Like a number of heavy lift and project cargo specialists, last year multipurpose operator Chipolbrok (Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company) saw an opportunity to diversify into container shipping as that sector struggled to find tonnage to meet a burgeoning market. But while the Shanghai-based company has said it will continue to keep its options open […]
The Naval Architect May 2022
Best known for its e-navigation solutions, the Norwegian company is diversifying into vessel analytics and performance optimisation.
The Republic of Ireland is acquiring two decommissioned Lake-class inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) from New Zealand as part of wider plans to modernise and rebalance the Irish Naval Service fleet. Separately, the Irish government has reaffirmed its plans to proceed with the acquisition of a new Multi Role Vessel (MRV) able to deliver a flexible […]
Spanish shipbuilding and systems group Navantia has delivered the first of five Avante 2200 corvettes built for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under a contract signed in 2018. HMS Al Jubail was handed over and commissioned into the Royal Saudi Naval Forces at La Carraca naval base in San Fernando, Cádiz. The ship and its […]
Babcock International, the UK-based aerospace, defence and security company, has been selected as the platform design provider and technology partner for Poland’s ‘MIECZNIK’ (Swordfish) new frigate programme. In March 2022, the company concluded a set of strategic cooperation agreements with the PGZ-MIECZNIK consortium, which is responsible for delivery of the project from the Polish side. […]
French designer and shipbuilder Naval Group is to provide three ‘FDI’ vessels to the Hellenic Navy, with a suite of above- and underwater sensors from Thales Group. Greece and Naval Group signed a contract for the frigates, plus one optional unit, along with an in-service support package for the vessels in March 2022. Two frigates […]
Australian robotics specialist Advanced Navigation is preparing to roll out its Hydrus submersible drone in Q4 this year. The Hydrus has been designed as a simple-to-use, compact tool for undersea research, survey and exploration, weighing 6.7kg and measuring 470mm x 260mm x 260mm, making it possible for a single user to launch it by hand. […]
Growing global demand for sustainable offshore fish farms (see, for example, Ship & Boat International March/April 2022, page 44) is necessitating fit-for-purpose aquaculture support vessels capable of handling large nets and cables and loading/offloading significant caches of fish and shellfish. This booming sector has attracted the attention of Damen Shipyards Group, which has been working […]
It’s unlikely that many readers of the first issue of Ship & Boat International, published in 1947, could have envisaged a world of solar-powered ferries, unmanned tugs and offshore wind farms capable of powering tens of thousands of homes. Similarly, the abilities to conduct virtual reality walkthroughs of vessel plans, prior to construction, and to pay […]
Naval architecture firm Vripack and boatbuilder Van der Valk Shipyard have devised a conceptual design for the fast weekender market, monikered the Meteor. The first example of this concept has already been snapped up by an anonymous client. Yoeri Bijker, head of sales and marketing at Van der Valk, says: “There is an ongoing trend for […]
The US green propulsion sector has taken off on an unprecedented scale in the past five years. Admittedly, it took a while to get into gear, though increasingly stringent emissions legislation (spearheaded by California) and exorbitant fuel costs have helped to push battery-powered solutions forward. Diane Seltzer, co-founder and CMO of Pennsylvania-based start-up Epoch […]
In recent years, there has been a focus on servicing deepwater offshore wind farms located far from shore, necessitating the construction and commissioning of larger, more stable CTVs and SOVs. However, accessing some of the smaller wind farms in shallower waters can also be a challenge. Take the 60MW Scroby Sands turbine array, located 2.5km off […]