Large Network News

Spanish police have made a record cocaine seizure, finding 9.5 tonnes of the drug hidden among boxes of bananas in a shipping container from Ecuador in the southern port of Algeciras.The stash was the largest ever found in a single container in Spain, the police said in a statement."This operation was an unprecedented blow to one of the world's most important criminal organizations in cocaine distribution, targeting major criminal networks in Europe," it said.The boxes were marked…

Sofar Ocean is on a quest to extract and put to use data from the world’s waterways. Co-Founder and CEO Tim Janssen discusses how his team’s hyper-focus on data is helping to improve weather routing via Wayfinder.Tim Janssen and his Sofar Ocean team continue their ‘Epic Ocean Data Quest,’ remaining laser focused on doing its part to help extract and put to use increasing quantities of information from the world’s oceans. For its part, Sofar continues to build scalable networks to gather information premised on its Sofar Spotter buoy.

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.

The U.S. Navy needs more ships. And that means the Navy has to build more ships than it is decommissioning.The sea service has a stated a goal of 355 ships, and as many as 500 and more when unmanned platforms are counted. There are 298 ships in the fleet today. For surface ships, this number includes a high-low mix of highly capable large surface combatants, and smaller ships such as littoral combat ships LCS).The Navy’s smallest combatants are the 330-ton, 197-foot coastal patrol boats (PCs). Up until recently, ten of them have been serving in the Middle East with the U.S.

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, is launching a 45,000-square-foot training and service center campus in Chesapeake, Va. The defense contractor will move its existing service center from Norfolk, Va., to the Chesapeake campus to add a state-of-the-art training facility and further expand advanced service support for its customers. The move represents a $13 million investment in the community.“We are excited to have Fairbanks Morse Defense as the newest member of our business community,” said Rick West, Mayor of Chesapeake.

Fifteen companies from 11 countries were selected by a panel of industry experts, investors and entrepreneurs for the 6th PortXL acceleration program in Rotterdam. Starting in September, they will spend three months in Rotterdam. The PortXL team and its large network of expert mentors and partners will support them in validating their technologies and scaling their businesses. The program will end on December 2, when the signed contracts between innovators and corporate partners, such as Port of Rotterdam and Van Oord, will be announced at the Shakedown event.

U.S. shipbuilder SAFE Boats International will reopen its Tacoma, Wash. facility following the award of a $20 million lead contract for the U.S. Navy to start construction of the Mark VI patrol boats headed for the government of Ukraine.The U.S. Navy announced in January it had awarded SAFE Boats a portion of the contract to purchase long-lead material and associated pre-production and planning support with the remaining $80 million award anticipated in June.SAFE Boats’ Tacoma…

C-Shipping & Logistics handles freight transport from origin to destination and is a strong new addition to the port of Rotterdam’s roster of players. The new company was founded by Rederij de Jong, after teaming up for the occasion with two other big names in shipping and transport: Wouter Kleiss and Mathijs van Schaik.As operational directors, Kleiss and Van Schaik bring along a large network in the shipping sector, and Rederij de Jong ranks as one of the largest shipping companies in the inland shipping and push towing segments. “Through this partnership, we hope to transport even more cargo to the hinterland via Rotterdam.”C-Shipping & Logistics works as a shipbroker and ship agent and is involved in inland shipping, storage and handling.

China’s container shipping company Cosco Shipping Lines signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa-based Bolloré Transport & Logistics to develop new opportunities in transport, logistics and port infrastructure.The two companies, partners for over 20 years, want to densify their commercial relations while exploring new opportunities for cooperation in transport, logistics and port infrastructure.Through this agreement, the two companies have agreed to explore the possibilities of commercial collaboration in order to develop their respective activities and satisfy the needs of their customers, particularly in terms of digitalization.Bolloré Transport & Logistics and Cosco Shipping  Lines share the common ambition to intensify international flows…

Aberdeen based Kongsberg Maritime camera systems group has delivered a new large network IP CCTV system to Chantier Davie Canada for installation aboard the new Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Auxiliary Naval Replenishment Ship, known currently as ‘Project Resolve’. Project Resolve was established to develop an interim fleet supply vessel for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The project purchased MS Asterix, a commercial containership, and is converting it into an Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment ship that will be chartered by the Royal Canadian Navy.

