Steel Cutting News

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has officially begun construction on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) new medium class hopper dredger with a ceremonial steel-cutting event.The vessel is being built at ESG's Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities and is scheduled for delivery in 2027.ESG is collaborating with Royal IHC on the design.USACE's new hopper dredger will be able to load up to 15% more efficiently, reducing fuel consumption and environmental impact, with an ECO Control Package that includes high-end controls for trail speed…

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has marked the start of construction of six new gas carriers at HD Hyundai Samho (HSHI) shipyard in South Korea.The steel cutting ceremony was attended by senior officials from Nakilat, HD Hyundai Samho and guests, who witnessed the official start of construction for two LNG carriers and four LPG/ammonia gas carriers. The LNG carriers, each with a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, and the LPG carriers, with a substantial capacity of 88,000 cubic meters each…

A steel cutting ceremony has been held for a new RAsalvor 6500 at Rizhao GANGDA Shipbuilding (Shandong Port) in Shandong Province, China.Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. for Smit Lamnalco, Australia, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the new emergency towing vessel will provide first response capability in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait – some of the most precious marine environments in the world.The vessel is also intended to provide aids to navigation services and other marine services in the region.

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has held a steel cutting ceremony for eight of its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers at Hanwha Ocean shipyard in the Republic of Korea.These vessels are part of Qatar’s historic LNG fleet expansion project, aimed at meeting the maritime transport needs of the LNG sector.In February 2024, Nakilat signed agreements with QatarEnergy to charter and operate 25 conventional-size LNG carriers, making Nakilat both the owner and operator of the vessels…

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has marked the start of construction of Island Offshore’s hybrid power ocean energy construction vessel (OECV) at its shipyard in Romania.Vard secured the order for the vessel, named Island Evolution, from Island Offshore back in May 2024, which also included an option for two additional vessels. Island Offshore placed the order for the second vessel, to be named Island Explorer, in August.Roy Viggo Fjørtoft, Project Manager from Island Offshore, had…

North Star and its shipbuilding partner Cochin Shipyard have cut first steel on EnBW’s new hybrid-electric service operations vessel (SOV), which is on decade-long minimum charter to service the He Dreiht wind farm off the coast of Germany from the end of 2026.The steel cutting milestone was marked February 25, 2025 at Cochin Shipyard in India, where the planning, engineering design and construction work are being carried out.The newbuild will provide accommodation in field for up to 34 wind technicians as they maintain the development’s 64 wind turbines…

Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) is participating in major new construction projects for the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.Recently, steel-cutting for vessels classified by the Indian Register of Shipping include the second ‘Fleet Support Ship’ at L&T Shipbuilding, the first ‘Next Generation Missile Vessel’ at Cochin Shipyard, the second ‘Next Generation Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel’ and first Coast Guard ‘Fast Patrol Vessels’ at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, and the…

James Fisher and Sons has ordered four new LNG dual-fuel tankers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Yangzhou) Dingheng as part of its ‘fleet of the future’ business strategy.The new tankers, which will carry oil products and IMO Class II chemicals, will have LNG dual-fuel propulsion capability, expected to help to reduce operational CO2 emissions and associated environmental impact over the long-term.A number of features that will add to the overall sustainability of the new builds have been carried over from recent additions to the company’s fleet…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) reached an exciting milestone today, initiating steel cutting for the first of four advanced escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine at its Allanton Facility. Attending the ceremony were key members of Saltchuk's leadership team. These high-performance vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2026."Our team is excited to begin construction on these state-of-the-art escort tugs for Saltchuk," said Joey D’Isernia, Chairman and CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc.

A ceremony attended by dignitaries has marked the official ‘birth date’ for the two new ships which will serve the Penzance to Isles of Scilly route for the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group (ISSG).The keel laying is a milestone in the build process, recognized for centuries as the ‘birth’ of a new ship and an important point for the Scillonian IV passenger ferry and the cargo vessel, Menawethan.Guests attended Piriou’s shipyard in Vietnam on November 6.,2024 to officially mark the moment, while dignitaries from Britain and France were all present.

Panama City, Fla. based shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) on Friday announced it has officially cut first steel for the new Fisher Island Ferry, Falcon, at its Allanton Facility.The Elliott Bay Design Group-designed auto and passenger ferry will be constructed at ESG’s Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities and is expected for delivery in Spring 2026. The 152-foot (loa) vessel will have capacity for up to 30 cars and 150 passengers.In attendance for the steel cutting were members of the Fisher Island Community Association, Inc.

