New Autonomous Navigation System Put to the Test
A rigorous sea trials program has demonstrated that a new autonomous navigation system can safely navigate unmanned vessels in real-time and in a real-life environment—without human intervention.U.K.-based tpgroup said its patent pending Northstar was successfully used on different platforms and within a range of environments that include congested waterways and in open water. This level of technological maturity (technical readiness level 7) means that it can be developed for…
Wärtsilä to Optimize Voyage Planning
The provider of smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets Wärtsilä unveils its new Navi-Planner voyage planning and optimisation solution.Developed by Transas, a Wärtsilä company, the new Navi-Planner makes use of the connected ECDIS. The new connectivity allows tedious onboard voyage planning to be cut from 5 hours to 30min, while also providing a minimum navigational safety standard for a less experienced crew.The new Navi-Planner utilises one of the world’s largest navigational databases, as well as artificial intelligence to auto-create a route that is safe to sail. It calculates weather optimisation…
Maritime's Push Toward "Net Zero Carbon"
IMO’s 2050 deadline to reduce GHG emissions 50% from 2008 levels has set off a gold rush to develop Zero Emissions SolutionsClimate change is the biggest issue facing [all aspects of] the maritime industry, said Kitak Lim, IMO secretary general, in an interview earlier this year with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. He predicted that shipping could experience as much change in the next 10 to 20 years as it has in the last 100 years, as the industry races to meet a number of challenges…
Driving Operational Change with Data-driven Analytics
Real-time reporting and data analysis are key tools to understanding and improving complex operating environments of today’s companies where the overall effects of any individual action can be very difficult to identify without a proper tool set at hand. Identifying and continuously improving best practices are also best served by the same process which then allows shipowners and operators to see what’s happening underneath all the noise — to find what otherwise would be lost in the variance of the data.
New Vessel Sharing Agreement
Following the success of a previous vessel sharing agreement, Danish carrier Maersk Line announced the establishment of a new Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) with French-based CMA-CGM utilizing both the Panama and Suez Canals, which will commence in May 2009. Additionally, further adjustments to the Maersk Line network will provide customers with significant benefits. This new VSA follows almost a year of successful cooperation between the two companies in a trans-Pacific agreement, and represents further rightsizing of capacity in the trans-Pacific trade. Demonstrating a new perspective on service to North America, Maersk Line and CMA-CGM provide two strings with new services for customers.
NOL Shares Sag On Continued Rate Woes
Shares of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL), the world's sixth largest container shipper, sank as much as 2.5 percent on Thursday morning to their lowest level since March 2000 on freight rate concerns. By the midday break, NOL had crawled back to S$1.20, down one cent, from S$1.18 in moderate trade of 2.78 million shares. Analysts said there were increased worries for its earnings due to prolonged pressure in freight rates with no short-term recovery in sight for cargo demand due to slowing economies. "People are concerned over pressures in freight rates," said Albert Goh, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities. NOL scrapped a planned share flotation and U.S. listing of its oil transportation unit last month.
