Boskalis has loaded cruise ship Carnival Vista onto its semi-submersible heavy lift vessel Boka Vanguard. The operation took place off the coast of Freeport last weekend. The cruise ship was then transported to the Grand Bahama’s Shipyard on Saturday evening where it will be repaired while resting on the Vanguard’s deck.

Dutch ship design and engineering agency C-Job Naval Architects will expand its activities in the United States by opening an office in Houston, Texas, this summer. The new office is to help the firm penetrate the American market.

Dutch offshore contractor Heerema has been assigned to help build the first and largest commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. The Vineyard Wind LLC project, situated 14 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, is the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind energy project.

According to an international consortium, North Sea wind power hubs are both technically and economically feasible. A first such hub equipped with a power-to-gas solution could be operational in the 2030s.

The Telemetron, a sailing drone that inspects the depth of ships at the locks of IJmuiden shows that drones can do more than just fly. The aim of this pilot, a collaboration between Port of Amsterdam, the Dutch Customs Office, Seabed and Maritime Robotics, is to gain more knowledge of sailing drone technology.

Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding, Mitsui OSK Lines and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology have completed 54 autonomous berthing operations using a virtual pier set on the open water off the coast of Japan. The demonstration project was conducted using the university’s training ship Shioji Maru.

Damen Shipyards Den Helder will conduct an extensive maintenance and modernisation programme for the Royal Netherlands Navy. The contract concerns support ship HNLMS Pelikaan and hydrographic survey vessels HNLMS Snellius and HNLMS Luymes.

Titan LNG chartered a ship from Anthony Veder and sent it to Indonesia for the first offshore LNG bunkering in this part of the world. On the receiving end was Heerema’s newest vessel Sleipnir. The world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessel is preparing for its maiden voyage from Singapore to Spain.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, British frigate HMS Montrose has intervened in what was apparently an attempt by three Iranian boats to seize a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to retaliate for the seizure of one of its own tankers, but denies the British claim.

Currently, several means of transport are undergoing an accelerated development towards automation and automated movements. This development will also impact future ship handling with tugs. A glimpse into the future of tug boat operation.