Skills - News

Intellian, the global pioneer of mobile satellite communication antenna systems, is delighted to announce the unveiling of the v100NX, the all-new 1m Ku- to Ka-band convertible maritime VSAT terminal. Intellian’s latest NX series antenna is designed to simplify and streamline the entire VSAT lifecycle, enabling access to multiple global satellite communication services, providing the crucial connectivity required to leverage new efficiency and welfare enhancing digital applications. Inte...

Indian Register of Shipping hosted a Seminar on ‘Sustainable Ship Recycling: Charting India’s Course to Global Leadership’, at Bhavnagar near Alang. The seminar was held in the backdrop of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC), which is set to enter into force this June. Ship recycling activities The seminar drew active participation from various stakeholders, including the SRIA The seminar drew active pa...

Nor-Shipping 2025, taking place in Oslo and Lillestrøm 2-6 June, has announced the shortlists for two of its most coveted accolades, the Next Generation Ship Award and the Ocean Solutions Award. Celebrating innovations, technologies and pioneering projects capable of balancing both environmental and commercial sustainability, the initiatives attracted a huge number of entries from across the world. Selecting the eventual winners was, according to Nor-Shipping Director Sidsel Norvik, &ldq...

Following the successful debut of Malaysia’s first hybrid Fast Crew Boat (FCB), Strategic Marine is pleased to announce the delivery of the second hybrid FCB to Centus Marine as part of their continued partnership to advance cleaner and more efficient offshore vessel technologies. The vessel, named Centus Alesha, features Strategic Marine’s hybrid propulsion system, which significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions. Designed in collaboration with Centus Marine, it supports...

Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), a pioneering international classification society, marked a significant presence at the Seatrade Maritime Middle East 2025, showcasing its expanding portfolio of services, including advancements in digitalisation, decarbonisation, and maritime sustainability initiatives. As part of its outreach efforts, the IRS hosted a Customer & Stakeholder Event on the sidelines of the exhibition. Insights and valuable recommendations The event was very well attended...

A routine ship on a special call, outside the normal liner schedule, turned into a costly oversight for a liner agent, resulting in unexpected expenses of US$135,000 – ultimately reimbursed by the International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC). The incident began when a liner agent received advance notice of an inbound vessel scheduled to make a special call outside the regular service pattern. Ship’s arrival at the discharge port Line informed the agent of a three-day delay i...

In alignment with Saudi Arabia’s vision to emerge as a global logistics powerhouse, the 2nd International Port & Marine Development Conference (IPMDC 2025) is set to take place from 13–14 May 2025 at the prestigious Hilton Jeddah. Organised by Creative Connect in association with Great Minds Event Management, this landmark conference gathers industry authorities and global experts to explore the evolving dynamics of port infrastructure, marine development, and the region’...

The prospect of a large-scale return of container ships to the Red Sea following the announcement of a ceasefire between the US and Houthi militia in Yemen would flood the market with shipping capacity and cause a global collapse in freight rates – but the situation remains far from certain. Data released by Xeneta – the ocean and air freight intelligence platform – shows global TEU-mile demand would decrease 6% if container ships begin sailing through the Red Sea and Suez Can...

In an industry first, ABS has published guidance to enable internal examination of tanks beyond the typical five-year requirements to once every 10 years, with options to have additional expanded survey intervals. The new guidance has the potential to maximise operational uptime for site-dependent assets such as floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), floating production and storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), floating storage and offloading vessels (FSOs) and floating offshore l...

Anemoi Marine Technologies, a globally renowned provider of innovative Rotor Sail technology solutions, has announced the appointment of Tejal Davda as Finance Director. Tejal brings a wealth of experience in maritime finance and leadership, further strengthening Anemoi’s executive team, which is now 33% female. Extensive industry experience Tejal holds a first-class degree in Economics and Business Finance and is a chartered accountant Tejal holds a first-class degree in Economics and...

