Naval Applications News

Caterpillar Marine announced it is working with Serco Inc., a provider of professional, technology, engineering and management services, to advance the use of autonomous vessels for naval applications. The initiative supports the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) project.Autonomous unmanned vessels represent an opportunity to protect crews from the inhospitable, dangerous environment encountered at sea. This technological advancement not only promotes safety but also cost savings…

Davits supplied by Vestdavit will be used for the launch and recovery of fast craft to support refuelling operations at sea for the US naval fleet after the company was awarded a major contract for six vessels being built by General Dynamics NASSCO in the US.The contract covers delivery of 12 high-specification PLRH-5000 davits to be installed on the John Lewis-class of T-AO oilers ordered by the US Navy at the shipbuilder’s San Diego shipyard, with two on each ship from T-AO…

Naval vessels cannot afford to lose critical systems following an impact. Brian Stanton, North America Engineering Lead at Parker Hannifin's Gas Turbine Division, talks about the extensive testing required for inlet filtration systems used on these ships.Inlet filtration used for critical ship systems, such as on the propulsion gas turbines, must pass rigorous testing prior to installation. These tests include a range of vibration and shock tests that simulate ship operation and…

There's an “electrification of the seas” happening for navies around the world.Whether it's to achieve greater military capabilities, operational economics and efficiencies or to be better stewards of the environment.There's a trend moving from direct mechanical drives towards more flexible electrical propulsion systems. Ships can still have the same propellers and engines, but they now have a much more flexible power system architecture that benefits design, operations and sustainment.“With an electric propulsion system, we can connect to the same gas turbine or diesel.

Michell Bearings has announced the opening of a U.S sales and engineering office in Fort Washington, Philadelphia.The office opening follows the incorporation of the U.S business, Michell Bearings Inc., in 2021 to better support customers in North America, especially those in the U.S. naval industry.Key contacts in the Fort Washington office are Joseph Wilkes, VP Engineering Americas, and Jamie Wright, Sales Director Americas—both with many years of experience in the field of hydrodynamic bearings and long established relationships with customers in the U.S.

German yard Abeking & Rasmussen has begun the construction of two minehunting vessels for the Indonesian Navy.MAN has won a contract to supply a complete hybrid propulsion package for both vessels.The delivery will include 2 × MAN 12V175D-MM engines delivering 2,220 kW at 1,900 rpm; a MAN Alpha CPP twin screw-propeller system including Alphatronic 3000 propulsion-control system for efficient and flexible maneuvering; and AKA hybrid PTI system for silent operation while minehunting (slow speed with pure electric propulsion).Ben Andres…

MAN Energy Solutions announced Thursday it has won the contract to supply complete propulsion packages to two OPV-45 offshore patrol vessels currently under construction at one of the largest privately owned shipbuilding and repair facilities in the Eastern Mediterranean.Israel Shipyards in Haifa is constructing the new patrol boats for an undisclosed African navy. The vessels are designed for a wide range of missions, including protection against the increasing threat of piracy in the region.The OPV-45 has an overall length of 45.7 m, a displacement of some 300 tons.

Driven by the need to organically protect maritime Task Groups from the threat of sea mines, the Royal Australian Navy is introducing a deployable Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) capability under the first phase of Project SEA 1778.The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) SEA 1778 deployable Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) capability is both a small step forward in the spiral development process and a “technological leap” into autonomy.”The RAN is looking to replace its four legacy Huon-class minehunter coastal ships (MHCs) with a new deployable MCM capability.

Kongsberg Maritime has successfully adapted a propeller concept used in naval applications and is now offering the same operational and environmental benefits to commercial shipping customers.While the naval sector has been using KONGSBERG Blade Air Emission technology for a number of years, with several navies deploying it to limit vessel signature, the process is now being applied to commercial ship propellers to reduce the effect of underwater radiated noise on marine life.By machining a channel into the leading edge of the propeller blades…

German shipbuilding company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) has handed over another Ro-Ro ship to SIEM Shipping.The Flensburg-based designer and manufacturer of ships for commercial and naval applications worldwide said in a press release that this is the sixth RoRo ship that FSG has delivered to SIEM and is identical in construction to the sister ship “ALF POLLK”.The “MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO” will be chartered out to Moby Lines Europe and deployed in the Mediterranean area on the routes to and from Sardinia and Sicily.Together with its sister ship “ALF POLLAK”, this will be amongst the newest and most modern RoRo ferries in the Mediterranean area…

To say this book is a collection of research would be an understatement. “Contemporary Ideas on Ship Stability: Risk of Capsizing” is more like a preservation of knowledge covering the last nine years.Dr. Vadim Belenky, a naval architect in the Simulations and Analysis Branch at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, was the editor in chief for the book, the chapters of which are papers from engineers, naval architects and professors from around the world. Belenky himself co-authored four of the papers…

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has launched at the Kiel shipyard the the largest ever built in Germany submarine. Named Invincible, the submarine will be part of the ongoing submarine program in the Republic of Singapore.Prof. Ivy Ng, wife of Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defense of the Republic of Singapore, named the boat in the presence of high-level representatives from the Singapore government and Navy, as well as high-ranking German officials.In addition to representatives from Thyssenkrupp, there were also representatives from suppliers in attendance for the ceremony. After construction and outfitting is completed, Invincible will undergo intensive testing before being handed over in 2021.Dr.

