Heavy Industry News

Apprenticeship Programs Are Key to the Future of Marine Welding

Uncle Sam wants you — to choose a career in welding. The chronic shortage of qualified welders has been well documented. The American Welding Society (AWS) even created a website — www.weldingworkforcedata.com — so that industry and the media could share accurate data. Currently, the U.S. needs 330,000 new welding professionals by 2028.While some may shrug at the shortage of welders in the offshore, marine and civil fabrication industries, the need for welders to shore up the U.S.

STARS: The Missing Link in Deep Sea Mining Supply Chain

As companies approach the exploitation phase of Deep Sea Mining, one critical factor is the transportation of mineral ores from the mine site location to onshore refineries While this may appear to be a relatively simple step, involving conventional bulk ore carriers and standard procedures, the nuances and practical limits of operating in the deep ocean mean that this step becomes increasingly complex and challenging. This article will explore the STARS concept, the likely regulatory requirements, and the complexities of this new vessel type.

HD Hyundai Marine Solution Jumps in Seoul Debut

HD Hyundai Marine shares closed up 97% versus their initial public offering (IPO) price in the company's trading debut on Wednesday, after a 742 billion won ($538 million) IPO, South Korea's largest in two years.The successful listing of the ship maintenance and repair firm, backed by U.S. private equity giant KKR, paves the way for other potential offerings to come to market. Sizeable South Korean IPOs had dried up during much of 2023 on uncertain market conditions.HD Hyundai Marine Solution shares opened at 119…

Berge Bulk Orders Ammonia-fueled Newcastlemax Pair

Berge Bulk informs it has placed an order for two ammonia dual fuel vessels from China's Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry as part of a push by the dry bulk shipowner to decarbonize its operations.The two 210,000-DWT Newcastlemax vessels will meet the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Tier III NOx (nitrogen oxides) standards and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 compliance for greenhouse gas emissions.The Singapore-headquartered company has been…

Infinium and Amogy Ink MOU on Green Ammonia and eFuels Solutions

eFuels provider Infinium and Amogy, developer of carbon-free, energy-dense power solutions, have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to integrate their technologies and develop commercial applications across the eFuels and green ammonia value chain. Infinium and Amogy are also exploring collaborations with both Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group and SK Innovation for deployment of the integrated solution.To accelerate the decarbonization of heavy industry sectors…

SunStone Lines Up Multi-year Charters for Two Expedition Cruise Ships

SunStone Maritime Group announced it has secured multi-year charters for two of its expedition cruise ships.The deals are for SunStone's Infinity Class vessels Ocean Explorer and the Ocean Odyssey, both built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) and delivered in 2021 and 2022 respectively.Under its new charter agreement, Ocean Explorer will return to polar cruising in October 2024 for SunStone's long-term client Quark Expeditions. The vessel, which ran aground in a remote part of Greenland last year…

COSCO Signs Up for Methanol Retrofits

COSCO Heavy Industry Shanghai Co. Ltd. has signed a contract with MAN Energy Solutions for the methanol retrofit of four main engines from COSCO Line’s Camellia and Virgo -class vessels – 13,800 and 20,000 teu respectively. Currently equipped with single-fuel MAN B&W 11S90ME-C10.5 engines, the vessels will be retrofitted to dual-fuel MAN B&W 11S90ME-LGIM10.5 units capable of operating on fuel-oil or methanol, in the process becoming the first vessels in COSCO’s fleet to sail on methanol.The contract also includes an option for the retrofit of an additional nine vessels from the line’s 20…

Gensets: New Fuels but Perennial Goals

Fuel flexibility may be a key driver for recent developments in gensets, but the perennial goals of lowering CapEx and OpEx remain.Fuel flexibility is one of the pillars of decarbonization that is being embraced by genset OEMs. Fuel efficiency, a second pillar, goes hand in hand with that because new fuels will be more expensive, but these concerns come in addition to the on-going drive to reduce CapEx and OpEx for shipowners.MAN Energy Solutions introduced its auxiliary MAN 35/44DF CD engine in June 2023. It is designed to be future-proof and will be ready for methanol operation by 2026.

MAN Engine Ordered for World's First Methanol-fueled VLCC

China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES), the Shanghai-listed shipping giant and daughter company of China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI), has ordered an MAN B&W 7G80ME-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) main engine in connection with the construction of a very large crude carrier (VLCC). The first such dual-fuel methanol order for the ship type, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co (DSIC) will construct the vessel with delivery due by April 2026.CSE (China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation Diesel Engine Co.…

Weichai, Bosch Group Advance Technical Partnership

China's Weichai and Germany's Bosch Group have signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the aim to advance technological innovation in areas such as new energy, high thermal efficiency diesel engines and intelligent transport, among others.On November 2, Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Bosch Board of Management Directors of Bosch Group visited Weichai Group. He met Tan Xuguang, Chairman of Shandong Heavy Industry Group and Chairman of Weichai Power, and held discussions and…

Silverstream Gains AIP from China Classification Society

Maritime clean technology company Silverstream Technologies announced it has signed an agreement in principle (AIP) with China Classification Society (CCS), the primary class society in China that serves the shipping, offshore and related industrial industries.This is Silverstream’s first agreement of this nature with a classification society. The AIP confirms that CCS has reviewed and verified the Silverstream System’s design drawings and provides an independent class verification of its generic system design.

