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11 Mar 2024

Furuno Unveils TZtouchXL With Risk Visualizer And AI Avoidance Route

(Image: Furuno)

Marine electronics manufacturer Furuno introduced the NavNet TZtouchXL series, a suite of Multi Function Displays (MFDs) designed to meet the requirements of workboat operators, including ferries and tugboats.The NavNet TZtouchXL series encompasses three large-sized MFDs: the 16” TZT16X, 22” TZT22X, and 24” TZT24X. These MFDs feature super-wide, all-glass displays with exceptional clarity and brightness. The rugged all-glass design is not only functional but also enhances the durability and functionality of the helm.

26 Dec 2023

Indian Navy to Deploy Guided Missile Destroyers After Strikes Off Its Coast

© Kamchai / Adobe Stock

The Indian Navy will deploy guided missile destroyer ships in the Arabian Sea as a deterrent after an Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck off the Indian coast over the weekend.The navy was investigating the nature of the attack on the vessel, MV Chem Pluto, which docked in Mumbai on Monday, and initial reports pointed to a drone attack, a navy statement said."Further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used


28 Aug 2023

14th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium to be Held Nov. 14-16 at SUNY Maritime

The 2023 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS) will be held Nov. 14-16, 2023, as an in-person event, hosted by Maritime College, State University of New York (SUNY) at the Maritime Academic Center. The theme of the 14th annual event is â€œManaging Impacts of Supply Chain Disruptors, Renewable Energy, Emerging Technology on the Maritime Transportation System (MTS)” with a focus on offshore infrastructure risk and disruptors. Founded in 1874, Maritime College is the oldest maritime college in the United States, providing mariner training for 150 years.

31 Jul 2023

Shipshape: Simplifying Boat Control and Improving Maneuverability

(Image: Emerson)

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their


18 Oct 2023

Powering the North American Maritime Fuel Transition

(Photo: Harvey Gulf)

Offshore service vessels, along with workboats serving harbors and inland rivers, have embarked on an industry-wide voyage toward reduced emissions of greenhouse gasses. Professor Craig Philip, a faculty member with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Transportation and Operational Resilience (VECTOR) and former CEO of Ingram Barge Company, provides this context: “The Maritime Sector has long provided shippers with the most fuel-efficient and sustainable freight transport option


13 Apr 2023

Chevron and Angelicoussis Group Exploring Maritime Ammonia Transport

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

Chevron and the Angelicoussis Group have come together to explore how tankers can be used to transport ammonia, a potential lower carbon marine fuel.Under a newly announced Joint Study Agreement (JSA), Chevron, through its subsidiary Chevron Shipping Company, and the Angelicoussis Group, through its Energy Transition division, Green Ships, will initially evaluate the ammonia transportation market, existing infrastructure, the safety aspects of ammonia, potential next generation vessel requirements and a preliminary system to transport ammonia between the U.S. Gulf Coast and Europe.

30 Jan 2023

OSVs Help to Power North American Maritime Fuel Transition

Just five out of the 1,664 OSVs operate on clean fuel technology in the U.S., and all of them are owned and operated by Harvey Gulf International Marine. Harvey Gulf’s ‘green fleet’ utilizes LNG and Bio-LNG as the main fuel sources. Pictured is Harvey Champion with Corvus Orca energy storage system. Image courtesy Harvey Gulf

The fuel switch in maritime is on, its real, and it will be driving vessel design, construction and operation decisions for decades to come. While many still debate the merits of each alternative fuel, OSV industry leaders are at the forefront driving change, and they need to be, as in North America alone OSVs makes up 17% of the fleet but contributes 29% of the maritime emissions. In the next edition of Offshore Engineer, Barry Parker takes a deeper dive on the plans underway to wean maritime operations off of fossil fuels.

27 Dec 2022

Racing to the Bottom: Seabed Warfare Brings Threats, Opportunities

Image courtesy Voyis

In the early morning hours of September 26, 2022, seismologists located throughout northern Europe detected two disturbances originating in the Baltic Sea that were consistent with underwater explosions. Within hours, an aerial image captured by a passing Danish F-16 showed an expanse of frothy seawater, suggesting that the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines had experienced a catastrophic event. Within days, an investigation by the Swedish Security Service concluded that both pipelines had sustained extensive damage due to an act of gross sabotage.

