News

ShipConstructor Canada buys U.S. company

ShipConstructor Software Inc. of Victoria, Canada (SSI CA) is proud to announce that we have officially purchased all shares in ShipConstructor Software USA, Inc. of Mobile, Alabama, USA (SSI USA). We have taken over all operations effective immediately.
Click here for the pdf document (230KB/PDF)

Strategic collaboration boosts Brazil’s shipbuilding industry

Brazil’s Estaleiro Atlântico Sul (EAS), currently building the largest shipyard in the southern hemisphere, has chosen ShipConstructor 2008 software to design and construct their first order of ten Suezmax tankers as well as the construction of the Hull for the P-55 semi-sub production platform, representing a total order value of US$1.6 billion in Transpetro/Petrobras contracts, Rolf O. Oetter, President and CEO, ShipConstructor Inc., announced today.
Click here for the pdf document (328KB/PDF)

ShipConstructor launches its Split & Merge enterprise solution

"Split & Merge is a critical strategic tool that makes it easy to outsource portions of a project to specialized subcontractors while main-taining overall control and concurrent engineering through periodic merges," said Oetter. "SSI's Split & Merge database manage- ment system is a very easy-to-use way to parcel out distinct design/production module development assignments to skilled teams anywhere in the world. They can independently develop their section quickly, cost-effectively and accurately, then send back the completed file over a secure network for seamless reintegration into a single project model."
Click here for the pdf document (303KB/PDF)

SCHIFFKO expands its ship design capabilities with ShipConstructor software

"As an internationally working service company in the ship design segment, we have to apply the tools that our clients use", said Albrecht Delius, naval architect and managing director, SCHIFFKO. ShipConstructor is widely used throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, with steadily increasing markets in India, the Middle East and South America.
Click here for the pdf document (235KB/PDF)

ShipConstructor software supports Korea’s winning shipbuilding industry

A-System will immediately put ShipConstructor 2008 to work as the company begins modeling and detailing a new 290-meter pipe laying vessel for Yantai Raffles Shipyard Limited, under contract from Saipem.

"We’re very excited to be using world-class ShipConstructor to design this large, complex vessel," said S.G. Kim, President, A-System Co. Ltd. "ShipConstructor is the most dependable, powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use ship design software on the market today, and we are confident that it will help us to deliver the very best results for our client—on time and on budget."
Click here for the pdf document (306KB/PDF)

ShipConstructor is the software of choice for MIS and its new jack-up rigs.

MIS Engineering has recently purchased the highly popular new generation design software program, "Shipconstructor", to assist in the modeling and detailing, as well as construction engineering, of the New Build Jack Up Rigs.
Click here for the pdf document (103KB/PDF)

ShipConstructor knowledge base launched!

“Customers can now immediately get solutions to technical issues that other users or our developers have already identified and resolved,” said Rolf G. Oetter, President and CEO, SSI.
Click here for the pdf document (313KB/PDF)

Congratulations to our friends in China!

MSC TAMARA, a 4250 TEU container ship is the first of this type built by Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. which is part of the Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group. The multi-purpose 50,000 DWT vessel is 265m in overall length, with a service speed of 24.5 knots.
Click for a larger image

Sincronia’s New ShipConstructor Dealership is Aligned with the “Re-Birth” of the Brazilian Shipbuilding Industry

SSI is pleased to announce a partnership with Sincronia, as part of its growth strategy in the burgeoning South American market.

Sincronia brings a combination of 55 years of shipbuilding, offshore and IT experience to the Brazilian Shipbuilding/Offshore market.

Sincronia is a leading IT consultancy and system integrator focused on the offshore and shipbuilding sectors. The company specializes in integrating engineering processes with corporate information systems. Sincronia implements a document management/workflow solution—Sincronia IFM—as part of its integration services.

When contracted to evaluate and benchmark IT systems for an emerging Brazilian shipbuilder, Sincronia conducted extensive technical reviews of solutions which are commonly used in the Brazilian market. It became clear early on that none was a perfect match for the customer or the market, and Sincronia began to look to solutions that were successfully being used in other markets. ShipConstructor was found to be a natural fit for the Brazilian market, and a partnership between SSI and Sincronia was created as a result.

