Sandvik News

Deep in Arctic waters near the remote Svalbard archipelago this spring, NATO allies caught Russian subs training to unleash a secret weapon designed to disable critical undersea cables without leaving any fingerprints.The clandestine Russian operation, described to Reuters by two Western officials, was carried out by Moscow's GUGI undersea warfare directorate, which used deep-sea submersibles to simulate the deployment of the sophisticated and destructive technology.A joint operation involving Britain…

Norway expanded on Thursday a recently created military brigade headquartered in the Arctic, the latest move by a NATO nation to boost its defence footprint in the wake of the Ukraine war.The NATO member established the Finnmark Brigade last year, forming the country's second brigade and the first one set up since the end of the Cold War. Both brigades have their headquarters in the Arctic.Norway, like the other Nordic countries, has steeply increased its military budget in response to the Ukraine war and U.S.

Britain deployed military vessels to prevent any attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines which spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year, its defence minister John Healey said on Thursday.Britain accused Russia of using the distraction of events in the Middle East to try to conduct the covert operation in the High North maritime region, home to key shipping routes and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.Healey said British forces and allies including Norway tracked and deterred malign activity by the Russian vessels…

The board of directors of MacGregor Group AB has appointed Jonas Gustavsson Chief Executive Officer of MacGregor as of August 1, 2025. He succeeds Leif Byström, who is retiring.Jonas Gustavsson joined MacGregor in March 2025 as Deputy President. Prior to that he served as the CEO of AFRY AB from 2017 until early 2025. His earlier positions include 23 years of leadership experience with various senior roles at Sandvik, Rotax, Bombardier and ABB. Jonas is a Swedish citizen, born in 1967…

NATO member Norway will continue to supply fuel for U.S. Navy ships, the country's defence minister said on Sunday, after a call from a private marine fuel supplier to stop doing so in response to the apparent breakdown in U.S.-Ukrainian relations."We have seen reports raising concerns about support for U.S. Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegian government's policy," Norway's Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement."American forces will continue to receive the supply and support they require from Norway…

Since entering service in 2015, the all-electric ferry MF Ampere has sailed the equivalent of 17 times around the equator on batteries alone.Despite a chorus of critics and skeptics in during the project, a decade later, Ampere continues to showcase the potential of electric technology, tech that has been emulated in ferries globally.It all started with the Ampere and the Norwegian Public Road Administration's decision to require sustainable technology onboard the newbuild destined to transport passengers and vehicles across the Sognefjord on Norway's west coast.

AD Ports Group's subsidiary SAFEEN has acquired a support vessel to boost the company's subsea service capabilities.Built in 2014, the vessel, previously known as the Nordic Prince, will operate under the name ‘SAFEEN Surveyor’ and will undergo an extensive conversion prior to starting operations, including the installation of an integrated dive system to support pipeline repair and maintenance."The vessel has a successful track record in projects in the Middle East, where it has provided a range of support services including subsea inspection…

Northern Xplorer has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Portuguese shipbuilder West Sea for the construction its maiden vessel, said to be the world’s first zero-emission cruise ship.West Sea intends to build the 250-passenger vessel at its facility in Viana do Costello north of Porto for expected delivery at the start of the 2025/2026 cruise season.“As a shipbuilder focused on advanced vessels and high quality, we very much look forward to working together with Northern Xplorer.

Norway;s Aibel has announced a pair of leadership appointments at its yard in Haugesund.The company said Friday that Lars Inge Hellestveit will take up the role of vice president of yard operations, joined by Hans Jørgen Alfsen as the yard's new fabrication manager. Both will enter the new roles with immediate effect.Hellestveit comes from the position as project manager for the upgrade of the Njord Bravo floating storage unit (FSU), while Alfsen has been construction manager on the second processing platform for Johan Sverdrup…

Northern Xplorer AS (NX) announced itszero-emission, luxury cruise concept, designed to feature 'clean' technologies including fully electric propulsion, battery energy storage, hydrogen fuel cells and auxiliary renewable energy supply (wind and solar power). Northern Xplorer will provide opportunities to travel ‘off the beaten track’, connecting passengers with unique locations in the Nordic countries in a personal way,” said Rolf André Sandvik, the company's founder and CEO. Sandvik is a master mariner with extensive experience with cruise lines NCL and Crystal Cruises.

Norwegian-headquartered Salt Ship Design said it has completed its acquisition of Serbian naval architecture firm Albatross Ship Design.Albatross was founded in 2001 as a member of Norway's Vik Sandvik Group, working under name Vik Sandvik Albatross until it was acquired by Finnish technology company Wärtsilä and renamed Wärtsilä Ship Design Serbia in 2009. It became a private independent company with the new name Albatross Ship Design in 2016.Salt Ship Design, which specializes in the design of offshore and fishing vessels, said it has previously worked with Albatross Ship Design on various aspects of many vessel projects.Salt now adds 20 employees through the integration of Albatross.

Fredrik Nilsson has been hired to take over as the new Chief Financial Officer of Sweden-based engineered polymer solutions company Trelleborg Group, replacing Ulf Berghult who is leaving the role to take a position outside the company.Berghult, Trelleborg's CFO since 2012, will stay on until Trelleborg's 2020 year-end report is completed, leaving Nilsson to assume the position during the first quarter of 2021.Nilsson most recently worked at vegetable oil company AAK for nearly 14 years, holding the position of CFO for the past seven years.

