Accenture News

A flood of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects due online worldwide in mid-decade will vie against lower-cost renewable energy and a revived nuclear power sector, which could rock gas prices and hurt some proposed projects, analysts say.Proposed and approved new LNG plants would boost LNG supply by 67% increase to 636 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2030 from 2021 levels, potentially saturating the gas market."There's over a trillion dollars of natural gas infrastructure being built in the world today.

Manama, Bahrain -- Advancing maritime domain awareness in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) is a challenging task. Yet keeping the sea lanes open is critical for the region, for the U.S. and the world.U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are all headquartered here in Bahrain, under the command of Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. U.S. Fifth Fleet oversees the operations for all U.S. naval forces in the Middle East.

U.S. 5th Fleet began a three-week unmanned and artificial intelligence integration event in Bahrain, Nov. 23, that will involve employing new platforms in the region for the first time.The event, called Digital Horizon, will advance the command’s efforts to integrate new unmanned technologies while establishing the world’s first unmanned surface vessel fleet by end of next summer. U.S. 5th Fleet’s efforts are focused on improving what U.S. and regional navies are able to see above, on and below the water.“I am excited about the direction we are headed,” said Vice Adm.

British manufacturer Cox Marine announced four new appointments to its Leadership Team as the company ramps up production to meet global demand for the high-performance CXO300 diesel outboard engine.David Gilbert has been appointed as Cox Marine’s new Chief Commercial Officer and Marcus Randall as its Head of Marketing and Communications, while Paul Cavander joins as Head of Industrial Strategy and Heinz Stalhammar as Chief Engineer.Regarding the new appointments, Gavin Wesson…

Freight and logistics insurer TT Club said it has appointed Kevin Blunsum as its first Chief Technology Officer.Blunsum is a highly experienced and well-respected member of the London-market insurance community. Over his 30-year career he has held a variety of positions engaged in insurance technology development and change management with Deloitte, EY, Accenture, and more recently with Aspen Insurance as Director of Business Transformation.Blunsum will be working closely with Lisa Gibbard…

The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation.They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, which ends on January 20.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had sanctioned seven companies, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co.

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Gibbs & Cox announced Brian Hobbs has joined the company as Chief Information Officer. In his new role, Hobbs will provide executive leadership and oversight of the full spectrum of corporate information technology infrastructure, security, end user services, people and processes."With the cyber landscape constantly evolving and threats becoming increasingly more sophisticated, Brian's experience will help us and our clients increase resiliency and securely achieve the next generation of cyber capabilities…

If autonomous vessels are the future of maritime shipping, then cyber threats may be its Achilles heel. Congested shipping, restricted visibility, limited maneuverability, and intensive docking activities all contribute to port hazards – 42 percent of EU reported marine accidents (injury/death/damage to ships) took place in port areas and 44 percent of workboat fatalities occurred on Tugs. Autonomous shipping should provide numerous benefits including increased safety by relieving crewmembers of unsafe and repetitious tasks.

SENER has hired Luis García Jiménez as its Director of Corporate Development. This post is essential to the growth and development of the SENER Group, and reports directly to the CEO, Jorge Unda.From his new position, Luis García will be in charge of analyzing, organizing and coordinating medium- and long-term opportunities involving mergers, acquisitions and investments. He will also participate, together with the CEO and the directors of SENER's different divisions, in defining…

Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of CMA CGM Group  and French minister in charge of transport Elisabeth Borne inaugurated ZeBox, a new start-up incubator and accelerator in Marseilles.Initiated by CMA CGM, ZeBox is a human-sized incubator and accelerator with two objectives: Support start-ups throughout their development by immediately projecting them into an international dimension; and enable large companies to benefit from the innovations developed by these start-ups in their respective business sectors.On the occasion of the inauguration of ZeBox, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Group and President of ZeBox, said: "The close relationship between major groups and start-ups creates value.

Marine and offshore vessel management and support services provider V.Group has engaged with management consultancy Accenture to transform its approach to crew management. Named Embark, the project seeks to develop an in-house shared services model which streamlines and optimizes key processes for V.Group’s seafarers, customers and colleagues. Embark will see the introduction of new and enhanced technology to support these shared services and digitize the shipowner and seafarer experience.For customers…

A consortium comprising AB InBev, Accenture, APL, Kuehne + Nagel and a European customs organization has successfully tested a blockchain solution that can eliminate the need for printed shipping documents and save the freight and logistics industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The consortium tested a solution where documents are no longer exchanged physically or digitally but instead, the relevant data is shared and distributed using blockchain technology under single ownership principles determined by the type of information. Through a detailed review of the current documentation processes, the group examined a re-allocation of information ownership, accountability and risk enabled by the trust and security blockchain technology offers.

Wärtsilä has set out to accelerate new business ideas using a collection of “Digital Acceleration Centers” (DAC) scattered around the globe. The first DAC in Helsinki has been running in beta for several months and was officially launched today, and will be followed by the second to open in Singapore in December, as well as one in Central Europe and one in North America anticipated during 2018. Additional “pop-up” DACs will be tested with customers at other locations. Wärtsilä said opening the DACs is part of its digital transformation, which aims to help the company shift toward a data-driven, insights led, smart technology. Wärtsilä's Chief Digital Officer, Marco Ryan, explained, “The Digital Acceleration Center is all about getting business outcomes at pace.

