Spectra News

Port Angeles, Wash. boatbuilder BRIX Marine announced the launch of its latest survey boat, the 3011-CTC, named Lugudi Barana.The hull features 5086 alloy aluminum hull skins, 5052 alloy aluminum interior transverse frames, and longitudinal T-bars, ensuring reliability even in challenging conditions, the builder said. The vessel's self-bailing aluminum decks, watertight bulkheads and anodes for cathodic protection further enhance its safety and longevity.The Lugudi Barana is equipped with a comprehensive array of accessories for efficient survey operations…

The loss of the Stellar Daisy in 2017 was a tragic reminder of the importance of wave data to ship design and operation. The vessel sank in the South Atlantic Ocean, with 22 of 24 crewmembers lost. The structural failure of the vessel was attributed to several factors including material fatigue and the forces imposed on the hull as a result of the weather conditions.Survey requirements for some vessel types have since been tightened, but even before this tragedy, work was underway to evaluate the wave data used to determine ship structural integrity requirements.

While it is starting to look like some clever wind/power sail technologies are starting to appear, too often I have looked at the cargo cranes of geared bulkers and wondered if it makes sense to rig some sort of sail on them.I think the fancier approaches fight the “build a little, test a little, learn a lot” engineering maxim in new technology development, and maybe doing more simple stuff may be a better way to achieve lasting results quicker.A recent conversation with a sustainable propulsion advocate compelled me to run a few numbers.I found a bulker with a GA for a 2010 era 25…

Katadyn Desalination, LLC announced it has won a three-year contract to deliver lifesaving, hand-operated desalination devices for the U.S. Navy.Katadyn Desalination is part of the Katadyn Group, provider of reliable, sustainable and simple solutions for safe drinking water treatment. Whether outdoors, at sea, for emergency preparedness, humanitarian or tactical missions or industrial applications, clean water becomes a reality with Katadyn products. The brand’s product line ranges from mobile water filter systems and chemical disinfectants…

India's army and navy deployed ships and aircraft as they searched for 26 people still missing more than three days after a powerful cyclone sank a barge off the country's west coast, killing 49 people on board.Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to barrel into the west coast in two decades, has killed at least 46 others after wreaking havoc in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala."Ships and aircraft continue to search for the remaining crew," Navy…

Classification society ABS said it has updated its guides addressing both floating and bottom-founded offshore wind turbines.The revised guides incorporate updated industry best practices and industry feedback, lessons learned from a range of projects in Europe and North America as well as latest developments in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for offshore wind turbines.“As the global market for offshore wind energy continues to grow, ABS has been involved in a range of industry-leading projects.

The reasons for that are many and these realities cater to regulatory, commercial and regional needs.The U.S. dredging market is complex and relies on the diverse fleet of private dredging companies to get the job done. In addition to design and technical capabilities, environmental restrictions and regulations often dictate whether a trailing suction hopper dredge, cutter suction dredge, or mechanical dredge can respond to the coastal protection, wetland restoration, port deepening, and channel maintenance needs of the Nation.

Availability of reliable, real-time ocean surface data can improve the safety, efficiency and performance of offshore and marine operations, as well as coastal monitoring, but the quality of the data is dependent on accurate calibration.Calibration of wave spectra and integrated wave parameters from radar-based measurement systems has historically depended upon external reference sensors, such as wave buoys, which can present a number of challenges.Miros’ ocean surface monitoring systems support fully automatic calibration…

As Oceanology International celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Marine Technology Reporter explores half a century of subsea technology development and discovery. Oceanology International Americas runs February 25-27, 2019 in San Diego.When Oceanology launched in 1969 in the seaside resort of Brighton the world was a very different place. For a start, Brighton was home to the mods and rockers, who would square off against each other on the town’s elegant seafront. The British currency included shillings and ha’ pennies and man had yet to step foot on the moon.More crucially…

As the global fleet of offshore renewables fleet increases, ways to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency and safety of operations and maintenance work, using robotics and autonomous systems, will also grow. Elaine Maslin reports.Robotics and autonomous systems are moving into many areas of modern day life. It’s becoming harder to avoid them, from our phones to automotive systems and now offshore energy renewable projects.Both are seen as tools to do otherwise dull, dirty or dangerous work…

General HydroStatics is no longer just about hydrostatics, and will soon offer capabilities in the world of hydrodynamics with the introduction of a long awaited addition to the GHS product family: an optional seakeeping module. Adding a seakeeping module means run files may now include seakeeping capabilities by adding a couple new commands and existing geometry files (.GF) can be used for the seakeeping analysis with little or no modification. Integration with GHS also reduces required user input, getting answers faster while increasing user control.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. delivered the DNV classed factory processor fishing trawler F/T Araho (Hull 175) on January 28, 2017 to the O’Hara Corporation of Rockland, Maine. She is the first U.S. flag freezer processor factory trawler constructed in over 25 years. The F/T Araho will be in service in the waters of Alaska. The O’Hara family and Eastern Shipbuilding are no strangers to each other. The F/T Araho is the sixth fishing vessel Eastern has built for the O’Hara family over the last 20 years. This factory processor fishing trawler is far more sophisticated than the prior five vessels. The O’Hara and D’Isernia families go back to the early 1990s with the F/V Enterprise a Catcher Processor Conversion delivered in 1996.