24 Oct 2022

Inland Waterways in Focus: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements

Aerial view of locks and dam on Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois, USA. Copyright Kent/AdobeStock

The integrity of the marine transportation system as a key plank in a country's economic prosperity is in heightened focus today, with logistics snarls contributing to fast rising inflation. Maintaining the integrity of the vast U.S. inland waterway system - with more than 12,000 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways including 218 lock chambers at 176 sites - is the focus of the Maritime Risk Symposium 2022, a 2.5-day conference scheduled for November 15-17, hostd by Argonne National Laboraty's TCS Conference Center.On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, James P.

31 Oct 2022

Cyber Attacks On the Rise at US Ports and Terminals

© Mariakray / Adobe Stock

Cyber attack attempts are becoming more common at U.S. ports and terminals, according to findings published this week by law firm Jones Walker LLP.The firm publicly released the findings of its 2022 Ports and Terminals Cybersecurity Survey, examining cybersecurity preparedness in U.S.-based ports and terminals. The report outlining the results of the survey is authored by four of the firm’s attorneys and the findings was presented by two of them, Jim Kearns and Andy Lee, during the Inland Rivers


25 Aug 2022

Keeping the Inland Waterways Open: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements

Copyright Michael/AdobeStock

Inland waterways, sometimes called ‘nature’s superhighways’ provide a strategic advantage related to security, economics, and trade for any nation whose geography, topography, and climate enable this natural infrastructure. Economic benefits are realized in small rural areas through large urban communities that utilize the system for efficient transportation and improved markets. However, deliberate operational, resource, and policy efforts, along with broad stakeholder integration, are required to maintain and operate such a system.

06 Jul 2022

Ammonia Marine Fuel Study Gets $6.7 Million Grant

Engine emission lab. Photo courtesy MariNH3 consortium/University of Nottingham

A group of academic and industrial partners were awarded a $6.7 million grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to accelerate understanding, technologies and policies relating to the use of ammonia as a sustainable fuel. The project begins in June 2022 and will run for 5 years.Entitled Decarbonized Clean Marine: Green Ammonia Thermal Propulsion (MariNH3), the project brings together academics from Nottingham, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff and STFC


15 Dec 2021

IMO Biofouling Project Aims to Reduce Invasive Species and Emissions

(Photo: IMO)

A newly signed initiative is set to provide pilot projects to demonstrate technical solutions for biofouling management in developing countries, address the transfer of invasive aquatic species and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships.The TEST (Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies) Biofouling Project will run for four years (2022-2025), following an agreement signed on December 8 by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

28 Oct 2021

Marine Biofouling in Ports: Wet Docks Acting as ‘Hot Spot’ Biofouling Transfer Stations

Figure 3.  Ships Sea Water Cooling System Components. Source: The Author

The GEF-UNDP-IMO Glofouling partnership (2017) is a global initiative to counter the environmental issue of invasive aquatic species (IAS) and the resulting harmful ecological and financial damage that can occur when such invasion events are introduced through the medium of biofouling on ships hulls and other marine structures such as those found in the oil and gas industries.One of the key objectives of the Glofouling project is to develop a Global Knowledge Hub and also identify


01 Mar 2021

Furuno Equips Los Angeles' New Pilot Boats

The Los Angeles Pilot Service has taken delivery of two new pilot boats equipped with full suites of quality Furuno marine electronics. The 56-foot Angels Pilot and Angels Navigator have been outfitted with complete integrated helm suites designed to assist in their mission of piloting ships in and out of Los Angeles Harbor, the busiest seaport in the western hemisphere. The pair of Camarc-designed boats were built by Vigor Industrial in Vancouver, Wash., and have made their way to their homeport in Los Angeles.The helm suites aboard the Angels Pilot and Angels Navigator feature a Furuno black box NavNet TZtouch2 TZT2BB multi function display connected to both 19” and 24” multi-touch displays, the MU195T and MU245T.

