Ancillary Equipment News

Predictability is the aim of every human, company, or society.Humanity simply strives to increase its level of predictability whether as a person, or as a group of people. When humans attain a certain level of predictability, their hope for the future goes up and their level of anxiety goes down.Oddly, conservatives and progressives both strive for predictability, they just do it in different ways. A conservative will say: If nothing changes, then my predictability for the future will go up.

Maritime propulsion specialist Schottel said Tuesday it is expanding its thruster factory in Dörth, Germany, to include a logistics center with a capacity of around 4,000 square meters.A contract for the expansion has now been signed with general contractor Goldbeck from Koblenz.The new building will be annexed to the existing facility and will provide 2,634 square meters of industrial floor space and 1,326 square meters of offices. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 7.5-million-euro structure is to take place at the end of this year…

Malaysian company Yinson has secured a firm contract to provide and maintain an FPSO for Azule Energy, a BP-Eni joint venture, in Angola.The contract, awarded by Eni Angola, is for the provision of the FPSO for the  Agogo Integrated West Hub Development Project in Angola (“FPSO Agogo”).According to Yinson, the contract is worth about $5.3 billion in total and has a firm period of 15 years from the date of the final FPSO's acceptance. Azule Energy will have the option to extend for another five years. The FPSO Agogo is expected to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Qtagg recently secured an order on a total upgrade of Silja Europa’s propulsion control system, a makeover designed to decrease the ship’s fuel consumption by 6% and CO2 emissions by 2096 tons yearly, according to the manufacturer. The overhaul includes engine speed governors, fuel rack actuators, pitch control and voyage optimization with EcoPilot.At 59,912 gt, Silja Europa is Tallink’s largest cruise vessel. Until the summer of 2022 it operated on the Baltic Sea, between Helsinki (Finland) – Tallinn (Estonia).

WTW has launched CyNav for Ports and Terminals, a cyber solution specifically designed to help address the escalating cyber risks faced by owners and operators in this strategically vital sector of the global maritime supply chain. The release of CyNav for Ports and Terminals is a direct response to growing calls from operators for a bespoke product that addresses the specific risks faced by their high-value asset class and closes the gaps found in the standard cyber policies of today’s insurance market.Due to the outsized role its practitioners play in supporting the global economy…

Swedish equipment manufacturer Alfal Laval said it is ramping up for soon-to-begin major tests of methanol as a marine fuel at its test and training center in Aalborg, Denmark. Working alongside engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions and other partners, Alfa Laval will explore the possibility of running the center’s four-stroke, 2 MW diesel engine on methanol without modifications or another pilot fuel.The testing is the third stage in an ongoing research project funded by Danish EUDP (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program).

Royal IHC said it handed over the 3,000m³ trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Mont Mandara to Cameroon’s Port Authority of Douala (PAD) on August 20. The delivery completes the PAD fleet, following its acquisition of an IHC Beaver 50 cutter suction dredger and a DMC workboat in 2019.The new TSHD is an IHC Easydredge from IHC’s standardized range of dredging vessels suited for common maintenance and land reclamation projects. The Mont Mandara offers flexibility to PAD as it can be customized to adapt to its dedicated working environment.

MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ service brand, has extended its ‘PrimeServ Omnicare’ concept from turbomachinery into the marine and power segments. This one-stop service solution now also focuses on maintenance that covers non-MAN as well as MAN machinery, including engines, turbochargers and related auxiliaries.In the marine and power segments, PrimeServ Omnicare provides a maintenance service with OEM (original equipment manufacturer) spare-parts, based on global agreements.

RSC Bio Solutions said its high performance Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) are now available through Drew Marine’s global supply chain network, which is capable of delivering to more than 900 ports worldwide. RSC Bio Solutions and Drew Marine announced a new global marine distribution partnership that has expanded the global availability of RSC Bio Solutions’ range of EALs. RSC FUTERRA HF Series renewable hydrocarbon hydraulic fluids are Ecolabel certified and formulated to withstand extreme conditions and corrosion while operating in severe environments. Available in 46, 68 and 100 viscosity grades. Typical applications include stern tubes, controllable pitch propellers, stabilizers and various deck equipment.

Rolls-Royce said it has won a contract to supply MT30 marine gas turbines to power the next three ships in the Republic of Korea Navy’s Daegu-class frigate program. The frigates are intended for a variety of missions including anti-submarine warfare, anti-air warfare, patrol, surveillance, search and rescue, protection of EEZ and transport. In all Eight Daegu-class frigates (also known as FFX Batch 2) are scheduled to be built, the first of which is being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) and was launched at DSME's Okpo shipyard in June 2016.

Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD) has inaugurated a new installation of its W-Xpert Full Mission Simulator (FMS) for training complete engine room crews at the Marine Power Academy Training Center of Hudong Heavy Machinery Co. Ltd. (HHM), in Shanghai, China. The simulator joins a network of some 20 further installations at strategic locations around the world. As well as being the first installation of WinGD’s dedicated, multi-touchscreen simulation hardware in China, the Shanghai…

Conceived in its never-ending drive to progressively service its customers, KVH is working on a proprietary Internet of Things (IoT) solution for the commercial maritime market. Code-named “Watch,” KVH’s IoT application is designed to collect, compress, process, transport and analyze system data from ships, with the promise to deliver a broad swath of customizable efficiency solutions. Robert Balog, SVP, Engineering and Michael Mitsock, VP of Marketing discuss the plan with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News.

