General News

While the debate still rages over the loss of the 1975-built Maltese-flagged tanker Erika, its classification Society Registro Italiano Navale (RINA) has confirmed that conditions of class were imposed following a survey…

MaK has purchased the bankrupt two-stroke builder Dieselmotorenwerk Rostock (DMR), giving it extra space to accommodate engine production envisaged in its ambitious expansion plans. The Rostock factory will be converted to four-stroke…

Navtec has developed a portable emergency Inmarsat-E beacon that weighs less than 1,200g. Called the navtec epirb global-3 it has an alerting time of approximately three minutes and contains a GPS receiver…

DNV has made its register of ships freely available on-line through its homepage http://www.dnv.com/registerofvessels. Users can search for vessels using the name (or part of name), former names, IMO registration number, or…

The Siemens Schottle Consortuim is poised to sign a deal to supply its propulsor to Guangzhou Shipyard International to drive a pair of semi-submersible heavy lift vessels ordered by Cosco. Each of…

Poseidon, the interactive ship structure dimensioning application from Germanischer Lloyd, has been upgraded. Now called Poseidon ND, it has been given a set of new features and a new user-friendly interface, says…

Austal of Australia has signed a joint venture agreement with Bender Shipbuilding to build fast ferries in the USA. The new company, Austal USA, will build the full range of high speed…

Finland`s Marioff Oy says it is gearing up for unprecedented demand for its tailor-made Hi-Fog water mist fire protection system. This follows the highlighting of engine room fires by The Salvage Association…

Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) and Cascade General have signed an alliance agreement for the maintenance and repair of ATC?s fleet of Alaska North slope tankers, formalising a longstanding relationship between the two…

Korean yards took the vast majority of the orders placed in December to finish the year ahead of Japan. Its yards took orders for 66 vessels totalling 3.7 million gross against 16…

Engine and emissions specialist AVL is to co-operate with DNV in the field of power generation and marine propulsion systems. The aim is to combine the engine experience of AVL with the…

Blohm+Voss Repair has won a seven ship block booking from Yangming Marine Transport Corporation. The contract, which is valued at up to DM10 million ($5.3 million), covers routine drydocking, maintenance and repairs…

International Registries is offering free transfer for ships joining the Marshall Islands registry until the end of June, and has also reduced its tonnage tax. For new entrants there will be no…

Danish Ferry operator DFDS Seaways has ordered Dolphin Safe Rescuer rescue boat/lifeboats for its fleet of roro passenger ships from Sea Safe Boats Sweden. The crafts meet the IMO requirements, which come…

Remontowa, Poland?s leading repair yard, has achieved ISO 9001 quality certification. Certificates were awarded by both Lloyd?s Register and the Polish Register of Shipping in January. Certification covers the design and building…

Kvaerner has sold two more of its smaller yards and confirmed it will retain a stake in Masa-Yards to help secure a sale. "We have to get the best value for shareholders…

The EC 1000 is a compact high-pressure waterjet system from WOMA that operates at up to 1,000 bar. The pressure is generated by plunger pump Type 45Y with pressure sensitive speed control…

Belgian underwater repair specialist Hydrex has carried out the first underwater repair to a lip-type sterntube seal. Having successfully developed techniques for underwater repairs to face-type seals, the company has been testing…

Following research that showed that bow slamming in moderate sea states can be as damaging as those in bad weather, Polish classification society, Polski Rejestr Statkow (PRS), has revised its rules. The…

Permanent repairs to the 10,584g reefer Dole America are being completed at Hamburg?s Bredo yard following temporary work at Fleet Support (FSL) in the UK. The vessel sustained hull damage in collision…

@body:ICO Global Communications, the UK company set up in 1995 to develop a global mobile satellite communications system (previously known as Inmarsat P), has been bailed out of bankruptcy by an injection…

Ingersoll-Rand has added models, from 15 to 22kW, to its SSR range of small rotary screw compressors. They are self-contained electric motor driven, single-stage units. Each model comes with an acoustic enclosure…