digital ship (december 2010)

HH arris Corporationhas entered into adefinitive agree-

ment to acquire the GlobalConnectivity Services(GCS) business fromSchlumberger InformationSolutions, with Schlum-berger GCS to be combinedwith other recent acquisi-tion CapRock Communica-tions to form HarrisCapRock Communications.

Harris will purchase theSchlumberger GCS busi-ness for $397.5 million incash, subject to post-clos-ing adjustments.

For the calendar yearending 2010, SchlumbergerGCS revenue is expected tobe $170 million, with earn-ings before interest, taxes,depreciation and amortisa-tion (EBITDA) expected tobe $41 million.

The GCS business unithas principal operations inthe UK, Norway, Singaporeand the US, with 400employees in more than 25 countries. It operates 12 globally deployed teleports, a NetworkOperations Centre (NOC),a worldwide terrestrialinfrastructure, and VSATmanufacturing capabilitiesin the UK and Singapore.

These assets will nowbe added to CapRock'sfour self-owned and oper-ated teleports and 11regional support centresacross North America,Central and SouthAmerica, Europe, WestAfrica and Asia Pacific.

Harris acquiredCapRock in the first halfof 2010 for more than halfa billion dollars, paying$528.3 million for the privately held company,subject to post-closingadjustments.

CapRock had revenuesof $359 million for 2009,with earnings of $54 mil-lion and operating incomeof $28 million.

“ C o m b i n i n gSchlumberger GCS withCapRock Communicationswill create an organisationwith unsurpassed globalsatellite network capabili-ties, broad service offer-ings, and a large experi-enced service team to pro-vide customers with supe-rior remote and in-the-field support,” said

IN THIS ISSUE

December 2010

electronics and navigation

software

satcomsWireless mesh network at sea – 2

Vega-Reederei installsFleetBroadband – 4

Project to investigate maritime communications for Arctic routes – 6

Project Gangway – connecting crews at Maersk – 8

Maintenance management software forHamburg Süd – 12

Wallem Group moves to.NET 4.0 framework – 16

The Maritime Labour Convention – whatyou need to know – 20

Harris expands CapRockwith acquisition

UKHO launches InformationOverlay service – 24

Lightweight Ethernet – a new standardfor shipboard navigation networks – 31

The future of BroadbandNavigation – Dr Andy Norris – 34

Harris Corporation is to expand its CapRock Communications businessthrough the addition of a newly purchased communications unit from Schlumberger – creating a new combined company called

Harris CapRock Communications costing over $900 million

Harris has invested almost $400 million in acquiring Schlumberger's GCS unit, which it will combine with previous acquisition CapRock continued on page 2

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“One Unique Interface” - Pietro Amorusi, Chief Information Officer, d'Amico Società di Navigazione S.p.A.

From its headquarters in Rome, d’Amico Società di Navigazione S.p.A. operates more than 40 cargo ships in a worldwide trade. The ships are equipped with a combination of Inmarsat Fleet, FleetBroadband and VSAT systems.

“We faced numerous challenges managing our ships due to the diversified communication structure. Dualog Connection Suite is a single and unique interfacing tool.” says Pietro Amorusi, CIO of d’Amico. “The new solution has directly improved our efficiency and, it saves us money.”

(+47) 77 62 19 00 or [email protected]

4G terminal L-band terminalVSAT

DeckDeck

Ship’s network

Operational Operational Business data Personal data System p

data - eNav

p

voice comms and voice

comms

and voice

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monitor

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p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:50

SATCOMS NEWS

Digital Ship December 2010 page 2

Vol 11 No 4

UPCOMING CONFERENCESDIGITAL SHIP SCANDINAVIAScandic Hotel Bergen City, Bergen

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PUBLISHERStuart Fryer

EDITORRob O'Dwyer: Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3410

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No part of this publication may be repro-duced or stored in any form by anymechanical, electronic, photocopying,recording or other means without theprior written consent of the publisher.Whilst the information and articles inDigital Ship are published in good faithand every effort is made to check accura-cy, readers should verify facts and state-ments direct with official sources beforeacting on them as the publisher canaccept no responsibility in this respect.Any opinions expressed in this maga-zine should not be construed as thoseof the publisher.

continued from page 1

Howard Lance, chairman, president andCEO of Harris.

“Harris CapRock Communications willbe able to use its capabilities and expertiseto offer customers the most secure, reliableand efficient solutions in the industry.”

The GCS transaction is subject to cus-tomary regulatory reviews and closingconditions, and it is expected to close dur-ing the third quarter of the 2011 fiscal year.

FinancingHarris has said it will finance the acquisi-tion using a combination of cash on hand,commercial paper, borrowings under itscommitted credit facilities, and long-term debt.

Following the announcement of theacquisition the company sold $700 millionof senior unsecured bonds in a two-partoffering, including $400 million of 4.40 percent notes due in 2020 and $300 million of6.15 per cent notes due in 2040.

Interest on both the 2020 notes and the2040 notes is payable semi-annually inarrears on June 15 and December 15 of eachyear, commencing June 15, 2011. Interestwill accrue from December 3, 2010.

The funds will help to finance thisyear's expansion moves, with the compa-ny stating in its SEC filing that it will "usethe net proceeds from the sale of the notesfor payment of all or a portion of the pur-

chase price for our pending acquisition ofthe Schlumberger GCS business, if con-summated.”

“[These funds will also be used] forrepayment of a portion of the outstandingindebtedness under our commercial paperprogramme incurred primarily in connec-tion with our acquisition of CapRock andfor general corporate purposes.”

The company also noted that it believesthat the acquisition will “significantlyextend our capabilities as a globalprovider of mission-critical, end-to-endmanaged satellite communications servic-es for customers operating in remote andharsh environments, including the energy,government and maritime industries.”

In that regard, the new expandedHarris CapRock Communications busi-ness unit will hope to build on what hasalready been a successful year forCapRock in the maritime VSAT market.

The company announced in June that ithad agreed a deal with BW to deploy itsSeaAccess VSAT service onboard BW'sfleet of approximately 100 vessels, includ-ing Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs)and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Carriers(LPGCs), following the successful comple-tion of a nine-month pilot programme.

CapRock was also successful in win-ning a new contract to operate VSAT serv-ices for the tanker fleet of oil giant BP,

which had requested proposals from ven-dors of communications services after itsexisting VSAT contract came to an end.

Well in excess of 50 BP vessels are oper-ating with VSAT onboard, with the com-pany having begun its fleetwide introduc-tion of the technology in 2006.

For Harris, the challenge now will beto grow the customer base in maritimeand other industries even further, andgenerate a significant return on the morethan $925 million it has invested in its twonew companies.

Printed by The Manson Group Ltd

Reynolds House8 Porters' Wood

Valley Road Industrial EstateSt Albans

Hertz AL3 6PZU.K.

DS

www.batswireless.com

Broadband Antenna Tracking Systems(BATS) reports that it has supplied a tripleredundant wireless mesh network solu-tion to a geological survey company that ismapping the ocean floor.

The oil and gas services provider,which has declined to be named, is usingthe system for vessel to vessel broadbandcommunications for a new fleet configura-tion, beyond the reach of its existing wire-less network.

The company uses wireless networkconnectivity to control and synchroniseproduction activity throughout the fleet,as well as provide inter-vessel data trans-

fers. The existing network was limited todistances of 9 km and a maximumthroughput of approximately 1.5 Mbps.

The new configuration required thatconnectivity be maintained with 100 percent uptime over distances of 12-20 kmand with available bandwidth of 5-10Mbps, all while the vessels sailed in aunique pattern.

Based on these needs a triple redun-dant mesh network solution was designedthat actually exceeded the requirements,integrating a 5.8 GHz point-to-point(AN80i) wireless broadband radio fromRedline Communications with the BATSBTS-3300 self-aligning antenna and track-ing system.

This solution was able to maintainwireless links at distances in excess of 30km, providing 10-18 Mbps of throughputon each link.

Each of the four vessels in the fleet wasconfigured with three BTS-3300 systemsconnecting each vessel to all others in thefleet in a mesh topology.

This topology created the zero down-time resilience required, as well as deliver-ing aggregate speeds of up to 54 Mbpsbetween vessels. The companies say thatthe triple redundant mesh network hasprovided zero downtime since it wasinstalled.

BATS notes that increasing the distancebetween the vessels also allows for greaterresolution of data and mapping ofincreased ocean depths, while the higherbandwidth enables data analysts to per-form analysis and data correction duringproduction instead of waiting until sur-veys have been completed.

Wireless mesh networkdeployed at sea

The mesh network has allowed for 10-18 Mbps wireless links at sea,

at distances of 30km

www.nsslglobal.com

The management team of satcom providerNSSL has agreed a deal to take a 20 percent equity stake in the company.

The completed transaction means thatNSSL’s management joins majority share-holder WorldWide MobileCommunications (80 per cent) as partowner. WWMC is 100 per cent owned byArendals Fossekompani ASA.

Following the completion of the changein ownership structure, NSSL says it willalso change its name, to trade under thebrand ‘NSSLGlobal’.

"This is an amazing company that,despite a tough recession, is still goingthrough a successful period of growth andexpansion," said Bob Chewter, managingdirector of NSSLGlobal.

"The management team sees hugepotential for NSSLGlobal to play an evenlarger role on the global stage of satellitecommunications. To achieve this we feltthat we needed to have greater say in thefuture direction of the company and thismeant taking a proper ownership stake."

As part of its international growth strat-egy NSSLGlobal says it will continue toinvest further in its network and servicecapability.

Over the last 12 months the businesshas enhanced its DVB network andexpanded its Inmarsat portfolio as aDistribution Partner (DP) for Inmarsat’sIsatPhone satellite handheld andFleetBroadband services.

Managementbuys 20% stake

in NSSL

'Combining Schlumberger GCS withCapRock Communications will create an

organisation with unsurpassed globalsatellite network capabilities' – Howard

Lance, Harris president and CEO

p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:50

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www.newwavebroadband.com

NewWave Broadband has signed a multi-transponder, multi-year contract for Ku-band capacity on two future Intelsatsatellites.

The Intelsat 19 (IS-19) and Intelsat 22(IS-22) satellites, to be located at 166º Eand 72º E respectively, are slated forlaunch in 2012 and will offer Ku-bandbeams optimised for maritime mobilecommunications.

The satellites will provide ocean cover-age from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region. NewWave Broadband saysit will take advantage of these mobility

SATCOMS NEWS


www.globalmarinenet.com

Global Marine Networks has introducedits GMN webXaccelerator system, a dataaccelerator and control router for satelliteand other wireless data systems.

The company says that the technologycan help to provide data speeds up to fivetimes faster than uncompressed rates.

The new system includes usage controlsthat can limit groups or individual users bytime, megabytes, or website white/ blacklisting, as well as offering PIN codes thatcan be used by shipping companies to gen-erate revenue by sharing or selling uniquecodes to crews, clients or passengers.

Firewall filtering is done by MAC orTCP/IP address or by port number, and a shared onboard caching function helpsto improve load times for commonly vis-ited sites.

The GMN webXaccelerator works withmost satellite data service providersincluding Inmarsat, Iridium, Globalstar,Thuraya, and VSAT systems, or any IP-based connection.

Data accelerator system launchedIt works at all data rates above 2.4 kbps,

though the company says that it is specifi-cally designed for the new generation ofhigher-speed satellite data systems such asInmarsat FleetBroadband and IridiumOpenPort.

“The webXaccelerator is designed tosave customers time and money throughsatellite specific data compression and theability to sell and control shared data feedaccess, while saving satellite systemproviders time and money by makinginstallations easier, more reliable andmore flexible,” said Dr Luis Soltero, CTOof Global Marine Networks.

“The webXaccelerator can be used toaddress common situations for satellitedata system users and installers: create asatellite-based internet café; generate newrevenue or control shared usage throughuser-defined PIN codes for clients, crew orpassengers using a single data feed; solveinstallation challenges through load-bal-ancing; or increase reliability by changingbetween two different satellite networkson the fly.”

www.stratosglobal.com

Stratos is to deploy the InmarsatFleetBroadband satellite communicationsservice on up to 16 commercial vessels forVega-Reederei of Hamburg.

Vega operates a fleet including 22 con-tainer vessels, nine bulkers and twotankers, and has FleetBroadband alreadysuccessfully deployed on eight vesselsunder its agreement with Stratos.Deployment on the additional eight ves-sels is expected shortly.

Vega uses FleetBroadband 250 termi-nals complete with an onboard firewall onits ships, for e-mail, internet access andvoice communications.

The satellite communications systemsare integrated with AmosConnect, Stratos’maritime e-mail application, to manage alle-mail, fax, SMS and interoffice communi-cations, including the monitoring ofWhitelist and Blacklist changes.

Vega engineers are also using theFleetBroadband to gain direct remoteaccess to the ships' computer terminals, theFleetBroadband terminal and the onboardfirewall via remote-support applications.

In the future, Vega may also use the system for engine-performance analy-sis and emissions monitoring, to helpreduce fuel costs and comply with emis-sions regulations.

“We already have enjoyed the benefitsof FleetBroadband from Stratos on severalof our vessels for many months and wehave noticed it provides very good voice

quality,” said Achim Tober, head ofVega’s IT department.

“FleetBroadband enables us to achievefast, reliable data communications thatmaximise the integration and performanceof many popular, IP-based applications.The Stratos Dashboard web-based portalprovides us with fully transparent costand traffic control.”

“We expect to continue benefiting froma significant reduction in airtime costs,compared to the Inmarsat Fleet 77 servicewe formerly deployed. The robustFleetBroadband hardware will result in thehighest possible communications uptime.We also appreciate the convenientFleetBroadband Bundles that eliminate theneed for capital investment in hardware.”

Vega will shortly deploy Stratos’ newAmosConnect Crew CommCenter appli-cation on its ships, used to manage crewcontact with home via calling, private e-mail and SMS at flat global rates.

Each crew member's separate individ-ual account offers prepaid chatting, pre-paid web browsing and access to globaland local news services.

"Over the years, Vega’s adoption of themost sophisticated information technolo-gy systems has helped it contain costs andmaintain steady growth," commentedStratos president and CEO, Jim Parm.

"We are grateful for the opportunity tobring Vega the industry’s most advancedIP-based communications solution, featur-ing value-added services that help ensureefficient business management."

FleetBroadband for Vega

Vega-Reederei will install FleetBroadband 250 on 16 vessels

www.intelliantech.com

Intellian has announced a new addition toits range of VSAT communications anten-nas, the 60cm v60G Ku-band system.

The three-axis stabilised VSAT anten-na system is the smallest VSAT antennaavailable from Intellian, offering a minus 10-degrees to plus 110-degrees ele-vation range and capable of receivingSCPC, MCPC, TDMA or spread spectrumtransmissions.

The antenna features unlimitedazimuth, and has remote monitoring andcontrol tools built-in to reduce mainte-nance requirements by allowing IP access

to the onboard equipment.The company says that it has also

reduced the number of cables required torun between the v60G's ADU and BDU,from three to two cables, which it saysshould make installation of the systemeasier for vessel operators.

"(We are committed to providing) thebest technology and performance possiblein marine antenna solutions," said EricSung, president and CEO of Intellian.

"We are confident it outperforms com-petitive, like-sized products even inextreme northern and southern latitudes,on the equator and everywhere inbetween."

New 60cm VSAT antenna from Intellian

NewWave agrees Ku-band transponder deal

Intellian's latest antenna is a 60cm Ku-band system, the v60G

beams to enhance the delivery of its mar-itime broadband services.

“Intelsat’s robust infrastructure offersus the scalable, true broadband networkwe require as we enhance our global Ku-band transmissions, especially in theMiddle East, Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions,” said Steve McCabe,director, NewWave Broadband.

“Through this contract, our customerswill benefit from a resilient, always-onglobal Ku-band platform.”

In addition to IS-19 and IS-22, Intelsatsays that it has designed mobility beamson two additional satellites that will be inservice by 2013.

p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:50

p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:50

SATCOMS NEWS


www.esa.int

The ESA Telecommunications Programme(ARTES) has initiated a new study to mapfuture demand for maritime and relatedcommunications in the Arctic, as well aslooking at areas with communicationsgaps, for the years 2015-2020 and beyond.

The ArctiCOM study will be performedby SINTEF Norway and supported byNorwegian companies Telenor and theNorwegian Marine Technology ResearchInstitute (Martinek), as well as Canadiancompanies Euroconsult and Telesat.

