Wright News

Maritime welfare charity The Mission to Seafarers announced Dr. Peter Rouch has been named as its next secretary general, succeeding Revd. Canon Andrew Wright, who will retire from the role in September this year, after almost 12 years of leading the organization. Rouch has been appointed to the role by the board of The Mission to Seafarers. He will join the Mission on July 1, enabling a period of handover between himself and Wright.Tom Boardley, chairman of The Mission to Seafarers, said, "We are delighted that Peter is joining the Mission and look forward to welcoming him in July.

A new high-speed low-draft landing craft Island Guardian has been delivered to the Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program in Australia.The new 21-meter vessel has been custom-designed by Incat Crowther and built by Norman Wright & Sons to enhance island protected area management, research, incident response and facilitate more efficient management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.The Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program is delivered jointly by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service…

David Clark Company is best known within the marine market for its wireless and digital headset workboat crew communication systems – the Series 9900 Wireless Marine Headset System and the Series 9100 Digital Marine Headset System. The company has over 20 years of experience designing and manufacturing boat crew communication solutions for a variety of workboats, e.g., patrol boats, fire/rescue craft, and offshore service vessels.But you may not know that David Clark Company started…

HII announced Monday that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Navy to support maintenance of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in San Diego. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ), cost-plus incentive and award contract has a potential value of $528.4 million over five years, if all options are exercised.The contract covers maintenance, repair and modernization efforts for Nimitz- and Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers home-ported in and visiting the San Diego area.

A new 24-meter passenger ferry designed by Incat Crowther and built by Norman R. Wright & Sons has begun servicing a busy passenger route for commuter and tourism ferry operator SeaLink South-East Queensland. The new Incat Crowther 24, named Talwurrapin, began operating on the Redland Bay to Russell Island route in the Moreton Bay region in late January 2023, providing a vital connection between the mainland and Russell Island.Incat Crowther said it worked with SeaLink South-East…

$2 million for Suffolk County Community College to stimulate workforce training and redevelopment. At a recent meeting of the Corporate Committee of the Long Island Council of the Navy League of the United States, US Navy Command Master Chief Joshua Sturgill who is Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Team Submarines, announced a $2 million grant for Advanced Manufacturing Scholarships supported by the Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base. The $2 million grant was awarded to Suffolk…

Seafarer happiness levels are trending upward after reaching a record low last quarter, according to the latest Seafarers Happiness Index report published by The Mission to Seafarers.The survey, undertaken with the support of the Standard Club and Idwal, reports on Q2 2022 and shows that the influx of industry solutions to tackle seafarer wellbeing has finally begun to lift morale and the mindset onboard. With more vaccinations, more frequent crew changes, wage rises and new amendments to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), there has been a knock-on effect for seafarer optimism.

The latest Seafarers Happiness Index report, published today by The Mission to Seafarers, reveals the lowest levels of seafarer satisfaction for eight years, with the Index’s measure of overall happiness decreasing from 6.41 to 5.85 and levels dropping across all categories.The survey, undertaken with the support of the Standard Club and Idwal, reports on Q1 2022 and shows that a turbulent start to 2022 on many fronts has severely impacted seafarer happiness. From the COVID-19 Omicron variant to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and concerns over contractual issues…

Michell Bearings has announced the opening of a U.S sales and engineering office in Fort Washington, Philadelphia.The office opening follows the incorporation of the U.S business, Michell Bearings Inc., in 2021 to better support customers in North America, especially those in the U.S. naval industry.Key contacts in the Fort Washington office are Joseph Wilkes, VP Engineering Americas, and Jamie Wright, Sales Director Americas—both with many years of experience in the field of hydrodynamic bearings and long established relationships with customers in the U.S.

Dutch offshore installation company Heerema Marine Contractors has been selected by Japan's INPEX as a contractor of choice for the transport and installation of the 4,800 metric ton Ichthys LNG Booster Compression Module (BCM), offshore W. Australia.The module will be installed on the Ichthys Explorer Central Processing Facility, located off the northwest coast of Western Australia, as part of the Ichthys LNG phase 2 development.Heerema will transport the BCM from the fabrication yard on Batam Island in Indonesia to the Ichthys field before installing it in a single lift.

Towage operator Svitzer said it has purchased and renamed the Immingham-based tug Innovation, following the end of a chartering agreement for the vessel from Damen Marine Services.After the acquisition, the three-year-old vessel was renamed to Svitzer Eleanor. The name was picked by and named after Eleanor Wright, the daughter of Training Master Sam Wright, who has worked on board the tug since Svitzer first chartered the vessel from Damen.Svitzer describes the 75.3-ton bollard pull Damen RSD Tug 2513 as a solid, compact tug with high maneuverability.

