Engineering and naval architecture practice Foreship has relocated its UK subsidiary to larger premises and appointed Tuur Killaars as Senior Sustainability Specialist, in a dual response to the volume and scope of enquiries since first opening its doors in Southampton in 2022.
The new offices (pictured), located in the Director General’s House in central Southampton, support the Helsinki-headquartered consultancy’s continuing strategy for growth in the UK, with Killaars joining after several years as a Carnival Corporation naval architect. With a MSc in Maritime Engineering specialising in ship design from Delft University, he had previous roles with Ulstein Design and Solutions and De Voogt, respectively as naval architect and design engineer.
Shaun White, MD Foreship UK, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tuur to Foreship UK as we build our team to meet growing UK demand for Foreship’s independent consultancy on newbuildings, ship conversions, alternative fuels and the future technologies which can help owners adapt to the International Maritime Organization’s newly revised strategy for ship GHG emissions.”
The move to larger premises within a year of establishing its UK subsidiary provided evidence of continuing wider growth in demand for Foreship expertise, said Lauri Haavisto, CEO, Foreship Group. From headquarters in Finland, Foreship now operates nine offices in Europe and North America to support its services for new shipbuilding, conversion and refurbishment.
Haavisto said: “Foreship has strengthened its ties with several of the UK’s major cruise ship and ferry owners over the last year. The breadth of projects being worked on by our colleagues in Southampton shows that the appetite is strong for the full range of Foreship’s expert services, from ship theory, concept and detail design, dry dock support, and conversions to battery energy storage and alternative fuel feasibility studies.”
Since opening in 2022, the Southampton office has initiated, coordinated or participated in more than 20 projects. Its contribution was already being felt in high profile Foreship projects, including in its coordinating role on Seaspan Corporation’s ammonia-powered container vessel concept design, working with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. The innovative design has secured Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping.
White added: “The UK is a global centre for pioneering marine science, research, and technology, and the past 12 months have also seen Foreship immersing itself in programmes such as the Clean Maritime Demonstrations Competition (CMDC), Zero Emissions Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition as well as engaging and supporting industry-led bodies like Maritime UK Solent to promote a thriving maritime sector in the UK.”
