Communication Tool News

One of Puget Sound's oldest surviving wooden tugs is being restored after sinking in Hood Canal in the summer of 2017.Built in 1906 by James Hall, the tugboat Parthia had a long-life servicing ships that called to Washington's Capital City, Olympia. Beyond working, she is also a five-time winner of the Olympia Harbor Days vintage tugboat races - a true icon of the city's waterfront.After the vessel sank while under private ownership, several members of the Puget Sound Maritime…

Pollution response can be faster and more effective when there is an established emergency communications and emergency system.Mediterranean Countries recently met at a regional workshop held in Brussels, Belgium (22-23 October), to explore the set-up of a common emergency communication system for marine pollution incidents that connects the entire Mediterranean region. During the event, representatives from 12 Mediterranean countries - Albania, Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Egypt, France, Israel, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey - received training in the European Union's Common Emergency Communication and Information System for Marine Pollution from ships and off-shore units (CECIS).The participants…

Alphatron Marine’s robustly designed AlphaEye is a next generation service communication tool offering the capability to have an extra set of eyes “onboard.” With the AlphaEye, the crew onboard can call through a dedicated (satellite from 128kb, 3G or 4G) communication link directly with the expert in the Alphatron Marine office and obtain error analysis and problem solving in a matter of minutes. www.alphatronmarine.com (As published in the January 2016 edition of Marine News - http://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MaritimeNews)

Alphatron Marine has introduced what it is calling “the next generation service communication tool”; AlphaEye aims to offer the capability to have an extra set of eyes “on board”, allowing for support specialists to be standing by 24/7 to solve any problem, globally and remotely. With AlphaEye, the crew on board can directly call through a dedicated communication link via satellite from 128kb, 3G or 4G to reach an expert in the Alphatron Marine office. The device allows the remote expert to better experience the issues crews are facing through live audio and visual contact…

Danish marine electronics company Danelec Marine informs it will oversee a working group in the European Union (EU) EfficienSea2 maritime innovation project designed to increase safety of navigation and efficiency at sea. The EU this month approved and set aside $11 million to fund the EfficienSea2 initiative, which is being spearheaded by the Danish Maritime Authority. The project consortium includes 32 partners from 12 countries. A key component of the initiative is the development of a “Maritime Cloud,” a communication tool that will improve the exchange of information for vessels at sea. The project will also yield an array of new digital services within the areas of navigation and automatic ship emission reporting and monitoring, to further increase efficiency.

The EU has approved a Danish-led, maritime innovation project with a budget of DKK 85 million, intended to enhance safety of navigation and increase efficiency at sea. 13 Danish partners will become frontrunners of the project, which is launched on 1 May. Focus will be on innovation and further development of services when the triennial maritime project "EfficienSea2" is launched on 1 May. The Danish Maritime Authority is to lead the project, and an important part of it consists in the development of the ground-breaking "Maritime Cloud" – a communication tool that will strengthen the exchange of information in and around the maritime sector.

Piracy, terrorism and criminal activities originating in Somalia can only be addressed by creating a climate of security, engagement and empowerment that will encourage home grown businesses, international investment and alternative employment for Somalia’s young people. That’s one of the key conclusions of the second high level meeting of public and private sector experts on Somalia brought together by DP World and knowledge partner the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA) in Dubai under the theme ‘Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Opportunities, Communities’ Engagement and Soft Diplomacy’. The expert panel was the second in a series that form part of DP World’s ongoing counter piracy efforts and Somalia capacity building.

