digital ship magazine august 2008

TThe years of debate

about the manda-

tory carriage of

ECDIS (electronic chart

display information sys-

tems) seem to be close to a

conclusion, with reports

from IMO's NAV54 sub-

committee meetings con-

firming that members have

reached a consensus in

favour of making the tech-

nology a required fit for

ocean going vessels.

With agreement having

finally been reached, IMO

is now looking forward to

the further necessary steps

to add this requirement to

IMO's Safety Of Life At Sea

(SOLAS) convention.

These steps will include

the presentation of the

NAV54 agreement to

IMO's MSC (Maritime

Safety Committee) at its

85th session later this year

for ratification, but it

seems likely that this

approval will be granted

and that mandatory ECDIS

will soon become a reality

on future vessel bridges.

ScheduleA scaled implementation

period, with staggered

dates for different vessel

classes, has been envi-

sioned. Newbuild vessels

will be the first to include

a mandatory carriage

requirement for ECDIS,

according to this schedule:

New passenger ships

above 500 gt, from 1

July 2012

New tankers above

3,000 gt, from 1 July

2012

New cargo ships above


2013

New cargo ships above


2014

For existing ships the

requirement will be

phased in over a slightly

longer period, according to

the following timetable:

Passenger ships above

500 gt, from 1 July 2014

Tankers above 3,000 gt,

from 1 July 2015

Various other sizes of

cargo ships will be

required to fit ECDIS

equipment between 2016

and 2018, depending on

their size, while there are

exemptions included for

ships that will be taken out

of service within two years

of the implementation

dates.

One year onThe move towards

mandatory ECDIS has

been a while coming for

some members of the

NAV subcommittee. Last

year's NAV53 also consid-

ered the topic of a car-

riage requirement, and

featured an in-depth

study by Det Norske

IN THIS ISSUE

August 2008

electronics andnavigation

continued on page 2

software

satcomsBernard Schulte to installGSM onboard - 2

KVH and ViaSat plan global Ku-bandVSAT - 5

Inmarsat FleetBroadbandsatellite launch confirmed astakeover bid moves closer - 6

Stolt-Nielsen completes Cisco networkinstallation - 10

New database system for TMSA2 userslaunched - 15

Shipdex - a maritime standard - 18with Grimaldi Naples, SpecTec, ABS-NS, ShipServ, MacGregor, Alfa Laval, Lyras Shipping and Germanischer Lloyd

Vroon agrees ECDIS

deal for 3 vessels - 22

Hapag-Lloyd to install

condition based monitoring - 24

Space-based AIS satellites

launched - 25

Mandatory ECDIS - the final

countdown - Dr Andy Norris - 30

IMO agrees on mandatory ECDIS

After years of debate and analysis, IMO’s NAV54 subcommittee meetings

concluded at the beginning of July with agreement on an implementation

schedule for mandatory ECDIS on deep sea vessels, beginning in 2012

© 2

00

8 D

UA

LOG

AS

. A

LL R

IGH

TS

RE

SE

RV

ED

.

www.dualog.com

Dualog® Connection Suite™ features WebMail:A powerful and dynamic crew e-mail solution.With Dualog Connection Suite you control all your ship-shore data communication.Provide your crew with personal, secure, easy to use e-mail accounts that can be accessed from both ship and shore.Configure any number of accounts and manage them anywhere via the powerful Web interface. Enjoy maximum flexibility and minimal administration.For more information give us a calltoday or visit www.dualog.com

BridgING the gap

AvailableNOW!

A scaled implementation of ECDIS will see it become a

mandatory fit on a range of ocean going vessels by 2018

SATCOMS

Digital Ship August 2008 page 2

Vol 8 No 10

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September 10-11, 2008

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November 18-19, 2008

DIGITAL SHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS

GBP £150 per year for 10 issues

Subscribe online at

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or contact Stephan Venter on

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Digital Ship Limited213 Marsh Wall

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PUBLISHER

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EDITOR

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CONSULTANT WRITER

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[email protected]

No part of this publication may be repro-duced or stored in any form by anymechanical, electronic, photocopying,recording or other means without the pri-or written consent of the publisher. Whilstthe information and articles in Digital Shipare published in good faith and everyeffort is made to check accuracy, readersshould verify facts and statements directwith official sources before acting on themas the publisher can accept no responsibil-ity in this respect. Any opinionsexpressed in this magazine should notbe construed as those of the publisher.

Thrane & Thrane is set to make its

first step into the VSAT arena with the

introduction of a maritime Ku-band VSAT

solution and network in September 2008.

Thrane & Thrane will offer the new

SAILOR 900 VSAT and various fixed

broadband data packages up to 1024 kbps

downlink / 256 kbps uplink, at flat month-

ly rates. The system comes with a built-in

VoIP adapter and routing management

technology as standard.

Taide Network, a provider of IP

solutions via satellite and a member of the

Vizada Group, has rebranded itself as

Vizada Networks.Remote Knowledge, a provider of

satellite internet applications, has jointly

announced with Alpha Circuits the

production of its marine broadband router

for use in customer sea trials in the US.

The trials are scheduled to last for the

duration of the summer ahead of a prod-

www.thrane.com

www.vizada.com

www.rkiq.com

www.cellularatsea.com

www.vizada.com

www.thuraya.com

www.globalstar.com

www.caprock.com

www.broadpointinc.com

Veritas (DNV) outlining some of the safe-

ty benefits that could result from using

the technology.

The recommendation from that study,

that a mandatory requirement be intro-

duced, was supported by Denmark,

Finland, Norway and Sweden, and suple-

mented by a further proposal by Japan

calling for the mandatory carriage of

ECDIS on certain vessel classes.

These proposals were rejected howev-

er, and the consideration of mandatory

ECDIS postponed until this year's

NAV54. It would seem that the argu-

ments of the delegates have now proven

For further details on the IMO decision on mandatory ECDIS,see our feature 'Mandatory

ECDIS - the final countdown' by Dr Andy Norris, on page 30

www.blueoceanwireless.com

Blue Ocean Wireless (BOW) has announced

that Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement

Deutschland (BSMD), Hamburg, is to install

the BOW GSM solution.

BSMD will initially install the GSM sys-

tem on the vessel CAP BRETON (ex.

Christiane Schulte), which will allow seafar-

ers to make and receive voice calls, and

send and receive SMS messages, using their

existing mobile phones onboard the ship.

Following recent upgrades to its

network, in conjunction with partner Smart

Communications Inc, a subsidiary of the

Philippine Long Distance Telephone

Company (PLDT), BOW now also offers on-

board e-mail capability and global roaming

as part of its service (see facing page).

Subscribers to other telecoms networks

can roam on all equipped vessels using

their existing handset and SIM card. The

roaming capability operates in the same

way as traditional land based GSM roam-

ing and requires no special equipment or

preparation on the part of the user.

BSMD operations co-ordinator Jacobus

Varossieau commented: "We are very

pleased to announce the installation of the

Blue Ocean Wireless service on our vessel

CAP BRETON. This technology represents

a step change in the welfare and working

Bernard Schulte to install BOW GSM

Crew aboard the CAP BRETON (ex Christiane Schulte) will be able to use their GSM phones while at sea

convincing enough for the subcom-

mittee to accept such a move this

time around, and that ECDIS will

become a standard feature on future

vessels.

uct launch in the autumn.

Wireless Maritime Services has

signed a new five year contract to continue

providing cellular at sea wireless service

to guests and crew aboard all ships for

Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. and

Celebrity Cruises. New ships enter-

ing the fleets are also included under this

agreement.

Vizada is now offering the full range

of Thuraya mobile satellite services in

the Asia-Pacific region. The development

follows the launch of the Thuraya-3 satel-

lite in January 2008. The satellite has

extended the coverage for Thuraya servic-

es throughout the Asia-Pacific region,

including major markets like China, Japan,

Korea, Indonesia and Australia.

US company SkyBitz has launched

the GLS 100 satellite mobile communica-

tor, a global asset tracking solution that

operates over the Globalstar Simplex

data network. The company hopes to

expand its presence in the maritime indus-

try with the product, which it says is easy

to install and has a 5-year battery life.

Broadpoint has appointed

Errol Olivier as president and Chief

Executive Officer. Mr Olivier comes to

Broadpoint following his retirement from

a 17-year career at satellite and telecom-

munications provider CapRockCommunications, where he served as

president and chief operating officer.

environment for our crew members."

"The ability to make and receive voice

calls and use SMS from an individual's

mobile phone will be significant in the

lives of our crew when they are in deep

ocean water. We very much look forward

to working with the team at BOW".

Blue Ocean Wireless CEO, Robert

Johnson added: "We are delighted to wel-

come Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement as

a customer of Blue Ocean Wireless. This

represents another significant customer

milestone for the Blue Ocean Wireless team.

We have made, and continue to make, rapid

progress in growing our customer base

since our launch just over one year ago."

www.blueoceanwireless.com

Merchant maritime GSM provider Blue

Ocean Wireless has unveiled three new

enhancements to its service.

The first of these new features is the

introduction of a reduced tariff for voice

calls over the at-sea mobile network, with

seafarers now able to make calls to their

friends and families on their own mobile

phones for $0.99 per minute.

"While it has always been our intention

to make this service as affordable as possi-

ble, the phenomenal success of our product

roll-out has allowed us to offer this price

reduction sooner than we had expected,"

said Robert Johnson, Blue Ocean Wireless

CEO. "Our new tariff of 99 cent will enable

more seafarers to spend longer each month

speaking to loved ones at home."

This reduced rate service will also be sup-

plemented by two further enhancements to

the Blue Ocean package, with the launch of

new e-mail services and an extended Global

Roaming agreement for the network.

The new e-mail application will allow

crews to access their e-mail using the

BOW communications set-up. This system

is separate to the ship's own communica-

tions system, meaning seafarers can access

their messages without interfering with

the vessel's business communications.

With the Global Roaming facility, sub-

scribers to other networks will also now

be able to roam on all Blue Ocean Wireless

equipped vessels using their existing

handset and SIM card. The roaming capa-

bility will work in the same way as tradi-

tional land based GSM roaming, and

requires no special equipment or prepara-

tion on the part of the user.

The global roaming feature will be made

possible by network upgrades that Blue

Ocean partner company Smart Communica-

tions has recently undertaken, upgrading

the Blue Ocean Wireless network with a new

GSM switch and a full Global Lease Line.

"We are delighted to announce the network

upgrades and our impending global roaming

service," commented Mr Johnson. "This

enhancement to the Blue Ocean Wireless solu-

tion represents another major step towards

achieving a fully comprehensive communica-

tions solution for those that work at sea."

www.wiredocean.com

Communications company Wired Ocean

reports that it has completed the develop-

ment and testing necessary to enable its

Satellite Broadband Server (SBS) system to

integrate with Inmarsat FleetBroadband.

With this system, the company says

that it can reduce the costs per megabyte

of shore-to-ship FleetBroadband data to

approximately 10 per cent, by channelling

the downlink through a vessel's satellite

TV antenna.

The Wired Ocean downlink can be

almost twice the speed of a standard

FB250 downlink without the SBS, while

vessels fitting an FB500 will benefit from

improved responsiveness and 20 per cent

faster downlink speeds.

Wired Ocean has also incorporated per-

formance enhancement systems into the

technology, to minimise latency, remove

unnecessary handshaking and to com-

press and cache transferred data.

These systems are built into the net-

work hub and SBS, removing the need

for any software to be loaded onto ship

computers.

"FleetBroadband users will see an

immediate boost in the performance of

their communication systems after the

simple integration of Wired Ocean, when

sailing in our coverage area of European

waters and when not in coverage, users

can be confident of a seamless fallback to

their FleetBroadband or other services,"

comments Victor Barendse, managing

director, Wired Ocean.

Digital Ship


Blue Ocean Wirelessextends services

www.vizada.com

www.otesat-maritel.com

www.straosglobal.com

Vizada, Stratos and Otesat-Maritel have

become the latest distributors to partner

with satellite operator Iridium in agreeing

to distribute the new Iridium OpenPort

service, launched earlier this year and

expected to be commercially available in

September 2008.

Iridium OpenPort offers data and voice

services (up to three voice lines) that

can be used simultaneously, and is avail-

able at speeds of 9.6kbps, 32kbps, 64kbps

and 128kbps. Advance orders are now

being taken in anticipation of the commer-

cial launch

Peter Döhle Schiffarts-KG, with a fleet

of approximately 350 container ships and

bulk cargo freighters, have agreed to beta-

test the service with Vizada.

"The global coverage provided by the

Iridium constellation, as well as the low

price of airtime and terminals, make

Iridium OpenPort a very attractive

proposition for owners of large fleets

of vessels," said Michael Dittmer, IT

and communication coordinator fleet,

'FleetBroadband users will see an

immediate boost in performance' -

Victor Barendse, Wired Ocean

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Peter Döhle Schiffarts-KG.

"With this in mind, we are particularly

interested in equipping vessels with

a minimum of one Iridium OpenPort

terminal in order to provide essential

redundancy for our IT and communica-

tions systems."

Erik Ceuppens, CEO, Vizada EMEA &

Asia, commented: "Ship owners are

increasingly in need of more comprehen-

sive IT and telecommunications solutions

on-board. Iridium OpenPort, combined

with the Vizada Solutions portfolio, is a

powerful package providing closer links

with teams on land, truly global coverage,

and important tools for boosting crew

morale and welfare."

George Polychronopoulos, CEO of

Otesat-Maritel, is also excited about being

able to offer the service to the market:

"Adding Iridium OpenPort in our services

portfolio is in line with our strategy of

offering broadband satellite solutions to

the maritime industry."

"Combining the unique features of

Iridium OpenPort with specially designed

value added services for the IP satellite

networks, we shall be able to offer to our

Greek and global customers more value

and efficiency in their day-to-day commu-

nications," he said.

Stratos will concentrate on offering

additional value-added services as a glob-

al distribution partner for Iridium

OpenPort.

Customers using Iridium OpenPort

from Stratos will be able to use the Stratos

Advantage system, a collection of services

that provide cost control, traffic control

and data optimisation.

This includes the Stratos Dashboard,

with which the new Iridium OpenPort

systems will be fully integrated, that pro-

vides information on the amount of traffic

used for voice and data, and the associat-

ed costs.

Stratos' Iridium customers can famil-

iarise themselves with Stratos Dashboard

via a new e-learning module, which offers

users an overview of the capabilities and

set up of Stratos Dashboard for Iridium.

"Advance orders for Iridium OpenPort

terminals are outpacing forecasts, and we

are on track for commercial deliveries to

begin in the third quarter of this year,"

said Greg Ewert, executive vice presi-

dent, global distribution channels,

Iridium.

Iridium OpenPort distributors sign up

SATCOMS


MCP renews cruise GSM dealswww.mcp.com

Maritime Communications Partner (MCP)

has won a contract extension with P&O

Cruises and Ocean Village Holidays to

provide onboard GSM services.

According to the terms of the agreement,

MCP will remain the preferred supplier of

its CellAtSea mobile phone services on eight

vessels under the P&O Cruises and Ocean

Village Holidays brands. The contract also

covers new ships entering the fleet.

As well as running a passenger mobile

roaming service, MCP also provides crew

www.singtel.com

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel)

has won a Seatrade Asia Award for

Technical Innovation, for the development

of a 1.5m C-band stabilised satellite anten-

na, with partner SeaTel.

SingTel says that the antenna allows

sea-going vessels to enjoy higher band-

width than a traditional 2.4-metre C-band

antenna at a lower cost, with an option for

dedicated bandwidth.

The 1.5m C-band antenna is designed

to work with SingTel's satellites and

ground infrastructure, and has been suc-

cessfully implemented on more than 18

vessels since its launch.

Titus Yong, SingTel's vice president of

satellite, commented: "This breakthrough

caters to the increasing demand for

'always-on' broadband solutions, which

help maritime customers improve produc-

tivity and enhance crew welfare."

"With its compact size, the antenna

makes these services more accessible to

smaller vessels."

SingTel award for 1.5m C-band antenna

www.caprock.com

NOR Offshore Ltd., an operator of anchor

handling tug supply and construction sup-

port vessels, is to deploy CapRock's

SeaAccess VSAT communications system

onboard nine of its vessels.

Under the three-year agreement,

CapRock will provide the equipment and

installation for the broadband service,

which will include always-on connectivity

at a fixed monthly rate, as well as offering

maintenance and support.

Vessels will have unlimited access to

Voice over IP (VoIP), the NOR corporate

network and the internet, while the shore

office will be able to monitor onboard IT

systems, providing remote diagnostics

and support.

