Workboat News Roundup | July 31 – Singapore's newest electric supply boat, US and South Korean icebreaker construction and more
Deliveries include a new Chinese research vessel and an electric supply boat for operation in the Port of Singapore. Upcoming newbuilding projects meanwhile include a research vessel for Italy and future icebreakers for a Korean science organisation and the US Coast Guard.
Hanwha Ocean signs contract to build new icebreaker for South Korea
South Korea's Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean signed a contract on July 29 for the construction of a new icebreaking research vessel. The new ship is scheduled to be completed by December 2029.
The new icebreaker will have a gross tonnage of 16,560, more than double that of South Korea's first icebreaker, the Araon, which was built in 2009. The need for a second vessel has grown due to the expansion of research scope and stricter environmental regulations.
Trilateral partnership to build US Coast Guard's future icebreakers
US-based Bollinger Shipyards, Canada's Seaspan Shipyards, and Finland's Rauma Marine Constructions and Aker Arctic have formed a partnership that will build a new class of polar icebreakers for the US Coast Guard.
Bollinger said the partnership represents, "a deliberate effort to strengthen the US industrial base, expand America’s shipbuilding capacity, and equip American workers with the skills to lead in a new era of strategic competition through the transfer of knowledge, technology, and design expertise needed to build the next generation of icebreakers in the United States."
New deep-sea research vessel delivered in China
A new deep-sea research vessel was formally named and handed over to its new owners in China on Wednesday, July 23.
Named Future, the vessel was built jointly by the Taihu Lake Laboratory of Deep Sea Technology and Science and numerous subsidiaries under the China Shipbuilding Group, including the Shanghai Shipbuilding Research and Design Institute, the 704, 711 and 712 Research Institutes, and CSSC Chengxi Shipbuilding.
Italian science institute to receive new research vessel in 2026
The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale; ISPRA) recently unveiled images of a new research vessel it is set to acquire in 2026.
Arcadia will be built as a deep-sea exploration vessel under a €400 million (US$470 million) investment by the Italian Government through the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security.
Kuok Maritime Group's newest electric supply boat commences operational sailings
A new electric supply boat recently delivered to Singapore's Kuok Maritime Group (KMG) commenced operational sailings earlier this week.
For its initial voyages, Voltai transported supplies and equipment to the facilities of KMG subsidiary PaxOcean.
