Month: February 1999

Figures from Lloyd`s Register shows the world orderbook grew by 2.1 million gross tonnage (mgt) in the quarter to end-September 1998 to stand at 57.7mgt (2,727 sea-going merchant ships over 100gt). Almost…

FastShip is to install 250MW (340,000 bhp) in each of its high-speed container ships to achieve a service speed of 40 knots on the route between the USA and Europe. The company…

In the quest for greater speed, ship designers are increasingly looking towards gas turbines. Turbine driven containerships! You can almost hear the gasps of astonishment in Copenhagen and Winterthur. Containerships - the…

Combination carriers have been out of fashion for much of the 1990s. A recent design aims to change this. Norwegian shipbroker, O-J Libaek & Partners, a company with over 40 experience in…

In their efforts to reduce transit times and attract more passengers, operators are looking to bigger, faster ferries. Incat`s latest high-speed vehicle-carrying ferry boasts the ability to carry its own weight, 800t,…

The year 2000 problem represents a critical business risk with well documented problems evident already and warnings of worse to come. An IMO/US Coast Guard report on the year 2000 threat in…

The number of Danish-owned vessels sailing under the Danish flag remained static last year. As at January 1, the figure stood at 593, still making it the third largest fleet in Europe,…

Finland`s main shipyards have been busy with corporate changes as well as with newbuildings. Kvaerner ASA plans to reduce its debt burden by raising a reported NKr2.5 billion ($39.28 million) through the…

As competition increases and the market continues to suffer, the possibility of class society mergers gets closer. There are likely to be mergers or alliances among classification societies within the next few…

Chevron has taken delivery of the first of a new class of four VLCCs with a number of interesting features. The four VLCCs, which were contracted at Samsung Heavy Industries in South…