The Naval Architect – News

IMO interim guidelines lay groundwork for alt-fuel management

IMO interim guidelines lay groundwork for alt-fuel management

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has issued generic interim training guidelines for seafarers tasked with handling and managing zero-emission/near-zero-emission fuels, including hydrogen, ammonia, fuel cells, battery packs and methyl/ethyl alcohol. The interim training guidelines, which come under STCW7/Circ.25, will be debated further by the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping in February 2026 […]

BMT unveils ELLIDA STRIKE multi-role vessel concept

BMT unveils ELLIDA STRIKE multi-role vessel concept

Ship design agency BMT unveiled the latest evolution of its ELLIDA multi-role naval platform at the 2025 Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition in London in September 2025. The ELLIDA series of concept designs was launched by BMT in 2019, and has evolved significantly as UK Royal Navy (RN) requirements have changed in recent […]

Could fuel cells guide cruise ships towards decarbonisation?

Could fuel cells guide cruise ships towards decarbonisation?

For the past five to six years, cruise ships have come under renewed scrutiny, with critics citing their levels of in-port emissions as some of the worst in the maritime sector.   “Sustainability is the main driving force of the Port of Barcelona”, that Spanish cruise hub states on its website. However, in 2022, Barcelona recorded […]

How drones are ramping up ship security fears

How drones are ramping up ship security fears

The threat posed to global maritime trade by rogue states and terrorists has not changed much over the past 10 years, but the tools they use have. Mines, missiles, IED-ladened skiffs and RIBs are being replaced by drones – and, in little over three years, the drone has evolved from a flying camera used to […]

‘Harbor Charger’ brings hybrid-electric power to Manhattan

‘Harbor Charger’ brings hybrid-electric power to Manhattan

New York State is about to breathe a tad easier, following the launch of the appropriately named public ferry Harbor Charger –  a 58m-long, double-ended,  hybrid diesel-electric ro-pax with the capacity for up to approximately 1,200 passengers.   Ordered for a reported US$33 million, the vessel was built domestically by Conrad Shipyard and delivered to […]

Bollinger-led team to build USCG Arctic Security Cutters

Bollinger-led team to build USCG Arctic Security Cutters

The US and Finland have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see Bollinger Shipyards lead an industry team comprising Rauma Marine Construction, Seaspan Shipyard and Aker Arctic Technology to build six Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs) for the US Coast Guard (USCG). The team will leverage the production-ready Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design developed by Seaspan […]

Marine AI looks to give uncrewed vessels a voice

Marine AI looks to give uncrewed vessels a voice

UK-based autonomy software developer Marine AI has launched a project in the hope of granting uncrewed vessels the ability to “communicate naturally” with other ships, in the manner of a human operator. The project has received the backing of the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), a branch of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) created […]

Anemoi completes Rotor Sail retrofit on ore carrier

Anemoi completes Rotor Sail retrofit on ore carrier

Anemoi Marine Technologies has undertaken the retrofit installation of its Rotor Sail technology onboard U-Ming’s Grand Pioneer, a 325,000dwt ore carrier, at COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard. The four 35m-tall, 5m-diameter Rotor Sails were delivered fully assembled and dynamically balanced from Anemoi’s production base on the Yangtze River and transported by barge to COSCO Zhoushan shipyard. The […]

Biofuel first for Hull-Rotterdam ro-ro runs

Biofuel first for Hull-Rotterdam ro-ro runs

P&O Ferries has announced that its passenger cargo and ro-ro ferry Pride of Hull has become the first vessel in its fleet to run entirely on biofuel B30, a blend of 30% biodiesel and 70% conventional diesel. As a result of the fuel swap, the 215m x 32m vessel, which services a route linking Hull, […]

Zeebrugge cruise hub pursues green electric dream

Zeebrugge cruise hub pursues green electric dream

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is forging ahead to develop a shore power installation at the Zweedse Kaai cruise terminal in Zeebrugge, Belgium, which will enable this hub to provide green electricity to calling cruise ships. Scheduled to be up and running in early 2027, and funded to the tune of just under €4 million by […]

Greener bulk runs for the Great Lakes

Greener bulk runs for the Great Lakes

On 22 August, the Canadian-flagged vessel M/V Tamarack, the first newly built cement carrier in two decades to enter service on the Great Lakes, called at the Port of Montreal, thus completing her maiden transatlantic voyage and proceeding to load her maiden cement cargo, writes Bruno Cianci.  Owned by Eureka Shipping, this 12,500dwt vessel had been […]

Defence duo under construction for Montenegro

Defence duo under construction for Montenegro

Kership, the joint venture between French shipbuilder Piriou and Naval Group, has commenced construction of the first of two new offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the armed forces of Montenegro. Construction of the OPV follows a 2024 intergovernmental agreement between the French Ministry of Defence and the Montenegrin Ministry of Defence relating to defence cooperation.   […]