A US tech company has begun operating a nuclear power barge while construction continues on a US Navy dry dock and a training ship for a Texas maritime college. Another American operator has placed an order for a research vessel. Lastly, a UK company has selected a Norwegian builder for the construction of a new lighthouse tender.
Austal USA has launched a new floating dry dock that will be used by the US Navy for its ship construction, maintenance, and repair activities.
AFDM 15 is being built as an auxiliary floating dry dock medium (AFDM), which will provides docking capability for the construction, maintenance and repair of various classes of ships such as Freedom-class and Independence-class littoral combat ships, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers, and Whidbey Island-class and Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships.
Austal USA said it is the US Navy’s first AFDM to be built in more than 40 years.
The University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) has entered into an agreement with Chilean shipbuilder Asenav for the construction of a new hybrid research vessel.
From its home port in San Diego, the 38-metre vessel will serve hundreds of scientists and students each year along the Eastern Pacific coast as part of the US Academic Research Fleet.
The NB 201 project, designed by Asenav, will replace Robert Gordon Sproul, the current coastal research vessel, which will be retired after nearly four decades of service.
US startup Bluecore Energy has launched operations after delivering its first barge and electric test reactor to its headquarters at the Port of Long Beach in California.
The company is developing small modular, water-cooled nuclear reactors designed to operate aboard floating barges to supply power directly to ports, infrastructure, and cargo ships.
Its initial 10 MWe system is designed to generate electricity for approximately 15,000 homes or scale to meet the operational demands of a major port facility. Designed to operate for years on a single fuelling cycle, multiple reactors can be paired together to provide power for utilities, data centres, and offshore facilities.
British maritime safety and welfare organisation Trinity House has selected Norwegian shipbuilder Vard for the construction of two multi-function buoy and lighthouse maintenance vessels.
The value of contract for the two vessels exceeds €220 million (US$250 million). Vard was awarded the contract following a public tender.
The two new vessels will replace the ageing THV Patricia and THV Galatea and are part of Trinity House’s plans to renew its fleet of three vessels.
The Texas A&M Maritime Academy's newest training vessel was formally named during a ceremony at Hanwha Philly Shipyard's facilities on Friday, July 17.
Lone Star State will be operated by the Texas A&M Maritime Academy on behalf of the US Maritime Administration MARAD. As a national security multimission vessel (NSMV), she belongs to a class of training ships that will also be available to support US federal government efforts in response to national and international disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.
Lone Star State is the fourth NSMV to be built. In their roles as National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels, the five NSMVs will also incorporate medical capabilities, a command and control platform, and berthing for up to 1,000 first responders and recovery workers.