Thursday 16 October 08 - 05:24
 

Diving & Underwater

  • Specialised Underwater Seal Repairs Go Global

    01 Feb 2006

    Antwerp based Hydrex has now launched a new phase in its cooperation with Eagle/Kobelco Marine to do underwater stern tube seal repairs and replacements. 

  • Long Excursion ROV Now Available

    01 Feb 2006

    Specialist ROV operators Subsea Vision, based in Poole, UK have added to their capabilities by introducing a high-tech inspection ROV which has the ability to travel 1.7km (5577 feet) at any one excursion and can reach depths of 1,000m. 

Dredging

  • Marine Study Begins for Oman's 'Blue City' New Development

    01 Feb 2006

    The Sultanate of Oman will be the location for the latest self-contained residential and tourist complex in the Middle East when the US$15bn Blue City project gets under way. 

  • Bearings Bear Up In Tough Conditions

    01 Feb 2006

    Canada's Thordon Bearings Inc has been making significant gains in the global market for cutter suction dredger cutterhead shaft bearings. 

  • Increasing Demand for IHC Dredgers

    01 Feb 2006

    Prolific Dutch dredger builders IHC Holland Merwede have made a flying start on 2006 with new orders booked to the value of ?250m. The orders suggest that IHC shipyards at Kinderdijk, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Sliedrecht, Delfgauw, Goes and Litostroj (in Slovenia) will be utilised through most of 2007. 

  • Improved Density Gauge Ignores Bad Vibes

    01 Feb 2006

    The dredging process is often noted for the instability of equipment on board brought about by high levels of vibration. The condition can apply to electronics such as dredged material density detectors mounted directly on the dredge pipe. Damen Dredging Equipment and Thermo Electron have recently collaborated to produce a completely revised density detector with improved tolerance to vibration. 

  • Dutch Deal for Largest India Built CSD

    01 Feb 2006

    Amsterdam based VOSTA LMG has received a contract from Indian partner shipyard Mazagon Dock Limited for the supply of an engineering and component package for a 1,500kW cutter suction dredger (csd) which will be the largest such vessel ever to be built at an Indian shipyard. The order for Mazagon Dock is from the Dredging Corporation The large cutter suction dredger is especially designed to cut through rock with an unconfined compressive strength of 40 MPa. 

  • Mass Flow Excavator Mobilised

    01 Feb 2006

    Subsea equipment and service provider Scan Tech UK launched a new HydroDigger, claimed to be the world's largest mass flow excavator, from their Bridge of Don premises recently. 

Hydrographic Survey by David Goodfellow

  • SA Hydro Society Joins IFHS

    01 Feb 2006

    The Hydrographic Society of South Africa has joined the International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS) which has a worldwide individual and institutional membership in over 60 countries and member organisations in Australasia, Benelux, Denmark and the UK. 

  • New Trimble GPS Receiver

    01 Feb 2006

    Trimble has introduced a new high-performance modular GPS receiver, the DSM 232, for dynamic real-time positioning at sub-metre and centimetric accuracies. Suitable for dredging as well as harbour and waterway operations, it can be used for positioning over large geographic areas either with or without a base station and external radio modems, so eliminating any need for multiple GPS receivers. 

  • DeepOcean and Multraship Add Hydro Capability

    01 Feb 2006

    The recently merged DeepOcean and Oceanteam Group of companies, now trading as DeepOcean out of Den Helder in the Netherlands, has renewed its arrangement with Multraship Towage & Salvage of Terneuzen for the charter of the latter's 56.1m LOA vessel 'Multraship Commander'. 

  • Royal Opening for WMTC 06

    01 Feb 2006

    The Duke of Edinburgh is to open the World Maritime Technology Conference at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London on 6 March. 

  • Survey Ships Head for OI 06

    01 Feb 2006

    At least six state of the art survey vessels from France, Sweden, Holland and the UK are scheduled to berth at the Royal Victoria Dock alongside the London ExCel Centre at next month's biennial Oceanology International exhibition and conference from 21 to 23 March. Among them will be RV Triton, the world's largest motor powered trimaran, originally built by Vosper Thornycroft on behalf of QinetiQ for research into development of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 frigates and other technologies (including some for the US Department of Defense). 

  • Hydro Survey Work Wins Prize

    01 Feb 2006

    The first ever winner of the new CodaOctopus Prize is Katie Abbott BSc, who won the award for her Marine Geography dissertation which included data acquisition, processing and critical analysis. As part of her Marine Geography degree at Cardiff University, Katie undertook a year's industrial placement as a hydrographic surveyor with Gardline Surveys. 

  • Irish Marine Data Website

    01 Feb 2006

    The Marine Institute of Ireland in Galway has established a new website for scientific data and information on Irish coastal and marine waters (www. marinedataonline. ie). 

