Bespoke Solution News

Smart network company Marlink has extended its partnership with Intelsat to offer increased Ku and C-band satellite connectivity to maritime customers in cruise and merchant shipping sectors.The agreement will see Intelsat assign capacity to the Marlink network providing a unique level of coverage in waters as far south as Antarctica as well as ocean regions around Africa and the Middle East. Marlink will derive the additional capacity from multiple assets, including Intelsat’s high-throughput satellites…

German renewable energy industry giant RWE, in partnership with Commercial Rib Charters (CRC), is building "a world-first" amphibious vessel for reaching offshore wind farms in shallow waters."The unique crew transfer vessel has initially been designed to reach turbines at Scroby Sands [wind farm in the UK ], which have become stranded by the natural rising tide of the sandbank on which it is built. The fully seaworthy vessel, which can also drive on land, provides a unique access solution for some of the industry’s first-generation assets affected by very dynamic seabed conditions…

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has secured a $40 million contract to supply an integrated technology solution for the first U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) - the Charybdis.The vessel, being built at Keppel AmFELS shipyard in the U.S., is being constructed for US energy company Dominion Energy. The vessel is expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 and will be among the largest of its kind.The new WTIV will be able to transport and install several sets of next-generation wind turbines and their foundations.

A long-serving nuclear cargo vessel has made its final voyage and will be decommissioned in Scotland.Earlier this month, Oceanic Pintail set sail from Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, for the final time, and now 98% of the 3,865-tonne vessel will be recycled by Leith firm Dales Marine Services, an EU List approved supplier of vessel decommissioning.Oceanic Pintail, operated by International Nuclear Services (INS), was launched in 1987 and has served the U.K. nuclear industry for the last 33 years.Peter Buchan…

The global marine and offshore vessel management and support services provider V.Group said that its V.Ships Leisure unit has been awarded a contract by Antarctica21 for the technical management of the expedition vessel, Magellan Explorer.The 100-guest Magellan Explorer is currently under construction at Asenav in Chile and due to be delivered in October 2019, the ship management company company said.The vessel, which is being built to the new polar code and is uniquely customised for fly-cruises in Antarctica, will join Antarctica21’s fleet as the first newbuild for the Chile-based cruise brand, with their current fleet on charter agreements.Antarctica21’s President and Chairman Jaime Vásquez stated…

Manufacturer of technologically advanced industrial and marine braking systems Dellner Brakes AB has launched what it is calling “the world’s first fully automated, electrical ‘Stop, Turn, Lock’ (eSTL) braking system” at September’s SMM 2016 international marine fair in Hamburg. The Dellner eSTL system is compact and needs no additional piping, making it quick, easy and cost effective to install, the manufacturer said – especially where space is at a premium. It’s simple to use…

Trelleborg’s marine systems operation has supplied the Association of Maryland Pilots with SafePilot Portable Pilot Units (PPUs) and a Port System server solution to facilitate consistent, real-time information sharing between almost 70 pilots. The SafePilot system is part of Trelleborg’s Smarter Product Portfolio, which its marine systems operation is evolving to support the ‘Port of the Future’. The Association of Maryland Pilots serves the Chesapeake Bay, the longest pilotage route on the East Coast of the United States, with its nearly 200 miles of waters. The scale of the waters put particular demands on the operational battery time the piloting equipment requires.

Holding OOS International Group B.V. confirms it has signed a fixed contract for the engineering and construction of two new build Semi-Submersible Crane Vessels (SSCV) with China Merchant Industry Holdings, a fully owned subsidiary of the China Merchant Group. “OOS took a quantum leap within the oil and gas/wind Industry,” said Léon Overdulve, Founder and owner of Holding OOS International Group B.V. OOS will equip its two new SSCVs named OOS Serooskerke and OOS Walcheren with two heavy lift cranes, with a total dual lifting capacity of 4,400T per vessel.

Following the recent contract signing for the first ever Damen Service Operations Vessel (SOV) with walk-to-work capability, the first steel was cut this week at Damen Shipyards Galati, marking the beginning of construction for U.K.-based client Bibby Marine Services. The new vessel will be named Bibby WaveMaster 1 and deployed in the North Sea to support forthcoming offshore wind construction and O&M projects. Damen Sr. Project Manager René Hooijman said, “This is a significant moment for this vessel and for both Damen and Bibby Marine Services. The beginning of the physical construction process is a cause for celebration after years of planning and development.