Strength, Safety and Sustainability are at the heart of this Homeland Security stakeholder’s mission set.For over 30 years, high performance fiber rope manufacturer Phillystran has worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to supply mooring and towing lines. As innovations in fiber rope technology have enabled lighter and stronger ropes, the Coast Guard has not been slow to take advantage of these and other developments.In step with most maritime stakeholders, NAVSEA approved fiber ropes are widely used by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Approximately 80,000 tons (fully loaded) and 784 feet in length, with a beam of 164 feet—more than a third wider than most ships—Expeditionary Base Mobile (ESB) 4 is an extremely stable platform for sea base operations. Enabled by GE’s electric power and propulsion system, and built by General Dynamics, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), ESB 4 will be able to operate at a speed of 15 knots with an endurance of over 9,500 nautical miles. ESB 4 is the second ship of this type to be outfitted as an Expeditionary Base Mobile, formerly called the Afloat Forward Staging Base. It will be able to accommodate up to 250 personnel. The new 784-foot vessel will feature a 52,000-square-foot flight deck, fuel and equipment storage, repair spaces, magazines and mission planning.

Naiad Dynamics, an international manufacturer of ship motion control technologies, has introduced the first products in its new line of electric-powered stabilizer systems designed for use on ships operating both AtSpeed and AtRest. “These new stabilizers are a modern refinement of electric-powered stabilizers Naiad first developed for naval applications in 2008,” said John Venables, CEO of Naiad Dynamics. The initial model E-525 is available with a 7.5 or 11 kW AC servo motor drive…

Willard Marine, Inc. (WMI) announced it has been selected through a solicitation process to supply a demonstration model of a new, advanced combatant craft for the U.S. Navy under an SBIR contract modification awarded to Structural Composites, Inc. Under the contract, WMI will design, construct and test a fleet-ready version of an advanced combatant craft incorporating foam/fiberglass extrusion technology developed by Structural Composites. The boat will be based on WMI’s standard U.S. Navy MK 3 RIB with a lightweight Steyr diesel engine and sterndrive propulsion.

The Rolls-Royce brand MTU is showing its concepts at the current SMM, Hamburg, in response to the IMO Tier III emission standard which is due to come into force in 2016. “MTU is well-prepared for IMO Tier III, be it with SCR exhaust aftertreatment systems for diesel engines or with gas engines,” explains Dr. Michael Haidinger, Chief Sales Officer at Rolls-Royce Power Systems. In an animated presentation, MTU is demonstrating the latest high-speed Series 4000 gas engine based on its trusted 4000 M63 diesel engine which is widely used in working vessels. The first field-trial engine is scheduled to go into service in 2016 in a new environmentally-compatible tugboat. MTU's natural-gas marine engine is due to be launched on the market in 2018.

Feadship says it has launched the outstanding 60.35-metre motoryacht ROCK.IT. Created for an experienced owner who has chartered Feadships and appreciated the essence of the brand, the project has raised the bar of what can be achieved in an entirely bespoke project, say the yacht builders. Fast from the outside, cosy on the inside, ROCK.IT features the first-time application on a superyacht of an intuitive control and manoeuvring system developed for naval applications. It takes only the briefest of glances at ROCK.IT say Feadshiip to see the challenge faced by the yard, the designers and naval architects from Sinot Yacht Design and Feadship. They had to pull out all the stops to realise the owner’s vision of a striking, innovative and sporty look.

An Improved Risk and Safety Assessment Process for the offshore oil & gas industry – and just in time. Alion’s Measure of Total Integrated System Survivability (MOTISS) has been around a long time. Having previously earned its stripes primarily for naval applications, Alion began to market the service to the offshore oil & gas industry in the messy wake of the Macondo disaster. That event brought to the forefront, more than ever, the need to prepare for similar occurrences in the future and more importantly, increase industry’s ability to conduct analysis. Today, a version called MOTISS-IBA (Integrated Barrier Analysis) brings the same comprehensive power of MOTISS to the offshore oil industry that previously was only available to the world’s Navies.

Transas has held a series of Simulation User Seminars in France. The events gathered more than 60 participants from maritime schools, pilot associations, navy and coast guard of the region. To make the seminars more efficient and closer to the users, Transas said it decided to split them across two locations. The first two days took place in St-Nazaire at the SAR association SNSM (Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer) training center. The SNSM is a long-term Transas partner and…

Leading engine supplier for U.S. Coast Guard awarded Stringent certification by American Bureau of Shipping. The MTU Series 8000 was recently awarded Naval Vessel Rules (NVR) certification by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). The new ABS NVR certification, a requirement for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) programs, was awarded to Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH after 1,500 hours of testing of the 20V 8000 that included extensive run times at 110% of the engine’s rated power in a variety of extreme environmental conditions.

Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH and Rolls-Royce have jointly been awarded the contract to design the diesel generator sets for the Royal Navy´s future Type 26 Global Combat Ship. BAE Systems made the announcement at the International Defense and Security Equipment exhibition (DSEi) in London. The propulsion system will consist of a combination of four MTU diesel gensets powered by Type 20V 4000 M53B engines, and a Rolls-Royce Type MT30 gas turbine. Combined propulsion systems utilizing diesel engines and gas turbines are increasingly gaining in significance in the naval sector. The future Type 26 Global Combat Ship will employ a CODLOG (Combined Diesel Electric or Gas Turbine) configuration.

Comark Corporation completed full environmental testing of its latest version of the MDU19PC ruggedized COTS computer including MIL-901D grade-A lightweight shock test. The MDU19PC is an all-in-one display and computer designed and tested to meet military requirements for shipboard applications including propulsion, machinery control and ECDIS navigation. The panel is NEMA 4 rated when panel mounted and is available with an array of options including touchscreen, Intel 2nd generation core i5 or i7 processing, speakers and optional front access USB ports.