Vessel efficiency extends far beyond maximum speed. By combining detailed route analysis with tailored waterjet selection and design, engineers can optimise performance across an asset’s entire operating profile. The approach reveals new methods for balancing competing demands, unlocking fuel savings, operational efficiency and smarter propulsion decisions in practice today onwards.

Real-world performance data is reshaping understanding of passenger ship efficiency in heavy weather. By analysing full-scale operational measurements, researchers quantify the combined impact of wind and waves through an added-power methodology. New insights into aerodynamic drag on large topside structures could improve voyage planning, energy efficiency and design decisions globally.

Floating offshore wind is moving from demonstration to deployment, creating new demands for naval architecture, marine operations and port infrastructure. This review examines construction, towing and installation challenges, alongside stability, certification and maintenance considerations. The insights highlight practical strategies to reduce project risk, costs and lifecycle uncertainty at scale globally.

Remote drone-based inspection is transforming offshore asset assurance by enabling detailed survey work without confined-space entry. Lessons from a successful FPSO crude oil tank inspection highlight the importance of planning, stakeholder coordination, class-approved procedures and tank preparation, demonstrating how UAV technology can reduce risk, cost and inspection time significantly today.

Reliability-Centred Maintenance is proving vital to maximising fleet availability and operational performance in challenging economic conditions. Using real-world experience from the Maldives’ essential ferry network, this work demonstrates how data-driven maintenance optimisation can reduce downtime, improve reliability and lower costs, offering valuable lessons for diverse maritime fleets worldwide at scale.

Understanding surfaced submarine performance is vital for safe and efficient operations. Experimental towing-tank trials on a generic submarine generated hydrodynamic load and flow-field data, revealing the effects of wave-making resistance, bow-wave forces, and pitching moments. The findings support improved seakeeping prediction, powering assessments, and validation of advanced numerical models today.

Innovative LNG transfer infrastructure is improving safety, efficiency and operational flexibility across maritime energy operations. By examining specialised manifold design, transfer interfaces and ship-to-shore integration, the work addresses key engineering challenges in fuel handling. Insights highlight opportunities to streamline LNG logistics, strengthen reliability and support evolving low-carbon maritime energy networks.

Offshore transportation of large energy infrastructure demands rigorous stability assurance throughout loadout, transit and installation. Examining heavy transport vessels and cargo barges, this research explores advanced ballast management, damage stability analysis and enhancement measures such as sponsons and pontoons, offering critical lessons for safer, more resilient marine operations worldwide.

Designing sustainable high-speed vessels requires balancing hull efficiency, propulsion performance, and lifecycle impacts. Focusing on stepped aluminium hulls, the analysis explores how material selection, recyclability, weight reduction, and hydrodynamic optimisation can lower fuel consumption and emissions. The findings provide practical guidance for developing efficient, environmentally responsible craft today worldwide sustainably.

Seventeenth-century French naval expansion transformed shipbuilding, blending engineering excellence with powerful symbolism. Centered on vessels such as Royal Louis, the movement combined advanced construction techniques, strategic state investment, and elaborate aesthetics to project royal authority. The story illustrates how warship design served as both military capability and national expression today.

The widely cited claim that 80% of failures stem from human error is challenged through a fresh examination of safety and automation. By testing the concept against realistic scenarios, this analysis reveals why mature systems naturally attract higher human-error attribution and identifies more meaningful measures of operational risk today onward.

Finite Element Modelling is enhancing the design of ice-class vessels by enabling detailed analysis of bow structures exposed to extreme ice and hydrostatic loads. Applied to the conversion of a tanker into a research vessel, this approach demonstrates how structural optimisation can improve strength, reduce weight and support reliable performance in demanding polar environments.