Sigma News

Damen Naval has contracted RENK to supply the gearbox systems for the new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates.The Dutch shipyard is building four new frigates, two each for the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Belgian navy.The contract includes eight gearboxes that are part of the CODLAD (COmbined Diesel-eLectric And Diesel) propulsion system.RENK's Dutch subsidiary Schelde Gears will provide support in design and service activities.The first gearboxes are due to arrive for installation in October 2025…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm TAI Engineers, owned by S&B, announced it has appointed Amer Kalla as director of production design, based in Houston."We are excited to have Amer Kalla join the TAI team. His wealth of experience and expertise will play a crucial role in advancing our production design capabilities and contributing to the success of our projects,” said Kris Karri, senior vice president of operations and chief engineer at TAI Engineers. “Kalla will be responsible for TAI’s global production design team in the U.S.

Austal USA has named Jim Blastos as vice president supply chain management, with responsibility for the company’s procurement, strategic sourcing, warehousing, logistics, material management and production control activities.Blastos has over 25 years of experience in developing strategic organizational transformation, collaborative solutions and operational processing. He has held leadership positions in supply chain and operations in the U.S. Navy and industry, including Overhead Door Corporation…

Offshore wind developer Ørsted is deploying Rutter’s wave prediction technology on board selected crew transfer vessels (CTV) worldwide within its contracted fleet to improve the safe transfer of personnel to offshore wind turbines.Roots of the initiative stretch back to 2018, when the two companies launched a project to investigate wave prediction applications for improving safety during transfers from CTVs to offshore wind turbines, resulting in the development of wave prediction…

The L.S. Starrett Company, a manufacturer of precision measuring tools and gages, metrology systems and more, appointed Matthew Wells as Director of Operations and Continuous Improvement, responsible for Production, Planning, Production Control and Purchasing, Inventory Management, Warehouse and Shipping, Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, Facility, EHS, Maintenance and Continuous Improvement. Wells reports directly to Mr. Emerson Leme, Vice President, Starrett Industrial Products, North America.

Norfolk, Va. ship repair yard Colonna’s Shipyard announced a series of senior management promotions along with a revised organizational structure effective July 2022.Jordan Webb, currently Vice President, Contracts, has been promoted to Vice President of Shipyard Operations. Randall Crutchfield, currently Colonna’s Chief Experience Officer and Executive Director of Steel America and Weld America, has been named Vice President of Industrial Operations and Facilities. Chris Marsh…

PTL Marine announces the hiring of Mohamed Tounkara as Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Manager - West Coast and Donnie Lowe as Operations Manager - Seattle. With decades of combined experience, both Tounkara and Lowe possess an extensive skillset from past roles ranging from Fortune 100 companies to Main Street entrepreneurial businesses. PTL Marine continues its flurry of recent hiring as it shores up operations in major West Coast ports including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

DSC Dredge announced it has welcomed Mitchell Duplantis as the newest member of its information technology (IT) team.As a former IT support analyst and helpdesk specialist, Duplantis brings experience in applying technical and problem-solving skills to improve both team and organizational performance and the ability to leverage existing technology with internal resources to facilitate DSC achieving its technological goals. He joined DSC Dredge on October 26, 2021As IT specialist for DSC…

As the shipping industry undergoes major transformation, with operations becomingly increasingly automated, maritime companies need to consider more than just efficiency and safety when it comes to operations. The current global situation has resulted in a growing demand for crew communication, for both work and social purposes, alongside the ongoing need for optimization. All of this causes higher levels of traffic on maritime networks, forcing shipping operators to place an…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has entered into medium-term contracts for six of its vessels.The contracts are for a period of 80 to 170 days each with undisclosed clients. The contracts are expected to start around July 1 and the operations are outside the North Sea.The nominated vessels are the PSVs Normand Supra, Normand Surfer, Normand Serenade, Normand Sitella, and Sea Spear, in addition to the AHTS Far Sigma."The contracts will significantly reduce the company's North Sea spot market exposure in 2020," Solstad Offshore said.

Alewijnse Marine has completed the electrical fit-out of the Mexican Navy’s latest vessel; the Long Range Ocean Patrol (POLA) vessel ARM Reformador. Built at the ASTIMAR 20 naval shipyard in Salina Cruz, Mexico, with the Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards and its suppliers, it is widely regarded as the most advanced naval vessel afloat in Latin America.The scope of works covered all aspects of the ship’s electrical systems, including engineering, the supply and installation of equipment, project coordination and supervision, and commissioning.

Combat systems were recently installed and tested aboard the second of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence’s SIGMA 10514 Perusak Kawal Rudal (PKR) guided missile frigates, the KRI Gusti Ngurah Rai (332).The PKR frigates are constructed via a modular process operating simultaneously at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) in the Netherlands and the PT PAL shipyard in Indonesia.This method, which allows the Damen Shipyards Group to build vessels anywhere in the world, enables…

The Secretariat of the Navy of Mexico (SEMAR) has held a ceremony marking delivery of the Long Range Ocean Patrol (POLA) Class vessel ARM Reformador. The delivery ceremony was attended by Admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán, Secretary of the Navy and High Command of the Mexican Navy, in the company of Mr. Juan Carlos Atecas Altamirano, Municipal President of Salina Cruz Oaxaca. Damen Shipyards Group was represented by Executive Board member René Berkvens, President of Damen Shipyards Mexico Horacio Delgado, and POLA Project Director Frank Verhelst.

