Rudder Systems News

Jeffersonville, Ind. based American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) on Tuesday announced it has signed a contract with Belle Chasse, La. shipyard C&C Marine and Repair to build a 11,000 horsepower (HP) class towboat.Designed by Portland, Maine-based CT Marine, the twin-screw towboat will measure 198 feet long, with 50-foot beam and 12-foot depth. With accommodations for a crew of up to 12, the vessel incorporates a floating, spring-mounted superstructure for additional onboard comfort.

Late last year, a team of Damen group subsidiaries completed a challenging project to replace one of the twin rudder stocks on P&O Ferries’ Pride of Canterbury. The 180-meter, 30,635 GT RoPax vessel operates on the Dover-Calais crossing, the busiest shipping lane in the world.The nearly 30-year old vessel is equipped with twin Van der Velden BARKE rudder systems engineered and made by Damen Marine Components (DMC). Replacing the stock on the starboard rudder enables the ferry…

Damen Marine Components has won an order to supply three sets of steering and rudder systems for three dual-fueled trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs) currently being built at Keppel Offshore & Marine’s shipyard in Singapore for Van Oord.The vessels will be 138-meters in length and have a hopper capacity of 10,500 cubic meters. They will represent the very latest in sustainable, energy-efficient dredging and are due for delivery in 2021. The third will be handed over the…

Hans Buch Marine has signed a partnership agreement to become the Scandinavian representative of the young German company, Loewe Marine. “Loewe Marine immediately impressed us, and we are sure that our Scandinavian customers will be too, once we introduce Loewe Marines new rudder design allowing them to save thousands of dollars in fuel consumption,” said Carsten Larsen, Sales Director Hans Buch Marine. Dipl.-Ing. Carsten Löhmer, founder and CEO of Loewe Marine, said, “I am very proud about the new Scandinavian cooperation between Hans Buch and our company Loewe Marone. We are focused to serve both, locally and global newbuilding and service clients for rudder systems and steering gears in a competent, efficient and cost-efficient approach.

At a signing ceremony on June 1 at the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Norway, engines manufacturer MAN Diesel & Turbo signed a cooperation agreement with ship equipment supplier MM-Offshore. The impetus for the agreement stems from industry efforts to enhance ship performance. These have resulted in highly efficient propulsion and maneuvering systems with both now optimized – individually – essentially to perfection. He added, “A number of recent projects have already documented how beneficial such a combined optimization could be for ship designers…

At the SMM maritime trade show in Hamburg, the Bremen-based shipbuilding supplier and provider of consulting and ship-related services LOEWE MARINE announced that it has received an order from shipbuilders Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft (FSG) to supply the rudder systems for five newbuilds. The order takes LOEWE's partnership with FSG to the next level, coming, after five completed rudder projects for FSG over the past two years. It includes a twin arrangement of a high-efficiency flap rudder for a 194.8-meter RoPax ferry ordered from FSB by Irish Ferries.

Imperial Shipping has chosen Van der Velden Marine Systems retractable flanking rudder systems for its push boats. The retractable flanking rudder system is an in-house innovation of Van der Velden Marine Systems (VDVMS). The system brings new efficiency to the inland shipping industry and will first be used in Paraguay. At the request of Dutch shipbuilder Damen, VDVMS developed the system and had it tested independently by the Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems (DST) in Duisburg (DE). Flanking rudders are often used for inland river tow boats.

Manufacturer of specialty lubricants Klüber Lubrication has introduced Klüberbio LG 39-701 N, an eco-compatible operating lubricant for open gear drives used in marine applications. Klüberbio LG 39-701 N is specifically designed for manufacturers and operators of open gear drives, jack-up lifting systems or other onboard equipment that is frequently in contact with sea water. Klüber said its new lubricant offers excellent adhesion to surfaces, has good low-temperature behavior and enables operation of open drives in areas with very low ambient temperatures, down to minus 30°C.