Marine Civils by David Foxwell

  • Boskalis CEO Describes 'Unique' Dredging Market

    01 Feb 2006

    Robert van Gelder, CEO of Netherlands based international dredging contractor Royal Boskalis Westminster, says 2005, and particularly the second half of 2005, was a remarkable year for the sheer volume of work that came to the marketplace. He added that looking ahead to 2006 and beyond, there has never been such a large volume of work on the horizon in all of his 20 years with the company. 

  • Felixstowe South Port Reconfiguration Approved

    01 Feb 2006

    At the end of last month UK Transport Minister Derek Twigg announced that he has approved the proposals for a new container terminal at Felixstowe South. The proposals by Hutchison Ports involve the reconfiguration of the Port's original Dock Basin, an area previously used by P&O North Sea Ferries, and Landguard Terminal as a deep-sea container port. The redevelopment will add almost 1km of quayside dedicated to the handling of more containers at Felixstowe. 

  • Dredging 'Under Represented in Water Framework Directive

    01 Feb 2006

    The European Seaports Organisation (ESPO) has expressed concerns about the level of attention given to dredging in the development of the EU's Water Framework Directive (WFD). As ESPO noted recently, dredging is of vital importance to many of the European Union's ports, harbours and waterways, providing and maintaining adequate water depths and hence safe navigational access. 

Marine Renewables

  • Tidal Energy Turbine for Northern Ireland

    01 Feb 2006

    Bristol UK based Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) has been granted consent by the Environment & Heritage Service in Northern Ireland to install its next generation tidal energy device, the 1,000kW SeaGen tidal energy turbine, in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough. MCT is also investigating the feasibility of building a 12 unit tidal energy farm in waters off Lynmouth on the North Devon coast. 

  • First Wave Hub Participants Chosen

    01 Feb 2006

    The South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA) named three companies this month which it has chosen as development partners for the proposed £15m Wave Hub project from 2007. 

  • Approval for Renewables Test Facility

    01 Feb 2006

    The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney has achieved a world first by gaining United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation for its unique testing facilities. These provide detailed and highly accurate data on the performance of devices developed to harness wave energy. 

  • Jobs Magic with Welsh Wave Dragon

    01 Feb 2006

    KP Renewables plc (KPR) of London and Wave Dragon ApS of Copenhagen have entered into a joint development agreement which provides a framework for the two stage development, financing, construction and operation of up to 77MW of wave energy projects in Wales. 

  • Small Isles, Big Resource as Alderney Explores Tidal Power

    01 Feb 2006

    The States of Alderney, located eight miles from France, is not part of the UK or EU and has its own elected government which passes its own laws. 

Navaids

  • Navaids Restored In the Congo

    01 Feb 2006

    Sussex UK based Tideland Signal Ltd has supplied a complete package of solar powered lanterns and associated equipment under a $500,000 contract to restore the aids to navigation in the Congo River and on the Popular Republic of Congo's 170km coastline after decades of instability and damage. 

  • USCG Approval for Sealite LED

    01 Feb 2006

    The Sealite SL125-2 LED marine lantern has received US Coast Guard Approval for Class 'A' structures. Incorporating 2 tiers of 36 LEDs (72 in total), the SL125-2 provides a luminous range of up to five nautical miles, with each LED tier utilising Sealite's patented omni-directional LED Reflector to increase the intensity and uniformity of the horizontal output. 

  • 100 Years of Navaids for Pharos Marine

    01 Feb 2006

    Aids to navigation specialist Pharos Marine is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Danish physicist Gustaf Dalen beginning works at the Aktiebolag Gassaccumulator Company which led to the development of the Dalen Mixer, a device which made it possible to automatically produce the mixture of acetylene and air (in a ratio of 1:10) which was necessary for navigation lights and safety. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1912 for the invention of his system. 

News

  • 'Titanic' Tender Returned to Sender

    01 Feb 2006

    Precisely a year after its plight was last covered in MJ (January 2005), the White Star Line tender S/S Nomadic, the last floating link to S/S Titanic, was purchased at auction by the Northern Ireland Office and will be returned to Belfast where it was built. 

  • Ferry Hard Times

    01 Feb 2006

    Freight is providing the dominant force in shortsea ferry trades with an 84% rise through Dover in the past ten years while tourist car traffic has declined by 13% according to SeaFrance managing director Robin Wilkins. Demand has been such that estimates suggest truck volumes through Dover could exceed cars within two years. Europe's ferries face a serious threat from low cost airlines and, in some areas, from EU enlargement, which has pitched local lorry operators into a battle that has seen up to 40% of cargo volume shift from sea to road. 

  • Neptune Is King at Humber Ceremony

    01 Feb 2006

    The first of a new fleet of pilot launches commissioned by Associated British Ports' Humber Estuary Services was officially named Humber Neptune in a ceremony at the Port of Grimsby's 5 Quay late last month. 

