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18 minute read
Digital charting
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8 Wirral UK-based Carmet Tug Company has
increased its capacity with acquisition of its rst ASD tug, also becoming the most powerful vessel in its eet.
Carmet is best known for its iconic MSC-prexed UK-built Manchester Ship Canal tugs, which are still looking immaculate two years short of their 50th birthday.
Its latest vessel, CT Upton, is very different, however: the 35tbp Japanese-built tug was originally Tai Tam, part of the Hong Kong Salvage & Towage eet, before moving to European waters in 2003 as the Trueman for SMS Towage of Hull, from whom Carmet has bought the vessel.
8 MAN Engines has approved all marine
engines from its current product range to operate using renewable diesel fuel in line with standard EN15940 European specications along with similar ASTM D75 specications in the US.
MAN engines are a popular choice for tug owners, but with such vessels and their machinery expected to live a long life, replacing the engines with modern equivalents to satisfy demands for environmentally friendly operations can be costly. MAN’s approval will allow customers to
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8 Carmet’s latest addition CT Upton was orginally
operating in Hong Kong
replace conventional diesel fuel with “green” diesel which is obtained from waste and residues of animal and plant origin, crop residues and hydrotreated vegetable oils.
8 Belfast-based Harland & Wolff (H&W) has
won an £8.5 million (€10.1 million) initial contract for fabrication of eleven barges for Cory Group’s waste management operation on the River Thames.
Just as Carmet’s tugs (mentioned above) are part of the fabric of the Manchester Ship Canal, so Cory’s tugs and barges are part of the Thames scene, moving around 750,00t of recyclable and non-recyclable black bag waste a year.
The upgrading of this element of its eet will see the new barges constructed in H&W’s vast undercover fabrication halls using its new robotic welding line, the programme due to complete around mid-2023.
8 Sanmar Shipyards recently joined the
International Harbour Masters’ Association as a commercial member and not long afterwards, the company attended the association’s biennial congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sanmar attended as an exhibitor with the important role of demonstrating the towage industry’s efforts to decarbonise the sector and for itself, its mission to lead the world to a sustainable emission-free towage industry. To that end Sanmar showcased its Robert Allan Ltd-designed ElectRA series of electric tugs, which have been hailed “an industry game-changer”.
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DUTCH SEA RESEARCH VESSEL LAUNCHED
A ‘sustainable as possible’ Dutch research vessel has been launched to join the national sea research eet
A new research boat has been added to the Dutch national research eet and christened RV Adriaen Coenen.
The research vessel was built at NG Shipyards in Lauwersoog, in The Netherlands, and once tested it will be put to sea for the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), which is trying to replace two larger research ships it manages as part of the national research eet.
At 19 metres, the RV Adriaen Coenen will be the smallest ship in the eet, with capacity for 12 passengers and two crew.
Despite its smaller size, the vessel is equipped with wet and dry laboratories, ICT (information and communication technology) infrastructure, cranes, a spacious working deck with room for two rubber boats or a 10ft container.
“It is a quiet ship, which is very pleasant for crew, researchers and the environment,” said skipper Wim Jan Boon. ”Because the computer automatically keeps the ship in the desired position during research, I can work more efficiently.”
The vessel has been designed with a huge focus on sustainability, and it is powered by HVO, which means 90% less CO2 is emitted, says Feico Hoogeveen, from NAVIS Naval Management & Consultancy, who supervised the build. ”When combined with particle lters and a catalytic converter, the system is at least equivalent to the emissions reduction achieved by using methanol,” he says. ”And the AdBlue system tted to the exhaust also provides a signicant reduction in nitrogen emissions. All of the installations were designed to use as little energy as possible. The coolant water system, for example, includes a thermal transfer unit.
“The LED lighting is controlled by movement sensors and powered by solar panels. The vessel is also tted with as much thermal insulation as possible to keep energy consumption for heating to a minimum.”
The hull, he said, was designed with computational uid dynamics to optimise its hydrodynamic characteristics.
“The propulsion system uses hydrojets to allow the vessel to operate in shallow water and to beach itself without causing damage to the propellers,” he said.
NG Shipyards Director Albert Keizer also said the vessel was built using solar energy.
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8 RV Adriaen Coenen
christened at NG Shipyards
First search & rescue boat for ICE-SAR
Kewatec Shipyards has launched the rst of three rescue boats in Iceland for testing.
The boats are being built for the Icelandic Search and Rescue Association.
