South Africa News

Intertek, a pioneer Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, has successfully completed the management of two years of marine megafauna and bird surveys on behalf of Saoirse Wave Energy Ltd, a joint venture between Simply Blue Group and ESB for their Saoirse Wave Energy Converter (WEC) Project on the West Coast of Ireland. Subcontracted by Intertek, HiDef Surveying Ltd (HiDef) conducted aerial site surveys and terrestrial landfall surveys to quantify the bird, marine mammal, an...

Boskalis put into service a large-scale shore-based power facility at its Waalhaven location in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This service centre is equipped with berths where Boskalis handles the mobilisation and demobilisation of vessels for a variety of its own projects. Going forward, moored vessels will cease to use diesel-powered generators and transition to green shore-based power. Additionally, Boskalis will utilise Rotterdam Shore Power’s shore-based power installation to power a range...

Trade in Africa has become a popular talking point; with infrastructural, innovation, and technical challenges dogging the process, impacting economic growth, thwarting intra-country business, and slowing the development of regional economic corridors. It has become clear that a sustainable trade environment is needed to boost trade, which is currently low in comparison to international trade. African Continental Free Trade Area The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) came into force...

ABS has been honoured with an award from the Coast Guard Foundation at the annual Texas Salutes the Coast Guard event, recognising ABS’ legacy of support and commitment to the service. Low-carbon shipping Accepting the award on behalf of all ABS employees, Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman and CEO said: “ABS and the U.S. Coast Guard have a unique, special and significant relationship forged by a common focus on safety, security, protecting the environment and service." &ldquo...

Karstensens Skibsværft and Klondyke Fishing Company have chosen a broad equipment range from Brunvoll for the new fishing vessel “Chris Andra”. This is yet another contract between Brunvoll and Karstensen Skibsværft in the fishing vessel range, and delivery of the complete vessel will happen in 2026. The delivery to Karstensens Skibsværft includes several advanced Brunvoll products: the Integrated Costa Propulsion with controllable pitch propeller and gear, tunnel...

As the curtains fall on Europort 2023, memories linger of an event that saw stakeholders from across the maritime world connect on the key themes of energy transition and digitalisation, as well as the human capital and finance needed to support them. Europort 2023 Europort has drawn to a close after four busy days of conferences, networking, and awards ceremonies that also saw a series of new and innovative products introduced to the maritime and offshore markets. In 2023, 24,470 visitors an...

Babcock International Group (Babcock), the international defence company, has signed a four-year £750 million contract with the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA), to deliver the infrastructure required to support and sustain the UK’s submarines for decades to come. As part of the major infrastructure programme underway at the Devonport site, Babcock will deliver substantial upgrades to existing infrastructure that will support the future capability...

On 3 November 2023, Managing Director of PIL China - Klaus Ku has retired from his role after serving Pacific International Lines (PIL) for close to 30 years. Succeeding him as Managing Director is Anderson Luo, who has joined PIL China on 8 October 2023. Lars Kastrup, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PIL, said, “On behalf of all at PIL, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Klaus for his long and loyal service in leading PIL China to what it is today. His deep knowledge of C...

Babcock has announced a new charity partnership to assist serving soldiers, veterans and their families. We’re pleased to be joining forces with the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF), the British Army’s national charity, to support a number of its key events. Supplying mobility equipment The partnership will play a significant role in supporting ABF to continue in its mission to provide lifetime support to individuals in need through a variety of initiatives including, supplying mobility...

Wärtsilä ANCS, part of technology group - Wärtsilä, has delivered to Seaspan, a marine transportation and shipbuilding company, cutting-edge autonomous SmartDock capabilities to the seas. This delivery marks a significant step towards autonomous docking and undocking operations, making maritime activities safer and more efficient. The SmartDock system developed by Wärtsilä ANCS enables Seaspan to perform autonomous docking manoeuvres even in challenging conditions,...

