Shipbuilder Harland & Wolff has teamed up with naval architect Macduff Ship Design, propulsion specialist Kongsberg Maritime and battery manufacturer Echandia to develop a zero-emissions harbour and coastal tug. Two tugs are specified in the initial order, each with a proposed length of 25.5m, a beam of 12m and a draught of 4.85m – although, […]
Over the past five or so years, it has become increasingly obvious that the seaborne carriage of electric vehicles (EVs) using lithium-ion batteries can pose a serious risk in the event of an accident. The main hazard is related to the risk of thermal runaway, which can cause fires or explosions if the Li-ion battery […]
For the 10th instalment of its Annual International Student Design Competition for a Safe, Affordable Ferry, spanning 2022-2023, the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) shook things up by introducing a new stipulation for the participating teams. Although previous years’ contests had called for ferry designs to meet specific operational demands, the panel of judges had […]
There’s been a recent upsurge in the production of boats dedicated to removing floating debris and trash from coastal and inshore waters – a task that cleans up the immediate environment and, crucially, prevents the outflow of this waste into the sea, where effective removal becomes far more difficult. The new Grasshop catamaran concept, developed […]
Dr Nicholas Ball, CEO of XFuel, argues that adopting biofuels may help the maritime sector to decarbonise instantly without costly portside or onboard infrastructure The shipping industry’s collective environmental footprint is a growing problem. As other sectors make substantive progress towards UN climate goals, and as public pressure intensifies, the shipping industry’s slow progress is […]
On paper, Li-CO2 batteries could boast far superior energy density to today’s state-of-the-art battery types – but this nascent technology requires further analysis and development, writes May Chan Lithium-CO2 (Li-CO2) batteries are a relatively new type of battery that uses CO2 as the cathode and lithium as the anode to generate electrical energy. Compared to […]
A methanol-hybrid tugboat developed by Glosten and ABB should enable operators to switch to greener operations without any jarring overhauls to procedures, writes Stevie Knight While tugboats’ average hours of operation are low compared to other vessel types – often just 2,000-3,000 hours annually – they still contribute significantly to overall port emissions. With stakeholders […]
A unique and patented ‘artificial gill’ breathing system is one of the eye-catching features of the forthcoming DeepSeaker – a craft designed to function as both a high-speed hydrofoil and a high-tech mini-sub Imagine a compact craft capable of shooting across the surface at high speeds on retractable hydrofoils, before plunging 50m beneath the surface […]
Subsea optical inspection tech firm Voyis Imaging has unveiled its Discovery line of vision systems for ROVs, created to “address the trade-off currently being made between piloting cameras and 3D inspection cameras”, the company says. Voyis argues that piloting cameras prioritise low latency video at the expense of the image data required for 3D model […]
Advanced Navigation has launched a subsea robotics manufacturing and R&D centre in Balcatta, Western Australia, to accelerate production of its Hydrus-branded autonomous underwater bot. Spanning just over 22,255m2, the new site will serve as a hub for product development and manufacturing, and will help to grow the group’s underwater AI business. On-site resources include “testing […]
Asso.subsea, a subsidiary of Greece-headquartered Asso Group, has unveiled a new trench- jetting ROV, boasting 1.56MW of jetting power and specially designed to operate with cohesionless soil. The AssoJet III Mk2 measures 7.1m x 5.2m, has a height of 3.9m and can descend to 1,500m. The ROV can create trenches up to 3.2m-deep from seabed […]
Anduril Industries is partnering with the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC), US to autonomously inspect undersea power infrastructure using its Dive-LD AUV. The partnership aims to optimise emerging technologies for offshore renewable energy development in the US by reducing downtime and controlling costs. The Dive-LD is a modular and customisable large displacement […]