Digital Ship newsletter for the latest in maritime information technology Inside this issue: THE MARITIME SUPPLY CHAIN * US strategic security council forms * Australian coal exports to use bolero.net * CargoSmart wins "most innovative technology" world trade award * Concerns about too much freight tracking information SHIP SHORE COMMUNICATION * Iridium seafarer pricing $0.99 / $1.50 * Track satellites online * Livewire Digital offers Inmarsat Fleet cost management software * Seatrade awards Inmarsat and ABS-NS * Global Technology software works over Inmarsat Fleet * Norcontrol IT wins Far East coastal surveillance contract * Telstra signs partner service agreement with Iridium * IMSARC wins Oman search and rescue consultancy project * Online ship-shore video demonstration * Rydex sells e-mail systems to Barber International * Telesis works with Fuji Trading for ship-shore e-mail * Geolink launches in Greece * Easylink's new website MARITIME OPERATIONS * Ship Analytics International on CNBC * Fuji launches shipboard computer network system * Ulysses signs joint marketing agreement with O'Brien Oil Pollution Service * STAR Center models Mexican port * Shipshooter.com has photographs of satellite communications terminals * Spinnaker and Enigma co-operation * Furuno launches NavNet radar / chart plotters ________________________ *** DIGITAL SHIP MAGAZINE AND CONFERENCES *** Maritime knowledge management training conference Barbican Centre, London, May 7 * just two more days left to book * Admission just GBP 250 (Euro 400) http://www.thedigitalship.com/trainingconf.htm Find out the latest on how computer systems can be used to improve procurement, reduce crew travel costs, facilitate distance learning and improve safety around the shipping company - Opportunities and applications with Inmarsat Fleet Piraeus, Greece, June 6 Admission just GBP 150 (Euro 250) http://www.thedigitalship.com/inmfleetconf2.htm Get to the bottom of how Inmarsat Fleet can genuinely benefit shipping companies' bottom line, with more cost effective messaging, instant messaging, exchange of navigational data and improved safety - The Virtual Box : integrating the container shipping supply chain Hamburg, September 17-18, 2002 Admission Euro 960 / GBP 595 for two days http://www.thedigitalship.com/containershipping.htm It is generally accepted that enabling shipping lines to share shipment and container data securely with their customers, other shipping lines, ports and rail operators would generate enormous efficiencies for all concerned. A two day discussion of the issues - Digital Ship 2002 : innovation in maritime information technology London, November 4-7, 2002 Admission GBP 300 per day, reductions for multiple days http://www.thedigitalship.com/digitalship2002.htm Ship shore communications - software - maritime security - lifecycle data management - shipping company : supplier integration - Some highlights of the May issue of Digital Ship print magazine * Who is responsible for shipboard navigation equipment ? .. the technology supplier, the classification society or the flag state ? Steve Harding makes a surprising revelation * How Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines dramatically breaks tradition in how it trains its shipboard officers * Post dot com hype where is the shipping internet now ? Read our conference report on how the internet is genuinely creating savings in shipping * Americans calm down : Barry Parker reports on the maritime technology at the Connecticut Maritime Association Conference. Less excitement but lots of exciting stuff * How do shippers want to talk to shipping companies over the web ? Tim Power has the answers To ensure you receive a copy subscribe now just GBP 150 (Euro 150 / USD 250) a year ! http://www.thedigitalship.com/subscriptions.htm - Plans for our June issue of Digital Ship print magazine http://www.thedigitalship.com/issueplans/june2002.htm * Preview of Posidonia * Monitoring ships on shore .. what are the benefits ? * High frequency ship-shore radio communications review * E-business in shipping - how to get it right * How can shipping companies use technology to keep their seafarers happy ? Contact us if you'd like to get involved in any of these features, editor@thedigitalship.com ________________________ ****** THE MARITIME SUPPLY CHAIN ****** US strategic security council forms http://www.savi.com A new group has been established in the US specialising in container shipping cargo security, with members from software companies, military logistics and global port operators. It is called the "Strategic Council on Security Technology." The ambition is to find ways to focus on vulnerabilities and potential solutions to the threat of terrorists concealing weapons of mass destruction inside box container shipments. The group's formation was announced at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America annual conference (http://www.itsa.org), with leadership from supply chain software company Savi Technology. More specifically, the ambitions of the group are to review technology trends, business processes and government policy in transport security; commission studies; look at new solutions; and act as a resource for the global supply chain community. "There are a number of well documented security gaps throughout the supply chain, but there are also a number of enabling