Extra Equipment News

With dredging business booming in the U.S., companies across the country invest in innovative new tonnage to get the job done more efficiently, effectively and safely. Chris Gunsten, SVP, Project Services & Fleet Engineering, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) and Patrick Webb, Senior Director Sales - Global Marine and Stationary, Wabtec discuss the tech inside the new Conrad-built trailing suction hopper dredge Galveston Island.Conrad Shipyard recently launched Galveston Island, the first of two newbuild hopper dredges being built for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation.

With shipowners pressed to upgrade machinery to meet strict new emission targets, there’s much confusion with chatter surrounding ‘decarbonization’ and ‘future fuels’, solutions that don’t exist today – and may not exist in mass for another generation – cluttering the conversation. Enter Wabtec, formerly GE Transportation, which today offers a Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance…

Gas Agility is the world largest LNG bunkering vessel with 18,600 cu. m. MARKIII-flex type membrane tanks built at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. in China. The vessel is equipped with four sets of 8L20DF engines for electric propulsion and two sets of azimuth thrusters and a bow thruster for navigation. A Harmonized Control system for the thrusters is a key technlolgy for maneuvering safely and efficiently for berthing, unberthing, position-keeping and approach…

Earlier this year in New York City the Exhaust Gas Cleaning System Association (EGCSA) held its annual meeting to discuss the business, technologies and future of scrubbers as a solution to the looming IMO 2020 fuel rules. At the meeting, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was afforded the opportunity to pick the brains of several leading executives to help understand the challenge and promise that scrubbers provide. In October 2016 a landmark decision was handed down from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which set January 1…

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ expedition cruise ship, the 155-passenger MS Bremen has become one of the first passenger ships in the world to receive the Polar Ship Certificate which will be mandatory for ships operating in the polar regions from January 2018. MS Bremen was awarded Polar Code certification by classification society DNV GL following a two-year long phase of intense preparation, leading the way for all other ships in the Hapag-Lloyd Cruises fleet which are also due to meet the Polar Code requirements by the Arctic season in 2018.

Italian tug operator Rimorchiatori Riuniti has continued its fleet expansion with the deliveries of two new Damen tugs; an ASD 2913 called Danimarca and an ASD 2411 called Columbia. The delivery of the Danimarca took place in Genoa on June 14, 2017. This new tug will join the ASD 2913 Germania that joined the company’s fleet at the beginning of the year. Like her sister vessel, the Danimarca has also been installed with FiFi 1 and an aft winch, in addition to oil recovery and escort capabilities.

The Bristol Port Company has taken delivery of a Damen Shoalbuster 2308S. Modified with several customized options, the vessel will be able to take on a multifunctional role that includes plough dredging, towing, pilotage and survey duties. This is the first contract between Damen and the Bristol Port Company. Construction of the new 23-meter-long Shoalbuster took place at Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld, in the Netherlands. During the handover ceremony on March 17, the vessel was officially named Graham Robertson.

Damen Shipyards Group has delivered an ASD 2310 Tug to Foyle Port. The official handover of the new vessel – named Strathfoyle – took place at a short ceremony attended by the port’s staff, clients and stakeholders. Taking the position as most powerful tug at the port, the Strathfoyle marks a commitment to ongoing safe and efficient harbor assistance operations at Foyle Port. Foyle Port is in the North West of Ireland. Located at the south-west end of Lough Foyle, the port’s primary cargos are bulk goods arriving at the Lisahally Terminal and oil products that call at the LSS Oil Terminal.

Two major bridge refit contracts have been completed by Radio Holland USA on Holland America Line’s cruise ships Oosterdam and Prinsendam. The bridge refit on board the M/S Oosterdam was concluded in Palermo, Sicily in early May. Then just days later Radio Holland continued with a bridge upgrade project for the M/S Prinsendam, which took place in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The latest refits follow refit work on M/S Noordam and Westerdam in 2014 and 2015. Rob van den Hof, Nautical Superintendent of Technical Operations from Holland America Line…

EPA Tier 4 regulations (for engines of 804 hp and higher) and propulsion advancements have many manufacturers and vessel designers changing course to adapt to new requirements and customer demands. Jensen Maritime is designing a new 110-ft. harbor class ship assist docking tug with 6,770 horsepower. “It’s a little larger than most. The extra length allows for towing which is secondary use,” says Vice President Johan Sperling. “There will be Tier 4 equipment in it. Bryan Nichols…

Container shipping lines are poised to take delivery of a new generation of "megaships" over the next two years, just as the growth of world trade is slowing down, contributing to massive overcapacity in the market. Megaships, which can be up to 400 metres long, seem to be here to stay, not least because so many more are already on order, the product of high fuel costs and low interest rates. But the trend towards larger vessels is not without problems especially for other businesses in the transport system and the trend could be nearing its limit as the economies of scale associated with megaships decline. Container shipping capacity…

U.S. Ten years on, there’s little certain about ballast water management regulations that the industry can chart a course around other than that it will be expensive – possibly the most costly marine retrofit to date. With install estimates running from $500,000 to as much as $5 million per vessel, across some 68,000 commercial ships estimated by the IMO to transfer 7 billion tons of  ballast water annually – industry players say we could be looking at as much as an $80 billion market. Eventually, that is, because there is not a lot of activity right now.