Kewatec Shipyards signed an agreement with the (ICE-SAR, Slysavarnafélagið Landsbjörg) a year ago to build three 17m self-righting Kewatec Serecradt SAR 17s and construction begain in Kokkola last October.
“The launch was a success despite the traffic jam with several boats at the dock this summer,” said Jesper Häggblom, Project Manager at Kewatec.
The €5.7 million three boats are just a start - under the terms of the agreement signed in July 2021, a further 10 vessels are planned for the eet over the next few years.
”The highly demanding sea conditions in Iceland and the North Atlantic place tough demands on the vessels. We are proud to have this contract and condence from an Icelandic, experienced operator and, at the same time, humble in the face of local forces of nature,” said Sales Director Jari Ahoranta.
ICE-SAR is a national association of rescue units and accident prevention divisions that includes 99 rescue units, 70 accident prevention units and approximately 10,000 volunteers. It operates in most Icelandic cities.
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ARCTIC FACTORY TRAWLER LAUNCHED
Tersan Shipyard will also build two methanol-powered service vessels for Dutch rm Acta Marine
Turkish shipyard Tersan has launched NB1102 - soon to be named Gadus - an arctic freezer trawler built for P/F JFK in the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic.
Designed by Skipsteknik, the 88.1m x 18.3m shing vessel is the second trawler built at Tersan for owners on the Faroe Islands in the last two months, it says.
She will be outtted with a shrimp factory, an advanced llet factory and a shmeal and sh oil plant, Tersan says.
The effectiveness date of the project was the beginning of the Covid pandemic ‘‘ and this project provided us with a separate source of motivation, strength and happiness. For this reason, she has a special importance for us
With accommodation for 43 people, she will be capable of efficiently trawling in icy and arctic waters and is planned to be delivered in the last quarter of 2022.
“The effectiveness date of the project was the beginning of the Covid pandemic and this project provided us with a separate source of motivation, strength and happiness,” said Tersan Chairman Osman Nurettin Paksu. ”For this reason, she has a special importance for us.”
Tersan employs more than 6,000 workers in two shipyards - one in Istanbul, the other in Yalova.
In June, it signed a contract with Acta Marine Netherlands for two Construction Service Operating Vessels powered by methanol and MDO/HVO.
Designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions, the two vessels are planned to serve in the offshore wind construction market and include TWIN-X stern, an integrated walk-to-work gangway system, 3D crane and hotel-styled accommodation areas.
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8 NB1102 (to be
named Gadus), an arctic freezer trawler from Tersan Shipyard
Record ship reaches Europe
The world’s largest ice-rated multi-fuel RoRo cargo ship has reached Europe and is set to enter regular service.
The hybrid MGO/LNG Botnia Enabler is the rst of Wallenius Sol’s award-winning vessels, along with sister ship Baltic Enabler. On 30 June 2022 she reached the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, fully laden following her seven-week maiden voyage from China.
“Finally being able to welcome her to Europe is a big deal,” said Ragnar Johansson, Managing Director at Wallenius Sol.
“As her name suggests, Botnia Enabler will help Swedish and Finnish industry and enable our customers to reach important ports in northern Finland, Sweden, Germany, Benelux and the UK with their goods.”
The ship will now unload at a number of terminals in Zeebrugge and Antwerp before once again taking on board cargo for customers such as Northvolt, Metsä and Stora Enso.
On 7 July Botnia Enabler will enter scheduled traffic on her regular ZeebruggeAntwerp-Kookola-Oulu-KemiSkellefteå-Travemünde route.
“Botnia Enabler has increased our container capacity by 300 per cent, and almost 100 per cent for RoRo cargo, compared to the ship she is replacing. And later, when we add Baltic Enabler, the route will have a capacity of 962 teu,” said Ragnar Johansson.
New CTV procured for Williams
Safehaven Marine’s new CTV was on show at Seawork before going to new owners Williams Shipping.
Safehaven Marine has built an Interceptor 48 Pilot Boat for Williams Shipping in Southampton, UK.
Willfreedom will be used for crew, passenger and pilot transfers.
The vessel is powered by a pair of Scania DI13 500hp engines with a 7kw AC generator, with a top speed of 26 knots. She has a polyurethane bonded fendering system for
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8 Willfreedom by Safehaven Marine
protection during boarding activities in rough weather, and is also tted with an MOB recovery platform.
