Steel Construction News

Fresh on the heels of its first newbuild order in five years, the world's largest cruise company has placed an order for an additional vessel.U.S.-based Carnival Corporation on Tuesday announced it has signed an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build an Excel-class cruise ship for its Carnival Cruise Line brand for expected delivery in 2028.The ship will be the 11th Excel-class ship for the corporation's fleet across four of its brands, and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft reports it has secured an order from U.S.-based Carnival Corporation for the construction of a new cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line. The newbuild order is the first placed by Carnival Corporation in five years.Slated for delivery in 2027, the Excel-class ship will be a sister vessel to the 183,200 GT Carnival Jubilee, which was handed over at the end of 2023."Our Excel-class ships have been a tremendous addition to the Carnival fleet and proven very popular with our guests," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Classification society Bureau Veritas has successfully reviewed a 3D design of a 2500 m³ hopper dredger from Damen Shipyards, being a step to granting it approval in principle. The pilot project for 3D model-based class approval is meant to pave the way toward using three dimensional computer designs as standard procedure to achieve class notation for seagoing vessels.Vessel steel hull Design evaluation based on 3D models in parallel to its classification review process has become possible thanks to the new data exchange format - OCX.

Aussie Pumps introduced a new desalination pump, capable of both high pressure and high flows. Manufactured by Bertolini in Northern Italy, it features heavy duty AISI 316 stainless steel construction,  which makes it suitable for reverse osmosis, desalination, food industry, pharmaceutical, marine and even chemical applications. The pump can be used as a direct drive with electric motor in the 1,450rpm range (4 pole), and alternatively, can be close coupled to a gearbox, or pulley’s or driven by a gasoline or diesel engine.Called the Big Berty KA4815…

The Danish provider of mobile robotic welding and adaptive multi-pass welding technologies, Inrotech has partnered withGullco International, a manufacturer of automated welding and cutting carriages, modular automation, and custom automation solutions.The two companies will use their partnership to strengthen their customer offerings and market position. With this partnership, both companies combine their knowledge together and offer smart, easy-to-use automation solutions equipped with intelligent software and scanning technology for the growing need for welding automation technology…

It’s a common story in the U.S. shipbuilding industry today. A piece of equipment that used to be available for delivery on short notice—maybe in one or two weeks—now must be ordered months or more in advance, and it costs double. Add to this rising steel prices and the labor issues that have pervaded nearly all industrial sectors since the early days of the pandemic, and it’s clear that business is far from usual for American shipyards.Bollinger Shipyards president and CEO, Ben Bordelon…

With more wind farms sprouting up in Europe, Asia and now here in the United States, a steady stream of crew transfer vessels (CTV) will be needed to support their construction, maintenance and operation. Typically aluminum catamarans, these vessels are deployed to ferry personnel and light equipment to and from offshore wind farms on a daily basis.While a solid portion of CTVs in the established European offshore wind market are propelled by waterjets, Adam Mills, sales director at Marine Jet Power…

Norway's Aker Clean Hydro and Swiss logistics group Kuehne & Nagel on Friday announced a cooperation to boost carbon-neutral container transport at sea, banking on hydrogen as one of the fuels that will make it possible.The partnership comes as Europe is trying to establish a flourishing hydrogen industry to help CO2-intense sectors, such as steel, construction and transport, cut emissions and wean off fossil fuels.As part of the cooperation, Aker Clean Hydro, which is majority-owned by conglomerate Aker ASA via green technology subsidiary Aker Horizons…

Antonio Ferrando,Provision Store Expert at ALMACO Group, explains the key factors behind creating optimal provision stores and layouts.What are the three most important things to consider when creating provision stores and layouts?Let me start by emphasizing these three things: flow, maximum food preservation, and customization. These three are really the key when we are taking about creating an optimal layout of provision stores and galleys for a customer.Flow: The layout has a direct and major impact on the flow in an area.

The U.S. Navy took delivery of the future USS Canberra (LCS 30) at Austal USA on December 21. This is the second Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) that shipbuilder Austal has delivered to the Navy in 2021.“With two ship launches, two christenings, and now the successful completion of sea trials and delivery for LCS 30, it has been a busy last couple of months at Austal USA,” said Rusty Murdaugh, President of the Mobile, Alabama-based shipbuilder. “All of these milestones require extensive coordination between Austal…

Launched in 2018 to cater to the propulsion demands of high-speed vessel applications, Marine Jet Power’s (MJP) X-Series waterjets are engineered to deliver more power in a lighter unit that burns less fuel and extends range.“With the X Series we have taken our proven highly efficient mixed flow pump technology from our DRB and CSU Series, and adopted it into a fully integrated, quick to install waterjet which is mostly constructed from duplex stainless steel,” said Jonas Tegström, CEO of Sweden-based MJP.

