According to one industry expert, trends are pointing towards harbour tugs being among the first vessel classes to become autonomous
According to Mike Ford, VP, Commercial Operations, at Wärtsilä Dynamic Positioning, trends are pointing towards harbour tugs being among the first vessel classes to become autonomous.
Mr Ford made the comments at the European Dynamic Positioning Conference in London, citing improvements in safety and lower operating costs through less crew as the reason harbour and terminals are likely to focus on developing autonomous tugs first.
A major new boating show ‘Club Marine Perth International Boat Show’ has been announced for Western Australia to be held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre and nearby Elizabeth Quay over four days of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend from 22-25 September, 2017.
The new show, the Club Marine Perth International Boat Show, is an initiative of the Boating Industry Association of Western Australia (BIAWA) and will be managed by Premiere Events, the organisers of the Mandurah Boat Show and related outdoor shows. It will be sponsored by Club Marine Insurance with support from the City of Perth, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority.
At 110m or 361ft, project Jubilee is the largest yacht ever built is to emerge from any of the Dutch superyacht yards. Oceanco’s project Jubilee has a striking exterior styling by Lobanov Design, grand interior by Sorgiovanni Designs with owner’s representation by Burgess
Jubilee has a generous 16.4m/54ft beam and is just over 4,500 gross tons. This superyacht has a very sleek and original profile that will surely turn heads wherever she travels. Her elongated profile flows elegantly and gracefully from bow to stern. With no fewer than six decks, her progressively longer horizontal lines make Jubilee distinctive from all other yachts, meaning she is truly a vessel in a class of her own.
Netherlands-based SeaOwls and Norwegian shipyard Ulstein have launched a pioneering heavy lift jack-up vessel design concept, the Soul. The cruciform structural lay-out is claimed to make the patent-pending solution more than 10 per cent lighter than conventional jack-up vessel designs, yet, all loading and installation operations can be performed without the need of ballast water.
In combination with a high capacity crane, the SOUL enables operators to take the next step in developing offshore wind farms. The concept aims to install the next generation wind turbines (10-12 MW) in the same time frame as currently used for installing 6-8 MW units, a significant efficiency gain over any jack-up vessel design currently available in the market.
At 0450 (UTC+11) on 19 May 2016 the Danish registered ro-ro freight ferry Petunia Seaways and the historic motor launch Peggotty collided on the River Humber while in dense fog. As a result of the collision the motor launch suffered severe structural damage and began to take on water. The crew of a local pilot launch responded to Peggotty’s skipper’s VHF2 “Mayday” call and were able to reach the motor launch and rescue the skipper and the one other person on board before it sank. There were no injuries and no significant pollution.
Petunia Seaways’ bridge team remained unaware that the two vessels had collided until after they had left the river, when they were informed by VTS Humber.
In recent weeks, IIMS has released two new handy guides in the series ‘What a Marine Surveyor needs to know about‘ bringing the total number of publications to twelve.
What a marine surveyor needs to know about small craft engine surveys Many marine surveyors consider the survey of the machinery to be outside the scope of a pre-purchase or insurance survey and simply ignore it. Small Craft Engine Surveys is designed to give the marine surveyor who has limited experience of machinery surveys sufficient knowledge and confidence to enable him or her to understand both what and the implications of what is involved.
On 3 December 2015, the Panama registered pure car carrier City of Rotterdam collided with the Danish registered ro-ro ferry Primula Seaways on the River Humber, UK. Both vessels were damaged but made their way to Immingham without assistance. There was no pollution and there were no serious injuries. It is now being advised architects should adhere to ergonomic bridge design.
The MAIB investigation identified that the outbound City of Rotterdam had been set to the northern side of the navigable channel and into the path of the inbound ferry, but this had not been corrected because the pilot on board had become disoriented after looking through an off-axis Continue reading “Naval architects should adhere to accepted ergonomic bridge design”
Dress appropriately when antifouling and use the right PPE equipment
Everyone using antifoul should wear the right personal equipment – that’s the message from the British Coatings Federation, (BCF), which along with the RYA and British Marine, has launched a new DIY Safe Antifouling Initiative.
The objective of this initiative is to inform and educate boat owners regarding the hazards associated with antifouling their boats and follows on from an online survey carried out on the DIY use of antifouling paints in the UK.
The survey showed the majority of respondents wore protective clothing but also highlighted areas where improvements could be made, such as providing better guidance and information on how to minimise the risk of skin contact with antifoul paint.
Albwardy Marine Engineering and Damen Shipyards Sharjah have officially brought both brands together under one umbrella – Albwardy Damen. The newly-named venture, it says, will continue to provide its services with the same values as before – putting safety, quality and reliability at the forefront of its offering. The change represents the venture’s drive to maximise the efficiency of its operations and enhance its leading position during these challenging times for the maritime industry.
The United Arab Emirates based shipyard will continue to construct newbuild steel and aluminium vessels as well as provide the same trusted ship repair services to its marine and oil & gas customers in the Middle East. The announcement coincides with the 3 year anniversary of Damen Shipyards Sharjah.
Fatal incident on ro-ro passenger ferry GALAXY report published by Transport Malta
Transport Malta has issued its safety investigation report into the mooring equipment failure and subsequent fatality of a shipyard worker on board the Cyprus registered ro-ro passenger ferry GALAXY in Valletta, Malta on 18 January 2016.
The incident
On 09 December 2015, MV Galaxy arrived in Malta under tow on a single, ballast, unmanned voyage from Piraeus, Greece to the Shipyard. Repairs commenced soon after, with the vessel afloat. On 08 January 2016, she was transferred to graving dock number 4 for underwater hull inspections and repairs. She was subsequently re-floated and pulled out of the dry-dock on the morning of 18 January 2016 at around 0900 to continue repairs afloat alongside Boat House Wharf.
The recently formed IIMS Large Yacht & Small Craft Working Group is pleased to announce another training event and has been fortunate to secure an opportunity to visit the Dutch superyacht builder, Royal Huisman yard at Vollenhove in the Netherlands.
Royal Huisman has built some of the most iconic, striking and stylish craft to set to sea in recent years. They boast a facility of 30,000 square metres, which houses the modern equipment and infrastructure required for large custom yacht building and refitting. This state-of-the-art facility, set in Holland’s internationally renowned concentration of specialist maritime businesses, includes many advanced design and engineering software programmes for rapid communication with clients and the design team on systems design, engineering and construction processes. Naval architects and designers have access to the people with the experience, expertise and specialist skills that will enable them to realise their vision in the most intricate detail. IIMS has been granted permission to bring a group to the facility and this is a unique opportunity to have a look into their exciting and dynamic world at close quarters.
MAN Diesel & Turbo’s prototype gas fuel pump and vapouriser unit (credit: MAN Diesel & Turbo)
The first of three ethane-fueled engines has been delivered for a trio of ships on order for Germany’s Hartmann Reederei on order at China’s Sinopacific Shipbuilding. They will be pioneers for ethane fueling, believes René Sejer Laursen, promotion manager at MAN Diesel & Turbo.
The ships will each carry 35,000m3 of the gas so have an obvious source of fuel, but Mr Laursen has a bigger vision: “we see potential for all ships to use ethane gas in the future,” he said during a presentation about the company’s multi-fuel engines during the Danish Maritime Days in October.