UK-based ship management company V.Group announced the appointment of Ian El-Mokadem as Chief Executive Officer and Martin Gaard Christiansen as Chief Commercial Officer. Both will assume their positions in the autumn. Ian joins from Exova, the global provider of technically demanding testing, calibration and related advisory services, where he served as Chief Executive for the last six years. Ian was responsible for professionalising and growing the business, which operates in 33 countries, has a network of 4,200 experts across 138 laboratories, and is trusted by customers in industries such as aerospace, defence, and oil and gas to test and advise on safety, quality and performance of their products.

Maritime navigation services group Global Navigation Solutions (GNS) announced the appointments of Phil Stothard as Chief Information Officer and Kieron Abernethy as Chief Revenue Officer. Both assume their roles with immediate effect. Phil Stothard joins GNS from banking and payment solutions provider ACI. Phil has over 25 years’ experience of IT development, leading teams and delivering global solutions for organizations such as HSBC and Accenture. Phil has particular expertise in data and information systems and has a track record of delivering value to internal and external clients from the solutions he has designed and delivered.

With a spate of big new projects coming on stream in the next few years, Australia is soon expected to become the world’s largest exporter of  liquefied natural gas (LNG). Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) says that Australia is on track to overtake Qatar to become the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in 2018. According to a new report from Accenture, Australia’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry is poised to become the world’s largest and most technologically advanced, contributing more than AUD$55 billion to Australia’s GDP in 2020. The country's largest LNG project, Gorgon, is expected to start up in the coming months, meaning seven major LNG projects will be operating this year.

With a belief that innovation in shipping has fallen well behind other sectors, new entrant into the maritime industry Nisomar has launched a range of services for ship owners, operators, brokers, charterers and financial institutions. Nisomar said it has pioneered a method of collecting global shipping data and created proprietary technology, based upon technology that generates highly accurate business-critical data. The firm will derive insights from big data to offer analytics that support business decisions…

Australia could develop the world’s most technologically advanced LNG industry, according to a report by Accenture. But if industry is to reach its potential and maximise its contribution to the national economy, it must first overcome some significant hurdles. The report — Ready or not? Creating a world-leading oil and gas industry in Australia — found that the Australian LNG industry must improve its international competitiveness, and governments must remove regulatory constraints and make the workplace relations system more flexible. With seven new projects entering production between 2015 and 2018, Australia’s LNG production is set to rise more than 90 per cent over the next five years and the LNG industry is tipped to contribute $55 billion to GDP by 2020, Accenture said.

Bunker Holding Group (Bunker Holding), a global leader in the purchase, sale and supply of marine fuel with 54 offices in 27 countries, announced today the acquisition of LQM Petroleum Services Inc. (LQM). LQM is one of the largest international marine fuel oil brokers who handles approximately 10 million mts per year across ~250 customers worldwide. The Company has a strong presence in the United States with offices in New Jersey, Connecticut and Texas; as well as offices in London, Paris and Singapore. Bunker Holding Group CEO, Keld R. Demant said: “The acquisition of LQM is a logical step in Bunker Holding’s growth strategy and brings together two family-owned businesses with similar values and a long history of working well together”. “LQM is an excellent fit.

Shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries is collaborating with technology service provider Accenture to design a ‘connected smart ship’ that aims to enable ship owners to better manage their fleets and achieve potential operational savings through the application of digital technologies. Using a network of sensors that will be built into new vessels, ship owners will be able to capture a range of ship voyage information including location, weather and ocean current data, as well as on-board equipment and cargo status data. By applying real-time analytics to new and historical fleet data and using data visualization technology to present the insights…

President Mark D. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., an in the field of deep-ocean exploration, has implemented its planned management transitions that were announced in August. Odyssey President Mark D. Gordon assumed the additional role of chief executive officer on October 1, 2014, succeeding Gregory P. Stemm, who had held the position since 2007. Stemm has become chairman of the board, succeeding Bradford B. Baker, who will continue to serve as lead director. Stemm, in his new role…

The world’s largest shipbuilder has launched an initiative with several industry partners that aims to help small and medium-sized ICT companies develop software for smart shipping, a so-called Eco System for Smart Ships. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and its partners SK Shipping, Intel, Microsoft, the Ulsan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (UCCEI) and the Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (DCCEI) will together help domestic companies develop “17 Ship Service Software,” that meet the needs of shipowners for safe ship operation and improved crew wellbeing. The Ship Service Software that is planned to be developed and applied to smart ships by 2019 will enable ballast tank inspection…

Fugro N.V. announces that the Supervisory Board of Fugro nominates Mrs. P.H.M. Hofsté and Mrs. A.H. Montijn for appointment as members of the Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) to be held on 30 April 2015. Mrs. P. (Petri) H.M. Hofsté (1961) has held senior financial management positions at different organisations. She was a partner at KPMG before she was appointed group controller and later deputy chief financial officer at ABN AMRO Bank. Thereafter she has been division director of the Dutch Central Bank and chief financial and risk officer of APG Group, the largest Dutch pension administrator. Currently, she is member of the Supervisory Board of Kas Bank, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and Achmea and member of the board of the Nyenrode Foundation.