ROBERT LADLOW

A dual fuel combustion system developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in collaboration with Caterpillar Inc. addresses the challenge of methanol ignition in diesel engines, with clear relevance for inland and coastal marine vessels.Methanol is typically produced from natural gas, an abundant domestic resource, and converting it into a liquid allows easier storage and handling. However, methanol does not ignite easily, creating a barrier for vessels that rely on compression-ignition diesel engines.ORNL’s approach pairs methanol with a small amount of diesel used as a pilot fuel to start combustion, enabling methanol dual fuel operation across a much wider range of conditions.

The U.S. military fired a Hellfire missile at a tanker heading toward Iran on Tuesday as part of a blockade being imposed by President Donald Trump, who is pressing Tehran to negotiate a peace agreement on his terms.The U.S. military's Central Command posted a video showing the missile strike the tanker and said it targeted the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie's engine room, disabling it."The ship's crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period," Central Command said in a statement."A U.S.

Firmus and SUBCO announced a landmark agreement to build a new submarine fiber optic cable connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia, significantly expanding the state's digital capacity and supporting the next generation of AI infrastructure.  The new cable, to be named Bernacchi-1 in honor of pioneering Tasmanian-raised scientist and Antarctic explorer Louis Bernacchi, will connect Tasmania into SUBCO's SMAP cable system between Sydney and Melbourne.Underwritten by Firmus, this represents a major private-sector led investment in Tasmania's digital infrastructure, that will be for the benefit of all Tasmanians for generations to come.

Classification societies have always occupied a unique position in maritime: technical arbiters, rule makers, certifiers, and, increasingly, strategic advisors helping shipowners navigate some of the most consequential decisions in shipping’s and shipbuilding’s history. As maritime grapples with decarbonization mandates, digital transformation, automation, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence, that role is becoming both broader and more complex.For ClassNK, one of the world’s largest and leading classification societies, the challenge is not simply keeping pace with industry change, but helping define how that change unfolds.

Sallaum Lines has taken delivery of two new Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs), the MV Ocean Express and MV Ocean Navigator, in the largest single-day milestone of its Ocean Class fleet expansion program.The vessels were built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) and are registered under the Cyprus flag.Each vessel has a cargo capacity of 7,400 car equivalent units (CEU) across 13 cargo decks and is designed to transport passenger vehicles, commercial trucks, SUVs, rolling machinery and oversized project cargo.The vessels offer maximum vehicle height and width clearances of 5.4 meters and 13.