Modernisation of GMDSS Equipment - by IMO

BE READY Don't let your fleet be detained SOLAS Chapter II-2 requires every SOLAS-regulated ship built after 1st July 2014 to have the right fire safety equipment in place by 1st July 2018. Non-complying vessels can be detained, incurring significant costs and delays to their shipping schedule. Each Fire Party on board must have at least 2 dedicated UHF handheld radios All firefighting radios must meet SOLAS regulatory standards Failing this can result in ports detaining each contravening vessel Port fees can exceed $20,000 - $30,000 USD per day Cost of delays to shipping schedules can exceed USD$100,000 per day Fires can occur anytime, so you need the right equipment on board right now BE CERTAIN When it comes to fire safety, leave nothing to chance The SAILOR 3965 UHF Fire Fighter radio has been specifically designed for SOLAS Chapter II-2 and to maximise fire safety at sea.  No other radio goes further or does more to help keep your crews and vessels ...

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Intellian wins SM Line VSAT contract Container ship operator SM Line is upgrading communications on its fleet of up to 30 liners by installing new VSAT hardware. South Korea-headquartered Intellian is providing its V100 satellite communications antennas for these boxships. SM Line decided to enhance its container vessels for operational communications and data transmissions. It also wants to adopt the internet of things (IoT) and freight monitoring systems. This will mean SM Line will be able to monitor containers along its key Asia-US shipping routes to what it calls “illuminate the supply chain’s blind spots” while improving productivity and efficiency of processes. SM Line said it has become the first South Korean container ship operator with “the ability to monitor and track the condition of items in a container in real time”. It is following a lead that Maersk Group made in container tracking and monitoring technology that was highlighted in  Marine ...

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) reports that it is introducing regular tidal data updates to Admiralty TotalTide (ATT) as part of the new version 18 of Admiralty Digital Publications (ADP). ATT is used to make tidal height and tidal stream predictions, covering more than 7,000 ports and 3,000 tidal streams worldwide. Version 18 will allow the UKHO to send new tidal data to mariners through ATT on a more frequent basis, moving away from the previous annual update cycle. As part of ADP version 18, certificates will now show ATT's update status in the same format as Admiralty Digital List of Lights (ADLL) and Admiralty Digital Radio Signals to support compliance. In addition to this update, the UKHO has also added its Admiralty e-Nautical Publications (AENP) updates on to the ADP weekly update disc, increasing the frequency with which the new AENP data reaches the mariner. “This major update for ADP, to version 18, brings important added features that ...

Essar Shipping Gears Up to Increase Tonnage India’s Essar Shipping is looking into acquisition opportunities in the second-hand market as part of its fleet expansion plans, the company’s Executive Director & CEO, Ranjit Singh revealed in an interview with World Maritime News. “We are exploring the option of buying second-hand Panamaxes, MR Tanker and Handymaxes in the near future, in view of the low asset cost and growth opportunities on the Indian coast,”  Singh said. The purchase would follow the company’s latest vessel acquisition from May 2017 when Essar Shipping bought a Panamax bulker,  Mahavir . The second-hand market seems to be more interesting for owners since prices are still attractive when compared to the newbuilding tonnage. “The vessels will be trading for   captive cargo of Essar Steel as well as third party cargo. No newbuildings are planned yet, ” Singh said. At the moment the company’s fleet is composed of 14 vessels, in...

KVH has agreed a deal with Pilipinas Global Network Limited (PGNL) to bring coverage of full games from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to merchant ships, via its mini-VSAT and IP-MobileCast service. Under the terms of the agreement, KVH will distribute PBA men’s professional basketball league games for the 43rd and 44th PBA seasons, which began with the Philippine Cup on December 17, 2017. The PBA games will be delivered via satellite to vessels subscribed to KVH’s SPORTSlink and IP-MobileCast content delivery service, and can be accessed by seafarers on mobile devices, desktops, and televisions. “PGNL is devoted to bringing the PBA closer to every Filipino overseas. This partnership with KVH is a step toward reaching out to seafarers who would want to experience the PBA while they’re away from home,” said Ernesto D. Sta. Maria, Jr., PGNL president and CEO. “We work hard to make sure that more Filipinos all over the world get to enjoy quality sports co...

