Wan News

Marlink reports it is providing new capabilities to long-term customer TUI Cruises on its Mein Schiff fleet, augmenting its managed hybrid network solution with Starlink LEO connectivity.Marlink will install its Sealink NextGen network solution – combining low-latency LEO connectivity with global 4G/5G and C/Ku-band VSAT - on the combined fleet of six existing Mein Schiff vessels and two newbuildings. These different connectivity links will be orchestrated by Marlink’s SD-WAN solution…

China's coast guard said on Sunday it will strengthen its law enforcement activities and carry out regular patrols around a small group of Taiwanese-controlled islands off the Chinese coast as tensions rise over the deaths of two Chinese nationals.Taiwan on Thursday defended the actions of its coast guard after two people on a Chinese speedboat, which got too close to a frontline Taiwanese island, died when their boat overturned while trying to flee a coast guard ship.

Digital network provider Marlink has completed the integration of internet services on Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot to provide three LEO solutions for the ship’s polar itineraries.The installation is the first in the maritime sector to combine Marlink’s Sealink GEO VSAT, with Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Iridium LEO services. The agreement with Ponant reflects Marlink’s ability to provide guaranteed throughput VSAT services with emerging high speed, low latency LEO services.The…

Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at collaborating on a fleet-specific decarbonisation strategy for ‘The Silk Alliance’ cross-industry initiative to enable zero-emission shipping across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.The collaboration includes driving investments into scalable fuel supply infrastructure to meet the demand of members of The Silk Alliance and potential wider regional bunkering demands for alternative fuels.Launched in May 2022…

The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) announced its president Caroline Yang has been reelected for another two-year term.In addition, seven ordinary members of the SSA were first elected during the association’s 27th AGM on June 28. The 2023/2025 council also co-opted four members into their council. There are two more members that the elected council will need to co-opt into the council.Yang has been at the helm of the association through some of shipping’s most challenging times.

Bureau Veritas (BV) has delivered an Approval in Principle (AiP) to Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings, a Hong Kong shipowner, for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project onboard two of its vessels.Partnering in the project is Qiyao Environmental Technology, a subsidiary of Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute.The AiP follows a joint study which validated the technical feasibility of using CCS technology on existing vessels. Wah Kwong provided two vessels from its fleet for the study: a 53…

Marlink has provided high throughput hybrid network solutions for Quark Expeditions’ MV Ultramarine since the start of the 2021 Arctic season. After the first full year with the service, the operater said it found that guests and staff on Ultramarine enjoyed continuous, high-quality connectivity despite the high latitudes and harsh operational environment.While Quark Expeditions has operated a fleet of chartered vessels and icebreakers for more than 30 years, Ultramarine is Quark’s first fully owned newbuild and is the newest ship in its fleet.

Maritime satellite communications services firm Marlink is equipping Solstad Offshore vessels with Starlink connectivity integrated with the Sealink VSAT, L-band backup, and 4G services."Solstad Offshore is the first offshore vessel operator on the Marlink network to trial Starlink testing the network in harsh weather conditions. In September 2022, the company completed the migration of its fleet connectivity to Marlink, including Sealink VSAT and 4G connectivity, and is now evaluating if this should be further extended with Starlink integration…

Survey, positioning and data management firm UTEC, part of the Acteon Group, is targeting the offshore wind survey and inspection market with a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).Torsten Marten, lead surveyor, UTEC, outlined the new design at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), at the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southampton, UK, early November.It’s a 12m-long, “DP equivalent” catamaran design, developed to offer a stable platform for survey and inspection operations…

Marlink signed an agreement with Odfjell Management AS to provide seamless access to global enterprise and crew applications across 52 vessels. The contract includes 43 vessels managed by Odfjell Management Norway and another nine operated by Thome Management Singapore. Marlink will deploy its hybrid connectivity solution to the fleet, including high throughput VSAT, L-band and 4G services using software-defined routing (SD-WAN) for seamless, intelligent data flow via Marlink’s…

Trade group the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) elected a new Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sean Strawbridge of the Port of Corpus Christi, last week during its 111th Annual Convention and Expo in Orlando, Fla. Outgoing Chairman Mario Cordero of the Port of Long Beach made the formal announcement during his address to members and attendees.AAPA President and CEO Chris Connor remarked on the transition, "Our work at AAPA is bolstered by the leadership and input of our chairperson and board of directors.