The seven industry bodies dedicated to container safety, collaborating as the Cargo Integrity Group, highlight an independent study carried out by researchers at Italian University Politecnico di Torino into shipper and forwarder application of the CTU Code. The 2023 survey yielded encouraging signs of adoption and highlighted several convincing arguments – including financial benefits for its use. Several convincing arguments The survey highlights multiple benefits to CTU Code users...

Brunvoll, a global provider of propulsion and manoeuvring systems, has been selected to deliver a range of equipment for a new compact service vessel designed by Marin Design AS for Moen Marin for the aquaculture industry, including main propulsion, tunnel thrusters, and Brunvoll’s BruCon control system. The vessel is designed for high bollard pull, and the additional power will make the vessel more attractive in a demanding sector. New single-hull multi-purpose vessel The new compact s...

A new study by cross-border shopping platform UBuy Switzerland reveals the states where is most costly to ship to are Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The study compared shipping costs from everywhere in the world to all European countries and then calculated the average to discover which countries are most expensive to ship to. Average shipping costs Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia share the top spot with an average of €143.74. As the three countries are neighbours in the Caucasus reg...

An innovative programme from Seatrium to promote the energy transition and develop next-generation skills in Singapore has selected Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman and CEO, to be its first Visiting Professor. Seatrium Professorships at the National University of Singapore College of Design and Engineering (NUS CDE) seek to attract top talents from the energy transition and sustainability sectors to Singapore to promote knowledge transfer and support the development of innovative technolo...

MAHI has become the latest company to join One Sea, bringing further expertise to the growing association whose mission is to advance understanding of maritime autonomous surface ships. In what is proving to be a period of significant growth for One Sea, MAHI is the fifth new member in the past 12 months alone. MAHI also becomes One Sea’s first member from Belgium, adding to a list that now includes representation from eight countries across three continents. MAHI and MAHI Sense MAHI is...

A seamless application of shipping’s first antifouling coating to successfully integrate highly durable graphene provides further evidence that Gibdock’s remains ahead of the curve as a ship repair and conversion yard geared up for a sustainable maritime future. The Gibraltar yard recently hosted the Vulica Shipping Company-owned bulk carrier - Donald M James for a 30-day project, which brought a first opportunity to work with a new type of coating from GIT Coatings (Graphite Innova...

Three senior appointments by Campbell Johnston Clark (CJC) have reinforced the international maritime law firm’s strategy to grow both its litigation and transactional activities. All three individuals joined CJC’s London office from another maritime law firm. Highly experienced dispute resolution specialist Chris Kidd has joined CJC as Director, at the Partner level, with immediate effect. In two further appointments, Stuart Plotnek has joined CJC’s transactional team as Mana...

A multidisciplinary panel of maritime-industry representatives discussed the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in shipping during the thought-provoking Opening Summit of Europort 2023. Exploring artificial intelligence in the maritime industry, the Opening Summit of Europort 2023 set the scene for a four-day event expected to welcome upwards of 25,000 visitors and more than 1,000 exhibitors from over 70 countries. Opening Summit’s panel discussion Proceedings began...

Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the global RoRo shipping and vehicle logistics company, has ordered 4 × MAN B&W 7S60ME-C10.5-LGIM (-Liquid Gas Injection Methanol) dual-fuel engines capable of running on green methanol in connection with the construction of 4 × PCTCs (Pure Car/Truck carriers). The 9,300 CEU (Car Equivalent Unit) vessels will be built in China at the Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) and are scheduled for delivery from mid-2026 on; the order contains options for a further eight s...

DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, has successfully concluded Phase 1 of its joint industry project (JIP) aimed at establishing offshore substation standards for the growing floating wind sector. The collaborative industry effort has brought together 38 participating companies (including transmission operators, developers, component suppliers, Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation contractors, and yards) to tackle the distinctive challenges associated w...

