Software Helps News

Sailing cargo ships are making a genuine comeback.Japanese bulk carrier MOL is operating a wind-assisted ship. American food giant Cargill is working with Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie to deploy WindWings on its routes. Swedish shipping company Wallenius is aiming for Oceanbird to cut emissions by up to 90%. The French start-up Zephyr & Borée has built the Canopée, which will transport parts of European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 rocket this year.I researched the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.

MM-SEAS is the reportedly the first software that automates the manual task of obtaining, tracking and renewing U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) credentials, helping to eliminate paperwork processing errors while delivering merchant mariner career guidance.Civilian mariners are required to have valid USCG Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) to be onboard any commercial or federal ship in the United States. Credentialing is a complex and vague process. From 2012 to 2018, 44.9 percent of approximately 500…

ABB announced Monday it has won a contract to supply the digital solution ABB Ability Marine Advisory System – OCTOPUS to Roll Group’s recently delivered vessel, BigRoll Biscay.BigRoll Biscay is the eighth vessel in Dutch heavy lift specialist’s fleet to rely on ABB marine software, which improves the safety and efficiency of ship operations by optimizing the route based on weather and forecasted vessel motions.Vessel motion monitoring and forecasting is critical for heavy lift vessels that need to move safely when in transit.

ABS Advanced Solutions has announced a partnership with SecurityGate to provide enhanced cyber risk analysis to the maritime market.The effort integrates the ABS proprietary FCI Cyber Risk Methodology into the award-winning SecurityGate SaaS platform, further solidifying the ABS maritime cyber security leadership. The resulting dashboard provides an instant shared view, illustrating the degree of cyber risk across assets, operations and critical suppliers. “ABS is the global leader in marine and offshore cyber security. This partnership with SecurityGate takes us to the next level,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO.

Cruise ship building giant the Meyer Group is implementing CADMATIC’s design and information management software in an effort to boost and harmonize the outfitting design and construction of vessels at its Finnish and German shipyards.Meyer is taking CADMATIC software into expanded use at its shipyard in Turku, Finland and introducing it in Papenburg and Rostock, Germany. The goal of the investment is to shorten lead-times in design and construction, improve the quality of design…

Victaulic’s collaboration with SSI’s Autodesk ShipConstructor promises a streamlined design process, easier access to Victaulic piping specifications and proof positive that marrying hardware data and existing design technology can save time, money, weight and headaches for boat designers and shipyards alike.Is Victaulic’s time-tested turnkey approach to pipe joining right for you? That depends on a lot of things, but if better design options and a measurable benchmark of Total Installed Cost Savings would benefit your bottom line, then you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying. And now, Victaulic’s catalog content inclusion in SSI’s ShipConstructor software gives naval architects and shipyards the convenient ability to ask…

The innovation driver CoreTechnologie has developed a new, unique CAD Viewer module for 3D video animation of assemblies. The German-French software manufacturer CoreTechnologie (CT) now offers for its conversion software and the CAD viewer “3D_Analyzer” a unique new module that enables very easy creation of animated explosion views for assemblies of all major CAD formats. Illustrated as explosion view the model can be animated and visualized in 360-degree views like an interactive 3D video.

Lloyd’s Register has selected the ITP platform from communications software specialist Aia Software to create and manage its certificate creation process. Selecting ITP is part of a larger project to improve the creation of their complex and technical documentation, LR explained. It will enable the organization to improve both productivity and quality control, ultimately improving their services to clients. The initial project will focus on Lloyd's Register's Type Approval Scheme…

As shipowners anticipate the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)  seafarer welfare regulations, Wrist Ship Supply, says it has experienced growing demand for its menu-planning software programme, WristXena. Aimed at streamlining the purchasing process for consumable ship supplies, optimising vessel economy and improving health at sea, WristXena was launched to the market in September 2012. More than 35 vessels are now using the programme. With just four months to go until the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 enters into force on August 20, Wrist’s global customer base of shipowners is treating this as a priority and seeking tools such as WristXena to prepare for new compliance.

The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) and HR Wallingford launched a tidal energy modeling tool for use by tidal energy developers to identify the most efficient sites for tidal energy converters, tidal arrays or tidal barrage schemes around the U.K. and French coastlines. The computer program, SMARTtide (Simulated Marine Array Resource Testing), incorporates a 2D hydrodynamic model of the U.K.’s continental shelf and the north-west European coastline. The software will be available to the public from May 21 as a fee-for-service via a portal on HR Wallingford’s website.

OSM Ship Management will equip 14 vessels with the BASSnet Maintenance and Procurement modules. In 2011, OSM had signed up two vessels for these modules. The Maintenance and Procurement modules are among a range of BASSnet fleet management systems that are aimed at providing “one, integrated solution” for all aspects of maritime operations. The software helps fleet operators and ship managers to plan and undertake asset management and maintenance, inventory and material control, purchasing and e-procurement, accounting, payroll, HR and crew management, as well as safety management and efficient document control. With a fleet size in excess of 430 vessels and more than 10…

Working on a project to develop oilfields in the southern Timor Sea PTTEP built a new floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The FPSO is a sophisticated vessel with hundreds of pieces of equipment that need to kept in good working order 24/7. To achieve this SRO's IBM Maximo asset management software was used. SRO managing director, Steve Driver, explained: “[The project] requires robust preventive and corrective maintenance processes that needed Maximo to work effectively. The most important challenge was to keep the maintenance and procurement processes in sync between Perth, Darwin and the offshore FPSO. Fortunately, the SRO Data Replicator (SDR) was designed to solve such a problem. “SDR is designed to solve the exact problem we were facing.

John S. James Co. Closes the Information Gap with IES Technology. IES, Ltd., a leading provider of logistics and compliance software solutions to the global marketplace, announces the rollout of its Forwarder Suite at international freight forwarder and customs broker John S. James Co. The software was selected to provide the company with one central point of connectivity, streamline operations and realize productivity improvements. “The successful implementation is a milestone for John S. James Co. as it moves into 2012. John S. James Co. has significantly grown in our market niche over our 70 year history,” explains Len James, CFO of the Savannah-based company, “Our growth is based on leveraging the best technology to deliver more customized services.

ABS Nautical Systems (ABS NS) has taken the traditional purchasing relationship and automated it to provide shipowners and operators with a more efficient way of obtaining competitive bids and more responsive service with its eProcurement product, an extension of its Purchasing & Inventory software module. Nova Scotia-based Secunda Marine Services Limited (Secunda) is the latest operator to implement ABS NS eProcurement as part of its overall fleet management strategy. The SafeNet eProcurement solution simplifies the placing of Requests for Quotation (RFQs) via email to multiple sources. Savings flow from the automatic population of a client’s SafeNet database with vendor RFQs, eliminating the need for the re-keying of prices and delivery times.