Risk Management Services News

Korean Register (KR) has completed a comprehensive cyber security survey of the chemical/oil tanker SONGA HAWK and has certified the ship to be fully compliant in all areas, the very first ship to achieve the certification.Songa Ship management manages and operates 18 chemical/oil tankers and five semi-submersible vessels. The company signed a cyber security contract (valid for five years) with KR in 2018, covering its fleet of 23 vessels.KR conducted a cyber security audit of Songa Ship management and certified the company to be fully compliant in all areas in 2019…

A major investment in new frigates and submarines by the Australian government has created long-term opportunities for UK and European businesses with relevant intellectual property and expertise, said Moore Stephens. This summer the Australian government awarded UK firm BAE Systems a contract to build nine next-generation frigates – known as the ‘Future Frigates’ project – worth A$35 billion, said a research report written by Moore Stephens' Michael Simms & Grant Miles.The programme, which will run for over 20 years, will create around 4,000 direct Australian jobs and give a particular boost to South Australia and the shipyards of Port Adelaide. Construction of the frigates is scheduled to begin in Adelaide from 2020, with the first vessels delivered in 2027 and the last by 2042.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded a follow-on $9 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to ABSG Consulting Inc., an ABS Group company (ABS Group). ABS Group will provide a range of Human Systems Integration (HSI) support to the USCG's Human Systems Integration Office (CG-1B3), which is the USCG's technical authority for human systems integration (HSI). The BPA will cover acquisition support, project identification, usability analyses, testing, user facilitation and documentation services. As the USCG embarks on several new acquisition programs, including the Offshore Patrol Cutter and the Polar Ice Breaker, ABS Group will assist CG-1B3 and its partners within the USCG Acquisitions Directorate (CG-9)…

BMT Asset Performance, a subsidiary of BMT Group, has been launched following the recent decision to merge BMT Cadence which delivers safety and environmental risk management services and BMT Reliability Consultants which focusses on reliability and supportability engineering. Mike Prince, Managing Director of BMT Asset Performance, commented, “We have recognized for some time now that there are real synergies between the two organizations. “Our new name deliberately seeks to…

Maritime security company Maritime Asset Security Training (MAST) has announced their partnership with Astbury Marine Services & Associates (AMSA), a specialist shipping and insurance response business. The combination of front-line experience and industry knowledge place MAST and AMSA as leaders in their field. The two companies will work together to provide an increased portfolio of risk management services to clients trading in difficult or complex environments. These include support following an insurance incident…

Braemar (incorporating The Salvage Association) has appointed David Faulkner as ‘Manager, Ports and Harbours (Middle East)’. David is a Master Mariner and pilot and will be based in the Braemar SA Abu Dhabi office. He has extensive experience in providing specialist port consultancy services on aspects such as vessel manoeuvring, navigation, VTS (vessel traffic service) and marine risk, as well as providing expert opinion services to the insurance and legal markets on navigation, unsafe berth and unsafe port cases. David has worked for many years in the Middle East and will be responsible for the development of Braemar SA’s Ports & Harbours consultancy services in this market.

Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc. (LR) has teamed with Penn Oak Energy Corp to help companies raise capital and mitigate the technical risks associated with retrofitting ships fuelled by liquid natural gas (LNG), by providing a one-stop-shop solution to the industry. Ships that are fuelled by LNG can reduce operating costs while meeting stricter environmental regulations. LNG-fuelled ships have reduced emissions (nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and particulate matter) as compared with heavy bunker oil and even low-sulphur marine diesel. Historically, the leading expense for ship operators is fuel and personnel. The challenge to building these new ships has been that shipowners are unwilling to invest in LNG-fuelled ships if supplies of LNG bunker are difficult to obtain…

Provider of insurance and related risk management services to the transport and logistics industry TT Club said it welcomes the initiative of the World Shipping Council (WSC) in its recent publication of guidelines to the industry in relation to implementing the SOLAS requirements that become mandatory on July 1, 2016. Unlike the CTU Code, which forensically seeks to identify the chain of responsibility for everyone involved in the movement of freight, the amendment to the Safety…

Italy-based classification society RINA informs it has launched a ferry safety initiative. The Asset Integrity Management scheme for ro-pax ferries covers fire risk mitigation, single-failure risk assessment, enhanced planned maintenance and condition-based monitoring and also food and bacteriological risk management. Paolo Moretti, General Manager Marine, RINA Services, said, “With over 300 ferries in our class we are the world leaders in ro-pax ferry safety. That gives us two things. One is a lot of experience and feedback from vessels in service, the other is a sense of responsibility.

The TT Club, an international transport and logistics insurance provider,  released a trading update for the period 1 January - 31 August 2014. Charles Fenton, Chief Executive of the TT Club, said: “Low claim levels have continued through from 2013 which have contributed to TT Club’s strong financial performance in the year to date. We have obtained a mid-year combined ratio which is below 100% and slightly below the Board’s requirement. This is a very healthy place to be. “The current soft market conditions we are seeing have negatively impacted premium levels but this has been offset by good growth in Member reported volumes and also by net new business.

DNV GL, the global provider of risk management services, is extending a offshore safety training program which aims to advance the role of elected safety representatives (ESRs) in minimizing the risk of accidents and improving safety. The course, which is accredited by OPITO, will now be available at DNV GL’s Manchester offices from October to complement and add capacity to the training already provided in its Aberdeen office. DNV GL said it is the only accredited provider of this training, which was started last year and is available to more than 2,000 ESRs working across the industry. It is the first recognized standard applied to any safety representative training since the creation of the basic course, introduced in 1989.