Additionally, NOR says that it will use

SeaAccess to provide enhanced crew com-

munication services, including access to

the internet, and the ability to send and

receive e-mails and make telephone calls

by using calling cards.

"Providing crew communication servic-

es that help us retain qualified crews is a

top priority for us," said NOR offshore

operations manager, Eirik Thorseth.

"SeaAccess will enable us to do so and

will help the crew stay connected with

family and friends while offshore."

VSAT for NOR Offshore

www.thuraya.com

Thuraya reports that it has signed ten dis-

tribution agreements for its new

ThurayaMarine voice and data communi-

cations product.

ThurayaMarine is designed for small

and medium sized vessels, and features a

compact terminal that supports voice,

data, fax, GPS and GmPRS over an omni-

directional antenna.

Distribution agreements have been

reached with Fort Info Technology, GPTC,

IEC, Intermatica, Moodotel, Nera

Telecommunications, Satcom, Satlink,

WorldCom Japan Traders and Xtralink.

These service providers will market

and promote the ThurayaMarine service

throughout Thuraya's coverage area in

Europe and Asia.

"We are thrilled with this rapid interest

in ThurayaMarine across many markets. It

is clearly a promising sign for the success

of this product in a large, lucrative indus-

try such as the maritime communications,"

said Thuraya's CEO Yousuf Al Sayed.

Mr Al Sayed also added that the growing

strong distribution base will facilitate a faster

roll-out of the new service to customers.

ThurayaMarine comes with a wireless

phone handset, allowing for greater

mobility and flexibility onboard ships for

people wishing to make a call. Coverage is

available in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea,

Mediterranean, Arabian Sea, North Sea,

Baltic Sea, parts of the Atlantic and Indian

Oceans, and international waters in most

of Asia-Pacific.

ThurayaMarine distributors sign up

members onboard the vessels with a

CrewSIM service, for private communica-

tion with friends and family.

This contract follows-on from an initial

agreement reached in 2006, when MCP

equipped eight P&O cruise ships with the

technology.

Mette Soderberg, general manager fleet

commercial activities, Carnival UK com-

mented: "The introduction of GSM services

and continuous working relationships

with our partner MCP has been smooth

and effective, and valued by customers

and the company alike."

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carrier the MV Tampa, before deciding to

contract for the service.

"Marlink's Sealink solution has success-

fully provided the MV Tampa with tele-

phone and data connectivity in all weath-

er conditions as it made its course around

the world," said Hans Christian Siltvedt,

HSEQ superintendent at WSM. "It has

become indispensable in addressing our

communications needs on board."

The Sealink Maritime VSAT services

for WSM include dedicated global satellite

bandwidth, separated between crew and

administration. Crew has access to free

internet for applications such as web

browsing, e-mail exchange and online

banking, as well as multiple telephone

lines for crew calling. For business and

administrative purposes, LAN-LAN data

communications on board are in place, as

are multiple direct dial telephone lines.

www.marlink.com

Marlink, a Vizada company, is to provide

its Sealink Maritime VSAT solution to

Wilhelmsen Ship Management (WSM),

and will equip 30 Wilhelmsen Ship

Management vessels with the system.

The deal features 'always-on' internet

access and Local Area Network (LAN)

communications at a fixed monthly price,

while Sealink will also provide PSTN tele-

phone lines with standard fixed per-

minute charges.

Wilhelmsen Ship Management current-

ly manages approximately 300 ships, of

which 185 are under full technical man-

agement, and employs 8,600 seagoing per-

sonnel. The company had performed a

number of tests on the quality and reliabil-

ity of the Sealink system over a 12-month

period on board the roll-on roll-off vehicle

Marlink signs Sealink deal with Wilhelmsen

www.minivsat.com

VSAT provider KVH has announced a

new agreement with ViaSat to begin the

global rollout of KVH's mini-VSAT

Broadband satellite communications

service.

The mini-VSAT Broadband service is

already available throughout North

America, the Caribbean, the North

Atlantic, and Europe, with 512 Kbps

(upload) and 2 Mbps (download) con-

nectivity offered at fixed monthly rates.

Under this new agreement, KVH and

ViaSat plan to roll out an exclusive glob-

al network offering access to KVH's

mini-VSAT Broadband service for mar-

itime use, with airtime revenue to be

shared between the two companies. The

coverage expansion is scheduled to begin

in the fourth quarter of 2008.

As part of the coverage expansion,

KVH has agreed to acquire satellite

capacity from Ku-band satellite opera-

tors, as well as purchase three new

regional satellite hubs from ViaSat.

These hubs will use ViaSat's ArcLight

spread spectrum mobile broadband tech-

nology and be operated by ViaSat.

KVH will be the global provider

for maritime service while ViaSat

will provide products and satellite

network services into aviation markets

worldwide.

As the rollout continues, either

KVH or ViaSat will work to establish

additional regional hubs and satellite

capacity. Over the course of the 10-year

agreement, KVH and ViaSat also expect

to implement future enhancements to

the mini-VSAT Broadband spread

spectrum maritime services and related

products.

"Expanding our mini-VSAT

Broadband service to provide seamless

global coverage of maritime broadband

communications is one of our top

strategic priorities," said Martin Kits

van Heyningen, KVH's chief executive

officer.

"Our new service offers customers

predictable fixed airtime rates that

are significantly less expensive and

much faster than alternative maritime

communications solutions. We feel

the lower airtime rates combined with

antennas that are 85 per cent smaller

and significantly less costly than tradi-

tional VSAT products will help the

market grow."

Digital Ship


'Seamless global coverage of maritime

broadband is one of our top strategic

priorities' - Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH

KVH and ViaSat plan global Ku-band VSAT

www.singtel.com

Singapore Telecommunications Limited

(SingTel) has agreed a deal with satellite

operator SES NEW SKIES to contract

capacity on its NSS-7, NSS-703 and NSS-5

satellites, with the intention of extending

its maritime satellite communications

offerings to the global market.

The contract will run for three years for

up to 5MHz of capacity over the three

satellites, though financial details of the

arrangement have not been disclosed.

Titus Yong, SingTel's vice president of

satellite, commented: "SingTel has been

providing VSAT services with regional

coverage for over two years. We are

pleased to work with a top-tier global

satellite service provider such as SES NEW

SKIES to extend our reach to provide

seamless and secure worldwide coverage

over all major shipping routes."

The SES NEW SKIES satellites will also

support demand for SingTel's

OfficeAtSea@SingTel maritime VSAT sys-

tems, which include 'always-on' unlimited

broadband internet access, e-mail, low-

cost Voice over IP (VoIP) calls, GSM

onboard and ship surveillance.

Elias Zaccack, vice president of sales Asia

Pacific at SES NEW SKIES, added: "SingTel is

packaging its extensive maritime satellite

solutions with SES NEW SKIES' global and

ubiquitous satellite reach to offer seamless

and complete telecommunications solutions

to vessels and offshore operations."

"We look forward to working with

SingTel to provide coverage for

OfficeAtSea@SingTel over all major ship-

ping routes worldwide."

SingTel to offer global VSAT

SEACOR dealfor Broadpoint

www.broadpointinc.com

US telecoms company Broadpoint has

been awarded a contract by SEACOR

Marine, to provide connectivity services

for five new vessels, including the M/V

SEACOR Cheetah - the first of SEACOR's

new crew transport vessels to be put into

service.

While Broadpoint has provided com-

munications services to ships operated by

SEACOR Marine, a provider of support

services to oil and gas operators in the

Gulf of Mexico for more than 13 years, this

new agreement marks the first interna-

tional partnership between the two com-

panies as the SEACOR Cheetah heads to

the West African coast.

The SEACOR Cheetah was developed

to provide crew transportation for off-

shore oil and gas operators, and can hold

up to 150 passengers and reach speeds of

up to 40 knots - twice the speed of con-

ventional crew boats.

Under the contract, Broadpoint will

provide SEACOR Marine with a turnkey

solution for secure voice and data applica-

tions. The services will operate on

Broadpoint's VSAT network.

www.becker-marine-systems.com

Becker Marine Systems Communication

and SRH Marine Electronics have signed a

joint strategic agreement to collaborate in

the provision of technology services to their

customers.

Both companies will offer Becker's

umc.global network service, which inte-

grates different communication systems

such as satellite services, 2GSM, 3GSM and

highspeed wireless internet access in ports.

The collaboration agreement will make

SRH Marine Electronics the main integrator

and distributor of umc.global network serv-

ices in Greece. This will allow 24/7 on-site

support, and a direct contact person for

Greek shipping companies using the service.

SRH Marine Electronics will also estab-

lish an infrastructure for umc.connect port-

net services, initially at the port of Piraeus.

This service will provide internet access for

vessels within range of the port with up to

6 Mbps bandwidth for a global flat-rate,

without any limit on time and volume.

"We at SRH Marine Electronics are

extremely pleased to have combined

forces with Becker Marine Systems

Communication. We are certain that this

joint strategy will form the basis for a

broad and productive collaboration in the

maritime communication industry in the

Greek market," says Athina Vezyri, man-

aging director SRH Marine Electronics

Becker and SRH Marine partnership deal


SATCOMS

IInmarsat has announced that the last

of its Inmarsat-4 satellites, which

form the backbone of its flagship

FleetBroadband service, will be launched

from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kaza-

khstan on the 14th August (13th August

GMT). This launch represents the final

step before FleetBroadband can be offered

as a global service.

International Launch Services (ILS) has

scheduled this mission having recently

received the all-clear to return the Proton

Breeze M rocket to service, following an

investigation into a launch failure involv-

ing the vehicle earlier this year.

During that March 15th incident, the

launch vehicle, carrying an AMC-14 satel-

lite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome,

experienced problems when the Breeze M

upper stage shut down two minutes

before the end of the planned second burn

of its engine.

As a result of this anomaly, the AMC-

14 satellite the rocket was carrying was

released, leaving it in an orbit lower than

that required for its intended operation.

A Russian State Commission began an

investigation following the incident,

analysing possible scenarios and reviewing

the processes, hardware and systems relat-

ed to the engine and its supporting systems.

It concluded that the failure was caused

by a ruptured exhaust gas conduit, which

led to a shutdown of the turbo pump feed-

ing the Breeze M engine.

The commission recommended a num-

ber of corrective actions, with the primary

step being a replacement of the existing

conduit with a thicker-walled conduit.

ILS' own review concurred with this

analysis, stating that it believed that the

root cause of the failure was that the con-

duit walls were thinner than the minimum

specification, which played a major part in

the rupture.

Khrunichev Space Centre, the company

that constructed the rocket and a primary

shareholder of ILS, says it has since suc-

cessfully completed certification testing of

a flight engine with the new conduit, and

that the new conduit will be incorporated

in all future engines.

Postponed flightInmarsat, as a result of this March failure, had

decided to suspend indefinitely its own

scheduled launch in April, pending an exam-

ination of the results of the investigation.

Apparently satisfied with the results of

the independent review and the subse-

quent corrective actions undertaken, the

company has now committed to the

rescheduled launch, more than four

months after originally planned.

A successful launch would allow

Inmarsat to complete the three-satellite

network required for worldwide coverage

of FleetBroadband, and push ahead with

plans to finally make the service globally

available after its initial launch in

November 2007.

The I-4 satellite is scheduled to be

shipped to Baikonur in early July for a six-

week launch programme. The satellite, an

EADS Astrium Eurostar 3000 model, will

weigh approximately 6 metric tons at liftoff.

"Having participated in the Failure

Review process in its entirety, I am satis-

fied that the appropriate actions have been

taken to deal with recent failures and to

reassess the quality of the Proton vehicle,"

said Gene Jilg, Chief Technology Officer

for Inmarsat.

"Inmarsat now expects to transport the

satellite to the launch site and complete

certain other formalities in sufficient time

to target the launch date."

ILS president, Frank McKenna, added:

"We thank Inmarsat for its support and

patience. We know how important this satel-

lite is for the continued success of Inmarsat's

growing broadband services, and we look

forward to the start of the campaign."

Takeover talksThis newly agreed lift-off date was not the

only major development for the satellite

operator this summer.

News of the rescheduled satellite

launch was quickly followed by a wave of

Inmarsat-related activity on the stock

exchange, as rumours of a potential

takeover of the company began to spread

throughout the financial markets.

This was eventually confirmed on July

7th, as Inmarsat released a statement say-

ing that it had received a "very prelimi-

nary approach" made on behalf of US

hedge fund Harbinger, which "may or

may not" lead to a takeover offer being

made for the company.

Harbinger already holds a 28.8 per cent

stake in Inmarsat and is currently its

largest shareholder.

Changes of heartHowever, on July 21st, just two weeks

after the original announcement confirm-

ing discussions, Harbinger issued another

statement declaring that it had called off

these talks, and would not proceed with

any deal in the immediate future.

The company pointed to concerns that

such a deal might fall foul of US competition

regulator the FCC (Federal Communications

Commission) as the fundamental reason

behind this change of heart.

Harbinger commented: "Discussions

have taken place between Harbinger and

Inmarsat and their respective advisers and

these discussions have focused upon the

lengthy regulatory and competition

approval process required to effect an

offer for Inmarsat."

"In light of this lengthy process, which

could take up to 18 months, Harbinger

does not consider it appropriate to make a

firm offer for Inmarsat at this stage and

therefore the parties have agreed to sus-

pend these discussions."

"However, Harbinger remains interest-

ed in acquiring control of Inmarsat and is

therefore actively considering whether to

pursue the relevant regulatory and com-

petition approvals in order to be able to

make an offer for Inmarsat in the future."

"Assuming there is an acceptable con-

clusion to the regulatory approval process

Harbinger would intend to re-enter into

discussions with the board of Inmarsat

regarding the terms of an offer and

endeavour to seek a recommendation

from the Inmarsat board at that time."

This confirmation that talks had been

suspended had an immediate negative

impact on Inmarsat's share price, which fell

more than 12 per cent on the news, before

recovering slightly to settle at 466.50p,

down almost 9 per cent for the day.

The next twist in the tale came on July

25th, a mere four days after the companies

had announced that talks had stalled, with

another apparent change of heart from

Harbinger as the US investment company

made a statement to the London Stock

Exchange expressing its intention to make

an offer for Inmarsat.

It appears that Harbinger now intends

to begin taking the necessary steps

towards securing regulatory clearance for

a takeover, and has committed to a deal

going ahead if approval is given.

The company states: "Assuming an

Satellite launches and takeovers - busy times at Inmarsat

It has been an eventful summer at Inmarsat - the company has finally confirmed that the last of its I-4 satellites

will be launched in August, which will pave the way for FleetBroadband to go fully global. On top of this,

a US investment fund has become involved in a ‘will they or won’t they’ takeover bid. Digital Ship looks at the details

The final I-4 satellite will be launched

August 14th, taking FleetBroadband

global

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www.stratosglobal.com

Stratos has introduced a range of new

communications services for the mar-

itime market, with the launch of

StratosOceanView, ChatCard Data, and

the AmosConnect Crew CommCenter.

Available worldwide as a free

service for Stratos customers,

StratosOceanView provides a map-

based view of the location, heading,

speed, satellite communication traffic

data and contact details (based on exist-

ing Inmarsat-C DNID reporting) for

every vessel in a company's fleet on a

single web page.

Satellite communication traffic data

is also included, to offer an overview

of monthly Inmarsat and Iridium air-

time costs and AmosConnect mail

queue information.

ChatCard Data will enable

crewmembers to expand the use of their

prepaid Stratos ChatCards to include

internet access, while also helping ship

managers to manage and control inter-

net costs over Inmarsat

FleetBroadband. With this new feature,

all crew internet-access costs are sepa-

rated from the ship's business-commu-

nication costs and charged to the crew

with the prepaid ChatCard.

In a move aimed at providing better

facilities to serving seafarers,

AmosConnect Crew CommCenter is the

latest version of Stratos' AmosConnect

Crew satellite communications service.

This application features an

enhanced user interface and additional

internal communications and newswire

services, with an 'Announcement

Board' that enables ship managers to

send internal corporate bulletins to

their crewmembers at sea, and a 'Daily

World News' service that offers

crewmembers customised global and

local news and sports updates from

their home countries.

This service can be browsed directly

from within their own e-mail account at

no cost to the mariner.

News will be sent in small text data

files from shore to the vessel server, so

that crews can enjoy a web-browsing

type experience without the cost of

being connected to the internet over

the satellite link.

AmosConnect Crew CommCenter

will also double the e-mail message

length limits of the previous version

of the system, and provides ship

managers with additional controls

to manage a crewmember's weekly

mail quotas.

