It is rare for any country to build a hospital ship in wartime, let alone peacetime. But Izar?s Gijon Shipyard in northern Spain has handed over just such a ship. The 5,000g…

Fort Lauderdale-based Canal Boats has recently finished building the world?s first hybrid bio-diesel and electric-powered ferry. The Clay Shaw is the first of eight water buses the yard is building for Broward…

Izar has confirmed it is negotiating with Algerian shipowner ENTMV for a share of a contract to construct two 2,900 dwt roro passenger ferries. The two-ship order is subject to a Development…

DNV and GL plan to increase the number of survey stations they operate jointly more than four-fold. The class societies will establish a further 22 jointly-operated service stations on top of the…

A recent inspection campaign concentrating on cargo securing has unearthed a disturbing catalogue of safety issues. The campaign, by Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) port state control authorities, found that a third…

Tanker owner Frontline has joined with fellow Norwegian company Venturie to develop a low-tech oil vapour recovery system. The system has recently undergone trials on Frontline?s suezmax tanker Front Granite. The companies…

A number of major shipping industry organisations have joined together to launch a new code of practice for ship recycling. The code of practice is a response to concerns about safety and…

Lloyd?s Register says vessels classed with it dominate the USCG?s Qualship register. Ships on the register benefit from less frequent USCG inspections. For example, ships carrying freight only require two-yearly inspections if…

Mitsui OSK Lines has set new environmental targets for its ships and operations. In September it released its second environmental report, stretching from April 2001 to March 2002. It states that MOL…

Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen) has launched NeoShip, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation system. The company, a subsidiary of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (MES), says it is Japan?s first commercial ship design…