Compressed air systems represent a significant opportunity to improve maritime energy efficiency. Optimising operating pressure and reducing leakage can deliver substantial savings in power, fuel and emissions, while improving system performance. Greater attention to compressed air management could unlock meaningful operational and environmental benefits as ship operators pursue lower costs and improved sustainability.

Autonomous and remotely operated underwater systems are benefiting from more advanced control techniques capable of handling complex, nonlinear behaviour and operational uncertainty. Model predictive control offers enhanced trajectory tracking and stability compared with traditional approaches, strengthening the capabilities of underwater vehicles used in scientific research, defence operations and ocean exploration.

High-speed planing catamarans present unique hydrodynamic challenges, where interactions between closely spaced hulls can significantly influence performance. Improved prediction of lift, resistance and trim behaviour supports more efficient hull optimisation, while insights into hull geometry and separation effects offer opportunities to enhance speed, stability and overall vessel efficiency.

Lightweight composite materials are creating new opportunities for ship design, but questions remain around the consistency of fire-safety assessment and regulatory interpretation. Flame spread, smoke and toxicity performance are critical considerations, with greater clarity needed to support safe adoption, consistent compliance and broader use of advanced materials across the maritime sector.

Specialist pipe-lay and heavy-lift vessels present unique safety and assurance challenges that extend beyond conventional ship operations. Classification choices, station-keeping performance, structural integrity, safety-critical systems and onboard chemical management all play vital roles in reducing risk, protecting the environment and enabling increasingly complex offshore operations.

How do cutouts affect the performance of laminated composite shells in demanding marine and aerospace environments? Combining laboratory resin-infusion manufacturing, free-vibration testing and validated numerical simulation, researchers revealed key dynamic behaviour patterns. Advanced mass-matrix modelling with rotary inertia and modal assurance verification offers insights for more reliable, maintainable structural designs.

How do cutouts affect the performance of laminated composite shells in demanding marine and aerospace environments? Combining laboratory resin-infusion manufacturing, free-vibration testing and validated numerical simulation, researchers revealed key dynamic behaviour patterns. Advanced mass-matrix modelling with rotary inertia and modal assurance verification offers insights for more reliable, maintainable structural designs.

How can simulator design influence engineering competence? By applying ergonomic principles to a full-mission engine room simulator, a redesigned mimic panel improved realism, usability and training effectiveness. The experience highlights how human-centred design can enhance operational learning environments and strengthen the quality of marine engineering education and professional preparedness.

Air-cavity drag reduction is moving closer to practical deployment through research linking cavity performance to controllable hydrodynamic actuators and wedge-shaped cavitators. Using potential-flow modelling, new insights into optimal operating conditions reveal how flow speed and hull trim influence efficiency gains, supporting more energy-efficient ship designs.

An integrated computer simulation model is advancing semi-submersible design by combining computational and experimental modules to capture six-degree-of-freedom dynamics and mooring-structure interactions. Validated against physical data, the framework reveals performance trade-offs between fibre and steel moorings, supporting optimisation, stability assessment and more resilient offshore platform development for future operating conditions.

A novel CAD-CFD redesign strategy demonstrates how targeted bow and stern modifications can unlock meaningful efficiency gains without altering core vessel characteristics. Validated against industry standards and applied to the KRISO container ship, the integrated approach delivers resistance and propulsion improvements, highlighting practical pathways to lower operating costs and emissions.

How can allied navies accurately model one of maritime operations’ most demanding tasks? A multinational team built and validated a distributed HLA-based simulation capturing seaway conditions, ship interactions and payload transfer dynamics. Proven against experimental data, the platform delivers valuable insights for system integration, operational planning and future naval capability development.