Traffic Management News

Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Acting Minister for Transport, announced a record year in 2023 at a Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Conversations event.The annual vessel arrival tonnage in the Port of Singapore crossed three billion gross tonnage (GT) for the first time, increasing by 9.4% over 2022 and setting a high of 3.09 billion GT in 2023. This reflects growth in all segments, including container ships, dry bulk carriers, liquid bulk and chemical tankers, ferries and specialised vessels…

The IMO and the Republic of Korea have signed a suite of agreements to formally establish and boost the IMO-Republic of Korea Sustainable Maritime Transport Cooperation (SMART-C) program.The goal of the KRW 25.5 billion (approximately $20 million) SMART-C program is to promote sustainable maritime transport systems and a sustainable marine environment by building knowledge and developing technical capacity in developing countries via long-term thematic projects.This Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding will ensure long-term programming of several technical cooperation projects.

U.K.-based shipping, navigation, and maritime risk consultancy NASH Maritime announced it has appointed James Clark as governance lead, responsible for the development of the company’s port and maritime compliance business.Clark brings to the role two decades of both maritime risk and mariner experience. He started his career at sea, before joining Bristol Port Company as Assistant Harbor Master and later becoming responsible for VTS and shipping operations. Other roles have included Vessel Traffic Management and Ports Liaison with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

On November 19, 2022, Canadian Coast Guard Commissioner Mario Pelletier and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda L. Fagan signed the renewed Canada-United States Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan to provide a coordinated system for planning, preparedness and response to spills occurring in the waters between the two countries.The Joint Marine Pollution Contingency Plan provides a coordinated mechanism for planning, preparing for and responding to spills in transboundary waters and establishes procedures for the coordination of spill response efforts between Canada and the U.S.

Wärtsilä Corporation announced it is integrating its Voyage business into Marine Power as a business unit.The President of Wärtsilä Voyage Sean Fernback will leave the company and he will be succeeded by Hannu Mäntymaa with immediate effect. Mäntymaa, currently VP, Performance Services in Wärtsilä Marine Power, will take over to lead the integration process until year-end and will join Wärtsilä’s Board of Management for the interim period. He will then continue as the Head of the future Voyage business unit as the integrated organization becomes effective as of January 1, 2023.

Following the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s (WFSA) Professional Program (held virtually on May 18, 2022), Awards were presented to finalist teams in the WFSA’s Ferry Design Competition, now in its ninth year.Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, WFSA’s Executive Director, said the specifications for the design ferry were crafted to be ever more challenging from year to year, but that this year’s objective creating a safe and affordable ferry for transiting India’s Brahmaputra River, “that…

Abu Dhabi's AD Ports Group and the Red Sea Ports Authority have signed a Term Sheet and a Head of Terms agreement for what they say are major port projects along Egypt’s coastline, including multi-purpose terminals, and cruise ship berths.The first agreement will see AD Ports Group develop, operate, and manage a multi-purpose terminal in Safaga Port in a consortium with the Red Sea Ports Authority and the Egyptian Group for Multipurpose Terminals Company, the commercial arm of…

A software problem that blocked all ship traffic in the main channel between the Baltic and the North Sea on Sunday was not a hacker attack and has been fixed, a spokesperson for Germany's Kiel Canal Waterways and Shipping Authority said on Monday.The incident was caused by the installation of a new vessel traffic management software system, the spokesperson said.Fixing a small error in the code allowed the channel to go back into full operation after more than 12 hours of outage, the spokesperson added."The traffic controller went down at 8 o'clock yesterday morning.

In research prompted by the incident in the Dutch North Sea in January when a drifting bulk carrier hit offshore wind facilities, Dutch maritime research institute MARIN this week, with industry partners, tested three innovative barriers aimed at averting collisions between ships and wind turbines.The drifting bulk carrier Julietta D initially collided with a tanker before hitting a transformer platform and a turbine foundation for the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm currently under…

Visitors to Amsterdam may soon spot a self-driving watercraft the size of a small car cruising silently through its ancient canals, ferrying passengers or transporting goods or trash.It will be the electric-powered "Roboat", a catchier name than "autonomous floating vehicle" for a project shortly due to start test journeys aimed at improving the crowded city's transport options."We have a lot of road traffic and congestion, e-commerce, logistics cluttering the small streets in the city…

The speed of a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March was controlled by the Egyptian waterway’s operator before it ran aground, the vessel’s insurer said on Thursday.The statement from UK Club came after the head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said the ship was sailing too fast when it became grounded, but that the canal bore no responsibility.The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, is still being held in the canal while both sides continue compensation talks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is evaluating remote operation of locks within the U.S. inland waterways system. Timetables are hazy, but the Corps plans to include remote operations capabilities during rehabilitations or new construction, in the work planned, for example, in the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, part of the USACE’s Pittsburgh District.In fact, the first install project is being readied at Lock & Dam 4 on the Monongahela River. L&D 4 is also known as Charleroi Locks and Dam because it’s at Charleroi, Pa, at river mile 41.5, between Pittsburgh and Fairmont, W.Va.

