Software Updates News

Canadian company Kraken Robotics has completed deliveries and sea acceptance tests of all systems for its minehunting sonar equipment under the contract with Royal Danish Navy.The contract was signed in September 2020, following a competitive bidding process. Under the contract with the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO), Kraken has delivered four complete turnkey minehunting systems.Each system consists of a KATFISH towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar…

Optimarin is setting up a manufacturing base in China to boost the availability of its ballast water treatment system (BWTS) for the Asian shipbuilding market. It also targets further retrofits of the existing fleet.The Norwegian BWTS supplier is now pursuing partnerships with several Chinese suppliers to focus on high-quality production of BWTS components at a reasonable cost for delivery to regional yards, according to Optimarin’s Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing Tore…

Smart network company Marlink announced it is partnering with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s largest container shipping line, to support the shipping company’s digitalization goals, using Marlink’s hybrid network solutions and IT management.Marlink deploys a fully managed hybrid network solution, bundling its VSAT connectivity with L-band backup and global 4G connectivity on 127 vessels, providing MSC with seamless, secure connectivity to run its critical business and crew applications.

Gulf Coast Fuel Supply, an offshore fuel supplier specializing in MGO and VLSFO deliveries at the Galveston Lightering area, has partnered with FUELTRAX to install its fuel monitoring solution on the chemical tanker Bonaire Trader. Bonaire Trader was built in 2007 and has previously operated at South African ports. She now serves customers in the Galveston area near Houston, Texas. The vessel's carrying capacity is 11255 t DWT, and her current draught is reported to be 5.6 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 116.5 meters, and her width is 20 meters.

Marlink said it has expanded its ITLink portfolio with the addition of two new service options to simplify remote IT management and support cyber compliance.The company has rebranded its remote IT solution KeepUp@Sea to ITLink and further enhanced the suite of solutions with both entry-level and advanced IT solutions.ITLink, which has already been installed on more than 1,000 vessels, allows ship operators on shore to centrally manage and update their entire fleets of thousands of PCs in one-go…

Keeping track of personnel on board (POB) “will be a requirement on all contracts” with offshore energy companies, predicted Tonny Sørdal, vice-president for quality, safety, health and environment of support vessel operator Olympic Subsea ASA.He was speaking just a year after one of its customers first asked for that capability and now, seven of the company’s 10 vessels have been fitted with a system that not only tracks crew and contractors while they are on board, but also as they transfer from the vessel to wind turbines and even within the turbine itself.

DP World Antwerp Gateway has ordered a fleet of 34 Automated Stacking Cranes for its container terminal in Antwerp, Belgium. The Konecranes Gottwald ARMGs will be an expansion to the current fleet of 20 currently in operation. The first batch will be delivered in Q2 2022, the last batch by 2026. This order was booked in December 2020.DP World Antwerp Gateway was very motivated to continue their current operating concept, using their current ASC system delivered by Gottwald in 2006.

On September 30, JRC/Alphatron Marine will roll out its online learning management system, allowing distributors to follow training courses from anywhere in the world. Instead of traveling to a JRC/Alphatron Marine Center of Excellence or other training locations, users can now log in via the Global Training Academy (GTA)-portal on your mobile, tablet, or computer to ensure skills are up-to-date.JRC/Alphatron Marine said the starting point in the development of the Online Training…

Maritime and offshore energy companies are facing a number of new challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. One of these is an increase in cyber security threats, reports Naval Dome, who says there's been a 400% increase in attempted cyber attacks in these sectors since February 2020.While an increase in malware, ransomware and phishing emails exploiting the COVID-19 crisis is the primary reason behind the spike, cyber security specialist Naval Dome says travel restrictions…

Technology group Wärtsilä has launched of its global Smart Support Center service. This service is aimed at improving asset uptime via remote access for customers of Wärtsilä’s Voyage business, thereby substantially reducing the need for physical service attendance. Operational support is delivered via virtual service engineers. Smart Support is designed to maintain all Wärtsilä Voyage equipment, including ship handling solutions, such as ECDIS and charts, simulation and training systems, and ship traffic control solutions.

Waterjet supplier Marine Jet Power (MJP) has introduced remote support capabilities for MJP waterjets operating with electronic control systems. The new remote service application will allow authorized MJP representatives to remotely and securely access the shipboard computers to diagnose and troubleshoot alarms, conduct software updates and assist with startups and new ship commissioning.A solution which was already under development, MJP has accelerated its Remote Service to assist customers during the current world health situation and growing travel restrictions surrounding the spread of COVID-19.“We were already working on a remote solution prior to the outbreak of Coronavirus,” said, MJP Chief Technology Officer Staffan Sormark.

