Process Control News

As companies around the globe seek to optimize operations through digitization, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products announced that its Aristo 4004i Pulse, Aristo 5000i and Aristo U5000i advanced welding power sources are sold exclusively as WeldCloud-enabled systems. The Aristo 500ix will continue to be sold as A WeldCloud-optional system. To encourage use, ESAB will offer Aristo purchasers a free three-month trial period, which can be activated at any time.WeldCloud is a suite of online data management applications that enables users to improve overall operational efficiency by monitoring…

There is an old adage that states that a repair yard can economically build new ships, but a new construction yard should never touch ship repair jobs. In my experience there is a lot of truth to that statement, and it does not mean that new construction yards are run by less capable people; it simply means that ship construction and ship repair and conversion are fundamentally different business models. Ship construction uses a script, while ship repair and conversion is improvisation. I will not drive the theater comparison completely home, but it has some validity.

Industries are adapting to an increasingly digitalized landscape. The floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) industry is no different. As concerted efforts are made to improve project economics Matt Tremblay, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Offshore, discusses how digitalization can increase safety, reduce costs, and build robust technical and operational capabilities.No one could have predicted what a challenging year 2020 would become. Offshore production activity fluctuated dramatically with changing market economics and a global pandemic…

Subsea technology developer Sonardyne International Ltd. said it has acquired maritime and marine science technology specialist Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd. as part of a long-term growth strategy that includes market diversification.In acquiring Chelsea (also known as CTG), Sonardyne said it looks to strengthen its presence in the maritime, marine and ocean science sectors and create new opportunities in the water environmental, defense and process control markets. Chelsea will gain access to Sonardyne’s considerable research…

Solid-State Welding Processes Being Developed for NASA Manufacturing Programs Could Significantly Reduce Workboat Fabrication CostsWhether it is for a tug boat, cargo vessel, or an offshore supply ship, much of the workboat fabrication industry is located along the Southern Coast of the U.S. But a visit to any one of the workboat facilities in that area (or any other in the country) would reveal antiquated and archaic fabrication processes used seventy years ago. The workboat manufacturing process is very expensive, labor intensive, and has not really changed since World War II.

Inmarsat is giving its full backing to a new joint working group formed by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to develop a coordinated position on cybercrime and its prevention. The maritime industry satellite service provider said that stakeholder unity was critical in meeting the unpredictability of the cyber security threat to shipping. IACS sees the JWG approach as key to driving pan-industry technical or policy initiatives forward where the issue identified affects not only IACS Members but other parts of the industry. Inmarsat is a founding member of the group, which is being led by George Reilly of ABS and has been charged with evaluating measures to develop standardized industry practices to oppose maritime cyber threats from any direction.

Hydrocomp’s ProCad facilitates in-house Process Control of Propeller Design and Manufacture. Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. (MARTAC) is a Florida-based company building next-generation unmanned vessels for military applications. In preparation for the “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) military exercises in Pearl Harbor this last July, MARTAC needed a new propeller design for their MANTAS series high-speed vessels. Unfortunately, their current supplier was not meeting delivery schedules for the high-quality surface-piercing propellers that they need…

Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract by Gdansk Shiprepair Yard Remontowa S.A., to supply a scope of engines, propulsion machinery, integrated automation systems, and gas handling systems required for the mid-life upgrading of two RoPax ferries and their conversion to operate on LNG fuel. The ferries, the Spirit of British Columbia and the Spirit of Vancouver, are the flagship vessels of British Columbia Ferry Services based in Victoria, Canada. The work will be carried by the Remontowa Shiprepair yard in Poland. The contract with Wärtsilä was placed in March 2016.

Napier Turbochargers has been awarded Caterpillar’s Supplier Quality Excellence Process (SQEP) Certification. Caterpillar’s SQEP program is designed to place emphasis on supplier performance excellence: to earn SQEP, suppliers must provide superior performance in several categories including product quality, delivery, customer service, process control and continuous improvement. This certification demonstrates Napier Turbochargers values and principles in conducting business and…

(Press Release) With the exploitation of new cost-effective operational concepts, use of digital technologies and increased dependence on cyber structures, the oil and gas industry is exposed to new sets of vulnerabilities and threats. Cyber-attacks have grown in stature and sophistication, making them more difficult to detect and defend against, and costing companies increasing sums of money to recover from. DNV GL delivering today a study to the Lysne Committee (Lysneutvalget1) that reveals the top ten most pressing cyber security vulnerabilities for companies operating offshore Norway. “Headline cyber security incidents are rare, but a lot of lesser attacks go undetected or unreported as many organizations do not know that someone has broken into their systems.

Kongsberg Maritime has been selected to supply a complete Electrical, Instrument and Telecom solution, including E- house, for the new Yinson Production (West Africa) Pte Ltd FPSO, ‘Yinson Genesis’. According to the company, the contract is valued at approximately NOK 200 million ($26.2 million) and the FPSO is expected to be operational by 2017. The Yinson Genesis will be deployed to fulfill a 15-year contract (with five yearly extension options) for the chartering, operation and maintenance of an FPSO facility at the Offshore Cape Three Points Block (OCTP), in the Tano basin, 60 km off the coast of Ghana. The contract was awarded by Eni Ghana Exploration and Production to a consortium consisting of Yinson Production (West Africa) Pte Ltd and Yinson Production West Africa Ltd.

