Information Technology System News

Crowley Maritime has secured a multi-year, $638 million contract for Vessel Acquisition Management (VAM) by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)."Crowley’s strategic acquisition and vessel management service will assist MARAD in the enhancement of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), helping reduce the overall age of the fleet and increase ship reliability. The fleet executes U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) sealifts," Crowley Maritime said."To carry out the contract, Crowley will use a new…

Frank Coles, Transas CEO, has delivered a keynote speech calling for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to set standards of compliance for the communication connections between ship and shore or else create a significant cyber security risk. The speech on Connected Ships & Cybersecurity was delivered at the Shipping Insight Fleet Optimization Conference which took place in Stamford, CT. on October 18-19. Cybersecurity is without a doubt a highly-debated topic in the maritime industry.

A detailed new case study scrutinizing the risk-management Swiss-based Trafigura is the latest effort to "demystify" the once-secretive commodity trading industry, just big merchants seek to fill a void being left by Wall Street banks. The study, "The Economics of Commodity Trading Firms," comes as U.S. regulators mull new restrictions on banks' physical commodity trading, a crackdown some large energy companies say would rob them of credit-worthy, transparent counterparties and leave them at the mercy of shadowy and risky firms.

'Marine Electronic Highway' (MEH) IT systems handed over to Indonesia as project comes closer to fruition. The Straits of Malacca and Singapore, situated between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula, are approximately 1,000 kilometres long, 300 kilometres wide at their north-west entrance, and just 12 kilometres wide at their south-east entrance, between Singapore and Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago. The Straits are shallow, with narrow channels, irregular tides and shifting bottom topography, and hence are hazardous to navigation for large ships, but are a preferred route for them. The Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) Information Technology System for the Straits of Malacca and Singapore…

Evergreen Line announced it has been selected by Wal*Mart Stores Inc. as International Ocean Carrier of the Year for 2007-2008. The award is presented every year by the nation's leading retailer for service excellence in ocean shipping. The award was presented to Jay Buckley, Executive Vice President, Business, of Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp., the U.S. agent for Evergreen Line, at Wal*Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. In accepting the award, Buckley acknowledged the dedicated teamwork of its associates in delivering shipments from point of loading in Asia to release in , even during peak season, with consistentcoordination and reliable performance.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced $9.8m in grants to 19 small shipyards in the . The grants are part of the new Assistance to Small Shipyards program, set up under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. “Small shipyards are vitally important for the health of the maritime industry, and for the economy of the Nation,” said Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton. The purpose of the grants is to make capital and infrastructure improvements that facilitate the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and quality of domestic ship construction, conversion or repair for commercial and federal government use. The grants cover a maximum of 75-percent of the estimated cost of improvements. The companies are responsible for the remainder.

Mandatory carriage of automatic identification systems (AIS) throughout the country, as it is currently envisioned by the Coast Guard, will not result in increased safety or security, AWO told the agency in comments filed on December 31, 2003. The Coast Guard was soliciting comments on whether and how to expand AIS carriage requirements beyond the nine Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) zones to other waterways. While AWO has been a long-time proponent of the AIS concept as a navigational safety tool, AWO has questions about the technical aspects of AIS and its implementation, as well as the potential negative impact on safety when AIS is required for some types of vessels while not for others.

Unitor has taken the next step in giving customers the power to manage their fleets. Customer empowerment in the area of information technology is the next generation of service supported product offerings. Unitor's new information technology system named PartnerSHIP offers subscribers access to all critical information regarding their fleet as well as data about Unitor's worldwide network. This Web-based program offers secure and direct customer access into Unitor's mainframe computer. This computer network acts as a data repository for all of the customer's information. In conjunction with that information it also accesses Unitor's own central database regarding its products, services and port information through a secure web server.

systems worldwide, marine constructor J. as cranes and specialized offshore equipment. fleet manager's day-to-day business functions. the offshore industry. future,” says ABS NS President Jack Kitchura. interest from the offshore sector for IT solutions. and Crew Management. According to J. Manager R. only in the short term but also more importantly in the long term. tool giving us better forecasting and business planning abilities.

The Coast Guard officially announced its initial deployment of Homeport, an internet portal. Homeport (version 1.0) is the official Coast Guard information technology system for maritime security created to provide information and services to the maritime community and the public over the Internet. Coast Guard Federal Maritime Security Coordinators will use Homeport as a primary means for the day-to-day management and communication of port security matters with Area Maritime Security Committee members, commercial vessel and facility owners and operators, government partners, and the public. Homeport will afford instant access to information necessary to support increased information sharing requirements amongst Federal…