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In the last decade, the superyacht industry has boomed. Of course, with the growth of any luxury market also comes an increase in security issues within that market. &nbsp;
While pirates have been a threat to marine vessels ever since we first invented the boat, now yacht owners and managers must deal with a new threat: hackers.&nbsp;
All industries, including the marine industry, have moved more online in the last few years. The need for online service and support was made clear a few years ago, and the superyacht industry has had to pivot to a more online service model, as well as general operations while at sea. &nbsp;
Safety management systems are now online, and communication and navigation are done via the internet. This has generally made things safer and more reliable, but it does open up yachts to new threats like cybercrime. &nbsp;
As we move into an increasingly uncertain future, superyachts, their owners, and their manufacturers will likely become targets for malicious activity. &nbsp;
There are new risks that must be managed if the superyacht industry wants to retain its reputation. &nbsp;
<h2>Risk in the superyacht industry&nbsp;</h2>
<h3>Piracy&nbsp;</h3>
The oldest threat to the marine industry is unfortunately just as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago. As things become more desperate for people around the world, the promise of wealth, perfectly captured in the form of a nearby superyacht is hard to ignore, driving many to piracy. &nbsp;
<h3>Cybersecurity&nbsp;</h3>
If someone manages to hack into a yacht&rsquo;s network, they can potentially take control of the navigation system, communications system, and surveillance systems, all of which can aid with physical attacks. &nbsp;
<h3>Supply Chain Disruption&nbsp;</h3>
Throughout the pandemic, virtually every industry on the planet has suffered some form of disruption to its supply chain. The industry may need to re-evaluate how it operates as we move forward into a world where speed is the number one priority for all customers. &nbsp;
<h2>How to manage risk in the superyacht industry&nbsp;</h2>
<h3>Identify all threat vectors and assess your defences &nbsp;</h3>
You can&rsquo;t protect yourself if you don&rsquo;t know what threats you face. Carrying out a full audit of your cyber security, entry points, fuel, supply chain access, durability, staff, and other vulnerabilities will show you exactly where you stand, and where you need to improve. &nbsp;
This allows you to build a practical risk assessment and strategy for moving forward, as well as being able to manage all risks end-to-end. &nbsp;
Unfortunately, given the world we live in, everything must be analysed, from the management company to the fuel supplier to the engine manufacturer. &nbsp;
From here, you can begin to assess which threats are most likely to be faced, on specific voyages, in specific conditions, and begin investments to improve protection where it will be needed most. &nbsp;
<h3>Remove human error wherever possible&nbsp;</h3>
Employees across the entire manufacturing and management process must meet a high standard of work and knowledge about the end product.&nbsp;
It is now essential that cyber security awareness should be included in basic training. Human error is the number one cause of cyberattacks, so crew and support staff must be trained in cyber security awareness and always follow best practices. Cyber security must be given equal importance as fire safety, survival techniques, and first aid if a modern yacht is to stay safe.&nbsp;
Accountability is also crucial. Roles and responsibilities for all those on board the yacht and in the management, company should be made clear, along with penalties for those who fail to comply with the procedure. With everyone clear on what they need to do, and the proper education and training, there should be fewer opportunities for cyber-attacks and other issues to occur. &nbsp;
<h3>Ensure robust security&nbsp;</h3>
Whether physical or virtual, security is the number one deterrent to bad actors. &nbsp;
Bringing on additional security personnel and surveillance equipment, as well as the most up to date cybersecurity can help prevent attacks just by being there, rather than repelling any attacks.&nbsp;
Criminals will usually do some research or reconnaissance before attempting anything, and if it&rsquo;s clear that you&rsquo;re a tougher target than someone else, you&rsquo;ll be left alone. &nbsp;
Times are changing for the superyacht industry and the marine industry. While staying compliant with the new legislation is the first step towards security, the industry must go above and beyond to ensure the reputation of the industry and the protection of its clients
Learn more about <a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/creating-a-sustainable-workforce-for-the-marine-industry">creating a sustainable workforce for the marine industry</a>, or read about <a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/marine-sustainability-trends">marine sustainability trends</a>&nbsp;

Managing Risk In The Superyacht Industry

SailGP is growing more popular than ever before, thanks to the spectacle of the races, the skill of the competitors, and the community that is growing around the sport.
Now in its fourth season, SailGP is unlike any other racing on offer, with new fans flocking to the sport in droves. 117 million people watched last season, with more predicted this year, so now is the perfect time to get into this emerging sport.
<h2>What is SailGP?</h2>
SailGP is a marine racing tournament that runs every year. Currently, the countries that participate are: the USA, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, and Great Britain.
A new sport, the races are designed to be fast and exciting, to capture and keep attention. While other sports can last hours, SailGP races are typically around 15-20 minutes, meaning you get to the action right away, and everyone is pushing to their limits for the entire race.
Six races are held, with the last one being a battle between the top three performing teams across the season.
Perhaps most exciting of all: the final race is winner-takes-all, where anything can happen, and anyone can win.
<h2>Why SailGP is so popular</h2>
<h3>It&rsquo;s a global sport</h3>
SailGP takes place all over the world, allowing for a huge range of locations to travel to, if you&rsquo;re a superfan, or to watch from the comfort of home.
Season 4 will feature 12 events that will see new races in Los Angeles, Canada, and the Middle East, Italy and New York returning to the calendar, and classic locations such as Sydney, San Francisco, and Saint-Tropez.
<h3>It&rsquo;s inclusive</h3>
Unlike many other sports, SailGP has mixed athletes. There were 26 female athletes on the teams last season, and the organisers are committing to bringing more women into the sport.
Their Women&rsquo;s Pathway program aims to create gender equity in the sport, providing women with access to training and development opportunities.
<h3>The spectacle</h3>
SailGP features high-performance foiling catamarans that, when sailing at high-speeds, seem to fly above the water. Other factors, like waves and weather, can help create dramatic scenes for boats to sail across, battling it out against other competitors and the ocean itself.
Each racecourse is finalised by the race committee no later than five minutes before the starting signal, ensuring the weather conditions are right. This means each race is an unknown, a new experience, with no guarantee of who might win.
<h3>Tactics</h3>
Another reason why people love SailGP is the tactics, which can have a huge impact on how the race goes, with upsets and surprises happening frequently, making the sport a joy to watch.
Some will start slow, while others will dash out as fast as possible, trying to take the lead. Of course, this can lead to collisions and penalties, so sometimes it pays to hang back and avoid other boats.
And there are a lot of boats to avoid, with more teams taking part than ever before. This leads to most boats being within a close distance of each other, meaning no one&rsquo;s lead is secure for long. Since collisions are a constant danger which can lead to heavy penalties, there is usually some creative sailing to avoid each other, while still trying to stay in the race.
This means that the race is on right up until the last moment, with no one playing it safe.
<h3>The F50 Catamaran</h3>
Lastly, the boats that take part in these races use cutting edge technology and production techniques, providing intense action and strong competition, every time.
10 years of development lead to the creation of the F50, with a top speed of around 54 knots, or 62 mph. All the boats in the series are the same model, with the same equipment, so no one has an edge in terms of hardware.
Part of why SailGP is popular is because the difference between winning and losing isn&rsquo;t about who has the best setup: it comes down to courage, skill, tactics, and maybe a little luck.
SailGP is the most dynamic and exciting sailing you can watch, and some of the most dramatic racing you can see on the planet, so get involved and see why it&rsquo;s growing in popularity year on year.
<h5>Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/marine-racing-for-the-future">marine racing</a>, or learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-the-gas-shortage-is-predicted-to-impact-the-marine-industry">how the gas shortage is expected to impact the marine industry</a>.</h5>

Why SailGP is on the Rise

The marine industry is one of the worst polluters in the world, making up around 3% of all carbon emissions yearly, equivalent to the total level of emissions from entire countries like Germany or Japan.
This is due to the shipping industry mostly running on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. The industry currently uses around 300 million tonnes of fossil fuels a year. If nothing is done, this is due to get worse, as shipping levels are predicted to vastly increase by 2050. If the industry doesn&rsquo;t address its pollution problem, it will hasten climate change on a dramatic scale.
Luckily, there are alternative, cleaner fuels the industry is looking at to lower its carbon footprint. One such alternative is biofuel, which is abundant, easy to store, transport, and use, and doesn&rsquo;t pollute as much as fossil fuels. While not as clean as truly green energy like solar power, biofuels can work as a good stopgap solution while the industry shifts away from traditional fuels like oil and gas.
Liquid biofuel demand is predicted to grow to 3.4 million boepd (barrel of oil equivalent per day) in 2030, and 5.3 million boepd by 2050, so it&rsquo;s clear biofuels have a big future in the marine industry.
<h2>What are biofuels</h2>
Biofuels are a sustainable fuel source produced from renewable biomass: things like vegetable oils, animal waste, crop residues, and food waste.
&nbsp;When used in the marine industry, biofuel is typically in a liquid form, but it can be gaseous as well.
The three most common biofuels are:
HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil), also known as renewable diesel
&nbsp;FAME (fatty acid methyl ester), also known as biodiesel
&nbsp;Bioethanol
&nbsp;The three fuels that are most used in shipping are HVO, FAME, and bioLNG, which is liquefied biomethane produced from biomass.
<h3>&nbsp;Hydrotreated vegetable oil</h3>
&nbsp;HVO is made by taking vegetable oils and fats and removing the oxygen from them in a chemical reaction, using hydrogen to produce renewable diesel. HVO is available in its pure form or as a blend.
<h3>Fatty Acid Methyl Ester</h3>
&nbsp;FAME is the most commonly used biofuel quality in shipping and, like HVO, can be derived from various vegetable oils, used cooking oil, or animal fats. It is made using a process called transesterification, which converts the fatty acids to biodiesel in a reaction with methanol. FAME is available as a pure product or as a blend.
<h3>BioLNG</h3>
&nbsp;BioLNG is produced by liquefying biomethane made from biogas, which can be produced from animal waste, crop residues, and food waste.
<h2>Why biofuels will make a difference in the shipping industry</h2>
<h3>They can reduce carbon emissions</h3>
One of the main reasons why biofuels are going to be introduced in shipping is because they will reduce the industry&rsquo;s overall emission levels. This is important as in 2018, the International Maritime Organisation launched its Greenhouse Gas strategy. The strategy recommended that the shipping industry must reduce its total annual emissions by at least 50% of 2008 levels by 2050, with an emphasis towards zero emissions.
Biofuel blends can reduce carbon emissions by anywhere from 5-25%, so can help to reduce pollution while cleaner fuel methods are developed and improved.
<h3>Price of fuel</h3>
While biofuel can be expensive today, the price is lowering as production becomes easier, and more widespread.
Conversely, fossil fuels can only get more expensive as the supply dwindles. Eventually, it will cease to make economic sense to run a fleet on fossil fuels, as biofuels will be cheaper and easier to acquire. &nbsp;
Biofuels provide a simple, flexible solution to the shipping industry&rsquo;s pollution problem while more long-term methods are researched.
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/marine-sustainability-trends">marine sustainability</a>, or learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-the-gas-shortage-is-predicted-to-impact-the-marine-industry">how the gas shortage will impact the marine industry</a>.

The Future Of Biofuels In The Marine Industry

The energy crisis is having an impact on almost every industry around the world. You can&rsquo;t have an industry without energy, so the strain will be felt on costs, operations, and ability to meet demand. The marine industry is no exception.
The war in Ukraine has caused widespread disruption to global shipping, and has worsened supply chain disruption, port congestion, and labour shortages initially caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
&nbsp;
<h2>How the energy crisis is impacting the marine industry</h2>
<h3>Cost of fuel</h3>
&nbsp;The most immediate consequence of a scarcity of fuel is that the price of fuel will rise.
The price of very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), the 0.5% sulfur fuel that most commercial ships use, spiked after Russia&rsquo;s invasion of Ukraine. In June, the price rose to over $1,000 per tonne, double its price the previous year. &nbsp;
Ships with exhaust gas scrubbers have fared slightly better, able to save around $150-$300 per tonne of fuel, as they are able to use high sulfur fuel oil which isn&rsquo;t as expensive due to lower demand.
The prolonged conflict in Ukraine has reshaped global trade, in part due to businesses choosing not to use Russian fuel. This has driven up the cost and availability of fuel and pushed some businesses to use alternative, non-compliant fuels, with lower explosive temperature. This obviously increases the danger of shipping, as well as the gradual breakdown of machinery running on low-quality fuel, so businesses face a tough decision either way.
<h3>Ability to transport goods</h3>
Without fuel, you can&rsquo;t leave port.
&nbsp;Between 80-90% of the world&rsquo;s transport of goods is done via shipping, so when shipping becomes more difficult, the global supply chain feels the impact severely and immediately.
&nbsp;Looking at Ukraine, when the war began, hundreds of vessels were trapped in ports, unable to leave. This has a huge impact on countries&rsquo; economies, unable to trade, as well as the businesses that do the transporting of goods.
&nbsp;
<h3>Smaller businesses may fail</h3>
Without large reserves of funding, years of relationships with fuel suppliers, or the ability to invest in green fuel, smaller businesses are sadly struggling in the face of the energy crisis.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/03/28/how-soaring-shipping-costs-raise-prices-around-the-world">war in Ukraine will raise the already high cost of running a shipping business</a>, and these inflated costs are just too high for smaller businesses who can&rsquo;t absorb them.
The cost of shipping a container increased seven-fold in the year and a half following March 2020, while the cost of shipping bulk commodities rose even further.
As shipping is so vital to the global economy, rising shipping costs have a knock-on effect, increasing inflation. This is felt in some countries more than others. Obviously, countries that import more see larger increases in inflation. Similarly, as one would expect, do those who are more integrated into global supply chains, which as previously mentioned, are already struggling.
&nbsp;So what can businesses, governments, and the marine industry at large do to solve this problem?
&nbsp;
<h2>What the marine industry can do about the energy crisis</h2>
<h3>Invest in renewable fuels</h3>
&nbsp;The easiest, simplest, most effective way to avoid the impact of an energy crisis is to invest in renewable energy and green fuels.
Being able to mass produce fuel that is renewable removes energy scarcity, meaning spikes in prices won&rsquo;t grind the industry to a standstill.
Besides the logistical argument, there&rsquo;s also the added benefit of our continued survival. Shipping produces around 3% of all man-made CO2 on earth, millions and millions of tonnes each year. If the industry pivots to a renewable and carbon neutral fuel source, that would go a long way towards reducing our overall carbon footprint and slowing the effects of global warming.
Maersk is already using carbon neutral fuels in some of its container ships, including methanol created from agricultural waste, and renewable generated hydrogen with carbon dioxide. The company even has a head of decarbonisation, hoping their example will spur the rest of industry into action.
It&rsquo;s clear that the marine industry will have to deal with increased costs and disruption as long as there is an ongoing energy crisis, but renewable fuel can help ease the burden and help keep the industry moving.
&nbsp;
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/marine-sustainability-trends">marine sustainability trends</a>, or learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-urgency-of-developing-green-fuel">why it&rsquo;s so important that we develop green fuel</a>.

