Value Added Service News

China’s leading marine lubricant suppliers are embracing onboard oil testing technology. The adoption of portable lube-oil analyzers represents a shift in how the country’s oil majors including Sinopec, PetroChina, and CNOOC, look to service and support ships calling at Chinese ports.According to Germany’s CM Technologies GmbH (CMT), whose onboard test kits are already standard tool kits for European fleets, China’s lubricant producers are now integrating condition-based monitoring tools into their supply programs.“We are seeing a real transformation in China’s fuels and lubricants market…

Seaspan Corporation continues its vessel ordering spree with a deal announced Thursday for eight additional containerships for delivery from the second half of 2022 and through the third quarter of 2023.Seaspan, a subsidiary of New York-listed Atlas Corp., said its contract with an unnamed shipyard includes firm orders for four 12,000 TEU and four 15,000 TEU vessels, plus an option for four additional 15,000 TEU vessels of similar build.The company said it will finance the newbuilds through additional borrowings and existing liquidity.Upon completion…

The new dry bulk shipping company G2 Ocean and emerging markets specialists Manuchar have announced the successful trial of CargoX’s blockchain-based Smart Bill of Lading (B/L) Solution, and in doing said the traditional bill of lading is “ready for retirement."According to a statement form G2 Ocean, a joint venture of two of breakbulk and bulk shipping companies - Gearbulk and Grieg Star, the two companies concluded their test of the blockchain-based B/L system in April.“Paper Bills of Lading are already considered a historic artefact. The Smart B/L solution gives both us and our clients the power of a modern, reliable, and efficient tool. It will bring cost optimization and improved data security into their processes.

In less than five months, the IMO’s Ballast Water Convention will be extended to cover existing vessels as well as new builds. As of September 8, all will be required to comply by the time of their first IOPP certificate renewal following that date.To assist vessel owners in meeting their obligations under the convention while at the same time offering port and harbor authorities a value-added service that they can offer to their clients, Damen Green Solutions will be taking its InvaSave 300 mobile ballast water treatment system on tour to demonstrate its convenience…

GTMaritime has signed Marinesat as a value-added reseller to deliver its maritime-optimized communication solutions to vessels in China and other markets. The agreement with Marinesat is GTMaritime’s first partnership within the Chinese market.GTMaritime provides a range of technology solutions to the maritime industry that serve to enable effective communications over satellite, including maritime-optimized products for email, anti-virus protection and data transfer.In addition to providing IT solutions…

Palau International Ship Registry (PISR) has expanded upon its presence in Houston with the opening of a new head office in Piraeus, Greece.   PISR said it expanded in the heart of the world shipping community in order to better serve the needs of the Greek maritime stakeholders – and to provide state-of-the-art value added service to one of the most competitive markets in the world.   Retaining its commitment in Houston, and with its new location Piraeus, PISR will offer additional operational hours to cover the globe with 24/7 continuous services and support.

GAC has introduced a new centralized service to help ship owners navigate the paperwork required for the import of cargoes to European Union (EU) ports from outside the Union. Operators of vessels carrying such cargoes must declare cargo information to the customs authorities in advance of the vessel’s arrival. GAC is now helping ease that administrative burden with a dedicated team of fiscal experts formed to offer clients information and guidance on the process, and to handle customs paperwork on their behalf. This new value added service allows operators to delegate Entry Summary Declarations for all EU member states where their vessels call to GAC, regardless of whether or not it is the nominated agent handling the port call.

Imtech Marine announced on Friday that the ship’s crews will have access to PressReader as a new value-added service to its satellite communications portfolio. Starting in August, Imtech Marine customers will be able to use PressReader for access to full content of more than 2,500 newspapers and magazines in 60 languages from more than 100 countries. These can be read on PressReader via a crew member’s PC, laptop and mobile devices on board vessels. PressReader and its cross-platform app give users access to thousands of global publications with just one subscription. “By adding PressReader to our connectivity portfolio we give a very useful tool for ship-owners to improve the crew morale.