Philly Shipyard on Monday held a steel-cutting ceremony to signal the start of construction on the first of three new Aloha Class liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled containerships to be built for U.S. ocean carrier Matson. Matson placed the $1 billion three-ship order with Philly Shipyard in 2022 following the deliveries of Aloha-class vessels Daniel K. Inouye and Kamina Hila from the same yard in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The shipyard also delivered four containerships to Matson between 2003 and 2006.“Today we celebrate not only the beginning of production…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri on Tuesday held a steel cutting ceremony marking the start of construction on the first of four next-generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Italian Navy.The four new ships will be built at Fincantieri's Riva Trigoso shipyard in Genoa for scheduled delivery from 2027 onward. The contract also includes options for two additional vessels.The overall value of the first four ships, contracted by Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN), a joint venture owned by Fincantieri (51%) and Leonardo (49%)…

Fincantieri and MSC Group have celebrated the progress on the construction of cruise ships for the Explora Journeys fleet, marking the delivery of Explora II, the coin ceremony for Explora III, and the steel cutting for Explora IV cruise ships.The cruise ships are part of the fleet of six ships belonging to Explora Journeys, the luxury brand recently launched by the MSC Group.The first cruise ship was delivered in July 2023, and all vessels are built in Italy by Fincantieri, with a total MSC investment exceeding $3.85 billion (€3.5 billion)…

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is acquiring four new state-of-the-art Naval Large Tugs (NLT) to modernize its fleet. These new tugs—two for each of Canada's coasts—will replace the current Glen-class and Fire-class tugs.The new IMO Tier III vessels are based on a proven Robert Allan Ltd. RAmparts 2400 design. They are more powerful and more capable, which will improve the RCN's effectiveness in harbor berthing, coastal towing and firefighting. This update will strengthen the RCN's effectiveness in supporting the fleet.In April 2019…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen has cut the first steel for four fully electric ferries, being constructed for Canada-based BC Ferries at its Romanian shipyard.On July 16, the yard cut first steel on the first two of four, fully electric Island Class Ferries, which will be the first fully electric vessels to operate in the BC Ferries’ fleet.Operating with battery packs with the capacity to supply the power train with 2,000 kilowatt-hour of electricity, the vessels will carry up to 47 vehicles and 390 passengers.Damen will also supply BC Ferries with the required charging towers.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has secured a contract to build the fourth new-generation submarine related to the U212NFS (Near Future Submarine) program for the Italian Navy.The order for the new submarine, valued at $534 million (€500 million), has been exercised by OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement, the international organization for joint armament cooperation).The contract also activates all other options that complete the maintenance support for the submarines already contracted.The signing of the new contract took place at the Muggiano shipyard…

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has launched a 171-meter-long cable laying vessel (CLV) Monna Lisa, being built for Prysmian, marking another major milestone towards the delivery of the vessel, scheduled for 2025.Prysmian executives gathered at the VARD shipyard in Tulcea, Romania to celebrate the launching of the new CLV Monna Lisa, the sister ship to the cutting-edge Leonardo da Vinci.Steel cutting, keel laying, generators installation and hull erection have successfully been completed on the Monna Lisa…

Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Monday delivered Mein Schiff 7 to German cruise line TUI Cruises.Mein Schiff 7 is the seventh ship of the Mein Schiff series built at the Turku shipyard. "Mein Schiff 7's symbolic start of production, the steel cutting ceremony, took place at our shipyard on June 14th, 2022," says Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku, "We are very proud to have delivered Mein Schiff 7 to TUI Cruises today, less than two years later. This was made possible by our long…

Electramar, the first in a series of 12 plug-in hybrid vessels being built by Chowgule and Company shipyard in India for ESL Shipping's subsidiary AtoB@C Shipping, was christened in the city center of Helsinki on May 15.The vessel’s godmother is Paula Ojala, Chartering Manager at the global steel company SSAB, a long-term client of both AtoB@C Shipping and ESL Shipping.“The cooperation between SSAB, ESL Shipping and AtoB@C Shipping has a rich, decades old history and I am deeply honored and humbled to be the godmother of this remarkable…

Polish shipyard Remontowa Shipbuilding on Wednesday held a steel cutting ceremony for a new hybrid passenger-car ferry ordered by Norwegian shipowner Torghatten Nord, marking the official start of construction.The battery-driven electric double-ended ferry is designed for the Stornes-Bjørnerå service in the Arctic Circle area. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2026."From 2010 to 2013, we built eight modern ferries for this shipowner. The relaunch of our cooperation confirms the positive experience and satisfaction with the delivered ferries.

Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard held a steel cutting ceremony on March 8, 2024 for the 14,000 TEU Maersk Halifax methanol dual fuel retrofit project, marking what will be the world's first container vessel methanol dual fuel retrofit.Representatives from Maersk project team, ABS, and headquarters leaders and employees of the company attended the ceremony.The vessel is scheduled to arrive in early July this year and will undergo conversion and repair for a period of about three months. To ensure the smooth implementation of the project, the yard has built a 500-ton gantry crane overhead the No.3 dock.

There is no denying that 2023 was a challenging year for the U.S. offshore wind market. Citing macroeconomic factors including high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks, Ørsted announced on October 31 that they were ceasing the development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects, which were scheduled for construction off the coast of New Jersey. Unfortunately, the troubling news has continued into the new year, with Equinor and BP announcing on…