Ellicott Dredge Technologies (EDT) announced the successful start up and installation of a state-of-the-art Mud Cat brand remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at the Gardens by the Bay nature park in central Singapore. ML Trading International purchased a Mud Cat Model SRD-6EHV ROV System to fulfill a contract to clean approximately 3,000m3 of sludge in 2km of the Marina Gardens outlet drain tunnel which runs parallel to Marina Gardens Drive, the main access road to Gardens by the Bay.

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) has today filed a rule in its Marine Terminal Operating Schedule (MTOS) outlining its process for adherence to the IMO regulations regarding Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Regulation VI/2, consistent with the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Information Safety Bulletin on this topic, which outlined that existing procedures to comply with U.S. terminal safety regulations could be used to comply with this important regulation. This provision allows the Port of Charleston to provide VGM data directly to ocean carriers via EDI 322 messages as today and provides that shippers using the Port of Charleston authorize this practice, unless they make other arrangements with their ocean carrier.

Croatia could complete its 2 billion cubic metre per year floating LNG facility in 2018, Economy Minister Tomislav Panenic said. In an interview with Reuters Tomislav said that Croatia intends to complete the construction of a floating LNG terminal in the northern Adriatic by 2018, and the initial capacity would be about two billion cubic metres of gas annually. "That does not mean giving up on the land terminal, but at this point we believe that we can ensure the stability of the market with a floating terminal",  he said. The original plans included a land terminal with a capacity of six billion cubic metres of gas with the aim of supplying the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

The second MT30 Gas Turbine Alternator (GTA) has been installed into the U.K. Royal Navy’s latest aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, at Rosyth, the Aircraft Carrier Alliance reported. ‪Generating 36 megawatts (around 50,000 horsepower), the power-dense Rolls-Royce MT30 marine gas turbine is key for naval ships where high power occupying minimum space is essential.‬ Each 120-metric-ton GTA package consists of a GE supplied alternator coupled to a Rolls-Royce supplied MT30 Gas Turbine contained within an enclosure.

The first Wärtsilä low-speed two-stroke dual-fuel (DF) engine destined for a commercial application has reportedly completed its Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) at a Chinese licensee of Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD), the Switzerland-based designer, developer and licensor of Wärtsilä brand low-speed two-stroke engines. The engine is a five cylinder, 50 cm bore 5RT-flex50DF built by Yuchai Marine Power Co., Ltd. (YCMP) at its factory in Doumen, Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, in the South of the People’s Republic of China.

The first Wärtsilä low-speed two-stroke dual-fuel (DF) engine destined for a commercial application has reportedly completed its Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) at a Chinese licensee of Winterthur Gas & Diesel (WinGD), the Switzerland-based designer, developer and licensor of Wärtsilä brand low-speed two-stroke engines. The engine is a five cylinder, 50 cm bore 5RT-flex50DF built by Yuchai Marine Power Co., Ltd. (YCMP) at its factory in Doumen, Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, in the South of the People’s Republic of China.

An interview with NOIA’s Randall Luthi provides unique perspective on where the offshore energy business has been, where it is now, and where it could be headed next. It is a predictable but at the same time, an important anniversary to examine: five years beyond the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which began on 20 April 2010 on the BP-owned, Transocean-operated Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico. Widely considered to be the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the energy industry, oil flowed from the sea floor for 87 days until capped in mid-July. The environmental impact is well documented, the ultimate impact of the incident on the offshore and oil industries today has been profound, lasting and without a doubt, it made the offshore business safer.

The four gates for the Deurganck dock lock in the port of Antwerp will begin their journey from China at the beginning of April. The gigantic gates are being built by the Chinese steel constructor ZPMC, together with the trolleys on which the gates will ride, two combined road/rail bridges, the caisson and other items. A ceremony was held on Wednesday 18 March in the Chinese city of Changxing to mark the official completion of the construction work. The ceremony was attended by Freddy Aerts, head of the Maritime Access department (Flemish government), Luc Arnouts, director of the Deurganck Dock Lock Company and also Chief Commercial Office of the Port Authority, and Eric Beyts from the Waasland Lock construction consortium. Mr.

Connector technology developer First Subsea has received APL 17LI certification for its bend stiffener connectors from the American Petroleum Institute, the company announced today. The bend stiffener connectors are used for flexible riser and umbilicals and offshore wind cable connections and are now certified as Load Transfer Devices under the API's specification for flexible pipe ancillary equipment. First Subsea’s bend stiffener connectors use ball and taper technology to provide a powerful grip for connections to I/J tubes, and for offshore wind.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has completed the installation of the first MT30 Gas Turbine Alternator (GTA) package into the Royal Navy’s latest aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard in Scotland. The Rolls-Royce MT30 is a 36 megawatt (around 50,000 horsepower) Marine Gas Turbine. Each 120-metric-ton GTA package consists of a GE supplied alternator coupled to a Rolls-Royce supplied MT30 Gas Turbine contained within an enclosure. Two MT30s are installed in each ship and will provide two thirds of the 109 megawatts needed to power the 65…

As the first company to commercialize hollow fiber membranes for air separation onboard ships, Air Products AS, Norway (APAS) is a true pioneer. Managing Director Tom Cantero discusses  his company’s technology, developments and outlook. A manufacturer of gas processing systems for offshore, shipboard and land-based use, APAS manages all facets of the membrane process, from basic research, system design, engineering and manufacturing, through installation and service. Since the first membrane system was introduced by APAS in 1984…