A report from the DNV Group warns that the amount of ocean space occupied by offshore installations will grow fivefold by 2050, driven primarily by the rapid expansion of offshore wind and aquaculture projects. The class society’s Spatial Competition Forecast claims that offshore wind will account for 80% of stationary infrastructure by mid-century, followed by […]
Spanish shipyard Astilleros Armon is building a dozen hybrid monohull passenger ferries for Italian operator Liberty Lines, with deliveries scheduled to run from this year until 2026. Each newbuild in the series will measure 39.5m x 8.3m and feature a depth of 4m and a draught of 1.8m. The aluminium ferries will be kifted out […]
Danish vehicle deck simulation testing offers new insight into lithium-ion fires The Danish Institute of Fire and Security Technology (DBI) has conducted extensive testing of the effects of electric vehicle (EV) fires on ferry vehicle decks, to build up knowledge of how to bring these blazes under control. And, encouragingly, the result would appear to be an optimistic […]
Green light for SeaBot course Training provider SeaBot Maritime has received UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) voluntary recognition for its maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) Remote Operator training course. Developed jointly by SeaBot and Fugro Middle East, the course is intended as the first module in SeaBot’s wider MASS Certified Professional training scheme (MCP) […]
Xin Sheng Tai: Shanghai’s supercharged solution for short-hop ferry runs Late 2022 saw the delivery of Xin Sheng Tai, an electric ferry designed by the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) and built by Yaguang Technology Group. The ferry will provide public transport to commuters between Changxing Island and Hengsha Island, on the Yangtze River […]
Is traditional wooden boatbuilding becoming a lost art? (images: Robin Zahler) What do harp-making, boot-making and slating have in common? The answer is that all three skills have made it onto Heritage Crafts’ Red List of Endangered Crafts, which ranks heritage craft skills at risk of dying out before they can be passed on to […]
Yachtbuilder Sunseeker International has launched an intensive boatbuilding course with the aim of attracting fresh talent into the industry to counter the UK’s current “national skills shortage”, the company says. The course is the first offering of the newly created Sunseeker Skills Academy, which was developed in partnership with Bournemouth and Poole College. Alex Bowman, […]
Croatia’s Iskra Shipyard has completed construction of SAR 1, the first of six new ‘unsinkable’, high-speed search and rescue (SAR) and medical evacuation boats ordered for Croatia’s Emergency Maritime Medical Service (EMMS). The order stems back to Q4 2021, when the country’s Ministry of Health signed a HKR76.4 million (US$11.3 million) contract for the six […]
May sees maritime charity GBA Ships launch its latest “floating book fair”, Doulos Hope. The vessel was originally built by the now defunct Flender Werft yard in Germany in 1991, and acquired by GBA Ships in May 2022 and refitted to meet the charity’s requirements. Since the launch of its first repurposed vessel, Logos, in […]
Stevie Knight reports on a new towboat developed for American Commercial Barge Line’s Houston-New Orleans route, which uses a water and methanol feedstock mix to produce ‘hydrogen on demand’ onboard The launch of a methanol-to-hydrogen towboat developed by e1 Marine and Elliott Bay Design Group promises to turn a few heads – and assumptions. Unlike […]
Yamarin 59 Bow Rider keeps it running in the family Featuring a hull designed exclusively for propulsion by Yamaha outboards, the Yamarin 59 Bow Rider boasts multiple features to enhance recreation, safety and security Unleashed in time for the 2023 boating season, Yamarin’s new 59 Bow Rider (BR) class is being offered as “a cruising […]
February saw the launch of the report Safety of Domestic Ferries – A Scoping Study of 7 Countries, based on research conducted by World Maritime University representatives including Anish Hebbar, Serdar Yildiz, Nadhir Kahlouche and Jens-Uwe Schröder-Hinrichs. The team’s research was funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and supported by Interferry, the Worldwide Ferry Safety […]