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June/July 2012
Thrane & Thrane IN THIS ISSUE takeover bid accepted satcoms Gigabytes onboard Cobham’s on again, off again move to buy Thrane & Thrane is now very much on, with 3G at sea – 6 as the Danish antenna manufacturer’s board of directors accepted a bid for the company, which it has recommended to shareholders Cutting costs at Wisby Tankers – 10
obham, parent company of offer Cobham had said that this price the initial offer. Competition driving Sea Tel, has announced that was final, and that it would not be Lars Thrane, who founded the maritime satcom to CCit has reached agreement increased unless another party made company with his brother and is cur- higher bandwidth – 12 with the board of directors of a bid for the company. rently a member of the board of man- Thrane & Thrane on the terms of a Cobham says that its u-turn in agement and board of directors of revised voluntary tender offer for offering an extra DKK15 per share is Thrane & Thrane, had stated at the software the company. based on the value of a dividend that time of the initial offer that he would Under the terms of the revised would otherwise have been declared not sell his share of the company offer, Thrane & Thrane shareholders in June 2012 in relation to the year to Cobham. Taking charge of your IT with service will be offered DKK435 in cash for ended 30 April 2012. However, he also seems to have orientated architecture – 23 each Thrane & Thrane share, an The revised offer values the share had a change of heart and has now increase of DKK15 per share over capital of Thrane & Thrane on a entered into a binding agreement to Using CBT to meet Cobham’s offer announced on 10 fully diluted basis at approximately accept the revised offer in relation to April 2012. £275 million (approximately US$445 his holding of 1,349,084 shares, repre- training requirements – 25 At the time of the initial DKK420 million), a 2.6 per cent increase from senting 22.7 per cent of the fully Eco-friendly fuel savings continued on page 2 – high as a kite – 28 electronics and navigation
FOCUS ON ECDIS TRAINING Guide to ECDIS training regulations – 40 ECDIS familiarisation training and CBT – 42 High performance navigation – 44 Alternative systems and the future Management responsibility for Sea Tel would be transferred to Thrane & Thrane in Denmark once the takeover is completed of positioning – Dr Andy Norris – 50 “A Brand New World” www.reformstudio.no www.reformstudio.no Tormod Johannesen, IT Manager Wilson Ship Management, Bergen
”We are deploying Dualog Connection Suite on 83 ships in less than 12 months with only good feedback from the vessel users and offi ce staff ”, says Tormod Johannesen, the IT Manager of Wilson Ship Management in Bergen.
“Dualog Connection Suite is a modern and fl exible product and this fact, combined with internal planning, has brought us into a brand new world in a minimum of time”, adds the happy IT Manager.
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SATCOMS
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diluted share capital of Thrane & Thrane. 31 January 2012, on the basis of an enter- part of Cobham’s 'Excellence In Delivery' In addition, the other members of the prise value of DKK2,621 million (approx- programme. board of Thrane & Thrane have entered imately US$465 million). Assuming Cobham secures 100 per into an undertaking to accept the revised “We are very pleased that, by increas- cent ownership of Thrane & Thrane, the Vol 12 No 9 offer in relation to their respective indi- ing our offer to take account of the divi- company anticipates that the transaction vidual holdings, amounting to, in aggre- dend for the year now ended, we have would cover its cost of capital in the sec- Digital Ship Limited gate, 17,040 shares - representing 0.3 per reached agreement with the board of ond full year of ownership, and that it 2nd Floor, cent of the fully diluted share capital of Thrane & Thrane,” said John Devaney, would achieve a minimum of £4 million 8 Baltic Street East Thrane & Thrane. Cobham’s executive chairman. (approximately US$6.5 million) per London EC1Y 0UP, U.K. Cobham now owns or has received “Their recommendation will allow us annum of pre-tax synergies as a result of www.thedigitalship.com undertakings in respect of a total of to move quickly, and with certainty, with the transaction, in the areas of engineer- 2,819,919 shares, representing 47.4 per the integration of Thrane & Thrane into ing, production, distribution and corpo- cent of the fully diluted share capital of the Cobham group.” rate costs. PUBLISHER Thrane & Thrane, having already pur- “We believe that this is an outstanding Thrane & Thrane's satcom business Stuart Fryer chased 25.59 per cent from various insti- opportunity to bring together two world- has around 600 employees located in EDITOR tutional investors and on the open mar- class, highly complementary, commer- Denmark, the USA, Norway, Sweden, Rob O'Dwyer: Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3410 ket before the bid was accepted by the cially focused satcom businesses and is in China and Singapore, working with a email: [email protected] Thrane board. line with our aim of prioritising invest- global network of distributors. The board of Thrane & Thrane has ment that will bring more balance For the twelve months to 31 January DEPUTY EDITOR now said that it will recommend the between our defence/security and com- 2012, the company generated revenue of Julie Ann Chan: Tel: +44 (0) 20 7017 3414 revised offer to its shareholders, and that mercial markets.” DKK1,092.4 million (approximately email: [email protected] it will "support and facilitate the making US$193 million), with profit before tax CONFERENCE PRODUCER of the revised offer." Next moves of DKK169.4 million (approximately Cathy Hodge: Tel +44 (0) 20 7253 2700 Cobham believes that this recommen- Should the takeover of the company go US$30 million). email: [email protected] dation will allow it to secure a higher ahead, Cobham says that routes to mar- For the same twelve month period acceptance rate which will "enable a ket for the two businesses will be com- Thrane & Thrane held net assets of ADVERTISING quicker and more effective integration bined and they will use a combined deal- DKK1,003.7 million (approximately Ria Kontogeorgou: Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3401 of Thrane & Thrane into the Cobham er network. US$177.5 million) and gross assets of email: [email protected] group." Cobham also notes that it intends that DKK1,721.4 million (approximately PRODUCTION The offer price of DKK435 represents a management responsibility for the com- US$304 million). Vivian Chee: Tel: +44 (0)20 8995 5540 premium of 48 per cent on the closing bined maritime satcom business, which Cobham is substantially larger, email: [email protected] price per share from the Nasdaq OMX in will include Sea Tel, Cobham’s largest employing more than 10,000 people on Copenhagen on 24 February 2012, the last satcom business unit, would be trans- five continents and with preliminary rev- EVENTS trading day prior to Thrane & Thrane's ferred to Thrane & Thrane in Denmark enues for the year 2011 of approximately Diana Leahy Engelbrecht first announcement that it had received "as soon as practicable." US$3 billion. Tel: +44 (0)118 931 3109 an unsolicited offer for the company. Thrane & Thrane’s Danish facility Cobham has acquired nearly 50 com- email: [email protected] The price also represents a multiple of would be designated as a 'Cobham panies in the last decade, including Sea CONSULTANT WRITER 15.4 times Thrane & Thrane's operating Principal Operating Location' and Tel in 2003, which has since doubled both Dr Andy Norris (navigation) profit for the twelve month period up to would receive further investment as its revenue and R&D investment. DS [email protected]
DIGITAL SHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS €180 per year for 10 issues Subscribe online at Satcom Direct has become a direct Danaos to install broadband www.thedigitalship.com, reseller for TriaGnoSys satellite com- contact [email protected], munications products and equipment system on 63 vessels or phone Diana Leahy Engelbrecht on: in the United States, and is now the +44 (0)118 931 3109 only TriaGnoSys reseller partner in the www.vizada.com country. UPCOMING CONFERENCES Vizada and its partner SRH Marine DIGITAL SHIP HONG KONG Intellian has appointed Vikaash Electronics report that they have signed a KITEC, Kowloon Sukul as EU operations manager, to be 24-month agreement with Danaos 10-11 October 2012 located at the company’s European sales Shipping Co Ltd to equip the company’s DIGITAL SHIP KOREA and support office in Rotterdam, the fleet of 63 vessels with a broadband com- Bexco, Busan, South Korea Netherlands. Mr Sukul will manage munications system. 30-31 October 2012 European sales and support operations The agreement includes the provision out of the office. of 1 GB of connectivity to the fleet over DIGITAL SHIP ATHENS Inmarsat FleetBroadband terminals, to be Metropolitan hotel, Athens Marlink has appointed Shinobu managed via Vizada's XChange and Crew 27-28 November 2012 Suzuki as its new Japan country manager. PC services. Ms Suzuki will be based in Marlink’s Greece-based Danaos Shipping pro- Vizada’s XChange platform will be used to manage the communications system Printed by Tokyo office and will have responsibility vides ship management services to one of The Manson Group Ltd for the Japanese and Korean markets. the world’s largest fleets of container- Reynolds House, 8 Porters' Wood ships, with a number of additional diverse Valley Road Industrial Estate St Albans, Hertz AL3 6PZ Thuraya has signed a service partner shipbuilding projects in the pipeline. communication needs of the Danaos crew. U.K. agreement with Telespazio VEGA of SRH will provide the Thrane & Thrane This will include elements such as web the United Kingdom, a subsidiary of Sailor FleetBroadband terminals, while browsing and options for chatting with No part of this publication may be repro- Telespazio SpA, a Finmeccanica/ Vizada will provide its XChange plat- loved ones onshore during downtime duced or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic, photocopying, Thales company. Telespazio VEGA will form, a piece of hardware installed aboard. recording or other means without the distribute Thuraya’s satellite communica- onboard offering a user interface that "In this difficult period, having a reli- prior written consent of the publisher. tions products. will allow Danaos IT managers or cap- able cost effective solution onboard is vital Whilst the information and articles in tains to choose settings and configura- for our business. As the IT manager of Digital Ship are published in good faith tions to make the best use of the Danaos, I know that reliable ship-shore and every effort is made to check accura- www.satcomdirect.com FleetBroadband connectivity. connectivity is key," said Vassilis Fotinias, cy, readers should verify facts and state- www.triagnosys.com The XChange system also includes web IT manager, Danaos. ments direct with official sources before acting on them as the publisher can www.intelliantech.com compression and filtering capabilities, and "Through Vizada XChange, I can con- accept no responsibility in this respect. www.marlink.com optimised connectivity switching features. trol and monitor the on board IT infra- Any opinions expressed in this maga- www.thuraya.com The Crew PC system which will be structure remotely. If this can be combined zine should not be construed as those installed onboard the vessels is a comput- with crew welfare solutions, such as Crew of the publisher. er that comes preconfigured to match the PC, you can increase your business."
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Your next generation Voyager has touched down
The new Voyager 4 on-board chart management system with a host of additional new features:
• TGT E-Data • Touch screen technology • Digital loose leaf updates • Admiralty information overlay • ENC display • Route planning • Seamanship library • Regs4ships • Shipping Guides • AtoBviaC • Weather routeing (SPOS) • Piracy data
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www.thomasgunn.com | +44 (0)1224 595045 | [email protected] p1-13:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:49 Page 4
SATCOMS Docking unit for Iridium phone launched Harris CapRock agrees 34-ship cruise www.beamcommunications.com thinking on our partners’ part. They truly VSAT deal www.iridium.com understand – and meet – the global con- nectivity needs of customers in endless www.harris.com imising service availability and avoiding Beam Communications has received certi- markets around the world.” downtime. fication from Iridium Communications for Beam says that initial orders have Harris CapRock Communications has Harris CapRock says that each ship will use of Beam’s LiteDOCK docking stations already been received for the units and signed a five-year agreement with cruise be equipped with two or three stabilised with the Iridium Extreme satellite phone. that shipping has commenced. operator Royal Caribbean Cruises to pro- VSAT antenna systems. Beam says that it is the first manufac- vide communication services onboard its "At Royal Caribbean, our goal is for turer in the world to receive certification fleet of 34 ships across the Royal guests to have the best experience possible for a docking unit for the handset. Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises while vacationing on our ships," said Bill The range of docks extends the function- and Azamara Club Cruises brands. Martin, vice president and chief informa- ality of the Iridium Extreme so that it can be The hybrid communications set-up will tion officer, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. used for voice, data and tracking services feature a fully managed, end-to-end VSAT "An important part of that experience is on vessels and in other remote locations. service as well as a terrestrial communica- the communications service made avail- The PotsDOCK provides features such tions element, to enable access to Royal able to them and making sure it performs as external GPS connectivity, the ability to Caribbean's corporate network and busi- above their expectations. We set a goal to use standard telephone equipment such as ness applications, as well as broadband change the market expectations for corded or cordless handsets, and integra- internet and telephony services. onboard communications, and with tion with a PBX for on-vessel use. The system will combine Ku-band and Harris CapRock's innovative solution, our “Iridium communications devices and C-band VSAT with shore wireless connec- guests will be able to remain connected services are more vital than ever in the tivity, so that the ships can switch from with friends and family onshore in ways global communications infrastructure,” one preferred platform to another, max- not possible on any other cruise ship." said Greg Ewert, executive vice president, global distribution channels, Iridium. “This is because of the ability of inno- vative partners, such as Beam, who make it possible to communicate through our network anywhere on Earth with tools that make connectivity possible where it was never before imagined.” “We appreciate the opportunity to act The dock extends the features of as a solutions catalyst for such forward- the Iridium phone XpressLink dealers announced
www.inmarsat.com In arriving at this list of sixteen new Freedom of the Seas is one of the vessels that could feature Harris CapRock VSAT XpressLink dealers, Inmarsat says that in under the new agreement. Photo: Royal Caribbean Inmarsat has announced the first appoint- early March it issued an invitation to dis- ments to its global network of XpressLink tribution partners, service providers and dealers, with sixteen companies to offer system integrators to confirm their interest KNS launches 75cm VSAT antenna the service via sales teams based in North in becoming a seller of the service. America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This met with a positive response from www.kns-kr.com a new high-end alternative that offers XpressLink is Inmarsat's integrated Ku- more than 80 per cent of those contacted, wide coverage at a fraction of the cost." band and L-band solution, available for a according to the company, and negotia- Korean satcom antenna manufacturer The Z7 antennas can be used with a fixed monthly cost. Up until now the serv- tions with the majority of applicants are KNS Inc has released a new 75cm VSAT spread spectrum modem, allowing for ice was only available from Inmarsat now at what it calls "an advanced stage." antenna model, named 'Z7'. worldwide coverage, and are compatible directly, via the channel consisting of its The initial 16 dealers are: Available now, KNS says that Z7 is one with all modem manufacturers. subsidiaries formerly known as Ship Anchor Marine of the first 3-axis antennas of its size in the Equip and Stratos. AND Group market. It features a 4, 8, or 16-watt BUC, The company says that XpressLink sup- Arskom a brake system, and an optional Co-pol kit. ports always-on data speeds of 768 kbps, DH-INTERCOM The antenna is optimised for localised with a committed information rate of 192 Elcome services, which KNS says would make it kbps, when the VSAT service is active. EosSat particularly useful for smaller ships. Customers using XpressLink will auto- Hellenic Radio Services "A 75cm antenna has an advantage of matically be switched to the Inmarsat Jsat Mobile covering considerably more nautical miles Global Xpress Ka-band service when it is Navarino than the prevalent 60cm models, while launched, and will see their bandwidth One Net also being much more affordable than the double at that point. Otesat-Maritel large 85cm variety," said Noah Chung, Satlink marketing director for KNS. Selex "As such, Z7 provides consumers with The 75cm Z7 Ku-band antenna from KNS Societa Italiana Radio Maritime Station Satcom Tile Marine Vocality ships FleetBroadband Multi-voice unit "We are excited by this endorsement of the XpressLink service as a gateway to Global www.vocality.com any further equipment, beyond the Xpress," said Frank Coles, president, Vocality device, and can be used with Inmarsat Maritime. Vocality has announced that it has started standard off-the-shelf analogue phones. "[These] companies are at the forefront shipping its BASICS Multivoice for BASICS Multivoice for FleetBroadband of delivering high-quality and cost-effec- FleetBroadband hardware platform, for can be connected to a PBX onboard a ship, tive solutions to shipping fleets. They will use with the forthcoming Inmarsat Multi- or can have up to eight regular analogue not support a service unless they know it voice enhancement to the satcom terminal. phone handsets directly connected. offers demonstrable value to their cus- The device has been designed for use Vocality says it will be working with tomers – value that is future-proofed with alongside current FleetBroadband terminals, existing maritime distribution partners and the transition path to Global Xpress." and enables users to extend the single voice service providers to connect to their own 'Several of the dealers have already closed "Several of the dealers we have capability, upgrading from just one phone crew calling packages where possible. deals' - Frank Coles, Inmarsat Maritime announced [have] already closed deals, call to support eight concurrent phone calls. The units will be operational upon and we expect more soon." This is achieved without the need for launch of the service in Q2 2012.