WISTA UK, the Women in Shipping and Trade Association, isn't shy in hosting events that challenge its members to address the major issues affecting the shipping industry, and this was very much the case during the its most recent Forum. With the Paris hosting this week, The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 21 meeting, the Forum looked at the part the maritime sector plays in the climate change agenda. The subject of Thursday’s debate (26 November) was the divisive emissions problem, with the panel exploring potential solutions to curtail shipping’s emissions. Three different, highly informative speakers set the scene and challenged the audience to look at the issues from a number of perspectives.

Holland America Line’s cruise ship MS Noordam recently underwent a 10-day dry-dock period, during which it was fit with a customized bridge from Radio Holland. The work on Netherlands-flagged MS Noordam included refitting the navigation and bridge systems to improve working conditions in line with HAL’s Bridge Resource Management concept. Radio Holland, a supplier, installer and maintainer of maritime electronics, also provided additional equipment including an upgrade of the autopilot interface with the propulsion systems to deliver fuel savings.

Strainstall designs and delivers a load measurement solution for the world’s largest floating wharf at Port of Dampier. Strainstall, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, was commissioned to design and deliver a load monitoring system for the Dampier Floating Deck - the world’s largest floating wharf at the port of Dampier, Western Australia. The wharf, located in some of the most challenging marine operational conditions, is a new concept in jetty extension and Strainstall’s bespoke…

The Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding has positioned the International Register of Shipping (IRS) closer to the higher ranking achievers on its performance list, following the classification society’s success during the 2012-2014 period. IRS achieved a zero excess factor, placing the society just seven places behind IACS member societies on the list of high performing recognized organizations (ROs). In its Annual Report 2014, the Tokyo MoU reported that of the 863 inspections carried out on IRS-classed ships only 1.16% resulted in detentions across the three-year period. The statistics resulted in IRS moving from a 2012 excess factor of 0.25 to zero.

Executive Vice President: Viktor R. Vice President: Timothy M. PPG Industries, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, is a global, multi-billion dollar diversified manufacturer supplying paints, coatings, chemicals, optical products, specialty materials and glass. PPG is a world leader in protective and marine coatings, developing products that protect customers’ assets in some of the world’s most demanding conditions and environments. These include, among others, Offshore, Petrochemical, Marine new-build, Marine dry dock and Marine sea stock.

Servowatch Systems, a U.K.-based business unit of the Electrical and Automation division of India’s engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, said its exhibition stand at SMM in Hamburg this September will be used as a platform from which the global specialist in marine automation and systems integration will launch a suite of new alarm, control and monitoring solutions into the merchant marine market. The company has now standardized its technology to provide a cost-effective, commercial-off-the-shelf solution for the mainstream shipping industry. “The development means that Servowatch technology, which is the technology of choice in the high-tech, high-value naval and luxury mega-yacht markets, can now be easily applied to the industry’s workhorses – bulk carriers, tankers, containerships.

ANT provides solutions for Superyacht schools of the future in partnership with U-Touch. Advanced New Technologies (ANT) Ltd, one of the world’s leading technology integrators for the Superyacht and luxury home markets, is pioneering education at sea by bringing the very latest in classroom technology to Superyachts in partnership with U-Touch, as well as a collection of other suppliers. With the growing desire for owners to take their young families on life broadening ‘explorer’…

Fendercare Marine launch a new range of piggyback saddles to assist pipeline installation in the offshore industry. Piggyback saddles - alongside clamps and spacers - can act as a shaped interface between a pipeline and a cylindrical buoyancy tank, to ensure the tank rides comfortably and safely on top of the pipeline during the laying operation. They can also act as separators during parallel lay installations and are most frequently used when smaller secondary umbilicals or pipelines need to run along the top of the main pipeline in piggyback formation.

New device will help combat multi billion dollar global crime. Tracerco, part of the Johnson Matthey group, has developed what it touts to be the world’s first fully portable, lightweight and rugged system to test for tampering in fuel. Dubbed Nemesis, the company claims it is the only analyser of its kind, and is the latest addition to Tracerco’s range of Product Assurance technologies and is expected to play a significant role in the global fight against fuel adulteration, substitution and smuggling. Fuel adulteration is a global problem in both the developed world and emerging economies, driven by significant price differentials between subsidised or rebated fuels, non-rebated fuels and industrial solvents.