The Royal Navy’s new test and trials ship entered HM Naval Base Portsmouth for the first time on 27 July 2022. Named XV Patrick Blackett during a ceremony two days later, the vessel is due to begin its career as a platform for trials and autonomy development later in 2022. Built by Damen Shipyards by […]
Recently refurbished oil spill response vessel (OSRV) Aktea II has commenced operations in the Aegean Sea, where it will assist the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in protecting this territory. The 2007-built vessel has embarked on these Aegean missions on a four-year contract with EMSA, with the possibility to extend this period by another four […]
As a shipbuilder and designer with more than a century of history, Ulstein has a proven resilience when it comes to adapting to maritime’s ever-changing political and economic landscape. Although the group is centred around its Ulsteinvik yard in Western Norway, which today specialises in offshore and expedition cruise ships, it’s nowadays perhaps most closely […]
Viking Cruises’ new ship Viking Neptune will set sail on the Mediterranean in November, before embarking on the 2023-2024 Viking World Cruise. With its diverse itineraries taking in everything from subarctic Scandinavia to the tropical waters of Southeast Asia and Latin America, the 227m newbuild will be faced a wide range of temperatures and climates. […]
The vast majority of ships continue to be broken under conditions that pollute and expose workers to immense risk. In 2021, of the 763 ocean-going commercial ships and floating offshore units sold for scrap, 583 of the largest tankers, bulkers, floating platforms, cargo- and passenger ships ended up on the beaches of Bangladesh, India, and […]
The social relations between the various parties involved in shipbuilding in general are a topic that probably has received little attention in academia. However, Leena Jokinen’s doctoral thesis, ‘Ideation for Cruise Ships – Collaborative Interorganisational Foresight in Cruise Ship Concept Ideation’, which was recently approved at the University of Turku in Finland, looks at these […]
A quest for enhanced crew comfort and improved fuel efficiency has driven the design of Celestial Dawn, recently delivered to owner George Hepburn for prawn fishing in the Scottish North Sea. The 22.75m vessel, designed by Macduff Ship Design and built by Macduff Shipyards, replaces an older vessel of the same name (also built by Macduff, in […]
One of the biggest projects carried out by the German propulsion system supplier Voith over the course of 2021 involved the 161m offshore construction vessel North Sea Giant which is equipped with five Voith Schneider Propellers (VSPs), each with a diameter of around 4.5m, two located in the bow and three in the stern. The […]
Bahrain shipyard ASRY reports a “huge” increase in demand since the end of 2021. All of its three drydocks now have extensive forward looking order books that extend at least to the fourth quarter of 2023, and in some cases even beyond. This represents a rapid turnaround in prospects for the yard over a relatively […]
Amsterdam-based PPG is to supply the Greek tanker and bulk carrier operator Enterprises Shipping & Trading (EST) with its Sigmaglide 1290 biocide-free silicone fouling release coating to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon emissions of its entire existing fleet. EST says it selected the coating for its ability to reduce the frictional resistance […]
Profiled at Seawork 2022, the offshore wind farm vessel Seacat Columbia doesn’t look that novel from the quayside – until you get a proper look at the far side of the boat, writes Stevie Knight. The BAR30-class vessel’s asymmetrical design may be surprising, “but the hull is 30% more efficient than a similar capacity cat […]
Monaco-based luxury yacht brand Wally has unveiled the first renderings of its wallywhy150 class, a 24m/150gt model. The newcomer has been described as a ‘little sister’ to the group’s 27m/200gt wallywhy200, launched in September 2021. The wallywhy150 was developed by Wally-Ferretti Group Engineering, with Studio A. Vallicelli & C producing its interior design. Luca Bassani, […]