The Crew CommCenter will display company announcements (left) and news from the seafarers’ home countries (right), at no extra cost

Stratos unveils new services for crews

acceptable conclusion to the Regulatory

Approvals process, (Harbinger) intends to

enter into negotiations with the board of

Inmarsat regarding the terms of an offer

and endeavour to seek the recommenda-

tion of the Inmarsat board."

"(Harbinger) expects that any offer, if

made, would be made to shareholders of

Inmarsat in the second half of 2009 and

that such an offer would be completed as

quickly as possible thereafter."

Future plansWith this confirmation that an offer will be

made, details about Harbinger's plans for

Inmarsat following a takeover are starting

to emerge.

Harbinger currently owns 48.43 per

cent of SkyTerra, a US satellite network

company that has already been involved

in cooperative agreements with Inmarsat

in the past.

It appears that Harbinger intends to

utilise the combined capabilities of these

two satellite companies, including

SkyTerra subsidiary Mobile Satellite

Ventures (MSV), to offer a new range of

services in North America.

"With its global satellite fleet and com-

plementary plans for next generation

satellites, Inmarsat offers a compelling

strategic fit with SkyTerra, and its sub-

sidiary MSV," said Harbinger.

"MSV, together with MSV Canada, is

developing an integrated satellite-terres-

trial communications network to provide

seamless, transparent and ubiquitous

wireless coverage of the United States and

Canada to consumer handsets."

"In an effort to realise additional value

embedded in the combination of both com-

panies' radio spectrum, MSV and Inmarsat

recently signed a cooperation agreement for

L-Band operations in North America."

"The proposed (takeover) offer would

allow MSV and Inmarsat to increase sub-

stantially the scope of their existing coop-

eration, further enhancing spectrum effi-

ciency to support the development of an

integrated satellite-terrestrial communica-

tions network in North America, based on

MSV's patented ancillary terrestrial com-

ponent technology."

Further to this potential match up,

Harbinger also announced that it has

agreed to provide $500 million of debt

financing to fund SkyTerra's business plan

through the third quarter of 2010.

This deal contains several references to a

potential merger of the companies, and

seems to lay some of the groundwork for

the combination of the companies' business.

The financing arrangement states that

SkyTerra and MSV will enter into a

'Master Contribution and Support

Agreement' with affiliates of Harbinger

with respect to the possible combination

of SkyTerra and Inmarsat.

Inmarsat is not a party to this agreement,

which is also subject to the receipt of

required regulatory and antitrust clearances.

"The combination of SkyTerra and

Inmarsat, assuming financial terms can be

reached, makes a great deal of strategic and

operational sense," said Alexander H. Good,

SkyTerra chairman, CEO and president.

"It would greatly enhance spectrum

efficiency and North American L-Band

spectrum while providing a foundation

for innovation in the global mobile satel-

lite industry."

"The combination would also provide

opportunities for greater efficiencies and

scale benefits and coordination in the pursuit

of next generation integrated satellite-terres-

trial networks, products and applications."

Assuming receipt of regulatory

antitrust approval, Harbinger says that the

proposed business combination with

Inmarsat would be structured as an offer

by SkyTerra to acquire all of the issued

and to be issued shares of Inmarsat not

owned by Harbinger, though the compa-

ny notes that "it is not the intention of

SkyTerra and Harbinger to announce the

formal terms or structure of a possible

offer at this stage."

However, the statement does note that

"upon completion of the proposed business

combination of SkyTerra and Inmarsat, it is

expected that Harbinger will own in excess

of 85.0 per cent of the outstanding voting

stock of the combined entity."

With a satellite launch, global service

availability of FleetBroadband, and this

possible takeover on the horizon, the next

year promises to be a very interesting one

for Inmarsat and its shareholders.


SATCOMS

DS

Harbinger has confirmed that it will make a takeover offer for Inmarsat,

pending regulatory approval

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The BASS system is operational on 50 CMA CGM ships

SOFTWARE


www.cisco.com

Stolt-Nielsen Philippines has overhauled

its network infrastructure and installed a

new system by Cisco, that will enable the

ship operator to use the technology as a

platform to accelerate the delivery of new

applications.

At the heart of Stolt-Nielsen's system is

the Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series Switch, a

line of stackable multilayer switches to

improve the operation of the network by

offering redundancy and failover.

"The comprehensive upgrade of our

network is in line with our overall office

renovation," said Ricardo Sacay, training

computer administrator at Stolt-Nielsen.

"The aesthetic and technological trans-

formation of the Stolt-Nielsen facilities has

done wonders for our employees' daily

operations. We now have a visually

appealing workplace and a more capable

and robust network system."

Stolt-Nielsen's worldwide accounting

transactions have recently been trans-

ferred to the Manila office, making it the

accounting hub of global operations and

necessitating this IT overhaul.

"We receive hundreds of scanned

receipts from all over the world daily. We

used to have a difficult time processing

large incoming files. Since the network

upgrade, this has become very manage-

able," said Mr Sacay.

Stolt-Nielsen currently uses 18 switches

spread throughout the four floors of the

Stolt-Nielsen main office in Makati City, with

wireless access points on the four floors.

Stolt-Nielsen completes Cisco installation

www.shipserv.com

ShipServ reports that the number of sup-

pliers and the number of ships managed

on its TradeNet e-commerce platform has

grown by 33 per cent in the first half of

2008. The company expects that it will

reach 3.5m transactions with a Gross

Merchandise Value (i.e. the total monetary

value of all purchases) of over $1bn by the

end of this year.

According to ShipServ, over 120 own-

ers/managers managing close to 4,000

ships are now trading with over 8,000 sup-

pliers via the network. The number of

TradeNet users has also grown, to more

than 30,000 users in 90 countries.

On the buyer side, new customers

included Companhia de Navegacao

Norsul (Brazil), Crowley (US), DSD

Shipping (Norway), Great Lakes Dredge

and Dock (US), Great Offshore (India),

Ishima (Singapore), International Tanker

Management (Dubai), JQC Shipping

(Singapore), Malaysia International

Shipping Corporation Berhad (Malaysia),

Prisco Tankers (Singapore), Southern

Shipmanagement Ltd. (Chile) and Suisse-

Atlantique Société de Navigation

Maritime S.A. (Switzerland).

On the supplier side, new agreements

were signed with Atlas Incinerators

(Denmark), Bosung (Korea), Furuno

(Denmark), and Viking (Denmark).

In addition to these new partners, a

significant number of companies signed

at the end of 2007 have now gone 'fully

live' with their ShipServ implementa-

tions. These included Alaska Tankers

(US), E.R. Schiffahrt (Germany),

International Shipping Partners (US),

Seabourn Cruises (US) and Sealion

Shipping (UK).

As well as seeing growth in the use of

its e-commerce network, ShipServ's on-

line maritime suppliers directory,

ShipServ Pages, has also seen increased

usage, with 7,500 visitors per week using

the service to find suppliers in 6,500 ports

around the world.

The directory has recently topped

20,000 supplier listings, and ShipServ says

it estimates that the sourcing activity gen-

erated by the service is worth in the region

of $400m per annum.

"2008 has truly been extraordinary in

terms of market success," commented Paul

Ostergaard, CEO & Founder, ShipServ.

"On the trading side, it's incredibly

exciting to see so many new customers

represented on TradeNet. And on the

sourcing side, Pages represents a previ-

ously untapped opportunity for buyers

and sellers to find each other easily."

Tero Marine has become the latest

external software company to integrate its

maintenance system, TM Master, with

TradeNet, joining the likes of Spectec

AMOS, ShipNet, BASS, ABS-NS,

Logimatic ePos, Consultas, and CL-Sea.

ShipServ reports 33% half-year growth

Peter Andersen has joined InchcapeShipping Services in the newly creat-

ed role of director - partnership sales,

based in the UK. He joins ISS from

Trigonal Ltd., a specialised shipping

software firm which he co-founded with

partners in 2003.

SOFTimpact has signed a contract

with SEACOR Marine to implement

Seanique 4.0, SOFTimpact's ERP solution

for the maritime industry. Under the

terms of the agreement, SOFTimpact will

implement its crew and payroll functions

in Lowesoft, UK, for UK and West Africa

crewing activities, and at the Dubai

branch for Dubai crewing activities.

Q88.com has completed a project to

integrate PMI’s vetting system with

Q88.com's online questionnaire service.

The integration allows tanker owners to

complete PMI's vetting questionnaire

directly on Q88.com. The data is automat-

ically sent into PMI 'Velas' vetting system,

hosted by Maritime Information Systems.

Allin Corporation has secured an

agreement with MSC Cruises to install

Allin's digital interactive television solution

on the MSC Fantasia, the first in MSC's

newest class of cruise vessels scheduled to

be delivered in December, 2008. The MSC

Fantasia, currently being built at Aker France

yard in Saint Nazaire, is the largest cruise

ship ever built for a European ship owner at

133,500 gt, 1,093 ft long, and 125 ft wide.

Condition based maintenance company

James Fisher Mimic has appointed

Graeme Brown as sales director, as part of

what the company calls its 'intention to

diversify into the commercial marine sec-

tor'. Mr Brown previously worked for

Inmarsat Ventures and Bimco.

Veson Nautical has added five new

staff members to its Boston and Singapore

offices, having expanded its pre- and post-

installation team, welcoming Evangelos

Efstathiou, David Kanof, Brian Berry,

Michelle Lim Meiyan and Thomas Norris.

The company has also expanded its

Summer Internship programme.

'Compass Roses', a blues band featuring

a number of staff from maritime software

company SpecTec and other assorted

musicians, has featured at the Pistoia Blues

festival in Italy. The band played the main

stage of the festival on July 11th.

Germanischer Lloyd has release

GL ShipManager 2.0, an updated version

of its software system. The Windows Vista

compatible program includes a new mod-

ule structure, adding Reporting and

Analysing and Compliance Management

to the existing Technical Management,

Ship and Voyage Management, and

Procurement modules.

Autoship Systems Corporationand Seaboard Marine Ltd. of Miami,

USA have reached an agreement for the

delivery of Autoload-SPS (ship planning

system). The roll-out of the software will

be phased in over the next year, with 40

ships and all Seaboard offices being outfit-

ted with the system.

www.frtntech.com

Fortune Technologies reports that it has

agreed a contract with Mare Maritime, for

the supply of the Microsoft Dynamics Nav

- Fortune Maritime Add On Solution to

the entire Mare fleet.

The project includes the delivery of the

Microsoft Dynamics Nav - Fortune Maritime

Add On Solution, the database conversion,

and customisation of the systems, as well as

all necessary installation and training.

Fortune says that the project has

already begun, and that the new system is

expected to be fully implemented within

the next nine or ten months.

Fortune to supply Mare Maritime

www.iss-shipping.com

www.softimpact.net

www.q88.com

www.jfmimic.co.uk

www.veson.com

www.spectec.net

www.gl-group.com

www.autoship.com

www.bassnet.no

BASS reports that it is nearing completion

of one of its largest ever contracts for the

installation of its BASSnet Fleet

Management Systems, for container group

CMA CGM.

Under the terms of the agreement, BASS

has already implemented the BASSnet

Procurement, BASSnet Maintenance, and

BASSnet Document Manager modules of

the system, which is operational on 50

CMA CGM ships and in three shore offices

in Le Havre, London, and the company's

headquarters in Marseilles.

In Q3 2008, the fleet and offices are

scheduled to be upgraded with BASSnet

2.5, which will allow for the integration of

additional functions requested by CMA

CGM experts.

Further modules, such as BASSnet

Operations (Navigation and Engine

Events Log) and BASSnet SAFIR (safety

management) will also be implemented

during this time.

"We always demand high performance

and reactivity to our suppliers. BASS is

delivering to our satisfaction on targeted

budgets, and we have already started to

obtain benefits from their solutions,"

noted Frédéric Viet, deputy vice-president

of CMA SHIPS.

BASS installations for CMA CGM

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IMarEST benefits and services. The insti-

tute encourages Elective members to

upgrade to professionally recognised cate-

gories of membership in due course.

"Once anyone has taken this first

speedy step to membership, they can then

opt for formal recognition of their profes-

sional status via professional membership

and registration," said Graham Hockley,

head of professional affairs at IMarEST.

"Our new online facility immediately

links them to an established network of

15,000 marine science, engineering and

technology professionals, and enables

them to join one of 50 branches world-

wide, each with a local programme of

technical, scientific and social events, and

to special interest groups."

Online registration for IMarEST

www.marinesoftware.com

UK based Marine Software has completed

the supply of its Marine Planned

Maintenance, Marine Storekeeper, Marine

Purchasing System and Marine Safety

Manager systems to the Superstar, a

30,277gt recent addition to the Tallink/

Silja Line fleet.

Marine Software was contracted to

supply the software and set up the MPM

system during the build by Fincantieri in

Ancona, Italy, with the setup of the system

carried out at Marine Software's office fol-

lowing the supply of a comprehensive

range of information by the shipyard.

This allowed Fincantieri to deliver the

vessel with a fully populated planned

maintenance system as part of the new

build project.

Marine Software visited the vessel in

Ancona to inspect the Superstar and

finalise the database during the delivery

voyage, while crew training on the sys-

tems was also provided during the deliv-

ery voyage.

The planned maintenance system has

been integrated with the vessel's L3-

Valmarine monitoring system, to allow

the latest equipment running hours to

be automatically imported into the MPM

system.

The Superstar is now in operation

between Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki,

Finland, and Marine Software reports that

it has now also been contracted to set up

the planned maintenance on the Tallink's

latest vessel, the Baltic Princess.

Superstar installs Marine Software

www.bassnet.no

Software company BASS has released the

the latest version of its software package,

BASSnet 2.5, which aims to help users in

their management of risk, safety, self-

assessment (TMSA), and to ensure regula-

tory compliance.

The new modules launched in BASSnet

2.5 include BASSnet Risk Manager, BASSnet

Self Assessment (TMSA), and BASSnet

SAFIR - all fully integrated in BASSnet's

Fleet Management Systems. Like other

BASSnet modules, the new products are

developed on the Microsoft.NET platform.

Martin Bjoernebye, general manager of

BASS research and development, notes

that the success of BASS' product suite is

built on the company's 2002 decision to

migrate from Microsoft Visual Basic (and

its Microsoft Component Object Model) to

Microsoft.NET.

"Visual Basic is difficult to upgrade and

is plagued by compatibility issues," he said.

"Our goal was to streamline installa-

tion onboard and building our systems

on the Microsoft.NET platform has made

this possible."

BASS releases new software

www.shipserv.com

ShipServ has named Masterbulk as its

shipowner of the year at the ShipServ 2008

TradeNet Awards, for its contribution to

the e-commerce platform. Lagaay

International picked up the ship supplier

of the year prize.

The winners were picked from a short-

list of nominations originally submitted by

the TradeNet community of 115 buying

and 7,000 supply organisations. ShipServ

says that the awards represent an acknowl-

edgement of achievements in innovation,

and driving collaborative working best

practices with trading partners.

"The driving force behind ShipServ's

success has always been the innovation

developed by our community of buyers,

sellers and software partners," said

ShipServ founder and CEO Paul

Ostergaard.

"The TradeNet Awards highlight the

leaders in our community who have

demonstrated excellence and innovation

in using the TradeNet Platform."

ShipServ names e-commerceshipowner of the year

www.imarest.org

A new online registration system has been

introduced for prospective members of

the Institute of Marine Engineering,

Science and Technology (IMarEST), a

global professional membership organisa-

tion for marine science, engineering and

technology professionals.

An Elective Member can now join

the institute with a single click from

the 'Join the IMarEST Now' link at

www.imarest.org, which opens a list of

membership benefits and an application

form. Payment can be made by credit or

debit card.

Elective Member is an initial category

of membership providing access to

www.baltic99.com

The Baltic Exchange and Q88.com

have launched 'www.baltic99.com' , a

new website for the dry bulk shipping

industry that aims to improve accuracy

and efficiency when dry

bulk shipowners complete

and distribute vessel ques-

tionnaires to charterers and

port terminals.

In conjunction with the

launch, the Baltic Exchange

has revised Baltic99, its

standard dry cargo question-

naire for owners and charter-

ers. A new version is avail-

able for download from

www.baltic99.com.

This new website allows

for automatic completion of

required documentation by

linking 90 of the currently

required questionnaires to a

common database. In addi-

tion, the website also allows

the user to search the data-

base for specific information

about each vessel and to

keep track of certificate

dates.

Fritz Heidenreich, presi-

dent of Q88, noted: "This sys-

tem has been successfully used in the

tanker industry for the past seven years. It

was logical to expand the service to the

dry bulk industry as the need for ques-

tionnaires has grown and many of our

tanker customers have been asking us to

support dry bulk vessels as well."

