Industry News – Page 620
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Upping levels of customer service
Engine companies are developing training packages as products evolve and the recruitment environment changes. They have for some time offered formal classroom-based product training. However the new packages and facilities take their customer service to new levels.Wärtsilä, for example, has recently established the Wärtsilä Land and Sea Academy (WLSA) in ...
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Appealing to the young generation
Encouraging youngsters from developed countries to embark on a career at sea is a problem many shipping companies say they suffer from. They argue that in developed countries going to sea and getting their hands dirty is simply not as attractive a career proposition for school leavers as it was ...
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Alliance to construct new aircraft carriers
A tripartite alliance involving BAE Systems, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will be responsible for building two new aircraft carriers in a £2.7 billion ($4.3 billion) future carrier programme for the Royal Navy. This follows an announcement in January by Britain?s Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff ...
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Birka?s bigger Baltic
The Mariehamn-based Birka Line, which operates the 1986-built 22,712g Birka Princess cruise/ ferry ship, placed an order late last year with the Finnish shipbuilding yard of Aker Finnyards for the construction of a new vessel. The 33,000g 1,800 passenger ship will cost about $167 million and is slated for delivery ...
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Cruise ferries keep getting bigger
Just when one ferry company claims it is building, or has just put into service, the world?s largest cruise ferry, along comes another operator announcing it is building an even bigger ship. This game of one upmanship reached new heights when Norwegian ferry operator Color Line recently placed an order ...
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Not all offshore
Singapore?s marine industry enjoyed a good run last year driven by strong demand from the offshore sector. The outlook for this sector remains good even though overall marine demand is expected to taper off slightly.According to the Economic Development Board, Singapore?s marine industry grew by 16 per cent in output ...
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Dover to install QuaySailor
Dover Harbour Board is evaluating the installation of an automated mooring system at two new ferry berths it is building in its Eastern Docks. The UK port has commissioned Mooring Systems, the New Zealand-based developer of the automated QuaySailor vacuum mooring design, to produce working drawings for an initial installation. ...
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Nanotechnology could provide cleaner fuels
Scientists from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, have developed a technique that could improve the commercial processes used to remove environmentally harmful sulphur from fossil fuels. This is currently done using a catalyst, which binds the harmful sulphur molecules to it. The Danish team have studied the chemical reactions that ...
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Trade and terror
The need to ensure the safety and security of vessels at sea and in port is as important as the high-profile fight against terrorism.According to a report issued by the ICC International Maritime Bureau?s Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre, there were 370 reported attacks on shipping worldwide last year ? ...
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Spain?s marine expo
The first major marine event of 2003 was held in Bilbao, the capitol of Spain?s Basque country. And, fittingly for a region with a centuries-old maritime tradition, Sinaval-Eurofishing showed strong growth in visitor and exhibitor numbers despite an uncertain economic climate and the devastation wrought upon the Spanish fishing industry ...
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The ultimate status symbol
Superyachts are getting big and sophisticated enough to be called small cruise ships ? so it?s no surprise that traditional cruise ship builders are sizing up this booming marketThey say size matters and nowhere is this truer than with luxury super yachts which are considered to be the ultimate rich ...
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Oz builder considers trimarans
Austal ships chairman John Rothwell has pledged a vigilant pursuit of technological advancements to ensure the company?s "leading role" in delivering premium levels of passenger comfort.Speaking about long term prospects for the company amid the current "soft market for large fast ferries", Rothwell said passenger comfort would always remain a ...
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Double sides and raised bow in ?07
Just occasionally a meeting takes place where coincidental events that are making news headlines elsewhere focus the minds of the delegates more strongly on the agenda than they ordinarily would be, resulting in the passing of tough resolutions.The recent meeting of the IMO?s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) was one such ...
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Regasifying LNG at offshore sites
Security is an unavoidable issue in today?s climate of terrorism derived fear and paranoia. Such security fears are strongly impacting development in the natural gas industry, particularly where gas comes ashore at receiving terminals. Many communities now view the risk of such plants, however slight, as unacceptable whatever the economic ...
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Sucking up silt in France?s waterways
Toward the tail end of last year, Izar?s shipyard in Gijon, northern Spain, delivered a second dredger to the French national dredging company Dragages-Ports in Rouen. Named Samuel de Champlain, the 8,500m3 trailing suction hopper dredger is designed for harbour and channel entrance maintenance work in waterways controlled by the ...
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Two new shipyards ? different concepts
Completely new shipyards are rare, but two yards that stand out are the Kvaerner Philadelphia yard in the US andYantai Raffles in China.While the Philadelphia yard has been designed primarily to build containerships, the Chinese yard has been designed to be flexible to accommodate a wide variety of vessels including ...
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Channel cruiser with elbow room
Brittany Ferries? new flagship, Mont St Michel, entered service on the Portsmouth-Caen route in December last year and is claimed to be the largest cruise ferry to have been purpose-built for operations on the Channel. The 35,600g vessel represents an investment of $128 million and brings with it new levels ...
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Wagenborg acquires Chinese newbuilding
In November last year, the Dutch shipping company Wagenborg purchased a geared open hatch multi-purpose cargo vessel on the stocks from the Chinese shipbuilder Mawei Shipyard. The nearly completed 17,000 dwt newbuilding had been ordered some time ago by an unspecified European owner as hull number 436-2 and will be ...
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Pipework options
Much research has been done on the performance of various pipework materials when used on saltwater systems. Copper-nickel alloys have been specified for seawater use for over 50 years and are the materials of first choice for seawater pipework and condenser service for many of the world?s navies and merchant ...
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When repair won?t do
When a vessel has been in operation for more than 10 years, several onboard systems may be well into their useful lives. The same applies to the propeller, which may have been repaired, cleaned and polished several times during this period. A modernisation could be in order, or even replacement. ...