The company directors are Mr. Bruno Frana an Aeronautical Engineering graduate with over 15 years of IT experience in leading corporate accounts in Brazil and Mr. Coaracy da Silva, who has 40 years of experience in the shipbuilding and offshore industry, including key executive positions in several Brazilian yards.

“We are very excited about the potential for ShipConstructor in the Brazilian market. We are confident that we are bringing to Brazil excellent shipbuilding CAD/CAM software, with competitive pricing at the right time, ready to take part in the Brazilian shipbuilding industry's 're-birth'.” states Director Bruno Franca.

Contact: BRUNO FRANA, Managing Director
bruno@sincronia.com.br Website: www.sincronia.com.br

Norwegian Shipbuilding Experts Join ShipConstructor Team

SSI is pleased to welcome the newest member of the ShipConstructor team in Europe, Abeam AS. As the new dealer for Scandinavia, the Abeam AS team offers expert advice to the shipbuilding industry. The company will sell and support the ShipConstructor product line as well as provide training services to a variety of Marine industry clients.

Mr Mikhail Golovine and Mr. Vladimir Andreev established Abeam AS in Stavanger, Norway, with a focus on engineering consulting and distribution of ShipConstructor in Northern Europe.

Mr. Golovine (General Manager) is a Microsoft Certified Professional in software development with 10 years development experience in shipbuilding CAD/CAM. He was the leader of the software development teams for software products such as SeaSolution, SeaHydro and various integration packages.

Mr. Andreev (Technical Director) has over 14 years with CAD/CAM/CAE and over 10 years as CAD manager. In recent years he has worked in the Oil & Gas industry, supplying clients with expertise in “detail design” engineering.

After many years of experience with several shipbuilding systems Abeam recognized that ShipConstructor provides a superior design solution for the industry. “Becoming a ShipConstructor dealer was the natural next step for us after having carefully analyzed all currently available shipbuilding software systems,” says Vladimir Andreev.
Mr. Mikhail Golovine states: “ShipConstructor is very intuitive with more flexibility than its competitors. This makes it an extremely effective and valuable system which meets the unique demands of the very competitive marine market.”

Abeam AS was particularly impressed with the customizability of ShipConstructor when considering the sophisticated application programming interface. This API can be used in conjunction with any .NET capable programming language including MS Visual Basic .NET.

Contact: post@abeam.no

Looking forward with ShipConstructor 2008

ShipConstructor Software Inc. is excited to announce the release of ShipConstructor 2008 in the summer of 2007. The new release of SC 2008 was largely prompted by a choice to provide users with the option to utilize AutoCAD Versions 2007 and 2008 with the ShipConstructor software, while improving on the revolutionary design of SC 2006. ShipConstructor relies on proven AutoCAD technology and leverages the wealth of AutoCAD experience that already exists in the industry. This significantly reduces the time it takes to migrate to a ShipConstructor solution and simplifies data exchange with other parties.

The AutoCAD and ShipConstructor combination, continues to allow shipbuilders to access cutting edge technology within an internationally proven system. For example, using the AutoCAD 2008 Walk and Path animation tools, a user is able to identify points of interest within a model, and then create a path, or simply walk past those points to create an animation file that can then be distributed. The benefits of this process enable users to create the animation using different visual styles or 'shademodes' to obtain the best possible visual effect. Best of all it is possible to take the client on an “over the shoulder” tour of the design and expose any flaws early in the design process (well before any problems occur in the final product). In addition, AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD 2008 represent the first major change to AutoCAD 3D graphics capabilities in years. These changes enhance the ShipConstructor experience with faster display performance and significantly higher quality presentation, as well as better 3D modeling and rendering tools.

National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) awards funding for ShipConstructor Software education & Training Development

VICTORIA, British Columbia May 9, 2007 - The NSRP Second Tier Shipyard Design Enhancement Project III (STSDEP III) is part of 11 new research projects valued at $32 million. The STSDEP III project, which was awarded $8.8 million of the total funding, will focus on adding high priority functionality to ShipConstructor. The goal of the project is to build a common, interoperable 3D computer-aided ship design capability based on the ShipConstructor software platform. The results will reduce costs in design, engineering and maintenance activities associated with ship construction and repair.