Global Rescue, a crisis response firm providing medical, security, evacuation, and travel risk management services, says it has coordinated the rescue of a rower from the middle of the Indian Ocean after he sustained severe burns. Ocean Row Events (ORE) crew member Shane Usher was successfully evacuated to the 590-foot K Line bulk carrier Nordic River on the morning of July 11, 2014. Earlier in the week, Usher had accidentally scalded himself while preparing food on the ORE rowboat, Avalon. Global Rescue’s medical team confirmed that Usher’s burns were significant enough that an evacuation was necessary to secure proper treatment. The six-man and one woman Avalon crew was rowing non-stop across the Indian Ocean, from Geraldton, Australia.

Transferring personnel to offshore installations using crewboats and crane-lifted carriers is a common operation around the world; however, practices, levels of training, standards and the equipment used vary greatly. According to DNV GL, risk assessments currently use outdated statistics, and there is no central system for recording levels of activity and incidents. To improve safety performance and raise the profile of this operation DNV GL, the global provider of risk management services, has carried out a study for the newly launched Marine Transfer Forum.

Port2Port Maritime has now been formally accepted as an Associate Member of BIMCO, following the company’s accreditation of ISO/PAS 28007, the first assessment of a maritime security company’s quality management system against an International Standards Organization framework (ISO). Andrew Varney, Managing Director, Port2Port Maritime said, “Membership to BIMCO gives a clear choice for Shipowners, Charterers and Operators alike that for the first time, having proven its competency and capability beyond doubt…

DNV GL is relocating its oil and gas head office in Norway from Høvik to Stavanger in order to be even closer to its customers, the company said. Local delivery capacity will be expanded in Stavanger and Bergen and operations will continue in Høvik, Sandefjord, Trondheim and Harstad. DNV GL’s operations in Norway are led by Regional Manager Marianne Hauso. “The oil and gas industry is facing rapid changes, increasing costs and growing public scrutiny on its safety and environmental performance.

Maritime security company Ambrey Risk, specialists in commercial shipping in the oil and gas sector inform it has now been formally awarded full certification & accreditation for ISO 28000: ISO/PAS 28007, following Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) being appointed as a ‘Certifying Body’ (CB) against ISO/PAS 28007 by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS). This concludes the ISO/PAS 28007 Pilot, the first assessment of a maritime security company’s quality management system against an International Standards Organisation framework (ISO).

First Medical Group and Hawkes Associates Limited  announced a strategic partnership to deliver a range of risk management and training services to energy and construction industries in Libya and globally. Based in Aberdeen Hawkes Associates Limited have provided risk management services to global energy organizations for over 10 years and are particularly known for their health risk management activities. First Medical Group, (FMG) specialize in hostile environment and remote healthcare, and offer a range of occupational health and clinical services.

Tom Ridge, President and CEO of Ridge Global, an international provider of security and risk management services, today announced that Thomas Betro, former Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and VP at NTT DATA, has joined as an advisor. Betro will work closely with Ridge Global’s Flag Bridge strategic maritime team to help guide the expansion of a global maritime criminal investigation service. “We are fortunate to have a seasoned maritime law enforcement professional like Tom Betro on our team,” said Gov. Ridge.

TT Club, established to fill a gap in insurance as the freight container revolutionized trade, celebrates 45 years dedicated service to the transport and logistics sector. In 1956, the first strengthened containers were loaded onto a spar deck of the converted tanker, Ideal X. This marked the fulfilment of a dream for American trucker Malcom McLean who had, since 1937, been working on how to reduce the long waiting hours for dockers to stow or unload his vehicles onto or off ships. The container age was quietly born.

Port2Port Maritime has completed a pilot audit assessment for ISO/PAS 28007. After a rigorous and meticulously detailed, top down validation process conducted from the company headquarters to overseas operating locations and out to the point of embarkation, Port2Port Maritime has demonstrated compliance with this new management system specification. ISO 28000 is based upon a management system for the delivery of risk management services and mirrors much of the process contained in ISO 9001.

The merger between DNV and GL is now approved. The new company - DNV GL - will be operational from September 12, 2013. DNV GL will be the world’s largest ship and offshore classification society to the maritime industry, a leading provider of technical assurance and risk management services to the oil and gas industry and a leading expert in wind and power transmission and distribution. DNV GL also takes the position as one of the top three management system certification bodies in the world.

Metro Cruise Services LLC entered a four-year agreement with the New York City Economic Development Corp. (NYCEDC), where it has been designated as the sole and exclusive operator of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal (BCT). This will be the first time in Metro’s company history that marine terminal and stevedore operations will be conducted in the Port of New York. Metro’s cruise brand has grown in the Northeast region in recent years, beginning with the providing of stevedore services in the Port of Boston to Crystal, RCI, Celebrity and Carnival cruise lines.

TT Club’s Senior Underwriter, Dan Negron, speaking at the recent TOC Americas Conference in Miami outlined his views on future Latin American trade growth and the pressures that this will create on the region’s transport infrastructure. “Two examples of robust economies are Colombia and Peru. The latter has grown its export trade by a multiple of five over the last decade, while Colombia has a sustained GDP growth rate in the region of 5% in recent years. Both have burgeoning middle classes, a significant driver of international trade,” explained Negron.