It Technology News

Today’s evolving maritime security risks pose all-too-familiar threats to international shipping, and as just one of the many causes of fatigue, they add to the cognitive burden already faced by watchkeepers. But Groke Technologies can boost safety onboard, says co-founder and CEO Juha Rokka.Life at sea is already physically and mentally demanding. Crewing levels are tight, work hours are long and irregular, watchkeepers are required to perform administrative tasks while on the bridge…

Cobham Satcom and China TranTech Technologies have signed a contract which includes the largest delivery of SAILOR XTR Ku VSAT antennas to the Chinese market so far, supported by an extensive training and global service program.China TranTech is a subsidiary of China Transport Telecommunication Information Group Company Limited (CTTIC) and the only maritime satellite safety communication provider in China.SAILOR 1000 XTR Ku antennas deliver dependable, high-speed connectivity that vessel crews need to optimize remote marine operations at sea.

Norway's Equinor is confident of finding an investor for its planned Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm in New York after a new power off-take agreement improved the project's economics, the company said on Thursday.New York State authorities in February awarded the project a new conditional power purchase contract, replacing a previous deal that was no longer competitive due to rising construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags.Equinor was glad to have received the new contract, which significantly changed the economics of the project, CFO Torgrim Reitan told analysts durin

Shipping must engage with the decarbonization realities that lie ahead by changing the way it crafts maritime legislation to reflect its place in the interconnected, interdependent world economy, says Eero Lehtovaara, Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs, ABB Marine & Ports.ABB Marine & Ports Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs, Eero Lehtovaara has carved out an unusual - and possibly unique - role in the maritime industry over recent years, as a ‘stakeholder’ simultaneously mindful of the perspectives of owners…

UK-based Exail has secured a contract with French maritime services provider Bourbon to supply several units of its Octans Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) for integration into Bourbon Subsea Services’s fleet.These units will be installed on multiple Bourbon Evolution 800 Series multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs) dedicated to subsea operations at depths down to 3,000 meters.IMO-HSC certified, the Octans AHRS will enhance Bourbon vessels’ efficiency in installation…

Norwegian shipowner MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has signed a $55 million pre and post-delivery ECA covered financing agreement with Deutsche Bank and SINOSURE for its two dual-fuel methanol newbuildings.The vessels are scheduled for delivery towards the end of 2024 and are secured by 15-year time charter agreements with North Sea Container Line (NCL). The loan matures in 2036, according to MPCC.Chinese-based shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering is in charge of the construction…

China is providing moorage for a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship implicated in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, according to satellite images obtained by Reuters, as U.S. concerns grow over Beijing's support for Moscow's war in Ukraine.Britain's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank said the Russian vessel Angara, which since August 2023 has moved to Russian ports thousands of containers believed to contain North Korean munitions, has been anchored at a Chinese…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its latest report in the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff series, describing how the U.S. offshore wind sector is adapting to challenges and poised for continued progress, with a path to deploying over 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2050.The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Offshore Wind report finds that the sector today is poised for liftoff, enabled by continued efforts to adapt to recent market challenges. The projects that move forward in the next several years will lay the foundation for consistent long-term deployment…

ABS Wavesight has appointed software and digital technology leader Staci Satterwhite to serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO), a new role for the maritime software as a service (SaaS) affiliate of ABS.Most recently serving as the COO of Khoros, a Vista private equity portfolio company, Satterwhite has extensive and diverse global experience helping develop and transform software and digital solutions.As COO, Satterwhite is responsible for leading product development and further enhancing customer interactions and experiences.

Simulation-based training has its whole-of-ship/whole-of-team scenarios, but zooming in, the industry is now working on more specific targets.We have a close relationship with technology, evidenced by, for example, the phones we are estimated to unlock around 50-80 times a day. It has changed us. Half the people surveyed in a 2022 King’s College London study said that they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be. They are wrong, though, if they think that the average attention span of adults today is just eight seconds, one second less than goldfish.

Australian steelmaker Bisalloy shares have risen some 40% since December 2023, powered by defence deals signed as part of the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between Australia, Britain and the United States.Defence contractors large and small are looking at the $237 billion plan to build Australia a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as a decades-long source of work. Australia will build the vessels to a British design with U.S. technology.Bisalloy said earlier this month it had signed a deal to sell a shipment of steel to part of U.S. shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries, maker of the U.S.

Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, part of technology group Wärtsilä, has signed a contract for the supply of cargo handling system for a new 12,500 m3 LNG bunkering vessel being built for Spanish shipowner Scale Gas, a subsidiary of Enagás.The order has been placed by the yard building the vessel, Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering, and was booked by Wärtsilä in the first quarter of 2024.The vessel is co-financed from the Support for Sustainable and Digital Transport Programme…

WinGD will record the first installation of its new X-S short-stroke engine design following successful factory acceptance tests with engine builder Dalian Marine Diesel in March.The six-cylinder, 62cm-bore 6X62-S2.0 engine will be installed on a pulp carrier being built for a Chinese owner at COSCO Dalian shipyard.The X-S series succeeds the well-established RT-flex50 and RT-flex58 engines and is available in 52cm and 62cm bore sizes, for the range of fuel options including traditional diesel or dual-fuel LNG…

On April 19th, 2024, Muddy Water Dredging, LP, held the christening ceremony of its Marlin Class dredge at the Port of New Orleans. The event was attended by many esteemed business leaders, media personnel, and distinguished dignitaries. "We are happy to unveil the Vaneta Marie dredge. After many hours of collaboration between Muddy Water and DSC what we have before us is a dredge that was crafted with precision and ingenuity," said Michael Kerns, President, and CEO of Muddy Water.

The Maritime International Advisory Panel (IAP) held its third annual meeting on April 16, 2024, during the Singapore Maritime Week 2024. This year, the Maritime IAP held in-depth discussions on the key developments in the maritime sector, including decarbonization, green financing, digitalization and cybersecurity.Established in 2022 by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Maritime IAP aims to seek international perspectives on key long-term trends and developments that will shape the maritime industry.

New York State on Friday stalled three major offshore wind-energy projects after General Electric Vernova GE.N changed the turbine design, which the state said "materially altered" the plans.New York provisionally approved the projects in October 2023. They are Attentive Energy One being developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation; Community Offshore Wind, which is backed by RWE and National Grid Ventures; and Vineyard Offshore's Excelsior Wind.But since then…

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has appointed and approved the 2024-2025 term of the NOIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jon Landes, President, Subsea of TechnipFMC has been elected as the NOIA Chair and Joe Leimkuhler, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Offshore Energy, as the incoming NOIA Vice Chair.NOIA President Erik Milito said, “We are at a critical juncture where it's imperative to ensure that energy policy from Washington, D.C. does not hinder American energy production.

Dutch company Value Maritime and Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have signed a contract for the supply an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS) and carbon capture feature for an LR1 product tanker.With a deadweight (DWT) of 75,000, this is the largest vessel, in terms of DWT, and the first LR1 tanker that will sail with a Value Maritime’s 15 MW EGSC Filtree and carbon capture unit.The installation is expected to take place before the end of the year, according to…

As the U.S. offshore wind industry endures a predictable number of stops and starts during its adolescence, common mantras are ‘learn from the established European model’ and ‘embrace technology transfer from the offshore oil and gas sector.’ In Robert Langford, the American Bureau of Shipping has all of that and more bundled in one neat package.Rob Langford has worked in the offshore industry for more than three decades, ‘cutting his teeth’ in a UK design firm working in the North Sea oil and gas platforms, the holy grail of rigorous conditions in offshore energy production.

Imoto Lines and Marindows have outlined plans to build the next generation zero-emission domestic container ship capable of hybrid operation using Japan's first exchangeable container batteries, alongside onboard batteries and generators.The joint project between the companies aims to address three major challenges of the maritime industry - decarbonization, crew shortage, and safe navigation.The three-year project is supported by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of…

Classification society DNV presented Australian green technology, energy and metals company Fortescue with class and statutory certificates for its dual-fueled ammonia-powered vessel Green Pioneer. This marked the culmination of a project that began in 2021, when DNV was engaged by Fortescue to work on the feasibility study and 'Fuel ready (Ammonia)' notation for the vessel’s conversion. DNV's Technology Qualification process provided the framework for the qualification and assurance of the engine modifications, where industry rules were yet to be developed.

My brother and I had a discussion about methanol where we concluded that methanol is a promising sustainable liquid fuel for transportation devices when batteries cannot do the job. While Methanol is initially not carbon zero, as long as we focus on developing zero carbon electrical energy, eventually we can produce zero carbon green methanol. Once there is plentiful green methanol, existing methanol vehicles will automatically become zero carbon transportation.The core argument…

Simulation-based training has its whole-of-ship/whole-of-team scenarios, but zooming in, the industry is now working on more specific targets.We have a close relationship with technology, evidenced by, for example, the phones we are estimated to unlock around 50-80 times a day. It has changed us. Half the people surveyed in a 2022 King’s College London study said that they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be. They are wrong, though, if they think that the average attention span of adults today is just eight seconds, one second less than goldfish.