Manufacturing Process News

Dutch manufacturer Huisman has entered the port and logistics market with the order for series of automated stacking cranes (ACSs) from Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT).The ACSs will serve for the efficient handling and buffering of containers. The cranes feature a fully automated process for handling and buffering containers, providing a solution for enhanced operational efficiency, required for 24/7 operational time.The diversification in port automation underscores Huisman's…

DNV secured partners to launch a new project to enhance technology development and prepare for scale/industrialization of concrete substructures for floating offshore wind.The new Joint Industry Project (JIP) called Concrete FLOW will optimize requirements for concrete floaters (floating or semisubmersible structures, generally moored to the seabed, used as foundations upon which equipment can be mounted), specifically tailored for floating offshore wind farms.At the kick-off…

The quest to build a series of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMVs), which will serve as training ships for five U.S. maritime academies, has drawn a broad cadre of suppliers. The powerplant was a main focus, helping to evolve the schools from steam power plants to a modern propulsion package.NSMVs being built for the maritime academies is widely lauded as a ‘win’ for U.S. shipbuilding, an example of commercial shipbuilding practices applied to a government shipbuilding project.

Bollinger Shipyards this week announced it has begun cutting steel at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. on the first of eight prototype modules that will become the foundation of the first U.S. Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (PSC), USCGC Polar Sentinel (PSC-1)—the first heavy icebreaker to be built in the United States in 50 years. "Today marks a significant step for both Bollinger Shipyards and the United States,” said Ben Bordelon, President and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “After over 50 years, we're back to building heavy icebreakers.

Japan received its first low-carbon ammonia cargo from Saudi Arabia on Friday, which it plans to use for co-firing with fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, a joint statement from the four companies involved in the deal said. Energy-poor Japan wants to add hydrogen and ammonia to its energy mix, a move criticized by climate activists as costly and not fully effective. Japan has agreed with a number of countries to study hydrogen and ammonia supply chains. Ammonia shipped to…

Hepburn and Sons LLC announced it has officially joined forces with MELD Manufacturing Corporation, developer of the patented, solid-state metal additive manufacturing process and provider of MELD 3D printing machines. The companies have been working together since 2021 to introduce the Navy and other military services and DoD agencies to MELD, also known as additive friction stir deposition.Hepburn and Sons LLC is a small business founded in 2010 whose initial focus was to provide expert consulting…

A significant element of the U.K. government’s levelling up plan to create thousands of jobs, regenerate more deprived areas and attract overseas investors is the introduction of freeports. These special low-tax trading zones allow all kinds of businesses to trade.Under the U.K. model, freeports can encompass two different kinds of sites. On customs sites, authorized businesses will be able to import certain goods with simplified customs documentation and without paying tariffs. Domestic goods can also be held in a customs site and used in any manufacturing process.

The European Union is underwriting a project, called Current Direct, to facilitate and hasten the transition to battery powered commercial maritime vessels. It's funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. It also has 13 private sector partners, including Blackstone Resources, Spear Power Systems and Wärtsilä. It has a quick timeline; a demonstration project should be ready by 2023.New thinking and innovation run across every aspect of this project…

Among most global trades, intra-Asian rates have seen considerable increases in recent years, though the costs on the world’s busiest container trade have not risen as quickly as in other places, Xeneta, and ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform said Thursday.According to Xeneta, in the first half of January, spot rates from the main Chinese ports to the main Japanese and South Korean ports have risen back above USD 1 800 per FEU. This comes after…

Parts fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM) – also known as 3D printing – and installed on an oil tanker for operational testing have been validated to be in good working condition, marking a significant step for the technology's implementation in the marine industry.The project involving ABS, ConocoPhillips Polar Tankers, Sembcorp Marine Ltd and 3D Metalforge started in February 2021 with the fabrication and lab-testing of functional additive manufactured parts, which were then installed on board the oil tanker Polar Endeavour.

Classification society ClassNK released its “Guidelines for Additive Manufacturing(3D Printing)” that summarize the approval requirements for metallic marine equipment by additive manufacturing technology.Additive manufacturing, also know as 3D printing, is a method for manufacturing by laminating and combining materials such as resin and metal based on 3D model data. Its feature is the capability to mold complex and high-precision shapes.In recent years, the use of additive manufacturing technology has been rapidly expanding in manufacturing metallic products…

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and Hydronalix, Inc. of Green Valley, AZ, signed a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) entitled AISUM Prize Challenge Hardware Support. Agreement number: NCRADA-NSWCCD-21-419. NSWC Crane is hosting an Artificial Intelligence for Small Unit Maneuver (AISUM) Prize Challenge with contestants from industry and academia. With the strategic goals of developing software that can be supported by a variety of hardware, non-proprietary robotic autonomy baseline component architecture and software were required.