Protesting truckers stopped traffic on Wednesday at a Northern California port, one of the busiest in the United States, as they demonstrated against a new state labor law that makes it harder for independent truckers to operate.Drivers picketed gates and blocked other truckers from hauling cargo in and out of the port. The protests in Oakland began on Monday and have grown larger and more disruptive with each passing day.Late on Wednesday, Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny…

A Singapore-flagged containership went adrift after losing engine power off the coast of California, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The crew of the 564-foot Wan Hai 176 told Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders that the ship started drifting as the result of mechanical problems on Friday. The ship has 21 people on board, and no injuries have been reported. The Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response and Marin County…

Royal Wagenborg renewed and extended Castor Marine’s Global Ku VSAT connection for multiple years.Since 1898 the Dutch family-owned shipping company has been crossing the oceans, evolving to a fleet operator with about 200 vessels. Besides the extension of 52 Global Ku VSAT contracts, Castor Marine will equip an additional 15 Wagenborg vessels, currently on 4G, with VSAT. For more than eight years the company has provided VSAT, Iridium, Inmarsat FBB, and IT services to the Wagenborg fleet.

On January 6, the Federal Maritime Commission announced an “Order of Investigation and Hearing” against Wan Hai Lines, Ltd, a vessel-operated common carrier (VOCC). The order charges that Wan Hai failed to “establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable regulations and practices relating to its assessment of charges on containers when return locations with corresponding appointments were unavailable.”For FMC, a core issue is that some companies may be taking advantage of U.S. port congestion because established VOCC-truck operations are not working.

One of America's top seaports is set to launch an interagency effort to provide relief to agricultural exporters who are facing shortages of export capacity and skyrocketing logistics costsThe Port of Oakland announced Monday it is launching a program that involves the use of additional yard space and equipment, restored export ship calls and assistance to agricultural export users.The port will open and operate a 25-acre off-terminal, paved container yard equipped to move containers off chassis and store them for rapid pick-up.

VesselsValue's head cargo analyst, Olivia Watkins, has compiled a list of the world's top ship owning nations ranked by total fleet value.ChinaChina has moved up from second in January to firs place this time, owning a total of $191 billion in assets.China owns the largest number of containerships and, consequently, the recent surge in rates and values has moved them up the ranks to top spot in terms of fleet value. The increase in rates has also prompted an ordering spree across the container sector, as owners’ confidence in the market exploded.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured an order to supply hatch covers for 12 new 3,055 TEU containerships. The ships will be built by Japan Marine United (JMU) for the Taiwanese shipping company Wan Hai Lines. Scope of supply includes design and key components, fabrication and delivery of hatch covers to JMU.The order is booked into Cargotec's fourth quarter 2021 order intake, with deliveries planned to commence during the fourth quarter of 2022 and completed during the first…

Intellian received type approval from Inmarsat for its new FB250 and Fleet One L-band terminals, making it one of the first to market with user terminals for operation on Inmarsat’s catalyst L-band network, ELERA. The FB250 is a multi-functional terminal, either acting as a stand-alone primary communications terminal or combining with Intellian’s market-leading GX60NX and GX100NX to create the perfect Fleet Xpress (FX) solution. The Fleet One terminal is designed to provide an easy-to-install…

Marlink is supporting PONANT’s first polar exploration ship Le Commandant Charcot, with data and voice connectivity, aiming to create a seamless communication experience for guests.Le Commandant Charcot became the first vessel of her kind to reach the geographic North Pole on September 6, 2021, during sea trials in preparation for her maiden voyage later this year. Marlink provides a hybrid network solution, combining Sealink dual C- and Ku-band VSAT connectivity, GEO and LEO L-band connectivity and a high-data volume LEO store & forward capability.

Engineering firm Cavotec has won an order for the delivery of motorized cable reel systems for integration onto advanced rail-mounted gantry cranes at the Port of TokyoCavotec will supply motorized cable reel systems for eight automated rail-mounted gantry cranes at the Wan Hai Tokyo Oi5 terminal, a major global container handling hub. The cable reels will ensure the cranes meet demanding performance requirements due to surging container volumes. Working with Chin Pan engineering group, Cavotec is scheduled to complete the delivery of the systems in early 2023.

Touting strong RF performance, Intellian said its newly launched C700 Iridium Certus maritime terminal can deliver out-of-the-box uplink speeds of 352kbps and downlink speeds of 704kbps by default, with equally impressive low-elevation-angle RF efficiency thanks to its unique 12-patch phased array antenna technology. It will support three high-quality, low-latency phone lines simultaneously; and as a solid-state antenna with no moving parts inside, the C700 is especially robust…

Shipping Company Groningen (SCG) has contracted offshore internet services provider Castor Marine to install its Global 4G Connectivity package on all 30 of its vessels. With this, the coasters will have a fast, global 4G-LTE internet connection for its crews. On its fleet, SCG offers its personnel a Crew Welfare Zone with free internet within the 12-mile (4G) zone. To realize this, SCG wanted a plug-and-play, cost-efficient system that is always operational and doesn’t interfere with the crew’s activities.To make this happen…