NB VIVIAN no editors letter this runs pages 1, 2, 3 FRONT COVER STRAPS put at top "POSIDONIA ISSUE" Seafarer isolationism: is it a problem and can technology help? : page 10 Remote monitoring and weather routing: good applications for ship shore communications page 4 Maritime knowledge management: our conference report. Maritime distance training and information processing technology is coming faster than you think (photo: you choose but pref with someone from Shell or Vships in it) : page 16 Eastern Mediterranean Shipping and its onboard software page 21 Are we taking security too seriously? Steve Harding on page 22 Our preview of Posidonia page 27 EXCLUSIVE the story of Shippingbabes.com (photo of Johnny K): page 30 MASTHEAD STRAPS insert Johnny Kulukundis as a contributor, under "social commentary" instead of contributors, can you put "consultant writers" put Steve Harding in North West England FRONT PAGE POSSIBILITIES FRONT PAGE STORY US Navy implements 1.2m person distance learning system http://www.thinq.com The U.S. Navy has taken on a centralised learning management system for training, developed by e-learning provider THINQ Ltd. It is described as the world's largest e-learning solution, to be used by 1.2m people, working both onboard vessels, on land (in 160 separate training establishments) and in submarines. The e-learning initiatives are run online from a central THINQ platform, accessible from the sites www.navylearning.com and www.navylearning.navy.mil. These sites launch and track 2,000 different e-learning courses for sailors, marines, retirees, reservists and family members enrolled on the Defence Enrolment Eligibility Reporting Scheme. The Navy will be able to use the system to monitor who has taken what training and when, and thereby assess individual or service-wide readiness at any time. It can provide individuals with access to their lifetime training transcripts. Individual sailors will eventually have a personalised page on the site, called "Navy Webport", to access information about what training courses would be most appropriate for them, their training requirements and training history. THINQ does not create any content for training courses itself, but provides the infrastructure a company can use to manage its training across offices and vessels around the world. The US Navy does develop some of its training courses in house, but also uses a number of commercial service providers. In particular, several major engine manufacturers develop training courses which have become part of the Navy learning system. SUBHEAD Benefits to commercial shipping There are good possibilities that the commercial maritime industry will be able to draw some benefit from this initiative, as the US Navy exerts its sizeable economies of scale into developing a workable system for maritime training, involving many commercial service providers, developing systems around a commercially available THINQ learning environment. The US Navy of course faces many of the same physical challenges as commercial maritime fleets, training seafarers to run ships and assisting their continuous professional development. There are many companies developing training software and computer courses in the maritime industry, which typically have very high expertise in training maritime skills, but not the economies of scale to bring all their courses together to form a single system to manage company-wide training for a large shipping company working onboard ship and onshore. However this is a model that could well work in the commercial maritime industry, running many different courses developed in different formats by different companies, all off a company-wide learning management system (LMS). SUBHEAD A complex architecture The THINQ software has very complex architecture, which enables the courses to be delivered both from local computers and over the internet. Learning can be delivered and managed onboard ships, by putting the software initially onboard the vessel on a CD-ROM or by putting a dedicated computer with software already installed, onboard the vessel. The communications between ship and shore can be absolutely minimised, yet still enable seafarers onboard to communicate with instructors on shore, and to take control of their own learning and choice of courses, or to take courses prescribed to them by a company training manager. Alternatively, the system can be accessed from an internet terminal anywhere, for example by a seafarer in an internet café. There is no need to have any software installed on the computer at all. It can also be accessed from offices and training establishments. Shipping company administrators can see which courses have been completed, and advise seafarers what they need to take; they can also keep better control of their training needs and make sure the amount of trained personnel they employ in the various skills fits their needs. SUBHEAD Blended learning The THINQ solution is able to bring together a variety of different learning processes (known as blended learning) into an integrated learning system. For example, it can gather together records of which classroom courses have been taken, what grades each seafarer got, which areas need improvement and what certification has been given. It can involve remote instructors, either working for a training company, a maritime college or freelance, in training seafarers who are actually onboard the vessel, both for seafarer-related tasks, general skills (such as learning foreign languages) and learning skills for jobs they might take when they come ashore. The LMS (learning management system) can serve up an enormous variety of different content, including basic safety training, specific engineering training packages developed by standard course providers and component manufacturers, right up to simulators. The LMS can also be used to host more collaborative working, particularly if the vessel has an "always on" connection with the shore (such as through Inmarsat Fleet), with live chat or threaded discussion groups linking communities of users, or live interaction between pupil and teacher although the pupil is onboard ship. With a faster internet connection (for example if the seafarer has a home computer with a high bandwidth connection, or for training office staff of shipping companies) it is possible to incorporate other training tools such as white boarding and videoconferencing. The LMS can also be used in conjunction with simulator packages. Whilst running simulator packages over the internet would require enormous bandwidth, the