Napa News

Simulation-based training has its whole-of-ship/whole-of-team scenarios, but zooming in, the industry is now working on more specific targets.We have a close relationship with technology, evidenced by, for example, the phones we are estimated to unlock around 50-80 times a day. It has changed us. Half the people surveyed in a 2022 King’s College London study said that they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be. They are wrong, though, if they think that the average attention span of adults today is just eight seconds, one second less than goldfish.

Simulation-based training has its whole-of-ship/whole-of-team scenarios, but zooming in, the industry is now working on more specific targets.We have a close relationship with technology, evidenced by, for example, the phones we are estimated to unlock around 50-80 times a day. It has changed us. Half the people surveyed in a 2022 King’s College London study said that they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be. They are wrong, though, if they think that the average attention span of adults today is just eight seconds, one second less than goldfish.

NAPA introduced NAPA Studios, an initiative designed to foster cross-industry partnerships to deliver new data-driven solutions and insights on some of the most imminent ship design, safety and operational challenges faced by the maritime industry.NAPA Studios will harness NAPA's own digital tools and experience, while working directly with individual shipyards, shipowners, charterers, and other supply chain stakeholders in tailored projects. This offering will, for example, enable shipyards to make a greater use of ships’ operational data to improve future designs, while other projects will support shipowners and charterers in assessing…

Big data, advanced computers and AI are allowing vessel designers to prepare models that leave essentially nothing to chance.“Lastly, it may be of considerable importance to form from the draught a block model of the vessel from which a still more accurate judgment may be formed of the fitness and beauty of the body. And should any defect be discovered, farther alterations must still be made, till the draught and the model are perfectly approved of. These different alterations and repeated calculations may appear very tedious…

Software company NAPA will install its electronic reporting and data integration system, NAPA Logbook, across Anthony Veder's fleet of LNG and gas carriers.This shift from manual to electronic logbooks facilitates onboard record-keeping, significantly reducing crew workloads while also streamlining voyage reporting and regulatory compliance. Voyage reports, such as noon and bunkering reports, as well as notices of readiness, departure, and arrivals, are now fully automated. This eliminates duplication and facilitates communication between all stakeholders…

Bureau Veritas (BV), the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and NAPA have completed the first phase of a Joint Development Project (JDP) to enable 3D model-based approvals for the classification of ships. The project validated the feasibility of 3D model-based approvals where classification reviews are directly based on the 3D model provided by the designer, rather than requiring multiple conversions to 2D drawings, which is the traditional process. The objective is to boost efficiency in the design process…

We’ve had the means for a while, now we have the incentive to crush the data siloes that are holding back voyage optimization.Like kids in the sandpit, owners and charterers are being forced to share, perhaps more than they really want to. The IMO and the EU, for starters, are setting data-driven decarbonization rules, and those in the sandpit are having to respond.Ship managers and data analysis specialists are developing technical solutions to boost transparency with the aim of facilitating shared responsibility on CO2 emissions, but it’s no easy task.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has formed a new advisory council to help drive improvements at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), a service academy in Kings Point, N.Y.According to the DOT, establishment of the USMMA Advisory Council fulfills a key recommendation from the National Academy of Public Administration’s (NAPA) November 2021 report entitled “Organizational Assessment of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: A Path Forward.” Specifically, NAPA’s report recommended…

A vessel’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced by up to 7.3% by using voyage optimization software, a recent study shows. Moreover, the analysis shows that voyage optimization can improve a vessel’s CII by an average of 5-6%, enabling ships to maintain their ratings for an additional two to three years.NAPA, a maritime software and data analysis expert, and classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) announced the results of a joint study conducted with Marubeni Corporation…

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.

American Cruise Lines announced on Wednesday that it has added Starlink satellite internet to its 2023 fleet of riverboats and small cruise ships. The new high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi will be complimentary on all 2023 cruises, ensuring seamless connectivity and faster upload speeds nearly everywhere the company’s small ships are cruising throughout the country—from Glacier Bay Alaska to the sunny Florida Keys; from the Napa Valley wine country to the historic Hudson River; and from…

Ask anyone working in the shipyard business, and they’ll tell you balancing yacht, commercial and government vessel repair work concurrently is no easy task. Add a bit of new construction to the mix, and you’ve got Marine Group Boat Works (MGBW), a Chula Vista, Calif. shipyard that has seemingly mastered the balancing act.“There are a few tricks to the trade,” said MGBW president Todd Roberts, a Cal Maritime graduate with a U.S. Coast Guard license for vessels up to 1,600 tons. “The biggest thing we do is run an extremely clean, environmentally friendly operation. . .