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SATCOMS Gigabytes onboard with 3G at sea
In an attempt to increase its vessel data traffic while reducing its costs, shipmanagement company Norbulk Shipping has implemented a 3G-based system that allows its ships to access gigabytes of data for just a few hundred dollars a month, when within range. Denis Dorigo, Norbulk Group, told Digital Ship about the technology
ike tax cuts, vacation time and cost, it was very cost effective for us. a long time, and we’re also looking to give birthday presents, there are some Before that we were using a whole range the crew a little more freedom onboard. LLthings that you can never get of systems,” he told us. This is something we’re thinking of fleet- enough of. In the maritime world ‘data’ “We manage many vessels on which wide, but because those four ships are has joined that list, with an insatiable we had no involvement in the original trading mainly near the coast and have 3G demand for internet, e-mail and a growing choice of communication equipment, so coverage we started to have a look at how number of ‘essential’ applications pushing we tend to have whatever type of system we could exploit that situation.” traffic ever upwards – and that’s just for is onboard. We have ships with Mini-M, The Wavetec Mobile service is a 3G/4G the crew. with Fleet 77, with Fleet 55, so a whole communication solution for vessels transit- However, like tax cuts in particular, if range of satellite systems. OpenPort has ing between different countries. It has so you do get more of what you want when it gone on as well as those systems, we got a far only been deployed on ships travelling comes to bandwidth on your ships, you very good deal from Iridium and left the between the US and Canada, but the com- inevitably end up paying a price for it in old systems on as a back-up.” pany says that it is currently looking to one form or another. “The OpenPort is much more effective start testing in other international locations. Generally ships operate far from land, in many ways, it has some downsides but Installing the system involves affixing a and cannot take advantage to terrestrial it has a lot of upsides also. It’s been a win- small antenna on the ship, with a cable to infrastructure facilitating cheap and plenti- win situation for us.” connect into the network. This allows for ‘We pay a monthly subscription of ful internet access. As a result, satcoms is The roll-out of the Iridium system was connections to 3G/4G mobile networks a few hundred dollars per vessel, the backbone of ship communications – and completed in early 2012, but this was not across multiple countries without any and that covers 12 gigabytes of data’ the laws of supply and demand will tell you the end of the company’s communications mobile roaming charges, as the user – Denis Dorigo, Norbulk Group that traffic on scarce and expensive orbiting upgrade. agrees a single subscription with Wavetec satellites is not going to come cheap. In assessing the various options avail- Marine for the service, while providing an sure that the ships don’t transfer large However – all ships have to come ashore able to squeeze as much data as possible increased reception range for the 3G/4G amounts of data when outside the sometime, and, depending on trading from the communications budget, Mr network. Wavetec Marine coverage area – which Mr routes, some vessels spend a significant Dorigo came across a company called In Norbulk’s case, Wavetec Marine rep- Dorigo estimates to be 20 to 30 per cent of amount of time within a reasonable dis- Wavetec Marine that was offering 3G data resentatives attended the vessels to com- their time at sea. tance of land. In circumstances like these communications services for ships travel- plete the installations, which are done This was provided by Norwegian com- the opportunity exists to leverage the ter- ling in specific areas, including travel within one day. pany Dualog, which has installed its restrial infrastructure to boost the data between Canada and the US. Once everything is set up, the amount Connection Suite system across the fleet to capabilities of the ships’ satcom systems. With four of its own vessels engaged in of data that can be transferred for relative- manage business e-mail and automatic file This was the approach taken by regular trade between Canada and the US ly small amounts of money is far removed transfers. This includes an optional Norbulk Shipping Group, a ship manage- Mr Dorigo decided to trial the service and from what can be done over satellite. CrewMail service, as well as the Dualog ment company with offices in Glasgow see what kind of difference having this “We pay a monthly subscription to DuaCore Pro software firewall and router. and Riga, which has 80 vessels under full additional communications option Wavetec of a few hundred dollars per ves- On the four ships using the Wavetec technical management including tankers, onboard could make to operations. sel, and that covers 12 gigabytes of data Mobile system DuaCore Pro handles rout- bulk carriers, Ro-Ro’s and multi-purpose “We’re always looking to improve transfer, independent of where they are,” ing of IP traffic between the Wavetec / reefer ships. things in general and have many things in said Mr Dorigo. equipment and the Iridium OpenPort, Like most shipping companies, Norbulk the pipeline to be explored, to see how “I would say that’s pretty good when com- which is designated as a ‘backup’ system is constantly on the lookout for new tech- they would fit IT wise, comms wise and pared to a satcom contract. We usually have within this arrangement. nologies that will improve efficiency and so on. Some owners require certain data lots and lots (of our allocation) left over.” “(Using 3G) makes sense, you get high reduce operational costs, and communica- to come out from the ships, other owners “Our standard Iridium contract is for speeds, you can browse the internet and tions plays a large part in that process. need other things. We keep looking at the 50MB and 300 voice minutes per month, have the crew happy. You just need to be In this regard, approximately 18 best deals that are out there to do this,” and most of our fleet manages to keep careful because it’s the ship’s communica- months ago the company began a fleet- said Mr Dorigo. within that.” tions system, so the minute you lose the wide roll-out of the Iridium OpenPort sys- “For those four ships in particular it 3G reception you need to automatically tem to its ships, to replace its various exist- was very interesting that they had this Communications switch over and lock all of that traffic,” ing satellite terminals and derive more mobile phone reception for a long part of management said Mr Dorigo. value from its communications spend, as their voyages, which basically made it With both satcom and 3G systems “That’s where the Dualog system comes Denis Dorigo, IT manager at the Norbulk intriguing to try and find something we installed onboard these four ships, in, with a firewall and their DuaCore Pro Group, explains. could integrate with this.” Norbulk also required a system to manage system. We have total control of what is “The OpenPort was chosen because of “We’ve been looking to reduce costs for switchover between the two, and to make happening onboard of the ship and outside the ship. We can control data going to cer- tain e-mail addresses, we can quarantine it and wait for somebody to approve it. We’re fairly flexible with everything, and I haven’t had any complaints yet.” Mr Dorigo notes that it is vitally impor- tant to have a management system like this in place to effectively run two com- munications services, with widely varying costs, side-by-side on the ship without running up unexpected bills. “They call it OpenPort because when you plug it in you have access to every- thing, so you need to be careful,” he told us. “We get (communications service provider) AND Group to also filter traffic Norbulk Acadian is one of the vessels using the combined satcom/3G system onboard on the shore side. The minute you get computers starting to talk on your net-
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SATCOMS
work you’re still going to have to pay for But in the end it makes sense, actually.” “On the rest of the fleet, I have been the computers trying to reach the shore. So thinking about doing remote connections to the Dualog system will basically block all Working with unlimited the ship, but on satcom it can be fairly unre- of that off and we say ‘you’re on Iridium, data liable and I wouldn’t like to know how you can only connect to Dualog’. Those With the mixed 3G/satcom system up and much a remote connection to a ship would are the only ports that are open, and only running on its four ships Norbulk has be if you were working on it for an hour.” e-mail can go through.” opened the door to almost unlimited With that in mind, Mr Dorigo is keen to “When it switches over to the 3G side cheap data, when in range of the mobile implement similar systems on other vessels basically everything is open. Voice calling phone service, and has the option to intro- in the fleet trading in coastal areas, though is always open, and we have calling cards duce any type of IT system it requires. he admits that he has struggled to find – though those four ships never have to “With vessels that have high-speed comparable offerings in other regions. use them since they get 3G reception. data, where you don’t look at the data con- “We had looked at it previously and the Saying that though, Iridium is fairly cheap sumption, the sky really starts to become technology was not available,” he said. for making outgoing calls. Outside those the limit,” said Mr Dorigo. “It would be something to look at for four ships we give the crews calling cards, “What data do you want from the ship? ships which have a standard trade, and we give them private e-mail.” You can do anything – maintenance sys- because you also need to look at the The switching system is also available on tems, purchasing systems, forms, all those expense of installing the system and how Installation involves this simple antenna, the other ships in the fleet not fitted with kinds of things. It just makes life much long it would take to get your money back. and can be completed in one day 3G, though on those vessels switching is not easier.” But it’s absolutely something we would particularly required as all of the onboard Remote access to the ships’ networks for like to look at – that’s the way forward, I middle of nowhere, I think we’re edging options are L-band satellite services. IT management is one of the applications think. On the current installations payback that way. Of course they have to recoup “It doesn’t really make any sense to that Mr Dorigo points to as an example of was approximately one month”. some money – but something like Iridium switch over from Iridium to Mini-M, but how the Wavetec communications system Apart from 3G technology, Mr Dorigo OpenPort, just a few years ago getting every ship has two or three profiles, has made a big difference to operations. is also keen to look at other new technolo- 64 kbps or 128 kbps for the money that depending on how many communication “On the Canadian/US ships you just gies coming into the market, and is hope- we’re paying now wouldn’t have been systems they have, and we have full con- connect and you can hop from one PC to ful that evolution in maritime communica- thought about.” trol of how it’s going out,” said Mr Dorigo. the other, you remotely access a master PC tions will continue to bring faster, cheaper “I’ve been with Norbulk for 15 years, “The switchover is absolutely no prob- and that will let you in to the rest of the services to those at sea. and when I joined we had a few Linux ter- lem. We did have some slight problems, network,” he said. “There are always new technologies minals, and I recall that we started to not with many, but some slight problems “With that we can fix problems before coming out, so you need to keep your eye install the first Windows 3.0 system – with a few of the OpenPorts and it just they happen, and of course you can see open. 3G may be good today, but in a few that’s ancient. Our whole e-mail system switched over.” things yourself. It’s difficult for people years’ time we might have even faster, could only hold 200 MB, then the server “Dualog has profiles for a million things. who are not really computer literate in a more cost efficient satellite communica- would be full and would crash. At last Sometimes it can get overcomplicated, in technical way to actually explain what’s tion systems – and that’s your need for 3G count of our e-mails I think we now had the sense that you can say that if you’re on happening and the errors that they get. If gone,” he said. something like 600 GB. It’s just amazing the Mini-M you are only allowed to trans- you can do that you will reduce your trav- “I’m pretty sure that if we give it a few how everything has evolved – and it’s a mit certain file sizes and that kind of thing. el a lot.” years we’ll have huge speeds out in the pleasure to be part of it.” DS Boatracs and KVH join forces to Satcube announces satcom serve smaller vessels antenna development
www.boatracs.com planning. www.satcube.com ments continue to be extensive. However, www.kvh.com Other software products like BTForms, customers aren't prepared to pay much an electronic forms system that automates Gothenburg-based Satcube AB reports more for the hardware. That's why you Boatracs and KVH report that they are to vessel data collection, can also be includ- that it is in the process of developing a need to take a new approach when devel- work together to deliver a communica- ed. The new service will be made available new range of maritime satcom antennas, oping this type of terminal." tions service for small to medium sized and supported through KVH and which it says will be aimed at “the next "We drew inspiration from the automo- businesses in the commercial workboat Boatracs’ dealer network. generation of satellite capacity.” tive industry, incorporating simple, inex- and fishing markets. "We are very excited to partner with an The platform features an active damp- pensive components without stretching Sold through Boatracs, the Boatracs innovative top-tier company like KVH to ening system, to eliminate shocks and the limits of function or quality. This mini-VSAT Fleet Management Solution integrate the award winning TracPhone vibrations and reduce the number of sys- approach has resulted in a number of includes a TracPhone V3 (to be called the mini-VSAT Broadband system with tem failures. innovations for which we have submitted Boatracs mini-VSAT V3), as well as Boatracs’ software solutions for the com- "These satellite terminals need to be patent applications." Boatracs’ fleet management platform, mercial maritime market," said Irwin more accurate and demonstrate greater Satcube says it plans to release a beta Boatracs BTConnect. Rodrigues, president and CEO of Boatracs. efficiency than the old L-band system ter- version of the system this winter to test the BTConnect is a web-based solution that "With increased regulatory compliance minals they replace," said Jakob Kallmér, concept in the North Sea. It is expected integrates message and mapping function- reporting and heightened competition, the Satcube CEO. that a fully industrialised product will be ality, and includes features such as route needs of our customers have evolved dra- "Availability and robustness require- available by mid-2013. matically over the past few years. We’re see- Jotron Group merges Norwegian operations ing a growing need for simple yet highly www.jotron.com focus on our core businesses: communica- effective integrated tion products and systems for maritime, solutions that drive The Jotron Group has announced that it land and air applications,” says Magnus operational efficien- will merge its remaining Norwegian com- Vold, managing director of the 'new' cies, vessel productiv- panies (Jotron AS, Jotron Phontech AS and Jotron AS. ity and compliance." Jotron SatCom AS), following the sale of “It will allow us to consolidate our "The Boatracs its Jotron Consultas AS software division. sales, R&D and production resources to mini-VSAT Fleet 100 per cent of the shares in Jotron expand the business and better serve our Management Solution Consultas AS were recently acquired by customers worldwide.” meets these require- Kongsberg Maritime as part of a deal Jotron AS will be organised into divi- ments in an affordable announced in March 2012. sions covering separate market segments, package through a The name of the new combined compa- with a Maritime & Energy division single provider ny will be Jotron AS, with an annual responsible for all business with maritime known in the industry turnover of 305 million NOK (approxi- customers worldwide. for reliable service and mately US$53 million) and 150 employees. The new organisation of the company The package will include a KVH mini-VSAT and Boatracs software a dedication to cus- “This merger and the sales of Jotron will officially come into effect on July tomer support." Consultas AS will allow Jotron to fully 1st 2012.
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 8 p1-13:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:51 Page 9 p1-13:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:51 Page 10
SATCOMS Cutting costs at Wisby Tankers
Having decided to change its satellite communications system in an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency, Wisby Tankers installed the mini-VSAT service from KVH – and has managed to reduce its spend by 50 per cent on some vessels
isby Tankers is a first-genera- In addition to their varied applications “Our main goal was to lower our com- The company is also able to make use of tion tanker operation and man- and sizes, these vessels also travel in vari- munications and IT support costs, with a Quality of Service (QoS) management and WWagement company, still owned ous different regions, covering most of the secondary goal of supporting crew morale traffic prioritisation on its communica- and operated by its four founding mem- world’s shipping routes. with an internet connection to use at their tions system. bers. Since its inception, the company has leisure,” he says. In addition to these network functional- grown from a single ship to a full-fledged Communications “We were looking for a small antenna ities, one further key aspect of the system shipping company with more than 300 The company was using a variety of sys- size, with worldwide coverage and ease of for Wisby when deciding on a new com- employees working onboard its vessels tems, including Inmarsat Fleet and installation on our smaller vessels.” munications service was antenna size, as and at its offices ashore, developing and FleetBroadband as well as CDMA mobile “The TracPhone V7 system price was Mr Olausson recalls. building its own ships along the way. technology solutions, to meet the diverse two-thirds the cost of the other VSAT sys- “The smaller form factor of both the While a traditional company in many communications needs of the fleet, but as tem we have in use, and KVH’s global antenna and below decks unit was a major respects, Wisby is looking to be cutting- monthly airtime costs were growing the support is vital because our operations are help when deciding final equipment posi- edge when it comes to technology company decided that this arrangement always in progress worldwide.” tioning on the vessels, both above and and leveraging IT to drive efficiency in would not support its vision to enhance its The mini-VSAT Broadband service below decks,” he explains. operations. business operations, IT management, and uses ArcLight spread spectrum technolo- “The systems were easy to install This philosophy was applied when it crew retention programmes with more gy developed by KVH’s satellite technol- because they came with clear technical began to search for a new satellite com- onboard connectivity. ogy partner, ViaSat, to offer Ku-band instructions, and we received great sup- munications system for its fleet that would Wisby decided that it needed to find a connectivity via 14 Ku-band satellite port from Cordland, the KVH distributor drive efficiency and reduce costs, while new onboard communications solution, transponders. in Sweden, before installation and during also adding additional options for its and this led the company to try out KVH’s KVH says that this spread spectrum the initial setup. We continue to receive crews to stay in touch with home. mini-VSAT Broadband service using its technology is what enables use of anten- outstanding support from the staff in Wisby operates 12 tankers, including 60cm TracPhone V7 antennas. So far it has nas of 37 cm for the Ku-band service and 1 KVH’s Denmark office, who always chemical and oil tankers as well as bitu- been very pleased with the results, accord- metre for combined C/Ku-band coverage. respond to our questions quickly and pro- men tankers, ranging in size from 5,000 to ing to Bo Olausson, IT manager for Wisby When coverage is not available, or the fessionally.” 75,000 DWT. Tankers AB/Wisby Shipmanagement AB. system is not in operation for any other reason, communications onboard Wisby Going forward vessels are strictly limited, as Mr Olausson Wisby Tankers is committed to continuing explains, with the connection switching to move its business forward, adopting the over to the previously installed satcom best in communications technology along services. the way. Based on the results so far Mr “Our older communications systems Olausson says that this strategy will are maintained only as backup, and when include further adoption of VSAT technol- they are in use, only our e-mail service is ogy in the future. allowed to be used,” he says. “As we move forward and grow our While operating on Ku-band, Mr business, KVH’s new 1-metre TracPhone Olausson notes that the fixed fee nature of V11 systems (for dual Ku/C-band cover- the VSAT service has reduced the compa- age) are a major upgrade candidate for ny’s communications spend significantly some of our vessels,” he says. on a number of ships. “We are more than pleased with the “On some vessels, our communications mini-VSAT Broadband systems’ perform- costs are cut in half,” he says. ance – the system is just as stable and auto- “But on others, we have requested that matic as KVH advertises it to be, especially the TracPhone V7 be installed immediate- when compared to other VSAT services.” ly upon delivery from the shipyard, so “In addition to the great performance that we could enjoy the lower costs from and significant cost savings, this solution the beginning.” gives us better support for our IT opera- The satcom system is connected to dual tions. The user-friendly operation and WAN routers on Wisby vessels, making it ability to offer crew access means that possible for the company to use both stat- we also have a happier crew, who are Wisby has installed the mini-VSAT service on its tankers, and has noticed ic and dynamic WAN-IP addresses while willing to return to our vessels for multi- a drop in its communications spend also managing multiple local networks. ple contracts.” DS
The contract also extends an existing OceanLink VSAT from SELEX airtime agreement to accommodate the new installations. www.selexelsag.com Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls at a fixed and protect right across our marine cus- North Star is building three new ships monthly cost. tomer spectrum." to add to its fleet of 32 vessels that SELEX SELEX Elsag, a Finmeccanica company, "Since being launched earlier this year In other news, SELEX has also recently is currently servicing. reports that it has launched a new and following extensive sea trials, orders reported that has agreed two new satellite Viking Supply Ships (previously SBS OceanLink VSAT satellite communica- for both versions of the product have communications deals, with North Star Marine Ltd) has also signed a similar fleet- tions system. already exceeded initial expectations; with Shipping and Viking Supply Ships wide five-year rental maintenance agree- Primarily aimed at the commercial excellent customer feedback on the solu- Limited. ment for VSAT services and airtime. fishing industry and offshore renewable tion even when operating in the harshest SELEX will supply three Sea Tel 4009 Under the contract, SELEX will pro- energy support operators around the UK of sea conditions," said Trevor Bond, head stabilised maritime Ku-band VSAT com- vide Viking Supply Ships Platform and North Sea area, OceanLink60 and of marine sales at SELEX. munication systems to North Star, on a Supply Vessels with improved VSAT OceanLink80 will provide 'always-on' "This clearly shows SELEX Elsag's com- five-year hardware rental maintenance hardware and an enhanced broadband broadband internet and Voice over mitment to develop solutions that connect contract. airtime package.
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 10 p1-13:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:51 Page 11
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©2012 KVH Industries, Inc. KVH, TracPhone, and the unique light-colored dome with dark contrasting baseplate are registered trademarks of KVH Industries, Inc. mini-VSAT Broadband is a service mark of KVH Industries, Inc. p1-13:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:51 Page 12
SATCOMS Competition driving maritime satcom to higher bandwidth
Despite global economic difficulties and growing business pressure on shipping companies, the maritime satellite communications market continues to grow, both in terms of numbers of terminals and revenues, writes Wei Li, Euroconsult
he economic recession which 255,000 active terminals in 2008 to more Inmarsat terminals for VSAT backup pur- began in 2007 has impacted the than 306,000 in 2011, corresponding with a poses become economically uninteresting. TTmaritime sector in various ways 7 per cent CAGR (Compound Annual However, many other moderate Inmarsat including reduction of maritime traffic Growth Rate) over the three-year period. users which do not have VSAT on-board and reduced prices for maritime trading, At present, MSS services, especially also get affected by this cost increase. leading to a difficult financial situation for legacy Inmarsat services, are widely used In the short term, this pricing change will shipping companies and fleet operators. across the entire maritime market for a directly improve the ARPU of Inmarsat Despite the recovery of the last 24 large range of mission-critical communi- maritime services, and therefore drive the months, there is still an overcapacity of cations. At the MSS service provider level, maritime revenue upwards. For mid and vessels, which could lead to low operating total revenue represented roughly 60 per long term, such a significant price increase margin, difficult access to financing and cent of the total maritime satellite commu- should result in increasing churn rate. eventually the bankruptcy and the restruc- nication service market in 2011. Will the FleetBroadband bundles, turing of fleet operators. The share of MSS revenue was much Hybrid Ku-/L-band packages and later on Under such a difficult industrial cir- lower than that of terminals, primarily the Ka-band service be successful enough cumstance, in 2011, the global maritime because of the lower MSS Average to offset the negative perception from end MSS wholesale revenue vs VSAT capacity revenue satellite communication market achieved Revenue Per User (ARPU), dragged down users of this pricing change? We are keen almost 6 per cent growth in operating ter- by both low data rate tracking / safety to see the Inmarsat financial reports at the minals count and about 1 per cent increase communication terminals which normally year end 2012. The business model for mobile VSAT in revenues. generate low monthly fees and low usage on both satellite operator and satellite The total size of the market reached terminals which are mainly used as back- VSAT growth service provider levels differs from the about 315,000 active terminals (including up to VSAT services. On the other side, the fast growing and typical business model used for MSS. MSS and VSAT) and close to $1.4 billion at strong revenue generating VSAT is increas- Basically, the model follows the logic of the tier-1 service provider level. VSAT competition ingly growing in importance in the mar- the FSS industry. Thus, satellite operators Despite some decreases in equipment Increasingly, the VSAT competition has itime satellite communications market. lease wholesale capacity in the form of ded- sales and slowdown in new installations, a significantly slowed down the MSS busi- The number of VSAT maritime terminals icated transponder capacity in specific mar- large number of service providers report- ness. Inmarsat, in particular, reported that increased significantly, from fewer than itime beams, and service providers lease ed continuous growth in satellite usage its maritime revenue decreased by 0.5 per 6,000 active terminals in 2005 to around this dedicated capacity over a timeframe and service revenues. Indeed, both the cent in 2011, and it informed investors in 9,000 in 2011, contributing a strong CAGR (in general, estimated at between one to established MSS service and the emerging March 2012 that it expects no growth in its at 15 per cent over the three-year period. As three years; some could be for longer time VSAT business contributed to the growth core business over the next two years. of 2011, there were about 9,000 VSAT mar- or even the entire satellite lifetime). of the overall maritime satellite communi- Other MSS operators, such as Iridium itime terminals in operation in the world. In order to provide VSAT service glob- cation market. and Thuraya, are still relative newcomers The new-generation Ka-band systems ally, capacity from multiple transponders Since 2008, the global market has been to the maritime sector, and their maritime (especially the Inmarsat Global Xpress) in and possibly from several different FSS growing at a high single digit annual rate business is affected by the VSAT only to a development will soon be launched onto operators may be required. for both revenue and terminals. very limited degree. the commercial market. As of 2011, the global maritime VSAT Despite the phase-out of some legacy To adapt to the competitive market Several years ago, due to technical and market represented 40 per cent of the Inmarsat services (which is being accelerat- landscape, MSS operators are changing cost issues, only a few capacity-hungry entire maritime satellite communication ed by Inmarsat itself), the entire maritime their traditional business model. sectors, such as Oil & Gas offshore, had industry at service provider level. satellite communications market remains To illustrate, following the VSAT busi- large-scale VSAT installations. However, active, and is still in the growth momentum. ness model, in 2011, Inmarsat launched the fast-increasing crew communications VSAT by 2021 Additionally, a large part of the mar- VLA (Very Large Allowance), which offers onboard merchant ships and the increas- Driven by strong demand for data com- itime community is not yet well addressed heavy consumers its FleetBroadband serv- ingly demanding passenger communica- munications, especially IP data applica- by the satellite communication industry, ice with a monthly fixed fee. tion needs on cruise ships and superyachts tions, Euroconsult sees strong growth in and opportunities are still ahead in under- In addition, in order to lock in cus- in recent years have generated huge the coming decade. developed vertical segments, emerging tomers, Inmarsat also launched, via its capacity requirements, which cannot be This demand is driven by applications geographic markets, and new applications. service subsidiaries and partners, hybrid met by MSS services at an affordable cost. in three categories, including safety & reg- FleetBroadband / Ku-band offers which For operational communications, new ulatory communications, professional 97 per cent MSS are upgradable to the upcoming Global applications such as real-time monitoring, communications for ship operations and Reviewing the maritime market in the last Xpress Ka-band system. remote diagnostics, maintenance, route crew welfare/entertainment. few years, we see that VSAT is absolutely Iridium has also identified the opportu- planning, electronic port declaration, etc. Following the current market trend, the hottest topic in the sector. nity to partner with VSAT players. In are being adopted by an increasing num- VSAT service providers should gain mar- Announcements for new VSAT instal- January 2012, Iridium announced that it ber of vessels, and all of these applications ket share in terms of revenue over the lations and new capacity leasing are being would be teaming up with KVH in order are driving the growth of on-board band- coming 10 years. made almost every week, and by now to offer a global seamless maritime broad- width requirements. In 2021, the revenue of service almost all traditional Inmarsat service band service. Consequently, the installation of broad- providers in the maritime market should providers or resellers have VSAT services Facing the fact that most VSAT band VSAT systems has become reach approximately $1.7 billion, of which in their product portfolio. equipped vessels still keep MSS services inevitable, especially for high-end vessels MSS service providers account for 45 per However, according to the analysis of (in most cases, Inmarsat ones) as the back- such as cruise ships, superyachts, offshore cent and VSAT service providers account Euroconsult, the development of VSAT up, which generate very limited revenue rigs, tankers, Oil & Gas survey vessels, etc. for the remaining 55 per cent. DS seems more or less exaggerated. In 2011, to MSS operators, Inmarsat adjusted its among the 315,000 active maritime satel- service pricing from May 1st, 2012. About the author lite communications terminals, about 97 According to feedback from the end Wei Li per cent of them were MSS terminals and user community, Euroconsult under- is senior consultant at Euroconsult and editor of Maritime Tele- com Solutions by Satellite - Global Market Analysis & Forecasts, Aero- only 3 per cent were VSAT terminals. stands that this price adjustment directly nautical Telecom Solutions by Satellite - Global Market Analysis & Fore- Indeed, the MSS industry has recog- leads to a 15 per cent-30 per cent increase casts, Mobile Satellite Communications Markets Survey – Prospects to nised a continuous growth in the maritime in cost for medium and light users of 2020, and Company Profiles – Analysis of FSS Operators.Mr Li can be market over the last three years in terms of Inmarsat services. reached at [email protected]. the number of terminals, from fewer than With such a cost, the installations of
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 12 p1-13:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:51 Page 13
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SOFTWARE KPI project passes 1,000 vessels Newcruz Offshore installs enginei
www.shipping-kpi.org www.enginei.co.uk fuel flow and matching the data with the ship's GPS location. This information is The Shipping Key Performance Indicator Newcruz Offshore Marine Services, a used to continuously calculate a vessel’s Project, initiated by InterManager but now Swiber Group company, has implemented 'miles per gallon' and to correlate the administered by the independent KPI the enginei fuel management system from information with its activity and speed. Association Ltd, has passed the milestone Royston Limited aboard its new offshore A bridge display allows Masters to con- of adding the 1,000th vessel to the data support vessel, the Swiber Carinabe, the sequently be continuously aware of their system. first company in the Asian market to do so. fuel consumption, and make adjustments Performance statistics from these ves- The Swiber Carina was launched last to improve the balance between their sels are now being inputted into the pro- year as the first in a building plan for 11 speed and fuel consumed. ject’s website – enabling the KPI system to vessels that will provide oilfield support Similarly, operations managers ashore produce performance measurement statis- services around the Malaysian Peninsula. can use the information to deploy vessels tics for the industry. The system will be used to provide real in a timely and cost effective way. “This is excellent progress for the proj- time fuel consumption details on board The data on the vessel, along with its ect and indicates a great deal of industry and, simultaneously, at the company's GPS location, is relayed ashore to a satel- involvement and support,” said Captain head office. Royston says that, in separate lite map display which provides the ship’s Kuba Szymanski of InterManager, on trials, an enginei system has enabled some superintendent with a real-time presenta- behalf of the KPI Association. users to achieve fuel savings of up to 20 tion of each vessel’s location and fuel con- “By collating performance data from a per cent. sumption. A graphic overlay shows the wide range of shipping companies we are ‘The more information we have, the more Enginei can be applied to any diesel- amount of fuel being consumed at any able to calculate key performance indica- accurate these indicators are’ – Capt Kuba powered vessel and works by measuring point along its track. Szymanski, InterManager tors to enable benchmarking against industry averages.” “The more information we have the stakeholders and aims to develop a stan- more accurate these indicators are which dard for ships’ performance measurement will help to ensure the standards within that is common to the industry. our industry are kept high.” The data which each company inputs is Started by InterManager, together completely confidential and cannot be with The Norwegian Research Council, accessed by any other user of the service. Marintek and Wilhelmsen ASA, the However, the combined anonymised data Shipping KPI Project developed standard enables the KPI Project to calculate indus- tools for measuring companies’ and ves- try averages to enable companies to sels’ performance. benchmark their vessels’ performance. Now established as the independent, The KPI Project is now aiming to not-for-profit KPI Association Ltd, the include 2,000 vessels in its database by the project is working with a range of industry end of 2012. The enginei system presents real-time vessel locations and fuel consumption Job site registers 50,000th seafarer Oldendorff to implement BASS www.maritime-connector.com in the world – Wilhelmsen Ship ber of applications to their seagoing Management, BSM and V.Ships and all vacancies, companies are enabled to software Online maritime job board, Maritime of these companies use us both for crew choose the very best crew. It is simple – Connector, reports that it has recorded search and PR." nobody can make a better choice for your www.bassnet.no the registration of its 50,000th seafarer. "Furthermore, by getting a great num- company than you can." Maritime Connector began as a region- Dry-bulk operator Oldendorff Carriers al service connecting Croatian shipowners has agreed a deal with Norwegian compa- with Croatian seafarers, before expanding ny BASS, to implement its software sys- through international collaboration with tem. shipping companies looking for Croatian Oldendorff Carriers currently controls officers and crew. a fleet of some 400 chartered and owned The company says that the English ver- vessels operating across the globe. sion of the website continued to attract BASS’s contract with Oldendorff non-Croatian officers, leading Maritime Carriers comprises the complete BASSnet Connector to completely redesign the plat- package of ten modules covering mainte- form, so that it is now available in English nance, procurement, dry-docking, safety, only and welcomes seafarers from all over risk management, operations, crewing, Europe and Asia to register their CV into payroll and services like database building the database. and conversion. "Seafarers are very satisfied with the “After a comprehensive comparison of possibility of having information on the the suppliers and their systems, the deci- job openings with various ship operators, sion was clearly made in favour of BASS managers and crewing agencies at one software because we think BASSnet is the place. This helps them to get information fleet management suite in the market about new maritime jobs in time, and which best fits our requirements,” said shortens the marine vacancies search. Oldendorff Carriers fleet manager, Also, they get the chance to send their CV Charles Jan Scharffetter. directly to the company, which guarantees “We are confident that BASS Software’s equality of opportunities and transparen- professional team will implement the cy," the company said. complex project smoothly.” "The companies that work with us Oldendorff joins other companies like are satisfied as well. The crew search Stolt Tankers, TMT, Pacific International is now more efficient, both in terms of Lines, APL, NYK Ship Management, “K” time and money. Besides shipping Line, CMA CGM, Lamnalco, Wilhelmsen operators, we collaborate with some The website has expanded from being a purely Croatian-focused service to welcoming Ship Management and Hapag-Lloyd in of the largest and oldest crewing agents seafarers from all over Europe and Asia implementing the BASS software system.
