Efficiency - News

ABB has signed a 15-year service agreement with Royal Caribbean Group, a vacation industry pioneer with a global fleet of 67 ships across its five brands travelling to all seven continents, deepening the long-standing partnership to support the company’s ship performance goals. Covering 33 existing ships, the comprehensive agreement includes preventive maintenance and digital solutions to support and optimise propulsion operations, improve vessel safety, maximise fleet availability, and e...

Kongsberg Maritime has been awarded a significant contract by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to supply integrated technology packages for nine new Dynamic Positioning (DP) Shuttle Tankers. The vessels are being constructed for Greek shipowner Tsakos Group and will be a bare-boat charter by Brazilian energy logistics company Transpetro, supporting offshore operations in Brazil’s pre-salt oil fields. Dynamic offshore conditions Each of the nine vessels will be equipped with a comprehensiv...

Turkish shipowner, Susesea, has successfully upgraded the cylinder lubrication strategy across its fleet of six bulk carriers by adopting Chevron’s Taro® Ultra Advanced 40 (TUA 40). Working closely with Chevron Marine Lubricants and its regional distributor, Petrol Ofisi, Susesea has streamlined vessel operations and reduced cylinder oil feed rates by approximately 33 percent, delivering both technical and commercial benefits. MAN Mark 9 engines Susesea’s engineers rotated bet...

Armacell, a pioneer in flexible foam for the equipment insulation market and a pioneering provider of engineered foams, announces that the halogen-free insulation NH/ArmaFlex Smart C is now approved for use at sea. With this International Maritime Organisation (IMO) certification, Armacell adds another trusted solution to its portfolio for safety-critical marine environments. IMO’s stringent fire safety standards Reduced smoke density improves visibility and helps passengers and c...

MacGregor has secured an order from Hapag-Lloyd for its fully automatic twistlocks (ACV-1) “Hippo”, designed to improve cargo handling efficiency. Twistlocks are used to secure containers on ships, ensuring stability and safety during transport. This order will support Hapag-Lloyd’s A19-series ships, which include six 19,900 TEU vessels: Al Nefud, Al Dahna Express, Barzan, Al Muraykh, Al Zubara, and Tihama. The order was booked in the first quarter 2025. The first set of Hipp...

In a major step towards more efficient offshore operations, Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (SHI) and ABB have signed an agreement to equip a fleet of shuttle tankers with ABB’s Onboard DC Grid™ power system platform. Engineered to optimise fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and enable a flexible integration of energy sources, the technology will be the heart of the integrated power system specified for nine newbuild vessels. Fleet of new vessels The fleet of new vessels will be...

Avikus, HD Hyundai’s specialised Autonomous Navigation Technology subsidiary, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Emerson to integrate its NEUBOAT CONTROL Autonomous System with Emerson’s Aventics marine controllers. According to the terms of the MOU, Avikus will use Emerson’s open protocol for its Aventics marine controllers to integrate with its NEUBOAT CONTROL system to provide safety and convenience features such as collision avoidance, ad...

Peninsula, the world’s prominent independent marine energy supplier, is proud to announce the expansion of its U.S. Gulf Coast operations to include the offshore market, with a primary focus on the Galveston Offshore Lightering Area (GOLA). This strategic move reinforces Peninsula’s commitment to delivering high-quality, flexible, and sustainable marine fuel solutions to a growing customer base across the Americas. Supply & Operations will be managed by Peninsula’s experi...

Intellian, the global pioneer in mobile satellite communication antenna systems, announces that it has signed a strategic partnership with Japan Radio Co., Ltd. (JRC) in maritime satellite communication antenna technology. The marine industry is moving forward with the era of smart shipping, and demand from ship operators to share ship-to-shore navigation information, which is aimed at increasing efficiency and productivity in ship operations, has rapidly grown in recent years. For this pu...

Intellian, the global pioneer of mobile satellite communication antenna systems, is unveiling the world’s first 1.5 m Global Xpress terminal, GX150NX, at the International Workboat Show in New Orleans this week (Booth #3453) ahead of its commercial launch in 2020. As the largest terminal, which will be available for the Inmarsat Fleet Xpress service following type approval and successful sea trials in 2020, the GX150NX will unlock the full power of the Global Xpress network for users with...