Jeremy Penn, Baltic Exchange chief

executive, said: " We believe this system

offers real benefit to all users and are

delighted to be able to offer a discount to

Baltic Exchange members."

New subscribers can use this service at

no cost until January 1, 2009. Thereafter

each subscriber will be charged an annual

fee per ship.

Access to www.baltic99.com is via a

password-protected login.

Digital Ship


Questionnaire automation website launched for dry bulk market

www.mespas.com

Swiss-based company MES-

PAS reports that it has

released an enhanced ver-

sion of its fleet management

software.

The new reporting tool is

included in release 5.11 of

Mespas R5, which the com-

pany says is now available

for its customers.

This tool will make it

possible for users to gener-

ate reports from different

modules of the management

software.

The company also reports

that it is to release a new

module for users involved

with TMSA (Tanker

Management and Self

Assessment) as part of its

upcoming Mespas R5 release

5.12, to help companies with

their with quality manage-

ment.

MESPAS believes that this

module will assist tanker

operators in complying

with the restrictions of

OCIMF (the Oil Companies

International Marine Forum)

and to manage the assess-

ment process efficiently.

New modulefrom

MESPAS

SpecTec inCBM

partnershipwww.spectec.net

SpecTec has developed a

strategic alliance with the

UK marine services provider

James Fisher, to market and

deliver the 'Mimic' condition

based maintenance (CBM)

software offered by the

British company.

Mimic will interface with

SpecTec's AMOS software to

provide a fully integrated

CBM and CMMS

(Computerised Maintenance

Management System) solu-

tion, which will gather data

from the ship's machinery

equipment and use that data

to identify wear and tear and

any abnormalities in the

equipment's performance.

Mimic is already used to

supply maintenance and

related asset management

services to the UK Royal

Navy, with its condition

based maintenance system

installed on the majority of

the Navy's warships.

Since its acquisition in

October 2003 from WM

Engineering Ltd, the new

entity James Fisher Mimic,

led by general manager

Simon Forshaw, says it has

redeveloped and updated

the Mimic software to

improve its offering to the

commercial shipping sector.

SOFTWARE


www.bmtseatech.co.uk

BMT SeaTech has launched two new

software systems, with the release of

its SMARTSHORE and SMART POWER

programs.

SMARTSHORE is an office-based tool

that integrates with BMT's Ship-board

Monitoring, Analysis and Recording

Technologies (SMART) suite of software

products, allowing users to view, analyse

and compare data from ships fitted with

BMT's other SMART systems, on a single

or multi-ship basis, simultaneously.

Superintendents or Fleet Managers

can view information previously only

available on-board, and are able to report

or investigate a vessel's motions, struc-

tural response or performance, provid-

ing the necessary feedback to the Master.

Vessel data can be automatically sent

ashore at regular intervals, via an e-mail

attachment.

Reports can be customised to the

user's own individual requirements, and

data can be exported in common file for-

mats for use in spreadsheets or other

applications.

SMART POWER is a real-

time ship performance moni-

toring and analysis tool that

continuously records speed,

fuel consumption, shaft rpm

and torque, together with

navigational and environ-

mental parameters, in order

to present performance and

trends over time.

SMART POWER features

include continuous record-

ing of performance, naviga-

tional and environmental

parameters; graphical com-

parison of data (ship's speed,

shaft power, fuel consump-

tion etc.); graphical trends of

ship speed vs. power over

time; voyage benchmarking;

and an automated sea trials

function.

New analysis tools from BMT SeaTech

Digital Ship


www.voyagermaritime.com

Prime Income Asset Management, a

Dallas-based advisory and management

company to real estate and energy sector

companies managing over $2.5 billion in

assets, has become a minority owner in

Resurgence Software, a maritime software

development company.

Resurgence has developed a 'Voyager

Maritime Payment Solution', a new fuel

payment system for ocean going vessels.

The system has been created in partner-

ship with Lloyd's Register, which

already owns a subsidiary that provides

fuel testing and mediation services for

ocean going vessels, and US Bank

Voyager, a wholly-owned subsidiary of

US Bancorp, which also provides fleet

fuelling and maintenance cards for vehi-

cles and aircraft fuelling.

Daniel J. Moos, the president and chief

operating officer of Prime, introduced the

Resurgence Maritime program to US Bank

when he served as General Manager of the

combined Voyager and Multi Service

companies.

"With the strong and committed back-

ing of Prime Income Asset Management,

Lloyd's Register and US Bank Voyager,

Resurgence Software will undoubtedly

emerge as a leader in maritime payment

solution technology," says Mr. Moos.

"Having worked on the maritime pay-

ment program while employed at US Bank

Voyager, I am aware of its capabilities and

I am delighted to have the opportunity to

support Resurgence as they market this

marine payment system."

The Voyager Maritime Payment

Solution is used to grant credit terms to

shippers and generate payments to mer-

chants, and also includes a fuel testing

component for large bulk purchases of

fuel for ocean going vessels.

Resurgence says that, by arranging

credit instead of needing payments to be

made by cash or money order, this new

payment system will offer companies flex-

ibility in their payment options, as well as

the ability to conduct and manage their

assets in a more efficient manner.

K. Thomas Bubrig, president and chief

executive officer of Resurgence Software,

noted: "The maritime fuel industry is a

$165 billion dollar a year industry. Our

new maritime payment system will be the

first to consolidate this industry and pro-

vide an optimal solution for both the sup-

pliers and the buyers and will make us the

industry leader worldwide in maritime

payment solutions."

The new payment system is patent

pending.

Asset management firm buys into maritime software

www.infonic.com

Odfjell has agreed a contract for the pur-

chase of Infonic's Geo-Replicator network

acceleration software for deployment

across its 60-strong fleet, to deliver two-

way ship to shore updating of its Quality

and Safety Management System (QSMS).

The solution, developed for Odfjell by

Infonic's partner Confido, converts PDF

documents into HTML files, and then uses

the Geo-Replicator's differencing algo-

rithms to compress that HTML by over 90

per cent. This creates a fully collaborative,

PDF-based QSMS viable for ships at sea.

Odfjell will also deploy this technology

to replicate news and other websites to the

servers on board their ships at sea.

The news pages that are being replicat-

ed by Geo-Replicator look and feel exactly

as if the end user were accessing them

online. All buttons and search functions

work exactly as on the live site, but in real-

ity the content is being stored locally and

then updated when a satellite link is avail-

able.

Gunnar Eide, project manager at

Odfjell commented, "We wanted to com-

municate data between ship and shore

whilst reducing cost. We are using Geo-

Replicator to replicate news sites for our

crew at sea, and soon will be looking to

roll the project out to optimise a broader

range of data transmissions."

www.ocimf.com

The Oil Companies International Marine

Forum (OCIMF) has announced the

planned release of the latest version of the

Tanker Management and Self Assessment

(TMSA) programme, dubbed 'TMSA2',

which will feature an improved online

database to assist ship operators in their

quest for compliance.

This enhanced web-based database will

provide tools for recording internal assess-

ment results and selecting recipients for

TMSA data.

The OCIMF Secretariat says it will con-

tinue to provide hosting and technical

management to this database, but that

control over the release of the recorded

results still remains in the hands of the

ship operator, who will be responsible for

updating his own results as he progresses

through the programme stages.

Access to submit Self Assessments to

the online database will be controlled by

login IDs and passwords, via a software

licence subscription. In TMSA2 the sub-

scriptions can be taken out instantly on

the Web using a credit card through a

secure payment system, at a cost of £50

per year.

The database has been made accessible

to ship operators as of the 19th June,

which OCIMF says was to allow time for

the Assessments to be created in the new

format before the commencement of full

operation of TMSA2 on 1st July 2008.

Since this date the existing TMSA data-

base has no longer been accepting submis-

sions, but will remain open for 3 months

to allow operators to access their existing

data and send it to recipients if required.

Detailed information and instructions

for using the database is available on both

the OCIMF and TMSA websites.

Odfjell to install Infonic system

www.spectec.net

SpecTec has secured a contract with PT.

Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi Tbk.,

Indonesia, to supply AMOS Business Suite for

six vessels, as well as the company's office site.

These vessels comprise four product

tankers, a chemical tanker, and a dry bulker,

while an option for another seven vessels, on

the successful implementation of the initial

complement, has also been included.

The project began on June 2nd 2008,

with a two-week requirement study of PT.

Humpuss' business processes and work

procedures, including a requirements

study for each individual department.

PT. Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi

Tbk (HITS) is one of Indonesia's national

shipping companies, and owns and oper-

ates tankers for LNG, oil, and chemi-

cal/methanol, as well as container vessels,

tugs and barges.

Indonesian company to install AMOS

New database for TMSA2

www.aveva.com

AVEVA has reported that Namura

Shipbuilding Co. in Japan has recently

increased its number of licences for

AVEVA software.

Namura, a shipbuilder since 1911, spe-

cialises in bulk carriers, tankers and LPG

carriers. Current notable ships on order

are 250,000dwt very large ore carriers des-

ignated as 'WOZMAX'. The first WOZ-

MAX vessel is scheduled to be delivered

in 2010.

Tomoyuki Yamasaki, executive officer,

senior general manager of design depart-

ment, Namura Shipbuilding, said: "We see

great value in AVEVA solutions in reduc-

ing initial and production design man-

hours plus increasing overall efficiency in

our shipyard. Furthermore, we have great

trust in AVEVA's technical support."

Peter Finch, President, AVEVA Asia

Pacific, added: "For five decades, Japanese

shipbuilding companies like Namura

have contributed to the advancement of

maritime transportation and the world's

economic development. But with new

challenges posed by competitors, they

need the qualities that AVEVA solutions

offer to sustain a competitive advantage."

Japanese success for AVEVA

SOFTWARE


DDigital Ship recently held the first

ever conference about Shipdex, a

new data exchange protocol for

ship equipment information, which aims

to lead to the end of paper manuals on

ships. Shipdex stands for SHIP Data

EXchange.

The protocol covers all technical infor-

mation which is normally supplied to ves-

sels on paper, including equipment manu-

als, drawings, maintenance procedures,

and lists of spare parts.

Shipdex arose out of the frustration

which two leading shipping companies,

Grimaldi Naples and Intership

Navigation, were having with paper man-

uals, and their decision to do something

about it.

"We get 1.5 tons of paper with a new

vessel, including technical manuals, draw-

ings and specifications," said Grimaldi's

purchasing director Giancarlo Coletta. "It

is very hard to accept that, when EDI and

communication is state of the art, the ship-

ping industry should have this huge

amount of paper."

By having all of the data for a new ves-

sel provided electronically, Mr Coletta

estimates that he might be able to save as

much as 8 per cent on the total costs of

maintenance, because it will be much eas-

ier to manage efficiently.

"All the information you need, you can

pick up from your database exactly. We can

have access immediately to the information

and supply faster answers," he said.

"With so much paper onboard, it's very

hard to have rapid and quick access to

information when it's needed. Sometimes

technical manuals are a photocopy of an

old manual they got somewhere, and not

really consistent with the equipment they

are delivering."

"One vessel has 80 to 100 different

equipment manufacturers, with 700 to 900

components, up to 1000 parts per compo-

nent, and 33,000 different general stores."

With data provided in Shipdex format,

seafarers will be able to get much faster

answers to critical questions. "People ask -

we have 25 tonnes of cargo. Can we load

this on the vessel? Instead of searching

through your manuals, you can answer

immediately. It will be a great advantage

in my opinion," said Mr Coletta.

As well as its planned maintenance sys-

tems, Grimaldi anticipates using Shipdex

data in its quality management systems,

technical library and computer based

training systems.

There are plenty more benefits.

By receiving all the electronic data in

Shipdex format, you can also reduce the

enormous cost associated with manually

building an electronic maintenance sys-

tem for a new vessel - currently as much as

$20,000 per ship.

You can manage your spare parts much

better - so you are more likely to have the

spare parts onboard which you need, and

not have spare parts onboard you don't

need - and small percentage improve-

ments in spare parts management can lead

to big financial savings.

You can also keep your technical data

up to date easier - if a supplier sends out

an update to a manual, it can be automati-

cally incorporated in the shipboard elec-

tronic manual - no posting out pieces of

paper and wondering if they made it to

the right ship.

In future, Shipdex could do many won-

derful things - for example, to pass on

information to shipyards about what

equipment is onboard the ship, and store

this data in a standard format, as will be

required under IMO's forthcoming ship

recycling legislation.

It could be used to communicate data

with regulators, surveyors and suppliers,

about exactly what is on the ship, and any

problems with the equipment.

All of these things, of course, have the

potential to improve safety - if it is easier to

manage maintenance on the vessel, and

ship staff can find the right answers to their

questions much faster than they can with

paper, the whole ship should operate better.

So will Shipdex be embraced by the

maritime industry?

Till Braun, head of department - sales

projects, Germanischer Lloyd, and chair of

the conference, noted that there were rep-

resentatives of major shipping companies,

including BP Shipping and Maersk, pres-

ent at the conference, "with their eyes

wide open."

MacGREGOR, one of the world's

largest suppliers of hatch covers, cranes,

and equipment for RoRo ships and ports,

has already decided to wholeheartedly

commit to providing technical informa-

tion in Shipdex format. It will also use

Shipdex to manage the data about its man-

uals internally, so it can easily make

updates and make sure new equipment is

provided with the right manual, even if it

is in paper format.

Alfa Laval is another company embrac-

ing Shipdex, starting by making its manu-

als for separators available in Shipdex for-

mat, and then its manuals for freshwater

systems. MAN Diesel is also part of the

working group.

Grimaldi Naples and Intership

Navigation currently have 90 new vessels

on order between them, and will use their

purchasing leverage, as far as possible, to

try to cajole their suppliers and shipyards to

provide the manuals electronically.

One delegate from BP Shipping said

that he would consider trying to get

OCIMF (the Oil Companies International

Marine Forum) involved in Shipdex, using

the purchasing clout of oil companies to

encourage tanker companies to encourage

shipyards and equipment suppliers to

provide equipment manuals in Shipdex,

because it can potentially lead to

improved safety.

Maritime charts are currently making a

slow, but unstoppable, move from paper

to electronic. Won't ship manuals go the

same way?

S1000D - followingaviation

It helps that Shipdex is based on a stan-

dard called S1000D, which is used interna-

tionally in aviation and defence (including

naval vessels). All documentation in the

aviation and defence industry must be

written in the same standardised way, so

it can be easily imported into different

software systems (though this is a sug-

gested rather than mandatory inclusion,

and is dependent on contracts).

S1000D is sponsored by the Air

Transport Association of America (ATA),

the Aerospace and Defence Association of

Europe (ASD), and the Aerospace

Industries Association of America (AIA).

The document describing the standard is

more than 2600 pages long.

By using a standard developed for avi-

ation, it means the maritime industry can

take advantage of all of the software and

services already developed for S1000D. It

also means that many maritime equip-

ment suppliers are already providing

manuals in S1000D format, if they also

supply to the defence industry. Shipdex

expects to ultimately be an official part of

the S1000D organisation.

It won't be the first time the maritime

industry has followed aviation; vessel traf-

fic systems, voyage data recorders, auto-

matic identification systems, and using

English as a standard language were all

first done in the aviation industry and

subsequently adopted by shipping.

Convincing the shipyardsBut the biggest obstacle to Shipdex is

already clear - convincing the large mer-

Shipdex - providing ship technicalinformation electronically

The Shipdex protocol aims to introduce a standard that could revolutionise the way vessel maintenance databases

are constructed, improving safety and slashing costs. Digital Ship brought the founders of the project together

for a conference in Hamburg, to explore the future of Shipdex

Seeing Shipdex as a way to make life easier for shipping companies and suppliers: Bjorn

Stenwall, director, sales, marketing and major project unit at MacGREGOR, with Mats

Ottosson, strategic project manager, parts and service equipment, Alfa Laval

You just need two lines in your contract

with the shipyards to force them to

provide the technical information in

Shipdex format, said Marco Vatteroni,

SpecTec ILS manager and Shipdex

technical manager

chant marine shipyards, mainly in South

Korea and Japan, to provide their techni-

cal information in this format.

This also means convincing equipment

suppliers to provide technical information

in Shipdex format.

Theoretically, all a shipowner needs to

do to have all the technical information in

Shipdex format is insert a small clause into

the contract, stating that 'all

technical information should

be delivered in accordance

with the Shipdex protocol'.

This is what the Italian

Navy did with Italian ship-

yard Fincantieri, recalls

Marco Vatteroni, SpecTec

ILS manager and Shipdex

technical manager, who was

working at Fincantieri at the

time.

"There were just 2 lines in

the contract, saying that pub-

lications should be supplied,

generically, in electronic for-

mat" recalled Mr Vatteroni.

