Visitors to the Aerohub Enterprise Zone at Newquay Airport in Cornwall, UK may spot the first foundations of a brand new testing and training facility, dedicated to extreme deep-sea and space environment research. The 10acre Blue Abyss facility aims to give a monumental boost to the development of future space and marine exploration programmes, serving […]
While the Covid era brought huge changes to many of our lives, for the container ship sector it very quickly turned into a boom cycle that continues to show little sign of slowing down, at least not yet. Despite concerns when the pandemic first struck that demand for goods would slump and freight rates likewise, […]
Faced with enormous efficiency and compliance challenges, the shipping industry is increasingly turning to digital tools and services to help balance the complex needs for performance monitoring, meeting regulatory requirements and commercial agility. The capability of traditional satellite networks to meet these demands is being tested, leading to the emergence of hybrid networks that combine […]
In light of the acceleration in initiatives toward zero-emission shipping, Japanese classification society ClassNK has been stepping up its services to help customers involved in the maritime transportation business manage their reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG). Restructures in the organisation have seen the establishment of a Zero-Emission Transition Center and Marine GHG Certification Department, and […]
This summer propulsion specialist SCHOTTEL celebrated its 100th anniversary with a party for its staff at the company’s headquarters in Germany. Postponed from the autumn of 2021 because of the pandemic, the gathering was an opportunity for the firm to reflect on an eventful history and dynamic present, but also to look to the future, […]
China’s new aircraft carrier Fujian is a great leap forward in a number of respects, but the conventionally powered vessel does not match the capability of the US Navy’s flat tops. Fujian (a Type 003) is larger than its predecessors, but is also conventionally powered, so although it is closer in size to US Navy […]
June 2022 saw Huntington Ingalls Industries (HHI) successfully demonstrate the ability of an amphibious warship to launch, operate with and recover a large-diameter unmanned underwater vehicles (LDUUV). The research and development initiative between HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding and mission technologies divisions is one of a portfolio of internal research and development efforts aimed at advance new […]
General Dynamics Electric Boat conducted a keel-laying ceremony for the first Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine, USS District of Columbia (SSBN 826) at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, on 4 June 2022. District of Columbia will be the first of a 12-boat class, which will replace 14 US Navy Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic submarines from 2027 onwards. The transition […]
But not without design and operational adaptations Low carbon fuels and pathways to decarbonise shipping have become a major topic of conversation. In the naval sphere, the discussion is only now getting going, but a study by BMT in the UK suggests that, as in the commercial sector, methanol could offer a way forward. In […]
The Lax Kw’alaams First Nation marine territory in Prince Rupert, BC, Canada has been plagued by a problem: over time, its fishing grounds have become polluted with discarded or lost fishing gear. As well as posing a risk to boat propellers and outboards, this ‘ghost gear’ debris has the potential to entangle, injure and kill […]
Tasmanian boatbuilder PFG Group has launched demonstrator versions of its 8m and 11m Sentinel tactical watercraft – with one 8m unit already having been snapped up domestically by the Queensland Police Service. The RIBs were designed, by One2Three Naval Architects, for reduced risk of capsizal and rollover. Patrick McManus, naval architect at One2Three, tells Ship […]
UK boatbuilder Diverse Marine has been contracted to build the initial run in a series of robotic vessels, monikered the Hydronaut class, for Houston-based Nauticus Robotics (formerly Houston Mechatronics). In order to comply with the terms of the US’ protectionist Jones Act, some of the 18m vessels will be constructed by Diverse Marine’s partner yards […]