ABB’s new Chief Executive Bjorn Rosengren is determined to decentralize the Swiss engineering group to improve its performance, he told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung in an interview.The company, whose products range from circuit breakers to electric motors for ships, has been weighed down by a business model that was too complicated, said the former Sandvik boss who took over in March.“I do intend to further decentralise,” he said in the interview to be published on Saturday.“Up to now we have only ever talked about four businesses…

Norwegian energy company Equinor reached a milestone at its Hammerfest LNG facility on Melkøya Island, “the Snøhvit plant”,  by loading the 1000th cargo of the chilled fuel.The cargo consists of 140 500 cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Total sales value of all the LNG cargos since the field came on stream is in the range of NOK 130-150 billion. In addition, we have the value of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensate.Arctic Discoverer is the name of the tanker that will carry cargo number 1000 from the Hammerfest LNG plant. It will transport an LNG cargo from Melkøya to Bilbao in Spain.With this cargo the plant has produced and delivered LNG at a value of NOK 130-150 billion since it came on stream in 2007, depending on the prices achieved in the period.

Rolf A. Sandvik is leaving his position as CEO of The Fjords. Sandvik, who has led the company since its formation in January 2015, has informed the board of his intention to step down. Vidar Hauståker, the Chief Financial Officer of The Fjords and Flåm AS, will act as interim general manager until a permanent replacement is recruited.The Fjords has delivered a strong performance since its launch, in addition to launching a new breed of environmentally friendly, passenger focused and multi-award winning vessels. The company’s first three operating years (2015-2017) generated a combined profit before tax of $6.2m million against a total turnover of $44.8 million.

As the marine industry ponders decarbonization, the world’s first all-electric and completely emissions-free ship, Future of the Fjords delivers. Future of the Fjords was commissioned as part of the shipowner’s program of fleet renewal with  the backing of Fjord1, the largest ferry operator in Norway, and of Flåm AS, the company that  promotes tourism in the Flåm area, to provide vessels that deliver optimal passenger experiences with minimal environmental impact.Constructed by specialist shipbuilder Brødrene Aa…

Norway-based global maritime industry group Wilhelmsen Holding has introduced a new digital start-up named Raa Labs to speed up maritime digitalisationRaa Labs will enable maritime companies to harness data, drive digitalisation and adopt technology to take a leap into the future, improving efficiency and introducing new business models. “To fully embrace innovation, you need to understand the bigger picture to ensure that every action you take not only saves the day or the week, but positions you for future growth,” says Raa Labs CEO, Ari Marjamaa.A press release said that the diverse Raa Labs team has the digital and entrepreneurial…

The Fjords will add another all electric passenger vessel to its fleet Legacy of The Fjords which is now under construction at Brødrene Aa. While the operator is certainly not new to the innovative, zero emission ferry market, this 400-passenger, carbon fiber catamaran is unique in that it marks the company’s move into a new operating area: Oslo.Currently The Fjords operates 11 vessels serving Western Norway’s fjords area, Vision of the Fjords and Future of the Fjords serving as the flagships, sailing daily between Flåm and Gudvangen.

At gmec, the global maritime environmental congress (gmec) during SMM in Hamburg, high-profile business and science experts discussed how the global shipping industry can achieve the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) environmental goals while continuing to provide its services at competitive prices.“We are at the beginning of a new chapter in the history of shipping,” said Tian-Bing Huang, Deputy Director - Marine Environment Division at the IMO, in his opening keynote.There is no question that the shipping sector is facing huge challenges…

Scott Phillips has been appointed President of Hiab crane manufacturing division of Cargotec group as of 1 October 2018. He will be a member of the Cargotec Executive Board and report to CEO Mika Vehviläinen. Scott Phillips joins Cargotec from General Electric where he holds the position of Vice President and CEO Mining. Prior to that, he has during his 28 years' career held various global leadership positions in the construction and mining industries, working for Sandvik and Caterpillar Inc., among others. "I warmly welcome Scott to Cargotec and Hiab. He has a proven track record of leading global, multi-billion euro technology businesses in various geographies.

Aker Solutions has, in collaboration with Kvaerner, secured additional hook-up and commissioning work for Equinor's Johan Sverdrup field offshore Norway.Equinor has exercised an option in the Johan Sverdrup Riser platform hook-up contract  awarded in January 2017 for Aker Solutions to perform hook-up and commissioning assistance of the field's utility and living quarter platform, as well as the preparatory offshore work connected with the phase two modifications of the riser platform."We are delivering well and on schedule on the hook-up work that we are currently performing on the Johan Sverdrup field," said Knut Sandvik, EVP Projects at Aker Solutions.

Breaking new ground: the all-electric, zero-emissions Future of The FjordsNorwegian cruise vessel offers amazing tourist experience while protecting fragile UNESCO World Heritage environmentFuture of the Fjords, the world’s first all-electric and completely emissions-free ship, launched in April this year by Norwegian tours operator The Fjords, is now operating as a cruise vessel on the spectacular Gudvangen to Flåm route along the Nærøyfjord, Sognefjord and Aurlandsfjord of western Norway.

Norwegian tourist vessel owner and operator The Fjords has taken delivery of an innovative newbuild that sets high marks for environmentally friendly passenger transport.The new 42-meter-long carbon fiber all-electric catamaran, Future of The Fjords, is the first vessel of its kind to offer completely emissions-free transport through the Western Norwegian landscape. Starting in mid-May, the 400-passenger vessel will sail sans emissions as it makes around 700 yearly round trips…