Vard Brattvaag

The United States will be able to use planned defence facilities in Western Australia that are to help deliver nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.Australia will spend A$12 billion ($8 billion) to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth, as part of a 20-year plan to transform it into the maintenance hub for its AUKUS submarine fleet, the government said on Saturday.The AUKUS pact, sealed by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Davie Defense Inc. gives a first glimpse today of the “American Icebreaker Factory” – a planned $1 billion transformation of the historic Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston, Texas.The American Icebreaker Factory concept was created in collaboration with Florida-based Pearlson, which has led major projects for leading American shipbuilders, including BAE Systems, Austal USA and Fincantieri Marinette.The American Icebreaker Factory project embodies the Trump Administration’s priorities, including the Executive Order on American Maritime Dominance, the SHIPS for America Act, and the creation of the Office of Shipbuilding.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a safety alert Wednesday urging greater awareness and training for land-based firefighters who may be called to fight fires aboard vessels in local ports.The safety alert follows several NTSB investigations into deaths and injuries to firefighters. The NTSB found land-based firefighters often lack the necessary training and familiarity with vessel layouts and fire protection systems to effectively fight in-port vessel fires. They also may be unaware of how to use the structural fire protection built into most commercial vessels.

While political winds in the U.S. have significantly tampered many ‘green’ projects, Curtin Maritime is domiciled in California, which is globally known for its strict environmental initiatives. To that end, Curtin Maritime inked a contract recently to invest $160m for eight new hybrid-electric tugboats, vessels being built by Snow & Co. and featuring vertically integrated electric powertrains from Arc with Schottel propulsion. Maritime Reporter TV interviewed Martin Curtin, CEO, Curtin Maritime & Mitch Lee, co-founder and CEO, Arc, on the eve of the announcement to discuss specifics.As shipbuilding continues to take center stage in the U.S.

Japan's second-largest shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines wants to tie up with Indian companies to build tankers in India, aiding the South Asian nation's effort to boost local manufacturing, its chief executive, Takeshi Hashimoto said.New Delhi is modernizing its maritime laws to allow foreign participation in the sector, including ship-building, ports and shipyards, to reduce freight outgoings to foreign firms by at least a third by 2047."The Indian government has a strong preference to see the new vessels constructed in India. If possible, we want to be involved in the project," Hashimoto told reporters at the APPEC conference in Singapore on Tuesday.