News

Operators of both ropax vessels and freight roros are opting for newbuildings which carry more freight, and offer faster passage and turnround times. Within Europe pressure is growing to move more freight…

Further demonstrating the current enthusiasm of Greek shipping companies for the cruise market, Piraeus-based Festival Cruises took delivery of its newly-built 47,900g flagship, Mistral, from the Saint-Nazaire Chantiers de l`Atlantique yard on…

Although several shipyards in South America are acquiring new skills, economic conditions and the lack of a clear shipbuilding strategy make further progress uncertain. Well known for their expertise with small ships…

The latest design for a low-speed engine aimed at smaller, but relatively fast, ships has led to wide consultation. Wartsila NSD has added the RTA60C to its low-speed engine range. The 60cm…

Paving the way to consolidation An increasing number of shipowners and operators are forging new partnerships. With the international shipping industry taking care of more than five billion tonnes of the world’s…

The OECD has agreed a common basis for calculating shipbuilding capacity with shipbuilding associations from the EU, Japan and Korea. Shipbuilding associations in OECD countries will now send questionnaires to yards requesting…

The EU’s industrial affairs commissioner, Martin Bangemann, has told the Korean Government that the EU will not allow its shipyards to be killed by unfair competition. He contrasted the contraction of capacity…

The MSC has agreed a draft resolution highlighting the issue of fraudulent certificates of competence. It invites member states and parties to STCW to report any cases or suspected cases of fraud…

The shipbuilding market will continue to suffer from overcapacity and subsidies will remain in one form or another, concludes a Norwegian report, The Future of North European Shipbuilding. The report argues that…

Kvaerner has sold the Kleven yard in Norway back to a consortium headed by the original family for NKr48.5million ($6.15 million). The sale excludes $20 million proceeds from two newbuildings that will…

Shipowners that have LR classed vessels are now able to check the survey status of their ships over the Internet using Class Direct Live. After entering a user name and password, owners…

The newly-formed Vickers Ulstein Marine Systems is to have its headquarters in Norway, and will employ 5,000 people worldwide it was revealed at last month’s Nor-Shipping. It is expected to generate total…

Odfjell ASA’s decision to order two chemical tankers at Kvaerner Floro is described by the Norwegian yard’s president Bjorn Lillelien as "the best recent news we have had". The contract is valued…

FastShip Inc looks a step nearer to realising its goals with the announcement that it has signed a letter of intent with the USA’s National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (Nassco) for the…

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is continuing with plans to further expand its fleet and has announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Lloyd Werft shipyard for another cruise ship.…

Alfa Laval has launched its Separation Unit range which is a complete package comprising separator, a sludge removal kit, control cabinet and ancillary components mounted on a single base. In addition to…

Unitor has added a liquid soot remover to its range. The product is injected into the exhaust manifold downstream of the turbo-charger and contains metals that act as a catalyst to burn…

Two new marine engines, the 1013 and 1015, have been added to the Deutz range. Both are marinised versions of established distillate-burning engines with power outputs (for genset use) of 80 to…

As predicted by The Motor Ship in October 1998, Brunvoll has delivered the first of its resiliently mounted ‘super silent’ tunnel thrusters to Chantiers de l’Atlantique to be fitted to the Millennium…

Gullco has developed a heavy duty version of its automated Moggy welding robot which can be used with submerged arc and MIG welding equipment. The unit can be used with any make…

Umoe Schat-Harding has launched the UNIC rolling pivot davit for cruise vessels. The system stows boats in the same way as powered telescopic davits, but does away with the need for large…

Glass supplier A C Yule has teamed up with Lomas Systems to supply the marine and offshore industry with TempaFlam fire resistant safety glass. The product is a modified tempered safety glass…

Sigma Marine has opened a chain of coating colour matching centres around the world. Called Color Network they are equipped with computer-based colour identification systems which can match samples and recommend the…