Software Program News

Tech company Kinemagic, focused on developing augmented reality solutions for heavy industrial companies, has recently launched Stratus, a 3D VR/XR software solution that the company promises will shake up the digital twin industry. Stratus is an automated software program designed to save users’ time and money by identifying more design flaws before construction begins.According to Kinemagic, Stratus reveals the future of industrial design through VR ‘walkthroughs’ from the command center of the operator’s desk.

Naval Dome has called on marine insurers to revoke the controversial Clause CL 380 and implement policies that insure against the risk of cyber-attacks on ship systems.Speaking in Cape Town, South Africa, today during the International Union of Marine Insurance’s (IUMI) annual conference, Naval Dome CEO Itai Sela said that with the maritime industry increasingly moving towards connected, cloud-based technologies and autonomous operation, a 15-year-old Clause that excludes damage to computer systems…

Classification society Korean Register (KR) announced that it has released the 16th version of its KR-CON software. First launched in 1997, the software program set out to help surveyors, shipbuilders and PSC officers to search for IMO instruments more accurately, quickly and conveniently. The original database program provided all IMO conventions, codes, resolutions and circulars in a CD-ROM format. Since then, KR-CON has been revised and updated 15 times and is now available in English, Korean and Chinese and is accessed on USB, via the web and a mobile application. For the 16th KR-CON, KR said it has put considerable effort into the creation of more user-friendly interface.

Plucked from the headlines, the top stories of 2017 were compelling, and each provided impact to the domestic waterfront and in particular – the workboat sector. Follow along as Marine News recaps the highlights, drama and significant events that shaped the past 12 months. When Elaine Chao was sworn in to be the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the Washington veteran brought a welcome burst of competence to the position. Her wide-ranging experience across the maritime sector and prior service at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, and the Federal Maritime Commission uniquely positions her to understand the critical role that the waterfront plays in the intermodal equation. Soon after taking her chair, she was joined by another familiar face at Marad. Rear Adm.

Horizon Shipbuilding announced it will reorganize amid revenues insufficient for maintaining normal operations. Lance C. “Last year, Travis R. Short, President of Horizon Shipbuilding saw an opportunity to repeat a great construction performance from 2012. Namely, an unheard of quantity of vessels in a very short period of time starting from ground zero. Hornblower (HNY Ferries) offered just this type of opportunity through its NYC Ferry project and Horizon has achieved what most believed couldn’t be done.

ABS mobile application is purpose-built for the workboat, inland sectors. ABS Nautical Systems, the ABS enterprise fleet management software suite, has launched a new mobile application, NS Workboat. The latest in a line of new tools that ABS has developed to help workboat operators gain compliance with the pending Subchapter M regulations, the ‘app’, which leverages the Nautical Systems enterprise software, is a mobile solution that is purpose-built for the workboat and inland-shipping sectors, where ease of use is of paramount importance.

The SENER engineering and technology group has signed a contract with shipyard Bertolini Construção Naval da Amazônia Ltda (BECONAL), providing it with a license to use its marine design and construction system, FORAN. The scope of the contract covers installation of the FORAN system and provision of permanent licenses, including the Hull Forms, General Arrangement, Naval Architecture, Hull Structure, Machinery and Outfitting, Electrical Design, and Drafting disciplines. In addition, SENER is to give various training courses to the shipyard’s personnel.

Tomorrow’s high tech fleets will depend on shipyards – long after the christening is over. Siemens PLM software makes that dream possible – today. According to global powerhouse Siemens, a major transformation is underway in the marine sector. As operators strive to develop more energy-efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly vessels that also lower operating costs, they will increasingly depend on shipyards to make that happen. That’s right: shipyards. Long after the vessel slides into the water and the christening party is but a distant memory, the clean and efficient workboat of tomorrow will leverage a wealth of data that the builder will manage. Before any of that happens, shipbuilders will also need to design and build ships faster and better than ever before.

