Offshore wind faces a turbulent end to the year, with setbacks and negative news threatening the sector’s festive spirit. As reported by Reuters, Denmark’s largest North Sea wind power tender to date – launched in April this year, and covering three North Sea sites – received no bids, with the deadline having expired on 5 […]
Chile is preparing to welcome what’s reported to be Latin America’s first electric tug, which will be operated by harbour towage services provider SAAM Towage on behalf of state-owned petroleum company Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP). Designed by Canadian naval architect Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) as part of its battery-fuelled ElectRA series, the tug was […]
Naval architect and designer BMT has acquired Melbourne-based naval design and marine engineering consultancy Australian Maritime Technologies (AMT), in a move expected to increase BMT’s footprint within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market, in both the commercial and defence segments. Founded in 1987, AMT has built up experience in the design of various combatant, auxiliary and specialist […]
Sunseeker International has announced that it will debut its next-gen Manhattan 68 (2025) motor yacht model at next year’s boot Düsseldorf expo, hosted between 18-26 January. The UK builder promises “a sleeker, more dynamic profile…[incorporating] a fresh take on flexible living spaces”, within an overall length of 21.2m and a 5.26m beam. Key design points, […]
A nine-partner Japanese consortium has commenced work on a 30MW+ floating wind farm, situated approximately 25km off the coast of Akita Prefecture. The consortium, working under the banner of ‘The Southern Akita Floating Offshore Demonstration Project Aimed at Overseas Expansion via Cost Reductions’, will install two floating wind turbines, each rated more than 15MW, in […]
Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) developer Forum Energy Technologies (FET) reports that its subsea division has been contracted to supply an ROV to the Salvage and Marine Operations (SALMO) unit of the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). The vehicle is scheduled for delivery to SALMO in 2025, and accompanying sea trials are planned in UK waters. […]
As Svitzer CEO Kasper Nilaus underlines, there is no “one-size-fits-all solution” to meet the company’s decarbonisation targets: the way forward must lie in tailored design, writes Stevie Knight. That’s certainly true of Gothenburg’s new battery-methanol tug, as it has to meet both the port’s and the operator’s agendas. And, it seems, a changing remit. Slated […]
The UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is trialling the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a fossil-free marine fuel for two of the country’s Royal Research Ships (RRS): the 89.2m James Cook and the 52m Discovery. The trial is being funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which owns both vessels, to […]
Introduced in 2016, the Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality headset (followed by the 2019-launched HoloLens 2) has made it possible to interact with digital content in 3D environments, overlaying virtual objects onto the ‘real world’ for enhanced end user experiences. As such, the HoloLens platform has been utilised by sectors ranging from industrial to healthcare for training, […]
A £1.4 million UK project is currently trialling the use of new artificial intelligence (AI) control systems for autonomous underwater robots, dedicated to offshore wind farm repairs and maintenance. The project, dubbed Underwater Intervention for Offshore Renewable Energies (UNITE), is an Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity Partnership programme, led by Heriot-Watt University, […]
The City of Kiel Fire Department, Germany has taken delivery of a firefighting and rescue boat with a twist: the newly built Rescue 1500-class vessel comes equipped with a hybrid waterjet propulsion system. Constructed by Finnish shipyard Kewatec, and christened Dat Füürschipp, the 16m x 4.8m boat has been developed for firefighting, disaster response, civil […]
Austal Australia has entered into a strategic commercial partnership with Greenroom Robotics, in which Greenroom will develop new services and technologies for Austal-designed and built patrol boats, with the goal of enabling remote and autonomous operations – thus reducing crewing levels and lowering the risk of harm to human personnel, especially when conducting missions in […]