Steel Structures News

MacGregor was selected to deliver a comprehensive scope of cargo handling solutions for six 1,700 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered containerships to be built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in India. The vessels are being built for the CMA CGM. The six 1,700 TEU vessels are scheduled for delivery between 2029 and 2031. They will support and reinforce India’s role as a strategic hub for global trade and sustainable shipbuilding.The order was booked to MacGregor’s Q2 2026 orders received.The extensive scope of supply includes the design and key components…

HII announced long-term performance-based production agreements with High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR) team members GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics. The signed agreements are designed to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced physical AI automation across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, including aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious ships, future frigates and unmanned surface vessels.Under the agreements, HII intends to award up to $900 million in total shipbuilding work to Path Robotics and GrayMatter Robotics across seven years…

BigLift Shipping, a member of the Spliethoff Group, successfully completed 10 project voyages for the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility (REEF), AltaGas and Vopak’s joint venture project.Starting in June 2024, BigLift safely transported equipment and infrastructure using four BigLift vessels: m/v Happy Dragon, m/v Pottersgracht, m/v Happy Star and m/v Happy Sky.The project began with the transportation of steel structures, marine piles and specialized equipment using BigLift's Happy Dragon.

The US domestic and global maritime industry in 2026 stands at a critical crossroads, caught between structural labor deficits and an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape. Shipping has undergone a transition since Covid-19, moving away from decades of relative stability with defined trade flows toward operating conditions that grow more complex and volatile by the year. Historic energy routes have shifted, uncertainty has settled over key maritime chokepoints, and global supply chains have absorbed the disruption.

Retrofit specialist GLO Marine has announced a $7 million (€6 million) investment in a new integrated assembly and production facility in Galați, Romania, as it seeks to expand its end-to-end vessel upgrade and decarbonization capabilities.The new facility will allow the company to engineer, fabricate, pre-assemble and integrate complex retrofit systems under a coordinated delivery model. Construction is underway, with completion scheduled by the end of the year and production set to begin in February 2027.The project is expected to create around 40 skilled technical roles…

Gulf Island Fabrication has announced that the acquisition of the company by IES Holdings was approved at its special meeting of shareholders held on January 13.The strategic rationale for IES is:Strategically located Gulf Coast fabrication campus: Gulf Island’s Houma, Louisiana facility, which consists of a 450,000-square foot fabrication and operations facility on 160 acres, offers a strategic complement to IES’s footprintExpanded services capabilities: Provides an experienced craft workforce and specialty services with proven ability to support complex…

Underwater welding is one of the most demanding and hazardous tasks in the maritime and offshore world, relying heavily on a small, highly specialized pool of industrial divers. As port infrastructure ages and offshore structures expand, demand for underwater repair continues to outpace available manpower. A new research project out of Germany aims to fundamentally change that equation.Led by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, the MARIOW (Maritime AI-Guided…

Wind propulsion company bound4blue has expanded its industrial footprint in Asia with the establishment of new production capabilities in China, alongside the signing of strategic regional partnerships to accelerate adoption of its proven eSAIL® suction sail technology.This allows bound4blue to manufacture near the yards where their systems will be integrated, both for newbuildings and for vessels calling in Asia for retrofit.Production in China will be handled through a network of outsourced industrial partners with strong naval and offshore manufacturing capabilities.

ABS issued approval in principle (AIP) to Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for its HyfloWind Float, a hybrid floating offshore wind structure designed to enhance production efficiency and streamline deployment processes.The HyfloWind Float features a concrete-based steel composite design, diverging from traditional all-steel structures. This approach facilitates local fabrication in regions where steel manufacturing capabilities are limited, helping lower the costs associated with importing steel.

Germany-based protective coatings innovator Steelpaint GmbH is urging shipowners, shipyards, and port authorities with steel assets to prioritize surface preparation, advising that skimping on this critical step in the application process is leading to premature coating failures, costly repairs, and increased safety risks.The advisory follows a recent request to apply its single-component, moisture-cure Stelcatec to a steel structure that had not been properly prepared, with high…

Japan-based Toray Industries has secured type approval from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VaRTM) process for in-situ ship repairs, developed jointly with MODEC.The technique entails applying carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) to corroded areas with reduced thicknesses of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) and floating storage and offloading (FSO) systems.ABS is one of the world’s leading classification societies, accounting for around half of FPSO and FSO certifications.