Marine Specialised Technology (MST Group), a globally renowned designer and manufacturer of high-speed and rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) primarily for military, coast guard and law enforcement sectors is expanding to meet record demand after securing a £6 million funding package from NatWest. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Bromborough, between Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead, the company has grown to become a major employer in the Wirral area, with approximately 135 staff. MST Group&...

Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), a pioneering international ship classification society and member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), is proud to announce the opening of its new office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This strategic expansion highlights IRS’s commitment to supporting the Kingdom’s rapidly growing maritime and oil & gas sectors. IRS full suite of services With the placement of the Dammam, IRS will offer its full suite of servi...

Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) is proud to announce that CMA CGM Vitoria, a vessel operated by CMA CGM, one of the world’s pioneering container shipping lines, has been successfully classed with IRS. This milestone marks a significant achievement in IRS’s growing engagement with major global shipping companies and reinforces its standing as a trusted and recognised classification society on the international stage. CMA CGM’s decision to work with IRS reflects the strong tec...

Gastech 2025, the world’s largest conference and exhibition for natural gas, LNG, hydrogen, climate technologies, and AI-powered solutions, will take place in Milan from 9th to 12th September. As the industry navigates an evolving geopolitical and economic landscape, this agenda-setting event will gather and empower over 50,000 energy pioneers - including C-suite executives, policymakers, pioneering innovators, and strategic investors - to build powerful alliances and accelerate a resilie...

ClassNK has released ‘Prime Shipmanagement Guidelines’, which aim to achieve sustainable ship management with safety as the highest priority. Given the evolving environment surrounding ship management, including fuel transition, stricter regulations, and crew shortage, ClassNK aims to enable flexible responses to unexpected situations by drawing on lessons learned from successful case studies that had not received much attention before. ClassNK's ‘Prime Shipmanagement Guideli...

In a significant milestone for the company, Thordon Bearings has seen its RiverTough tailshaft bearing solution surpass 500 installations in the workboat sector. Primarily a retrofit solution but also increasingly specified for newbuilds, RiverTough is designed for coastal and inland waterways, where conditions are typically muddy and abrasive. Thordon shaft sleeves The key has been verified as outlasting rubber bearings by a factor of two or more in the harshest environments The solution, a...

Choosing the right dual-fuel propulsion system for a new vessel requires a balance of regulatory compliance, infrastructure readiness, safety considerations, operational flexibility and long-term economic viability. That’s the message from ABS in its latest publication to support shipowners who are wrestling with propulsion decisions that will impact their future fleets for years to come.  Dual-fuel propulsion options ABS Dual-Fuel Solutions for Newbuild Vessels is a wide report th...

Xeneta has launched an index-linked contract (ILC) simulator to help shippers navigate ocean freight container market volatility and end procurement inefficiency. The new ILC Simulator – now available in the Xeneta platform – allows shippers to compare traditional fixed-rate contracts with index-linked contracts using sample corridor data or their own historical ocean container freight rates. Shippers and logistics services The simulator is an important first step towards index-li...

HydroPenTM, the unique VIKING Life-saving Equipment container firefighting solution, has secured a first major order from an Asian shipowner, in a deal that also demonstrates that the technique is highly adaptable for all sizes of container vessels.  Singapore-based PIL, the largest container carrier in Southeast Asia, is committing its entire container ship fleet of around 100 vessels to carrying HydroPen™ systems. Drill and Douse The TT Club estimates that a container fire occur...

​​​​​​​Container firefighting duties across 85 CMA CGM ships have been assigned to the HydroPen™ system supplied exclusively by VIKING Life-Saving Equipment for this large order for the innovative drilling and spraying solution. This contract demonstrates that, within 18 months of launch, the HydroPen system is becoming the preferred fire-fighting solution for the largest container ships at sea. Revolutionary firefighting The HydroPen is attached to a conventional hose as a combined dri...

Approximately 9 percent of the world’s goods will, at some point in their journey, be transported by sea. That adds up to about 11 billion tons of cargo every year, making the shipping industry a huge exercise in global, distributed logistics. Even with the efficiencies afforded by containerisation, this a task of considerable complexity to ensure that an entire ship’s cargo is ready to be loaded at the allotted time, that the vessel makes its voyage to arrive punctually at the dest...

