Knud E Hansen News

KNUD E. HANSEN, a naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy, has announced a milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Ferry Holdings Limited. Following the successful signing of the shipbuilding contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), two new RoPAX vessels will be built.These vessels are destined for service linking the North and South islands across New Zealand’s challenging Cook Strait and through the environmentally sensitive environs of the Tory Channel and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Freire Shipyard has celebrated the keel laying of the new flagship research vessel for the Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU -Technical University of Denmark). Measuring 70 meters length and 16 meters beam, with accommodation for 38 people, the Dana V is set to become a world-class platform for research and education.Successor to the Dana IV, the Dana V was designed by the Knud E. Hansen A/Sconsortium, Odense Maritime Technology A/S and Naval Architects, with environmental sustainability at its core.

Wallenius Marine and KNUD E. HANSEN have launched a new RoRo (roll on/roll off) design at Donsö Shipping Meet.The new concept builds on the Sleipner PCTC concept and on operational data from the Sleipner vessels Future Way and Way Forward. The new RoRo design, which includes an engine room in the bow, creates a large cargo capacity of 2,720 lane meters, equivalent to 181 trailers.The Sleipner RoRo concept allows for loading and unloading to be carried out quickly and efficiently using the stern ramp and main deck across the full width of the ship…

Grimaldi Group has held a naming ceremony in Jiangsu, China, for the Grande Shanghai, the first of 10 pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) commissioned by the company from China Merchants Heavy Industries.The first five vessels will be capable of transporting 9,000 CEU (Car Equivalent Units), while the remaining five will offer an increased capacity of 9,800 CEU.The Grande Shanghai reduces fuel consumption per cargo unit transported by 50% compared to the previous car carrier generation.The…

As EV-related fires continue to challenge the maritime industry, with incidents like the Morning Midas blaze in the North Pacific, operators are seeking more effective solutions. A new brine-based firefighting system, developed by Skansi Offshore in close cooperation with KNUD E. HANSEN, now offers a simple, robust and environmentally responsible answer.The system is operational aboard Norrøna, sailing the world’s longest RoPAX route, and is scheduled for installation on two new RoRo vessels under construction.Unlike traditional fire suppression methods…

On March 1, 2025, Denmark-based maritime consultancy Knud E. Hansen announced that Javier Suárez succeeds Finn Wollesen Petersen as the company’s Managing Director, part of a planned process that has been taking place over the past months, with Suárez and Petersen working together over the last few months to facilitate a smooth transition. Petersen, who has held the role of Managing Director since 2003, will remain with the company, focused on coordinating the company’s operations in the United States.Suárez, a Spanish national, joined Knud E. Hansen in 2017 as Director Operations.

The Scythian philosopher Anacharsis (6th century B.C.) said: “There are three sorts of people: those who are alive, those who are dead and those who are at sea.”Many of those onboard the Nella Dan when she grounded in December 1987 never went to sea again. Such was their passion for the ship.At that time, most of the crew were single, a wild bunch with saltwater in their veins, likely to be found partying together during their time ashore and likely to be telling everyone how Nella Dan was always the first to get to Antarctica at the start of the season despite her newer…

Wallenius Marine has christened its newest pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessel, Future Way, during a ceremony in Emden, Germany on Monday.Built by CIMC Raffles in China, the new 200-meter-long ship is the first of two car carriers that will go on charter for Volkswagen between Europe and North America. The vessel's cargo capacity is equivalent to 6,500 cars, which are loaded and unloaded efficiently through a center ramp system consisting of a long ramp serving all decks.The…

KNUD E HANSEN has designed a “Jack-up on Jack-up” vessel concept for offshore wind farm maintenance.The four-legged jack-up vessel features a 15m wide working platform that can be jacked-up to the height of a nacelle to provide a safe platform for maintenance work on the blades eliminating the need for rope access.With a telescopic weather cover fitted on the platform, work on the blades can be done in practically all weather conditions, day or night, resulting in more working hours annually than with conventional maintenance vessels.A large…

The end may be in sight, but the race for bigger cranes is still having an impact on offshore wind project efficiency.The industry has already felt the need for upgrading crane lifting capacity on existing offshore wind installation vessels: NOV is upgrading the cranes on Cadeler’s existing O-class wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs), and a gantry crane extension will soon make Van Oord’s Svanen one of the largest floating heavy-lift installation vessels.It’s a newbuild phenomenon too. NOV has developed a telescoping leg encircling crane for Shimizu’s GustoMSC-designed WTIV Blue Wind.

Smyril Line announced it has signed a contract with the CIMC Raffles shipyard in China for the construction of two new vehicle carrier vessels.The ro-ro ships will each be 190 meters in length with 3,300 lane meters for trailers. They have been designed in close cooperation with naval architects Knud E. Hansen for year-round seaworthiness in the North Atlantic. Smyril Line plans to place the vessels into service on its current network, operating a route between Europe, the Faroe Islands and Iceland from 2026.Compared to the company's existing fleet…

WTIVs have always been fuel-hungry. Now they are being tasked with installations that are further, deeper and heavier.Offshore wind farms continue their march into deeper water, further from shore, with turbines that can now reach more than 270 meters high with blades 120 meters long. Designers and OEMs are pushing efficiency to new levels to contain OPEX on the new-generation jack-up WTIVs taking them up there.Danish ship design firm Knud E. Hansen has chosen specialization for its Atlas A-class WTIV, a smaller derivation of its massive C-class design.

