Information Services News

Stolt Tankers’ Managing Director, Maren Schroeder has joined the board of ITOPF Limited, a not-for-profit organization specializing in preparedness for and response to accidental marine spills.“I am pleased to be able to contribute to this very important area in my new role as director at ITOPF,” said Schroeder, who will fulfil her ITOPF duties alongside her role at Stolt Tankers. “Sharing insights from the experience of Stolt Tankers will not only enhance ITOPF’s knowledge of our market segment…

Swedish-based equipment manufacturer Alfa Laval announced Tuesday it has completed its acquisition of Norwegian weather intelligence and decision support services provider StormGeo.Alfa Laval, which announced the deal in May, said the acquisition is part of a strategy to boost its digital services offering and support the maritime industry’s operational efficiency efforts. StormGeo will become a part of Alfa Laval's marine division.The purchase price is fully financed via cash and amounts to MNOK 3,630 (approximately MSEK 3,700) on a debt and cash free basis.

The Baltic Exchange’s subsidiary, Baltic Exchange Information Services Ltd (BEISL), has been authorized by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a benchmark administrator under EU Benchmark Regulation. This means that the Baltic Exchange’s daily dry bulk, tanker and gas freight indices are regulated by an EU National Competent Authority.“We are very pleased to have received authorization from the FCA,” commented Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson. “This status ensures that financial institutions…

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) held the first joint symposium on  extreme maritime weather: Towards safety of life at sea and a sustainable blue economy.The symposium has highlighted the need for the gap to be closed between met-ocean (meteorology and oceanography) information providers and the users of this information in the maritime industry.The October 23-25 event at IMO headquarters in London brought together about 200 stakeholders from shipping (including freight, passenger ferries, cruise liners), offshore industry, ports and harbors, coast guards, insurance providers and the met-ocean community - both public and private).Global examples of extreme maritime weather and a wide variety of related issues were discussed.

The project partners received the approval for the EMMA Extension application by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme.EMMA Extension builds on the EMMA projects’ analyses, results and recommendations, said a press release from Port of Hamburg.Enhancing inland waterway transport (IWT) still is focused on and reflected in all activities of the extension project.EMMA Extension is the logical next step in further developing IWT services in Sweden, Poland and Lithuania as well as to support the uptake of newly developed river information services (RIS) in Germany. Thus, the project will increase the quality and durability of results.The project is led by Port of Hamburg Marketing Reg. Assoc.

The European Union and the Global Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC GMCP) have a long and effective relation in building capacities to tackle maritime crimes.The EU and the Global Maritime Crime Programme of UNODC started partnering in 2010 to support Eastern African states (Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius and Tanzania) prosecuting piracy incidents off the coast of Somalia.Currently, the EU and UNODC GMCP are jointly working on  capacity building support in Somalia, including training and mentoring of the Mogadishu Maritime Police Unit.The Global Maritime Crime Programme is currently preparing…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that six MOL-operated/managed vessels have received commendations from the commanders of the 3rd and 4th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG).Vessels commended by 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters are: VLCC Altair Trader, VLCC Yufusan, VLCC M. Star, LNG carrier Energy Advance, and LNG carrier Energy Frontier. The vessel commended by 4th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters is VLCC Shizukisan.To mark Japan Hydrography Day, the commanders of the Regional Coast Guard Headquarters presented testimonials to individuals and organizations that have contributed to marine information services (assisting with research related to the sea and marine information).

Drewry says that recovering demand recovery in the North America-East Coast South America box trades provides encouragement, but local political conditions bear watching. Elsewhere, reports that Maersk and MSC are reviewing their Iran operations underpins broader political uncertainties that could get in the way. North America-East Coast South America box tradesMaritime Research Consultancy Drewry is reporting that the headhaul East Coast South America to North America trade fell by 1% in the first quarter 2018 to 137,000 teu. Brazil owns as much 85% of that market where the slowdown was mostly a function of waning US demand for major commodities. Nevertheless, wood shipments improved sharply to offset lower volumes for other cargoes.

A new free-to-access online tool aims to improve understanding of the current, and rapidly evolving, bunkering infrastructure landscape for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Launched by industry coalition SEA\LNG from the sixth LNG Bunkering Summit currently taking place in Amsterdam, the new Bunker Navigator Tool utilizes member, marine information services and publicly available data to provide access to the latest developments in the global LNG bunkering infrastructure. SEA\LNG’s map-based tool…

Dr. Andreas Strecker, 56, was appointed as a member of the Board of Management of DEUTZ AG, effective 1 March 2018, and will assume responsibility for Finance, Purchasing, Human Resources and Information Services from 1 April 2018. He succeeds former CFO Dr. Margarete Haase, 64, whose contract ends on April 30 2018. Dr. Strecker previously worked in managerial positions in the Bus and Controlling units of the Daimler Group, most notably for many years as the President and CEO of Daimler Buses North America.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that 15 MOL-operated / managed vessels won commendations from the commanders of the 3rd and 5th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters of Japan Coast Guard (JCG). To mark Japan Hydrography Day (September 12), the commanders of the Regional Coast Guard Headquarters presented testimonials to individuals and organizations that have contributed to marine information services (assisting with research related to the sea and marine information). This year, MOL's vessels won praise for their significant contributions to the coast guard's marine information services by providing observed data on seawater temperature and oceanic currents over many years, and 15 of them were selected for the commendation.