Van Oord’s Svanen vessel has received a major upgrade which increased its total height to 125 meters, making it one of the largest heavy-lift vessels in the world suitable for handling the next generation of monopile foundations for offshore wind.Svanen grew 25 meters taller with the installation of an A-framed gantry extension, weighing 1,200 tonnes, on top of the vessel.The extension had been constructed by Holland Shipyard. One of the largest cranes in the world was used for the installation at Mammoet Schiedam.Besides the gantry extension…

The wall climbing robot for steel structures - developed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, and MOL Ship Management  to support ship inspection and maintenance - has completed a demonstration test and earned the Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) Innovation Endorsement.The Innovation Endorsement is ClassNK's third-party certification program. It certifies and supports initiatives that contribute to the sustainable evolution of maritime and offshore businesses.The robot…

Retrofit specialist GLO Marine and expert in propulsion systems VMS Group have teamed up to expand their collaboration into comprehensive retrofits and vessel modifications, with a primary focus on decarbonization initiatives.In a strategic move towards advancing sustainable maritime practices, the GLO Marine-VMS Group partnership will prioritize retrofit projects and vessel modifications that align with the latest green technologies.The partnership stems from a series of ‘seamlessly executed’ retrofit project installations…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

Italian companies Comau and Fincantieri presented today  the first result of their joint collaboration with Automatica: MR4Weld (Mobile Robot for Weld), a mobile robot, an innovative outdoor automation solution, designed to improve the quality, performance and well-being of operators during labor-intensive welding activities.The MR4Weld mobile robot is being tested and will be used in the Fincantieri shipyards to autonomously weld steel structures, with the possibility of increasing operations up to to 3 times compared to a manual process…

As the dust settles from Wednesday's California floating wind auction, and developers begin to discuss their plans, energy industry intelligence firm Intelatus says development of the floating wind manufacturing and installation supply chain must speed up.Developers are beginning to release details of their bids for yesterday’s California floating wind auction. The successful bidders for the two north California Humboldt sites, RWE and CIP, both bid the highest prices per square kilometer of lease area.

The ABS Requirements for Bonded and Composite Repairs of Steel Structures and Piping is the latest in a portfolio of technical requirements from the classification organization to support the marine and offshore industries.Particularly with offshore structures that remain at their operation sites for long periods of time, corrosive damage is frequently discovered yet difficult to repair using traditional methods that involve hot work welding and drydocking. Instead, adhesively bonded repairs can be used which can reduce operational downtime, minimize disruption onboard and reduce safety risks.The new ABS document adds clear details for…

Bureau Veritas delivered an Approval in Principle to COLD PAD, an industrial start-up, for its C-Claw technology, a heavy-duty fastener for steel structures that is non-intrusive (no hole and no hot work is required). It was designed as an alternative to welding and drilling for the maritime and offshore sectors. The technology offers a quick fastening solution for any structural outfitting, maintenance and modification operations, including works on cable trays, pipe supports, skids, handrails, or ladders.

The Danish provider of mobile robotic welding and adaptive multi-pass welding technologies, Inrotech has partnered withGullco International, a manufacturer of automated welding and cutting carriages, modular automation, and custom automation solutions.The two companies will use their partnership to strengthen their customer offerings and market position. With this partnership, both companies combine their knowledge together and offer smart, easy-to-use automation solutions equipped with intelligent software and scanning technology for the growing need for welding automation technology…

XLCC, the new high-voltage direct current (HVDC), renewable energy focused business in the U.K., said it has completed the concept design for a new cable laying vessel for planned delivery in the first half of 2025.The newbuild is slated to support the Morocco – UK Power Project, XLCC's first client project, through the delivery of four 3,800km subsea HVDC cables from a wind and solar generation site in Morocco to the U.K.Alan Mathers, XLCC director, said, “Our vessel will be, on delivery, the most sophisticated, capable and green cable layer in the world.

Danish offshore energy industry services firms Bladt Industries and Semco Maritime have been awarded a contract to deliver substations for Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project in the U.S.The contract comprises three 880 MW offshore substations, which will be established in 2021-2025 and commissioned in 2026."The three substations will constitute the backbone of the electrical infrastructure for the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. The contract is Bladt Industries’ and Semco Maritime’s third offshore substation project in the U.S.

The U.S. Navy has many assets other than its seaborn vessels to care for, and recently it adopted new standards to protect those that are fuel-related. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) contracted with Master Painter Institute (MPI) services to establish product standards for interior carbon-steel fuel pipes, interior welded fuel tanks, exterior steel systems and waterfront steel structures. These new standards, known as the MPI 500 Series Standards, are for use in numerous aspects of work involving specialized Department of Defense (DoD) petroleum…