Research Institute News

The El Nino climate phenomenon, not climate change, drove lower rainfall last year that reduced the Panama Canal's water levels and contributed to shipping restrictions that disrupted global trade, a study released on Wednesday found.Prioritizing water for human consumption rather than for the canal also played a role in shipping restrictions, according to the study by research consortium World Weather Attribution.Panama experienced its third-driest year on record in 2023, leading…

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) for collaboration on hydrodynamic studies and model testing on ongoing new construction projects.The MoU provides for expanding this collaboration to all future projects classed by IRS for Indian shipyards.MARIN will contribute to the partnership by sharing scientific knowledge and providing hydrodynamic research services to IRS and its clients on a project-by-project basis.

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands will open the Seven Oceans Simulator center (SOSc) of MARIN, the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.The opening program takes place in the Shallow Water Basin, one of MARIN's test facilities for ship models. Experts from the maritime research institute, the NL Coast Guard, Search &  Rescue Institution KNRM and maritime service providers talk about shipping safety, about working in increasingly busy seas and about involving the crew in the design of new ships.

DNV has presented HD Hyundai with a general approval for ship application (GASA) for a new high-strength composite hybrid support system for independent tanks on liquefied gas carriers.In a world-first, HD Hyundai’s concept is fabricated with a fusion of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) with a tensile strength 10 times greater than steel, significantly enhancing structural stability.The new system offers robust structural supports, enabling independent tanks to withstand upward force from floatation in case of hold space flooded.

ClassNK has signed a joint R&D agreement with Nihon Shipyard and IMC to ensure the safety and performance evaluation of anti-roll tanks (ART) installed on large containerships.Under the R&D agreement, Nihon Shipyard, IMC, and ClassNK will work together to expand the application of ART to large containerships.Utilizing the obtained data and knowledge, each party will collaborate to ensure the safer application of ART on an actual ship and performance evaluation.AS part of the partnership…

ClassNK has granted its SCCS-Full class notation to Evergreen’s Neopanamax container vessel Ever Top.Short for Shipboard Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage-Full, the SCCS-Full notation signifies that the vessel is now equipped with onboard CO2 capture and storage (CCS) systems.This also marks it as the world's first Neopanamax container vessel to be retrofitted with such systems, according to ClassNK.The CCS systems, designed and developed by Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute…

Big data, advanced computers and AI are allowing vessel designers to prepare models that leave essentially nothing to chance.“Lastly, it may be of considerable importance to form from the draught a block model of the vessel from which a still more accurate judgment may be formed of the fitness and beauty of the body. And should any defect be discovered, farther alterations must still be made, till the draught and the model are perfectly approved of. These different alterations and repeated calculations may appear very tedious…

Lemissoler Navigation and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) have received ABS approval in principle (AiP) for the design of a 65,000dwt methanol-fueled ultramax bulk carrier, the first such methanol vessel for China’s shipbuilding industry.The vessel has been thoroughly optimized and its preliminary Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) was reviewed and indicated that the vessel exceeds EEDI Phase 3 standards. ABS completed design reviews based on class…

ClassNK issued Approvals in Principle (AiPs) for four ship designs developed by Marine Design & Research Institute of China (MARIC).The four designs include:a 210k methanol dual-fueled bulk carrier, a 210k ammonia dual-fueled bulk carrier, a 210k LNG dual-fueled bulk carrier, and an 88k LPG dual-fueled very large gas carrier

ClassNK awards AiPs for SDARI’s green fuels powered vehicle carriers for ammonia ready LNG dual fueled 7,000CEU, and both methanol/ammonia dual fueled 10,000CEUClassNK has issued Approvals in Principle (AiPs) for three vehicle carrier designs developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI). The first AiP acknowledges an ammonia ready LNG dual fueled vehicle carrier with a capacity of 7,000 CEU, a significant first in China’s independently developed design.

Thordon Bearings and Wärtsilä have announced the formation of the Blue Ocean Alliance to develop and promote a stern tube-less ship concept.The Blue Ocean Alliance brings together Thordon Bearings, Wärtsilä, the School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), naval architect SDARI (Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute CSSC) and ABS.The companies say that the concept of a ship design that does not require a…

Bureau Veritas (BV), the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and NAPA have completed the first phase of a Joint Development Project (JDP) to enable 3D model-based approvals for the classification of ships. The project validated the feasibility of 3D model-based approvals where classification reviews are directly based on the 3D model provided by the designer, rather than requiring multiple conversions to 2D drawings, which is the traditional process. The objective is to boost efficiency in the design process…

Brazilian mining firm Vale will install five Rotor Sails from Anemoi Marine Technologies Ltd (“Anemoi”), a supplier of wind-assisted propulsion technology for commercial vessels, onboard a 400,000 dwt Valemax, the world’s largest ore carrier. The vessel is owned by Omani shipowner, Asyad.Five 35-meter-tall, 5-meter-diameter cylindrical sails will be installed on the Sohar Max VLOC. The Rotor Sails will be installed on Anemoi’s folding deployment system, whereby the sails can be folded from vertical to mitigate impact on air draft and cargo handling operations.

