S S atellite communications provider NSSLGlobal has completed the in-service installation of 60 VSAT systems for the Teekay Shipping tanker fleet. The ships will now have access to NSSLGlobal’s CruiseIP Ku-band service, which offers data speeds of up to 4 Mbps on a near-global basis. The installations are the result of a communications project dating back to early 2011, when Teekay began a tender process with the aim of imple- menting broadband services on 40 of its tanker vessels. The company’s list of criteria in choosing a new system included coverage in various different regions of the world, as well as secure con- nectivity to integrate with its corpo- rate VPN. Additional operational applica- tions, such as remote access for mar- itime diagnostic applications like engine and cargo monitoring, were required, as well as access for seafar- ers for crew welfare purposes. Teekay also stipulated that the winning tender would be required to complete installation of the VSAT systems within six to nine months, without interfering with the vessels’ normal operations. Onboard set-up The VSAT network implemented onboard the Teekay ships includes an NSSLGlobal Cruise Control Unit and Gateway device, which is used to manage the communications and control access to the system. The Fleet Manager and Captain are able to control the network them- selves, allowing them to implement Teekay’s own Corporate IT and Communications policy. Separate policies are applied to the Corporate and the Crew Welfare net- works, with an accelerated and pri- oritised VPN for corporate traffic. Secure remote access protocols have been initiated to allow autho- rised Teekay personnel to remotely connect to the ship to run the diag- nostic applications specified during the tender, like the Honeywell e-serv- er system used by Teekay for engine and cargo monitoring. Remote diagnostics and control of the onboard VSAT system itself is managed by the NSSLGlobal Network Operations Centre. Beam switching is done automati- cally onboard, as is least cost switching between alternative satellite bearers, such as Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband IN THIS ISSUE O c t o b e r 2 0 1 2 electronics and navigation continued on page 2 software satcoms Laser communications satellite system launched – 4 Unlimited FleetBroadband set for launch – 12 Vizada no more as Astrium rises – 16 Making the move to broadband at Reederei Bockstiegel – 18 SIS partnership with StormGeo – 24 Volaris acquires SpecTec – 26 Seagull seals acquisition deal – 28 Is big always beautiful? – 32 VSAT installed on 60 Teekay tankers Wallem installs new bridge simulator – 37 New container ship design to save $3m in fuel – 40 Harnessing optical technology for navigation – Dr Andy Norris – 42 Teekay has recently completed the roll-out of a new Ku-band VSAT system to 60 ships in its tanker fleet, provided by NSSLGlobal Installation of the VSAT systems was required to be completed within six to nine months under the agreement. Photo: Teekay (+47) 77 62 19 00 or [email protected]www.dualog.com Eitzen Chemical operates, overall, around 80 chemical tankers. Based in Copenhagen, Capt Søren Krarup-Jensen heads up Marine HR. “Dualog Connection Suite is the corporate platform for communication with our ships. At the same time it provides our crew members with private e-mail accounts without any adminis- tration on our part”, says Captain Krarup-Jensen. “Dualog provided the combination of flexibility and control we were looking for – independent of satellite communication systems and airtime vendors”, adds Krarup-Jensen. “Improved Crew Welfare” Søren G. Krarup-Jensen, General Manager, Crew & Marine HR, Eitzen Chemical www.reformstudio.no
Transcript
SS atellite communicationsprovider NSSLGlobal hascompleted the in-service
installation of 60 VSAT systems forthe Teekay Shipping tanker fleet.
The ships will now have access toNSSLGlobal’s CruiseIP Ku-bandservice, which offers data speeds ofup to 4 Mbps on a near-global basis.
The installations are the result of acommunications project dating backto early 2011, when Teekay began atender process with the aim of imple-menting broadband services on 40 ofits tanker vessels.
The company’s list of criteria inchoosing a new system includedcoverage in various different regionsof the world, as well as secure con-nectivity to integrate with its corpo-rate VPN.
Additional operational applica-tions, such as remote access for mar-itime diagnostic applications likeengine and cargo monitoring, wererequired, as well as access for seafar-ers for crew welfare purposes.
Teekay also stipulated that thewinning tender would be required tocomplete installation of the VSAT
systems within six to nine months,without interfering with the vessels’normal operations.
Onboard set-upThe VSAT network implementedonboard the Teekay ships includes anNSSLGlobal Cruise Control Unit andGateway device, which is used tomanage the communications andcontrol access to the system.
The Fleet Manager and Captainare able to control the network them-selves, allowing them to implementTeekay’s own Corporate IT andCommunications policy.
Separate policies are applied to theCorporate and the Crew Welfare net-works, with an accelerated and pri-oritised VPN for corporate traffic.
Secure remote access protocolshave been initiated to allow autho-rised Teekay personnel to remotelyconnect to the ship to run the diag-nostic applications specified duringthe tender, like the Honeywell e-serv-er system used by Teekay for engineand cargo monitoring.
Remote diagnostics and control ofthe onboard VSAT system itself ismanaged by the NSSLGlobalNetwork Operations Centre.
Beam switching is done automati-cally onboard, as is least cost switchingbetween alternative satellite bearers,such as Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband
IN THIS ISSUE
October 2012
electronics and navigation
continued on page 2
software
satcomsLaser communications satellite system launched – 4
Unlimited FleetBroadband set for launch – 12
Vizada no more as Astrium rises – 16Making the move tobroadband at ReedereiBockstiegel – 18
SIS partnership with StormGeo – 24
Volaris acquires SpecTec – 26
Seagull seals acquisition deal – 28
Is big always beautiful? – 32
VSAT installed on 60 Teekay tankers
Wallem installs newbridge simulator – 37
New container shipdesign to save $3min fuel – 40Harnessing optical technology fornavigation – Dr Andy Norris – 42
Teekay has recently completed the roll-out of a new Ku-band VSAT system to 60 ships in its tanker fleet, provided by NSSLGlobal
Installation of the VSAT systems was required to be completed within six to nine months under the agreement. Photo: Teekay
Eitzen Chemical operates, overall, around 80 chemical tankers. Based in Copenhagen, Capt Søren Krarup-Jensen heads up Marine HR. “Dualog Connection Suite is the corporate platform for communication with our ships. At the same time it provides our crew members with private e-mail accounts without any adminis-tration on our part”, says Captain Krarup-Jensen.
“Dualog provided the combination of fl exibility and control we were looking for – independent of satellite communication systems and airtime vendors”, adds Krarup-Jensen.
“Improved Crew Welfare”Søren G. Krarup-Jensen, General Manager, Crew & Marine HR, Eitzen Chemical
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SATCOMS
Digital Ship October 2012 page 2
Vol 13 No 2
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Installation of the systems onboard hadto follow a flexible schedule, to cater for lastminute changes in vessel itineraries and tocope with occasions when the vessels wereonly in port for a very short period.
NSSLGlobal notes that, working withTeekay, it managed to complete the roll-out programme on time and on budget,and as a result of this success Teekaydecided to extend the project from the ini-tial 40 ships to a total of 60 vessels.
ResultsIn the time since the first of the systemswere installed, Teekay has seen anincreased level of communication betweenthe vessels and its customers, vendors and
port authorities, and an improvement inoperational efficiency due to the greateraccess to vessel information it now enjoys.
The performance of remote and onlinediagnostics has made maintenance anddata collection easier, while online accessto port information, weather updates andother databases has improved vessel voy-age performance.
Crew communication has also changedsignificantly, with access to internet andsocial media applications, includingSkype, Facebook and YouTube, now typi-cal onboard.
In addition, the companies’ seafarershave been able to use the system to complete training online, via web portal or webcam.
“Thanks to people involved in the
process leading up to awarding the contract, Teekay had a very clear idea ofwhat was required for the success of thisproject,” said Zoran Jenlenovic, director ofmarine and technical assurance for Teekay.
“NSSLGlobal’s proven record in pro-viding ‘in service’ installations alongside24 hour remote support was one of the keyelements in our award of contract.”
“During the implementation phase, wequickly developed a close working rela-tionship with the NSSL project teamwhich meant that we were confident that,despite quite aggressive project goals andtargets, the challenge of changes to thevessels’ programme with often only a dayor at most two in port, NSSLGlobal wereable to deliver the desired solution on timeand on budget.” DS
www.globalstar.com
Globalstar and launch services providerArianespace have settled a payment dis-pute between the companies which willsee the fourth launch campaign under thecompanies’ current Launch ServicesAgreement go ahead.
The companies’ settlement covers theadditional amounts that Globalstar willpay to cover costs associated with thedelays experienced during three priorlaunch campaigns.
The dispute had thrown the fourthlaunch into doubt after launch providerArianespace served notice of a default onpayments.
In an August 9 filing to the USSecurities and Exchange Commission,Globalstar admitted that this notice hadbeen received, and that it could affect theplanned launch, which was expected laterthis year.
The company's statement said:“In August 2012, (Globalstar) received
notification of payment default fromArianespace. Based on the terms and conditions of the amended and restatedcontract, Arianespace is entitled to sus-pend any and all of its activities in prepa-ration of the fourth launch if (Globalstar)does not make payment in full within 15 days.”
“If payment is not made within 60days, Arianespace is entitled to terminatethe contract, which would be an event ofdefault under the Facility Agreement.”
The Facility Agreement in this caserefers to Globalstar's funding arrange-ments, which could be threatened by afailure to launch the new satellites.
However, with the companies havingsince reached agreement, the launch is setto go ahead.
Globalstar says that it now anticipatesthat satellite manufacturer Thales AleniaSpace will complete the Pre-ShipmentReviews of the final six spacecraft pur-chased under the terms of its 2009 contractshortly and that, once completed, thefourth launch campaign can begin.
Due to available launch windows andthe upcoming end-of-year holiday season,the company says that the fourth launch isnow anticipated in early 2013.
Globalstar has also entered into a further agreement with Thales AleniaSpace France for the manufacture anddelivery of six additional satellites for the Globalstar second-generation constellation.
The purchase price for the six satellites,certain software upgrades and relatedservices is €149.9 million, payable over 34months after the first payment based onThales reaching construction milestones.
Performance under the contract isdependent upon Globalstar obtainingfinancing for at least 85 per cent of the totalcontract price, among other conditions.
“We are only months away from com-pleting the fourth launch of our second-generation satellites to re-establishGlobalstar’s preeminent position withinthe mobile satellite industry,” said JayMonroe, chairman and chief executiveofficer of Globalstar.
“With our landline quality voice serv-ice, industry leading handset dataspeeds, high quality innovative M2Mdata solutions and low cost pricing plans, we are ready to mix it up in theMSS marketplace.”
Globalstar and Arianespace settle differences
Globalstar is now on course tocomplete the fourth launch in itssecond generation constellation.
Photo: Arianespace
www.maritimebroadband.com
Nordic American Tankers has installedthe Maritime Broadband C-Bird VSATsystem onboard the MT Nordic Aurora, a274-metre globally trading Suezmax crudecarrier built in 1999, in conjunction withthe vessel’s technical manager, HellespontShip Management.
The installation marks the beginning ofa 36-month contract for global C-bandsatellite services to be provided byMaritime Broadband to the ship.
The C-Bird was delivered as a kit to thevessel, without a shore crane beingrequired. The antenna was then assembledand installed onboard while at anchoragein Fos Sur Mer, France.
Preparation and fabrication of thepedestal took 48 hours, while a furtherfive hours of work was done by the crewof the Nordic Aurora and two MaritimeBroadband technicians to assemble the
C-Bird system.“We were able to install this system
ourselves without going to dry-dock oruse of floating cranes, as the equipment isnot heavy and it is modular,” notedDalibor Jalsovec, electrical superinten-dent, Hellespont Ship Management.
“The economics and logistics of C-Birdjust make sense doing the installationwhen the vessel is in service, for us astechnical managers of a tanker fleet.”
Frithjof Bettum, senior vice president– operations, Nordic American Tankers,also commented: “The choice to deployC-Bird was natural for us. We havealways-on internet within our existingbudget.”
“Coverage is global – which we expectwill provide operating benefits, supportthe crew and eliminate some surprises in our communication bills. The ease and low cost of installation is a great feature.”
Nordic Aurora installs C-Bird
p1-20:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 16:32 Page 2
Connections made simple.Thanks to SeaAccess™ from Harris CapRock, it’s never been easier to connect all the right people in all the right places.
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From an ultra-compact 60 cm C-band solution enabling phone and texting service, to a high-end passenger solution providing
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Leveraging more than a dozen self-owned and -operated international teleports, customer support centers and a worldwide
support team of more than 275 certified field technicians, we put it all together to deliver global communications you can
wireless spectrum, regeneration stations,multiple gateway facilities, and otherinfrastructure associated with RF communications.
Laser Light aims to commence thedevelopment of its OSS constellationimmediately, with the goal during 2013and 2014 being to engage in source selec-tion for the spacecraft, launcher, networkinterconnection, and distribution partners.
In addition, the company says it will alsoundergo a series of field tests.
Satellite and ground equipment manu-facturing, as well as the negotiation ofground facilities, is also expected to takeplace from 2013 through 2016.
The company says it then anticipatesdeployment of its OSS in the first quarterof 2017, with service availability expectedin mid-2017.
www.laserlightcomms.com
Laser Light, a company based in Virginia,US, has announced its intention to launchwhat it says will be the world's first commercial satellite communicationsconstellation based entirely on opticalwave technology.
The planned constellation is to be com-prised of 12 satellites, eight primary satel-lites and four spares, which will be placedin a Medium Earth Orbit at 10,500 km.
The company says that the networkwill have an operating system capacity of4.8 Tbps (terabits per second), includingsatellite-to-satellite optical crosslinks andsatellite-to-ground optical up/down linksof 200 Gbps.
One of the most interesting aspects ofthe system is that it will not rely on radiofrequency (RF) spectrum, as typically usedin maritime satellite communications.
Laser Light may rely on radio frequen-cies provided by its telemetry, tracking &control provider for initial satellitedeployment and check-in, but after satel-lite initial manoeuvring and acceptancethe system will rely solely on optical-wavetechnology to provide its services.
The network will use optical-waveStarBeam technology from Raytheon torun the Optical Satellite System [OSS],connecting to a global fibre network – terrestrial and undersea – to establish ameshed optical network that Laser Lightsays will offer connectivity options “pre-viously unattainable by other satelliteplatforms.”
The all optical-wave transmission inter-
Laser communications satellite system launched
Laser Light’s first launch will consist of four satellites. Photo: Laser Light
face platform will use Lightway accessnodes, optical wave receivers comprisingthe company's terrestrial ground segment,to enable compatible handoffs to terrestri-al optical fibre carriers.
This process will use the same equip-ment used in today's fibre optic industryso interconnection can take place at globalcollocation points.
The company notes that the OSS willnot convert optical signals to electrical sig-nals at any layer of its network, and thatconsequently there should be minimal, ifany, disruption due to evolution of trans-port technologies and protocols.
“Laser Light's potential service deliveryadvantage is made possible by thedecades of research conducted byRaytheon Company in the field of freespace optical lasers,” said Robert Brumley,senior managing director, Laser LightCommunications.
“Laser Light will benefit fromRaytheon's technology, engineeringexpertise and pending patents through anexclusive licensing agreement, enablingthe commercial communications marketto benefit from the deployment of thisnext-generation, highly complementaryall Optical Satellite System.”
Mr Brumley confirmed to Digital Shipthat the commercial markets the systemcould be applied to would also includemaritime, and that the communicationsservice could be deployed on oceangoingvessels with an appropriate antenna.
The company believes that its servicewill be cheaper than current or plannedsatellite services, as it does not require
Globe Wireless has promoted AlexVan Knotsenborg to senior VP of sales,taking on overall management of theGlobe Wireless international direct salesforce. Mr Van Knotsenborg has been withGlobe for 15 years, most recently workingas VP of sales, Europe.
Imtech Marine has opened anoffice in Santos, Brazil, providing thecompany with its own presence in theSouth American market in line with itsstrategy to extend its service network toall the world's major ports. A new officein Rio de Janeiro is also expected to fol-low shortly.
James Collett has joined Intelsat asdirector of mobility services productmanagement. Mr Collett was previously13 years at Inmarsat, where he wasmost recently senior director of maritimebusiness.
Globe’s new senior VP of sales, Alex Van Knotsenborg
James Collett has joined Intelsat
www.alphatronmarine.com
Alphatron Marine has introduced its newAlphaconnect Hybrid system, a telephonePABX with integrated IP facilitiesdesigned to be used on board ship.
The Alphaconnect 48/128 has beentype approved by DNV, and combinesthe company’s Alphaconnect technologywith other IP technologies to reduce thecabling typically required for telephonyonboard.
The Hybrid system offers 24 analogue
stations, expandable up to 256, and 24VoIP telephone ports, expandable up to500 with POE (Power over Ethernet).
Two VoIP to analogue voice channels,expandable up to eight, are also included,as well as analogue trunking to satellitecommunications, VoIP trunking to broad-band satellite services, and Wi-Fi accessfor connection of smartphones and forwireless configuration.
A dedicated app is available for config-uration of smartphone integration withthe network.
Hybrid ship PABX from Alphatron
www.omniaccess.com
VSAT provider OmniAccess reports that ithas expanded its network coverage in theremote French Polynesian islands in thePacific Ocean.
As a result, for the first time vesselstravelling in the region can use itsOmniAccess BroadBEAM ULTRA VSATservice.
The news follows the company’sinvestment into the opening of a high-capacity network on the Intelsat 18 satel-lite that first became operational inNovember 2011. This provides the capaci-ty to offer network services via the Ku-
band coverage over French Polynesia.Connection speeds of up to 20Mbps can
now be achieved in the region via theULTRA service following the coverageextension.
“Our new network on the unique beamof the Intelsat 18 satellite offers unparal-leled coverage with unprecedented powerand ideal elevation,” said Carlos Carbajal,managing director of yacht services atOmniAccess.
“It provides a significant improvementto the internet connectivity enjoyed bythose in French Polynesia and will revolu-tionise the internet experience of thosecruising in the region.”
OmniAccess expands coverage
p1-20:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 16:32 Page 4
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Digital Ship October 2012 page 6
SATCOMS
www.inmarsat.com
Eighty-two people have been rescuedfrom a stranded ship near Java afterauthorities were able to use positionalinformation from the onboard satellitephone to pinpoint its location.
On 9 August, Australia Maritime SafetyAuthority's (AMSA's) RescueCoordination Centre (RCC Australia) wascontacted by Australian Federal Policeafter it received a distress call from a ves-sel requesting assistance, via an InmarsatIsatPhone Pro on the ship.
“RCC Australia successfully contactedthe satellite telephone number and a personon board reported the vessel's engine wasnot working and there were 82 people onboard. At this stage, the vessel's unconfirmedlocation was south of Java,” explainedAMSA's spokesperson, Jo Meehan.
RCC Australia sent out a distressbroadcast to the area to call for assistance,but there was an initial discrepancy overthe vessel's GPS position.
The situation was clarified whenInmarsat was able to confirm, using thesatellite phone's positional information,that the vessel was approximately 31nmsouth of Java.
An AP3 Orion maritime patrol aircraftsubsequently spotted the vessel and threemerchant ships who had responded to theearlier broadcast were diverted to thescene, followed shortly after by AustralianNavy vessels HMAS Glenelg and HMASChilders.
The MV Clipper Mayflower assisted inthe rescue of two injured people from thewater, while the remaining 80 people weretaken on board the Defence vessels.
The diverted merchant ships werereleased and the MV Clipper Mayflowertook the injured people to Indonesia formedical treatment, with support from anIndonesian rescue boat.
Australian border protection commandalso made arrangements for the people onboard HMAS Glenelg and HMAS Childersto be transferred to Christmas Island.
www.kvh.com
KVH has introduced a new onboard ter-minal for its mini-VSAT Broadband serv-ice, the TracPhone V7-IP.
The TracPhone V7-IP features a 3-axis,
gyro-stabilised antenna and integratedbelow decks unit with an ArcLight spreadspectrum modem, similar to existing KVHsystems, but also features the company'snew IP-enabled antenna control unit - theCommBox-ACU.
The CommBox-ACU includes a built-inCommBox Ship/Shore Network Manager,Voice over IP (VoIP) adapter, Ethernetswitch, and Wi-Fi adapter, making KVH'sCommBox network management solutionavailable to every TracPhone V7-IP cus-tomer without the need to invest in addi-tional hardware.