How The Gas Shortage is Predicted to Impact the Marine Industry

Marine racing is a sport that has always looked to the future. New technology, new designs, new ways of producing boats, the sport has never stood still, and that&rsquo;s still true today. Let&rsquo;s look at how marine racing is changing.
&nbsp;
<h2>How marine racing is changing</h2>
<h3>&nbsp;Improved sustainability</h3>
&nbsp;Given the state of the world, it&rsquo;s not surprising that every racing league, sporting event, and manufacturer is looking to improve their sustainability credentials. While fans might only be considered with the racing boats, SailGP is thinking about the environmental impact of every vessel, chartering electric rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) as part of its support flotilla. These particular RIBs are 100% electric and completely oil-free, making them about as environmentally friendly as a boat could be.
&nbsp;This group of boats will have to be versatile, well-equipped, and able to move fast, as this remit covers hospitality, media, medical boats, and more. The support flotilla is by no means small, with a number of around 50 boats depending on who is attending.
All of this being powered by green energy is impressive, and points to SailGP taking their environmental responsibilities seriously. They&rsquo;re aiming for an entirely clean fleet by 2025, which is made more likely thanks to the many marine companies that bring their products and innovations to SailGP to test for their seal of approval. Everything is being designed with sustainability at the very core, something the marine industry as a whole should take notice of.
&nbsp;
<h3>Hydrogen Fuel</h3>
&nbsp;The America&rsquo;s Cup is looking to hydrogen as a new fuel for chase boats, one that could have a big impact on marine racing. Not only does hydrogen fuel help sustainability by not leaving pollution, but it&rsquo;s also a reliable source of power, able to go further and last longer than just pure electric power. &nbsp;
Hydrogen fuel has a much higher energy density than current electric batteries, and is easier to transport than the high amounts of batteries necessary to cover long distances at speed, so is a clear choice for the energy source of the future when it comes to marine racing.
Emirates Team New Zealand has developed a prototype boat, Chase Zero, that was able to travel over 500 nautical miles, with its only emissions being pure water. In the coming years it&rsquo;s likely that we&rsquo;ll see more designs built around hydrogen power, and this may soon become more widespread even outside of marine racing.
&nbsp;
<h3>New materials and composites</h3>
A large amount of the total greenhouse emissions during a boat build are associated with the use of composite materials, especially carbon fiber. The high consumption rate of materials is also a problem. In some builds, as much as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.11thhourracingteam.org/news/lifting-the-lid-on-boat-build-impacts-for-a-more-sustainable-industry/">75% of total starting material is lost by the time the final product is complete</a>.
Recycled carbon fiber produces far less emissions than standard carbon fiber, and is often used for nonstructural parts and molds.
Epoxy resin also has a negative carbon footprint, prompting some manufacturers to swap it for bio-resin. Bio resins have around a 50% lower carbon footprint, and consume around 50% less energy and water than average non-bio-resins.
It&rsquo;s not surprising that many manufacturers are looking for new materials to use, considering every element of the design, build, and operation of a boat.
&nbsp;Marine racing has always paved the way for cutting-edge new technology and manufacturing techniques in the industry. As the sport continues to grow, hopefully the rest of the industry takes note of how it is changing for the better, and follows its lead.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;Read about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/formula-one-design-trends-to-watch-in-2022">how racing is changing in Formula One</a>, or learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/creating-a-sustainable-workforce-for-the-marine-industry">how the marine industry is creating a more sustainable workforce</a>.

Marine Racing for the Future

As discussed in our previous post on&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-basic-principles-of-hull-design" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the basic principles of hull design</a>, this initial factor can highly influence all subsequent design ideas and the ultimate performance of the boat itself. But Marine engineers consider other aspects when a racing yacht is in motion: they must work hard to enhance performance and make the boat efficient in different conditions.
<h2>What Is A Hydrofoil?</h2>
The lower part of the racing yacht should have foils to ensure that yachts are stable and do not fall.&nbsp;The faster the boats sails, the more efficient these foils must be. A foil consists of two parts: a tip and a shaft, they limit the amount of heel. The tips provide lift to the boat and reduce the wetted surface, reducing drag. The foils work similarly to those of an aircraft but must be optimised for water instead of air. Foils also help the canting keel, which takes the weight off the hull. The thrust acting in the opposite direction increases with speed. Foils achieve their maximum efficiency at these conditions where the wind blows faster. In light wind conditions and when sailing upwind, foils have low efficiency.
<h2>How Does a Hydrofoil Work?</h2>
Foils also reduce the pitching of the boat. When sailing, force from the wind tries to push the boat sideways, so the opposite side of the board must resist that force to avoid collapsing.&nbsp;<a>The design of the foil varies from a wide/narrow shaft/tip to a large/short shaft/tip depending on the conditions</a>, type of boat and results of the technical studies prior construction.
There are three factors that determine the speed of a boat: &middot; Ideally the boat should be as stable as possible &middot; Crew reaction times must be managed properly, and &middot; The system that connects the crew with the boat must be tightly controlled and monitored.
<h3>Dynamic Challenges to Hydrofoils</h3>
 Different forces also contribute to boat speed. When sailing, the boat experiences what is known as a righting moment. This is the result of the centre of gravity in the boat working against the centre of buoyancy when the wind pushes the boat to one side. When weight such as keels is added to the lower part of the boat, right lever increases, therefore righting moment is gained, and the boat is more stable.
However, there are two ways to increase performance, and foils work in both cases. Yacht performance is increased by lifting the boat out of the water, reducing drag and increasing speed. The second option to increase yacht performance is to increase the power of the foil and maintaining the drag at a consistent level. Additionally, small angles of attack are used on foils to optimise the lift to drag ratio.
<h3>Energy and Foil Configuration</h3>
From the energy point of view, the crew could balance the power generated by the foils, but the wind also provides energy potential. When downwind, more energy is received into the sails which directly increases the speed.
A T foil configuration has been used in the past to great success. However, recently a J configuration of foils has been used in&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/news/americas-cup-new-team-collaborations">the America&rsquo;s Cup</a>. The difference is that the foil shapes like a V, allowing the boat to be lifted at different heights as V changes with the boat&rsquo;s speed.
When racing, teams must balance the height lifted because if the boat is too high and only a small part of the foil is immersed in the water, the boat can go sideways. Teams must ensure that the boat is stable and goes as fast as possible. Additionally, a good control system is needed to regulate the foils. A good system will automatically identify when the boat is outside certain parameters and articulate the angle of attack to maintain stability and determine the optimum boat flying height.
<h2>Materials Used in Hydrofoil Construction</h2>
When designing a hydrofoil it&rsquo;s important to select the best materials. Hydrofoil materials should provide resistance, a light weight, a good shape and hardness. Different materials have been used in the past but those used most recently are: a core material that guarantees the desired shape, for example a core of foam, centre accessories such as aluminium to provide a solid connection and a lay up material (this could alternatively be carbon fibre which will wrap around the core).
Many America&rsquo;s Cup teams use carbon fibre for their hydrofoil designs. Good technology is a key part of a team&rsquo;s strategy to achieve positive results and increase performance. Foils have definitely helped boats to race better and have made the different between success and failure in many yacht races.
Discover the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-basic-principles-of-hull-design" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Basic Principles of Hull Design</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-to-address-the-marine-skills-shortage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ways to Address the Marine Skills Shortage</a>.

How Hydrofoils Work and What They Do

The autonomous ship market is expected to be worth $13.8 billion by 2030. Global trade and transportation by shipping is growing, and responsible for an increasing demand for autonomous technology.
This is beneficial in a number of ways, but one that many have not necessarily considered is that if there are more efficient ships, there will be less HGVs and lorries on the roads. But why is this important?
<h1>Why We Need Autonomous Ships</h1>
A significant amount of transportation in Europe is done on the road. This is leading to heavy traffic, reduced efficiency, and pollution. There are currently over six million trucks on the roads in the EU.
However, shipping is still one of the most efficient ways to transport bulk goods, and renewable sources of energy are being implemented and improved all the time. Many top-level executives in the industry foresee the next generation of ships being completely electric, and autonomous. &nbsp;
The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yara.com/knowledge-grows/game-changer-for-the-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yara Birkeland</a> is one of the most impressive ships currently undergoing autonomous trials. Aiming to be the first fully electric, fully autonomous cargo ship, it could revolutionise the industry.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y4RTJpxz9hM?t=1s" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
When the Yara Birkeland goes fully autonomous in 2022, it will take take around 40,000 lorry journeys off the road a year. This will not only decrease emissions, but should also improve road safety thanks to the reduced traffic.
Scandinavia is currently leading the field of autonomous shipping, but other countries are also investing heavily. The port of Rotterdam is aiming to be the first&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-are-smart-ports-and-why-are-they-important-for-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smart port</a>&nbsp;to be able to receive and cater for autonomous ships by 2030.
<h2>How Autonomous Ships Work</h2>
A fully autonomous ship will have an operating system that can calculate risks, make changes to courses, and react to new or unplanned situations. It will also need sensors able to detect what's around it, and the ability to communicate with a central base of operations, even when out at sea. It&rsquo;s not just new cutting-edge ships being designed to be autonomous, older ships could be retrofitted with the technology. However, upgrading a ship to be fully autonomous can cost between $20,000 - $35,000.
Rolls-Royce have already successfully operated a retrofitted tugboat through an existing mobile network. This technology only took them two years to research, develop, and implement successfully, showing just how fast this field is progressing.
It&rsquo;s important to understand that even a fully autonomous ship would still not be unmanned. While there wouldn&rsquo;t be as large a crew as on a traditional ship, there would still need to be a team of highly trained specialists onboard to make repairs or alterations. Autonomous ships are more complicated to run than other vehicles, as they&rsquo;re part of a much larger network, constantly interacting with each other.
<h3>New Marine Legislation For Autonomous Ships</h3>
The main problem stopping autonomous shipping from becoming a reality isn&rsquo;t actually the technology, most of this already exists thanks to&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-fully-autonomous-cars-would-mean-for-laws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">autonomous vehicle</a>&nbsp;research. New technology means new legislation, and there is currently almost no legal framework for how autonomous shipping would work or be regulated, either in port or out at sea. This will need to be agreed upon by legal bodies around the world to ensure maximum safety for any crew living and working on the ships, as well as for commercial entities to operate under.
Over the next few years we will likely see autonomous ships making more journeys across the oceans.
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-the-uk-shipping-industry-can-do-to-tackle-its-pollution-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what the shipping industry can do to reduce pollution</a>, or learn about the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/history-of-engineering-the-boat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">history of the boat</a>.

