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EDITOR’S NOTE

A one-week trip to the SMM Trade Show held in Hamburg, Germany reminds me that in- novation is alive in well in the world of maritime commerce. There’s nothing like trudging across acres of thousands of exhibitors to demonstrate that, just when you think you’ve seen it all, something new comes around the next bend to prove you wrong. But, it’s like drinking from a fi re hose. At the same time, it was clear that there is much on that side of the pond that we can also put to work on ours. And, of course, we can show them a thing or two, as well.

Progress on the waterfront during the fi nal 50 years of the previous century was (arguably) mea- sured in the almost unbelievable increases in deadweight, LOA, beam and draft of waterborne ton- nage. If that’s true, then the fi rst 50 years of this one will almost certainly be known for the equally amazing leaps in technology that go into building even the smallest of hulls. Just as the master of yesterday’s T-2 tankers could not have imagined sailing on the ULCC’s of today, even the high-tech gadgets on board today’s vessels will seem pedestrian to the mariners of tomorrow.

Innovation on the waterfront is alive and well. If necessity is the mother of invention, then the regulatory and operational crises of today are most certainly the drivers of tomorrow’s technologies.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the world of maritime security workboats, especially those being produced by domestic boatbuilders from coast to coast here at home. Demand from foreign navies and coast guards – as well as domestic municipal and federal sectors – are fueling robust output of competitively priced, well-built high tech hulls. At a time when bluewater shipbuilders are experi- encing a sustained upswing in domestic deliveries, our workboat builders are serving notice that they can compete on a global scale. Susan Buchanan lays out the story, starting on page 28 of this edition.

Many stakeholders believe that the domestic oil boom is the biggest factor driving our maritime rebound. If so, then it also follows that the need for environmental compliance and fuel economy form the one-two punch which is guiding the creation of new and innovative designs for brown water tonnage. That means LNG. The race to create and market the perfect LNG bunker barge and some interesting twists on that concept is well underway. The competition between naval architec- ture shops is fi erce and not surprisingly, so is the battle to gain market share for the CAD/CAM software packages that allow designers to whip up these forward-thinking ideas. We explore both situations, also within these pages.

October is a time when the leaves begin to turn and we look ahead to the weather change certain to come. The waterfront is also taking a turn, in this case, for the better. Looking around at all that has happened, I can’t help but think that those who do not do the same will be forever left behind. [email protected]

Joseph Keefe, Editor, [email protected]

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October 2014

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