The system offers a web browser-baseduser interface and access via an iPhoneapp, as well as onboard services like man-aged e-mail, secure file delivery, andremote network access.
The system software can be updatedover-the-air using either the mini-VSATBroadband service or cellular service,
using a GPRS modem built into the anten-na, allowing technicians working inKVH's GlobalCare support centre to diag-nose and troubleshoot any issues.
“The TracPhone V7-IP represents a sig-nificant leap forward in delivering fast,affordable, reliable broadband connectivi-ty to maritime customers,” explainsMartin Kits van Heyningen, KVH's chiefexecutive officer.
“A major upgrade to our pioneeringTracPhone V7 system, the TracPhone V7-IP offers a complete end-to-end solutionfor managing both IT functions and com-munications on board the vessel. It deliv-ers data at up to 2 Mbps, and has two inte-grated voice lines that can be expanded tosupport up to nine simultaneous calls.”
“It's the same size and as easy to installas a FleetBroadband FB500 system, but itdelivers data five times faster and at onetenth the cost of Inmarsat FleetBroadband.”
New terminal added to mini-VSAT service
The satellite phone’s positionalinformation was used to clarify
the ship’s position
Satphone assistsin vessel rescue
The TracPhone V7-IP includes an integrated CommBox for
communications management
www.jotron.com
Marine VSAT antenna manufacturerJotron has announced the launch of itsnext generation VSAT antenna, the com-bined Ku-band/Ka-band Jotron B85.
The Jotron B85 stabilised antenna hasbeen designed to operate in Ku- as well asin Ka-band, and will form part of a newfamily of Jotron stabilised antennas. Theunit is an 85cm maritime VSAT communi-cation antenna, with the dish and radomeoptimised for use in both bands.
The system has been developed toallow for onboard conversion from Ku-band to Ka-band operation, with anupgrade kit consisting of a Ka- transceiverand feed module available.
The 8W transceiver is connecteddirectly to the antenna feed, which thecompany says allows it to offer a highlevel of RF performance with only a mar-ginal difference in the uplink and down-link performance compared to a typical1m antenna.
The integrated transceiver can switchbetween co-pol and x-pol in Ku-band oncommand, and extended Tx-band and 2 or4-band RX-IF is also available.
Connection between the below andabove deck equipment requires a singlecable, and the B85 antenna can be operated without a ship’s compass connected.
Jotron has built a remote access tool, theJRAS (Jotron Remote Access Suite), intothe system, which allows the antenna to beremotely accessed from anywhere for sta-tus checks, diagnosis of any problems,support or upgrading of software.
SCPC, TDMA, Spread Spectrum orCarrier-In-Carrier operation are all sup-ported, and the company says that theJotron B85 will be compatible and fullyintegrated and tested with all leadingVSAT modem providers.
85cm Ku/Ka-band VSAT
antenna launched
www.livewire-commections.com
Livewire Connections has launched a newsection on its website, designed to helpusers locate spare parts for their Sea TelVSAT and TVRO antenna systems.
The user is able to search by descrip-tion e.g. belt or LNB, by antenna type,or by the product code. Using any oneof these filters a list will appear of allthe kits available for that particularantenna.
In addition to a description, pictureshave been included for almost every part,to make it easier to identify exactly what is required.
There is a breakdown of the parts ineach kit, as well as fitting instructions toassist in replacement.
Additionally, the new website sectionidentifies parts which are suitable for old
as well as new antennas. The companysays that this can be useful in sourcingparts for antennas which are out of warranty or where a ship has been sold and specific information has not been transferred.
“Livewire Connections is a main SeaTel dealer and the company has beenworking hard to make it easier for ourcustomers to locate information, pricingand availability on the Sea Tel spare parts they need to support their equip-ment,” said David Walker, sales director,Livewire Connections.
“This is proving to be a very effectivesolution.”
Livewire says that the next phase ofdevelopment of the service will see thecompany able to offer online ordering anddelivery for a substantial number of partswhich are held in stock.
Sea Tel spares website launched
www.vizada.com
Astrium Services has agreed a new deal with Intelsat to expand its capacityon Intelsat’s Ku-band mobility infrastructure.
Intelsat’s new mobility network, whichis scheduled for completion in early 2013,will consist of 10 beams on seven satellites.
Customers of Marlink and the new Astrium Services BusinessCommunications division will benefitfrom additional capacity on the Intelsat 22satellite to enhance coverage for maritimeVSAT services in the Indian Ocean, as wellas the Intelsat 21 satellite designed to pro-vide Ku-band coverage in the southernAtlantic Ocean.
The capacity on Intelsat 21 and Intelsat22 will be accessed via the IntelsatOneNetwork Broadband product, a global net-work of VSAT service platforms and tele-ports integrated with an IP/MPLS back-
bone which will be integrated withAstrium Services’ own proprietary globalteleport network.
In other news, Astrium Services hasalso launched a mobile software packageto allow mobile devices onboard ship toconnect to its Vizada XChange platform.
Available in October 2012, VizadaXChange Mobile will allow dual usergroups – crew and officers – to connect viaWi-Fi to the communications system, forincreased privacy while using the internetand controlled use of personal apps.
Content stored on board, includingnews feeds, training information orvideos, can also be freely downloaded topersonal devices via the mobile platform.
The system has been designed toinclude additional management function-ality, given the increase in the number ofunique connections that can be expectedvia the wireless interface, to allow cost andapplication usage to be controlled.
VSAT expansion for Astrium
p1-20:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 16:32 Page 6
p1-20:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 16:32 Page 7
www.mtnsat.com
MTN Satellite Communications (MTN)has announced that its MTN WorldwideTV service is now available to commercialshipping customers.
MTN Worldwide TV offers licensed TVcontent including news, entertainmentand sports for ships at sea, and the com-pany claims it to be the first fully-digital,multi-channel television service for themaritime industry.
The TV package utilises overlappingsatellite beams that integrate with a ves-sel’s existing Television Receive-Only(TVRO) antenna and onboard video distri-bution system.
MTN says it can ensure that viewers atsea will receive uninterrupted service -regardless of location - by managing thesatellite network and content.
In addition, the TV service is availablein all ocean regions and can supplementexisting programming that might be lostwhen the vessel is at sea.
MTN Worldwide TV has already beenin use by the cruise industry for the pastfour years and currently supports 78 ves-sels across 20 cruise lines.
“We believe that all seafarers shouldhave access to quality entertainment andcurrent event programming, including
live news, sports and special events likethe Olympics, award shows or organisa-tional events,” said Brad Briggs, seniorvice president and general manager,MTN Commercial Shipping & EnergyServices.
“MTN Worldwide TV provides consis-tent, cost effective content on a globalscale, aiding in building crew morale anddelivering onboard internal communica-tions, information and entertainment.”
“Receiving secured, licensed contentaboard a ship or remote platform at seacan be challenging, yet we are able to dothis seamlessly, regardless of location,without requiring a vessel to swap outreceivers or change service providers.”
Programming from eight major US andinternational television networks, includ-ing BBC World News, CNBC, Fox News,MSNBC, Sky News, Sky Sports News,Sport 24 and E! Entertainment Television,is included, as well as special event pro-gramming such as the Olympics, PremierLeague football and onboard events likeprivate broadcasts or training.
In other news, MTN and WirelessMaritime Services (WMS), a joint venturebetween MTN and AT&T, haveannounced the availability of the Connectat Sea voice application for mobile com-munication at sea.
The new service, designed for cruiseships, aims to enable passengers and crewto make phone calls and send text mes-sages from their personal Apple iOS orAndroid devices while at sea. In addition,intra-ship calling is available to allowthose onboard to make plans or keep trackof one another. Crew can leverage this fea-ture to call other vessels as well.
The jointly developed MTN and WMSsolution works with a vessel's Wi-Fi infra-structure and data/voice prioritisationstrategy, while keeping bandwidth usagelow. Users do not have to purchase aninternet plan to use the application, andcan download it from iTunes or theAndroid store.
“The demands of today's cruisers areincreasing and the industry is faced withthe opportunity of bringing a solutionsimilar to a land-based calling experienceto the middle of the ocean for both pas-sengers and crew,” said Brent Horwitz,senior vice president and general managerof cruise and ferry services at MTN.
“Passengers expect to be able to makecalls from anywhere in the world withoutissue and crew require a service thatallows them to stay connected with familyand friends while at sea. This joint solu-tion between MTN and WMS fulfils thisimportant communications requirement.”
www.selexmarine.com
The UK Marine business of SELEX Elsag, a Finmeccanica company, is tosupply an Internet Protocol Television(IPTV) based entertainment solution to the Lancelot accommodation workbarge operated by Intership Ltd of Singapore.
The system, manufactured by SnapTV,provides television and 20,000 hours ofvideo on demand to over 140 cabins on thebarge. SELEX Elsag IPTV system engi-neers carried out the installation in Batamin Indonesia.
This is the second SELEX Elsag deploy-ment of IPTV for Intership, with the firstcarried out onboard the world’s largestconstruction accommodation work barge,the Camelot, in 2010.
“Having worked offshore as an engi-neer for many years, I understand theimportance of excellent cabin TV andmovies to morale and the benefits this canoffer to both welfare and crew retention,”said Ryan Dawe, commercial sales manag-er, SELEX Elsag.
In other news, SELEX Elsag has also been appointed as an InmarsatXpressLink dealer, and will offer theservice via its UK-based export team in Basildon.
SATCOMS
Digital Ship October 2012 page 8
The MNWB’s Carolyn Lewis (right) test’s the new system with a port chaplain
www.three.co.uk
Mobile network operator Three is to pro-vide seafarers visiting ports across the UKwith free mobile internet as part of anational scheme being run in collaborationwith the UK Merchant Navy WelfareBoard, which aims to connect internation-al seafarers with their families using inter-net communications tools.
Three UK has provided 32 mobile Wi-Fihotspots to the national charity, with eachdevice to be loaded with 15 GB of data per month.
Three estimates that this should beenough to make 1,500 10-minute Skypecalls per month (with Skype calls to land-lines or mobile numbers using around 1MB for one minute of calling) or sendaround 75,000 e-mails.
The MiFi devices use HSPA+ technolo-gy, which the company says provides afaster mobile internet experience than
standard 3G.The donation is part of Three’s
Community Fund, which launched inJanuary and allows employees to nominatea different charity to benefit every month.
“Working at sea can be very dangerousand isolating. Many contracts will last aminimum of six months and seafarers are expected to work long hours, sevendays a week,” said the Merchant NavyWelfare Board’s port welfare manager,Carolyn Lewis.
“The lack of communication betweenseafarers and their families can add to thestress of working at sea.”
“Many seafarers visiting UK ports havesmartphones but no connectivity while atsea, and when on land, internationalroaming can be very expensive. With thisinitiative, ship welfare visitors are able tohelp seafarers get connected and keep intouch with their families and friends evenif they’re only in port for a few hours.” http://broadband.hughes.com
Hughes Network Systems has added newfeatures to its flagship HN and HX Systems,with the aim of enabling higher bandwidthefficiency as well as support for IPv6.
The Hughes TurboPage withActiveCompression functionality aims toprovide up to 50 per cent compressiongain of transmitted HTTP traffic by com-pressing both text and image data.
The company says that itsActiveCompression technology is a “loss-less” compression algorithm that preservesthe original quality of both text and images.
Hughes has also designed a dual stackIPv4/IPv6 capability which enables thesimultaneous support of both protocols.Implementing IPv6 is likely to become an
increasingly important issue as IPv4address space continues to run out.
“These new features future-proof our customers’ networks,” said AdrianMorris, executive vice president, engineer-ing at Hughes.
“The internet’s growth creates analmost endless demand for new band-width. Growth is also causing the internetto outstrip its own protocols.”
“By providing network operators withhigher compression rates for more effi-cient bandwidth use and dual-stack sup-port to ease the transition to IPv6, we’vegiven them the tools to ride out the inter-net’s growing pains without disruptingservice to their customers.”
These new features are available onboth HN and HX Systems.
Free port Wi-Fi from Three
MTN expands TV offering IPTV for Intership
Hughes adds new capabilities
www.inmarsat.com
Inmarsat has announced that it can nowoffer global pre-paid satellite services forboth voice and data with the introductionof support for voice calls originating in theUS and its territories.
Through an agreement with FreedomWireless Holdings Inc, Inmarsat says it isnow the first mobile satellite provider inthe world licensed to offer pre-paid voiceservices from the US.
Pre-pay voice has been available from1st September 2012 for all existingInmarsat land and maritime servicesincluding FleetBroadband, IsatPhone Pro,and FleetPhone.
“Many customers use satellite services
across multiple markets and have beenfrustrated by being unable to use pre-paidservices while in the US and its territorialwaters,” said Jim Parm, president ofInmarsat Solutions.
“We are proud to be the first companyto deliver a global service. This announce-ment exemplifies our commitment tomeeting our customers’ needs. With thisbreakthrough announcement we are sim-plifying communications for our users.”
“IsatPhone Pro users can now be con-tacted using a single phone number wher-ever they are located and use just onedevice for their global communications,while FleetBroadband customers can nowtravel in and out of US territorial waterson pre-paid plans.”
Inmarsat pre-pay now available in the US
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Digital Ship October 2012 page 10
www.gentay.co.uk
Gentay is launching two new products forcommunication between ship and shore,DataWAVE and SoundWAVE.
SoundWAVE aims to adapt technolo-gies from the terrestrial environment, suchas ultra-low bandwidth VoIP, to delivercall costs of US$0.04 per minute to 57 glob-al destinations, according to the company.Other global destinations can also benefitfrom low rates, though not at the $0.04level.
Gentay says that SoundWAVE will alsooffer free unlimited calls between vesselsand the office on shore, as well as billingincrements of only 6 seconds.
DataWAVE integrates Gentay’s GlobalRoaming SIM Card to reduce the cost ofsending and receiving data between shipand shore, while also using terrestrial cel-lular networks to improve data transmis-sion speeds. The system can be deployed
within an hour by the crew on board.“Data transmission and collaborative
cooperation based on high speed net-work connectivity is a prerequisite ofrunning a competitive enterprise in the21st century. DataWAVE addresses theseissues by reducing the reliance on expen-sive and slow transmission satellite com-munications,” said Martin Nygate, direc-tor of Gentay.
“In addition, we all use the phone con-stantly to collaborate with our colleaguesand stakeholders. Low cost calls areessential to conducting business and,with mariners away from home formonths on end, crew welfare and theability for the company to provide verylow cost calls for their crew is highlyappreciated and contributes significantlyto crew retention rates.”
New TV and SAR products from ThraneAny activated SAILOR 5051 AIS-SART
will show up with position and bearing ona vessel’s ECDIS or chart-plotter as a redcross in a circle, meaning it can immedi-ately be identified as a life craft in distress.
Future product releases alsoannounced by Thrane include a stand-alone AIS Class A transceiver for mer-chant and offshore vessels, the SAILOR6280 AIS System. The unit will be of the‘black box’ type and will be operated via anew 7-inch touch display.
A new SAILOR 6390 Navtex unit willalso come to market in Q2 2013 and hasbeen developed to be used as a standalonenavigation aid or a component in anyGMDSS installation.
In other news, Thrane reports that it is to supply its SAILOR FleetBroadbandterminals to Thome Ship Management, as part of AND Group's previouslyannounced contract to provideFleetBroadband services to the Thomefleet.
Thome, an international shipping serv-ice supplier that manages a diverse fleet inexcess of 180 vessels, will be providedwith a combination of SAILOR 250FleetBroadband and SAILOR 500FleetBroadband antennas, bundled withairtime packages.
AND Group's contract with Thome wasannounced at the end of February 2012and includes a combination of pricingpackages, including Inmarsat's Very LargeAllowance (VLA) offering.
“This project involves a large numberof vessels from different ship owners, sowe need to be sure that the system we
www.marlink.com
German tanker owner and manager ErnstJacob is to install VSAT andFleetBroadband across its fleet of 15tankers, following an agreement withMarlink, while Polarcus is to implementMarlink’s Sealink VSAT services aboardtwo new seismic vessels.
Ernst Jacob will have Marlink'sWaveCall standardised VSAT productand Thrane & Thrane SAILORFleetBroadband 500 systems installed onits tankers, which are operated for severalmajor oil companies.
The company will primarily use the system for operational purposes,including management of onboard IT networks remotely from shore and automated content delivery, such asreporting and forms. Communication andconnectivity options for crew will also bemade available.
Additionally, Ernst Jacob will imple-ment the Vizada XChange communica-tions management platform, which allowsthe satcoms to be controlled eitheronboard or from shore.
Vizada XChange will integrate theVSAT and FleetBroadband services, toensure that Ernst Jacob vessels benefitfrom reliable voice calling and internet
wherever they are sailing.“We are committed to the continuous
modernisation of our fleet … to meet thechallenges of ensuring operational excel-lence and in order to provide the highestquality service for our customers,” saidOliver Hennes, director fleet management,Ernst Jacob.
“Marlink’s WaveCall solution supportsthis commitment as it helps us to enhanceour communication facilities across theboard and, by ensuring our vessels arealways connected, we can manage our fleetand offices in the most operationally andenvironmentally efficient ways possible.”
Polarcus meanwhile will implementSealink VSAT on its two new X-bowdesign seismic vessels, Amani and Adira,which are currently under construction atUlstein Verft in Norway.
The Dubai-based marine geophysicalcompany has also signed a deal to extendthe use of Sealink VSAT already in useaboard five existing Polarcus X-bowdesign seismic vessels, for a further threeyears. The vessels focus on environmen-tally friendly operations in Polar regions.
The system includes dual C-bandantennas with automatic switchover,dedicated full-duplex bandwidththrough a Single Channel Per Carrier(SCPC) satellite link, including several
Satcom deals for Marlink
Polarcus will install Sealink VSAT on two newbuilds, including the Polarcus Adira. Photo: Polarcus Limited
LAN networks on board, and eightsimultaneous voice lines.
It also enables GSM services when inrange and features Iridium Pilot as aback-up, to ensure continuous globalconnectivity.
“We have worked closely with Marlinkand they have shown great flexibility andsupport to ensure that the connectivitymeets our needs,” explains MagnusOberg, vice president information technol-
ogy at Polarcus.“Although the primary use for our con-
nectivity is operational, it’s also vital thatwe provide crew with a way to communi-cate with friends and family, and engi-neers on board to work remotely withexperts on land.”
“The Sealink service allows us to man-age exactly how the connectivity is used,which supports our seismic operationsand IT organisation.”
have chosen is easy to install and offers agood balance between cost and perform-ance,” said Ryan Dalgado, procurement& supply chain manager, Thome ShipManagement.
“SAILOR FleetBroadband clearly offersthis so we are more than happy to putthese incredibly reliable terminals on ves-sels under our management.”
Both the SAILOR 250 and SAILOR 500feature the new Inmarsat Multi-voice
service, allowing up to nine simultaneousvoice lines on the system without the needto add an external IPPBX.
“Thome is a leading shipping servicessupplier, representing a large number ofhigh quality vessels and ship owners, sowe are delighted that they have chosenSAILOR FleetBroadband to ensure reli-able, global connectivity and voice call-ing,” said Casper Jensen, VP maritimebusiness unit, Thrane & Thrane.
www.thrane.com
Thrane & Thrane has launched a numberof new technology products, including asatellite TV antenna and an AIS search andrescue system.
Based on the SAILOR 900 VSAT plat-form, the SAILOR 100 Satellite TV anten-na offers multi-polarisation and a pro-grammable LNB, and can be installedusing a single cable. It features a 103 cmdish and 3-axis structure, as well as arotary joint to eliminate cable wrappingwhen the vessel turns.
A touch screen terminal is included tohandle all setup, service and management.
Thrane & Thrane has also launched anew Automatic Identification System-Search and Rescue Transmitter (AIS-SART), the SAILOR 5051 AIS-SART.
The company says that the unit offersa number of improvements, such asincreased detection range, over tradition-al SART technology, which uses radar to direct SAR vessels and aircraft to a life craft.
Using AIS, the SAILOR 5051 AIS-SARTcan provide surface vessels with its posi-tion at a range of approximately five mileswhilst aircraft can locate the beacon atover 30 miles, depending on conditions.
