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My first visit in 2007 to the American Society of Naval Engineers’ (ASNE) Multi-Agency Craft Conference (MACC) was an eye-opener. Having built a naval architecture career with frigates, destroyers and other large naval and commercial ships, I was eager to learn of the smaller craft used by the U.S. Navy and other government and military bodies. As my flight into Norfolk, Va. descended over Chesapeake Bay, I gazed in amazement as a Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) raced toward Virginia Beach, slowed, glided up the beach and into its shore base.

While the December 2021 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News examines 'Great Ships' delivered this calendar  year, Edward Lundquist takes a look back into U.S. Navy history and America's first aircraft carrier —CV 1, the USS Langley.Most people think of USS Langley as America’s first aircraft carrier — CV 1. While that’s true, and being the first flattop in the fleet is an honorable distinction, Langley began life as a collier — USS Jupiter, which itself was a relatively new concept of delivering fuel to the afloat forces where they need it. Today, the U.S.

In collaboration with naval architects Hauschildt Marine and shipyard Fayard in Denmark, Smyril Line’s ro-pax ship Norröna has been retrofitted with more luxurious facilities for its regular service between the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Denmark.The RoPax, originally built in 2003 in Germany, at Flendern Werft in Lübeck, had a nearly $16m refit which included 50 new luxury cabins being added. The ferry originally cost $115  million to build.Room for the luxury cabins was found by moving the crew’s cabins to a different location on the ferry and getting rid of the old shared cabins.

Newly formed dredging and marine infrastructure services firm Encore Dredging Partners, LLC. (EDP) said it has acquired Inland Dredging Company, LLC for an undisclosed purchase price.EDP said it completed the transaction with support from its sole financial sponsor, Austin, Texas-based private equity firm AV Capital. League City, Texas-based EDP is a mid-sized cutter suction and mechanical dredging services provider focused on navigable waterways throughout the U.S.For 24 years, Dyersburg, Tenn.-headquartered Inland has provided dredging services throughout the Central U.S.

Europe’s leading Naval defence company Naval Group has developed a range of sophisticated solutions to operate unmanned vehicles  and protect warships systems to enhance the defence of sovereign interests.The  French shipbuilding company has presented its solution to address compelling information  modern warfare trends at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) in Abu Dhabi.Set in the context of emerging threats including the use of mines, piracy and cyber-attacks, Naval Group has developed a range of sophisticated solutions to operate unmanned vehicles  and protect warships systems to enhance the defence of sovereign interests.Unmanned systems also offer many advantages…

As the marine industry ponders decarbonization, the world’s first all-electric and completely emissions-free ship, Future of the Fjords delivers. Future of the Fjords was commissioned as part of the shipowner’s program of fleet renewal with  the backing of Fjord1, the largest ferry operator in Norway, and of Flåm AS, the company that  promotes tourism in the Flåm area, to provide vessels that deliver optimal passenger experiences with minimal environmental impact.Constructed by specialist shipbuilder Brødrene Aa…

A ship loaded with 4,500t of equipment by BAM Construct UK has been sent on a month-long journey to Antarctica, where it will be used for building a new wharf at Rothera Research Station.The new wharf, being built over the next two Antarctic seasons, will provide safe berthing and efficient unloading for the new polar research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The Rothera Research Station is a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) base on the Antarctic Peninsula, located at Rothera Point, Adelaide Island.The construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom said in a press release that BAM oversaw the loading of plant…

Breaking new ground: the all-electric, zero-emissions Future of The FjordsNorwegian cruise vessel offers amazing tourist experience while protecting fragile UNESCO World Heritage environmentFuture of the Fjords, the world’s first all-electric and completely emissions-free ship, launched in April this year by Norwegian tours operator The Fjords, is now operating as a cruise vessel on the spectacular Gudvangen to Flåm route along the Nærøyfjord, Sognefjord and Aurlandsfjord of western Norway.

As Congress wrestles with the budget, there is at least a bipartisan consensus that defense spending should grow, and that includes growing the Navy’s fleet. The current goal is 355 ships, an admirable goal, but an objective that faces many cost hurdles. The surface fleet (which excludes submarines and aircraft carriers) needs to grow in capability and capacity. The numbers of ships being procured or envisions would increase as the total n umber of ships increases, but the number in this story represents current program status.

Voyager Maritime Alliance Group (VMAG) , one of the leading marine technology providers in South Florida, is expanding its already comprehensive list of services by adding turnkey marine services that now encompass the entire refit and new build process. “In simple terms – we do it all! Says David Leone, President of VMAG, from the initial planning, naval architecture services, networking and data cabling, project management, contractor management, welding and fabrication, carpentry, fiberglass work, security and camera systems, monitoring and control, custom build bridge and fly bridge consoles, networking and data cabling, communications equipment, navigation equipment to OEM Packages.

While much of the maritime world slumps, the cruise sector is enjoying its most vibrant growth in a generation. Carnival Corporation, in particular, is doing very well as its financial performance is stronger than ever, with 2016 delivering the best year of earnings in company history. The company’s adjusted earnings for 2016 of $2.6 billion is the best annual financial performance in its 44-year history. With that, Hans Hederstrom, Managing Director give overview of CSMART, one of the newest and richly appointed simulation centers on the planet.

Marine Professionals Inc. (MPI) is marking its 20th year in business, kicking off a year-long commemoration with a new celebratory logo and a secondary, complementary visual. The anniversary logo symbolizes MPI’s success over the past 20 years, as well as its commitment to its longstanding clients and overall philosophy of customer loyalty and care. The secondary logo rounds out new visual identifiers with a universally recognizable compass rose. Over the past two decades, MPI has sailed from expanding its ongoing yacht maintenance and management business, to charting the deeper waters of Marine Electronics, AV & Networking, and Emergency Crisis expertise, providing full-scale marine management services at its flagship location at Bahia Mar, Fort Lauderdale.

