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Wallingford News

02 Jul 2021

New LNG Carrier Mooring Tool Launched

(Image: HR Wallingford / Witherbys)

A new ship mooring tool has been engineered to perform static and dynamic ship mooring analyses in a rapid, user friendly and intuitive manner.SHIPMOOR was created to make the assessment of mooring a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier a straightforward and user-driven process, tapping into the power of cloud based servers to undertake live mooring analysis for each ship. Launched by HR Wallingford and Witherbys, the internet-based tool aims to be efficient solution for the significant…

06 Mar 2020

Tidal Turbines Impact on Marine Wildlife Lower Than Previously Thought

Research by HR Wallingford at the SeaGen tidal power project site at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland has shown that the impact of tidal power turbines on marine wildlife may be significantly lower than previously estimated.As questions are asked about the impact of turbine blades on marine wildlife, scientists have developed a sophisticated fish collision model for the burgeoning tidal power industry.The model, developed by HR Wallingford, predicts collision rates more accurately than ever before by incorporating the real swimming behaviors of different species of fish for the first time. The journal of ‘Renewable Energy’ has just published a study using the model…

07 Feb 2020

Australia Ship Sim Center Opens

HR Wallingford's newly built tug bridge simulator (Photo: HR Wallingford)

The Western Australian Minister for Ports, the Hon. Alannah MacTiernan MLC opened the expanded facilities of HR Wallingford’s new Australia Ship Simulation Center.HR Wallingford has added two new purpose-built simulators to its center in Fremantle, bringing the total number of simulators that it owns and operates there to six. This makes it one of the largest ship simulation centers in Australia and allows a full maneuvering team (including pilots, tug masters and vessel traffic service (VTS) operators) to conduct integrated and immersive full port scenarios.In her speech…

01 Dec 2017

Fugro Wins Work at US Offshore Wind Sites

Fugro said it has been awarded contracts by Ørsted to undertake geotechnical investigations at two large-scale offshore wind development sites in the U.S. Ørsted is pursuing the development of the two new projects: Bay State Wind, located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. and Ocean Wind, 10 miles off the New Jersey coast – to bring wind energy to American consumers and businesses. The marine site characterization at both sites involves specialized sampling and in situ testing which Fugro will perform from its DP2 geotechnical drillship, Fugro Explorer. For laboratory testing and reporting services Fugro will draw on its expertise from Norfolk, Va. and Houston as well as Wallingford, U.K.

19 Sep 2017

River Thames Simulation Supports Safer Navigation

HR Wallingford has created a River Thames navigation simulation to assess Tideway’s fleet of vessel masters (Photo: HR Wallingford)

The Thames Tideway Tunnel project, London’s new ‘super sewer’, which will upgrade the city’s 19th century sewerage system for today’s eight million plus inhabitants, requires excavation on an enormous scale. Creating a tunnel 25 kilometers in length, and running up to 65 meters beneath the River Thames, will generate immense volumes of spoil, right in the heart of London. To minimize the impact of transporting this on the capital’s roads, Tideway plans to transport around 4 million metric tons of this material by river.

01 Aug 2017

Simulated Maneuver of Shell’s Prelude FLNG Facility

HR Wallingford simulation (left) and photograph by Shell (right) of the Prelude tow with POSH tugs (Photo: Shell)

At 488m in length, and longer than four football pitches, Shell’s Prelude FLNG facility was always going to represent a formidable challenge even for the skilled tug masters who were charged with towing the facility from the shipyard in South Korea where it was constructed, and delivering it to its final destination, a remote gas field 475 kilometers off the coast of Western Australia. But practice makes perfect, and HR Wallingford, using its Australia Ship Simulation Center in Fremantle…

12 Jun 2017

World’s Biggest Containership Eases into Felixstowe

The Madrid Maersk at Felixstowe's Berth 8 photographed by Captain Prithvi Singh, SCS pilot at Harwich Haven Authority, who piloted the Madrid Maersk out of Felixstowe.

The Madrid Maersk, the latest in a long line of record-breaking containerships, arrived on June 6, 2017 at the Port of Felixstowe’s newest quay, its first port of call in Northern Europe on its maiden voyage. As the world’s current biggest containership (weighing in at 214,286 metric tons, and a massive 399 meters long, with a beam of 58.6m), the Madrid Maersk is expected to set a record for carrying the maximum number of standard-sized containers (TEU) on its return leg to Asia.

09 Feb 2017

Australia’s New Ship Simulation Center Opened

HR Wallingford’s Australia Ship Simulation Centre in Fremantle boasts state-of-the-art ship and tug simulators (Photo: Wallingford)

A new specialist Ship Simulation Center, based in Atwell Arcade, Fremantle, was officially opened on Thursday, February 9, 2017 by City of Fremantle Mayor Dr. Brad Pettitt. The Australia Ship Simulation Center, owned and operated by HR Wallingford, has moved into new premises from where it will continue to provide expert navigation consultancy and a dedicated pilot training center for Western Australia and the wider region. HR Wallingford UK’s Chief Executive, Dr. Bruce Tomlinson and Dr.

18 Jan 2017

Optimizing Aberdeen's Harbour Expansion Design

Photo: HR Wallingford

A £350m ($431m) development plan to expand Aberdeen Harbour was approved on December 19, 2016. HR Wallingford has been involved in the project from its initial concept stages in 2010, and will be working with Aberdeen Harbour Board right through to construction, and undertaking modelling work for the approved contractor, Dragados UK Ltd. The new facilities will include 1,400 meters of new quay, with a water depth of up to 10.5 meters. Construction will begin in early 2017, with the project due to be completed in 2020.

08 May 2015

SENER Inaugurates Manchester Office

From left to right: Fernando SĂĄnchez, Ian Stewart and Rafael de GĂłngora (Photo: SENER)

The engineering and technology group SENER has celebrated the inauguration of its facilities in Manchester, the group’s base for engineering and construction in the United Kingdom, which have been fully operational since 2014. The inauguration event was held May 8 and was attended by local authorities, including City Mayor Ian Stewart and representatives from key clients such as BAE Systems and Babcock. The guests were received on behalf of SENER by its Marine General Manager, Rafael de Góngora, and the Manager of its Marine office in Manchester, Fernando Sánchez.

08 Oct 2014

SENER Opens UK Office

uilding of the SENER premises in Manchester

SENER opened an Engineering and Construction division in Manchester to reinforce its presence in the United Kingdom. The group already has work sites set up in the UK and it maintains a close 25-year relationship with Rolls Royce through ITP, a leader in the global market for industrial and aeronautical engines in which SENER (53.125%) and Rolls Royce (46.875%) are the two shareholders. The new office will lend the support needed for ongoing projects such as the construction of two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.

26 Sep 2014

New Masterplanning Guidance for Ports Published

Stephen Cork

A new report, Masterplans for the development of existing ports, has been published today by PIANC. The report was prepared by an international Working Group (WG 158) established 2012 and chaired by Stephen Cork, Technical Director at HR Wallingford. “In preparing this report, our objective was to deliver a comprehensive guide for the preparation of masterplans for existing ports,” explained Stephen Cork. PIANC is the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, and is the forum where professionals around the world join forces to provide expert advice on cost-effective…

21 Mar 2014

Helping to Secure Ghana's Power Supply

UK-based maritime engineering consultants HR Wallingford are supporting Quantum Power’s development of an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and regasification facility at Tema, Ghana. The facility will include a floating storage and regasification unit with transfer from conventional LNG carriers. HR Wallingford is carrying out an advanced feasibility study, which includes metocean, ship mooring and operational assessments, incorporating fully dynamic mooring analysis. Applying world-leading expertise in maritime engineering, HR Wallingford’s engineers and scientists are working closely with Quantum Power to provide an effective solution that will maximise operability of the facility and ensure safe and efficient transfer  of LNG.

02 Dec 2013

Groundbreaking UK Maritime Research Parnership Set to Continue

UKCRF facility: Photo courtesy of HR Wallingford

With new experimental facilities under construction at HR Wallingford, the foundations are in place for another two decades of successful collaboration between HR Wallingford’s Professor Richard Whitehouse and University College London’s Professor Richard Simons. Richard Whitehouse and Richard Simons know first-hand the value of long term collaboration in experimental research. They first worked together in 1991 in the “Hippo Tank” at HR Wallingford looking at forces created on the seabed by waves and currents.

12 Jun 2013

UK Offshore Renewable Energy Summer School

Early booking advised for the 2-week offshore renewable energy summer school (part of IDCORE 2013) aimed to expand & sustain a community of high-quality staff for the UK offshore renewable energy industry. The summer school (22, July – 2, August 2013 at HR Wallingford, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BA, United Kingdom
) uses taught sessions, case studies and hands-on activities delivered by industry experts. Participants will also gain practical experience in HR Wallingford's modelling hall and navigation simulator. Week one outlines site selection procedures, wave and tide theory, computational modelling (TELEMAC and SWAN), types of coastal structures and methods for determining forces on coastal and offshore structures.