How Autonomous Ships Can Reduce Traffic (And Why That Matters)

The boat is one of the most significant inventions ever created by the human race. The history of the boat stretches back hundreds of thousands of years, and allowed us to explore, expand, and trade.
<h1>Why The History Of The Boat Is Important For Marine Engineers:</h1>
Its influence on the world today is undeniable, as the global marine industry is one of the most powerful and important sectors for business.
By understanding how the boat has evolved over the centuries, marine engineers can better predict where it might go in the future.
<h2>How The Boat Changed Over Time:</h2>
The Early History Of The Boat
According to archaeological findings, crude boats existed as far back as the Neolithic Stone Age. This boats, now known as &lsquo;dugouts&rsquo;, were just hollowed out tree trunks, and carry anywhere between one to eight people.
Clay tablets show evidence of more sophisticated boats existing at around 4,000 BCE. Rafts with sails were paddled along rivers, transporting goods to settlements or to trade.
Some of the earliest evidence of boats was found near the Nile in Egypt. The culture at the time was almost entirely reliant on the river, and used it as a highway to transfer goods, as well as significantly larger structures such as 300 feet long obelisks.
Most early Egyptian boats had a single large sail on a single mast, as well as a team of oarsmen.
<h3>The Ship</h3>
Boats became more refined as ship designer&rsquo;s relative understandings of physics improved. Realising that boats could harness the power of the wind for increased speed, and that the wind could change direction, sails were designed to pivot on the mast, enabling them to capture the wind from different angles.
Ships in the northern hemisphere as well as the Mediterranean only had one mast until around 1400 CE.
However, around two hundred years earlier than this, Chinese &lsquo;junk&rsquo; boats were already featuring rudders that allowed them to effectively steer in both rivers and oceans. The sails were also vastly ahead of western techniques, with junks using many narrow sails, so the fore of the wind could be utilised across many lines.
<h3>The Steamboat</h3>
In early 1800s the first steamships began to cross the Atlantic Ocean. They used a combination of sails and steam power to move, but could also use large paddlewheels. They would later go on to use screw-propellers, which were more efficient and less prone to damage.
<h3>The Titanic</h3>
At the start of the 20th&nbsp;Century, ships began burning oil for fuel, giving rise to large cruise ships like the Titanic, which was actually the largest ship afloat at the time. It had three main engines, two reciprocating four-cylinder engines, which had a combined horsepower of 30,000. There was also a steam turbine with an output of 16,000 horsepower.
<h3>The Submarine</h3>
There were many different variations and prototypes of the submarine throughout history, even as far back as the 16th&nbsp;Century. However the true submarine as we know it came into use during the First World War, and was utilised to great effect in the Second World War.
These vessels are capable of submerging beneath the water and staying under for hour, or even days at a time. Submarines are still a key component in global defence, with nuclear submarines patrolling the oceans.
<h3>The Aircraft Carrier</h3>
The aircraft carrier is a warship, mobile command centre, and flight deck. They were used during World War One, but specifically designed aircraft carriers as we know them weren&rsquo;t built until the 1920s. These were initially called fleet carriers, and made a dramatic impact on combat in World War Two. The ability to launch aircraft while on the move, and have them return to the carrier provided the advantage in countless battles, thanks to the obvious tactical advantage.
There are only 41 active aircraft carriers at sea today, but they play a vital role in defence and threat monitoring in combat areas around the world.
<h3>The Future Of The Boat</h3>
Both private, commercial, and military ships are rapidly changing due to new technology. New materials and 3D printing will change how they&rsquo;re designed and constructed, and new fuels will help clean up the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-the-uk-shipping-industry-can-do-to-tackle-its-pollution-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marine sector&rsquo;s emissions</a>.
The boat has changed drastically over its long history, and will no doubt continue to change and evolve as new technology allows for more interesting and daring designs.
Read more about the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-history-of-the-submarine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">history of the submarine</a>, or see what the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/superyachts-10-best-superyacht-concepts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">superyacht</a> might look like in the future.&nbsp;

History Of Engineering: The Boat

The Dutch marine industry has improved drastically in the last few years, due to several positive changes. Currently, there are more than 2000 companies work in the marine industry. But even with such good progression, it&rsquo;s still complicated for marine companies to find personnel to join their teams. The problem remains in a simple fact: offer is larger than demand. The amount of vacancies was around 264,000 at the end of last year.&nbsp;&nbsp;
How is this possible? Well, the main reason is that people working in the marine industry just aren&rsquo;t aware of the opportunities in the Netherlands. &nbsp;
<h1>Marine Engineering In The Netherlands</h1>
There are numerous advantages to working in the Netherlands for shipbuilders, carpenters, marine engineers or other maritime, offshore and energy sector workers, no matter where they&rsquo;re from.
<h2>3 Benefits Of Working in The Dutch Marine Industry:</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Great Opportunities And Better Conditions</h3>
</li>
</ul>
The maritime sector in Holland is enjoying a boom right now. In 2017, the sector began to rise from a slump, and is still growing day by day now, and is operating Europe&rsquo;s largest inland shipping fleet. The Netherlands has one of the strongest maritime clusters in the world. The magnitude of the Port of Rotterdam (Europe&rsquo;s largest port) and the Amsterdam Port allows for established marine companies to operate efficiently, and for start-ups to gain experience and establish themselves as serious competitors.
Also, Dutch authorities and the private sector are promoting a lot of different technology implementations and investing in the application of renewable energies, advocating for a bright future for the maritime sector, and the Netherlands as a whole.
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Top Marine Industry Companies</h3>
</li>
</ul>
The Netherlands have some of the largest yacht companies in the world.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oceancoyacht.com/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oceanco</a>, for example, is considered one of the most luxurious and exclusive superyacht project management companies in the world. Their largest yacht &ldquo;Jubilee&rdquo; is one of the biggest built in the country. They work with award-winning designers and utilise cutting-edge technology to make the most futuristic superyachts.
Another business making waves in the marine sector is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amels-holland.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amels</a>, property of Damen, founded in 1918, and owns the largest and most high-tech shipyard in the country.
There are plenty of shipbuilding companies in the Netherlands, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.royalhuisman.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Huisman</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hakvoort.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hakvoort</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heesenyachts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heesen</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wimvandervalk.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Van der Valk</a>. There are also smaller businesses that may be younger engineers&rsquo; best opportunity to start growing in the industry.
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Sustainability and Technology</h3>
</li>
</ul>
The Netherlands is one of the European countries pushing for more environmentally friendly policies, especially in the Marine industry. It&rsquo;s important to understand that there is a necessity to protect our planet in order to secure a future in this or any other industry, and a lot of these changes care only possible because of the application of&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-autonomous-cleaning-drones-could-save-the-ocean" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new marine technology</a>.
<a href="https://www.vanoord.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Van Oord</a>, an important international marine contractor company founded in the Netherlands, has developed their S.E.A programme (Sustainable Earth Actions) that shows their commitment to sustainable operations through accelerating initiatives that fight climate change, helping businesses take up sustainable fuel sources, or empowering communities to make positive long-term changes. &nbsp;
As they said: &ldquo;This is built on the sustainability issues found to be the most relevant for our company and stakeholders, and in which Van Oord has the greatest impact.&rdquo;
The marine industry is vital to world trade, and will have a huge impact on the quality of life we can expect over the next few decades. Working in the Dutch Marine industry will put you at the forefront of the European engineering sector, as well as giving you experience into a growing industry.
Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/best-marine-companies-to-work-for-in-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best marine companies to work for</a>, or read about what else is&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/new-marine-trends-to-watch-in-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">changing in the marine industry</a>.

Why You Should Work In The Dutch Marine Industry

Roughly 3,000 deaths a year in the UK are attributed to emissions from the UK shipping industry. The pollution from shipping is linked to triggering cancer, heart disease, and asthma, and other respiratory illnesses. Large cargo trawlers use a type of fuel with 3,500 times more sulphur in it than the diesel fuel used in cars, yet while that has come under heavy scrutiny from the government, the shipping industry has faced little pressure to change fuel source.
While it has been known for years that the shipping industry is a leading contributor to the world&rsquo;s pollution levels, the true extent of the damage done by the toxins that are given off are only just being fully understood.
<h1>How The UK Shipping Industry Is Linked to Premature Deaths</h1>
Many industries are switching to cleaner fuels, with most of the major companies in the automotive sector&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/are-electric-vehicles-the-answer-to-the-transport-problem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">manufacturing electric cars</a>, aircraft manufacturers increasing research into the viability of&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/rolls-royce-are-building-the-fastest-electric-plane-in-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric planes</a>, and even&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-autonomous-cleaning-drones-could-save-the-ocean" target="_blank" rel="noopener">autonomous drones that can clean up ocean pollution</a>&nbsp;caused by the shipping industry are being tested.
Yet the shipping industry itself remains slow to adopt widespread change. New legislation has been introduced to&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-the-clean-maritime-plan-means-for-the-uk-marine-sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limit the amount of pollution that can be emitted from a ship</a>, but critics are claiming this will do next to nothing to combat the massive amounts of pollutants that are being pumped into the air and ocean every day. Most ships still operate on crude oil, the cheapest, dirtiest fuel available.
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has shown that Britain ranks fourth for the total number of people dying prematurely due to shipping fumes, behind China, Japan and India.
Shockingly, global deaths attributed to the shipping industry made up 16% of all premature deaths due to transport emissions, but in the UK this number rose to around 40%. Sulphur oxide levels from shipping pollution currently stand at around 2.5%, industry experts say this level must be cut to 0.1%. Sulphur oxide creates a higher amount of &lsquo;ultrafine&rsquo; particles, which can penetrate deep into human tissue where they do the most damage. There are new rules coming into force from 2020 will limit sulphur oxide even outside protected zones, which should prevent more than half a million premature deaths around the world.
<h2>How The UK Shipping Industry Can Clean up Its Act</h2>
Much of the legislation surrounding shipping pollution comes from the ICCT or the International Maritime Organisation, leaving individual countries governments little power to create and enforce effective laws.
Experts in the industry are calling for international reform, giving more agency to individual governments. However, if change won&rsquo;t come from international organisations, it may have to come from shipping companies themselves.
Understanding the damage done by sulphur oxide and other pollutants is the first step in moving away from traditional fuels and towards a safer, greener alternative.
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-is-lng-and-why-is-it-important-to-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alternative fuels for the marine industry</a>, or learn&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-engineering-is-making-the-marine-sector-safer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how engineering is making the shipping industry safer</a>.
VHR is increasingly working with industry leaders in the renewable energy sector,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.v-hr.com/our-offices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get in touch with us</a> if you&rsquo;re interested in renewable projects. If you&rsquo;re looking to upscale or staff your team, VHR can help.

What The UK Shipping Industry Can Do To Tackle Its Pollution Problem

Martha Coston was an American inventor in the 19th&nbsp;Century, and played a pivotal role in making maritime exploration and sailing significantly safer thanks to her improvement of one of the most important inventions in maritime history: the signal flare.
<h1>How Martha Coston Made Sailing Safer:</h1>
The concept of using explosives to act as signals had been around since the 13th&nbsp;century. Chinese signal bombs were launched into the air for carefully timed explosions, which could be used to convey simple messages.
By 1600, Korea already had working signal guns. However they didn&rsquo;t last long enough to be seen at great distance, and couldn&rsquo;t communicate complex messages.
At just 21, Martha Coston found herself newly widowed with children to support. Her late husband had been a scientist, heading up the Navy&rsquo;s pyrotechnics division. While going through his belongings, she found notes detailing a signal flare for the Navy. Her husband&rsquo;s design, however, did not work as well as it could. She noted the flares were not bright enough, nor did they last long enough to be seen from far away.
She realised she could improve the design and functionality of the flares by creating stronger ones in different colours, that would allow for different combinations of colours that could signify different meanings. She utilised pyrotechnics found in fireworks to improve the luminosity. She only had a limited knowledge of chemistry, so had to enlist the help of various experts who advised her on how best to improve the existing designs of her late husband. While it took a long time to perfect, the formula she decided on is still largely the same as the one used in roadside flares today.
<h2>Why The Signal Flare Is So Important To The Marine Sector:</h2>
To help test her idea, a friend drove up to a mountain five miles away from where she lived, and reported that they could see the flare clearly. Her new designs meant the signals could be used for both ship-to-ship and ship-to-land communications across large distances.
In 1859 she would patent her new signalling systems using flares of red, white, and green, calling them &lsquo;Night Signals&rsquo;. They could be applied to any of the already existing Naval Codes by firing off in different orders of colours, meaning they can effectively communicate letters and numbers.
The US Navy paid her $20,000 to take the idea, and used it during combat. They also gave Martha a contract to continue work on the flare technology and continue manufacturing them. Over the course of the American Civil War, Coston&rsquo;s company sold over a million flares to the Navy, which saved many lives. They would go on to be adopted by the wider marine community over the following years, becoming crucial in search and rescue operations.
Martha continued to improve her designs, and set up a business, The Coston Supply Company, which continued operating until the 1980s. In 2006 she was inducted into the National Inventor&rsquo;s Hall of Fame.
Read about other historical figures in engineering like&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-hedy-lamarr-invented-the-internet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hedy Lemarr</a>, or learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-engineering-is-making-the-marine-sector-safer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the marine sector has become safer over the years</a>.

