Vessel Information

USCG Publishes Outer Continental Shelf Notice of Arrival Rule

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday publication in the Federal Register of an outer continental shelf notice of arrival rule designed to enhance maritime domain awareness over outer continental shelf activities. This final rule enhances maritime security and safety by requiring U.S. and foreign vessels, floating facilities and mobile offshore drilling units arriving on and engaging in outer continental shelf activities to report their arrival time and location and information regarding the vessels' voyage, cargo, crew and vessel information. The outer continental shelf includes all submerged lands seaward and outside of the area of lands beneath navigable waters and of which the subsoil and seabed are subject to the jurisdiction and control of the U.S. Outer continental shelf activity is defined in the U.S. regulations as any activity that occurs on the outer continental shelf and is associated with the exploration for or development or production of minerals, including oil. "Maritime domain awareness supports and informs all of the nation's maritime safety, security environmental and transportation interests. The equipment and procedures that create awareness are just as important for prevention of, and response to, vessel collisions and oil spills, and search and rescue cases as they are for law enforcement and counterterrorism missions," said Dana Goward, director of the Coast Guard's Marine Transportation Systems Management Division.

River Forth Gets Advanced VTS

One of the world's most advanced ship management systems is now in use on the River Forth. Forth Ports, PLC, the UK's second largest port handler, commissioned a Vessel Tracking System (VTS) from Norcontrol IT in 1998 to replace equipment installed in 1984. The system uses four radars to track all commercial vessels within the Firth of Forth but it needed the back up of a sophisticated Voyage Management Database to record all associated information such as voyage times, anchorage usage

Tanker Owners To Gain More Pull Through Information Sharing System

Tanker owners organization Intertanko is reportedly testing a system designed to give ship owners greater market clout through increased vessel/cargo information sharing. The aim is to set up a protected Web site where vessel owners can input ship position and cargo information, giving them better information on availability of cargo and ships. Tanker owners could use the system to strengthen their market power and increase vessel utilization by pooling vessels.

Marine Nav Data Moves to the Internet

Alameda, Calif. – The Eleventh Coast Guard District will begin posting weekly marine navigation information for the State of California on the Coast Guard Navigation Center’s website at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/lnm/default.htm on April 1. This move is designed to improve service and reduce costs. The Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) for California is published weekly by the Eleventh Coast Guard District Aids to Navigation office in Alameda

Oil and Garbage Skimmer Vessel for Charter, Sale

Vessel information: Russian flag Year and place of built – 1979, Japan. Rebuilt – 2009. Length – 45.5 m Breadth – 10.4 m. Depth – 4.0 m Draught – 3.1 m. GT / NT – 583 / 174 DWT – 329 t Displacement – 861 t Speed 13.4 knots. ME – NIIGATA DIESEL 6L25 BX, 2 x 876 kW Screw – 2 x IHI, diameter 2 meters. Two MMASS type AZIPOD with remote control. Consumption – 8,5 m3 (10 knots), oil – 0,01 m3.

OCTOPUS-Onboard for Dockwise Vanguard

Amarcon, a member of the ABB group, received an OCTOPUS-Onboard order for the new build Dockwise Vanguard.   This vessel is one of the largest and most advanced heavy lift vessel ever built. The vessel was launched in November 2012 and is currently undergoing sea trials. Dockwise was founded in 1993 as a merger between Wijsmuller Transport and Dock Express Shipping, making Dockwise the world’s largest and most versatile heavy transport shipping company

NOL Appoints New Chief Information Officer

The NOL Group has elected veteran technology executive, Donald G. Liedtke, as its chief information officer (CIO) - heading its organization of about 300 computer systems specialists. Liedtke, who was previously with Packard Bell NEC, will be based at the APL office in Oakland, Calif., which houses NOL's information technology group, as well as the global headquarters of APL Logistics - the container transportation and logistics arm of the NOL Group.

GAO Issue Report on Homeland Security and Information Technology

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) issued its report entitled Homeland Security: Information Technology Funding and Associated Management Issues

Coast Guard Units to Exercise New Technology

Coast Guard units, local law enforcement and marine agencies will conduct an exercise Wednesday to test emergency response plans and evaluate upgraded communication and tracking technologies in the San Francisco Bay Area. The exercise scenario includes responding to a ferry that diverts from its normal route, requiring coordinated response that will test the upgraded communication and tracking technologies in a simulated emergency situation.

Unitor Launches New IT Program

Unitor has taken the next step in giving customers the power to manage their fleets. Customer empowerment in the area of information technology is the next generation of service supported product offerings. Unitor's new information technology system named PartnerSHIP offers subscribers access to all critical information regarding their fleet as well as data about Unitor's worldwide network. This Web-based program offers secure and direct customer access into Unitor's mainframe computer