She’s the “Swiss Army Knife” of the US Navy. Recovery of downed aircraft, towing of sunken vessels, or clearing of debris to reopen a harbor in the wake of a natural disaster… USNS Grasp has done it all. Her cranes enable deep-sea salvage of all sorts. But what makes her special is her ability to support a team of up to 14 Navy divers on dangerous mixed-gas descents to depths of more than 200 metres. She’s one of only four vessels in the entire US fleet capable of doing so.
Subjects: Design
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Neptune
Purpose-built to install the world’s most powerful wind turbines. Imagine a ship that can raise herself up 15 metres (5 storeys) out of the water to create a stable construction platform in the middle of the sea. Now add a 600-ton crane ready to reach high into the sky. That’s Neptune: brand-new, ready and willing to install the world’s heaviest and most powerful wind turbines on Belgium’s first offshore wind farm.
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Norwegian Breakaway: The Build
Follow the building of the Norwegian Breakaway at Germany’s Meyer-Werft shipyard; it is the largest ship they’ve ever built and they have only 18 months to finish it.
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Norwegian Breakaway: Maiden Voyage
The Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship sets sail on her first voyage, and her captain faces a tough decision when a North Atlantic tempest forms.
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Wind Surf
The Wind Surf, a sleek, five-masted luxury sailing yacht, is large enough to pamper and yet small enough to tuck into tiny harbors and hidden coves.
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Avataq
The Avataq carries everything from food and furniture to mining equipment and explosives to Quebecs inaccessible northern regions.
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Stemat Spirit
Stemat Spirit is built to work on land, approaching shore during high tide, settling on the sand as the tide recedes and sailing out to sea, laying cable as she goes, when the tide returns.
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North Star
Perfect – and looking to keep it that way. The Roll-On/Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) ship North Star is one of the only links between Alaska and the continental U.S. So far this winter, her captain, Richard Cadigan, has delivered everything from food to building supplies to pickup trucks from Seattle to Anchorage on time – within a short 72-hour window.
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FPSO Maersk Peregrino
She’s the most expensive single project in Maersk history. For the same price as 50 container ships – $1.3 billion – the world’s largest ship company has built the newest and most sophisticated ship the oil industry has ever seen. She is designed to receive oil from nearby platforms, process it, and offload it to visiting tankers. Now it’s time to for her start making good on that investment.
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Umiak I
Umiak I is the most powerful, highest-rated ice-breaking bulk carrier in the world. Her muscular engine is the biggest in Canada. Not just the biggest on any ship, but the biggest, period. It can drive this ship through ice conditions that would send other vessels back home. Umiak I can crush sheets of ice almost 2 metres thick, and her bow can ram through ridges up to 10 metres high.