Liberia has confirmed its position as the leading flag of choice for Greek ship owners and operators, according to statistics produced by the independent research and information organisation Marine Information Services (MIS) in Greece. The MIS figures show that the Greek merchant fleet now includes 1,037 Liberian-flag ships. Liberia also leads the way in terms of total deadweight tonnage registered under its flag by Greek owners, aggregating 78m dwt. Michalis Pantazopoulos, Senior Vice-President of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry in Greece, says, “The MIS figures measure fleet size in numbers of ships and total deadweight tonnage, which are the parameters used by the International Maritime Organization and widely recognised throughout the industry.

Newly appointed Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson has set out the Exchange’s vision of the near-future in a wide-ranging speech in Singapore during the concurrent MPA Singapore Maritime and Singapore Iron Ore Weeks. “The recent acquisition of the Baltic Exchange by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has reinvigorated this key international maritime institution, allowing us to grow our leadership profile and play a bigger role than ever before in setting standards, building consensus and leading change in the shipping markets. These are bold plans and will ensure that the Baltic Exchange remains at the heart of the bulk shipping industry for the long-term.

The EfficienSea2 project, which is led by the Danish Maritime Authority, is now ready to demonstrate its first results. At a coming conference, beta releases of some of the solutions will be launched. Now, the EfficienSea2 project is ready to present beta releases of some of its solutions. The service and identity registries of the Maritime Cloud will be opened up, enabling information suppliers to develop and insert digital information services in the service registry. The project will also launch a beta release of the web-based platform BalticWeb. The maritime industry is invited to experience the beta release of the Maritime Cloud and BalticWeb at the project conference 'Getting Connected to the Future'…

The crisis in global shipping and a tax exodus by big Greek vessel owners have helped finally seal the fate of London's Baltic Exchange after at least three approaches to buy it over the last six years of its near-three centuries history. Some 95 percent of shareholders voted on Monday in favour of a takeover deal from Singapore Exchange, valued at 87 million pounds ($112.87 million), trumping more than one effort from the London Metal Exchange to snap it up. "For Baltic shareholders it does release value…

As the region’s 2015/2016 cruise season has come to a close, Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of ports and the Khalifa Industrial Zone in the Emirate, has released its best ever Cruise Terminal performance figures. With an increase of 16 percent in passengers and 20 percent increase in vessel calls, the state-of-the-art Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal is playing a prominent role in expanding the emirate’s tourism industry and achieving its economic diversification goals.

On April 5, China issued “Guidances on Arctic navigation in the Northwest route 2015”, which provides navigation information services for international navigation ships planned navigating in Arctic waters. The Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America, is becoming more attractive for shipping as global warming melts the ice cover and keeps the route navigable for longer periods.

Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator and manager of ports and Khalifa Industrial Zone in the Emirate, has started initial trial operations of its Port Community System, ‘Maqta Gateway’, following the successful completion of Stage1 of the overall project development. Maqta Gateway, the first purpose built Port Community System (PCS) in the Emirates, now offers shipping lines, shipping agents, customs agents, terminal operators and other government agencies a single point-of-access and real-time information across a wide range of services. Maqta Gateway, designed in line with international standards, can be accessed via any online device offering its users an optimal experience through enhanced business processes and greater transparency.

Mr Philip Wake OBE RD MSc FNI has been appointed an Ordinary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the UK’s New Year’s Honours’ List for his services to the maritime industry. Philip was elected a Fellow of The Nautical Institute in 1996, and became Chairman of the voluntary London Branch soon after. Having served in the Secretariat since November 1999, he became the Chief Executive of The Nautical Institute in May 2003. During his time as Chief Executive, The Nautical Institute has developed its reach as a professional membership organisation, now serving members in 120 countries. The Nautical Institute continues to promote professionalism, safety and best practice to the industry as a whole, through a range of publications and free resources, including the Alert!

The Danish-led e-navigation project, EfficienSea2, got one step closer to being launched when a core element of the project – Maritime Cloud – was debated by a group of international maritime organisations and companies. The purpose of the project EfficienSea2 is to develop and implement e-navigation and, thus, up-to-date technology on board ships by introducing and using modern communication, navigation and administrative systems. The concept behind the Maritime Cloud has been developed by the Danish Maritime Authority in connection with previous international projects. By now, it has matured so much that it is ready to receive feedback from relevant international maritime organisations and companies.

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $321.7 million contract option to General Dynamics Electric Boat to provide planning yard work, engineering and technical support for nuclear submarines. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Under this option, Electric Boat will provide design, engineering, material and logistics support, and research and development activities for active U.S. submarines and submersibles. Electric Boat also will provide information services, planning, scheduling and technical support for submarine maintenance and modernization activities, training and facility support, and affordability/cost reduction support. The contract will be worth approximately $1.5 billion over five years if all options are exercised and funded.

ADMIRALTY List of Radio Signals, a comprehensive source of information on all aspects of maritime radio communication, is now available in digital format to make it easier to search and update than paper publications. Together with ADRS 2, which provides positional and timekeeping references to help ensure ships are in the right place at the right time, and ADRS 6, which provides maritime radio communications information for 3,600 locations worldwide, all six volumes of ADRS now form part of ADP as computer-based applications of the UKHO’s paper-based nautical reference guides.

Figures released by the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee (GSCC) show that Liberia has further strengthened its position as the undisputed leading open registry of choice for Greek shipowners and operators. The GSCC statistics show that, in the year to end-March 2015, the number of Greek-controlled ships in the Liberian Registry increased by a net total of 61 vessels, more than any other registry in the world. In the process, the Liberian Registry moved closer to the Greek flag, which recorded a net total of 20 new registrations in the 12-month period.