Historical Figures In Engineering: Martha Coston

Piracy has been a fact of Marine life since the first boats sailed across the seas. As&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-international-marine-travel-has-changed-in-100-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boats have changed</a>, pirates have become more sophisticated, more intelligent and harder to catch. Since international spaces don&rsquo;t always have dedicated security forces, pirates can often slip away undetected.
Piracy impacts ports and trade routes all over the world, resulting in around a&nbsp;<a href="https://muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Piracy-cost-world-6bn-in-2012-says-EU-Navfor-chief-during-Muscat-visit-28re" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$6 billion loss</a>&nbsp;per year for the global economy. More importantly, the lives of those at sea are placed at risk through the actions of criminals who often escape undeterred. In 2016, more crew were kidnapped at sea than in any other year of the previous decade, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to take drastic action against piracy. Part of what&rsquo;s being proposed is to use satellites as a means of tracking pirates across the globe.
<h1>How Satellites Can Help Stop Pirates</h1>
Maritime tracking through satellites is just one way that new technology is helping to fight piracy at sea. Satellites can track commercial ships, as well as log any ships on unexpected or illegal courses.&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-is-the-novasar-1-and-how-does-it-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newer satellites</a>&nbsp;can even relay this information to ships, giving them more accurate and time-sensitive information that could prove vital to their own safety.
7 million Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals are broadcast from ships every single day, which broadcast identity, location and heading. AIS signals are required by law, and any ships operating without them are immediately flagged as suspicious. Upon taking a new ship, pirates will often disable the ship&rsquo;s AIS in order to effectively disappear from the global network. This is where satellites can come in to help spot ships even without a working AIS: using remote sensory imagery in real time to provide an image of where the ships are in the ocean.
Algorithms may soon scan through thousands or even millions of images, analysing all the data from shipping lanes around the world to try to determine typical patterns and behaviours of pirate ships to predict where they&rsquo;ll strike next, or to intercept potential attacks before they happen.
If this is the case, pirates will likely be forced into more creative methods to outwit authorities.
Here&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-ar-will-play-a-role-in-naval-combat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How AI Will Transform the Marine Industry</a>.
<h2>The Future of Piracy</h2>
With satellites helping agencies and taskforces to catch more pirates, many are wondering how the pirates will adapt to a world that is becoming increasingly adept at stopping them.
Beyond the looming threat of near omniscient satellites watching their every move, pirates will soon contend with ships becoming autonomous, meaning there&rsquo;ll be no crew to take as hostages for ransom.
The only course of action left for pirates is to hack the technology brought in to deter them. Cyber-crime is becoming more prevalent &ndash; even being reported&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-international-marine-travel-has-changed-in-100-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the Military</a><a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-international-marine-travel-has-changed-in-100-years" rel=" noopener">&nbsp;</a>&ndash; so it&rsquo;s only a matter of time until cyber-attacks becomes mainstream in Marine crime.
If hacking isn&rsquo;t an option, pirates may threaten the ship itself. Autonomous ships will have millions of dollars of software on board; losing just one boat could prove devastating for businesses.
Read more about how&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-autonomous-technology-will-impact-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Autonomous Technology Will Change The Marine Industry</a>, or learn about why&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-are-smart-ports-and-why-are-they-important-for-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smart Ports</a> are important for keeping the Marine industry organised, efficient and safe.

How Satellites Can Defend Against Pirates

As it was discussed in a previous post, an essential part of&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-basic-principles-of-hull-design" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enhancing boat performance</a>&nbsp;is optimising their weight. Mast and rigging design play an important role on managing the boat&rsquo;s weight as well. The mast defines the supporting structure for the sail, and the rigging system helps the team to control the boat. It is important to analyse the main factors when choosing or designing these elements, so they will add value to performance. Mast and rigging design will be fundamental to the overall strategy of a team to increase their chance to win sailboat races.
<h2>Mast Weight and Materials</h2>
<img src="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=650&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" srcset="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=325&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg 325w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=650&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg 650w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=975&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg 975w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=1300&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg 1300w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=1625&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg 1625w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg?width=1950&amp;name=mast%20and%20rigging%203.jpg 1950w" alt="Masts and Rigging In Modern Boat Design" width="650">
The weight that can be saved upstairs in a boat will be significantly reflected at the keel of the boat downstairs. In general, the more kilograms taken out of the boat, the faster it will go. Aluminium has been a material used for many years when building masts. The mast is selected from a series of designs and a team chooses that which fit is best for the boat. Aluminium is a hard and corrosion resistant material with a density of 2.7 g/cm3, which in small scales could be considered a light material, but in a larger scale like a mast can add a lot of weight.
Carbon fibre can greatly improve performance as it is lighter than aluminium, its density varies from 1.6 to 2.0 g/cm3. It can make the mast stronger in specific areas where better strength is needed.
As carbon composite is a light material that combines stiffness and strength where forestay tension can be considerably increase, giving an increase in upwind performance. Moreover, as the total weight is reduced, the yacht will sail faster. Two types of carbon fibre masts could be used: standard modulus material and high modulus material. The latter is more expensive but it&rsquo;s even lighter. Choosing a high modulus material depends on the team and how they balance cost-benefit to enhance performance.
<h2>Rigging Materials</h2>
The rigging is an important element when sailing as it helps the boat to be kept under control and keep the sail stretched for maximum wind capacity.
The material that has been most commonly used in rigging is PBO (polybenzoxazole). PBO fibres have been basically established as the industry standard on grand prix race boats. PBO fibre carries properties such as high tensile strength and high thermal stability, making it one of the strongest synthetic fibres and a great choice for yacht rigging.
On the other hand, carbon can be used as a solid extrusion or as a flexible fibre. It is characterised by its resistance and stiffness. However, carbon parts have to be protected from UV radiation when parts are exposed to sunlight. Additionally, all metallic parts must be isolated as carbon fibres are conductors and sensitive to cathodic corrosion.
When designing the geometry of the mast and rig, it is essential to take into account different parameters such as loads from the respective sail, all the relevant information related to the standing rigging and the mast tube geometry and material specifications, all of those design parameters most work together to make a good system. When everything is taken into account you can see a marked improvement in performance, and by optimising the rigging teams may be able to sail to victory.
Learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-hydrofoils-work-and-what-they-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hydrofoils</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-basic-principles-of-hull-design" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hull design</a>, or read about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/5-amazing-superyacht-concepts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new superyacht concepts</a>.

Masts and Rigging In Modern Boat Design

Since its widespread use in the Second World War, the submarine has become a common concept in naval warfare, and whilst few members of the general public have been in a submarine, all of us have seen them in film and TV.
A few hundred years ago the submarine was a fantastic concept, almost unthinkable, and certainly difficult to build. Many different people throughout history would design submarines and improve upon the work of those who had tried and failed. In the 20th Century, the submarine as we know it was invented, and was crucial in many of the most important conflicts of the century.&nbsp;
<h1>History of The Submarine:</h1>
<h2>Early Concepts of The Submarine</h2>
The history of the submarine goes back to the 1500s when&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/historical-figures-in-engineering-leonardo-da-vinci" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leonardo DaVinci</a>&nbsp;first conceptualised a boat that could sail underwater and sink other ships. Da Vinci never went ahead with his submarine design because he was afraid of the destructive power his invention could unleash on the world.
The first practical submarine was built in 1620 by&nbsp;<a href="https://todayinsci.com/D/Drebbel_Cornelis/Drebbel-OriginOfSubmarine.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cornelis Drebbel</a>&nbsp;under the employ of King James I. A leather-covered 12-oar rowboat, Drebbel&rsquo;s submarine was reinforced with iron to withstand water pressure, and was functional, submerged to a depth of fifteen feet beneath the River Thames. No further models were commissioned for the navy.
<h2>The First Military Submarine</h2>
The first submarine used for military purposes was&nbsp;<a href="https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/military-history/david-bushnells-turtle-the-worlds-first-submarine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Turtle</a>, deployed in the American revolution. Built in 1775 by David Bushnell, The Turtle Submarine was 7 feet tall and 5 and a half feet wide, shaped like a walnut. It was designed to be operated by one man and could be submerged up to 20 feet deep for up to half an hour.
This submarine design used pitch-covered oak and worked via a series of brass pumps that took in and expelled water. Its first engagement was to try to break the blockade of British ships at New York harbour. The pilot was supposed to use&nbsp;The Turtle&nbsp;to reach the line of ships and fasten a 150-pound bomb to the keel of one, thus breaking the line. The attempt was unsuccessful.
<h2>The Advent of Steam Power</h2>
Early in the 1880s, Swedish inventor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Thorsten_Nordenfelt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thorsten Nordenfeldt</a>&nbsp;built the first steam-powered submarines. The Nordenfeldt III could submerge to a depth of 50 feet and had a range of 14 miles. A steam engine powered the submarine on the surface and was shut down to dive. Nordenfeldt III also had twin torpedo tubes and was the first vessel to fire an underwater torpedo.
<h2>Submarine Developments in the Early 20th Century</h2>
Britain and Germany were engaged in a naval arms race at the start of the 20th Century, both in terms of traditional surface ships and submarines. The submarine would show its strategic value during the First World War, with German submarines easily sinking both battleships and passenger vessels, often with a single torpedo. They became more powerful as the war progressed, with the model U-53 reaching 200 feet in length, able to carry two medium-calibre deck guns with a vastly superior range to other ships.
<h2>Submarines in World War II</h2>
When Hitler came to power, he immediately began rearming the German navy and focused on developing more powerful submarines, resulting in the infamous U-boat. The U-300 could reach 19 knots while fully submerged.
<h2>Nuclear Submarines</h2>
Another naval arms race rapidly escalated between the US and Russia during the Cold War. New submarines could travel much further and stay submerged for longer than their WWII predecessors, making them far more dangerous. Equipped with ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads, these submarines would often stay at sea for weeks or even months, waiting tensely for orders and scanning the ocean for any sign of enemy ships.
Nuclear submarines are still in use today, most famously in the UK Trident system.&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/why-antarctic-exploration-is-important-for-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Submarines are now used for exploration</a>&nbsp;and are a vital part of the Marine sector.
Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-the-royal-navy-has-changed-since-world-war-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the Navy has changed since World War II</a>, or read about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-international-marine-travel-has-changed-in-100-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how Marine travel has changed in the last hundred years</a>.

The History of The Submarine

After the end of the TP52 Super Series a few weeks ago, and after seeing different racing teams performing at the top of their game, spectators might wonder what makes one boat better, faster and more agile than another.
How does boat design tie into safety? What features does a boat need and what are merely additions? Entirely different boat designs and technology are used when competing in a yacht race, going fishing or enjoying a pleasure cruise. In the following weeks, we&rsquo;ll be covering all this in a series of posts about the basic ideas behind boat design&rsquo;s different components, what they do and why they&rsquo;re important.
When it comes to yacht performance there are two things to consider: aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. Boat engineering considers erosion, corrosion and chemical analysis on top of the structural and architectural analysis that must be considered when a structure is in contact with the ocean and must navigate the physics entailed.
Hull performance can be influenced by many aspects, but a good hull design always results in excellent racing performance. Hull design has three main elements: materials used during construction and both the shape the size of the hull.
<h1>Materials Used in Hull Design</h1>
Many different materials have been used in boat building throughout history and over time boat engineers and boat researchers have worked to either enhance or replace these materials for better performance. Those most commonly used now are: steel, aluminium, fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) and polyethylene. Aluminium is widely used now due to its light weight, allowing for greater boat speed without sacrificing hull integrity or strength.
FRP has been commonly used in the last few decades as it is light and doesn&rsquo;t suffer from corrosion as other materials do. Polyethylene is another material more applicable for professional fishing, thanks to its superior buoyancy and chemical resistance.
Carbon fibre is a state-of-the-art material that is strong and light thanks to its composition. This material is also chemically and thermally stable over a long period of time, which means that abrasion and corrosion can be controlled. During its manufacturing process, carbonisation takes place to ensure that the material gains strength and stiffness. Carbon fibre is used in racing yachts and not only reduces weight but is easy to mould into the desired shape.
<h2>Why the Shape of the Hull Is Important</h2>
The hull shape depends on the boat&rsquo;s intended purpose. Another aspect to consider is the type of water in which the boat is going to sail. Some boats are designed for smooth waters such as lakes, rivers and shallow parts of the ocean whilst others are designed for offshore waters. There are mainly two type of hulls: deep-v hulls and flat-bottom hulls.
Deep-v hulls are selected for offshore and rough water purposes because they can steadily knife the waves. To achieve this, draft and a wedge shape are added and stability is reduced. Deep-v hulls are not suitable for shallow waters and more power is required due to the low buoyancy. However, this type of hull performs well in choppy conditions. Examples of deep-v hulls are offshore sport boats and bulks.
Flat-bottom hulls are designed for shallow waters and are characterised by a very low deadrise and performing well on smooth waters where they can reach their maximum speed. Flat-bottom hulls also provide maximum stability.
There are many other hull types including multihulls. Some v-hulls are less deep and are more common for small boats designed for offshore or lake sailing. They are flatter at the stern and deeper at the bow. In the multihull category, catamarans are the most popular. Catamarans have increased stability and a smaller draft which means they can have smaller engines.
<h2>Hull Dimensions</h2>
Hull dimensions vary depending on the type of boat being built. The boat length, width, height and angles must all be considered to optimise the hull for what it&rsquo;s designed to do. Computational techniques use different methods based on relocating and scaling hull segments.
The intake value is the length of the hull, then three sections of the hull: entrance, middle body and run. Computational methods facilitate the boat hull design and easily allow numerical parameters to be modified for better design. Other physical factors such as buoyancy, hull shape and the boat material used must be taken into account to have a successful boat of any type.
To learn more, check out these&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/5-amazing-superyacht-concepts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top superyacht concepts</a>, learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-the-superyacht-industry-will-change-over-the-next-ten-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the superyacht industry will change over the next ten years</a>, or read about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/3-growing-jobs-in-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing jobs in the Marine industry</a>.