A job completed on time or ahead of schedule is a display of the proficiency, productivity, and innovative thinking that can give you a competitive edge. And with the current oil market and the upcoming elections fogging the forecast for future orders (and indicating a likely dip), shipyards are vying to become better and faster, and capture every edge they can. To seize these opportunities as they arise, many are leveraging innovative systems, materials and tools that allow them to be agile, efficient, and nimble.

i-Tech's CEO Philip Chaabane is intent on keeping hulls clean, one barnacle at a time. Please provide a brief personal/professional background, with insight on how you’ve come to occupy the CEO seat at I-Tech. I have a Swedish and French MSc in Engineering and have spent some six years in the aerospace industry working for Volvo Aero (today GKN) with jet engine components within product development as well as production and supply chain in general. Robust long term business plans…

Established in 1928 by George Lyon Sr, Lyon Shipyard today occupies 30 acres of waterfront near downtown Norfolk Virginia. Norfolk Tug is based in the same area and takes pride in operating a fleet of tugs from the 1970s and ‘80s that they proudly designate as “vintage steel”. They also have an aggressive program of updating these beauties with extensive upgrades, including new engines, generators, wiring, shaft seals as well as piping and wiring renewal wherever necessary. One of their vessels, the 92 X 26 X 11 Captain D, was taken into Lyons Shipyard for an extensive rebuild in 2008.

The US Navy is developing a duck-like drone, the Flimmer (Flying Swimmer), that can both fly and swim. The drone, it says, can reach operational areas more quickly by flying over the surface of the water. In addition to both a rear-facing propeller and wings, its latest incarnation has four fins that adapt to what the robotic craft is doing. In flight, they serve as stabilizers and canard wings; in the sea, they flap to give the machine a speed boost. After successfully examining the performance of a “Test Sub” that combined a traditional submarine shape with a traditional aircraft shape, scientists  applied their findings to a flying version of the  Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)’s WANDA (Wrasse-inspired Agile Near-shore Deformable-fin Automaton ) drone.

The Institution of Engineering and technology published the second edition of “Sea Clutter: Scattering, the K Distribution and Radar Performance,” written by Keith Ward, Robert Tough and Simon Watts. The book gives an authoritative account of current understanding of radar sea clutter. Topics covered include the characteristics of radar sea clutter, modeling radar scattering by the ocean surface, statistical models of sea clutter, the simulation of clutter and other random processes…

Amarcon, a part of the ABB group, and OceanWaveS GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of Rutter Inc., inform they will  demonstrate an OCTOPUS-Onboard advisory suite including Wave and Surface Current Monitoring System set-up during the SMM in Hamburg, from 9 – 12 September 2014. SMM visitors are invited to view the demonstration at the Rutter booth, hall B6.FG/001. The Amarcon OCTOPUS-Onboard motion monitoring, forecasting and decision support toolkit has an interface with the Wave and Surface Current Monitoring System (WaMoS II) from OceanWaveS GmbH. WaMoS II has been developed for real time measurement of directional ocean wave spectra.

A predictive / preventative maintenance program that includes vibration analysis can help save time and money. Are you one of those people who “listen to your gut?” If you are in charge of a vessel’s maintenance program – listening to your machinery is vital to its livelihood. And, if it’s in high demand, or on a tight schedule, chances are your livelihood, and that of your crew, is at stake too. Vibration is annoying and uncomfortable – easy to notice on a pleasure craft – not so much on a commercial vessel.

This October, the Danish offshore engineering specialist EIVA came one Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) closer to fulfilling the delivery of a complete jack-up positioning system solution for A2SEA. The system will be installed on a vessel designed to operate under demanding conditions and is part of a $155 million contract. EIVA has successfully completed the FAT of the second of two complete navigation and leg penetration/barge displacement monitoring system solutions to be delivered to A2SEA, an installation and service provider for offshore wind farms.

ARENA today congratulated researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) for being the first in the world to convert more than 40% of the sunlight hitting a solar system into electricity. The record efficiency was first achieved in outdoor tests in Sydney, before being independently confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at their outdoor test facility in the United States. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said this is another world first for Australian solar researchers, demonstrating the value of investing in Australia’s renewable energy ingenuity. “The clever solution combines advanced triple junction cells with cheaper conventional silicon cells to boost power output,” Mr Frischknecht said.

Natural gas pipelines and power utilities across the United States struggled for several weeks to keep lights on and homes warm through the coldest winter in decades, but it may take many months for the cost and the fallout of the so-called "polar vortex" to work through the energy chain. As sub-freezing temperatures spread in January and February, spot natural gas prices spiked at many gas delivery points in the Midwest, Northeast and New York, pushing wholesale power prices above $100 per megawatt-hour for days at a time. Customers will soon receive gas and electric bills, reflecting the higher cost of gas in January. In unregulated power markets, January bills will present a "double whammy," said Nick Akins, chief executive of American Electric Power Co, one of the largest U.S.

The international marine industry faces unprecedented challenges today. Energy costs are rising, as are concerns about reduced pollutant emissions, water ballast treatment and other environmental impacts. A tight credit market and cash-strapped operators mean that engineers must deliver designs with a high degree of fidelity and reliability while reducing the development cycle. Extreme weather, hazardous cargoes and other challenging operating conditions present the need to continually innovate, implement new materials and deliver analyses confidently.