Classification society ABS has published guidance on the application of additive manufacturing (AM) in the marine and offshore industries.The ABS Guide for Additive Manufacturing focuses on two main categories of metal AM processes: Powder Bed Fusion and Directed Energy Deposition. The Guide defines the ABS approval and certification process for AM facilities and AM parts by providing standards for AM design, feedstock material, building processes, inspection and testing. The Guide includes a strong focus on the quality of the materials and of the manufacturing process…

Bureau Veritas (BV) said it has certified a new-generation 3D printed propeller manufactured by Naval Group for a Tripartite-class minehunter vessel.“This technology is promising and opens the room for further, more complex, innovations in additive manufacturing,” Laurent Leblanc, Senior Vice President Technical & Operations at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore.With its 2.5-meter span supported by five 200-kg blades, the propeller is said to be the largest metal 3D-printed propeller ever manufactured.

Babcock invests in technically advanced shipbuilding facilityBabcock awarded a £31.5 million contract to Robertson Construction for the development of a new Assembly Hall at its Rosyth site. The construction project will support circa 100 positions locally in Scotland and a further 100 positions nationally throughout the supply chain.At a small Covid-19 safe ceremony marking the beginning of the steel structure construction, Babcock also announced that it has placed an order for…

Offshore lifting hoists and chains solutions provider William Hackett has published an industry report aiming to help minimize the risk of Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) and Stress Induced Corrosion Cracking (SICC). The report includes guidance on material choices used in topside and subsea lifts.Ben Burgess, Director of William Hackett Lifting Products, said, “There is a real concern across industry regarding the impact of HE and SICC on chains and links used in lift and hoist projects across offshore environments.”Peer-reviewed by a number of organizations and authorities…

It is not something that pops to mind often: the massive, market-changing advantages of a high-powered, fuel-efficient, cleaner V8 diesel outboard engine. Then, you aren’t a salmon farmer with aquaculture farms in the Norwegian fjords or an islander in the Maldives who drives a Zodiac to work. But, if you are Joel Reid, these are just some of the many things on your mind.Joel Reid is the Global Sales Director of Cox Powertrain a British start-up based in Shoreham-by-Sea, close to Brighton, UK.

As the cruise industry continues to prosper, so too does Survitec, a specialist in marine evacuation systems (MES). Survitec has a history of more than 160 years, with 2020 marking the centenary since RFD, now part of Survitec, was founded.The story of RFD’s technology dates back to 1920 with the introduction of an aircraft flotation product, essentially an inflatable ring, to prevent planes sinking when ditched. This technology quickly evolved to become dual purpose also providing a means to rescue aircrew in an emergency.As technologies and methodologies became more sophisticated…

Maersk’s subsidiary Maersk Oil Trading has teamed up with Dutch liquid bulk storage operator Koole Terminals for the production of IMO 2020-compliant bunker fuel in the Port of Rotterdam.According to a Maersk statement, the production will take place at the Petrochemical Industrial Distillation (PID) unit, located at Koole’s Botlek site in the heart of the Port of Rotterdam. The toll distillation deal allows Maersk to produce VLSFO bunker fuel and will enable Maersk to further expand its bunker supply volumes in Europe.Annual production is expected to cover 5-10% of Maersk’s annual fuel demand.“The fuel manufacturing process allows Maersk to produce compatible low sulfur fuels that complies with the IMO 2020 sulfur cap implementation…

The Japanese Shipping Company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) have jointly developed a new fuel-oil additive for low-sulphur compliant fuel-oil that meets SOx emission requirements.Yunic 800VLS (patent pending) is Japan’s first additive for very low sulfur fuel oil, or VLSFO. The additive improves safety by helping to avoid troubles that may be caused by certain contents of VLSFO.A global sulfur cap will enter into force on January 1, 2020, and one way ships can meet the requirement is by using VLSFO (sulfur content below 0.5%). However, a wide variety of VLSFO is expected to be supplied because the manufacturing process differs from conventional heavy fuel oil…

A naval architect and graduate of the Webb Institute, Co-Owner/CEO Chris Allard introduced the engineering-centric approach that has fueled Metal Shark’s growth; driving innovation and transforming the company from a regional builder to a globally recognized industry leader.A member of the ownership team since 2005, Mr. Allard has overseen the expansion of Metal Shark from several employees to over 350. Under Mr. Allard’s direction, Metal Shark has successfully captured over $500…

A U.S. shipbuilder’s piloting of new technologies is redefining the future of the naval engineering and shipbuilding industries.Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division, in collaboration with the U.S. Navy, has led the adoption of additive manufacturing of metal components for nuclear-powered warships as part of HII’s digital transformation.This technological development will result in the first certified 3-D-printed metal part—a prototype piping assembly—being installed on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) early next year.

Solid-State Welding Processes Being Developed for NASA Manufacturing Programs Could Significantly Reduce Workboat Fabrication CostsWhether it is for a tug boat, cargo vessel, or an offshore supply ship, much of the workboat fabrication industry is located along the Southern Coast of the U.S. But a visit to any one of the workboat facilities in that area (or any other in the country) would reveal antiquated and archaic fabrication processes used seventy years ago. The workboat manufacturing process is very expensive, labor intensive, and has not really changed since World War II.