Norwegian Maritime Administration News

Pirates have kidnapped nine crew members from a Norwegian shipping vessel named the MV Bonita off the coast of Benin in West Africa.MV Bonita was anchored and awaiting berth at the Cotonou port to discharge a shipment of gypsum when the pirates boarded, the shipping firm  J.J. Ugland said in a statement Sunday.The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said that it is in close contact with Ugland Shipping with a common and clear goal to bring the 9 sailors back to safety. The vessel and remaining crew are safely anchored in Cotonou and investigations are carried out. An emergency response team from J.J. Ugland is working with authorities on the case.The threat from piracy in West Africa has been high for years.

Norway’s newest autonomous shipping test site is now officially open and ready to support the development of high-tech autonomous maritime solutions. Building on Norway’s leading position within the burgeoning autonomous shipping segment, the new test-bed in Horten is designed to offer Norwegian and international organizations a convenient, safe, non-congested space to trial new technology and vessels as the third of its kind in the country and the fourth such approved area in the world.

Since the beginning of 2010, OptiMarin AS has received eight orders for the type approved ballast water treatment system OptiMarin Ballast System (OBS). The orders are placed by yards on behalf of major ship owners. •    Four Platform Supply Vessels that K Line Offshore AS are building at STX Norway Offshore AS Brevik. The vessels are of the STX PSV 06 CD design and the technical management of the vessels is entrusted to OSM Shipmanagement AS. •    Two Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels that Siem Offshore are building at Kleven Maritime. The vessels are of the VS 491 CD design. •    Two Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels that K Line Offshore AS are building at STX Norway Offshore AS Langsten.

OptiMarin AS has received Type Approval Certificate for the OptiMarin Ballast System (OBS). The Type Approval Certificate has been issued by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) on behalf of the Norwegian Maritime Administration and confirms OptiMarin’s compliance with IMO’s International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004. The OptiMarin Ballast System has been tested extensively at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) in accordance with IMO’s G8 guidelines with excellent results. The ship board testing requirement was completed aboard the Klaveness cement carrier KCL Banshee using DNV and NIVA for testing and verification.