Mini News

UV-based water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has introduced what it says is arguably the smallest UV BWTS in the marketplace, targeted at meeting increased demand for ballast water treatment systems from operators of workboats, yachts, research ships, OSVs, and similar-sized vessels. The new BIO-SEA L01-0030 Mini – more compact than the company’s existing low-flow BIO-SEA L range – is a fully automated filtration + UV-based system designed to treat ballast water flow rates…

Laser Weapon Demonstrator (LWD) trials onboard the German frigate Sachsen have successfully been completed, following on from the integration of the LWD in June 2022, MBDA, a multi-national European group specializing in the field of complex weapon system.The High-Energy Laser Naval Demonstrator Working Group (or ARGE), consisting of MBDA Deutschland GmbH and Rheinmetall, is responsible for development and construction of the LWD, and for supporting the trials that were planned and organized by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment…

It’s a big deal when a U.S. president visits an American shipyard, and these trips always send a message. When President Obama spoke at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in 2013, he warned of the consequences of sequestration. President Trump’s 2020 speech at Fincantieri Marinette Marine touted a $5.5 billion naval contract that gave a welcome boost to the Wisconsin shipyard and its supply chain partners. Most recently, President Biden traveled to Philadelphia’s Philly Shipyard…

U.S. offshore vessel operator, builder and owner Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) is constructing the U.S. offshore wind industry’s first ever mini-crew transfer vessel (CTV), designed by U.K.-based Chartwell Marine.Set to enter service in summer 2024, the 39-foot catamaran will serve as a daughter craft deployed from ECO's ECO Edison, the first U.S.-built service operation vessel (SOV). The vessel has capacity for up to 12 personnel and is designed to be deployed from ECO Edison during extended offshore stays…

Fincantieri, reactor developer newcleo and class society RINA have agreed to carry out a feasibility study for nuclear applications to the shipping industry, including newcleo’s lead-cooled small modular reactors (SMRs) technology.The deployment of newcleo’s lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) for naval propulsion would involve placing a closed mini reactor on vessels as a small nuclear battery producing a 30MW electric output. This would require infrequent refuelling (only once every 10-15 years)…

Search teams detected underwater sounds while scanning the North Atlantic for a tourist submersible that vanished with five people aboard during a deep-sea voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said early on Wednesday.The detection of the sounds by Canadian aircraft on Tuesday, day three of the search, was reported by the Coast Guard as the clock ticked down to the last 24 hours of the missing craft's presumed oxygen supply.Robotic undersea search operations were diverted to the area where the sounds seemed to originate…

Survey, positioning and data management firm UTEC, part of the Acteon Group, is targeting the offshore wind survey and inspection market with a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).Torsten Marten, lead surveyor, UTEC, outlined the new design at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), at the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southampton, UK, early November.It’s a 12m-long, “DP equivalent” catamaran design, developed to offer a stable platform for survey and inspection operations…

Operating on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from day one in service, the MV George III, the first of Pasha Group’s two new ‘Ohana Class’, Jones Act-qualified containerships, features a state-of-the-art engine, an optimized hull form, and an underwater propulsion system with a high-efficiency rudder and propeller. George III is the first LNG-powered vessel to fuel on the West Coast and the first to serve Hawaii. The 774-ft. Jones Act vessel surpasses the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2030 emission standards for ocean vessels.

Two new oil spill response barges were recently completed at ASL Shipyard in Singapore for Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC).The two 3,500 tonne barges, Sentinel 303 and Sentinel 304, will be delivered to WCMRC in October, with arrival in Canada by the end of 2022. The response barges will join WCMRC’s fleet of pollution response vessels stationed along the south coast of British Columbia.These new barges represent a significant enhancement to the pollution response capabilities already in place and will benefit the entire local maritime industry…

Andrea Mather's plans for a long-awaited summer cruise around the Hawaiian islands with her financial analyst husband unraveled after her booking with Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America was canceled due to a staffing shortage.It was the second time this year that the 55-year-old homemaker's plan to go on a cruise was scuppered.The cruise industry is sailing in choppy waters yet again as it has to deal with a storm of labor problems, red-hot inflation and recessionary threat…

In November 2021, GTMaritime published a white paper: “Maritime Communications - A look over the horizon.” The report, available here, is built around three broad Sections – 1. “Basics of marine Communications;” 2. “The connected ship;” and 3. “Special services.”Then, each Section presents a closer look at various topics. The “Basics” section, for example, covers regulatory issues established by IMO treaties and national agencies. It presents the terms and concepts that define satellite systems and networks…

Push boat operator Plimsoll Marine announced it has taken delivery of the fourth vessel in a series of newbuilds from Master Marine, Inc. “Plimsoll Marine strives to provide the Lower Mississippi River with premier push boat services utilizing the industry’s most modern and capable fleet of vessels. The delivery of the Steel Skipper marks another milestone in that effort,” said Angus R. Cooper III, President, Cooper/T. Smith. “Our ongoing investment in building and maintaining…

Floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs) may not immediately spring to mind as providing a solution to several of today’s key global challenges – but FNPP development is emerging as a means of decentralized stand-alone production of cost competitive hydrogen-based fuels and clean electricity and water, according to a new report by Intelatus Global Partners.The commercial case for deployment of FNPPs featuring small modular reactors is founded in the growing demand for hydrogen and…

maritime VSAT provider KVH Industries, Inc. announced it has launched satellite connectivity services that will allow vessels to use KVH connectivity while operating in Indian territorial waters. In addition, KVH will offer satellite connectivity services to Indian flagged vessels. Station Satcom Private Ltd, an existing KVH service provider based in Mumbai, will be KVH’s distribution launch partner in India.“With the award of the license by the Department of Telecommunications of India…

KVH Industries, Inc., announced that Greek shipmanager A.M. Nomikos has chosen KVH AgilePlans to provide VSAT connectivity for crew welfare and vessel operations. Nova Electronics, KVH’s service partner in Greece, has installed TracPhone V7-HTS antennas on three Nomikos vessels to date and is expected to continue the rollout of KVH’s AgilePlans service on additional vessels within the fleet in the coming months.“Crew welfare is very important to our company, and we expect the fast data speeds of the KVH systems and the reliable HTS network will be a great benefit to our seafarers and our shipping operations,” said Yiannis Sofianidis, IT Director for A.M. Nomikos.

Bureau Veritas (BV) and MaDfly – Marine Drone Services – report the completion of a full in-water ship’s hull survey via mini ROV on Brittany Ferries’ ship Bretagne.The survey was supervised by BV on behalf of the French Flag to validate the integrity of the entire ship’s hull’s bottom. According to BV this inspection was the first of its kind, with the test survey performed twice. A remotely operated drone performed an in-water survey with a BV surveyor onboard the vessel. In parallel…

Moduteh Marine, of Tacoma, Wash., has gained recognition on meeting the stringent conditions of military contracts. In 2020 they completed a contract to build a fleet of five small tugs. These carry the military designation Work Boat Docking.“The mission of the CNIC Work Boat Docking (WB Docking) is to provide waterborne support at U.S. Navy Installations,” said Modutech’s Brian Swindahl. “The boats are required to have the ability to safely assist vessels including submarines for mooring and dry-docking…

KVH Industries, Inc. announced that its AgilePlans Regional solution designed for fishing vessels, workboats, and smaller commercial vessels now features data speeds as fast as 6 Mbps down/2 Mbps up and worldwide coverage providing vessels that typically work in regional waters with greater geographic flexibility.AgilePlans Regional is a Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) subscription-based model that includes a choice of hardware (TracPhone V30, KVH’s newest and easiest-to-install ultra-compact system or the 37 cm TracPhone V3-HTS antenna with expanded network management)…

Francois Mayor nudged back on the power and made a subtle adjustment on the wheel as he coaxed his cargo vessel through a narrow point in the Suez Canal—not the Egyptian one, but a replica in the middle of a French forest.This stretch of water was built to train ship captains and maritime pilots how to navigate the Suez Canal—a skill now in the spotlight after the Ever Given cargo ship got wedged in the Egyptian waterway last month in high winds and a sandstorm.The channel is built to one twenty-fifth the scale of a section of the real Suez Canal.

The U.S.’ first linehaul towing vessel powered by Tier 4 Caterpillar high-speed engines with selective catalytic reduction( SCR) was built by Blakeley BoatWorks (BBW) and is now operated by Cooper Marine and Timberlands (CMT).In March 2021, Blakeley BoatWorks completed construction of M/V Gretchen V. Cooper, a state-of-the-art, Tier-4 inland linehaul tow boat. This 3,400-horsepower vessel is 110-feet long, 33-feet wide, and expands CMT’s fleet to 20 vessels.Currently, Tier-4 diesel engine standards are the strictest U.S.

Bayou La Batre, Ala. shipbuilder Master Marine, Inc. (MMI) has delivered the 67’ x 28’ pushboat Rock Solid to Plimsoll Marine. The Rock Solid is the third of four vessels that MMI is scheduled to deliver to the Lower Mississippi River push boat operator.“The delivery of the Rock Solid marks another milestone in our effort to build and maintain our industry’s most modern and capable fleet of push boats,” said Angus R. Cooper III, President, Cooper/T. Smith. “Our team prides itself…

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) teamed up with Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s crew this summer to evaluate five technologies as part of the RDC’s annual Arctic Technology Evaluation. The Campbell crew conducted the evaluations during their two-month deployment supporting joint Arctic operations off Greenland’s western coast, returning to their Kittery, Maine, homeport on Sept. 29, 2020.“Testing various technologies by cutter crews for operation in cold and Arctic environments provides highlights on what works and what may need improvement…

A nuclear-powered ice breaker Russia says is the world’s largest and most powerful set off on Tuesday on a two-week journey to the Arctic as part of Moscow’s efforts to tap the region’s commercial potential.Known as Arktika, the nuclear icebreaker left St. Petersburg and headed for the Arctic port of Murmansk, a journey that marks its entry into Russia’s icebreaker fleet.Russian state firm Rosatomflot has called the vessel the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker.