NRC Program Targets Vessel Operating Costs, Safety

Canada’s NRC creating solutions for the growing Canadian shipbuilding, military vessels, marine commercial transportation and offshore resource industries

As marine experts gather for the Ocean’s 14 conference in St. John’s Newfoundland, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) announced a program aimed at finding economical and viable business based technological solutions to improve the safety and performance of marine vessels such as cargo ships and fuel tankers.

Building on NRC’s extensive experience in the commercial and military markets as well as access to world-class facilities, the Marine Vehicles program will focus on technologies and processes for reducing operating costs of vessels, contributing to safe Arctic and offshore oil and gas operations. The end result is to support a sustainable and competitive shipbuilding industry in Canada for military vessels, marine commercial transportation and offshore resource industries.

“The National Research Council has the expertise and tools to improve the performance and safety of marine vehicle and their operations,” said Terry Lindstrom, General Manager of Ocean, Coastal, and River Engineering at the National Research Council of Canada. “By working closely with industry, we will deliver innovative solutions for the marine market.”

Examples of work that will be conducted within the program by NRC will include advanced controls for systems like autopilot and roll stabilizers, improved vessel performance monitoring and analysis systems, the development of Arctic station-keeping technology and training simulators, advanced controls for unmanned marine vehicles, and conceptual and preliminary design tools for ice-class and inshore vessels.