Willfreedom has passed all sea trials and will be taken down to Southampton for Seawork, where she will be on show.
Williams aims to expand its eet to be able to provide quicker and safer passenger transfers along the south coast, it says.
Safehaven Marine, based in County Cork, Ireland, has designed and built 150 vessels delivered to 28 countries since its inception in 1996.
NEW CAMERA SHEDS LIGHT IN BAD WEATHER
A new thermal camera capable of clear images even in low light is helping a ground-breaking test boat perform in all weathers
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Marine navigation software company TIMEZERO has equipped its new Star sher 830 with the latest in marine electronics including the FLIR M364C thermal and low light camera, a multi-beam sh nder and Furuno displays.
Whilst the trial is on a small shing boat, TIMEZERO is condent that the equipment package would be equally at home on a search and rescue cutter, super yacht or large commercial shing vessel.
Sales and marketing director Frédéric Algalarrondo estimates the electronics equipment package represents nearly half of the boat’s total value.
“We believe that the way FLIR’s thermal imaging cameras integrate with TIMEZERO and Furuno is a game-changer,” he said.
“This FLIR M364C integration onboard our test boat is more than an additional sensor to plug into our software. The data that the camera outputs becomes central to the safety of the boat at any times of navigational doubt and the integration is well designed so even when the skipper has been away from the helm it is easy for them to return and understand very quickly from the MFD screen what has changed and what’s important.”
Critical information including depth, tracked objects, route, waypoints, track and weather routing is presented on Furuno’s multi-function display screen and radar, AIS and other sensor data is also overlaid into the camera view.
The FLIR thermal imaging camera also includes a highresolution daylight camera with a 30x optical zoom. New, proprietary colour thermal vision technology integrates the views from the daylight and thermal cameras displaying the two views side by side on the vessel’s MFD.
8 The Star sher 830,
which has been tted with the FLIR M364C thermal and low light camera
Rovco to charter vessel for off shore wind
ROV and hydrographic survey provider Rovco has agreed to charter a vessel to support its off shore wind farm projects.
Ship owner Vroon has agreed to lease VOS Star to Rovco, who will operate its Seaeye Leopard Work Class ROV systems on the 68m vessel on operations in UK and Dutch waters.
The VOS Star is a 68m DP2 subsea support vessel, built in 2016. The purposebuilt vessel has accommodation for up to 49 people and has a wide deck space of 485m2, and an SMST knuckle boom crane for multi-purpose operations. ”The team will perform a multitude of detailed subsea survey, maintenance and repair tasks, on a 24-hour basis, with a wide array of cable tracking and ROV tooling available, including Rovco’s unique intelligent data collection system, SubSLAM X2,” says Rovco. ”Rovco’s powerful Seaeye Leopard ROVs, combined with the DP2 VOS Star, will allow safe and efficient project delivery even during harsh weather conditions increasing the window of opportunity and reducing downtime. ”We are excited to forge a new relationship with Vroon, expanding our eet and continuing to support the energy sector with a focus on transition to renewable sources of power,” said Rovco Managing Director Simon Miller.
PILOT LAUNCH MEETS GROWING DEMAND
The UK’s Briggs Marine has commissioned another pilot launch, growing its eet of ORCs to six
This latest investment will enable Briggs Marine to off er charter opportunities for pilot launches, a service where demand is currently outstripping supply. The company believes this will continue to grow as many ports struggle with ageing eets.
“We are delighted to be providing Briggs with an ORC 121, which is a 12m long vessel. We have previously supplied ORC 171s and ORC 136s but this vessel is shorter, enabling it to be road transportable,” said Steven Pierce of Goodchild Marine, who will be manufacturing and delivering the vessel to Briggs Marine in 2023.
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“The other benet to this vessel, of course, is that the semi displacement hull design of the ORC is about 40% more fuel efficient than counterparts of similar size, helping to reduce emissions.”
Road transportable
The new pilot vessel has been designed to be road transportable, allowing Briggs Marine to be highly reactive to customers’ timescales and achieve greater fuel efficiency when transporting the vessel longer distances.
In the lead-up to celebrating its 50th anniversary, Briggs Marine continues to upgrade its assets and work towards reducing the environmental impact of the eet.
“We are extremely pleased to conrm that Briggs Marine is continuing to invest in its eet. This latest project will enable current and future customers more modern and efficient pilot launch options,” said Rob Baker, General Manager, Briggs Marine. ”This is the sixth pilot launch we’ve commissioned with Goodchild Marine in the last eight years. The rst ve vessels have enabled us to provide rst-class pilot services in the port of Liverpool and this service is now extended to other customers through this charter opportunity.”