technologies and best business practices that can close them," said Gen. John Coburn, formerly the commanding general of the U.S. Army Material Command, who will serve as chairman of the Council. Founder members include John Meredith, group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings, and Douglas Anderson, managing director of P&O Ports, and Ng Chee Keong, group president of PSA Corp ________________________ Australian coal exports to use bolero.net http://www.bolero.net Australian coal export certifier CCI, which certifies 45-50 per cent of coal exported out of Australia ever year, has completed a test program with electronic document communications platform bolero.net. It now plans to implement bolero for handling electronic trade documentation with coal exporter BHP Billiton. The export certification involves CCI monitoring a customer's vessel for loading, producing a draft survey to determine exact tonnes of coal needed, and sampling the cargo as it is loaded onto the vessel. When the samples have been analysed CCI prepares certificates of weight, sampling and analysis, which are sent to the shipper's agent prior to being presented to the bank for payment. By making this documentation process electronic, trades can be processed in under 24 hours, compared to over several weeks under the paper system. "Over the past six months the adoption of bolero.net has been spreading virally through the metals and mining sector with major players such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and CVRD all coming on-board," says bolero. "As one of the worldıs leading export certification companies, CCIıs announcement that it intends to adopt bolero.net is a therefore a significant development." ________________________ CargoSmart wins "most innovative technology" world trade award http://www.cargosmart.com CargoSmart, the online tool for managing container shipments backed by shipping line OOCL, has won World Trade Magazine's 2002 Supply Chain Technology Innovation Award, in the "Most Innovative Technology Provided as a Service" category. CargoSmart was selected, the magazine says, because of its superior features, ease of use and rapid customer adoption worldwide. ________________________ Concerns about too much freight tracking information http://www.wavyline.com Freight forwarder Larry Woelk, writing in online newsletter Bow Wave (www.wavyline.com) has expressed concerns about the quantity of freight tracking information made available to freight forwarders. Mr Woelk advises that many shippers turned to freight forwarders in the early 1990s because they were finding it very hard to insure their cargoes because of the heavy losses they were incurring due to theft, and somehow freight forwarders managed to add insurance of the goods themselves onto their existing insurance policies. Mr Woelk believes that freight forwarders make very little effort to improve shipment security, relying instead on insurance companies to pay if goods go missing. "In my humble opinion the primary reason why there is not more theft is that there is only a limited number of thieves of go around," he says. "Cargo theft happens so regularly that I'm surprised it is still headline news." Mr Woelk says that the availability of supply chain information goes a long way to helping thieves. "An enormous number of people has access to an enormous amount of very sensitive information," he says. "Any employee of a freight forwarder has access to shipment information all over the world.. ...shipper, consignee, house airway bill number, master air waybill number, flight, ETA, pieces, weight, reference numbers, value." "Cargo theft is not an elaborate deception carried out by professional criminals but more than likely the job of insiders taking advantage of the 'enormous amount of very sensitive information' at their finger tips." ________________________ ***** SHIP SHORE COMMUNICATION ***** Iridium seafarer pricing $0.99 / $1.50 http://www.iridium.com The pricing for ship-shore telephone calls made over the Iridium satellite communications network, with payment prepaid using a seafarer scratch phone card, is just $1.50 per minute to a terrestrial line, the company says (suggested retail price). The price for calls from one Iridium handset to another, wherever they are on the globe, is suggested to distributors at just $0.99 per minute. There are possibilities for further reductions for shipping companies purchasing satellite communications time in bulk. ________________________ Track satellites online http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/realtime/jtrack/3d/jtrack3d.html Worried about where your communications satellites are? The North American Space Agency (NASA) has put a nifty tool on its website which enables users to see where 500 satellites are at any point in time, including all of the Inmarsat and Iridium satellites. ________________________ Livewire Digital offers Inmarsat Fleet cost management software http://www.livewire.co.uk Ship-shore data communications consultancy Livewire Digital has launched IP Communications Gateway, a software tool for cost management over Inmarsat Fleet and Mobile Packet Data Service. The software, which sits between a vessel's local area network and Fleet F77 terminal, enables shipowners to set up individual payment accounts for seafarers onboard, whereby they pay in