Greek commercial ship management company Signal Maritime Services and tanker vessel trader Heidmar join forces to deliver commercial management to the global tanker market.Both companies have agreed a milestone partnership, under which Signal will manage a joint tanker fleet using its proprietary technology and analytical approach, said a press release.Signal’s Artificial-Intelligence-backed solution to pool management has consistently delivered superior earnings to its pool members since its launch in 2018.Commercial management of 18 Aframax vessels in Heidmar’s Sigma Pool will be handled by Signal with immediate effect, with a transition period of one month.Signal will also be working with the Heidmar team to manage the LR2 vessels in its Sigma Pool…

A flotilla of oil tankers is sailing empty from Europe and the Mediterranean toward the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of surging shipping rates, according to shipping sources and Refinitiv Eikon data on Monday.Eight tankers, an unusually high number, are in the Atlantic and steaming to the United States, with capacity of up to 5.6 million barrels of oil combined, the people said. Freight rates for Aframax vessels out of the U.S. Gulf coast hit record levels last month, drawing more vessels to the region.The United States exported a record 4.46 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) in the week ended Dec. 27, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as shale producers continued to deliver more oil than U.S.

ARM Reformador project shows economic impact of local shipbuilding.Working in close cooperation, Damen Shipyards Group, the Mexican Navy, subcontractors and suppliers have completed successful sea trials of the Mexican Navy’s POLA-class ARM Reformador. The programme of sea trials was comprehensive, including testing of platform and combat systems in addition to training of Mexican Navy crews. The completion of these sea trials indicate how the project as a whole is progressing…

Rutter, the solutions provider for radar image processing for the maritime industry, unveiled an innovative complement to its sigma S6 product line, WaveVision,  developed to optimize safety and operational efficiency of fishing and workboat operations.WaveVision is a revolutionary tool that works with navigational x-band radar to give operators visibility into wave fields within a 1km range of the vessel.When a large, obstructive or dangerous wave is detected the system alerts the operator, allowing time to make adjustment to speed or heading – or to allow time to warn deck personnel to seek shelter.Conversely, WaveVisionTM can identify quiet periods to allow delicate on-deck or overside operations to take place in relative safety.“We feel that this product represents a new direction for

On December 13th, Brazilian company WEG Electric Equipment, and Dutch company Praxis Automation Technology, both leading companies within their respective fields, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the bid of Damen Shipyards Group and Saab for the construction of four corvettes for the Brazilian Navy. For the Tamandaré class corvettes bid, Praxis and WEG will be partners for the supply of the complete Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).The signing took place at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding in the Netherlands and was witnessed by staff from Damen…

The Duclos family is iconic in boatbuilding circles, as the Somerset, Mass.-based Gladding-Hearn, Duclos Corporation, has built a strong heritage in the pilot boat and fast ferry sectors, and in total more than 425 vessels have been delivered since it was founded in 1955. Today a trio of second-generation siblings run the yard, brothers and co-presidents John and Peter Duclos with sister Carol Hegarty serving as CFO. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News visited the yard recently…

The SMM 2018 scheduled to take place September 4-7, 2018, in Hamburg, Germany, is held every two years and is the traditional launching platform for a variety of commercial shipping and shipbuilding technologies. Five new marine technologies to look for in Hamburg include:Company: CM Technologies GmbHBooth: A3.204Product: New Performance Indicator to save fuelThe PREMET X measuring device presented by CM Technologies GmbH makes it possible to precisely determine the cylinder pressure at every cylinder position…

Rutter Inc. has released the latest update to the Rutter sigma S6 product line, version 9.2.0. This new version is being released for general availability this week. It is also available as an upgrade on existing systems for qualifying customers.Rutter’s proprietary radar data processing system interprets data from both conventional marine navigational and coastal surveillance radars, providing enhanced radar imagery and state of the art detection, tracking, and measurement capabilities.

Damen Shipyards Group and the Mexican Navy, via the Directorate General of Shipbuilding, are currently working together to build the Long Range Ocean Patrol (POLA (from its initials in Spanish)), the most technologically advanced vessel in Latin America. With this, the Mexican Navy will join the long list of navies around the world that have Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding vessels in their fleets. POLA will be the Mexican version of the Damen SIGMA 10514, a proven design that has booked successful results internationally. POLA will be 107 meters in length, with a beam of 14 meter.

Singapore-based FSL Trust Management (FSLTM), as trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust  announced a new pool agreement for the two LR2 vessels, 2006 built and each 109,672 DWT, FSL Piraeus (ex-Torm Margrethe) and FSL Perth (ex-Torm Marie), which have recently returned from their bareboat charters and have now been renamed.The Trust has established a new business relationship with Heidmar as these vessels enter into the Sigma Pool.Heidmar Inc, founded in 1984, is one of the world’s leading commercial tanker operators with a fleet of approximately 80 ships, including VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax / LR2, and Panamax vessels.Roger Woods, Chief Executive Officer of FSL Trust commented: "We are delighted to be working along with a reputable and knowledgeable partner like Heidmar.