Propulsion evolves, improves and powers forward in the inland markets. And, Z-Drive propulsion is the future. In a white paper released late in 2014 by The Shearer Group, Ed Shearer and Greg Beers outlined The Next Generation of inland vessels, what will drive design changes and the advantages of azimuthing stern drives – or ‘Z-Drives,’ for short. The authors point out that, until recently, towboats on all the inland waterways and Gulf Coast have traditionally been built using main engines connected to reduction gearboxes connected to long drive shafts passing through the towboat hull. In a nutshell, according The Shearer Group, the advantages of using z-Drives on inland towboats include decreased installation time…

Imtech Marine introduces the new multifunctional SeaPilot 76. The variety of standard options in the SeaPilot 76 results in a very complete sea pilot. The SeaPilot 76 can be turned into a fully approved combined sea and river pilot and can be connected to both proportional and on/off valves. This makes the modernized Seapilot 76 a good addition to the Sigma-line of Radio Zeeland. The SeaPilot 76 is suitable for the fishing industry as well as inland, coastal and deepsea shipping. The SeaPilot 76 is designed with clear graphical displays and easy to use control buttons.

Germany's Hatlapa Uetersener Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Loewe Marine agree collaboration on steering gear and rudder system maintenance & repairs. Hatlapa's global sales and service network will go hand in hand with Loewe Marine's international network of shipping lines, shipyards and suppliers. This means that both companies are now able to provide their worldwide customers with cost-optimised maintenance and repair services for steering gear and full-spade rudder systems. "Thanks to this premium partnership…

New partnership to offer cost-effective repair and maintenance services for all makes and models of steering gear and rudder systems worldwide. HATLAPA Uetersener Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG and LOEWE MARINE GmbH & Co. KG will be collaborating closely in the area of steering gear and rudder system maintenance and repairs. The new partnership was announced at the SMM tradeshow in Hamburg in September. The two companies expressed confidence that the resulting synergies will offer an increased benefit to their existing customers and create new business opportunities.

Becker Marine Systems has appointed Simplex-Turbulo to represent them in the UK. Becker is well-known and respected not just for the manufacture of high-performance rudders and maneuvering systems, but also for significant recent developments in designs achieving substantial reduction of fuel consumption. Two examples of innovations pioneered by Becker are the TLKSR  twisted full spade rudder and the Becker Mewis Duct. The TLKSR  twisted full spade rudder matches the rudder shape…

The first delivery comprises twelve MTU 16V 4000 M63 engines destined for Camorim, the Brazilian shipping company. Twin MTU engines will be used to power Rolls-Royce propeller-rudder systems on a total of six tug boats. Each engine in this order delivers power of 2,000kW, and its value lies at some three million euros to Tognum. The tug vessels will mainly be used in offshore oil production operations carried out by Petrobas, the petroleum producer in Rio de Janeiro/Macae. The second order is from Fjellstrand, the Norwegian shipyard. Four marine gensets based on MTU 16V 4000 M23S engines, each with a power output of 1,840kW, will be used to propel a multi-purpose offshore vessel operated by Norside Supporter AS. The engines back up the Rolls-Royce propellers and automation system.

More and more ship owners turn to Becker Marine Systems for rudder conversions of vessels already in service. The easy installation of a new Becker Rudder System can dramatically improve manoeuvring performance and reduce fuel consumption. Becker Marine Systems’ After Sales Team has long been known for quality and flexibility when it comes to refurbishing Becker Rudders that have been in service for decades. In case of a general overhaul of a Becker Rudder, the Becker specialists…

The result of an 18 month joint development project between Kongsberg Maritime and Becker Marine Systems has come to fruition, with the launch of KBIMS; a sophisticated new support tool designed to enable more efficient use of propellers and rudders during Dynamic Positioning (DP) operations. A first pilot installation has already been agreed for KBIMS, with a new Volstad offshore construction vessel, which is under construction at Fosen. There are several advantages to using main propeller and rudder instead of azimuth thrusters during DP operations.

