Operations Solutions News

Wärtsilä Voyage and Japan based weather routing provider Weathernews Inc (WNI) have signed a strategic partnership agreement enabling the integration of WNI’s weather forecasting data and Optimum Ship Routeing (OSR) service with Wärtsilä’s products and solutions. According to Wärtsilä, the move aims to increase navigational safety and support the decarbonization efforts of ship owners and operators.By automating navigation and route planning functions with weather avoidance technology, owners can reduce risks and allow seafarers to concentrate on other operational requirements.

WE Tech Solutions said it has received an order to deliver its Solution One Economical Operations to a series of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in South Korea. This 174,000-cubic-meter capacity LNG carrier series is owned by Knutsen OAS Shipping and will be chartered to Polish Oil Mining and Gas Extraction S.A..WE Tech said its delivery package includes two sets of direct drive permanent magnet shaft generators, variable speed frequency drives and dedicated power management System (DPMS).

WE Tech Solutions said Tuesday it has been awarded a contract to equip six additional newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that will be chartered to Shell.The Finnish firm said it will deliver six shipsets of its Solution One for the 174,000m³ capacity LNG carriers, which are chartered to energy major Shell LNG via the owners Knutsen OAS Shipping, J.P.Morgan Asset Management and Korea Line Corporation. The order is an option to the earlier eight contracted in March, now also added with a second option for another six more.The vessels are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.…

Speaking last week at the 2018 Transas Global Conference in Vancouver, Transas CEO Frank Coles laid out his vision for the maritime industry’s future – from safer, greener and more efficient ships to a world without freight forwarders. As has come to be expected from the Transas CEO, Coles did not hesitate to offer a healthy dose of constructive criticism – particularly in the direction of those he sees as a hindrance to industry-wide progress, be it ship owners and operators, freight forwarders or regulators.

You know if Elon Musk was to attend a plenary session of the IMO, he could be forgiven if he thought he was watching a reenactment of the Charles Dickens book Hard Times, with Mr. Gradgrind the Headmaster. What a sad reflection of our industry. Imagine instead! Imagine a world where logistics companies and cargo owners drive ship design, innovation and demand the level of quality in ship management. Where maritime assets are operated in a global ecosystem of tracking, monitoring and safety. Imagine a world where ships are operated in a “ship as a service” or “system of systems” infrastructure. Where we have replaced the current fragmented IoT and applications model. This is a world where consolidation has removed many of the industry’s historical middlemen.

ABB is deepening its analytical and predictive approach to vessel maintenance with the latest upgrade of its Remote Diagnostic Service (RDS). ABB is one of the leading advocates of the digitalization of shipping and has already launched Integrated Operation Centers in Asia, Europe and the USA where data produced by ships is received and monitored. The upgraded software functionalities will give more power and transparency to the shore side operations of ship owners whilst ABB has stepped up its proactive monitoring of the data and predictive analytics.

CargoSmart Limited, a shipment management software solutions provider that leverages big data for greater visibility and benchmarking, announced that COSCO Container Lines Co. Ltd. (COSCON) has started to implement CargoSmart’s online customer service and ocean carrier analytics solutions. The customer service solutions provide COSCON with process-oriented documentation and visibility tools for its customers to manage their shipments online. The carrier operations solutions help COSCON to optimize their vessel operations. Using predictive analytics, COSCON leverages CargoSmart’s global vessel and route data to improve planning, marine operations, and cost savings. Increased visibility to vessel operation exceptions and potential disruptions enables COSCON to respond faster and save costs.

Event showcases advanced design, construction and operations solutions for the energy, mining and shipbuilding industries. Aveva   holds its Aveva World User Meeting Brazil 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. Delegates will learn more about Aveva’s solutions for the design and construction of plants and ships, as well as those for the modification and life extension of existing assets. There will be opportunities to participate in technical discussions, exchanging experiences of current challenges and opportunities in energy, mining and shipbuilding. Aveva will present its latest technologies, including the brand-new Aveva Everything3D (Aveva E3D)…

Todd Hornbeck, who has quickly yet judiciously built a sizeable marine company at Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. in just five years, shares with MarineNews the secrets of his success. Upon meeting with Todd Hornbeck, President and CEO of Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. at the literal epicenter of big oil dollars - the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston - one is continuously struck with the contrasts of the man and mission. "Cutting edge, but very conservative and practical in our approach to business" is his description of the company. The son of a successful entrepreneur who survived the devastating oil downturn of the early to mid 1980s…