The Indian government has drafted a legislation to ratify the Hong Kong Convention on safe ship-recycling, which was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2009. The new bill is to provide for the regulation of ship recycling in a safe and environmentally sounder manner and take care of occupational health and safety risks related to workers engaged in the recycling process. India’s Ministry of Shipping informed that the matters related to shipping are currently governed by Ship Breaking Code, 2013, as amended. The proposal to introduce the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships Bill, 2017, is open for comments and suggestions of stakeholders until January 7, 2018. Under the proposal, the government would designate a national authority which is to administer, supervise and monitor all activities related to ship-recycling. The Hong Kong Convention is to enter into force only 24 months after it is ratified by 15 states, in order to repr...

Det Norske Veritas Becomes DNV GL’s Majority Owner Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas has become the majority shareholder of classification society DNV GL. On December 8, 2017, foundations Mayfair SE and Det Norske Veritas signed an agreement for the sale of Mayfair’s 36.5% shares in DNV GL to Det Norske Veritas Holding AS (DNV Holding AS). Until this transaction Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas owned 63.5% of the DNV GL group through DNV Holding AS. In 2012, Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas and Mayfair agreed to build a quality assurance and risk management company – Germanischer Lloyd (GL) was merged with Det Norske Veritas to create DNV GL. “Since the merger, the joint company has successfully adapted its organization and realized significant synergies. It also strengthened its position in research and innovation and moved forward with its digital transformation,”  the duo said in a statement. “The merger between DNV and GL has created significant value, an...

Editor Martyn Wingrove describes how the internet of things and satellite connectivity enables ship operators to become logistics supply chain kings We are seeing an evolution in maritime where the internet of everything is moving the industry out of just owning ships. More companies are recognizing the benefits of becoming global logistics chain experts – especially container ship operators. It is all made possible by the internet of things, also known as IoT connectivity that uses satellite constellations to link equipment, systems, machinery and anything else with a transceiver, to one another. A prime example came from Cargotec and Orange Business Services this week. They announced an agreement to use IoT connectivity to keep Cargotec goods moving efficiently and safely. Orange intends to integrate intelligence into the machinery and through this technology, Cargotec aims to become a leader in intelligent cargo handling - to keep goods flowing on ships, through au...

Ships passing through the Gulf of Guinea are increasingly targeted by pirates, their objective being the kidnapping of the crew and holding them for ransom. However, it is not so often that we can see these attacks caught on camera in real life. The video above shows a containership being approached by a group of eight armed pirates in a skiff on December 7, data from Asket shows. The pirates, allegedly armed with AK 47 rifles, tried to board the vessel but were unsuccessful in their attempt as the boxship employed various evasive maneuvers thwarting the boarding. The crew of the Singaporean vessel is reported to be safe. There have been 15 attacks against commercial ships reported within a 60 nautical miles radius of Bony Island over recent weeks, data from maritime security firm Dryad Maritime shows. This year alone, 56 mariners have been kidnapped off the Niger Delta, Dryad Maritime said. Mariners crossing the region are advised to remain vigilant ...

The Korean Register (KR) has begun conducting inspection services using drones, following the completion of a collaboration and research project conducted with the University of Gyeongnam Geochang. The inspections will be carried out using camera-equipped drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) and underwater drones (remotely operated vehicles) by registered service suppliers, including the University of Gyeongnam Geochang. The two organisations also plan to work together on future technological developments. “We are delighted to announce that we can now offer full ship inspection services with camera-equipped drones, employing the very latest technology,” said Lee Jeong-kie, chairman and CEO of KR. “This development will be a significant advantage for our customers, saving their time and capital resources as well as increasing efficiency and safety at the worksite, which I hope will in turn improve competitiveness across the shipping industry.” “This is just the latest ...

