General News

Two SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessels, designed by BMT Nigel Gee and Associates, a subsidiary of British Maritime Technology (BMT), and built in Holland at the Vlissingen yard of the…

The US plans to build eight diesel-electric submarines for Taiwan as part of an $18 billion arms package, a decision likely to irritate China, which has opposed the sale of weapons to…

On 12 September 2004, ESAB celebrated its centenary. "The world is now a vastly different place than the one Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB?s founder, knew at the start of the last century," says…

Scania, the Swedish engine manufacturer, recently introduced a 12-litre marine engine equipped with Scania's unique electronic engine management system, Scania EMS. Now the power range is extended to meet customer and environmental…

Although maligned for its excessive and unnecessary bureaucratic interference, the EU does support worthwhile projects such as the development of safer ?high speed craft? (HSC), i.e. ships with design speeds of well…

Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has introduced its Shipboard Routing Assistance System (SRA) to help ship officers react promptly to heavy weather and, when necessary, sail round it.With SRA, the seaway data measured onboard…

Norway's maritime research and construction sectors are successfully exploiting a paradox ? they are selling silence to niche market on a global scale at healthy profit margins.The vessel design is being pushed…

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has won an order to build eight LNG carriers for BP Shipping of the United Kingdom. The gas carriers will be in the 155,000 cubic meter class and…

The Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde, a non-university research institute dedicated to interdisciplinary marine research in coastal and marginal seas, is expanding its capabilities with a new, state-of-the-art, ice-breaking research vessel. The…

In July this year when MENAS showed off its new multipurpose light tender vessel Relume in a naming ceremony at Damen Shipyards? Scheldepoort facility in Vlissingen, The Netherlands, it was apparent that…

Regulatory responses to marine casualties, which have dictated age limits for ships, have provoked vigorous debate about the issues of age and ship maintenance. While it has been argued that a well…

A DOR (Design, Operation, and Regulation) for Safety ? or in short SAFEDOR ? is the name of an ambitious initiative towards an integrated project within the 6th Framework Program (FP6) of…

Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), (RasGas) has signed a time charter agreements with Teekay Nakilat Corporation for the long-term charter of three 151,700m3 LNG vessels to be built at…

As one of five strategic programmes in DNV Research, nanotechnology is a new area of high interest and relevance for the classification society. "We?ve been aware of this for at least two…

Wärtsilä has launched Wärtsilä Auxpac, a new range of medium- and high-speed standard marine generating sets. Thanks to their modular design they can be supplied fast and at a competitive price, are…

Best4 is a new quality, environment, safety and social accountability integrated certification scheme being offered by RINA. "It is a measure of the business excellence of a company and its capacity to…

Germanischer Lloyd (GL) is introducing a system of electronic data exchange with shipyards, engine manufacturers and other suppliers in order to accelerate the plan approval of ships and their equipment. The international…

While most participants in the single-hull versus double-hull debate accept that a second hull is not a panacea, it is acknowledged that it is an acceptable and cost effective way of preventing…

Australian builder of high speed vessels, Austal, has launched what is said to be the largest aluminium ship ever built, the 127m trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express.As well as being a significant ship…

Shipyards in Scotland under threat were given hope after the defence giant BAE Systems said it was seeking to merge its Clydeside operations with rival facilities across the UK. The company said…

Wärtsilä Corporation has received orders from the Polish shipbuilder Stocznia Szczecinska Nowa for the ship power plants for four new 12,800 tdw multi-purpose Sto-Ro cargo vessels contracted by the Dutch owner Spliethoff's…

Important cruise and ferry industry forecasts emerged from the 21st Century Passenger Transport Conference held at London?s University of Greenwich. Delegates were told that, terrorism notwithstanding, cruise passengers will grow 50% to…