Barillec marine will be at the meeting of maritime and river economy in Paris at the Euromaritime - Eurowaterways professional exhibition with Interprofession du Port de Concarneau (IPC). As a player in the shipbuilding industry in the port of Concarneau, Barillec marine is part of a growth dynamic aiming at attracting talent, contributing to local economic development and expanding naval industry in export. The company intends to enhance and strengthen its expertise in power generation, distribution and energy storage.

The Wilhelmsen group hires Inge André Sandvik as head of digital solutions, starting January 2017. “Accelerating our digital transformation, Inge brings with him a unique combination of digital entrepreneurship, business curiosity and a large network within the digital eco-system,” says Thomas Wilhelmsen, group CEO. “We really look forward to lifting our digital competence with Inge’s innovative thinking and to ensure we focus our energy on transformation that will make our customers and us more efficient. “I am not sure I can claim maritime expertise, just because I am from Vesterålen, a coastal area in the northern part of Norway, but I am intrigued by Wilhelmsen’s vision – shaping the maritime industry…

30 years and 500 vessels later, Damen Trading is just getting started. Damen Trading’s story begins in 1986, with Damen Shipyards Group responding to growing market demand for used vessels. Since then, Damen Trading has gone on to sell over 500 used vessels, right across the maritime spectrum, developing along the way a reputation for personalised, reliable service. The decision to establish Damen Trading was a logical one, says Senior Sales Manager Michel Radjiman “With Damen Marine Services already operating its own charter fleet, from the outset we had a lot of operational knowledge in-house. Mr Radjiman says every sale is unique.

Demanding assurance pursuant to the UCC may save you from sinking on someone else’s ship. Vessel operations require a large network of companies that come together to keep the entire business chain – including yours – running smoothly. Keeping the lights on and the boats running requires agreements with banks, investors, shipbuilders, component manufacturers, designers, technical specialists, repairmen, suppliers, agents and countless other entities. Many of these agreements involve relationships that have developed over time during differing market conditions.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India’s largest port developer and a part of Adani Group, a global integrated player, entered into a strategic partnership with National Collateral Management Services Limited (NCML), a major Agri-infrastructure player, for collateral management and warehousing services. The objective of these services will be to assist industries, traders, Importers and exporters in financing their capital requirements at all stages of the supply chain, ranging from Post harvest storage to export or Import stages. Mr. Sanjay Kaul , MD & Chief Executive Officer, NCML, signed the agreement with Capt Unmesh Abhyankar, Chief Executive Officer (Mundra Port) and Mr. Vipul Shah, Head –Sales and Mktg, Adani Hazari port in presence of Mr.

Inmarsat, a provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has staged the inaugural Smart Operations conference, the first in a series of events seeking an open debate in the maritime industry over the operational benefits of integrated thinking on shore and ship communications. With the first of the three new Global Xpress satellites already in orbit – a prelude to the global launch of the world’s first high-speed mobile broadband satellite service to the maritime industry…

Boat Beacon App, for smartphones & tablets now on Android following its success on iPhone; improves safety at sea for boaters. Mariners can now use their Android devices to keep a watch on nearby boats along busy coastlines while enabling other boatsto follow their current location using Boat Beacon Maps and Global Marine AIS systems. The Boat Beacon app, developed by a skipper for other skippers, does not require an external AIS receiver or transponder equipment and provides location tracking at a fraction of the cost of an AIS system.

Substantial simulator delivery with significant expansion options included. The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO), acting on behalf of three naval training centres in Denmark, has chosen Kongsberg Maritime to supply sophisticated new bridge simulation facilities. The contract, which was signed in Ballerup, Denmark on 14th December 2011, was awarded to Kongsberg Maritime as part of a public tender issued to support the Royal Danish Navy’s training capabilities through advanced simulation technology.

ALGAE-X® International announces its distribution agreement with Peroni Service Company. Based in Rome, Italy, Peroni Service Company will introduce ALGAE-X® Magnetic Fuel Conditioners and the AFC-705 Fuel Catalyst to its large network of distributors and dealers servicing the marine, power generation, trucking and automotive industries throughout Italy and the northern Mediterranean and Adriatic regions. ALGAE-X® Fuel Conditioners will be installed in the fuel systems for new engine packages and retrofitted into existing engine installations for Marine, Power Generation, Trucking and Transportation, Construction, Mining, Agriculture and other applications.