Archives: tech

Ship Universe Interactive Engineering Tool Is Your Ship’s Electrical System at Risk? Screen the concentration of nonlinear loads, identify potential capacitor-bank resonance, estimate sensitive-equipment exposure, and build a practical power-quality measurement plan before commissioning...

The aging drive is becoming a fleet asset-management problem A variable frequency drive can quietly sit behind a pump, fan, compressor, winch, thruster, crane, or cargo system for years. Then the owner learns the...

At sea, an arc flash is not just an electrical-room accident A switchboard event can become a propulsion problem, a blackout problem, a cargo problem, a hotel-load problem, a firefighting problem, and a schedule...

The overlooked retrofit is not glamorous, but it can protect the whole electrical plant Power quality is the hidden layer underneath modern vessel upgrades. Every converter, VFD, charger, shore-power connection, electric pump, winch, hotel...

Paint application may be the overlooked drydock productivity lever Shipyards already chase schedule gains through better docking plans, faster blasting, tighter access, smarter scaffolding, and improved project controls. Electrostatic coating application adds another angle:...

AIS may be the loudest signal, but it is not the only trail A vessel can appear quiet on public AIS while still leaving position clues through regulatory reports, satellite terminals, commercial portals, performance...

The next battery opportunity is not always full electric propulsion BESS can pay when it solves a vessel’s actual operating pain: load spikes, inefficient engine loading, hotel demand, standby fuel burn, port emissions, dynamic...

Arctic Tern turns green methanol bunkering into a commercial operating test The Shanghai operation gives owners a rare look at green methanol beyond the announcement stage. It involved a new methanol dual-fuel PCTC, a...

The yard is becoming the first battlefield for terminal AI Yard intelligence is gaining attention because terminal productivity often breaks in the middle. Vessel plans, gate appointments, rail timing, container dwell, equipment dispatch, and...

The next maritime cybersecurity headache may not come from a hacker staring at a ship’s network. It may come from a purchase order that looked perfectly reasonable at the time. Owners are buying smarter...

Ports are becoming inspection networks, not just inspection sites The next step in port maintenance is coordinated sensing. UAVs can scan above-water assets, roofs, cranes, lighting, roads, stacks, security zones, and oil sheen. USVs...

AI may help explain the collision picture before it should control the ship LLMs could become useful bridge copilots for COLREGs interpretation, encounter classification, risk explanation, and training. The harder leap is letting a...

Shared autonomy could make hull inspection faster without removing the surveyor The most practical future for AI hull inspection is not a robot making every decision alone. It is shared autonomy: human planning and...

The AI demo is not the due diligence Fleetwide AI contracts can look simple during procurement and become complicated after rollout. The vendor may understand models, but the operator has to live with vessel...

Older fleets often fail AI at the data layer before the model ever gets tested The oldest vessel in the fleet may not be the biggest AI problem. The bigger problem is usually scattered...

Underwater drones are becoming commercial tools for work owners already pay for The commercial opportunity is not limited to deep-sea exploration or naval missions. Small ROVs, AUVs, crawlers, and hybrid underwater drones are finding...

Maritime cyber risk grew one connection at a time The industry did not move from paper charts to AI-enabled vessels in one jump. It passed through decades of digital adoption: early satellite communication, GPS,...

A ship digital twin has to earn its place beyond the 3D model The best digital twins help operators test decisions before they become costs. The weak ones look impressive but fail to change...

The shipboard cyber checklist now belongs on the bridge and in the engine room Owners cannot protect the vessel by securing office email alone. The connected ship now carries digital risk across navigation, propulsion,...

The first shipboard robots will chase dangerous, dirty, repeatable work Robotics on deck is moving toward practical tasks that crews already know are labor-heavy, risky, repetitive, or difficult to document. The strongest early use...