Technology group - Wärtsilä will supply the Cargo Handling Systems for five new very large LPG carrier vessels to be built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) yard in South Korea. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in Q3, 2023. The ships have been contracted by Norwegian ship owner - Solvang, in a joint venture with Gunvor Group Ltd, in Geneva. The VLGCs are of Panamax size and form the next generation of eco-vessels. Partnership with HHI and Solvang The Wärtsil&aum...

MAN Energy Solutions and Doen WaterJets (DOEN) have agreed to join forces to offer a fully integrated propulsion system solution to the Australian Army’s LAND 8710 Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel Phase 1A (LMV-M) programme to acquire a medium landing craft suitable for a range of missions in Australia’s northern waters and beyond. This cooperation spans the full product lifecycle including propulsion system design, Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and commissioning, through to spare pa...

ABS and Seatrium Limited (Seatrium) have taken the next step on a pioneering journey to advance the use of smart functions with the assignment of a structural health monitoring notation to a self-elevating drilling unit (SEDU). ADMARINE 686 is the world’s first SEDU to receive the ABS SMART (SHM) Notation, recognising its ability to monitor and analyse the condition of a range of key structural elements, supporting physics-based analysis and simulation for a holistic structural health ass...

The Saildrone Voyager, a 10-metre commercial uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), is the first autonomous asset built to ABS Class using the ABS Requirements for Autonomous and Remote Control Functions. ABS presented the Class certificate to Saildrone at their headquarters in Alameda, California. The Voyager is a marine vehicle developed by Saildrone, a provider of ocean data for climate, mapping and maritime security applications using uncrewed autonomous assets. ABS issued Approval in Principle (A...

Wärtsilä plans to further streamline its marine business portfolio by divesting its Gas Solutions business unit. Gas Solutions is a pioneering provider of gas processing systems. However, the business unit has limited synergies with the rest of Wärtsilä’s marine product portfolio. Therefore, Wärtsilä plans to move Gas Solutions to the Portfolio Business in preparation for a divestment. The net sales of Gas Solutions was EUR 293 million in the 12-month pe...

Båtbygg AS has placed an order with Teknotherm for a complete ammonia freezing system for Austral Fisheries’ new longline fishing vessel. The vessel is designed by Marin Teknikk AS for operation in the Antarctic Ocean, surrounded by some of the world’s harshest weather conditions. Teknotherm freezing system The newbuild no. 009 and named ‘Austral Odyssey’ will have a length of 70 metres The newbuild no. 009 and named ‘Austral Odyssey’ will have a len...

Team Electric has signed an agreement with Remontowa Shiprepair Yard, Gdansk to provide electric systems consultancy and installation services for three Polsteam Ro-Pax ferries, in support of the project marking the extension of the Polish yard’s services to the new building market. The three-year agreement coincides with the Finnish turnkey engineering solutions provider opening Team Electric (Poland), Gdynia as a subsidiary. Battery power and hybrid propulsion With a capacity of 4100...

The UK government announces its support for measures designed to protect the world’s ocean and improve the conservation of marine biodiversity. Ahead of International Seabed Authority (ISA) negotiations and a month ahead of COP28, the UK government has announced its support for a moratorium on the granting of exploitation licences for deep sea mining projects – which involve the extraction of minerals such as precious metals, copper and cobalt – by the ISA. Sufficient scienti...

OMT, the market pioneer in fuel injection for the two-stroke engine sector, has strengthened its ability to support shipping’s decarbonisation following the acquisition of the company in its entirety by Accelleron, completed on July 20, 2023. OMT will continue to operate its global business independently as a stand-alone unit, retaining all employees, the company structure and the brand name. Together, Accelleron and OMT will advance the energy transition in shipping. Both companies remai...

Accelleron has supported a turbocharger overhaul on the hospital ship - MV Africa Mercy, operated by the non-governmental organisation - Mercy Ships. The support, in the form of discounted labour, will enable the vessel to continue its mission of delivering free medical care and training to people without access to safe surgery, including in some of the world’s most vulnerable developing economies. The 43-year-old vessel, which houses five operating rooms and a recovery ward for more than...