In August this year, Norwegian-basedTschudi Shipping Company’s bulk carrierthe MV Nordic Barents used the NorthernSea Route as a transit trade lane to trans-port iron ore from the Northern part ofNorway to China, via Arctic and Russianwaters.

According to Tschudi, it is the first everforeign flagged vessel to sail the entireNorthern Sea Route in transit withoutentering any Russian harbour.

The company says that it sees theNorthern Sea Route as a more economic,efficient and environmentally friendly

route, as less fuel and CO2 is used as aresult of the shorter distance.

In a statement on the new project, theESA comments: "Along with the shippingindustry, further activities such as explo-ration and tourism as well as the localpopulation are poised to increase in theArctic region."

"The need for proper communicationsand monitoring becomes apparent, withthe most appropriate means coming viasatellite. Currently only low-data rate,low-earth orbiting satellite communica-tion systems such as Globalstar andIridium exist to serve the Arctic."

At the 2009 'Space and the Arctic' work-shop, organised by the Swedish NationalSpace Board and the SwedishMeteorological and Hydrological Institutetogether with ESA, EUMETSAT and theEuropean Commission, ESA was asked toreview communications satellite coverageand determine how to expand satellitecommunications in high latitude regions.

The ESA notes that a number of newlow-earth orbit satellite communicationsystems will be operational in 2015 offer-ing a variety of data rates, while bothCanada and Russia are designing highly-elliptical orbit satellite systems (PCW andARKTIKA) for broadband communica-tions and earth observation.

The ArctiCOM study aims to providean inventory of all of these new services,as well as looking at Arctic maritime safe-ty and search and rescue services and howcommunication needs for the Arctic com-munity will be addressed.

ESA says that the study will put for-ward recommendations on how to fill pos-sible gaps, with results expected to befinalised in August 2011 after the presen-tation of initial findings at the ArcticShipping 2011 conference next April inHelsinki, Finland.

Otesat-Maritel reports that it is to become a Distribution Partner for thenew Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro handheldsatellite phone. The service will be avail-able in the first quarter of 2011.

Vizada reports that it has also nowmade its Universal Card system for pre-paid calling available for use withInmarsat’s IsatPhone Pro handheld.

Dutch maritime communications com-pany SeaVSAT has launched a newwebsite, which includes expanded newsabout the company and descriptions of itsvarious product offerings.

Intellian has moved its US headquar-ters and warehouse in Irvine, California to a larger location, and opened a newoffice near Seattle. The Irvine office andwarehouse is four times larger than itsprevious location, and the new Seattle-area location is home to Intellian’s mar-keting department.

Intellian also reports that it hasselected David Quarders to be its newdirector of VSAT sales for the Americas.Mr Quarders has over twenty years ofdirect and indirect sales and marketingexperience in the defence, shipping, oiland gas, and boating industries.

Project to investigate ship communicationsfor Arctic routes

The Arctic Northern route (blue) is significantly shorter than the usual Southern route (red)

www.radiohollandgroup.com

Dutch shipping company Spliethoff hassigned a contract with Radio Holland forthe supply of VSAT communications sys-tems, including hardware, installation,airtime and maintenance.

The three year contract comprises an ini-tial 16 Ku-band VSAT installations on theSpliethoff fleet, configured for use withRadio Holland's Ku-band network, withthe possibility for the number of installa-tions to be extended to up to 50 ships.

The Spliethoff vessels will use automat-ic beam switching technology to movebetween different coverage areas withoutlosing connectivity.

"We have chosen Radio Holland after acareful selection process," said Peter Vande Venne, director of IT with Spliethoff.

"The solution of Radio Holland fits ourdemands. It provides our crew with muchappreciated internet access, and on the

business side it speeds up communication(not having to wait for e-mail exchange afew times per day), and gives captainsaccess to relevant on-line information likeport and cargo details."

"It also gives our vessel support engi-neers the ability to provide remote sup-port by directly taking over PCs."

Spliethoff has been a Radio Hollandcustomer for a number of years, withRadio Holland delighted to have thisopportunity to extend their relationship.

"The solution offered by Radio Hollandto Spliethoff fits very well in RadioHolland’s strategy to offer customers com-plete connectivity packages," said PaulSmulders, general manager of RadioHolland Netherlands.

"(This combines) the best of breed hard-ware, together with optimal communica-tion solutions and global support, leadingto highest Quality of Service at lowestoperational costs."

Otesat-Maritel and Vizada will both act asDPs for Inmarsat's new handheld phone

www.otesat-maritel.comwww.inmarsat.comwww.vizada.comwww.seavsat.comwww.intelliantech.com

Spliethoff agrees VSAT deal

Spliethoff's 16-vessel VSAT deal could beextended to 50 ships

p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:50

Digital Ship


www.intelsat.com

Intelsat reports that Arianespace haslaunched the Intelsat 17 satellite (IS-17),and completed successful spacecraft sepa-ration and signal acquisition.

The satellite, built by SpaceSystems/Loral, will provide C- and Ku-band capacity across Europe, the MiddleEast, Africa, and Asia from the 66º Eorbital location.

This satellite will replace the Intelsat702 satellite and is designed to provideservice for the next 16 years. IS-17 is slated

to enter service in the first quarter of 2011."This satellite’s enhanced transponders

include linear C-band capacity and multi-continental coverage," said DaveMcGlade, Intelsat CEO.

IS-17 is part of a nine-satellite invest-ment programme, the largest in Intelsat’shistory. The investment programme isexpected to provide enhanced high-pow-ered capacity to Intelsat’s global fleet.

Intelsat’s next launch is expected to bethe Intelsat New Dawn satellite, slated forlaunch in late first quarter 2011 and to belocated at 33º E.

www.satcomgroup.com

SatCom Group has announced the acqui-sition of Abbey Technologies, a Swiss-based software and design company.

Abbey is a developer of Java WebApplication services and Swing andHTML systems, as well as being a design-er of user interfaces.

For the past 19 months the companyhas focused on the development ofSatCom Group’s latest offering Horizon, apackage of products designed to supportefficient communications delivery opti-mised for satellite.

Horizon features low bandwidth VoIP

from 2 kbps, optimised e-mail, instantmessaging, and web browsing on a sin-gle platform.

Brian Collins, founder of AbbeyTechnologies, will take on the new role ofChief Technical Officer for SatCom Groupas the result of the acquisition.

"Abbey Technologies brings a newlevel of technical capabilities to the groupand, when combined with SatCom’sworldwide resources and industry expert-ise, will enhance our ability to further theHorizon product line and develop morecomprehensive and innovative solutionsfor our customers," said Sandy Johnson,COO of SatCom.

Successful launch for Intelsat

The Intelsat 17 satellite was successfully launched by Arianespace

SatCom Group acquires Abbey

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p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:51

AP Moller-Maersk’s new strategy programme will utilise its hundreds of FleetBroadband installations to providea range of crew communications services, with the aim of improving welfare for those serving onboard.

Soren Anderson, Maersk, told Digital Ship about the plans for Project Gangway


SATCOMS

SS hipping giant AP Moller-Maersk isset to revolutionise the communi-cations options available to its

crews through the roll-out of a new initia-tive called Project Gangway, a strategyprogramme through which the companyis aiming to reduce the gap between itsseafarers and their families on shore.

Project Gangway looks at four keyareas highlighted by officers and crewmembers for improvement; crew manage-ment, spare and store management, shipand shore relations and vessel reportingprocesses. As part of this process the com-pany is overseeing the adoption of inter-net connectivity on 220 container vessels,with access to the company intranet to alsofollow shortly.

To provide these capabilities Maerskwill utilise Inmarsat's FleetBroadband net-work, having agreed to install the satellitecommunications system onboard up to400 vessels across its fleet.

The origins of this installation pro-gramme stretch back to September 2008,when Maersk signed what is believed tobe the largest retrofit satellite communi-cations contract in maritime history,agreeing to convert more than 150 vessels in its Supply Service and Tankersfleet to Inmarsat's flagship product,FleetBroadband 500.

Two years later, in September 2010, APMoller-Maersk announced that an addi-

tional 200 vessels would proceed to installFleetBroadband (see Digital Ship October2010), bringing the total number of Maerskvessels sailing with the system to 400.

This extensive installation project is aresult of collaboration between a numberof different companies. Marlink will pro-vide airtime services to the vessels, sup-ported by Vizada onboard applications,with Danish companies Polaris Electronicsand Thrane & Thrane respectively provid-ing installation management services andthe satellite hardware.

The bandwidth provided by the broad-band system is to be used to enhance oper-ational efficiency as well as crew welfare,with an internet café facility onboardevery vessel for use by crews.

AP Moller-Maersk will have the abilityto filter and prioritise internet and e-mailtraffic over the antenna, in order to max-imise efficiency of the communicationsnetwork. Crew use of FleetBroadband isseparated from the business operationaluse by routers to ensure that the companyalways has sufficient bandwidth to con-duct its operations.

Crew communications –work and play

Soren Anderson, head of vessel manage-ment for Maersk's container ship businessand the man who initiated ProjectGangway, is a firm believer in the value

that communications can offer to businessprocesses.

He expects that the developments thecompany is pursuing under this strategyproject will go a long way towardsimproving business interaction betweenship and shore, while also reducing the level of detachment sailors feel whenat sea.

“Detachment is a big issue for shippingcompanies – seafarers are away at sea formonths and communications, especiallythrough social media, is a way of keepingthem engaged with shore operations,” MrAndersen explains.

“One of the benefits of the internet isthat we will be introducing a social net-work that will keep our 5,000 seafarerslinked into the company and thereforemore motivated and engaged with us.This is vital for staff retention, especiallyto retain experienced officers.”

“The attrition rate is around 10 per centfor officers across the industry. We arelooking to reduce our attrition consider-ably. Sophisticated communication willplay a vital role in more staff stability.”

Maersk's approach to this issue was notjust to expand the social communicationtools available to those at sea, but to alsoexamine how communications could beleveraged to improve business processesand the working environment.

“It’s not just the usual complaint that

‘we want to call home more’; it is, espe-cially, for the officers, about how commu-nications can improve their job – for exam-ple in day to day communications, order-ing spares and monitoring stores and pro-visions,” said Mr Andersen.

“We are currently working onimprovements to our day to day commu-nications systems with vessels to help offi-cers do their jobs better.”

Part of this process has involved gath-ering user feedback on vessel communica-tions, to help to construct systems thatwould help those onboard in the process-es they themselves know best.

“You only get one chance at this and ifwe wanted to engage those at sea withhelping us improve our business we had to clearly show that we listened andthen acted on their suggestions,” said Mr Andersen.

“If we didn’t the motivation to workwith the company again would be lost. Bylistening we are meeting their expecta-tions and motivating them to keep tellingus what communications can do toimprove the way they work. This in turndelivers bigger picture tangible savings tothe company.”

Beyond these business applications ofits satellite systems, Maersk has also intro-duced a number of new personal commu-nications options that have completelychanged the way that those onboard inter-act with those at home.

Before Maersk made the decision tointroduce internet access onboard the 220container ships already mentioned, crewscould only make phone calls on the singlesatphone onboard, using scratch cards,and with one person at a time using theservice. Access to e-mail was limited toone or two messages sent a day.

Today, with FleetBroadband installedon the ships, crews are being given freeand almost unlimited access to phone ande-mail during non-working hours. At anyone time the company estimates thatbetween a third and a half of the 5,000 sea-farers currently employed by Maersk willbe taking advantage of these new broad-band communications capabilities.

One additional improvement in com-munications availability has come withthe installation of wireless internet net-works. Already on board the rest of theGroup’s vessels, these facilities have nowbeen introduced to the container fleet.

“The most popular use of the internetwill be Facebook and webmail,” notes Mr Andersen.

“One of the most expressive examplesof communication was when one of theofficers onboard was talking over theinternet to a friend and expressed sur-prise that he was onshore and asked himwhen he’d got back and how the familywere. The immediately response was

Project Gangway – connecting crews at Maersk

Internet access will be made available to crews onboard 220 Maersk container ships, as part of a broadband roll-out that will include up to 400 vessels

p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:51


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p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:51

that he was still at sea but connected.”These kinds of applications are some-

thing that Inmarsat is also very keen to seebeing introduced over the FleetBroadbandservice, with the satellite provider seeingMaersk as a perfect representation of howa business investment decision can beused to make a significant impact on qual-ity of life onboard.

“Maersk's Project Gateway initiative isa great example of how shipping compa-nies can use satellite technology toimprove the efficiency of their operations,while at the same time introducing newfacilities for crews and improving theirstandard of living,” said James Collett,director of maritime business forInmarsat.

“Many believe, recession aside, that2011 will see a rise in usage quotas in a bidto help retain crew morale. Given theubiquity of iPhones, Blackberries andother PDAs, mobile communicationrequires a radical rethink for onboardusage.”

“The developments under ProjectGangway are exactly the kinds of resultsthat we wanted to help vessel operatorsachieve when we first launched theFleetBroadband service, so for us it's greatto see that put into practice on the kind ofscale that we have seen at Maersk.”

Operational advantagesMr Andersen believes that the type ofcommitment that Maersk has made inagreeing to embark on such an extensiveroll-out of broadband communicationsreflects the value the company puts oninvesting in business communication

solutions for the future.The ambition for Mr Andersen's team is

“to be the absolute reliable leader in themarketplace.”

“Schedule reliability is not enough,” hesaid. “Ships running on time are only halfthe story; our containers must arrive ontime too.”

“We have three major objectives for ourfuture; to become the ‘Gold Standard’ andtherefore indisputable leader of reliabilityin our industry, to be demonstrably moreefficient in our impact on the environ-ment, and to be competitive on cost.”

Two of these goals converge in the areaof fuel consumption, where a reduction inthe amount of fuel used by the vesselsleads to a drop in emissions while also cut-ting costs. In pursuit of this, Maersk Linehas become the first shipping line toreceive independent verification of itsCO2 emissions data, vessel by vessel.

“Project Gangway is part of our divi-sion’s business strategy and a clever wayof investing to gain cost and businessadvantages, for example, is in fuel con-sumption,” said Mr Andersen.

“One of the objectives behind puttinginto place many of the recommendationsof the company’s seafarers was to improvecommunication which would in turnresult in more efficient fuel and energyconsumption – and therefore tangiblebusiness efficiencies.”

“Quicker communication to theCaptain to adjust and reduce speed whencoming into a specific port because theberth is not ready will naturally providefuel savings. Equally, if we need toimprove delivery times we can communi-

cate the need to increase speed.”The company is also looking at a num-

ber of other areas where better access todata could lead to increasing efficiencies.

“With the fast speed delivered by thisnew technology we will find sending largedata files easier and much more efficientfor the running of the ship,” said MrAndersen.

“The potential is huge for improvementsto how we operate our vessels. For exam-ple, there is a definite ambition for e-learn-ing and we see the potential it will offer usin the long term for education and training,and the quality of future employees.”

The possibility to perform remotemaintenance via satellite is another optionthat is being considered, with the higherbandwidth now available allowing largevolumes of data to be exchanged threetimes faster between the VNC and theonboard PC.

The option to run this over on-demandstreaming IP channels helps to ensure areliable connection throughout theremote-maintenance operation, and MrAndersen believes this will certainly be anarea of future interest for Maersk.

“I recognise the huge potential forremote maintenance,” he said. “The abili-ty to diagnose problems onboard by log-ging into a ship’s system and helping tooptimise the problem is something we willseriously be looking at.”

“With this new technology it can be likesomeone is physically onboard doing thework. The severity of such problems can,in the worst case scenario, result in expen-sive time in port and delays to the voyagewhich we all wish to avoid.”

Project successDespite the excitement of all of these newsystems and capabilities being rolled outto its fleet of vessels, Mr Andersen knowsthat Maersk will judge the ultimate suc-cess of the Project Gangway initiative injust one way – through the measurementof tangible results.

“When you do a project like this it isimportant to act on the feedback quicklyand then move on,” he said.

“We will send out a questionnaire earlynext year asking how successful our peo-ple think we have been in listening to theircomments and making changes. If theresponse is good then we move onwardsand upwards. If the response is poor wemove quickly to improve perceptions.”

“We will look at attrition rates as ameasurement of our success, and also howmuch money we have saved in runningthe ships by implementing the feedbackfrom onboard.”

