Support Program News

New Zealand said on Monday it will dispatch defense personnel, helicopters and a naval ship to the Solomon Islands to assist in a national election due next month, where relations with China will be a key issue.The deployment is part of a NZ$10.8 million ($6.48 million) support program for the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission announced in January and that will help transport election officers and materials around Pacific Island nations.New Zealand's foreign ministry said the vessel HMNZS Canterbury will leave Auckland on Tuesday to transport two helicopters and crew…

Dutch Damen Shipyards Group has become a corporate partner of the PortXL accelerator program for the maritime industry.PortXL has been described as the world’s first port accelerator. Its objective is the acceleration of innovative technologies for the green energy, maritime, logistics, and process industry in port regions across the world.This is not the first time Damen has been connected with PortXL. In 2015 Damen was one of the first companies to support the start-up support program in its early days. “We will be participating again from this year on,” explains Tom Akkerman of Damen.

Dutch offshore installation and construction firm Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has renewed its Long-Term System Support Program (LTSSP) contract with Kongsberg Digital for another five years.The LTSSP is in support of a K-Sim Offshore Crane simulation system, which features digital twins of HMC’s semi-submersible construction vessels, ships, and barges. HMC’s simulation center is located at the HMC headquarters in Leiden, the Netherlands."Renewal of the LTSSP ensures Kongsberg Digital’s continued commitment to maintaining Heerema’s simulators at the leading edge of available technology…

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) announced that its long-term system support program (LTSSP) contract with the Evergreen Marine Corporation has been renewed for another 10 years.The Taiwanese shipping company, one of the largest of its kind in the world, has used KONGSBERG simulators for crew training for over 20 years, with the first maritime simulator delivered to the firm’s training center in 1999. Since then, Evergreen Marine Corp. has used KONGSBERG simulator solutions to train its crews…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act enacted in March 2020, provided relief to numerous industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Air carriers, for example, benefitted from the creation of a $25 billion Treasury direct loan program, in addition to a $25 billion worker support program that provides a mix of grants and loans to cover employee wages, salaries and benefits. In addition, Congress waived the small business affiliation rules for businesses…

Somali pirates have released three Iranian hostages held for five years, a maritime security official said on Thursday, as conflicting reports emerged whether another ship had been seized after a three-year hiatus in hijackings.The three Iranians are the last of the crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV Siraj, which was captured by pirates on March 22, 2015.“This marks the end of an era of Somali piracy and the pain and suffering of Somalia’s forgotten hostages,” said John Steed…

Cameroon’s Port Authority of Douala (PAD) has acquired high-tech equipment from Royal IHC to support its dredging activities, an order that builds on the excellent partnership between both organizations.As part of measures to autonomously manage its dredging activities, the Management of the PAD acquired an IHC Beaver 50 cutter suction dredger and a Delta Multi Craft (DMC) workboat, which were both delivered in 2019. This first order will soon be completed by an IHC Easydredge trailing suction hopper dredger with a 3,000-cubic-meter hopper capacity.

Kongsberg Digital AS has cemented its long-standing position as the primary supplier of simulation software and hardware to the Australian Maritime College (AMC), with the recent confirmation of a new Long-Term System Support Program (LTSSP).Kongsberg Digital Area Sales Manager Paul Gilkison and AMC principal Michael van Balen signed the agreement – the third successive five-year contract between the two parties – on Thursday, August 8 at the AMC’s Newnham campus in Launceston.Kongsberg Digital simulators are the platform of choice at the AMC’s world-class Center for Maritime Simulations…

With a year to go before the implementation of the 2020 Sulfur Cap, few topics will be higher on the list of priorities for shipowners than complying with Annex VI of the IMO MARPOL Convention (2008). However, the reduction of sulfur content in marine fuel from 3.5% to 0.5% in time for the deadline means more than identifying a strategically suitable fuel choice. The importance of choosing the correct lubricant, coupled with incorporating the relevant supporting is also a vital consideration.As both a global lubricant supplier and as a part of the wider Total Group…

Kongsberg Digital has been selected to deliver and support a suite of sophisticated K-Sim Navigation ready ship’s bridge simulators for the Royal Austalian Navy. The contract will enable the Royal Australian to significantly increase its training capacity and reduce costs associated with qualifying bridge watch keepers and other staff before going to sea.The simulators will be delivered for installation in a new training facility at HMAS Stirling in Perth starting May 2019, with existing bridge simulators at HMAS Watson in Sydney being upgraded from December 2018.

KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI),  unveiled the TracPhone V3-HTS at the Fort Lauderdale (FL) International Boat Show. Measuring just 37 cm (14.5 inches) diameter and weighing 11 kg (25 lbs.), the TracPhone V3-HTS is smaller in physical size than any other Ku-band marine satellite communications antenna on the market and is designed to provide faster data speeds (5 Mbps download/2 Mbps upload) than larger marine satellite antennas.The TracPhone V3-HTS’s fast data speeds, combined with its diminutive size…

The Montreal-based Federal Crown Corporation, Laurentian Pilotage Authority (LPA) has contracted with Kongsberg Digital for the supply of three state-of-the-art K-Sim Navigation full mission ship bridge simulators, which will help LPA meet its public mandate through the development of best practices, risk assessments and in-depth incident reviews in support of maritime pilotage.The K-Sim Navigation platform can simultaneously integrate multiple bridges to create a near real-life maritime operational environment wherein LPA personnel can evaluate maneuvering techniques…

The situation for the shipping companies based in Germany has been, much like the rest of the world in 2017, mostly tight. Currently, the German shipping companies are undergoing changes against this background. They are concentrating more and more on their core competences. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News' man in Germany, Peter Pospiech, recently talked to Alfred Hartmann, President of the VDR (Association of German Shipowners), for his exclusive insights on the size, shape and direction of German shipowners.Mr.

