Cyber Vigilance at Sea: The New Norm
The risk of cyber attacks on vessels at sea continues to be significant, and it’s not going away any time soon. Each year, it seems, there are more and more reports of hacks that have resulted in loss of critical data, financial loss or problems with IT systems or shipborne systems functionality. Shipowners have been reluctant to share information on actual or attempted breaches for fear of being identified. However, there’s no shortage of examples of cyber attacks on vessels.
The Wärtsilä 3C Integrate All Ship Controls
Wärtsilä launched its Wärtsilä Communication and Control Centre (Wärtsilä 3C) solution at the SMM exhibition in Hamburg, Germany on 7 September. Wärtsilä 3C is the first system to integrate the entire vessel's control into one solution, the company said. With the introduction of Wärtsilä 3C, Wärtsilä's expertise in integrating its own products and systems, such as automation, propulsion and engines, with other operationally relevant equipment and systems to obtain a truly fully integrated solution, isn highlighted.
The New Knowledge Brokers?
Increasing commercial pressures and structural changes in the maritime industries call for new approaches to better ensure vessel and equipment quality and improved safety, believes Lutz Wittenberg, Germanischer Lloyd's divisional director of projects and marketing. In a bold presentation likely to spark controversy within a sector, which tends to have very set ideas about its function, Wittenberg indicated that classification societies needed to become technical knowledge providers over the life of a ship, rather than simply rule enforcers. While also advocating greater emphasis on continuous appraisal, rather than focusing on traditional annual inspection and the attendant cyclic peaking of vessel condition…
Coatings Put To Test To Keep Ships Cool
Every Sailor who has made a deployment to the Persian Gulf can agree on one thing: it's blistering hot. At least two out of every three Navy ship deployments are made to high-temperature areas. Sustained operations in searing weather increase stress on both equipment and crew. To help lessen the load on shipboard cooling systems, NAVSEA's Corrosion Control Division (SEA 03M) is testing a new derivative of the anti-stain paints already being tested by the Navy — an anti-stain paint that also absorbs fewer of the sun's rays. This special characteristic is known as Low Solar Absorption (LSA). This coating incorporates LSA and anti-stain properties into the standard topside paint formulation, and is applied in the same manner as the old paint system.