Mr Andersen notes that the views andopinions of the company's 5,000 seafarersforms a vital part of this process, and willcontinue to shape the strategy of the com-pany in the years to come.

“The ideas, suggestions and recom-mendations of our seafarers will continueto be a huge part of how we will continueto retain our ambition of leadership in ourindustry for reliability,” he said.

“We can already see that we are reduc-ing reaction times onboard because of thequality and reliability of the communica-tion. Saving costs by empowering ourcrews and increasing their engagement toour long term business goals is one ofour most powerful secret weapons.”

www.c2sat.com

www.speedcast.com

C2SAT reports that its 1.2m Ku II maritimeVSAT antenna has passed technical qualifi-cation testing by SpeedCast in Hong Kong,and has now received approval for use onSpeedCast’s satellite network.

The test concluded that the antennaoperated successfully with SpeedCast’siDirect-based global maritime networkusing the OpenAMIP antenna communi-cation protocol, which allows auto beamswitching on both cross-pol and co-polsatellites.

"We are delighted to accept C2SAT’s1.2m Ku II VSAT as another approved Ku-band antenna, which can be used on ourmaritime network," said Nick Dukakis,SpeedCast’s vice president of maritimeand offshore services.

"We are pleased for C2SAT to join ourportfolio of five different manufacturerson our network that are able to work inseamless auto beam switching mode,offering unmatched flexibility and choiceto our customers."

"SpeedCast was first to bring to marketsuch a seamless automatic beam switchingservice based on small Ku-band antennasand iDirect technology, and has gained atechnical leadership position in that field."


SATCOMS

www.minivsat.com

KVH and partner ViaSat have announcedthat they have more than doubled theirVSAT network's bandwidth capacity inthe North Atlantic to meet growingdemand.

The KVH mini-VSAT Broadband net-work is delivered by 12 satellite transpon-ders and 9 earth stations, offering voiceservice and internet access between 512kbps (upload) and 2 Mbps (download).

KVH says that the growing amount oftraffic within the North Atlantic beams ofthis network convinced it that an expan-sion in capacity was required.

"Since its launch in late 2007, KVH'smini-VSAT Broadband network hasgrown steadily and is now a leadingchoice for satellite communications, par-ticularly among commercial operators,"said Brent Bruun, KVH's vice president forsales and business development.

"In keeping with KVH's commitment to

C2SAT getsapproval

mini-VSAT capacity doubled in North Atlantic

Crew comms services from SeaSecurewww.seasecure.net

SeaSecure has launched a range of newservices for crew communications as partof its CrewCommCenter package, whichwill allow ship owners to offer free SMS totheir crews.

The free SMS service works worldwide,both for incoming as well as outgoingmessages, on individual private crew SMSaccounts.

The system is designed to provide crewwelfare options via dial-up lines,FleetBroadband, Iridium and VSAT.

SeaSecure says that the software utilisesthe ship's own preferred communicationssystem and satcom equipment installedonboard.

The free SMS service is available to userspaying a monthly subscription for theCrewCommCenter software, which the com-pany says also includes free e-mail, onlinechat via Yahoo, MSN and Facebook, and acustomised web browser, as well as worldnews bulletins and other announcements.

Browsing optimisation is also included,which SeaSecure says can reduce dataflow by up to 70 per cent, with allocated

customer satisfaction, we will continue toinvest in the network to support our grow-ing customer base. Mariners who chooseto equip their vessels with the TracPhoneV7 and mini-VSAT Broadband do sobecause they trust KVH to provide reli-able, affordable satellite communicationswith unmatched performance."

"Expansions like this one are just oneway that we continue to deliver on ourpromise, even as the number of customersusing the network increases."

bandwidth control. Additional options are built in to block

streaming, downloads or other unwantedtraffic, and IT security is provided byusing dedicated ports, with all commonports shut down.

The software uses a 'thin chat client' socrews can use shore-based chat accountswithout downloading the messengers'software. The company notes that thisclient uses only 1 byte per character, andits analysis has shown that crews using anallocated 500kB volume have had a totalchat time of 7 – 8 hours.

DS

p1-10:p1-14.qxd 09/12/2010 12:51


www.shipadmin.com

North Sea Shipping, OSM Shipmanagementand Havila Shipping have all agreed newdeals to implement software systems fromNorwegian company Shipadmin.

North Sea will install the technologyprovider's Captains Secretary, FleetManagerand Gangway Security software modulesaboard its latest vessel, the North Sea Giant.

The North Sea Giant is used for wellintervention, drilling (deep water capaci-ty) and sub sea construction activities suchas cable laying, pipe laying, dredging andROV support/survey. The vessel canaccommodate up to 199 persons.

OSM Shipmanagement will beinstalling Shipadmin solutions for its twooffshore vessels, the KL Sandefjord andthe KL Saltfjord. These two sister vesselswill be delivered in January 2011 andApril 2011 respectively.

Both of these ultra deep water AHTS andservice vessels are owned by K Line, butwill be under OSM management, and willbe able to accommodate up to 70 persons.

"(North Sea's) vessel is built for thefuture within the offshore industry. Assuch, I am proud to see that Shipadmin willbe a part of it too," commented Per MagnusGrøsvik, general manager, Shipadmin.

"OSM Shipmanagement will be operatingtwo very modern and large vessels. Thesevessels are very demanding to operate and Iam very glad to see that Shipadmin solutions

will be enhancing their daily operation."Havila Shipping, another Norwegian

company, is to expand an existing soft-ware agreement with Shipadmin toincrease its use of the software systems onmore of its ships.

This new deal will see Shipadmin'ssolutions introduced on ten additionalvessels within the Havila fleet of platformsupply vessels, anchor handling tug sup-ply vessels, and rescue and recovery ves-sels operating mainly in the North Sea andAsia Pacific regions.

The systems to be supplied will includethe Captains Secretary, ShipadminFleetManager and Shipadmin DP Logsoftware packages.

"I am absolutely delighted to see thatHavila Shipping is going use our solutionsfor ten more of their vessels," said MrGrøsvik. "I can assure them that Shipadminwill do its utmost best to fulfil their needsin this ever-demanding tough market."

Three companies to install Shipadmin

The KL Sandefjord will be deliveredin January 2011

www.shipdecision.com

Brokerage businesses Bulkore Charteringand Greenwich Shipping Services haveboth agreed new deals to implement theShipDecision software system fromCanadian technology company Stelvio.

New York based Bulkore Charteringsays that it is installing the system to sup-port data management in its maritimecargo brokerage business.

“We exchange a tremendous numberof e-mails and critical documents with ourbusiness partners on a daily basis, andmust carefully track and manage bothvessel and cargo movement,” explainedbroker Marygrace Collins.

“The ShipDecision system helps ushandle our day-to-day business withmaximum efficiency. The system lets us track the work that each other has handled, so there is no more repetition of efforts.”

ShipDecision is used to help organisethe sharing and use of information amongbusiness partners in the maritime sector.

The application is accessible from any-where via an internet connection, protect-ed by what the company calls 'banking-level' encryption, and is used to processdata, documents and communicationsrelated to each voyage.

All data is secured in an electronicvault which can be accessed by authorisedusers, also providing an audit trail of all

business activities. The other maritime brokerage to

recently move to ShipDecision,Greenwich Shipping Services, which isalso based in the New York area, notesthat it had a huge depository of data that needed to be transferred into thenew system.

However, working with its suppliers,the company found this process to be lesspainful than had been expected.

"We had a great deal of historical infor-mation that we did not want to lose,including over a hundred thousand e-mails," notes broker Bill Quinn.

"The ShipDecision team taught mehow to use the system, had me up andrunning in a day, and transferred my datawithin a 48 hour time span. Now I canaccess my business information any timeof day, from any location."

Albert Carbone, president of Stelvio,says that he has been glad to see broker-age businesses embrace this move to amore technologically sophisticatedprocess, despite the challenges involvedin the transition.

“There is an understandable level ofapprehension when a business ownerconsiders moving from a system they’veused for many years,” he said.

“By understanding the unique needsand time pressures of maritime clients,we’ve created a solution that is intuitiveto use and easy to transition to.”

New York brokers move to ShipDecision

SOFTWARE NEWS Digital Ship

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CommBoxtm connects ships to land-based of ces so they can communicate securely, ef cient-ly, cost-effectively and without interruption.

Shipping companies and cessels all over the world use CommBoxtm from Virtek.

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Use BROADBAND at sea!

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:01 Page 1

SOFTWARE NEWS


www.interasset.com

Hamburg Süd has announced that it isadopting the EquipmentRepair systemfrom International Asset Systems (IAS) tomanage its global container maintenanceand repair programme.

The German-headquartered carrier willuse the IAS web-based software and com-munications hub to co-ordinate world-wide repairs for its entire container fleet.

"As Hamburg Süd continues to grow,the work involved in managing containerM&R (maintenance and repair) alsoincreases," said Martin Schoeler, deputy

director logistics and technology forHamburg Süd.

"We identified that more global sup-port and connectivity was neededbetween our repair and storage depot ven-dors, local Hamburg Süd offices and ourheadquarters in Hamburg."

Following an appraisal process thecompany selected the new IASEquipmentRepair 3.0 application, and isnow in the process of deploying the sys-tem to its full network of over 300 depotvendors worldwide.

"We looked at all the available optionsand found that IAS had the most compre-

Maintenance management software for Hamburg Südhensive M&R solution on the market,"said Mr Schoeler.

"Having developed a significant list ofdetailed requirements, we knew exactlywhat we were looking for andEquipmentRepair was able to meet all ofour needs."

The IAS software allows equipmentowners to automate depot communica-tions and track and control the M&Rprocess, with data exchanged either byEDI or web-based interface.

Hamburg Süd will use the system toautomate data transfers between localoffices and third-party depots, to reduce

or eliminate time spent on data input anderror correction.

Users can instantly check the status of arepair, view past repairs, quickly identifyany delays in the repair cycle, and be alert-ed automatically to anomalies.

"With a global M&R solution in place,we will be better able to apply consistentrepair standards for our container fleetacross the world," said Mr Schoeler.

"Having standard processes in place,combined with improved data transparen-cy, will allow our local management teamsto directly impact M&R costs and equip-ment turn times."

www.teromarine.no

Tero Marine has announced two newcontracts for its maritime software sys-tems, with Fugro Geoteam and SancoShipping.

Fugro Geoteam is to implement theTM Master Fleet Management Suite forplanned maintenance, purchasing, dock-ing management and claims handling.

The agreement covers implementationof TM Master in the head office andonboard two newbuildings, the seismicvessel Geo Coral and the ROV/offshoresupport vessel Fugro Symphony.

The system is already up and runningin the office and onboard Geo Coral, andwill be implemented onboard the new-building Fugro Symphony for its deliv-ery in Q2 2011.

The contract with Sanco Shippingcovers an upgrade to the latest version of TM Master in the company's

offices and on its fleet of vessels, toVersion 2, which includes plannedmaintenance, purchasing, docking andcrew management.

"Sanco Shipping have been using TMMaster Version 1 for almost a decade,and we found it natural to upgrade at thispoint in time," said Jon Aklestad, techni-cal manager at Sanco Shipping.

"The onboard personnel on SancoSpirit have been using TM MasterVersion 2 for almost a year and wereceived good responses, both from expe-rienced users and new users with noexperience with TM Master."

"Sanco Shipping has chosen anupgrade to TM Master Version 2 becauseof the product's flexibility. We see theFleet functionality as a complete productfor our needs, with short replication timeto the vessels. Also, the Crew Moduleprovides our crewing department withnecessary functionality."

New deals for Tero Marinewww.shipserv.comwww.teomaki.com

ShipServ has announced a co-operationagreement with Norwegian softwarehouse Teomaki AS, whereby the twocompanies will work together on systemintegration and joint marketing.

Under the terms of the agreement,Teomaki will integrate its Teomaki.SMmaintenance and purchasing systemwith the ShipServ TradeNet e-commerceplatform.

ShipServ and Teomaki already share anumber of customers, including ship-manager OSM Group, which will be inte-grated to TradeNet through its shipboardTeomaki systems later this year.

“Teomaki was founded on the beliefthat its products should be easy toimplement in value chains already sup-ported by leading marine and offshoresoftware providers like ShipServ,” com-

mented Teomaki managing director, PålWiderøe.

“The newly-developed user interfaceto ShipServ TradeNet is proving this phi-losophy to its full extent by supportingTeomaki customers in completingadvanced e-commerce transactions in theShipServ TradeNet environment.”

Paul Ostergaard, founder and CEO ofShipServ, notes that the two companiesshare a number of common qualitieswhich he believes will help both sides towork together.

"We are both innovators who wantshipmanagers to think differently abouthow to use software to improve their process and their bottom line," he said.

"There are many offshore market usersfor whom this can be a powerful partner-ship. We look forward to working withTeomaki on building awareness of whatour products can do for them."

Teomaki and ShipServ to integrate systems

RiverWijs installs planned maintenance system www.marinesoftware.co.uk

Marine Software reports that it has suc-cessfully supplied its MPM (MarinePlanned Maintenance) solution toAustralian based RiverWijs, to be installedon six tugs.

As well as installing the system on fourRAmparts 3000 Class ASD tugs and two27m tractor tugs, Marine Software also con-

structed two 'Lead' databases (one for eachclass of tug) which formed the templatedatabases for the respective sister vessels.

A central OPM (Office PlannedMaintenance) system has been suppliedto RiverWijs’s Brisbane-based office,which will be deployed in Citrix forremote superintendent access.

This system will provide data to allshore side technical staff to monitor the

Six RiverWijs tugs will be installed with the planned maintenance system

on-board fleet planned maintenance statusof all operations.

RiverWijs will also use the software'sMPM 'History Pictures' upgrade module,so that any electronic file attachments canbe inserted during the planned mainte-nance completion sign-off stage.

Once vessel maintenance data updatesare transferred to the office system, alloffice users can monitor the on-going sta-tus and review any 'History Picture' doc-uments stored within the completed his-tory records.

RiverWijs commented, in a statement:"The MPM/OPM system was recommend-ed to one of our group management staffby a previous work colleague (a marineengineer)."

"The attraction of the system toRiverWijs was that it allows ownership ofmaintenance works to remain aboard thetug, and at same time allows head office tobe kept up to date with maintenance activ-ity. The system set up, implementation andtraining was well organised and executed."

"The system is now in its early days ofoperation and its operation is provingintuitive to the marine engineers andother crew."

www.essdocs.com

Electronic Shipping Solutions hasannounced that three more maritime com-panies have gone live on its CargoDocselectronic documentation system.

Hellespont Tankers, TeekayCorporation and Mabanaft will now usethe CargoDocs system to transact electron-ic shipping documents.

The application enables counterpartsinvolved in international trade to manageall of the documentation required to shipand trade waterborne cargoes electronical-ly, including original bills of lading andcertificates of quality, quantity and origin.

ESS also provides eAD, an electroniccustoms compliance service and eSDS, forcreating and managing electronic safetydata sheets.

In addition to these three new compa-nies, ESS also notes that the CargoDocssystem has been live since the start of2010 at the INEOS Finnart Terminal in the UK, and is now being rolled out at crude and gas terminals across theNorth, Black, Baltic, Norwegian andMediterranean Seas.

Maritime companiesmove to e-documents

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:01 Page 2


Digital Ship

www.transas.com

Transas Marine has launched a newECDIS Computer Based Training course,certified by Germanischer Lloyd.

The Transas ECDIS CBT is based onIMO's Model Course 1.27and consists of 17 chaptersand tests split by themes –ECDIS Theory, Basic func-tions of ECDIS, OperationalUse of ECDIS, and Errorsand Malfunctions in ECDIS.

A successful traineereceives a certificate of com-pletion of the CBT withrespect to equipment-specificfamiliarisation.

With this certificate thetrainee may join a reducedtime 2-day course in aTransas approved trainingcentre to gain a full GL-certified IMO Model Course1.27 certificate, in accor-dance with the ManilaAmendments of STCW.

The ECDIS CBT is sup-plied together with freeECDIS Demo software devel-oped to demonstrate themain ECDIS functionalities,and for use for training purposes. It includes simula-tion of navigational data(own ship and target motion,radar pictures and ENCs)and pre-set scenarios thatdisplay full-scale navigationsituations.

The course is available inEnglish on DVD or online viaTransas partner ShipGazTraining in Sweden, and canbe undertaken on-board avessel or ashore.

