Systems Integrator News

PaxOcean Group and ABB have announced that Singapore’s first fully electric tug completed commissioning, marking a major milestone in the city-state’s harbor craft electrification program.The 50-tonne bollard pull tug, PXO-ACE-1, is expected to be deployed in April 2026 and is the first fully electric tug to be built and operated in Singapore. The vessel was built by PaxOcean Group, a subsidiary of Kuok Maritime Group, and is powered by an integrated electric propulsion system…

Maritime systems integrator Alewijnse has joined the Oceanco Group, a leader in the yacht sector.With this step forward, Alewijnse is entering a new phase following seven years as a portfolio company of Strong Root Capital. During this period the company strengthened and professionalized its operations, which now enables it to accelerate its proven course with greater momentum.Alewijnse brings more than 135 years of experience in electrical engineering and automation, during which it has built on its position as a leading partner across the yachting…

Global marine surveying and consultancy firm Van Ameyde Marine has appointed Chris Boyd as the new Managing Director of Van Ameyde Marine, UK.Boyd has over 30 years’ experience in the maritime industry. He started his career in the Royal Navy, specializing in hydrographic surveying, before becoming a naval architect and systems integrator. His focus was on marine cargo, heavy lift operations and the transportation and installation of critical items.Boyd has led complex projects across multiple sectors…

Electrical systems integrator Alewijnse and the Technical University (TU) Delft joined forces to focus on developing energy conversion solutions that contribute to the green energy transition. Leveraging its expertise in electrification and automation, Alewijnse provides a platform for young professionals from TU Delft to innovate together, addressing the needs of companies in the maritime and industrial sectors.By integrating science, engineering and design, the collaboration supports solutions for various types of ships and industrial installations.

The ocean sector finds itself in a critical moment, especially as the demand to decarbonize grows. Though long-haul is still the biggest emitter in the maritime industry, the need to decarbonize smaller commercial and coastal vessels, including cruise ships, passenger ferries, platform supply vessels (PSVs), offshore service vessels (OSVs), and research ships, is on the rise. Particularly, passenger ferries are pushing into uncharted waters, increasingly being scrutinized by municipal, state, and federal regulators for their environmental impact.

Damen Naval signed a contract with Nevesbu for the platform engineering scope of the Plataforma Estratégica de Superficie (PES) frigate for Colombia. This scope includes both basic engineering and detailed engineering. The collaboration highlights the strength of the Damen Shipyards Group, with Damen Naval and Nevesbu joining forces as sister companies within the organization.Based on Damen Naval’s SIGMA 10514 series, the PES frigate is designed to combine versatility and combat capability while being tailored to meet Colombia’s specific requirements.

San Francisco’s Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), operator of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system, is moving forward with plans to introduce the United States' first fleet of zero-emission, high-speed, battery electric ferries, this week unveiling design renderings and announcing a battery systems supplier.The newbuilds, to be procured as part of SF Bay Ferry's Rapid Electric Emission Free (REEF) Ferry Program, include two 400-passenger vessels that will operate…

German defense contractor Hensoldt on Friday announced plans to reorganize into four divisions following in its $728 million acquisition of defense systems integrator ESG Elektroniksystem completed earlier this year.Hensoldt will divide its operations into four divisions focused on its different types of businesses: Radar, Optronics, Multi Domain Solutions, and Services & Training.The company said the move is part of an effort to "accelerate growth and make full use of the acquisition and integration of ESG".The core product divisions…

Golden Gate Ferry will build a fleet of eight new hybrid vessels to improve operational efficiency and reduce emissions from its San Francisco Bay Area commuter ferry service.Electrical contracting company McKay on Monday announced it has been appointed by naval architecture firm Aurora Marine Design to serve as the electrical systems integrator for the Liwa Class newbuild program, which will commence in early 2025 to retire and replace Golden Gate Ferry’s existing fleet of with a series of eight new 50.5-meter-long…

Norwegian shipyard Myklebust Verft has been selected to build a pair of innovative hydrogen-powered passenger ferries ordered by Norwegian transport company Torghatten Nord.The design, produced by The Norwegian Ship Design Company for operations in the challenging waters of the Vestfjordstrekninga fjord in the Arctic Circle, received approval in principle (AIP) in August 2022 from Lloyd's Register, who has signed on to class the first-of-their-kind vessels.At 117 meters long with a 120-car capacity…

Crowley Maritime Corporation has owned and operated a lot of vessels since its founding in 1892. But the latest vessel to join its fleet is unlike any other that has come before it.Crowley’s new harbor tug, eWolf, is unique in that it runs 100% powered by batteries, not diesel engines, meaning it produces zero emissions and nearly no noise. Not only is the vessel the first fully electric tug in the Crowley fleet, but it is also the first of its kind in the United States.Faced with stricter regulations and commercial pressure to prioritize environmental…

Brunvoll Mar-El will deliver the onshore charging system for the Bergen area fast ferries, more specifically on the Knarvik-Bergen and Kleppestø-Bergen routes. Brunvoll Mar-El has from earlier been contracted to deliver the electrical and hybrid system integration for the 3 ferries, and the contracts add up to both onboard and onshore system integration.Brunvoll Mar-El is a systems integrator in the market for power and weight optimized low-emission high-speed passenger vessels.

