Maestro News

Singapore-based container shipper X-Press Feeders plans to use green methanol bunker to fuel part of its fleet in Europe in the second quarter of 2024, a senior executive said on Tuesday.The move comes as the European Union will extend its Emissions Trading System (ETS) next year to cover carbon dioxide emissions for all ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above entering EU ports.Shippers can buy carbon credits to offset emissions or burn lower-carbon fuels such as methanol and biofuels, although supply of these fuels is limited.

A Russian navy vessel collided with a Swiss-owned container ship in Danish waters on Wednesday near the Oresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden, Danish defense authorities told Reuters.The Ice Rose, which was sailing from St. Petersburg in Russia to Gothenburg in Sweden, collided with a Russian frigate early on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Joint Operation Centre said.He said the reason for the collision was not clear, but that the Russian vessel had permission to be in Danish waters and had notified Danish authorities of its presence.No one aboard the Ice Rose was injured and there were no signs of oil leaks or ingress of water…

Refit and repair provider Diverse Marine Ltd has signed a modification and upcycling contract with an offshore wind crew transfer vessel (CTV) service provider Turner Iceni Ltd. for the modification and upcycling of ‘Iceni Courage’ following a competitive tender process.According to the UK-based naval architect, the Iceni Courage is a 15m crew transfer vessel built in the yard back in 2009.The dynamic offshore wind sector has developed over the last decade with a requirement for larger, faster and more efficient craft so the time had come for the vessel’s owners to consider a sale or repurposing of the vessel out of the offshore wind industry.However…

Ten crew members have been found dead and 14 have been rescued after two ships caught fire in the Kerch Strait near Crimea, Russia's transport ministry said on Monday, with a rescue operation still underway.The ministry said earlier on Monday that crew members were jumping into the sea to escape the blaze, which probably broke out during a ship-to-ship fuel transhipment.Both ships were under the Tanzanian flag - Candy (Venice) and Maestro - and had a combined total of 31 crew members. Of them, 16 were Turkish citizens and 15 from India, it said.An industry source told Reuters there were stormy conditions in the sea when the incident happened.The Kerch Strait between Russian-annexed Crimea and southern Russia controls access from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea…

UK-based renewable energy vessel specialist Turner Iceni has acquired two new boats – MCS Maestro and Don Quixote - that now will be refitted for work later this year.MCS Maestro, a 18m South Boat, was purchased from Maritime Craft Services. The vessel will be refitted with Volvo IPS 900, shot blasted and repainted in Turner Iceni livery. Interior modifications include a new galley and updated nav comms. Don Quixote, a 20m South Boat built in 2009, was purchased from Vroon. She will be re-engined with 1400hp MAN and Hamilton 651 jets which will have the new AVX control system and jet anchor. Don Quixote is also going to be lengthened to 23m and have 25…

Durban's Wabona Group was among the winners in one of the nine award categories, during a Maritime Industry Awards function held on April 28, 2013 in Cape Town. The event, held to celebrate contributions to the South African Maritime Industry, was a culmination of a nationwide nomination process. Wabona Group was awarded a Maritime Newcomer accolade at the 2012/2013 Maritime Industry Awards, Organized by Colleen Jacka of Maritime Review Africa. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)…

A Scottish maritime company has taken delivery of a second Twin Axe Design offshore wind farm support vessel. MCS Pampero, sister vessel to MCS Sirocco which joined the fleet in June, was handed over to Maritime Craft Services in Singapore and will go straight to work in NW Europe from mid-December. They join crew transfer vessels MCS Zephyr and MCS Maestro South Boat catamarans which were acquired last year. The Largs-based company also announced it is to invest €11m in a further three Damen Twin Axe Design FCS 2610s which will be delivered in March…

Italian motorboat builder Apreamare has signed an exclusive dealership agreement for China, Hong Kong and Macao with Xiamen Smart Hero Yacht Co Ltd, one of the Smart Hero (HK) Investment Development Group’s subsidiaries, specialised in sales, management and maintenance of yachts, as well as in yacht club activities. Together with the new dealer, Apreamare will take part for the first time at the next edition of Xiamen boat show (November 2-5, 2012), displaying two models of its range: the Apreamare 64’ Fly and Maestro 56’. “After launching two new models, Smeraldo 45’ and Maestro 56’, at last Autumn’s boat shows, we are now concentrating in the strengthening of our dealer network in significant markets, such as the Chinese one,” says Apreamare president Cataldo Aprea.