"It was at first a nightmare

for us to deal with different

formats. We convinced the

Italian Navy to change the

contract and adopt just one

electronic format based on

S1000D at no extra cost."

In Fincantieri's case, the

Italian Navy got its own

way, and ended up with

more electronic and stan-

dardised data than in the

past, Mr Vatteroni said. But

will a merchant marine ship-

ping company have a similar

amount of clout over its ship-

yards?

Naval shipbuilding con-

tracts are usually prestigious

and highly valued, so ship-

yards go a long way to win

them. Merchant marine

shipbuilding is the other end

of the extreme; shipyards

have their slots full for years,

and actively discourage

shipowners from any

bespoke requests.

Stories abound in the

industry illustrating ship-

yards' reluctance to provide

anything special for individ-

ual customers, such as the

shipowner who was asked to

pay a hundred thousand dol-

lars to have a staircase paint-

ed in a different colour.

And if shipyards don't

take their manuals very seri-

ously, then it is unlikely that

a smaller supplier, who only

sells direct to the shipyard

(and doesn't even use the

equipment), will take them

seriously.

The small suppliers also

often operate on low mar-

gins, and will be unwilling to

make investments in new

systems for manuals - they

would prefer to keep send-

ing out the same document

they have been making for

the last 20 years.

Safety benefitsWhen you realise the enormous safety

benefits that could accrue from having

manuals supplied electronically, you

might expect the International Maritime

Organisation to make it mandatory.

The primary safety benefit will be in

ships being better maintained - because

they have better maintenance manage-

ment systems, with data directly input

from the manufacturer's procedures.

A secondary safety benefit is that if

there is ever any problem, seafarers can

find out what to do about it much faster

from an electronic manual, than having to

look for the right page in 1.5 tons of paper.

"By having the information very

well structured and searchable, you can

quickly find the correct information for

the specific equipment," says Eva-Lisa

Martinsson, manager, Technical

Documentations Services, Competence

Centre Cranes, MacGREGOR, "You can

have the correct safety instructions for

particular equipment. If something hap-

pens, it's easy to find the right page in our

manuals."

Digital Ship


SOFTWARE


"If you have a question, how do I fix the

pump, it takes 1 minute instead of 10 mins

to find the answer," said Kay-Michael

Goertz, head of logistic procedures and IT

at HDW - ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

Managing sparesIf equipment information is supplied in

Shipdex format, shipowners can also load

the data about their spare parts automati-

cally into their purchasing systems - and

with better data in their purchasing sys-

tem, they can make sure they have the

right spare parts onboard and always

order the right spare parts.

Even if only a small percentage of your

spare parts are wrong, it is very expensive

and potentially dangerous.

There are many stories in the industry

of shipowners forced to airlift critical

parts, or charts, to a vessel by helicopter,

because they will be detained if they don't

have them.

By having a better database of your

spare parts, it is possible to do many new

things. For example, you might determine

that a supplier is trying to get you to buy a

spare part, which is only needed for one

procedure, and that procedure can only be

done by a dry dock - so there's no point in

buying it.

Better manualsA big hope for Shipdex is that it will

encourage suppliers to improve the quali-

ty of information in their manuals.

There is no guarantee that a manual

provided electronically will be of any bet-

ter quality than a manual supplied on

paper, but it should be easier to assess the

quality of an electronic manual, and so put

pressure on the supplier to improve it.

For example, a common problem with

today's manuals is that they have a refer-

ence to another manual, but the page in

the other manual doesn't exist any more or

can't be found. If the links are electronic,

the computer can alert you if there are any

broken links, so they will all need to be

kept up to date.

"Very often handbooks are absolutely

terrible quality. The information is rub-

bish. It's very difficult to find the informa-

tion you want," said Giampiero Soncini,

CEO of SpecTec.

"We got one supplier to agree with us - it

is impossible for crew to read what we have

delivered. Have you ever seen Japanese

handbooks translated into English?

Sometimes I'd rather read Japanese."

The reason manufacturers often do not

provide particularly good manuals today

is because they lack incentive - people

tend to buy equipment on the basis of its

price and fitness for purpose, not the qual-

ity of the manuals.

"97 per cent of negotiation (with the

manufacturer) is about 'are we getting

what we want for the price we want'," said

Dimitris Lyras of Lyras Shipping. "I don't

think manufacturers believe they get a

competitive advantage from the informa-

tion in their manuals."

Benchmarking anddashboards

Having better data should make it much

easier to compare one vessel with another,

so companies will have a better idea of

how well they are doing.

"We have one customer with 23 vessels,

each database is built by different people,"

said SpecTec's Mr Soncini. "So they are

completely different databases. It's impos-

sible to compare one ship with another."

Bob Kessler of ABS Nautical Systems

recalled a Dilbert cartoon, which showed a

manager asking for executive summary

information, or 'dashboards', but not car-

ing whether the underlying data is any

good or not, a scenario many in the mar-

itime industry will be familiar with.

"Everybody wants 'dashboards'," he

said. "But if you have bad data, you won't

get any useful dashboards."

Managing the servicebulletins

If all technical information is supplied in

Shipdex format, it should make it easier

for suppliers to update their manuals for

equipment in service.

Currently, the only way for suppliers to

update their manuals is to send out a

paper 'service bulletin' - but this isn't easy,

if you don't know exactly which ships are

using the equipment, there is no easy way

to post the bulletin to the ship, and you

have no way of knowing if it has been

received and is being read as needed.

It would be so much easier if the update

could be sent to the ship electronically,

and automatically incorporated into the

shipboard electronic manuals, with the

maintenance, spares and purchasing sys-

tems updated as required; and Shipdex

makes this possible.

This communication between supplier

and vessel could also be two ways - with

the vessel providing the supplier with use-

ful information about how well the equip-

ment is performing (both provided manu-

ally and electronically).

Neil Firth, chief technology officer with

electronic purchasing company ShipServ,

suggested that his company could poten-

tially assist here, by carrying manual

updates through its TradeNet hub, which

many vessels and equipment suppliers are

already connected to.

The benefit is the reduced amount of IT

integration which needs to be made. Every

time a vessel connects to a supplier, there

is IT work in doing the integration; and if

each vessel is connected to multiple equip-

ment suppliers, and each supplier is con-

nected to multiple vessels, that's a lot of

integration work. But if each vessel and

supplier connects once to TradeNet, no

further integrations are required.

Some suppliers may work on the basis

that they can send out updates by e-mail,

but Mr Firth pointed out that there are

many shortcomings to this, in particular

not knowing if the message has been

received.

"It's not a safe mechanism for delivery,"

he said. "With our process, you have an

audit process."

Building the databasefaster

Perhaps the benefit of Shipdex with the

biggest immediate impact on the

shipowner's bottom line is the reduced

cost of putting together a good mainte-

nance database on a new vessel.

Or, since only a small proportion of

shipowners are making this investment, it

means that the vessel can actually have a

really good maintenance system for the

first time.

Creating a good maintenance manage-

ment system using current methods is

very expensive.

Grimaldi Naples currently spends 2 to 4

months manually inputting data for each

new vessel it has, at a cost of around $20,000.

Other shipowners work with contrac-

tors to create a computerised maintenance

management system from the information

in the manuals.

Building a maintenance system from

the paper manuals involves "a lot of data

population steps; none of them very sim-

ple," said Dimitris Lyras, special advisor

to Ulysses Systems, a company which pro-

vides this service. "There's a million ways

to make errors."

"Someone has to understand the manu-

als - things aren't listed in the same way,"

he said. "People have to look at the manu-

als, mark them up, and have someone

extract the data. It's a bit like translating.

We have to abstract people's translations

into a common format."

"It takes 6-8 weeks to do. We get the

crates of manuals, then they have to be

opened, indexed, studied, copied,

repacked and sent back."

Don't expect much help from the ship-

yards, who put the manuals together.

"Shipyards don't find this stage important

or particularly interesting," he said.

Giampiero Soncini, CEO of SpecTec,

estimated that it takes 90 days (12 weeks)

to build a maintenance system for a new

tanker or bulk carrier from the paper doc-

uments; but if the data was available elec-

tronically, it would reduce to 2 days.

"If you do it in the Philippines, it may

cost $10,000, but you have to pay another

$10,000 to send the manuals there and get

them back, and you only have 1 set of

manuals," he said.

SpecTec currently earns $4m every year

from its manual data entry services, but

Mr Soncini would be happy if the compa-

ny didn't have to do it anymore. "We

could turn the 40-50 people who do it into

consultants and have them doing work

onboard instead," he said.

There are no real short cuts to putting

together a maintenance management sys-

tem, said Mr Soncini.

One unfortunate habit is for shipown-

ers to buy software with a so called 'skele-

ton database' already on it - which refers

to general equipment parts, not something

specific to the vessel.

They then discover that having a gener-

ic maintenance system is worse than use-

less, in that it tells seafarers to do tasks

which don't need doing, and doesn't tell

them what actually needs doing.

It takes 1 minute instead of 10 minutes

to find the answer to a critical question -

Kay-Michael Goertz, head of logistic

procedures and IT at HDW -

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems

Everyone wants management 'dashboards'

but they are only any use if the underlying

data is of good quality, pointed out Bob

Kessler, head of Europe, Middle East and

Africa with ABS Nautical Systems

ShipServ's technology could be used for

updates and service bulletins

- Neil Firth, ShipServ

The time to build a maintenance

database for a new vessel would

reduce from 90 days to 2 days

- Giampiero Soncini, CEO of SpecTec

At that point, the person who made the

decision to buy it typically looks for other

people to blame (such as the chief engi-

neer or the software company), instead of

blaming himself for buying the wrong

software, Mr Soncini said.

Also at that point, so much investment

has been made in trying to make the poor

quality software work, that there is a real

reluctance to throw it away

and start with something

better, although that is the

only way forward.

"It has a list of equipment

but with no information on

it," Mr Soncini said. "It is sold

for $2000. But people never

say 'I made a mistake' after

buying it."

Many companies invested

in maintenance systems to

meet their ISM requirements

in the late 90s, but invested

in a system which would get

the 'tick in the box', not a sys-

tem which would actually

provide value.

Futuredevelopment

There are plenty of ideas as

to how Shipdex could evolve

in the future to do more.

For example, it could be

useful in future for facilitating

communications between the

vessel and class, flag state and

shipowner, about any prob-

lems related to equipment.

"If you have an accident

on the vessel, you can talk to

class, flag state, owner, and

say '1567' and they know

which anchor winch isn't

working," suggested Till

Braun from Germanischer

Lloyd.

There are plenty of poten-

tial benefits to class societies,

who often have to communi-

cate a lot of information about

equipment, for example

between the class surveyors

and the equipment suppliers.

"We are all aware, such an

industry standard would

very much support our day

to day work," said Mr Braun.

"Class can see Shipdex as a

way to communicate with

manufacturers."

Bob Kessler, from ABS

Nautical Systems (a maritime

software company linked to

class society ABS), said that

ABS is already working to

develop a database system

which can gather information

automatically from survey-

ors, and it could use Shipdex

for this communication. "We

need it too," he said.

Dimitris Lyras, a director

of Lyras Shipping, suggested

that Shipdex could be used

as a basis for a wide range of

communications systems

related to ship equipment -

including enabling shipping

companies to check the ves-

sel is being operated safely. "Shipowners

need to know if someone is in the tank

who shouldn't be in the tank," he said.

Shipdex could be used to communicate

information about the status of box con-

tainers - for example, to enable people to

check that the refrigeration unit on their

container is still working ok, suggested

Kay-Michael Goertz, head of logistic pro-

cedures and IT at HDW - ThyssenKrupp

Marine Systems.

There were suggestions that Shipdex

could be used as a tool to communicate

navigation information - connecting the

navigation equipment with suppliers of

navigation services and electronic charts -

and possibly linking in with IMO's

"e-Navigation" initiative.

Shipdex, pdfs and paperMany of us have used manuals supplied

electronically as a pdf, and it is important

to emphasise the difference between

Shipdex and a pdf manual.

A pdf is an electronic document.

However, unlike the digital display of a

paper document you get with a pdf, where

the computer cannot understand the infor-

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SOFTWARE


mation contained within, a Shipdex

dataset contains chunks of text, data and

drawings, which the computer can under-

stand and utilise in different ways.

Different pieces of software are avail-

able which can be used to put these

chunks of information together to display

it or create an electronic document from it

(which could also be a pdf).

But the information can additionally be

imported into maintenance and purchas-

ing systems. So, for example, you might

want to import information about recom-

mended intervals between maintenance

for a certain item into your maintenance

system. When it is time for the mainte-

nance task, the software can automatically

display information about the necessary

procedures, show you the diagrams, and

also arrange for the right spare parts to be

ordered, via your purchasing system.

An equipment supplier might also

choose to manage their manuals within the

company by keeping the data in Shipdex

format, and then using this data, with

appropriate software, to create a conven-

tional looking manual when needed by the

customer - which can be provided as a pdf

or on paper. MacGREGOR plans to manage

its manuals internally in this way.

Having an electronic manual does not

mean you can only read it on screen.

Screens are not a particularly good way to

provide information to someone doing a

maintenance task; so it is likely that sea-

farers will still want to print the informa-

tion out and take it with them on paper

when they do the maintenance.

But there is a lot of difference between

a printout from an electronic manual, and

using a paper manual.

You can find the information you need

much more quickly if it is electronic, than

you can from one cubic metre of manuals.

You can also update and work with the

data much more easily if it is supplied

electronically. Then you can throw the

paper away when you've finished with it -

it doesn't matter if it gets covered with

engine oil.

"People must have the capability to

print," said Kay-Michael Goertz, head of

logistic procedures at shipbuilder HDW -

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. "You can

print out A4 cards and take it with you

when you are working."

Getting too much data?One possible pitfall with Shipdex is that

shipping companies could get besieged

with so much data they don't know what

to do with it.

To take an extreme example - a simple

blender in a galley could have 100 differ-

ent parts in it, any of which could poten-

tially fail. If you received your manual for

the blender in Shipdex format, and it was

completely comprehensive, should you

import data for all of those spare parts into

your purchasing system, knowing that

you are very unlikely to want to order any

of them over the lifetime of the equipment

- ever bought a spare part for a blender?

Bob Kessler, head of Europe, Middle

East and Africa with ABS Nautical

Systems, had an interesting solution to

this problem - look at your historical pur-

chasing data, and see which parts you

Building a maintenance database

manually, as it is done today, involves a

million different steps, none of them very

simple - Dimitris Lyras, special advisor,

Ulysses Systems

MacGREGOR, one of the world's largest

suppliers of vessel hatch covers, cranes,

and solutions for cargo lashing, bulk han-

dling, offshore load-handling and naval

logistics, is the first ship supplier to

wholeheartedly embrace Shipdex, seeing

it as a way to make life easier for itself

and its customers, and also to differenti-

ate itself in the market.

"We decided to go for the standard and

use it for all our manuals in the future," said

Björn Stenwall, director, sales, marketing

and major project unit at MacGREGOR.

"We are convinced this is a good thing

to do. A common standard is what we

need for sure."

"When we started we were a bit scep-

tical," he admitted. "But then we made

quite good decisions about it, and put in

good resources to get it going."

Mr Stenwall explained how having

manuals as electronic data could lead to

savings in many different areas.

"With Shipdex, shipowners can

improve spares and maintenance costs.

They know what to buy and what to

maintain," he said.

Shipdex can help reduce storage costs,

by helping companies build better sys-

tems to keep track of what they have in

stock. "We have over 35,000 articles in

stock and don't necessarily know what

we have onboard after a while," he said.

Shipowners might be able to reduce

their insurance costs, or they can demon-

strate they are keeping their equipment

better maintained.

A standard protocol should certainly

be able to help reduce maintenance costs.

"Maintaining all the documents on a ship

takes a lot of administration," he said.

There could also be savings on the

crew cost. "The crew must be very frus-

trated in the situation they are in today -

they don't know what to do or when to

do it," said Mr Stenwall.

Typical operating costs for a vessel

today are 47 per cent crew, 20 per cent

spares and maintenance, 12 per cent

administration, 10 per cent insurance and

11 percent lubrication and storage, so you

can see how Shipdex might impact total

operating costs (which are themselves 56

per cent of the lifetime cost of ownership

of a typical ro-ro vessel).

"If we decide 100 per cent of our man-

uals should be available in a structured

way, I am more and more convinced the

pay off will be there," he said.

Mr Stenwall used a Rubik's cube to illus-

trate the complexity of managing all the

information about equipment on a ship. "A

Rubik's cube has 27 small cubes and 6 sides,

and I couldn't solve it," he said.