In other news Transas hasalso announced the release ofthe latest version of its Navi-Harbour vessel traffic man-agement (VTM) system, ver-sion 4.3, and the agreementof a new contract for the sup-ply of VTM services in theIvory Coast.

The new Navi-Harboursystem features upgradedradar processing, recordingand playback usability, andimproved electronic charthandling.

Transas says that theimproved radar processordiagnostics should help todetect a larger number oferrors. For areas where thedetection and tracking qual-ity requirements are not asstringent, a simplified radarprocessor setting whichdoes not require specialoperator training has alsobeen developed.

The recording system hasalso been changed to allowsubtraction of redundantinformation by time, settingdifferent storage depths for

different tracks and a new structure forrecord storage directories.

The release of this system was fol-lowed by a contract with the AbidjanPort Authority to upgrade the existingVTMS system in Port of Abidjan, as well

as the supply of a multi-purpose simula-tor facility.

Under the contract Transas willupgrade the VTMS system located inAbidjan, the biggest port in the IvoryCoast, as well as providing training and

simulation services to the Abidjan PortAuthority. This includes an NTPRO 5000simulator, with modelling station, full mission engine room and tug simula-tors, two VTS simulators, and a cranesimulator.

Transas launches computer based training for ECDIS


RADIO HOLLAND CONNECT: AIRTIME ANYWHERE

FOR ALL YOUR C NNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS

WE C NNECT AT SEA

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:02 Page 3

SOFTWARE NEWS


www.tpt.com

Berge Bulk has licensed a chartering andvessel operations software system fromTriple Point Technology, to manage allpre-and-post fixture activities of its drybulk commodity shipping operations, spe-cialising in iron ore and coal.

Berge Bulk operates a fleet of over 6million dwt, mainly on long-term charters.The company is headquartered inBermuda, with offices in Norway andSingapore.

“Triple Point’s shipping software pro-vides world-class dry bulk operators like

Berge Bulk the systems required tostreamline business processes andimprove visibility into vessel perform-ance-reporting and tracking,” said SimonWoods, chief customer officer and manag-ing director – Asia Pacific, Triple Point.

“Triple Point looks forward to helpingBerge Bulk successfully manage its rapid-ly expanding dry bulk commodity ship-ping operations.”

Triple Point's chartering and vesseloperations software is based on technolo-gy obtained in its acquisition of Softmar(now the chartering and vessel operationsdivision of Triple Point).

www.softship.com

Maritime software provider Softshipreports that it has agreed a contract withThe China Navigation Company's linershipping arm, Swire Shipping, to install itsLIMA (Liner Management) packageacross Swire Shipping’s global network.

The installation of the LIMA packagewill replace Swire Shipping’s current pro-prietary applications.

“We pride ourselves on providing ship-ping solutions with the highest customerservice standards and the adoption ofSoftship as our software partner will helpus continue to deliver for our customersand introduce efficiencies and greatertransparency across our business,” saidRichard Kendall, China NavigationCompany managing director.

The LIMA package will be rolled out across the entire Swire Shipping

operation, which includes the head officein Singapore, regional offices inAustralia, New Zealand, the UK, Indiaand Canada, as well as more than 100agencies world-wide.

“Packaged solutions such as the LIMAsystem we are to implement for SwireShipping can be tailored to meet a client’sspecific requirements and come with atrack-record of delivering a range of bene-fits,” said Lars Fischer, managing directorof Softship's Singapore division.

“LIMA will automate all of SwireShipping’s business critical processesincluding commercial, equipment control,operations, finance and managementinformation.”

“It will use the latest technology toenable the real-time control of theseprocesses and will deliver efficiency gainsalongside total integrated cost and rev-enue management.”

Swire Shipping agrees Softship deal

Berge Bulk introduces Triple Point

www.imca-int.com

The International Marine ContractorsAssociation (IMCA) reports that it hasrecently passed one year since the intro-duction of the electronic version of itsCommon Marine Inspection Document(CMID), and now has 124 vessel operatorswith 340 vessels registered on the system.

"The original CMID was developedover a decade ago because vessels weresubjected to repeat inspections, each witha slightly different format, because therewas no acceptance of other clients' inspec-tion results and no common approachavailable," explains IMCA’s chief execu-tive, Hugh Williams.

"The CMID proved invaluable for ves-

sel clients, owners/operators and inspec-tors alike. Last November we launched e-CMID, along with the online CMID data-base as a natural and logical progressionto ensure the document's continued use-fulness."

Registration is free of charge for all,IMCA members and non-members alike,with 1,040 users having registered to datefrom five user groups: 124 vessel opera-tors; 103 clients; 88 combined operators/clients; 221 inspection companies; and 11industry organisations.

IMCA says that it will be working withusers, and any potential future users, inlooking at introducing further enhance-ments to the electronic system at its annu-al seminar and at a series of workshops.

e-CMID celebrates first year

IMCA's e-CMID now has more than 1,000 registered users

www.spectec.netwww.mandieselturbo.com

As a further demonstration of the cooper-ation between the companies withrespect to the Shipdex project, MANDiesel & Turbo has installed SpecTec'sAMOS BS system at its PrimeServ loca-tion in Copenhagen.

Ten members of MAN Diesel &Turbo's staff have been trained in the useof the main features of the software, withtraining sessions conducted by KimPommegard and Jens Ipsen fromSpecTec Denmark.

SpecTec ILS manager, MarcoVatteroni, also gave a demonstration of

how to automatically create an AMOSBS database using the Shipdex protocol,importing a MAN Diesel Shipdexdataset into the application.

"In the long run this exercise willenable us to better understand the shipowners’ requirements for structure andquality of maintenance data for ourproducts," says Henrik Striboldt, busi-ness development manager at MANDiesel & Turbo.

The two companies hope that closercooperation between their respectivetechnologies will help to improve thequality of data being used in mainte-nance systems, ensuring greater reliabil-ity and more efficient operations.

MAN Diesel installs AMOS underShipdex partnership

MAN Diesel's Primeserv facility in Copenhagen has installed AMOS software to see howShipdex datasets are introduced into the system

Upcoming Digital Ship Events

HamburgCyprus

BergenSee page 33

for moredetails

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:02 Page 4

www.globewireless.com Phone: +1 (321) 308-0112 [email protected]

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 14:06 Page 5

SOFTWARE NEWS


IT strategy and .NET 4.0 – Wallem Shipmanagement

Wallem Group has decided to move its IT infrastructure to the most recent version of the .NET platform from Microsoft. Patrick Slesinger, Wallem CIO, told Digital Ship about how this migration

will assist the company in implementing its overall operational strategies

HH ong Kong-based shipmanage-ment group Wallem is movingits IT processes to Microsoft's lat-

est incarnation of the .NET framework,version 4.0. The move will form part of thecompany's overall IT strategy to improveefficiency and flexibility in the way it han-dles its data, and how that informationinteracts with business processes.

The .NET framework is used as a basisfor software development and interoper-ability, making it easier for different sys-tems to share information across differentapplications and different hardware types.

For Wallem, the advantage of introduc-ing such a backbone to its IT processeswill lie in moving its technological sys-tems away from being mere data net-works to become support structures thatare closely aligned with business process,as Group chief information officer, PatrickSlesinger, explains.

“The way we do specifications for sys-tems, we basically moved from UML(Unified Modelling Language), which isan IT-based way of describing systems, toBPMN (business process modelling nota-tion),” he told us. “I would urge everyoneto have a look at BPMN as a way ofdescribing a business process.”

“If you typically look at a computer sys-tem, all the business logic is encoded withinbinary code. If you want to make a changeto a business process you have to actuallychange the code. As part of .NET 4.0 theyextended the workflow capabilities, whichwere originally within Sharepoint.”

“Now the business logic is abstractedfrom the binary objects, so I can make achange to the way that an application per-forms by changing a script, which is actu-ally just an XML document, rather thanthe binary code.”

Having this simplified method avail-able to modify the behaviour of applica-tions offers a number of benefits, with themost obvious being the perennialfavourites of savings in time and money.

“If you change binary code it requiresretesting, and testing is expensive. Whenyou change a script all you have to do ischeck the logic,” Mr Slesinger explains.

“We can also actually e-mail changes tobusiness processes on to vessels, I'm talk-ing about 10 kB documents here. Thatchanges the extensibility of applications,because we can then send new applica-tions, which are just scripts.”

System layersOperation of the system, linking raw data with the business process and the end user, is built on a series of layers. The

first of these layers is the Database itself,which is linked to a Database Transportlayer, using whatever kind of data trans-mission system you have in place withinthe organisation.

“The reason these two things areabstracted is down to the availability ofsatcom,” notes Mr Slesinger.

“For the database, SQL 2008 is free of charge from Microsoft, you can run that onboard the vessel with up to fiveusers. Equally, you can use somethingcalled WCF (Windows CommunicationFoundation), which can detect whetherthere is an IP stream, VSAT orFleetBroadband or Global Xpress, orwhatever it might be.”

The next link in the chain is the EntityService layer, the layer which contains thebinary objects. As Mr Slesinger points out,these objects are 'entity aware', linked tospecific roles or functions within the ship-ping company.

“They can be crew aware, for example,so you can sign on a crew member, signoff a crew member, or you can do an allot-ment with that binary object,” he said.

“There are only a certain number of things you can actually do with anyparticular entity. So you have cargo enti-ties, crew entities, vessel entities, for dif-ferent processes.”

The final three layers in the system arethe Business Logic layer, the PermissionsManagement layer, and finally the UserInterface itself.

“The business logic, which is the

script, is just XML, that's all it is,” said Mr Slesinger.

“As long as you have a method imple-mented within the Entity Service layeryou can change this, just by e-mail.”

“Permissions Management is the nextlayer, which is just fancy words for 'secu-rity', and on top of everything you havethe user interface.”

To answer the question of why thesetypes of capabilities are so important toWallem that it would look to make such achange to its IT set-up, Mr Slesinger pointsto his own use of IT on a daily basis as anexample of why interoperability of sys-tems is such an important part of the com-pany's future strategy.

“I have an iPhone, a BlackBerry, a Mac,an iPad, and a host of other differentthings,” he said.

“We are moving towards Generation Y,we're moving forward whether we like itor not and are not going to be able todeliver our IT systems just usingWindows. You need a layer of abstractionfor the user interface.”

“You need to have the ability to be ableto present that on any platform, becausethese guys aren't going to use Windows. Ifyou want to be able to use mobile applica-tions you'll have to be able to support allof the iPhones and iPads and so on, as wellas the next generation and the generationafter that.”

IT strategyMr Slesinger says that Wallem's move tothe .NET 4.0 framework is an example ofits underlying group-wide IT strategy,which he sums up as striving to deliverbest of breed solutions, and adding valuethrough integration and optimised usage.

“Those last two words are the mostimportant,” he told us. “It's very easy towrite a cheque, but getting a return from asystem is not so easy. Optimised usage isvery important.”

“Often this is not understood. The firstthing that every supplier does as soon asthere's a budget issue, in my experience, isthey cut back on training. You might havespent less money, but you've gotuntrained staff. That doesn't make sense.”

With 85 IT staff looking after its 344vessels, as well as its own developmentand support facility in the Philippines,Wallem has developed a reputation insome quarters for writing its own softwaresystems – however, Mr Slesinger insiststhat this is not the case.

“Our IT strategy is based, very clearly,on best practice procurement of IT sys-tems,” he said.

“Why do we buy rather than build?For the simple fact that it's quicker, andit's cheaper. We will customise maritimeapplications where necessary, perhapscreating additional modules if the fit isnot quite right, or we will marinise ter-restrial applications.”

“There are a lot of terrestrial, non-mar-itime applications out there that are veryanalogous to maritime business process-es, and our marinisation of terrestrialapplications could be as simple as chang-ing the word on the screen from 'ware-house' to 'vessel' to make it easy for achief engineer. Or it could mean writing adecoupled application to sit onboard the vessel.”

Mr Slesinger says that this 'marinisa-tion' approach is partly down to the factthat the size of the maritime-specific soft-ware market makes it very difficult fordevelopers to dedicate large numbers ofresources to an application for this specif-ic niche.

“If you actually look at the maritimeindustry it is a small market, there arebetween 15,000 and 17,000 deep oceangoing vessels,” he said.

“That's it. If you have $10 million or$100 million in your pocket and you'regoing to write a computer system, wouldyou go for a market that had 17,000 poten-tial sales, or one that had 170 millionpotential sales?”

Mr Slesinger also makes sure that thecompany's IT strategy does not dependtoo heavily on communication betweenship and shore, preferring to remove therisk of applications dependent on real-time communication failing if a satellitelink is unavailable.

“I've been in the maritime industrysince December 1992. I used to be told that I would have moved from Inmarsat-Bto Fleet and these things 10 years beforethey were actually delivered. VSAT is stillnot out there, 'always-on' is not there,” he said.

“We're probably the last industry inthe world to actually require decoupledapplications, to require the ability to havemail-enabled applications to transfer files,and we shouldn't be quick to lose that.One thing that is guaranteed with anasynchronous business process is redun-dancy. If you have a synchronous process,something which requires immediateresponse, and that is not provided, yourprocess stops.”

“The stuff we base on our faithful old e-mail applications has that redundancyavailable. I'm not suggesting that we don'tmove forward, but I am suggesting that

User Interface

Permission Management

Business Logic/Script

Entity Service Layer

Database Transport

Database

Wallem's .NET 4.0 framework will beconstructed as a series of layers, with

data passing through the levels to the user interface

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:02 Page 6

For more information contact:[email protected]+1 202-944-6944

www.intelsat.com

With the world’s largest FSS fl eet and the most extensive global teleport and fi ber infrastructure, Intelsat provides its customers with unparalleled resources.

Put the power and reach of the Intelsat network to work for you. To learn more, visit www.intelsat.com

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:02 Page 7

we don't forget what took us 10-plus yearsto learn – the availability and capability ofmail-enabled applications.”

Demonstrating valueThe importance of integrating IT into the overall business strategy, and usingtechnology to drive value creation withinthe organisation, is a concept whichWallem has developed over more thanthree decades of operation with comput-er systems.

“The first mainframe we had in Wallemwas in 1974. IT was very much a back-office function at that time, until 1993when we started tracking LOB (line ofbusiness) revenue generation,” MrSlesinger explains.

“We had to show what IT was giving tothe business, where was the dollar thatwas being made out of the IT systems. ITbecame a strategic partner with the busi-ness in 1995, and by that I mean that thebusiness began doing strategic planningwith us involved.”

“The reason was simple – in the busi-ness, IT is an enabler, a tool, and is not theanswer. You need to know what IT isgoing to enable you to do in three yearstime. Everyone knows what you can donow, but you need to be looking at howyou'll be making your money in threeyears time.”

Concentrating on the business aspectsof a process that is assisted by IT is some-thing that Wallem demands from all of itsIT staff, Mr Slesinger says.

“You've got to change the mindset ofyour IT department, you've got to be talkingthe language of the business,” he told us.

“If my staff want to annoy me they'lltalk to me about triggers or SQL state-ments, or things along those lines – I wantthem to be talking to me about drydock-ings, port calls and crew changes. If the ITguys just want to be IT guys then they cando it in a lab somewhere without the busi-ness around. You've got to talk aboutprocesses and real-life events.”

This approach also creates the expecta-tion that IT should be leveraged toenhance processes and drive additionalvalue, rather than just operating adequate-ly to specification.

“Delivering is not enough,” said MrSlesinger. “Our CEO, Rob Grool, has afavourite saying, which is: No job descrip-tion within Wallem Group contains thewords 'we pay you to do a bad job'.”

“So if you've worked really hard, andwe've paid your salary, we're even. If youwant to think about bonuses you have tobe seen to be delivering beyond the cost.IT is very bad at turning around andshowing that we are good.”

“This morning I presume you, andmost people, had a shower. You went intothe bathroom, turned on the shower, andwater came out. Did you call the watercompany and say 'thank you'? Whenthings work we don't say thanks – it'swhen you turn the tap on and water isn'tcoming out that you'll be on the phone. Sowe need be make sure that the businessunderstands that money is being deliv-ered by IT.”

To do this Mr Slesinger suggests intro-ducing a rolling three month plan for theprovision of IT in the company – knowwhat you're going to be doing in the nexttwo months, and make sure that the busi-ness knows it and gets reports of your successes and failures.