My-Villages, a marine mobile technology company, has acquired DockMaster, an information management solution provider for marine retailers, marinas and service centers. The integration of DockMaster software and My-Villages’ consumer and professional application, called The Boat Village, will create an integrated software solution for marine businesses in the industry. By combining the DockMaster and The Boat Village technology products, My-Villages will serve more than 600 marinas, dealers, boatyards and marine service centers in North America and the Caribbean, and facilitate the care of tens of thousands of vessels. Marrying DockMaster’s suite of productivity products…

Nils S. Andersen, Maersk Group CEO in Q & A session with members of Chinese social media network Sina Weibo. During the CEO's recent visit to China, he engaged with Maersk employees, industry professionals, students, and general public in a new way - through Sina Weibo, the most popular Chinese social media platform with over 250 million users. ‘It’s exciting for me to be able to reach so many of you directly here today thanks to new technology,’ said Mr. Andersen when greeting Maersk Group’s Weibo followers on video. One week ahead of Mr. Andersen’s visit, a post on the Maersk Group Weibo main page asked followers to post questions for him to answer. Feedback was very positive and hundreds of questions were raised. In a video interview, Mr.

As the Internet continues to serve as a vital platform to instantly and publicly disseminate information and opinions, blogging has increasingly become more mainstream, and even, a pertinent resource for the Navy and other government agencies. Since emerging in the late 1990s, Web Logs, or blogs, have come a long way. In fact, the Navy, well known for its effective public outreach, has encouraged use of the web as an informational tool within guidelines. "The WWW is an extremely powerful public information tool, and its use, within these guidelines, is encouraged." As the popularity of blogs within the ranks grew, in 2005, the Navy issued a regulation (SECNAVINST 5720.47B) and said, "There is also no prohibition on blogs operated by individual members as private citizens.

Xantic has announced a major extension of ChatCard, its all-in-one calling solution for Inmarsat services. development, the new ChatCard Reload service offers a web-enabled reloading function. directly on the internet, offering significant savings in both time and money. First released in 2001, Xantic's ChatCard calling solution proved an instant success. cards and services. The effects of crew being able to contact home in terms of morale were also clear. ChatCard Reload takes the benefits of cost control and reduced administration to a new level. companies need to buy fewer cards and have less in stock. were used, ChatCard Reload allows the cards to be recharged over and over again. The regular ChatCards can also be reloaded.

Thrane & Thrane is extending its size through acquisition in an effort to be positioned as the world’s leading manufacturer of equipment for mobile satellite communication. The company acquired EuroCom Industries (Denmark), a company whose products are sold under the Sailor and Skanti brands. “The acquisition of EuroCom Industries strengthens Thrane & Thrane’s position as the world’s leading manufacturer of maritime communication equipment,” said Henrik Lunde, CEO, Thrane & Thrane. “Our customers and distribution partners will now be offered a true “one-stop-shopping” experience that can meet virtually all communication needs from the professional maritime community.

Moore Stephens has alerted the shipping industry to be wary of the Internet. Per the most recent edition of its in-house newsletter, Bottom Line, the company informs that while the Internet is a useful communication tool, it can also be time consuming and risky. The firm stresses upon problems such as security, validity and other concerns, which the shipping business may encounter when using the Internet, either as an information resource for e-commerce or communication. According to Moore Stephens, companies can take precautions such as establishing a computer security policy and statement of practice, as well as educating staff on the risks and viruses that often plague computer networks.

Electronic communication is not totally secure despite a seemingly bug-free transition into 2000, warns The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC). E-mail systems may help in reducing communication costs but they can still lead to substantial losses at the touch of a button. The latest issue of ITIC's Claims Review reports the case of a charterer who had invited tenders for a long-term charter. A shipbroker sent his principal's bid via an industry message system to the charterers' mailbox in the U.S. using an address code for the charterer. Unfortunately, the American system interpreted the code as a mailing list and the bid was circulated to a number of other owners. The principal did not secure the bid, claiming it was undercut as a result of its inadvertent publication.

The Coast Guard officially announced its initial deployment of Homeport, an internet portal. Homeport (version 1.0) is the official Coast Guard information technology system for maritime security created to provide information and services to the maritime community and the public over the Internet. Coast Guard Federal Maritime Security Coordinators will use Homeport as a primary means for the day-to-day management and communication of port security matters with Area Maritime Security Committee members, commercial vessel and facility owners and operators, government partners, and the public. Homeport will afford instant access to information necessary to support increased information sharing requirements amongst Federal…