The construction of up to 20 new ferries for New York City is arguably the most exciting maritime new construction project in the U.S. this year. Last month we visited with Cameron Clark, Corporate Vice President, Development and Special Projects, Hornblower, the project manager for the new Citywide Ferry by Hornblower fleet, who discussed the challenges and opportunities ahead. Hornblower has, in the span of 36 years, become the force in the U.S. ferry market, with more than 2,000 employees and 20 million passenger trips annually, including a cumulative staff of 700 in the New York City area.

3D printing will cause so much change in the shipbuilding and shipping sector that the industry must completely alter its approach toward designing and building ships. This is the conclusion of NISS (National Institute for Shipping and Shipbuilding), that has developed a blueprint for the maritime sector until 2050. Geert Schouten, director at Shipbuilder, was part of the team responsible for this blueprint. “3D printing is moving at a rapid pace. It is now possible to, wherever a product is required, to print it on site. Even ships will be partly 3D printed in the future,” Schouten said. “The combination 3D printing, digitalization and robotization is developing very fast,” Schouten said.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd has announced that its group's core dry-cargo ship management company, MOL Ship Management Co., Ltd. has jointly developed with maritime software developer Spectral Technologies, Inc. a new onboard management software program called "WRH5" used to manage crews' work and rest hours. MOLSHIP will introduce "WRH5" on its managed vessels. In addition, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai  issued a statement of fact that "WRH5"'s support functions are in conformity with international labor regulations. - Conformity with MLC2006 and the Japanese Mariners Law. "WRH5" supports the latest provisions of MLC-Maritime Labor Convention, 2006, of the International Labor Organization (ILO), and Japanese Mariners Law. -Meticulously formulate onboard working plans.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced that its group’s core dry-cargo ship management company, MOL Ship Management Co., Ltd. (MOLSHIP; President: Toshikazu Inaoka; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has jointly developed with maritime software developer Spectral Technologies, Inc. (President and CEO: Kjell B. Sundberg; Headquarters: Manila, Republic of the Philippines) a new onboard management software program called “WRH5” used to manage crews’ work and rest hours. MOLSHIP will introduce “WRH5” on its managed vessels. In addition, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK; Chairman and President: Koichi Fujiwara; Headquarters:Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) issued a statement of fact that “WRH5”’s support functions are in conformity with international labor regulations.

At the annual COMPIT conference, the SENER engineering and technology group presented a technical/economic study on the implementation of a CAD system in a shipyard and, in particular, the FORAN System, developed by SENER. The event took place in Lecce, Italy, on May 9, 10 and 11. COMPIT is an international conference focusing on software applications and information technologies that have been well received within the marine sector. The event is always held in Europe. Rodrigo Pérez, from SENER’s Marine Department, presented the article ‘Learning Curve and ROI in the Implementation of a CAD System in a Generic Shipbuilding Environment’. The article provides an analysis of the FORAN system learning curve in a generic shipyard.

The SENER engineering and technology group was again a participant at the annual congress organized by the American Society of Naval Engineers, ASNE Day 2016. As in previous years, the meeting took place in Arlington, near Washington DC, on March 2 and 3. The event brings together a large number of military shipyards and related companies from across North America, as they gather to learn about the sector’s new developments in both the technical presentations and the exhibition area.

General Dynamics received a $20 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to continue modernizing the AN/BYG-1 Weapons Control System (WCS) Technology Insertion and Advanced Processing Build software for U. S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy submarines. The AN/BYG-1 software analyzes and tracks submarine and surface-ship contact information, providing tactical, situational awareness for submarine crews including the capability to target and employ torpedoes and missiles. “The AN/BYG-1 software program is an exceptionally cost-effective way for the Navy to quickly update and add capabilities to submarine weapon systems,” said Carlo Zaffanella, vice president and general manager of Maritime and Strategic Systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems.