  • Maritime Careers Sighted on Essex Exercise

    01 Feb 2006

    Pupils from six schools in Essex UK have been praised for the way in which they dealt with a 'disaster at sea' in a special exercise staged within the Haven Gateway. 

  • Four Times Gold

    01 Feb 2006

    East Coast UK engine supplier Volspec Ltd dominated the recent Volvo Penta Dealer Conference in the Canary Islands by scooping Dealer of the Year Award and Volvo Penta Gold Awards for outstanding sales and market support performance. Volspec also won Dealer of the Year in 1982, 1990 and 2002 and is the only company to carry off the title four times. The company capped a successful 2005 with a £900,000 order to supply power generators for RTGs in the Far East. 

  • PLA Opts for Low Wash Launches

    01 Feb 2006

    As a measure to conserve the environment of the tidal river Thames and better serve Upper District river users, the Port of London Authority (PLA) has signed a contract with Cornwall UK based Ecocats Ltd for two Javelin 31 low wash patrol launches. 

  • Captain and Crew of ETV to Get Award

    01 Feb 2006

    The Captain and crew of the Klyne tug Anglian Princess are to be awarded a Letter of Thanks from the Royal National Lifeboat Chief Executive in recognition of the professionalism and skill demonstrated by the crew when the boat went to the assistance of the motor vessel Galina. 

  • Mammoet Moves Into Salvage

    01 Feb 2006

    Heavy lift and transport specialist Mammoet has added salvage to its range of activities with the creation of Mammoet Salvage BV. 

  • Anschutz On Course

    01 Feb 2006

    The 100th anniversaries of both the gyrocompass and the founding of Anschutz & Co has inspired Kiel, Germany based Raytheon Marine to reinstate the Anschutz name in the company's branding and logo. With effect from the start of this year the company is known as Raytheon Anschutz GmbH, a subsidiary of Massachusetts USA based Raytheon Integrated Defense System. 

  • Dutch Pilots Get Second SWATH

    01 Feb 2006

    The Dutch pilots' association Nederlands Loodwezen BV has taken delivery of Perseus, the second of a potential six SWATH pilot tenders. The naming and commissioning in Rotterdam was attended by Princess Margriet, the sister of Holland's Queen Beatrix, other Dutch officials and officials from Belgium and Germany. 

  • Carrier's New Name

    01 Feb 2006

    With a view towards becoming a global leader in outbound logistics for finished vehicles by 2010, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines has renamed itself Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics with effect from last month. The company deploys 60 vessels serving trade routes to five continents. Global revenue was expected to reach $2.8bn in 2005 as the company carried some 1.5m vehicles by sea and 3m by land. 

  • Tug of War for Ferry Contract Ends

    01 Feb 2006

    The small Rean Shipyard in Sassnitz on the Baltic has been chosen out of ten EU shipyards to build the new ?470,000 German river cable ferry Else for local authorities in North Germany. The award ends a contract tug of war among shipyards, five of them in Germany, and reflects current keen competition among small EU yards for available work. 

  • Bow Wow in Trondheim

    01 Feb 2006

    The Norwegian Engineering Feat of the Year Award for 2005 was presented to Ulstein Design AS at a recent seminar in Trondheim for their Ulstein X-BOW hull design. 

  • Dubai Wins P&O Bid Battle

    01 Feb 2006

    A brief bidding war which saw the value of the P&O ports and ferries group escalate by £1.6bn in a matter of weeks has been decided in favour of Dubai Ports World (DP World). 

  • Propulsion Plant for Feeders

    01 Feb 2006

    Wartsila Corporation has been awarded a contract by Bijlsma Shipyard BV in the Netherlands to deliver propulsion plants for two 350teu container feeder ships ordered by the Dutch VeKa Group. For each vessel Wartsila will deliver an eight cylinder Wartsila Vasa 32LN main engine rated 3,280kW at 750rpm, A Wartsila reduction gearbox, a 3.2m diameter Lips controllable pitch propeller and a Lips transverse tunnel thrusters. 

Pollution Control

  • Success for First Sea Water Scrubber

    01 Feb 2006

    The first sea water scrubber to be installed on board a commercial vessel is now operational on P&O Ferries' Pride of Kent which sails on the Dover to Calais route. 

  • Lamor Wins EMSA Spill Response Contract

    01 Feb 2006

    Finnish environmental protection specialist Lamor Corporation AB has been awarded an international tender by the EU funded European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) for improving oil spill response readiness in the entire Baltic Sea. The three year stand-by response readiness contract is worth more than 4m and will result in Lamor establishing oil spill response centres in Porvoo, Finland and Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Port & Harbour & Marine Construction

  • Soft Soils Site Investigation

    01 Feb 2006

    When completed, Jamaica's 234km Highway 2000 (H2000) toll road will link towns on the southern coast to the capital Kingston, with further branches to coastal resorts in the North, including Montego Bay. The majority of the H2000 roads will be constructed on weathered rock deposits. The toll road will be constructed and operated by Bouyges Construction. 