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 14 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 10:59 Page 2
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SOFTWARE SEEMP tools launched Mona Lisa for Carnival
www.classnk.or.jp Heikinheimo, president, NAPA Group. www.monalisaproject.eu Sea to include the Mediterranean Sea. www.napa.fi “The partnership with ClassNK shows A number of Europe-based ships from www.marorka.com the potential of NAPA's software in sup- The world’s largest cruise company, various Carnival Corporation brands are porting significant financial and environ- Carnival Corporation, has joined the expected to participate in the initial pilot Two new technology systems to assist in mental savings.” MONALISA project, led by The Swedish phase of the MONALISA 2.0 project. the implementation of Ship Energy “Indeed, when married with sound Maritime Administration, which aims to "Due to Sweden's geographical position Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP) management practice, improvement of continuously track the locations of cruise we are dependent on a strong and efficient have been launched, one from Icelandic latent efficiencies, optimisation of trim, bal- and cargo vessels sailing in European infrastructure to a greater extent than company Marorka and another as part of a last and floating position, and implementa- waters. other countries," says Jonas Vedsmand, collaboration agreement between tion of voyage optimisation systems, an The MONALISA project is a comput- marketing director at the Swedish ClassNK and software provider NAPA. electronic approach to SEEMP can achieve erised tracking system that offers a contin- Maritime Administration. Last year, the IMO announced amend- as much as 15-20 per cent in fuel economy, uous view of ship traffic in specific "The Swedish Maritime Administration ments to MARPOL that will make a depending on the vessel type.” regions, and is designed to provide cruise is very proud to lead a project aimed at SEEMP mandatory from 1 January 2013 Marorka, meanwhile, has launched its and cargo operators with information that making a concrete contribution to creating for all ships over 400 gross tonnage. own Marorka Online SEEMP system to enables them to operate as safely and effi- efficient maritime routes, enhancing mar- The SEEMP solution from Class NK assist shipping companies in ensuring cently as possible. itime safety and to reducing the environ- and NAPA will combine modules to opti- compliance. The latest phase of the project, called mental impact. The project has attracted a mise trim, route and speed optimisation The new web-based product guides MONALISA 2.0, will include a renewed considerable international interest, which and weather routing with an analytics ship operators through the creation of application to the European Commission's also confirms that we are on the right track." service to offer operational efficiency and their SEEMP, and aims to reduce the effort TEN-T (trans-European transport net- Danish, Norwegian, Spanish and decision support. required in managing SEEMPs for an work) programme. Italian authorities have already joined The system aims to allow owners and entire fleet. Carnival Corporation will work with MONALISA 2.0, and authorities from operators to respond quickly and adapt The online service provides a fleet the Swedish Maritime Administration to several other countries are said to be operations in real-time to capitalise on overview for measures and goals, with a extend the current test area from the Baltic interested. latent efficiencies to increase eco-efficien- calendar view for upcoming projects, and cy and reduce fuel consumption. offers a central repository for document Class NK and NAPA say that they are management, allowing crews to print the working closely with Japan's largest ship- most recent version of the document from builder, Imabari Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., the web. which has been instrumental in shaping Marorka says that this should also help the development of the system. companies to perform continuous evalua- A trial version of the new solution is tion and improve their operations based on expected to be completed within the year, analytic reports and live measurements. and upon completion will undergo real "We at Marorka are quite excited about world testing on vessels owned and operat- SEEMP. We’ve been living and breathing ed by an Imabari Group shipping company. energy management for ships for over a Feedback from this verification testing decade now, and it’s our belief that will be used to further develop and refine SEEMP will prove to be an effective cata- the system prior to final release. lyst for improving energy efficiency," said Imabari Shipbuilding will also make Kristinn Aspelund, Marorka sales and use of the system and the results from its marketing director. verification tests to further improve the "We have created an add-on for performance of new vessels built at its Marorka Online, our web-based fleet ener- Carnival ships will be tracked under the MONALISA initiative. Photo: WikiEk shipyards. gy management solution, which allows “Eco-efficiency lies right at the heart of SEEMP to become an integral part of ship NAPA's business, we are committed to management. Our development team has providing environmentally sound solu- been focusing on making an easy-to-use Marubeni to Perma Shipping tions from eco-efficient ship design to our tool for shipping companies to maintain implement Line implements operations support software,” said Juha their SEEMPs." Triple Point analytics system
www.tpt.com www.quantum-bso.com
Tokyo-based company Marubeni has Perma Shipping Line has implemented deployed a cloud-based shipping software the Qi-Liner analytics product from system for chartering, vessel operations, Quantum BSO for its liner and NVOCC and freight risk management from Triple business. Point Technology. The software system is used to organise Marubeni is an international trading a variety of business data for display and company with 120 offices in 68 countries, analysis of performance in a range of oper- and with interests including textiles, pulp ational areas. and paper, chemicals, food products, ener- It is built on Quantum’s Business gy, metals and mineral resources, trans- Intelligence engine Qlikview, and the portation machinery, and power projects. company says it contains 13 dashboards, Triple Point's Chartering and balanced scorecards, management reports, VesselOps systems will act as an integrat- over 2,000 analytics, 200 reports and 10 ed platform managing Marubeni's charter- different simulations. Yasushi Nakamura, ClassNK, and Juha Heikinheimo, NAPA Group, ing, post-fixture activities, and the finan- Ali Meghami, managing director of mark their collaboration agreement on the SEEMP system cial aspects of vessel operations. Perma, says that the system will be used as The software provides a global view of a strategic management, planning and Intergraph has opened its newly- Wroclaw, Poland, to offer sales and sup- vessel movements, market cargo availabil- efficiency tool, with the aim of improving expanded Intergraph Global Marine port for all of AVEVA’s solutions and con- ity, and existing cargo commitments. performance. Center in Busan, South Korea, with a ded- sulting services in the country. Triple Point says that the Chartering and Arjun Vikram-Singh, CEO of Quantum, icated support team for customers aiming VesselOps applications are currently used also commented that he hopes the system to implement SmartMarine Enterprise in to manage commercial shipping operations will provide dramatic returns for Perma in www.intergraph.com marine and offshore projects. at over eighty companies, with approxi- its commercial management, and organi- www.aveva.com AVEVA has opened a new office in mately 2,500 users across the globe. sational and asset efficiency.
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SOFTWARE Resource management training systems from Videotel
www.videotel.com ment. Incidents are re-created using actors and showing the data available to Videotel reports that it has launched a the bridge team. new training series, Leadership and The audience are invited to view each Team Working Skills, which aims to incident and then to stop and analyse assist in building competence in resource what went wrong and discuss how things management. could have been done better. Produced in conjunction with The "With continuing improvements in Steamship Mutual Underwriting technology, human factors feature more Association (Bermuda), Leadership and and more frequently in the causal chain," Team Working Skills is available on DVD said Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel and interactive CD-ROM, and is aimed at Marine International. all sea-going personnel, particularly "Forty years ago, the average cargo ship watchkeeping officers in both the deck was manned by 40-50 crew – nowadays, and engineering departments. even on VLCCs, we are seeing crews num- Topics include The Voyage Plan; both bering in the low twenties. Individuals are Bridge and Engine Room Watchkeeping; required to operate ever more efficiently, Working with Pilots; and Resource adding further pressure on board." Management and Accident Prevention. "This series addresses many of the There is also a module featuring case key issues defined by the STCW and studies of five incidents where the bridge SOLAS conventions, which provide a team failed to keep the ship out of dan- framework for safe and effective work- ger as a result of poor resource manage- ing practices." Improved bridge resource management can help to prevent accidents Marine Software supplies systems to New contracts for ABS-NS Leighton Offshore www.eagle.org Earlier this year, TMS Tankers, also www.marinesoftware.co.uk existing Pipe Lay Barge fleet, including part of the TMS Group, began implemen- Leighton Stealth, Leighton Mynx and ABS Nautical Systems reports it has tation of the NS5 Enterprise Hull Marine Software Ltd in the UK reports that Leighton Eclipse, as well as its non-float- signed new contracts with TMS Bulkers Inspection module on 37 of its ABS- it has successfully supplied its Planned ing assets ashore. and TMS Dry in Greece, and another with classed vessels. Maintenance, Stock Control and All vessels are managed by Leighton's Samson Maritime Ltd in India, for its NS5 In India, the contract with Samson Purchasing software to Leighton Offshore. Malaysia head office. Enterprise software system. Maritime Ltd is an expansion of a previ- The system has been installed on "Leighton Offshore and the users of The Greece-based bulk carrier opera- ous agreement for the NS5 Enterprise sys- Leighton Offshore's latest DNV classed Marsoft are very satisfied with the effi- tors, both part of the TMS group, will use tem. Cable Working Barge 'MPV1' (GRT ciency and simplicity of the system," said the application to assist in the machinery Samson Maritime will be adding the 2,363), and at its Kuala Lumpur manage- Leighton Offshore, in a statement. and structural assessment programmes Purchasing & Inventory module to six of ment office. "We are also thankful to the prompt that they already have in place. its vessels, which it will use to identify This delivery builds on previous soft- support system provided by Marine Both companies will implement the inventory replacement needs, average ware agreements to supply Leighton's Software head office." Hull Inspection and Maintenance & transaction costs, delivery dates and turn- Repair modules as part of the ABS around cycle times. Newbuild Programme, which offers free The software will also link directly to software to ABS-classed vessels built after Samson Maritime's accounting system. 1 January 2009. The company had already been utilis- The systems provide tools to monitor ing the ABS-NS Maintenance & Repair, the structural condition of vessels while Hull Inspection and Drawings also helping to manage vessel mainte- Management modules on four of its plat- nance functions. form supply vessels. TMS Bulkers will install the software These installations have also been on six of its bulk carriers, while TMS Dry delivered as part of the ABS Newbuild The Leighton MPV1 has installed the software will implement it on 19 of its own ships. Programme. AVEVA launches Enterprise Resource Management
www.aveva.com/aveva_erm management, production planning and ment efficiencies.” “AVEVA Electrical is very quick and construction management. In addition to this Enterprise Resource easy to deploy, both on new projects and AVEVA has released a new software “AVEVA Enterprise Resource package, AVEVA has also recently intro- also on refit projects where access to lega- product family for the marine market, Management combines the proven plant duced its AVEVA Electrical application, cy data is essential,” said Bruce Douglas, called AVEVA Enterprise Resource and marine capabilities of world-recognised which aims to cut the man hours required senior VP marketing & product strategy, Management, which will be aimed at ship- products AVEVA VPRM and AVEVA for ship design. AVEVA. yards in particular. MARS,” said Lars Riisberg, vice president, The company says that the system has “We have worked with numerous Comprising the products AVEVA enterprise resource management, AVEVA. demonstrated man-hour savings of up to marine customers to ensure the highest Material, AVEVA Planning and AVEVA “By bringing together the best of these 30 per cent in the ship design process dur- quality and accuracy of electrical data Production, the applications support the technologies, including the ability to ing pre-release customer testing, when from design to commissioning. This prod- project management and execution process. manage multiple projects within a much compared to traditional applications. uct enables electrical engineers to collabo- AVEVA says that they should help larger programme, we are helping our The software can also be implemented rate fully across inter-discipline design to shipyards to benefit from lower material customers dramatically enhance their as part of AVEVA’s Integrated produce automated deliverables which and production/construction costs business performance.” Shipbuilding strategy, which aims to opti- are completely consistent and accurate.” through improved project efficiency, “AVEVA has built its reputation on mise the entire shipyard by improving the “With its advanced graphical user shortening timescales and increasing proj- delivering innovative software solutions design, planning and production process interface and sophisticated design rules, ect quality and control. in the marine and plant markets and is through information sharing and work- we believe AVEVA Electrical will quickly The applications incorporate procure- creating a new generation of applications flow management, using the AVEVA become the preferred choice for all sizes of ment, project control, logistics, materials that offer even greater project manage- Marine portfolio of solutions. marine projects.”
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SOFTWARE Tidal optimisation simulation shows bunker savings
www.tidetech.org leaving/arriving at the right time to take Using the English Channel as an exam- passage through the Channel by going advantage of the best current and opti- ple, timing a vessel’s arrival at the with the optimal flow of water. Tidetech has released the results of simu- mising speed to maximise the positive entrance to the channel correctly means Tidetech’s English Channel simulation lations of its tidal optimisation system on effects of the current. that the ship can make the most efficient showed that the best case transit at slow coastal shipping routes, showing signifi- steaming speeds of 19kt is 32 minutes cant time savings on optimised voyages. faster than the worst case transit at 21kt. The company says that, in simulations Based on an 8,000 TEU container vessel, developed for transits through the the company says that this is a difference English Channel, a time difference of of approximately 35.8 tons of bunkerage 12.8 per cent was shown between ‘best (or approximately $25,000). case’ and ‘worst case’ passage times “It’s clear that no stone is being left when using optimal tide and current unturned in the drive to improve efficien- (based on an 8,000 TEU container ship cy of shipping – the influence of tide and steaming at 21kt). current is an obvious challenge to Tidetech notes that this is the approxi- address,” said Tidetech managing direc- mate equivalent of US$9,400 of bunker tor, Penny Haire. costs saved on one journey. “The reason it’s not been addressed Speed optimisation using accurate before is that the information just tidal stream data differs from weather hasn’t been available – now it is and and route optimisation in that it is about can make a significant difference if choosing the best time to transit a passage applied correctly.” where a choice of route is limited or “Our accurate, high-resolution global restricted (channel transits, controlled tidal data can be integrated into bridge shipping lanes, ferry routes, etc). systems allowing ships to make use of With route restrictions and the pres- advantageous current, steam at more effi- ence of tides, efficiency is found in timing Timing arrivals and departures to take advantage of favourable currents cient speeds and minimise fuel used and the journey relative to current/tide – can make a big difference to power usage time spent in transit.” Ship waste management system introduced
www.ship-waste.com and vessels. a reporting tool for onboard waste information on all port reception facili- The application is used to manage flows (including log books) are also ties worldwide, including availability, French company Ship Waste Agency has communication flows between involved available, as is a WUR (Waste which equipment and tools are being introduced its SWANET platform, an parties and issue the electronic docu- Unloading Request) option, a form sent provided, their cost, and schedules. internet-based tool for ship waste man- ments imposed by the IMO regarding directly to the collector underlining all Ship Waste Agency says that the agement and optimisation. waste management, such as the waste specifications. tool will offer shipping companies the The system includes a vessel-based Advance Notification Form (ANF) or Stakeholders can have ‘live access’ to chance to share details of their waste solution (SWABOARD), set up on a Waste Delivery Receipt (WDR). These vessel waste specifications and all management with the public, to demon- computer onboard via a single CD documents can be filled in on the vessel updated technical data, with the aim of strate the environmental friendliness of or download link, and a shoreside or ashore. speeding up the issuing of electronic their operations. internet platform (SWASHORE) which Additional services such as an waste delivery receipts after unloading. The SWANET platform is available acts as the link between local operators Onboard Waste Management tool and A Port Portal is also offered, with with a yearly subscription. Condition monitoring for thrusters launched
www.skf.com
SKF has launched SKF Thruster Monitoring, an integrated condition- based maintenance (CBM) system for propulsion and positioning thrusters (tunnel and azimuthing thrusters). The solution is based on SKF’s range of condition monitoring products and serv- ices, including on-line technology for vibration, lubricant and data monitoring. The company offers installation and commissioning of the systems, as well as remote data analysis and reporting services, offering suggested reliability improvements based on the monitored results. “There is a clear desire and trend to integrate existing separate systems onboard a vessel,” said Gerald Rolfe, SKF marine executive business manager. “The SKF Thruster Monitoring solu- tion combines all required information in one system, which can be integrated with both the thruster and ship management systems.”
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 20 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 11:28 Page 8
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SOFTWARE Smit Marine puts Sinokor to install stowage optimisation technology OCTOPUS Onboard www.cyberlogitec.com Sinokor Merchant Marine Corporation in Korea has agreed a deal to install the www.amarcon.com OPUS Stowage system from CyberLogitec to optimise its container loading and dis- Smit Marine Projects B.V. has extended its charge processes. relationship with Amarcon, with an order The data management system organises for the OCTOPUS-Onboard system for the planning-related information in a database, vessel Taklift 7. offering an automatic optimisation func- In 2010 OCTOPUS-Onboard was tion and allowing information to be extract- already installed on the Taklift 4 after a ed for stowage planning improvements. lease period, and the recent installation on CyberLogitec says that the technology the Taklift 7 provides similar functionality can be implemented at the shipping com- to the previous one. pany within one month. The system will be used to assist the CyberLogitec is a subsidiary of Hanjin master and the crew of the floating sheer Shipping Holdings, and operates a net- legs during heavy lift offshore operations work of branches which includes the USA, Sinokor will use the CyberLogitec system to manage its container data and transport of project cargo by provid- China and Spain. ing motion monitoring, response predic- tion, heavy-weather decision support and weather window evaluation. Dalian Ocean Shipping to install The software supplied to Smit Marine Port-IT Antivirus also includes an interface with weather forecast providers Nowcasting and www.port-it.nl act as a reseller of its services. Octomar for local weather reports. www.ddit.net.cn DDIT already acts as a systems All measured data from the bridge is provider for the entire Dalian Ocean stored, enabling the Smit Operations & Dalian Ocean Shipping Company in Shipping fleet, offering services including Tender department to monitor the China, a subsidiary of Cosco Group, is to IT management. motions of the project cargo. equip 24 vessels with the Port-IT “We are delighted to add DDIT as a Amarcon says it is currently develop- Antivirus service. reseller to enter this new local market and ing a new version of OCTOPUS-Onboard The contract has been agreed via we have confidence that this will be a - version 6 - which is expected to be Shanghai based maritime IT company fruitful relationship between the two com- released later this year. DDIT, which has recently reached agree- panies,” commented Youri Hart, manag- ‘We are delighted to add DDIT as a reseller’ – Youri Hart, Port-IT ment with Netherlands-based Port-IT to ing director, Port-IT.