It is also important to align the IT strat-egy with the strategy of the rest of thebusiness, so that the impact of the use oftechnology is clear, and the departmentcan show where value is being delivered.

“ROI is a shared responsibility. Totalcost of ownership (TCO) is not just aboutthe project costs, if I introduce a systemthat requires you to hire Ph.D.'s then thetotal costs of the process will have goneup,” said Mr Slesinger.

“So when you think of the TCO, it's not the cost of buying the system and run-ning the server and the annual mainte-nance, it includes all of the staff who runthe process.”

“I have a quite simple rule I apply to allmy staff, and even the rest of the executivecommittee in Wallem Group – 'wants' arecosts, 'needs' have value. How many timeshave people come to you, in IT, saying 'Iwant this'? I don't care what you want,what I care about is what you need,because need delivers value.”

With this value-based strategy acting asthe cornerstone of Wallem's IT deploy-ment plans, Mr Slesinger believes thatglobal financial difficulties and the conse-quent downturn in world trade over thelast few years have provided a goodopportunity for IT departments to provetheir worth to their businesses, and showreal demonstrable value from the systemsthey implement.

“One of two things is going to happen –we're going to go into a double-dip reces-sion, which I hope we don't, or alterna-tively the economy is going to improve,”he said.

“First mover advantage will allowthose with speed and capability to be theones that win. Those who cut the musclealong with the fat during the economicdownturn are the ones who are going togo out of business – and they will go out of business.”

“When money is easy there's no pres-sure to work smarter. If you've got diffi-cult decisions to make inside your organi-sation, now is the time to do it. It's ouropportunity to lose.”

SOFTWARE


Digital Ship is the maritime industry’s meeting place to learn about newdigital technologies which can contribute to improvements in maritimesafety, operational efficiency and quality of life at sea.

From new satellite communications technologies to maintenance systems and electronic navigation tools, Digital Ship

brings you the very latest developments, along with the opinions and experiences of the people who use this technology

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II nmarsat has initiatedwhat may be thebiggest technologicalrevolution in its 30 yearhistory after agreeing alandmark $1 billion orderfor three VSAT satellites,to be constructed by theBoeing Group.

The fixed-price con-tract, with options, calls forthree 702HP commercialspacecraft with 89 Ka-bandbeams, that will operate ingeosynchronous orbit withflexible global coverage. Through the provision

of a new network,Inmarsat says that the Ka-band service will be able todeliver download speedsof up to 50 megabits persecond (Mbps) to its customers, with uploadspeeds in the order of 5Mbps, via terminals rang-ing from 20 cm to 60 cm in size.

The new satellite serieswill be called Inmarsat-5.The Inmarsat-5 spacecraftwill be compatible with theAriane, Sea Launch,Proton and Atlas launch

vehicles, with launch serv-ices to be procured byInmarsat at a later date.The satellites will have

a projected 15-year lifes-pan. The first satellite isscheduled to be completed

in 2013, with global opera-tions set to start in 2014.Global ExpressInmarsat says that it has

already envisioned a glob-al service using the satel-

lites, called Global Xpress,to target what it has identi-fied as a US$1.4 billionincremental market forVSAT services.The company says that

it is aiming to generateUS$500 million in annualKa-band revenues fiveyears after the global serv-ice is launched.Inmarsat estimates the

total cost of the I-5s andGlobal Xpress will beapproximately US$1.2 bil-lion over four and a halfyears, incorporating thefixed cost of the satellites,as well as the cost of addi-tional ground networkinfrastructure, productdevelopment, launch serv-ices and insurance. "This is a new invest-

ment for growth,” saidInmarsat chairman andCEO, Andrew Sukawaty.“With the Global Xpress

network, we will be thefirst operator to offer glob-al broadband coverage,offering unparalleledspeeds and bandwidth to

IN THIS ISSUE

September 2010

electronics and navigation

software

satcoms

10 years with VSAT – Knutsen OAS

Shipping – 30Reducing satcom spend by €1,000

per ship – Phoenix Reederei – 32

Deep Water Horizon –technology and risk – 44Maritime e-commerce at Mowinckel and

Thome – 50Streamlining operationsthrough integration – Fednav – 52

Inmarsat agrees $1bnVSAT satellite deal

Legal liability and the Digital Ship – 60Seafarer safety and the roleof technology – navigation,

communications, training andfuture developments – 65

Maritime IT at SMM – Preview – 72The future of navigation – Dr Andy Norris – 76

Inmarsat has agreed a deal with Boeing for the construction of three VSAT

satellites, to offer global 50 Mbps coverage in Ka-band and supplement

its L-band services – a deal which is likely to have a massive impact

on the maritime communications market

The three Inmarsat-5 satellites will provide global

50 Mbps coverage in Ka-band

Managing IP data IP security – keeping it simple – 18IP communications uncovered – 20

continued on page 2

Bergen-based Utkilen AS owns and operates 20 Chemical Tankers equipped

with VSAT as the primary communication system.communication. There is no need to shop around, it’s all there in one solution,”

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Digital Ship has grown to be a ‘mustread’ in the sector, with more than10,000 registered recipients of ourindustry-leading journal

Keep your finger on the pulse with our

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Subscribe online atwww.thedigitalship.com

or contact Stephan Venter

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DS

'We had to show where was the dollarthat was being made out of the IT

systems' - Patrick Slesinger, Wallem CIO

www.thedigitalship.com

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SOFTWARE


“Iam a reputable ship operator withstate of the art procedures andstandards, so when and how will

the MLC affect me, and what must I doabout it?” Some suggestions follow.

When it will apply to you depends ontwo crucial issues – when your flag stateor states ratify the MLC and when theMLC enters into force.

'Ratification' means that a country –usually a flag state – agrees to implementthe requirements of the MLC.

'Entry into force' means that the ratify-ing countries must apply the standardsnot just to ships flying their flag but also,through port state control inspections, toall ships entering their ports whether ornot the flag state of the foreign ship hasratified the Convention.

The MLC will enter into force 12months after 30 countries representingmore than 33 per cent of world tonnagehave ratified it.

The tonnage threshold has alreadybeen exceeded through the 10 major flagstates that have ratified it so far. Latestestimates suggest that entry into force willoccur by mid-2012.

So, depending on the flags of the shipsyou operate, you could be asked to com-ply in the next few months, or required todo so by the authorities in the ports visit-ed by your ships by mid-2012.

Read The ConventionCarefully

It is essential to read the convention care-fully – and I know this can be really boring.

Everyone finds convention-reading a realpain and understandably so, as the MLC ishardly the kind of reading material youwould choose to take with you for a relaxingday on the beach. But read it you must andthere are two main reasons for this.

First, the MLC has provisions dealingwith almost every aspect of maritimelabour conditions, so it is a reference docu-ment and a resource as well as a regulation.

Second, there are a multitude of 'experts'only too willing to tell you what you mustor must not do according to the MLC. Treatall such opinions with caution and double-check with the Convention text.

In some cases, provisions in the MLCwhich are provided for guidance (i.e. inPart B) have been quoted as beingmandatory; in some other cases provi-sions in the Convention which allow adegree of flexibility in ensuring compli-ance have been ignored.

It is also important to check and under-stand the exact meaning of the wordingcontained within the text.

The MLC applies to 'ships', 'seafarers'and 'shipowners' as defined in the

Convention. Read these definitions withcare as not every ship that you operatewill necessarily be a 'ship' as defined inthe MLC.

It is also quite possible that you havemore 'seafarers', as defined by the MLC,on your ships than you think you have,and it is a crucial part of the complianceprocess to identify a 'shipowner' for eachship even if that entity has no financialinterest whatsoever in the ship or its com-mercial activities.

The definition of 'seafarers' in the MLCrefers to “any person who is employed orengaged or works in any capacity onboard a ship”. This could include peopleon board not remotely involved in theoperation of the ship.

To clarify the situation, the ILO adopt-ed a Resolution which provides guidelinesto flag states on interpretation including,for example, that pilots, inspectors andsuperintendents should not normally beregarded as seafarers.

You should obtain a copy of thisResolution and question your flag author-ities if necessary.

Check your proceduresFor most reputable companies compliancewith the standards set by the MLC shouldnot prove difficult. But you will need tohave written procedures showing that youcomply, and that you comply in a mannerconsistent with the provisions of theConvention.

To issue the certificates required by theMLC the flag state of each ship will checkyour procedures to ensure:� compliance with the provisions of the

Convention at the time of inspection� that mechanisms are in place to ensure

continuous compliance during the periods between inspections, and

� that measures are in place to ensure continuous improvement

These procedures must, in particular,cover the fourteen items listed for inspec-tion: minimum age, medical certification,qualifications, employment agreements,use of manning agents, hours ofwork/rest, manning levels, accommoda-tion, recreational facilities, food and cater-ing, health and safety, medical care, com-plaint procedures and payment of wages.

Port and flag state inspectors will checkcompliance by your company. Some of thechecks can be completed in your shoreoffices, but most will involve visits toships you operate to make sure that yourprocesses and procedures are actuallyapplied at the workplace.

The 14 items listed above will be whereinspection will be concentrated. So makesure that it will be easy to produce on

board sufficient documentation to demon-strate as painlessly as possible that yourprocedures are implemented.

For example, aim to provide one docu-ment with all of the items specified in theMLC concerning crew employment agree-ments in one document rather than havethem scattered around in individual signedcontracts, collective agreements, staff hand-books, ISM Code procedures etc.

In these areas, the use of technologyand software systems to organise andtrack data and documents could help tomake this process easier to manage.Being able to more easily demonstratethat all requirements are being adheredto will help the compliance process to runmore smoothly.

Flag States and otherOrganisations

Flag states are ultimately responsible forimplementing the provisions of the MLC onships flying their flag, for interpreting thewords of the MLC when adopting nationallaws and for deciding how to apply the flex-ibility which the Convention allows.

Many countries are currently in theprocess of adopting national laws toimplement the MLC, so this is the time tobe checking with them how their laws willimpact on your operations and to lobbythem for change where necessary.

This can be done through national orinternational shipowner associations orother trade bodies.

If one flag state is interpreting a provi-sion in a manner which would create seri-ous difficulty with your ship operations,check whether other flag states havereached different interpretations.

Classification societies can also help –most of them have extensive informationabout the MLC on their web sites – but aword of caution here.

The MLC provides a commercialopportunity for classification societies,with several offering 'MLC compliance'audits even before the flag states have putin place their regulations to determinewhat compliance means.

If in doubt with any of the advice youreceive, re-read the section above on 'ReadThe Convention Carefully'.

Train your staffYou do not need to spend a fortune send-ing staff to some of the commercial MLC

training courses being offered at eyewatering prices by various organisations.But you do need to make sure they arefamiliar with what the MLC requires and why.

And for staff with specific responsibili-ties under the MLC – whether in headoffice, at sea, in manning agents or sub-sidiary offices abroad – you need to makesure that staff know precisely what isrequired of them.

There are several DVDs available thatprovide an excellent and cost-effectiveintroduction to the MLC. For some staffwill be all that they need to know.

There are also some publications: both the International ShippingFederation and the ITF have producedMLC guidelines.

But these will not be sufficient for thosewith specific responsibilities under theMLC who need more targeted instruction,including team leaders in head office andoutstations, even manning agents abroad,as well as Ship Masters.

A one day generic seminar for suchpeople provided by commercial organisa-tions is unlikely to be enough, even if itwere to be affordable.

Computer-based training (CBT) cours-es are available, which can include dedi-cated modules for Ship Masters, manningagents, government agencies andshipowners. Some of the available CBTsystems can provide concentrated learn-ing totalling more than 30 hours.

The aim of CBT is to bridge the gapbetween a DVD, as a largely visual intro-duction to a subject, and the classroom, asa place of dedicated and detailed learning.

There are developments in progress tofurther narrow this gap, even betweenCBT and classroom, which are awaitedwith interest.

An increasing number of companiesare also engaging consultants to providea bespoke service to them, using some orall of the above material, to provide train-ing that best suits their operations. Butcaution should again be applied to makesure that the consultant has credibilityand expertise both in the MLC and inyour operations.

Attention to these issues will minimiseyour problems with compliance whichshould, I think, be regarded as a sign ofcorporate social responsibility towardsyour staff, not as a burden.

The Maritime Labour Convention –what you need to know

The ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention includes a number of requirements that will affect the world’s more than1.2 million seafarers. Knowing the data and documentation that a shipping company needs to manage, and providing adequate training, are key areas in ensuring compliance, writes David Dearsley, Videotel

About the authorDavid Dearsley is a training consultant with Videotel Marine International.Videotel is a provider of a variety of computer based training services to themaritime industry, including packages on the MLC. www.videotel.co.uk

DS

p11-20:p15-25.qxd 09/12/2010 13:03 Page 10


ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION NEWS Digital Ship

THE FULL PICTURE

www.kongsberg.com

Kongsberg Maritime reports that itsCanadian division has signed a number ofnew simulator contracts with customers inthe country, covering ship's bridge,dynamic positioning and radar simula-tors, as well as engine room and navalsimulators.

As part of a multi-million dollar con-tract signed in early October, Kongsbergwill deliver a full suite of ship's bridge andengine room simulators to the CanadianCoast Guard College (CCGC) in Sydney,Nova Scotia.

The ship's bridge simulator delivery tothe CCGC includes a full mission DNVClass A and four DNV Class B simulators,as well as a range of own-ship and areadatabases.

The CCGC will also receive a full mis-sion engine room simulator, together witheight desktop systems and a range ofengine models. Kongsberg is responsiblefor building and infrastructure arrange-ments prior to the installation, which isdue to take place next year before a June2011 commissioning.

Kongsberg has also been contracted toupgrade bridge and engine room simula-tors at the Centre for Marine Simulation(CMS) in St John's, Newfoundland, whichis part of the Fisheries and MarineInstitute of Memorial University.

The University will receive a full mis-sion Neptune engine room simulator,

complete with Kongsberg Maritime'sBigView solution for slow and mediumspeed engine models, in addition to eightnew desktop trainers.

As part of the delivery, Kongsberg willmodernise four NMS-90 ship's bridge sim-ulators by integrating the Polaris simula-tion software platform and new MultiFlextechnology - a touch screen based panelcapable of displaying up to five softwarepanels in place of hardware.

The simulators, scheduled for deliveryby the end of December 2010, are certifiedto DNV standards and meet all require-ments for Transport Canada approvedtraining.

A third contract has been agreed withThe Marine Campus of the BritishColumbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)in North Vancouver, where KongsbergMaritime will upgrade the engine roomand ship's bridge simulators.

BCIT will have the first full missiondiesel electric engine room simulator inCanada, and what is believed to be theonly dedicated 360-degree tug bridge inthe Americas.

Ordered systems include a full missionNeptune engine room simulator and threefull mission engine models, eight desktopsystems, and seven new ship bridges with120 degree horizontal visual field of view,in addition to the 360-degree tug bridge.

A suite of full-mission and desktopdynamic positioning trainers will alsoform part of the delivery.

Canadian simulator contracts for Kongsberg

training systems and an upgrade to theexisting navigation simulator at theFaculty of Maritime Studies in theUniversity of Split, under a joint contractwith local company A.B.E. Inženjering.

A new Full Mission DNV Class A navi-gational bridge equipped with DP Class 2systems, a new radar/ARPA class of eightbridges, and a new four stations class forcargo handling training on crude oil andgas tankers will all be supplied under theagreement.

In addition, Transas will install a newsmall scale full mission engine room simu-

lator at the University, with a full libraryof available ship models.

Finally, in Norway, the Måløy SafetyCentre has agreed a deal whereby its facil-ities will be used as a Transas OffshoreDevelopment and Test facility.

As part of this agreement a newTransas offshore simulation module willbe installed at the Safety Centre, integrat-ed into a 360 degree bridge simulatorinstalled in 2007.

A new Transas Anchor Handling simu-lator will also be available for use at thetraining centre, providing models ofanchor handling operations, with interac-tive control and the ability to build scenar-ios for various anchor handling methods.

Finally, Kongsberg has also recently beenawarded a contract by Lockheed MartinCanada to upgrade the Canadian Navy'sshore-based ship's bridge simulation train-ers in support of the Combat SystemsIntegration (CSI) portion of the Halifax-Class Modernisation (HCM) project.

"We're delighted to have sealed somany contracts in Canada over the lastfew months," said Kongsberg MaritimeSimulation president, Henry Tremblay.