Leading crane service organisation Konecranes says it is introducing to the South-East Asia – Pacific region its most advanced family of remote service technologies, its TRUCONNECT Remote Services for enhanced safety, reliability and efficiency. The Konecranes Group – which has more than 420,000 cranes of all makes under service contract worldwide – says this latest innovation in its crane service business includes a variety of distinct remote services, ranging from periodic data reporting to real-time diagnostics, technical support and production monitoring. “TRUCONNECT Remote Monitoring and Reporting is being introduced to help customers improve the productivity of their equipment by optimising crane usage, improving safety and optimizing crane maintenance.

Airbus Defence and Space has launched SkyFile Mail Manager, the latest addition to its SkyFile messaging portfolio. Designed to improve management of SkyFile Mail traffic and user accounts, SkyFile Mail Manager, as the latest value added service to work on the Aurora Global network, is a new online tool that provides IT management efficiency on board and ashore. The new tool provides detailed reporting and control of all accounts and features flexible user rights and ship/fleet grouping options, which makes it easier and efficient to manage email traffic.

Helix Energy says that its Robotics subsidiary, Canyon Offshore, Inc., has reached an agreement with a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc. to provide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services and equipment for McDermott’s fleet of subsea construction and pipelay support vessels. The agreement is for a fixed term of three years with options to extend. Canyon will provide dual 3,000-meter ROV systems onboard McDermott vessels, which initially is expected to include the North Ocean 102, Lay Vessel North Ocean 105, Lay Vessel 108 and the Derrick Lay Vessel 2000. In addition Canyon will supply tooling, personnel and ROV project support to McDermott.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has implemented the just-in-time service (JIT) that they say will allow vessels to have a more efficient transit. The new service will allow the vessels to arrive at the Panama Canal much closer to their scheduled transit time. This value-added service will allow vessels to have a more efficient fuel usage by having to remain at anchor for less time before actually beginning transit. "This new service is part of our efforts to explore new options in order to better serve our customers,” Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano said.

TEAM Energy, an Acteon company, contracted for three years to provide Total with technical personnel for its drilling, fluids & well operations. The new contract will maintain TEAM Energy’s global relationship with Total, build on the existing platform of operations and cover most of the regions where Total conducts drilling operations. Total is an international integrated oil and gas company with operations in more than 130 countries on five continents. TEAM Energy currently has consultants with Total in West and East Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In Nigeria, TEAM Energy is providing personnel in support of the Akpo and Usan deepwater drilling campaigns.

KVH Industries, Inc., has named Boatracs Inc., a leader in integrated maritime satellite communications and software solutions, the first Value Added Service Provider (VASP) for its mini-VSAT Broadband service. This collaboration will deliver an end-to-end fleet management package for the commercial workboat and fishing markets, bringing Boatracs' market leading software applications to vessels via a reliable broadband connection in a single package. Sold under the name "Boatracs Broadband Fleet Management Solution", this innovative package includes a KVH TracPhone® V3 and mini-VSAT Broadbandsm service for global broadband connectivity as well as Boatracs maritime software platforms, Boatracs BTConnect® and Boatracs BTForms™.

On January 1, 2012 American Shipping Group underwent a dramatic transformation. The company, formerly known as ASG, became TOTE, Inc., and experienced a makeover in logo, look and structure. Seeing opportunity for market growth, TOTE, Inc. organized its five independently managed businesses in to three groups: Maritime, Logistics and Ship Management. For now, each company will retain their name, logo and independent branding. The strengths of the individual companies will be enhanced by marketing and sales efforts for the overall portfolio by all TOTE, Inc, affiliated companies.