The Basic Principles of Hull Design

The Marine industry is rapidly growing, with new Marine jobs opened up all the time. However, there aren&rsquo;t enough skilled Marine engineers to keep up with this growth, leading to a prediction of a Marine skills shortage of over&nbsp;<a href="https://knect365.com/shipping/article/e734fbc0-e97f-496e-b937-b8328393facb/5-steps-the-shipping-industry-can-take-to-recruit-seafarers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">300,000 seafarers by 2050.</a>
What&rsquo;s more, global demand for engineers is getting more competitive all the time. The Marine industry must encourage more young people to get into engineering to ensure enough skilled Marine workers for the near and long-term future. Here are our predictions for global Marine growth and how the industry can capitalise on them to address the Marine skills shortage.
<h2>3 Predictions for Marine Growth:</h2>
&nbsp;
<h3>1.&nbsp;Shipping Will Remain Strong Despite Political and Economic Uncertainty</h3>
The UK Marine industry has enjoyed six consecutive years of growth, and while Brexit could undermine the wider community&rsquo;s belief in the UK as a maritime powerhouse, the sector is moving to secure new trade routes and nurture new relationships. This is emblematic of the Marine sector as a whole: a rich and dynamic network of trade and commerce, able to adapt and overcome any difficulty.
<h3>2.&nbsp;New Composites and Smarter Materials Will Increase Marine Efficiency</h3>
Revolutionary new materials are making ships lighter, faster and better, directly increasing profits. New Marine technology is being developed all the time, from greener fuel to more comprehensive and reliable communications systems. With fleets aging and Marine systems becoming ever more antiquated and obsolete, new ships will have to match the rising industry standard.
<h3>3.&nbsp;There Will Be an Increase in Import/Export as Global Growth Continues</h3>
Many countries are importing more thanks to higher GDP and an expanding range of choice. Faster shipping aids this process, directly making it easier for people to use those same services. Maintaining smooth trade and giving the public the greatest variety of choice for the lowest waiting time is vital to Marine sector growth.
&nbsp;
<h1>How the Marine Industry Can Attract New Talent &amp; Solve the Marine Skills Shortage:</h1>
<h3>1.&nbsp;Maintain an Optimised Online Presence</h3>
The first way that businesses can address the Marine skills shortage is by optimising their online presence and appealing directly to younger audiences. The Marine industry is naturally suited to creating engaging content, with videos of boat shows, new designs and yacht races. Social media can be a powerful tool both for creating brand awareness and attracting young people into Marine.
A naturally aspirational field such as Marine already has connotations of being an exciting and luxurious industry &ndash; this can be utilised to its full extent online to get as many eyes on the industry as possible.
<h3>2.&nbsp;Focus on The Benefits</h3>
The Marine industry allows for high job satisfaction and high earnings, and offers the chance to work all over the world. Communicating this to wider audiences will raise awareness of the opportunities that are open to young engineers and encourage them to find out more about working in Marine. A truly global industry, 80% of the world merchant fleet is manned by multinational crews, making it the perfect place to start a career.
<h2>How Recruitment Can Help the Marine Industry:</h2>
As Marine grows, it will become harder and harder to match the needs of the industry, with engineers needed at every level from design to fuel consumption to data analysis. A Marine specialist recruitment company will be able to understand the nuances of the roles and will be best equipped to source and appraise potential candidates.
Establishing a network of potential candidates can take years; a Marine recruitment agency will already have hundreds of workers on file for contract and permanent placements and with whom they have established strong relationships.
As the Marine sector is so large, and by its very nature operates all around the world, having an international recruitment agency is of paramount importance. International Marine recruitment consultants can help you to get the very best engineers from all corners of the globe.
International recruitment companies will also understand all employment and immigration laws, as well as ensuring compliance with GDPR and other industry standards.
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-engineering-companies-can-get-more-young-people-into-engineering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how to get more young people into engineering</a>, or see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.v-hr.com/client-area/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what VHR can do for your business</a>.

How to Address the Marine Skills Shortage

Superyacht design is changing all the time, as new materials open up new possibilities.&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-the-superyacht-industry-will-change-over-the-next-ten-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Changing tastes demand new models</a>, and bold new designs are capturing our imaginations, redefining what&rsquo;s possible.
&nbsp;
<h2>Upcoming Superyacht Concepts:</h2>
<h3>1. Caronte</h3>
Inspired by 17th Century pirate ships, the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lazzarinidesign.net/Caronte.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caronte</a><a href="http://www.lazzarinidesign.net/Caronte.html" rel=" noopener">&nbsp;</a>dares to be different. With six sub-cabins, this superyacht is full of surprises. The &lsquo;captain&rsquo;s balcony&rsquo; sits atop the yacht, allowing expansive space over the deck and beyond the ocean horizon. The vessel can comfortably house 12 people, and comes with a gym, garage and helipad.
&nbsp;
<h3>2. Exploris</h3>
UK-based&nbsp;<a href="https://www.greshamyachtdesign.com/exploris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">superyacht designer Steve Gresham</a>&nbsp;has worked on the Exploris, which utilizes the X-Bow design with some creative additions. The bow design means the wave energy is split on contact with the ship, allowing for a smoother journey. The Ulstein X-Bow design was first launched in 2005, so it&rsquo;s no surprise that additions have been made. A new Azipod propulsion system means the yacht can range much further than traditional models of the same class, allowing for more exploration and adventure, with an onboard garage and landing pad. The yacht is a 100m explorer with a private deck area and an observation lounge. But it&rsquo;s not just pretty: an ice-class bow means the Exploris is strong enough to handle anything the ocean can throw at it.
Gresham has said he wants his designs to be &lsquo;innovative, but not for the sake of being different &ndash; it has to be functional, too.&rsquo;
&nbsp;
<h3>3. L&rsquo;Amage</h3>
The L&rsquo;Amage superyacht concept measures 190 meters long: even longer than the world&rsquo;s current largest yacht, the 180-meter&nbsp;Azzam<a href="http://www.hbd-studios.com/portfolios/lamage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.&nbsp;HBD Studios&rsquo;&nbsp;L&rsquo;Amage</a>&nbsp;would be able to accommodate around 100 passengers, making it perfect for big events or exotic trips. Despite how large the ship is, the L&rsquo;Amage would still be able to reach an impressive top speed of 32 knots, due to its combination of diesel engines and gas turbines.
The superyacht is the first to incorporate flat panel satellite technology, meaning no ugly external satellites that detract from the sleek lines of the vessel. The technology can be found in the aerodynamic wings at the prow, near the helipad.
Hamid Bekradi, design director at HBD said: &lsquo;The general style of the superyacht interior is modern and minimalist, in harmony with the exterior styling of the yacht.&rsquo;
&nbsp;
<h3>4. Black Swan</h3>
The Black Swan is an intimidating yacht with a stylized black exterior hiding secret balconies. Guests descend into the body of the boat through a concealed elevator at the helipad.
Turkish designer Timur Bozca won the Young Designer of the Year Award in 2015 and has enjoyed widespread renown in the Marine world since. Bozca said of the Black Swan: &lsquo;It was important for the exterior to use simple lines together with dramatic angles and curves, as I believe that simplicity is an important factor in making a superyacht design elegant and clean. Using the powerful image of an arrow as my inspiration, I tried to create an aerodynamic exterior that would give the yacht a distinctive look, while also improving efficiency.&rsquo;
&nbsp;
<h3>5. Tetrahedron</h3>
Jonathan Schwinge&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/14/sport/gallery/tetrahedron-super-yacht/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tetrahedron</a>&nbsp;concept is the most bizarre superyacht design on the list, with strong angles making up an unconventional body. A trimaran at its core, the vessel can reach speeds of 38 knots, where it rises onto foils, giving it the illusion of flight.
Taking its name from the geometric shape, the yacht takes the form of a floating pyramid. This is made possible by its HYSWAS (hydrofoil small waterplane area ship) hull, which can lift the yacht above the water.
These new concepts represent the pinnacle of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.v-hr.com/marine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marine design and engineering</a>, with innovations at every level helping to drive the superyacht industry into the future.
&nbsp;
Learn about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-international-marine-travel-has-changed-in-100-years" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how Marine travel has changed over the last hundred years</a>, or check out&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/3-growing-jobs-in-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how the Marine industry is growing</a>.

5 Amazing Superyacht Concepts

The arts of shipbuilding and sailing have been around for thousands of years, but both have been traditionally dominated by men. Women have of course been on ships as long as men have, often in secret, but in the last hundred years women in sailing, navigating, and shipbuilding have proven themselves as capable mariners in their own right.
<h2>Famous Women In Marine History:</h2>
&nbsp;
<h3>Grace O&rsquo;Malley, Pirate Queen of Connacht</h3>
First on the list of women who changed the Marine industry is Grace O&rsquo;Malley. One of the earliest documented female pirates, Grace O&rsquo;Malley was born into a clan in Western Ireland in the 16th century. She would rise to power as head of a fleet of twenty ships that would raid English and Spanish vessels. Grace O&rsquo;Malley repelled a siege against a castle she owned in 1574, before being captured and sent to prison for her exploits.
On release, she returned to the sea and continued with her life of piracy, before her fleet was impounded near the end of the century. At this point, aged 63, Grace O&rsquo;Malley sought an audience directly with Queen Elizabeth, who she managed to convince into releasing her ships, only for her to go straight back to a life of crime until dying at her castle in 1603.
&nbsp;
<h3>Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz</h3>
Polish-born Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was the first female sailor to single-handedly sail the earth, with her trip lasting 401 days, having travelled 31,166 nautical miles. Beyond an accomplished ship captain, she is also a shipbuilding engineer.
&nbsp;
<h3>Kay Cottee</h3>
Australian&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seabreeze.com.au/News/Sailing/Kay-Cottee-Where-is-she-now_1656107.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kay Cottee</a>&nbsp;is next on the list of women who changed the Marine industry and broke sailing world records. Kay Cottee would go on to be the first woman to complete a solo trip round the world non-stop, in her ship&nbsp;Blackmore&rsquo;s First Lady, aged 34. Her trip was completed in just 189 days, and was celebrated by 100,000 Australians waiting for her in Sydney harbour when she returned from sea.
&nbsp;
<h3>Tracy Edwards</h3>
A British sailor,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tracyedwards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tracy Edwards</a>&nbsp;skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round The World Yacht Race of 1989, and became the first woman to receive the Yachtsman Of The Year Trophy.
During a stopover in the United States she met King Hussein I of Jordan, who organised funding from Royal Jordanian Airlines to buy and refurbish a second-hand 10-year-old yacht, renaming it the&nbsp;Maiden,&nbsp;now the figurehead for an initiative called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.themaidenfactor.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Maiden Factor</a>, which raises money for education for girls. Tracy Edwards&rsquo; stack of achievements and MBE cement her position on the list of women who changed the Marine industry.
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/women-marine-tracy-edwards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tracy Edwards</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h3>Laura Dekker</h3>
The youngest person to ever circumnavigate the globe singlehandedly at just 16,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.lauradekker.nl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Laura Dekker</a>&nbsp;is a shining example of what can be achieved with the right training, knowledge and dedication. After a ten-month battle with the Dutch authorities, she was eventually allowed to sail in 2010 and went on to break sailing word records.
&nbsp;
<h3>Sarah Dhanda</h3>
Chief Officer of Membership and Services at British Marine, Sarah Dhanda is making great strides for equality in a traditionally male-dominated field by being part of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maritimeuk.org/programmes/women-maritime/women-maritime-matrix/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women in Maritime Taskforce</a>. Dhanda has said:
&ldquo;There are huge opportunities for women in the marine sector at the moment, given that almost every part of the sector is reporting skill shortages, so everybody is looking to recruit good quality candidates. There is always a challenge in overcoming some of the more old-fashioned attitudes and bias that still prevail in some quarters, but times have changed and I am pleased to say that the range of opportunities available for women has never been greater.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h3>The Women Behind the Magenta Project</h3>
Last on the list of women who changed the Marine industry, but by no means the least, are the women behind the Magenta Project.&nbsp;<a href="https://themagentaproject.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Magenta Project</a>&nbsp;is a sailing initiative designed to educate, encourage, and inspire girls to get into sailing. Comprised of passionate female athletes at the top of their game, the project is already making waves: the World Match Racing Tour, The Extreme Sailing Series, and The Volvo Ocean Race all now allow female participation.
&nbsp;
Find out more about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.v-hr.com/marine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">careers in the marine sector</a>, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/skills-you-need-to-work-in-the-marine-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skills needed to succeed as a marine engineer.</a>