Marlink reports that it has added new Tampnet 4G LTE services in the Gulf of Mexico, which will allow customers of its Sealink multi-band network to make use of GSM data connectivity alongside the VSAT, L-band satcom and Wi-Fi services it already provides in the region. The Norwegian satellite services provider had previously integrated Tampnet connectivity into its Sealink network in the North Sea in 2016, where it is currently being used by a range of vessels in the offshore sector. “Tampnet 4G LTE has been tried and tested in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico with focus on fixed installations, but by integrating it with our Sealink network we are making communications even more flexible to support the safety and operational efficiency of mobile assets like offshore support vessels,” said Tore Morten Olsen, president maritime, Marlink. “Tampnet serves to strengthen Marlink’s already extensive capacity dedicated to offshore operations in the Gulf, helping to ensu...

Marine Press of Canada, a supplier of integrated navigation systems, is launching a web-based platform called SeaOps that it says will enable users to track, monitor, and manage their fleet through a single portal. The new system can be integrated with the company’s existing Sea Passage technology installed on board ship, used to manage charts and navigational data, to provide actionable information to shore in real-time. “Vessel operators have been demanding a solution that will help better manage their fleet. Current solutions are simply incomplete and require fleet managers to work with different suppliers to get a complete view of their vessels,” said Nicholas Bourque, CEO at Marine Press. “SeaOps is a game changer that offers fleet managers full situational awareness thanks to its integration with our Sea Passage on board solution.” The new platform offers vessel and fleet tracking, compliance monitoring based on position, weather forecasting, and piracy risk ...

AIS Service Providers: 3 Key Questions to Ask Whether you’re using AIS data to track commodity shipments around the world, help the environment by detecting illegal fishing or bilge dumping, or to improve security and surveillance, all these diverse solutions require a complete picture of global maritime vessel activity. But with several different AIS service providers out there, how do you decide which one to select? Be sure to ask these three questions of any prospective AIS service provider: 1. Is Your AIS Data Comprehensive? Most service providers would give a knee-jerk ‘yes’ to this question, but what really constitutes comprehensive AIS data? Here are a few questions to consider: Does the AIS service provider use satellite AIS data or do they use terrestrial AIS data. Satellite AIS is best for the open ocean out of reach of shore based terrestrial receivers; terrestrial AIS is best for congested waterways like harbours that are near to shore. The most comprehen...

Editor Martyn Wingrove describes how the launch of LEO satellites will enable truly-connected and unmanned ships Mini satellites in low Earth orbit will bring a new dimension to vessel communications and monitoring. While a high proportion of communications between ships and shore currently goes through geostationary satellites, more will be going through LEO satellites that fly around closer to our planet in the next decade. Iridium’s investment in its next generation of LEO satellites will increase the capacity in L-band communications, eventually eroding some of the voice and data services that go through geostationary satellites now. Adoption of VSAT in maritime is driving more of these services through geostationary C, or K-band pipes, and a few medium Earth orbit satellites. But, this could also be eroded by the emergence of LEO K-band satellites after 2020. This was alluded to by Castor Marine chief executive Ivo Veldkamp when we spoke at the Europort exhibition in ...

ONGC’s major project set to take off soon Needs of State’s gas-based industries will be met first, says official The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC) Eastern Offshore Asset (EOA) is all set to give a major push to the gas-based industrial units by supplying natural gas to the tune of five million cubic metres per day from February next. As many as four wells at the S1- Vashishta offshore project site are gearing up for the exploration of its expected reserves of 15.95 billion cubic metres of natural gas and ONGC is planning to host a big event to mark the commencement of functioning of one of its major projects on the east coast. “With regard to the sale of natural gas, we are going to give top priority to industrial units in Andhra Pradesh. Only the remaining reserves will be put up for sale in the neighbouring States,” Alok Nandan, Executive Director and Asset Manager of the ONGC’s EOA, told  The Hindu . S1-Vashishta is part and parcel of the inves...