THINQ learning environment can manage comments from instructors (or fellow seafarers onboard) about how well a student performed on a simulator. A number of other THINQ clients, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, already use simulators for training. "We look at the learning experience as being a fully integrated environment you need to create," says Eugene Deeny, managing director of THINQ UK. "It combines the physical world, with dedicated training facilities, with systems onboard and in the office." "We've found that it is feasible to provide a learning environment onboard a ship," he says. "We provide infrastructure that supports learning, anywhere, anyplace, any time," says Mr Deeny. PAGE 2 Saab scores first AIS Saab TransponderTech has won what it claims is the world's first type approval for Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) on ships from German test house Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH). All ships will be required to implement AIS, in a gradual implementation running from 2003 to 2008. The systems give out and receive radio data describing the vessels' position, course, speed, final destination and other information. AIS is seen by many as the most important revolution in maritime safety since radar and GPS. "BSH is today considered to be the only test house with capacity and competence to test AIS," comments Saab. "Both competent authorities and serious manufacturers agree that it is extremely important that AIS is tested on the same requirements and principals according to the international standards." "Not doing this would lead to an implementation failure since ships meeting each other would not be able to communicate in the correct way. This will cause danger instead of safety as intended." "It could easily be compared with GMDSS where equipment tested in different ways from the beginning caused problems to the system and thereby bad reputation." Saab does not sell its AIS systems directly but markets them through partners ICAN ICAN (www.ican.nf.net), Kelvin Hughes (www.kelvinhughes.com), Leica (www.leica.com), PinPoint (www.pinpointsys.com), Saab Rosemont Marine (www.saabmarine.com.sg), Sperry Marine (www.litton-marine.com), Tokimec (www.tokimec.co.jp). Progress at the new Primar http://www.primar.org Primar Stavanger, the international centre for official electronic navigation charts operated by the Norwegian hydrographic office, reports that it already has a "good number" of vessels on the service, signing up since Primar Stavanger was established in its present incarnation on April 1. It has also signed up distributors Kelvin Hughes, Marine Press of Canada, Troil Marin, Maris, Electronic Equipment and Datema. Primar was originally established as a regional co-ordinating centre for distributing official electronic charts for the whole of Europe, but it split with the UK Hydrographic Office earlier this year following a disagreement over funding arrangements. Now the UKHO operates its own electronic chart distribution service and Primar Stavanger is operated by the Norwegian hydrographic office. Primar Stavanger reports that the business is set up differently to how it was in Primar's previous incarnation. Member hydrographic offices can involve themselves in Primar Stavanger either through direct financial contribution or paying royalties on electronic charts they sell. "This way the organisation is more streamlined and efficient than former Primar," says Rune Holst Johnsen, marketing manager. "The Cooperating Hydrographic Offices also work in a more Virtual Cooperation concept ensuring more control and participation by all nations," he says. "This has led to many new approaches from new nations that now see this new model more attractive. Today seven European nations are with Primar Stavanger. We deliver 80 % of all European ENCs available and will soon also deliver ENCs from areas outside Europe." == Horizon launches Captainsuite shipping management software tool http://www.horizonservicesgroup.com Horizon Services Group, the logistics technology company spawned by US shipping line CSX Lines, has launched the "Captainsuite" of software products, each designed to solve a specific transportation process problem in the intermodal supply chain. The six individual components are: FREIGHTcaptain, for less than truckload shipments; SEDcaptain, for web based filing of shipper's export declaration; DISPATCHcaptain to assign intermodal moves to truck and rail carriers; GATEcaptain, to manage trucker access to and from the port yard; LOADcaptain to plan container loads before they go out; and HAZcaptain to determine hazardous materials compatibility of same container shipments. The software is not new; Horizon has segmented its existing "Global Traffic Management System" software, originally developed by shipping line Sealand with total investment $120m (and probably the world's most expensive maritime IT system) into parts. The complete suite automates intermodal logistics transactions from order to cash, including helping shippers and intermediaries search for scheduling options; route deliveries; optimise loads; manage hazardous materials shipments; book cargo; track cargo; file shipping and trade documents; pay invoices; look up shipping histories and create reports. Carriers can use the system to accept bookings over the internet, utilizing its capacity and yield management applications; generate, manage and file vessel manifests and trade documents; rate shipments; generate and send invoices and bills of lading. == Savi Technology launches Singapore online logistics research centre http://www.savi.com US supply chain technology company Savi has launched a research and development centre in Singapore, studying the development of real time information systems which can improve the security and productivity of global supply chain networks. The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is supporting the venture, which will look at software systems for management and security of shipments by sea, air, rail and truck. "It was a strategic decision for Savi to base a significant portion of our R&D activities in Singapore," said Savi. "As both a premier logistics hub and a world-class technology centre, Singapore provides a rich environment for the design and development of technologies that enable and extend real-time visibility and security of cargo worldwide." Savi Technology was recently named by mainstream technology magazine Red Herring as one of the 100 companies "most likely to change the world" through technology.