"The orders represent our long standingpresence in Canada and commitment to theAmerican maritime training community."

www.transas.com

Transas reports that it has signed newtraining and simulation deals with facili-ties in Greece, Croatia and Norway.

In Greece, Transas has supplied equip-ment for a multi-purpose simulator facili-ty at the EIM Maritime Training Centre.

The installed system includes a multi-task ship handling simulator able to repro-duce search and rescue operations, ice nav-igation, mooring and manoeuvring inrestricted waterways. An instructor stationand a debriefing facility are also provided.

Three desktop bridge simulators areincluded for training in watch keepingand ECDIS and radar/ARPA operations,including route planning and monitoring,electronic chart updating and the princi-ples of displaying different information.

An engine room simulator and a liquidcargo handling simulator, for training inoperations on Large Crude Oil Carriers(LCC), Chemical Tankers (CHT),Liquefied Petroleum Gas Carriers (LPG)and Liquefied Natural Gas carriers (LNG),are also part of the agreed package.

In Croatia, Transas is to supply new

European training deals for Transas

Another contract was awarded toKongsberg by BC Ferries, for the supplyand installation of three Polaris shipbridge simulation systems to multiplesites in British Columbia, Canada.

Kongsberg will deliver updatedCanadian West Coast area databases underthe deal, featuring 47 detailed terminalsowned and operated by BC Ferries, andwill also develop 12 new 'own-ship' hydro-dynamic models of the BC Ferries fleet.

This new simulator for BCIT is one of a number of new systems to be supplied inCanada by Kongsberg

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:32 Page 1


ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION NEWS

www.emerson.com

Rederi AB Transatlantic has installedMicro Motion Coriolis mass flowmetersfrom Emerson on several ships in its fleet.

These installations follow the comple-tion of a joint programme includingRederi AB Transatlantic, Transas, andEmerson Process Management, to developan onboard solution for control of marinefuel consumption.

The standard solution for the ships usesa compact Coriolis sensor with a transmit-ter to provide traceable and transparentmass-based measurement of fuel oil.

Using the MODBUS communications

protocol, the mass flowmeter sends datato a fuel efficiency control system suppliedby Transas in Sweden.

This Conning unit collects informationfrom the flowmeter and other onboardsystems to help the crew optimise theoperation of the ship.

Coriolis meters deliver direct mass,density and temperature measurementdata. Coriolis mass measurements can bedirectly correlated to cost and energy con-tent of fuel, and the measurements areunaffected by changes to the flow profileand variable fuel properties such as densi-ty or viscosity.

Emerson has also supplied its Mobrey

www.tidelandsignal.ltd.uk

The Netherlands' Rijkswaterstaat hasreached a new agreement with Tideland forthe supply of its SeaBeacon 2 System 6 dual-band racon, for installation on buoys as anaid to navigation and to mark special loca-tions in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.

This latest order for four racons wassupplied via Tideland's representative inthe Netherlands, PC Jansen MarineAgencies, to Rijkswaterstaat's DirectieNoordzee in Rijswijk.

Rijkswaterstaat currently operates 20racon buoys in the North Sea, many ofwhich are fitted either with Tideland System6 racons or the earlier System 5 version.

The racon system can respond simulta-neously to both X- and S-band radars, withproportional scaling to ensure that theracon trace remains visible on radar dis-plays regardless of the range scale selected.

The equipment also features an intelli-gent power management system that makesit possible to programme precise quiescentand active periods as required, to matchperformance with power consumption.

In addition, the racon will automatical-ly return to quiescent mode after a four-second active period, if there is no localradar activity.

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Early use of the system on Rederi AB Transatlantic vessels produced fuel savings of 2 per cent

Rederi AB Transatlantic installs fuel monitoring system

www.mandieselturbo.com

www.wartsila.com

European marine engine manufacturersMAN Diesel & Turbo and WärtsiläCorporation have agreed to pursue a jointresearch project, the HERCULES-C proj-ect, as a continuation of the original HER-CULES programmes for the research anddevelopment of marine engine technolo-gy.

The overall vision of the HERCULESresearch programme is to encourage sus-tainable and safe energy production frommarine power plants, under the techno-logical themes of higher efficiency,reduced emissions, and increased reliabil-ity for marine engines.

However, the companies believe thatan extensive integration of the multitudeof identified new technologies is requiredto move marine engine technology furthertowards improved sustainability in ener-gy production and total energy economy.

The proposed HERCULES-C project,expected to run for three years from 2012to 2015, will address this challenge byadopting a combined approach for enginethermal processes, system integration andoptimisation, and engine reliability andlifetime.

In this way, HERCULES-C aims toinvestigate the possibility of producingmarine engines that are able to cost-effec-tively produce the required power for thepropulsion of ships throughout their life-

Engine manufacturers pursue technology development projectcycle, with responsible use of naturalresources.

HERCULES-C is a follow-on from twoearlier related projects. HERCULES-A,from 2004 to 2007, established large-scaleresearch platforms, with the main objec-tive being to screen the potential of a broadrange of emission reduction technologies.

HERCULES-B (2008-2011) focused ontechnology for reducing emissions, as wellas improved efficiency, and as a result,reduced fuel consumption and fewer CO2emissions.

The HERCULES-C project is planned torun over a three-year period and has a tar-geted budget of €19 million, bringing thetotal combined budget of the HERCULESprogrammes (2004-2015) to €79 million.

MCU 901 Universal TransmitterControllers and Indicators with the sys-tem, used to show the actual flow for localreading in the engine room or controlroom.

"The Coriolis mass flowmeter andConning unit have been installed and run-ning for over a year on the M/V Ortviken,and a slightly shorter time on the M/VTranspaper," said Leif Holmberg, superin-tendent at Rederi AB Transatlantic.

"The installations have reduced our fuelcosts by approximately 2 per cent over a 12month period for each vessel. These sav-ings in fuel have provided a return on ourtotal investment of just two months."

"Based on these successes, we will beinvesting in further installations onboardother ships in our fleet. We are also work-ing to develop the fuel efficiency system tobe even more effective in saving fuel byusing additional information that othersystems onboard can provide."

Emerson says that these Micro MotionCoriolis meters are ideally suited tomarine fuel measurement applications,being easy to install between the BoosterModule and engine, and containing nomoving parts.

Direct integration into a MODBUS hostallows digital or analogue communica-tions systems to deliver the data directly tothe control room or bridge.

Dutch agree newracon deal

The new racons will be installed inthe North Sea

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:33 Page 2

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nal that can be picked up on compatibleAIS chart plotters and includes similarinformation to the S10 E.L.F.

www.mcmurdo.co.uk

McMurdo has announced the addition oftwo new marine safety systems to itsrange of products.

A new emergency location beacon hasbeen introduced, the Smartfind S10 E.L.F,an Emergency Location Flare incorporat-ing AIS (Automatic Identification System).

The unit is a manually activated mar-itime signalling device, designed as a per-sonal search and rescue locating tool thatenables location to be displayed on a com-patible AIS chart plotter or integrated nav-igation system.

The S10 E.L.F transmits target survivorinformation, including structured alertmessages, GPS position information and aunique serialised identity number.

The second product, part of the com-pany's Kannad range, is the SafeLink R10 Survivor Recovery System (SRS),which also uses AIS to assist in searchand rescue.

The unit is designed for attachment to alifejacket and intended for carriage by allcrew members. It will also transmit a sig-


of our ECDIS-based navigation within theTransas Navi-Sailor ECDIS,” he said.

“Used as a navigational and planningaid as part of the company’s wider moveto adopt ECDIS navigation, the Overlay ismaking passage planning and the task ofkeeping track of the latest ENC updatesmuch easier.”

“It will also make it easier for our crewsto demonstrate compliance during PSCinspections. Overall, it has proved to beanother important element in our effortsto continually improve the safety and effi-ciency of navigation.”

The Overlay will also be available foruse for planning purposes as part ofUKHO's Admiralty e-Navigator service,which it says will start its roll out to ves-sels in the first half of next year.

"The Admiralty Information Overlay isneeded because many nations don’t yetinclude important temporary or prelimi-nary notifications of those changes in theirweekly updates, and even when they areincluded, they can be difficult to identifywithin the ENC," commented MichaelCauter, UKHO deputy chief executivewith responsibility for new Admiraltyproducts and services.

"The Admiralty Information Overlayprovides this information on top of theENC and displays it clearly and consis-tently so the mariner can instantly see theimpact of changes on a route and can takeappropriate action."

www.ukho.gov.uk

www.transas.com

The UKHO has announced that itsAdmiralty Information Overlay, used toconsolidate navigation information onboardship, is now commercially available.

The Information Overlay includes allTemporary and Preliminary Notices to Mariners (T&P NMs) and providesadditional navigationally significantinformation from UKHO’s ENC valida-tion programme.

The Overlay is displayed as a singlelayer on top of the basic ENC showingwhere important Temporary orPreliminary changes may impact a voyage,and will be available free of charge as partof the UKHO's Admiralty Vector ChartService and within resellers’ services.

UKHO says that it is also working withECDIS manufacturers to ensure that theOverlay can be displayed on their systems,with Transas the first to announce suchcompatibility within the standard TransasAdmiralty Data Service (TADS) licence, viathe Transas Navi-Sailor ECDIS.

Transas customer Nordic TankersMarine has been one of the early users ofthe system, with Soren Andersen, the com-pany's marine superintendent (SQE), not-ing that the technology has helped its crewsto more easily deal with navigational data.

“We are using the AdmiraltyInformation Overlay as an integral element

UKHO launches Information Overlay

Transas is the first ECDIS manufacturer to announce compatibility of the Overlay with its equipment

New marine safety products from McMurdo

www.sartech.co.uk

Sartech reports that it is developing a newrange of batteries which it says willremove the need for ship owners andoperators to replace handheld JRC andThrane & Thrane VHF radios simplybecause they can’t source the rightreplacement batteries.

The company says that, since replace-ment batteries for JRC’s JHS-7 handheldVHF radio have had limited production inJapan, the batteries have been very diffi-cult to source in Europe and NorthAmerica.

This has meant that owners of thisequipment have sometimes had to buyentirely new handheld VHF radios,including all the associated brackets andchargers, when the primary battery intheir original unit needs to be replaced,usually after about three years.

However, Sartech says it is now puttingthe finishing touches to a joint collabora-

tion with JRC to develop a second manu-facturing facility for the NBB389 batterypacks that power JHS-7 radios.

Sartech is also developing lithium andrechargeable batteries for the Thrane &Thrane Sailor SP3110 radio, which is nolonger in production.

These batteries will be direct replace-ments for the SP3901 and SP3905 batterypacks, which are no longer available fromthe original manufacturers.

“Our new batteries are manufacturedto the original type approval specificationsusing exactly the same cell types as theOEM versions,” explains Peter Forey,managing director of Sartech.

“The message to owners and operatorsis pretty simple - don't throw away yourportable VHF radios and replace themwith new ones just because your normalsupplier says batteries are no longer avail-able. From Q4 2010 we will be able to pro-vide replacements for shipment anywherein the world.”

VHF replacement batteries from Sartech

The E.L.F. transmits position and otherdata to aid in search and rescue

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:33 Page 4

www.ccs-inc.com

CCS-Inc is to supply 250marine computers to theUnited States Coast Guard(USCG), to power its VegaElectronic Chart Display andInformation System (ECDIS)on three classes of cuttersand in training and simula-tion facilities.

The Globestar GSOdyssey II is a 3U rack-mount computer designed tooperate in marine environ-ments, and certified to meetIEC 60945 test standards formaritime navigation andradio-communication equip-ment and systems.

Shipments were set tobegin in December 2010, forimplementation beginning inearly 2011.

CCS says that it also pro-vides these computers to themarket via an OEM relation-ship with an ECDIS provider,and with nearly 1,000 marinecomputers deployed it hasseen field failures of less than0.5 per cent.

“We are excited aboutthis opportunity with theCoast Guard,” said MartyMuscatello, president andCEO of CCS.

“We are proud to providecomputer systems that mustoperate in harsh environ-ments or run mission-criticalapplications. In this situation,the GS Odyssey II does both.”

CCS to provide USCG

computers

Digital Ship


www.imtech.eu

www.vstep.nl

Imtech Marine & Offshore (parent compa-ny of Radio Holland) and VSTEP haveannounced their intention to cooperate inthe delivery of new maritimetraining simulators.

The partnership will startoff with the introduction of aDNV Class A compliantbridge for maritime trainingschools, naval academiesand shipowners.

Further areas of coopera-tion will include joint solu-tion development and mar-keting, and participation inmilitary tenders and projects.

The partners say they willaccess the market via Imtech'snetwork of 70 offices aroundthe world, as well as VSTEP’soffices in The Netherlandsand North America.

"Partnering with innova-tive companies like VSTEP

is a good example of Imtech’s growthstrategy," said René van de Bruggen, CEOof Imtech.

"We always look for new technologiesto contribute to our customers' goals.Making sure that ship crews are well

trained on our solutions is part of our lifecycle approach, it ensures safety at sea andreduces operating costs."

Cristijn Sarvaas, CEO of VSTEP, alsocommented: "We are honoured to havebeen selected by one of the strongest full

service suppliers in the maritime industryto jointly develop the market for high-endmaritime simulators."

"Imtech has an excellent reputation inserving the world’s leading maritime com-panies. This reputation, and their extensivenetwork of maritime equipment suppliers,is a solid basis to serve the most demandingsimulation customers worldwide."

Find out how KVH TracPhone V7 can change your business at:

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“We were particularly impressed with the TracPhone V7’s small size and affordable airtime. We’re excited to have a new solution for day-to-day shipboard satellite communications that is both affordable and easy to install alongside our existing Inmarsat and GSM systems. This helps to keep our business operations efficient, and allows the crew to use the services to stay in touch with their loved ones. This is especially important, because in our industry retaining quality crew and officers is essential.”

- Runar Gaarder, ICT Manager for Mowinckel Ship Management

LEADER IN MOBILE BROADBAND

KVH Europe A/S • Kokkedal Industripark 2B • 2980 Kokkedal • Denmark

Tel: +45 45 160 180 • Fax: +45 45 160 181 • E-mail: [email protected]

©2010-2011 KVH Industries, Inc. KVH, TracPhone, and the unique light-colored dome with dark contrasting baseplate are registered trademarks of KVH Industries, Inc. 11_KE_V7miniVSAT_Comm_Mowinckel_DigitalShip“What Broadband at sea was meant to be” and “mini-VSAT Broadband” are service marks of KVH Industries, Inc.

ArcLight is a registered trademark of ViaSat, Inc.; all other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Patents Pending.

Awarded $42M USCG SCC Contract

Imtech and VSTEP in maritime simulation partnership

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:33 Page 5

apparently in control of the situation hesoon went below for breakfast. The chiefofficer was kept busy avoiding smallfishing vessels until shortly before 0700,when the numbers encountered startedto reduce.”

“By this time, the vessel wasapproaching the most navigationallyconstrained part of the passage, withsubmerged dangers lying 8 cables eitherside of the planned track. Her speed wasstill 21 knots and she was to the south ofher intended route.”

“The vessel’s position had been plottedon only two occasions between 0600 and0700, each based on a single radar rangeand distance.”

“An ECS was fitted, but was onlymonitored occasionally. Just when thechief officer thought that he had negoti-ated most of the traffic in the immediatevicinity, a very small fishing vessel accel-erated towards the container ship’s star-board bow.”

“Constrained by other vessels on thestarboard side, the chief officer alteredcourse to port towards a charted reef,which had been highlighted as a dangeron the paper chart in use, but which thechief officer had forgotten about.”

“About a minute later, at 0708, the con-tainer ship passed over the reef. This

resulted in the breaching of five of her bal-last tanks.”

The conclusions of MAIB's investiga-tion team from this incident reiterate theneed to make use of the electronic naviga-tional aids on the bridge to maintain situ-ational awareness, especially when inbusy traffic lanes.

The report notes, in conclusion:“There are occasions when traffic is sodense that an OOW has very little time todo anything but concentrate on collisionavoidance.”

“When constantly altering course toavoid other vessels in restricted waters,things can happen quickly, and it can bevery difficult to accurately monitor a ves-sel’s position unless radar parallel index-ing and/or ECS/ECDIS are fully utilised.”

“The occasional fix - with limited relia-bility - is far from sufficient.”

