Raw Steel News

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA hosted a ceremony to celebrate the opening of its new facility which adds steel shipbuilding capability to the company’s well-established aluminum shipbuilding expertise.“We are so excited to see our plans to add steel to our capabilities come to fruition,” said Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh. “The addition of steel capability is a game changer as it opens up our capability to support the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and other customers with high-quality ships.

Leaders from Fincantieri Marinette Marine, the U.S. Navy, and Wisconsin-based Miron Construction dedicated a new facility at the Marinette shipyard with a small ceremony Mar. 8, 2022.Employees and guests gathered to open the newest building at the Marinette shipyard, Building 35, where giant plates of raw steel begin the journey to become a U.S. warship. The 32,000 sq. ft. building is connected to a new panel line where steel is prepared, marked, cut, and welded on an automated assembly line complete with state-of-the-art robotic welders.

Italian ultra luxury cruise shipbuilder T.Mariotti has cut the first piece of steel for Seabourn’s first-ever luxury expedition cruise ship, Seabourn Venture, at its yard in San Giorgo di Nogare, Italy.Seabourn President Richard Meadows and T. Mariotti Managing Director Marco Ghiglione presided over the ceremony.“It’s an exciting time at Seabourn, and the cutting of the first steel means we are officially underway in making our first expedition ship come together,” said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn.“We’re looking forward to watching raw steel transformed into a beautiful vessel. With Adam Tihany’s extraordinary design vision and Mariotti’s excellent and meticulous craftsmanship…

Schottel, a ubiquitous German-based maritime propulsion company, is firing on all cylinders and preparing now for the inevitable maritime market upturn. As Schottel’s new Managing Director, Dr. Christian Strahberger, closes in on his first year at the helm, he discusses the strategy with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. While the maritime industry endures an overall downturn, quality, long-term companies see opportunity amidst the challenge, using lean times to optimize operations and staff while plotting a course for the inevitable turnaround.

The U.S. Navy has accepted delivery of the future John P. Murtha (LPD 26) during a ceremony at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) shipyard, May 13. Built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, LPD 26 is the 10th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock built by HII for the U.S. Navy. “This is the 10th San Antonio-class ship we've delivered, and our Sailors and Marine Corps will be receiving another highly capable platform in John P. Murtha,” said Capt. Darren Plath, LPD 17 class program manager.

Aveva announced the release of its new Automated Plate Nesting, a plug-in module to Aveva Hull Detailed Design software. It automatically nests parts into raw steel plates, maximizing the usage of the material and drastically reducing the scrap ratio associated with this process. Aveva said shipyards can achieve savings of up to 13% on raw material requirements by minimizing production waste in this manner,when compared to using semi-automatic nesting or other third-party systems.

Dry bulk rates may have eased back significantly in recent weeks but there is still plenty of positive sentiment on the future market. Many shipbrokers are describing today’s rather softer market as a correction to what had become a seriously overheated sector, with the cost of freight becoming itself a damaging factor in the world’s dry bulk trades. The pause in the market has led to a slackening in the pace of new contracting that, brokers say, may be no bad thing. Some owners had become so concerned by rapidly rising new ship prices that they were rushing in, whatever the price. That trend, at least for the moment, appears to have eased as owners have come to the conclusion that the wild rates of February and March were quite exceptional…

Rautaruukki Group of Finland is the largest steel company in Scandinavia with 13,000 employees and an approximate annual turnover of $2.7 billion. While this is, essentially, a small company among the consolidated behemoths of the steel industry, Rautaruukki comes up big in the important areas: quality and profit. Shipbuilding, stripped to its bare essence, starts and ends with steel. From the ceremonial “first cut” through its eventual evolution at the hands of breakers to razor blades, steel – as much as any other factor – directly determines if the multi-million, multi-year investment in a vessel is a profitable one. Ensuring the original quality and long-term care and integrity of the ship’s steel is central to every quality owner’s repair and maintenance plan.

Dry-bulk cargo movement on the Great Lakes totaled 162.3 million net tons in 2002, a decrease of 1.4 percent compared to 2001 and a drop of 6 percent compared to the 5-year average. Iron ore shipments totaled 58.9 million net tons in 2002, an increase of 5.8 percent compared to 2001, but a decrease of 9.2 percent compared to the 5-year average. North American raw steel production totaled an estimated 101.7 million tons in 2002, an increase of 2.4 percent compared to 2001, but the amount of steel made in Basic Oxygen Furnaces that turn pellets into hot metal fell 4 percent to an estimated 50.1 million net tons. The Lakes iron ore trade was essentially non-stop in 2002.