The NSRP Education and Training module is also a key part of the overall program. ShipConstructor Software Inc. (SSI) is an integral part of a team comprised of industry and academia that was awarded $635,000. The funding was provided to develop a Marine Design curriculum to be offered as part of the Continuing Education curriculum at the University of South Alabama and at the University of Wisconsin, Marinette. In addition to SSI, the industry team includes a number of shipyards and naval architecture firms. The curriculum development, which features hands on use of ShipConstructor software as a learning tool, is being led by ShipConstructor Software USA (SSI USA), with direct assistance from curriculum development experts at the two universities. The courses will provide classroom and practical hands on design experience for students in the field of marine design, addressing a critical shortage of skilled and trained marine designers.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

20 December 2006

ShipConstructor Software Inc. will discontinue Expander sales as of 31 January 2007 and discontinue Expander support as of 30 June 2007. Expander will not be upgraded for use with Rhino 4.

The ShipConstructor Hull module incorporates all of the capabilities available in Expander as part of its vastly more comprehensive software package. Many of our Expander clients already make use of ShipConstructor Hull - if you currently don't, we encourage you to investigate the compatibility of ShipConstructor Hull with your design needs.

Press Release (html)

October 10, 2006

Martec and ShipConstructor Partner for Integrated 3D Modeling, Design and Analysis of Ships

Martec Ltd., developer of the Trident suite of structural analysis and seakeeping software, and ShipConstructor Software Inc. developer of the ShipConstructor suite of 3D product modeling and production planning software, officially announced a strategic partnership to combine the capabilities of their software products for the marine industry.

Additional Coverage:
Engineeringtalk, October 12, 2006
Shipbuilding Energy Transport, October 11, 2006
Maritime Global Net, October 10, 2006

Newsletter (603KB/pdf)

September, 2006

• ShipConstructor 2006 Released more...
• ARL Becomes SSI more...
• Building a ShipConstructor Community more...
• Shipyard Design Enhancement Project Focuses on Electrical more...
• New Tool For Ship Component Handling more...
• Tips & Tricks: Efficient Modeling more...
• Tips & Tricks: AutoCAD Tables more...

Editorial (1.97MB/pdf)

August, 2006

Ferry Technology:

Modelling benefits skills as well as construction

The high speed passenger ferry Ibis, which recently celebrated  its first year in service, was built at the Sumidagawa Shipyard in Japan. The yard used ShipConstructor AutoCAD-based 3D product modeling software to design the ferry structure and co-ordinate the production process.

See also High Speed Passenger Ferry project profile.

Press Release (html)

July 31, 2006

ShipConstructor Releases New Software Version

ShipConstructor Software Inc. (SSI CA), developer of the leading AutoCAD-based 3D product modeling and production planning software suite ShipConstructor, today announced the release of their latest software version: ShipConstructor 2006.

Additional Coverage:
Schiff & Hafen, October, 2006 (825KB/pdf)
The Naval Architect, October, 2006 (1.01MB/pdf)
Work Boat World, October, 2006 (583KB/pdf)
Ship & Boat International, September/October, 2006 (1.34MB/pdf)
Maritime IT & Electronics, August/September, 2006 (1.86MB/pdf)
Engineeringtalk, August 2, 2006
The Motor Ship, August 1, 2006
International Tug & Salvage, July/August, 2006 (1.19MB/pdf)
Cadalyst Management, July 31, 2006
CADinfo, July 31, 2006
Shipbuilding Energy Transport, July 31, 2006

Editorial (1.14MB/pdf)

July, 2006

Marine Log:

Separating the Real from the Imagined

Profit margins at new construction shipyards often rest on a razor's edge. So the vessel production process better be finely honed, otherwise you're either going to lose money on the contract or not win it in the first place because your design, engineering and production costs are too high.

Editorial (502KB/pdf)

June, 2006

Work Boat World:

One2Three Adopts Maxsurf and ShipConstructor

Since their founding in Sydney, Australia in August 2005, naval architecture company One2Three has implemented a full range of design, analysis and production detailing software.