“A basic ingredient of a safe passage isa plan which takes into account points onthe route which might merit enhance-ments to the bridge organisation. It shouldalso include other precautions such as areduction in speed - due to factors such asthe proximity of dangers, the likelihood ofdense traffic or poor visibility.”

“Passage planning requires thought,and involves far more than putting lineson charts.”

industries, we believe that no effort is toogreat when it comes to safeguarding a bet-ter world for future generations," he said.

"We strongly believe that alternativepower generation is the answer for ship-ping transportation.

The consortium will investigate thepotential for SMRs, with a thermal poweroutput of more than 68 megawatts, to beused as a plug-in nuclear 'battery'.

The research is intended to produce aconcept tanker-ship design based on con-ventional and 'modular' concepts. Specialattention will be paid to analysis of a ves-sel's lifecycle cost as well as to hull-formdesigns and structural layout, includinggrounding and collision protection.

“We are enthusiastic about participat-ing in the historic opportunity presentedby this truly ground breaking consor-tium,” said John Deal, CEO of HyperionPower.

“In addition to fitting the basic require-ments as the model for studying the appli-cation of SMRs in commercial navalpropulsion, the Hyperion Power Module[HPM] can also help to set new nuclearmaritime standards.”

“The HPM’s design includes a non-pressurised vessel, and non-reactivecoolant. These features, among others inthe HPM, should encourage the industryto strive for even higher levels of inherentsafety in their models.”



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A consortium of British, American andGreek interests have agreed to investigatepractical maritime applications for smallmodular reactors (SMR) on commercialtankers.

The Strategic Research Group atLloyd's Register, Hyperion PowerGeneration, British designer BMT NigelGee and Greek ship operator EnterprisesShipping and Trading are to lead theresearch into nuclear propulsion, whichthey believe is technically feasible and hasthe potential to drastically reduce the CO2emissions caused by commercial shipping.

"This a very exciting project," saidLloyd’s Register CEO, Richard Sadler.

"We believe that as society recognises

the limited choices available in the low-carbon, oil-scarce economy, and as land-based nuclear plants become common-place, we will see nuclear ships on specif-ic trade routes sooner than many peoplecurrently anticipate."

The agreement for the joint industryproject was signed at the offices ofEnterprises Shipping and Trading inAthens, Greece, with the ship owner's rep-resentative Victor Restis saying that thecompany was "honoured and proud to bepart of this consortium at this historicevent."

"Despite the fact that shipping con-tributes much less to the world’s atmos-pheric pollution than other shore-based

Research begins on nuclear powered shipping

The importance of continuously monitor-ing shipboard navigational equipment,and taking due care when planning pas-sage, has been highlighted by one of thelatest incident investigation cases reportedby the UK's Marine Accident InvestigationBranch (MAIB).

In this case a container ship ran onto areef when the navigating officer lost trackof surrounding dangers, despite havingrecourse to radar and an ECS (electronicchart system) on the bridge. The followingis the MAIB's description of the incident,as stated in the report.

“A 5500 teu container ship was on acoastal passage off southern China. Theplanned route intentionally avoided busytraffic separation schemes, with the masterpreferring a slightly longer passage whichtook the vessel further away from thecoast and through a small group ofislands.”

“However, dense concentrations offishing vessels, some very small, werelikely to be encountered throughout the night.”

“During the evening, the master calcu-lated that he had some time in hand, so inorder to save fuel decided to stop enginesand drift for about an hour while in openwater. Passage was then resumed at aspeed of 21 knots.”

“The master’s night orders instructedthe bridge watchkeeping officers to callhim if they required his assistance.”

“When the chief officer came on watchat 0400, he reviewed the charts to be usedand noted the potential danger areas.Traffic density at that time was fairly light,

but it gradually increased. The vessel wasbeing steered by auto pilot and the chiefofficer was accompanied on the bridge bya lookout.”

“By 0600 the number of small fishingvessels had increased substantially, causingthe chief officer to make a number of coursealterations in order to avoid a collision.”

“The master visited the bridge brieflyat around 0630, but with the chief officer

Navigational aids key in busy traffic – MAIB

Lack of awareness of surrounding dangersled to significant hull damage for this

container ship. Photo: MAIB

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ECDIS Ltd reports that it hasinstalled the Navmaster ECDIS systemfrom PC Maritime at its e-Navigationcentre. The system will be used to delivergeneric IMO 1.27 and Type Specific ECDIStraining.

Transas, in cooperation with localpartner Soremar, has commissioned twoVTS installations in the ports of Agadirand Nador, Morocco, making a total offive such systems Transas has installedacross the country. Both new systems suc-cessfully passed acceptance tests underrequirements set by the AgenceNational des Ports (ANP).

WESMAR (Western MarineElectronics) has appointed SourceMarine of Hope Island, Queensland, asits newest manufacturer’s representativein Australia.

Uni-Safe Electronics reports thatits BNWAS (Bridge Navigational WatchAlarm System) BW-800 system hasreceived DNV Type Approval. The sys-tem complies with the new IEC 62616from February 2010, and the IMO MSC

128(75) recommendations from 2002.Kelvin Hughes has announced the

appointment of Martin Taylor as manag-ing director of its charts business. MrTaylor was previously equipment busi-ness director with Kelvin Hughes, since2007, and has 16 years experience in themarine electronics industry.

VSTEP reports that it has opened itsfirst North American office in New York,which will be headed by Capt MarkWoolley, US Navy (Ret). Capt Woolleyserved over 30 years in the United StatesNavy, most recently as commanding offi-cer of the Naval Reserve Officers TrainingCorps (NROTC) in San Diego.

McMurdo has appointed David

Duffin as European sales manager, cover-ing Russia, North Africa and the Europeanregion. Mr Duffin previously worked atSea Ventures and, most recently, atOval Stainless.

Northport Systems has beenappointed to distribute the full range ofActisense products across Canada.Northport Systems manufactures theFugawi range of maritime desktop andmobile software applications, as well as run-ning an online chart subscription service.

Veripos reports that it has extendedthe Asia-Pacific sector of its global multi-source Differential GPS service networkwith the establishment of new referencestation facilities in Papeete, capital city ofTahiti.

Ocean Signal, a manufacturer ofsafety and communication products, hasappointed Furuno France to handle itsdistribution throughout France.

Finn Inge Langeland has been appoint-ed managing director of L-3Valmarine, succeeding Ingvald Løvdalwho will manage the company’s marinenavigation division. Prior to joining L-3 Valmarine, Mr Langeland served asthe head of hardware and software devel-opment at Bjørge MarineAutomation, most recently as manag-ing director.

London Array has selectedVisSim to provide a Marine Co-ordina-tion System for the first 630MW phase ofconstruction of the UK's largest offshorewind farm. VisSim’s system will be usedto manage offshore maritime activitiesand ship traffic during construction of thewind farm.

www.kelvinhughes.com

Kelvin Hughes has reported the firstinstallation of its SharpEye solid stateradar system onboard a Korean vessel.

In a recent retrofit operation, the SKStellar, a 92,866 gt LNG tanker operatedby SK Shipping, was fitted with a KelvinHughes MantaDigital integrated naviga-tion system incorporating a SharpEye S-band radar interswitched with a 25kW X-band magnetron radar.

The ship’s existing ECDIS was alsoreplaced with a Kelvin Hughes unit aspart of the installation, carried out whilethe vessel was dry-docked in Singapore.

“SK Shipping was particularly keen toinstall SharpEye radar in order to benefitfrom its reliability, minimal maintenancerequirements and low through life costs,”said Kelvin Hughes’ area sales managerMark Butler.

“Operating between the Persian Gulfand Korea, the SK Stellar now benefitsfrom a commercially competitive radar fitthat delivers significantly enhanced per-formance and reliability.”

Solid state radar technology is said tobe particularly effective in detecting smalltargets, especially in high levels of rainand sea clutter.

www.transas.comwww.wesmar.comwww.unielec.dkwww.kelvinhughes.comwww.vstep.nlwww.mcmurdo.co.ukwww.actisense.com

www.veripos.comwww.oceansignal.comwww.furuno.frwww.l-3com.com/valmarinewww.ecdis.orgwww.pcmaritime.co.ukwww.vissim.no

ECDIS Ltd will use PC Maritime's equipment to aid in training

The SK Stellar has installed S-band radar

Solid state radarreaches Korea

www.martek-marine.com

Martek Marine has been awarded a contract to supply 12 gas detection and monitoring systems to theCanadian Navy.

The MM2000 marine gas detectionsystems, with Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)capability, will be supplied to theNavy's Halifax-class multi-role patrolfrigates based in Victoria, BritishColumbia, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The H2S monitoring technology willbe fitted on these ships while they are inport over the next 12 months.

“This is an important order for us as it demonstrates the adaptability of the MM2000 system to detect different gases, and its suitability for use on different types of vesselsoperating in varied, and sometimesextreme environments,” said SteveCoulson, business development direc-tor, Martek Marine.

“The system has been tested for workin ultra-low temperature environments

similar to those found in northernCanada during winter, and has beencertified to operate without any prob-lems in temperatures down to -55C.”

The gas detector systems incorporatefive detector heads per ship, and will gointo a warning condition, alerting theship's control centre, when H2S levelsreach 10ppm. The system will go into adanger condition when the concentra-tion reaches 50ppm.

Both audible and visual strobe lightalarms will be activated when the H2Sconcentrations reach warning or dangerlevels. The system is also adaptable toadd up to 32 addressable detector headsfor a variety of other gases.

A control panel with a display andalarm is included, from which the gasdetectors are installed on a single 4-coreaddressable loop cable.

To date the system has been installedon over 200 tankers, to protect crewsagainst H2S from sulphur rich crude oil,and patrol vessels for the Sultanate ofOman navy.

The European Commission has launched apilot project designed to reduce the admin-istrative burden on the short sea shippingsector across the continent, through the cre-ation of what it calls a 'blue belt'.

"Short sea shipping is an environmen-tally friendly way of transporting freightwithin the European Union, but complexprocedures hamper its full development,"said the Commission, in a statement.

"These could be overcome by creating a'blue belt' for maritime transport in whichships could operate freely within the inter-

nal market, with a minimum of adminis-trative burden, by using the latest technol-ogy to monitor maritime transport."

The majority of the work on the one-year pilot project is expected to be per-formed by the European Maritime SafetyAgency (EMSA), and aims to assess whichservices the European vessel traffic moni-toring system – known as SafeSeaNet –can offer customs authorities to supporttheir mission, while reducing the adminis-trative burden on short sea shipping.

The SafeSeaNet system monitors vesselmovements and permits the exchange ofvessel data between Member States, and itis hoped that its use will make it easier forauthorities to distinguish between shipsengaged exclusively in internal EU-tradeand other ships, offering vessels engagedexclusively in intra-EU trade a regimecomparable to road haulage.

In essence, this 'blue belt' would thenallow ships that are not leaving the EU tomore speedily receive customs clearanceand reduce the need for extensive commu-nication with authorities.

Canadians to monitor dangerous gas onboard ‘Blue belt’ to reduce EU ship admin

EMSA will look at applying SafeSeaNetto the 'blue belt'

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:34 Page 8


Digital Ship

www.sam-electronics.de

SAM Electronics reports that it hasreceived orders to supply four NACOS 65-5 integrated navigation command systemsto new cruise ships currently under con-struction in Europe.

The ships are being builton behalf of Carnival CruiseLines, Celebrity Cruises andCosta Cruises, and arescheduled for delivery in2011 and 2012.

Carnival Cruise Lines’Carnival Magic, being builtat Fincantieri’s Monfalconeshipyard in Italy, will beequipped with the system, aswell as Celebrity Cruises’Celebrity Silhouette, underconstruction by Meyer Werftin Germany.

The other two systems will be installedaboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Fascionosaand Costa Favolosa, both of which arebeing completed by Fincantieri at itsBreda shipyard.

The navigation system integrates

interswitchable X- and S-band radarswith ECDIS, autopilot and other naviga-tional aids, with configurations identicalto the one installed on Cunard’s newest92,400-gt Fincantieri-built liner, QueenElizabeth.

In addition to the navigation systems,all four ships will be similarly outfittedwith integrated automation assemblies formachinery control developed by SAMElectronics’ associate company, Valmarineof Norway.

SAM navigation systems for new cruise ships

d’Amiconewbuilds to

install IBSwww.northropgrumman.com

Sperry Marine reports that ithas received orders to sup-ply electronic navigation sys-tems to two new 37,000 dwtbulk carriers to be built inKorea for Italian shipownerd’Amico Dry Limited.

The orders were awardedthrough Telemar, the salesand service representativefor Sperry Marine in Italy.Telemar will oversee theinstallations and providetechnical support and servicefor the shipboard navigationsystems.

Each of the ships is beingfitted with a VisionMaster FTintegrated bridge system(IBS), including ECDIS, X-and S-band radars, autopilot,voyage data recorder andother navigation sensors andsubsystems.

All of the components aretied together in an Ethernetnetwork, to facilitate systemintegration.

The two bulk carriers areon order from the HyundaiHeavy Industries shipyardin Ulsan, Korea, and are duefor delivery to the owner in 2011.

"The IBS will enhance sit-uational awareness for theships’ bridge officers, byproviding an integrated picture of the ships’ naviga-tion and status on largehigh-resolution colour dis-plays," noted J NolascoDaCunha, vice president ofSperry Marine.

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Isn’t it time for SeaAccess?Maritime communications are taking a turn for the better. Expensive phone calls, slow data transfers and gaps in coverage are a thing of the past. With SeaAccess Communications from CapRock, you get always-on, business-class broadband at an affordable, fixed, monthly cost virtually anywhere in the world. Without metered service and surprising cost fluctuations, your captains and crews can remain in contact with the corporate office and stay in touch with friends and family anytime. And thanks to CapRock’s global infrastructure, you’ll get worldwide coverage and local support day in and day out. All these advances lead to cost savings, more efficient fleet operations and more informed decision-making.

It’s time for a wave of change.

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© 2010 CapRock Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:34 Page 9

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p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:34 Page 10


Digital Ship

Lightweight Ethernet – a new standard for shipboard networks

TT he International ElectrotechnicalCommission (IEC) is an organisa-tion responsible for developing

standards for electrical, electronic andrelated technologies.

As part of this responsibility, workinggroup 6 (Digital Interfaces) of IEC’sTechnical Committee 80 ‘MaritimeNavigation and RadiocommunicationEquipment and Systems’, has developeda new computer network standard foruse of Ethernet in maritime navigationnetworks.

This standard is the result of the col-laborative and consensus based work ofthe participants of the working group, aswell as numerous technical commentsand proposals from IEC’s national mem-ber organisations.

The official standard will be named IEC61162-450 ‘Multiple talkers and multiplelisteners - Ethernet interconnection’.Within the working group the nickname‘Lightweight Ethernet’ (LWE) has been incommon use, and this article continuesthat tradition.

Here we will present some backgroundinformation and selected details from the standard.

BackgroundEthernet has been in use onboard ships fora long time and various standards havebeen suggested since before 1995, whenIEC TC80 started to work on this issue.

The first specification was of a redun-dant network system based on Ethernetand TCP/IP. This was adopted as an inter-national standard in 2001 and got the des-ignation IEC 61162-400.

Unfortunately, the specification proved

too complex for the industry to adopt andlack of high quality protocol implementa-tions led to the standard’s silent demise.

However, the need for a high capacityand high speed bridge data network wasmore and more acutely felt, and in 2008 anew work item was approved by IECTC80 to develop a new LightweightEthernet standard.

The selection of Ethernet and InternetProtocol (IP) based data transport layersreflects a general trend with a conver-gence to Ethernet-like technologies every-where. Today even very small devices canhave support for Ethernet at almost negli-gible cost.

Ethernet has been able to quicklyrespond to the hunger for bandwidth,which is growing as fast as ever, but at thesame time has kept a backwards compati-bility to lower speeds. Today, identicalEthernet frames can be transported at linkspeeds from 10Mbps to 10Gbps over elec-trical and optical cables.

Ethernet is also able to supply powerwith the ‘Power over Ethernet’ (PoE) stan-dards. This feature is a relatively newaddition to the Ethernet family that couldpotentially cut the cabling used for instal-lation in half, compared with the currentpractice of having separate power anddata cables.

The IP standards are also ubiquitous incontemporary networked systems, againwith extended support even in smallembedded computers.

The world wide web is powered byIP as are many industrial control systems.IP is also closely related to Ethernet, andthe combination of Ethernet and IP is a de facto standard for emerging net-

worked systems, for home as well asindustrial use.