13 May 2013

OceanWise: New Office, New Recruits

Independent marine data management, publishing and GIS specialist, OceanWise, has moved into new offices in Alton, Hampshire to support the further expansion of its business. In addition, OceanWise recruited two new members into its team. Richard Farren joins from HR Wallingford, where he was SeaZone’s Marine Mapping Production Manager. He joins OceanWise as a Systems Developer and will help OceanWise deliver a growing number of Maritime Information Infrastructure projects. Janet Chaplin also joins from HR Wallingford and will transfer her previous role as SeaZone’s Customer Services Manager to OceanWise. www.oceanwise.eu

25 Apr 2013

Tidal Energy Modelling Tool Launched

Image from SMARTtide

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and HR Wallingford launched a tidal energy modeling tool for use by tidal energy developers to identify the most efficient sites for tidal energy converters, tidal arrays or tidal barrage schemes around the U.K. and French coastlines. The computer program, SMARTtide (Simulated Marine Array Resource Testing), incorporates a 2D hydrodynamic model of the U.K.’s continental shelf and the north-west European coastline. The software will be available to the public from May 21 as a fee-for-service via a portal on HR Wallingford’s website.

07 Mar 2013

Advances in Sea-State Forecasting

Marine operations such as offshore oil and gas operations, renewable energy projects and shipping depend on high quality information on sea-state (wave height, period, direction, steepness) for economic and safety decision making. The information currently available is based on atmospheric/ocean models and lacks sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. “Wave conditions are always changing and can vary tremendously over a period of a few hours”, said Chelsea’s Technical Manager, Paul Bolton.

09 Jan 2012

WaveSentry Sea-State Project in Progress

Chelsea Sensor equipment to be fitted to French ferry to progress WaveSentry sea-state forecasting project. Novel sensors, provided by the Chelsea Technologies Group are to be fitted to a cross-channel ferry to collect vessel motion data as part of the WaveSentry project which is being managed by Marine South East. This motion data will be processed to derive certain indirect sea-state measurements which will be merged with a range of other data feeds within the WaveSentry sea-state measurement and forecasting system.

22 Jul 2012

HR Wallingford Sign Navigation Simulator Agreement with FMSC

HR Wallingford has recently signed an alliance agreement with Fremantle Maritime Simulation Centre (FMSC). This gives HR Wallingford the capability to conduct navigation simulation work in Western Australia. HR Wallingford is an independent engineering and environmental hydraulics organisation, and FMSC is a state-of-the-art simulation facility, providing access to specialist marine pilot consultancy, in Fremantle, West Australia. The newly formed alliance is presently operating out of FMSC's premises in Fremantle near Perth but will shortly be moving to a new purpose built facility, also in Fremantle. The move should take place before the end of August and the facility will then have three ship simulators, two full bridge and one tug.

03 Sep 2012

UK Think-Tank Hosts IDICORE Summer School

Photo credit HR Wallingford

HR Wallingford hosts Industrial Doctorate Centre in Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE) participant programme. The IDCORE programme delivered an industry focused course that aims to expand and sustain a community of high-quality post-doctoral staff for the UK offshore renewable energy industry. The HR Wallingford summer school, which is the first of its kind, delivered a mixture of taught sessions, case studies and expert tutorials in offshore renewable energy. Presentations from guest speakers from University of Bath…

20 Sep 2012

Traditional Paper Charts in Electronic Format

Seazone Solutions introduce SeaZone HydroView|Charts for use where marine data needs to be displayed rather than analysed. SeaZone HydroView|Charts offer full global coverage, having been created from digitised and geo-referenced paper charts for GIS display, human interpretation and contextual mapping. These raster map layers are available for immediate use in Geographic Information Systems for a range of applications, without the need for additional software, add-ons or plug-ins, resulting in gains in time and performance. HydroView Charts provides ideal backdrop mapping for a variety of applications from desktop to Internet. They can be also combined with existing datasets to make the display and dissemination of maps within reports or over the Internet simple and effective.

24 Dec 2012

IADC Young Authors Award

Mr. Verschelde (left) receives the IADC Award for the best paper by a Young Author from IADC’s Secretary General René Kolman.

The International Association of Dredging Companies presented its Best Paper Award for a Young Author for the 28th time at the CEDA Dredging Days 12-13 December 2012 in Abu Dhabi, to Mr. Arnaud Verschelde for his paper ‘Erosion Behaviour of a Draghead’. Mr. Arnaud Verschelde graduated from the Delft University of Technology ‘Faculty of 3mE’ (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering). He is presently a Project Engineer Automation at DEME (Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering). The erosion behaviour of a draghead designed in-house at DEME was investigated.