Helm Marine Operations Software News

Helm Operations has signed on Brazilian harbor services company SAAM SMIT Towage to its Helm Marine Operations software to manage its billing and dispatch. SAAM SMIT Towage started towage operations in Brazil in 2008 and is now active in eight ports and terminals. SAAM SMIT provides assistance to incoming and outgoing seagoing vessels – including ro-ro ships, oil and chemical tankers, container ships, reefers and mixed cargo ships. Robert Martijn Smits, Commercial Manager of SMIT Brazil, said that reliability was a deciding factor in their choice of Helm. “We chose Helm because with the expansion of SAAM SMIT Towage in Brazil we needed a confident, 100% reliable and professional dispatch system to accompany us in our growth.

Helm Marine Software’s product team leads burdened brown water workboat operators out of the wilderness – and confidently into compliance. Four to six forms a day and that’s before Subchapter M rules take effect. That is how many forms Helm Marine Software’s product team figures a typical inland vessel must deal with, every day. Their research shows that OSV companies have around 100 different forms to complete and Dry Bulk companies have around 70. Skip the forms, and under Subchapter M, vessels without Certificates of Inspection (COIs) won’t be fined. They will also be tied up at the dock.

Edoc Systems Group, developers of Helm Marine Operations Software (Helm), confirmed that Offshore Supply Vessel provider, Bordelon Marine, has chosen Helm HSQE Manager and Helm Onboard to manage their vessel maintenance, safety and compliance. Helm Onboard will be installed on all Bordelon vessels, but the first installation will be on their new Stingray series 260’ class DP2 OSV, which is slated for sea trials in May 2013. Helm, which is approaching its 15th anniversary, will provide a digitized layer of efficiency to Bordelon’s already exceptional safety record. The software provides a central system for Bordelon to manage their inspections and audits as well as any deficiencies, non-conformities, or observations that may arise.

Edoc Systems Group, developers of Helm Marine Operations Software (Helm), said that global towage provider, Svitzer A/S has chosen Helm Dispatch Manager and Helm Onboard to manage their dispatch and billing functions on shore as well as onboard their vessels. Svitzer is a member of the Maersk Group, with a diverse fleet of more than 500 vessels that operates in over 40 countries around the world. After the completion of the Scandinavian implementation Helm will be a rolled out to Svitzer’s operations in Europe, Australasia, Middle East and the Americas. www.svitzer.com www.edocgroup.com

For inland operators, Compliance, Safety & Technology make for heavy river traffic as software providers descend on a rapidly approaching, potentially lucrative niche market. Is there a panacea for subchapter M? Pending USCG Subchapter “M” (SubM) regulations will eventually require towing operators to implement safety standards and use safety management systems, or alternatively, allow for an annual Coast Guard inspection regime. The new rules are expected to allow towing vessel organizations to customize their approach to meeting the requirements, while providing oversight using audits, inspections, and reviews of safety data. As many as 5,000 vessels and their operators will eventually feel the impact of the so-called subchapter M rules.

Edoc has confirmed  that SCF Liquids (SCF) has chosen Helm Marine Operations software (Helm) to run itsoperations. SCF Liquids is part of Seacor Holdings Inc.'s Inland River Services business segment and a sister company to SCF Marine Inc. Together, the business segment owns, operates, invests in and markets inland river transportation equipment. “We are thrilled to welcome SCF Liquids to the Helm family,” said Ron deBruyne, CEO and Founder of Edoc Systems Group, developers of Helm.

It all started back in the mid 1990’s when the seemingly new fangled internet became a tangible information portal for home computer users. As the prohibitive costs started to dissipate, the so called ‘e’-volution took off, thus making access to email, blogs, and personalized web pages more tangible and popular, even to the point of being expected. Today, the internet has nearly become lifeblood and people are all but helpless without some form of streaming connection to the information superhighway.

Edoc Systems Group Ltd., developers of Helm Marine Operations software, announced that Ged O’Connell will be joining the company as its new Regional Sales Manager. O’Connell, formerly the North American Sales Manager with Jeppesen, a Boeing Company, will manage sales operations for Edoc in the Eastern USA. “We’re very pleased to bring Ged aboard,” said Bill Reid, President of Edoc. “His depth of experience on the inland and coastal waterways will be a boon to our expanding company.” O’Connell comes to Edoc with over 35 years of waterways experience…

For Victoria marine enterprise software developers Edoc Systems Group, the past years economic storm has been more about riding calm winds and following seas. They are expanding and hiring while others in the software industry have been retrenching and shedding staff. Edoc moved into their current location in the heritage Hartwig Court two years ago and have already outgrown the current space. On the strength of new business, they are in the last stages of hiring additional software developers to join the team of 18 Victoria and Vancouver based existing staff. In the past month, they have hired a new marketing and communications coordinator, and are in the process of renovating additional space, taking over an adjacent 600 sq ft store-front.

Connecticut-based Penn Maritime Inc. (Penn) has selected Edoc’s HELM Marine Operations Software to replace their existing scheduling and invoicing system. Penn’s current fleet of 19 barges and 13 tugs that operate along the east coast, gulf coast and west coast of the United States will have their voyages scheduled, tracked, and invoiced through HELM. Since Penn’s business is focused on bulk tanker barging it presented a unique situation for which HELM was adapted. HELM will solve many problems users face in Penn’s current system. HELM’s flexibility makes it perfect for Penn’s high volume of business and constantly changing business requirements. By providing a graphical user interface to plot the vessel’s voyages, the system provides another tool for users to efficiently plan schedules.

Edoc Systems Group Ltd., the makers of TugAssist Marine Dispatching Software and a leader in industrial software, has released version 6.0 of TugAssist and renamed it to HELM: Marine Operations Software. The software will be making its debut at the Pacific Marine Expo and International Workboat Show this year. In response to market demand, HELM has many new features that go beyond what TugAssist offered. From one centralized server, HELM can manage any sized water-based fleet with newly integrated modules such as job scheduling (for tugs, barges, OSVs, water taxis and more), crewing/payroll, maintenance, invoicing, reporting, GPS/AIS vessel tracking, web portals, and ship-to-shore data transfer.