Propulsion Control Systems News

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the May 17, 2025 collision between the Mexican Navy training vessel ARM Cuauhtémoc and the Brooklyn Bridge, stressing that the findings are not final and remain subject to change as the investigation continues.According to the report, the Cuauhtémoc, a 158-foot air-draft tall ship with 277 crew and cadets aboard, struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge while transiting the East River after departing Pier 17 in Manhattan.

If the dynamic positioning (DP) system went down on an offshore supply vessel, it could result in a collision. On a dive support vessel, it could result in injury or death for a diver. On a drilling rig, it could result in a blowout with loss of life, pollution and fire.Built-in redundancy is key to avoiding failures, and this in turn determines the thruster, electrical and engine configurations that are designed to enable DP systems.“There is no single, universal solution,” says Lauri Tiainen, Director Thrusters and Propulsion Control Systems, Wärtsilä Marine.

A high-speed passenger ferry struck a pier in New York while docking. Numerous passengers sustained minor injuries, and the combined repairs to the vessel and pier exceeded $500,000. The Coast Guard’s subsequent investigation of the major marine casualty, which was conducted in parallel with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), revealed numerous safety issues, including concerns with the vessel’s control system configuration.The ferry was equipped with three identical navigation bridge control stations — center…

Wärtsilä has introduced a new high-performance thruster and propulsion control solution, which is said to raise the level of offshore dynamic positioning for greater efficiency and operational performance of vessels.The company’s new high-performance thruster and propulsion control solution package utilizes a combination of Wärtsilä’s WST-E embedded electric steerable thruster and WST-R retractable thrusters, together with an updated remote propulsion control system featuring an enhanced user interface ProTouch…

American shipping companies are spending more than $120 million to repair and maintain their fleets of Great Lakes bulk carriers this winter.The fleet of U.S.-flagged ships, known as "lakers", can move more than 90 million tons of cargos annually, including iron ore, stone, coal, grain, salt and sand. Each year after the shipping season draws to a close, these vessels enter shipyards and repair facilities around the Great Lakes for a period of winter maintenance and repair. This…

Danfoss Drives on Monday announced the formation of a dedicated marine business unit.The company said the move will allow it to provide tailored solutions for its customers in the marine industry“This organization allows Danfoss to delve deep into the intricacies of maritime applications and understand the nuances of ship propulsion, control systems and electrification in ways that broader, more diversified companies might not,” Danfoss said in a statement.In addition to product experts in the field…

Washington State Ferries has tapped local shipyard Vigor to convert up to three of its Jumbo Mark II class ferries to low-emission hybrid-electric power.Vigor's $150 million winning bid for the contract came in about $16 million under the second place bid from another Washington shipyard, but was still approximately $30 million above the state’s $120 million estimate for the project. Vigor has been awarded approximately $100 million for the conversion of two vessels, with a fixed-price option to convert the third vessel in 2025.WSF…

Finland-based marine technology firm Wärtsila said Wednesday it had launched an innovative retrofit solution for its marine engine governor system in collaboration with Swedish marine green tech company Qtagg. The solution is designed to extend the lifespan of a ship’s propulsion control system, while simultaneously enhancing the vessel’s overall efficiency.Wartsila's Wärtsilä Automation, Navigation and Control Systems (ANCS) business is collaborating with Qtagg in this project."ANCS’s marine governor systems help regulate and control engine speed.

Kongsberg Maritime announced it has won a contract to provide the design and equipment for two powerful salvage tugs being built by Alexandria Shipyard as main contractor on behalf of the Suez Canal Authority. The tugs will be based on Kongsberg Maritime’s UT 722 CDT Design.The UT 722 tugboat design has a length of 71.6 meters, bollard pull of approximately 200 tonnes, and it can operate independently for up to 35 days.Egypt’s Alexandria Shipyard successfully bid on this contract with the Suez Canal Authority in cooperation with Kongsberg Maritime…

Washington State Ferries (WSF) this week launched an invitation for bid to convert its three largest vessels to hybrid-electric propulsion.The conversion will remove two diesel generator sets from each of WSF's Jumbo Mark II ferries and replace them with batteries and associated support systems. The conversion will incorporate energy storage technology and rapid charging of the batteries from each applicable ferry terminal.Siemens Energy will supply the propulsion control systems…

Kongsberg Maritime will supply design, engineering and equipment for three MGO/Biofuel and methanol-ready tanker ships being built for Danish tanker operator Tärntank. The 15,000-dwt tanker vessels will feature wind assist technology plus Tärntank’s own battery-powered Hybrid Solution.To be built at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard, Yangzhou and delivered in 2025, Kongsberg's portion totals nearly $12m and includes steering gear, rudders, controllable pitch propellers, tunnel thrusters and thruster control systems…

Norwegian maritime technology and equipment provider Kongsberg Maritime has secured an order from Grimaldi Group to supply engineering and technology for two new Roll-on/Roll-off(Ro-Ro) vessels. The vessels, which will be built at China Merchant Jinling Shipyard, are scheduled for delivery in 2025.Kongsberg Maritime will supply marine automation system and Auto Chief 600 propulsion control systems, hybrid systems, converters, battery energy storage of 5MWh, battery management system, maneuvering, and propulsion systems.