8 Women Who Made Marine History

The impact of plastic pollution in the sea is of major global concern and is fast becoming a Marine industry emergency &ndash; here&rsquo;s how business leaders can improve Marine sustainability.
<h2>Plastic in the Sea: Direct and Indirect Effects</h2>
<a href="https://www.oceanunite.org/issues/marine-plastic-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marine plastic pollution</a>&nbsp;(MPP) directly affects a variety of Marine-based animals and plants. Plastic in the ocean harms species such as tube worms and barnacles and acts as a platform for viruses and algae. As plastic spreads throughout the ocean, it releases toxic substances carried from plastic&rsquo;s additives to their polymers during production and from substances absorbed into plastic surfaces when plastic meets seawater.
The indirect effects of Marine plastic pollution include transporting AIS (alien invasive species) across countries and continents and the release of a persistent organic pollutant that causes further long-term damage to Marine life.
<h2>Marine Sustainability: A Global Concern</h2>
<img src="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=300&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" srcset="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=150&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg 150w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=300&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg 300w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=450&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg 450w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=600&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg 600w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=750&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg 750w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg?width=900&amp;name=louis-hansel-1078231-unsplash.jpg 900w" alt="marine plastic pollution " width="300">
Marine plastic pollution has a cascading effect on global ecosystem function that eventually changes the dynamics of the Earth&rsquo;s makeup and Eco structure. The global carbon cycle, at the centre of the biophysical basis of the Earth, is already being transformed by plastic in the ocean: the sea&rsquo;s ability to carry necessary carbon into deep water reservoirs and the ocean&rsquo;s floor is harmed by the sheer amount of plastic circling in the sea.
Due to the overwhelming presence of microplastics already entering the food chain and the widespread presence of plastic in the ocean overall, Marine plastic pollution is irreversible. However, Marine business leaders and those across the industry can get involved in the solution to prevent further global damage.
<h2>Solving Marine Plastic Pollution: Local Solutions, Global Impact</h2>
The Marine industry is already generating small-scale solutions to improve Marine sustainability, and with additional support, these initiatives are increasing their impact:
<ul>
<li>The&nbsp;<a href="http://11thhourracing.org/projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11th Hour Racing Project</a>&nbsp;works with the maritime and sailing industries to restore the ocean by creating different practices to reduce Marine plastic pollution.</li>
<li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/the-seabin-project-marine-sustainability-innovation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seabin Project</a>&nbsp;has launched a variety of floating rubbish bins located in the waters across marinas, docks, yacht clubs and commercial ports. The Seabin can catch 1.5Kg of floating debris every day, including microplastics up to 2mm small, which are currently being ingested by fish and entering the human food chain.</li>
<li>Since 2015 the 52 Super Series racing teams and event organisers have made a significant contribution to reducing the effects of Marine plastic pollution by removing the use of plastic bottles from yacht racing events and replacing them with aluminium water bottles.</li>
<li>The 52 Super Series races also provide a water filtration system for teams and spectators. The MAGIC CS150-HL can produce up to 10 million litres of water a day, helping many of the TP52 sailing teams to completely eliminate single use plastic bottles of water.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-autonomous-cleaning-drones-could-save-the-ocean" target="_blank" rel="noopener">solutions to the plastic problem</a>.&nbsp;

Marine Plastic Pollution: Marine Industry Emergency

What skills do candidates need to work in the Marine industry and how can a candidate&rsquo;s skill-set be transitional across engineering industries?
<h2>Skills For Marine Engineers:</h2>
<h2>Flexibility</h2>
As a marine engineer, a candidate must expect to work flexible hours, which may include shift work and weekends. As well, if the job is based off shore then there will be an expectation to travel abroad.
Marine Engineers who specialise in offshore drilling often spend time on oil rigs to oversee maintenance. Additionally, Marine Engineers that work on performance yachts often have to travel overseas to be able to work during the racing seasons.
Ideally, a Marine candidate would have experience in travelling abroad for work, with the capability of adjusting easily to change and adapting fluidly. Marine Engineers can often spend time aboard on a ship, testing its performance and gathering information for its maintenance repairs.
The job is physically demanding and a Marine Engineer may be away from home for long periods of time &ndash; the ability to maintain enthusiasm and confidence is paramount to a successful career in the Marine industry.
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<h2>Personal Skills That Can You Get A Job In The Marine Industry:</h2>
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Critical Thinking</h3>
</li>
</ul>
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Judgment and Decision Making</h3>
</li>
</ul>
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Time Management</h3>
</li>
</ul>
Managing personal time and the time of others.
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Active Listening</h3>
</li>
</ul>
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made and asking questions when appropriate.
<ul>
<li>
<h3>Monitoring</h3>
</li>
</ul>
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organisations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Additionally, operation monitoring, coordination, instructing and teaching, communicating effectively and deductive reasoning among other skills<a href="https://www.sokanu.com/careers/marine-engineer/reports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&nbsp;are all important to the role of a Marine Engineer</a>.
&nbsp;
<h2>Engineering Experience:</h2>
Many Marine Engineer jobs are available to candidates with experience in other engineering sectors. For example, the below list of engineering skills can be learnt in the<a href="https://www.v-hr.com/aerospace-aviation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&nbsp;Aerospace and Aviation industry</a>, but are still relevant to jobs in the Marine industry:
<ul>
<li>Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.</li>
<li>Engineering and Technology - practical application of engineering science and technology.</li>
<li>Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.</li>
<li>Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.</li>
<li>Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation and coordination of people and resources.</li>
<li>Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo.</li>
<li>Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximising the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.</li>
<li>Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.</li>
<li>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Check out our&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/engineering-jobs/tag/marine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jobs in the Marine industry</a>, or read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/new-marine-trends-to-watch-in-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upcoming trends in the marine industry</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Skills You Need to Work in the Marine Industry

Biometrics is the measurement and statistical analysis of the unique physical and behavioural characteristics of individuals. The growth of biometrics has led to fantastic changes in sport by allowing athletes to control more aspects of their jobs and careers and continually enhance performance.
<h2>How Biometric Data Is Helping Sailors Improve Yacht Racing Performance:</h2>
<h3>Improving Sailing Performance</h3>
Data analysts are increasingly using&nbsp;<a href="https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-01-ethics-tracking-athletes-biometric.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biometric data</a>&nbsp;in sport to work closely with athletes. By investing considerable time in understanding what questions to ask of the data and then identifying the most important data points to remove guesswork, assumptions or hypothesis, biometric data monitors athletic performance and prevents potential injuries with the goal of continuously improving teamwork and overall sporting success.
Because professional sailing teams use the same boats, technology and equipment each year, yacht racing teams rely on the performance of their individual sailors and racing teams to win at competition stage.
Biometric data helps yacht racing teams to collect data even when sailors are the middle of nowhere. Sailors must navigate all kinds of weather and ocean conditions. If mental fatigue reduces performance, physical decline is a major risk factor in losing a yacht race. Seasickness, skin infections, poor sleep patterns, wasting muscles and a lack of proper food can be identified by biometric data, which can then guide treatment options to prevent illness.
&nbsp;
<h3>Biometric Data in the Volvo Ocean Race</h3>
Yacht racing teams such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teamakzonobel.com/article/speed-from-the-heart-sailing-worlds-article-on-the-biometric-edge-project-from-team-akzonobel-and-sap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AzkoNobel</a>&nbsp;in the Volvo Ocean Race are using software to track sailors&rsquo; individual performance through biometric data from wearable devices. The performance manager can verify athletes&rsquo; vitals 24 hours a day, analyze their physical conditions and correlate with sailing results.
Biometric data is also helping teams to use sleep to increase racing performance. Yacht racing crew members usually get a maximum of 4-6 hours of sleep a night. With biometric data, the performance manager can verify that each sailor meets their sleep goals and assess the impact of time-zone changes or sleep during daylight hours, so the team can adjust according to the trend.
The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2018/07/10/bringing-high-tech-to-the-high-seas-offshore-racing-gets-a-digital-makeover/#48add43215ff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">next step</a> for biometric data in the Marine industry will be to include weather data so that teams can see how weather affects crew performance.
&nbsp;
<h3>Biometric Data Tracking: Ethical Issues</h3>
Whether sharing medical information, on- and off-season testing for performance enhancers or obtaining permission for off-season activities, athletes are used to surrendering some privacy rights. However, new biometric tracking technologies are going even further: they can continuously collect data for long periods of time, and this data is typically uploaded to an external or cloud server where it can be accessed by multiple people. Some argue that biometric data&rsquo;s precise and objective outputs reduce the power and ability of sailors to speak for themselves when it comes to personal capabilities.
In the EU and Canada, a person maintains ownership of his or her biodata. In the UK, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and the Data Protection Bill protect all athletes. However, in the US biometric data is owned by the company or team that acquires it, and even outside of America some racing clubs are finding loopholes that breach confidentiality to enable further research.
Whilst legality around biometric data is still being resolved, many yacht racing teams are already adopting the use of data in an ethical way and finding real performance success.
&nbsp;
Read more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/how-technology-is-changing-the-oil-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how technology is changing the Marine sector</a>, or read about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/new-marine-trends-to-watch-in-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upcoming marine trends</a> to watch.&nbsp;

Marine Technology: Biometric Data Empowering Sailors

Ellen MacArthur is as engaged on land as she was at sea - someone who aims to improve the way we live, and change the world with fantastic sailing records.
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<img src="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=345&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg" sizes="(max-width: 345px) 100vw, 345px" srcset="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=173&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg 173w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=345&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg 345w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=518&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg 518w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=690&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg 690w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=863&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg 863w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg?width=1035&amp;name=Dame_Ellen_MacArthur_(8630934861).jpg 1035w" alt="Dame_Ellen_MacArthur" width="345">
Born on 8th July 1976, during her childhood Ellen spent all her free time sailing with her aunt or reading sailing magazines.
Passionate about marine, she started saving money to buy her first boat at the age of 8. Ten years later, Ellen launched her career in the marine industry by working on an 18.3-metre boat and training adults at the David King Nautical School.
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<h2>Ellen MacArthur's Contributions To Sailing</h2>
Achieving in the same time her yacht-master and trainer instructions,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ellen-MacArthur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she won in 1995</a>&nbsp;the &ldquo;Young Sailor of the Year&rdquo; Award after sailing solo around Great Britain.
Despite her incredible aptitudes, Ellen had to start from scratch to find sponsors; tough and resilient, she didn&rsquo;t give up and raised enough money to buy her own sailboat, a secondhand&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/features/famous_derby/ellen_macarthur.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">21-ft Classe Mini</a>.
Finally sponsored by group Kingfisher, Ellen MacArthur and her new Open 50 yacht competed in the exhausting &ldquo;Route Du Rhum&rdquo; race in 1998. She finished first in her class after strong efforts and benefited from a huge support in France.
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<img src="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=240&amp;name=ellen.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" srcset="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=120&amp;name=ellen.jpg 120w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=240&amp;name=ellen.jpg 240w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=360&amp;name=ellen.jpg 360w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=480&amp;name=ellen.jpg 480w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=600&amp;name=ellen.jpg 600w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ellen.jpg?width=720&amp;name=ellen.jpg 720w" alt="MacArthur Cancer Trust" width="240">
In 2001, at only 24 years old, Ellen MacArthur raced solo in the &ldquo;Vend&eacute;e Globe&rdquo;. Like before, she surpassed all expectations as she finished the challenge ahead of all but one of her male counterparts.
After this exploit, Ellen was on the front pages of every newspaper and was voted second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2001. The following year, she won the &ldquo;Route du Rhum&rdquo; from France to the Caribbean.
She founded&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in 2003</a>, working with other sailors such as&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/women-in-marine-shirley-robertson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shirley Robertson</a>. In collaboration with hospitals, the objective of this charity is to take young people sailing, giving back to them the joy of life after treatment for cancer or leukemia.
In 2005, she made history by becoming the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/752531/Exclusive-Dame-Ellen-MacArthur-opens-up-about-launch-of-Round-Britain-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe</a>; she set this record on her first attempt. During the crossing, she had with her the absolute minimum of resources to be as light as possible - a good resource management is a matter of life and death at sea.
Aware of the supplies limits, she took the hard decision to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ellenmacarthur.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">end her professional racing career</a>&nbsp;to apply this philosophy on land. After a few years spent with scientists, industrialists and politicians to learn as much as possible, Ellen launched the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2010. Its goal is to accelerate the transition from a wasteful economy to a waste-free and circular economy. Three areas are targeted by the foundation:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">business, education and communication</a>.
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Find out more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/team-turn-tide-plastic-volvo-ocean-race-competitors-marine-sustainability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efforts being made to battle plastic</a> in our oceans.

