Service Management News

Ocean Network Express (ONE) has launched a reduced emissions shipping service ONE LEAF+ which offers customers the opportunity to proactively manage their own emissions and minimize environmental impact across the value chain.ONE LEAF+ offers:• Reduced Carbon Footprint: ONE will deploy regulation-compliant alternative fuels on designated vessels, allowing customers to reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions on their shipments with ONE.• Added Transparency: With ONE LEAF+, customers will…

Ocean Network Express (ONE) has opened a West Asia Regional Headquarters in Dubai. The move aims to expand ONE's growth in the rapidly developing markets of the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and East Africa.The West Asia Regional Headquarters office will serve as ONE’s central hub across the region, encompassing functions such as commercial activities, customer service, and digitization. It will also house a team dedicated to developing regional trade partnerships and exploring…

ABB announced it has secured a 15-year agreement covering service for Carnival Corporation brand vessels powered by Azipod XO electric propulsion systems.The deal aims to simplify service management of Azipod XO propulsion units, with ABB experts remotely available 24/7 to support the vessels’ electric engineering crew on maintenance, based on ABB Ability Remote Diagnostic System and ABB Ability Condition Monitoring for Azipod propulsion. The owner accumulates data about Azipod propulsion performance…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Vard Marine has informed that Kristin Jovel, its Corporate Business Manager, has been appointed the position of Vice President Business Operations for its North American offices.Jovel joined the Houston office in 2010 after serving as a Director of a top-tier service management company. "Over the past 11 years, she has successfully led various strategic development initiatives aligned to the company’s business operations and corporate governance.

Elcome International, provider of maritime systems integration, technical support and shipboard service, announced the opening of another office in Europe. Based in the Spanish port city of Algeciras, the facility will offer sales and technical support for the company’s growing portfolio of ship navigation, communication, satellite connectivity and coastal surveillance systems. Shipboard services will include annual radio surveys and annual testing of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS)…

Jumbo Shipping has renewed its MSA (Managed Service Agreement) contracts with Radio Holland,The renewal of the MSA contracts concerns four vessels and has been established for the next four years.Jumbo renewed the MSA contracts with Radio Holland to minimize the hassle of managing multiple suppliers by outsourcing all NavCom service work to Radio Holland technicians, Radio Holland said. Where the previous contracts focused mainly on radar and gyro equipment, the new contracts…

British multinational defence technology company Qinetiq collaborates with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to investigate how drone technology can strengthen their Search and Rescue (SAR) missions.Small unmanned air systems are delivering disruptive change across the industry. Ten years ago what was predominantly a niche hobby, or military technology, has now found wide commercial success. Anyone can easily have an eye in the sky and recent publicity is changing the way organisations view their problems.The Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) oversees search and rescue operations in the UK. Their volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams respond to time-critical calls and work tirelessly to save lives.Funded by QinetiQ’s Internal Research and Development…

The world's largest container shipping company A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S announced that its Board of Directors has decided to retain full ownership of Maersk Supply Service.The offshore support vessel industry, which Maersk Supply Service operates within, has over the last three years exhibited clear signs of distress, reducing company market capitalisations and lower asset values, negatively impacting the ability to find a sustainable ownership structure for Maersk Supply Service outside of A.P. Moller - Maersk.The industry continues to be characterised by oversupply, financial restructurings and consolidation and the market outlook for…

Marlink has boosted satellite capacity in the Indian Ocean and around the Falkland Islands with specific focus on delivering reliable, high bandwidth VSAT services to commercial fishing vessels.The new capacity is already enabling improved vessel and fleet operations and providing greater access to voice calling and Internet for crews on a number of Spanish tuna vessels in the Indian Ocean serviced by Marlink partner Nautical, while the extra bandwidth around the Falkland Islands has been put in place to meet a predicted spike in demand as more companies look for new fishing grounds.While delivering services direct to the end-user, Marlink also partners with leading satcom providers globally, such as Nautical, to deliver multi-band services to fishing fleets.

Marlink has moved to larger premises in Houston, ensuring its ability to meet the growing needs of its Gulf of Mexico offshore industry and shipping customers. The new facility includes expanded office space to accommodate growth in sales and support functions at both Marlink and Telemar, in addition to a new warehouse facility to support even more responsive bridge and satcom equipment installation, and on board services. The new Houston location will continue to play an important role in the Marlink Group…

Marlink customers using the Sealink Allowances maritime VSAT service plans can now enjoy without any extra-charge a burst rate, or Maximum Information Rate (MIR), up to 6 Mbps. Providing even faster connectivity and more bandwidth for business operations and crew onboard when network capacity is available, the new MIR is twice as fast as the previous 3 Mbps. Doubling the throughput while keeping pricing unchanged will deliver even more value for money to Marlink’s maritime customers.

Satellite communication provider Marlink said its Tokyo office has relocated to new, larger premises as the company grows its Japan team to meet the needs of an expanding VSAT customer-base in the region. “The new location is over twice the size, which helps us to accommodate more field engineers, technical support and sales staff, in addition to enabling us to build a new service management function for better coordination and smoother operations towards the customer,” said Shinobu Suzuki, Marlink Japan.