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Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 22 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 11:42 Page 10
Digital Ship Taking charge of your IT
The challenge of integrating all of the various types of technologies available to a shipping company IT manager can be a daunting task, and often acts as a reason why organisations persist with older versions of applications rather than suffer the pain of upgrading. However, working with a service orientated architecture (SOA) can help to change all that, writes Lars Fischer, Softship
hipping companies wouldn’t sur- SSvive in the modern world without information technology. We are so reliant on software applications that many aspects of our businesses would simply grind to a halt if these were taken away. But rather than adopting an ordered approach to IT, it seems that most shipping companies have accumulated their software applications in a fairly haphazard way. This is not surprising when we remem- ber that the IT world moves at a furious pace, causing some technologies to become outdated within months of mak- ing it to market. It is not easy for a ship- ping company to predict what IT wizardry might become available in the future and Traditional architecture Service orientated architecture the impact it might have on their business. Many companies simply take whatever Depending on the technologies of the is independent and provides a clearly to deconstruct and rebuild the network. is available at the time they need it and try existing applications, this will cause com- defined business orientated functionality Not only is this much more efficient in their best to integrate it with existing tech- patibility problems as well as a significant The service bus. This manages the terms of cost and resources, it also min- nologies, platforms and software. resource requirement to develop five new interfaces and the information flow imises business interruption and encour- Most technology networks in large ship- interfaces. Cost and business interruption between the different services ages a company to benefit from advances ping companies have evolved in this way are also significant factors. The business process layer. This allows in technology. resulting in disparate IT structures support- A disparate architecture such as this is the mapping of business processes ing mainframe, midrange, UNIX and/or generally inefficient as each application against the available services New technologies Windows technologies. Added to this, each will maintain its own master data such as Introducing an SOA solution into a com- Technology exists to automate and platform will host a variety of applications customer/supplier details, commodity pany that is operating an evolved, dis- streamline our businesses allowing us to which all require their own set of database, information or location masters. parate architecture needs careful manag- re-direct resources to more profitable system and collaboration software. This results in having to store and ing. It is often an incremental process that areas. The end result is often a mind boggling maintain the master data in multiple begins with identifying the systems and But the pace of advance in IT has left array of hardware and software that must places leading to inconsistencies across the applications that will form part of the new many of us with outdated and incompati- work together if the overall network is to applications. Standard maintenance and architecture. ble systems and networks that are just too maximise value and minimise workload. administration tasks are also duplicated. The legacy system will require a degree difficult to upgrade. Often, we are not pre- of re-engineering to expose and separate pared to take a step backwards in order to Linking technology Service orientated the relevant functionality or service. In achieve the two steps forward that our To generate the best results from technolo- architecture most cases this requires the skills of a solu- businesses require. gy, these disparate systems will need to A neat solution to this problem is to adopt tions architect who can balance the capa- Implementing innovations such as communicate and share information with a service orientated architecture (SOA). bilities of the legacy systems against the service orientated architecture gives us the each other – and that is not easy to achieve. In simple terms, an SOA enables wide- needs of the new SOA. tools to enhance information flow across It will usually require separate links from ly different applications to integrate with It is not necessary to migrate all the the organisation without interrupting one platform or application to another. Each each other and organises them as inde- applications to the SOA solution at once, business or learning how to use new application - and there may be many of pendent, interoperable services. It sepa- often it is more manageable to link one applications. It also allows us maintain them - will need to link to most of the others. rates the individual functions (such as application at a time. pace with new technologies as they Achieving a many-to-many integration finance or scheduling) into distinct units But when complete, the SOA solution become available. will generally require the information to called services and re-sites them in the delivers a range of benefits. Information In short, SOA helps us take charge of be exchanged using data interface files or central SOA infrastructure. flow between the applications is stream- our IT rather than letting IT take charge of through an API based data exchange. API This allows users to combine and reuse lined and efficient. Data is exchanged in a our business. DS (Application Programming Interface) is these services in a variety of applications standardised format and is fully traceable. basically a set of instructions that allows without having to duplicate them. This ensures all the applications within one application to interact with another in To achieve this, there needs to be an the architecture communicate effectively a defined language and message format underlying structure to manage the infor- with one another and data is reused. But the problem with these linkages is mation flow, to standardise how informa- Services (or core functionality) can also that they are clunky and very hard to main- tion is passed, to create and execute busi- be reused. By offering these core services tain. Achieving seamless integration with ness rules and to publish the services within the middleware, all applications so many applications, technologies, plat- across the network. can use that functionality rather than each forms, languages and interfaces is resource This structure is a middleware creating application duplicating core functionality intensive, expensive and inefficient. the typical architecture shown in the dia- and then having to establish links across Added complications arise when new gram above (right). Immediately it can be the network. applications are required to replace or seen that each application requires just a Because each application is loosely cou- About the author enhance the existing architecture. single link to the SOA middleware and that pled to the SOA infrastructure, it becomes Lars Fischer is managing director of From the diagram above (left) imagine the middleware is responsible for sharing relatively easy to replace an application Softship Data Processing Ltd, Singapore, replacing the finance module with a more information with other applications. when it reaches the end of its useful life. a wholly-owned subsidiary of Softship AG, up-to-date application. The links with the In practice, the SOA infrastructure usu- This means that companies can a provider of software solutions to the five other applications will need to be re- ally comprises three components: upgrade applications with new versions international liner shipping sector engineered and re-installed and re-tested. The actual implemented service. This as they become available without having
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 23 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 11:42 Page 11
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Digital Ship Using CBT to meet training requirements
As crew training requirements continue to mount, with pressure from legislators compounding the growing shortage of qualified seafarers, training technologies that can extend the scope of crew education are becoming increasingly important. Shipping companies Höegh Fleet Services and MOL Tankship Management (Asia) are among those using these new systems – they explain how CBT has made a difference in their organisations
n many people’s eyes, onboard train- of Höegh's vision to simplify data collec- IIing for officers and crew will increas- tion from training and to prepare for a ingly become the only way of meeting centralised system for competence man- the growing volume of requirements agement for all crew. The other providers demanded by various new and amended were not active in pursuing a manage- international maritime legislation. ment system.” As owners and managers find they are In its use of training technology Höegh unable to send seafarers ashore to complete had a number of specific requirements, all of their training obligations, the indus- particularly with regard to compliance try’s means of recruiting, training, assess- with impending maritime legislation. This ing, promoting and retaining the right peo- involved the creation of an integrated set- ple has never been more important. up that would allow information to be Shipping companies Höegh Fleet accessible within different applications. Services AS and MOL Tankship “We had a close dialogue with the Management (Asia) Pte Ltd are among development section of Seagull and they those leveraging technology to find solu- were willing to adapt several of our Höegh began to use computer based training as far back as the mid-1990s tions to deal with these issues within their requirements in order to provide for data own organisations. exchange from the Seagull Training used to enter other relevant data for our based training.” Despite their operations being based on Administrator to our Maritime Personnel current pool of 1,000 crew members.” The use of this technology in particu- different sides of the globes, both compa- System,” says Mr Lorentsen. “We have a full replication interface so, lar was beneficial as it allowed for flexi- nies found common ground in their belief “A good relationship was developed with regard to follow-up training, my role bility in incorporating the company’s that IT can assist in improving seafarer between Seagull and the provider of the has changed from data encoding and devel- own training standards into the system as competence while far away from shore, Personnel System and full integration was opment of functionality to control and veri- required, and as regulated by various flag and have installed training systems from established. The systems were adjusted fication that training is conducted according states. Seagull to enhance the education and and configured in order to facilitate a to guidelines given from the company.” “MOL Rank STEP competence evalua- qualifications of their crews. training management matrix to be avail- As to the future, Mr Lorentsen is look- tion was incorporated as part of Seagull able both onboard and ashore.” ing for the development of modules that Training Administrator (STA), which Höegh Fleet Services “The crew and officers use the STA to move the training required by the STCW meant that company-specific training Norwegian owner Höegh Fleet Services review their training data while the per- Manila amendments from being purely requirements and various courses were AS was one of the early participants in the sonnel department utilises the Maritime shore-based to a module-based onboard being offered onboard in a particularly cost development programme for computer Personnel System to do the same.” training system, in areas such as ECDIS effective manner,” said Captain Singh. based training modules in the early to This customised set-up has allowed and Electro Technician Rating training. “Seagull provides us with regular mid-1990s, and the company has contin- Höegh to streamline its personnel man- The target is to have a system compris- annual upgrades which incorporate the ued to use the technology ever since. agement and more effectively manage the ing 60 per cent questions and written tasks latest developments in regard to maritime Höegh initially used CBTs and video- competence levels of its pool of seafarers. using the vessel as a classroom (and with legislation such as the International based training packages from a number of “As we now have a xml - based data senior officers as instructors), 20 per cent Convention on Standards of Training, providers, but decided in 1999 to focus its transfer system we only record data in one interactive simulations, and 20 per cent Certification and Watch keeping for training activities with one provider and system and have full overview of all train- theory and questions as part of CBT. Seafarers (STCW).” began to develop an extended relationship ing in both the Seagull Training Mr Lorentsen would also like to see the “Annual user meetings take place in with Seagull. Administrator and the Maritime Personnel data exchange capabilities between shore- Singapore during which Seagull presents “We find this type of training to be a System. The Maritime Personnel System is based and onboard databases enhanced, latest developments in line with interna- useful addition to shore-based and the master for personnel info while the STA and the library of CBTs expanded to facil- tional standards and requirements while onboard-based training,” says Terje is master for CBT and company-specific itate further training for officers and rat- keeping abreast of MOL’s new and specif- Lorentsen, senior manager, fleet personnel training,” says Mr Lorentsen. ings as requirements change. ic requirements.” at Höegh Fleet Services. “Virtually no administration is needed According to Captain Singh, one of the “Höegh has been actively involved in in the replication of data between the two MOL Tankship key benefits for MOL in using training developing company-specific training mod- systems. Previously we had two encoders Management technology is in the ease with which sea- ules as well as providing Seagull with mate- of data entering training information for MOL Tankship Management (Asia) Pte farers can be trained and monitored by rial for developing commercial modules.” our [then] 1,500 crew members. This job is Ltd, the subsidiary responsible for meet- ship managers. “A central collection system was part now fully automated and the encoders are ing the training requirements of MOL’s Seafarers have the opportunity to fleet of 50 tankers, including 33 very large undertake various certified courses such crude carriers (VLCCs), has used Seagull’s as CBT while onboard ship, and also to training services since early 2007. use the STA Online facility while ashore. “We opted to use Seagull for training A tailor-made customised monthly and purposes because the company was the annual report is created for every work only competitive provider in the industry station, and analysis of these reports is recognised and approved by the relevant available via the online component of the maritime authorities,” says Captain training system. Harminder Singh of MOL Tankship “The Seagull training database of MOL Management (Asia) Pte Ltd in Singapore. seafarers helps us indentify easily every “MOL’s objective was to use computer- individual crew member and each vessel’s based self assessment tools for onboard overall performance with the click of a training and monitoring purposes which, button,” says Captain Singh. at the same time, met Tanker Management “Being a pioneering shipping company and Self Assessment (TMSA) standards. we impart to our seafarers the best onboard MOL has integrated its own training standards for crews on its tankers The only other provider in the market at competence and training solutions and into the computer-based system the time lacked depth with computer- standards as provided by Seagull STA.” DS
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 25 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 11:42 Page 13
2nd engineer Badesha will be home early
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SOFTWARE Fuel savings – high as a kite
Shipping companies are increasingly under pressure to reduce CO2 and other emissions, and there are a range of technologies available to help achieve this goal. One of the more unusual is the SkySails propulsion support system – Raymond Fisch, BBC Chartering, and Arno de Groot, Reederei Wessels, spoke to Digital Ship about their recent experiences with the kite-based innovation
n order to stay competitive in a chal- installs on a control panel on the bridge. over the past 60 min, the optimal ship This compiled data can be used for a IIlenging market and to meet the In addition, although it might seem speed (in knots), the actual fuel consump- number of purposes, such as to analyse and increasing number of national and absurd to think that the handling of the tion rate (in t/day) and the fuel consump- optimise ship operations through compari- international regulations with regards to kite should require use of the satellite tion over the last 24 hours (in tons). son with other vessels in the same fleet. emission reduction, more and more communications system, modern commu- The suggested optimal ship speed is shipping companies are searching for nication technology nevertheless plays an calculated on the basis of the prevailing Benefits effective measures to reduce their fuel oil important role as the availability of live conditions, which are continuously com- The implementation of the SkySails consumption. weather data is essential for the effective piled and computed in real-time. In addi- Performance Monitor aims to deliver a Amongst the numerous options avail- deployment of wind propulsion systems. tion, the calculation takes into account number of advantages for shipping com- able on the market is a form of propulsion In order to maximise the effectiveness other essential information, such as panies. The company promises not only support that has been effectively used of the kite, live weather data obtained via bunker price, operating costs and charter significant fuel savings, but also substan- in the shipping industry for centuries – satellite is needed to adapt the voyage rates, which are fed into the system by the tially reduced greenhouse gas emissions. wind power. planning aspect of the system in coopera- on-shore staff. In addition, the software systems can Although crossing the oceans under tion with staff onshore during the voy- The display offers a range of nautical be used to provide data monitoring and sails is a long outdated method of trans- age, according to changes in the weather data to the master, such as position and analyses that can form the basis for the port, SkySails, a Hamburg-based company situation. speed of the vessel, or the weather situa- implementation of the Ship Energy specialising in the research and develop- tion with regards to wind and waves. The Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), ment of auxiliary wind power propulsion Real-time information on SkySails Performance Monitor can also which is one of the mandatory measures support systems and vessel performance vessel performance be customised according to the user’s adopted by the IMO in 2011 to reduce the management, has developed a towing kite In order to support shipping companies in specific needs, to collect additional infor- emission of greenhouse gases that stem to be deployed on modern oceangoing efficiently saving fuel oil consumption mation such as rudder position or torque, from international shipping. commercial cargo vessels. and sustainably reducing their vessels’ as well as data from the main engine and It is hoped that the decision support sys- The Hamburg-based company greenhouse gas emissions – in short, to the generators. tem will provide greater transparency of equipped the first vessel, Reederei improve the vessels’ operational efficiency The SkySails Performance Monitor dis- the ship's performance through the compi- Wessel’s MV Michael, with a first genera- – SkySails has developed the SkySails play is divided into three sections, of lation and computation of a large amount tion SkySails system at the end of 2007. Performance Monitor. which the main section contains all rele- of performance relevant information. Since then the propulsion support solu- In addition, SkySails strives to offer tion has been tested under real-life condi- both ad hoc decision support, for ship tions, the results of which have led to fur- owners, operators and crew, and the basis ther developments in the technology. for retrospective performance analyses At the moment, SkySails is finalising that can detect room for improvement the product development for SkySails and optimisation. Generation III, which features a towing Apart from the implementation of kite of 400m² capable of creating tractive a fleet-wide, systematic fuel-saving forces of up to 16 tons. approach, shipping companies can also use The first system of the pre-series will be Performance Monitor data in order to deter- installed on MV Aghia Marina, owned by mine what corrective actions are suitable the Greek shipping company Anbros and to assess if these were taken effectively. Maritime and under long-term contract In addition, all information needed for with US charterer Cargill Ocean the preparation of the voyage report is Transportation. automatically compiled and communicat- With its continuously evolving towing ed to shore, which should decrease the kite solution, SkySails aims to provide additional workload on crews created by renewable energy propulsion support, regulatory demands. while at the same time reducing both fuel The information from the monitoring oil consumption and greenhouse gas Reederei Wessels was the first to implement the kite propulsion system software can help to increase awareness emissions (GHG). among crew and shipping company According to the company’s own field employees with regards to the optimisation studies, the potential cost savings are sub- The software-based decision support vant parameters for monitoring the fuel of ship operations and fuel efficiency stantial; the company states that at a price system automatically provides shipping oil consumption. Data is collected in short, improvement, as well as emission reduction. of US$ 0.06/kw, 1 kwh of SkySails power companies’ head offices, and the crew on ten-minute intervals. costs half that of a kw produced by the board, with real-time information on ves- The recommended economical speed is First users – main engine. sel performance data. displayed as a green line in the ‘Ship Speed’ Reederei Wessels On the environmental side, the In addition, it combines this real-time chart, whereas the speed curve of the last German shipping company, Reederei International Maritime Organisation vessel performance data with additional 60 minutes is shown as a black line. Wessels is continuously on the lookout for (IMO) has published estimates suggesting economic information and offers practical All of the collected and compiled data efficiency improvements and has also that towing kite technology has enormous recommendations to the officers on board. is automatically sent to a specified recipi- looked into a variety of solutions to opti- potential to reduce greenhouse gas emis- The solution features a monitoring ent onshore once per day, for example the mise its ship operations. sions, by up to 100 million tons every year. device, which is installed on the ship's shipping company's head office. Apart from using special paint for the The SkySails propulsion support sys- bridge. The solution also includes the SkySails underwater part of the vessel or nozzles tem consists of three main components: a This display provides the captain with Data Management & Analytics service, that improve the vessel movement during towing kite with a rope, a launch and a variety of information on vessel per- which automatically creates an end of the voyage, Reederei Wessels was the first recovery system, and a control system for formance, such as the actual ship speed (in voyage report containing all collected shipping company worldwide to test the automated operation. knots), the actual fuel consumption (in data. This report is sent via e-mail to the SkySails towing kite propulsion support. The solution is controlled through a soft- kg/nm), a graph that visualises actual shipping company's head office at the end As early as 2007, Reederei Wessels ware-based system, which the company ship speed and actual fuel consumption of each voyage. introduced the use of a 160 m² kite on its
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 28 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 11:43 Page 16
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SOFTWARE
MV Michael, a geared 3600 dwt multi-pur- speed, fuel oil consumption and addition- process for the crew on board. Having been the first to adopt this tech- pose vessel, in cooperation with SkySails. al navigational data, remarks Mr de Groot. In addition to standard forms, users can nology, Reederei Wessels says it has A comprehensive testing period was The shipping company is also benefit- create individual reporting forms accord- worked on modifying and updating the completed successfully in 2009, and led to ting from the Fuel Performance Monitor ing to their specifications. Reederei Performance Monitor software in conjunc- the installation of the SkySails SKS160 Kite recommendations for economically opti- Wessels has made use of this opportunity tion with SkySails. System on other new buildings, such as the mised ship operations. and created individual reporting forms for “Close contact to the developers,” MV Theseus, MV Telamon and MV Peleus. “The core function of the SkySails the fuel oil consumption and position explained Mr de Groot, “made it easy for Reederei Wessels says it is satisfied Performance Monitor is to calculate the reports, which are sent to the shipping us to improve the system to the company’s both with the results of the towing kite ship's efficiency, from data containing company’s broker, Arkon Shipping. requirements.” implementation and the daily handling a number of different parameters,” notes In addition, explains Mr de Groot, “We have changed to a software solu- and maintenance of the system. Mr de Groot. more detailed reports with all available tion so that the master has now the possi- “We are proud to say,” says Arno de bility to enter the density at 15°C (kg/m³), Groot, IT manager at Reederei Wessels, for example 991.0 when using Fuel “that we are the first shipping company RME180. The individual bunkered quality who is using this kind of technology.” is considered.” “The positive results of the MV Michael Since the implementation of perform- A were the reason that Reederei Wessels ance monitoring on the first vessels, decided to install the technology on fur- Reederei Wessels has closely monitored ther ships. Of course, one of the progres- the financial benefits of the system, and sive effects of this sort of propulsion sup- field studies on the MV Theseus have led port is the emission reduction of our ves- to interesting results with regards to the sels. Green shipping is something that is cost-saving potential. very important for Reederei Wessels.” Over a test period of 152 days, the ves- The implementation of the towing kite sel was able to achieve cost savings of propulsion support technology has led to €49,100, compared to the regular fuel costs a significant reduction of fuel oil con- of €348,100. This equals 14 per cent, or cost sumption across the participating vessels, savings per calendar day of €323. with Reederei Wessels witnessing a sav- ing of 10 to 15 per cent on the MV BBC Chartering Michael alone. German multipurpose and heavy lift ship In addition to the towing kite system, operator, BBC Chartering, had been fol- Reederei Wessels has also implemented lowing the development of the SkySails the SkySails Fuel Performance Monitor, technology for some years before adding a which had been developed as a result of 9,821 dwt multipurpose ship fitted with an the companies’ joint SkySails SKS160 tow- auxiliary wind propulsion system by ing kite experience. SkySails to its fleet in 2011. “There were several reasons why “As a consequence of Beluga we chose to implement the SkySails Shipping’s demise in 2011,” says Fuel Performance Monitor,” explains Mr Raymond Fisch, senior vice president, de Groot. BBC Chartering, “we had the chance to “One of our key drivers was that we integrate the MV BBC SkySails and market wanted to obtain valuable assistance of the it as part of our vessel portfolio.” human element. We also wanted to sensi- “This allowed us to test the technology tise the ship’s officers regarding the con- and experience its application.” tinuously rising fuel oil costs.” BBC Chartering, says Mr Fisch, is satis- With the installation of the software fied with the comparatively small amount solution being scheduled and executed of additional effort required for daily han- during two days of general cargo opera- dling and maintenance. tion, no extra time needed to be spent on BBC Chartering took over a SkySails-equipped ship following The towing kite system is fully auto- the implementation. To simplify the the demise of Beluga Shipping in 2011 mated, he says, and after training the process further crew were also trained on existing crew can operate the system with- the use of the Fuel Performance Monitor “We are pleased to have deployed a parameters are sent to the owner at regu- out additional support. within that time frame. software system that enables us to opti- lar intervals. However, as Mr Fisch points out, the Reederei Wessels says it is pleased mise our vessel’s routes effectively.” Aside from these operational benefits, operation of the system onboard the vessel with the overall smoothness and simplici- “The performance monitoring device the software implementation has also ben- is only one part of the equation. ty of the implementation process, though records the amount of fuel oil consumed efitted the crew onboard the Reederei “Our efforts,” he notes, “push also at for further reference or in order to clarify during a voyage and matches this with the Wessels ships, says Mr de Groot. improving the collaboration and commu- questions a detailed manual is available conditions under which the consumption “We have had a very positive reaction nication between ship-owner, crewing and SkySails has set up a 24-hour helpline took place, such as speed, current and from our crew,” he says. “Especially the partner, operator and commercial man- for support. wave height. This information is very fact that less manual input is required is agement, so each party perceives the ben- There are a number of hardware compo- valuable for the master.” very appreciated.” efit of using the propulsion support and is nents and additional prerequisites required In addition to optimised routes, the “This saves time and provides good hopefully motivated to support the kite- for the implementation. For example, ves- SkySails Performance Monitor calculates additional decision support. According to launching when this makes sense.” sels using the fuel monitoring system need the so-called profit speed. the voyage parameters the system evalu- The BBC Chartering vessel uses the to be equipped with a fuel computer as “This is a commercial aspect,” explains ates if the earnings are higher when going towing kite’s auxiliary propulsion support well as a flow meter and sensors. Mr de Groot. faster or slower and makes recommenda- whenever the wind conditions allow. A further prerequisite is adequate inter- “The calculation takes into account the tions accordingly.” BBC Chartering is anticipating a signif- net connectivity. The satellite communica- vessel speed, the route and the estimated Mr de Groot points out that the includ- icant reduction in fuel oil consumption tion system needs to be able to transfer arrival time at the destination port. ed one-off training on the system upon through the implementation of the towing large attachments of up to 60 kb. In order According to this information, the vessel's installation has been sufficient for the kite solution. to cater for all necessities, Reederei earnings are calculated. The master can crew. New members of the seagoing staff “We are expecting a reduction of 10-15 Wessels uses both Inmarsat read off the display if a speed reduction are henceforth instructed by the master of per cent, once the system is in full opera- FleetBroadband and Fleet33 as satellite would save costs and make his decisions the respective vessel. tion,” explains Mr Fisch. communication devices. economically.” Reederei Wessels, says Mr de Groot, is “If the weather conditions are The SkySails software solution also also satisfied with the SkySails support favourable, we expect this to contribute Data usage supports Reederei Wessel’s reporting sys- department, which assists the customers even up to 2,000 kW engine load relief. Reederei Wessels is satisfied with the sys- tem by providing a set of standard forms whenever necessary. This technology not only helps us save on tem and the way it is operated via a dis- for voyage and position reports for the “The support hotline is available 24h a fuel oil costs, but also supports our envi- play on the bridge indicating a number of ship operator. This, says Mr de Groot, has day,” explains Mr de Groot. “The support ronmental policy with regards to emission operating parameters, including vessel notably simplified the data collection collaboration is excellent.” reduction.”
