General News

Work carried out by welding research organisation TWI has shown that ferrous metals can now be joined by friction stir welding (FSW). TWI says that recent development work has produced metre-long welds…

Desktop PCs are now so powerful that software which was once the preserve of dedicated workstations can now be run on general purpose hardware. Windows NT is fast becoming the platform of…

Draft performance standards for raster chart display systems have been agreed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation. It proposes to amended the performance standards for electronic chart…

Navion Britannia is a sophisticated multi-purpose shuttle tanker the design of which emphasises safety, environmentally operations, and enhanced manoeuvrability in rough weather. Delivered in April by Astilleros Espanoles (AESA) Sestao yard to…

SAlT-RadioHolland has launched its @SEA(Iog) call logging and management software on both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 platforms.The system includes a Least-Cost-Routing calculator which allows the station which provides the lowest cost…

The 15,750 dwt Mariella Amoretti, which was delivered in May by German builder Lindenau to Italian owner Marichem Europe, is a further version of the yard`s Tanker Class 2000 design. The 19,000m3…

At the heart of development and production of MAN B&W low-speed engines is the Copenhagen works. While few engines are produced in Denmark, the home of MAN B&W remains firmly in Copenhagen…

Chinese yards are feeling the effects of the fall in the value of the Japanese and Korean currencies. The year ending July 1 1998 has seen the yen lose almost 22 per…

The loss of another two handysize bulkers and the abandonment of a third has renewed concerns about the safety of older bulk carriers. Fortunately all three crews were rescued, which was not…

Of about 120 signatory countries to the STCW, around 80 met the August 1 deadline to submit information on their training institutions to IMO. The information has to be processed and approved…