I am sharing an article I had written six years ago, now with revisions as further information came to light in supporting the Philippine Navy’s acquisition of Submarines through a historical perspective. INTRODUCTION. On 22-September-1914, in the cold choppy waters of the North Sea, a few miles from the coast of the Netherlands in less than 90 minutes, HMS Aboukir,…
Introduction. France had fallen under the incessant firepower of the German blitzkrieg in 1940. The reasons for the sudden defeat of France are due to leadership failure at both military and political levels. The French army was poorly led and equipped with inferior arms and equipment. And to prevent the Axis powers from taking control of the French Marine Nationale’s…
Introduction. The Diesel Electric Submarine was considered as a principal weapons system of naval warfare, especially in littoral waters. Submarine designers and builders focused their design in making them capable to operate, run silent and run deep, with increasing underwater endurance. Diesel Electric Submarines need to surface and link to the atmospheric oxygen to supply air for the generators to…
History The Hamilton WHEC was constructed beginning in the 1960s, and they were intended to fulfill both Coast Guard peacetime and wartime requirements, and serve alongside the Navy. During the Vietnam War, several types of vessels supported the “Operation Market Time,” provided patrol duties, boarding and inspection of North Vietnamese vessels and boats, conducted naval gunfire support, missions, and medical…
SHIPBUILDER Austal Philippines in Balamban, Cebu has delivered another historic vessel in the form of Danish-commissioned high-speed ferry Fjord FSTR that recently set sail from Cebu to Hirtshals, Denmark on March 5, 2021. According to the Philippine Embassy in Copenhagen, Fjord Line, a Danish shipping company, commissioned Austal Philippines to build the 109-meter catamaran ferry which can accommodate 1,200 passengers…
According to new data released by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, 630 ocean-going commercial ships and offshore units were sold to the scrap yards in 2020. Of these vessels, 446 large tankers, bulkers, floating platforms, cargo- and passenger ships were broken down on three beaches in South Asia, amounting to near 90% of the gross tonnage dismantled globally. Ships are considered…
INTRODUCTION This article attempts to describe the difference between the two (2) submarine battlespaces in the littoral zone and open ocean for diesel electric submarines and nuclear attack submarines, and the inherent environmental factors in an arena of underwater warfare for type submarine that can be exploited to one’s own advantage by cognizant naval commanders. This research work by the…
South Korea retained its status as the world-leading shipbuilding industry last year despite many COVID-19 challenges. Experts forecast the new year will treat domestic shipbuilders better as they will benefit from the introduction of eco-friendly policies. South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering has developed a technology that helps determine the safety of liquefied natural gas carriers in its shipyards….
LNG as fuel has long been considered the industry’s last, best hope to meet the IMO’s ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. So why aren’t we seeing more LNG retrofits on existing tonnage? In April 2018, MEPC 72 adopted resolution MEPC.304(72) on the Initial IMO Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships. The IMO has…
The US Coast Guard will soon acquire a new autonomous vessel for testing and evaluating the capabilities of available autonomous vessel technology, as part of its regulatory changes for the development of autonomous maritime systems. Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics announced it has partnered with Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark Boats, to supply the USCG’s Research and Development Center (RDC) with a…
On 12-October-2020 in Ålesund, Norway, Maritime Partner AS delivered to Loppa Legeskyssbåter AS the MV Thea Jensen, a Loppa Ambulance boat. After four months of outfitting at Maritime Partner’s shipyard in Ålesund, Norway’s largest ambulance catamaran has been handed over to shipowner Loppa Legeskyssbåter. It is Maritime Partner’s build number 2168. She will be stationed in Øksfjord in the North…
CE Delft issued a new study, in which it finds that scrubbers have a lower climate impact than low-sulphur fuels. Specifically, the study finds that the CO2-emissions associated using a scrubber vary between 1.5% and 3% for a number of representative ships. In many cases, the emissions caused by the production of low-sulphur fuels for these ships are higher, depending…
