The Naval Architect provides in-depth information on all aspects of vessel design, construction and engineering. Practical applications of latest technology and case studies are accompanied by analysis and foresights. Published every two months, the magazine covers everything from superyachts and short-hop ferries to tankers and heavy-lift vessels; from battery pack installations and sail-assisted solutions to LNG tank retrofits; and from offshore safety to warship resilience.
The underwater arms race
The UK's BAE Systems is building Astute-class and Dreadnought-class submarines (image: BAE Systems)
The global undersea arms race is transforming not just navies but the engineering profession behind them. Workforce, digital capability and nuclear stewardship are now as strategically important as the platforms themselves.
Polar planning
Ice tank testing is essential to design for a changing Arctic (image: Getty images/Canadian Coast Guard)
As the climate warms, there’s growing interest in transiting once unnavigable seas. Amy McLellan explores ways to support increased shipping in ice-affected waters.
On the rocks in Canada
Dublin serves as a staging platform for personnel and cargo of the grounded Baltic III (image: Canadian Coast Guard)
More than a year after the containership Baltic III grounded on the remote Newfoundland coast during a severe storm, a wreck removal plan is finally in place, but the complex and challenging operation still has years to run, and important questions remain.
My focus as President
Annabelle Ransome-Williams FRINA is the new president of Royal Institution of Naval Architects
Welcome to the latest issue of The Naval Architect. I am honoured to have been elected President of RINA, and I would like to thank members for the confidence and trust you have placed in me.
MIT lab improves human and AUV interactions
The project seeks to combine the strengths of humans and robots - cropped (image: MIT)
Researchers address capability gaps in underwater navigation and perception.
We are on the right path
Catriona Savage: Broadening the language around engineering, for teachers, parents and young people alike, is essential.
Catriona Savage on the pace of change in her time as RINA president.
Success on a plate
Solar panels on the ferry's roof would supply 11% of the vessel's auxiliary electricity demand (image: Universitas Indonesia)
Team Nagapasa’s flat-bottomed catamaran ferry won the WFSA’s Maritime Student Design Competition, meeting the constraints of a shallow, hazard-prone river route with a design built for affordability and local construction.
Baltic first for carbon capture and storage
The planned CO₂ transshipment terminal in Klaipėda is expected to have a capacity of approximately 2.8 million tonnes of CO₂ per year (image: KN Energies)
Aker wins contract for CO2 terminal in Lithuania; and First battery-methanol-powered tug set to sail.
We'd better be ready for AI
Evangelos Boulougouris: There is a clear trend to move from AI as a plug-in to AI-native design toolchains
Evangelos Boulougouris on using artificial intelligence in ship design.
LNG for cruise: the design implications
MSC Cruises is transitioning its passenger fleet to LNG to improve energy efficiency
A report from Lloyd’s Register, Fuel for Thought: LNG for Cruise, says liquefied natural gas is established as the dominant alternative fuel in the sector by a considerable margin, evidenced by the fact that 30 LNG-fuelled cruiseships of 20,000GT and above are in service and a further 29 are on order. What does that mean for naval architects?
You can't just add autonomy
James Gladman: Trust in autonomous systems comes from transparency of intent, consistency of behaviour and clearly communicated confidence and limitations
James Gladman on staying in control and why HAT is key.
Wargaming Baltic Sentry
The wargame setup
RINA’s Warship 2026: Submarines conference, on 24-25 June 2026, University of Bath. How a wargame series is being used to help combat hostile underwater activity.
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