Foss Maritime Builds New Ice-Class Tugs as it embarks on a new Arctic Challenge. To support growing Arctic business, Seattle-based Foss Maritime Company is building three ocean-going tugs at its Rainier Shipyard in Oregon on the Columbia River. These 132 feet-long, Ice Class vessels will have strengthened hulls designed to withstand the harsh, Arctic climate conditions into which they will eventually be deployed. Work on the tugs began in July, and the first in the series will be delivered in December 2014.

GE’s Power Conversion business unveiled a new power and propulsion system at OTC that they say reduces fuel consumption by controlling engine speed on platform support vessels. The Variable Frequency Active Front-End power and propulsion system, or VF-AFE, enables ship owners using conventional power system components to lower engine speeds when feasible, cut fuel consumption and reduce emissions and maintenance requirements, the manufacturer claims. “We are increasing efficiency of existing technology for the benefit of our customers,” says Paul English, marine leader of GE Power Conversion.

Offers a time-saving alternative to hard wiring junction boxes in marine equipment applications. Molex Incorporated showcased its Self-Contained Power Connector (SCPC) system to the marine industry at the 2012 International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition. The SCPC is a simple two-piece system used to splice and tap solid and stranded non-metallic sheathed cable, providing fast and easy connection of marine boat cables. The connectors support two and three conductors and ground circuits…

Post Workboats has developed a unique Tornado RIB with water jet propulsion especially for the offshore and the wind farm industry. ‘It is the first time that such a RIB has been equipped with water jets’, says entrepreneur Klaas Post. ‘And what is more it offers many important advantages. With water jets you can maneuver accurately down to the centimeter, it is perfectly safe for rescuing people from drowning and for divers. The draught is determined by the bottom of the hull and not by the engine.

The evolution of liftboats took a giant leap forward when Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., delivered the L/B MYRTLE, a 137.5-ft. liftboat to Montco Offshore, Inc., Golden Meadow, La. Equipped with 245-ft., legs, the self-propelled floating platform has the ability to work in water depths to 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap while lifting a total of 850 KIPS of variable load. What makes the L/B MYRTLE different from other liftboats is that it is equipped with a bow thruster and controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater maneuverability and pinpoint positioning of the huge legs with oversized pads on the ocean bottom. Lee Orgeron, Montco’s president states, “We always strive to give our customers the best possible service with the highest level of safety built-in.

In contrast to people who may still be hoping to find space on a cruise ship, Dan Zivney knows exactly where he'll be on New Year's Eve. He'll be watching for "Y2K bugs." As project director for Mobil's Year 2000 project, Zivney will be in one of seven regional Mobil incident response centers that will follow the new millennium as it makes its entrance around the world. "Quite frankly, I'm optimistic that our preparedness will reduce or eliminate the work for the response centers," he says. "I want our program to be so successful that the end of 1999 and the beginning of the year 2000 will be remembered as nothing more than a big yawn.

The offshore supply vessel market remains as competitive as ever, with companies attempting to lure customers with the best possible value for their day rates and other appealing offers. Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc., Mandeville, La., found a simple answer to stay ahead of the competition: build a well-designed fleet and equip it with the best technology you can afford. "It's that simple," says Carl Annessa, Hornbeck vice president of operations. "Customers want to contract boats that get the job done for the best value. Hornbeck Offshore owns a fleet of seven offshore supply vessels (OSVs) that are contracted to oil companies for oil exploration and production services, as well as drill rig support in deep water.

The task of picking just one Bollinger Shipyards-built vessel to feature as a "Great Boat" is a nearly impossible task. Plainly stated, the boatbuilder is so active in such a diverse number of niches, it is impossible to select one as better than the other, given some of the groundbreaking vessels built in 2002. The editors of MarineNews have, hence, selected a two vessels for this focus: the liftboat L/B Myrtle; the shelf boat Ms. Another example of Bollinger Shipyards' ability and willingness to integrate customer demand into its new products is the new Super Shelf Boat, Ms. Sara Jane. When MNM Boats, the operating division of C&G Boats…

Montco Offshore is the beneficiary of the latest innovative newbuild from the Bollinger Shipyards stable. The companies are touting the new L/B Myrtle, a 137.5 ft. unit, as a giant leap forward in the evolution of liftboats. The unit is outfitted with 245-ft. legs and the self-propelled floating platform has the ability to work in water depths to 180 ft. with a 15-ft. air gap while lifting a total of 850 KIPS of variable load. The feature that separates this liftboat from others, however, is that it is equipped with a bowthruster and controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater maneuverability and pinpoint positioning of the huge legs with oversized pads on the ocean bottom.

UAE based GMMOS Group, backed by Abraaj Capital and Waha Capital, has acquired 100% of the share capital of Minnow Marine Projects Limited (MMPL) through its newly formed Singapore based division Stanford Asia. MMPL founder and CEO Robin Reeves will remain actively involved in the further development of the combined group as head of Stanford Asia. According to Elias Nassif, CEO of GMMOS Group, Stanford plans to make additional acquisitions in the OSV sector while expanding its geographic presence in 2010 with new regional offices in India and West Africa. MMPL's fleet of offshore support vessels (OSV) comprising four Platform Supply Vessels (PSV) and six Multirole Utility Vessels (MUV) valued in excess of $200m…