic investment in IOS, which since its inception in 2014 has quickly grown to become one of the market leaders in the UK within IMR services and storage.IOS changes name to WellConnection IOS and will provide the group with a strong foothold in the UK market to complement its Norwegian business and represent the first step in realization of its strategy to become a strong international player.Chief Executive Officer of WellConnection Group…

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract worth approximately $13 million to equip a new heavy lift crane vessel for Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT) with an innovative technology suite. The vessel, a customized Ulstein Design & Solutions BV design, marks the entry of the Norway-based Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT) into the offshore renewables and installation market. Options exist for a further three vessels, but the first is currently under construction by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) and is scheduled to enter service in 2021.The 216.3m…

New technology from Kongsberg’s  autonomous vessels program will contribute to improving the operational and safety performance of manned vessels with the launch of a new generation of Integrated Bridge System (IBS), which is being presented for the first time at SMM 2018 in Hamburg this week.Through its work on new autonomous vessels such as YARA Birkeland, the world’s first all-electric, zero emissions and autonomous container ship, Kongsberg Maritime has developed a cutting-edge…

Kongsberg Maritime has been selected by global offshore and marine group Keppel Offshore & Marine to provide an extensive and integrated technology delivery for a new semi-submersible drilling rig ordered by UK-based drilling contractor Awilco Drilling PLC. The contract is valued at around $18 million. Based on the Moss Maritime CS60 ECO MW design, Awilco Drilling’s new rig is designed for harsh environment use, and will be equipped and certified for drilling on the Norwegian Continental Shelf…

Samson, the developer of high-performance synthetic rope solutions and global market leader in commercial marine applications, has launched a new integrated technology and service solution, Icaria, designed to facilitate the transition process to MEG4 operational best practices.OCIMF’s release of the fourth edition of its Mooring Equipment Guidelines marks a significant change in how mooring systems will be designed, selected, maintained and retired. In addition, terminology has been clarified…

Just days after Deepwater Wind said its Block Island Wind Farm has begun delivering electricity into the New England region’s grid, Statoil reports that it has been declared the provisional winner of the U.S. government’s wind lease sale of 79,350 acres offshore New York. Statoil will now have the opportunity to explore the potential development of an offshore wind farm to provide New York City and Long Island with a significant, long-term source of renewable electricity. Statoil submitted a winning bid of $42,469,725 during the online offshore wind auction concluded by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

Training acts not only as a career enhancer, but also plays an essential role in the modernisation of the shipping industry as a whole, said Esben Poulsson, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) today, as he delivered the keynote speech at this year’s Crew Connect Global Conference in Manila. “The future sustainability of the industry requires an evolutionary response to the training and retention of seafarers,“  he stressed. “We need to do more than simply respond to changing needs, we must learn to anticipate them and thereby control the development of the industry. In an uncertain time for the global economy and world trade…

Kongsberg Maritime has been chosen to supply a full integrated automation solution including the first delivery of its advanced new Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS) for a newbuild 50,000 DWT LNG Fuelled bulk carrier, ordered by South Korean ship owner, Ilshin Shipping Company. The new bulk carrier will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and is scheduled for delivery during the fourth quarter of 2017. It is the first dual-fuel merchant vessel to be built in South Korea. Ilshin’s new bulk carrier signals the beginnings of a move towards LNG bunkering in the far east, driven by the lower cost of fuel and the need for more environmentally friendly vessel operation…

A group of industry stakeholders have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for academic exchange and cooperation within the framework of the Kalmar Ice Academy, with a focus on collaboratively helping the offshore and shipping industries to increase operational safety and efficiency while reducing environmental impact, through furthering understanding of maritime operations in ice. The parties, which included Kongsberg Digital, Viking Supply Ships, the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Kalmar Maritime Academy at the Faculty of Technology…

Honeywell has announced that it has received a contract to supply its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) automation controls and tank gauging systems for Finland’s first LNG import terminal. The new terminal will efficiently supply natural gas to marine vessels and industrial facilities in Finland, helping to replace other fuels that have higher emissions. Honeywell’s technology will help to efficiently supply natural gas to marine vessels and industrial facilities in Finland from Skangas Oy’s LNG facility in Pori. In addition, Honeywell’s Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI) will connect and power comfort, safety and security systems within the LNG terminal itself.

CIMC Yantai Raffles in China and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in Korea have selected extensive dynamic positioning (DP), automation, new generation safety system, integrated navigation, hydro-acoustic positioning and latest riser management solutions from Kongsberg. The contracts are in regard to two new Frigstad D90 Design drilling rigs and one Bassoe Technology BT-UDS Design drillship. The total value of the contracts is in excess of MNOK 150. The contracts have options for a total of 8 additional units.

Canadian based Rutter Technologies, a division of Rutter Inc. (TSX:RUT), and its Norwegian partner, Aptomar AS, announced orders for six Integrated Oil Spill Response and Management Systems. This comes on the heels of the recent certification of the technology by the Norwegian Clean Seas Association (NOFO) following the conclusion of trials in June. The Integrated Oil Spill Response and Management System provides operators with real-time information about the volume and thickest areas of an oil slick in order to maximize recovery efforts. It combines Rutter’s Sigma S6 radar processor and display with the Aptomar SECurus system. This integration gives the operator the ability make immediate decisions on oil slick detection both onboard vessels and onshore.

Hefty fines, detention and possible arrest are looming for ship owners/operators who fail to meet new ship emissions requirements. In accordance with MARPOL (Marine Pollution) Annex VI regulations, new Emissions Control Area (ECA) regulations for sea areas within 200 nautical miles from the coasts and ports of the U.S. and Canada go into effect on August 1, 2011. Even with an exemption clause that extends the regulations enforcement date to Aug. 1, 2012, the time window is short for outfitting thousands of vessels.

CIMC Yantai Raffles in China and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in Korea have selected extensive Dynamic Positioning (DP), Automation, new generation Safety System, Integrated Navigation, Hydroacoustic positioning and latest riser management solutions from Kongsberg. The contracts are for two new Frigstad D90 Design drilling rigs and one Bassoe Technology BT-UDS Design drillship. The total value of the contracts is in excess of MNOK 150. The contracts have options for a total of 8 additional units. The rigs are destined for operation in the burgeoning Brazilian offshore oil and gas sector and Gulf of Mexico. Both projects are design according to DnV Dynpos Autro, IMO DP Class 3, and will operate in water depths up to 3000 meters.

Kongsberg to head up major Norwegian Consortium with DNV and IBM to develop integrated Environmental Monitoring System. In order to reduce the environmental risks from oil and gas operations, a consortium consisting of KONGSBERG, IBM, and DNV will now develop a real-time environmental monitoring solution together with their client Statoil. The 150 MNOK project is led by KONGSBERG and will use integrated technology to create a step change for the operators’ access and operational usage of environmental data.

WR Systems, long renowned for its prowess in delivering innovative engineered solutions to the U.S. Navy, is making waves in commercial maritime circles. WR Systems is a rare bird by many accounts. While the Norfolk, VA-based engineering firm earns the lion’s share of its business from the U.S. Navy, it was never fashioned specifically as a “defense contractor.” While it houses an enviable stable of technical talent, with access to some the world’s leading experts in marine electronic systems…