Innovative Services News

Kongsberg Maritime has won a contract to upgrade the propulsion systems on five ro-ro passenger ferries for Italian operator Moby. The vessel upgrades will together reduce CO2 emissions by more than 30,000 tons per year.Moby operates a fleet of ro-ro passenger ferries, operating in the western Mediterranean, including routes between the Italian mainland, Sicily, and Sardinia.Three of the ships, the Moby Vinci, the Sharden, and the Moby Aki, will all receive a Promas Lite propulsion system, which combines rudder and propeller into one propulsion unit.

Wilhelmsen Ship Management has appointed Felina Lin as its new Vice President of Services and New Growth.Responsible for growing the company's ship management’s service portfolio, Lin  will launch conventional and innovative services that supplement Wilhelmsen Ship Management's core business, the company said.Lin brings in over a decade of commercial experience from her role working in ship owner and ship manager for the offshore and marine segment. Having a full spectrum of all dimensions…

Crowley has appointed Charles "Charlie" Jors as chief naval architect for the company’s engineering services. He will lead Crowley’s vessel design and marine engineering teams.With nearly 20 years of naval architecture and marine engineering experience, Jors has served in previous leadership roles on complex projects, involving vessel design and development, construction, structural analysis, conversion and modification.Since joining Crowley in 2010, Jors has played an active role expanding the company’s engineering services capabilities for maritime partners and customers.

Maritime satellite communications solutions provider Applied Satellite Technology (AST) is partnering with The Liberian Registry as the first authorized service provider of the Iridium Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) for Liberian flagged vessels.As a Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention recognized system, the Iridium GMDSS maritime emergency and distress service helps keep mariners safe in emergency situations at sea, prevent accidents via receipt of Maritime…

Classification society RINA said it has opened its Fleet Operating Center (FOC) in newly expanded offices in Piraeus. The move, together with the relocation of the Deputy EVP for the Marine Business, Massimo Volta, to Athens, is part of the company’s long-term strategy to further strengthen its presence in Greece.The new center will make it possible to integrate, in real time and on a single platform, ship records and certificates, ship plans, manuals and calculations, with data from the shipboard automation and meteo-marine information…

As the prospects for offshore wind energy continue to grow in and around the United States, so too do the business potential and parnterships. The latest announcement comes from south Florida where Resolve Marine Group and Bibby Marine Services, a U.K. based dedicated “Walk to Work” vessel company (W2W) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to  develop Jones Act compliant vessel solutions for the U.S. offshore wind sector. Resolve and Bibby will aim to partner with wind resource providers to deliver timely and innovative services in this sector. While initial focus will be on W2W vessel solutions, the partnership is targeting a wider range of multi-faceted solutions including CTV vessel requirements…

Offshore marine logistics company, Topaz Energy and Marine has entered into a long-term agreement with the GE company Baker Hughes (BHGE) for its proprietary lubricant condition monitoring system, VitalyX.The two firms will collaborate on boosting the maintenance and upkeep of Topaz’s fleet of vessels and increase the field time for each vessel.VitalyX is expected to be deployed on the entire module carrying vessel (MCV) fleet for Topaz in late 2019 and is the largest single collaboration with the technology since being first unveiled at BHGE’s Annual Meeting in January.Utilising the Internet of Things (IoT) by combining the latest sensor hardware with condition monitoring software…

Qatar-based maritime and logistics conglomerate Qatar Navigation (Milaha) has signed an agreement with Oracle Cloud applications to drive a major digital transformation across all its core business operations and its subsidiaries.The initiative will help Milaha create new revenue streams by introducing innovative services and drive operational efficiency with automated processes, said a press release from the Qatari logistics giant.Abdulrahman AlMannai, Milaha’s President and Chief Executive Officer said “In line with State of Qatar 2030 vision and in a world of increasingly complex supply chains, constantly challenging the status quo is imperative to drive sustained growth and deliver on fast-evolving customer expectations.