Kongsberg Maritime and Massterly (a Kongsberg Wilhelmsen joint venture) have signed contracts with the leading Norwegian grocery distributor ASKO to equip two new vessels with autonomous technology, and to manage their operations at sea. With Norwegian companies delivering around 60% of the investment, this is a major milestone for the growth of sustainable maritime operations in Norway. The fully electric…
As the shipping industry ramps up efforts to decarbonize, initial sea trials onboard a Maersk tanker fitted with Norsepower Rotor Sails indicate that wind power has the potential to play a significant role in a low carbon ocean transport system. Early results from a sea trial onboard the 109,647 DWT Maersk Pelican fitted with two meters high, five meters in…
INTRODUCTION Warship design originates from the following order of priority: Doctrine development in regard to the manner in which the Navy will address the strategic concepts of responding against the challenges of threat. The Naval Staff & Circular of Requirements are parameters desired by the Navy in the development and design that will lead to shape the performance and capabilities…
The technology group Wärtsilä, with Knutsen OAS Shipping, Repsol, and Sustainable Energy Catapult Centre, will commence the world’s first long term, full-scale, testing of ammonia as a fuel in a marine four-stroke combustion engine. The testing is made possible by a 20 MNOK grant from the Norwegian Research Council through the DEMO 2000 program, a statement said. “This is a…
I arrived in the Philippines for the first time in early 1972, landing at Clark Air Base before experiencing the breathtaking bus ride to the U.S. Naval Base Subic just outside Olongapo City. I was to meet the USS Kitty Hawk CVA-63 on its next port of call, the first of many deployments during the Viet Nam campaign. During my…
Two industry leaders, Jotun and Kongsberg Maritime, partnered to develop a robotic hull-cleaning device called the Jotun HullSkater designed to be carried onboard trips, and deployed regularly to scrub early-stage fouling. The HullSkater removes bacteria and biofilm from the hull before macro-fouling (e.g., barnacles) can take hold. Biofouling is a major contributor to fuel consumption and operating cost, and thus…
Many companies are taking part in Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ship Project (DFFAS Project), which aims to realize a domestic coastal shipping business supported by crewless maritime autonomous surface ships. Accordingly, the project will move towards the standardization of technology and the establishment of systems and infrastructure as well and plans to carry out a long-distance demonstration trial…
A Naval Architect derives the hydrostatic curves of a ship from the lines drawing designs. The hydrostatic curve is a calculation of the underwater volume of the hull that supports buoyancy so the ship can float freely on the surface of the water. The immersed underwater volume of the hull of the ship displaces a volume of water in cubic…
Ships are extraordinary designs, which even with just their size can amaze. But there is one specific element of a ship’s design that stands out, and what is more, not many know what it does exactly. We are talking of course, about the bulbous bow. The bulbous bow is that strange protrusion at the ship’s forward end, sticking out below…
Emissions from ships are heavy contributors to global climate change and local air pollution, putting pressure on the environment and humans. A new generation of bunker fuels, called zero-emission fuels, can help to address this challenge while also creating a major business opportunity in developing countries. Currently, ships contribute about 2-3% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions —more than…
The era of digitalization has made room for Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles (AUV) to take place and become a powerful tool for ports and the overall shipping industry, playing a major role in a variety of ‘shipping duties’, such as surveillance, safety, accident and pollution reporting, representing the importance of technology in shipping and making us wonder whether drones will be…
It’s no secret that today’s autopilot technology is an invaluable tool to both recreational boaters and commercial mariners. Autopilot systems enable a vessel to hold a course in light-to-moderate sea conditions. This functionality increases vessel course predictability, while reducing operator fatigue, a major causal factor in marine incidents. Like autonomous systems, autopilots are indefatigable and have an unlimited attention span…
The technology group Wärtsilä has been selected to provide the complete system design and full equipment scope for two new 9300 DWT self-discharging bulk carriers featuring hybrid propulsion. The ships will be the first of their kind to be fitted with a hybrid propulsion solution. They are being built for Norway’s Aasen Shipping at the Royal Bodewes Shipyard in the…