Federico Martinengo, the seventh multipurpose FREMM frigate recently delivered to the Italian Navy by shipyard Fincantieri, like all 10 ships in the new Carlos Bergamini-class FREMM frigate program, features the power dense GE LM2500+G4 gas turbine in a COmbined Diesel eLectric And Gas turbine (CODLAG) propulsion system.In 2013, Fincantieri delivered the first Italian FREMM, Carlo Bergamini. In addition to the Italian FREMM frigates, DCNS shipyard in Lorient, France, is well underway having delivered six FREMM frigates in a 10-ship program.

South Korea’s leading sea carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. (HMM) has signed a financial contract with Korea Shipping and Maritime Transportation to build five 300,000-ton very large crude carriers (VLCCs), said a report in Business Korea. HMM has secured $420 million (470 billion won) through a state shipbuilding subsidy funding program, it said. The order has already been placed with local shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) September last year. The financial support program consists of 60 percent of unsubordinated investment and 40 percent of subordinated investment. HMM participated in subordinated investment with 47 billion won (US$43.56 million), 10 percent of the total shipbuilding contracted price.

Austal celebrated the christening of Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) the future USNS Burlington (EPF 10) with a ceremony at its state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility this morning. Burlington is the tenth of 12 EPFs that Austal has under contract with the U.S. Navy with a combined value of over $1.9 billion. “Austal is excited to get Burlington one step closer to joining the fleet” said Austal USA President Craig Perciavalle. Rear Adm. Dee L. Mewbourne, Commander, Military Sealift Command, spoke at today’s event. “T-EPFs are operating around the world supporting maritime security operations, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, logistics support, and multiple international and joint exercises,” said Mewbourne. The ship’s sponsor, Mrs.

Simwave B.V. and Kongsberg Digital have completed the Site Acceptance Test (SAT) of one of the largest, most advanced maritime simulation suites ever delivered. The SAT, which took place January 19, means that the new Simwave Maritime Center of Excellence in Barendrecht, Rotterdam is now fully operational. As the sole simulation technology partner in the development of the unique Simwave facility, Kongsberg Digital delivered the full scope of work in accordance with the contract awarded in April 2017, which represented one of its most extensive deliveries to date.

In the world of maritime training, MSRC has carved a unique niche in the training of pilots. Founded in 2005, MSRC is a division of the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots (CLSLP). The MSRC is a purpose-built simulator with a fully instrumented DNV Class “A” configured bridge with 330° visuals that exceed the requirements of the 1995 STCW Convention. MSRC’s Full Mission Simulator (FMS) is one of the most advanced simulators of its type and is continually being upgraded. The Center is also equipped with three fully instrumented ship bridges, with a horizontal view of 240°.

GE’s Marine Solutions has announced that the seventh multi-purpose Italian FREMM frigate Federico Martinengo, was launched on March 4. The ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s Riva Trigoso shipyard in Genoa, Italy. All of the Italian Navy’s new Carlos Bergamini-class  FREMM frigates (10-ship program) feature the same power dense GE LM2500+G4 gas turbine in a COmbined Diesel eLectric And Gas turbine (CODLAG) propulsion system. In addition to the Italian FREMM frigates, the DCNS shipyard in Lorient…

A former Montague resident, Elizabeth Reynolds Boyd has always been looking for a way to give back to her home province. The respected naval architect and owner of Nautican Research and Development joined Premier Wade MacLauchlan and Babcock Canada Vice President Jake Jacobson to announce a new advanced marine technology presence in Summerside. The Nautican, Babcock, and provincial partnership province will bring a manufacturing facility and 21 new full-time jobs over the next three years – joining the six employees already on staff – to Slemon Park. “I see Prince Edward Island as the best place for this new manufacturing facility given its location, skilled work force and the efforts of the government to establish the province as a hub for marine business,” Elizabeth Reynolds Boyd said.

A former Montague resident, Elizabeth Reynolds Boyd has always been looking for a way to give back to her home province. The respected naval architect and owner of Nautican Research and Development joined Premier Wade MacLauchlan and Babcock Canada Vice President Jake Jacobson to announce a new advanced marine technology presence in Summerside. The Nautican, Babcock, and provincial partnership province will bring a manufacturing facility and 21 new full-time jobs over the next three years – joining the six employees already on staff – to Slemon Park.

MIDDLETOWN, RI – September 12, 2016 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), is driving a sea change in the way that global maritime fleets are using broadband at sea. The company’s usage-based airtime plans now represent a majority of users on KVH’s global satellite network, mini-VSAT Broadbands, which continues to be the market share leader in maritime VSAT. In recent months, many of KVH’s largest and most important fleet customers have chosen usage-based plans—including Open plans, the newest set of usage-based airtime plans offered by KVH.  BW, one of the world’s leading global maritime groups, reached agreement with KVH to switch from an unlimited airtime plan to KVH’s Open plans for several LNG and LPG vessels that have TracPhone V11-IP systems onboard.

KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), announced today that it is offering Videotel’s new safety and training video about the Zika virus free to all mariners worldwide. The goal of the program is to increase awareness  of the vitally important prevention measures that can keep seafarers and their colleagues and families safe. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus a public health emergency earlier this year. Given the global nature of the maritime industry, it is imperative that seafarers take precautions to prevent further spread of the disease. The prevalence of the Zika virus in such areas as Brazil has heightened concerns with the approaching Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next month.