The new unit provides over 96 hours ofoperation and uses a built-in GPS featurethat continuously updates and calculateslatitude and longitude bearing to distanceof the target survival craft. It also offersbetter identification for SAR vessels andaircraft, because it has a unique 9 digitidentification code.
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Digital Ship October 2012 page 12
HH ave suffered a barrage of criti-cism after the introduction of ahost of changes to the pricing
structure for its existing and evolved(E&E) and FleetBroadband services earlierthis year, Inmarsat is hoping to give itscustomers something to smile about withthe introduction of another set of adjust-ments that will see the data available on anumber of FleetBroadband packagesincrease at no extra cost.
As Frank Coles, president of InmarsatMaritime, notes, the new pricing structureshould help some of the heavier users of theFleetBroadband network to derive greatervalue from their investment in the service.
“We know there was some unhappi-ness earlier this year about some of theadjustments we made at the lower end ofthe market, to try and provide more valuefor those customers who commit to datavolumes as opposed to using the Pay AsYou Go plans,” he said, speaking at anInmarsat event during the SMM exhibi-tion in Germany.
“Starting in the fourth quarter of thisyear we are going to make some addition-al rationalisation of the FleetBroadbandplans to the market.”
“At the lower end of the plans we willnot be making any changes, however weare providing some adjustment at the topend to bring much more value to the cus-tomer to fit with their needs and theirdemands for an ability to provide someform of a crew solution and an operationalsolution using FleetBroadband.”
These changes will affect users of theFleetBroadband service that are commit-ted to contracts for at least 1 GB ofInmarsat traffic, Mr Coles explained.
“We will be taking the 1 GB and 3 GBplans and doubling the volumes of dataavailable to the customer for the sameprice – in other words adding much morevalue for the same price and enabling thecustomer to use these plans in a muchmore cost effective manner.”
“The most exciting innovation is
the introduction of the InmarsatFleetBroadband unlimited service. We’llbe taking away the 10 GB and the 15 GBplan and be introducing the unlimitedservice.”
The new unlimited FleetBroadbandservice will be available on theFleetBroadband 250 and theFleetBroadband 500, though not on theFleetBroadband 150. The recommendedretail price for the package will be approx-imately US$2,700 per month.
The ‘unlimited’ amount of data avail-able will be subject to a fair access policy(FAP), which will limit the kind of trafficthat is allowed, though Mr Coles notes thatthis policy will be in line with similar FAPscurrently on offer from VSAT providerswith packages in the same price range.
“(The FAP) will certainly be no differ-ent, having examined all of the fair usagepolicies that are available on Pharostar,KVH, and all of the various other VSATservices. We will manage the network tomake sure that everyone gets a fair crackat the whip, in the same way as we didwith the 10 GB and 15 GB plans,” he said.
“We aren’t suggesting that we willhave the ability or the desire for people todo video on the FleetBroadband service,and that’s one of the reasons why theGlobal Xpress programme andXpressLink exist. You have to have a solu-tion that fits the desires and fits the needsthat you wish to accommodate, and that’sone of the reasons why all the VSAT serv-ices, or communications services whetherthey’re in your home or over a satellite,operate a fair user policy.”
“Anybody who overuses any particularsystem is throttled back. There are checksand balances in place. So if a ship is out-growing the service to which they are sub-scribing then the discussion will be thatthey need to have a higher level service, orperhaps they need to move to GlobalXpress, which will have that capacity andthat speed to enable you to do all thosefancy things.”
Mr Coles says that Inmarsat’s partnersshould get information on what is includ-ed in the FAP by the middle of October,and that the same FAP will apply acrossthe board.
“We’re trying to push it out by the endof this year,” he said.
“Because it’s a price decrease we don’tneed to give the normal 90 days (notice),and there will be no changes within oursystem. All we’re doing is bringing morevalue into the current plans.”
“The result is a plan that allows you toaddress all of the crew browsing needs atthe bottom end of the market and in themid-range of the market, and will be muchmore accessible to customers who don’twant or don’t need or don’t have thecapacity to deal with an additional termi-nal. It also increases your available opera-
tional traffic and provides fixed usagefees, and because of the reliability of ourthird party manufacturers it is a low main-tenance solution.”
XpressLinkMr Coles is keen to point out that thisunlimited plan is not designed to be areplacement for the company’sXpressLink hybrid Ku-band/L-bandproduct, which promises unlimited usagefor a similar monthly fee.
“We believe that XpressLink still has anextremely important role to play goingforwards as a bridge to Global Xpress.After all, we now have just over 450XpressLink ships, already installed or tobe installed, committed to upgrade toGlobal Xpress when that service is up andrunning,” he said.
“XpressLink is completely different tothe FleetBroadband unlimited plan.Obviously you need an additional termi-nal, but XpressLink comes with highercommitted information rates that areadvertised in the market – something thatthe competition fails to mention.”
“I see this (unlimited FB plan) as a longterm offering for customers who arehappy with a service which obviouslydoesn’t provide a CIR and where theydon’t have the ability or the scale to have asecond terminal. XpressLink is the shortterm product, which is there as the gate-way and the upgrade path to GlobalXpress. I think the FleetBroadband unlim-ited package will exist alongside GlobalXpress going forward, because they aretwo completely different services aimed attwo completely different markets.”
Another difference betweenXpressLink and the unlimitedFleetBroadband product is the lack of acontracted CIR (committed informationrate) on the L-band service.
“FleetBroadband doesn’t actually talk
about a CIR, though we do actually haveone at the bottom end,” said Mr Coles.
“It will be a managed service, our besteffort as we manage the network, that’sone thing that we dynamically do atInmarsat anyway.”
“Some of the VSAT services that are outthere don’t talk about a CIR, and some ofthem do. That’s just a question of the cus-tomer making sure they read the fine print.”
To illustrate its commitment to theXpressLink product, Inmarsat is able topoint to three recently agreed deals with avariety of shipping companies to installthe hybrid service.
Chief among these new customers forthe product is Copenhagen-based TORMA/S, which has agreed a fleet-wide deal,while Harms Bergung in Germany andNetherlands-based heavy lift shippingcompany Jumbo will also implement theservice on their ships.
TORM is to deploy the XpressLinkcommunications system across its ownedbulk carrier and tanker fleets, with roll outto commence on 17 ships before theremainder of the TORM-owned fleet isequipped over the next three years.
“Reliable high speed communication isessential to TORM’s efforts to streamlineour shipping operation and optimiseresource utilisation while reducing costs,"said Allan Rasmussen, vice president, fleetand newbuilding support at TORM.
"The fully managed XpressLink solu-tion from Inmarsat lets us focus on ourcore business, which is running our shipsefficiently while providing superior cus-tomer value. We will be able to balanceland-based and on-board resourcesthrough the high speed communicationlink as well as access technical and opera-tional support resources.”
“Additionally we were looking to movefrom C-band based satellite communica-tion to Ku-band. In this respect
After the well-publicised disagreements that followed a price restructuring programme earlier this year, Inmarsat is making another shift in the pricing for its FleetBroadband service – but this time making changes
which it hopes will receive a more favourable reaction, with the introduction of ‘unlimited’ packages
Unlimited FleetBroadband set for launch
‘The fair usage policy will be no different tothose available on Pharostar, KVH and
other VSAT services’ – Frank Coles,Inmarsat Maritime
Jumbo will equip its entire fleet of 12 heavy lift vessels with XpressLink. Photo: Danny Cornelissen, Portpictures
p1-20:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 16:46 Page 12
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Introducing KVH TracPhone V11 & V7IP – the latest evolution in maritime SATCOM
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SATCOMS
Digital Ship October 2012 page 14
XpressLink was a good fit. Furthermore,with its upgrade path to Global Xpress weget a future proof solution too.”
Harms Bergung, a transport and heavylifting maritime services company, is toequip its anchor handling tug fleet withthe integrated Ku-band and L-band serv-ice, which will support always-on dataspeeds of 768 kbps, and, when the VSATservice is active, a committed informationrate of 192 kbps.
The agreement with Harms Bergungwas reached in conjunction with Germanmaritime communications company DH-INTERCOM, one of the first Inmarsat-approved XpressLink distributors. This isthe second XpressLink contract agreed byDH-INTERCOM in Germany.
“We had considered using VSAT forour offshore anchor handling tug fleet, butno existing VSAT provider was able tooffer a fully managed Ku-/L-band systemat a fixed rate,” said Thomas Rogalla,managing director of Harms Bergung.
“We believe the equipment on boardour fleet must be of the highest qualityand we selected Inmarsat’s XpressLinkbecause our IT specialists were confidentthat the combined package of VSAT andFleetBroadband will deliver continuous,global and reliable coverage.”
“Naturally the ability to double ourVSAT bandwidth at the same fixedmonthly cost when Global Xpressbecomes commercially available in 2014makes strong business sense.”
Jumbo will also equip its entire fleet of12 specialised heavy lift vessels. Theseships have a lifting capacity from 500t up to1,800t, which will be added to, starting in2013, by a new generation of vessels withrecord breaking lifting capacity of 3,000t.
“During the initial tender phase weselected different parties,” said MarcoCevat, IT manager for Jumbo.
“The choice for Inmarsat was based onthe fact that it delivers a fully managedKu-/L-band system at a fixed rate.”
“We were also impressed with the levelof consultative thinking from Inmarsat.The demand for more bandwidth isincreasing on a monthly basis and withthis solution we are confident thatInmarsat’s combined package of VSATand FleetBroadband will deliver us a reli-able future proof connection.”
Global XpressIn addition to the changes to itsFleetBroadband services and the develop-ments with XpressLink, Inmarsat alsoannounced some new developments in itsnext generation Global Xpress programme.
The company confirmed that theTelemar Group and Florida-basedGMPCS Personal Communications havebeen named as the first Value AddedResellers (VAR) for the product, while JRChas signed up to provide a range of con-nectivity solutions for the service.
“The Telemar solution is particularlyattractive to us because of their model ofcombining airtime, navigation equipment,maintenance and providing a turn-keysolution to the industry,” said Mr Coles.
“We have several other agreementswhich are not yet closed, and I can assureyou that there are more VAR agreementsimminent and very close to closure. Sowe’re on track in that regard.”
Inmarsat says that it intends to haveeight to ten VARs eventually in place todistribute Global Xpress, also including itsown direct distribution arm, the formerStratos business unit.
The deal with JRC, a company whichhas a longstanding relationship withInmarsat through multiple generations ofservices, will see the Japanese manufactur-er develop a 60cm Global Xpress Ka-bandantenna, while also expanding into offer-ing airtime and support.
“The development of Inmarsat prod-ucts has always been closely integratedwith quality hardware and antenna manu-facturers to arrive at superb connectivitysolutions,” said Mr Coles.
“Our fourth generation satellite service,the FleetBroadband platform, has restedheavily on reliable providers like JRC. Asthe launch of Global Xpress draws closer,Inmarsat is focused on continuing to inte-grate this new generation of high through-put services (HTS) with reliable andproven hardware solutions into easy touse products for the shipping market.”
“In our effort to create attractive, bun-dled products we see that the strategicpartnership with JRC will be extremelyimportant. They are also going to be sell-ing GX airtime and combining that withall of their navigation equipment into amaintenance contract – an integrated plat-form and an integrated service. We’re ontrack in terms of providing a distributionpath into Global Xpress, with an IT-centricfocus which combines all of the systemsonboard ships with the communicationspipe as a facilitator.”
Rain fadeThe issue of rain fade and the susceptibilityof the Ka-band frequency to interferenceduring adverse weather conditions wasalso addressed, with Leo Mondale, manag-
ing director of the Global Xpress pro-gramme, insisting that the company hasdone extensive research and developmenton the issue and that he is confident that theservice will meet industry expectations.
“This is a topic that we dug into quitedeeply prior to making the decision toadopt Ka-band for Global Xpress,” he said.
“There are today about two millionvery small terminals deployed in the USmarket alone for consumer broadband, sothe data available on Ka- performance andrain fade is well established.”
“The physics are settled, we knowexactly how Ka- performs and it’s verysimilar to Ku- in the downlink direction,and somewhat more susceptible to rainfade in the uplink direction. There are acouple of technologies that have beendeployed, both in other Ka- networks andwill be deployed in Global Xpress, the keyone being Adaptive Coding andModulation.”
Adaptive Coding and Modulation tech-nology allows the connection between theantenna and the satellite to be adjusted toreflect the attenuation to the signal causedby the rain.
This, and other technological enhance-ments, will put availability of the GlobalXpress service within range of that avail-able with current Ku-band systems,according to Mr Mondale.
“We have an 80 page collection of dataand analysis showing what the availabili-ty will be on a statistical average basis, andthe conclusion is that we’re within a cou-ple of hundreds of a percentage of avail-ability to Ku- performance today,” he said.
“Really, for all practical purposes,you’re going to see availability and per-formance from the Global Xpress systemthat is comparable to Ku- today – whichmeans it’s not perfect, it’s in the upper 90sin terms of availability, which is one of thereasons for the maritime market that weintend to sell an integrated service involv-ing Ka-band Global Xpress virtually allthe time, with very high performance at amuch more attractive unit price than canbe afforded over Ku-band.”
“Ka-band has a significantly largeramount of bandwidth available to it, it is acheaper way to deliver data than Ku-band.It will always stay that way, the physicsdictate it. To ensure availability, at no lessthan the standard of FleetBroadband, theywill be bundled together, so if there’s anavailability issue of any kind with Ka-band the service will automatically fallback to FleetBroadband.”
Mr Coles added to this by saying thathe has no concerns about the ability of theKa-band product to deliver what has beenpromised.
“I don’t want to be glib and say ‘do youreally think we’d be doing this if wethought we were going to have prob-lems?’, but I have ultimate confidence inthe fact that the engineering has been verycarefully considered,” he said.
“I’ve watched lots of TV on Ka-, I’veused Ka- as a data service in remote partsof the world and I have no reason tobelieve that it will be any worse than exist-ing satellite systems today.”
“Sunspots, rain, other weather factors –these have interfered with radio commu-nications since the day we discovered howto use it, and I’m sure we’ll have problems
some times but that’s no different thanany other radio-based services, and cer-tainly no worse.”
CompetitionEven if the performance of the GlobalXpress service manages to justify the faiththat Mr Coles and Mr Mondale, and therest of Inmarsat, have placed in it, it willstill need to compete with expandingcapacity and increased competition in theVSAT market, in various frequency bands.
In this regard, Mr Mondale is also con-fident that Inmarsat has made the right betwith its investment in Ka-band technolo-gy, and that it will be able to offer a morecompelling proposition to customers thanthat from competitors like Intelsat and itsforthcoming EpicNG platform.
“The main competitive reaction we haveseen has been Intelsat’s announcement of aspot beam Ku- system, and from what wecan tell from very general public announce-ments, which I believe is all there is, is grat-ifying in one sense, that they basically con-cluded that the VSAT market, and the mar-itime market in particular, is now ready forspot beam satellites. That’s something wealready knew and have done for a longtime, and Global Xpress is of course a spotbeam satellite,” he said.
“The essence of it though is that it’s stillKu-band. If you look on the table of allo-cations from the InternationalTelecommunications Union, you’ll seethat Ku-band’s allocated about two times250 MHz of total frequency. Ka-band isnearly seven times that, if you consider thegovernment Ka-band in addition to thecommercial.”
“We’re all aware that in radio commu-nications bandwidth is directly linked toboth capacity and performance. So theoutcome of this Epic battle is not really indoubt – the guy with seven times thebandwidth is going to have higher capaci-ty and higher performance.”
All that remains for this ‘Epic battle’ tobegin is for both sides to get their space-craft into orbit. On the Global Xpress side,Mr Mondale notes that so far everything isrunning according to schedule and thatInmarsat is on course to conduct its firstlaunch as planned in 2013.
“We’re now more than two yearsbeyond having announced the activationof an army of people at Boeing and sub-contractors to build these satellites, and Ican tell you that, as of today, they actuallylook like satellites. The first satellite has aframe, has a payload, has solar arrays, hasall of the pieces that are going to berequired. It’s going into final assemblyand integration and tests. The secondsatellite is taking shape next to it, with thethird satellite a bit behind it,” he said.
“We’re actually now less than a yearfrom launching the first satellite, theIndian Ocean region satellite. It will takefive or six months to get it to its operatingorbit after launch and to test the network,so we’re less than 18 months from whenwe intend to offer regional service in thatpart of the world. That will be followed bythe Atlantic Ocean region and the PacificOcean region.”
“We have large teams both working onit and monitoring that work and makingcorrections, so that work is very much on track.” DS
Inmarsat believes that the availability of the Global Xpress service in adverse
weather will be within a ‘couple ofhundreds of a per cent’ of the availability
on Ku-band today
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SATCOMS
Digital Ship October 2012 page 16
Astrium Services has made the first significant restructuring move since its purchase of Vizada, eliminating the Vizada brand and creating a new business unit called Astrium Services Business Communications
Vizada no more as Astrium rises
AA strium Services, part of the EADSGroup and the parent companyof Vizada following its 2011
acquisition of the maritime communica-tions provider, is to restructure the com-pany and discontinue the Vizada brand.
Vizada will be absorbed into a new Astrium Services BusinessCommunications entity from October2012, which will host all commercial sat-com activities of Astrium Services, servingthree main markets – maritime, enterpris-es and aero.
In the maritime market, the companywill continue providing services using theexisting Vizada infrastructure of indirectsales through its service provider channel,while also maintaining a direct sales chan-nel via Marlink. The Marlink brand willremain in place for these purposes follow-ing the restructuring.
Vizada CEO, Erik Ceuppens will head-up Astrium Services BusinessCommunications, with responsibility forall activities across the maritime, land andaeronautical markets, while Tore MortenOlsen, Marlink CEO, will manage the mar-itime division of the Astrium ServicesBusiness Communications entity.
“The integration into Astrium Servicesis well underway, and we are already see-ing a number of positive effects for ourservice provider channel and customers,”said Mr Ceuppens.
“We are committed to expanding ourmaritime services portfolio and arealready better positioned to meet our cus-tomers’ evolving needs, while, as a newentity of Astrium Services, continuing ourdedication to our well-founded channeland customers.”
The company is keen to point out that,from a customer stand point, it will be“business as usual” following this restruc-turing and that there will be no noticeablechanges in service at the user level.
DevelopmentsThis restructuring of the Vizada group isone of the first major changes initiated byAstrium since its US$960 million acquisi-tion of the company from Apax Partnerslast year.
Given the size of the deal involved, thetransaction got tongues wagging as themarket began to assess what Astrium’smaster plan might be after completing thepurchase of the company.
As part of the enormous EADS Group,which also comprises Airbus, Cassidianand Eurocopter, there was speculation atthe time of the takeover that Astriummight be in a position to build its ownsatellites and offer satellite communica-tion services where it controlled the entirevertical chain right down to the end user.
This was based on the fact that EADShas significant experience in satellite con-struction, having been responsible for theconstruction of the three Inmarsat-4 satel-lites that act as the backbone of theFleetBroadband network, among a num-ber of satellite projects.
However, for the time being at least,Eric Béranger, CEO of Astrium Services,says that the company has no intention ofpursuing such a strategy.
“Today, no, this is not part of our plans. Should this become part of ourplans you will know very quickly,” he toldDigital Ship.
“On the commercial side so far we havenot done this for a very simple reason,because today there is capacity up therethat we can use. As long as we can use it ina way which, from a business point ofview, makes sense – which is economic,which is satisfactory – there’s no reasonfor us to substitute something whichalready exists.”
“If some day that was changing we’dhave to reconsider, but today we havewhat we need.”
While this is not a priority at present onthe commercial side, Mr Béranger notesthat the company’s capabilities alreadyextend to owning and operating its ownsatellites as part of its military business,which includes the Skynet X-band satellitefleet.
“We are going to launch Skynet 5D, forinstance, at the end of the year inDecember. We will own some observationsatellites because we [have launched]SPOT 6 in India. We have ordered thesatellites, we have specified the satellites,we are going to operate them – just asSNOs (satellite network operators) aredoing in the commercial world,” he said.
“On the military side we didn’t havewhat we need, so we did it, on the Earthobservation side we considered that weneeded to create a very specific infrastruc-ture which we did not have access to, sowe did it.”
“In the commercial world today we arethe number one partner to a number ofsatellite network operators, and as alongas they are able to provide us with whatwe need it is ok.”