The area directly south of Lafayette, La., is authentic bayou country, known for Cajun culture, excellent food, unique music and, for boat lovers, the crew/supply boat capital of the world. Four boat yards in this area build these multi-engine, all- aluminum, speedy vessels, almost exclusively. Each yard turns out up to six crew/supply boats a year. In fact, three of the shipyards are located within just a few miles from each other in the tiny hamlet of Loreauville, La., a town that seems to be made up mostly of aluminum welders. That, of course, is an exaggeration, but not by much. Not every vessel delivered from these shipyards goes to work supporting the search for oil and gas…

San Rafael, a 204 x 44 x 16 ft. OSV was recently launched by Eastern Shipbuilding Group. The vessel is being constructed for Naviera Tamaulipas, S.A. de C.V. of Tampico, Mexico, for operations in the Bahia de Campeche fields off Eastern Mexico. Capacities include 110,000 gallons of fuel, 211,000 gallons of drill water/ballast, 7,200 cu. ft. of bulk mud in six tanks, and 3,012 barrels of liquid mud. The propulsion plant consists of a pair of Caterpillar 3516B main engines rated at 2,000 hp each @ 1,600 rpm, complete with Caterpillar Engine Vision Alarm and Monitoring System, coupled to Reintjes WAF-862 gearboxes, with 96 in. diameter, four-blade stainless steel propellers.

On January 8, 2002, Willi Becker Ingenieurbüro changed its name to Becker Marine Systems. The company decided to alter its name to reflect its shift towards an increasingly global position as a system provider for rudders and steering gear which development had been going for some years. While the name of the company has been changed, the very substance of the company will remain the same. That is true in particular with regard to the sophisticated technology and the experience which the qualified team of engineers and technicians have acquired throughout the years. The new name will involve the addition of new operating areas to those already in existence. managing director Dirk Lehmann will concentrate the company’s efforts in particular on the expansion of the new areas of operation.

Tribon.com recently released its newest version, 6.0, for easier attainment of information. The new layout presents the relevant product information in a clear and user-friendly overview on the screen making it easy for ship designers to search and find suppliers' product information. Some of the new features are: a new presentation of search results based on product types, a more intuitive product presentation page, easily accessible search tips and help for the Browse Search and Free Search functions, modified system menu to provide a better overview and quicker access to pages and functions and general layout is improved to give a better overview.

Reporting this year's SMM 2000 Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology Exhibition as "booked out," Hamburg Messe is dubbing the exhibition as one that is multi-cultural and lingual - the bi-annual conference is predicted to attract more than 1,000 from 42 countries. Designating Spain as this year's partner country, the exhibition, which has been dubbed the leading trade fair of world shipbuilding, SMM 2000, will take place at Hamburg Exhibition Centre from September 26-30, 2000. Holding a place as the main international forum for executives in the shipping and shipbuilding sector for many years, SMM has further consolidated its top position with its "Hall of Nations" strategy involving grouping national pavilions under one roof, which was implemented for the first time at SMM `98.

A convincing economic argument fuels the liner shipping sector's adoption of unprecedented capacity ratings, with a new level soon to be reached in impending projects for newbuilds in the 9,000-TEU category, and technical work set in train for ships in the 10,000-12,500 TEU category. Experts believe that behemoths of 18,000-TEU could be in service on specific volume trades within a decade, yielding unit operating cost savings in the order of 30-percent relative to the 5,000-TEU size. The enormous infrastructural implications attached to nurturing a new generation of ultra-large container vessels seem to be less daunting now compared with even a year ago…

Wärtsilä and the German company Becker Marine Systems have entered into an agreement on the optimization of ship propulsion systems. Becker Marine Systems has annual net sales of EUR 50 million and is the leading supplier of rudders of all profiles and sizes, as well as related systems. More than 100 professionals form the Becker offices in Germany, the UK, Norway and China. The company has its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. Agencies around the world complete the company's global design, sales and service network. The aim of the cooperation is to develop and market optimized propeller-rudder systems that will save energy, enhance crew and passenger comfort, and ensure maximum manoeuvrability of coastal and seagoing vessels.