Modernisation of GMDSS Equipment - by IMO

From the moment the Ballast Water Management Convention was adopted in 2004, shipowners have been well aware that at some point they would need to fit a ballast treatment system to new and existing vessels unless the ship in question was to be scrapped before the implementation date. Some others would have been aware of the possibility that an exemption might be possible under the Same Risk Area rules but will have been frustrated to see little official action in this regard. Because of the different regulatory regimes, owners that trade to the US will already have been obliged to fit ballast treatment systems but the number of such ships represents only around 10% of the world fleet. Even taking into account the unexpected extension allowed by the IMO in 2017, it is now time for their owners to consider choosing a system and take account of the many factors that will influence the final choice. With such a wide choice of systems and technologies there is almost certa...

Shipping and other maritime industries will benefit from the faster broadband communications that SES’s latest satellite will bring after it is launched in March. SES-12 is billed as the most powerful communications satellite in the world yet to be in orbit. It will be using electric power of up to 19 kW to operate high throughput Ku-band spot beams over Asia. Airbus Defence and Space, which built this satellite, was tested its radio frequency capabilities when  Marine Electronics & Communications  visited its assembly plant in Toulouse, in France. You will be able to read more of the details in this year’s Complete Guide to VSAT, but in summary, SES-12 will provide higher bandwidth to ships, offshore vessels and cruise ships in Asia once it is commissioned. Barring any accidents during a March launch this should be in the second, or more likely, third quarter. Ku-band spot beams will be aimed over the Indian Ocean and seas around south east Asia. There wil...

The latest meeting of IMO’s Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) concludes this week, focusing on core areas relating to safety at sea including GMDSS, e-Navigation and vessel tracking. Among the meeting agenda items was a review of progress in IMO’s ongoing work to modernise the Global Maritime Distress and Safety system (GMDSS). The GMDSS was adopted in 1988 to provide an infrastructure to ensure that distress alerts can be sent from anywhere on the world’s oceans. The modernisation plan aims to update those provisions in line with subsequent advances in technology, including an allowance for the incorporation of new satellite communication services. E-navigation issues on the agenda included a focus on promoting harmonisation and standardisation across the industry to drive the effective implementation of IMO’s strategy, which aims to harness the benefits of integrated high-tech navigation solutions. Draft Guidelines on standardised m...