Mr Béranger instead sees the acquisi-tion of Vizada as a way of Astriumexpanding its commercial portfolio, andexpanding its reach into new sectors.
“Maritime is obviously one of those,aeronautical is in its infancy as nobodytoday has found a business model thatreally works,” he said.
“You look at all of the companies inaeronautics and today there isn’t a goodmodel for passenger communications. Inthe enterprise market there are a numberof verticals we are developing which arevery promising, and there are some areasthat you will never reach through fibrewhere we see big growth.”
“It’s across the sectors, but focused on the verticals which we think will bepromising.”
In that regard, Mr Béranger says thatthe company is looking to use the experi-ence that Vizada has in maritime, withmaritime representing approximately 70per cent of the overall activity of AstriumBusiness Communications, to developsimilar positions in some of these marketverticals, but in a focused way rather thantrying to do ‘everything, everywhere’.
“We bring together the capabilities, theproducts, the portfolio that we have devel-oped on our side, on the military side onthe governmental side, and that [Vizada]had on the commercial side, and we seethe complementarities and how we cancross-fertilise each other,” he said.
“At the same time, we have broughttogether what was government in the for-mer Vizada with what was government inAstrium Services. We see already somenew customers that we would not haveacquired before.”
“As an example, today, in terms of
bandwidth, we are managing 4 GHz ofbandwidth, which is much more than eachof us was doing before. You can imaginethat that enlarges the relationships withthe SNOs and gives us weight in terms of purchasing.”
Global XpressA significant portion of the maritime expe-rience that Astrium is looking to leveragewith Vizada comes via its relationshipwith Inmarsat, as the single largest exter-nal distribution partner for the satelliteoperator’s services.
However, despite this established part-nership, eyebrows were raised whenInmarsat recently announced the appoint-ment of the first value added resellers(VAR) for its forthcoming Global XpressKa-band service – with Vizada not amongthe initial group (see story on page 12).
Both parties have already beeninvolved in talks on the possibility ofworking together on Global Xpress,though Digital Ship understands that therehave been disagreements over the formsuch an agreement should take.
When asked if tensions between thetwo sides was holding up an agreement,Mr Ceuppens was keen point to common-alities between the parties instead, andsaid that he believes that a deal would go ahead.
“This tension is not absolutely neces-sary. I think we are much more aligned,looking at Inmarsat and looking at whatwe want to do in our maritime segment –we should focus on alignment and not onthe differences, in those discussions,” hetold us.
“Clearly, what we are trying to do isestablish a strategic agreement withInmarsat on Global Xpress. To come to astrategic agreement obviously both partiesneed to agree, which is always a process togo through – and we are currently goingthrough that process.”
“What is key for us is to be able to builda sustainable business model for GlobalXpress in the future, not only for Astrium,as such, but also for our partners. A majorpart of our business is still through ourdistribution channel, so we are not onlynegotiating for Astrium, we are negotiat-ing for our distribution channel.”
Mr Béranger agreed that, in his opin-ion, a deal was likely to eventually gothrough, and hoped that there would bedevelopments in the negotiations beforetoo long.
“I think in this type of environment,generally, the sooner the better. But youneed two to tango, and indeed, quality ismore important than speed,” he said.
“We cannot disclose exactly what weare discussing, but what is for sure is thatI think none of us have any interest indelaying this process.”
“So I think that the genuine interest of‘Today, it is not part of our plans to build our own satellites for commercial
maritime communications’ – Eric Béranger, Astrium Services
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Digital Ship
Digital Ship October 2012 page 17
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both parties is to proactively engage toconverge as soon as possible. Again, qual-ity is more important than time.”
One of the key sticking points in thenegotiations is thought to be the ability tocreate and provide proprietary valueadded solutions and applications to cus-tomers for use with the Global Xpresssatellite system.
Resellers can use these products as away of differentiating themselves from thecompetition and providing additionalvalue to customers to convince them that
the package they provide is better thanthose available from their rivals.
With Global Xpress however, DigitalShip understands that Inmarsat aims to‘lock-down’ the communications environ-ment to some extent, and gain more con-trol over how third parties interact withthe system – in a way that could be likenedto Apple’s control over access to the tech-nological ecosystem running its Macs,iPhones and iPads.
“Inmarsat is looking at the GlobalXpress tie-in of value added services to
one connectivity technology. We have,clearly, a different view – there are con-nectivity technologies but the solutionlayer we are building should be, in a cer-tain way, independent of the connectivityprovided,” said Mr Ceuppens.
“This is probably where we have a dif-ferent view, for example, than Inmarsat.We strongly believe in diversity. I thinkit’s also of benefit to Inmarsat, because ifthere’s no diversity the only differentiatorwill be price and I think that’s not reallyhealthy for the industry.”
“What’s important is that, in the GlobalXpress framework, elements are there thatwill allow companies to compete on thedifference in their value propositions tothe customers, and not only to compete onprice. For us, indeed, it’s critical that thereis a differentiation possibility based on theservices that we will be able to add.”
In the interest of maintaining balance,Digital Ship invited Inmarsat to provide itsown take on the development of thesenegotiations, though the company did notwish to respond beyond a short statementfrom president of Inmarsat Maritime,Frank Coles, saying that: “We are verysupportive of our partners and are enthu-siastic for their success. We continue to beengaged with Vizada and anticipate thembeing a GX partner.”
Whether it is through Global Xpress orother services, Astrium is sure that Ka-band technology will play a significantrole in the evolution of the maritime satel-lite communications market in the nextfew years.
“We believe indeed that there will be aKa-band future for the maritime market,which is why we are talking with Inmarsatabout Global Xpress,” said Mr Ceuppens.
“It’s very difficult to say today, butbesides Ka- there will also be Ku-. We takea multi-technology approach, being ableto offer both services.”
“It’s difficult to predict today where thecrossover will be between Ka-band andKu- five years from now, nobody has acrystal ball. But we believe with our multi-technology approach we will be bestplaced to serve our customers, it’s notabout Ka-band or Ku-band, it’s aboutbeing able to offer the best broadbandsolution to the customers independent ofthe frequency.”
Astrium notes that this approach willinclude other Ka-band services beyondGlobal Xpress, such as the regional servicethat will be available on Telenor’s Thor-7satellite and for which Marlink hasalready agreed a contract option.
Of course, as far as the Global Xpressissue goes, there could be one simple wayto bring discussions to a close.
With Astrium parent company EADShaving an estimated €11 billion cash sur-plus, as reported at the time of the Vizadaacquisition, Digital Ship asked MrBéranger if the company might not be ableto avoid further disagreement by simplybuying Inmarsat itself.
Smiling, he responded that: “Generally,we never make any statements in terms of potential acquisitions. So – it’s a‘no comment’.” DS
‘Inmarsat is looking at the Global Xpress tie-in of value added services to oneconnectivity technology. We have, clearly, a different view’ – Erik Ceuppens,
Astrium Services Business Communications
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SATCOMS
Digital Ship October 2012 page 18
vessels are sailing and if we can arrangefor the antennas to be sent there, as well asif easy access for the technicians can beprovided.”
“So far, we are very pleased toannounce that we are bang on our revisedschedule. There have been no noticeabledelays and everything has worked outfine.”
The hardware deployment has beencarried out without incurring downtimefor the respective vessels.
The antennas and other hardware aresent to designated ports, where the vesselsare scheduled to berth. Before the mainphase of the installation begins, the vesselcrew will have carried out the rough cablelaying, a process designed to save bothtime and resources.
“Laying the cable is a very simpleprocess,” explains Mr Bokelmann.
“The equipment consists of only onemain cable connection, and the crew onour vessels is competent enough to exe-cute the installation. Since the installationis so simple and easily done, our crew isnot hampered in the execution of theirroutine tasks.”
Upon arrival of the antennas at the des-ignated port, the commissioning engineersfrom Globecomm Maritime board theBockstiegel vessels and do the final com-missioning of the antennas.
“It was very important for us to organ-ise the implementation in a fashion whereno downtime is incurred for our vessels,”Mr Bokelmann notes.
“We have successfully done this andnever lost time or fallen behind schedulebecause of the hardware installation.”
The Telaurus Se@COMM communica-tions package implemented with the Pilotantennas also includes the installation ofnew software, and to date ReedereiBockstiegel has found the system to bevery reliable.
“The price of the basic software alreadyincludes a lot of features, which we foundsignificant,” says Mr Bokelmann.
“And although other maritime IT soft-ware providers offer these kinds of featuresas well, we get them practically for free.”
Crew retentionHaving equipped more than half of thefleet with the new satellite communica-tions solution, Reederei WernerBockstiegel has drawn some conclusionson the additional value gained from itsinvestment.
So far, the expected increase in averagedata traffic per month has proven to be inline with expectations.
Whereas the shipping company's ves-sels generally did not exceed 50 MB underthe old satellite communication system,already some of the ships that have imple-
Faced with a changing IT environment requiring real-time e-mail and broadband-supported applications, Reederei WernerBockstiegel realised that it needed to choose a new satcom system for its ships. Albert Bokelmann, Reederei Bockstiegel,
told Digital Ship about the key criteria in making this choice and the company’s early experiences with the new system
Making the move to broadband
MM aritime broadband solutionshave developed rapidly overthe last few years, and in order
to attract and retain their shipping compa-ny customers satellite communicationproviders are continuously striving toimprove their solutions.
When German shipping companyReederei Werner Bockstiegel recentlydecided to implement a new communica-tion solution, it selected the newlylaunched Iridium Pilot system, Iridium’slatest enhancement to its satellite broad-band platform.
The company had been persuaded torethink its satellite communication systemby the potential it saw to utilise an increas-ing number of broadband-supportedapplications, as well as the realisation thatexperienced crew is more easily retainedwhen modern communication options canbe offered.
One of the key reasons that a changewas necessary, according to the company,was the fact that real-time data exchangewas not practical with its previous solu-tion, which included Vizada’s Skyfile Mailapplication and FleetBroadband 150antennas.
In addition, the shipping company hadrealised that a higher volume of trafficwould be generated through the imple-mentation of new software applicationsthat it required in order to support theconnection of technical systems.
Based on the existing relationship ithad developed over the course of the pre-vious seven years, including the provisionof e-mail systems on board of its vessels,Reederei Bockstiegel decided to partnerwith Globecomm Maritime for the project.
And so, in July 2011, the companiessigned an agreement to implement thenew satellite communications solution onthe shipping company's fleet of 65 vessels,as part of an upgraded Telaurusse@COMM communications package.
The agreement contained the hardwareand software as well as the broadbandpackage, complete with installation andthe connection, says Albert Bokelmann,fleet manager, Reederei WernerBockstiegel.
Mr Bokelmann notes that the broad-band package, installation and spare partsare part of a package which ReedereiWerner Bockstiegel has negotiated with afixed flat rate, which offers a maximum of50 MB on smaller vessels and up to 200MB on larger ships.
“The monthly fee for the broadbandpackage is comparatively low, which isalso extremely important for us,” explainsMr Bokelmann.
“We have not agreed on a flexible datarate or the option to balance the used air-time over our entire fleet, because the
monthly fee is so small that the manpow-er needed to carry out these calculationswould exceed the monthly fee and, there-fore, be more costly.”
Iridium Pilot, Iridium’s second-genera-tion maritime broadband platform, waslaunched in February 2012. The systemutilises the Iridium OpenPort service, andis offered via a small, lightweight antenna.
Coverage is available on a global basis,with Reederei Bockstiegel noting that theability to provide worldwide satellitecommunication coverage to its vessels,
which are sailing all over the world, was akey element in its choice.
A further important factor in its deci-sion, explains Mr Bokelmann, was theavailability of three independent phonelines, all of which work simultaneously,and data at speeds up to 134 kbps.
“The fact that the platform offers abuilt-in firewall for traffic managementand a bulk configuration capability toassist in managing large volumes of unitswas very welcome to us, as it enabled us tocontrol the data traffic effectively,” addsMr Bokelmann.
Another pressing issue for ReedereiBockstiegel was the wish to change fromthe intermittent transmission of e-mailsunder its previous set-up to a real-timemessaging system.
“One of the key reasons for the decisionto install the Iridium equipment,” says MrBokelmann, “was that now we have nodelay in sending e-mail messages.”
Ultimately, Mr Bokelmann explainsthat the Iridium solution also provided thebenefit of having no moving parts, whichshould offer benefits in maintaining theequipment.
“A solid antenna, containing no mov-ing parts is more stable and consequentlymore reliable. We feel there is a hugeadvantage,” he says.
On-time installation The agreement between Reederei WernerBockstiegel and Globecomm includesantenna installation on all of the vessels.Since the roll-out of the system began inJanuary 2012, the solution has so far beeninstalled on 40 of the shipping company's65-strong fleet.
Although initially anticipated to becompleted within three months, ReedereiWerner Bockstiegel had to accept that thistimetable had been too ambitious, and MrBokelmann reports that the deployment ofthe antennas has been carried out withoutany major delays, and that the company isvery pleased with the progress of theimplementation.
Due to some of the vessels operating inareas to where transportation of the neces-sary equipment and access to the vessels isextremely difficult to manage, the shippingcompany eventually decided to adjust theschedule to a more manageable four to fivemonths implementation period.
“We originally anticipated to have fin-ished with the deployment of the equip-ment within a shorter timeframe, but wehad to accept the fact that some of ourships are simply not always within easyenough reach,” notes Mr Bokelmann.
“For some of them it takes much moretime to send the antenna out and then tofix up the hardware. How long the equip-ment installation and commissioning ofthe new satellite communication solutionwill take in the end depends on where our
Reederei Werner Bockstiegel has installed Iridium Pilot across its fleet
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Digital Ship
Digital Ship October 2012 page 19
mented the Iridium solution are seeingtraffic of between 40 and 50 MB, on thesmaller vessels, and a minimum of 100 MBof usage on the larger vessels.
The shipping company says that it isplanning on using most of its satellitecommunication volume for data traffic,with exchanges between ship and office tobe mainly conducted via e-mail.
Only in urgent matters, where e-mailcommunication would cause a significantdelay, is the vessel contacted via tele-phone, notes Mr Bokelmann.
With the installation of the IridiumPilot solution, the shipping company hasalso been able to accomplish one of the keygoals of the implementation by initiatingreal-time e-mail exchange.
In addition, Reederei WernerBockstiegel has recently acquired a newsoftware package that requires satellitebroadband connectivity to be available tosupport remote maintenance.
This is therefore another objectivereached, says Mr Bokelmann, and the com-pany is very pleased with the outcome.
Technical systems, such as the mainand auxiliary engines, have been connect-ed, via a special server, to the Iridium sys-tem. The first such systems have now beeninstalled, but the roll-out is ongoing andReederei Bockstiegel plans to have fin-ished the implementation by the begin-ning of 2013.
“As of late,” explains Mr Bokelmann,“we are operating new order and mainte-nance software on the vessels, which weremotely control from shore.”
“We can afford to do this remotelybecause the communication is so cheap.Real-time connectivity enables us to furtherlook into remote maintenance, which willbe a strong focus of ours in the near future.”
Remote maintenance is mainly man-aged by the Reederei Werner BockstiegelIT department, though in some cases the
remote control of machinery equipment iscarried out by the supplier, MrBokelmann notes.
In addition to utilising its new satellitecommunications package for operationaldata traffic, Reederei Werner Bockstiegelis now using three separate voice lines.Although voice is not the primary meansof communication, the shipping companyis glad to have the option available.
“The distribution of our satellite com-munication traffic is very clear. A mini-mum of 80 per cent is spent on data traffic.This is extremely important to us. Theremaining 20 per cent are spent on voicetraffic. These phone calls are mostly com-prised of crew communication and theoccasional emergency call,” says MrBokelmann.
“Voice lines are not new to us. We usedto have them under the old solution aswell. However, the newly implementedsatellite communication system providesus with different dedicated voice lines.”
“Although communication via voicelines is not the most important communi-cation feature and we almost exclusivelyuse voice lines for crew communication,we're happy about the fact that there areno special requirements for voice commu-nication. We are further pleased with thequality we receive with the Iridium pack-age. Both the captains on our vessels andthe staff in the office have deemed it to be sufficient.”
Reederei Werner Bockstiegel has nowinstalled extra equipment for crew com-munication on its vessels within theframework of the new Iridium-backednetwork.
“The new crew calling and communica-tion features,” explains Mr Bokelmann,“are not affecting the business communi-cation on board, because we have installedextra phone systems connected to theIridium platform, which enable us to offer
parallel crew and ship traffic.”The shipping company offers satellite
services to its crew via scratch cards. Sofar, only voice communication and e-mailis provided.
Surfing the internet has not been onoffer up to now, because, as MrBokelmann explains, new PC systems areneeded first. However, the shipping com-pany is planning to install the requiredhardware on its vessels from the begin-ning of 2013.
In the wake of the satellite communica-tions revamp, Reederei Bockstiegel antici-pates crew retention rates to increase.
“We have had extremely positive feed-back from our crew,” says Mr Bokelmann.
“Our seafarers can utilise the dedicatedvoice lines 24/7 and have experienced thevoice communication from ship to shoreto be both reasonably priced and readilyavailable. In addition, our crew appreci-ates the simplicity of the system.”
The shipping company is furtherpleased to be able to offer Wi-Fi services tothe crew, with wireless access pointsallowing crews to connect to the commu-nications services from their own cabins,affording them a comparatively high levelof privacy.
The opportunity to communicate withfamily members in private, Mr Bokelmannsays, is appreciated by the seafarers, and itis hoped to provide an additional incen-tive to attract crews that are becomingincreasingly difficult to obtain.
Cost controlDespite having agreed on fixed data pack-ages, Reederei Werner Bockstiegel hasnevertheless put control systems in placeto ensure cost containment.
In order to make sure that satcomaccess does not get out of control and leadto unexpected bills, the shipping companyinternally checks the monthly communi-
cation bills of all its vessels. In the courseof this process, the data usage is analysedand assessed.
If additional costs are incurred,explains Mr Bokelmann, a special depart-ment at Reederei Bockstiegel tries to estab-lish the root cause of the excess costs andassists the crew in keeping to the limit in future.
With the Iridium Pilot system in placethe company has also been able to reducecosts through easy access to the vessels’technical equipment, limiting the numberof man hours spent on maintenance aswell as reducing travel costs.
“Especially for our big heavy lifters, wenow have ready access to all the relevantdata regarding all the technical equipmentas often per day as we like,” MrBokelmann explains.
“We find this solution to be very help-ful and economical.”
The shipping company estimates that ithas so far been able to save about 40 percent on travel costs overall since the imple-mentation of Iridium Pilot. Remote access,on heavy lifters especially, is utilised tomonitor all relevant data, such as the mainengine, auxiliary engines, nautical equip-ment, cranes and others.
Overall, Mr Bokelmann notes, ReedereiWerner Bockstiegel has been able toachieve a significant cost reductionthrough the implementation of IridiumPilot.
“Our cost savings,” he says, “began onthe very first day of the installation.”
Ultimately, Mr Bokelmann says, ship-ping companies looking at acquiring anew satellite communication solutionshould pay attention to a number of keyconcerns. Apart from the ever-present costconsiderations, he particularly emphasisesthe importance of reliable equipment.
Only then, he points out, can effectiveand timely data transfer be ensured. DS
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SOFTWARE Digital Ship
Digital Ship October 2012 page 21
www.mespas.com
MESPAS reports that it has released ver-sion 5.14 of its fleet management software,mespas R5, containing a redesigned pro-curement software module.
The company says that this new mod-ule has been designed to leverage thepotential of cloud computing, to more eas-ily adapt to the changing and evolvingrequirements of the shipping industry.
The software will feature what MES-PAS calls a 'workbench concept', whichallows office staff to carry out all purchas-ing related activities on a single screen,adjustable by the individual user’srequirements.
Users can follow a workflow orientedapproach, whereby the various tasks arecarried out step-by-step, or use an activi-ties oriented approach.
At the system architecture level, MES-
PAS says that it is now easier to integratemespas R5 with third party systems, suchas accounting software solutions, and thatsuppliers to shipowners and ship manage-ment companies can download and accessthe mespas R5 supplier software for freefor integration purposes.
The updated version of the softwareincludes improved supplier company pro-file settings to facilitate in global sourcingof suppliers.