SevenCs has released WMS ChartServer, version 5, which provides enhanced functionality across several fronts.Greater interoperability is the key to WMS ChartServer’s support of spatial queries; this support takes the depth and relevance of information on offer to a new level, using GeoJSON-formatted coordinates.Interoperability and valuable context were also the benefits fueling the development of bounding boxes that cover more than 360° of latitude. These give customers compatibility…

USA-based shipbuilder Metal Shark and Sea Machines, a Boston-based developer of autonomous marine technology, have partnered on the introduction of a new 29-foot autonomous vessel now being offered through Metal Shark’s “Sharktech” autonomous division.The new Sharktech 29 Defiant welded aluminum monohull pilothouse vessel features OEM-integrated Sea Machines technology offering a full range of advanced capabilities including active control and collision avoidance. The system allows for either traditionally manned…

Marlink signed a new agreement with Höegh Autoliners to supply the international transport and logistics company’s 38 car and truck carriers with the maritime-optimized IT solution, KeepUp@Sea, part of Marlink's new ITLink portfolio.Marlink will provide managed services designed to ensure the resilience and compliance of the vessel IT networks on Höegh vessels. Onboard implementation of the service is estimated to start in September, after hardware delivery and shore tests have been completed.KeepUp@Sea is designed to enable Höegh to keep its IT systems always available…

For some years now, the maritime sector has experienced breaches of various computer and information technology (IT) systems. Primarily, these breaches have been collateral damage. The maritime sector has almost never been the intended target. That does not mean that the damage has been minor. In June 2017, A.P. Moller-Maersk suffered a major cyber-attack. The malware had been designed by Russian hackers to disrupt the Ukrainian power sector. Once released, though, it proved to be indiscriminate, infecting IT systems worldwide that had not been kept up to date. In the case of A.P.

BIMCO and the international association for the marine electronics industry, CIRM (Comité International Radio-Maritime), have sent the industry’s first proposal for an industry-wide standard for software maintenance to the IMO for consideration. Without an industry-standard, BIMCO sees an increasing risk of severe incidents on ships, delays and costs to shipowners and cyber security problems. "We hope the entire industry will adopt these standards, to make ships safer, to prevent cyber security problems and to save money," says Angus Frew, Secretary General and CEO at BIMCO. "The industry has been living in a world of hardware. But software has been integrated into most physical equipment on the vessels…

Harley Marine, like many maritime companies, required a solution for simple, fast and reliable network connectivity to ensure daily tasks such as invoice processing, navigation, marine-mapping and more could be completed seamlessly, and that its employees could deliver consistent customer service. The full-service maritime company chose Cradlepoint for a cost-effective solution that would augment VSAT (satellite) and replace outdated technology to securely connect management to the vessels deployed in waterways all over the globe.

Over the past two months the world has been rocked by three major hacking events that have garnered international notice. These included the EQIFAX event in which 140 million individuals were reported to be possibly compromised, the WannaCry attack and the NotPeyta event. In the past two years the emphasis on the cyber security of the Marine Transportation System, a vital economic cog to the world has come under increasing scrutiny. In August, trade journals and major international…

Lowrance announced today the release of a high-performance addition to the HDS series of fishfinders/chartplotters – Lowrance HDS Carbon. The new Lowrance HDS Carbon adds a high-performance dual core processor, multi-touch SolarMAX HD screen, dual channel CHIRP and Network Dual Sounder to the proven features that have made HDS multifunction displays the choice of anglers at all levels. The HDS Carbon series includes 12-, 9- and 7-inch models. Anglers in the market for a want-it-all integrated system need a processor that can smoothly drive the high-tech capabilities of HDS Carbon like StructureScan 3D with SideScan and DownScan Imaging, dual channel CHIRP sonar, StructureMap, Broadband Radar and SiriusXM Weather Chart Overlay.

You have either been hacked... or just didn’t know you have been hacked. I predict that the first catastrophic maritime cyber incident will not be the result of a direct attack on a safety critical specific piece of equipment. It will be the result of an infection on a random PC, perhaps an unassuming email to a crew member, whose PC is either connected to the vessels internal super highway or he transmits the infection internally whilst it lies dormant. Crypto locker, or Ransomware software (used by thousands of hackers)…

Cyber risk has hit a critical peak within the maritime industry, and the significant impact of the Petya ransomware attack on scores of maritime entities only amplifies it. The attack effectively shut down major ocean carriers, including shipping conglomerate Maersk, and impacted marine terminal operations across the globe. Every maritime company, no matter the size or business function, is a potential target. The industry has seen a recent wave of guidelines and resolutions from maritime regulatory bodies related to maritime security and cyber risk mitigation.

Wärtsilä said it has signed an engine maintenance agreement with Monaco-based GasLog LNG Services, covering eight LNG carriers operating on Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. The agreement, effective as of October 1, 2017, consists of Dynamic Maintenance Planning (DMP), technical support, secured availability of spare parts and specialized technical personnel around the clock as well as constant performance monitoring. Wärtsilä's digital services enable remote troubleshooting and tuning of engines as well as software updates.

Marlink said it has migrated Aker BioMarine’s Antarctic krill harvester fleet support ship, La Manche, to Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service. The system provides a boost to crew communication facilities on board as well as enables vessels to benefit from improved business intelligence and remote access to the vessel’s IT network. The service uses the XChange Universal Remote Access (URA) solution, one of Marlink’s many Value Added Services available on Fleet Xpress. “Fleet Xpress has transformed our communication capabilities aboard La Manche.