News

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania claim to have developed a prototype fuel cell that is powered by diesel. The breakthrough would solve the problem of reforming a commonly available hydrocarbon fuel…

The MAN Group has announced it is to restructure the department producing four-stroke engines in its Diesel Engine division. In the Group?s interim results, covering the first six months of 2001, it…

The gas turbine power element in the combined diesel and gas plant planned for Cunard?s superliner, Queen Mary 2, will be provided by GE. Two aeroderivative LM2500+ units will run in combination…

Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract to supply diesel generating sets for two new Bay class twin-screw diesel electric powered Alternative Landing Ships Logistic (ALSL) being built for the UK Navy. The…

Izar has confirmed it is negotiating with Algerian shipowner ENTMV for a share of a contract to construct two 2,900 dwt roro passenger ferries. The two-ship order is subject to a Development…

DNV and GL plan to increase the number of survey stations they operate jointly more than four-fold. The class societies will establish a further 22 jointly-operated service stations on top of the…

A recent inspection campaign concentrating on cargo securing has unearthed a disturbing catalogue of safety issues. The campaign, by Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) port state control authorities, found that a third…

A number of major shipping industry organisations have joined together to launch a new code of practice for ship recycling. The code of practice is a response to concerns about safety and…

Lloyd?s Register says vessels classed with it dominate the USCG?s Qualship register. Ships on the register benefit from less frequent USCG inspections. For example, ships carrying freight only require two-yearly inspections if…

Mitsui OSK Lines has set new environmental targets for its ships and operations. In September it released its second environmental report, stretching from April 2001 to March 2002. It states that MOL…

Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen) has launched NeoShip, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation system. The company, a subsidiary of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES), says it is Japan?s first commercial ship design…

Austal Ships has signed a contract with Venezuelan ferry operator Conferry to build an 86m high-speed roro passenger catamaran. According to Austal?s managing director, Bob McKinnon, the contract reflects a marked improvement…

Alstom has announced its third FPSO gas turbine order in two months. The French company will supply three gas turbines, worth over $6 million, to a shipyard in Singapore from its Lincoln,…

Rotterdam-based heavy lift operator, Bonn & Mees Drijvende Bokken, has recently started building a huge sheerlegs-type floating crane. Called Matador 3 it will have a maximum lifting capacity of over 1,400t using…

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have called off a planned merger of their shipbuilding operations. The companies will continue to cooperate however, in an operational alliance with Mitsui Engineering…

The Committee of EU Shipbuilders Association has called on the EU to make a quick decision in relation to its shipbuilding policy and in particular its stance on countering alleged unfair practices…

Simplicity is a virtue when designing a new product. It is of particular importance when trying to correlate the complex movements of a ship at sea with the resultant data this produces…

Norwegian shipping company Knutsen OAS has launched a new gas carrier design. The ship, if built, is intended to get natural gas from its point of origin at sea to processing facilities.…

The dust is settling on the dot.com era after a number of high profile collapses. Many now realise that you cannot sit between a shipowner and his supplier and collect a premium…

Howard Harley?s Skirtless SES patented technology has had an important breakthrough. The EFFISES (Energy Efficient SAFE Innovative Ships and Vessels) project, which was initiated last year by SES Europe of Norway and…

Finnish shipbuilders have largely concentrated on passenger shipping in recent years. This focus seems set to continue, although their development work does cover other ship categories. Kvaerner Masa-Yards Double Acting Tanker (DAT)…

Both Kvaerner Masa-Yards and Aker Finnyards have embarked on substantial information technology investments. Masa-Yards has acquired a 3D CAD system for basic ship design from the Spanish supplier Sener Ingeneria y Sistemas.…

Centerprise International says its Navigator GNIS 800 bridge display system improves the volume of information immediately accessible to both the vessel?s master and on-shore support staff. Three of its systems have been…