By comparison, "a ship might have 100

suppliers, with 800 different pieces of

equipment, with 100 different parts in

each one."

Katarina Munter, manager, technical

documentations services, competence

centre RORO with MacGREGOR, told the

story of how MacGREGOR became

involved in Shipdex.

"We started on this because we were

invited by our customers and were curious

about where this was heading," she said.

"We wanted to have influence on this

new standard, and we wanted to have

some positive PR."

MacGREGOR expects to reduce some

of its document production costs from

using Shipdex.

"By using Shipdex we should reduce

our document type definition (DTD)

development costs," said Ms Munter.

"It is time consuming and costs a lot of

money to make manuals - also it's really

seen as a contractual obligation."

Shipdex should also make it easier to

communicate changes in the manuals to

customers.

At the moment, "we have trouble com-

municating changes to the customer, and

it's very hard to know if an update has

reached the customer," she said. "We don't

have a natural way to send out the

updates."

"There is a possibility of misunder-

standing between suppliers and the end

user, because it is so hard to get updates

to the customer."

"We have a problem getting feedback

from the end user," she said.

Meanwhile Eva-Lisa Martinsson,

Manager, Technical Documentations

Services, Competence Centre Cranes,

MacGREGOR, has also been experiment-

ing with Shipdex and is pleased with

what she has discovered so far.

"We see our information in a new

way," she said. "We see that by changing

our way of working to XML, we have a

lot of opportunity to make our way of

working much better."

"We can make producing our manuals

more secure and faster. By decreasing the

manual work involved in making manu-

als, we get less errors. We know we have

the correct information in our manuals.

There is less cost and administrative

work doing the manuals."

"We also see - this thinking fits very

well into the product lifecycle manage-

ment system (PLM)," she said. "A good

PLM system, using Shipdex as the stan-

dard, will make our lives better."

MacGREGOR is currently developing

a new product lifecycle management sys-

tem, which will connect with its docu-

mentation system and use Shipdex data

protocols.

Ms Martinsson is particularly pleased

about the improved two way communi-

cation between buyer and supplier which

Shipdex should help facilitate. "Putting

out information that we have should real-

ly be automatic," she said.

"We will have a closer relationship

between the supplier and shipowner. We

know what we have onboard and can

supply the correct spare parts. The key to

success is close co-operation between

buyers and suppliers."

We wanted to have influence on this new

standard, and we wanted to have some

positive PR - Katarina Munter, manager,

technical documentations services,

competence centre RORO with

MacGREGOR

We decided to go for the standard and

use it for all our manuals in the future,"

- Björn Stenwall, director, sales,

marketing and major project unit at

MacGREGOR.

MacGREGOR - the first supplier to embrace Shipdex

Digital Ship


have bought in the past, and only add

these to your purchasing system.

Or, maybe one of the companies which

operates maritime electronic

purchasing systems, such as ShipServ,

could be persuaded to provide informa-

tion about which spare parts the whole

shipping industry has purchased; you

could reconcile the list of spare parts for

your equipment against the

list of

spare parts purchased by

shipping companies before,

and those are the ones you

put in your purchasing man-

agement system.

Expanding theuser group?

One possibly controversial

decision by the operators of

Shipdex has been to deny

new members the chance to

join the protocol mainte-

nance group, on the basis

that it will make decision

making too slow.

Giampiero Soncini, CEO

of SpecTec, has said that he

would not have gone ahead

with developing the protocol

if more companies had been

involved in the outset,

because the amount of work

would have been much

greater.

This is a decision which

may need to be changed over

time. It is hard to imagine a

big shipyard such as

Hyundai agreeing to provide

all of its manuals in Shipdex

format without a seat on the

protocol maintenance group

(although the protocol main-

tenance group will aim to

take into consideration

requests from Shipdex mem-

bers).

Having said that, if the

shipyard doesn't want to use

Shipdex, it does have the

option of using the full ver-

sion of S1000D, the 2,600

page document being used

in aviation and the defence

industry, which Shipdex is

based on and will be compat-

ible with.

The Shipdexorganisation

There is a membership fee

for joining Shipdex - Euro

2,500 initially, and Euro 500

per year after that.

Shipdex is technically a

non profit making company

owned by shipowners

Grimaldi and Intership navi-

gation. The fee is used to

maintain the company -

which will employ staff to

run the Shipdex website, and

answer questions.

For this fee, you do not

automatically get access to

the manuals, but you buy the

rights to use the Shipdex pro-

tocol in your software, which

enables you to use Shipdex documents.

Of course, there is nothing technically

stopping you from using Shipdex with-

out paying the fee, but without paying

the fee you do not have a voice in the

development of the protocol, and you

cannot access the documentation which

describes how to make documents in

Shipdex standard.

Live demonstrationA live demonstration of Shipdex was

presented at the conference by SpecTec

and Hico, of the first two software appli-

cations which have been developed to

use the protocol.

In one example, SpecTec's AMOS data

manager software was used to validate

Shipdex datasets, and create a Virtual

Publication Structure.

In the second example, the Shipdex data

was imported into AMOS, and used to

automatically create the relevant database.

Further technical information about the

protocol was presented at the conference

by Marco Vatteroni, and can be down-

loaded from the Shipdex website

www.shipdex.com. DS


ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION NEWS

Croatia has released 14 new ENC cells in

the coastal navigation band, expanding

existing coverage of the Adriatic Sea.

Primar says that the charts have been

made available to users in its base CDs

released in week 26 (23-29 June).

Guido Speelman has been appointed

general manager of Radio HollandNetherlands, Rotterdam, with his

predecessor, Paul Smulders, moving

into the position of global operations

manager for the Group at its Dutch

headquarters.

The US Coast Guard's AMVER(Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel

Rescue System) service has recently cele-

brated 50 years in operation. AMVER is a

global reporting system used to collect

information to assist in search and rescue

missions, by identifying other ships in the

area of a ship in distress.

PureBallast, Alfa Laval's chemical-

free system for ballast water treatment,

has received full Ballast Water Type

Approval from DNV on behalf of

Norwegian authorities. The certification

confirms that PureBallast complies with

pending ballast water treatment legisla-

tion from the IMO.

Comark Corporation has released

the first in a new line of large screen dis-

plays for the maritime industry. The

MDU37 is a 37-inch LCD display designed

to meet various maritime standards, and is

expected to receive ABS certification later

this year.

BMT Group Ltd has announced the

appointment of Jim Davis as President of

its subsidiary company, BMT SyntekTechnologies Inc., based in Virginia,

USA. Before joining BMT, Mr Davis

worked for a number of technology

companies, such as Northrop-Grumman Ship Systems and IBMCorporation, as well as completing

twenty years service for the US Navy.

MaxSea has launched the newest ver-

sion of its navigation software, MaxSea

X7. MaxSea X7 is designed to work with

Furuno’s FAR2xx7 radar series, provid-

ing radar overlay on navigation charts and

direct control of the radar from the navi-

gation software. The system can control

two different radar types, allowing the

user to switch between them by clicking

on an icon, and integrates a number of

other navigation tools.

New Croatian ENCs are now available

MaxSea's navigation software allows users to switch between radar displays with one click

www.primar.org

www.radiohollandgroup.com

www.amver.com

www.alfalaval.com

www.comarkcorp.com

www.bmt.org

www.maxsea.fr

Vroon agrees ECDIS dealwww.pcmaritime.co.uk

Lilley & Gillie has been awarded a con-

tract by SELEX Communications to pro-

vide PC Maritime Navmaster ECDIS sys-

tems for installation aboard three field

support vessels, now being built by

Astilleros Zamakona in Bilbao, Spain, for

Vroon Offshore Services Ltd (VOS).

The new contract is in addition to six

Navmaster ECDIS systems that were

ordered in 2006 for installation on a

series of six new 1,500grt offshore sup-

port vessels originally ordered from

Zamakona by Aberdeen-based Viking

Offshore Services.

The first of these ships was delivered

in December 2006 and the last is due to be

handed over in March 2009.

In May 2007, Viking Offshore Services

was acquired by Vroon BV, thus creating

one of the largest offshore support fleets in

Europe. The company now operates as

Vroon Offshore Services Ltd.

VOS currently operates a total of 59

vessels from bases in Aberdeen, Scotland;

Den Helder, The Netherlands; and Genoa

in Italy, and has a total of 23 new build

vessels on order.

Its fleet includes conventional and

multi-role emergency response and rescue

vessels, platform supply, anchor handling,

and dive support and utility vessels, oper-

ating principally in the North Sea and the

Mediterranean.

SELEX Communications is responsible

for the entire bridge outfit on these nine

VOS ships.

The ECDIS systems to be installed fea-

ture remote diagnostics, voyage data

recording and replay, route planning, and

companion training software to assist

companies in providing cost-effective

ECDIS training.

Vroon is to install PC Maritime's Navmaster ECDIS on three field support vessels

ShipDecision is a trademark of Stelvio Inc.

Connect.Communicate.Control.

ShipDecision is the software solution. With access through asecure web portal, you can communicate with business part-ners around the world and electronically exchange all of yourcritical information. A “vault” feature ensures that everymessage, form and document exchanged is stored in digitalformat so that it can be retrieved rapidly when it is required.

ShipDecision technology does not make you change the wayyou conduct business. What it does deliver are significantimprovements in productivity, efficiency and accuracy.

Developed with extensive input from shipping industrypartners, the system features fully integrated modulesdesigned specifically for Owners, Operators, Charterers,Agents, Brokers, Surveyors and Insurers.

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Visit www.shipdecision.com and take a look at what ShipDecision can do for you. Or contact us to arrange an on-line demonstration. [email protected] +1 514 281 8570

In the highly regulated world of maritime shipping, exchanging and retrievinginformation and essential documentation is a tremendous operational challenge.



www.transas.com

A new ECDIS classroom simulator has

been officially opened at the Szczecin

Maritime Academy in Poland.

The host of the opening ceremony for

the Transas NTPro 4000 Virtual Bridge

Simulator was the Institute of Marine

Navigation, represented by Dr Janusz

Uriasz, with Prof Boleslaw Kuzniewski

performing the honours in starting up the

equipment for the first time.

The simulator consists of 16 user and 2

instructor stations, with each user station

equipped with a full 3D view (360° visual-

isation), one of four selectable radars

(Nucleus 4000, Furuno, BridgeMaster,

BridgeMaster Pro), and a steering console

individually designed for every vessel.

The ECDIS console included with the

system is equipped with ENC (electronic

navigational charts), ARCS (raster charts)

and Transas charts.

"These types of simulator are able to pro-

vide a wide range of educational courses.

The main aim of such courses is to increase

the safety at sea through a proper educa-

tional process covering ECDIS usage," said

Dr Andrzej Bak, chief mate and head of the

Marine Navigation Institute.

"In order to achieve satisfactory results,

we need to give officers the correct

knowledge, accurately supported by

hardware and software. It creates an

understanding of the rules and interde-

pendence in ECDIS systems."

New ECDIS simulator for Polish AcademyHapag-Lloyd to install Condition Based Monitoringwww.rovsing-dynamics.com

Hapag-Lloyd is to install a bearing wear

monitoring system from Rovsing

Dynamics on six new mega containerships,

after tests on three vessels in service.

The company hopes to save time, cost

and manpower with the predictive main-

tenance solution, by avoiding open-up

inspections. A spokesperson for Hapag-

Lloyd noted: "Online condition monitor-

ing provides a significant potential of sav-

ing cost plus reducing the risk and cost of

open-up induced damages."

Six months ago Rovsing Dynamics

installed its OPENpredictor solution on

three 4,000 TEU Hapag-Lloyd container-

ships in service since 2002, Dublin

Express, Glasgow Express and Liverpool

Express.

Besides online monitoring of the 9-

cylinder Wärtsilä engines, the system also

monitors the vessels' Napier turbocharg-

ers. It detects signs of bearing wear and

other machinery faults at an early stage,

and issues warnings with automatic fault

identification (AutoDiagnosis) and predic-

tion of lead time to inspection.

Following the successful field test,

Hapag-Lloyd has now decided that each

of the 12-cylinder MAN B&W main

engines of its six new mega containerships

under construction are also to be equipped

with OPENpredictor bearing wear

monitoring.

The new 8,750 TEU containerships will

be identical to the recently named Kuala

Lumpur Express. It is among the world's

largest and holds Germanischer Lloyd's

"Environmental passport", issued to envi-

ronmental friendly new buildings with

state-of-the art technology.

Six Hapag-Lloyd mega containerships will install the Rovsing Dynamics monitoring system

www.transas.com

Transas has agreed a deal to supply its

Navi-Sailor ECDIS (electronic chart dis-

play information system) to 25 newbuild

vessels for Columbia Ship Management

(CSM).

Eleven of the vessels are being con-

structed at the Aker MTW Shipyard at

Wismar in Germany, with the other four-

teen being built at GWS Guangzhou

Wenchong Shipyard in China.

The CSM vessels will deploy the chart

system fully prepared with hardware for

ECDIS operation. The installation set con-

sists of one 23-inch TFT-ECDIS worksta-

tion in the navigation console and one 19-

inch TFT-ECDIS desktop workstation at

the chart table, with LAN-interconnection

between both stations.

All ECDIS-required sensor interfaces are

connected to both stations independently

for redundancy, and Transas will supply its

TX-97 world chart folio for each vessel.

The selected hardware configuration

will allow easy upgrade to full dual-

ECDIS in the future, should the company

require it.

Transas also reports that it has received

an order to supply, install and commission

a Vessel Traffic Management Information

System (VTMIS) for Mina Khalifa Bin

Salman Port (KBSP) in Bahrain.

KBSP is being developed by Bahrain at

Hidd across the harbour from the existing

Mina Salman Port.

The new port is scheduled to start oper-

ating at the end of 2008, and will comprise

900,000 sq m of container terminal/gener-

al cargo area, 10,800 ground slots for ter-

minal storage, and 1800m of

berthing length for contain-

er, conventional /Ro-Ro

cargo and passenger vessels.

The VTMIS will feature a

coastal radar with a 19-ft

antenna, that is proposed for

installation on top of a

BAPCO tower located across

the harbour, to monitor and

control approaching traffic.

An additional 12 ft radar

was also proposed for instal-

lation on top of the KBSP

control tower for better

tracking in the immediate

area surrounding the port.

The VTMIS configuration

also includes provision of

CCTV cameras, meteorologi-

cal sensors for wind speed,

direction, visibility, tide and

currents information.

All data would be pro-

vided at the control tower

via two operators, and also

remotely to the port regula-

tors and other interested

government bodies, once

the system is complete. It

has also been proposed

that the meteorological

information will be provid-

ed remotely at the Port

Pilots Office.

Transas ECDIS and VTMIS contracts

You trust your crew, depend on your gear and as an experienced mariner you have

confidence in yourself. But from experience you know that you can’t rely on the weather.

The sea can be your best friend, but bad weather can turn it out to be your worst enemy.

e vessel and the crew it is important that the navigator plans

o account the best weather forecast data available.

rNav may be the best solution for you, as it is for an

umber of seafarers around the globe.

For more information contact:Jeppesen Norway AS, Tel:+ 47 51 46 47 00E-mail: [email protected] - www.c-map.no

jeppesen.com

If you can’t rely on the weather...

t in Weather Services from Jeppesen Marine

tegrated solution that proposes a safe route

on detailed charts and weather forecast data

dedicated forecast by setting your own alarms

y compressed data files for quick downloading

ys up-to-date with charts and latest weather

downloading and browsing of weather data

sel a

n to

her

g nu

r mppemai

int

sed

p d

ghly

way

sy d

Alternative routes can also be provid-

ed, allowing the master to make better

informed decisions on final voyage plans.

"We are always looking to expand our

range of products and services which

bring benefit to our customers," said

Glenn Heathcote, managing director of

both Lilley & Gillie and DPM.

"We are confident that SPOS will

enhance our range and enable us to offer

both an easy-to-use and highly reliable

weather forecasting service."

Lilley & Gillie and DPM are both mem-

bers of the Charente Group.

Digital Ship

Digital Ship Ship August 2008 page 25

Jeppesen and BSH complete XML pilot study

ORBCOMM has successfully launched six AIS-equipped satellites

www.orbcomm.com

ORBCOMM has successfully launched

six AIS-equipped satellites (a Coast

Guard Concept Demonstration satellite

and five Quick Launch satellites) after the

Cosmos 3M rocket carrying the compa-

ny's payload blasted off at 10:36am

Moscow time (06:36 GMT) from Kapustin

Yar, in the Astrakhan Region, on June 19.

The satellites are equipped with

Automatic Identification System (AIS)

technology to receive and report trans-

missions from AIS-equipped maritime

vessels from anywhere within the satellite

coverage area, information which is

expected to be of major interest to author-

ities interested in Long Range

Identification and Tracking (LRIT) in the

marine domain.