Wärtsilä has signed a strategic partnership agreement to provide its fleet electrification and systems integrator services for a project to build the first zero-emission high speed ferries in the US. The fully electric vessels will be built for San Francisco’s Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), the operator of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system.The project, and several others Wärtsilä will work on under the partnership, are part of the agency’s Rapid Electric Emission-Free (REEF) Ferry Program…

Washington's Skagit County is inviting U.S. shipyards to bid for a contract to construct a new all‐electric car and passenger ferry.In 2017, Skagit County Public Works enlisted Glosten to design an environmentally friendly all‐electric replacement for the diesel‐powered ferry Guemes, which has serviced the half-mile route between Anacortes and Guemes Island since 1979.After some funding-related delays, the county approved the Seattle-based naval architecture firm's preliminary design in 2021…

A new cutter suction dredge (CSD) has been christened for Westlake, La. based dredging contractor Mike Hooks.The 27-inch CSD Lorraine Hooks was built at Southwest Shipyard in Galveston, Texas and delivered to its owner earlier this year 2023. The newbuild is named after the wife of the company's founder.C-Job Naval Architects, based in the Netherlands, served as systems integrator and was responsible for the full design scope including the majority of the dredge equipment for the dredge on behalf of Mobile, Ala.

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA announced it has been awarded a contract potentially worth more than $3 billion for the detail design and construction of new TAGOS-25 class ocean surveillance ships for the U.S. Navy.The $113.9 million fixed-price incentive (firm target) and firm-fixed-price contract includes options for detail design and construction of up to seven T-AGOS 25 class ships which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $3.195 billion.Austal…

A first-of-its-kind ammonia-powered, zero-emission tugboat will be put to the test by Brooklyn, N.Y-based startup Amogy in late 2023.Having already successfully demonstrated its technology on an aerial drone, tractor and semi-truck, the ammonia power solutions company revealed in early March that it is retrofitting a scaled up 1-megawatt (MW) version of its ammonia-to-power system onto a tug at Feeney Shipyard in Kingston, N.Y. as a test run for its emissions-slashing power and propulsion technology in the commercial maritime sector.Once installed…

Ammonia power solutions company Amogy on Monday said it plans to unveil a first-of-its-kind ammonia-powered, zero-emission tugboat in late 2023.The Brooklyn, N.Y-based company revealed during CERAWeek 2023 that it is retrofitting a 1-megawatt version of its ammonia-to-power system onto a 1957-built tug at Feeney Shipyard in Kingston, N.Y. Amogy’s ammonia-to-power technology feeds liquid ammonia through its cracking modules integrated into a hybrid fuel cell system that provides zero-carbon power to the electric motors.Ammonia…

The commercial maritime industry is seeking solutions to improve efficiency and reduce emissions, and a wide range of new solutions are coming to market to answer the call. Among these is a new design for a methanol-hybrid tug from naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten. The SA-100, developed in collaboration with systems integrator ABB, is a high-powered tug with 90-ton bollard pull that’s “intended to give operators a means to improve environmental performance…

Houston-based Bleutec Industries announced it has received approval in principle (AIP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the designs of its Jones Act compliant offshore wind farm construction solution.Envisioned as an alternative to wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV), Bleutec's "binary marine installation solution" (BMIS) is a spread of DP2 vessels designed in partnership with Ohio-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm NETSCo, each engineered to be built at U.S. shipyards and operated within the U.S.

iconsys, a UK maritime automation solutions provider and systems integrator, announced the appointment of Jordan Tassell as its new Head of Marine and Ports.Tassell, who previously spent eight years at global OEM, ABB, within its marine and ports division, will be spearheading a number of initiatives at iconsys. These include developing key relationships with existing customers and platform partners, and working directly with OEMs and end-users with their decarbonization objectives.

Electrical systems integrator Alewijnse has delivered its newest dredge control solutions to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co, the largest provider of dredging services in the U.S.The systems were installed on board the Liberty Island, a large trailing suction hopper dredger, which was deployed immediately after completion for a beach replenishment project in Buxton, N.C."Our proven systems for suction tube monitoring and hopper loading deliver maximum added value to our customers," said Johan van Rikxoort, solutions manager at Alewijnse.

ABB said Monday its digital technologies have enabled the harbor tug Maju 510 to become the first vessel in the world to receive Autonomous and Remote-Control Navigation Notation from ABS classification society, and first Singapore-flagged vessel to receive the Smart (Autonomous) Notation from MPA. The notations acknowledge the breakthrough performance of the tug, demonstrating autonomous collision avoidance capabilities in trials conducted at Raffles Reserved Anchorage, off Singapore Island…