Technology Enabling News

During a live showcase on board Scylla’s new passenger vessel MS Lumière, Shipping Technology, Retina, and Scylla successfully completed the first-ever autonomous Dock2Dock voyage—from undocking in Hardinxveld-Giessendam to docking in Gorinchem.The demonstration combined Retina’s M-Pilot maneuvering system with the ST BRAIN and Autonomous Lane Assist (ST Sailing) from Shipping Technology, enabling the vessel to undock, sail and dock autonomously under real-world conditions. Throughout the route…

Maersk has begun the roll-out of its new digital connectivity platform OneWireless aboard 450 vessels.The IoT connectivity platform will be used by all Maersk-owned vessels and more than 100 time-chartered vessels in the fleet.The platform is designed to meet the increasing demand for real-time data transmission and provide advanced IoT capabilities.“With our next-generation connectivity platform, we will be able to offer our customers notable benefits, including real-time cargo tracking, enhanced supply chain visibility and improved operational efficiency.

Austal USA Advanced Technologies (Austal USA AT) has purchased a WarpSPEE3D printer and is currently spearheading an effort to revolutionize the US Navy's supply chain by implementing additive manufacturing.Austal USA AT oversees and operates the Navy's Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville, VA – the US Navy's flagship center for additive manufacturing supporting the construction and sustainment of the fleet. SPEE3D's proprietary Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing…

Danelec and leading Danish piloting company DanPilot have revealing the result of a key strategic partnership at the European Maritime Day conference in Svendborg, Denmark. They have new technology that integrates operational and navigation solutions, allowing for safe piloting without requiring a pilot to board the ship.Danelec has been collecting vessel and navigation data on commercial vessels for 30 years. Today, vessel data can be sent to the cloud and displayed in near real-time ashore.

Van Oord’s cutter suction dredger Biesbosch and trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Apolonia are teaming up to dredge the Prinses Amaliahaven located on Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.A consortium of Van Oord, HOCHTIEF and Ballast Nedam has constructed 2.4 kilometres of new quay wall. The new quays are being dredged to a depth of more than 20 metres below sea level. This development means that the Port of Rotterdam Authority is ensuring an expansion of container capacity in Rotterdam.In total 1…

BW LPG has demonstrated the value of dual-fuel LPG operations beyond the company’s initial aim of meeting IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap regulations.In October 2020, the LPG carrier BW Gemini became the first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to have its low-speed main engine converted to an LPG dual-fuel engine. The project started several years earlier, sparked by Oslo-listed BW LPG’s preparations for the IMO’s 2020 Sulphur Cap regulations.Compared to heavy fuel oil, LPG reduces Sox emissions by approximately 97%…

Kongsberg Maritime said Friday it had completed a live trial of autonomous shipping technology in Bornem, Belgium, demonstrating the company's progress in fully autonomous systems.The test vessel, Zulu 4, an inland waterway barge owned by Blue Line Logistics NV, is equipped for remote-operated and autonomous transport demonstrations for the AUTOSHIP project, which is part of Horizon 2020, an EU research program.As part of the test, Zulu 4 maneuvered and navigated on unrestricted waterways, and it demonstrated berthing and unberthing capability.

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime said Friday it had successfully demonstrated a range of remote and autonomous technologies on a cargo vessel operating off the coast of Norway.The test cruise has been named one of the most complex autonomous journeys at sea so far, Kongsberg Maritime said.The Eidsvaag Pioner is one of the two vessels that are equipped for remote-operated and autonomous transport demonstrations for the AUTOSHIP project, which is part of Horizon 2020, an EU research program.Owned by the Eidsvaag shipping company…

Oslo-listed LPG vessel operator BW LPG has converted the main engine of the ‘BW Malacca’ vessel to dual-fuel running. The last such conversion for a series of 15 LPG carriers, the ship’s MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.2 type engine was retrofitted to an MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.5-LGIP dual-fuel type capable of operating on fuel oil and LPG.The work was carried out at Yiu Lian Dockyards in Shenzhen, China in conjunction with the vessel’s scheduled, five-year docking and under the supervision of MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales division.

Mitsubishi Corporation’s Pyxis Ocean is slated to be the first vessel fitted with BAR Technologies’ (BAR Tech) pioneering wind propulsion technology WindWings.The installation, anticipated for deployment at the beginning of 2023, comes as the next step in a collaboration launched in 2019 between Cargill and MC Shipping Ltd. Singapore Branch – the shipping arm of the Mitsubishi Corporation – to increase energy savings and reduce emissions from international shipping.Two WindWings will be delivered by Yara Marine Technologies and installed on the five-year-old…

Norwegian ship designer Sirius Design & Integration has won a contract with Norway-based company Gen2 Energy AS to design two specialized ships for the transport of large quantities of containers with compressed hydrogen.The Gen2 container carriers will be about 190 meters long and will be able to carry 500 40-foot containers."The vessels will be designed with the aim of leaving the least possible climate footprint. Using hydrogen in the propulsion systems of the vessels will be part of the design work.