Australian vessel designer Incat Crowther on Friday announced the launch of Tamoya, an Incat Crowther 17 to join Reef Ranger and Reef Resilience in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program fleet."Tamoya packs a lot of punch for her size, which is measured specifically to fit the home port berth. The main deck is dominated by an aft working deck with a quick launch and recovery system for a 3.4m RHIB, dive racks, deck winches, BBQ area, a sink and multiple deck lashing points…

Only three weeks after launching, a relief fund established to help seafarers and the families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic has collected $530,000 in pledges to date, nearly $400,000 of which has already been allocated to help those worst affected.The Seafarers International Relief Fund (SIRF), set up by seafarer welfare charities and the wider shipping industry, said the first three SIRF grants were enabled through The Seafarers’ Charity’s agile and established grant making processes and will provide funds to three seafarer charities…

Australian shipbuilder Norman R. Wright & Sons recently launched Reef Resilience, an Incat Crowther 24 patrol boat that will join Reef Ranger in protecting the Great Barrier Reef.Reef Resilience will service the southern region of the Reef from her home port in Gladstone, while Reef Ranger will continue to service the northern region from Cairns, meaning the entire reef will now benefit from the capability and operability this class of vessel offers. The vessel’s remit includes compliance monitoring, marine park and island national park management, diving and research operations.

The construction of a new inland port at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers took another step forward on Tuesday as the Alexander Cairo Port District completed a project labor agreement (PLA) with the Illinois AFL-CIO. The project labor agreement ensures that more than 500 jobs created by the construction of the Cairo port will be filled by local Illinois union workers.The Alexander-Cairo port represents one of the largest investments in Southern Illinois in decades.

Intelligent remote communication solutions provider Applied Satellite Technology Ltd (AST) said it has entered into a joint venture with Wright Technologies, a provider of marine electronics services to the South Pacific markets.AST Group Managing Director, Gregory Darling, said the companies will jointly offer remote data applications through new technology and software to improve operational effectiveness.The newly formed company, AST Wrights Ltd, has its headquarters in Wellington, New Zealand, with offices in Auckland and Christchurch.The combined companies bring expertise in remote monitoring and control of fixed and mobile assets, extension of coverage beyond GSM, integration of radio and satellite networks.

Incat Crowther reports it has been chosen to design an aluminum patrol vessel for Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science. The design was put to construction tender and Norman R Wright and Sons has been selected to build the vessel.The Incat Crowther 17 design was selected for the project based on specific criteria to deliver a high service delivery capacity for the operation, the designer said. This requires excellent seakeeping, reliable cruise speed, low fuel consumption…

OceanWise, the player in marine environmental data acquisition, data management, GIS and other services,  announced its involvement in the recent iCoast renovation project.The iCoast website, found at www.icoast.co.uk, is an open access web application providing users the ability to quickly explore activities and plan days out at the Dorset coast.A simple map interface allows users select and view activities at the Dorset coast. Activities appear on the map as a small icon which can be queried to find out more information and add to the kitbag for later. Users can also add weather, tide and transport information to the map, making exploring and planning days out in Dorset a breeze!OceanWise have delivered a brand new front-end (the mapping web pages exposed to the customer)…

Switzerland-headquartered  geotechnical engineering and offshore drilling company Geoquip Marine has announced the appointment of industry veteran Jean-Luc Laloe to its Board of Directors.Jean-Luc, who has almost 40 years of experience in the offshore oil and gas industry, has joined as an independent non-Executive Director.Jean-Luc originally entered the Offshore Engineering and Construction industry in 1980 and in the course of his career he has worked with Technip, Stolt Offshore, and Acergy /Subsea 7. He has held a wide variety of positions with a broad portfolio of responsibilities, including CFO and CEO.Jean-Luc becomes the second major board appointment to Geoquip in a matter of weeks and he will work with Arvid Trolle…

South Florida’s marine industry is a $12 billion/year economic engine that provides the region with 142,000 careers and jobs. With an aging workforce and a unique skill set, the maritime community is facing a workforce that’s aging out with skilled labor being very hard to find. To assist, Advanced Mechanical Enterprises/AMESOLUTIONS.COM, and 23 marine industry companies have joined forces with Junior Achievement of South Florida.On May 1, 2019, Junior Achievement of South Florida will unveil the Marine Industry Storefront…

The first turbine of the 1,218-MW Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm in the North Sea, the world’s biggest such facility, has been installed and is now generating power.Matthew Wright, UK managing director of Danish energy group Ørsted A/S, described the installation of the first turbine as "a globally significant milestone".Ørsted co-owns the project with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) after selling a 50% stake to the latter in November 2018. Ørsted began offshore construction just over a year ago, and expects the project to be completed by Q1 2020.The project is located 120km off the Yorkshire Coast and will consist of 174 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines.

At Fincantieri's Monfalcone shipyard, Fincantieri and Princess Cruises celebrated three construction milestones of three “Royal” class ships.The festivities started with the traditional steel cutting for the sixth and last Royal-class ship, still unnamed, from the shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). The section, once completed, will be transported by sea to the yard in Monfalcone, where the ship will be completed in 2022.Later in the day, in Monfalcone, the keel was layed for the Enchanted Princess…

The Christian welfare charity serving merchant crews around the world 'The Mission to Seafarers' has signed an agreement with the Panama Maritime Authority for the provision of seafarer welfare services, making us the first seafarer charity to operate in Panama.A press release from the international seafarer welfare charity said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Mission and Panama was signed yesterday by the Revd Canon Andrew Wright, Secretary General of The Mission to Seafarers, and Jorge Barakat Pitty, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).The signing ceremony took…