Servowatch Systems’ cooperation with UK-based Cathelco has resulted in what is claimed to be the most technically advanced new generation ballast water treatment system (BWTS) on the market. UK-based Servowatch has been working closely with Cathelco to develop a fully integrated alarm, monitoring, and process control system for its combination filtration and UV BWTS, a key component of the IMO approval process and U.S Coast Guard AMS acceptance. Cathelco’s Projects and Development Manager…

Berlin hosted today a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Joe Kaesar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens. The parties addressed the key issues of the joint activities pointing to the long history of the partnership between the companies. In more than 20 years the parties have delivered a number of joint projects on deploying cutting-edge process solutions at Gazprom's facilities. The companies cooperate efficiently in gas production and transmission, automation of process control systems, general-purpose and basic power generation facilities. The focus of the meeting also fell on such relevant issues as maintenance and repair of Siemens-made equipment at Gazprom's facilities.

Wave energy developer Carnegie Wave Energy Limited has provided an update on the recent progress of the Perth Wave Energy Project. Carnegie has made significant progress on the assembly and testing stage of the Perth Wave Energy Project in advance of the project’s final commissioning and operation phase. Noteworthy recent progress includes the completion of the offshore preparations in advance of the deployment of the CETO unit, completion of construction of the onshore plant including installation of all power generation and conditioning equipment on Garden Island, and nearing completion of the testing of the CETO units. Over the past months, Carnegie has been working through a rigorous program of integration testing of the CETO units in advance of offshore installation and commissioning.

Kongsberg Maritime Engineering (KME), the wholly owned Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) subsidiary of global maritime technology developer Kongsberg Maritime, will deliver an Integrated Control and Safety System for the new BW Offshore Catcher FPSO. The contract follows BW Offshore’s signing of a lease and operate contract with Premier Oil and its joint venture partners at the end of April 2014 for a FPSO to operate on the Catcher oil field in the U.K. North Sea. The field is owned by Premier Oil (50%, operator), Cairn Energy (30%) and MOL (20%). BW Offshore's scope includes the delivery of the FPSO, mooring system, installation and operation of the unit throughout the charter period.

Barge manufacturer doubles production and reduces paint waste with new blast line. When the 600th barge launch was celebrated at Brownsville Marine Products (BMP) just south of Pittsburgh in November 2012, it marked the company’s success at reviving a site with over 75 years of history. At the same time, the team also celebrated a facility ready for 21st Century marine vessel production, thanks to a radically modernized production line. Since taking over the site in 2005, the challenge for BMP was to meet the ambitious goal of producing the highest quality vessels at competitive prices.

Sales and technical support agreement signed for Singapore and Myanmar. Eco Marine Power (EMP) announced that it has entered into a sales and support agreement with MINs Control Systems Solution Pte. Ltd. (MCSS) to sell and support EMP's renewable energy solutions for shipping in Singapore and Myanmar. These solutions include marine solar power systems and the Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS). The Aquarius MAS is an alarm handling, performance monitoring and data logging platform suitable for a wide range of ships which can also be integrated with renewable energy solutions.

Kongsberg Maritime AS has been awarded a Project Specific Agreement including FEED for delivery of Safety and Automation (SAS) systems to the four Johan Sverdrup field platforms by Statoil Petroleum AS. The Project Specific Agreement includes an option for delivery of Safety and Automation Equipment including detail engineering services and commissioning services. The agreement is subject to Statoil final investment decision. The deliveries will be based on Kongsberg Maritime’s proven core SAS technology for Process Control…

OGP (International Association of Oil and Gas Producers) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) have released their interim draft in response to industry uncertainties associated with trade regulations (EU and US) and their applicability to standardisation in the oil and gas sector. The authors explain that there is an industry need to provide guidance for the equipment, systems, procedures and training for those parties engaged in the delivery of LNG as fuel to ships.

Engineering, architecture and environmental consulting company GHD said it has achieved considerable cost savings by integrating AVEVA Electrical with AVEVA Instrumentation. GHD’s team in Brisbane, Australia has been using AVEVA Instrumentation successfully since 2011, and its productivity encouraged GHD to also implement AVEVA Electrical in the summer of 2013. “Using the combination of AVEVA Electrical and AVEVA Instrumentation enables us to create high-quality electrical and instrumentation design on one database,” said Rob Trout, Senior Process Control/Instrumentation Engineer, GHD.

iBASEt, developers of Solumina’s Product Lifecycle Execution (PLE) software suite say that Textron Systems operating unit Textron Marine & Land Systems, has selected Solumina’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to streamline manufacturing operations for its work on the U.S. Navy’s Ship to Shore Connector (SSC) air cushion vehicle. IBASEt inform that the  SSC is the evolutionary replacement for the Navy’s existing fleet of Landing Craft, Air Cushioned (LCAC) vehicles, which are nearing the end of their service life. Since Solumina captures all the manufacturing data during the entire product’s manufacturing lifecycle, detailed manufacturing intelligence is easily accessible through dashboards, graphs and reports at the click of a button.

Richard A. Mueller named John P. Dooley President of Choice Ballast Solutions, LLC. Working in close cooperation with ballast water systems suppliers and vessel owners, Dooley will be responsible for the overall management of the Choice commercial marine business activities, providing ballast water treatment systems integration from survey to signoff. Choice services include surveys, engineering, drawings, project management, equipment commissioning and startup and service. He will be located in Cleveland, Ohio and report directly to Mueller, CEO of Choice.

As of January 1, 2014, Newport Electronics, Inc. has merged into Omega Engineering, Inc. Newport is now a part of Omega and going forward will do business under the Omega name. Newport will continue to produce products such as signal conditioners, transmitters and controllers, as well as provide customer service and technical support. The shop on-line feature of newportUS.com has been closed. Online users can now go directly to omega.com to place online orders. The newportUS.com website will remain as a resource for manuals, specifications, mechanical information and more.