Det Norske Veritas Software News

Intergraph Corporation and Det Norske Veritas Software (DNVS) have signed a letter of intent to complete a software licensing and distribution agreement. The proposed five-year, multi-million dollar agreement includes collaboration by the two companies in the shipbuilding, offshore and plant design markets. Under terms of the letter of intent, DNVS will market and distribute Intergraph's next-generation shipbuilding design applications to the shipbuilding industry. Additionally, Intergraph will license its SmartPlant(R) platform technology to DNVS. Intergraph and DNVS will work together to combine their respective engineering and lifecycle data management applications.

The actual extent of European public funding to promote a modal shift from road to waterborne transportation has up until now — been far outweighed by political discourse on the subject — no doubt designed to appeal to the popular, environmentalist vote. However, a recently more pragmatic approach by government to the issue, coupled with the maritime industries' development of new technical solutions for efficient, intra-regional freight exchange, suggests that the tide might be turning in favor of short-sea shipping. An appreciation that economic and environmental considerations are increasingly intertwined, and that environmental performance bears more and more on competitive position…