Liferaft servicing is a necessity, not an option, but the currents shifting society from product to service-based are being felt even in this unexpected area. Back in 2016, a Danish politician caused a surprising stir by predicting in a World Economic Forum blog that - by 2030 - “I don’t own anything. I don’t own a car. I don’t own a house. I don’t own any appliances or any clothes.” Life-saving equipment quality Hi-jacked by conspiracists to portray the WE...

Compliance with global maritime safety regulations is not optional but the reasoning behind a given set of rules can often be opaque, with the user sometimes finding fault with individual requirements or tempted to see a dislocation between dry legal language and real-life situations. But the legalese is a manifestation of the precision regulators bring to their craft and reflects repeated consideration of the same issues, lessons learned from actual maritime incidents and investigations, and c...

VIKING Norsafe rescue boats are used every day by thousands of operators in the oil and gas industry as well as the renewable energy sector. The design and construction of these boats showcase all of VIKING Norsafe's ability and experience. Our rescue boats and fast rescue boats provide great maneuverability with low maintenance standby and operation providing the means for effective search and recovery for people at sea. MERLIN-615 R and MAKO-655 MERLIN-615 R and MAKO-655 are available as bo...

In a major push toward decarbonising maritime logistics, President Jae-young Byeon of the Ulsan Port Authority (UPA) and Chief Executive Sun-bae Hong of the Korea Maritime Cooperation Centre (KMC) jointly announced the successful conclusion of the “2nd Forum on the Commercialisation of Biofuels for Maritime Vessels,” held on 23 April at the Caradium Hall of the PJ Hotel in Seoul. The forum, hosted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and co-organised by UPA and KMC, drew around 3...

Motion control technology giant Nabtesco Corporation has achieved a breakthrough success in marine fuel efficiency optimisation following the deployment of its new Telegraph Agent™ automatic speed control system on the car carrier Malaysia Grace, owned by Eastern Car Liner Co Ltd (ECL). The system was combined with group company DeepSea Technologies' AI-driven optimisation tool Cassandra, delivering a 3.4% reduction in fuel consumption by automatically controlling vessel sp...

ABS presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. James S. C. Chao, Founder and Chairman of the Foremost Group. The first ABS award of its kind, the honour was presented by ABS Chairman and CEO - Christopher J. Wiernicki at the 163rd ABS Annual Members Meeting recognising Dr. Chao’s contributions to shipping and his legacy of honour, integrity and dedication to the maritime industry. Legacy of achievement Dr. Chao, who founded Foremost Group with Ruth Mulan Chu Chao in 1964, accepted hi...

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has launched the first Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) immersion suit in the world designed for women working in offshore wind energy, using guidance on diversity and inclusivity from industry majors - Ørsted, Siemens and Vestas. The VIKING YouSafe™ Cyclone suit joins a growing portfolio of VIKING PPE whose fit and features reflect the safety needs of female seafarers, pilots and technicians in the marine and offshore industries. Equity and inclusivity stra...

Alfa Laval, a pioneer in heat transfer & centrifugal separation, is pleased to announce the appointment of ESI Process (UK) Ltd as its new distribution partner for the industrial sector and process industries within the United Kingdom, explicitly for Alfa Laval’s Energy Division. Effective immediately, ESI Process (UK) Ltd will be responsible for the distribution of Alfa Laval's extensive range of products and solutions, including Gasketed, Spiral & Compabloc heat exchangers. This...

The 163rd ABS Annual Members Meeting highlighted that ABS has never been stronger, with substantial growth and industry-pioneering safety performance reported. ABS continued to perform strongly in 2024, with the fleet growing to 300 million gross tons. The company also maintained the number one position among class organisations in global new order share with 22 percent. Across the industry, ABS held pioneering positions with both shipbuilders and shipowners. Digital and sustainability service...