General News

Combination carriers have been out of fashion for much of the 1990s. A recent design aims to change this. Norwegian shipbroker, O-J Libaek & Partners, a company with over 40 experience in…

The IMO has decided to allow the use of both official raster and vector charts in ecdis navigation systems. This means that an ecdis will meet the IMO`s chart carriage requirement whether…

In their efforts to reduce transit times and attract more passengers, operators are looking to bigger, faster ferries. Incat`s latest high-speed vehicle-carrying ferry boasts the ability to carry its own weight, 800t,…

The shipyard Material Management and Production Control System (MARS) from Logimatic has been ordered by two shipyards in Europe. The Gdynia Shipyard in Poland has taken the complete MARS system as an…

The year 2000 problem represents a critical business risk with well documented problems evident already and warnings of worse to come. An IMO/US Coast Guard report on the year 2000 threat in…

EC-sponsored multi-modal satellite navigation trials are being conducted by Racal in the Baltic Sea, where a Colour Line ferry is using Racal`s prototype EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) system for the…

The number of Danish-owned vessels sailing under the Danish flag remained static last year. As at January 1, the figure stood at 593, still making it the third largest fleet in Europe,…

P&O Cruises` flagship Oriana will undergo a two and a half week refit at A&P`s Southampton yard commencing April 14. It is the second scheduled refit for the 1995-built vessel. The programme…

Finland`s main shipyards have been busy with corporate changes as well as with newbuildings. Kvaerner ASA plans to reduce its debt burden by raising a reported NKr2.5 billion ($39.28 million) through the…

Oil major Shell International Trading and Shipping Company (STASCo) has signed an evergreen alliance agreement with Sembawang Shipyard of Singapore. The agreement commits the scheduled refit and drydocking of the Shell fleet…

As competition increases and the market continues to suffer, the possibility of class society mergers gets closer. There are likely to be mergers or alliances among classification societies within the next few…

Operational experience - with a mixture of designs - on the Irish Sea indicates positive support for fast ferry services. While some concerns have been raised about disruptions to fast ferry routes…

The MacGregor-Conver Unilock twistlock combines the functions of the W20 semi-automatic twistlock and the AFC-1 automatic fixing cone in a single unit, says the company. It has been developed to meet the…

Naval and Jones Act vessels continue to be the mainstay of US yards The National Shipbuilding and Shipyard Conversion Act of 1993 provided the much-needed stimulus for the USA`s re-emergence onto the…

A tank cleaning monitoring system is being introduced by Saab Marine Electronics and Scanjet. Called WashTrac the system is fitted to the Scanjet tank cleaning machine and communicates with the Saab TankRadar…

After years of complaining about the impact of sub-standard shipping belief is growing that the development of a better safety culture may be effective. The drive to remove sub-standard ships is gathering…

The Doctor system from Icon Research has been revised to allow the user to take engine readings and see calculated results without having to use a PC, says the company. The instrument…

Operators have several ways to meet IMO`s latest Solas requirement for venting cargo tanks. Incidents like the rupture of an over-pressurised tank in a VLCC caused IMO to look again at the…

French Classification Society, Bureau Veritas, has launched VeriStar Machinery, a risk-based classification system which covers main machinery, safety and pollution prevention items, plus other areas of ship`s equipment and facilities. It integrates…

With the world GDP growing at only 2 per cent during 1998, the container ship industry is under constant pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiency. No part of shipping is so…