Maritime Archives - Mechtraveller https://mechtraveller.com/category/transport/maritime/ Mechanically-minded travel Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:47:01 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 What’s the significance of Brittany Ferries’ New-Generation Cross-Channel Ferries? https://mechtraveller.com/2026/02/whats-the-significance-of-brittany-ferries-new-generation-cross-channel-ferries/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/02/whats-the-significance-of-brittany-ferries-new-generation-cross-channel-ferries/#respond Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:10:37 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12858 Almost one year ago, Brittany Ferries introduced their new flagship ‘Guillaume de Normandie‘, intended to replace the old ‘Normandie‘ on their Portsmouth – Caen/Ouistreham* route. Like her sister ship, Saint-Malo (SM), which began operating Portsmouth – St Malo two months earlier, the Guillaume de Normandie (GdN) is not a simple replacement, she’s a Chinese-built new-generation […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/02/whats-the-significance-of-brittany-ferries-new-generation-cross-channel-ferries/feed/ 0 What would happen if your preferred Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) shut down? https://mechtraveller.com/2025/12/what-would-happen-if-your-preferred-global-navigation-satellite-system-gnss-shut-down/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/12/what-would-happen-if-your-preferred-global-navigation-satellite-system-gnss-shut-down/#respond Sat, 20 Dec 2025 15:36:08 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12553 This is some interesting engineering. Have you wondered, as you watch your Amazon parcel “just 5 stops away”, what our world would look like if we suddenly lost GPS? It’s not just you, and a squillion delivery drivers. It would effect all transport systems (apart maybe for rail!), and it’s estimated that just a short […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/12/what-would-happen-if-your-preferred-global-navigation-satellite-system-gnss-shut-down/feed/ 0 Sail-powered cargo ship will also carry passengers https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/sail-powered-cargo-ship-will-also-carry-passengers/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/sail-powered-cargo-ship-will-also-carry-passengers/#respond Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:23:23 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12319 Yesterday, the French shipping company Neoline held a naming ceremony in its registration port of Nantes for its first sail-powered Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) cargo ship. As I write, Neoliner Origin, is heading down the Loire estuary* passing the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard at St. Nazaire where she got her two giant, self-furling, self-adjusting SolidSails that […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/sail-powered-cargo-ship-will-also-carry-passengers/feed/ 0 Cunard’s 185th anniversary celebrated with an exhibition of historic photographs https://mechtraveller.com/2025/05/cunards-185th-anniversary-celebrated-with-an-exhibition-of-historic-photographs/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/05/cunards-185th-anniversary-celebrated-with-an-exhibition-of-historic-photographs/#respond Mon, 26 May 2025 15:06:15 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=11711 Tomorrow (27 May) in Liverpool, the shipping and cruise line Cunard opens its new ‘Sea of Glamour’ photography exhibition, celebrating the line’s 185 year history. Curated by British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney, the exhibition features 185 incredible images – sourced from the Cunard archives, and a collection of guest pictures, chosen from more than […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/05/cunards-185th-anniversary-celebrated-with-an-exhibition-of-historic-photographs/feed/ 0 Hurtigruten Norway Reveals Concept Designs for a Zero-Emission Cruise Ship https://mechtraveller.com/2023/06/hurtigruten-norway-reveals-concept-designs-for-a-zero-emission-cruise-ship/ https://mechtraveller.com/2023/06/hurtigruten-norway-reveals-concept-designs-for-a-zero-emission-cruise-ship/#respond Wed, 07 Jun 2023 16:25:41 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=9037 Under project name Sea Zero, Hurtigruten Norway has unveiled plans for its first zero-emission ship, but we’re not going to be cruising around the fjords on it any time soon. The cruise ferry company, together with a consortium of 12 maritime partners and the research institute SINTEF, has been looking at ways of achieving emission-free […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2023/06/hurtigruten-norway-reveals-concept-designs-for-a-zero-emission-cruise-ship/feed/ 0 Shore-side power is the key to sustainable cruising says the Port of Kiel https://mechtraveller.com/2023/04/shore-side-power-is-the-key-to-sustainable-cruising-says-the-port-of-kiel/ https://mechtraveller.com/2023/04/shore-side-power-is-the-key-to-sustainable-cruising-says-the-port-of-kiel/#respond Fri, 14 Apr 2023 09:49:07 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=8886 The Port of Kiel in northern Germany has a packed programme of 221 cruise ship visits for this 2023 cruise season*, starting today (14 Apr) with Fred. Olsen Lines’ Balmoral. The port says that being a pioneer in sustainability means it continues to enjoy high popularity among international cruise lines. It has already become an […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2023/04/shore-side-power-is-the-key-to-sustainable-cruising-says-the-port-of-kiel/feed/ 0 Disney Cruise Line switches to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for propulsion https://mechtraveller.com/2022/02/disney-cruise-line-switches-to-liquefied-natural-gas-lng-for-propulsion/ https://mechtraveller.com/2022/02/disney-cruise-line-switches-to-liquefied-natural-gas-lng-for-propulsion/#respond Thu, 17 Feb 2022 10:52:12 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=7309 The fifth and latest Disney Cruise Line ship, Disney Wish, was floated out of the massive Meyer Werft construction hall in Papenberg, Germany, last week, and she is the first new ship for Disney to be fuelled by low-emission Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Many ferries & commercial ships now use LNG propulsion and the cruise […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2022/02/disney-cruise-line-switches-to-liquefied-natural-gas-lng-for-propulsion/feed/ 0 A New Antarctic Expedition Ship with an Unusual Shape https://mechtraveller.com/2019/11/a-new-antarctic-expedition-ship-with-an-unusual-shape/ https://mechtraveller.com/2019/11/a-new-antarctic-expedition-ship-with-an-unusual-shape/#respond Fri, 01 Nov 2019 12:19:53 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=5456 Aurora Expeditions, who specialise in expeditions to the polar regions, yesterday named their new ship, the Greg Mortimer, in a ceremony set against the snow-capped mountains of Ushuaia, Argentina. The new ship has a striking profile because she is the first passenger vessel in the world to utilise the patented Ulstein X-BOW® technology, an inverted […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2019/11/a-new-antarctic-expedition-ship-with-an-unusual-shape/feed/ 0 How do Cruise Ships Handle Outboard Shifting Mass? https://mechtraveller.com/2018/11/how-do-cruise-ships-handle-outboard-shifting-mass/ https://mechtraveller.com/2018/11/how-do-cruise-ships-handle-outboard-shifting-mass/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2018 10:36:15 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=3926 Any nautical engineers or ship designers out there, who know the answer? We’ve all been enjoying the sight of Celebrity Edge being delivered and now embarking on her first cruises. Her stand-out (literally) feature is the ‘Magic Carpet’ – “the world’s first cantilevered, floating platform” that rises up the starboard side of the ship from […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2018/11/how-do-cruise-ships-handle-outboard-shifting-mass/feed/ 2 Talk about ‘Seamless Cruise Ship Production’! https://mechtraveller.com/2018/11/talk-about-seamless-cruise-ship-production/ https://mechtraveller.com/2018/11/talk-about-seamless-cruise-ship-production/#respond Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:52:36 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=3838 I know just how astonishingly efficient shipyards are these day. I’ve seen it. As soon as one, assembled-but-not-kitted-out, ship is floated out of the Meyer Werft (Germany) dock, the first blocks for the next ship are already being laid, and at Fincantieri (Italy) there are several ships on the go at the same time! But […]

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