Women in Marine – Dame Ellen MacArthur

Superyacht designers are a huge part of the innovation in the Marine industry, pushing the boundaries of what's possible. We take a look at some of the most innovative and daring designs of the last decade.&nbsp;
<h2>10 Of The Greatest Superyachts Of The Last Decade:</h2>
<h3>10. The Streets of Monaco</h3>
Designer: Nigel Gee
Design Year: 2011
Starting the list of best superyacht concepts might be the world&rsquo; most absurd yacht design. The world of mega yachts is known for its excess, however this British yacht design concept is even larger than Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's 557-foot Eclipse.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.curbed.com/2013/7/15/10219720/inside-streets-of-monaco-the-worlds-most-absurd-yacht" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Streets of Monanco</a>&nbsp;superyacht was modeled after the glamorous Mediterranean city-state of Monaco and features exhaustive replicas of landmarks such as the Monte Carlo Casino and Hotel de Paris, as well as a beach-like swimming pool. The megayacht design offers a floating mini-city and is estimated to cost over $1billion to create.
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<h3>9. X-KID STUFF</h3>
Designer: Stefano Pastrovich&nbsp;
Design Year: 2015
For Monaco-based designer Stefano Pastrovich, the hangar is part of the everyday life of the yacht owner: quad, bikes, jeeps or motorbikes can be held in storage and driven directly from the sea to the land, and the inflatable and modular jetty simplifies travel for the modern explorer.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.superyachtnews.com/design/concept/3007076/xkid-stuff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The X-Kid Stuff superyacht</a> was designed as a true exploration vessel that can sail anywhere in the world, coping with hot and cold climates and capable of operating in the most adverse weather conditions.
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<h3>8. Star</h3>
Designer: Nigel Gee
Design Year: 2014
Next on the list is a second entry for designer Nigel Gee. Shaped like the top half of a star,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/yacht-design/wildest-yacht-concepts--25605/frame-27" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Star superyacht</a>&nbsp;provides access across eight decks to offer an incredible view. The 32-metre superyacht is taller than many yachts are long, measuring nearly 60 metres from the water to the top of the point, subverting traditional yacht design and pleasantly surprising those working in the Marine industry and superyacht fans everywhere.
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<h3>7. neWWave</h3>
Designer: Jaehoon Ahn
Design Year: 2017
Inspired by Middle Eastern architecture, the 87-metre&nbsp;<a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/53457399/neWWave" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neWWave yacht</a>&nbsp;is made of aluminum and glass to create interesting shadows. The concept superyacht represents the symbol of wealth and luxury and aims to provide a five-star floating hotel experience. Designer Jaehoon Ahn challenged himself to accomplish a higher ceiling height with a higher profile whilst also producing one of the most beautiful superyachts in the world.
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<h3>6. Origami&nbsp;</h3>
Designer: George Lucian
Design Year: 2017
<a href="https://yachtharbour.com/news/george-lucian-introduces-his-100-meter-project-origami-2125?src=news_view_page_bar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Origami sailboat yacht</a>&nbsp;is designed for a futurist owner. Created by Monaco-based yacht designer George Lucian, the Origami is a revolution in terms of design, technology and environment. The 100-metre superyacht&rsquo;s paper-weight structure stands in stark contrast with its significant dimensions, making Origami one of the best superyacht concepts in the world.
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<h3>5. Eco Catamaran</h3>
Designer: Ren&eacute; Gabrielli
Design Year: 2016
Ren&eacute; Gabrielli experimented with a combination of luxury and ecology to present one of the most beautiful yachts in the world. The designer divided up various elements in his Eco Catamaran concept to save energy and drive the power and popularity of sustainability in the Marine industry.
<a href="https://catamaranguru.com/catamarans/catamaran-concepts/eco-catamaran-concept" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Eco Catamaran</a>&nbsp;is powered by electric turbines and lithium batteries, which will continuously charge thanks to solar panels covering one third of the yacht&rsquo;s surface. The concept combines solar power with wind energy harnessed by telescoping sails to become one of the most ambitious yacht projects.
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<h3>4. Stiletto</h3>
Designer:&nbsp;Ken Freivokh
Design Year: 2015
Fourth on the list of best superyacht concepts is the Stiletto superyacht. Presented as a rule-breaker,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oceancoyacht.com/en/fleet/?id=36:stiletto-dp069" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Stiletto&nbsp;</a>was built with accommodation for 18 people and fully utilizes outdoor deck space to provide a luxury home on the water. This floating paradise is fully equipped with a two-storey lounge, a helipad, a glass lift and two swimming pools.
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<h3>3. Mauna Kea</h3>
Designer: Roberto Curt&oacute;
Design Year: 2017
In collaboration with the naval architect Mario Grasso of Navirex, Roberto Curt&oacute; designed an innovative and practical yacht in the&nbsp;<a href="https://yachtharbour.com/news/roberto-curt-1832" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mauna Kea</a>. Italian yacht designer Curt&oacute;, who has designed over 60 yachts for shipyards across the world, was inspired to create his largest yacht to date by the dormant volcano in Hawaii. The Mauna Kea volcano stands 4,207 m (13,802 ft) above sea level, and its peak marks the highest point in the state of Hawaii.
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<h3>2. Elyon</h3>
Designers: Demetrius and Dana Tanase
Design Year: 2018
Just missing out on the top spot of best superyacht concepts is one of the newest yacht designs.&nbsp;<a href="http://expleodesign.com/expleo-projects/elyon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Elyon superyacht</a>&nbsp;spans 110 metres in length and was designed to accommodate up to 30 passengers. Its clean design and wide-open spaces offer a sensation of space and freedom. This futuristic and beautiful yacht concept is still looking for an enthusiast buyer.
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<h3>1. Black Swan</h3>
Designer: Timur Bozca
Design Year: 2016
<a href="http://www.timurbozca.com/black-swan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Black Swan superyacht</a>&nbsp;was designed by the innovative Timur Bozca, who is also the creator of the Isurus Power Yacht and Cauta Super Sailing Yacht, and responsible for automotive designs such as the Bugatti Lucifer and Rolls Royce Phantom TB Gold Edition. The number one best superyacht concept mixes luxury and style with technology to provide a unique experience of travelling the world.
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Learn what the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/what-the-clearwater-rating-means-for-the-superyacht-industry-also-in-spanish" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clearwater Rating System</a> means for the superyacht industry.

10 Best Superyacht Concepts

Shirley Robertson made history by becoming the first British woman to win two Olympic Gold Medals at consecutive Olympics: Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
<h5>&nbsp;</h5>
<h2>Shirely Robertson: Olympic Medalist &amp; Sailing Champion</h2>
Born 15th July 1968, Shirley Robertson started sailing at the age of 7 in a small&nbsp;dinghy built by her father. Robertson loved sailing instantly, and the sport helped strengthen her ability to focus and believe that you can achieve anything with hard work. After she graduated from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland in 1990, she focused on one goal: an Olympic gold medal.
Shirley Robertson&nbsp;<a href="http://shirleyrobertson.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won silver medals at the 1998,</a>&nbsp;1999 and 2000 Europe Class World Championships and competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games and 1996 Atlanta Games.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2000 at the Millennium Olympic Games in Sydney, Robertson led from the start, but was pushed hard by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/2142/Sydney-2000---Olympic-Sailing-Day-Thirteen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Margriet Matthysse of Holland</a>. Dropping to 16th place in the penultimate race, Robertson had to finish in the top four to grab the gold. In the final race, she made her dream a reality by fighting for third place and becoming&nbsp;<a href="https://www.olympic.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an Olympic champion</a>.
In 2000 Shirley Robertson was voted&nbsp;<a href="http://www.sailing.org/worldsailor/2000/29803.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ISAF World Female Sailor of the Year</a>&nbsp;and awarded an MBE for her services to British sailing.
One year later, Shirley focused on a new challenge by switching to the Yngling class of sailing boat. Her team finished 14th for their first World Championships, but their determination and rapid improvement led the sailing team to finish third at the 2002 Olympic Test Event and win the 2003 Pre-Olympic regatta. Shirley Robertson was rewarded for her efforts by winning a historic second Gold Medal at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.olympic.org/athens-2004" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games</a>.
&nbsp;
<h2>From Sailing to Sports Journalism</h2>
After making history, Shirley Robertson turned to sports journalism by becoming a regular presenter for CNN MainSail in 2006 and presenting as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sailing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC Olympic Sailing</a>&nbsp;commentator in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. She also continued to be involved with the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) Sport Advisory Group.
During 2012, Robertson retained her role with LOCOG&rsquo;s Sport Advisory Group throughout the London 2012 games and was once again back in her ringside seat as the BBC Olympic Sailing commentator in Weymouth.
<img src="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=369&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png" sizes="(max-width: 369px) 100vw, 369px" srcset="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=185&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png 185w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=369&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png 369w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=554&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png 554w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=738&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png 738w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=923&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png 923w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png?width=1107&amp;name=Screen%20Shot%202018-11-26%20at%2015.26.15.png 1107w" alt="Leading the International Advancement of Sailing" width="369">
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<h2>Leading the International Advancement of Sailing</h2>
Shirley Robertson is also a member of the Scottish Institute of Sport which focuses on supporting the development of high performance sport in Scotland and creating the best competitive sailors. Robertson is also a sponsor of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ellen MacArthur Trust</a>, a charity which helps young people look beyond their cancer and using sailing to rebuild confidence.
Read about the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/women-marine-tracy-edwards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record-breaking Sailing Champion Tracy Edwards</a>.

Women in Marine: Shirley Robertson

Looking for adventure? Want a challenging career? A job in the Marine industry could be the start of a new and exciting career change.
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<h2>Why You should Work As A Marine Engineer:</h2>
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<h3>7. Fast Career Progression</h3>
Working in the Marine industry offers considerable responsibility right from the start of your career. Whatever your skillset and experience, Marine Engineers and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ics-shipping.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marine Technicians</a>&nbsp;are directly responsible for building a safe vessel that can carry hundreds of people every year, and sailors are responsible for the lives of their colleagues for every second on the water. The intricate details of boat building, stringent safety standards and fast-paced work equip those working in the Marine industry with a wealth of skills that are constantly developing.
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<h3>6. Long Holidays</h3>
Longer holidays and generous leave allowances are two of the best reasons to work in the Marine industry. Being away from home for long periods at a time is balanced with flexibility and extended periods of holiday time for family and friends.
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<h3>5. Become Part of Something Important</h3>
A vital part of the global economy, the Marine industry is responsible for carrying over 90% of the world&rsquo;s trade &ndash; without sea transport, the world economy would collapse. Joining the Marine industry means becoming part a bigger picture, not only of building boats and driving the passion of superyacht races, but in supporting economies, businesses and people all over the world.
The Marine industry is also paving the way for ethical industry practices and environmental responsibility of businesses and economies. Since September 2017&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sailorshelping.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sailors Helping</a>&nbsp;delivers humanitarian aid to those devastated by hurricanes and natural disasters, this year&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Volvo Ocean Race Team Turn the Tide on Plastic</a>&nbsp;highlights Marine industry sustainability and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.themaidenfactor.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Maiden Factor</a>&nbsp;aims to increase awareness of gender equality and give women greater access and quality of education globally.
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<h3>4. High Salaries</h3>
On average the Marine industry sees wages higher than similar professions ashore. With Marine Engineers and Marine Technicians often requested for urgent and short-term work, those working in Marine can receive a significant amount of overtime pay. Wages are often tax free across many countries, with the guarantee of a comfortable standard of living one of the best reasons to work in the Marine industry.
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<h3>3. Unique Working Experience</h3>
Bored of working in an office? Jobs in the Marine industry provide the opportunity to work in a unique and ever-changing environment. Joining the Marine industry means working with people from a variety of different nationalities and enjoying exciting experiences not offered by any other career.
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<h3>2. Transferable Skills</h3>
The ability to prepare you&nbsp;<a href="https://www.shiplilly.com/blog/why-a-career-in-shipping-is-a-meaningful-one/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for a wealth of different jobs</a>&nbsp;across other industries is one of the best reasons to work in the Marine industry. Qualifications and experience gained by working in Marine jobs are often transferable to other industries, and Engineers with no previous experience in the Marine industry can often easily find Engineering jobs in Marine due to similar skill sets and job requirements. After your experience offshore, Marine Engineers can enjoy opportunities in thousands of shore-based management jobs.
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<h3>1. Travel Across the World</h3>
Although contemporary ships spend less time in port than throughout history, a career in the Marine industry provides the opportunity to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marineinsight.com/careers-2/10-reasons-why-a-career-in-merchant-navy-is-unlike-any-other-career/">travel almost anywhere in the world.</a>&nbsp;Marine jobs enable Engineers, Technicians and Senior Executives to discover a variety of cultures and experiences by living and working in new and exciting locations around the world. Marine jobs that take you from the UK&rsquo;s South Coast to Spain, Finland and New Zealand in just a few months represent the top of the best reasons to work in the Marine industry.
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View and apply for all our&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/engineering-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Technical and Engineering Jobs</a>.

7 Reasons to Work in the Marine Industry

<h2>Tracy Edwards MBE made history and broke records leading the first all-women Volvo Ocean Race team.</h2>
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<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6531" src="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=390&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png" sizes="(max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px" srcset="https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=195&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png 195w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=390&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png 390w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=585&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png 585w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=780&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png 780w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=975&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png 975w, https://blog.v-hr.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png?width=1170&amp;name=Screen-Shot-2018-03-16-at-16_01_07.png 1170w" alt="Tracy Edwards" width="390">
Born 5th&nbsp;September 1962, the British sailor and best-selling author was raised in Pangbourne and spent part of her childhood in Wales.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tracyedwards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tracy Edwards&rsquo; passion for sailing started at an early age</a>, when she was backpacking around Europe as a teenager. Whilst working in a bar in the port of Piraeus, a job opportunity as a yacht steward arose and Edwards&rsquo; sailing career began.
Tracy Edwards worked her way up in the Marine industry as a deck hand and first mate before&nbsp;<a href="https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/history/1985-86.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">competing in the 1985-1986 Volvo Ocean Race</a>&nbsp;(previously named the Whitbread Round the World Race) on the crew of the Atlantic Pride.
At 23 years old, Tracy Edwards had no crew, no sponsorship and no boat &ndash; but in 1989, she decided to enter the next Volvo Ocean Race as a first-time skipper. After being rejected by 300 companies, Edwards finally secured support and recruited&nbsp;<a href="https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/legends/63_Tracy-Edwards.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the first all-women Volvo Ocean Race team</a>. Edwards and her team sailed 58-foot yacht Maiden, a much smaller boat than those sailed by their male competitors, to multiple victories. Edwards and her team won two of three Southern Ocean legs of the Volvo Ocean Race, received the winner's trophy for Leg 2 &ndash; the first all-female team to win this leg of the race &ndash; and finished in second place overall.
In one of the world&rsquo;s most extreme sailing competitions and a particularly tough year, in which two boats did not complete the course and three were dismasted, the skills and tenacity of the all-female team&nbsp;<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/a-woman-finds-herself-at-sea-1246104.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">silenced the many who doubted the abilities of women in sailing</a>. These outstanding achievements saw Tracy Edwards become the first woman awarded the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy and appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In 1990, she wrote the book&nbsp;Maiden, in collaboration with Tim Madge, in which she described her record-breaking sailing journey.
Bad weather conditions and a broken mast in the 1998 Jules Verne trophy marked the end of Tracy Edwards&rsquo; brilliant sailing career. Since then Edwards has organised sailing projects and inspired audiences around the world as a motivational speaker. In 2014, Maiden was abandoned in the Seychelles, and Edwards worked to raise the necessary funds to restore the winning yacht.
Maiden recently returned to Southampton for a full refit and will soon join the Volvo Ocean Race Legends regatta. Historic yachts that have competed in the Volvo Ocean Race since 1973 will sail the last leg of this year&rsquo;s edition from Gothenburg to The Hague in June 2018.&nbsp;
Tracy Edwards founded&nbsp;<a href="http://www.themaidenfactor.org/">The Maiden Factor</a>&nbsp;with the support of Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, daughter of King Hussein of Jordan, who was essential to make possible the participation of Maiden in the Volvo Ocean Race 28 years ago. The Maiden Project aims to continue Edwards&rsquo; main goal of supporting and empowering women by facilitating women&rsquo;s education around the world.
&nbsp;
Find out more about&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/women-marine-isabelle-autissier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record-breaking Women in Marine who changed the Sailing World</a>.
Read&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/volvo-ocean-race-top-10-facts-figures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">everything you need to know about the Volvo Ocean Race</a>.