Port, Harbour & Marine Construction

  • UK Research Guides Hurricane Bridge Repairs

    01 Feb 2006

    The UK civil engineering hydraulics consultancy HR Wallingford has been contracted by the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) in Washington DC to apply prediction methods for wave forces developed at Wallingford to US bridges damaged last year by hurricanes Katrina and Ivan. 

  • Clyde Revives with Commercial Boatyard

    01 Feb 2006

    The first phase of the River Clyde Boatyard at Rothesay Dock East in Clydebank opened for business recently. 

  • Structural Repair for Fleetwood Ro-Ro Jetty

    01 Feb 2006

    Structural Repairtechnique (SR), a division of specialist piling contractor Systems Geotechnique, has carried out a repair operation on the Stena Line ro-ro jetty at Fleetwood in Lancashire UK. The jetty, which handles freight and passenger vehicles destined to Larne in Northern Island, is formed by concrete crossheads supported on piles driven into the seabed. 

  • Container Capacity Drive at Port of Hamburg

    01 Feb 2006

    The City of Hamburg and the newly founded Hamburg Port Authority published their latest Port Development Plan last year, which forecast a rise of containerised cargo volume to 13m TEU by 2010 from what has proven to be a record setting 8.1m TEU in 2005. 

  • Shortsea Terminal Underway at Flushing

    01 Feb 2006

    Dutch firm Kloosterboer has started construction of a shortsea container terminal at Flushing. 

  • Seacore Secures Control of Seacone

    01 Feb 2006

    Cornwall UK based marine civil engineering contractors Seacore Ltd has acquired from Lankelma CPT Ltd its 50% shareholding in Lankelma Seacore Offshore, the offshore cone penetrometer testing contractor formed by Lankelma and Seacore in 2002. Seacore now holds 100% of the shares in the specialist offshore geotechnical investigation company, which has been renamed Seacone Ltd. 

  • Budget Pontoon Boosts Trade on Loch Fyne

    01 Feb 2006

    A specially designed pontoon recently completed for a small Argyll community will prove a major attraction for leisure users and help boost the local economy. The 50m long pontoon was installed on the shore of Loch Fyne by outdoor equipment specialists Fusion Marine Ltd for the Otter Ferry Community Association. 

  • Mersey Marine Power Study Launched

    01 Feb 2006

    The potential for generating electricity by tidal and wave power on the Mersey Estuary is to be considered in a major study initiated by Peel Holdings Group and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). 

  • Largest Sea Jetty for Port of Rotterdam

    01 Feb 2006

    Construction work started earlier this month on what will be the largest sea jetty in the Port of Rotterdam. 

Tugs & Towing by Jack Gaston

  • Oldendorf Take Over Bauxite Transportation in Guyana

    01 Feb 2006

    Oldendorf Carriers, one the world's largest private shipping companies, has been awarded a major long term contract for all aspects of transportation of bauxite from Guyana. 

  • 'Tenax' Gives Towage at Fawley a Boost

    01 Feb 2006

    The arrival of the new Voith escort tug Tenax has given towage services at the ESSO terminal at Fawley on Southampton Water UK a considerable boost. 

  • TOWLINES

    01 Feb 2006

    From the first of this month propulsion specialist Voith Turbo Marine Gmbh & Co will be represented in the UK by Mr Tim Sale of Voith Turbo Ltd based at 6 Beddington Farm Road, Croydon, Surrey CR0 4XB. This new agency can be contacted on telephone: +44 20 8667 0333 or Fax: +44 20 8667 0403. 

  • Fairplay Charter 'Barents'

    01 Feb 2006

    Fairplay Towage of Hamburg has taken on bare boat charter the new terminal and offshore anchor handling tug Barents from Bukser og Berging of Oslo. 

Vessel Launch Hcc-1001, 1002 & 1003

  • Vikoma Take Delivery of Three Workboats for Pollution Control

    01 Feb 2006

    Oil pollution control and recovery equipment designer and manufacturer Vikoma International Ltd has taken delivery of three identical 18m steel boom-laying workboats, designed and constructed by Portchester UK based commercial and military workboat builder VT Halmatic. 

Vessel Launch Tees Navigator

  • Wildcat Survey Boat Prowls Tees Ports

    01 Feb 2006

    Andrew Ridley, conservation manager at PD Teesport, Middlesborough UK, wanted to upgrade multi-beam sonar capability for the port's hydrographic survey operations but was concerned that an expensive new sonar head would be vulnerable in the conventional deployment practices used on an existing monohull survey boat. 

MTU IRONMEN