ORBCOMM says it intends to market

this AIS data to US and international coast

guards and government agencies, as well as

to companies whose businesses require ship

tracking and other navigational activities.

These satellites represent the first stage

of a multi-year satellite upgrade plan,

which ORBCOMM says now makes it the

only satellite company providing world-

wide commercial AIS data services.

Space-based AIS satellites blast off

> NAVIGATION > POSITIONING > MANOEUVRING > AUTOMATION > DETECTION > COMMUNICATION > HYDROACOUSTICS

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www.km.kongsberg.com

THE FULL PICTURETHE FULL PICTURE

www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com

Sperry Marine has announced the comple-

tion of a major expansion of its commer-

cial marine service operations in

Shanghai, China, with additional spares

inventory, and technical and administra-

tive staff, to serve the local market.

The two-year development programme

involved the expansion of Sperry Marine's

commercial marine service facility in

Shanghai to over 4,700 square feet, more

than doubling the number of staff and

establishing a full complement of

depot spares.

Sperry Marine says is now able to pro-

vide better shipboard service for bridge

navigation and communication electron-

ics in China. The spares inventory is sup-

plemented, replenished and distributed

throughout the region by the company's

Asia-Pacific Distribution Centre in

Singapore.

The service operation in China is now

fully capable of performing installations of

integrated bridge systems and other

Sperry Marine equipment at all of the

country's major commercial shipyards.

Sperry Marine expands Chinese operations

www.lilleyandgillie.co.uk

www.dpm.co.uk

Admiralty chart agents Lilley & Gillie and

DPM have teamed up with weather com-

pany Meteo Consult to provide weather

forecasting data to their customers by

offering Meteo Consult's Ship

Performance Optimisation System (SPOS)

with their chart services.

SPOS is an onboard weather advisory soft-

ware tool that provides wind, sea and swell

forecasts, and ocean current, hurricane/

typhoon and ice formation data twice daily.

Chart agents to offer weather services

www.jeppesen.com

Jeppesen Marine and Bundesamt für

Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH)

have concluded a pilot project that tested

the feasibility of converting BSH sailing

directions content into Jeppesen print,

online and data presentations that BSH

certified as preserving the BSH content.

The findings of the study have been

presented to the IHO Standardisation of

Nautical Publications Working Group

(SNPWG).

During the study Jeppesen Marine

defined an XML solution, converted the

sample sailing directions content to a sin-

gle XML repository, and produced print,

web and CSV data extract output that pre-

serve the BSH source content.

BSH provided sample updates to the

sailing directions and Jeppesen applied

the updates in the XML repository and

demonstrated the ability to produce

updated versions of the three prototype

encapsulations.

While the scope of this pilot was limit-

ed, the companies say that the evidence

supports the conclusion that the industry

could benefit right away by utilising

aspects of the SNPWG object model and

the recommendations of the study.

"This was a very important project that

demonstrates how private companies and

hydrographic offices can work together

for the good of the marine industry," said

Michael Bergmann, director, Jeppesen

Marine Hydrographic Services.

"Jeppesen Marine is dedicated to build-

ing upon our working relationship with

BSH, as well as fostering additional rela-

tionships with hydrographic offices

around the world."

ting up a server that could accept streams

from the equipment.

Once this data is received, the system

allows the scientists working on the proj-

ect to view and store data simultaneous-

ly and account for vessels missed

by AIS using Radar in a geographic

database.

The system can be viewed in real-time

at http://ais3.siitech.net/VTSLite, detail-

ing the site around Virginia Beach where

the test project has been ongoing.

If the periodic survey has been com-

pleted, an example of the service can be

seen at www.siitech.net/VTS (free regis-

tration required) by running the History at

July 14, 2008 08:00 a.m.

www.siitech.net

Canadian company SiiTech reports that it

has launched a new service for displaying

real-time Radar-ARPA targets on the web.

SiiTech believes that it is the first com-

pany in the industry to offer this type of

technology.

The company has recently been work-

ing with the Virginia Aquarium and New

England Aquarium in the US, who have

been working on a group project to evalu-

ate the ship traffic in the Chesapeake

Bay area.

An AIS receiver and Radar were

installed on a high elevation fixed loca-

tion in Virginia Beach, with SiiTech set-

SiiTech launches online Radar-ARPA targeting



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able to detect the slick on short pulse with a

conventional X band radar at a distance of 1

nautical mile. The second spill of 2,400 litre

oil-in-water emulsion was detected at 1 nau-

tical mile using both the X and S-band radars.

The third test involved a 600 litre oil-in-

www.ruttertech.com

Rutter Technologies reports that an inde-

pendent trial to test the viability of its Sigma

S6 Radar processing system for oil slick

detection has been successful, showing that

the system could detect oil on the sea sur-

face from a moving vessel using conven-

tional marine X-band and S-band radars.

The trial was carried out with the per-

mission of the Norwegian government

under the supervision of the Norwegian

Clean Seas Association for Operating

Companies (NOFO) and the Norwegian

Coastal Administration, and was hosted by

the Norwegian Coastguard. Planning and

reporting was conducted by Norconsult.

Three individual tests were conducted

in an area north of Andoya Island,

Norway, with initial winds of ENE 7-9m/s

and sea state 4. Later in the trial (into the

second test) the wind calmed to 4-5m/s

and the sea state fell to 2-3.

The first test involved a 1,200 litre oil-in-

water emulsion spill, where the Sigma S6 was

Rutter completes oil spill radar detection trialshas shown yet another application for the

S6. Using Rutter's Sigma S6 radar proces-

sor, a vessel can now reliably detect and

track an oil slick. As well, the technology

enables the vessel to track an oil slick at

night or in low visibility conditions."

water emulsion spill with the slick being

detected using the X-band radar. All spills

were detected while the ship was moving.

Byron Dawe, president of Rutter

Technologies, products division, comment-

ed: "We are extremely pleased that this trial

Rutter's Sigma S6 radar processing system detected oil spills on both X-band and S-band radar, while the vessel was moving

fishing activity in UK waters.

The SAFFIRE system is used to deter-

mine which vessels are not reporting via

satellite as well as ensuring closed areas,

and other relevant regulations, are

observed. Any transgressions will then be

investigated using air support, patrol ves-

sels and land based staff in ports.

"We could be tracking anything up to

1000 vessels per day in UK waters," com-

mented Adam Jarrett, UK project leader

for the Vessel Monitoring System for the

Marine and Fisheries Agency.

"The system has to be extremely reli-

able because we have to constantly moni-

tor activity on all vessels over 15 metres in

UK waters as well as provide onward

reporting of UK vessels to meet our obli-

gations to other Member States and third

party countries. The SAFFIRE system has

been designed for us to specifically meet

these requirements, and that is the reason

that we have chosen to extend the contract

until 2012."

www.cybit.co.uk

Telematics company Cybit has announced

that its BlueFinger maritime division has

signed a contract extension with the UK

Department for Environment, Food and

Rural Affairs (DEFRA), acting on behalf of

the UK Fisheries Departments.

The UK Fisheries Departments will

continue to use the BlueFinger satellite

tracking system (SAFFIRE) to monitor

fishing activity in UK waters until 2012.

The system is currently being used to

monitor fishing activity by EC and third

party country vessels in UK waters, as

well as to track all British vessels over 15m

in length around the world.

Since 1999, it has been a legal require-

ment for fishing vessels over 24 metres

(over 15m from 2004) in UK waters to

report in via satellite every two hours. It is

also a legal requirement that the UK

Fisheries Departments have in place a

platform to enable the monitoring of this

UK extends Bluefinger contractever expanding role to play in improving

navigational integrity and accuracy.

Furthermore, increasing use of real and

virtual AtoNs (Aids to Navigation) will

undoubtedly improve the information

available to the mariner. With ever more

information to process and react to, it is

vital that the operators understand how

their responses need to evolve in order to

make use of the extra data.

This book attempts to assess the new sys-

tems approach to onboard integration and

conveys complex information in a clear style.

'Radar and AIS' was formally launched

on 24th July at the Inmarsat Building in

London, published by the Nautical

Institute as Volume 1 of its Integrated

Bridge Systems series. It will be sold for

£20 from The Nautical Institute, at

www.nautinst.org.

Members of the Nautical Institute and

Royal Institute of Navigation are offered a

30 per cent discount, while bulk discounts

are also available.

www.nautinst.org

Digital Ship's resident navigation expert

Andy Norris has launched a new book,

detailing some of the latest advancements

in navigation technology.

'Radar and AIS' by Dr Norris builds on

the basic radar theory and target tracking

knowledge that seagoing officers already

have - while looking ahead into the future

where New Technology (NT) radars are

hoped to provide significantly enhanced

performance.

From the 1st July 2008, all new radars

required mandatory AIS (automatic iden-

tification system) integration. While much

effort has gone into ensuring that AIS,

radar and chart information is consistent,

with uniform symbols and a standard res-

olution, operators still need guidance and

instruction.

This new guide argues that mariners

will be better equipped with AIS integrat-

ed into radar displays, and that AIS has an

Radar and AIS - book launch

Digital Ship


and organise vessel movements in the

ports of Abbot Point and Lucinda."

Detailed planning of the Maritime

Safety Queensland Vessel Traffic Service

centre has already begun, with building

expected to begin later this year and the

centre to become operational early in 2010.

Maritime Safety Queensland will also

relocate the Great Barrier Reef and Torres

Strait Vessel Traffic Service (ReefVTS)

from Hay Point south of Mackay to the

new Townsville Vessel Traffic Service

centre.

There are about 7000 ship movements

each year through Torres Strait and the

350,000 square kilometre Great Barrier

Reef, and some 30,000 smaller vessels

active in the region.

Australian Transport Minister John Mickel

has announced a AUS$5 million allocation

for the construction of a Vessel Traffic

Service centre to monitor shipping move-

ments on the North Queensland coast.

The port of Townsville, which will host

the centre, had over 1400 vessel move-

ments last year, while nearby areas Abbot

Point and Lucinda experienced about 270

and 36 movements respectively.

"The Townsville centre completes a key

link in a network of Vessel Traffic Service

centres that track and monitor shipping

movements in all major Queensland

ports," said Mr Mickel.

"In addition to monitoring vessel move-

ments in Townsville, the new facility will

use remote monitoring technology to track

Australian VTS gets funding

yard near Rio de Janeiro. Rolls-Royce is

providing the design and equipment

package for the 3,500 deadweight ton ves-

sels, which are scheduled for delivery in

2009 and 2010.

They will be placed on long-term char-

ter with the Brazilian state oil company,

Petrobras, to transport supplies to off-

shore oil platforms.

"We are very pleased to be teaming

with Rolls-Royce and the CBO group to

provide state-of-the-art navigation tech-

nology for these new platform supply ves-

sels," said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice presi-

dent of Sperry Marine.

www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com

Sperry Marine is to supply electronic navi-

gation systems for four new offshore supply

vessels to be built in Brazil, with a package

that will include radars, autopilot, speed

and heading sensors, and other equipment.

Vision Marine, Sperry Marine's sales

and service representative in Brazil, will

be responsible for installation, commis-

sioning and servicing of the navigation

packages on the vessels.

The four platform supply vessels will

be built for Companhia Brasileira de

Offshore (CBO) at Estaleiro Aliança ship-

Sperry systems for Brazilian vessels

Commission (IEC).

The IEC prepares and publishes inter-

national standards for electrical, electronic

and related technologies across a number

of industries, including maritime, and has

approved the NMEA 2000 Standard as a

means of connecting marine navigation

www.nmea.org

The US National Marine Electronic

Association's NMEA 2000 Standard for

Serial Data Networking of Marine

Electronic Devices has been approved

by the International Electrotechnical

Maritime electronics standard approved

and tides, the RNLI lifeboat worked out

the likely position of the fishing vessel.

At the time the lifeboat was on exercise

only 12 miles away from the predicted

position and the fishermen were located in

a liferaft at 6.50pm, five miles south south-

west of Sark, 25 minutes after the lifeboat

was alerted.

Peter Bradley, RNLI MOB Guardian

and operations manager commented: "The

crew of the Guyona were found safe in a

liferaft that had deployed as their vessel

sank. However they had also been in the

water for 20 minutes and were battered

and bruised by their ordeal."

Andrew Freemantle, RNLI Chief

Executive added: "On average 20 fisher-

men lose their lives every year in our

waters. I sincerely hope that more UK fish-

ermen will now decide to take advantage

of the heavily subsidised MOB Guardian

offer and that we will be able to save more

fishermen's lives in the future."

www.mobguardian.com

The lives of three fishermen have been

saved thanks to the MOB Guardian man

overboard and vessel locater alert system

developed by the UK's RNLI (Royal

National Lifeboat Institution), the first

time that the system has been used to full

effectiveness in helping to save lives in an

emergency situation.

The RNLI Operations Room in Poole,

Dorset received a vessel overdue alert off

Sark at 6pm, Tuesday 24 June. After verifi-

cation the alert was transferred to the agen-

cies responsible for coordinating maritime

search and rescue - first to Falmouth Coast-

guard, who then passed it to the Channel

Islands Search and Rescue authority.

The RNLI St Peter Port lifeboat from

Guernsey was then tasked to search for

the missing fishing vessel, Guyona.

Using the last MOB Guardian verified

position and taking into account weather

Locater system saves 3 lives

NMEA 2000 is a moderate capacity,

bi-directional multi-transmitter/multi

receiver instrument network standard,

that operates controller area network

(CAN) technology over connectors and

cables that are compatible with industrial

bus systems.

and radio communications equipment

aboard all classes of vessels.

The IEC now lists the NMEA standard

on its website under the designation 'IEC

61162-3', which can be found at

www.iec.ch/online_news/justpub/

jp_2008/jp.htm#61162-3.

The MOB Guardian saved the lives of three fishermen (inset) off the coast of the UK



Over 15,000 Electronic Chart Systems

worldwide have our ECDIS Kernel inside.

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'Constaview' function, which rotates and

displays radar images in real time with an

interface for future integration of the

bridge system.

Raytheon Anschütz has launched the

newest compliant version of its NSC

Radar series, which utilises AIS

transponder information, with a new

'target association' feature the compares

target information from both ARPA

and AIS.

The two separate symbols can be

merged into one, to give a clearer indica-

tion of traffic dangers, though the ARPA

will remain the source of priority. Having

a merged source of information should

also cut down on the number of alarms on

the bridge.

The radars come with an enhanced

graphical user interface with standard-

ised colours and symbols, and are avail-

able with full Chart-Radar functionality

that can read Chart CD-ROMs and store

chart data independently of any external

ECDIS.

A SeaScout anti-collision assistance sys-

tem is also incorporated, which evaluates

the current traffic situation and highlights

'no go areas'.

www.jrc.co.jp

www.raytheon-anschuetz.com

JRC and Raytheon have both launched

new radar systems, designed to comply

with the new IMO radar performance

standard MSC.192 (79), implemented for

radars installed on or after 1st July, 2008.

The new IMO radar performance stan-

dard IEC 62388:2008 includes additional

functionality features, such as improved

radar target detection performance in

rain and sea clutter; changes in the basic

requirements for radar performance;

new IMO performance standards on nav-

igation presentation MSC.191(79); and

radar image display and measurement

by Consistent Common Reference

Position (CCRP).

JRC has received European MED

approval certification for three series of

marine radars, comprising 24 models,

from EU notified body QinetiQ, which it

says is the first such approval in the world

for radars complying with these new IMO

requirements.

In addition to producing a compliant

system, JRC has also integrated other new

technologies into the systems, such as its

New radars launched

on a trial basis was very positive. They

found the forecasts and route planning

very useful and accurate. As a result,

we chose to install this on all of our ves-

sels across the fleet. It is now our compa-

ny standard."

WeatherNav data includes forecasts

originating from the ECMWF (European

Centre for Medium-Range Weather

Forecasts), and cyclone warnings from the

World Meteorological Organisation, a UN

body. Onboard updates come in either

HTML or a number of e-mail formats.

Jeppesen says that it has also received

very positive feedback from other trial

users of the system, such as Havdrøn,

the G.O. Sars Research Vessel, the

M/S Rødholmen Trond Vollen, and the

BB Worker.

www.jeppesen.com

Jeppesen Marine reports that trials of

WeatherNav, its integrated digital chart,

weather and sea state forecasting solution,

have been successfully concluded

onboard two Seatrans vessels, and that the

company has signed a contract to imple-

ment the WeatherNav system on its entire

21 vessel fleet.