Austal USA delivered the future USS Savannah, the 14th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), to the U.S. Navy June 25. Savannah (LCS 28) is the seventh ship Austal has delivered to the Navy in less than two years.LCS is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft. The…

Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards has acquired Gulf Island Fabrication’s shipyard facilities in nearby Houma for approximately $28.6 million.The purchased site encompasses 437 acres on the west bank of the Houma Navigation Canal, of which 283 acres is unimproved land that is available for expansion. The facility includes 18,000 square feet of administrative and operations facilities, 160,000 square feet of covered fabrication facilities and 20,000 square feet of warehouse facilities. It also has 6,750 linear feet of water frontage, including 2,350 feet of steel bulkheads.

With much of North America still reeling from the pandemic, HGG Profiling Equipment continues to grow, responding to immediate and anticipated customer demand for profile-cutting machinery. Since opening its new 6,500-square-foot facility in Houston in this spring 2020, HGG has added an area manager to its sales and support team, three new customer service and support specialists, and two new service technicians.HGG recently expanded its North American sales coverage by adding Todd Wellens as Area Manager for eastern and midwestern US and Canada…

Australian Pump, an Australian designer and manufacturer of high-pressure cleaning equipment, was chosen to design and build 4,000 psi high pressure water blasters for Sydney’s Garden Island Dockyard. The machines, called the Aussie Atlas, feature an all stainless steel construction and produce a 4,000 psi 16 liter per minute performance. Designed for working on a wide range of vessels in the dry dock, the machines offer fast and efficient cleaning.With up to 30 machines working at any one time in the dock, safety is key.

Australian manufacturer and designer of high pressure cleaning equipment Australian Pump said it was chosen to design and build 4,000 psi high pressure water blasters for Sydney’s Garden Island Dockyard applications.Designed for working on a wide range of vessels in the dry dock, the machines, called the Aussie Atlas, feature an all stainless steel construction and produce a 4,000 psi, 16 liter per minute performance.With up to 30 machines working at any one time in the dock, safety is a key issue.

The first of two new 70-meter liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled RoPax ferries for Dutch operator Rederij Doeksen has completed sea trials in the Netherlands.The BMT-designed Willem Barentsz, and sister vessel Willem de Vlamingh, were built by Strategic Marine Shipyard in Vietnam while final outfitting and commissioning were completed by Rederij Doeksen.With an operating area within the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the main focus for Rederij Doeksen led by its managing director Paul Melles was on reducing the environmental impact of the vessel operation.

In today’s environment, the overarching challenge for the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry is to continue transporting the vital commodities that help keep our nation’s economy moving during a highly uncertain time, while taking all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of our workforce as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve – in other words, to ensure business continuity, while recognizing we are not, nor can we be, going about business as usual.

Ocean Residences Development Ltd. (ORD) has taken the next step in the development of M/Y NJORD, a 290m long residential yacht to be built by DIV Shipbuilding, which owns both Kleven Verft shipyard in Norway and Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia. Both shipyards will have a role in the construction of this vessel, with Brodosplit responsible for the majority of the steel construction of the hull as well as a significant proportion of the technical installations. The hull will then…

It was Canadian whalers, the Norwegians tell us, who first noticed that a dead whale does not bob in the waves. The carcass didn’t pitch or roll, either, and it was somehow “self-propelled” — its fins giving it forward motion and acting as stabilizers, or foils. The story still inspires Trondheim company Wavefoil, maker of scalable, retractable foils that offer ship owners and designers fuel savings and passenger comfort. In Norway, high-speed ferries, cruise ships and fishing vessels are the first customers for retrofits and newbuilds.

The provider of maritime construction services Jan De Nul said that a new lock complex along the Lys river in Harelbeke, Belgium is inaugurated.The Joint Venture ‘Leieland’, a partnership between contractors Jan De Nul nv, Herbosch Kiere nv, Engie Fabricom nv and Aelterman bvba, was responsible for the design and execution of the works.In the past five years, the Joint Venture ‘Leieland’ worked by order of ‘De Vlaamse Waterweg’ (the Flemish Waterway Authority) on the renovation and modernization of the weir lock, waterway and environment alongside the river Lys in Harelbeke.Jan De Nul nv and Herbosch-Kiere nv were jointly responsible for the civil engineering works, as well as for the general coordination of the project and all parties involved.

As the 90th anniversary of Robert Allan Ltd. approaches it is quite timely to address the development of Robert Allan’s designs as the years passed by and technology changed.When the first Robert Allan came out to Canada at the end of the First War he was a trained naval architect experienced in the design of rivetted steel ships. With the end of the war and the curtailment of Government support of shipbuilding new steel ships built in BC became very rare. Wood was the material of choice, used in the design and construction of all sorts of commercial and government vessels.

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…