RightShip, the world’s leading maritime risk management and environmental assessment organisation, has appointed its new CEO. Martin Crawford-Brunt will replace outgoing CEO Warwick Norman who announced his decision to step down from the position in 2017. Crawford-Brunt takes up his new post on 12 March 2018 and brings more than 20 years of maritime sector experience to RightShip. For the past decade he has held senior positions around the world, with a track record of successfully building businesses and delivering increased value to ship owners. He joins RightShip from DNV GL where he was responsible for leading significant change, transforming its business model and introducing innovative services. Martin will initially be based at RightShip’s London office.

Speedcast International Limited,  provider of fully managed remote communication and IT solutions, has signed a reseller agreement with Tampnet for 4G/LTE services in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreement marks Speedcast as the first service provider to partner with Tampnet for its high capacity offshore network in the region. Tampnet announced in March that it has reached 25 percent of its planned coverage for the Gulf of Mexico. Upon completion at the end of 2018, Tampnet will have a low latency, high capacity fiber and microwave network made up of more than 60 base stations that they estimate will cover 98 percent of all manned offshore assets. Tampnet currently owns a similarly designed offshore low-latency network in the North Sea which has been in operation since 2001.

KOTUG International and Seabulk Towing have been awarded a contract with Borco Towing Company to carry out all towage operations at their Buckeye Bahamas Hub in the Bahamas. The contract will be performed through a newly formed joint venture between KOTUG and Seabulk: Kotug Seabulk Maritime. The Buckeye Bahamas Hub currently has over 26 million barrels of storage capacity and eight berths, including two VLCC-capable berths, making it the largest petroleum products terminal in the Western Hemisphere. Kotug Seabulk Maritime is deploying four new tugboats and a bunker barge to execute all Terminal Towage Operations, including Bunker Barge Assistance.

Malini Dutt, Robert Feng and Martin Hubenack have recently been appointed to represent the port of Antwerp in India, China and Eastern Europe respectively. This brings the number of port representatives to 12, reinforcing Antwerp's presence in its core hinterland and important overseas growth regions. The task of these representatives is to keep Antwerp "top of mind" with local companies, ports, chambers of commerce and other players. With an annual freight volume of 6.4 million tonnes carried between it and the Indian ports, Antwerp is the European market leader for this region. India is one of the fastest-expanding economies in the world, with an annual growth rate of 7%. Malini Dutt joins Raj Khalid, so that Antwerp now has two representatives in the port city of Mumbai.

International energy logistics provider Peterson is to partner with Port Cameron in Louisiana to develop a deepwater staging port and supply base facility serving the Gulf of Mexico. Peterson has signed a teaming partnership agreement with Port Cameron for the development of a 500-acre deep water staging port. Upon completion, Port Cameron in Louisiana will be one of the largest private energy services facilities on the Gulf Coast. The agreement will see Peterson serve as port manager with the option to lease up to 1.2 million square feet of space in Port Cameron Logistics Center. The proposed development will feature more than 21,000 linear feet of bulkhead lots on dredged slips of 500-feet and 700-feet wide and dredged depths of 33 feet.

Telenor Maritime has acquired SatPoint AB, a firm with a strong position in the Baltic Sea with more than 125 maritime broadband installations on ferries, merchant vessels, and floating accommodation units. The merger is dependent on approval from competition laws. SatPoint AB is a provider of broadband satellite communication and IT services for maritime customers in Europe and across the globe, delivering VSAT equipment and capacity, teleport, and operations, enabling services such as VoIP, GSM, VoD, and TV. SatPoint AB was founded in 2002 in Stockholm, Sweden. “It is important to note that the maritime sector has been undergoing a period of consolidation,” said Frode Støldal, CEO of Telenor Maritime.