Wärtsilä said it will supply the engines, waterjets and fuel storage and supply system for a new high speed catamaran ferry. The vessel is being built at the Incat yard in Tasmania, Australia on behalf of Argentinian ferry operator, Buquebus. Having an overall length of 130 meters, a width of 32 meters and the capacity to carry 2,100 passengers and 226 cars, it will be the largest aluminum catamaran ever built by Incat. The order with Wärtsilä was placed in July 2022.The vessel…

Yara Marine Technologies acquired Lean Marine, a company, a company which provides automated fuel-saving, performance management, and reporting solutions, today installed on more than 200 vessels.In a release announcing the deal, it was touted that Lean Marine systems can help cut fuel consumption and CO2emission up to 25 percent. The FuelOpt system optimizes a vessel’s propulsion line in real-time based on the commands from the bridge, enabling automated control of vessel speed and fuel consumption, and avoiding fuel overconsumption.

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.

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)…

Your marine pilot of the future, here today.At this year’s SMM trade event in Hamburg, Germany, industrial digital technology specialist ABB introduced what could be the future of dynamic positioning, not just for traditional DP users, but also for the full spectrum of navigation tasks. ABB Ability Marine Pilot Control is a next-generation dynamic positioning (DP) system that simplifies ship maneuvering with an intuitive touch screen-based user interface and enables safer, more efficient ship operations.With its user-centric design, ABB Ability Marine Pilot Control reduces the workload on automating navigational tasks and allows bridge officers to focus holistically on the overall control and positioning of the ship.

A Finnish engineering firm known for its ice-going vessel expertise says it is studying another area of ship technology: autonomous vessel operations.Aker Arctic says it recently successfully tested an autonomous ship model at its ice model test laboratory in Helsinki.The test, which was carried out in ice-free waters, demonstrated the ship model’s ability to detect obstacles in the tank utilizing onboard sensors, maneuver around them without operator input and moor itself automatically to a target pier.While Aker Arctic’s ice laboratory is normally used to test model icebreaking vessels…

Ulstein and Schottel  announced that they will start cooperating to take the next step in automation and digitalization within marine operations. The former Ulstein subsidiary, Ulstein Blue CTRL, will continue as an independent company under the name Blue CTRL. Both Ulstein and Schottel will own 50 percent of the shares in the company. X-CONNECT is a universal digital platform for marine automation, control and monitoring. All functionality in the system is predefined and configurable supporting the work philosophy; configure, plug and play.

The 10,000th Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for Kongsberg Maritime’s AutoChief propulsion control system took place at Kongsberg Maritime Korea in Busan on Friday, April 27. The AutoChief 600 system tested will be installed on a new LEG carrier featuring a 2-stroke MAN B&W engine being built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (Hull 8258), for owner Solvang ASA. HHI-EMD, HMD and Solvang were represented at yesterday’s FAT alongside experts from Kongsberg Maritime in Norway and Korea.From…

The final vessel in 15-ship series enters service for Yamal LNG project ahead of schedule.Yakov Gakkel, owned by joint venture between Teekay LNG Partners and China LNG Partners, joins a fleet of 15 specially designed tankers transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) year-round from one of Russia’s most significant export developments in a generation, Yamal LNG.Built in less than six years and to ARC7 ice class, fifteen 170,000m3 capacity vessels have opened the Northern Sea Route…

ABB said it has signed a contract with India’s largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility, Cochin Shipyard Ltd, to deliver a first-ever integrated power and automation package to an Indian shipowner.ABB’s contract with Cochin Shipyard covers two new 1,200-passenger ferries, to be delivered to the Andaman & Nicobar Administration in 2020. In what’s said to be a first for a shipowner in India, these vessels will benefit from a full integration of their power generation, distribution and propulsion systems…

A six meter long, 2.4 ton model of the final design of the autonomous and fully electric container vessel Yara Birkeland was revealed as testing commenced at SINTEF Ocean’s 80 meter test tank facility in Trondheim, September 28, 2017. It was also revealed that ENOVA, a Norwegian government enterprise responsible for promotion of environmentally friendly production and consumption of energy will support the project with a NOK 133 million ($16.7 million) financial contribution.