Electrical Systems News

The Spanish wind energy giant Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has received an order for 1,714 MW from Orsted and Eversource.Encompassing three offshore wind power projects, the signed conditional contract is the largest U.S. offshore wind power (OWP) order to date, it said in a press release.According to SGRE, the order encompasses the supply, delivery, and installation of SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines including service agreements in federal waters off the northeastern coast of the U.S.

Pursuant to the agreement signed last year between Fincantieri, the Liguria Region and the trade unions Cgil, Cisl and Uil, aimed at carrying out a series of initiatives to encourage job placement processes, the offer of the courses of the technical institutes of higher education for next autumn is to be extended.In fact, a new educational pathway meeting the employment needs of the shipbuilding sector will start in Liguria at the Accademia della Marina Mercantile (the Merchant Navy Academy). The Regional Council, following the proposal of the Councilor Cavo, has approved the scheduling of the post-high school diploma specialization course “Foreman for production and maintenance of ships and/or related infrastructures”…

Happy 80th birthday Maritime Reporter & Engineering News! Eighty years is a significant publishing and business accomplishment!Birthdays always cause a look back. An 80-year review starts in 1939, the close of one very challenging decade, the start of events still reverberating today. History’s most important history is contained in the last 80 years.Energy dominated every one of those decades. Consider energy use, say, starting after World War II, from 1950 to 1975. There was power for everything…

As part of the strategic cooperation agreement signed between SUMEC Marine Company Ltd. and DNV GL last year, SUMEC’s New Dayang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and DNV GL have agreed on a Joint Development Project (JDP) to update the Crown 63.5k Bulk Carrier design. The agreement was signed at the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Oslo.The JDP will include the application of the new harmonized common structural rules (HCSR) to the design, as well as a focus on improving the energy efficiency of the design, particularly in the ship board machinery and electrical systems.

New Dayang Shipbuilding, a unit of China's SUMEC Marine Company Ltd and the international accredited registrar and classification society DNV GL have agreed on a Joint Development Project (JDP) to update the Crown 63.5k Bulk Carrier design.The agreement, as part of the strategic cooperation agreement signed between SUMEC Marine Company  and DNV GL last year, was signed at the Nor-Shipping trade fair in Oslo.The JDP will include the application of the new harmonized common structural rules (HCSR) to the design…

On the night of March 23, 2008, most of the crew sleeps while fishing vessel Alaska Ranger makes her way to the rich fishing grounds off the coast of Alaska. As the Engineer makes his nightly rounds, he discovers a serious flood in the rudder room. He raises the alarm and the captain issues a Mayday call. But before the crew can investigate the source of the leak, the rising water reaches their electrical systems and the ship loses power. With the ship listing and in danger of sinking, the captain orders the crew to abandon ship.

While merriam-webster.com is succinct in its definition of ‘autonomous’, ask 10 people in the maritime sector what ‘autonomous’ vessel means to them and the responses vary widely. Achieving autonomous, unmanned operations is not high, today, on the agenda of many (if any) shipowners. What does command their attention? Building ships that are increasingly ‘smart,’ with integrated, connected systems that take on additional decision-making processes while helping to reduce crew size (and cost)…

The latest lifeboat to join the fleet of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the main sea rescue service in the UK and Ireland, is the waterjet-propelled Shannon class, which the organization says is its most agile and maneuverable all-weather lifeboat yet to be deployed. Designed entirely in-house by RNLI engineers, cutting-edge technology has been used in this new boat to meet modern-day rescue service demands following the lead taken with the RNLI’s introduction of the Shannon’s sister lifeboat class…

Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Jensen Maritime Consultants (JMC) has been awarded the contract to design ship assist and escort tugboats for Moran Towing, a tug-and-barge operator on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts.The new boats will be the latest in a series of seven Jensen-designed tugboats for Moran over the past decade, said a press release from JMC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corporation.New features on the tugboats include upgrades to meet the latest ABS regulations and U.S. Coast Guard subchapter M regulations, as well as meeting U.S.

It seems the U.S. cannot do enough to fast-track the construction of its new icebreaking fleet, as the USCG announce last night that the 150-member crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star fought a fire at approximately 9 p.m. PST Feb. 10 that broke out in the ship's incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.After initial response efforts using four fire extinguishers failed, fire crews spent almost two hours extinguishing the fire. Fire damage was contained inside the incinerator housing…

Moran Iron Works, Inc. (MIW) signed a contract with Pictured Rocks Kayaking (PRK) to build a specialized passenger tour vessel. Together, and in conjunction with DLBA (a division of Gibbs & Cox, Inc.), they are creating a special purpose tour boat that is first of its kind in the Great Lakes region.The 64’ by 19’ vessel will be constructed out of aluminum at Moran Iron Works’ headquarters in Onaway, Michigan. The purpose of this particular unnamed vessel is to escort 72 passengers and 36 kayaks around Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for guided kayak tours.