General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, was awarded a contract by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command to provide enterprise IT and cybersecurity services to the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane Division. The single-award, task order contract has a potential value of approximately $81.3 million for five years. General Dynamics along with Purdue University and 10 Indiana-based companies will provide the NSWC Crane Division with enterprise IT service management, cybersecurity, systems engineering, data protection, cross domain security and information exchange and technical advisory services management. Work on this contract will be performed in Crane, Ind.

Marlink has doubled the burst speed on its Sealink VSAT services, enabling up to 3 Mbps for users on its data allowance packages, enabling faster Internet access and a smoother web browsing experience. New 40, 60 and 80 gigabyte (GB) data allowances have been introduced in parallel to the burst speed increase, enabling users with high bandwidth requirements to extend their smart shipping and crew welfare strategies with maritime VSAT network. Combined with the potential for faster Internet access, the new Sealink allowances enable significantly more capacity for smarter operational efficiency and enhance crew data communications while providing access to social media and web browsing.

Inmarsat, a provider of global mobile satellite communications, has launched Fleet Xpress; the first globally available, high-speed broadband solution for maritime and offshore operators available from a single communications provider. Fleet Xpress aims to allow ship owners and operators to enhance business intelligence, improve operational efficiency and vessel performance, and provide a host of high-value, crew welfare benefits. Fleet Xpress will also empower third party application providers to enhance existing services to maritime customers, and to develop innovative new applications that will further drive operational efficiencies, ranging from real-time monitoring, remote diagnostics and telemedicine, to security and crew service management tools, among others.

Greece-based Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited (EASTMED), a shipping operator servicing the energy, industrial and agricultural sectors, has chosen to install Marlink’s global VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) communication solution with L-band back-up on 20 tankers and bulkers. EASTMED aims to achieve greater operational efficiency to support its clients with cost efficient transportation in a safe environment. The VSAT solution will be completed with the full SkyFile suite to provide EASTMED crew with high-level Internet access and cost-effective communication. Marlink’s innovative VSAT solution will provide significant levels of bandwidth for vessel and business communication, helping EASTMED to improve e.g.

Norsafe, a  leader in marine life-saving equipment, is the first supplier in its sector to introduce a tiered service management system for its clients following an in-depth study of ship owners and operators maintenance strategy. Called the Norsafe CARE Plan, the three levels of service agreement have been designed to suit clients with varying maintenance requirements and budgets. CARE Basic offers a flexible on-demand service solution ensuring equipment meets all SOLAS requirements as well as fixed pricing levels for maintenance checks in major international ports.

VesselVanguard has come up with a new mobile app that gives boat owners an easier way to understand and manage all of the various maintenance requirements for their vessel and its systems and equipment. The app provides a simple, streamlined gateway for VesselVanguard subscribers to access its many features and capabilities, with an interface custom-tailored for ease-of-use on the iPad. “Since launching VesselVanguard three years ago, it has always been our priority to bring the boating community simple yet powerful tools that effortlessly inform them of needed maintenance and inspections,” said Don Hyde, founder and CEO, VesselVanguard.

Imtech Marine has appointed Fergus Campbell as the new Director of Imtech Marine USA. Fergus has worked for the Imtech Martine company previously (Radio Holland USA) from 2000 to 2010 as respectively Branch Manager Florida, National Service Manager and National Sales manager. Before Radio Holland, Fergus worked amongst others at Consilium Marine as sales and service manager and at Caledonian MacBrayne as superintendent. In 2010, he pursued his career as General Manager at C-MAR America Inc. in Houston, a leading global marine offshore and DP services provider. Fergus holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and amongst others studied at the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. André Meijer: “We are happy that Fergus returns to our company.

Divestment fully in line with ABB’s commitment to continuous portfolio optimization. ABB has divested five businesses with limited synergies in the past 11 months raising about $1 billion. Zurich, Switzerland, August 20, 2014– ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced it has signed an agreement to divest the ABB Full Service business for an undisclosed amount. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approval. The ABB Full Service business provides fully outsourced industrial maintenance services. ABB Full Service was developed as an adjacent business to ABB’s life-cycle service business and has become a successful stand-alone business unit.

Airbus Defence and Space has launched XChange v3, the latest evolution of its XChange communications platform, which is set to further improve the flow of operational data between ship and shore through sophisticated voice and connectivity service management. XChange is an all-in-one solution to manage communications services in an easy and intuitive way. It gives more control with less operational overhead while on board administrative tasks can also be out-sourced to onshore offices.

SeaLand, the newly founded intra-Americas regional carrier of the Maersk Group, announced today the appointment of its executive team which the company sais will fulfill its mission of delivering greater service stability and commitment, as well as a higher level of customer-focused service tailored to the customer’s needs. The new appointees are Alfredo Di Palma, Maria Batista, Shane Sawyer, Thiago Covre and Timothy Child, who will all be on board within the next two-three months, joining SeaLand CEO Craig Mygatt. Alfredo Di Palma will join SeaLand as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) in charge of all commercial efforts for the company.

The shipping software and service provider, Interschalt maritime systems AG, has developed a highly customer-focused concept for the maintenance of navigation and communications systems on board, called  InterschaltShore-based Maintenance (IS-SBM). For an annual flat-rate fee, the maintenance concept, which is individually tailored to each customer, is a complete service package which includes coordination, annual performance tests, replacement parts, labor time and travel costs. It simplifies and reduces administrative tasks for shipping companies and provides budget security.