MacGregor to Deliver RoRo Equipment for Methanol-Fueled PCTCs in China

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has been chosen to deliver RoRo equipment for two of the world's first methanol-fueled Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC) for China Merchant Energy Shipping to be built at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. in China.The vessels are to be delivered to the owner between the third and fourth quarters of 2025.MacGregor´s scope of supply is to design and deliver the key components consisting of external and internal ramps, covers, electrically operated doors…

COSCO Shipping Development Launches Electric Container Ship

COSCO Shipping Development’s 700 TEU electric container vessel (N997) has been launched at COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry (Yangzhou). COSCO says the launch marks a significant advancement in the adoption of fully battery-powered vessels in inland waterways.In May, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) commenced work on a second 700 TEU electric container ship (N998). Powered by portable container-sized batteries, the ship is a 10,000dwt specific route river/coastal ship with an LOA of 119.8 meters…

Höegh Autoliners Opts for Four More Aurora Class Car Carriers

Norwegian shipping company Höegh Autoliners announced on Monday that it has exercised its option to construct four additional multi-fuel and net zero carbon ready Aurora class car carrier vessels at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd (CMHI) in Haimen.This brings the number of total vessels under the newbuilding program to 12 vessels, all of which will be built by CMHI. Höegh Autoliners has an option to build another four vessels (vessels 13-16), as well as slot reservations for additional four vessels (vessels 17-20).

Harsh Weather Offshore LNG Terminal Firm Crown to Merge with Catcha

Crown LNG Holdings AS, a provider of LNG liquefaction and regasification terminal technologies for harsh weather locations, has agreed to merge with Catcha Investment Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that would result in Crown becoming a U.S. publicly listed company. The combined company, named Crown LNG Holdings Limited (“PubCo”), intends to apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “CGBS”.Crown designs and…

COSCO Takes Delivery of Methanol-Ready General Cargo Ship

COSCO SHIPPING Special Carriers has taken delivery of its second 68,000ton ice-class multi-purpose general cargo and pulp carrier, Green Kotka.The methanol-ready ship is the second in a series of ships built by Dalian COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry, a subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry. The series of ships are claimed to be the world's largest ice-class multi-purpose pulp ship built and delivered in China.The Green Kotka is 226.8 meters (744 feet) long and has a design speed of 14.8 knots.

BP Backs Green Hydrogen Start-Up

BP has invested in a start-up company developing technology seeking to use vapour from heavy industry to sharply reduce the production costs of zero-carbon hydrogen.BP Ventures, the British energy giant's venture capital arm, was among several investors in a $12.5 million Series A financing in U.S.-based Advanced Ionics, the companies said on Tuesday.Other investors include Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Clean Energy Ventures and Gatemore Capital Management.Green hydrogen, produced by splitting water through electrolysis using renewable energy…

LPG: Dual-Fuel Engines Prove Their Worth

BW LPG has demonstrated the value of dual-fuel LPG operations beyond the company’s initial aim of meeting IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap regulations.In October 2020, the LPG carrier BW Gemini became the first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to have its low-speed main engine converted to an LPG dual-fuel engine. The project started several years earlier, sparked by Oslo-listed BW LPG’s preparations for the IMO’s 2020 Sulphur Cap regulations.Compared to heavy fuel oil, LPG reduces Sox emissions by approximately 97%…

Steel Cut for Rizhao Port's Two New Tugs

A steel cutting ceremony was held earlier this month for a pair of new tugs being built for Rizhao Port, Shandong Province, China.The two Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAmparts 3700 ASD tugs are being built at the facilities of Rizhao Gangda Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co. Ltd.On completion, the new 39.7-meter-long tugs will perform ship-handling and coastal towing for the port, which has seen cargo handling capacity rapidly increase alongside the size of vessels calling the port.

Subsea 7's New Semi-Submersible Vessel Equipped for XXL Offshore Wind Foundations En Route to Europe

Subsea 7's recently delivered Seaway Alfa Lift offshore wind foundation installation vessel is in transit to Europe and is expected to join Subsea 7's fleet in the third quarter of 2023.The semi-submersible heavy installation vessel, designed by Ulstein, will be used to install the next-generation XXL offshore wind foundations.The newbuild heavy lift crane vessel Seaway Alfa Lift (CMHI-207), was originally ordered in 2018 by OHT on speculation. OHT eventually became part of Subsea…

OOCL Adds Another Ultra-Large Container Ship to Fleet

OOCL’s 24,188 TEU ultra-large container ship OOCL Felixstowe has been officially named at COSCO Dalian Kawasaki shipyard.The Oriental Felixstowe is the fourth of 12 ultra-large container ships which are among the world’s largest. They are being built by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry for OOCL, and the third, OOCL Piraeus, entered operation on May 30.Yang Zhijian, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL, said: “We ordered this series of ultra large container vessels not only to provide better services to our customers…

New Car Carriers to Include Methanol Gensets

China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) has ordered six small-bore, seven-cylinder 21/31DF-M, methanol-burning gensets in connection with the construction of 2 × 9,300 ceu (car equivalent units) PCTCs for China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).The business represents the very first order for the new methanol-powered, MAN four-stroke genset. MAN Energy Solutions’ licensee, CMP, will build the engines in China with first delivery due in Q1, 2025.The 3 × 7L21/31DF-M gensets aboard…

DNV Awards AiP to HD KSOE’s Hydrogen System for LH2 Carrier

DNV has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) to HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and its subsidiaries HD Hyundai Heavy Industry (HD HHI) and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) for their new hydrogen system.HD KSOE aims to complete the development of the hydrogen carrier technology that enables large-capacity hydrogen transportation and storage by around 2030.HD KSOE's new system utilizes boil-off gas from hydrogen transport for a hybrid propulsion system, integrating hydrogen dual-fuel engines and fuel cells.