Shipbuilders News

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke with Donald Trump on Thursday and congratulated him on winning the U.S. presidency on the "Make America Great Again" slogan as officials in Seoul worked to prepare for "significant" economic changes.Yoon and Trump held a 12-minute phone call and discussed the close security and economic ties of their two countries across all areas, a senior South Korean official said on Thursday.South Korea's ambassador to the United States also visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida to meet with members of the president-elect's camp…

Almacam is a leader in nesting-CAM software for shipyards. Philippe Rouzeau, Manager of the Shipyard Team, Almacam, explains how it solutions can help shipyards shave production costs and increase efficiency.Almacam is a 45-year-old, employee-owned company created by researchers that were mono-focused on developing nesting algorithms in a laboratory of Grenoble University, France, aiming to bring this nesting algorithm tech to the industry.According to Rouzeau, it is the world's only independent CAD-CAM software publisher offering CAM solutions across industries…

Pacific International Lines (PIL) has ordered another five 9,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG container vessels.The vessels will be built by one of China’s leading shipbuilders, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Hudong-Zhonghua), with delivery expected in 2027 and 2028.Earlier this year, PIL ordered five LNG dual-fuel container vessels with 13,000 TEU capacity from Hudong-Zhonghua. Similar to the earlier orders, these new vessels will be equipped with the latest digital technologies including AI and Internet of Things (IoT) for real-time monitoring and automation.The new 9…

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss. on Saturday launched the first LPD Flight II, San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship Harrisburg (LPD 30), marking one of the first major milestones in the ship’s journey towards operational readiness.The Ingalls team translated Harrisburg from land to the company’s floating dry dock using translation railcars to support the ship’s movement across the pier. While in the dry dock, the Ingalls team completed final prep work needed for launch.“We view this launch as a significant step toward fielding capability to our U.S.

Three shipyards have expressed interest in building a long-awaited series of new hybrid-electric car and passenger vessels for Washington State Ferries (WSF).Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, Wash.; Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla. and Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia have sent pre-qualification packages after WSF earlier this year invited shipbuilders to bid, Washington State Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey, the head of WSF…

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $9.6 billion multi-ship procurement contract for the construction of three San Antonio-class (LPD 17) amphibious ships and a contract modification for the next America-class (LHA 6) large-deck amphibious ship.This combined procurement — the first of its kind for amphibious ships — begins the journey for the construction of LPDs 33, 34, 35 and LHA 10 for the U.S. Navy.Ingalls President Kari Wilkinson said. “It is an honor to…

Canadian shipbuilder Davie announced it has appointed Maxie Lafleur as president, bringing in a business executive from outside the shipbuilding sector to help drive growth.A Montréal native, Lafleur brings a wealth of experience in digital transformation, growth strategies, change management, mergers and acquisitions, and business development, both in Canada and abroad. Her career began at KPMG as an auditor, after which she joined CAE’s M&A team. She subsequently held various senior management positions, including CFO and CEO at Bus.com, where she led growth and transformation initiatives.

RV Resilience, a new hybrid research vessel designed by Incat Crowther and built by Snow & Company in Seattle, has been delivered to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).RV Resilience is the Department of Energy’s first hybrid electric-diesel research vessel. The 15-meter aluminum catamaran will help PNNL sustainably expand its research activities in the Sequim Bay region of Washington state.RV Resilience’s 28 m2 main deck is equipped with an A-Frame, boom crane and movable davit in addition to a foldable swim platform.

How do you balance the fact that your skilled workforce will get older and retire and leave you with a group of younger individuals that will not have the "experience" that your more tenured employees have? Back in the day individuals would not pass down knowledge to younger workers in fear of being replaced. The days of reckoning are upon us. An older workforce is leaving with years of knowledge bottled up in their heads with no way to capture the information. What is the solution? Can brain-drain be mitigated?Here is an example of brain-drain that every older individual can relate to.

QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) for the construction of six additional QC-Max vessels, bringing the total number of LNG vessels on order under its fleet expansion program to 128, including 24 QC-Max mega vessels.The QC-Max vessels, which will be built at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a wholly-owned CSSC subsidiary, are the largest LNG vessels ever built with a capacity of 271,000 cubic meters each. The new advanced carriers…

Representing a breakthrough in the evolution of a ship’s propeller shaft line, Canada’s Thordon Bearings has unveiled the Thordon-Blue Ocean Stern Space (T-BOSS), a new solution designed to meet the propeller shaft requirements of the sterntubeless ship design proposed by the Blue Ocean Alliance.The Blue Ocean Alliance is a consortium of industry partners – ABS, Thordon Bearings Inc, Wärtsilä, SDARI, and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) – that have collaborated…

Hanwha Ocean on Wednesday announced it has secured a contract that makes it the first Korean shipbuilder to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for the U.S. Navy.The 40,000-ton U.S. Navy dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Wally Schirra is undergoing maintenance and inspection at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard, with additional onshore maintenance work being conducted using the shipyard’s floating facilities.The MRO contract requires a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) certification, which Hanwha Ocean earned in July 2024. The certification, granted by the U.S.

