Mission Critical Systems News

WTW has launched CyNav for Ports and Terminals, a cyber solution specifically designed to help address the escalating cyber risks faced by owners and operators in this strategically vital sector of the global maritime supply chain. The release of CyNav for Ports and Terminals is a direct response to growing calls from operators for a bespoke product that addresses the specific risks faced by their high-value asset class and closes the gaps found in the standard cyber policies of today’s insurance market.Due to the outsized role its practitioners play in supporting the global economy…

The U.S. Navy's new aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) on Monday underwent its third explosive event off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., rounding out the ship’s Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST) and validating its shock hardness and ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment using live ordnance. During the four-month testing evolution, the first-in-class aircraft carrier withstood the impact of three 40,000-pound underwater blasts, released at distances…

When an old Stalker cast iron pump failed on Petuna Endeavour in the Southern Ocean, there was an urgent requirement for some fast action. The failed pump was replaced by an Aussie GMP model B3XR-A 5.5kw 3-in. NiAl bronze pump that fitted into the application area like a glove.The pump produces 1400 lpm flow and offers a maximum head of up to 26m. The 5.5kw motor means there’s loads of power to drive it and the pump, self priming in design, will draft water through a vertical…

A customer once told me that they had just completed a business continuity analysis and had identified their LMS as their second most mission-critical technology - second only to payroll! Take a moment to consider how much you rely on training technologies to sustain your operations and compliance. How long could you comfortably go without your employees having access to training? How long could you go without access to your compliance records or your employees’ certificates?

Ship and boat designer Robert Allan Ltd has been awarded a contract by the Government of Canada to design a new version of the Near Shore Fishery Research Vessels (NSFRVs) currently operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.The new vessel will be used for fishery research by Fisheries & Oceans Canada and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.The Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet of NSFRVs plays a key role in the delivery of fishery research in Canada’s waterways. Currently, there are four NSFRVs in service.Originally known as Inshore Science Vessels (ISVs), three were designed by Robert Allan Ltd. under the Economic Action Plan (EAP 2009) and entered into service in 2012 as the CCGS Vladykov, CCGS Leim and CCGS M. Perley. The new design is a direct development of these existing Robert Allan Ltd.

As Volvo Penta continues its strategic penetration of the commercial maritime sector, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News checks in with Ron Huibers, President, Volvo Penta of the Americas. When we first met with you a few years ago, Volvo Penta was in the early stages of a strategic move into the commercial maritime sector in North America. Please update your progress. Historically, we have been strong in the marine commercial markets outside of North America. Five years ago…

Global Maritime Consultancy & Engineering, a provider of offshore marine warranty, dynamic positioning and engineering services, has been approved by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to provide Subchapter M compliance services as a Third Party Organization (TPO). Global Maritime will offer a comprehensive suite of services to all towing vessel operators looking to comply with Subchapter M guidelines with its expertise including audits, surveys, consultancy, training services, and the design and deployment of safety management systems. In addition, Global Maritime has licensed Professional Engineers (P.E.s) on staff to perform structural plan reviews.

Carmanah Technologies Corporation  has completed the acquisition of the EKTA marine aids to navigation assets from Cybernetica AS of Estonia. The company had previously announced its intention to acquire the EKTA branded products and contracts on November 29th, 2016. "The acquisition accomplishes two important steps in our growth strategy," said John Simmons, Carmanah CEO. "The ETKA products will strengthen our worldwide product portfolio and allow us to provide more comprehensive single-source solutions for our marine customers. Under the terms of the agreement the purchase price will be EUR1.35 million and will be paid by way of EUR1 million in cash on closing and EUR0.35 million on the first anniversary of closing.

Global Maritime Consultancy & Engineering has introduced a new set of policies and procedures to support its Dynamic Positioning (DP) activities. The new procedures will ensure continued excellence and consistency across all Global Maritime’s global DP operations. The document will cover general working practices and core competencies as well as working procedures relating to DP Systems Audits & Verifications; Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), attendance at DP trials, and the development of other DP documentation.