In related news, MESPAS has alsoannounced that World TankersManagement of Singapore is to implementthe mespas R5 technical fleet managementsoftware package.
World Tankers Management managesa fleet of 18 tanker vessels, and has chosento install the full range of software mod-ules including asset management and pro-curement, both onboard the vessels aswell as in shore offices.
www.srosolutions.net
SRO Solutions in the UK has launched anew marine onboard services division thatwill provide marine engineers to help cus-tomers ensure their onboard systems areoperating at maximum efficiency.
The company says that this new divi-sion builds on the successful completionof similar projects carried out for majorshipping companies in the US and Europe.
The original team of four consultantshas been doubled, as SRO managingdirector Steve Driver explained.
“Based on our understanding of theneeds of our customers we have devel-oped a process and programme for train-ing staff to the high standards expectedwithin the maritime industry. This meansthat they will be accepted by the cus-tomers to go onboard their vessels and be productive immediately and able towork closely with the onboard personnel,”he said.
“Not only is the logistics of flying peopleto sit on lengthy onshore training coursesvery complicated, quite often the costsinvolved become restrictive, so much sothat it becomes impractical to do so. By put-
ting the trainer on the ship, not only doesthis ensure a very efficient and focussedway of working but it also ensures theoverall costs are kept to a minimum.”
“So far the feedback from the ships hasbeen excellent with most people muchpreferring to be trained in their own envi-ronment, by like-minded engineers, usingtheir own systems and data.”
The new division is able to offer servic-es including CMMS training, asset man-agement commissioning, inventory opti-misation services and other trainingoptions for onboard personnel.
“In addition to providing our existingcustomers with continued regular onboardIBM Maximo and AMOS services, trainingand resources, we recently started a newservice providing onboard inventory serv-ices for a US based tanker operator of over20 ships,” added Mr Driver.
“For the past few months we haveworked closely with this customer toscope and design the process and famil-iarise our team with their requirements.The project will run for 12 months withthe first SRO marine onboard servicesteam due to join the first two ships by theend of September.”
Fuel reduction technologies from ABB
MESPAS upgrades software package
SRO launches onboard services divisionwww.abb.com
Power and automation technology groupABB has introduced a number of newsoftware applications for the marine mar-ket aimed at assisting in reducing fuelconsumption.
These 'Advisory Systems' include the lat-est versions of ABB’s energy managementsystem for marine applications (EMMA)and Amarcon’s Octopus solution, followingABB's recent acquisition of Amarcon.
“By aggregating Amarcon systems intoABB’s solutions, we are now able to pro-vide the widest portfolio of optimisationtools available on the market,” says HeikkiSoljama, head of the marine and cranesbusiness unit.
“With these solutions, we are betterequipped to help ship operators reducefuel consumption efficiently and provideadded-value technology to all ship owners.”
The ABB package incorporates vesselinformation and control technology thatallows ship operators to monitor and cal-culate the optimum utilisation of poweronboard, which the company suggestscould help to reduce fuel usage by up to 20 per cent.
Some of its systems have already beenintroduced by German shipping companyRickmers Group, which will use the advi-sory systems for dynamic trim optimisa-tion and fleet management for five multi-purpose vessels.
In other news, ABB has recently wonanother order from STX in Finland to sup-ply an automation package and energymanagement system for a new 99,300 GTcruise vessel currently being built by STXFinland Oy and owned by TUI Cruises.
The cruise ship will be added to the TUICruises GmbH fleet, a joint venturebetween German tourism company TUIAG and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line,after delivery in 2014.
ABB systems will be used to help thenew ship to regulate fuel and power con-sumption, and provide operational infor-mation for all onboard systems.
The delivery will include an integratedvessel management system (VMS), as wellas a range of other energy managementtechnologies. This ship will also be thefirst cruise vessel in the world to utilise theEthernet based IEC61850 protocol inswitchboard to power management sys-tem communication.
Procurement has been redesigned in the new version of the software
Seagull reports that it has securedapproval from Liberia for its Securitytraining package, adding to a similarapproval recently granted by theNorwegian Maritime Authority.
Tero Marine has had type approvalfor its TM Master Fleet Management Suiterenewed by DNV. The software package,together with its user guides, are nowapproved by DNV until 2015, and alsohold approvals from Bureau Veritas,Germanischer Lloyd, NipponKaiji Kyokai and Lloyd’s Register.
Chris Clucas has been appointed to themain board at Witherby PublishingGroup, as a non-executive director. MrClucas has worked within the BernardSchulte Group since 1990, where he iscommercial director at its shipmanage-ment office on the Isle of Man.
The Korean Register of Shipping (KR) hasopened a new global headquarters build-ing in Busan, South Korea.
The new headquarters building was offi-cially opened by Dr Oh Kong Gyun, chairmanand CEO of KR, in front of approximately 400representatives from ship owning companies,shipyards, classification societies and govern-ments, both Korean and international.
The new offices take over from the previ-ous headquarters in the central Korean cityof Daejeon, and will also control KR’s 59branch offices located across the globe and itsthree regional headquarters, in Athens (cov-ering Europe), Shanghai (covering China)and Singapore (covering Asia Pacific).
“The opening of our new international
headquarters is the culmination of manyyears planning and represents a signifi-cant step forward for our growing organi-sation,” said Dr Oh.
“It is another milestone on the path toachieving our 2020 vision and I would liketo thank all those who have worked sohard to make it a reality.”
Approximately 350 staff have movedfrom Daejeon and are now working in thenew facility. KR’s R&D centre, along withother, non-merchant marine related func-tions, will remain in Daejeon.
The new 18 storey building in Busanhas an integrated management systemthat automates many of the internal serv-ices to save energy. Solar cells are incorpo-rated to reduce energy use and rain wateris collected and re-used.
Korean Register moves global HQ
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p21-32:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 17:32 Page 2
Randall Miller received the message just after the board meeting. MV Hemingway was forced to change course, due to an emergency in the next port of call. Recently Randall had selected Imtech Marine as their connectivity supplier. The promise of hassle-free solutions was delivered right away. Thanks to the global VSAT connection he could set up a crystal clear video conference with the captain, the cargo owner and port authorities. An alternative route was quickly agreed, the delay limited to mere hours.
Imtech Marine’s connectivity solutions excel by their global coverage and value added services. Find out more at www.imtechmarine.com/connectivity.
Randall Miller received the message just after the board meeting. MV Hemingway was forced to change course, due to an emergency in the next port of call. Recently Randall had selected Imtech Marine as their connectivity supplier. The promise of hassle-free solutions was delivered right away. Thanks to the global VSAT connection he could set up a crystal clear video conference with the captain, the cargo owner and port authorities. An alternative route was quickly agreed, the delay limited to mere hours.
Imtech Marine’s connectivity solutions excel by their global coverage and value added services. Find out more at www.imtechmarine.com/connectivity.
p21-32:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 17:32 Page 3
Digital Ship October 2012 page 24
SOFTWARE
www.sismarine.com
Star Information Systems (SIS) has signedan agreement with StormGeo that will seeboth companies work together to developa range of software solutions for the off-shore and shipping industries.
StormGeo, a provider of meteorologicaldecision systems to the offshore industry,has taken a 15 per cent stake in SIS as partof the agreement, with an option toincrease this in the future, which will alsoprovide SIS with extra funding.
The companies aim to begin providingthe first new products under their partner-ship to the market within the next twelvemonths, combining the weather dataavailable from StormGeo with SIS fleetmanagement software systems.
“For some time we have been searchingfor a partner that can help us to bothdevelop our international presence andexpand our product portfolio,” said PerAnders Koien, CEO at Star InformationSystems.
“In StormGeo we found potential syn-ergies in products, technology, organisa-tion, customers and geographical loca-tions. With StormGeo as a business part-
ner and shareholder we believe we will manage to develop together game-changing software solutions to our targetmarkets.”
“We see that our customers are facingnew and more demanding requirementsfor safe operation from the authorities andtheir own customers. We also see thattheir activity is increasing in moredemanding locations, such as in arcticareas. By combining machinery and oper-ational performance information withweather forecasting we can help our cus-tomers to build a safer and more cost-effi-cient operation.”
In related news, Antwerp-based ScaldisSalvage and Marine Contractors hasagreed a deal with Dutch companyMirTac to implement the Star IPS fleetmanagement system from StarInformation Systems.
Scaldis Salvage and Marine Contractorsperforms projects involving marine-basedheavy lifts, ranging from engineering,design and diving up to heavy-lifting,with a fleet consisting of the multipurposesea-going heavy lift vessel Rambiz and themultipurpose sheerleg Norma.
“We were looking for an easy-to-use but
SIS partners with StormGeo
complete software solution to meet ourrequirements for Quality, Environment,Health, Maintenance, Document andPurchase Management,” said JulesSchelkens, superintendent at Scaldis.
“The Star solution, combined withMirTac’s expertise, excelled in transparen-cy, user friendliness and an outstanding
knowledge of our business. With MirTacwe will improve our maintenance andpurchase processes and continue to com-ply with both our own and customer qual-ity standards.”
In addition to its existing vessels,Scaldis also expects a new heavy-lift vesselto be delivered in 2014.
www.globewireless.com
Globe Wireless has launched a new pre-paid Visa card programme for captainsand crew members, to reduce the need tosend cash to ships by increasing the use ofelectronic transfers.
The new service is the result of an exclu-sive worldwide sales and marketing rela-
Globe Wireless offers CrewCash and ShipMoney tionship with CrewCash, a payments com-pany offering prepaid solutions to thecommercial maritime industry.
The CrewCash and ShipMoney prod-ucts aim to reduce the costs associatedwith delivering currency to vessels, whichGlobe estimates at about five per cent.
CrewCash works like any other Visadebit card anywhere in the world, andallows crew members to receive their pay,send money to family or friends, with-draw local currency at ATMs, or makepurchases using their card at stores,restaurants or online.
The card also aims to make it lessexpensive for seafarers to convert theirwages to their home currency, comparedwith being paid in cash.
CrewCash cardholders do not need abank account and there is no credit checkinvolved.
Globe notes that this product may
prove particularly useful in assisting com-panies in compliance with crew remit-tance regulations contained in theMaritime Labour Convention.
Title 2, Regulation 2.2 states that: “EachMember shall require that ship ownerstake measures…to provide seafarers witha means to transmit all or part of theirearnings to their families or dependents orlegal beneficiaries…and…a system forenabling seafarers, at the time of theirentering employment or during it toallot…a proportion of their wages forremittance.”
In this regard, CrewCash cards can beissued to a seafarer’s family members athome, and part of the seafarer’s wagestransferred to that card to make the processof sending money home much simpler.
ShipMoney meanwhile is a prepaidVisa purchasing card for captains, for usein the procurement of provisions, in emer-
Globe Wireless CrewCash cards can beissued without a bank account
www.autoship.com
Autoship Systems Corporation (ASC) is tosupply its PC-based marine design softwarepackage to Dubai-based Focus Marine LLC,a provider of services to the United ArabEmirates shipbuilding industry.
Focus Marine will use the AutoshipSystem design application to assist itsnaval architect and marine engineer teamin handling a variety of marine vesseldesign projects as its main marine engi-neering platform.
“The Autoship System was chosen byour engineering group for several reasons- the main one being its integrated suite
offers us a lean-engineering approach,”said Mihailo Maksimovic, technical direc-tor at Focus Marine.
“When we can output NC files fromProduction Manager based on a vesselmodel originally developed in theAutoship hull design program, then weare benefiting from the power of a trueCAD/CAM system.”
“If there is a change to the vessel model,even when we have all the internal struc-tural design completed, we go back intoAutoship, widen the beam, for example,then go back into Autostructure and simplyclick on a button to regenerate the affectedparts. That’s the power of this system.”
Autoship CAD for Focus Marine www.wrist.com
Wrist Ship Supply has launched a newsoftware program called Xena, which aimsto streamline the purchasing process forconsumable ship supplies by linking pur-chasing to recipes and nutrition advice.
Xena is a menu-planning tool and elec-tronic cookbook that is linked with inven-tory control. Recipes in the applicationprovide cost per meal information and rec-oncile this against existing food stock.
The software allows for the managementof ordering and stock and menu planning,and takes into account regulations aroundseafarer catering stipulated in the Maritime
gencies or for other ship expenses.ShipMoney can be loaded and
unloaded with funds at any time, and canbe configured to include or exclude ATMaccess, as well as restricting merchants bymerchant category codes.
This means, for example, thatShipMoney cards could be restricted frombeing used at casinos, massage parloursand other places captains should not bespending company funds.
The package also includes real-timeand downloadable expense reporting.
“As a leading provider of communica-tions, operational and IT solutions to themaritime industry, Globe Wireless is per-fectly positioned to introduce CrewCashand ShipMoney,” said David Kagan, pres-ident of Globe Wireless.
“We are very excited to introduce a newbenefit to crew members while savingcommercial maritime companies money.”
Scaldis’ heavy lift vessel Rambiz will benefit from the new software system
Labour Convention (MLC) 2006. “Transparency and budget control are
key priorities for our customers, and in thecurrent market ensuring optimum efficien-cy is a challenge,” said Robert Steen Kledal,managing director, Wrist Ship Supply.
“Add to this the reality of regulationsuch as the Maritime Labour Convention2006, and we see a real need for a softwareprogram that can deliver a solution forboth of these issues.”
“Xena has been developed to providean intuitive and interactive procurementprocess and we are pleased to launch thissoftware at a time when efficiency is at a premium.”
Software links purchasing to recipes
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Digital Ship October 2012 page 26
SOFTWARE
www.volarisgroup.comwww.spectec.netwww.dnv.com
Maritime software company SpecTec hasbeen acquired by the Volaris Group, a com-pany that specialises in acquiring and grow-ing vertical market technology companies.
Volaris, part of Constellation SoftwareInc, has purchased 100 per cent of theshares of the SpecTec Group under thedeal, and aims to extend Volaris’ marketreach into a new marine vertical.
“SpecTec is considered a market leader inmarine-focused and remote asset manage-ment solutions, making them an ideal acqui-sition as we move into this vertical market,”said Mark Miller, CEO, Volaris Group.
“We look forward to supporting theSpecTec team as they continue to grow andstrengthen their business in this market.”
SpecTec will continue to be led by CEOGiampiero Soncini and will operate as aseparate entity, continuing to serve its cus-tomers under the SpecTec brand andkeeping its management team in place.
“We’re very happy to be a part of theVolaris Group as they bring extensiveexperience building and growing softwarebusinesses, and in particular, businessesthat provide industry-focused asset man-agement and logistics solutions,” com-mented Mr Soncini.
“Volaris invests in businesses for thelong-term, so we know we have found agood home with them. With Volaris sup-port, we can grow SpecTec further into itsmain market verticals in the marine, oil &gas, defence and remote asset manage-ment areas.”
In other news, SpecTec and DNV havetogether launched an all-in-one plannedinspection and maintenance system forship structures, combining SpecTec’sAMOS software with DNV’s HullIntegrity Management system.
The new combined application uses theDNV vessel-specific hull inspection formsand procedures that come as part of the HullIntegrity Management (HIM) system, andincludes 3D inspection and reporting func-tionality for the early detection of defects.
These capabilities will be added to theAMOS planned maintenance system,which supports tasks such as mainte-nance, spare parts logistics managementand the production of quality and safetydocumentation.
A vessel structure model established inthe AMOS component hierarchy will becombined with HIM’s vessel-specific hullinspection information and any diagramsshowing areas that require special attention.
Hull inspection data is automaticallysynchronised by AMOS data communica-tion processes so that it is available to crew,managers, charterers, inspectors and spe-cialists, and can be used for ISM, TSMA,OVMSA, OCIMF and vetting requirements.
“Over the last 30 years, AMOS hasbecome the de facto standard in shipping fortechnical management,” said Mr Soncini.
“Our cooperation with DNV adds theability to provide structure related mainte-nance and monitoring so that the shipmanagement can track structural andcoating condition including repairs with
statistics that can be benchmarked fromvessel to fleet.”
SpecTec has also recently announcedthe signing of two new contracts, one inthe Middle East, with Mubarak MarineLLC to implement the AMOS2 softwaresystem, and the other with Vancouver-based Grieg Star.
The deal with Mubarak Marineincludes one office installation at the com-pany’s headquarters in Dubai and five off-shore tug vessel installations.
The system will be used to improve thecompany’s Planned Maintenance System,and aims to help decrease the costs of pro-curement and provide IT support in drydock operations.
Mubarak says it also intends to gradu-ally extend the implementation of theAMOS2 Enterprise Suite to include theCrew Management, Payroll, and Quality& Safety modules, and eventually cover itsentire fleet of 33 vessels.
Database consultancy will be providedby SpecTec technical staff in the MiddleEast for the project.
For Grieg Star, SpecTec will build anew AMOS ship database, importing aShipdex dataset for new crane equipmentdelivered by MacGregor.
The cranes are to be installed on 10 newGrieg Star L-class vessels currently underconstruction and expected to be deliveredbetween 2012 and 2014.
The contract will see the first AMOS shipdatabase built from Shipdex data deliveredbefore the end of September, covering theMacGregor crane equipment only.
The first step of the project involves thevalidation of the MacGregor Shipdexdataset, which will be followed by map-ping of related SFI Codes. The data willthen be imported into the AMOS databasebefore a final check of the database com-pletes the project.
“This is the Grieg Star’s first step into anew ‘documentation era’, where the tech-nical manuals are supplied in a standard-ised electronic format by the most impor-tant manufacturers,” said MarcoVatteroni, SpecTec ILS manager andauthor of the Shipdex protocol.
“The same Shipdex data can be used tocreate the so-called Company CommonSource Database (CSDB) that becomes themost important technical repository.”
www.veson.com
Veson Nautical has announced thelaunch of IMOS7, the latest version of thecompany’s Integrated MaritimeOperations System.
Compared with v6, the new versionoffers a number of additional features ineach of the core modules - Chartering,Trading, Operations and Financials - thatcan be added to existing installationsthrough the use of Veson's platforminstaller.
The new Trading and CharteringModule features include BenchmarkPricing to enable dynamic selection ofminimum or maximum exposure basedon daily market conditions, and CargoMatching to assist in identifying the bestvessels for a cargo and the best cargos fora vessel.
In the Operations and FinancialsModule, new features include P&LVariance Reporting, which providesdaily variance reports that highlight voy-
age P&L deviations based on user speci-fied tolerances, and Voyage AccrualOptions that provide new accrual calcu-lation models.
Also added to this module are NorthAmerica ECA Zones, adding support forlow sulphur zones to assist voyage planning and operation, and LNGBunker Curves and ConsumptionTracking for modelling and tracking ofLNG fuel consumption
IMOS7 is already in use in over fortymajor installations, the company says.
“Until now, we’ve looked at how toautomate current maritime business prac-tices. IMOS7 begins to answer the ques-tion ‘How will we need to work tomor-row?’” said John Veson, president ofVeson Nautical.
“We believe that the answer involvesan active and supportive user communitywithin each customer’s organisation,where people constantly share real-timeinformation. IMOS7 is designed for exact-ly this type of collaboration.”
Volaris buys SpecTec
Auditors, Vetting Inspectors and othershore based authorities a more committedtraining structure.”
Videotel says it will use this new sys-tem to launch the latest version of itsECDIS Training Course, updated to followthe new STCW Manila amendments andIMO guidelines.
NVOD is a networked version of theproduct which provides access toVideotel’s videos, courses and interactivecomputer based training across a ship’snetwork, enabling multiple users to watchdifferent programmes simultaneously.
The G2 technology provides menuoptions in 10 different languages, as wellas access to recently viewed items andfavourites.
Individual company training pro-grammes can be uploaded and usedalongside Videotel training and the sys-tem can be integrated with existing crewSafety Management Systems.
Videotel launches next generation www.videotel.com
Videotel has introduced new versions ofits computer based training systems withthe launch of VOD G2 (Videotel OnDemand G2) and NVOD G2 (NetworkedVideotel On Demand G2).
“Our G2 second generation operatingsystem really does bring 21st century userbenefits,” says Nigel Cleave, CEO ofVideotel Marine International.
“We now offer our complete trainingpackage in one brilliantly fast, user friend-ly, stable and state-of-art operating envi-ronment. Cloud based technology allowsVOD G2 and NVOD G2 to access onlineservices via our webFTA portal, theonshore records management programwhich enables access to all trainingrecords on all ships along with customiseddata assessments.”