South Korea's Hanwha Ocean has pitched offers to build submarines to Canada, the Philippines, and Poland, a company official said on Wednesday, as the country pushes to become one of the world's top four defense exporters.Canada is studying potential builders for new submarines and has expressed interest in Hanwha Ocean among other foreign rivals, Kim Seung-min, leader of Hanwha Ocean's naval and special ship overseas marketing team, told Reuters in an interview, without naming the competitors."We are now checking on our shoelaces at the start line before the race kicks off…

ABS signed a memorandum of understanding to work with key stakeholders in Korea to develop and demonstrate a 3D printing system for ocean-going vessels.Using a digital library for the design process, the system aims to support rapid maintenance, repair and operations by using 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), to manufacture parts on a vessel while at sea.ABS joins project partners Ulsan Metropolitan City, Ulsan ICT Promotion Agency, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology…

An offshore hydrogen and ammonia production platform design from the Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) has received approval in principle (AIP) from ABS.Developed by KRISO, the unit is designed to produce green hydrogen using electricity generated by a wind farm. Among the features, the design consists of a desalination system that desalinates seawater and turns it into clean water, an electrolysis system that produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water…

Moss Maritime, Norwegian company specializing in design and engineering services to the offshore energy industry as well as other ocean-based sectors and a subsidiary of Italy's Saipem,  has secured an Approval in Principle (AIP) from the classification society DNV for a containment system for ship transport of liquefied hydrogen (LH2).Ship transport of liquefied hydrogen is seen as one of the key technical challenges in realizing the energy transition to a carbon-free future…

The new Orca Class heavy-lift vessels being built at China's Wuhu Shipyard for the Jumbo-SAL-Alliance will be propelled by SCHOTTEL ControllablePropellers (SCP).The four-bladed controllable pitch propellers type SCP 129 will feature an input power of up to 8,810 kW and a propeller diameter of six meters.Jumbo-SAL-Alliance is a commercial joint venture between German shipping company SAL Heavy Lift and Netherlands-based Jumbo Shipping. Their new Orca Class, which includes four firm and two optional vessels…

China Classification Society (CCS) has completed the first approval in principle (AiP) for the design of a methanol bunkering ship in China.The AiP was issued by CCS Wuhan Rules and Research Institute to Zhejiang Seahead Ship Design and Research Institute.The ship, with a maximum capacity of 7,500t and capable of bunkering fuel oil and methanol, is designed to service large ships. The design fully considers the risks of methanol bunkering and the future development of demand in Zhoushan…

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has tested technology to precisely analyze the radiated noise of ships underwater using sonar.The technique measures the intensity, direction, and distance, and SHI has used it to precisely analyze the cause of noise emitted from a 174,000cbm LNG carrier.SHI is using the technology to forecast noise depending on speed and draft and aims to expand it beyond propellers to include underwater radiated noise from engines and machinery.The IMO is considering regulations on underwater noise, as it can adversely affect animals such as whales.

Before the Ever Max ship carrying lava lamps, sofas, Halloween costumes and artificial Christmas trees could make its inaugural Panama Canal voyage this month, a historic drought forced it to drop weight by offloading hundreds of containers.Weather-related disruptions denied the vessel, owned by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, a chance on Aug. 1 to set a record for carrying the most containers through the vital maritime shortcut that connects the Pacific and Atlantic…

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) 9104.T has received in-principle approvals for a liquefied CO2 vessel and a floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) from the American Bureau of Shipping, its Chief Executive Takeshi Hashimoto said on Wednesday.The vessel and the FSO were developed by the company along with Malaysia's state-run oil company Petronas and Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute, Hashimoto said in a statement.The statement gave no further…

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has signed a contract to build two 22,000 cubic meter liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers worth KRW 179 billion ($142 million) for the Capital Maritime Group of Greece.The vessels will be 159.9 meters long, 27.4 meters wide and 17.8 meters high. As well as LCO2, they will be designed to transport various liquefied gas cargoes such as LPG and ammonia. They will be made ready for ammonia dual fuel operation.According to the Global CCS Institute, a research institute in the field of carbon capture and storage…