Aiming to leverage the increased connectivity of the shipping industry, ABB has opened a second Integrated Operations Center in Helsinki, following the launch of similar facility in Billingstad, Norway in late 2015. The facility in Helsinki will serve the passenger, cargo and icegoing vessel sectors, while the facility in Billingstad has oversight of ABB’s customers in the oil and gas sector. ABB said further centers are scheduled to open in Asia and the U.S. in 2016. The new center will be able to connect to any passenger or cargo ship and monitor the performance of ABB technology on board…

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded contracts totaling $14.4 million by prime contractors General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and Huntington Ingalls Industries to supply the steering gear system for three new DDG 51 Class Arleigh Burke destroyers. The steering gear system is vital for the control and maneuverability of the ship and is directly linked to the integrated bridge, as well as the navigation and inertial navigation systems that Northrop Grumman is supplying under separate contracts for the DDG 51 Class destroyers. Northrop Grumman has been the sole provider of the steering gear system for the DDG 51 Class since production began during the 1980s. This contract award brings the program's total to 69 steering systems.

Rolls-Royce awarded contracts worth over £70-million to supply large thrusters for offshore drilling vessels. These latest orders, which include options for additional thrusters, are from a variety of customers who are expanding their drillship fleets and are driven by greater demand in oil and gas exploration in deep water and harsh conditions. These high specification drillships operate in dynamic positioning (DP) mode, using satellite technology to automatically maintain position without anchoring. This places a heavy responsibility on thruster performance and reliability.

LOS ANGELES, March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) today announced that it has completed the previously announced spin-off of its subsidiary Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HII). Northrop Grumman stockholders of record at the close of business of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 30, 2011, received one share of HII common stock for every six shares of Northrop Grumman common stock held. Stockholders will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares of HII.

Hatteland Display announce that our 20.1 inch NMD, full naval display, has been selected,for the C4 environment aboard the new Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers. The Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) project, also known as SEA 4000, will provide the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) with three technologically advanced air warfare destroyers. The work is led by the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance (AWD) which comprises the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), ASC and Raytheon Australia. The AWD project is one of the largest ongoing naval projects in Australia.

The Boeing Co., Anaheim, Calif., is being awarded a $33,888,986 cost plus incentive fee, cost plus fixed fee contract to provide the following efforts for the TRIDENT II (D5) Navigation Subsystem:  (1) engineering support services, and problem investigations for US and UK owned Electro-statically Supported Gyro Navigator (ESGN) navigation inertial equipment, (2) modification, refurbishment, and repair of U.S., and UK ESGN instruments and components, (3) TRIDENT II (D5) shipyard overhaul field engineering, (4) US Fleet Documentation, Surveillance Program, and Training, and (5) US/UK Stable Platform Housing Refurbishment. Work will be p erformed in Anaheim, Calif., (90 percent) and Heath, Ohio, (10 percent), and work is expected to be completed Jun. 2012.

The American Society of Naval Engineers will host a Tug & Salvage Technology Symposium on January 29-30, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza National Airport Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The symposium will provide a forum for discussion about current and developing tug and salvage technologies and the possibility of combining the designs of tug boats and salvage ships to create a new, integrated vessel that has the capabilities of both. The U.S. Department of the Navy has identified a need to recapitalize its fleet of tug and salvage ships. The Navy staff and the Navy’s Military Sealift Command believe that commercial platforms currently in design or under construction by industry can address Navy requirements and afford the opportunity to leverage commercial technologies in hull forms…

Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded a delivery order for the fourth year of a five-year contract to provide technical, logistics and material support for mission-critical systems installed on U.S. Navy surface ships and submarines. The fourth-year award, valued at $15.3 million, was granted to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit by Naval Inventory Control Point, Mechanicsburg, Pa. The five-year firm-fixed-price performance-based logistics (PBL) contract has a total value of $65.3 million. Under the contract, Sperry Marine is supplying material management, configuration management and program management services for the AN/WSN-7 ship/submarine inertial navigation systems and the AN/BPS-15 and AN/BPS-16 submarine radar systems.

"What you're seeing now, is a 'flight to quality,'" said Rear Admiral George Naccara, of the USCG, at the Y2K Luncheon held in New York last month. The Y2K Luncheon, sponsored by the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey, brought together individuals from three main sectors of the shipping industry, to discuss what steps each had made in designing and implementing a plan to ensure computer systems were "Y2K" (or Year 2000) compliant. John Hill, director of the Application Development Division of U.S. According to Hill, the initial plan was for approximately 180,000 work-hours of programming and testing. Already, he said, the total had exceeded 200,000 work-hours of effort to reprogram the systems. Close to $12 million in expenditures have been necessary.