“There’s no better way to demonstrateto Port State Control Officers, ISM
Veson launches IMOS7
‘Volaris invests in businesses for the longterm, so we know we have found a goodhome with them’ – Giampiero Soncini,
SpecTec
The VOD G2 can link with cloud technology to access online services
p21-32:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 17:33 Page 6
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Applied Weather Technology (AWT) haslaunched its Fleet Decision SupportSystem (FleetDSS), which aims to allowshipping companies to more easily man-age a range of vessel voyage and perform-ance data across entire fleets.
Ships are displayed in a GlobalMercator projection map, and can be fil-tered according to a variety of parameters
via a dashboard, to allow companies withlarge fleets to focus on the few vessels thatneed the most attention for safety or per-formance reasons.
Operators can view alerts when anyissue comes up with the voyage, ensuringthat their attention is focused where it is needed most. These alerts are cus-tomer-controlled and customisable tomeet the needs of each specific voyage,and reports can be exported to an Excel
Fleet Decision Support System launched by AWT
The FleetDSS system allows companies with large fleets to quickly identify vessels that need attention
spreadsheet.Pro forma graphs allow the company to
compare the vessel’s expected perform-ance with its actual performance while enroute, with alerts available to notify oper-ators when a ship deviates from the proforma voyage plan.
This can enable offices on shore to spotvessels that are over consuming fuel andaddress the problem during the voyage tominimise excessive consumption.
At the end of the voyage, operators canuse a summary report to compare theship’s performance with past voyages in agraphical display and compare vessels onthe same trade run to each other and totheir pro forma requirements.
In addition to the customised alerts,FleetDSS includes several safety alerts.
Operators can see alerts when therehas been a recent pirate attack within thevicinity, if vessels are entering a war riskarea, and if there are any hazards nearby.
Dangerous weather conditions such asrogue wave risk areas, iceberg areas, sig-nificant wave height or tropical cyclonescan also be displayed.
CMA CGM has been the first companyto use the new service, having been heavi-ly involved in its development.
“Working with AWT's knowledgeabledevelopment team to customise the FleetDecision Support System has been veryrewarding,” said Captain MichelCochennec, deputy director, FleetNavigation Centre, CMA CGM.
“With FleetDSS, we can now compareactual vessel performance to our proforma that results in quick, proactive man-agement during the voyage. We can easilydetermine confidence levels of a route,and with the alarm dashboard we canassess risks such as pirate attacks in timeto properly manage them.”
“Coupled with AWT's exceptionalrouting service, CMA CGM is better ableto manage its fleet to improve efficiencyand safety.”
www.classnk.or.jp
ClassNK reports that it has started fullscale ship tests to develop a feedbackscheme on the impact of ship design on vessel performance in actual sea conditions.
The joint research programme will becarried out in collaboration with ImabariShipbuilding and Sayonas Shipbuilding.
During this project, an energy savingoperation support system calledClassNK-NAPA GREEN, developed byClassNK and Napa, will be installed on the ships constructed by each of the above mentioned yards. The partners will then attempt to verify the effectiveness of the energy saving
system in operation.ClassNK says that the objective is to
contribute to total optimisation of per-formance with regard to fuel efficiency,both in calm seas and actual sea condi-tions, with the feedback obtained fromgathering and analysing the informationobtained from the test ships.
This will be used to measure the rela-tionship between draft, trim, main engineoutput, vessel speed, marine weatherinformation, and other parameters.
Shipyards can confirm ships’ perform-ance in calm seas during the sea trials ofnewly built ships, but it remains difficultto correctly understand performance inreal sea and draft conditions after entryinto service, ClassNK says.
www.seagull.no
GMT Communications Partners (GMT), aEuropean media and communicationsfocused private equity group, has investedin maritime e-learning provider Seagull,the companies report.
Founded in 1996 by its chairman,Oscar Johansen, and financial partnerBjørn L.G. Braathen, Seagull systems are currently in use at more than 8,000locations, the majority of which areseagoing vessels.
The company has its headquarters inNorway, with offices in Germany,Greece, Japan, Poland, Singapore and the UK.
A news report from Growth Business inthe UK has suggested that the deal couldbe worth approximately €50 million,though this is yet to be confirmed.
GMT has teamed up with the manage-ment and chairman of Seagull to acquirethe shareholdings of certain of Seagull’sexisting shareholders, a deal which willsee Natalie Tydeman, partner at GMT, join the board of the company followingthe transaction.
“We are excited to join Oscar(Johansen) and Roger (Ringstad) as share-holders in Seagull,” she said.
“Seagull is led by an excellent manage-ment team and is highly regarded within
an industry where the importance of training and certification continues to increase.”
“We have together developed an excit-ing plan to extend investment in trainingcontent and customer support, and to con-tinue to grow the business within ship-ping and other specialist sectors.”
Oscar Johansen, chairman of Seagull,also commented: “We are delighted tohave found an investor with the skills,experience and financial resourcesrequired to help us take Seagull to the nextstage of its growth.”
“GMT’s access to international net-works, expertise and support in the com-ing years will allow us to continue todevelop our market-leading technologyplatform and focus on our commitment toservice excellence.”
“By combining our resources we will beable to ramp up our product development,sales and marketing and world-wide sup-port for our clients.”
News of this acquisition followed soonafter an announcement that AnangelMaritime Services in Greece is to imple-ment the Seagull Training System for useacross its entire fleet of ships and in itsmain office on shore.
Anangel Maritime Services is the bulkcarrier unit of the Angelicoussis ShippingGroup Limited, and operates a fleet of
ClassNK begins ship efficiencyproject
Seagull acquisition dealmore than 40 bulk carriers.
Its sister companies, Maran GasMaritime and Maran TankersManagement, have also used the SeagullTraining System on their vessels since 2008and 2010, respectively.
The Seagull Training System (STS) canbe delivered as a laptop or desktop com-
puter which is pre-loaded with a packageof available tools, including core compo-nents such as the Computer BasedTraining (CBT) library and the SeagullTraining Administrator.
The complete STS package is also avail-able online to create an integrated onboardand online software solution.
p21-32:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 17:33 Page 8
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Digital Ship October 2012 page 30
SOFTWARE
www.crewinspector.com
Euroceanica Ltd in the UK and LighthausPte Ltd of Singapore are to implement crewmanagement systems from CrewInspector.
The systems will include an onlinecrew management database, with an inte-grated online application for seafarers andcrew payroll software functionality.
Euroceanica will use the system to runits fleet of eight chemical tankers.
CrewInspector says it has already suc-cessfully completed data migration fromEuroceanica's legacy crew managementsystem using ABS Nautical Systems' NS5
software, and begun the changeover to thenew crewing platform at the company'soffices in London and Riga.
Access to the system will be availablevia several different devices, over regularPC, mobile phone or tablet.
“After an extensive search amongstseveral software providers for a web-host-ed solution, I chose CrewInspector for twomain reasons, its simplicity in use and itsadaptability to our own internal needs,”said Allan Dutton, group operations andfleet manager at Euroceanica UK Ltd.
“The tectonic shift to migrate all currentdata to the new system and get the ‘buy in’
of all employees to use the new systemwas accomplished in a very short periodof time. Work processes are now muchmore efficient and the support has beenoutstanding.”
Lighthaus will use the CrewInspectorsystem to integrate crewing proceduresamongst Lighthaus offices in Singapore,Indonesia, Ukraine and Myanmar, and willassist in ensuring compliance with crewingregulations to be introduced by MLC 2006.
The consolidation of seafarer employ-ment contracts into a single system isexpected to reduce manual operations by50 per cent. A crew payroll function that
will automate seafarer wage calculationbased on vessel planning and crew rota-tion will also be implemented.
The software's integrated client invoic-ing functionality should allow Lighthausto perform financial management andpreparation of invoices for rendered serv-ices from within the application, and pro-vide its customers with access to designat-ed vessel and crew data in real time.
“After longer discussionsCrewInspector was able to tailor the pro-gram to our needs,” commented CaptReinhard Dombrowski, managing direc-tor, Lighthaus Pte Ltd.
www.crewtoo.com
Crewtoo, a social networking site for sea-farers operated by Headland Media, hasbeen launched.
Similar to other popular social net-works, such as Facebook or Twitter, sea-farers can create their own profile, searchfor other seafarers by ship, rank or compa-ny and post updates to their wall, as wellas having a platform to chat with otherseafarers and participate in Crewtoo-ledpolls, games and quizzes.
However, the site does have a major dif-ference in that members who don’t yet havefull internet access on board are able to postupdates to their Crewtoo page by e-mailfrom their ship, and receive a weekly round-up of activity on their page by e-mail.
Headland Media, which also operatesNewsLink, Walport and Crew MediaPlayer, began work on Crewtoo inNovember 2011 when the team began topose questions directly to crew via asmall text-based advert in the dailyNewsLink newspapers.
Participating crew members wereasked to share their thoughts on issuesranging from their favourite type of musicto what they saw as the downsides ofworking at sea. The results were printedthe following week and a weightierround-up of responses was delivered tomembers’ e-mail addresses.
Crewtoo is currently an e-mail commu-nity of over 1,700 members with a growthrate of 7 new members per day, and with10 per cent participating in weekly polls.
“Seafarers work hard and spend a lot of
time alone at sea, yet are by and largeignored both by mainstream media andbusiness,” said Mark Woodhead, MD atHeadland Media.
“We believe these seafarers need moreattention, more services, and an increasedability to communicate with each other.We have developed Crewtoo to be both ‘aclub’ and ‘a service provider’ to seafarers,with the internet and e-mail being the keyto this.”
The company is aiming to attract morethan 6,000 members by the end of 2012.
Euroceanica and Lighthaus implement crew software system
Social networking site for seafarers launched
Upcoming eventsDon’t miss out on the premier events in the shipping industry:
make a date in your diary for our forthcoming conferences and exhibitions
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
BERGEN 30 - 31 JANUARY 2013
HAMBURG 27 - 28 FEBRUARY 2013
CYPRUS 23 - 25 APRIL 2013
p21-32:p1-14.qxd 27/09/2012 17:41 Page 10
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BB ox ships are getting bigger. Theaverage containership has grownin carrying capacity by an average
of 24 per cent since 2008. On the Asia-Europe trade, the size of the averageworkhorse vessel is around 8,500 teu andthat is forecast to increase by almost 50 percent to 12,500 teu over the next year or two.
A number of lines are operating ultralarge container vessels (ULCV) of 15,000teu or more and Maersk’s ‘Triple E’ fleet of18,000 teu vessels will begin entering serv-ice from next year.
According to industry commentators,larger and more efficient vessels arerequired for almost all the world’s majortrade lanes. Carriers have little controlover their revenues in terms of pricingand so they must concentrate on control-ling costs.
Freight rates have been driven down-wards by the double whammy of flatdemand and a tonnage over-supply,regardless of whatever actions a carriermight undertake to gain pricing power,and so a focus on costs has now becomevital for survival.
In the long run, that will manifest itselfin even bigger and more efficient ships –and we are already seeing that trend.
But larger ships bring unintended consequences which the carrier mustaddress if they are to continue to remainprofitable and deliver a high standard ofcustomer service.
The pressure on back-office activitiesassociated with larger vessels will soonbegin to escalate. Booking clerks will berequired to ‘close’ a larger vessel withinthe same time-period associated withsmaller ships although they will, perhaps,have 50 per cent more consignments to process.
This means that an already over-stretched office will be required to processmany more bookings, documents, invoic-es, container releases and customs decla-rations within a very tight time-frame.
This is already impacting negativelyon customer service according to a recentindustry survey, where accuracy ofinvoices and the issuing of timely bills oflading were pinpointed as recurringproblems.
To manage this additional work-loadthe carrier has a stark choice – employmore staff or introduce efficiencies into the system.
Ever mindful of the necessity to man-age costs, many lines are reducing head-count and so it makes absolute sense for acarrier to build a level of intelligentautomation into their back-office functionto assist with the increased activity.
But sometimes this is not as easy as itsounds. In general, it is the larger carriers
that are operating the larger vessels andthese companies are often reliant on heav-ily entrenched, bespoke and outdated soft-ware systems.
Many of these systems were installedbefore packaged software was availableand, because of the large initial outlay cou-pled with a reluctance to interrupt busi-ness, these carriers feel compelled to stickwith existing systems.
However, core technology develop-ment appears to run in cycles of betweenfive and ten years, which means that soft-ware languages and hardware platformsdate quickly and often become obsoleteand unsupportable.
Because of this, some large operatorsare struggling to maintain their in-housesystems, struggling to meet the heftymaintenance bills and struggling to gettheir software to perform to modern dayrequirements.
Off the shelf Instead of commissioning expensive soft-ware, some operators are starting to buyoff-the-shelf from specialist shipping soft-ware houses.
With a price tag that can be up to 50 times less expensive than commission-ing a bespoke application, it is not diffi-cult to understand why this is the grow-ing trend. In-built ‘software switches’allow individual customisation and regu-lar software and platform upgradesensure operators never get stuck with old technology.
But moving away from existing sys-tems to embrace new technology can be apainful step, particularly when softwareapplications are controlling key areas of
the business. The trick is to prove the soft-ware before purchase, which is perfectlyfeasible with off-the-shelf solutions.
Operators should seek out softwarehouses that have a proven track-record intheir sector and who can demonstratetheir solutions in simulated business envi-ronments. This eliminates many of theteething problems that cause downtimefor bug fixing and other maintenance
activities, and clearly shows the advan-tages of the software.
Packaged software is modular, whichmeans that an operator can install as manyor as few applications as required, safe inthe knowledge that each module will com-municate with the others. This ensures anefficient flow of data across the companybecause information is only entered onceand is then gathered from various mod-ules to achieve specific tasks.
Data overload The volume of information that needs tobe processed is staggering. Taking aULCV of 15,000 teu as an example, morethan 60,000 pieces of information need to be exchanged between ship and termi-nal to govern the six standard moves for each box – these are gate out depot,gate in terminal, load terminal, dischargeterminal, gate out terminal and gate in depot.
However, if the pre-arrival notice,release order, booking confirmation, bill of
lading and invoice are considered then afurther 60,000 pieces of data need to berelayed for the export process and another20,000 (notice of arrival and deliveryorder) for the import process.
That is 140,000 transactions createdaround one ULCV voyage. If one transac-tion can be actioned in just 3 minutes, theentire process would take around 7,000hours or more than 875 working days.
Automating this process would great-ly reduce the workload and result insome significant savings. What’s more,automation generally reduces errors andomissions that inevitably creep in whenmanually processing such large amountsof data.
Valuable validation protocols can alsobe built-in as updates are being made. Forexample, a modern software package thatfacilitates this sort of automation will constantly be asking questions as data is exchanged.
Questions such as “is this my contain-er?”, “is this container really on my ves-sel?”, and “does the bill of lading andbooking information match the informa-tion held on my system?” are vital if effi-ciency and accuracy are to be achieved.
The software will also generateprompts to ensure the terminal receivesthe required information on time – thisprevents unwanted penalties that areoften awarded by terminals for latereporting.
From a customer perspective, automa-tion enhances their service experience asmodern systems can offer complete andup-to-the-minute visibility over actualcargo movements.
Technology can also be harnessed toprovide customers with added-value serv-ices such as internet bookings, trackingand scheduling, as well as creating moretransparency between the operator, agentand customer. Increasingly, these servicesare expected by today’s more sophisticat-ed customer.
Larger vessels will inevitably resultin more frantic back-office activity butthis needn’t cause the owner a headacheand certainly shouldn’t undermine cus-tomer service.
For many operators, it could easilybecome the catalyst that prompts them to move from outdated systems to more modern, versatile and flexible soft-ware that delivers much sought after cost efficiencies.
If that were the case, then big reallywould be beautiful.
The economic realities of modern shipping have led to the construction of ultra large vessels carrying enormousnumbers of containers. Managing the movement of these containers means dealing with massive amounts of data –
a process that can only be handled efficiently through the use of modern software systems, writes Lars Fischer, Softship
Is big always beautiful?
Maersk’s Triple E ships illustrate the trend towards bigger container vessels. Photo: Maersk
DS
About the authorLars Fischer is managing director of Softship Data Processing Ltd,Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Softship AG, a provider of soft-ware solutions to the international liner shipping sector.
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The Netherlands' Rijkswaterstaathas awarded a contract to supply, main-tain, repair and demobilise racons on bothits North Sea buoys and in inland watersto Tideland Signal. The contract runsup to and including 2015.
Ralf Lehnert has been appointed as thenew managing director of TransasMarine International. Mr Lehnert
joined Transas as a sales manager in 1999,and has been director of the simulationbusiness unit since 2010. He succeedsCarl-Olof Carlsson, who has moved to theposition of managing director of TransasMarine Limited.
Seagull has released two new CBTmodules designed, in conjunction withMARIS and Consilium Marine &Safety, to train navigators in the practi-cal use of the MARIS ECDIS900 andConsilium ECDIS, and satisfy the manu-facturer approved training requirementfor ‘Equipment Specific ECDIS Training’under IMO guidelines.
Ocean Signal has appointed MSService, based in St Petersburg, as itsRussian distributor. The announcementfollows the Ocean Signal range of SafeSeaproducts gaining full type approval foruse on Russian vessels.
Digital Ship October 2012 page 33
ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION Digital Ship
Jeppesen latest to enter PAYS marketwww.jeppesen.com/marine
Jeppesen has announced that it is set torelease its new OpenENC service, the com-pany’s take on Pay As You Sail (PAYS)licensing for electronic navigational charts.
Jeppesen OpenENC PAYS providesfree worldwide coverage of ENC charts onthe ECDIS for route planning purposes.When a ship sails, a tracking service ordevice reports the ship’s continual posi-tion and the customer is then invoiced forthe charts along the route in the two bestscales available.
The company says that this mightprove particularly useful for vessels thatdo not regularly sail on any fixed route,because the vessel always has all chartsavailable and can plan and sail a newroute at a moment’s notice.
The new service will add to Jeppesen’sDynamic Licensing and Direct Licensingoptions for chart licensing.
These different licensing methods dis-tribute ENCs using Jeppesen’s SENC for-mat approved by DNV (Det NorskeVeritas), which requires no verification orcompilation of data onboard.
“While PAYS options may seem likethe simplest option for buying ENCs, thismay not be the case in many situations,”said Paul Elgar, Jeppesen OEM strategicbusiness manager.
“By providing a choice of flexible ENClicensing services, we can help customersfind their own best and most affordablesolutions. Seamlessly combining differ-ent licensing options is also a help inareas where hydrographic offices do notaccept PAYS.”
www.skf.com
SKF has introduced its new SKF MarineCondition Monitoring Kit, which can beused to carry out simplified conditionmonitoring onboard ship.
The Kit contains a handheld monitor-ing device, the SKF Microlog Advisor Pro,as well as SKF marine library models andwork instructions for setting up and oper-ating the system.
An ARM (Analysis and Reporting) soft-ware package for reporting and trendingis also available as an optional extra.
The marine-specific software includestypical equipment models which areloaded into the handheld device, and is
preconfigured to convert the measureddata into colour-coded results.
Additional analysis of the data can thenbe performed, based on FFT (Fast FourierTransform) frequency band analysis, todetect the most likely root cause of thefault, such as unbalanced equipment,bearing failures, gear failures, electricalfailure in motors, or hydraulic and aero-dynamic problems.
“The SKF Marine ConditionMonitoring Kit is easy to set up, use andunderstand and can give early indicationof possible problems,” said Anders Welin,business engineer, SKF marine segment.
“It simplifies maintenance and reducesmaintenance costs.”
Ralf Lehnert, new managing director atTransas Marine International
creating seaworthy software
www.autoship.com
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www.ukho.gov.uk/security
The United Kingdom HydrographicOffice (UKHO) has introduced two newAdmiralty Maritime Security Charts tocover The Mediterranean (Q6111) and ThePersian Gulf (Q6110).
The two new paper charts are support-ed by additional digital services, with anew online update option as well as a freededicated website offering Security-Related Information to Mariners (SRIM).
Information that represents a risk to thesecurity of navigation is available via thesystem, including data on piracy, terror-ism, mine warfare, embargo, illegal fish-ing and exclusion zones, as well as route-ing and reporting requirements imple-mented by military or security forces.
