Ship Design News

Havyard said Monday it has been contracted to develop a new emissions-free ship concept for transporting cargo between European ports.The contracting partner, an unnamed European company, was first introduced to Havyard by Invest in Norway, who has been working with this company for the last two years in supporting their entry to the Norwegian maritime industry, Havyard  said.Lars Conradi Andersen, Vice President Sales, said, "The framework for this contract is to develop a ship…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Tuesday authorized the construction of two additional National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV), marking a key milestone for one of America's most high-profile shipbuilding programs.The new vessels will replace aging training ships at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine, and Texas A&M Maritime Academy in Galveston, Texas. MARAD previously authorized the construction of the first two NSMVs, destined for SUNY Maritime College in Bronx…

When the maritime history books are written, 2020 will be viewed as a year of pivots, re-invention and new paradigms. By February 2020, concerns about marine fuel’s sulfur content quickly shifted to near-term disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-year, with demand recovering, the conversation turned to longer term questions surrounding the moves towards reduced maritime carbon emissions and alternative fuels. How will this all impact the current fleet?Perhaps the most extreme reaction to the shifting landscape is the ongoing “pivot” of Scorpio Bulk (NYSE: SALT)…

Oslo-listed BW LPG, the world’s largest LPG shipping company, ordered Wärtsilä LPG Fuel Supply System (LFSS) for retrofit to three very large gas carrier (VLGC) vessels. BW LPG had previously ordered four Wärtsilä LFSS’ in 2018, and an additional eight systems in February 2020. The initial order was placed following Wärtsilä’s successful full-scale testing of the system in 2018 with a full-sized two-stroke marine engine operating on LPG fuel, which was the world’s first such testing protocol.

Turkish shipbuilder Cemre said it has signed a contract with Seistar Holding to build two environmentally friendly live fish carriers.Developed by the Norwegian SALT Ship Design, the newbuilds will be equipped with circular fish tanks. The 69.9- and 110-meter-long vessels will be built according to the DNV GL class rules and will carry the Norwegian flag.The larger of the two vessels, with a total of 8,000 cubic meters load capacity in the fish holds and deadweight of approximately 12…

GE Marine will provide gas turbine engines and associated equipment for the Navy’s Constellation-class frigates being designed and built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin.“GE Marine brings a proven and reliable gas turbine that integrates perfectly in our combined diesel electric and gas turbine (CODLAG) propulsion system,” said Dario Deste, President and CEO of Fincantieri Marine Group. “Fincantieri has a decades-long relationship with GE, and we are proud to have these American-made gas engines on our U.S.

The sinking of the Estonia ro-ro passenger ferry stands out as one of the most disastrous accidents in modern times. The tragedy claimed 852 lives and the wreck was declared a marine graveyard. At first glance, the sinking seems to have been triggered by a single technical failure only minutes before the point of no return, with no warning signs. The first objective of this review was to verify whether the pattern of typical major accidents can be found in the Estonia disaster. The usual pattern involves multiple human errors combined with an immature organizational culture.

The global shipping industry is going to face a big challenge during the coming years when regulators, investors and stakeholders demand the drastic reduction of CO2 and other GHG emissions during ship operations. But in reality, the change is already underway.Since 2013, any newbuild ship over 400GRT has been obliged to comply with a specific Energy Efficiency limits – the well-known Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). It is about to enter an accelerating phase propelled by the recently released IMO GHG reduction strategy.

Babcock invests in technically advanced shipbuilding facilityBabcock awarded a £31.5 million contract to Robertson Construction for the development of a new Assembly Hall at its Rosyth site. The construction project will support circa 100 positions locally in Scotland and a further 100 positions nationally throughout the supply chain.At a small Covid-19 safe ceremony marking the beginning of the steel structure construction, Babcock also announced that it has placed an order for…

Classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) said it has awarded approval in principle (AIP) to Chinese shipbuilder Jiangnan Shipyard Co.

In 2018, Havyard Design & Solutions won a contract for the delivery of two ship designs to Royal Arctic Line A/S. Reefer vessel design was a new segment for Havyard and the first of the two ships, ‘Siuana Arctica’, has now been delivered from the Astilleros Zamakona yard in Spain.Royal Arctic Line A/S handles all sea freight to and from the 13 biggest ports in Greenland, which secures supplies across the country. ‘Siuana Arctica' is set to sail the Uummannaq area to the Upernavik district in north-west Greenland.In the course of December…

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Participating in "Planning and Design Center for Greener Ships" focussed on R&D toward Achieving Decarbonized Shipping, and on December 10, 2020, a presentation was held in Yokohama to announce the establishment of the Center.Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. has become a member of "Planning and Design Center for Greener Ships," a core organization established to plan and propose state-of-the-art ships on a continuing basis through integration of the accumulated expertise of Japan's shipbuilding industry.