04 Feb 2021

Metal Shark Delivers Two Fireboats to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue

(Photo: Metal Shark)

Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two of three new welded-aluminum “50 Defiant” monohull pilothouse fireboats to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR).Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and built to Lloyds Registry Standard, the welded-aluminum monohull pilothouse fireboats “FB-21” and “FB-73” were acquired to boost MDFR’s maritime firefighting capability and will replace existing vessels in its fleet.Compared to MDFR’s outgoing vessels, the new 55’ x 17.5’ Metal Shark fireboats offer faster speeds enabling shorter response times


14 Sep 2020

Vigor Builds Patrol Boats for Jordanian Navy

(Photo: Vigor)

Fincantieri Marinette Marine and Vigor (Team RB-M) in August delivered two additional Response Boat-Mediums (RB-Ms) to the U.S. Coast Guard. These boats are part of an approved foreign military sale to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan through the Department of Homeland Security.Fincantieri Marinette Marine was the prime contractor and program manager for the project, and Vigor built the vessels at its Seattle facility.The Royal Jordanian Naval Force (RJNF) plans to operate the new boats from its base in Aqaba


16 Apr 2020

Interview: Dr. Dirk Jürgens, Heads of R&D, Voith Turbo Marine

The Voith Schneider Propeller is ideal for autonomous and remote-controlled vessels because on the one hand the forces can be managed very logically (according to X/Y logic) and on the other hand it can allocate desired forces so quickly. Any sensor errors or errors in data processing can therefore best be compensated by the VSP. Together with partners, we have advanced the technology development to such an extent that remote-controlled tractors with VSP can be realized. Dr. Dirk JĂŒrgens, Manage

Dr. Dirk Jürgens heads R&D at Voith Turbo Marine, a part of the family owned Voith conglomerate which employs more than 19,000 people in 60 countries. Voith Rudderpropellers were chosen as the propulsion system for the three new Staten Island Ferry vessels, and Dr. Jürgens discusses the evolution of the system.The ‘Voith’ name is a well-known one in the maritime industry, but to start please provide an overview of the product and service you offer to the maritime industry.The


22 Nov 2019

Shock Mitigation: Size Matters

image credit: SHOXS

When it comes to shock-mitigation, bigger is truly better.Let’s consider a thought experiment: You must take the wheel of one of two cars speeding along straight tracks with no exits. Both cars are traveling at 100 km/hour, but the first is 100 meters from a brick wall while the second is only 10 meters from an identical wall. There is nothing to do but decelerate before the crash, and assuming your decision is guided by self-preservation the choice is obvious. Why? Because even the best tactical driver can’t overcome physics


18 Oct 2019

Interview: Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink

“When the human element is considered, securing networks from cyber-attack is incredibly challenging.   Reducing human interaction with on board networks and computers by deploying a more standardized IT environment can minimize risks.”
-- Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink

Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink, discusses the pace and direction of high speed comms in maritime.Using metrics of your choice, put in perspective where we are today in terms of getting shipowners to adopt high speed communication solutions.The term broadband has been used in the maritime industry for at least a decade and if we are to follow the FCC’s definition which was upgraded to 25mbps from 4mbps (download) in 2015, then those high speed internet services are nothing of the sort.However, everything is relative.

09 Oct 2019

Shock Mitigation: Size Matters

When it comes to shock-mitigation, bigger is truly better.Let’s consider a thought experiment: You must take the wheel of one of two cars speeding along straight tracks with no exits. Both cars are traveling at 100 km/hour, but the first is 100 meters from a brick wall while the second is only 10 meters from an identical wall. There is nothing to do but decelerate before the crash, and assuming your decision is guided by self-preservation the choice is obvious. Why? Because even the best tactical driver can’t overcome physics


29 May 2019

Hutchison Ports, CN Rail to Build Terminal in Canada

Canadian Québec Port Authority (QPA) has signed a long-term commercial agreement with Hong Kong's Hutchison Ports and Canadian National Railway (CN) to build and operate a new container terminal, known as project Laurentia.The agreement increases Hutchison Ports' global network to 52 ports spanning 27 countries including the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico and Panama, said a press release.Hutchison Ports plays a strong role in the maritime industry worldwide and handles close to 85 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) per year, representing


28 May 2019

Navios Holdings Acquires Sea Victory

The seaborne shipping and logistics company Navios Maritime Holdings agreed to acquire a former chartered-in vessel, the Sea Victory (TBN Navios Victory), a 2014-built Panamax vessel of 77,095 dwt, for a purchase price of $14.5 million.The acquisition is expected to be completed in Q3 2019, said the shipping firm focused on the transport and transshipment of drybulk commodities including iron ore, coal and grain.Navios sold to an unrelated third party the Navios Equator Prosper, a 2000-built Capesize vessel of 171,191 dwt, for a total net sale price of $11.5 million, paid in cash early this month.In April and May 2019, Navios agreed to sell to unrelated third parties the Navios Mercator