Gregory Darling and Applied Satellite Technology (AST) works with shipowners to help them use their bandwidth more efficiently for ship business and crew needs.When Gregory Darling, Group MD, AST, worked in the marine industry in the 1980s with a marine survey company, he needed to get word to one of his ships off of West Africa to recalibrate its course and head off to a new job. But the ship had left port, and radio calls to the ship went unanswered, resulting in two days of lost time and revenue.“That was frustrating and costly…

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier and Philippine-flagged motor tanker collided off Luzon Point, Mariveles, Bataan at around 12:15 a.m.

Wärtsilä Voyage won a contract to update the ECDIS on-board 50 tankers. More than 400 ships already has the capability to share routes through their ECDIS. With focus on increasing tanker safety, the STM BALT SAFE project is signing up 50 tankers that frequently sail in the Baltic Sea, with Wärtsilä winning the contract. Cajsa Jersler Fransson, Ship Testbed Manager, says, “Wärtsilä Voyage has the know-how, the installed base and the dedication to a more connected future. With installations happening this year…

Wärtsilä said it will install its Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) solution at Peru's main harbor, one of Latin America’s most important ports.Dense fog and haze are a consistent challenge for Callao’s port operations, often making shipping conditions dangerous. Wärtsilä said its VTS solution will provide the technology needed to ensure uninterrupted port operations, while increasing safety levels and facilitating arrival, docking and departures for visiting ships.The technologies to be deployed by Wärtsilä includes solid-state IALA Advanced radar…

The technology group Wärtsilä will upgrade its Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) installed in the Indian port of Cochin, bringing additional benefits such as improved traffic monitoring and control.The system was originally delivered in 2008, and the order with Wärtsilä to upgrade the system was placed in February 2020 by the Cochin Port Trust (CoPT). The upgrading project is scheduled for completion by the end of July 2020.According to Wärtsilä, the upgraded VTMS will enable…

Navelink is a newly formed sea traffic management industry consortium initiated by the industrial companies Kongsberg Gruppen, Saab and Wärtsilä, three influential and significant maritime equipment manufacturers and service providers.The aim of the consortium is to reach a new global standard enabling scalable maritime information exchange. The consortium already has the Swedish Maritime Authority (SMA) boarded and has commissioned Combitech to deliver the infrastructure needed."Ship owners and operators, as well as coastal and port authorities and their service providers can benefit from the open infrastructure we are establishing.

Wärtsilä, together with project partners Carnival Maritime and HVCC Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC), announced they have implemented and tested a new solution for just-in-time sailing.Together, the partners have achieved the exchange of data between ship and shore under real-life conditions, thereby enabling optimal port arrival. The applied solution, Wärtsilä Navi-Port, has received approval in principle from Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore for meeting the classification…

The SAFIR consortium of partners – Amazon Prime Air, Aveillant, C-Astral, DronePort, Elia, Explicit, Helicus, Port of Antwerp, Proximus, SABCA, Skeyes, Tekever and Unifly – tested the first simultaneous drone flights today in Sint-Truiden DronePort, for among other things package deliveries, inspection flights and emergency situations. European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc also followed the demonstrations from the front row. SAFIR stands for "Safe and Flexible Integration of Initial U-space Services in a Real Environment," a project funded by the EU.After the first trial round in Sint-Truiden, the press is invited to watch…

As part of the Sea Traffic Management STM Validation project Costa Crociere, part of Carnival Corporation, integrated Costa and Aida ships to exchange information with other actors, utilizing STM supported standardised formats and interfaces. After verifying operations with these initial ships, the rest of the Carnival Corporation fleet has now been added.Costa developed STM support as part of their Fleet Operation Center software Neptune. This new functionality in Neptune allows Carnival to interact with other STM services…

Carnival Corp has implemented Sea Traffic Management (STM) into its fleet management and operations software to share voyage data with ports and other shipping companies. EU's STM Validation project has now been added to entire Carnival Corporation fleet, following a successful trial with Carnival's Costa and Aida-brand ships.Costa Crociere developed STM support as part of their Fleet Operation Center software Neptune. This new functionality in Neptune allows Carnival to interact with other STM services, ports and shore center operators, and to evaluate voyage optimization suggestions received by shore centers through the maritime digital…

The Alameda County Transportation Commission has received $12.45 million from the California Transportation Commission for the implementation of the Freight Intelligent Transportation System (FITS) program at the Port of Oakland.FITS includes 15 freight technology demonstration projects designed to address traffic management, security systems and roadway improvements at the Oakland seaport. The funding comes from California Senate Bill 1 funds.The Port said FITS will reduce congestion and improve traffic flow for truckers who haul cargo containers in and out of Oakland. It will also update security systems and provide a common communication platform for first responders…