Many shipowners are making hay while the sun shines as high charter rates in some market segments have fueled revenue - but they could reap trouble by delaying yard stays for ballast water treatment (BWT) system retrofits as the clock ticks on installation time, according to supplier Optimarin.“There is definitely a commercial rationale for carrying out retrofits in the near term rather than waiting due to the huge backlog of vessels that need to be retrofitted over the next few years to gain IMO compliance…

A groundbreaking series of eight large container vessels capable of being operated on carbon-neutral methanol ordered by Maersk, along with an option for a further four vessels, are to be built to ABS Class, the classification society announced on Tuesday.Ordered in August, the vessels will be built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries and have a nominal capacity of approximately 16,000 containers. The series will replace older vessels, generating annual CO2 emissions…

Shipping giant Maersk said Thursday it had ordered a feeder vessel with a dual-engine technology enabling it to sail on either methanol or traditional very low Sulphur fuel.The feeder, for which Maersk says will be the world's first container vessel fueled by carbon-neutral methanol, will be 172 meters long and will sail in the network of Sealand Europe, a Maersk subsidiary, on the Baltic shipping route between Northern Europe and the Bay of Bothnia. The methanol propulsion configuration…

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri has begun building the first of four new ships on order for MSC Group's new luxury cruise brand Explora Journeys.Built at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, the new cruise ship Explora I is scheduled to set sail in 2023, followed by its sister ships slated to be delivered in 2024, 2025 and 2026.The design incorporates provision for battery storage allowing future hybrid power generation, as well as the latest selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, enabling a reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 90%.

South Korean electrolysis water treatment company Techcross has developed a new technology enabling total residual oxidant (TRO) sensing even in very turbid water quality.In the case of electrolysis water treatment, the process of maintaining a certain level of disinfection efficiency or measuring residual chlorine (oxidant) concentration is essential as these measurements can determine the level of electric power to be applied and amount of neutralizing agent used.The electrolytic ballast water treatment system is no exception…

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)…

BW LPG announced it will retrofit three additional vessels to make them dual fuel capable, brining to 15 the number of its ships slated to be equipped for running on both fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).The Oslo-listed shipowner, part of the BW Group, announced in 2018 that it would initially equip four very large gas carriers (VLGC) with the novel propulsion solution. Later, two four-vessel options were confirmed with this new three-vessel option making a total of…

Norwegian technology firm Kongsberg announced it will install and test autonomous ship technologies on two vessels in Europe's inland waterways and short sea coastal shipping routes.The AUTOSHIP project will aim to test and further develop key technology linked to fully autonomous navigation systems, intelligent machinery systems, self-diagnostics, prognostics and operation scheduling, as well as communication technology enabling a prominent level of cyber security and integrating the vessels into upgraded e-infrastructure…

Ulstein Group unveiled a hydrogen-powered ship design that it claims is market-ready, offering zero-emission marine operations.Recently, DNV GL identified the five most promising alternative fuels for shipping, with hydrogen as the ultimate zero-emission solution. The first complete hydrogen fueled prospect has been put together by Ulstein Design & Solutions BV and Nedstack fuel cell technology BV. The ULSTEIN SX190 Zero Emission DP2 construction support vessel is Ulstein’s first hydrogen powered offshore vessel, featuring a Nedstack fuel cell power system. The DP2 vessel can cater for a large variety of offshore support operations.“The maritime industry needs to align and be ambitious in bringing green solutions forward for a sustainable future.

ABB adds dynamic positioning 2 (DP2) functionality to ABB Ability Marine Pilot Control, the solution that enhances vessel command execution and enables operators to focus on safer maneuvering.Designed to optimize vessel responsiveness, efficiency and safety across the entire operating profile, ABB Ability Marine Pilot Control allows deploying joystick control for maneuvering at all times, including around the berth.Featuring model predictive control, ABB Ability Marine Pilot Control’s…

While the shipbuilding market has been advantaging Asian lower-cost manufacturing in the last decades, AUTOSHIP will build around two EU industrial market and leading technology providers, such as Rolls Royce and Kongsberg, to create a stronger European cluster able to thrust a market worth Billions of Euros in the next decade, bringing new high-skilled jobs and a safer and greener transport in Europe.AUTOSHIP will build and operate 2 R&A vessels and their needed shore control and operation infrastructure, reaching and going over TRL7.Testing will take place during two pilot demonstration campaigns addressing goods mobility from the Baltic Corridor to a major EU seaport and hinterland…

A who’s who list of maritime industry executives have signed on to voice their support for a zero-carbon future in shipping.The not-for-profit foundation the Global Maritime Forum brought together a group of 34 CEOs and industry leaders from across the global maritime sector to sign a call for action and lead the industry in a transition toward decarbonization.To achieve this, these leaders believe the maritime industry needs to accelerate both technological and business model innovation…