Michael Still News

Two Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport engineers have won American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) awards for 2024. Michael Connelly, technical project manager for the Undersea Warfare Platforms and Payload Integration Department, is the winner of the Frank C. Jones Award, and Dr. Thomas Ramotowski, a senior chemist for the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department, is the winner of the Solberg Award.The Frank C. Jones Award recognizes naval engineering professionals…

The same error-prone sensitivity that has slowed down the development of quantum computers is being turned into an advantage for GPS-denied navigation.A new quantum sensing technology from Australia-based Q-CTRL has most recently caught the interest of Lockheed Martin and the US Defense Innovation Unit, but the company is already working with the Australian Department of Defence, the UK Royal Navy, the US Department of Defense and Airbus.These agencies are interested in a quantum-sensing-based navigation system…

A ceasefire deal between Yemen's Houthis and the U.S. does not include sparing Israel, the group said on Wednesday, suggesting its shipping attacks that have disrupted global trade and challenged world powers will not come to a complete halt.President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the U.S. would stop bombing the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, saying that the group had agreed to stop attacking U.S. ships.After Trump made the announcement, Oman said it had mediated the ceasefire deal to halt attacks on U.S.

U.S. offshore producer Beacon Offshore Energy expects first oil from its Shenandoah floating production system in June, a company executive said on Tuesday.The floating production unit, which is expected to produce 120,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), was in the final stage of being hooked up and commissioned, Michael Clarke, Beacon's vice president of deepwater developments, said at a conference in Houston.The Houston-based privately held company is also looking to sanction the Shenandoah South discovery…

The Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes against Yemen's Hodeidah Port on Monday, a day after the Iran-aligned Houthis fired a missile that struck near Israel's main airport.The military said in a statement that it attacked what it called Houthi terrorist targets in Hodeidah and its vicinity.The strikes killed at least one person and injured at least 35 people, the Houthi-run Saba news agency said citing the health ministry.The Houthis shut down the area around the port and cement factory following the strikes…

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Monday on three vessels and their owners for delivering oil and gas products to Yemen's Houthis, as Washington piled pressure on the Iran-backed rebels over their attacks on Red Sea shipping.The sanctions targeted Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading Co and Great Success Shipping Co, and Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping Co and the cargo vessels they used to deliver oil and gas products to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa, the U.S.

The United States is deploying around 9,000 troops to the Philippines for this year's joint military exercises, as the allies strengthen ties amid tensions with China over its activities in the South China Sea and in Taiwan.The annual drills, which the Philippine military on Tuesday described as a rehearsal for national defense, will include 5,000 Filipino troops, 200 from the Australia Defence Force, and observers from the Japan Self-Defence Force.For the first time, observers…

Low water levels after recent dry weather are preventing cargo vessels from sailing fully loaded on the Rhine River in Germany with surcharges added to the usual freight rates, commodity traders said on Tuesday.Low water is hampering shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.At Kaub, cargo vessels can only sail about 50% full.Shallow water means vessel operators impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels not sailing fully loaded, increasing costs for cargo owners.

China's military on Tuesday said it had begun joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence", calling Taiwan's President Lai Ching-Te a "parasite".More than 10 Chinese military ships have approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4 kilometre) contiguous zone, and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwan officials told Reuters.Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far…

U.S. and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday aimed at sealing a Black Sea maritime ceasefire deal before a wider ceasefire agreement in Ukraine as Moscow and Kyiv used drones to pound each other.The talks, which followed U.S. negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, came after Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv, wounding one person and damaging houses in the region around the Ukrainian capital.Russia, for its part…

A U.S. delegation will seek progress toward a Black Sea ceasefire and a broader cessation of violence in the war in Ukraine when it meets for talks with Russian officials on Monday, after discussions with diplomats from Ukraine on Sunday.The so-called technical talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive for a halt to Russia's three-year-old assault against Ukraine. Last week, he spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the U.S.

