General News

The present Dutch government has granted its shipbuilders 860 million ($58.6 million) in subsidies over the next 18 months under the provisions of the European Commission?s Temporary Defensive Mechanism (TDM). National shipbuilders…

Since William Froude discovered a ship?s resistance could be divided into frictional resistance and residual resistance much research has focused on reducing the impact of these two elements.Dr CH Thill, project manager…

As part of its fleet renewal policy, Norwegian shipping company I.M. Skaugen (IMS) contracted the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group in Shanghai, China, to build a new generation of six ethylene LPG gas carriers…

There have been a number of additions to the auxiliary engines market of late and, for some manufacturers, increased sales. Volvo Penta says that, despite declining markets, it has managed to increase…

China?s Yantai Raffles shipyard has delivered an emergency towing vessel to the UK?s Klyne Tugs for operation by the UK?s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The vessel will provide emergency response cover…

Burundi, a landlocked central African state, which, naturally, is not normally associated with shipbuilding, has recently hosted the construction of a general cargo vessel with a 1,500t carrying capacity. The newbuilding, Teza,…

Subsea oil wells need regular maintenance to operate efficiently. In the past, divers carried out much of this work. More recently the task has been performed from semi-submersible platforms. Attention has now…

With the recent delivery of the Normand Flower from Norwegian shipyard S?viknes Verft, Rolls-Royce Marine has seen the first example of its completely new UT 737 design enter service. The 4,100 dwt…

Some 18 months after announcing they were collaborating on a significant project, Rolls-Royce and Izar revealed at the SMM exhibition last month the nature of their plans in the shape of a…

Scandinavian Electric Systems has noticed an increasing demand for diesel-electric propulsion solutions, which has encouraged the company to significantly increase investment in design, testing and packaging resources. Frithjof Hustig, SES?s technical director…

Two-stroke engine options may be limited to the ranges of three manufacturers, but as the power matrix for all engines over 800mm bore opposite partially demonstrates, there is still a multiple of…

Two is sounder than one. That was the philosophy behind the introduction of mandatory requirements for double skins on oil tankers and the same theory underlies arguments for legislation demanding double skins…

Mention the word ?bulk carrier? and most of us conjure up images of rust-buckets which, all too often, are run by non-compliant owners and operators working on minimalist budgets with little or…

Korean yard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has presented an extensive study, in partnership with the influential Gaztransport & Technigaz of France, which concludes that gas turbine propulsion systems for LNG carriers…

Membrane LNG tankers can handle offshore cargo transfers and partial filling operations without any drastic changes to their design, according to a study conducted by Bureau Veritas (BV) and Gaztransport & Technigaz…

Don?t hold your breath, but? There is a body of opinion within the industry that believes the transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) represents a growth market. If this view is correct, the…

Six may not sound like a lot. But there are six cabins on Royal Caribbean?s latest ship Brilliance of the Seas from which the revenue goes straight to the operator?s financial bottom…

Our industry is sometimes known to be slow to accept change and cautious in the implementation of new concepts and practices. There is nothing wrong with this approach in a mature industry,…

Much coverage has been given of the potential for Vietnam to follow China?s recent advance and mount a competitive challenge to the established Asian shipbuilding nations. However Nguyen Quoc Anh, director of…

Lua Cheng Eng, former chairman of Singapore-based shipping company Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), has pretty much seen it all. Over his nearly 33 years in NOL and shipping, he has witnessed the…

The Straits of Malacca is one of the world?s busiest waterways. Not surprisingly, therefore, the issue of navigational safety through the Straits remains a hot topic. A major subject of discussion today…

The Philippine Maritime Industry Cluster has outlined an action plan aimed at maintaining the global competitiveness of the country?s seafarers as well as it shipping and marine businesses.The Cluster comprises the Philippine…