Austal USA held a ceremony marking the official start of construction on the first U.S. Coast Guard Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) to be built at its Mobile, Ala., shipyard. The vessel, named Pickering (WSMM 919), is the lead vessel in a series potentially comprising up to 11 cutters under a contract valued at $3.3 billion.Designed at 360 feet in length, the OPC program is set to replace the Coast Guard's aging medium endurance cutters, filling a crucial role between the open-ocean national security cutters and the coastal fast response cutters.

Ship management company Wallem Group announced it has appointed Luis Benito as its new group business development and marketing director, effective August 19, 2024.In his new role, Benito will be responsible for driving sustainable profitable revenue growth across the group, overseeing Wallem’s business development, marketing, brand, and communications teams. He will work closely with Wallem’s Ship Management, SeaSafe, Ship Agency and Commercial Services businesses to deliver innovation, product management, marketing and sales strategies.

One of the U.S. Navy’s newest attack submarines, the future USS Idaho (SSN 799), launched from General Dynamics Electric Boat’s Groton, Ct. shipyard into the Thames River, August 6.The "float off," or launch, is a milestone in a submarine's construction, marking the moment it leaves the shipbuilder's facilities and enters the water for the first time, signaling the start of final outfitting, testing and crew certification.“Today’s launch is testament to the strong collaboration the Navy has with its shipbuilding partners,” said Capt. Mike Hollenbach, Virginia Class Submarine program manager.

A few weeks ago, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter spotted several Chinese military ships within the U.S. exclusive economic zone just 200 nautical miles off the shores of Alaska. This incident underscores how brazen our adversaries are becoming in the face of a diminished U.S. maritime presence. China’s brazen actions are backed by the world’s largest naval fleet that they have accumulated over the past several years while our maritime capacity has declined. There is a real threat that…

San Francisco’s Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), operator of the San Francisco Bay Ferry system, is moving forward with plans to introduce the United States' first fleet of zero-emission, high-speed, battery electric ferries, this week unveiling design renderings and announcing a battery systems supplier.The newbuilds, to be procured as part of SF Bay Ferry's Rapid Electric Emission Free (REEF) Ferry Program, include two 400-passenger vessels that will operate…

Italian state-controlled shipbuilding giant Fincantieri announced public finance expert Biagio Mazzotta has been appointed as chairman of its board of directors. The move follows the untimely death of General Claudio Graziano, who had been appointed in May 2022.Mazzotta's appointment comes at the recommendation of shareholder CDP Equity S.p.A., which submitted Mazzotta's candidacy for independent evaluation in a letter dated August 1, 2024.Mazzotta has previously served as the State Accountant General of Italy since 2019.

One of the oldest ferries in the CalMac fleet will be retired later this year after almost four decades of operation, as the Scottish operator phases out older tonnage and modernizes its service with new vessels.The Hebridean Isles, built by Cochrane Shipbuilders in the mid-1980s, will retire in November, having served Scotland's west coast communities since her maiden voyage in December 1985. Affectionally known as the Heb Isles, the 85-meter roll-on, roll-off ferry has primarily served Islay in recent years.The operator said the ferry will likely exit active service in mid-November…

Two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) under construction for the Canadian Coast Guard were named during a ceremony at Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyard. The July 31 event also marked the official keel laying for AOPS 7, and celebrated construction start of AOPS 8.AOPS 7, the first AOPS for the Canadian Coast Guard, will be named CCGS Donjek Glacier after the Donjek Glacier located in Kluane National Park in Yukon. AOPS 8, the second vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard and the final AOPS…

South Korean shipbuilding group Hanwha Ocean on Tuesday announced it has been certified to participate in vessel maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities for the U.S. Navy.The company said its Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) signed with the U.S. Navy enables it to bid to perform MRO work for U.S. naval vessels at its Geoje Shipyard in South Korea.Hanwha Ocean applied for the MSRA in January and underwent a rigorous accelerated evaluation process, including quality, security and financial reviews, to secure the certification.

ClassNK has released ‘Guidelines for Cyber resilience of ships’, which expound new IACS Unified Requirements (UR) to support the consideration of measures to ensure the cybersecurity of ships.IACS has established UR E26 for ships and UR E27 for on-board systems and equipment as URs setting minimum requirements for cyber resilience, which is the capability to reduce the occurrence and mitigate the effects of cyber incidents due to cyber-attacks or other threats. The URs have been applied to new ships contracted for construction on or after July 1…

Washington State Ferries (WSF) has tapped ABB to design and supply the propulsion systems for its new series of five hybrid electric ferries. ABB was previously selected for the project in 2020 after the original build contract was awarded to Vigor, but the competitive bid process was relaunched following disagreements between WSF and the shipyard over price and other contract terms.In May of this year, WSF invited shipyards across the country to bid on construction for the five new ferries.