Commercial ships able to route through the Northwest Passage without ice breaker assistance are a step closer to becoming a reality. Korean shipbuilders, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), announced a few days ago that a model of their 190,000 dwt iron ore bulk carrier had finished its test program in the world’s largest – 90 meters long – ice test tank at Canada’s Institute for Ocean Technology (IOT). With an awareness that the traditional ice-breaker bow construction (where the mass of the ship’s bow structure bears down to break up pack ice) acts as a drag on efficient progress in open waters, international collaboration between IOT and Korean researchers from Pusan National University aimed at finding the optimal bow design for a ship operating in various ice conditions. Numerical computer analysis by the team culminated in manoeuvring and resistance performance tests of the model bulk carrier in the special ice-test tank. Ship Model Testing in IOT Ice... [More]

Polar King, constructed in Vigo on Spain’s Atlantic coast by century-old shipyard Constr. Nav. Paulino Freire S.A. recently entered service for Norwegian owners GC Rieber Shipping of Bergen. This week this hi-tech ship was already setting about the work she was built for; offshore rig and multi-purpose platform support services, as well as research (with ROV operating capability) in the North Sea hydrocarbon fields. PropulsionThe DP equipped Polar King is fitted with a diesel-electric propulsion system powered by 6 x MAN 9L21/331 main generator diesel engines that each produce 1,980 kW at 900 rpm, while for manoeuvring purposes there are a pair of TT 2400 DP CP tunnel thrusters by  Rolls-Royce Marine AS – Propulsion Ulsteinvik. Engine Room Polar King: Photo courtesy of MAN Diesel & Turbo DNV ‘Clean Design’ Classed by DNV with the notation ‘Clean Design’ the Polar King features measures that not only limit harmful air emissions and sea ... [More]

Richard Branson (founder of the iconic Virgin brand that includes Virgin Airways) has put his financial muscle behind the launch of an apparently non-profitmaking website, ShippingEfficiency.org that assigns a 1 to 7 rating for greenhouse gas emission to each and every ship (excepting naval vessels) in a database of about 60,000 ocean going ships.  Branson and like-minded business leaders have it in mind by this means to blow the whistle on ships that fail to measure up in the fight against global warming.Leader of the project, Peter Boyd, explained the idea in a Sky News interview on 6, December 2010: "You can go online and see an estimate of how clean or dirty the ship is." Meaning that owners can show details of their fleet to eco-friendly shippers and potential charterers, enabling international brand name shippers with global trading patterns to pick ships with the best eco-friendly ratings to carry their products. It is with this business spin-off in mind that may lead some ... [More]

Fleet tugs rescued hundreds of ships in combat, bad weather Can we help save this one? By Edward Lundquist During a recent visit to the Hampton Roads Navy Museum (www.hrnm.navy.mil/) co-located at Nauticus (www.nauticus.org) in Norfolk, Va., I saw a World War II-vintage ocean-going “fleet tug.”  My first ship was a fleet tug, and I can’t help but notice when one is in the same harbor that I’m in.  In this case, it was at the end of the same pier I was on. I walked down to get a closer look.  There was a gentleman throwing breadcrumbs at the sea gulls.  I walked closer to take in the familiar lines that only a fleet tug sailor would admire.  The gentleman and I acknowledge each other, and I ask if I can come aboard.  He says, “It depends.  Are you a visitor or a guest?”  I look at him and say, “Harry?”  He says, “Ned?” Harry Jaeger and I both served on fleet tugs—designa... [More]