For the Design issue Greg Trauthwein asked me to write about a favorite ship design. I have no favorite ship design, or should say there are simply too many that are truly worthy of mention. But when considering favorite designs, ship designers (and builders) do carry a strange curse. Unique among engineers (and artists, architects, and industrial designers) their creations only live for about 30 years. With very few exceptions, in their own life time, ship designers get to see the disassembly of most of their creations. I am not aware of any other creations that are so readily tossed aside.

The common perception of intact stability has remained largely unchanged over the last few decades, where a vessel’s stability is evaluated using classical and static means: limits on righting arms, residual areas, and determining maximal VCG (or minimal GM) composite curves. These methods are familiar to most naval architects and are taught at a fundamental level in most naval architecture engineering programs.But repeated incidents of dynamic failure in recent decades brings question to the adequacy of classical static stability criteria to provide a complete understanding of…

The world's first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel propulsion technology has completed sea trials, shipowner BW LPG announced Wednesday.BW Gemini and its newly retrofitted LPG propulsion technology were tested to their safe limits by an expert team from engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions, BW LPG’s Newbuilding & Projects and Technical departments, and classification society DNV-GL, who awarded the required classification certificate to following satisfactory performance.

When Captain Will Whatley guides a ship through Arctic waters, he is starkly aware of what can go wrong.Double the manpower is needed to navigate. Lookout shifts are kept to just one hour, so sailors don't lose concentration and miss a mass of floating ice. Big icebergs show up on radar, but smaller, truck-sized "bergy bits"—even more dangerous—can be missed, the captain says.The cold can freeze equipment and the earth's magnetic field disrupts compasses. If anything goes wrong…

Norway's biggest ferry company has ordered two new ferries from Havyard Design & Solutions, the first to use Havyard LAB's new three-step tool to become safer and more environmentally friendly. Havyard LAB offers a new three-step ship design tool that incorporates a vessel’s digital twin situated in simulated local conditions, a process it believes will result in a ship that is carefully adapted to its work and the waters in which it will be operating, while also cutting energy consumption, emissions and operating costs.

A design for the world’s first large liquefied hydrogen carrier has been granted approval in principle (AIP) from the classification society Korean Register and flag state Liberian Registry.The 20,000 cubic meters class vessel was developed by Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Hyundai Glovis in partnership with the Korean Register and the Liberian Registry, and HHI Group’s Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) announced they have received the AIP on Thursday.Alfonso Castillero…

Fire safety has become a major concern in the container shipping industry, in particular, with vessels of 20,000-TEU and more entering the market. A fire in just one container can have catastrophic implications for the whole of the cargo. The very nature of container shipping means that the cargoes are in general finished goods of high value. Insurer Allianz gives the example of a March 2018 fire onboard the Maersk Honam southeast of Oman. At the time the ship was carrying 7,860 containers, corresponding to 12,416 TEU.

Hydrogen or battery technologies? Strict regulations force shipowners to consider alternative energy sourcesThere are more than 60,000 ships in the world, which engines emit almost 2.5% of the world's greenhouse gases. The automotive industry has made rapid progress towards electrification and there is more and more talk of hydrogen solutions for trains, at the same time the transition to non-fossil fuels has been slower in the shipping industry.Energy for moving ships can originate from a wide variety of sources. Ships have been sailing powered by wind for millenniums.

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., recently installed a Marine Travelift HTC 150D Hydraulic Hatch Crane on the Michigan Trader self-unloading barge delivered to VanEnkevort Tug & Barge.The Michigan Trader features an overall length of 740 ft X 78 ft beam X 45 ft depth. Once in service, it will serve the Great Lakes region by hauling bulk commodities including iron ore, stone and more.“It was nice to partner with a local supplier, Marine Travelift, to provide the lifting solutions for the Michigan Trader…

BMT won a contract with The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group (ISSG) for new vessel designs for the Isles of Scilly, replacing the iconic Scillonian III.The ISSG require a vessel design solution to run between the harbors of Penzance and St Mary’s, in addition to an onward freight supply chain from St Mary’s to the off islands of St Martins, Tresco, Bryher and St Agnes.“The designs will maximize passenger and crew comfort, will be capable of operating in the challenging conditions of the Atlantic ocean route…

Classification society RINA has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) to create an interface to the SDARI 3D Ship Model, marking another step toward 3D design verification.SDARI is a member of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and is one of the largest and most prolific research and design institutes in China. Its services cover the full design life cycle from preliminary feasibility study…