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 30 p14-32:p1-14.qxd 18/05/2012 15:39 Page 18
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SOFTWARE
As the current system is being upgrad- into the company’s operating procedures. ware was performed without complica- Monitor, the chartering company takes a ed by SkySails, the chartering company is The main driver for the chartering com- tion during port operations. However, Mr realistic view in terms of when it expects looking forward to testing the effects of pany to install this new software was to Fisch explains that the hardware installa- the system to yield the first results. these changes in the future. Although BBC create a behavioural effect through visible tion is the smallest challenge. “We simply don’t now know how long Chartering is anticipating a substantial performance monitoring. The core challenge, he says, is to put the it will take to put the system to work effec- benefit from the upgrade of the technolo- “As we can only improve what we can system to use successfully and integrate tively so that each party involved can take gy, notes Mr Fisch, there is currently not measure,” says Mr Fisch, “this tool offers the software and its results into the vessel away expected benefits,” notes Mr Fisch. sufficient data to confirm all numbers. an interesting means of communicating management process, rather than follow- Seagoing staff on the BBC vessel have Should the outcome of a test period be and managing vessel performance, espe- ing a mere hardware oriented installation reacted positively to the implementation positive, BBC Chartering does not rule out cially regarding fuel oil consumption and process. of the new technology. implementing the towing kite technology carbon emissions.” Although BBC Chartering is keen on Mr Fisch recalls that the initial interest on further vessels. However, Mr Fisch The installation of the required hard- fully utilising the Fuel Performance of crew during training and handling notes that wind propulsion is only one of exercises was positive. However, he also numerous opportunities to increase ener- points out that, from his commercial point gy efficiency in the shipping industry. of view, the Fuel Performance Monitor “We regard wind as one of these oppor- needs to attract the attention of all parties tunities,” he says, “and expect that intelli- involved. gent solutions will play a role in support- Only then, he says, can the company ing future ship propulsion.” avail itself of the full potential of the sys- “As a commercial operator of a MPV/ tem and optimise operations successfully. HL fleet we have an interest to charter in BBC Chartering, although so far fuel efficient and modern tonnage from pleased with the outcome of the SkySails vessel owners that apply ‘forward think- system, is still in the process of customis- ing’ technology.” ing and adapting the solution to company- specific requirements. Changing attitudes “We are still working on specifying the In addition to testing the benefits of the data requirements, such as for voyage and towing kite propulsion support, BBC noon reports,” explains Mr Fisch. Chartering has also embarked on the “We aim at using the given features as implementation of the SkySails Fuel much as possible, in order to minimise the Performance Monitor. amount of work put into the modification Now that the technical manager of the of the software.” vessels has installed the required hard- “As it looks today the system possess ware, the chartering company is expecting the flexibility to be used without having to information generated by the system to be change the software fundamentally. put to work. The objective, says Mr Fisch, Certainly we will know more once the is to integrate the relevant data generated In conjunction with the onboard kite system, a software application process of using the data has been defined is used to monitor fuel performance by the Fuel Performance Monitor system and fine-tuned.” DS
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
Navis Engineering has opened a Marine safety equipment supplier new office in Singapore, to act as its Ocean Safety has appointed Paul regional sales hub for South East Asia and White as sales office manager. The newly Oceania. The office will be headed by created role will see Mr White supervising South East Asia Area sales manager, Yuri the internal sales team. Krivtsov. Imtech Marine has opened a new Raytheon Anschütz reports that office in Aberdeen, which will provide its Synapsis Bridge Control system has services to international and locally based become the world’s first navigation sys- vessels and platform operators. Imtech tem to be type approved according to already has offices in Newcastle and IMO’s new Performance Standards for Glasgow in the UK, and the opening of the Integrated Navigation Systems (INS). The Aberdeen office brings Imtech Marine’s approval was issued by Germanischer total number of service and outfitting cen- Lloyd. tres to 89 worldwide.
Art Thomas and Mike Kelner, new appointments at W R Systems
W R Systems has made two new Thomas Gunn Navigation appointments in its maritime technologies Services and Transas Marine have division, with Arthur Thomas Senior join- announces a new partnership, whereby ing as vice president – maritime business Thomas Gunn will offer Transas Navi- and Mike Kellner joining as director – Sailor 4000 ECDIS as part of its total navi- maritime business. gation solution, whilst Transas will offer Thomas Gunn’s paper chart management Hatteland Display has appointed service as a part of its ECDIS package. Alphatron Trading (Shanghai) as its sales agent in China. The company will act as the support office for customers in www.hatteland-display.com China in addition to providing sales facili- www.wrsystems.com ties for all Hatteland products. www.navisincontrol.com www.raytheon-anschuetz.com Hatteland Display has also www.gl-group.com appointed Jason Electronics Pte. www.oceansafety.com Ltd. as its sole agent in Indonesia, www.imtech.eu/marine The Raytheon Anschütz Synapsis bridge control system has gained INS type approval Malaysia and Thailand. www.transas.com from Germanischer Lloyd www.thomasgunn.com
Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 34 p33-52:p15-25.qxd 18/05/2012 12:06 Page 3
Digital Ship Students Kinect with new simulator
www.kongsberg.com an accurate hydrodynamic model, 3D hull inch TFT-LCD screens mounted vertically, touch screens, allowing the student to design and realistic stern streamer deck to which displays their simulated position on open and close valves and winch locks, A new simulator designed to train engi- ensure that students can relate to the simu- the streamer deck and the actions they are power on/off winches and blocks togeth- neers and crew in seismic streamer deck lated vessel environment during training. carrying out with the virtual toolbox. er with enabling lines on the helper winch- handling using the Kinect motion sensor A typical simulation scenario involves The centre display units are fitted with es in the scene. system from Microsoft has been installed three students. One is assigned supervi- at Vestfold University College in Norway. sor, responsible for controlling winches, The Seismic Streamer Deck Operation using a real winch control terminal inter- Trainer was developed as part of faced to the simulator. The other two stu- Kongsberg Maritime’s Offshore Vessel dents operate auxiliary winches and are Simulator, in co-operation with Petroleum equipped with the virtual toolbox, with Geo-Services (PGS) following an agree- the equipment needed to complete the ment signed in Q4 2010. operation simulated on screen. The system passed its Site Acceptance “Back-deck operations have been Test at Vestfold University College in increasing in complexity over the years March 2012 and is now fully operational. and personnel are getting less exposure to The Seismic Streamer Deck Operation these critical operations, so we decided Trainer utilises the Kinect for Windows that simulator training was a natural step motion sensing device, which is equipped to ensure safety and efficiency,” said Einar on student stations to track their move- Nielsen, vice president projects, Marine ments in order to display them within a Acquisition PGS. simulation of the stern streamer deck. “This has been an interesting and chal- This enables students to physically lenging project for both parties and I would walk around the deck area, completing set say the techniques employed with the sys- tasks according to the specific exercise. tem represent a step change in simulator They are equipped with a virtual tool- training for the offshore environment.” box presented on a touch screen close by The installation at Vestfold University and are also equipped with a winch/block College consists of two Instructor sta- control device, which is a physical device tions, one navigation bridge, winch and worn around the waist, allowing them to block control terminals, a common info select and control the correct winch/block station for all three students and three for the job. streamer deck crew operator stations The simulator is based on the PGS seis- (student stations). The Kinect technology detects trainee movements and depicts them mic vessel Ramform Viking, and features Each student station consists of three 65- within the simulated environment
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Digital Ship June/July 2012 page 35 p33-52:p15-25.qxd 18/05/2012 12:06 Page 4
ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
Partnership agreement for exactEarth New Seacor ships to install Kongsberg and VesselTracker DP systems
www.exactearth.com announced that it has been awarded www.kongsberg.com with position reference and environmen- www.vesseltracker.com a new multi-year contract by the tal sensor systems. Canadian Government for its exactAIS Seacor Marine is to install Dynamic “Dynamic Positioning offers significant VesselTracker GmbH, a provider of global data service. Positioning systems from Kongsberg station keeping improvements compared coastal AIS data and maritime informa- The $4.59 million order renews a cur- Maritime on two new 190-foot CrewZer to manual control,” explains Joe McCall, tion, has agreed a partnership deal with rent annual subscription and includes a Class Crew boats (also known as fast sup- project manager, Seacor Marine. space-AIS company exactEarth, under licence for data usage throughout the ply vessels). “In order for a DP system to be effec- which VesselTracker will market services whole of the Canadian Government. The Seacor Lynx and Seacor Leopard are tive, it has to be completely reliable in deploying exactAIS satellite data into the exactAIS is already used by the coun- under construction at Gulfcraft Shipyard, even the most extreme weather condi- global commercial applications market try's Marine Security Operations Centre, located in Louisiana, US, and are scheduled tions, so we are enthusiastic about the through its web services platform. which consists of multiple departments for delivery in the first half of 2013. The installation of Kongsberg DP3 aboard our VesselTracker's current customers and agencies including the Department ships will be the first Crew boats to operate new CrewZer class vessels.” include Port Authorities, fleet manage- of National Defence, Transport Canada, using an ABS Class DP3 system. “The system is designed to offer the high- ment operators, insurance companies and the RCMP, the Canada Border Services A triple redundant Kongsberg K-Pos est redundancy and reliability which allows ship brokers. The new deal will enable Agency, the Department of Fisheries and DP3 system will be installed, integrated for safer transfers of cargo and personnel.” VesselTracker to globalise its service and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. provide visibility into ship movements out The space-AIS data is typically used to of the range of existing coastal stations. enhance maritime security and surveil- A new custom data solution will also be lance, monitor and analyse arctic vessel made available to provide solutions based traffic, and for Search and Rescue (SAR) on XML Web Service data delivery. support. “We are excited to sign this deal with “This renewal order, won in a competi- VesselTracker,” said Peter Mabson, presi- tive bid environment, continues to demon- dent of exactEarth. strate how exactAIS is gaining traction in “This agreement is a great step forward many government departments with uses for exactEarth and means a whole new set spreading beyond the traditional maritime of customers worldwide will now have agencies,” said Mr Mabson. access to our exactAIS data and will see “It shows that the exactAIS data service the value of truly global coverage of mar- is now being recognised as a vital part of itime traffic.” mission-critical decision support systems.” “We see this as a new chapter in the “We expect to gain further renewals evolution of satellite AIS and look forward and wider market penetration worldwide The SEACOR Lynx and SEACOR Leopard will be the first Crew boats to operate to working even more closely with throughout 2012 as more and more cus- using an ABS Class DP3 system VesselTracker in the future to deliver pre- tomers realise the value of our service, and mium services to our joint markets.” as we add to both our in-orbit and ground- In other news, exactEarth has also based infrastructure.” SMA installs ECDIS training systems
www.kelvinhughes.com “We are committed to ensuring that our simulators are always updated, so that Kelvin Hughes has supplied Singapore’s our graduates always meet the exacting largest maritime training institution, the standards of IMO and industry,” says Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA), Captain Gopala Krishnan, SMA’s senior with 25 ECDIS training systems under a manager, SMART Center and maritime new contract. simulation division. The 25 MantaDigital ECDIS Training The ECDIS training system is ‘student- Systems will be incorporated with proof’, in that it doesn't allow access to the Chartco’s Passage Manager, providing main operating system or changes of SMA with one of only three training cen- parameters, and can connect to a vessel tres approved for generic ECDIS training simulator for expanded training options. by the Singapore Maritime Port Authority. Kelvin Hughes has upgraded SMA’s SMA recently updated its facilities, existing ECDIS master station with simula- opening a new training laboratory at the tion software to output vessel movements Global AIS data will be marketed via the VesselTracker web-services platform end of August last year. to the individual ECDIS workstations.
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Digital Ship Condor Ferries IBS for polar research vessel crews receive www.raytheon-anschuetz.com of hull damage. Radar slave display and equipment for the ECDIS training The bridge system also integrates a SRTP Room complete the package. Raytheon Anschütz has completed the Dynamic Positioning (DP) System, which The bridge and navigation equipment www.ecdis.org supply of its latest generation of shares information such as waypoints was installed by technicians from AT Integrated Bridge System (IBS) to the SA with the navigation system to allow pre- Marine Oy in conjunction with RH South ECDIS training company ECDIS Ltd Agulhas II, a new polar research ship cise operation within ice fields. Africa, both certified service partners of reports that it has completed delivery of owned by the Republic of South Africa’s A helicopter console with a Chart Raytheon Anschütz. ECDIS training courses to the crews of Department of Environmental Affairs Condor Ferries. (DEA). The training consisted of generic 5-day Sea trials, including ice trial tests in the ECDIS courses, as well as type specific Gulf of Bothnia, were successfully con- training for the equipment that is fitted cluded during March 2012. onboard the vessels. The 134 metre vessel was designed Condor Ferries operates the Condor and built by the STX Finland shipyard at Vitesse, Condor Express and Condor Rauma, and will conduct research activi- Rapide fast cat ferries, and the car, passen- ties and expeditions in the polar region. ger and freight carrying vessel It is also designed to serve as an ice- Commodore Clipper. Each year the com- breaker, a passenger ship and a supply pany carries more than 1 million passen- ship for the South African research cen- gers and 200,000 passenger vehicles. tres in Antarctica. "Over the last six months we have been The Integrated Bridge and Navigation working with EDCIS Ltd to provide our System consists of six widescreen work- officers with generic and type specific stations for radar, chart radar, ECDIS ECDIS training, and to refine our ECDIS and conning, as well as a NautoPilot, a operating procedures," said Captain Fran redundant gyro compass system, a pack- Collins, operations director at Condor age of navigation sensors, navigation Ferries. data management and a complete radio "Feedback from those attending the station for GMDSS A4 operation in the courses has been very positive with regard polar region. to the facilities and in particular the way One of the radars provides Ice Radar the training is delivered. Even those who functionality with ice imaging capabili- have had extensive experience with the ties, to assist the navigator in finding the equipment have found the five day course optimal route through icy waters and worthwhile." reduce fuel consumption and the risk The SA Agulhas II has installed an IBS
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION R Anschütz ChartWorld launches new ENC service Please visit us at www.chartworld.com ACES format was only three to six min- www.adveto.com utes, compared to approximately 60 min- Posidonia utes for the same set of native ENCs ChartWorld International has launched encrypted in S.63 format, to be loaded into - Hall 1, Booth 1315 - ACES, a new SENC ENC data service for an ECDIS using the SevenCs Kernel. ships with ECDIS or ECS navigation sys- In other news, ChartWorld has tems, based on the Admiralty ENC chart also launched a new micro-site data set from the UKHO and using the (www.ecdis-as-a-service.com) to mark SevenCs EC2007 Kernel. the introduction of its ‘ECDIS as a This Kernel is used by a number of Service’ concept for supplying ECDIS ECDIS OEMs, including ChartWorld itself and digital chart data services to the for its own eGlobe ECDIS. SOLAS shipping market. The eGlobe ECDIS product will be pro- The site provides visitors with informa- duced under a new ECDIS OEM licence tion about the concept and its specific agreement with Swedish manufacturer service components, such as the eGlobe Adveto, with a value of 2.5 million SEK ECDIS, but also offers the opportunity for (approximately US$372,000). shipping companies to submit their own “ChartWorld International and Adveto information in order to receive a cus- signed an agreement in November last tomised service quotation. year regarding the new cooperation where “Shipping companies must implement Adveto’s accumulated knowledge is fitted ECDIS, which requires considerable plan- into the new eGlobe ECDIS,” explains ning and investment, as well as radical Jochen Rudolph, managing director of changes in operating procedures and ChartWorld. training requirements,” said Oliver The deal with ChartWorld represents Schwarz, ChartWorld International’s busi- Adveto's largest single order since the ness development director. company was founded, in the mid-1980s. “The current industry approach is to ChartWorld says that its ACES burden the shipping company customer (Advanced ChartWorld ENC Service) with full responsibility for addressing all charts load quicker than standard S.57 this myriad of problems themselves. Our ENCs, allowing ECDIS chart loading or approach is to take those problems away updates to be completed in a much short- from the customer and present them with er time than was previously possible. a clear and simple packaged service solu- For example, it claims that the loading tion that is easy to understand, easy to INTEGRATED time for a set of ENCs in SENC encrypted implement and affordable.” AWT and Transas integrate NAVIGATION navigation technologies
www.awtworldwide.com voyage planning, reducing fuel costs and www.transas.com CO2 emissions. It offers 16-day forecasts SYSTEMS updated four times daily, and 10 years of Applied Weather Technology (AWT) and historical climate data. Transas Marine have announced that they “The combination of these two indus- have integrated AWT’s BonVoyage try-leading systems is a key advantage for System (BVS) for on-board weather rout- our clients,” said Skip Vaccarello, presi- ing with Transas’ ECDIS, to assist in voy- dent and CEO for AWT. age optimisation. “Now, Captains can see their routes This integration will allow users to optimised by BVS plotted into the transfer data from BVS to Transas Navi- ECDIS navigation system. This will Sailor ECDIS, and vice-versa. give Captains the ability to navigate BVS is used by approximately 4,000 with pinpoint accuracy the safest and ships and provides data on weather and most efficient routes for their specific sea conditions that can be used to improve vessels.” Singapore and Norway to Synapsis Bridge Control combines most advanced functions with well-proven reliability in one cohe- collaborate on maritime R&D
sively developed bridge system. The Maritime and Port Authority of and Det Norske Veritas' Clean Technology Singapore (MPA) and the Research Council Centre (DNV CTC) for R&D on the mar- Using the cutting-edge of navigation technology, of Norway (RCN) have signed a itime environment and clean technologies. Synapsis Bridge Control provides highest fl exibility Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to “An increasing number of Norwegian in system confi guration as well as simplifi ed and renew their bilateral agreement on maritime maritime companies have established predictable operation. Research and Development (R&D), educa- their presence with headquarters for oper- tion and training for another three years. ation and strategic coordination in The first MoU between the two parties Singapore in the last few years,” said was signed in 2000, and has since been Arvid Hallen, RCN director general. renewed in 2003, 2006 and 2009. “Norwegian R&D institutes and Since that first agreement, MPA and universities see Singapore as a strong col- www.raytheon-anschuetz.com RCN have co-operated in research in areas laboration knowledge hub for the future such as the maritime environment, sustain- development into the Asian market.” Raytheon Anschütz GmbH able energy technology, offshore and “Research and innovation is global, and D-24100 Kiel, Germany marine engineering, and maritime opera- I believe that Norway and Singapore rep- Tel +49(0)4 31-30 19-0 tions and info-communications technology. resent two of the most complete maritime Fax +49(0)4 31-30 19-291 One of these research programmes clusters in the world - a good basis for is the collaboration between MPA joint collaboration.”
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Digital Ship
Furuno ECDIS ready for launch Letter to the Editor – Response to IHB claim that ECDIS ‘not functioning as expected’ www.furuno.com ble with Jeppesen Dynamic Licensing and the Admiralty Information Overlay (AIO). Furuno has announced that its new FMD- The new ECDIS also have new Graphic Dear Sir, via the March 2012 Navarea. For any 3200 and FMD-3300 ECDIS models will User Interface elements, with a Status Bar vessel owner/operator that has not car- soon be ready for launch. and InstantAccess Bar providing what In response to the article published in ried out the IHO ENC data presentation The FMD-3200, with a 19-inch LCD Furuno calls a "task-based operation May 2012, and the recent reports that and performance check on their ECDIS, screen, and the 21-inch FMD-3300 will scheme" to offer direct access to necessary manufacturers’ ECDIS systems were not it is recommended that this check is include a chart management system, inde- operational procedures. displaying certain data, Japan Radio completed and information returned to pendent of chart providers and compati- The Status Bar at the top of the screen Co., Ltd. (JRC) is pleased to update the IHO at the earliest opportunity. provides operating industry on its own immediate inves- JRC was the first manufacturer, status, including tigative actions to determine the impact together with the appropriate authori- modes of opera- and any necessary corrective action for ties, to pro-actively have greater contact tion and presenta- JRC ECDIS systems. with ships’ staff, owners and managers tion, while the It was brought to attention by the of vessels, advising them to regularly InstantAccess Bar, IHO ENC data presentation and per- have their ECDIS checked and if neces- on the left edge of formance check (check data set), issued sary, update the software. Thereby try- the screen, pro- by the IHO in October 2011, that key ing to find the best solution for ECDIS vides quick access navigational marks such as complex software updates with our customers. to functions avail- lights were not being displayed and that Today, ECDIS performance, its able in each of the with some ECDIS models, types of part- mandatory carriage requirement and in ECDIS operating ly submerged wreck symbols were not particular the matter of software modes. being displayed - although JRC has had upgrades is the topic of many interna- The contents of a software upgrade to resolve this tional meetings now being held. The the InstantAccess anomaly since September 2010. It is cal- IHO check data set project has high- Bar change accord- culated that approximately 30% of all lighted the importance to have a ing to the operat- manufacturers’ current ECDIS models requirement of ECDIS software version ing modes selected are not upgraded to the latest software. upgrades being promptly completed The new Furuno ECDIS has added access options on the Status Bar. Any ECDIS, which is not updated to within possible time limits and sched- on the top and side of the screen the latest version of IHO’s [continuously ules, to ensure that all manufacturers’ updated] performance software require- ECDIS systems are fully upgraded. ments, may be unable to correctly dis- All JRC customers should rest assured play the latest charted or indication fea- that JRC will continue to do the best it Superior simulator training tures when using ENC charts. possibly can to ensure the correct and Additionally, the appropriate alarms timely updating of onboard ECDIS. JRC www.kongsberg.com "At Superior Energy Services, we believe and indications may not be activated, was also pleased to receive compliments in ensuring our people are as prepared and even though the features have been from various authorities with respect to Superior Energy Services of Houston, properly trained as possible. It makes sense included in the ENC. the way the above was handled in a Texas, has taken delivery of a new mar- from a safety perspective, from an environ- The IHO ENC data presentation and prompt and professional manner. itime training simulator from Kongsberg mental perspective and from a business performance check response data shows JRC has made readily available soft- Maritime which will be used to provide perspective – it is simply the right thing to that from over 5,000 JRC ECDIS users, ware upgrades for current and legacy integrated, real-time training for do," said Captain Scott Powell. there was a return rate of less than 0.7% ECDIS models at www.jrceurope.com. Superior’s offshore marine personnel at its "Partnering with Kongsberg Maritime who replied to the IHO. In view of this it new facility in Anchorage, Alaska. provided a depth of engineering capabili- was suggested that it be brought to the Kind regards, Under the terms of the contract ty that allowed us to mirror a physical attention of mariners and vessel owners JRC Superior Energy Marine Technical model-based simulation solution. This is Services has been supplied with a full mis- the closest we can come to creating realis- sion trainer in support of critical opera- tic scenarios without facing these circum- Keep your finger on the pulse tions including ship bridge manoeuvring stances first hand." and navigation, anchor handling, ROV "Our people will be the best prepared with our weekly e-mail operations and crane operations. in the industry and will have full confi- newsletter and our online The simulator features two full offshore dence in the critical skills they will learn network for maritime service vessel bridges, with 360 degree with this state-of-the-art simulator. This IT professionals field of view, an offshore crane simulator, multi-team training capability will have a a DeepWorks ROV simulator, and a sepa- net positive effect on our preparedness rate Process Simulator, for operator train- and our commitment to health, safety and www.thedigitalship.com ing and control system checkout. the environment."