Women in Marine: Tracy Edwards

<h2>Everything You Need To Know About The Volvo Ocean Race:</h2>
<h3>10. The Race Is Over 40 Years Old</h3>
Originally named&nbsp;<a href="http://www.yachtingworld.com/features/whitbread-round-the-world-race-59997" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Whitbread Round the World race</a>, the Volvo Ocean Race first started from Portsmouth, UK on September 8th,1973. A total of 17 boats carrying 167 crew set sail on Leg 1 to Cape Town in the first edition of the Volvo Ocean Race.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h3>9. Over Two Thousand Sailors Have Taken Part</h3>
Since the first race over 40 years ago:
<ul>
<li>
167 boats and 2030 sailors have taken part in 12 editions of the race
</li>
<li>
29 boats took part in the 1981-82 race &ndash; the largest fleet ever
</li>
<li>
43 different nationalities have been represented by sailing crew
</li>
<li>
467 crew from the UK have taken part in the race &ndash;&nbsp;the highest number from any nation around the world.
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h3>8. Five Sailors Have Lost Their Lives&nbsp;</h3>
Despite being one of the safest yacht races in the world with a run of over 40 years, five sailors have lost their lives at sea during the Volvo Ocean Race:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>
Paul Waterhouse/Tauranga/Leg 2 1973-74
</li>
<li>
Dominique Guillet/33 Export/Leg 2 1973-74
</li>
<li>
Bernie Hosking/Great Britain II/Leg 3 1973-74
</li>
<li>
Tony Philips/Creighton's Naturally/Leg 2 1989-90
</li>
<li>
Hans Horrevoets/ABN AMRO TWO/Leg 7 2005-06
</li>
</ul>
With the Clipper Round the World Race recently seeing its third fatality in under three years, yacht racing safety is currently a major talking point for the Marine industry.
&nbsp;
<h3>7. Navigation Used To Be A Challenge</h3>
In 1973-74, before GPS technology, navigation was performed by dead reckoning and sextant. The race course followed the route of the old square riggers of the 19th century.
&nbsp;
<h3>6. Sailing Used To Be More Comfortable</h3>
In the earlier days of the race,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the boats were much more comfortable</a>: fridges were packed with fresh meat and many Volvo Ocean Race teams included a full-time cook. With the years, the traditional commodities have evolved into shared bunks, desalination units, GPS, freeze-dried food and protein bars.
&nbsp;
<h3>5. Cornelis Van Rietschoten Had A Heart Attack And&nbsp;Didn't Stop&nbsp;Racing</h3>
The oldest winning skipper was Cornelis Van Rietschoten NED, who was 55 when he skippered Flyer to a win in 1981-82. A determined and highly skilled sailor, he secretly suffered a heart attack on board during the race but remained in the competition, not disclosing his illness until after he reached the finish line. Cornelis is also the only skipper to have won the Whitbread Round the World Race twice.
&nbsp;
<h3>4. Three Sailors Have Raced Seven Times</h3>
Three sailors have competed in the race seven times: &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>
Stuart Bannatyne NZL &ndash; who has been on a winning boat three times
</li>
<li>
Bouwe Bekking NED &ndash; who has been a skipper three times
</li>
<li>
Roger Nilson SWE &ndash; who has also been a skipper on three occasions
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h3>3. The Race Breaks Records</h3>
Other Volvo Ocean Race record-breakers include the longest racecourse so far - 39,270 nautical miles in 2011-12 &ndash; and the longest leg in race history: Leg 5 Quingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which at 12,300 nm took the fleet over 40 days to complete.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h3>2. There Was An All-Female Team</h3>
In the 1989-90 race,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.tracyedwards.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">skipper Tracy Edwards GBR</a>&nbsp;and her crew of&nbsp;Maiden&nbsp;became the first all-female team to compete in the race. Team SCA is the first all-female team to win a leg of the race since Tracy Edwards&rsquo; crew won the two Southern Ocean legs in their division.
<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/women-marine-isabelle-autissier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read more about the best female sailors from around the world</a>.
&nbsp;
<h3>1. New Zealand Has Record-Breaking Sailors</h3>
Three sailors, coincidentally all from New Zealand, have sailed on a winning boat three times: Stuart Bannatyne, Mark Christensen and Brad Jackson.
<ul>
<li>
Mark Christensen NZL is the only sailor in the history of the race to have won three consecutive editions.
</li>
<li>
Pierre Fehlmann SUI is the only sailor to skipper a boat five times in a row, from 1977-78 up to 1993-94.
</li>
<li>
Roger Nilson has sailed 200,000nm in his life &ndash; the distance from the Earth to the Moon
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Follow&nbsp;<a href="https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the latest leg of the Volvo Ocean Race</a>.
Read the&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/volvo-ocean-race-5-best-moments-volvo-ocean-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5 Best Moments of the Volvo Ocean Race</a>.
Find out&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/news/international-marine-industry-2018-expert-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what 2018 has in store for the international Marine Industry</a>.

10 Facts About The Volvo Ocean Race

A record-breaker who has sailed around the world four times, Isabelle Autissier is a French sailor, writer, agronomist and environmental activist.
Isabelle Autissier was raised in the west coast of France and graduated in 1978, at the age of 22, as a nautical engineer. Her 12 years as a professional sailor were intense: she was proclaimed the first woman to solo sail in a competition, and beat a world record.
In 1987 she began her first sailing competition with the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.minitransat.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mini Transat, a solo race across the Atlantic</a>, where she finished third. In 1991 she competed in the BOC Yacht Race, where she finished seventh and became the first woman to solo sail around the world in competition.
Only three years later, Isabelle Autissier took on the new adventure of sailing from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn in the Around Alone Race. In just 62 days, five hours and 55 minutes, she achieved the shortest time ever recorded.
During her competitive sailing career, Autissier was involved in two serious incidents in which her boat capsized. These accidents would spark a new career.
<h1>Isabelle Autissier: From Sailing to Activism</h1>
In 1999, while competing in the Around Alone Race for the third time, Autissier&rsquo;s boat capsized 1,900 miles west of Cape Horn. After being rescued by a fellow competitor, Isabelle Autissier decided to retire from the races and instead plunge her efforts into spreading her experiences and love for the sea.
Today, Autissier lends speeches to charitable causes and&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.v-hr.com/blog/team-turn-tide-plastic-volvo-ocean-race-competitors-marine-sustainability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaigns to protect the environment</a>. Years as a sailor provided an insight into the effects of humanity on our environment; her campaigns promote the message that economic growth and other real progress can only be achieved by protecting nature and human rights.
Isabelle Autissier has been President of World Wildlife Fund for Nature for France and in 2009 was named Chair of WWF-France. Expanding her activism beyond protecting the sea, she led a national operation all over France in October 2017 to recycle millions of unused mobile phones.
<h2>The No Man&rsquo;s Land Project</h2>
In 2010 Autissier travelled to Antarctica to detect icebergs and growlers beneath the water, with the purpose of making the seas safer for adventurous sailors.&nbsp;<a href="http://nomansland.project.free.fr/NomanslandProject-News.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No Man&rsquo;s Land Project</a>&nbsp;involved sailing through ice for ten weeks to gather vital data, accompanied by two French sailors, two glaciologists and two professional mountaineers.
The crew of the No Man&rsquo;s Land Project explored places that no person had been before. Pursuing their goal despite a lack of accurate charts tracking the Antarctic Peninsula, Isabelle Autissier&rsquo;s crew helped improve Safran technology by making regular 5-minute recordings. The No Man&rsquo;s Land Project led the way for other explorers to better navigate and discover Antarctica.

Women in Marine: Isabelle Autissier

For centuries, man has been developing machines to travel the ocean. At the height of the Industrial Revolution,&nbsp;Robert Fulton (1765 &ndash; 1825) would revolutionise the marine industry and lay the foundations for future developments.&nbsp;
<h1>Who Was Robert Fulton And how Did He Change the Marine Industry?</h1>
Fulton was an American inventor who, without any engineering or marine experience, introduced the steam engine into vessels and commercial navigation. A painter and jeweler from Philadelphia, Fulton became an engineer after arriving in England aged 23, and was especially fascinated by the &lsquo;canal mania&rsquo; influenced by the work of James Watt and Benjamin Franklin. Fulton&rsquo;s ideas soon led him to Paris to develop steamboat technologies.
<h3>The First Submarine</h3>
The war between the British and the French inspired Fulton to design the&nbsp;Nautilus, considered by many to be the first working submarine in history, and the first known torpedoes. The Nautilus was intended to creep under the hulls of British ships to place a powder charge for detonation at a later stage, and Fulton offered it to the French government for that purpose, before realising that the submarine was vulnerable under the effect of the winds and tides and therefore couldn&rsquo;t compete with the high speed of the British warships. In 1804 Fulton switched allegiance and offered his wartime inventions to the English government, with his attempts thwarted by Nelson&rsquo;s victory at Trafalgar.
Learn more about the&nbsp;<a title="submarine" href="/blog/the-history-of-the-submarine">history of the submarine.&nbsp;</a>
<h2>The Steamboat</h2>
Seemingly unabashed by his failure in painting, canal engineering and bellicose designs, Fulton remained confident of his talent and switched his attention to steamboats. A partnership with Robert R. Livingston, an American politician who obtained a 20-year monopoly for steamboat navigation in New York, finally provided Fulton with the resources to build his steamboat in 1802. Although the initial attempts to propel a ship using a steam engine had already begun in 1775 &ndash; until that point, vessels and sea vehicles relied on sailing power &ndash; Fulton broke through and<a href="https://www.livescience.com/44186-who-invented-the-steam-engine.html">&nbsp;converted steam engine technology into practical and commercial success.</a>
The partners constructed a first version of Fulton&rsquo;s steamboat in France and it successfully navigated the Seine at 3 mph. This was a 66 foot (20 meters) long boat with an eight-horse power engine design and paddle wheels. In 1806 Fulton constructed improved ship powered by a paddle wheel and using a powerful steam engine of the side-lever type created by his hero James Watt, and in the following year the brand new North River Steamboat took her maiden voyage from New York upriver to Albany, in the north end of the state. The 150-mile journey through the Hudson River took 32 hours at the speed of 5 miles per hour; a significant reduction of 64 hrs. The North River Steamboat became an instant sensation and Fulton launched many other ships after that.
In 1812 Fulton designed the World&rsquo;s first steam warship to defend New York from the English blockade in the war between England and the United States. The Demologos included new and exciting technical innovations such as two parallel hulls with the paddle wheel placed between them, with the engine in one hull and the boilers and stacks in the other. Measuring 156 feet (48 meters) in total the new vessel endured successful trials in 1814, although the war was over before it could be used in real battle, and was renamed&nbsp;The Fulton&nbsp;after the inventor&rsquo;s death.
The steam engine of the Industrial Revolution delivered an enormous leap in progress for marine engineering, and although efforts to navigate using the new technology began earlier, Fulton&rsquo;s marine inventions made the breakthrough possible: all voyages could now be made much more quickly with smaller engine spaces allowing bigger boats to transport people and goods in unprecedented quantities. Fulton&rsquo;s ideas changed the industry forever and his story of perseverance and innovation is a source of inspiration for modern marine engineering.
Find out more about<a title="the history of the boat" href="/blog/history-of-engineering-the-boat">&nbsp;the history of the boat,</a> or read about&nbsp;<a title="what's changing in the marine industry" href="/blog/new-marine-trends-to-watch-in-2019">what's changing in the marine industry.</a>

Industry Innovators: Marine Engineering

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