South Hampshire College Group (SHCG) – a ‘consortium’ of three Further Education colleges from Southampton, Eastleigh and Fareham, UK – confirms that it has ordered a pair of remotely controlled ‘digital training vessels’ (DTVs). The DTVs will enable students to learn skills related to remote surveying, patrolling, monitoring and even search and rescue (SAR): both […]
Introducing viable alternative fuels for vessels comes with plenty of challenges, mostly related to performance, availability and cost. However, the maritime sector has identified another potential problem: the need to update Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) requirements to ensure that crew are adequately trained in the handling and storage of these […]
Whatever happened to the tidal energy sector? Given the relatively muted press coverage, compared to the column inches devoted to offshore wind farms, you’d be forgiven for thinking that tidal energy capture projects had tailed off somewhat in the past few years – though this is far from being the case. Perhaps wave turbines are […]
New boat sector non-profit the International Electric Marine Association (IEMA) has launched a manifesto pledging its commitment to the adoption of electric vessel propulsion, emphasising “knowledge exchange, educational outreach, research and development, industry representation and cultural/environmental considerations” among its key objectives. The manifesto has been endorsed by nine national association signatories, including: the Electric Boat […]
A collaborative project spearheaded by Optima Electric Yachts – a company dedicated to producing 100% electric boats with energy-saving hullforms – and funded by the fourth round of the UK government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC4), aims to develop an electric vessel for urban riverine transport, as well as potential leisure and commercial marine applications. […]
Luxury yacht owners have joined forces with maritime researchers to obtain an accurate overview of ocean colour, to help improve our understanding of the changing ocean. The initiative is being spearheaded by Dr Shubha Sathyendranath of Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and Dr Robert Brewin of the University of Exeter, UK. Typically, scientists rely on satellites […]
Scientists at Aston University in Birmingham, UK believe they may have produced a viable alternative to traditional marine bunker fuels, care of a blend of leftover cooking oil, lamb fat and agricultural waste. The research project – undertaken in cooperation with colleges in Brighton (UK) and Madras and Chennai (India – saw the scientists take […]
Vision Electric Boats, the boatbuilding division set up by Canadian electric outboard manufacturer Vision Marine Technologies, unveiled its new “unsinkable” polyethylene boat, the Phantom, at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show. The bright blue boat was produced using rotational moulding (aka rotomoulding): a technique used to create large, one-piece, complex shapes, typically with uniform wall […]
US tug and workboat operator Crowley Maritime has taken delivery of eWolf, a vessel hailed as the country’s first Jones Act-compliant, all-electric ship-assist harbour tug. Commencing operations at the Port of San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, the 25m x 12.2m vessel, first announced in 2021, is expected to remove 178tonnes of NOx, 2.5tonnes of […]
Incat Tasmania has taken inspiration from the skies, having unveiled plans to “do for short sea-sea ferry services what Boeing did for the aviation industry” with a new range of electric ferries. And, just as Boeing reduced its development and manufacturing costs by incorporating standardised components and processes, so Incat predicts that the new e-ferry […]
Getting from A to B can be tough for the remote island communities of the Inner Hebrides, on Scotland’s west coast. However, life should be made easier with the delivery of the first of two new passenger ferries to operator Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) in October this year. The first newbuild, Isle Of Islay, […]
Maritime search and rescue (SAR) processes have evolved significantly in recent years, boosted by cutting-edge technologies such as AI and object recognition software. However, the task of sorting and storing global SAR incident response data in one central hub has proven more vexing. As Caroline Jupe, CEO of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF), highlights: […]