SRIM provides only official informa-tion which has been validated at govern-ment level. It is collated by the UKHOthrough its work with NATO and govern-ment-to-government organisations.
“Security threats are an on-going risk tothe shipping industry, so it's vital thatmariners and shipping companies haveaccess to the latest validated navigationalinformation,” said Stein Olav Hagalid,head of NCAGS/NATO Shipping Centre.
“The Admiralty Maritime SecurityCharts combined with the SRIM service,as well as relevant information on theNATO Shipping Centre website, will helpusers collate the most up-to-date officialsecurity information available, ensuringpassage planning can be made simplerand voyage routes more secure.”
Maritime Security Charts from UKHO
New compass systems launchedwww.navico.com
Navico has introduced two new Simradbrand IMO-compliant GPS and DGPScompasses, the Simrad HS80 GPSCompass and the Simrad MX575C DGPSCompass.
Each system is designed to provideheading, Rate of Turn (ROT) and positioninformation to the Simrad autopilot rangeand the Simrad MX Series of navigationand AIS transponder systems.
The new compasses are built on theexisting technology from the MX Marinebrand, which has now been incorporatedinto the Simrad Professional Series ofproducts.
Each compass has dual IMO compli-ance certification for both navigation andheading functions, eliminating therequirement for a separate navigation
antenna, and offers pitch, roll and heave(in NMEA 0183 format) as a standardoutput with 1 – 20Hz position and head-ing updates.
Three integrated sensors (gyro and twotilt sensors) are included to reduce theReal-Time Kinematic (RTK) search vol-ume when computing GPS satellite posi-tioning data.
The company says that a heading accu-racy of less than 0.5° RMS is achievable,together with less than 1.0m DGPS posi-tioning accuracy.
The Simrad HS80 is supplied withNMEA 2000 as the standard interface, butcan be used as an NMEA 0183 devicewith an optional cable. Alternatively, thestandard interface available on theMX575C is NMEA 0183, but can also beused as an NMEA 2000 device with anoptional adaptor.
p33-44:p15-25.qxd 28/09/2012 09:40 Page 1
ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
Digital Ship October 2012 page 34
www.transas.com
Transas Marine has developed a shipmodel of a 400,000 dwt Very Large OreCarrier (VLOC), the largest bulk carrier inthe world, for Bernhard SchulteShipmanagement (BSM).
The simulation model was created forthe BSM Training Centre for AdvancedLearning, located in India, using the visu-alisation engine in Transas’ NavigationalSimulator and modelling effects fromTransas’ Virtual Ship Yard modellingsoftware.
The behaviour of the VLOC model isbased on an extensive set of actualmanoeuvring data provided by BSM.
“Training with this VLOC model willvastly improve understanding and confi-dence of the officers who plan to serve onthis category of ships,” said RaviBudhraja, BSM Training Centre forAdvanced Learning.
In June 2011 Transas Marine was cho-sen by Telaccount Overseas as a partnerfor BSM’s ECDIS retrofit programme, andis now creating dedicated virtual exerciseareas for BSM training purposes.
Indonesian installationThis expansion of its simulation technolo-gy was followed by news that Transas hasalso installed a new set of marine simula-tors at the BP2IP Tangerang MerchantMarine School in Indonesia, in coopera-tion with PT Multiintegra, its distributorin the country.
An integrated full mission tug handlingsimulator, part task Navigation CubicleBridge, cargo handling, GMDSS andECDIS simulators were supplied, whichwere added to the Full Mission EngineRoom and Ship Handling Bridge simula-tors previously provided to the school byTransas.
“Indonesia, as a large marine country,needs the qualified seafarers; therefore it iscrucial to provide proper educational andtraining centres with modern world-classfacilities that fulfil the international mar-itime standards as ISO, IMO, SOLAS andSTCW 2010,” said Capt MarihotSimanjuntak, head of the Merchant
Marine School. “We're proud to have Transas products
in our school and we’re sure that its simu-lators should serve as appropriate instru-ments for other marine schools and acade-mies in Indonesia.”
In related news, Transas has alsolaunched a new ECDIS simulator, built onits Navi-Trainer Professional 5000(NTPRO 5000) simulator platform which itsays is fully compliant with the newSTCW 2010 requirements.
The new simulator is based on theNavi-Sailor ECDIS Multifunction DisplayMFD 4000 with inbuilt Navi-Planner voy-age planning software, and incorporates aChart Delivery Server Emulator for chartdelivery, chart updates and licenceupdates in automatic mode.
Among other new options are a genericarea database, new training chart foliosand weather forecast functionality.
The simulator operates in two configu-rations: Classroom/Lab Simulator andMini Simulator.
The ECDIS Classroom/Lab simulatorallows training to be conducted at a man-agement level, including procurementmanagement, licensing and updating ofchart data and system software, and creat-ing and maintaining system configuration,backup files and route plan files.
The configuration consists of anInstructor Station with instructor soft-ware, a Chart server and video log-ger/playback; Trainee workplaces withMFD master and backup stations, visualchannel, conning and Navi-Planner; and aserver with NTPRO software and Areasand Ship Models databases.
The ECDIS Mini simulator configura-tion is used to train in knowledge of navigation at the operational level, such as understanding of ElectronicNavigational Chart (ENC) data, dataaccuracy, presentation rules, displayoptions, and safe monitoring and adjust-ment of information.
This simulator is similarly set-up withan Instructor Station and server, as well asTrainee workplaces with ECDIS/ECS,Radar and Conning (plus a Video loggeras an optional extra).
PMISApart from simulator technology, TransasMarine has also recently launched anew Port Management InformationSystems (PMIS) product for real-timeport management.
Transas PMIS comprises a set of web-enabled applications to automate vesseland cargo operations and related businessprocesses, including vessel calls manage-
ment, chartering, allocation of cargo han-dling equipment, invoicing and manage-ment/statistical reporting.
In addition, the PMIS is integratedwith VTMS software to provide function-ality for managing and monitoring vesselmovements within a port. Coupled withVTS, the PMIS can receive real-timeinformation about each vessel arriving inport and monitor its location in opera-tional areas.
Integration of PMIS with 3D VTSfunctionality allows the user to visualisethe navigational situation in a port and to provide the VTS operator with 3D views.
Transas says that the PMIS should helpin the move towards paperless adminis-tration by improving communicationbetween port users through electronicdata exchange and optimisation of logisti-cal processes.
A statistical module is also includedwith the product to provide port authori-ties and interested parties with KPI data,which can be used to assess overall portperformance.
PMIS can be customised to the specificneeds of the port, and is built on an openarchitecture to support interfaces to exter-nal databases and additional softwaresuch as financial or accounting packages.
Transas expands simulator technology
Consilium and ChartWorld partner on ECDISwww.chartworld.com
www.consilium.se
Consilium and ChartWorld Internationalare to partner in the provision of a newECDIS package, featuring the ConsiliumS-ECDIS equipped with ChartWorld’stype approved eGlobe service.
The S-ECDIS will come prefilled withthe Advanced ChartWorld ENC Service(ACES), which provides charts mainly inSENC format. Other ChartWorld certifieddata services for official ENCs andAdmiralty data products are also provided.
Consilium will also offer eCert,ChartWorld’s training package for bothgeneric and type-specific training using acombination of traditional class-based train-ing and web-based e-learning programs.
Consilium will offer this new packagevia its worldwide network of subsidiariesand agents in more than 50 countries,including all major ports around theworld.
“We are proud to be partnering withConsilium as we bring this new servicemodel to the ECDIS market,” said OliverSchwarz, ChartWorld International’s busi-ness development director.
“Consilium customers significantly willget greater value combined with real worldwide service. Our alliance is focused onbuilding the best user experience.”
In related news, ChartWorld reportsthat the United States Coast Guard, via theUS Department of Homeland Security, hasnow issued approval for the eGlobeECDIS service.
www.emsysmarine.com
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) inJapan is to install Emsys laser emissionsmonitoring equipment from WR Systemsonboard two newbuild vessels under con-struction for Carnival cruise line’s AIDACruise brand.
The continuous emissions monitoringsystem to be implemented on the two125,000-ton passenger vessels, the largestever constructed for AIDA Cruises, willfeature laser-based emissions sensors,allowing measurement of up to 10 exhauststacks.
The system also has the capability tomeasure smoke (opacity) and particulatematter (PM). The standard configuration
measures NOx, SOx and CO2, and hasbeen awarded type approval by ABS.
WRSystems says it can also be config-ured to report carbon monoxide (CO) andmethane (CH4) emissions, though theselatter gases are not yet covered by IMOregulations.
“These vessels will be constructed tothe highest environmental standards andfeature many new technologies to reduceemissions and improve efficiency,” saidSimon Brown, international maritimebusiness director.
“The implementation of Emsys willprovide real-world verification of the ves-sels’ emissions footprint and allow optimi-sation of operating performance throughcontinuous emissions monitoring.”
Cruise ships to feature laser emissions monitoring
A simulation model of a Bernhard Schulte VLOC has been created for training purposes
PMIS will allow port information to be managed in real time
Following an agreement at a meeting host-ed by the IMO Secretariat, the manufac-turers of ECDIS are set to publicly publishinformation on the latest versions of thesoftware used to operate their equipmentwith the aim of ensuring the systems arekept up to date.
The move has been motivated by adesire to help clarify certain anomaliesthat had been identified with some oldersystems, which came to light following asurvey conducted by the InternationalHydrographic Organization (IHO) inOctober 2011.
The information from the manufactur-
ers is to be posted on the IHO website, andwill include links to enable ships to down-load the latest versions of the operatingsoftware, if necessary.
The ECDIS manufacturers have alsoagreed to work with national MaritimeAdministrations to make sure that this issueis satisfactorily addressed in the long term.
This is the latest in a number of stepstaken by IMO, IHO, Original EquipmentManufacturers (OEMs) and others toaddress the concerns raised by the IHOsurvey, and IMO notes that the participa-tion of the eighteen OEMs attending thismeeting highlighted “the willingness ofthe manufacturers to address proactivelythe issues involved.”
ventional route planning functions andprovides a 24h log of data.
In addition to these basic functions,ECDIS 24 offers features for route andvoyage management, with automaticroute planning, a voyage calculator, inte-grated environmental databases of tidesand currents and optional weather chartintegration.
Functions are available through short-cuts, and a configurable Conning panelcan display relevant navigation and trackinformation.
In related news, Raytheon Anschützalso reports that is to supply its NautoSteerAdvanced Steering Gear Control Systemsto two prototype cruise ships being built atFincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard for theBritish-American Carnival Corporation.
Carnival will operate the new 141,000gross ton cruise ships under its PrincessCruises brand as the flagships in the fleet.
Being designed as prototypes, thesewill be the largest ships ever built atFincantieri shipyard. The delivery of thefirst ship, named Royal Princess, isplanned for spring 2013, while the sec-ond newbuild is expected to follow oneyear later.
Raytheon Anschütz will supply aredundant Standard 22 gyro compass sys-tem, the new NautoSteer AS Steering GearControl, and the autopilot NautoPilot5300, which offers a colour touch displayand fuel saving tools such as weatheradaptive technology and a heading and
rudder plotter. The NautoSteer AS steering gear con-
trol system onboard the cruise shipsincludes integrated steering failure moni-toring, wire-break monitoring and dataintegrity monitoring.
A simplified steering mode selectorswitch is also included, with two inde-pendent steering positions – a ‘Direct NFU’tiller that controls the steering gear directlywithout use of electronics and a ‘Main’steering position for all other controlsbased on redundant CAN-bus technology.
“Safety was the main aspect for thedevelopment of the NautoSteer ASSteering Gear Control System,” said OlavDenker, product manager at RaytheonAnschütz.
“In addition we focused on a user-ori-ented operating concept. Nautosteer ASprevents from switching from a defectivesteering control to another defective steer-ing control position. In case of an evasiveaction or emergency, when time is crucial,this architecture supports the crew in theirfast and safe decision making.”
In other news, Raytheon Anschütz’sCroatian representative Crocon hasreached the milestone of selling its 100thIntegrated Bridge System.
The 100th contract covers a newbuildHeavy Lift Carrier under construction forDutch company Jumbo Shipping atBrodosplit shipyard in Split. The IBS willbe from Raytheon's Synapsis BridgeControl series.
www.raytheon-anschuetz.com
Raytheon Anschütz has announced thelaunch of ECDIS 24, a new ECDIS whichhas been specifically designed for retrofitinstallations.
The new system was officially unveiledat SMM 2012 in Hamburg, Germany.
Based on existing Raytheon AnschützECDIS software, the ECDIS 24 comes withan off-the-shelf 24 inch TFT Panel-PC dis-play, so it does not require a separate PC.The standard package includes an inter-face-box, with cabling, and a stainless steeltrackball.
All serial interfaces required by ECDISperformance standards are present, suchas IEC61174 for echo sounder, speed log,GPS / DGPS, AIS, gyro, and ARPA targetintegration.
Connection for AC (main) and DC(emergency) power supplies is included,with automatic switch-over to remove theneed for an uninterrupted power supply(UPS). If double ECDIS is required,exchange of data, routes and charts is pos-sible via a LAN interface.
As a standard ECDIS, the new systemdisplays data from navigation sensors onboard, integrates AIS targets, offers con-
Retrofit ECDIS from Raytheon
www.pcmaritime.co.uk
CASPAR Shipping, the Azerbaijan StateCaspian Shipping Company in Baku, hasagreed a deal with PC Maritime to supplyECDIS to its fleet.
The agreement is for the initial supplyof systems to 13 vessels, with the option ofa second order at the end of 2012.
PC Maritime’s Navmaster ECDIS 800 isnow in version 7, and offers various hard-ware options to suit different bridge layouts.
These include a slim-line processorincorporating a solid state hard drive that
can be fitted horizontally or vertically, andmonitor sizes ranging from 19” to 24”widescreen. An external break-out boxgathers all NMEA signal in/out ports intoone unit.
This retrofit deal was agreed by MarineTechnics, PC Maritime’s representative inAzerbaijan, and includes the provision ofJeppesen SENC-format electronic chartsand installation of the ECDIS systemsonboard.
ECDIS type-specific training will beprovided by PC Maritime’s training andcertification program supplied on DVD.
Azerbaijan ECDIS deal for PC Maritime
ECDIS 24 has been specifically designed for retrofit
The 2004-built tanker President Heydar Aliyev will be supplied with the system
ECDIS software information to be published
www.furuno.com
Furuno Shanghai reports that it has begunproviding Furuno type specific ECDIStraining for the Chinese market, the sixthtraining facility to join the FurunoNavSkills training network.
The type specific ECDIS training will beprovided by instructors trained atFuruno’s INS Training Centre inDenmark, to match the requirements fortraining under the NavSkills framework.
“Training and crew competences areimportant to us,” says Rick Chen, vicegeneral manager of Furuno Shanghai.
“China is one of the very importantship building nations, and as such webelieve that it is important to be able toprovide our high quality training to theChinese crews.”
“At the same time we can offer overseasship owners building vessels in China tohave the crew trained inside China on theirway to go onboard the new buildings.”
Web: www.fugroseastar.com World’s leading High Performance Positioning for DP Systems
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www.nautissim.com
Wallem Shipmanagement has installed anew VSTEP NAUTIS full mission BridgeSimulator at the Wallem MaritimeTraining Centre Philippines (WMTCP).
The move coincided with the entry intoforce of the 2010 Manila Amendments ofthe Standards of Training, Certificationand Watchkeeping (STCW Convention),with the new simulator to assist in ensur-ing compliance with the new regulations.
“We want to train our officers on actu-al sea work, not only to navigate but toconfront them with any possible scenariothat could be encountered, therebyimproving the efficiency and effectivenessof our Filipino officers in team work onthe navigation bridge,” said Jan van derWee, general manager of the WMTCP.
“We selected the NAUTIS Full MissionBridge Simulator for our training centrebecause it is fully certified by DNV, allowsfor future expansion by adding overlaysand offers high quality updated training atan affordable price.”
“The graphics in the simulator lookvery natural and real, which in combina-tion with the realistic bridge mock-upallows for very realistic and true-to-lifemaritime simulation.”
PC Maritime, as the software developerand licence provider, and VSTEP, as hard-ware and system developer, have sup-plied the systems, the latest model of
NAUTIS, via DelNet International, bothcompanies’ representative in thePhilippines.
This latest generation of the technologyincludes expanded memory, faster pro-cessing and improved graphics comparedto previous incarnations, and can beexpanded with additional overlays.
Wallem Shipmanagement is PCMaritime / VSTEP’s first customer in thePhilippines.
In related news, VSTEP reports that ithas also developed a software interface forIMO Type Approved radar and chartradar systems, for training purposes.
The company says that this shouldallow for radar and ECDIS training on realradar and ECDIS systems instead of emu-lated systems, and should also allow forradar quality enhancements on all simula-tor types.
For example, for ECDIS training in aclassroom set-up, one instructor can pro-vide a large number of trainee radar sys-tems with radar video and NMEA datainput, while showing the outside viewand navigation instruments on a projec-tion screen.
VSTEP says that the software interfacealso allows 'no-brand' radar simulators tobe replaced with real Type Approvedradar systems, still running on a standardPC, without any need for special interfacehardware.
Some of VSTEP’s Full Mission Bridge
Simulator clients have already beenupgraded with Type Approved radar sys-tems from Kelvin Hughes and MARIS, tobenefit from this new system.
The Kelvin Hughes and MARIS ECDISsystems can show the NAUTIS radarvideo as an overlay on the chart view, sat-isfying a recommendation from the IMOin the new ECDIS Model Course 1.27, pub-lished in July 2012.
“We wanted to provide our customerswith a high quality yet affordable solutionfor all their radar/ARPA and ECDIS train-ing requirements, running on standardPCs which can be bought anywhere in theworld,” said Pjotr van Schothorst,VSTEP’s CTO.
“We have been working on this solu-tion for over two years, and there is a lotof clever software behind all this, yet it isall made available with a very simpleWindows style user interface. The radarvideo is created in NAUTIS using a real-istic radar ray-casting simulation process.All land objects like hills, buildings and port cranes, and all vessels show upon the radar at exactly the same place as in the 3D outside view environment of NAUTIS.”
“New vessels and new port environ-ments can soon be created by clients them-selves using the NAUTIS Port Creatorsoftware, and will also show up automati-cally on the radar video image.”
Wallem installs new bridge simulator
The bridge simulator has been installed at Wallem’s training centre in the Philippines
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www.navtor.no
NAVTOR has signed a distribution agree-ment with the UKHO (United KingdomHydrographic Office) for the supply ofthe Admiralty Vector Chart Service,which will allow the company to supplyENCs for the global professional maritimemarket.
NAVTOR will also offer the total pack-age of Admiralty Digital Publications as apart of the agreement.
“NAVTOR employees have extensiveexperience in serving the maritime market with electronic charts andunderstand that, in the future, ENCswill be the only option for the ship-ping industry to meet the requirementof using authorised electronic charts,”said NAVTOR managing director, Tor Svanes.
“When we launched our innovativeENC service in the first quarter of 2012, itwas a major contributor to the simplifica-tion of ordering, licensing, updating and,importantly, administration of the ENCchart portfolio.”
“Up to now, the market has been slowto begin to use ENCs, primarily due totoday’s cumbersome solutions. However,
as soon as we had proved how easy theENCs were for the navigators to handle,we experienced a swift uptake of our serv-ice. Once the mandatory use of ECDIScomes into force during the coming years,I am sure that NAVTOR's services will be a valuable solution for navigators onthe bridge.”
NAVTOR believes that this distribu-tion agreement with the UKHO willimprove its ability to serve the interna-tional market and assist in allowing thecompany to offer global ENC coverage to the shipping industry as part of itsENC service.
NAVTOR says that it also hopes towork with a number of other “majorplayers” in the ENC and ECDIS marketto jointly develop and supply a fully-automated electronic maritime naviga-tion service.
“Being able to cooperate with theUKHO and jointly serve the shippingindustry with state of the art solutions willbe a major contribution to the fulfilment ofthe e-navigation concept; to enhance berthto berth navigation and related servicesfor safety and security at sea and protec-tion of the marine environment,” said Mr Svanes.
