Spool News

Crowley Maritime Corporation has owned and operated a lot of vessels since its founding in 1892. But the latest vessel to join its fleet is unlike any other that has come before it.Crowley’s new harbor tug, eWolf, is unique in that it runs 100% powered by batteries, not diesel engines, meaning it produces zero emissions and nearly no noise. Not only is the vessel the first fully electric tug in the Crowley fleet, but it is also the first of its kind in the United States.Faced with stricter regulations and commercial pressure to prioritize environmental…

As companies around the globe seek to optimize operations through digitization, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products announced that its Aristo 4004i Pulse, Aristo 5000i and Aristo U5000i advanced welding power sources are sold exclusively as WeldCloud-enabled systems. The Aristo 500ix will continue to be sold as A WeldCloud-optional system. To encourage use, ESAB will offer Aristo purchasers a free three-month trial period, which can be activated at any time.WeldCloud is a suite of online data management applications that enables users to improve overall operational efficiency by monitoring…

Expectations are high that exhaust gas scrubber technology demand will soon be resurge. But what lessons have been learned from installations and which type will dominate?Installing scrubber systems on ships that were never envisaged to have them on board has brought well documented challenges for older tonnage, with accurate drawings and documents sometimes hard to source. Where class documentation is concerned, meanwhile, different societies can have subtly different requirements…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Monday awarded $19.6 million in grants aiming to help 31 shipyards modernize, increase productivity, and expand local employment opportunities while competing in the global marketplace.The grants were awarded to shipbuilding and repair yards in 15 states throughout the U.S. as part of MARAD's Small Shipyard Grant Program. Since 2008, the program has awarded $262.5 million to nearly 300 shipyards in 32 states and territories.

JonRie Marine Winches debuted its new Series 525 Double Drum Bow Winch designed for a 6,770 HP ASD. This winch was designed for Escort operations and Long Line Towing over the stern making it suited for escorting, terminal support, towing and ship assist duties.A new feature on the Series 525 winch are the four independent Hagglunds Drives. The towing drum features a high torque motor with a 100,000 lbs. line pull and an auto abort block to dump the wire in an emergency. The escort drum features a medium line pull of 50,000 lbs.

HGG recently announced a partnership with PypeServer, providing full compatibility with HGG's 3D pipe profiling machines. Starting in 2020, PypeServer's Enterprise software will be available as an option for HGG's affordable PC600 and PC900 3D pipe-profiling systems alongside HGG’s proven ProCAM software.“HGG Profiling Equipment is an established and well-known name in the world of 3D Pipe Cutting. HGG has an unique expertise in developing automated 3D Pipe Cutting solutions, and through our collaboration, PypeServer’s customers will be able to benefit from it.

HGG’S new UPC 450 Ship Profiler is designed to increase cutting and prefabrication productivity by eliminating the need to cut ship stiffeners and spools by hand. HGG production automation combines ship stiffener cutting, 3D profile cutting with optional tube cutting.The HGG UPC 450 Ship Profiler offers full process cutting integration through the HGG ProCAM Software Suite, integrating thermal cutting HGG ProCAD design, HGG ProGRAM work preparation coordination, and HGG’s internationally recognized 3D plasma cutting intelligence.

Swan Hunter has completed work to spool export cables into storage baskets for the 370MW Norther offshore wind farm at its yard in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.The UK-based shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company said in a press release that the last sections of spare array and export cables were transpooled from the Van Oord CLV Nexus, and the DOC-Swan Hunter 4750Te onshore basket carousel, to long term modular storage baskets.The completion of this final spooling operation marks the end of a year long contract for Van Oord, which included export cable load-in from HLV Da Ji, interim storage and protection, export cable load-out to CLV Nexus…

As I was preparing for Thanksgiving dinner I put on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. While Indiana Jones and Doctor Elsa Schneider were being chased by the Brotherhood of the Cruciform sword through Venice and their boat was neatly shredded by the propellers of a larger vessel, it had me thinking of how much propeller technology has changed over the years. And how hopefully Indiana’s boat did not actually damage that vessel’s propeller. Recently an article passed though my news feed about the first 3D printed propeller. This is indicative of the direction the industry is taking.

For several decades, Rapp Marine has designed and delivered towing winches for workboat market. Combining the best ideas from Rapp’s past work in the other commercial industries and recommendations from the tugboat operators, Rapp Marine has developed long lasting and dependable towing winches. These past towing winches have mainly been powered using hydraulic systems in the North American market. Rapp Marine has previously delivered electric winches to commercial vessels in other industries such as research, oil & gas, and fisheries for years.

JonRie Marine Winches has launched its new Container Master Series “220” double drum bow winch, currently installed on the tug Independent, a new ASD for Marine Towing of Tampa. The new winch is designed for a larger capacity rope. This concept has been used on the Panama Canal for many years as a redundant line tethered to the ship also acts as an escort bridle, making the tug more stable in prop wash during long escorts. The twin drums also afford less loading on each rope under braking. Both drums feature JonRie’s constant tension systems.

Subsea 7 S.A. said it has been awarded a “sizeable” contract by Cooper Energy Ltd for the Sole Development Project, offshore Australia. Subsea 7 defines a sizeable contract as being between $50 million and $150 million. The Sole gas field is located in the eastern part of the Gippsland Basin, approximately 40km offshore Victoria, Australia. The contract scope consists of the subsea tie-back of the Sole well to the Orbost Gas Plant, including the fabrication and installation of 64km of pipeline, spool and manifold, along with installation of a 64km umbilical and the commissioning of the system. Project management and engineering will commence immediately from Subsea 7’s office in Perth, Australia, with offshore operations scheduled to commence in 2018.

mltech, specialist in pipework set-up and measurement software development, has increased its global presence after securing its first contract in Baku, Azerbaijan. The one year contract, which has scope for extension, was awarded by Metal Qaynaq Sinaq (MQS) which operates throughout Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan. The company provides services including process piping fabrication, heavy and light structural steel fabrication, mechanical site services and civil construction to some of the oil and gas industry’s biggest operators and tier one contractors. The project will see mltech train MQS personnel to use its proprietary automet™ software, licensed to MQS, to perform pipe spool fabrication surveys and on-site pipework and steelwork surveys.