Intellian, the global pioneer in mobile satellite communication antenna systems, has announced the successful certification by Intelsat of the Intellian NX series products, with both the v85NX and v100NX endorsed for use with the IntelsatOne Flex service. IntelsatOne Flex is a customisable service with a guaranteed Service Level Agreement (SLA), offering tiered, flexible plans which prioritise bandwidth across different satellite beams to meet demand. This avoids any requirement for customers...

Bernhard Schulte Offshore (BSO) has taken delivery of the state-of-the-art, commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) WINDEA Curie, yard number 320 from Ulstein Verft. Key features include a motion-compensated walk-to-work gangway and elevator tower, a helideck, and a 3D-compensated crane, making her ideal for diverse offshore projects, including wind, offshore oil and gas. This SX222 design has been developed by Ulstein Design & Solutions AS. Long traditions in maritime innovatio...

Intellian, the global pioneer of mobile satellite communication antenna systems, has received product approval from Inmarsat for the new GX100NX antenna. This announcement follows excellent results achieved during recent testing at Inmarsat’s innovative, hi-tech facility in Ålesund, Norway, followed by a wholly successful sea trial. The Ka-band GX network from Inmarsat, the world pioneer in global, mobile satellite communications, is being enhanced and expanded at an extraordinary...

Isotropic, the trusted provider of global Internet services offering unrivaled connectivity, and Intellian, the global pioneer in mobile satellite communication antenna systems, have announced the completion of network acceptance testing on Intellian’s new NX-Series of antennas. Testing was conducted at Isotropic’s Lake Geneva facility over its Amazonas-2 and Galaxy-28 networks and utilised ST Engineering iDirect’s X7 modem. The new series of antennas are also compatible with...

Strategic Marine is proud to announce the successful delivery of TMS Tah Muang, the latest 42-metre Generation 4 Fast Crew Boat (FCB) to join the growing fleet of Truth Maritime Services (TMS), a subsidiary of the Prima Marine Group. This marks the fourth high-performance vessel delivered by Strategic Marine to TMS since 2024, following the earlier handovers of TMS Ranod, TMS Raman, and most recently, TMS Chana. Purpose-built to meet the operational needs of offshore energy clients in Southeas...

The London P&I Club has announced its financial results for 2024/25, reporting an operating surplus of US$21.3m, while also strengthening its free reserves to US$171.2m. Gross earned premium income increased 12% to reach US$159.8m. The Club’s combined ratio for the period was 101.7%, which contributed to an improved three-year weighted average combined ratio of 103.9%. Meanwhile, the investment return on assets under management and cash was 6.3%, contributing US$24.7m to the operating...

KR (Korean Register) has officially launched a joint working group to establish international standards for the safe discharge of toxic ammonia effluent generated from ammonia-fueled ships. The initiative brings together Korean major shipbuilders—HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI), HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), HD Hyundai Samho, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), and Hanwha Ocean—as well as the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR), a national ce...

Fincantieri, a pioneer in complex shipbuilding, presented a series of papers focused on research and innovation activities in the maritime sector at the 21st edition of NAV, the International Conference on Ship and Maritime Research, held in Messina. These studies highlighted the company's role as a pioneer in the industrialisation of new digital solutions for the shipping industry, which, in addition to improving the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of its operations and produc...

As part of the Ammonia Energy APAC Conference 2025, Classification society DNV has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) to SeaTech Solutions International (SeaTech) in collaboration with Oceania Marine Energy (Oceania) for the design of a new 10,000cbm ammonia bunkering vessel. This AiP builds on a recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DNV, SeaTech, and Oceania, initiated at Singapore Maritime Week and signed in April this year. Port of Dampier The Port of Dampier is emerging as...