Carnival Corporation & plc today announced the official opening of its Arison Maritime Center, a world-class facility dedicated to providing safety training for its bridge and engineering officers responsible for the navigation and operation of the company’s fleet of cruise ships. Located in Almere, Netherlands just outside Amsterdam, the new 75-million-euro facility features some of industry’s most advanced simulators and training equipment to provide annual training to more than 6,500 bridge and engineering officers from Carnival’s 10 global cruise line brands.

1862 - CSS Virginia is destroyed by Confederates off Craney Island to prevent capture. 1898 - During the Spanish-American War, Marines and Sailors from USS Marblehead (C 11) and USS Nashville (PG 7) cut the trans-oceanic cable near Cienfuegos, Cuba, isolating Cuba from Spain. For heroism during this action, 54 Marines and Sailors received the Medal of Honor. 1943 - In the Attu Operation, Task Force 16, commanded by Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid, landed a force of 3,000 US Army troops of the 7th Division in the cold and the mist of the Aleutians. 1945 - During the Okinawa Campaign, kamikazes crash into Task Force 58s flagship, USS Bunker Hill (CV 17). As a result, Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher transfers his flag to USS English (DD 696), then to USS Enterprise (CV 6) on May 14.

With 50 years dedicated to polymer coating and composite manufacturer Belzona, Geoff Binks looks back on his experience in the industry and maintenance sector. Geoff Binks was born and raised in Harrogate and joined Belzona in 1965 direct from Technical College with a chemistry background. He first worked in R&D on a broad range of products, particularly the Belzona Metals which saw radical development in 1968 with the introduction of the first Belzona Super Metal formulation.

Anchorage-based Crowley Fuels yesterday completed an asset acquisition of the aviation fuels business of Ace Fuels, LLC, a fixed base operator (FBO) headquartered at Merrill Field in downtown Anchorage offering Jet A and AV 100LL fuels. The acquisition includes the company’s six, 24-hour self-service aviation fuels pump stations (cardlocks) and associated buildings located at the Merrill Field Strip, Merrill Field Main Airport, Willow Airport, Wasilla Airport, Lake Hood Strip and Fairbanks International Airport. “Congratulations to the entire team on completing this acquisition of two like-minded, privately-owned and operated businesses,” said Rocky Smith, senior vice president and general manager.

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) strengthened its growing relationship with the defence sector by actively participating in the Maritime Exhibition (MAREX) during the high profile International Fleet Review 2016, organised by the Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam. MAREX focussed on the ‘Make in India’ initiative by showcasing indigenous maritime capabilities. The IRClass stall, which was located adjacent to the stalls of Defence Public Sector Shipyards, was visited by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, escorted by Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff, and accompanied by the Defence Minister, Shri Manohar Parrikar, and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N.

The final phase of a competition to develop novel adaptive autonomous ocean sampling network (AAOSN) management systems for the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is now underway. Two UK consortia will move forward to develop systems capable of coordinating a suite of marine autonomous vehicles gathering data from the ocean over periods of months, and tracking and sampling dynamic features. The two-phase competition was launched last September by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in partnership with the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Innovate UK…

The “Rules and Regulations for Construction and Classification of Indian Naval Combatant Ships”, developed by Indian Register of Shipping were formally released by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral RK Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC  on June 9, 2015. The release took place in South Block, New Delhi, in the presence of Vice Admiral P Murugesan AVSM, VSM, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AV Subhedar AVSM, VSM, Chief of Materiel, Vice Admiral GS Pabby AVSM, VSM, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition and other senior officers of the Indian Navy.

The “Rules and Regulations for Construction and Classification of Indian Naval Combatant Ships”, developed by Indian Register of Shipping were formally released by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral RK Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC  on 09 June 2015. The release took place in South Block, New Delhi, in the presence of Vice Admiral P Murugesan AVSM, VSM, Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AV Subhedar AVSM, VSM, Chief of Materiel, Vice Admiral GS Pabby AVSM, VSM, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition and other senior officers of the Indian Navy. The Indian Register of Shipping was represented by Mr Arun Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, Vice Admiral B.S.

Transas and the Center for Simulator and Maritime Training (CSMART), the training facility for Carnival Corporation & plc, signed a multimillion euro contract to utilize Transas' simulators at CSMART's new facility, scheduled to open in summer 2016 in Almere, just outside Amsterdam. Carnival Corporation has operated its current CSMART training facility in Almere since 2009. The new CSMART facility will be three times larger than the existing facility, with capacity for providing annual training for 6,500 deck and engineering officers.

The U.S. Navy’s newest Amphibious Assault Ship, USS America (LHA 6) was commissioned on October 11, 2014 at Pier 30-32 in San Francisco. First in its class, the USS America does not have a well deck, unlike her previous counterparts, thus making the USS America an LHA with an aviation focus. The removal of the well deck allows USS America to have larger hangar facilities and more capacity for aviation fuel and munitions. The U.S. Navy points out that, “In lieu of a well deck,…

L-3 Marine Systems International (L-3 MSI) will showcase a range of systems and services for cruise ship operations, including automation, integrated navigation, dynamic positioning, onboard entertainment and drive systems, in Hall C, Stand 1931, at Cruise Shipping Miami, March 16-19. L-3 noted that its highlights will include live demonstrations of the advanced NACOS Platinum series. Also featured as part of the demonstrations will be an L-3 Valmarine multifunctional VALMATIC…