MCS Zephyr & MCS Maestro - First 18m Wind Farm Service Vessels built to DNV 1A1 HSLC R2 Class. In service with Maritime Craft Services MCS Zephyr is the first vessel in the world to be built under survey to DNV 1A1 HSLC R2 Wind Farm Service 1 Class, followed by MCS Maestro. The vessels are built to UK flag and certified to MA Category 1. Built by South Boats Special Projects Ltd., the vessels are configured with an off centre wheelhouse providing a 34m2 forward deck capable of carrying up to 8 tonnes of construction and O & M equipment.

Working in cooperation, Napa Ltd and DRS Defense Solutions, LLC, Advanced Marine Technology Center (DRS DS AMTC) have created a new interface between NAPA and MAESTRO software. Interfacing these two products will increase efficiency in the early stage of ship structural design, analysis and evaluation process by allowing the designer to leverage one 3D model from start to finish within the scope of structural design and direct analysis. This will eliminate the very common practice of recreating 3D structural models to serve different activities. “This will be the most extensive finite element interface in NAPA, and it will help to shorten the overall time in structural analysis significantly,” says Tomi Holmberg, Manager at NAPA Business Unit.

Hirschmann Automation and Control, Inc. (PAT), a supplier of crane operator aids, including load moment indicators (LMI), has released their 2010 training schedule. Hirschmann’s training courses feature classroom training along with actual hands-on experience using system simulators. The courses include system theory, sensor calibration, wiring, and hands-on trouble shooting. The courses are structured to meet the requirements of mechanics and operators regardless of their level of experience. These courses are taught by Hirschmann industry experts, who understand the theory and application of each system. Each instructor brings experience…

As part of the National Shipbuilding Research Program’s (NSRP) core mission to reduce the costs associated with Navy shipbuilding and repair, the NSRP Executive Control Board has selected 14 new research and development projects for award, totaling approximately $1.2M. These projects will be executed under the purview of the 10 NSRP communities of practice known as the Ship Production Panels. Focus and interest among panel members regularly reveal relevant project opportunities which may not be well suited for larger-scale funding via the primary NSRP solicitation process. The Board therefore typically sets aside an amount of money each year to fund relatively small (less than $100K), short-term (12 months or less) projects recommended by the Panel Chairs.

On Friday, June 5, Genoa will host the joint christening of the Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica, the two new members of the Costa Cruises fleet. This Guinness record breaking event will involve the whole city in a spectacle of light and music. For the first time in the history of Italian shipping, two cruise ships will be christened together at the same time in the same place. The Event has obtained the official Patronage of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the Republic of Italy.

The advent of software solutions has infiltrated nearly every sector of the maritime market - from propulsion performance monitoring packages to personnel. It arguably has had no greater impact, though, than in the design and construction of new vessels. CAD/CAM/CAE programs are invaluable assets to the designer, builder and operator of vessels of all sizes and dimensions. Not only do advanced programs allow for the creation of the an efficient and cost effective ship structure and outfitting, they provide for enhanced manufacturing practices and techniques, and increasingly help devise a life-cycle maintenance and care plan which can tack profitable years onto a vessel's life.

By Tony Abbey, Technical Manager, Noran Engineering, Inc. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was developed in the Aircraft Industry in the late 1950's as a way of handling the more complex structures that were evolving. Finite Element analysis has been used in the maritime industry for many years. Lloyds Register and other certification authorities were very early adopters of the technique. The NASTRAN FEA code was developed by NASA in the early 1960's to standardize FEA methods across contractors for the major Aerospace projects such as the Moon program and F-111. It was commercialized in the early 1980's. NE NASTRAN was introduced in the mid 1990's with the emphasis on the PC environment to avoid the expense of the mainframe computing bottlenecks that many large contractors were experiencing.

Overloaded dry docks are not a pretty picture. They crack, buckle, flood, sink, damage the ships they are trying to lift - and sometimes even cause accidental deaths. Dry dock accidents are not common, but they do happen, usually resulting in dramatic photographs and disastrous physical and financial consequences. With past docking failures in mind, prudent dry dock operators strive to avoid overloading, normally through a set of manual calculations, but in certain cases through more sophisticated methods. A case in point is the AFDL-23 ADEPT, a rigid, one-piece, welded steel, floating dry dock that was built during WWII. Throughout the last 50 years…