Latest News – Page 1070

  • News

    Birka?s bigger Baltic

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Cruise ferries keep getting bigger

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Not all offshore

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Dover to install QuaySailor

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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. ...

  • News

    Nanotechnology could provide cleaner fuels

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Trade and terror

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ? ...

  • News

    Spain?s marine expo

    2003-03-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    The ultimate status symbol

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Oz builder considers trimarans

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Double sides and raised bow in ?07

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Regasifying LNG at offshore sites

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Sucking up silt in France?s waterways

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Two new shipyards ? different concepts

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Channel cruiser with elbow room

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Wagenborg acquires Chinese newbuilding

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    Pipework options

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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 ...

  • News

    When repair won?t do

    2003-02-01T00:00:00Z

    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. ...

  • News

    Timeline to disaster

    2003-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Eight days after leaving Riga, Latvia, bound for Singapore with a cargo of nearly 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, Prestige hit trouble off Cape Finisterre in heavy seas. Six days later the ship was on the sea bed, having been refused a port of refuge and defying all the ...

  • News

    Our picks of the year

    2003-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Here at The Motor Ship we above all take pleasure in writing about the ships which make the most innovative use of new designs and technologies. Over the course of a year there are dozens of noteworthy new ships taking to the seas, and it would be a shame if, ...

  • News

    No smoke from the OK Coral

    2003-01-01T00:00:00Z

    Alaskan air quality is set to survive a potential smoke stack choking later this year when Princess Cruises? latest luxury liner Coral Princess, delivered from France?s Chantiers de l?Atlantique last month, arrives in the state in May. The ship, like Holland America Line?s Zuiderdam (see elsewhere in this issue), features ...