Young teens launch model boats to circumnavigate Antarctica
They say you have to catch them young! This is such a wonderfully curious and quirky story, I simply had to bring it to your attention. Ollie Ferguson (13) and his brother Harry (11) of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, have launched replica vessels of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to circumnavigate Antarctica in what is probably a world’s first. The brothers have been inspired by the 1839-43 scientific expedition that discovered the Ross ice shelf. According to an article from The Guardian, the models, both more than 3 feet long, will follow the circumpolar current around Antarctica. The journey is more than 12,500 nautical miles and could take two or more years to complete.
According to their father, MacNeill, the boats have cameras onboard to catch pictures of penguins and whales for Harry.
For the first time, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is bringing a TV audience a behind-the-scenes documentary series. The new series, Coastguard: Every Second Counts, which rund for six episodes will air on Sunday 2 July at 9pm on Channel 5. It offers viewers the chance to see the wide breadth of work covered by the agency.
In its new report “Electric Boats & Ships 2024-2044,” technology company IDTechEx has provided granular 20-year forecasts in unit sales, battery demand and battery market value for the electric ferry, electric cargo/container, electric Ro-Ro, electric cruise, electric OSV, electric tugboat and electric recreational boats by power class. It also shared technology analysis and price information on marine Li-ion battery systems ($/kWh 2020 – 2044) and electric propulsion systems.
Vision Marine Technologies has acquired industrial tooling to support the production capacity of more than 10,000 battery packs per year. This includes the tooling for the marine custom-designed battery pack’s cell stack and cooling system and the bolstering of the company’s intellectual property and ownership of the conception and design of the pack’s external casing.
At the Conference dinner, held at Chilworth Manor, Southampton on Tuesday 6th June, IIMS chose this occasion to publicly recognise two people who have made a big contribution to Institute life, but in very different ways. Here is a transcript from Mike Schwarz’s dinner speech announcing the presentations, which were presented by Peter Broad, IIMS President.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) Maritime Barometer Report 2022-2023 reveals that uncertainty over fuel availability and infrastructure puts at risk ambitions to meet decarbonization targets, reinforcing the need for a clear plan of action to mitigate risk.
The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has published some safety recommendations for vessels featuring battery systems in order to protect them against humid, salty air and seawater intrusion.