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION Guide to ECDIS training regulations
Whether you like it or not, ECDIS is coming. Ensuring compliance means having the right equipment on board, but also having crews that are properly trained in its use – however, the actual training demanded varies depending on your vessel’s circumstances. Digital Ship looks at some of the different requirements
s most people in the industry are compliant operation. ISM and PSC Bahamas: Information Bulletin No. 138 well aware, IMO mandatory car- As a result, different Flag States imple- With the STCW Convention not exactly 2.1. This Bulletin applies to officers AAriage requirements for ECDIS mented contrasting regulations, muddy- definitive in outlining the required level of serving onboard ships fitted with ECDIS will begin to be phased in, for certain ing the waters when it came to a consistent training for ECDIS, the International and Companies providing the officers for types of vessels, from July of this year. standard for ECDIS training. Safety Management (ISM) Code can also such vessels. From this date and over the subsequent be referenced to try and determine the 2.2.1 The applicable officers of Bahamas six years of the implementation schedule Manila Amendments qualifications required. registered vessels, which have ECDIS as a huge number of ships will have to be This oversight has been dealt with, to The ISM Code requires that officers are the primary means of navigation, are fitted with the technology to remain in some extent, by the 2010 changes to the competent in the use of ECDIS to maintain required to have completed both generic compliance. STCW Convention, commonly known as a safe bridge watch and navigate safely. and ship specific ECDIS training Of course, fitting a piece of equipment the Manila Amendments. ISM Code section 6 points to the need for 2.3 For the purpose of this Bulletin, the on a ship and using it to improve the safe- Effective from 01 January 2012, training training specific to onboard duties prior to following definitions apply: ty of operations are two different things – in safe navigation using ECDIS will be a boarding, stating: i. Approved training is training that and so, training in the use of ECDIS is a mandatory requirement in the 2010 “6.2 - The Company should ensure that satisfies the requirements of STCW A/V key part of the implementation process. amendments (Manila Amendments) to the each ship is manned with qualified, certified and has been approved by the Bahamas or However, while the directive as to what International Convention on Standards of and medically fit seafarers in accordance with a STCW party with which The Bahamas equipment to fit and when to fit it is rela- Training, Certification and Watch-keeping national and international requirements. has a recognition agreement (BMA tively straightforward, the type of training for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW) for all officers 6.3 - The Company should establish proce- INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 121, that is required by those that will use the serving on vessels fitted with ECDIS. dures to ensure that new personnel and per- ‘COUNTRIES RECOGNISED BY THE equipment onboard is a little less so. Problem solved? Not quite. sonnel transferred to new assignments related BAHAMAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH One of the major issues that continues Despite its addition to the STCW to safety ... are given proper familiarization STCW REGULATION I/10’ includes to vex operators when implementing Convention, the requirements for ECDIS with their duties. Instructions which are Germany) ECDIS is the question of type-specific training are not particularly well defined, essential to be provided prior to sailing should 3.4 The BMA is only engaged in ECDIS training – is it required, and what kind of and are open to interpretation as to what be identified, documented and given. training approval relating to officers who qualification does a seafarer need to exactly needs to be included. 6.5 - The Company should establish and have been issued Bahamas Certificate of achieve to prove they are competent in Words like ‘familiar’, ‘understand’ and maintain procedures for identifying any training Competency and for training centers the use of the particular equipment ‘knowledge’ abound, but without refer- which may be required in support of the safety which are located in The Bahamas. onboard? ence to a particular qualification that management system and ensure that such train- 5 ECDIS Ship Specific Equipment Even with the mandatory carriage will be accepted as demonstrating such ing is provided for all personnel concerned.” Training requirement approaching, the answer to competence. Port State Control can also offer anoth- 5.1.1 The ship specific ECDIS training this question is not entirely clear. For example, is type-specific training er viewpoint, with Port State Control should relate to the make and model of the The standardised IMO Model Training required to be ‘familiar’ with the system, Committee Instruction 35/2002/02 refer- ECDIS equipment installed on the ship. Course on the Operational Use of ECDIS, or is a brief introduction to a particular encing type specific training, asking: This should build on the generic training, IMO Model Course 1.27, was approved by manufacturer’s equipment sufficient “5.3.2 - Are the master and deck watchkeep- and be delivered by either: the IMO Committee on Standards for once the generic Model Course has been ing officers able to produce appropriate docu- i. the manufacturer; or Training, Certification and Watch-keeping completed? mentation that generic and type specific ECDIS ii. the manufacturer’s approved agent, (STCW) in January 1999. Guidance on training and assessment familiarisation has been undertaken?”[2] or Since then this standard has been the in the operational use of ECDIS is provid- iii. a trainer who has attended such a main requirement in demonstrating a ed in Part B-1/12 of the STCW Code (§§ 36 National Flag regulations programme. required level of competence to operate - 65), and the Manila Amendments to the With all of these different sources of infor- 5.1.2 A manufacturer’s approved com- ECDIS onboard ship, though the 1.27 STCW Code[1] (STCW Conf. .2/34), mation, perhaps the best advice is to fol- puter based training package can be Model Course is again currently under Section A-VIII/2 Part 3, Reg. 8, state: low the requirements of the Flag adminis- accepted for this purpose. review at IMO with a view to updating its “4 - the master, chief engineer and officer in trations applicable to the vessel in ques- Bermuda: Bermuda Shipping Notice 10- requirements. charge of watch duties shall maintain a proper tion, and to make sure that training levels 2011 Initially developed by the Institute of watch, making the most effective use of the meet any additional specifications that “In ships where ECDIS is the primary Ship Operation, Sea Transport and resources available, such as information, they might prescribe. navigational system there is a requirement Simulation (ISSUS) in Hamburg, installations/equipment ...; For reference, the list below contains for all navigational officers to have com- Germany, the primary objective of the 5 - watchkeeping personnel shall under- extracts of current rules for type specific pleted both generic ECDIS training and Model Course was to ensure proper use stand functions and operation of installa- training from a variety of Flag States (it ship specific ECDIS training.... and operation of ECDIS, through a thor- tions/equipment, and be familiar with han- should be noted that the list is not exhaus- Ship specific ECDIS training and famil- ough understanding and appreciation of dling them; tive). Links to all of the documents con- iarisation should be based on the actual its capabilities and limitations. 6 - watchkeeping personnel shall under- taining this information will be available equipment fitted on board and provided The one-week Model Course, compris- stand information and how to respond to on the Digital Ship website, via a single before the officer is expected to use the ing 40 hours of instruction, features a syl- information from each station/installation/ link referenced at the end of this article. equipment. If the generic training course labus including classroom lectures, equipment.” Australia: Marine Notice 15/2010 has been undertaken on the same equip- hands-on training, and exercise scenar- Section A-VIII/2 Part 3, Reg. 26, states: “Before a watchkeeping officer or mas- ment then the course certificate should ios. In addition, it contains recommenda- “The officer in charge of the navigational ter intends to use an IMO compliant ECDIS make clear the equipment that was used tions for facility and staffing require- watch shall have full knowledge of the location as the primary means of navigation they for the training in order to be accepted as ments, lesson plans, teaching aids, and operation of all safety and navigational should, as a minimum, complete generic meeting this requirement. and examples of ship-simulator training equipment on board the ship and shall be aware ECDIS and ECDIS model-specific training. In general the ship specific training exercises. and take account of the operating limitations of However, in cases where officers or should be conducted on the equipment Despite this course outline having such equipment.” masters have not had any recent experi- that is to be used by a manufacturer, his been introduced more than a decade ago, While Section A-VIII/2 Part 3, Reg. 36, ence using ECDIS it is strongly recom- approved agent or someone who has issues remained due to the fact that states: mended that refresher training be under- received a trainer’s programme for that ECDIS training was not included in the “Officers of the navigational watch shall be taken based on a generic ECDIS Operators equipment. A manufacturer’s computer STCW Convention laying out the qualifi- thoroughly familiar with the use of all elec- Course complying with IMO Model based training package can be accepted for cation standards for watchstanding at sea tronic navigational aids carried, including Course 1.27 - The Operational Use of this purpose. – a fact which created confusion as to their capabilities and limitations, and shall use Electronic Chart Display and Information The company operating the ship what level of training was necessary for each of these aids when appropriate.” Systems (ECDIS).”[3] should ensure that the ship specific train-
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Digital Ship
ment systems. Particular reference is to be made to the varying device parameters and settings.”[12] The MAIB report on its investigation of the grounding of CFL Performer notes that: “Although ECDIS’ must meet the specific performance standards set by the IMO, manufacturers inevitably vary aspects of equipment operation in order to remain commercially competitive. This has led to differences between systems in terms of menus, terminology and equip- ment interface.” “Such differences can be marked and, although operations manuals are provided, these are not always easily understood. A mariner’s proficiency in the use of a partic- ular system is therefore undoubtedly best served by the provision of equipment-spe- cific training, regardless of any previous training and experience.”[13] Similarly, MAIB’s report on the investi- gation of the grounding of Pride of Canterbury also states that: “Where an electronic chart system is fitted as an aid to navigation, proper generic and/or type specific training in its use should be pro- Training is key in ensuring high levels of competence in the application of ECDIS technology vided to all navigating officers to ensure a thorough understanding of its display and ing is carried out and clearly documented. “The ECDIS ship specific equipment ed by the ECDIS manufacturer.”[9 ] functionality.”[14] Given the critical nature of this training training should relate to the make and Singapore: SHIPPING CIRCULAR TO Other external stakeholders have their and the records of it this process should be model of the equipment fitted on the ship SHIP OWNERS NO. 3 OF 2011 own opinions on the ECDIS training issue, incorporated in the ship’s Safety on which a Master or Navigational Officer “MPA's policy on ECDIS training is as with most supporting a level of ‘familiari- Management System”[4] is currently serving i.e. it will be necessary follows: sation’, at the very least – such as, for exam- Cyprus: Shipping Guidance Notice – 011 to complete training for each different sys- The navigating officers should also be ple, the Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) “I wish to inform you that the tem a Master or Navigation Officer is provided training on the specific make Programme (2011 Edition), which states: Department of Merchant Shipping (DMS), expected to operate. and model installed on their ships. This “4.23 ... Such training must be both has decided to accept the use of Electronic This training should build on the equipment-specific training can be provid- generic and specific to the ECDIS equip- Charts & Display Information Systems approved ECDIS generic training, and be ed by the shipping company itself as part ment that officers will use. ...deck officers (ECDIS) on Cyprus Flag ships including delivered by the ECDIS manufacturer; the of ship familiarisation, using services of must be fully familiar with the operation high speed craft (HSC) as meeting the manufacturer’s approved agent, or a train- trainers appointed by the manufacturer or of the ECDIS prior to the first voyage after nautical charts and nautical publications er who has attended such a programme. A manufacturer's agent.”[10] the installation of the ECDIS in accordance carriage requirements stipulated in manufacturer’s computer based training United Kingdom: MIN 405 (M+F)[11] with paragraph 6.3 of the ISM Code. Regulation V/19.2.1.4 and V/27 of SOLAS package can be accepted for this purpose.” “The Master and all Navigational 4.24 ... If the equipment on board is of 74 as amended, under the following con- Isle of Man: MSN 26: Replacing Paper Officers of UK Flagged vessels, which a different type (manufacturer) to which ditions: Charts with ECDIS have Electronic Chart Display and the generic training was undertaken, then All officers on watch must be familiar “ECDIS Course: All ECDIS operators Information Systems (ECDIS) as their pri- evidence of familiarisation of the actual with the operation of the ECDIS on board must also have completed type specific mary means of navigation, are required equipment fitted on board should be pro- the ship.”[5] training for the type of equipment (by their Safe Manning Document (SMD) vided. Record in comments the nature of Germany: ECDIS Competence of installed on the vessel on which they are and Port State Control Committee and duration of such familiarization.”[15] Masters and Deck Officers working. If the ECDIS course (1.27) Instruction 35/2002/02 (rev1)), to have “1.2 Specific ECDIS Training: included training on the type of equip- completed both generic and ship specific Conclusion Documentary Evidence (DocE) ment installed there must be a clear state- equipment ECDIS training.” The above referenced reports and require- Every ECDIS familiarisation training in ment to this effect. Otherwise separate ments reflect only a small portion of the the efficient use of the ship specific ECDIS training will need to be undertaken. This Other relevant parties available literature on ECDIS training, and equipment should be documented in an may be in the form of Computer based The issue of type specific equipment train- indicate how difficult the issue of ensuring appropriate manner. This familiarisation training supplied by the manufacturer of ing has also been raised by accident inves- compliance can be. training supplements the generic training. the ECDIS equipment. tigation authorities like the Federal At the very least, this should encourage The ship specific ECDIS training is Original training certification must be Bureau of Maritime Casualty ship operators to take the issue of training offered by the manufactures of ECDIS available on board for third party inspec- Investigation (BSU) in Germany and the very seriously, and make sure that care is equipment or by type-specific trainers and tion.”[7] UK’s Marine Accident Investigation taken to ensure that all applicable regula- the successful participation is documented Marshall Islands: MARINE SAFETY Branch (MAIB). tions are being met and that seafarers hold through DocE. ADVISORY NO. 7-09 Following their investigations of mar- the necessary qualifications to serve on ‘Trickle down training’ (i.e. internal “In addition, shipowners and operators itime incidents these two bodies have rec- ECDIS-equipped vessels. onboard instruction by masters and deck should ensure that their ships’ crews are ommended type specific training as a way In particular, it is vital to understand officers) does not usually comply with all provided with a comprehensive familiar- of promoting safe operations – as exempli- Flag State requirements, and how applica- requirements and shall not be considered ization programme and type-specific fied by the following accident reports. ble Flag regulations interpret the procla- as a training possibility.” training; and that the ships’ crew fully The BSU’s Investigation Report 1/08, mations of IMO and STCW. Gibraltar: Shipping Guidance Notice – 011 understand that the use of electronic into the grounding of the LT Cortesia, In the end, perhaps the best advice is to “This Administration will issue a letter charts aboard ship continues to require the states that: “The Federal Bureau of aim for the most comprehensive training accepting the ECDIS installation as fulfill- need for passage planning.”[8] Maritime Casualty Investigation recom- courses available, both generic and type- ing the requirements to replace paper Panama: MERCHANT MARINE CIRCU- mends that shipping companies and navi- specific – to stay ahead of compliance and charts provided: LAR MMC-218 gation schools now train senior nautical aim for the highest possible level of compe- The Master, Chief Officer and all “all ship's officers in charge of a naviga- personnel in the different voyage manage- tence for navigators onboard ship. DS Navigational Watch Officers have under- tional watch on board the vessels to which gone ECDIS training and familiarisa- the ECDIS is mandatory must attend, as a The full list of references for this article, as well as links to referenced Flag States’ and tion.”[6] minimum, an approved generic ECDIS other authorities own documentation, is available from the Digital Ship website, at: Ireland: Marine Notice No 51 of 2011: operator training course based on the IMO www.thedigitalship.com/pdf/ECDISregsguide.pdf Training required for ECDIS as Primary standard model. This requirement shall be Digital Ship would like to thank ECDIS provider Transas for its assistance in collat- means of Navigation met through type specific training provid- ing the information used in this article.
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
ECDIS familiarisation training and CBT
Familiarisation and type-specific training for ECDIS is important in ensuring competence on the latest technology, but finding the time and the budget to facilitate this is not always easy – computer based training can provide significant benefits in that regard, writes David Edmonds, PC Maritime
ype-specific training provides Of importance for the trainee’s effec- when and where it is needed, and gets the awareness of the functions present tiveness, and the ship-manager or owner trainee up to levels 3 & 4. TTin ECDIS, and the ‘How To’. How paying for the training, is that the training Computer Based Training (CBT) meets do I install charts, update them, plan a route, reaches through to levels 3 and 4. all of these requirements and is highly and monitor position, on a specific ECDIS? In other words, that the underpinning effective because: I have myself attended ships to deliver knowledge learned during the generic and It is ideal for teaching a process such as familiarisation or type specific training. type specific courses flow seamlessly using software. Usually this is for a day to train the watch through to the job. It motivates with interaction and rich keeping officers. content (images, animations, simula- In practice everyone is trying to fit Computer based training tions, voiceover). training around other duties. The Master ECDIS manufacturers have an implied It can be used anytime, anywhere, is invariably called away; the Chief Officer responsibility to deliver type specific for initial and refresher training or is always busy. training on their equipment. reference. If we’re lucky everybody gets an For example the MCA’s MIN 405[iii] It is self-paced. Users can work at the Fig 1: Learning effectiveness overview and the second mate gets a rea- states: speed that suits them, repeating sec- sonable run through on passage planning. “3.1 The ECDIS ship specific equip- tions as necessary. It gives feedback, 1. Setup and Maintenance And then, quite often, the second mate ment training should relate to the make allowing users to measure their own 2. Basic Operation will say, “I’m away on leave tomorrow – and model of the equipment fitted on the progress. 3. Installing Charts I’ll try to pass on what you’ve told me to ship on which they are currently serving It provides documented and verifiable 4. Working with Charts the new second mate.” i.e. it will be necessary to attend a train- assessment via multiple choice and 5. Passage Planning This gives rise to ‘trickle down train- ing course for each different system a true\false questions, simulation and 6. Preparing for a Voyage ing’, which is regarded as unsatisfactory. Master or Navigation Officer is expected hot spot tests. 7. Monitoring Position Face-to-face training can be provided to operate.” CBT, like any technical solution, can 8. Assessment ashore, usually at a customer’s offices. This “This training should build on the be developed to a higher or lower stan- A final Assessment module can contain all has its strengths: no interruptions, time to MCA approved ECDIS generic training, dard. At its simplest, it is an electronic the questions. The Assessment test should cover the material; and its limitations: and be delivered by the manufacturer; the book requiring nothing more from the consist of a random selection from this information overload (by mid-afternoon), manufacturer’s approved agent or a train- trainee than to press the next button. question bank, and be taken under con- skill fade (it may be weeks or months er who has attended such a programme.” This is hardly likely to be an effective trolled conditions and documented. before the attendees use the equipment). “Trickle down training (i.e. one officer training vehicle. A high score (70 per cent minimum) Face-to-face training carries costs that training another) is not acceptable as, A more comprehensive course will should be set as the pass rate, so that it is must be justifiable. There’s the cost of the inevitably, it leads to incomplete knowl- include things like: not possible to pass by guessing. trainer, travel and subsistence; the logisti- edge of the equipment’s capabilities, and Text and voiceover A help desk should also be available, cal problem of getting people together in especially the lesser used functions, being Interactive simulations – the trainee should any clarification be needed, by one place and the fact that many seafarers passed on.” takes part, pressing the buttons and e-mail, chat or by means of an online class, have to undertake training in their own Manufacturers have to get their train- mouse clicks that he would do on the led by a qualified instructor at an agreed time, unpaid. ing right; it directly influences the effec- actual ECDIS. time. Some estimate logistical costs to be as tiveness with which equipment is used Regular tests, taken before proceeding The results of any Assessment test can much as 75 per cent of the whole.[i] and, if done well, eases the burden placed to the next topic. This helps to reinforce be e-mailed to the ECDIS manufacturer or on the support line. learning – even getting a test wrong his representative for verification, and Effectiveness The need for familiarisation training is helps users to learn. once checked a certificate of competence Studies have shown that a primary cause not a one off. ECDIS is and will no doubt There are some disadvantages: it does not can then be e-mailed back in return. of training failure occurs when trainees do remain a frequently changing system. give the contact that allows instructors to Additionally access can be made avail- not use what they have learned soon after- Training will need to be updated when answer questions and give help when able from a Learning Management System wards. As much as 70 per cent of learning systems are updated and frequently needed. This, I would argue, is of less (LMS). This does require access to the may come from actually doing the job, refreshed as operators move between dif- importance for type specific training, internet, but provides some additional picking up from colleagues.[ii] ferent systems. where the skills and knowledge required benefits: This is not an argument for leaving any Many people today are comfortable are procedural. And CBT is time consum- All lessons are online. Users’ comple- part of ECDIS training to informal means, studying online. They don't want to sit ing and expensive to produce. tion of the course is tracked. but to emphasise the need to practise what through classes when they can work at However, several administrations, Assessment can be offered at the end. has been learnt. their own pace, with the opportunity to including India, Ireland and Isle of Man, Personal records are kept and progress The chart above right (fig.1) is adapted practise the skills and actions they need, explicitly accept Computer Based Training tracked. from ‘Training on Trial: How Workplace which is more efficient for them. for type specific training. Company Superintendent can be noti- Learning Must Reinvent Itself to Remain If e-Learning is interactive enough to A typical CBT course could comprise fied who has taken, completed, etc. Relevant.’ give them hands-on experience, then seven lessons and need about a day to A model for assessing training effec- e-Learning can be very effective. work through, depending on the pace of Assessment tiveness is The Kirkpatrick Model (see Everyone needs a solution that min- the user, and should provide thorough For type-specific ECDIS, the objective is table, below). imises travel and expense, is available and interactive training in all aspects of for watch keeping officers to show com- ECDIS operation. petence in the operation and mainte- Each lesson should consist of voice- nance of the ECDIS. This requires the Level 1: Reaction To what degree participants react favourably to the training over and text explanations, and video creation of detailed objectives for each of sequences demonstrating ECDIS process- the lessons. Level 2: Learning To what degree participants acquire the intended es. The user must interact frequently dur- knowledge, skills, attitudes, confidence, and commit- The objectives are to a large extent ment based on their participation in a training event ing training, carrying out actions as would mechanical. They require that the opera- be done on the ECDIS. At the end of each tors appreciate what they can do with the Level 3: Behaviour To what degree participants apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job lesson, questions will reinforce learning system, know where to find functions and and give feedback on progress. can carry out tasks. They do not cover the Level 4: Results To what degree targeted outcomes occur as a result A typical list of ECDIS Type-specific principles involved, which are learned of the training event and subsequent reinforcement lessons could include: during the generic ECDIS course.