WeatherNav combines Jeppesen

Marine electronic charts with updated

meteorological data in the C-Map

OceanView software and in compatible

bridge systems, to create an integrated

route planning tool.

Seatrans' Safety & QA manager, Karl

Johan Kleppe, noted: "Feedback from

masters on our ships using this solution

Seatrans to install Jeppesen WeatherNav

in having to purchase charts that contain

identical information in some places.

The new grid-based Korean ENCs are

now available.

www.primar.org

The Norwegian Hydrographic Service

(NHS) reports that it has signed an

agreement with the Korean

Ocean Research Association

(KORA), to facilitate the

delivery of Korean ENCs to

the market.

This move has also been

supplemented by Korean

moves to convert all of its

ENC (electronic navigational

chart) units to a newly estab-

lished grid system.

Following this technology

changeover, all Korean ENCs

will now be available as indi-

vidual cells.

Implementing the grid

system will eliminate over-

laps between Korean ENCs,

removing some of the frus-

tration ENC users have noted

Korea moves on ENCs

Kjell Olsen, Norwegian Hydrographic Service,

and Oh Soon Bock, chief executive KORA,

mark the new agreement on Korean ENCs

beam echo sounder and navigation sen-

sors.

Simrad equipment is also included as

part of this contract in the form of the

multi frequency EK60 echo sounder,

FS20/25 and ITI trawl monitoring and

other fishery research systems.

The second contract, worth Euro 3.8

Million, was awarded directly by the I.E.O

and consists of the supply and installation

of an extensive scientific research equip-

ment package on both vessels, consisting

of the EM710 0.5º x 1º multibeam echo

sounder, Simrad ME70 scientific multi-

beam, HiPAP 500 Acoustic Positioning

System and TOPAS PS18 Parametric

Profiler.

"Many of our engineers have experi-

ence of similar projects and in addition to

the supply and installation, we have been

supporting other companies involved in

the project by working on areas such as

the hull and blister design and the config-

uration for classification society fulfil-

ment," comments Vicente Carrasco, sales

manager for subsea, Simrad Spain.

www.simrad.com

Simrad Spain, the Spanish sales division

for Simrad and Kongsberg Maritime, has

agreed two new contracts worth Euro 7

million for the supply and installation of

navigation, positioning and research sys-

tems on two newbuilds for the Spanish

Oceanographic Institute (I.E.O).

The twin 45m research vessels are

specifically designed for research on the

Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal areas.

The first vessel is expected to be delivered

in December 2009, and the second in

December 2010. Both vessels will be

'silent', in accordance with the noise

reduction recommendations set out by

ICES 209.

The first contract, signed with M Cies

Shipyards in Vigo at a value of Euro 3.2

Million, is for the supply and installation

on each vessel of the Kongsberg Maritime

Integrated K-Bridge, VDR, K-Pos with C-

Joy (Dynamic Positioning), Seapath 200,

SSU (Sonar Synchronising Unit), MDM400

(Marine Data Management), EA600 single

Euro 7 million contract for Simrad

Digital Ship


nical specifications for the LRIT system on

behalf of the Committee, during the period

between MSC 84 and MSC 85 (meeting

November-December 2008), and to develop,

agree and adopt the documentation for the

testing and integration of the LRIT system.

www.imo.org

IMO has moved forward with plans for

the implementation of long-range identifi-

cation and tracking (LRIT) systems, fol-

lowing the latest meeting of its Maritime

Safety Committee (MSC) in London for its

84th session.

The MSC made a number of decisions

to ensure the timely implementation of the

LRIT system, with the LRIT system

intended to be operational with respect to

the transmission of LRIT information by

ships from 30 December 2008.

A resolution on the Establishment of the

International LRIT Data Exchange on an inter-

im basis was adopted, confirming that the

International LRIT Data Exchange will be pro-

vided temporarily by the United States at their

own expense, and that a permanent solution

should be found "as soon as possible".

The MSC also endorsed a financial

model based on the 'user pays' principle,

agreeing that charges for the provision of

LRIT information for the search and res-

cue of persons in distress at sea should, in

all cases, be free of charge to the search

and rescue service of the Contracting

Government requesting such information.

The International Maritime Satellite

Organisation (IMSO), acting as LRIT Co-

ordinator, will authorise the integration,

on an interim basis, of the Data Centres

that have undergone and satisfactorily

completed developmental testing, into the

production of the LRIT system.

The ad hoc LRIT Group was authorised

to consider and adopt amendments to tech-

IMO progress on LRIT plans

hand held unit which transmits a response

signal to nearby ships' radar, enabling its

position to be pinpointed.

The SMARTFIND is certified by

COSPAS SARSAT, the international satel-

lite-based search and rescue system, and

both models have a battery status monitor

and a 5 year battery change interval. The

SMARTFIND G5 model offers an addi-

tional level of accuracy with its integral

GPS receiver which gives visual indication

of GPS acquisition.

The S4 SART is a 9GHz X-band Search

and Rescue radar transponder, so that

when a radar signal is received from a

ship or aircraft, the S4 Rescue automatical-

ly transmits a response signal to identify

the survival craft on the radar screen by

means of a stream of 12 in-line dots. Once

activated the S4 will remain in standby

mode for over 96 hours and is waterproof

to 10 metres.

www.mcmurdo.co.uk

Three safety products from British marine

electronics manufacturer McMurdo have

been awarded type approval in Russia

from Morsviazsputnik.

The SMARTFIND E5 EPIRB and GPS-

equipped SMARTFIND G5 EPIRB, along

with the McMurdo S4 Rescue SART, had

already been available in Russian territory

following an initial type approval from the

Russian Maritime Register of Shipping,

but this additional Morsviazsputnik

approval means that the equipment can

now be sold to any Russian SOLAS or

IMO legislated vessel.

The SMARTFIND range of EPIRBs

(Emergency Position Indicating Radio

Beacon) features both a non-hazardous

battery and high brightness LED locator

light, while the McMurdo S4 Rescue SART

(Search and Rescue Transponder) is a

McMurdo type approved for Russia

McMurdo's S4 Rescue SART and Smartfind Plus are now available

for use in Russian territories

Utilizing Microsoft-Dynamics NAV platform, we deliver:

ñ Complete range of integrated Ship managementapplications, critical to deliver customer value.

ñ Usability and User Interface Concistency.

ñ Rich Functionality with High Adaptability, at Low Cost.

ñ Implementation and Go-Live fast, with measurement in days and weeks, rather than months and years.

ñ Worldwide support by Microsoft Business solution Partners.

www.frtntech.com

Right Choice. The Power on your Side!A unique maritime Add-on solution featured in the Microsoft-Dynamics NAV add-on cataloqueespecially designed for the Shipping idustry

Fortune Maritime Solution

FORTUNET E C H N O L O G I E S

vided OSG with the opportunity to trial a

Navmaster system on board its

112,056dwt Aframax tanker Overseas

Shirley for a period of six months."

"Feedback from the master of Overseas

Shirley was, we know, positive because

after the trial unit was removed from his

bridge, he made it clear that he wanted a

permanent Navmaster system installed as

soon as possible."

In addition to the supply and installa-

tion of the Navmaster systems, on-board

training is being provided by Lilley &

Gillie, while the contract also includes a

five-year support package.

Both Lilley & Gillie and PC Maritime

are part of the Charente Group.

www.charente.co.uk

OSG Ship Management (UK) Ltd has

decided to fit ECDIS systems on board 20

of its tankers following the completion of

shipboard trials, with Lilley & Gilley con-

tracted to supply and install the systems,

as agents for PC Maritime's Navmaster

ECDIS.

Of the 20 vessels included in the con-

tract, three are VLCCs, one is a Suezmax,

four are existing Aframaxes, four are new-

build Aframaxes and eight are Panamax

vessels. The trials were conducted aboard

the 112,056 dwt tanker Overseas Shirley

Lilley & Gillie's managing director,

Glenn Heathcote, commented: "We pro-

OSG goes for ECDIS

www.bluefinger.com

Cybit has announced that its BlueFinger

maritime division has launched a new inter-

net-based online vessel tracking service.

Saffire-Online allows shipping compa-

nies to combine compliance with IMO

Long Range Identification and Tracking

(LRIT) regulations with a range of ship-

ping fleet management tools over the web.

It provides a view of every vessel in the

fleet and enables activity and status reports

to be generated, so fleet managers can

acquire location information on each vessel

and, together with vessel grouping and geo-

fencing management facilities, ensure that

shipments are on-course and on-time.

The Saffire system is fully compatible

with Inmarsat-C, D+ (IsatM2M), Iridium,

Thuraya and other satellite communica-

tion systems, and has also been selected to

track the position, direction and speed of

each yacht in the Volvo Ocean Race, the

round the world yachting challenge.

Saffire-Online can automatically pro-

vide necessary reporting to LRIT

International Data Centres and to any other

destinations that shipowners may require.

Web based tracking launched


ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION

RRequirements for mandatory car-

riage of ECDIS will almost cer-

tainly be adopted at the Novem-

ber meeting of IMO's Maritime Safety

Committee (MSC).

MSC's Safety of Navigation

Subcommittee, after lengthy discussion

over a number of years, finally achieved

consensus at the recent NAV54 meeting to

recommend mandatory carriage on a rea-

sonably broad range of ships.

The recommendations are that ECDIS

should be fitted to new passenger ships

above 500 gt and new tankers above 3,000

gt from 1 July 2012. New cargo ships

above 10,000 gt would need to be fitted

from 1 July 2013, and a year later, new

cargo ships above 3,000 gt.

The recommendations to MSC also

cover many existing ships, with all pas-

senger ships above 500 gt needing to be

fitted from 1 July 2014 and tankers above

3,000 gt from 1 July 2015.

Other cargo ships down to 10,000 gt

will need to be fitted at various dates,

depending on size, from 2016 to 2018.

There are exemptions for ships that will

be taken out of service within two years of

the implementation dates.

It is clearly far from a full list of SOLAS

ships but it can be expected that attitudes

to ECDIS will change considerably over

the next decade and that mandatory car-

riage for all ships will perhaps not be

much further away.

Long waitECDIS has taken a long time to mature

to the point when mandatory carriage can

be agreed.

IMO deliberations first started in 1986

and in the 1990's the IMO-IHO

Harmonisation Group on ECDIS was

influential in developing draft perform-

ance standards. These were based around

IHO's evolving standards for electronic

chart content and display (S-52) and digi-

tal hydrographic data (S-57).

IMO's first performance standards for

ECDIS were completed in 1995, although

type approved equipment did not appear

until 1999.

Original objections to ECDIS were

mainly based on cost and the general fear

of replacing a durable and proven paper

product with an electronic unit of

unknown reliability.

Over the years, user fears about relying

on electronic charts have been reduced by

a better understanding of the IMO

requirements for backup but also by users

increased familiarity with electronic chart

equipment.

Most of this experience has been on

ECS - non-IMO approved electronic chart

systems - and has been generally very

favourable.

Reductions in both equipment and data

costs, together with a growing apprecia-

tion of the benefits that accrue from using

ECDIS, have somewhat lessened the con-

cerns about costs, particularly for new

builds. However, cost of implementation,

including training, clearly impacts ship-

ping companies.

At a macro-economic scale cost advan-

tages are apparent, as shown by various

Formal Safety Assessments (FSAs) per-

formed by Det Norske Veritas, which have

been formally submitted to IMO.

With increasing sophistication of the

model, DNV has shown that savings

accrued by the reduction in groundings

resulting from the use of ECDIS will more

than compensate for its implementation

and running costs.

This assumes the fitment to categories

of ships somewhat similar to those agreed

at NAV54. It also assumes that about 10

per cent of an average voyage will not be

covered by ENCs (official electronic navi-

gational charts).

Data availabilityFor some time the debate on mandatory

carriage has centred on data availability.

Hydrographic offices were initially

slow in building up ENC coverage and

there was little reliable information being

released about future coverage.

This made it impossibly difficult for

IMO to agree on firm dates for mandatory

carriage. IHO members have since reacted

to these shortcomings and have put a lot

of effort into increasing ENC availability

and in providing forecasts.

In the latest released figures from the

IHO, ENCs available commercially to

users at the beginning of 2008 were com-

pared with the coverage available from

the UKHO global series of charts.

60 per cent of coastal areas (medium

scale) were available in ENC format,

together with 65 per cent of larger scale

ENCs (for the top 800 ports) and over 90

per cent of small scale 'planning' ENCs.

More impressively, the IHO predicted

that for 2010 the comparable figures

would be over 95 per cent of medium and

large scale ENCs, with 100 per cent avail-

ability of small scale charts.

To help achieve this the IHO has set up

'capacity-building' technical assistance

schemes through regional hydrographic

commissions, bringing HOs new to ENC

production more rapidly up to speed.

ENC availability is also being helped

by such programmes as the UKHO's

Admiralty Vector Chart Service, launched

earlier this year. As part of this initiative,

the UKHO has made agreements to pro-

duce ENCs of areas under the control of

poorly funded HOs, until they can under-

take the work themselves.

TrainingAn important issue of implementation is

training. IMO recognises this and intends

to issue a Safety of Navigation Circular

giving guidance on transitioning from

paper charts to ECDIS navigation.

IMO already has a Model Course on

ECDIS and stresses the importance of under-

taking additional familiarisation training on

the actual equipment that will be used at sea.

In practice, when ENCs are not avail-

able, it is likely that Raster Navigational

Charts, such as ARCS, will be used rather

than paper charts and the training must

therefore cover this aspect.

Some shipping companies have been

reporting that extended use of ECDIS makes

it difficult for users to go back to paper

charts. In the future this will become more

problematic until all ships are ECDIS fitted.

Bridge staff newly joining a paper chart

based ship would certainly need a re-

familiarisation on paper chart use before

leaving port if they had not used them for

some time.

A surprisingly different mindset is

required from the OOW depending

on whether the primary chart is paper

or electronic.

For electronic charts the OOW needs to

make a conscious effort to stay involved

with the navigation process, simply

because chart plotting is performed auto-

matically and continuously, and does not

require user intervention.

Importantly, use of ECDIS gives more

time for the OOW to dedicate to situation

awareness. This awareness can be greatly

benefited by carrying out the checks

and balances appropriate to ECDIS use,

which should be instilled by good train-

ing programmes.

The technology revolutionIt will be interesting to see how the imple-

mentation of ECDIS will proceed during

the next decade.

In theory, there is a relatively slow

planned implementation of mandatory

carriage. In practice, it is likely to be affect-

ed by the technology revolution that is

having its main impact outside of the ship-

ping world. This revolution has resulted

in the now common use of in-car electron-

ic map systems.

Also, Google Earth has become a con-

venient choice for many who are planning

a day out or a holiday.

GPS fitted mobile phones and PDAs

are increasingly being used for personal

navigation. Location based services are

also becoming more common.

This rapidly growing public familiarity

with both the performance and often cost

advantages of digital maps is bound to

favourably influence purchase decisions

for ECDIS. Paper charts will increasingly

be seen as an anachronism.

It is worth remembering that ten years

ago it was unusual to see a PC on a ship's

bridge. They are now almost ubiquitous

and this has been true for some years, not

least because of their general familiarity at

home and in the office.

It is therefore quite possible that the

market timescales will outrun those

imposed by IMO and likewise many ships

that fall outside the mandatory carriage

requirements are likely to be fitted with

ECDIS during the next decade.

Paper charts are expensive to print,

update and distribute - and these costs

will continue to rise.

In particular, smaller print runs will

increase costs further. The comparable

costs for distributing electronic data are

far less - and will continue to fall. Reasons

for continuing with paper charts will rap-

idly diminish.

ECDIS is a key component of

eNavigation. The strategy for eNavigation

was agreed at NAV54 and an implementa-

tion plan will be developed by the NAV

Subcommittee over the next four years.

For it to be successfully implemented,

ECDIS carriage is considered essential.

The potential common fitting of

ECDIS should considerably help the

acceptance of eNavigation. However,

the experience of the long gestation of

ECDIS should remind people that

eNavigation could also be a very long time

in implementation. DS

The long journey since IMO’s first discussions on Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) in 1986 seems

to be moving towards a conclusion, with the recent agreement at NAV54 to make the technology a carriage

requirement on a wide range of vessels. Dr Andy Norris explores the road towards mandatory ECDIS

Mandatory ECDIS - the final countdown

Dr Andy Norris has been well-known in the maritime navigation industry

for a number of years. He has spent much of his time managing high-tech

navigation companies but now he is working on broader issues within the

navigational world, providing both technical and business consultancy to

the industry, governmental bodies and maritime organizations.

Email: [email protected]

ECDIS will continue to grow,

and paper charts will increasingly

be seen as an anachronism

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digital ship magazine august 2008

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