System Support News

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 U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Expeditionary Sea Base, USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), during a ceremony Saturday, March 7, in Norfolk, Va.USS Hershel “Woody” Williams is optimized to support a variety of maritime-based missions and designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets. ESBs can be enhanced to meet special operations force missions through increased communications, aviation and unmanned aircraft system support.Built by General Dynamics NASSCO…

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…

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.

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.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program’s (NSRP) Executive Control Board has selected a new round of research and development (R&D) projects aiming to spur technology advancements in order to reduce costs associated with shipbuilding and ship repair in the U.S. The seven projects – valued at over $13.3 million, including cost share – were selected from those proposed in response to research announcement issued in July 2017, and are outlined below. Objective: The primary goal…

Mackay Communications Inc., a worldwide marine electronics and airtime service provider, has announced it has signed a partner agreement with Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L) to distribute its award-winning Fleet Xpress service to the global maritime market including deep sea vessels, commercial fishing, oil and gas, defense, and cruise-passenger lines. Mackay will offer a complete end-to-end Fleet Xpress package including the full range of Fleet Xpress airtime service options and choice of approved antennas.

Australia’s new multirole aviation training vessel MV Sycamore has recently arrived in Sydney. Designed to support Defence helicopter training, having been launched in Vietnam in August 2016, built by Skelder and overseen by Serco Defence, the 94-metre ship is a flight deck equipped sea-going training vessel for the crews of most types of helicopters used by the Australian Defence Force. Captain Al Whittaker said building of the Damen-designed steel ship began in 2015. “Sycamore has completed its harbour acceptance testing, systems factory acceptance testing and the shipyard acceptance tests,” he said. The ship arrived in Sydney on June 26, where her flag state was changed to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s red ensign.

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°.

Optimarin informs it has signed an agreement with Goltens Green Technologies giving the Norwegian-headquartered ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist a global network of spare parts warehousing and service engineers. The framework agreement, negotiated at this month’s Nor-Shipping, will enable Optimarin to use facilities in Asia, North America and the Middle East to provide its worldwide customer base with local lead times for the commissioning and maintenance of its market proven Optimarin Ballast System (OBS). “We know Goltens very well,” said Optimarin CEO, Tore Andersen.

The Danish Defense Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) and KONGSBERG have renewed their maritime simulation cooperation with the March 2016 signing of a new framework agreement, including a 10-year ‘Long Term System Support Program’ (LTSSP) extension. The contract secures DALO’s access to the latest simulation technology for the next decade and includes migration of the existing KONGSBERG simulators delivered in 2012, to the sophisticated new K-Sim Navigation simulator platform.

The Commonwealth of Australia (CoA), Department of Defence has contracted Kongsberg Maritime to develop and deliver a new K-Sim Engine simulator model to the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Cerberus training facility located south of Melbourne, Australia. The new model will run on the existing KONGSBERG K-Sim Engine desktop simulator delivered to HMAS Cerberus in 2013, which is maintained under a Long Term System Support Program (LTSSP) agreement signed in 2015. The customized simulator…

‘Fideicomiso de Formación y Capacitación para el Personal de la Marina Mercante Nacional’ (FIDENA), on behalf of Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) has selected Kongsberg Maritime offshore simulators for the Marine Education Center in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche. Appointed by SCT, FIDENA is the educational institution in charge of managing, organizing and developing the formal education of all seafarers in Mexico. As Mexico’s only institution offering higher level programs in maritime education…

Aalesund University College has become one of the first Kongsberg Maritime simulator users to migrate to the new simulator technology platform, K-Sim Navigation. In a contract signed on January 6, 2015 following an open tender by the college, Kongsberg Maritime will deliver a new K-Sim Navigation aft and forward bridge configuration, which is DNV Class B compliant with an integrated DP2 simulator. Installation is scheduled for May 2015. The University College has also signed a…

The latest US Department of Defense, Navy, contracts include: to Defense Support Services LLC for 'COLDS' cargo training, and to Hornbeck Offshore Services for the time charter of an offshore supply vessel for submarine rescue diving support services. Defense Support Services LLC, Mount Laurel, N.J., is being awarded a $24,903,892 indefinite-delivery requirements contract for instructional support services to conduct basic and advanced courses on the Navy's Cargo Offload and Discharge System (COLDS).

PEM Offshore Limited signed a multi-million dollar contract with Kongsberg Maritime for the supply of a full suite of Offshore Anchor Handling, Dynamic Positioning, Power Management and Crane Simulation systems. The new simulators will form the main infrastructure for a world-class offshore simulation training center and the first of its kind in Nigeria and West Africa. The new training center will be located in Lagos and serve to support the training of local and foreign offshore personnel involved in offshore oil and gas operations…

Mexico's Oceanografia S.A. de C.V. signs  multi-million dollar contract with Kongsberg Maritime Simulation’s Mystic, CT, USA office for supply of maritme simulators. The contract is for the supply of a suite of offshore anchor handling, Dynamic Positioning, engine room and crane simulation systems, underpinning the main infrastructure for a new world-class offshore simulation training centre to be situated at Mexico’s primary offshore supply hub for the Gulf of Mexico.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Subsidiary AMSEC LLC wins U.S. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) task order contains a base period with two one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to approximately US$ 8.2-million. SeaPort-e is the Navy's electronic platform for acquiring support services in 22 functional areas, including engineering, financial management and program management.

Star Information Systems (SIS) has established a new base in Rio de Janeiro to serve Brazil’s thriving offshore sector. To support the manuever, SIS sent Hans-Kristian Fjaerem, one of the firm’s most experienced consultants, to lead the operation, recruit a local team, and service SIS’ growing portfolio of customers in the region. The pace of economic change in Brazil – now the sixth largest global economy – has been accelerated by the discovery of huge oil and gas reserves in the country’s pre-salt basin, opening up an array of opportunities for national and international offshore operators.

Telaurus Communications, a Globecomm Maritime company, has appointed Geoff Davison as Product Manager – Value Added Services. Geoff joins Telaurus with 20 years’ experience in electronics, telecommunications and information technology in the marine, military and avionics markets. For the last 10 years Geoff has held a senior position with AND Group, leading its technical support team for the last five years. His main role will be to develop new sales worldwide through promotion of Telaurus Value Added Services both internally and externally.

User interface is the most visible system component when it comes to equipment operation. From the steering wheel and instrument cluster on your vehicle’s dashboard to the most complex industrial control system, the purpose is the same; it must allow human interface into a system. The interface must provide the user a means to control the equipment, provide feedback from the equipment to show operational conditions and alert us when something is wrong. And it should do these things efficiently, be easy to use, and visually and ergonomically pleasing.

Deep Down, Inc. is an oilfield services company specializing in complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services. In response to recent investor inquires, the company commented that the recently announced 180-day moratorium on exploration drilling in water depths in excess of 500 ft in the Gulf of Mexico has had no material negative impact on our current operations. However, we have seen an increase in activity in our operations related to cleanup and subsea monitoring in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, we do not envision that the Drilling Moratorium will have a material impact on the operations of Cuming Corporation. On May 3, 2010, we announced that we had entered into a conditional purchase agreement to acquire Cuming Corporation.