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Multiple Choice Users select one or more correct answers from a list. Guessing Odds Guessing Odds True/False Users choose either True or False (or Yes or No). 5 out of 10 50% 1 of 4 1:4 Fill-In-The- Blank Users complete a blank in a sentence or phrase. 80% pass mark 5% But with multiple of 4 1:16 Matching Users match entries in two lists. But with 20 questions < 1% And multiple of 5 1:32 Hot Spot Users move the pointer over areas on the slide. Simulation Require the learner to perform actual work. Each step is records of the individuals who have taken approved by an appropriate body, for Assessments stored separately. the course, track their progress, record example DNV’s Learning Programmes their results and issue a certificate when Standard. Consequently, for type-specific train- by guessing reduce to 5 per cent (see table they pass the test. The objective of this standard is “to ing, the assessment should not, in my above right). Interested parties, such as the ship ensure uniform quality of training in the view, be too hard. It should be a good And with multiple-choice, again, the manager, can also be automatically noti- maritime industry, independent of loca- match to what operators actually need to odds stack up against guessing as soon as fied when the course has been completed tion, operation and training method (and) do in real life. more than one right answer is required and a pass certificate issued. … ensure that training programmes The tests that can be used during out of four or five possible answers. There is no requirement for type specif- offered within the maritime industry are assessment are varied and can include a When the assessment is presented it ic training to be approved. However, it properly designed (and) contain clear DS variety of testing methods (see table, should be taken under controlled condi- could be reassuring if the course were objectives for results.” above). tions, with verification of the student’s It is not possible for a user to pass the identity, so that his result is documented About the author test by guessing. With true/false ques- and a certificate issued if he passes. David Edmonds founded PC Maritime jointly with his wife Anne in 1987. tions it is possible to guess the right Tests taken from a Learning The company is involved in PC software development, producing training answer half the time, but increase the pass Management System via the internet are simulators and navigation systems. rate to 80 per cent and the odds of passing also controlled. An LMS can maintain References [i] With 75 per cent of the cost of training Maritime Executive July - August 2009, “The latter consisted primarily of two found to occur prior to formal training represented by logistics (travel, lodging, Page 25 factors: participants not having the programs, 10 per cent during training, etc.), the global downturn has had the [ii] “An ASTD (2006) study identified the opportunity to use what they learned, and as much as 70 per cent as on-the-job positive effect of making companies causes of ‘training failure’ (i.e. training’s and non-reinforcing supervisors’ actions learning.” Training on Trial: How more open to new ideas rather than just failing to lead to expected results).” following training.” Training on Trial: Workplace Learning Must Reinvent Itself to sending people to a course. “It found that 20 per cent was caused How Workplace Learning Must Reinvent Remain Relevant, 2010 James D Kirkpatrick, MTC’s Bihl insists, “Everyone – the by events and circumstances prior to Itself to Remain Relevant, 2010 James D PHd & Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick. customer and the provider – should be training. 10 per cent was caused by sub- Kirkpatrick & Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick. [iii] MARINE INFORMATION NOTE focused on trying to measure the ROI of par delivery of the programs. And 70 per “A Josh Bersin (2008) study showed a MIN 405 (M+F) Training for ECDIS as the time and money spent on training.” cent was due to problems with what they strong trend toward informal learning. Primary Means of Navigation. (2011) Case Study Maersk Training Centre, called the ‘application environment’.” 20 per cent of job-relevant learning was Maritime and Coastguard Agency
WHEN EFFICIENCY COUNTS...
Keep trim
Dynamic fore and aft trim measurement by Marinestar can lead to more economical use of bunker fuel.
...COUNT ON
Fugro Satellite Positioning, Norway Tel: +47 21 50 14 00 Fax: +47 21 50 14 01 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.fugromarinestar.com
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION High performance navigation
Manoeuvring large cargo ships in narrow waterways is a risky undertaking, and technology can certainly make a significant difference in ensuring their safe passage. Neste Shipping operates on one of the more challenging routes in Northern Europe and has recently implemented a new manoeuvring system – Captain Ari Inkinen, Neste Oil, spoke to Digital Ship about the company’s experiences
hip accidents resulting from colli- breaking and passing through thick layers conventional travel is inhibited by hard ice in the archipelago used to be mainly based sion or grounding typically result of ice, astern, without the additional assis- conditions, explains Capt Inkinen, is the on a radar overlay navigational chart. The SSin dire economic and environmen- tance of designated icebreakers. double acting mode put into use. systems deployed on Neste Shipping ves- tal consequences. In particular, incidents The Finnish shipping company Neste “We have experienced,” he says, “that sels previously included two DGPS, two involving oil tankers that lead to spillage Shipping, a subsidiary of Neste Oil, oper- the course keeping capability in DAT gyros, one standard compass and integrat- can threaten the environment with ates on such narrow, ice endangered mode is substantially limited in open ed conning displays. tremendous ecological impact, while the routes, predominantly in the Baltic region water deployment. This restriction is how- Capt Inkinen explains that manoeu- financial costs may ruin the shipowner. and the North Sea. ever resolved in ice conditions, as the ice vring and navigation under the previous If the accident takes place in a transit Neste Shipping, operating a total of 22 stabilises the bow movement.” solution was subject to a number of signif- waterway, sea traffic may be blocked for a vessels, was the first shipping company to Among Neste Shipping's highly fre- icant disadvantages. long period of time, affecting other vessels. implement double acting tanker technolo- quented routes is the Naantali channel, Conventional 1ASuper Ice class vessels Shipping companies that operate on gy on its vessel MT Tempera in 2002. which crosses the Archipelago Sea on its require more engine power and are there- narrow water routes are specifically The 252 m long, double acting, Finnish- way to the Port of Naantali, where Neste fore more expensive to use. In addition, required to observe safe navigation prac- Swedish 1 AS ice class crude oil carrier is Oil operates a refinery. the conventional 1ASuper Ice class ves- tices and procedures and to continuously equipped with an extended double hull The 65 nautical mile long Naantali sels, capable of independent operation in adjust their vessels' speed and course. The and segregated ballast water tanks. In channel ahead of the Finnish West Coast, hard ice conditions, are not energy effi- consequences of inaccurate navigation and addition, double skin cofferdams are pro- measures just 15.3 m in depth. According cient in open water – and thus not cost a correspondingly high risk of accidents in vided in way of all bunker tanks and the to the Finnish Transport Agency, the chan- efficient in terms of power generation. narrow waterways drive shipping compa- pump room has a double bottom. nel's fairway navigability is fraught with Apart from the purely financial down- nies operating in such regions to continu- The conventional rudder and propeller challenges. side of the previous solutions, there were ously modernise and update their naviga- are replaced by an azipod propulsion sys- A number of difficult conditions, such also a number of operational issues. tion and manoeuvring solutions. tem, which is capable of rotating 360°, as poorly sheltered sections of the channel, Navigating the narrow Naantali channel The limited width of waterways is, with the normal ahead speed above 15 which hamper radar navigation and navi- requires constant adjustments of speed and however, not the only navigational chal- knots. The vessel is further equipped with gation in rough seas, unpredictable cur- course, and making these changes has, in lenge for pilots of large seagoing commer- additional bow thrusters to provide rents and particularly narrow and busy the past, frequently led to gyro compass cial vessels. improved manoeuvrability in narrow passages require not only the special errors, which have in turn substantially Further complications in such areas are channels and ports. attention and caution of the pilot, but also impeded the determination of headings. caused by random hydrodynamic forces, Double acting tankers are different to precise and accurate manoeuvring. In addition to the unreliable gyro head- such as strong winds or currents and con- manoeuvre than normal tankers, explains In addition, the ice conditions in the ing information in the archipelago, the sequential drift. Captain Ari Inkinen, fleet manager, channel vary and can cause navigational conventional single-track GPS system Shipping companies operating in Neste Oil. aids to be submerged under the ice. being used, without backup, led to signifi- regions that are subject to harsh winters, This, he says, is due to the very flexible In the inner section of the channel there cant problems caused by the poor redun- such as the Arctic, Russia and several parts azipod propulsion system, which makes a is usually a 10 – 60 cm thick layer of fast dancy of satellite navigation and further of northern Europe, are additionally ship very handy to manoeuvre, not just in ice during the winter season. In view of decreased the security and reliability of exposed to the risk of thick layers of ice. If open water but also in port and during these conditions, there are speed limits of navigation in these confined waters. icebreakers are deployed shipping compa- berthing operations. 28 km/h and even 22 km/h in parts of the Manoeuvring double acting tankers, nies incur additional costs for their services. With this propulsion system, tugs are channel. Capt Inkinen points out, poses additional In order to avoid these expenses, dou- typically not needed for assist in berthing In addition, vessels with a draft close to challenges of its own, as these large and ble acting tankers (DAT) have been devel- and port manoeuvres, says Capt Inkinen. the maximum authorised draft are heavy vessels have a huge mass. oped. Oil tankers built according to these The DAT vessels feature a bulbous requested to beware of shoals and causing Neste Shipping has noted irregularities specifications are designed to travel ahead bow, which is designed for conventional squat in a number of areas. in the doppler log in the past, caused by in open water but are also capable of voyages through open water. Only if the In essence, navigation in the narrow propeller currents and sediment move- passages of the Naantali channel requires ments under the ship in shallow waters. special attention and caution due to both This especially hampered the berthing and the geographic peculiarities and the heavy unberthing processes, and side movement traffic. speed figures were not reliable, jumping up to 0.8 knots and occasionally even Improving reliability and more. security In order to improve the reliability of As Capt Inkinen points out, accurate navigation and make the manoeuvring speed and course information are very process more secure, Neste Shipping important, especially within the con- decided to implement a new solution. strained conditions in the narrow water- A number of important prerequisites ways, and concerns about the safety and influenced the selection process. As Capt reliability of its standard manoeuvring Inkinen recalls, it was important that its systems drove the shipping company to vessels were capable of independent oper- investigate alternatives. ation under Baltic ice conditions, but in Prior to the implementation of the azi- addition a new system would be required pod propulsion system, Neste Shipping to significantly improve the positioning. used a regular manoeuvring solution on “For Neste Shipping it was highly its conventional vessels, namely a Becker important to be able to better assess the rudder and one CPP propeller, as well as distance of fore and aft to the berth in additional bow thrusters. order to improve the ship’s aligned posi- The ice-class tanker MT Tempera has installed a precision positioning system The navigation solution was part of an tion,” notes Capt Inkinen. to assist with manoeuvring integrated bridge system, and navigation “However, what most was important to
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In addition, explains Capt Inkinen, the ly. “There were no problems during the vessel’s officers are skilled in handling installation process,” he notes. new technology and are motivated to seek During the implementation, the master improvements with regards to improving and crew of the MT Tempera were safety and fuel economy. The MT instructed on the operation of the Tempera’s integrated bridge was also manoeuvring solution and were able to being upgraded during that time and the familiarise themselves with the new sys- installation of Marinestar MS could be tem. Neste Shipping was pleased with the conveniently included in this work. initial training that was provided by the The implementation of the hardware software supplier. and software components was scheduled “Our staff,” says Capt Inkinen, during a maintenance stoppage of a few “received a very comprehensive familiari- days at the Turku STX shipyard in sation and training during the installation Finland. Neste Shipping, explains Capt of the new navigation solution and our Inkinen, availed itself of the assistance of ship’s officers had good discussions with yard technicians in order to secure the the Fugro service personnel.” accurate alignment of the inclinometer After the implementation, the MT sensor. Tempera underwent a four month trial As mentioned earlier, the navigation period during which the double acting system requires the installation of two tanker performed a total of 19 voyages antennas on each ves- MT Tempera is a double acting tanker (DAT) capable of breaking through thick layers of ice sel, one at the stern and one at the bow, as well us, was to quickly obtain accurate infor- Whereas GPS (global positioning sys- as a display system for mation about the ship’s sideway speed at tem), which is maintained by the US gov- general navigation and fore and aft.” ernment, is the most widely used position- manoeuvring. As an additional benefit, Neste ing solution, GLONASS (Globalnaya This display shows Shipping wanted the new system to pro- Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema/ information such vide accurate online trim information. Global Navigation Satellite System, a as heading, rate of turn, “This,” Capt Inkinen explains, “is a radio-based satellite navigation system speed over new feature for us and gives us informa- operated by the Russian Aerospace the ground in both the Time is of tion about the ship’s trimming in different Defence Forces) is able to provide a back- fore and aft water depths and under different speeds.” up for the GPS system. and athwart ship’s “We hope that the constant adjustment The redundant positioning method is directions, and can the Essence of the trim, even underway, will directly said to offer high accuracy, in centimetre- be positioned anywhere impact the fuel oil consumption.” range. As Fugro points out, IMO has rec- on the ship, including at !$/.)3 4(% ',/"!, (5-!. 2%3/52#% 3/,54)/. As well as these requirements, there ommended such redundancy through the conning position were three other main conditions that Res. MSC 115 (73), which states: “A com- and the bridge wings. influenced the selection process. bined receiver, when compared to either The shipping compa- Besides the proven capability of pro- the GPS or GLONASS receiver, offers ny had been advised by viding accurate course information, Neste improved availability, integrity, accuracy Fugro to make advance Shipping required a suitable provider to and resistance to interference.” preparations, and as be a well-known and experienced compa- Fugro says that its combined systems such fibre optic cable ny from Europe with an economically sta- should also help to improve the availabili- had been installed from ble background, and able to offer reliable ty of satellite navigation in situations the forward part of the equipment. Another highly important where parts of the sky are obscured, such ship to the bridge, and attribute was the availability of a back-up as in cases close to obstructions or during from the aft mast system for GPS. ionospheric scintillations. to the bridge. “The reason, why we chose Fugro is Reliability is also improved through In addition, power quite simple,” notes Capt Inkinen. redundancy of data sources (using addi- supplies had been “We had had some co-operation with tional lines of position), to help to identify arranged and designat- s 7EB 2ECRUITMENT s #REW -ANAGEMENT Fugro beforehand. Neste had two shuttle incorrect measurements. Ultimately, using ed locations for the s 0AYROLL s #REW 0LANNING s #OURSE 3CHEDULER tankers operating on dynamic positioning a higher number of satellites improves receiver installation had s #OMPETENCE -ATRIX s $OCUMENTS (ANDLING systems on North Sea oil fields. We oper- geometry calculations and is expected to been checked. s -AIL -ERGE s #REW 3TATION "ILL s #REW %FFECTS ated DARPS/DGPS/SPOTBEAM as a lead to improved accuracy. Mounting brackets position reference system on dynamic The integrated GPS/GLONASS were also pre-fabricated positioning.” receives information from Fugro’s differ- for the final antenna #REW 0ORTAL WITH 4IME !TTENDANCE “The positive experience our company ential corrections service using a spot installation. has made with Fugro encouraged us to beam antenna. The service utilises the GPS “The final installa- stick with the provider. We did not have L1 and L2 frequencies and the GLONASS tion,” notes Capt Automatic ship-shore replication to look into other solutions.” L1 and L2 frequencies, and uses the orbit Inkinen, “was carried of crew and payroll information. and clock method for calculating correc- out by Fugro engineers. New technology tions for each individual satellite. All the preparations For more information, visit www.adonis.no With its Marinestar Manoeuvring System According to Fugro this should provide made it possible to com- (MS), Fugro has developed a navigation a high integrity, global solution with a plete the installation solution designed to aid vessel positioning horizontal accuracy of 10 cm (95 per cent). work in only three in confined waters. Additional functions days.” of the manoeuvring software include a Testing the system After carrying out docking tool, a quay drift and squat alarm In order to test the suitability of the hardware installa- system, as well as the capability to send Marinestar MS for the company’s pur- tion, Fugro implement- information to optimise the vessels’ trim pose, Neste Shipping agreed with Fugro ed its Marinestar MS while at sea. on a trial phase and the software system software, from which The solution is based on a differential was implemented on the double acting position and course global navigation satellite system tanker MT Tempera in June 2011. information are fed into (DGNSS), which uses two independent The MT Tempera was chosen for the the ship’s integrated differential GPS and GLONASS receivers trial because, as a very large vessel, it navigation system. installed on a vessel – one fore and one aft, needs accurate information when navigat- Capt Inkinen recalls for redundant positioning. These widely ing in the narrow fairways of the archipel- that this aspect of the spaced DGNSS receivers are able to share ago and while manoeuvring in port or implementation was differential corrections with each other. during the berthing process. also carried out smooth-
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
through the Finnish archipelago, mainly at the main benefits for us.” oil consumption. The Marinestar display account the coordinates of the quay that Gulf of Finland, from Primorsk to Porvoo Fugro’s system uses two GNSS posi- presents the actual trim graphically along- are fed in from an accurate chart, or from /Naantali, and in the Baltic Sea / North tions to calculate the heading, speed dis- side the speed and provides an option to tools like Google Earth. However, when Sea area. tance measuring equipment and a rate of configure the optimum trim values. this method is used the accuracy is limited Due to the very short sea voyages (12 to turn indicator. As such it can be used as a “The Marinestar trim display,” points to meter level. 20 hrs.) and 1:1 rotation, the entire crew of substitute for conventional navigation out Capt Inkinen, “has proven to show “The docking function,” says Capt the MT Tempera was able to familiarise aids, such as gyro compass, Doppler log accurate data. Being able to calculate the Inkinen, “supports our bridge staff in their itself with the system, explains Capt over ground and rate of turn indicator, ship’s trim whilst underway at sea is very evaluation of speed forward and exact dis- Inkinen. But despite the fact that the says Capt Inkinen. helpful. For us, this is especially useful in tance to obstacles, thereby improving effi- implementation on the vessel went ciency and safety in berthing operations. smoothly, the shipping company faced This is especially of benefit for large ves- a number of initial problems that sels, where the view of the bow from the were mostly related to software and bridge is not very good.” parameter settings. Despite the fact that the implementa- “However, we were very happy tion on the vessel went smoothly, a few with the way that problems were dealt hurdles remain to be overcome. with from the supplier side,” recalls Among the more pressing issues is the Capt Inkinen. fact that the signal breaks when the vessel “Solutions were quickly made available passes under a bridge at the Great Belt, from Fugro’s support. New parts were says Capt Inkinen. In addition, Neste sent out and received very quickly and Shipping has experienced problems with software updates were sent almost the navigation system in DAT mode. instantaneously via e-mail. Also, the “So far, the solution is not working cor- instructions from the support were very rectly when a vessel is sailing in clear and precise.” DAT mode,” Capt Inkinen notes, “but we “The regular support is fast and very hope that Fugro will be able to fix this reliable. Updates are usually sent via problem soon.” e-mail within 24 hours from request. This Although Neste Shipping is mostly sat- has been important to Neste Shipping isfied with the precision and accuracy of and we appreciate that we can rely on the information, Capt Inkinen points out Fugro to be there.” that the manoeuvring solution still needs The crew’s reaction to the new manoeu- some improvement. For example, the vring solution has also been mostly shipping company would like to see a positive. quicker reaction for sideway speed infor- “The Marinestar MS interface is very mation, he says. intuitive and ‘windows-like’,” says Capt In addition, there is still uncertainty Inkinen. about the accuracy of the rate of turn dis- “It is easy to use, if one has some basic play values, which Neste Shipping hopes computer skills. This fact has had an will be dealt with quickly. important share in the reception of the While Neste Shipping is largely satis- software through our seagoing staff.” fied with Marinestar’s benefits, the ship- ping company says it has, so far, not Benefits of the new Using both GPS and GLONASS satellites offers redundancy and realised the promoted increase in vessel solution greater accuracy in positioning speed through more precise navigation. After the four-month trial period was completed in October 2011, Neste Future requests and Shipping had established that the Fugro The Marinestar MS technology is fur- shallow waters.” developments Marinestar Manoeuvring System operated ther utilised by Neste Shipping to calcu- Currently, Neste Shipping has not Four months of thorough testing have led satisfactorily for its requirements. late and display the vessel’s actual trim made actual numbers available with Neste Shipping to plan a further imple- “Neste Shipping's overall experience whilst at sea. regards to fuel oil savings; however Fugro mentation of the Marinestar manoeuvring with the solution, which we use for navi- The trim of the vessel affects the total expects trim optimisation to generate sav- solution on the MT Tempera’s sister ves- gation, docking and dynamic trim, has resistance of the vessel through water and ings of between 2 per cent and 5 per cent sel, the MT Mastera. Overall, the shipping been very positive,” says Capt Inkinen. there are different optimum trim values of the annual fuel costs. company has expressed satisfaction with “The implementation has largely ful- for the various loading conditions and In addition, Neste Shipping is utilising the system. filled our expectations and brought most speeds. If the vessel is not sailing at or the Marinestar docking function, which is However, there are a number of of the aspired benefits.” near the optimum trim, it is experiencing designed to assist navigators align the amendments to the solution that Neste One of the key aims of implementing more resistance and thereby using more vessel by displaying real-time athwart Shipping would like to see for the future. the solution was to increase safety through power and fuel. ship’s and longitudinal distances to the The shipping company is hoping that reliability and redundancy; this has been The hull resistance, and consequently final berthing location from the bow and Fugro will improve the reliability of its soft- accomplished successfully. fuel oil consumption, is influenced by the the stern. ware under bridges, as well as adapting the “The biggest benefit en route,” Capt trim of the vessel in two ways. The shipping company particularly solution to make it fit for use in DAT mode. Inkinen explains, “is the increased The viscous resistance component is benefits from the countdown of the dis- In addition, the quality of the displays redundancy.” linked to the wetted hull surface, which tances to the quay side, which offer needs to improve as the currently used “The Marinestar MS device acts as an varies as the vessel changes trim. In addi- decimetre level accuracy, says Capt LCD technology offers a limited viewing additional position device and also pro- tion, the wave making resistance compo- Inkinen. This assists the navigator to bet- angle, says Capt Inkinen. vides very accurate heading data (includ- nent is linked to the bow and stern wave ter judge the approach speeds and quay Ultimately, Neste Shipping would ing rate of turn). This is currently used for pattern generated by the vessel. Waves distances and can help reduce the appreciate if officers on board could set an reference since the 'compass feature' is not created by the ship bow and stern lead to manoeuvring time. additional alarm for changes in the ship’s yet fully approved as an official ship’s higher fuel oil consumption. The software has two alternative ways position while berthed alongside. Display compass device.” Fugro’s dynamic trim module draws of calculating the quay distance. and alarm, Capt Inkinen says, should be To further aid the navigation and on the data necessary to calculate the Either the position of the quay is available in the cargo control room, which manoeuvring processes, the Marinestar dynamic trim of the ship from the two recorded during the first time the vessel is manned during a port stay. system presents a range of additional nav- sensors at the bow and stern. The actual berths at a location with high accuracy, Fugro is currently in the process of igational information, including ground trim is measured throughout the voyage and this information is stored and can be achieving full type approval for speeds and two measures of distance run. and compared to the optimum trim, which displayed during subsequent visits. In Marinestar MS as a transmitting heading “We appreciate the reliable and accu- depends on the design, the speed and addition, the recorded information can be device, rate of turn indicator as well as rate position reference for ship’s bridge the draft. shared with other vessels via e-mail and speed and distance measuring equipment. systems,” explains Capt Inkinen. If actual and optimum trim differ sig- those other vessels can use it from the first Whether Fugro will also be able to imple- “Accurate course information and nificantly, Neste Shipping can adjust time they berth at the quay. ment Neste’s requested changes in due accurate position information are among accordingly and optimise its bunker fuel Alternatively, the system can take into course, remains to be seen. DS
