The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a damning report about the state of the US Navy’s amphibious fleet and the efforts to undertake much-needed maintenance work. The 3 December report, Amphibious Warfare Fleet: Navy Needs to Complete Key Efforts to Better Ensure Ships Are Available for Marines (GAO-25-106728) – the latest of several […]
Wind-assisted propulsion systems manufacturer Norsepower has opened what it calls “the world’s first dedicated rotor sail factory” in the coastal district of Dafeng, China. The company initially plans to produce 50 Norsepower Rotor Sail (NPRS) units annually at this facility, scaling up to 100 per year by the end of 2027. The Dafeng site was […]
Data taken from the latest release of Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s biannual World Risk Poll indicates that 26% of fishers around the world have personally experienced harm at work in the past two years – “more than [in] any other industry”, the safety charity comments, contrasting this sector with construction (where 22% of workers reported experiencing […]
Digital solution saves time and decreases incident risks Described by some as the “seafarer’s friend”, Permit to Work (PtW) systems are an essential safeguard to minimise the risk of accidents and incidents on board ships. The mandatory process is used to authorise controlled work in both standard and nonstandard, potentially hazardous conditions – such […]
Liferaft servicing is a necessity, not an option, but society’s wider shift from product ownership to the service-based economy is being felt even in this unexpected area In 2016, a World Economic Forum blog by Danish politician Ida Auken caused an unexpected stir by predicting that, in 2030, “I don’t own anything. I don’t own […]
ALS technology specialist’s fast-growing customer base is realising significant cuts to fuel consumption and GHG emissions Faced with the uncertainty surrounding costs and availability of future fuels and mounting pressure to comply with increasingly stricter targets for decarbonisation, prioritising ship design efficiency will be key for shipowners and operators as they look to keep their […]
Absence of regulatory mandate means safety and financial benefits of structural health monitoring systems are not being realised, writes Niklas Hallgren, CEO, Light Structures Structural health monitoring (SHM) has the potential to revolutionise maritime safety by enabling real-time insight into vessel integrity, yet comprehensive regulations mandating these systems are conspicuously absent. Regulations and classification have […]
In the maritime industry’s ever-changing landscape, new regulations, new fuels, new engine designs and constantly changing original equipment manufacturer (OEM) requirements are just some of the issues adding to the complexity shipping operators must navigate. At the same time, a crew’s understanding of their ship’s engine performance can often rely on data collected in a […]
Combination carrier operator’s CLEANBU project helps it post record-breaking profits To an earlier generation the combination, or ore-bulk-oil (OBO), carrier was seen as the ideal ‘everyman’ vessel; capable of switching between dry and wet cargo depending on marketing fluctuations, or switching between cargoes on reverse voyages rather than an unprofitable return journey in ballast. But […]
Enhanced stowage solutions from MacGregor are allowing container ship operators to maximise cargo intake and reduce environmental footprint Much of the discussion concerning maritime decarbonisation focuses around solutions that will be familiar to readers of The Naval Architect: hull form optimisation, speed reduction and engine de-rating, the adoption of new fuels and energy storage, and […]
Package of optimisation measures leads to substantial efficiency gains on 868TEU Henneke Rambow “Right now there’s quite a few different things realigning in the industry. This means there’s quite a lot of movement happening with retrofitting from an energy and efficiency perspective,” reflects Jonas Nyberg, Berg Proplulsion’s managing director for advanced solutions. Like others, the […]
By Mikko Nikkanen, head of maritime, weather and environment, Vaisala With annual international shipping CO₂ emissions doubling since 1990 and now accounting for roughly 10% of global transportation emissions, the maritime shipping sector sits at a crossroads in the fight against climate change. Players across the global shipping industry must find new ways to embrace […]