Ship Technology
DeepDraft ship technology analysis looks at how design choices, onboard systems, hull performance, inspection tools, coatings, propulsion ideas, and efficiency measures affect real ships at sea. This section covers the practical technology behind safer, cleaner, and more efficient vessel operations, without separating the equipment from the operational decisions that make it work.
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Airborne Wind Propulsion: The Missing Manual Behind the Fuel-Saving Claim
Airborne kite propulsion offers credible fuel-saving potential, but its real test is launch, recovery, tether safety, crew workload, and operational control at sea.
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When Bridge Windows Look the Wrong Way
Off-Axis Bridge Windows: The Collision Risk Hidden in Modern Ship DesignA bridge window is not passive glass. It shapes how the watchkeeper reads heading, bearing, movement, and risk. I first noticed the shape during coastal passage off Japan.
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Slime or Barnacles? Why Ships Foul Differently in Hormuz
Two ships can wait in the same water and leave with different hull realities. The difference is coating history, idle exposure and remaining antifouling margin.
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The Barnacle Problem Waiting Behind Hormuz
My first serious encounter with biofouling was at Teluk Semangka, Indonesia, where my vessel, a modern VLCC, was deployed as a storage tanker for 1.5 months. On paper, it was a straightforward operation with maintain position, change anchors every 15 days, perform routine maintenance, and…
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MSC 111 and the 2028 IMO Compliance Shift: What Ships Must Prepare For
MSC 111 sets a 2028 compliance wave across GMDSS, VDES, RIT, lifeboats, IP Code, IMDG, alternative fuels and MASS.
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MEPC 84 Outcomes: New ECA and Carbon Framework Delays
MEPC 84 will be remembered publicly for the carbon framework it did not finalise, but for ships the more immediate result is simpler.
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VDES and AIS: What Actually Changes on the Bridge
There is a familiar sequence in shipping whenever a new system enters the bridge environment. The technology is positioned as a solution, the regulatory framework follows, and equipment begins to appear onboard. Only after that do we start to understand what the system actually does…
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Inertial Navigation Systems: Why Merchant Ships Still Don’t Have Them
Modern ships rely on GNSS as the single source of truth. When that signal is manipulated, the entire bridge remains consistent but wrong. This article examines GNSS vulnerability and argues for inertial navigation as an independent reference to restore credibility in modern navigation.
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Gas Was the Future. VLCC Spot Rates Say Otherwise
Why oil never exited the system, and why markets, not seminars, still decide careers. As a cadet, I was told clearly and confidently that gas was the future. Oil was crowded, old, and something you outgrow.
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Flettner Rotors Beyond the Spreadsheet
Execution at Sea Part 2 of 2 Part 1 explained the device and the theory behind it. That is the easy part.Execution is where it becomes difficult. Once installed, rotor sails stop living inside models.