Knud H. Hansen has designed, project managed and supervised the construction for a Live Fish Carrier for Bakkafrost in the Faroe Islands. This vessel is one of the biggest Live Fish Carriers in the world at 109.2 x 22.2m with a cargo capacity of 7,000 cu. m. With four cargo holds of 1,750 cu. m. each the vessel can transport about 1,000 tons of live salmon from cages offshore to shore-based processing facilities. The vessel can also take live salmon onboard for treatment for lice in fresh water in the cargo tanks and when discharging to cages…

The Grimaldi Group announced it has exercised its option for the construction of five additional ammonia-ready 9,000 CEU car carriers from China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu, part of China Merchant Industry Holdings (CMI).Grimaldi announced its initial order for five new pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels from CMI in October. The 10 vessels are scheduled to be delivered between 2025 and 2027 and will be deployed on voyages between Europe, North Africa, and the Near and Far East.Grimaldi said it developed the vessel concept in collaboration with naval architecture firm Knud E.

On November 1, the Longkou Shipyard in Shandong, China held a keel laying ceremony for the first of Wallenius Marine's new Sleipner car carrier vessels.In the summer of 2021, Wallenius Marine and Volkswagen signed a contract for two multi-fuel vessels with the ability to carry 6,500 cars each. After delivery, the vessels will be chartered out to Volkswagen Konzernlogistik GmbH & Co. OHG and transport new vehicles of the Volkswagen Group for at least 10 years, with ship management from Wallenius Marine.The Sleipner ship design was created by Knud E.

With the delivery of the Eco Adriatica, the fleet of Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) class hybrid vessels is almost complete. This is the 11th of 12 state-of-the-art units ordered from the Chinese Jinling shipyard located in Nanjing. Designed by Knud E. Hansen, the GG5G-class ships are not only the largest ro-ro units in the world for short sea shipping, but also the most eco-friendly.The Eco Adriatica flies the Italian flag, has a length of 238 meters, a beam of 34 meters, a gross tonnage of 67,311 tonnes and a service speed of 20.8 knots.

Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles on Wednesday delivered the ConRo ship Baltic Enabler to shipowner Wallenius Sol.The newbuild, together with sister ship Botnia Enabler delivered earlier this year, are considered to be the world’s largest ice-rated ConRo vessels with multi-fuel operation.“It’s fantastic that we can soon put both sister ships in regular traffic. Not only will we have a huge capacity increase on the container and RoRo sides, but we will also take a giant stride toward a future-oriented fleet that will reduce emissions and have a major impact on industry in the Gulf of Bothnia…

Dutch marine and offshore services company Van Oord has ordered a new offshore wind turbine installation vessel that will be able to install next-generation wind turbines of up to 20MW. The vessel will be built by Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard in China."The jack-up vessel can operate on methanol and install up to 20 MW wind turbines at sea with a very low CO2 footprint. The investment is in line with the increasing global demand for offshore wind farms. The ship is expected to enter the market in 2024…

Australia’s new icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, has begun its 24,000-kilometer voyage from the Netherlands to its new home port of Hobart. The vessel will be the main lifeline to Australia’s Antarctic and sub-Antarctic research stations and the central platform of the Australian Antarctic Division's Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientific research.Construction of the ship commenced at Damen’s Galați shipyard in Romania in May 2017, and the vessel was floated out in September 2018 prior to its scheduled arrival at its home port Hobart in 2020.

Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles on Monday announced it has secured an order to build up to six liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered car carriers for Swedish shipping company Wallenius Lines.The order is for two initial ships, plus a pair of options—each for two additional vessels. The ships will be built at CIMC Raffles' Longkou yard in Yantai, China.Designed by Danish naval architect Knud E. Hansen, the Swedish flagged vessels will be 200 meters long, 37 meters wide with capacity of 6,500 car equivalent units (CEU).

Naval architecture firm KNUD E. HANSEN has unveiled a new wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) design engineered to carry and install up to four new-generation 14 megawatt wind turbines.The Atlas A-class vessel is specifically dimensioned for transporting and assembling wind turbines on top of pre-installed foundations, the designer said. The foundations, which are heavy but do not require jacking, can be efficiently installed from a heavy-lift vessel. As a result, the Atlas A-class can be entirely optimized for the jacking operation…

Danish international shipping and logistics firm DFDS has, with its partners, applied for EU support for the development of a ferry powered by electricity from a hydrogen fuel cell system that only emits water. Green hydrogen is to be produced by a projected offshore wind energy-powered electrolyzer plant in Greater Copenhagen.A group of companies has partnered up in order to develop a 100% hydrogen-powered ferry for initially DFDS’ Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen route.The partners in the project are DFDS, ABB, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Hexagon Purus, Lloyd’s Register, KNUD E.

Australia’s newly completed icebreaker, RSV Nuyina, has left the Netherlands port of Vlissingen to commence trials in the North Sea.The start of the month-long sea trials, which had been pushed back due to delays stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, will be followed by additional weeks of deepwater trials involving the Australian Antarctic Division, ship managers Serco and shipbuilder Damen. Testing of the ship’s speed, noise, propulsion systems, steering, advanced electrical…