Cargotec has developed a simulator to provide valuable, realistic training for operators of offshore load handling equipment employing advanced active heave-compensated (AHC) technology, such as AHC offshore and subsea cranes. The new simulator is an enhancement to Cargotec’s integrated approach to the offshore support sector, whereby the company not only offers complete engineering solutions that optimise functionality for specific ship types, but also distinct value added service products…

With the introduction of the M2sat MarineCam shipping companies can use live video streams and still images for commercial and operational efficiency. Hub Urlings, general manager of M2sat said, “The first applications we see running over the MarineCam system are purely commercial. One shipping company uses the MarineCam for corporate promotions and sends still images from its ship directly to the companies` homepage on the Internet. A special cargo shipping company uses the system to provide their customers direct access to the MarineCams on board of their ships to follow and watch their special cargo transport. The transportation of special cargo always brings a lot of uncertainty with the customer and project participants waiting for the delivery of these often unique goods.

Maritime Communications Partner (MCP) announced the renewal of a major four-year management contract with the Stena Line for the deployment of maritime communications solutions onboard 16 passenger ferry vessels including two new super ferries. Services covered by the contract, which lasts until 2013, include GSM and GPRS. Stena Line also confirms future partnering with MCP to streamline dedicated wireless solutions to ship staff and unique SMS-driven marketing solutions to passengers. "This contract maintains and builds a positive environment for our customers. Today, 95% of our GSM business comes from Voice and SMS, but we are seeing an increased volume of data traffic.

On August 18, France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications and Inmarsat signed the first distribution agreement for the new BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) service. On its launch in H2 2005, BGAN will be the first mobile satellite communications solution to offer global coverage with data rates of up to 432 Kbps. Initially developed for land-based markets, maritime and aero versions of BGAN are currently planned for commercial launch in 2007. The service will be available via a portfolio of small, portable terminals, offering guaranteed throughputs at various speeds. Voice communications and data transfer via a 64 Kbps ISDN channel will also be possible.

The Liberian Registry has launched a unique Internet-based vessel inspection application based on technology developed by the Wallem Group. The Internet-based inspection application will allow inspectors to compile inspection reports during annual safety inspections and will create a historical database of the vessel's condition. This secure database will be confidential to the registry and the relevant shipowner. Owners will however be offered the option of providing the vessel's condition history to Port State Control authorities, underwriters, charterers, and other interested parties. Yoram Cohen, chief executive of LISCR, which manages the Liberian Registry…

Xantic announced the launch of Easy Accelerator, an application designed to make browsing the internet via satellite faster and cheaper than ever before. Available free of charge from Xantic’s website, Easy Accelerator optimizes internet and intranet usage by reducing the size of the selected web page content. A proxy computer located at a Land Earth Station ‘downsizes’ pictures, for example, by up to 80 percent, depending on the settings chosen. Audio files and text can also be reduced. As a result, browsing is much faster and the user’s satellite costs can be decreased by as much as 90 percent. Inmarsat has co-financed the development of this new service.

waters. to transport more goods and improve efficiency, without increasing cost. Mr. Sain backs up his confidence with his 27 U.S. used in the U.S. industry. Mr. engineering, facilities development and research and development. product has long been a logistical problem. multiple shipments have left both carriers and shippers looking for answers. According to Mr. marine transportation. carriers to increase productivity while reducing costs. their customers 48-foot x 102-inch and 53-foot x 102-inch containers. 40- and 20- foot containers. 40-foot units. containers without the need to modify ships. with both the shipper and carrier in mind. wide containers on the same stack, as well as 45, 48 and 53-foot long boxes. same cycle time as containers. long spanning four 96-inch wide containers.

The evolution of satellite communication use at sea closely mirrors that of land-based communication trends: a never-ending quest for speed, reliability and lower costs. While it is foolhardy to select this or any other single technology as the one with the greatest impact on the maritime industry, a strong case could be made for satellite communication. Prior to the introduction of radio, maritime communication was generally limited to line-of-sight visual signaling during clear weather, plus noise-makers such as bells and foghorns. The advent of radio greatly reduced the isolation of ships during emergencies and was quickly responsible for saving thousands of lives. The first ship-to-shore, two-way radio conversation reportedly occurred in 1922, between Deal Beach, N.J., and the S.S.