Thus, the selection of Ethernet and IPwas an obvious choice also for the newnavigation network standard.

Overall principles anddesign choices

From the outset, there were a number ofrequirements that needed to be satisfiedby the new standard:� Easy to implement: On the order of a

few weeks’ work to implement the protocol from scratch

� Lightweight: Possible to implement the protocol on embedded computers, e.g., in a GPS receiver

� Migration: Provide a simple migration path for equipment already using sen-tences from the existing IEC 61162-1 standard (based on NMEA 0183)

� Capacity and scalability: Support existing bridge systems as well as fore-seeable capacity and speed require-ments for new bridge systems

� Increasing complexity: Address increasing complexity in integrated navigation and bridge systems design.

This has led to the following design choic-es for LWE, which mandates the use of:� Single switched Ethernet� UDP datagrams� IP multicast� A function block approach for devices.

The International Electrotechnical Commission’s TC80 working group has developed a new standard for the use of Ethernet in maritime navigation networks. Nicknamed ‘Lightweight Ethernet’ (LWE),

this standard offers a number of potential benefits in the construction of shipboard networks, write Morten Jagd Christensen, Thrane & Thrane, and Ørnulf Jan Rødseth, MARINTEK

Figure 1 - LWE devices connected to an Ethernet switch

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:34 Page 11


ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION

The requirement of a switched networksolution makes addressing easier, since alldevices reside on the same subnet andboth routing protocols as well as configu-ration of routing tables are avoided.Switching generally achieves the highestpossible aggregate network bandwidth,and the total system load can approach100 per cent without packet losses.

A unicast solution (e.g., TCP/IP or uni-cast UDP) was discarded as it was decidedto keep the ‘one talker to many listeners’paradigm from IEC 61162-1.

The use of multicast was chosen overbroadcast for performance considerations– with broadcast every device wouldreceive, read and process all messages tofind those of interest to that particulardevice. This requires the CPU to examineall packets even though the device is onlyinterested in a fraction of the traffic.

IP multicast can be very efficiently fil-tered in modern Ethernet hardware, withonly the relevant packets reaching theCPU. IP multicast addresses map directlyto Ethernet multicast addresses and most(if not all) modern Ethernet chipsets haveEthernet address filter tables which oper-ate at wire speed.

The function block approach allows thenetwork to be looked at as a set of logicalfunction blocks, although many functionblocks may reside on the same physicaldevice.

This means, e.g., that a combinedGLONASS and GPS receiver only needsone physical interface to the network.However, the two receivers may, if

desired, be looked at as two ‘independent’function blocks.

Details and implicationsWe will now describe the standard and itsimplications in more detail. We start withan example of a navigation network, whichillustrates some of the different types ofequipment that might be attached.

In Figure 1 (see previous page) weshow a number of LWE devices connect-ed to the Ethernet switch. The devices canbe grouped in three types: Receive only,transmit only and generic devices that areassumed to both transmit and receiveLWE data.

The illustration also shows an LWEgateway device that provides an interfaceto one or more IEC 61162-1 devices. Thearrows indicate the flow of data betweendevices and their thickness illustrates theamount of network traffic.

Each transmitting function block usesone IP multicast address and a correspon-ding UDP port for all its transmissions.

The LWE standard specifies 16address/port pairs that can be used bysenders and receivers. A defaultaddress/port pair is assigned to each func-tional unit identified in the IEC 61162-1standard (based on the ‘talker identifier’).

The default classification maps the 50+talker IDs to eight address/port pairs. Forexample, sentences transmitted with theGP talker ID belong to the NAVD group,which defaults to IP address 239.192.0.4and port number 60004 (see Table 1).

The standard specifies an encapsula-tion format for IEC 61162-1 sentences. Thisformat adds some functionality to the sen-tences in terms of grouping, sender anddestination identity, as well as sentencenumbering.

This functionality is in part added toprovide some possibility for internalchecks on lost sentences as well as newfunctionality related to peer to peer com-munication, e.g., for alert management.

In addition to the sentence based trans-missions, the standards also have two othertypes of messages. The first is the additionof special transmission groups and mes-sage formats for binary image data.

Binary data is all forms of non-IEC61162 sentence data and could, for exam-ple, be radar images or large text files.These images are anticipated to be largeand probably also frequently transmitted,thus utilising a relatively large part of thebandwidth of the Ethernet media. Thesemessages are assigned their own IP multi-cast address range for efficient filtering.

The other message type is related tosystem-wide diagnostics and it specifiesthe use of syslog for external logging.

Syslog is a standard for transmittingerrors, events and notifications to a centrallogging facility. The use of syslog willmake troubleshooting an LWE networkeasier since the notifications from differentdevices are recorded in order and precisetiming of related events can be detected.

The LWE standard even takes syslog a

little further by mandating that syslogmessages are sent on a separate multicastgroup, as this eliminates the need for man-ual configuration.

Safety and securityissues

The use of integrated networks raises bothsafety and security concerns. These areaddressed in the standard as informativeannexes, i.e., no absolute requirements aredefined to address these issues.

The reason for this is that current andforeseeable ship systems will need to inte-grate both new and legacy systems, and thismakes it very difficult to specify one stan-dard way to implement, e.g., redundancy.

One may want to use two independentIEC 61162-450 networks, a combination ofserial lines and an Ethernet, or any of amultitude of in-between solutions, basedon a safety and cost/benefit analysis forthe specific system.

Thus, at this specific time, it is not possible to usefully specify one technicalsolution.

For security, the current solution is toisolate the critical network from access byany unauthorised persons. This is expect-ed to be the case for new systems as well.

However, here one can safely expectmanufacturers and users to look at thepossibilities of connecting the system tooff-ship resources, e.g., for maintenance,repair or software updates.

While the standard contains someinformative advice on these issues, onewill need to get any such solutionapproved by the appropriate authorities.

A draft standard (CDV – CommitteeDraft for Voting) was sent out for com-ments to IEC’s national member organisa-tions in March 2010. The final draft inter-national standard (FDIS) was aimed to beready by December 2010 and the expectedtime for approval is sometime in Q1 2011.

Some manufacturers are already in theprocess of testing out the specificationand we expect the first LWE equipmentto appear on the market shortly after finalapproval.

Group Usage IP address port number

MISC Miscellaneous 239.192.0.1 60001

TGTG Tracking and Targeting data 239.192.0.2 60002

SATD Satellite navigation 239.192.0.3 60003

�AVD Other navigation data 239.192.0.4 60004

VDRD Voyage Data Recorders 239.192.0.5 60005

RCOM Radio communications 239.192.0.6 60006

TIME Time and Date 239.192.0.7 60007

PROP Proprietary sentences 239.192.0.8 60008

USR1-USR8 User defined transmission groups 239.192.0.9 – 239.192.0.16 60009 – 60016

Table 1 - The default classification maps talker IDs to eight ports and IP addresses

About the authorsMorten Jagd Christensen is technolo-

gy manager for software at Thrane &Thrane. Mr Chrstensen has been active instandardisation work in IEEE and IETF,and is the main author of the RFC forIGMP snooping, which defines the bestcurrent practices for use of multicast in aswitched Ethernet environment.

Ørnulf Jan Rødseth is research direc-tor at MARI�TEK, in the department ofMaritime Transport Systems. Mr Rødseth'sparticular area of interest is digital com-munication within ships and between shipsand shore, including onboard data net-works. He is participating in ISO and IECstandardisation work and was projectmanager for the IEC 61162-450 standard.

DS

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:34 Page 12

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p21-36:p26-32.qxd 14/12/2010 13:18 Page 13

As the proliferation of broadband and other high-speed communications systems within the shipping industryincreases, it opens up a number of new possibilities to enhance navigation, both on ship and from shore.

Dr Andy Norris looks at the potential future for broadband navigation



Broadband Navigation

MM odern navigation requires ahigh communications element,which will substantially

increase with the requirements emergingfrom IMO's e-navigation programme.

Although satellite communicationshave maintained a very healthy evolutionsince they were first introduced to com-mercial shipping in the early 1980s, thesame cannot be said for statutory earth-based maritime communications, which,in general, look archaic compared to mod-ern systems.

Most business operations onboard avessel are therefore satellite-based and areon their way to become predominantlybroadband, maintaining their alignmentwith business needs.

Linked to this, crew members rely ongood contact with home, their friends andthe rest of the outside world.

To keep them at sea shipping compa-nies are realising that they need access to

modern facilities, such as e-mail, network-ing sites and other internet-based services(see, for example, Maersk's improvementsin crew communications under ProjectGangway, page 8 of this issue).

There is therefore potentially a case thatall ships' communications should becomesatellite based – but this is not what isexplored in this article.

Instead it looks at using a mixture ofsatellite and coastal communications serv-ices, but with the latter totally updated. Inprinciple, the proposed solution gives aneffective and affordable solution to coastalcommunications for ships, small boat users,coastal authorities and safety services.

It does assume that broadband satelliteservices would also develop in support ofthe proposal.

It is a tentative idea, initially put for-ward at the recent NAV10 Conference ofthe Royal Institute of Navigation. Thisarticle is intended to promote a broader

discussion on its technical and practicalfeasibility.

Mobile phoneinfrastructure

Probably to the initial horror of manyinvolved in maritime safety-related servic-es, what is proposed is a system based onevolving mobile phone infrastructuretechnology. To keep such people onside,however, the proposed solution includes abroadcast facility, which is an essentialcomponent of safety-related services.

When we talk about mobile phone tech-nology, what is really relevant is embod-ied in their more modern nomenclatures -mobile or wireless broadband services.

It is predicted, globally, that static use oflong range wireless broadband networkswill soon greatly exceed that of wired serv-ices, not least because it is too expensive inmany parts of the world to provide wiredlinks to all businesses and homes.

For this reason and equally because ofthe increasing demands of mobile users,much thought worldwide is being given tothe provision of wireless broadband serv-ices that can operate over long ranges anddifficult terrains, a major difference incapability to that of present-day systems.

Linked to this, various terrestrial emer-gency services have been adding theirenthusiasm and detailed requirements forpublic safety directed services, includingthe need for broadcast-type facilities.

All these requirements are leading tothe evolution of wireless broadband into anew generation, which is loosely knownas '4G' to stress it's the generation follow-ing the present-day 3G mobile phone cen-tred services.

The 4G umbrella generally encompass-es the specific evolving standards of LTE(Long Term Evolution) and WiMAX.

The public safety services conceptbeing introduced into LTE has alreadybeen endorsed by the US National Public

Safety Telecommunications Council,which has stated the need for a systemthat "will ensure a robust, high through-put, low latency capability with thepotential to reduce the cost of devices andinfrastructure for public safety".

4G TechnologyA highly important aspect for maritimeuse is the capability of 4G to offer longranges. The signal design permits poten-tial use out to 100 km (54 NM), but thereare many other factors that would nor-mally prevent effective working at suchextended ranges.

However, a useful range of 25 NM fora ship mounted system using appropri-ately sited 4G base stations would appearto be feasible across coastal waters, mak-ing it rather similar to the range capabili-ty of present-day VHF, but greatlyexceeding its bandwidth capacity.

4G systems will operate in specificparts of the spectrum from around 700MHz to at least the 3.4 GHz band. For thelongest ranges lower frequencies are gen-erally preferable, but good range is stillfeasible at the upper end.

4G offers a huge choice of bandwidthcapability, typically ranging from 7 Mbpsto 100 Mbps. The current maritime-spe-cific VHF channels each give an equiva-lent bandwidth of 9,600 bits per second,showing the dramatic increase in theavailable user bandwidth, even if we arenot strictly comparing like with like.

The modulation put onto 4G-type sig-nals is specifically designed to maintainperformance in poor conditions, particu-larly where there can be a mixture of highmultipath, interference and noise. It alsoadapts its bit rate to suit the conditions ofany particular communications path.

It provides a Quality of Service featurethat allows different services to be priori-tised when there are conflicts at the datapacket level ensuring that emergency sit-

Possible ship deployment

4G terminal L-band terminalVSAT

Deck levelDeck level

Ship’s network

Operational Operational Business data Personal data System p

data - eNav

p

voice comms and voice

comms

and voice

comms

y

monitor

and

control

Andy Norris 16

Dr Andy Norris Royal Institute of Navigation NAV10

A possible onboard configuration connecting navigation systems to broadband communications

p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:35 Page 14

uations can take bandwidth priority,when necessary.

4G concepts are still evolving, and ifthey are to be used for maritime applica-tions the relevant experts in the communi-ty need to become involved in the stan-dards evolution process.

The standards may not take on explicitmaritime features but they could preventdecisions being made that make their evo-lution unsuitable for maritime use.

4G on shipIt is postulated that virtually all onboardcommunications, including ship-to-ship,would be by 4G connection or broadbandsatellite.

4G would be confined to coastal areas,assumed to encompass the presentlydefined GMDSS Area A1. Of course, satellite could also be used in Area A1 as a backup.

Areas A2 and A3 would be covered bybroadband satcoms. Area A4, which liesbeyond 76° North and South would useappropriate low-orbit satellite systems, thatwould not necessarily support broadband.

In mid-ocean it perhaps seems non-costeffective to use satellites for ship-to-shipcommunications, but the bandwidthrequirements for such activities are verylow and, with charges being increasinglybased only on total data transferred, couldbecome insignificant.

VHF-DSC, MF and conventional NAV-TEX services would no longer be required.Inmarsat-C functionality could potentially

migrate completely to broadband satelliteservices.

AIS could become wholly 4G and satel-lite based or retain a basic VHF functional-ity, perhaps with enhanced data beingavailable through the broadband links.

A simplified view of a possible futureship's communication system is shown inthe illustration. As well as the 4G above-decks equipment, a VSAT and an L-bandsystem (such as current Inmarsat orIridium services) are depicted, all connect-ed to the ship's network.

The ship's 4G antenna system possiblyneeds to be more complex than a singleelement. Certainly, extremely long rangeswould benefit from the adaptive transmitand receive antenna technology whichoptionally features in 4G thinking.

However, for 25 NM working a highmounted relatively simple 4G antennawould probably suffice.

The ship's voice and data terminalsfeed into the ship's network. An intelligentmonitor and control system ensures thatany particular external communicationuses the most appropriate channeldepending on the location of the ship.

Is it affordable?As well as having to examine its technicalfeasibility, the costs to implement and run such a radically changed marine communications system obviously need tobe affordable.

The concept is based fundamentally onusing evolving mainstream communica-

tions systems. These are specificallydesigned to give highly affordable state-of-the-art performance to users and is what the maritime community would belinking into.

As mainstream telecoms technologyevolves so would its maritime use. Forinstance, in some years time coastal com-munications will naturally evolve to 5G,or whatever the new mainstream wirelessbroadband system is then called.

On ships, this would need a new upmastelectronics unit of generally modest sizeand cost. The 'clever' part would be entire-ly based on the sophisticated modules pro-duced for the mass market and costing justa few dollars to equipment manufacturers.The below decks equipment would gener-ally remain unaffected.

Small boat users would have hand heldor fixed units perhaps based on modernmobile web devices, running specificapps. Away from coastal areas they woulduse small satcom devices, without abroadband capability.

Setting up suitable ground stations is themajor cost issue for maritime 4G services.In principle, existing masts used by VHFcoastal stations could be fitted with 4G sin-gle or possibly multiple cell stations.

In reality, perhaps the cost-effectiveway forward is for commercial operatorsto provide the infrastructure, making useof their own existing networks supple-mented, where necessary, by the installa-tion of additional systems on existing mar-itime communications masts.

Mariners are quite aware of the increas-ingly good 3G coverage that they get fromcommercial operators in coastal waters,often making a scramble to use mobilephones when coverage is first obtainedafter a long ocean passage.

The funding to upgrade the infrastruc-ture will necessarily have to come fromcoastal states, but since commercial opera-tors should be able to benefit fromincreased commercial traffic it should helpto alleviate the financial burden on gov-ernment agencies.

User costs for statutory use could eitherbe entirely free or at an appropriate charge,depending on the coastal state philosophyon such matters. In principle, it could be thenatural embodiment of that highly contro-versial subject, spectrum pricing ...

So, is 4G a feasible and desirable routefor maritime coastal communications? I would be most pleased to receive yourcomments. 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]

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p21-36:p26-32.qxd 09/12/2010 13:35 Page 15

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digital ship (december 2010)

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