A new LNG-driven fast ferry Megastar was christened in Meyer Turku shipyard for owner/operator Tallink Grupp. The environmentally sound ship was christened on July 1 by former president of Finland Tarja Halonen. First steel was cut for Megastar on August 4, 2015, and the keel was laid on February 9, 2016. Float-out and sea-trials are planned for July and the last months of 2016, respectively, followed by delivery planned to take place in the beginning of 2017. Janek Stalmeister, CEO of AS Tallink Grupp, said that the process of completing the ship is now almost halfway done.

TerraMar Networks and Energy Perspectives join forces to offer ground-breaking LNG analytics services. Global GPS asset tracking provider, TerraMar Networks Limited has announced  that it has entered into an agreement with Energy Perspectives, expert consultancy in natural gas based in Norway, to collaborate on an innovative global analytics services for the LNG (liquefied natural gas) market. iGIS/LNG is the first, combined real time tracking and business application for natural gas producers…

Over the past three years, DELO Group, a Russian private transport company, has implemented an investment program, including rail and other adjacent port infrastructure, construction of stevedoring and inland storage terminals for oil products, construction of the KSK grain terminal, acquisition of 50% of the NUTEP container terminal from its JV partner and an expansion program turning the terminal into a chief container terminal throughout Russian coasts. “We are planning to double capacity at NUTEP from 350,000 to 600 - 700,000 TEU,” said Andrei Bubnov, CFO of DELO Group.

Drydocks World & Maritime World, the leading global provider of innovative services to the marine and maritime sectors under oil & gas and energy industries, today announced the 2014 winners under its employee award scheme to recognize performance excellence among its staff. The awards being held for the second consecutive year recognizes an employee’s commitment & work ethic in embracing the challenges as the business continues to expand at a global level. HE Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman, Drydocks World & Maritime World said, “We are moving to a knowledge based company with the further development of a national competitive workforce. We will continue to drive home performance and deliverables.

Environmental Protection Engineering S.A.(EPE) has become the first Greek company to obtain certification from classification society Germanischer Lloyd. GL is a certified provider of Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) services. EPE becomes one of only a handful of companies worldwide that are able to offer IHM in compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships and the Guidelines for the Development of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials. EPE HazMat Expert, Mr.

A focus on safety, service quality and the ability to provide leading-edge technology advice and solutions have contributed to the strong half-year performance for Det Norske Veritas Group AS (DNV). Revenues amounted to NOK 6,665 million and DNV strengthened its global position in all its key areas. While the industries served by DNV experience cyclical markets and are sensitive to global economic developments, DNV’s financial performance remains robust. The DNV Group achieved a strong first half-year performance, with nominal revenue growth of 13% over prior year to NOK 6,665 million. Organic growth was 5%. Maritime and Oil & Gas delivered robust organic growth rates, primarily due to DNV’s classification and verification services.

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has developed a new innovative product, the Quick Docking/Fuel Saving package. This offers owners a fast and low-cost additional docking with the sole aim of reducing fuel consumption in between the five-year statutory survey period. The first vessel booked under the new concept has docked at Damen Shiprepair Brest (France). It is the capesize bulker Castillo De Catoira operated by Spanish company Empresa Naviera Elcano. Damen expects to bring more of its vessels to its shiprepair yards.

Funds managed by IK Investment Partners (IK) have entered into an agreement with the Norwegian foundation Det Norske Veritas (DNV), to acquire its subsidiary DNV Petroleum Services (DNVPS), a global leader in fuel management services. Financial details for the transaction were not disclosed. Founded by the Norwegian foundation DNV in 1981, DNVPS is a leading global provider of fuel management services for the maritime and power sectors with customers including ship owners, managers and charterers as well as power plant operators.

Lloyds Register Energy – Drilling (LRED), formerly ModuSpec Engineering UK Limited, was presented with the award by Aberdeen's Lord Lieutenant George Adam, acting on behalf of HM the Queen, in recognition of the company's sustained business expansion. Lloyds Register Energy - Drilling UK is an Aberdeen, Scotland-based market leading company, providing a range of innovative services to ensure the operational integrity of drilling assets for the oil and gas sector, often working in hostile environments.