Other recent investments for Briggs Marine include a Crew Transfer Vessel in 2021, a new multipurpose workboat and three new line-handling vessels to support a range of customers.
8 This latest
investment will enable Briggs Marine to off er charter opportunities for pilot launches
Wave bilge lter for highspeed ferry
One of Europe’s largest ferry companies operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea has chosen a Wave International water bilge lter system for its new highspeed catamaran.
Attica Group will t its Aero 1 Highspeed ferry with the Wave MiniBOSS oily water bilge lter system as part of its commitment to reducing pollution.
The ferry operator has introduced three of the new catamarans at a total of more than €21 million for the three million annual passengers on its Greek Saronic routes. Built by the Brødrene Aa Shipyard in Norway, the 36 metre carbon vessels can reach a maximum speed of 32 knots.
The Wave MiniBOSS oily water separators have been supplied by Norwegian-based Yarconsult.
They are said to be ideally suited to high-speed boats and catamarans because of the low weight compared with other bilge water separators on the market.
The Attica Group currently operates 32 vessels in total, across four countries and to 60 destinations, connecting 71 ports, transporting over seven million passengers, one million private cars and 400,000 freight units annually.
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MRE ORDERS FOUR OFFSHORE SUPPORT BOATS
Manor Renewable Energy will add another four vessels to its growing eet of off shore support vessels operating around the UK, rest of Europe and Asia
The four vessels will be supplied by two diff erent shipyards - the rst two boats, designed by Chartwell Marine, will be fabricated by Manor Marine, in Dorset; the second pair will be built by Strategic Marine in Singapore.
Chartwell is supplying its Hybrid Chartwell Ambitious class design, which is part of its offshore support vessel range.
Both vessels will be 25.2m aluminium catamarans featuring hybrid propulsion systems, twin marine diesel engines, electric motors, batteries and xed pitch propellers. They will house 24 personnel plus three or four crew.
“As we are seeing increasing demand for our services, we are implementing a strong growth strategy,” said MRE Managing Director Billy Hamilton. ”Working with Manor Marine to complement our existing eet with two new Hybrid Chartwell Ambitious vessels is the rst step.”
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A second step is the order for a further two vessels from Strategic Marine in Singapore.
Manor Victor and Manor Vulcan are both BMT-designed 27m aluminium catamarans powered by two Caterpillar C32 1450hp marine engines.
They each have a fuel capacity of 35,000 litres and can safely transfer crew in wave heights of 1.75m, the company says, adding that the vessel’s engine and propulsion system design means they can be made hybrid compliant on request. Thirty crew can be transferred at a time.
“Over the past year, MRE has been chartering similar vessels that have performed very well on our projects,” said Fleet Manager Michael James. ”As our yard in Portland is already full with new builds for MRE, we felt it was the right time to add these vessels to our eet.”
The vessels should be ready for charter this August, MRE says.
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8 Chartwell
Marine’s Ambitious vessel design, ordered by Manor Renewable Energy Inset: Manor Vulcan - Strategic Marine
Funds secured for H-fuelled container ship
A project to build two hydrogen-powered, remotely controlled and autonomous short sea container ships has secured funding.
Dutch logistics rm Samskip and marine robotics specialist Ocean Innity have managed to secure €15 million in funding from Norwegian state enterprise ENOVA to build the vessels, which are planned to sail between Oslo Fjord and Rotterdam.
The funding has been secured under a project named SeaShuttle, which aims to deliver the two vessels by 2025.
Originally announced at the Nor-Shipping conference earlier this year, each vessel will
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8 SeaShuttle be powered with a 3.2MW hydrogen fuel cell as its main propulsion, with diesel electric propulsion on board as back-up.
“Securing this funding provides a platform to make emissions-free container shipping a reality,” said Samskip Norway CEO Are Gråthen. “Together, Samskip and Ocean Innity will also accelerate their plans to advance autonomous ship technologies, and remote operation of ships and cargo handling equipment. These ships are the rst part of an exciting collaboration with Ocean Innity.” ”We would like to thank Enova for their support for our vision which represents a rm endorsement of our ground-breaking approach and allows us to proceed at full speed in bringing this project to life,” said Christopffer Jorgenvag, CCO at Ocean Innity.
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