HII's Mission Technologies division won a $147m contract to support shipboard and shore-based combat training services for the U.S. Navy.Under the five-year task order, HII will provide engineering support for every aspect of training systems under the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dam Neck Activity (NSWCDD DNA), including associated hardware, software, subsystems and elements. Tasks will range from integrated training system hardware and software installation…

In Australia, Gladstone Magistrates Court has fined Universal Shipping Alliance Ltd, owner of the bulk carrier KMAX Leader, A$63,000 ($40,000) for failing to comply with an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) written direction and ordered them to pay court costs.KMAX Leader, a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, entered the Port of Gladstone in October 2023 due to propulsion issues. The vessel undertook extensive work in November 2023 which failed to repair the ship’s propulsion.Concerned with the lack of an effective repair plan…

British police arrested a man on Tuesday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after an unexplained collision at sea left a tanker carrying U.S. army jet fuel with a gaping hole in its side and a charred container ship adrift.The tanker, Stena Immaculate, which carries jet fuel for the U.S. military, was at anchor on Monday when it was struck by the smaller Solong, causing huge fires and explosions, releasing fuel into the sea, and potentially posing a danger to wildlife.Neither vessel is now expected to sink, transport minister Heidi Alexander said in a statement after an earlier assessment had said the Solong was unlikely to remain afloat.One crew member from the Portuguese-flagged Solong is assumed dead maritime minister Mike Kane told parliament earlier.

TOTE Services, LLC and Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Inc. marked a milestone in U.S. shipbuilding with the keel laying of the fifth and final vessel in the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) program. Commissioned by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the NSMV program is designed to provide top-tier training for future mariners while supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts. The vessels are being built to replace aging training ships at five state maritime academies…

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived at the southern port city of Busan in South Korea on Sunday as a show of force against North Korea, South Korea's navy said.It is the first U.S. aircraft carrier to dock at a South Korean port since U.S. President Donald Trump's second term in office began in January.The visit was part of the "ironclad" commitment of the United States to extended deterrence and to show readiness by the military alliance between Seoul and Washington against North Korea, according to the South's navy.The move obviously irked North Korea.

American Fan working with Ingalls Shipbuilding and other shipbuilders to provide ventilation fans for ten Flight III destroyersFairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has been awarded multiple purchase orders for its Ohio-based business unit, American Fan, to provide cooling and ventilation fans for ten Flight III Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers. The equipment will be installed on future destroyers including USS Thomas Kelley (DDG-140), USS Ernest E. Evans (DDG-141), USS Charles J. French (DDG-142), USS Richard J.

US Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Mike Ezell (R-MS) addressed a hearing titled “America Builds: Maritime Infrastructure” on Wednesday saying: “It is clearly critical that we must build a safer and more efficient system.”The new chairman, for the 119th Congress, said the Jones Act is quite literally the bedrock and foundation of the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base because it helps to maintain a pool of qualified American mariners that the US relies on to transport goods and its military…

The future of the two insolvent German shipyards, Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) and Nobiskrug, looks brighter as Lürssen Group moves to place a formal bid to take over the facilities of the Nobiskrug shipyard, while Heinrich Rönner Group agrees to buy the FSG.The insolvency administrators, Christoph Morgen of Brinkmann & Partner and Hendrik Gittermann of REIMER, said they would accept the offers in the week following the official opening of insolvency proceedings.Lürssen…

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized their Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV reported on Wednesday.It said the crew were handed to Oman "in coordination" with the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza's war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas."The release of the Galaxy Leader crew comes within the framework of our solidarity with Gaza and in support of the ceasefire agreement…

Two Iranian cargo vessels carrying an ingredient for missile propellant will sail from China to Iran in the next few weeks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing intelligence from security officials in two Western countries.The reported transactions could make the Chinese entities involved subject to U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's weapons programs, as the two Iranian vessels are already under U.S. sanctions.The FT said the Iranian-flagged ships, the Golbon and the Jairan…

Deere & Company announced the unveiling of new engines — the JD14 and JD18 marine engines.With the addition of these engines, John Deere will be able to offer marine customers heavier duty cycles* and a more comprehensive power range, from 298 up to 599 kW (400 up to 803 hp). Production is anticipated to begin in 2026.“The vessels powered by our marine engines are part of hardworking, relentless commercial operations that need uncompromising power and reliability,” said Pierre Guyot, senior vice president of John Deere Power Systems.

President Donald Trump once again withdrew the United States from the Paris climate deal on Monday, removing the world's biggest historic emitter from global efforts to fight climate change for the second time in a decade.The move places the United States alongside Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries in the world outside the 2015 pact, in which governments agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.It reflects Trump's skepticism about global warming…