Speed More Equipment News

Denmark based boat builder Tuco Marine has launched a newly developed boat for high-pressure cleaning for fish farm operations in Norway. According to Tuco Marine, the 15-meter workboat – an expansion of its ProZero vessel series – has been designed by the builder’s engineers in collaboration with aquaculture experts to match the exact demands of the industry. In order to preserve a healthy fish population and a steady production rate, aquaculture facilities must ensure good net hygiene by removing marine fouling.

GE’s Power Conversion business (NYSE: GE) has announced that it is working with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) in South Korea to provide an electrical power and propulsion system for a Norwegian Defence Logistics Organization (NDLO) logistics and support vessel (LSV). GE’s equipment will be installed as a key part of the ship’s hybrid propulsion system, improving fuel efficiency and operating flexibility. In October 2012, GE’s Power Conversion business announced a similar project for the U.K.

Separator Spares & Equipment, LLC announced an authorized distributor agreement with GEA Mechanical Equipment US, Inc. (GEA Westfalia Separator Division) for the Gulf Coast region. Effective immediately, Separator Spares & Equipment, LLC will be providing GEA Westfalia high-speed separator equipment, spare parts, and support throughout the Gulf Coast region. This strategic alliance will provide GEA Westfalia Separator’s customers a local representative on the Gulf Coast. “I’m extremely excited about working with GEA Westfalia. This agreement gives us a solid partner in providing solutions for our customer’s purification needs.” said Mervyn LeBlanc, Director of Separator Spares & Equipment, LLC.

Dresser-Rand Group Inc. (NYSE: DRC) signed a definitive agreement to acquire Synchrony, Inc. The transaction is expected to close in January 2012. Synchrony is a technology development company with a portfolio of technologies and products including active magnetic bearings (AMB), high speed motors and generators, and power electronics for clean, efficient, and reliable rotating machinery. A private company founded in 1993, Synchrony is headquartered in Roanoke County, Virginia, where it develops, manufactures, and tests its products in an ISO 9001-certified facility which includes a best-in-class model shop  for rapid prototype fabrication and assembly.

The term short-sea shipping comes up aplenty these days, as the powers-that-be rediscover the practicalities and the economies of waterborne transport. The thinking is renewed and the interest revitalized, but for a lot of harbors nationwide it's deja vu. Take the island city of New York, and the multitudes of communities near and far that are joined to it by inland waters—the rivers, sounds, creeks, streams—all the way up to Albany, to Waterford and the Canal system, and to everything beyond that. There's nothing new about the short-sea shipping principle around here.