The 150 crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived Thursday in Antarctica along with a resupply vessel during Operation Deep Freeze – a joint military service mission to resupply U.S. interests in Antarctica.Homeported in Seattle, the 42-year-old Coast Guard cutter is the United States’ only operational heavy icebreaker, and the crew is making their sixth deployment in as many years to directly support the resupply of McMurdo Station – the United States’ main…

Insufficient Maintenance Program, Lack of Guidance Led to Passenger Vessel Fire. The National Transportation Safety Board determined during a public meeting held Tuesday that an insufficient preventative maintenance program and lack of guidance for responding to engine high-temperature conditions, led to the Jan. 14, 2018, fire aboard the small passenger vessel Island Lady, in the waters of the Pithlachascotee River, near Port Ritchey, Florida.The Island Lady was a 72-foot-long passenger vessel operated by Tropical Breeze Casino Cruz…

Rhode Island shipbuilder Blount Boats said it has signed a contract with the nation’s largest state power organization to construct an icebreaking, all-welded-steel, diesel-powered, double screw tugboat.The new vessel for the New York Power Authority (NYPA) will be built to operate in seasonal ice near the entrance to and within the upper Niagara River. This vessel will replace existing vessels in the NYPA fleet currently used for the installation, removal, and maintenance of…

Earlier this summer Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ventured to Ålesund/Sunnmøre area of western Norway visiting local manufacturers and suppliers serving the global maritime industry and featuring a series of business and technology presentations by leading sector companies including Inmarsat, VARD Group, Ulstein Group, Brunvoll, Ulmatec, Jets, ABB Marine & Ports, Fostech AS and Rolls-Royce Marine. Tom Mulligan reports on new business developments and technology innovations…

Rolls-Royce has launched a new range of smaller, more compact podded propulsion systems: the ELegance pods – one with an open propeller, the other ducted.Per Nahnfeldt, General Manager Product – Electric Propulsion, Rolls-Royce, said, “For many years we have recognized the gap in the propulsion market for smaller pods, including ice-class, in the 1.5MW to 7MW power range. These new pods – based on our Permanent Magnet technology – complement our broad product portfolio and sit well with our range of frequency drives and electrical systems.

Long a staple for offshore service providers, a more compact and carefully designed version of the diesel electric option is now available for inland pushboats. For budget conscious operators (and who isn’t, in this environment?), the stars may finally be aligned.For many years, electric propulsion has proven to be a viable propulsion solution for many different types of vessels. Most familiar to workboat stakeholders would be the advent of the ‘diesel electric’ offshore serve providers (OSV) that became commonplace during the offshore boom era.

The hull of the U.K.’s new polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough was launched from Cammell Laird shipyard Saturday, marking a major milestone toward the completion of one of the world’s most advanced scientific maritime vessels.Shipyard workers, engineers, scientists and maritime industry experts were among thousands who gathered to celebrate the launch along with special guest speakers, including renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, who pressed…

Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, who will hand over the reins of  International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) in July, examined how the association had evolved during his time as Chairman, while speaking at the Posidonia trade fair in Athens. In an industry undergoing rapid change, the IACS Chairman identified the need for classification societies and IACS itself to be adaptable and prepared for change, while staying true to the core purpose of classification. Ørbeck-Nilssen…

No matter what route you take, time is marching on and that means compliance requirements, inspections and audits are just around the corner. This July, major sections of the Subchapter M regulation will enter into force as the towing industry begins the process of certifying as many as 5,700 U.S.-flagged vessels that fall under the remit of the new safety and environmental standards. Demand for technical support from third-party organizations (TPO) such as ABS has been escalating…

Shipbuilder Fincantieri Marine Group has announced further details on its plans to adapt its FREMM frigate, already in service for the Italian Navy since 2012, to design the U.S. Navy’s new guided-missile frigate, FFG(X). Fincantieri said it will lead an industry team, including Gibbs & Cox and Trident Maritime Systems, to design and build the ships at its U.S. shipyards, including Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) in Marinette, Wisc. The FFG(X) design is based on FREMM, a multi-mission ship capable of conducting antisurface…

It is not business as usual in the world where we do business. Things are changing. Even regulations themselves are changing from less prescriptive in nature to more performance-based. As Chairman, President and CEO of a global classification and technology-centric company that operates in 70 countries with 5,000 employees, I am continually assessing the impact of these changes on the capabilities ABS needs to fulfill its mission and maintain its leadership position in the maritime, offshore and government industries it serves. To know where we are heading, we have to know where we began.

Ship owners weighing future marine fuel choices after the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2020 0.5 percent sulphur cap should also consider oil company expectations that up to 30 percent of commercial shipping will gravitate back to high sulphur fuel oil by 2030, according to naval architecture and engineering consultancy Foreship. With just over 100 ships running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) today, the number in service is likely to remain below 500 by 2020. At the same time…