American Cruise Lines announced it will begin offering California cruises starting in 2023.The U.S. river and small ship coastal cruise line will offer a new eight-day round tris from San Francisco exploring the San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, the Napa River and the San Joaquin River, with stops in San Francisco, Napa, Vallejo, Stockton and Sacramento.“American continues to expand the possibilities for exceptional domestic small ship cruises across the country. Exploring this…

Classification society DNV has awarded type approval to NAPA’s new onboard stability software for the passenger sector – NAPA Stability, a new onboard stability solution that will replace NAPA Loading Computer, the stability management solution for passenger ships.This type approval establishes that the software meets DNV’s requirements for the assessment of ship stability in both intact and damaged conditions, and the relevant IACS requirements to enable Safe Return to Port (IACS UR L5 Type 4 requirements)…

NAPA, a global provider of software, services and data analysis for the maritime industry, said it has received the ISO 27001:2013 certification on information security management, validating the company’s adherence to international best practices on data management and security.ISO 27001:2013 is an international standard that defines the requirements for a comprehensive information security management system, enabling organizations to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data.

A new high-speed passenger vessel entered service for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) on Monday.The newbuild, Dorado, is the first in a series of four new ferries being built for WETA by Mavrik Marine in La Conner, Wash. Construction on the second vessel in the Dorado class, Delphinus, is underway. Vessel construction was funded through the Federal Transit Administration and the State of California’s Proposition 1B in collaboration with the California Office of Emergency Services.

ClassNK certified NAPA Fleet Intelligence and NAPA Performance Monitoring and Optimization, developed by NAPA, as its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions, after the solutions demonstrated support for saving fuel and optimizing voyages for Japanese shipowner Nissen Kaiun. Following the certification, the society has upgraded notations for all the Nissen Kaiun vessels in its fleet using the solutions.NAPA Fleet Intelligence is a cloud-based solution that combines actual online data on board and weather data with NAPA’s 3D model database to assess and optimize performance…

Classification society ClassNK has released its design support system “PrimeShip-HULL 2022”. It complies with the recent comprehensive revision of its Rules for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships Part C and provides extensive support for shipbuilding design combining safety and rationality.PrimeShip-HULL series is software for strength evaluations based on the Rules Part C, which stipulates requirements for hull structures. To improve the efficiency of the design process…

Upgraded data linkage designed to enable the seamless flow of information between design and class approval software, reducing time spent on information transfer by 30% and fostering closer collaboration.NAPA and ClassNK recently fortified their partnership to support the use of 3D models in the ship design approval process by streamlining data sharing between design and class approval software. “As the capabilities of 3D computer-aided design software improve, we see an acceleration in the use of 3D technologies in the shipbuilding industry," said Dr.

Maritime software, services and data analysis provider NAPA and testing, inspection and certification group Bureau Veritas (BV) are partnering to enable more effective and widespread use of 3D models in the class approval process.The two parties said they seek to improve the overall efficiency and accuracy of future vessel design and solve the current challenges associated with 2D drawings. While naval architects use 3D models to design ships, the assessment of these designs by class ensure they meet relevant safety and compliance specifications…

A new streaming technology will support 3D model based approval (3DMBA) by providing all stakeholders with a live interactive web application to better collaborate on ship design.NAPA announced the launch of NAPA Viewer, its new collaborative web application, designed to provide users throughout the ship design process with visibility of the most current 3D ship model via a browser, and the ability to directly comment on the model. NAPA Viewer will also enable users to request…

Wind propulsion systems provider Norsepower said it has secured a contract to install five tilting rotor sails on board a large bulk carrier for an anonymous shipowner, marking the Finnish company's first installation aboard a newbuild vessel. Preparations are currently underway with the installation scheduled to take place in 2021.Norsepower’s fuel-saving rotor sail auxiliary propulsion solution, which can be installed on new vessels or retrofitted on existing ships, is a modernized version of the Flettner rotor…

ChartWorld announced the latest round of updates to its digital routing service, My Route Appraisal (MyRA). MyRA provides both vessels and onshore personnel with a proposed ECDIS-ready voyage plan. The plan is based on a route network, port databases, bathymetry from ENCs, weather forecasts and the relevant ship model.The MyRA version 1.4 release rolled out in October 2020 includes the following improvements:•    Further simplification of the install process•    Advanced routing algorithm…