Portable Solution News

Wärtsilä Voyage, part of the technology group Wärtsilä, launches Smart Realities a fully immersive extended reality (XR) training and assessment solution for ship handling, bridge and marine engineering applicationsAccording to Wärtsilä, Smart Realities applications can transform the way that maritime educational content is delivered, enhancing student learning and engagement, and inspiring a new generation of tech-savvy mariners as the shipping industry continues to adopt the latest intelligent and green technologies.

Patterson Manufacturing‘s new davit cranes are designed from the ground up for improved safety, ease of use, durability and reliability. What more could you ask?Patterson Manufacturing has supplied equipment into the marine market for more than 160 years, consistently expanding its lines of winches, rigging and fittings to meet evolving demands along the way, and even engineering custom products when the job requires. Now the Pittsburgh-based manufacturer is adding a new line of davit cranes to the mix.The new cranes…

Supertankers entering the Port of Long Beach will use ABB’s marine software to produce real-time data of the keel-to-seabed clearance, improving the safety and efficiency of the operations. Sensors fitted to Tesoro vessels will send information to a Portable Surveyor Box (PSB), carried by the pilot, which will verify their route to the dock. In this specific case, the system is used to continuously validate (and improve) pre-calculated motions from the online decision support system PROTIDE, which is used to calculate safe transit time windows for large oil tankers to enter the port.

A raft of new and innovative concepts for LNG barge missions hits the market, in North America and across the pond, as well. Industry gears up for the soon-to-come need for bunkering, infrastructure and LNG-related logistics. In 2014, innovation – as it turns out – means new ideas for the (previously) boring subject of marine barges. It also means LNG. Paired together, LNG and barges are giving naval architects, global classification societies and the operators of a new generation of LNG-powered tonnage something to think about. That’s because the final link of the push to move to dual fuel and/or LNG-powered commercial vessels involves infrastructure. Some early stakeholders are ramping up shore infrastructure to meet the coming demand for bunkers.

Amarcon, a member of the ABB group, announced that it has received an order for in total eleven OCTOPUS-Onboard installations for Heavy Lift vessels from Cosco Heavy Transport and BigLift Shipping. The Cosco deal was closed after the heavy cargo transporter leased the portable OCTOPUS-Onboard system on several occasions. Cosco heavy transport operates a versatile fleet within the semi-submersible and project cargo transportation industry and provides her services across the globe.

Delta Wave Communications, LLC, an Elite Stratos Channel Partner is pleased to announce that they have been selected as Stratos’ distribution and installation partner for the new StratosMax II Nomadic WiMax service. With up to 1Mbps service for marine vessels operating in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond, the service offers unprecedented broadband internet connectivity with land line voice access. StratosMAX leverages emerging WiMAX technology based on 802.16 standards to create a wide area network for long range offshore communications.

Allen Marine, Inc. has announced the construction of the world's first aluminum floating dry dock. This fully self-contained, eco-friendly unit represents a major breakthrough in boat-lifting equipment. The aluminum floating dry dock is the brainchild of CEO David Allen. The dry dock is 140 feet long, with 42 feet of space between the 26-foot tall wing walls. It is capable of lifting vessels of up to 1000 tons, at 5 LT/feet of keel block loading. The Allen Marine floating dry dock is unique because it is constructed entirely of marine-grade aluminum (a high-caliber alloy).

Against a backdrop of rising piracy on the high seas, particularly from Somali-based attackers, marine equipment specialist Scanjet says its SCR 360 APR water cannon Marine Protection System (MPS) is in increasing demand. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recently confirmed that 2010 was the worst year for pirate attacks on shipping on record. A total of 53 ships were hijacked, while owners reported 445 attacks on vessels in 2010, up 10% on 2009. The human cost was severe, with 1181 crew members taken hostage and eight killed. Scanjet Sales director Bjorn Lundgren says, “After its launch in 2009, the take-up of the Scanjet MPS was slow to begin with, but since the summer of 2010 demand has really exploded.