Information And Services News

South Korean port company Busan Port Authority (BPA) said that it signed a contract with Samsung SDS to operate a logistics center in Rotterdam.BPA will begin a construction of the logistics center in September this year and complete and operate it in around June 2021.Samsung SDS, a subsidiary of Samsung group has been providing information technology services,  will provide comprehensive logistics services for small and medium-sized companies conducting business between Europe and South-Korea for 10 years from the opening of the logistics center.The signing ceremony was attended by Hong Won-pyo, CEO of Samsung SDS, as well as Joanne Doornewaard, Dutch Ambassador in South-Korea and officials from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

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.

The Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) with an aim to promote the development, consolidation and regulation of the maritime sector based on competitiveness, sustainability, excellence and innovation.The MOC is a result of relentless efforts by both parties to establish effective strategic partnerships to elevate the UAE’s position as one of the world’s best maritime centers.The agreement was signed by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of “Dubai Ports World (DP World)” Chairman of “Dubai Maritime City Authority” and His Excellency Khalifa Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei…

The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to discontinue 166 navigational aids within the Virginia Inside Passage (VIP) due to shoaling and other navigational safety concerns throughout the area. Fixed aids to navigation will be removed as Coast Guard resources permit over the next several years and will be listed under an Advance Notice in future Local Notice to Mariners. The decision follows a 2013 proposal, which identified 241 navigational aids for removal. The Army Corps of Engineers completed water surveys in 2015…

General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was awarded a contract to provide information technology services and security assistance support to the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) and Navy International Programs Office. The 48-month contract value is $46.7 million. Under this contract, General Dynamics will provide the U.S. Navy with support for project, financial and logistical analysis and management; IT services; cooperative programs; and international training and educational programs. Work on the contract is being performed in Philadelphia, PA; Washington, D.C.; Pensacola, FL; and Dayton, OH.

Trade Connect, the Port of Los Angeles’ award-winning export education outreach program, formally debuted its new website, LATradeConnect.org, at today’s Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners Meeting. “Trade Connect plays a vital role in strengthening our nation’s economy by helping U.S. companies grow their business in the global marketplace,” said Ambassador Vilma Martinez, President of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission. Established in 2007, Trade Connect is a one-stop resource for small and midsize U.S. businesses looking to learn the nuts and bolts of exporting their made-in-America goods and services. The program offers a wide variety of beginning…

Exelis says it has successfully completed and fully tested six transmitter assemblies, which are integral payload components for the first in a series of the next generation of GPS III navigation satellites. The navigation payload transmitters carry high-powered GPS signals from space to Earth, benefitting military, commercial and civilian users. To ensure the space vehicle navigation payload meets performance requirements over the mission life, Exelis subjected the transmitter assemblies to a rigorous test program which includes random vibration…

The Port of San Diego appoints Robert "Bob" DeAngelis as Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer with immediate effect. DeAngelis will begin his new role immediately, overseeing Financial Services and Accounting as well as the Port's Business and Information Technology Services. He succeeds Jeff McEntee, who is retiring in May after 25 years of stellar service with the Port of San Diego, having held the CFO/Treasurer role since 2001. The Port conducted a nationwide search for this key position and considered a highly qualified pool of applicants before making this appointment.

The U.S. The Navy is modifying the total amount of a previously awarded contract to Huntington Ingalls Inc, Newport News, Va., (N00024-09-C-2116) by $407,408,093 in order to extend construction preparation efforts and provide the ability to procure additional long lead material and advance construction activities for CVN 79 if required. The current contract has been in place since 2009. This modification for additional long lead material and advance construction activity may help preserve the construction schedule. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., and is expected to complete by October 2015. Additional funding is not being obligated at this time. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Toronto – Northport Systems Inc. and MarineFuel.com announced today that they have entered into a long-term partnership agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will provide software solutions designed to extend and enhance MarineFuel.com’s service offerings. An e-commerce data portal which centralizes marina and marine fueling information for the U.S., Bahamas and the Caribbean, Marinefuel.com is a resource for digital and on-demand services regarding real-time fuel dock prices, marina travel logistics, and wholesale fuel brokerage. “Our partnership with Northport Systems is a natural next step in the evolution of MarineFuel.com’s development in the online and mobile markets,” said William McKenna, president and CEO of MarineFuel.com.

Stuart, Fla. – Northport Systems Inc., a producer of desktop and mobile navigation and mapping software products, and MarineFuel.com announced today that they have entered into a long-term partnership agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will provide software solutions designed to extend and enhance MarineFuel.com’s service offerings. An e-commerce data portal which centralizes vital marina and marine-fueling information for the U.S., Bahamas and the Caribbean, Marinefuel.com provides on-demand services regarding real-time fuel dock prices, marina travel logistics, and wholesale fuel brokerage. “Our partnership with Northport Systems is a natural next step in the evolution of MarineFuel.com’s development in the online and mobile markets…

Truston Technologies Inc., GPA Technologies Inc., Harbor Offshore Inc., Great Eastern Group Inc., and Hardline-Resolute CM, J.V. are being awarded option year three under a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee multiple award contract for barriers and mooring services in support of the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center in Port Hueneme. The work to be performed provides for project execution, logistic support, and information management services for installation, inspection, repair, maintenance, and field supervision/operation of waterfront barriers, associated moorings, waterfront security systems, and marine facilities throughout the world. The combined total value for all five contractors is $17,500,000. No funds will be obligated with this award.

CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping group, reported revenue of U.S. $14.87 billion for the year ending December 31, 2011, a 4% increase on 2010. Volumes carried increased by 11%, outperforming the market’s 6.5% increase and reaching a record high of 10,016,000 teus. The market environment was challenging, shaped by overcapacity and the steep run-up in oil prices, with per-tonne bunker prices soaring 34% over the year. CMA CGM nevertheless enjoyed a satisfactory operating performance, thanks to its extremely efficient fleet, global network and sustained cost discipline. EBITDA stood at U.S. $711 million, down from 2010, a year in which the entire container shipping industry reported record profits. The Group ended the year with a consolidated net loss of U.S. $30 million.

Partnership links world’s third largest shipping company with world leading technology services company. After five years of working together through a joint subsidiary, CMA CGM Group and IBM today announced a new strategic partnership. Under the terms of the five-year agreement, IBM will provide industry-specific expertise in new technologies such as cloud computing and analytics, and support CMA CGM’s growth by delivering superior quality information technology services that will help CMA CGM  significantly reduce costs. The IT teams from the two companies will be merged into a new subsidiary, CMA Systems, which will have an equally represented governance structure and report directly to Jacques R. Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM.

EMS Global Tracking, a division of EMS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMG), announced that GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY), a provider of satellite and aerialbased geospatial information and services, will add the EMS Osprey personal tracker solution as a custom two-way tracking and messaging solution to the suite of solutions under their Marine Services business. EMS will serve as GeoEye’s exclusive partner for its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) solution to the commercial fishing fleet market. EMS will deliver 1,000 Osprey trackers over the next year, with initial units shipping immediately. GeoEye will brand EMS’s Osprey tracker as part of the VMS and small vessel security solution within its Marine Services business.

Radio Holland USA has been awarded a multi-year contract for supply of VSAT and airtime services for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). The fleet, a division of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, State of Alaska, is made up of 11 vessels; transporting people and vehicles to 34 locations along the Alaska coastline and along a 1000 mile stretch of the Aleutian Chain to the Bering Sea. The route goes through the Inside Passage and passes through islands with high mountains and steep fjords. Due to the extreme northern latitudes and the rugged terrain, typical off the shelf supplied equipment and airtime services would not meet the demanding requirements for the AMHS.

Military Sealift Command's small business program was formally recognized in a ceremony at the Pentagon where Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work presented the Secretary's Award for the Department of the Navy's Outstanding Small Business Program in fiscal year 2007 to MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly, Jr., and MSC Associate Director of Small Business Bradley D. Taylor. This is the first time MSC has received the award, which was created in 2002 to recognize a command's success in meeting its small business program targets and the implementation of its Small Business Improvement Plan. MSC awards approximately $400m of its $3b annual budget to small U.S. businesses.

In a ceremony at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Rear Adm. David Titley assumed the office of oceanographer of the Navy, replacing retiring Rear Adm. David A. Gove. Titley will simultaneously maintain his current position as commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command until a replacement can be found. Headquartered at the U.S. Naval Observatory, the oceanographer of the Navy serves as the advisor to the chief of naval operations for resources, requirements, and policy with regard to the Naval Oceanography Program. The program, which includes the disciplines of oceanography, hydrography, meteorology, geospatial information and services…

Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Wash., has been authorized by the Russian Navy to offer for longterm commercial bareboat charter the twin screw, ocean firefighting salvage tugs Fotiy Krylov and SB-408. The 24,480 bhp, 40,000 hp salvage tug 97.6m Fotiy Krylov (ex-Tsavliris Giant, SB-135) was designed in co-operation with Wijsmuller Engineering and is one of the largest, most powerful and sophisticated tugs in the international salvage fleet. She was originally built in 1989 at a reported cost of about $45 million by Hollming Oy of Rauma, Finland for the Russian Navy and has the reported capability of towing a laden tanker of up to 500,000 dwt.

Northrop Grumman Corporation Chairman and CEO Kent Kresa stated emphatically that, "TRW shareholders have sent a strong message to TRW's board of directors today in favor of allowing Northrop Grumman to begin due diligence in connection with its proposed acquisition of TRW. We are prepared to immediately enter discussions with TRW to resolve the outstanding differences concerning an agreement that allows Northrop Grumman to begin due diligence consideration of non-public information as soon as possible. "As we have previously stated, we are willing to pay full and fair value for TRW and encourage TRW to provide information supporting any additional hidden value.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has received orders to supply electronic navigation systems for 13 new ships under construction at shipyards in Turkey. Sperry Marine, a business unit of Northrop Grumman, won the orders, which include nine chemical tankers at Marmara Shipyard (Yilak Group) and four new dry cargo and oil tankers at Yardimci and Turkter Shipyards (Yardimci Group). The ships will be fitted with Sperry Marine radars, autopilots, speed and heading sensors and other components. STT Deniz Ticaret ve Servis Ltd, Sperry Marine’s sales and service representative in Turkey, will install and commission the systems on the ships. Sperry Marine…

McQuilling Services has released its January 2008 Tanker Market Outlook for the period 2008 through 2012. The report, produced each year in January, presents a forecast for 10 trades in the five major tanker sectors through 2012. Six dirty trades and four clean trades are evaluated and discussed. Since a year ago the world economic outlook has changed significantly in the short term. Growth is expected to slow from 5.2% in 2007 to 4.8% in 2008. The slowdown was sparked by the US economy and its travails in the sub-prime mortgage market which have spread to the international financial markets.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded a delivery order for the fifth year of a five-year contract to provide technical, logistics and material support for navigation systems installed on U.S. Navy ships and submarines. The delivery order, valued at $15.5m, was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit by Naval Inventory Control Point, Mechanicsburg, Pa., under a firm fixed-price performance-based logistics (PBL) contract. Under the contract, Sperry Marine will supply material management, configuration management and program management services for the AN/WSN-7 inertial navigation systems, and the AN/BPS-15 and AN/BPS-16 submarine radar systems.