Press Release (html)

May 30, 2006

U.S. Navy Funds Noran Engineering and ShipConstructor Software on Software Project for Ship Production

Noran Engineering, Inc., a leading developer of NEi Nastran finite element analysis (FEA) software announced a collaborative effort with ShipConstructor Software, a developer of 3D product modeling software for the maritime industry, to develop a program that will solve a major production problem in shipyards with safe, damage free lifting and handling of ship components during construction.

Additional Coverage:
Engineeringtalk, June 1, 2006
Yahoo! Finance, May 31, 2006
CADinfo, May 30, 2006

Press Release (html)

April 3, 2006

Shipyard Design Enhancement Project Focuses on Electrical Design

ShipConstructor Software Inc. is aggressively pursuing the needs of the international shipbuilding base by responding to industry desires to examine and develop the specifications for an electrical design module package.

Additional Coverage:
Ocean News & Technology, May/June, 2006 (721 KB/pdf)
Ship & Boat International, May/June, 2006 (466KB/pdf)
Fairplay Solutions, May, 2006 (118KB/pdf)
Naval Forces, May, 2006 (272KB/pdf)
Shipping World & Shipbuilder, May, 2006 (705KB/pdf)
Ships and Shipping, May, 2006 (431KB/pdf)
Marine Talk, April 6, 2006
Marine Log, April 4, 2006
Shipbuilding Energy Transport, April 4, 2006
CIMdata, April 3, 2006

 2005

Press Release (html)

December 23, 2005

Albacore Research Ltd. Becomes ShipConstructor Software Inc.

Albacore Research Ltd. (ARL), the creator of the 3D Product Modeling and Production Planning software ShipConstructor, is proud to announce the company’s new name: ShipConstructor Software Inc. (SSI).

Additional Coverage:
International Tug & Salvage, February, 2006 (114KB/pdf)
The Yacht Report, February, 2006 (28KB/pdf)
World Shipbuilding, February, 2006 (128KB/pdf)
Marine Talk, January 3, 2006
Shipbuilding Energy Transport, December 26, 2005

Press Release (html)

December 20, 2005

High Performance Large Yacht Construction Using Product Data Models

“High Performance Large Yacht Construction Using Product Data Models” will be one paper presented during the Second High Performance Yacht Design Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, in February 2006.

Editorial (601KB/pdf)

November, 2005

World Shipbuilding:

Australian Ships Take Shape With ShipConstructor

Australia's dominance of the high speed ferry market is well known. However less understood is the considerable role of naval shipbuilding in that country.

Press Release (html)

October 11, 2005

Patrick D. Cahill Starts ShipConstructor USA

Albacore Research Ltd. (ARL) is proud to announce that Mr. Patrick D. Cahill joined the ShipConstructor team, representing ShipConstructor in the USA as a consultant, supporting sales, training and customer service. Near-term plans are to open a US-subsidiary with Pat at the helm.

Additional Coverage:
World Shipbuilding, December, 2005 (282KB/pdf)
Shipbuilding Energy Transport, October 12, 2005
Ship & Boat International, November, 2005 (1.04MB/pdf)
CIMdata, October 11, 2005

Press Release (html)

October 4, 2005

ShipConstructor to Support STEP Import and Export

Albacore Research Ltd. (ARL), the creator of the 3D product modeling software ShipConstructor and Industrial Planning Technology, Inc. (IPT) are cooperating on the development of a translator that will enable ShipConstructor to import and export STEP files containing pipe, HVAC, and equipment data. This technology will significantly enhance...

Additional Coverage:
The Naval Architect, January, 2006 (573KB/pdf)
Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, November, 2005 (218KB/pdf)
Shipbuilding Energy Transport, October 5, 2005
Marine Link, October 4, 2005
CADwire, October 4, 2005

Editorial (526KB/pdf)

October, 2005

Marine Log:

The Staten Island Ferry, Digitally Speaking

Staten Island Ferry's Guy V. Molinari was built with the help of state-of-the-art software. Marinette Marine, part of the Manitowac Marine Group, designed the ferry structure using ShipConstructor, the AutoCAD-based 3D product modeling system for the design and fabrication of ships and offshore structures.

See also Staten Island Ferry project profile.