NAVTOR agrees UKHO deal
www.imtech.eu
Imtech Marine has agreed two contractswith Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft(FSG) to supply a range of ship technologyto a Ro-Pax ferry for Caledonian MaritimeAssets of Scottish Limited (CMAL) and for two offshore vessels for another seis-mic company.
FSG is responsible for the developmentand construction of the 116m Ro-Pax ferryfor CMAL, which will enter into service insummer 2014.
Imtech Marine will provide technicalcoordination and project management for systems including automation,switchgear, power distribution, lighting,and the entire cable network. In addition,Imtech will plan, supply and install drive components such as converters,electric motors for thrusters and power
ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
management.On the ICT side, internal and external
communication via FleetBroadband,VSAT and GMDSS, as well as X-and S-band radar, ECDIS, compass, GPS andVDR will also be provided by Imtech.
The two 127 metre long offshore ves-sels are also scheduled for delivery in2014 and will be used globally to discoverand exploit oil and gas deposits beneaththe seabed.
For these seismic vessels Imtech willsimilarly be in charge of engineering, tech-nical coordination, project management,supply and commissioning of the onboardtechnology systems, including cable net-works, internal and external communica-tions and navigation.
“In this challenging project innovativesolutions and experience in the construc-tion of seismic vessels is needed, in partic-
Digital Ship October 2012 page 38
Automatic ship-shore replication of crew and payroll information.
Time is of the Essence
Imtech deals for three newbuilds
www.gmdss.com.au
The Asian Development Bank has commis-sioned GMDSS company Dunstan andAssociates, and its local partner companyCruz Communications, to supply and installa new GMDSS marine radio station for theSolomon Islands Maritime Safety Authority.
The station is located at the RescueCoordination Centre in Honiara and pro-vides communication for vessels operat-ing in the Solomon Islands region usingBarrett Communication 2050 MF/HFradio communications systems and theTransOceana Digital Selective Calling(DSC) system.
“We use four Barrett 2050 radios as HFDigital Selective Calling receivers, a fifthBarrett 2050 as the Digital SelectiveCalling transmitter and a sixth Barrett2050 for radiotelephone operation,” saidmanaging director of Dunstan andAssociates, Glenn Dunstan.
As part of the installation, five operatorsattended a training course on the principlesof GMDSS and operation of the new system.
Dunstan and Associates says it hasalready used similar Barrett HF configura-tions for projects in Thailand, Papua NewGuinea and Iraq.
GMDSS for theSolomon Islands
ular for the very special and unique needsof the electronic chart system and theautopilot,” said Thomas Wolf, project
manager at Imtech Marine Germany.“Through various past projects in this
area, we are well prepared for this task.”
A CMAL Ro-Pax ferry will be one of the vessels supplied under the contract
‘In the future, ENCs will be the only option for the shipping industry’
Raytheon Anschütz provides the worldwide shipping industry with a wide scope of navigation systems, ranging from stand-alone components to IMO-compliant Integrated Navigation Systems (INS).
www.raytheon-anschuetz.com
www.ecdis.org
ECDIS training and consultancy companyECDIS Ltd has signed a new agreementwith Kelvin Hughes to offer training onKelvin Hughes MantaDigital systems, ona global basis.
The new agreement will allow KelvinHughes distributors worldwide to bookGeneric and Type Specific ECDIS coursesdirectly with ECDIS Ltd for training onMantaDigital software.
“We have already been providing bothfive-day 1.27 Generic and Type Specificcourses on MantaDigital worldwide,” saidNatalie Robson, an instructor at ECDIS Ltd.
“Considerable time and effort has goneinto the development of our KelvinHughes ECDIS courses to ensure that theyare of the highest quality, and to fully pre-pare the instructors for all possible ques-tions about the system. This is vitally
important as students wish to explore spe-cific aspects and functions in great depth,or any particular issues they have faced inthe past.”
“Getting an answer to a system specificquestion from a knowledgeable instructorthat does not appear in the user guide isan obvious advantage over ComputerBased Training (CBT).”
In other news, ECDIS Ltd reports that ithas been included on a UK governmentlist of approved training providers forECDIS in the country.
The list, compiled by the UK MCA(Maritime and Coastguard Agency), is aresponse to the ECDIS carriage require-ment and the need for the deck officers offitted ships to be trained in the use of theequipment.
The MCA's complete list of approvedtraining providers is available athttp://goo.gl/NmFZg.
www.bluetraker.comwww.theastgroup.com
A UK vessel monitoring system (VMS)contract has been awarded to a consor-tium of UK system integrator AST MarineSciences Ltd and EMA Group, a Sloveniaheadquartered satellite tracking systemsresearch and development company.
The UK Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) contractfor the expansion of existing VMS servicesrequires the supply and installation of 300EMA BlueTraker terminals to UK fishingvessels of 12m to 15m length before theend of 2012.
The BlueTraker VMS terminal providespositional data outputs and bidirectionalcommunication, with integrated antennas,GPS receiver, GPRS and satellite commu-nication channels, as well as a back-uprechargeable battery.
All EU VMS reporting data is transmit-ted via the Iridium satellite short burstdata service (SBD), with the GPRS channelprimarily used for near-shore reporting
and formatted to conform to national andinshore requirements.
The terminal also offers dynamicreporting, enabled through the IridiumSBD service. Up to 100 geographical areas(polygons and associated rules) in theform of geofences can be remotelyuploaded, edited and activated/ deacti-vated on each and every BlueTraker terminal.
Pre-defined National and EU controlarea co-ordinates (geofences) areuploaded from land-based servers overthe Iridium network.
EU geofence crossing and VMS posi-tions are also transmitted throughIridium, while National geofence enteringor exiting and VMS positions are transmit-ted either through Iridium or GPRS com-munication channels - depending uponthe rules set for each terminal.
A fail-safe Assistance Button is includ-ed, which enables crew members to senddistress alerts directly from the terminal,as well as the ability to transmit UKElectronic Logbook Reports.
ECDIS Ltd extends Kelvin Hughes training
Training on Kelvin Hughes’ MantaDigital systems is now available from ECDIS Ltd
UK VMS contract awarded
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
Digital Ship October 2012 page 40
www.adveto.com
The vessel National Geographic Explorerhas had its ECDIS software upgraded dur-ing a recent visit to Scandinavia, in thewake of recent IHO concerns over displayissues with ECDIS systems.
The vessel uses the ADVETO ECDIS-4000 onboard, and has now installed soft-ware release v10.237 on the equipment.ADVETO says it will inform all of its cus-tomers about the availability of this latestrelease.
This version has been introduced withparticular reference to the IHO circular‘Update Report on IHO Action concerningECDIS Software Issues’, which confirmedthat IHO had checked the performance ofsystems from 15 out of 25 recognised man-ufacturers of type-approved ECDIS, and
that only one third of the systems scruti-nised functioned as expected.
“We have put our systems through themost stringent of tests set by the IHO andsubmitted our report to them along withthe test and support documentation aswell as screen dumps required in the latestcircular,” says Kent Sylvén, general man-ager ADVETO.
“The previous generation ECDIS-4000did not match the exhaustive criteria set outin the IHO report in some minor areas, how-ever none of the shortcomings were critical.”
“The new version of ECDIS-4000 is aresult of extensive work at Adveto and itspartners which accept a new softwareversion also required changing theSevenCs kernel version plus an update ofAdveto’s ECDIS certificate MED-B-5858handled by DNV.”
NG Explorer updates software on ECDIS concerns
www.lr.org
Lloyd’s Register has created a performanceoptimisation service that aims to supportshipowners, builders and designers who arelooking to develop solutions that offer moreefficient performance for new and existingdesigns, and retrofits for ships in service.
The new service uses computationalfluid dynamics (CFD) as its central techno-logical capability, combined with otherdata sources for performance analysis.
The CFD team is led by Dr DejanRadosavljevic, who has nearly 30 years’experience in the field.
“Our track record of combining CFDwith in-service measurements and obser-vations to deal with issues related topropulsion hydrodynamics puts us in agreat position to apply this problem-solv-ing knowledge to finding and verifyingnew ways to improve operational efficien-cy,” said Dr Radosavljevic.
“The large body of work and in-servicedata we’ve built up over the years hashelped us to fine tune our processes andvalidate our full-scale CFD analyses, so wecan always seek solutions from comput-erised models of full-scale ships operatingin real conditions.”
The goal of the service is to reduce fueloil consumption, and Lloyd’s Registerbelieves that independent technical analy-sis and verification of performance is keyin achieving this across the industry.
“We are looking at the whole ship andits operational requirements,” says LuisBenito, Lloyd’s Register’s Singapore-based marketing manager.
“The market needs to know what’s fea-sible for existing ships as well as for newdesigns.”
“When looking at new ideas and innova-tion either for retrofit or newbuilds, we canmarry sophisticated CFD tools with otherskills that we have in Lloyd’s Register.Working with the technical insight of ourenergy-management experts, we can helpto generate and analyse the solutionsneeded to create more efficient ships.”
www.dnv.comwww.hhi.co.kr
Ten ultra large container ships under con-struction at Hyundai Heavy Industries forAPL are to feature a new design that aimsto make them 20 per cent more fuel effi-cient per TEU compared with existingmodels.
The new design is the result of a collab-oration project involving APL, HyundaiHeavy Industries (HHI) and DNV, to cre-ate ships optimised for an operating pro-file along the Far East to Europe traderoute involving nine speed and draughtcombinations.
The companies say that the installedpropulsive power could be reduced by
about 16 per cent compared to the initialhullform optimised for one draft andspeed condition, and could result in fuelsavings worth about US$3 million pership, per year.
The first of the new 13,800 TEU vesselsis already under construction at HHI andwill be delivered next year.
“In the current challenging marketenvironment it is extremely important forAPL to introduce efficient and flexiblecontainer ships, which help us to reduceslot costs,” said Cedric Foo, group deputypresident and CFO of APL’s mother company, Singapore-based NeptuneOrient Lines (NOL).
“These ships will be the most fuel-efficient ships ever built to the Asia-
New container ship design to save $3m in fuel Performance optimisation from
Lloyd’s RegisterEurope container trade.”“APL has decided to advance the
delivery of the newbuildings, which havebeen ordered in 2011, using their superiorfuel efficiency to make a contribution tocutting emissions as soon as possible.”
Container ships often operate in ‘off-design’ conditions which increase hullresistance and reduce propeller andengine efficiency. In the case of these newvessels, the ships will operate at speedstypically ranging from 15 to 19.5 knotsbut with a maximum speed of about 23knots.
Using a sophisticated software systemand virtual sea trials, the three partners saythat they were able to analyse the pro-posed trading pattern of the ships andoptimise accordingly.
“This is a new way of cooperationbetween the partners in a newbuildingproject,” explains Ha Gyung Jin, executivevice president of the Basic Design Office inthe Shipbuilding Division of HHI.
“Due to a concentrated and profession-al effort from all three parties within theirrespective roles we managed not only to keep the tight design schedule, but also to unlock an amazing potential forfuel savings.”The new design aims to make the ships 20 per cent more fuel efficient
The NG Explorer has updated the software on its onboard ECDIS
www.elcome.com
Elcome International has been awarded acontract by a shipyard in UAE to supplythe complete electrical, electronics andship control package for a cable-handlingship conversion project.
The 140m ro-ro vessel covered by thedeal is being converted into a 125m cable-laying vessel for an unnamed submarinecable installation, maintenance and repairorganisation.
Elcome is supplying the ship’s mainand emergency switchboards, power dis-tribution and management systems, inte-grated automation system to UMS class
notation, hydrographic reference systems,cable laying, security and safety systems,external and internal lighting, loadingmanagement software and tank gauging.
On the navigation side an integratedbridge system, draft measurement systemand dynamic positioning system will bedelivered, while the company will alsoprovide internal and external communica-tions for the ship, as well as a LAN andWi-Fi networking.
“This project is a good example of the range of technical services and capabilities Elcome can provide for a complex ship conversion project,” saidJimmy Grewal, executive director of
Elcome to provide electronics for ship conversion projectElcome International.
“We will work closely with the ship-yard and owner to support all aspects ofdesign, documentation, installation, sys-tem integration, testing, commissioningand sea trial acceptance.”
In other news, Elcome has also intro-duced a new ELSYS family of marine elec-trical switchboard and power manage-ment systems, featuring a modular designand switch-gear components to reduce thesize and weight of the switchboards.
The systems are designed and manufac-tured in the company's switchboard pro-duction facility in Dubai by its own electri-cal design team.
p33-44:p15-25.qxd 28/09/2012 09:41 Page 8
Athens 201227-28 NOVEMBER 2012
METROPOLITAN HOTEL, ATHENS
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
For sponsorship and exhibition enquiries, please contact: Ria Kontogeorgou
HAVE YOU REGISTERED? DON’T MISS OUT ON THE PREMIER SHIPPING AND MARITIME TECHNOLOGY EVENT IN THE REGION
p33-44:p15-25.qxd 28/09/2012 15:14 Page 9
OO ne of the great things aboutECDIS is the ease and immediacyof knowing the position of own
ship relative to the planned route, togetherwith the ready assimilation of any nearbycharted hazards that must be avoided ifforced to deviate from the route.
This ease of monitoring is a significantbenefit to the navigation of a vessel andforms part of the overall safety benefit thatECDIS is designed to provide.
Perhaps it is now starting to becomeclear that the easy availability of theplanned route and the actual track fromECDIS to accident investigators after anaccident will increase the ‘official’ empha-sis on route maintenance – why did youdeviate from the plan?
This also increases the emphasis ongood route planning – why did you plan aroute so close to a hazard?
This is no bad thing as ECDIS can super-ficially hide a sloppy approach to planning,such as over-relying on an available list ofway points, perhaps with inadequateassessment against the latest information orwithout checking that all legs are appropri-ate to the actual ship and its loading.
But an increased emphasis on main-taining the planned route – and the appar-ent ease of doing so with ECDIS – has itsown very obvious dangers.
The first is that the ship’s GNSS posi-tion may be in error and so may not besafely on the pre-planned route, as appar-ently clearly displayed on the ECDIS.
The second is that the planned routecannot take into account the presence ofother vessels or floating debris and theconsequential actions needed to preventcollisions.
The third is that freak conditions orvery special circumstances may require amarked deviation from the route.
Positional issues have been coveredhere and elsewhere many times before.Advanced low frequency terrestrial posi-tioning services can resolve them but thepolitical consensus to enable a solutionremains elusive.
We may have to wait for alternativetechnology to be developed – and the waitcould be potentially quite lengthy.
Optical technologyIn the meantime we also need to reconsid-er the tools available to assist collisionavoidance – do they match the potentialclarity of ECDIS for route monitoring?
We presently use the bridge windowsand radar as the main information sourcesto enable this task.
The windows are extremely useful forensuring a good mental involvement withthe real world and hence greatly enhancesituational awareness. Even in zero visibil-ity, the link with reality is valuable inmaintaining an appropriate mindset.
In good conditions targets are generallyvery visible from the windows, at least inthe forwards direction, and good collision
avoidance decisions can normally be madedirectly, supported by radar and AIS datato give further information and confidence.
As visibility deteriorates, reliance onradar/AIS data has to increase, but opticalinformation remains important.
What is surprising is the relative diffi-culty of using the optical information. Theinstruments available to the navigator arevery basic and normally lack any integra-tion with other equipment.
Optical bearings are typically takenfrom an instrument situated well away
from the conning position and can have asurprisingly limited angular view. Inputof its readings into a radar or ECDIS dis-play are normally tedious and error prone.
Binoculars are regularly used to helpidentify targets but have zero integrationfacilities.
With today’s available technology, whydo we typically not have an advanced elec-tronic optical viewing facility, based on arotating camera or cameras, which putsinformation onto a main display with anumber of viewing options – and also sharesdata easily with other bridge equipment?
The cameras would have a high zoomcapability, a night-time mode and aninfrared facility for use in difficult viewingconditions. Image stabilisation would be astandard feature.
As well as conventional TV-like pictures,a possible viewing option would be to showoptically detected objects as bright pointseither on a graduated bearing line or circle.
Selection of any indicated objectwould generate a close-up view to helpidentification and give an accurate bear-ing measurement.
Such a system would allow the quickand easy correlation with radar, AIS andENC data and even permit semi or fullyautomatic checks on own-ship’s positionwhen used on charted objects.
In poor optical conditions the systemcould be set such that it supplements theview from the bridge windows, using itsnight-time and infrared facilities to gainadditional viewing range.
The possibilities of using more advancedoptical technology seem immense, but they
appear to have been generally ignored bythe maritime community.
Advanced radartechnology
When visibility decreases the raw opticaldata deteriorates, eventually becoming ofvirtually zero value – total reliance onradar and AIS becomes necessary. Theensuing conduct of the vessel obviouslyhas to take this into account.
A modern radar is highly sophisticated.However, the performance of a good mag-
netron-based system is probably prettyclose to its theoretical best, especially whenworking in clutter-limited conditions.
For many years the military have recog-nised this and so, to detect small targetssuch as rubber dinghies and submarineperiscopes in heavy sea clutter, they haveused the particular benefits given by so-called ‘coherent’ radars.
The precise phase stability of the trans-mitted signal from such radars, known intechnical circles as phase coherency, givesthe process its name. They are also calledNew Technology or solid state radars.
Until relatively recently the use of suchradars was a very expensive option.However, in recent years things have com-pletely changed. In fact, many cars nowhave one or more very basic coherentradar sensors as part of their adaptivecruise control system.
Also, coherent radars have becomeavailable from a small number of marineequipment manufacturers.
A particular advantage is that they canuse much lower peak powers, simplybecause their coherency permits the use ofvery long pulses. Using similarly long pulseson a magnetron based radar would severe-ly compromise its range discrimination.
Current marine coherent radars transmita few hundred watts of peak power ratherthan the 25,000 watts or more transmitted
by a typical magnetron based system.It allows the transmitter to be transistor
based, which is compatible with the trans-mission of the complex and highly con-trolled modulation needed on each trans-mitted pulse.
On reception a demodulation process,known as pulse compression, effectivelygenerates a very short equivalent pulsewith increased energy.
Perhaps surprisingly, the wholeprocess is very similar to that used inmodern digital telecommunications. Thisis what has made the necessary compo-nents available at an affordable cost, atleast currently at S-band.
Affordable X-band radars willundoubtedly also be available in the not-too-distant future.
Doppler processingIt is the coherency of the signal that givessuch radars the possibility to exploit thehighly useful target radial velocity data –its Doppler shift – which is not discernibleby a conventional magnetron radar.
By using sophisticated signal processingtechniques this information can be used tobetter extract targets from clutter becauseof their dissimilar Doppler characteristics.
Today’s marine coherent radar systemsare likely already to give better detection inclutter, but significant improvements canundoubtedly be made in the future as signalprocessing becomes ever more powerful.
It will almost certainly result in futurecoherent marine radars that are able to con-sistently detect all targets of interest, includ-ing very small craft and floating debris,even under adverse weather conditions.
This surely is the true user requirementfor radar, which we should strive to achieve.
When this level of development isrealised, radar should then become theprimary source of collision avoidanceinformation, appropriately assisted by AISand advanced optical systems, with theview from the bridge windows continuingto provide the reality to assist the com-plete situation awareness of the OOW.
However, despite the inherent Dopplerprocessing possibilities of coherent radartechnology, it is extremely difficult to fore-see the timescales for IMO radar perform-ance standards to demand such anenhanced clutter performance.
Unfortunately, a radar exhibiting sucha performance is unlikely to be a majorselling point – end users do not make thepurchasing decisions. This puts a damperon further development.
But without better clutter performancebeing readily demonstrated on affordablesystems, further safety-led legislation ishindered – a Catch-22 situation.
ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
Digital Ship October 2012 page 42
With all of the modern technology available from today’s bridges, the view from thewindows is important in maintaining a link with ‘reality’
ECDIS offers a wide range of benefits to modern navigators, but needs to be supplemented by other informationfor optimal situational awareness. Optical information could be an ideal complement to existing systems,
but technology in this area is currently lacking, writes Dr Andy Norris
Harnessing technology
DS
Dr Andy �orris has been well-known in the maritime navigation industry for anumber of years. He has spent much of his time managing high-tech navigationcompanies but now he is working on broader issues within the navigationalworld, providing both technical and business consultancy to the industry, gov-ernmental bodies and maritime organizations. Email: [email protected]