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Digital Ship Maritime IT at Posidonia The Posidonia exhibition, held every two years in Athens, Greece, is one of the biggest events in the maritime calendar, with vast halls of exhibitors showcasing every conceivable type of maritime service. A wide range of IT companies will be among them – Digital Ship asked some of them what they have to offer to visitors
Aage Hempel Datema monitoring and reporting, with GL matic LNB-pol angle control, and unlimit- Aage Hempel-Marine Electronics will Datema, part of the Nautical Safety FleetAnalyzer. ed azimuth to eliminate cable wrapping. showcase its services for maritime naviga- Group, was founded in 1955 and operates Additionally, GL SeaScout will be on Visit Intellian in Hall 4, at Stand 232. tion, communication and IT equipment at in the field of nautical data and nautical display, which uses hydrodynamic analy- Posidonia 2012. safety equipment. sis to minimise risk and help operators Jeppesen The company offers sales, installation The company offers electronic chart take better care of their vessels. Jeppesen, a Boeing company, will show- and repairs of these systems via its offices services such as Chartplanner, and was the Visit GL Maritime Software in Hall 4, at case its C-MAP Professional+ and C-MAP in Spain, Canary Islands, Gibraltar, Malta, first to introduce a pay-as-you-sail ENC Stand 105. ENC services at Posidonia 2012. Portugal, Morocco and Panama, carrying distribution service with the launch of The company says that these products, out more than 9,000 services per year. ENCTrack. More traditionally, Datema has Hellenic Radio Services when combined, provide what it calls a Aage Hempel is an official distributor also developed systems for the automatic Hellenic Radio Services will be exhibiting "dual fuel solution" for worldwide vector of Thrane & Thrane, JRC, Kelvin Hughes, supply of paper charts and publications. its satellite communication services, with chart coverage. Furuno, Raytheon-Anschutz and Jotron, Datema is also involved in the interna- products from Inmarsat and Iridium as Jeppesen also offers flexible ENC and an official service agent for a wide tional provision of safety and fire protec- well as VSAT packages, at Posidonia 2012. licensing solutions, including its upcom- range of manufacturers. It is also tion equipment for the shipbuilding In particular the company will show- ing Pay As You Sail (PAYS) solution approved for GMDSS Annual industry, offering additional advisory case the new XpressLink broadband serv- OpenENC, along with its existing Performance Tests (APT) by major inter- services to create packages suiting specific ice from Inmarsat, with its approved path- Dynamic Licensing and Direct Licensing national class societies, and offers VDR, installations. way to Inmarsat Global Xpress. options. AIS and SSAS services. Visit Datema in Hall 3, at Stand 113. In addition to satcoms the company is Also on show will be Jeppesen’s Visit Aage Hempel in Hall 2, at Stand 103. also offering tracking services, via Voyage and Vessel Optimization Solution, Fortune Technologies Polestar, and mobile services from used to improve ship operation efficiency ABS Nautical Systems Maritime software provider Fortune Vodafone. It will also exhibit telecommu- and safety, reduce fuel consumption, and ABS Nautical Systems will introduce its Technologies will be exhibiting at nication equipment and electronic naviga- improve ETA predictability, as well as the environmental management solutions to Posidonia 2012. tional devices such as Bridge Navigation C-MAP Weather Service, which offers support Ship Efficiency Management Founded in 2004, Fortune Technologies Watch & Alarm Systems and ECDIS. international weather forecasting includ- Plans (SEEMP) at Posidonia 2012. is a Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics- Hellenic Radio Services has offices ing real-time weather with tropical hurri- The company is offering two new sys- NAV Solutions partner and offers soft- located in Dubai and Miami, as well as in canes, ice fronts and sea conditions. tems which will provide the tools necessary ware for the management of operations Greece. Visit Jeppesen in Hall 1, at Stand 505. for demonstrating compliance with SEEMP. and specific shipping-business processes. Visit Hellenic Radio Services in Hall 1, at A new Energy & Environmental soft- Among the systems being showcased Stand 451. JRC ware module allows for the collection, will be a new operations module, new The JRC stand at Posidonia to will feature analysis and reporting of a vessel’s per- Bunkering functionality for the software, a Intellian the company’s latest generation multi- formance, efficiency, emissions and dis- Condition Based Maintenance application Intellian is showcasing its v110 VSAT function and navigation information dis- charges. It is fully integrated into the NS5 integrated with the company's Planned antenna at the Posidonia exhibition. plays. Enterprise platform or can be used as a Maintenance module, and a cloud services The 1.1m (43.3 in) 3-axis stabilised Ku- The 4.5-inch displays can be used as a stand-alone tool. solution. band antenna is designed to provide Multi Information Display (MID), speed It offers customised dashboards, ener- Visit Fortune Technologies in Hall 2, at access to a full spectrum of communica- log, (D)GPS and GPS compass, with full gy and environmental KPI reports, emis- Stand 525. tions services, and to withstand challeng- NMEA data share available for up to 10 sions monitoring and voyage manage- ing sea and weather conditions. displays. ment capabilities. Franman Intellian VSAT antennas have an open JRC will also introduce a new 4.5-inch Also on show, in partnership with Franman invites visitors to Posidonia 2012 platform design to ensure connectivity Class A AIS in line with this common dis- Herbert-ABS Software Solutions LLC, is a to its stand to discuss the latest trends in even when roaming, as they continuously play series mentioned. trim optimisation tool based on managing shipbuilding equipment and services. connect to global data communications The company’s second generation JUE- trim and draft as a way to help with the The company offers a range of services satellites. Users can monitor and control 251 FleetBroadband system will be dis- fuel efficiency of a vessel. related to shipbuilding equipment, spare the v110 from any location at any time. played for the first time, featuring a stan- Visit ABS Nautical Systems in Hall 3, at parts, service, risk management and con- Key features include built-in GPS, a dard interface and an advanced network Stand 101. sultancy. preloaded global satellite library, auto- router, as well as the new JUE-87 Inmarsat At the stand Franman will introduce Benefit Software executives from some of the various com- Benefit Software will present its latest panies it represents, as well as its three vessel and office applications at new partners Korval Co, a maker of cryo- Posidonia 2012. genic safety relief valves, Silla Metal Co, a The company offers ERP applications maker of FPP, CPP and propeller and with Class NK approval, featuring SOX intermediate shafts, and S & S Valve Co, compatibility and compliance with TMSA Ltd., a maker of safety valves. standards. Visit Franman in Hall 4, at Stands 108 Benefit will also introduce Clever-i, a & 109. new module allowing users access to information otherwise dispersed into the GL Maritime Software ERP system, at a glance. This system is GL Maritime Software will be showcasing available as an iPhone application for its fleet management software GL mobile access. ShipManager at Posidonia 2012. As a cloud-based platform, Benefit says The company's software system that the system reduces upfront invest- includes the use of 3D modelling of a ves- ment, does not involve per-user fees or sel to support hull integrity management, software installation costs, and ensures with GL HullManager, and an application flexible access to major ERP applications. for analysing incidents, accidents, near Visit Benefit Software in Hall 4, at Stand misses, NCs, deficiencies, and observa- 118. tions, as well as combining data for KPI Inspect the latest VSAT antennas at the Intellian stand
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
C, with an all-in-one messaging unit, a Marlink Otesat-Maritel newly designed antenna, added interfacing Marlink will showcase its WaveCall and Otesat-Maritel, a member of OTE Group, capabilities and a new set of accessories. Sealink services at Posidonia, which have will showcase its satellite telecommunica- Visit JRC in Hall 1, at Stand 117. recently been upgraded with the integra- tions services to the Greek and global mar- tion of iDirect’s Evolution X5 Satellite itime industries at Posidonia 2012. KVH Router and iDX 3.0 software. The company provides Inmarsat, KVH is highlighting the latest enhance- The company says that these upgrades Iridium and VSAT services, with integrat- ments to its mini-VSAT Broadband net- are a key element in addressing customer ed solutions combining satellite and ter- work at Posidonia, with the addition of requirements for increased bandwidth and restrial networks including GSM and global C-band coverage. more efficient voice and data connectivity. other information technologies. Evolution is based on DVB-S2 with At the exhibition Otesat-Maritel will Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM), introduce its new products and services, providing bandwidth efficiency gains including Inmarsat Xpress Link, as well as over legacy systems. C-band and Ku-band VSAT services, and ACM helps to ensure maximum service the new Iridium Pilot product. uptime for maritime vessels by automati- Also on show will be the company’s cally adjusting signal strength to over- value added services for operations and come rain or solar fade outages. crew, including s@tGate and MailOnBoard. Marlink will also launch a new stan- Visit Otesat-Maritel in Hall 1, at Stand 201. The Marliant server will be on show at the dard VSAT offer during the Posidonia Netwave Systems stand exhibition which it says will provide Raytheon Anschütz improved flexibility for customers. Raytheon Anschütz, together with their Visit Marlink in Hall 4, at Stand 130. (LAN's) and workstations on the vessel, as Greece distributor Aegean Electronics, well as offering solid state end-user thin will display its range of navigation sys- NetU clients. tems at this year’s Posidonia. NetU, the Infor partner for Greece and The company will also display its The exhibit features the new genera- Cyprus, will be presenting its software Voyage Data Recorder systems, already tion of Synapsis Multifunctional KVH will showcase combined solutions for shipping at Posidonia 2012. installed on more than 5,500 ships. Workstations, including Synapsis (Chart-) Ku/C-band systems This will include its accounting and Visit Netwave Systems in Hall 2, at Radar, Synapsis ECDIS and Synapsis financial management offering Stand 313. Conning workstations. These systems are SunSystems, a combination of accounting KVH’s Ku-band mini-VSAT Broadband and financials software applications. coverage, delivered by 14 transponders, Also on show will be the company’s has been complemented by three addi- financial and management reporting sys- tional global C-band spot beams brought tems, including its Query & Analysis online to overlay the Ku-band network, reporting software tool which allows covering 95 per cent of the globe and pro- desktop applications to create and analyse viding redundant backup connectivity. reports on targeted information, high- To deliver the new service, KVH is lighting trends and patterns. introducing the TracPhone V11 dual- Visit NetU in Hall 2, at Stand 111. mode C/Ku-band antenna, which will be on display at the exhibition. The company Netwave Systems says that this 1 meter antenna is more than Netwave will showcase its MarLiant 85 per cent smaller than other global C- 8000AS ruggedized redundant on-board band antennas, and can seamlessly switch IT server platform at Posidonia 2012. between satellites using a single below The fully redundant server includes deck unit. double servers, network switches, UPS’s, KVH will be making a presentation battery back-up and solid state disk stor- about its service in the conference hall at age management modules enabling auto- 17:30 on 7 June, 2012. matic switch-over. Visit KVH in Hall 1, at Stand 332. It can be used to manage local networks Try Raytheon’s Synapsis bridge at its exhibit Future Events 2012
DIGITAL SHIP HONG KONG DIGITAL SHIP KOREA DIGITAL SHIP ATHENS 10-11 OCTOBER 2012 30-31 OCTOBER 2012 27-28 NOVEMBER 2012 KITEC, HONG KONG BEXCO, BUSAN METROPOLITAN HOTEL, ATHENS
Interested in exhibiting or sponsoring? Please contact Ria Kontogeorgou +44 20 7017 3401 [email protected]
For Korea and Japan- based companies contact: Youngsuk Park +44 20 7017 3408 [email protected]
Digital Ship Limited, 2nd Floor, 8 Baltic Street East, London EC1Y 0UP, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7253 2700 Fax: +44 (0)20 7251 9179 www.thedigitalship.com
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Digital Ship
ing ECDIS mandate. presenting its range of shipboard The Workshops will take place at the communications solutions at Posidonia Main Entrance Meeting Room at 2012. Posidonia on the 5th (11.00hrs), 6th Among them will be ShipSat, a net- (16.00hrs), 7th (11.00hrs) and 8th June 2012 work management system that controls (11.00hrs). Attendance is free, but spaces the communications link, offering are limited and anyone wishing to attend protection for the network as well as should register via the Admiralty website. crew communications and entertain- The Admiralty team of experts will also ment capabilities. be available at the company's stand to World-Link Communications was demonstrate the Admiralty e-Navigator established in 1989 and is a Gold product, and answer any questions on the partner of Inmarsat. The company The Navi-Trainer Professional 5000 from Transas will be on display transition to digital navigation. currently serves a fleet of more than Visit the UKHO in Hall 1, at Stand 403. 1,200 vessels worldwide, with represen- based on a single system architecture to 2012, with the aim of helping shipping tative offices in Athens, Cyprus, Miami, provide scalability from a stand-alone sys- managers plan for the integration of World-Link St. Petersburg, and Buenos Aires in tem to a fully integrated workplace. digital navigation into bridge operations Communications Argentina. The navigation system includes other to meet the requirements of the upcom- World-Link Communications will be Visit World-Link in Hall 2, at Stand 315. recently developed functions, such as a new weather overlay for ECDIS. In addition to the navigation worksta- tions, Raytheon Anschütz will highlight its new CAN-bus based steering control system. NautoSteer AS was developed in Visit us in Hall 1, stand no. 1202 accordance with fail-to-safe principles, with a range of integrated features, allow- ing the fuel-saving Anschütz autopilot NP FURUNO type specific ECDIS training for professional mariners 5000 and the Anschütz gyro compass - available at FURUNO INS Training Centers in Denmark and Singapore Standard 22 to integrate into the system. Visit Raytheon Anschütz in Hall 1, at Stand 315. FURUNO INS Training Centers assist you in meeting the requirements for FURUNO type specific ECDIS training. At our FURUNO INS Training Center in Denmark we SpecTec also offer generic ECDIS training in compliance with IMOIM Model Course 1.27 The SpecTec Group will showcase its AMOS Vessel Management software sys- tem and associated services at Posidonia 2012. The AMOS software allows users to manage and control all technical and doc- umentation aspects of their maintenance, spare parts and stock control, as well as procurement, Quality and Safety docu- mentation, voyage management and per- sonnel management. SpecTec has been in business for 27 years, and has more than 6,500 active installations of its systems. These are serv- iced through 24 offices in 19 countries. Visitors to Posidonia are invited to the company's stand for a demonstration of the software. Visit SpecTec in Hall 2, at Stand 313. Transas During Posidonia, Transas Marine will showcase its range of ECDIS solutions, including official data, service support and training through the company’s glob- al network. The new 4-level ECDIS concept from Transas includes the IMO compliant Standard, Standard+, Premium and Premium+ product packages, which fea- ture Transas’ Navi-Sailor software. Each package includes a number of standard features, with a range of additional options also available. The company has also launched a ‘Pay As You Sail’ service for (S)ENCs, approved by PRIMAR and IC-ENC after successful sea trials and verified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Transas will also showcase its Navi- Trainer Professional 5000 simulator at the FURUNO INSTC Denmark FURUNO INSTC Singapore exhibition. Hammerholmen 44-48 • DK-2650 Hvidovre • Denmark No. 17, Loyang Lane • Singapore 508917 Visit Transas in Hall 4, at Stand 303. Phone: +45 36 77 40 12 • Fax: +45 36 77 85 58 Phone: +65 6745 8472 • Fax: + 65 6747 1151 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] UKHO www.furuno.com The UKHO is bringing its free Digital Integration workshops to Posidonia
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION The future of positioning
The impressive lack of problems over the lifetime of the Global Positioning System (GPS) has encouraged many to rely heavily on the technology. However, satellite-based navigation is inherently vulnerable, and the need for positioning back-up in critical situations shouldn’t be underestimated. Dr Andy Norris looks at the future of positioning
nowledge that the accuracy and base station. to give affordable accuracy. recognise many of the situations that availability of satellite based posi- Nevertheless, LF systems are also poten- For example, the US Defense Advanced cause positional problems, and to auto- KKtioning systems can be compro- tially appealing to many other navigational Research Projects Agency announced in matically alert the user – and the INS – to mised by solar radiation, interference, sectors because of two particular character- April that they were studying the possibil- any possible problem. jamming, ionospheric anomalies and istics. The first is that high accuracy timing ity of using micro-sized ‘atomic’ inertial Perhaps the fitting of such intelligent many other effects has been known ever is a built-in feature, enabling them to truly orientation sensors to work in conjunction GNSS receivers should also become a since the early days of GPS and meet the requirements of a position, navi- with existing inertial chips, specifically as shorter term objective of the legislators. GLONASS, back in the 1980s. gation and timing (PNT) system. a backup to GPS. If GNSS becomes unavailable or very Consequently, training for profession- Secondly, the low frequencies used Inertial systems are not reliant on any inaccurate, the system would be able to al navigators and guidelines for casual have quite different strengths and weak- outside communications, making them help the navigator maintain safe naviga- users highlight the problems of over- nesses to the microwave transmissions of impervious to jamming and interference. tion but it would require regular radar reliance on GNSS and the strategies that GNSS – in particular they are ground hug- Also, apart from physical damage, they and optical LOPs to be manually or semi- should be employed to always maintain ging and can also penetrate buildings, both appear to be very resistant to all naturally automatically input into the INS. safe navigation. This is true in all sectors, aspects making LF systems an attractive occurring and human initiated effects. This is where a second positional not just maritime. option for many land-based requirements. Unfortunately, it is likely to be many source would certainly help matters. It The lack of significant incidents attrib- Unfortunately, despite the apparent years before these can be made viable and would also assist the INS to quickly iden- utable to these weaknesses, at least to date, advantages of an LF hyperbolic system, available to the commercial marine market. tify discrepancies in position, although the perhaps contributes to a low political In fact, the timescales to get any serious human navigator may still need to asses interest in establishing a technology based positional backup in place are really quite which positional source was in error. solution that will remove the need for con- long, when taking into account technical stant user diligence. issues and the necessary international The navigator’s role In any case, getting agreement on a processes. With the increased use of ECDIS there is a globally common system is probably not It would therefore not be at all surpris- fear that many navigators will accept the achievable. The ideal backup heavily ing to find in 10 years time that most ships ship’s indicated position on the chart depends on the specific application, the do not have a second positional source, without questioning its veracity. required minimum accuracy and also on other than a multiple GNSS capability. Ironically, acceptance of this position local factors, such as the general topology What is more likely within these will be an increasingly correct assumption of the area in which it is to be used. timescales is that many ships would have when multi-system GNSS receivers in a This is unfortunate for the maritime an integrated navigation system (INS) fit- redundant configuration are in common world because a good technological solu- ted as part of the initial implementation of use on vessels. tion that would generally meet its global IMO’s e-Navigation programme. It is this This inevitable tendency can be coun- requirements is embedded within technology that may provide the pragmat- tered by an appropriately designed INS enhanced low frequency (LF) hyperbolic ic solution for the immediate future. operating in conjunction with an intelli- positioning systems, such as eLoran. gent GNSS, which would generally be able E-Navigation INS to automatically alert an unaware naviga- LF hyperbolic systems In some minds, INS is mainly a system that tor to a potential problem. The major advantage of LF is the long dis- can show various optimally designed dis- The INS would subsequently consider- tances that can be achieved from a base plays to suit the immediate navigational ably help the OOW with the safe naviga- transmitter. This means that relatively few The aerial array at Anthorn, UK, site of the situation, but a main purpose is to provide tion of the vessel, using automatic estimat- ground stations are required – but unfor- country’s first eLoran transmitter. Photo © integrity information concerning essential ed position techniques, assisted by user- tunately hugely more than the few tens of Phil Williams navigational data, such as position, speed, provided visual and radar LOPS. satellites required to give global GNSS course, heading and even depth. The OOW will have to remain a ‘navi- coverage. especially for maritime use, it is unlikely This particular function of an INS effec- gating’ navigator and not a ‘monitoring’ Appropriately enhanced, it can give an that there will ever be international sup- tively compares the inputs from all the navigator, at least until there are two back- accuracy of 10 metres in critical areas such port for its introduction – it does not solve vessel’s navigational sensors, including up sources to GNSS available that cover as port approaches, around 20-100 metres the issues for all sectors, the infrastructure log and gyro, and highlights any discrep- the whole route – which is a long way into in non-enhanced coastal areas and gener- is relatively expensive and there are per- ancies to the navigator. the future. ally about 1 NM mid-ocean. All this can be ceived environmental issues. It can accept inputs from any naviga- An INS, supplemented by intelligent achieved from land-based stations. tional sensor, including from future posi- multi-system GNSS receivers, certainly Such a performance is very matched to Alternative systems tional systems such as those previously appears to be a viable route for the more the practical requirements for a maritime The difficulties of getting international mentioned. immediate future. Its implementation is positional back-up system. acceptance of an LF hyperbolic system Importantly, it would immediately technically and politically straightforward However, its base stations require rela- into the maritime world is accelerating the improve the integrity and functionality of and it appears to be generally future proof. tively expensive high powered transmit- exploration of other potential solutions. today’s basic navigational fit, without When alternatives to GNSS position ters and extremely tall radio masts. In particular, these include the use of needing additional positional sensors. eventually become available, the INS will Although their spacing could be automatic radar-based positioning sys- A significant GNSS inaccuracy would be better able to determine whether there approaching 1,000 kilometres, it would tems and also automatic fixing on ‘signals be automatically highlighted to the user is a positional problem and then continue require much international cooperation to of opportunity’, such as existing radio, TV by such a system, although it is true that a to provide a useable position to the navi- get even a regional service underway. and telecommunications transmissions. more slowly evolving positional error gator and the ship’s systems. Very importantly, the optimum posi- It will be interesting to see if these stud- could remain undetected. Conversely, a strategy based on initial- tioning of transmitting masts may be ies lead to viable alternatives, although In fact, using today’s technology and ly achieving a backup system to GNSS entirely unacceptable to close-by residents there do appear to be significant practical understanding it is not particularly diffi- appears to have insurmountable prob- for visual reasons and the fear of high drawbacks when compared to an LF cult for GNSS receivers to be designed to lems, at least for the foreseeable future. DS powered electromagnetic radiation, both hyperbolic system. politically sensitive issues. Particularly in the military field, there Dr Andy orris has been well-known in the maritime navigation industry for a Where 10 metres accuracy is required, is an increasing interest in the possible use number of years. He has spent much of his time managing high-tech navigation additional differential stations are needed, of high accuracy lightweight inertial sen- companies but now he is working on broader issues within the navigational although their cost and environmental sors. They are perhaps poised to provide world, providing both technical and business consultancy to the industry, gov- impact is significantly less than that of a an optimum answer if they can be shown ernmental bodies and maritime organizations. Email: [email protected]
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