Ulstein Group and Larsnes Mek. Verksted are working together to deliver 28 standard vessels for the Norwegian Navy. This marks the beginning of a close collaboration between two of Norway's most experienced and modern shipyards, aiming to deliver the future naval vessels. Joint response and close dialogue Ulstein and Larsnes submitted a joint response and have since had several meetings with NDMA Earlier this year, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) conducted a market survey to ass...

ABB and StarDream Cruises strengthen their longstanding collaboration with a new service agreement covering two of the cruise line’s luxury ships – reinforcing a partnership that has helped the evolution of cruise travel in Asia. The five-year agreement covers maintenance and lifecycle support for the cruise ships - Star Navigator and Genting Dream, measuring 269 and 335 metres, respectively. During this period, Star Navigator will undergo two, and Genting Dream one, drydocking proj...

ABS and HD Hyundai Samho signed a memorandum of understanding for the technical collaboration for an artificial intelligence (AI)-based smart shipyard. The agreement establishes a cooperative framework for both organisations to leverage smart technologies, such as AI, automation and robotics to identify opportunities for process improvement at HD Hyundai Samho shipyard. ABS will utilise its established Guide for Smart Technologies for Shipyards in the review process. Transforming shipyard...

ABS issued approval in principle (AIP) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) for a concept of a floating small modular reactor (SMR)-powered power module. The design is intended to generate electricity offshore and near shore, supporting port facilities and onshore communities. ABS completed design reviews based on the ABS Requirements for Nuclear Power Systems for Marine and Offshore Applications. Advanced nuclear technology...

KR (Korean Register) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with HD Hyundai Samho on June 11 to jointly develop AI-based solutions for innovation in ship design and analysis. This partnership is a part of a broader digital transformation strategy aimed at enhancing design productivity and strengthening the capabilities of ship design engineers in the rapidly evolving shipbuilding landscape. The collaboration focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence to build a more efficient and accurat...

Proteus Energy, headquartered in Singapore, has developed the Proteus® Maritime Fuel Cell Solution, a modular hydrogen fuel-based system for ports and vessels. The first offering is the Proteus®75. Each fuel cell stack is 75 kW output, and these can be combined for larger power requirements. Offshore support Symbio is jointly owned by global industrial groups Michelin, Stellantis, and Forvia The vessel types being targeted are harbour craft, and vessels in the coastal, offshore...

Unseenlabs, the pioneer in space-based radio frequency (RF) detection, announces the upcoming launch of its latest satellite, BRO-18. This new asset will expand Unseenlabs’ existing constellation and further strengthen its operational capabilities in tracking illegal and unreported maritime activity. The launch is scheduled for NET June 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with the support of Exolaunch. A concrete response to g...

Global technology pioneer - Kongsberg Discovery announced on June 17, 2025, the signing of an agreement to acquire Sonatech, a prominent expert in the field of underwater acoustics. This strategic move will support Kongsberg Discovery’s growth ambitions and enhance access to the U.S. Navy for the company’s product portfolio. The acquisition is expected to close later in 2025, subject to the necessary governmental approvals. Strengthening the presence in the USA For Kongsberg Disco...

The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF), in partnership with Lloyd’s Register Foundation, has launched the first-ever Global Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) Systems Review in order to understand, evaluate and help strengthen maritime SAR systems worldwide. This strategic review will assess the current effectiveness of SAR capabilities at local, national, and international levels, identify emerging risks and critical gaps, and deliver long-term, evidence-based recommendations...

Ocean Network Express (“ONE”) announced today the naming of ONE Singapore, the sixth vessel in a series of 20 ammonia/methanol ready container vessels. The naming ceremony took place at the Hiroshima Shipyard of Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Japan, marking another milestone in ONE's fleet expansion program. The 13,900 TEU vessel, which is methanol and ammonia-ready, is another demonstration of ONE's commitment to sustainable shipping practices. Authority comment ONE Singapore...

ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki was honoured by The Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI), receiving the 2025 Silver Bell Award for lifelong service and outstanding leadership in the maritime industry. Lives of mariners and seafarers SCI is a nearly 200-year-old charity headquartered in New York that serves and protects the personal and professional lives of mariners and seafarers, both internationally and domestically, by partnering with the maritime industry to ensure dignity w...