WILLIAM C. HIGHTOWER

Nuclear power has already crossed oceans. The harder question is whether modern small modular reactors can be integrated, licensed and financed for merchant ships, and where they make sense first.In 2023 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by around 2050. LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen each solve part of the problem and create another. Nuclear propulsion offers a different trade: fuel so energy-dense that a ship can sail for years without bunkering, with no combustion emissions at the point of use.Nuclear ships are not new. Four civil vessels proved the concept decades ago.

When artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization are discussed in maritime, attention still gravitates toward autonomous ships. Yet the market is not about de-crewing but, rather, applying vessel and shore data to make operations safer, more fuel-efficient, and easier to maintain.As of 2024, the maritime AI market stood at $4.13 billion, with a projected five-year CAGR of 23%. Market-size estimates should be treated cautiously, but the direction is hard to miss – AI solutions have advanced from trials into voyage planning, machinery monitoring, bridge decision support, port coordination, and digital assurance.

Accelerating demand for subsea power and telecoms cable network construction is fuelling major expansion of the world fleet of purpose-designed cable laying, maintenance and repair vessels.Driven by the growth of the offshore renewables sector and its advance into deeper waters, as well as by widening investment in cables connecting electrical grids in different countries, emergent generations of cable ship are distinguished by scale, productivity, and technological intensity.  Ongoing geopolitical tensions are also giving a fillip to the development of subsea cable infrastructure

Norwegian maritime technology company Kongsberg Maritime has unveiled the Arctic Hunter USV, a new class of uncrewed surface vessels designed for rapid integration and deployment into Hybrid Fleets.In response to the UK Royal Navy’s development of its hybrid fleet of crewed and uncrewed assets, the Arctic Hunter USV combines commercial ship design with Kongsberg Maritime’s remote and autonomous technologies to deliver anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability in the High North.Kongsberg Maritime has selected one of its Arctic commercial vessel designs to adapt and optimize for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 ASW requirement.

Master Boat Builders, Inc. recently announced the successful launch of Intrepid, the fourth of eight tugboats being built for Maritime Partners, LLC. Constructed at Master Boat Builders’ shipyard in Coden, Alabama, Intrepid measures 88 feet in length and is classified as an A1 Escort Tug and Towing Vessel. The vessel carries AMS (Automated Machinery System) certification, UWILD (Underwater Inspection in Lieu of Drydocking) certification, and FFV1 fire-fighting capability. It is also designated a Low Emissions Vessel (LEV) under U.S. standards.Four additional vessels are currently under contract, with deliveries scheduled to continue through the program's completion.