JonRie Marine Winches supplied its 6th ship set of Full 90 Ton Winch to McAllister Towing of NY installed on their new tug Jeffrey McAllister. The 92’ (30 meter) x 36’ (11 meter) Z-Drive Tug was built by Eastern Shipbuilding, Panama City, FL. The 5,150 HP tugs with a bollard pull of 75 Tons is the latest addition to the McAllister Fleet. The JonRie Series 250 Escort Winch was designed to handle in the Recover mode the full Bollard Pull of the vessel. The winch is capable of 180,000 lbs. (90 Ton) Line pull and makes the winch ideal for Escort Work, LNG Terminals and Ship Assist of the new Container Ships to come through the New Canal Expansion. The addition of the Jeffrey makes McAllister one of the largest fleet on the East Coast with High Horsepower tugs and super duty winches.

Horizon Shipbuilding, Inc. of Bayou La Batre, Ala. said it has reached milestone in its contract with McAllister Towing. The Capt. Brian A. McAllister, the first of up to four hulls, has been flipped and set on the shipbuilding ways. A considerable amount of work was performed while the hull was upside down including installation of all major pipe runs and manifolds, fabrication and installation of the cable trays and bulkhead penetrations and fender installation, the builder said. With the hull set, Horizon will be able to set the prefabricated and outfitted superstructure.

Manufacturer of diesel engines and generator sets for the marine industry Cummins Inc. said it recently delivered the first four QSK95 engines for a marine application, with four additional units to be delivered in December. The engines were delivered to longtime Cummins partner SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. for installation into a 57-meter catamaran crewboat designed by Incat Crowther. “We are extremely excited to be working with SEACOR Marine to launch the first QSK95 marine engines,” said Jim Schacht, Executive Director - Marine Market, Cummins Inc.

For readers not familiar with Viega, please give a ‘birds eye’ view, putting the company in perspective in terms of the products and services you provide, global reach, etc. The Viega Group, with a tradition of innovation for more than 115 years, has more than 4,000 employees worldwide and is a leading manufacturers of pipe fitting installation technology for shipbuilding, industrial, commercial and residential projects. In the U.S., Viega LLC employs nearly 500 people and offers more than 3,000 products.

The SENER engineering and technology group signed a contract last year with the U.S. based shipbuilder Fincantieri Marine Group for the license to use SENER’s FORAN System. FORAN is currently in use at one of the company’s shipyards, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS), located in Sturgeon Bay, Wisc. The scope of the contract included the installation, setup, training and support for the three main FORAN disciplines: Hull Structure, Machinery & Outfitting, and Electrical Design.

Bibby Offshore, a subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, says it has secured a 15-day project with BP, due to commence in August 2016. The contract will see diving support vessel Bibby Topaz, working on four BP operations across three of its North Sea assets. The platforms involved include Central North Sea-based asset Bruce, east of Shetland-based Magnus, and the Mirren field, which is part of the Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP), one of the largest and most complex North Sea oil and gas developments of the past 20 years. The project, managed by the Bibby Offshore team, involves the supply of air and saturation diving support to perform operations including spool and flowline disconnection…

Bibby Offshore, a leading subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has announced a multimillion dollar contract with a global energy player, to provide first gas and construction support on its assets in the Southern North Sea. The contract, due to be executed between Q3 and Q4 2016, will see Bibby Offshore’s construction support vessel Olympic Ares, and its diving support vessel Bibby Polaris, perform subsea engineering work 150km off the coast of Lincolnshire, in water depths of 21m and 48m. The workscope, which includes precommissioning and commissioning support, involves Bibby Offshore carrying out a range of construction services comprising valve operations…

McAllister Towing continues its long, 150-plus year hisory of serving the maritime industry announcing investment in two new boats sporting the latest technology. McAllister Towingis announced that Horizon Shipbuilding, Inc. of Bayou La Batre, AL, will build 100 x 40-ft. Escort/Rescue tugs for the company, vessels powered by 3516E Tier IV Caterpillar engines with Schottel SRP4000FP units producing 6,770 hp and 80 metric tons bollard pull. The tugs will be classified with ABS as Maltese Cross A-1 Towing, Escort Service, FiFi 1 and Maltese Cross AMS.

Dramatic changes to the global oil and gas landscape over the last decade have led the industry to encounter increasingly challenging and remote environments including emerging yet largely unexplored new provinces and more complex deepwater territories. But true to its industrious and adventurous spirit, the sector is turning these challenges into opportunities and underpinning this shift to new frontiers is adding significant tangible value to the way in which hydrocarbons are recovered.

Mermaid has secured a 2-year contract for its dive support vessel, ‘Mermaid Commander’, to provide subsea construction support in the Gulf of Thailand for a repeat international fabrication and installation contractor whose end customer is a major international upstream oil and gas operator. The contract has an estimated value of USD 50 million. The 2-year contract will be for subsea construction and will be performed using saturation diving and will include the installation of numerous spool pieces, risers, wyes, tees, etc. Additional services include the provision of a remotely operated vehicle (“ROV”), survey, and a spool fabrication spread.