System Or Product News

Corvus Energy Inc. said it has been awarded funding from the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program for the development and expansion of the company's next generation Orca energy storage system (ESS) product line. Corvus Energy, a Canadian manufacturer of lithium-ion based battery systems, will receive up to $469,500 in non-repayable funding from the Government of Canada. This investment is made through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) which supports numerous small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada every year in the development and commercialization of technologies.

APM Terminals and GF Group are pleased to announce the acquisition of 100% of Reefer Terminal S.p.A. by APM Terminals has been completed today. Terms and price were not disclosed. Reefer Terminal, the largest refrigerated terminal in the Mediterranean for more than thirty years handling 600,000 pallets per year, is also a world-class terminal for the handling of containers (275,000 TEU, 510 reefer plugs, 14.5 meter depth and 465 meter of quay) and general cargo. APM Terminals has acquired the Vado Ligure Reefer Terminal as part of the port master plan to create new supply chains to markets in Northern Italy, Southern France, Switzerland and Bavaria.

Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has received a patent for its innovative ‘slide in, slide out’ or ‘SISO’ marine fender system, which is now in operation in Dampier, Western Australia, in addition to a number of other sites across the region. The system has been designed to make fender maintenance more straightforward and less time consuming, by utilizing removable sliding panels, reducing the time taken to complete a fender wear pad change-out. Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg’s marine operation…

General Dynamics Mission Systems makes its debut as General Dynamics' newest business unit at the Surface Navy Association's (SNA) 27th National Symposium. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and General Dynamics C4 Systems combined to form General Dynamics Mission Systems on January 1, 2015. "This restructuring has allowed us to create a real powerhouse. We are stronger together and offer a more robust portfolio of products, services and solutions that help customers successfully execute their missions in today's dynamic environment," said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics Mission Systems. "Our exhibits at SNA highlight our collective capabilities from which the U.S. General Dynamics Mission Systems will deliver greater capability more efficiently.

The Critical Design Review (CDR) stage for AN/SPY-1 radar Solid-State Switch Assembly (SSSA)'s high voltage modulator completed Aug. 26, confirming that the design is expected to meet performance requirements. A CDR confirms the system is on track to achieve affordability and cost goals, and establishes the system's initial product baseline. The successful close-out of the CDR milestone means that the SSSA has achieved a high level of maturity, and is ready to start complete hardware design and system testing. SSSA is intended to replace the current vacuum tube modulator switches in the AN/SPY-1 radar transmitter with functionally similar, highly reliable solid-state switches. The AN/SPY-1 radar constitutes the primary air and surface search radar for the AEGIS Weapons System.

Caterpillar Marine announced the first shipment of Cat 3500 series marine gas engines from its Lafayette, Indiana manufacturing facility. Five Cat G3516 marine engines were selected to power the Becker Marine Systems subsidiary, Hybrid Port Energy, LNG-Hybrid Barge, the world’s first LNG-powered barge in the Port of Hamburg. The LNG-Hybrid barge will provide clean and efficient shore power to cold ironing cruise ships and serve as a backup power provider for the local Hamburg electric power and heat grid. The G3516 is a spark-ignited, gas engine specially designed to operate in commercial vessel applications. The solution is compliant with the strict Marine Classification Societies requirements, SOLAS and is certified by Bureau Veritas.

Inventive steel processing companies provide the backbone for infrastructure, transport, shipping and consumer goods sectors. One such company, Ferrocut Australia, was called on by the Royal Australian Navy’s Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Shipbuilder program, to provide steel plate cutting services and support for the life of the warship-building project. Ferrocut, a South Australian plate profiling business, specializes in offering oxy, plasma and laser cutting…

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has received an order worth $77 million (USD) for optimized cargo handling systems for five A-14-series and five A-18-series container vessels from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in South Korea. The 14,000 TEU and 18,000 TEU ships are built for the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) and they are scheduled for delivery between 2014 and 2015. The shipyard holds options for an additional five A-14-vessels and one A-18-vessel. These new series of container…

The RayClean system from DESMI Ocean Guard A/S is a new supplement to the company’s ballast water treatment system (BWTS) product portfolio which already includes the OxyClean system. Both systems are based on mechanical filtration and UV irradiation with low-pressure lamps, but whereas a single OxyClean UV-unit can treat 100 m³/h of ballast water, the RayClean UV units can treat 300 m³/h. This makes the RayClean system more cost competitive at higher flow-rates, DESMI said. The RayClean system sets new standards for the industry with regards to treatment performance and power consumption. When developing the system the goal was to design a unit capable of coping with challenging water conditions and at the same time reduce power consumption to the lowest level in the class.

Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) has upgraded the QSK60 marine engine for propulsion and auxiliary applications to meet U.S. EPA Tier 2 and European Union Stage IIIA emissions regulations. With propulsion ratings from 1492 - 1864 kW (2100 - 2500 bhp) and auxiliary ratings from 1563 - 1900 kW (2095 - 2547 bhp), the QSK60 Tier 2 is ideally suited for high-hour demanding applications such as offshore support, towing, cargo and passenger transport, as well as ship’s service power. Early in the product design phase…

The cliche “the more things change, the more they stay the same,” certainly applies to the past, current and future role of the Norwegian maritime cluster in the grand scheme of the international ship and boat building communities. Few countries, if any, can boast the maritime history of Norway, a history that entails many colorful tales surpassed only by the number and magnitude of marine innovations, which have emerged from a country with a population (approx. five million), which is smaller than many large cities. And while corporate consolidations around the globe continue to morph the marine market — including many notable Norwegian companies such as Ulstein…

By Gordon I. Throughout the Cold War, the need to maintain strong military forces to deter war with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact was a mainstay of U.S. national security policy. During today's global war on terrorism, similar linkages exist between a more capable U.S. Coast Guard, improved homeland security, and the deterrence or defeat of a terrorist attack in the maritime domain. The 9/11 Commission Report clearly describes this nexus. "Our report shows that the terrorists analyze defenses," the Commission wrote. "They plan accordingly. Defenses cannot achieve perfect safety. They make targets harder to attack successfully, and they deter attacks by making capture more likely.

Peter Hjelle, Paul Inge Steinnes and Robert Eksund coordinate service and aftermarket projects at Ulstein Elektro. Ulstein Elektro is formalizing its aftermarket focus through the establishment of a separate service and aftermarket division. “In order to take care of this rapidly growing market, we now offer a separate business area called Ulstein Worldwide Services. When we deliver a system or product, we also commit ourselves to service and maintenance in order to guarantee safe and lasting product use. We provide service and adjustments to all types of maritime services as part of this offer,” says Robert Eksund, service group leader at Ulstein Elektro. The Worldwide Services division has a staff of 35.

OSI Geospatial Inc. announced that its international systems business has been awarded a support contract with the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) valued at a more than $4.0 million, including all options. The contract has a fixed provision of approximately $1.7 million over three years and an optional provision of up to $2.3 million over four years. Under the terms of the contract, OSI will provide the Canadian Navy with hardware and software support and maintenance. The Canadian Navy currently deploys OSI’s Warship Electronic Chart and Display Information System (WECDIS) product on more than 50 vessels fleet-wide. OSI delivered the first electronic chart navigation system to the Canadian Navy in 1985. Fleet installations began in 1997 and continued in 2001.

Although it has a tradition of "keeping a low profile", China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) has provided something of a beacon for the industry in nurturing a seminal, safety-related development. Its bold decision to fit a multi-function navigation support and tracking system, the product of Sino-British technical collaboration, aboard every unit of its near 500-strong fleet, undoubtedly advances the cause of digital chart-based electronic navigation. The resultant Global Navigation Intelligence System (GNIS) combines a raster chart display with meteorological, tidal, current and port data, plus route planning and fleet tracking, as well as search and rescue capabilities within a software and hardware regime which caters for the evolution of the various technologies.

Unitor has developed an innovative new labeling system for its range of marine chemicals that aims to contribute significantly to upgraded shipboard safety. The new system, which is included on every pail or drum of product delivered, combines multi-lingual text and simple diagrams to improve communications and understanding. Each comprehensive label holds specific information on transport classification, emergency telephone numbers, product description and addresses of Unitor's major chemical offices as well as a complete Material Safety Data Sheet complying with the current international rules and regulations. Users are provided with information necessary for safe product handling and if an accident occurs, are given essential safety data to show to a doctor if treatment is needed.