United Arab Shipping Company's first ultra-large container vessel has entered service equipped with a MacGregor high-efficiency cargo handling system, which is designed to maximise payload potential and operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact by minimising emissions per TEU carried. Delivered by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries' (HSHI) Mokpo shipyard on 8th May, Barzan is the first in a series of six 18,800 TEU container carriers for United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), designed to set new standards in fuel and energy efficiency. "We are increasingly servicing environmentally-aware customers across the globe," says Jørn Hinge, President and Chief Executive Officer at UASC.

Last September, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) unsettled much of the U.S. maritime industry when he dismissed with prejudice a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) action to revoke a Merchant Mariner’s Credential (MMC) despite his finding that the mariner’s urine had tested positive for cocaine. The case is referred to as USCG v. Hopper, SR-2014-14. American Maritime Safety, Inc. (AMS) considered the Hopper outcome to be a bad decision, both because it imposes harsh evidentiary consequences…

Helm Operations announced today that it has signed on barge fleeting and marine transportation company, Magnolia Fleet LLC to Helm CONNECT Preventive Maintenance. Magnolia Fleet operates 11 push boats, 2 fleets, and midstream fuel operations in New Orleans and Lake Charles. “We switched over to Helm because it is the most user friendly vessel operations software program I have come across,” said John Stewart of Magnolia Fleet. “And I think we have demoed or used in combination all of them. My idea is if someone like myself, who is pretty good with excel spreadsheets, has problems with other competitors’ software, how the heck is a deckhand, tankerman, or wheel man going to figure it out? The answer is they are not and they are not going to use it.

Bechtel says it announced the results of its research at the PIANC World Congress in San Francisco, confirming that in restricted waters, the wash from passing ships can exert large forces on moored vessels, mooring lines and fender loads, creating dangerous conditions. The research also concluded that the forces from the wash are directly influenced by the shape of the port basin, the size of the vessel, the passing distance, and the passing speed. Based on the findings, researchers have developed a software program to immediately improve the safety of ports and created guidelines for use in the planning and design of future ports.

International oilfield services company, Expro, has deployed its new design ExACT (Expro Annulus-Operated Circulating and Test Tool) in its first live offshore well. The successful operation, a tubing conveyed perforating ‘shoot and pull’, took place on the Vermillion field offshore in the Gulf of Mexico following trial work onshore in Brazil last year. The tool, one of the most advanced of its kind, combines downhole shut-in and circulating functionality. Rated at 15,000 psi and temperatures of up to 400˚F…

Ship construction programs move ahead, but it’s not smooth sailing. Navies and Coast Guards everywhere face budgetary pressure, even in the U.S. which has the largest Navy in the world. The balance between desire for capacity and capability and pressure for affordability has never been more acute with the precarious budgetary issues presented by declining defense budgets, sequestration, continuing resolutions and government shutdowns. Even so, there are ongoing major construction efforts to include large nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines…

Caterpillar Marine is pleased to announce the launch of Cat 3500 marine diesel engine gasket kits for engine overhauls. Cat gaskets are a critical part within Cat diesel engines and are specifically engineered with specialized materials to reduce leaks and keep fluid within the engine. Recognizing varied customers’ needs for their particular application, the kits are arranged by serial number to provide customers with a simplified and expedited ordering process. The kits will be available to order from the global Cat dealer network by early 2015.

The Korean Register (KR) has launched an in-house developed software program to assist vessels with fuel oil change over when complying with the new low sulphur regulations. From January 1, MARPOL Annex VI Reg 14 requires vessels sailing within an emission control area (ECA) to burn fuel with a sulphur content of 0.1% or less. This means that ships must switch from normal fuel to low sulphur fuel before entering the restricted zone. KR’s new software assesses fuel consumption at actual operating speed to calculate the time required to completely switch to a low sulphur fuel. The current practice is generally to rely on the experience of the chief engineer which KR has found often results in the vessel burning more of the expensive low sulphur fuel than is necessary.