advance or arrears for their ship-shore communications, either in terms of volume of data sent (over MPDS) or per minute. The software also acts as a firewall, protecting shipboard computer systems from unauthorized intruders. It has tools to make sure business ship-shore communications take priority over seafarers using the satellite communications for their own personal usage. Livewire hopes that the application will encourage shipping companies to use Inmarsat Fleet and make the service available to seafarers for their personal use. ________________________ Global Technology software works over Inmarsat Fleet http://www.gtships.com Global Technology Ltd, which develops ship-shore e-mail software, reports that it has trialled its GTMail software over an Inmarsat Fleet 77 unit. The GT Mail software now works with all Inmarsat services, Iridium, Thuraya and GSM. "It works first time both over [Inmarsat Fleet] ISDN and MPDS, so we are very pleased," says Robert Kenworthy of Global Technology. "We are able offer our software and service "future proofed" for whatever the customer installs onboard his ship." "In the future (and in some cases now) ships will have a number of different options available for communications; for example the F77 could be used with an Iridium for "back-up" and GSM could be used in port if on a regular run (Using 2 SIM cards). ________________________ Did you know there are shipping-related computer games on the internet? http://www.cargolaw.com/presentations_games.html ________________________ Seatrade awards Inmarsat and ABS-NS http://www.seatrade.co.uk At this year's Seatrade awards, to highlight the industry's efforts to support safe shipping, a clean environment and technical innovation, Inmarsat won an award for safety at sea for provision of an acknowledgement channel for signals sent from an emergency position indicating rescue beacon (EPIRB), whilst ABS Nautical Systems won an award for its ChemSTOW system for managing chemical cargoes onboard. The Inmarsat system enables seafarers to receive an acknowledgement that a distress signal sent from an Inmarsat E+ unit has been received by a maritime rescue co-ordination centre. The response is sent back automatically to the EPIRB after the alert is received at a land earth station, and an indicator light is switched on the seafarer's unit. If a seafarer is close to death, having the knowledge that a distress signal has been received, and therefore help is on its way, can go a great deal to giving seafarers the will to stay alive. The ABS Nautical Systems ChemSTOW module can be used for stowage planning of various bulk chemicals carried at sea, taking into account the numerous regulations and many different variables including ship stability, revenue optimisation, cargo/port planning and safety. By very fast computer calculations, the computer can work out the best way to load the ship taking into account all these variables, and can quickly recalculate if the situation changes. 17 different checks are made on a proposed cargo loading plan, for example for adjacent cargoes (both already onboard and planned), coating suitability, heating off adjacent cargoes and tank history. This is the first time stowage planning and ship stability are integrated into the same single package, ABS NS says, rather than being put together separately. The software also has tools to work out the most profitable ship routing. There is a replication module to make sure that the office and the vessel are working with the same data. ________________________ Norcontrol IT wins Far East coastal surveillance contract http://www.norcontrolit.com Norwegian maritime software and electronics company Norcontrol IT has won a contract to install a coastal surveillance system in a secret location in "Far East Asia." The contract was won through Norcontrol's Singapore office, and includes options for 77 shore based radar stations. The system can be extended to include Automatic Identification Systems, closed circuit TV and direction finding sensors. The client, which is a country, wanted a system to help detect small vessels carrying illegal immigrants, Norcontrol says. ________________________ Telstra signs partner service agreement with Iridium http://www.iridium.com Australian telecoms company Telstra has signed a deal with Iridium, to market and sell Iridium services. Telstra is particularly interested in selling Iridium in rural and remote areas in Australia. ________________________ IMSARC wins Oman search and rescue consultancy project John@imsarc.biz IMSARC (International Maritime Search and Rescue Consultancy), a UK company, has been awarded a maritime safety consultancy contract with the Oman Ministry of Transport and Communications, Directorate of Ports and Maritime Affairs. IMSARC will provide consultancy for establishment and operation of a Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre and shore based Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) communications in Oman. IMSARC will also advise on future requirements for co-ordination of maritime search and rescue, and establishment and operation of a Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre including all communication requirements for co-ordination of SAR, broadcast of Maritime Safety Information, shore based communications and organisation, management and training of staff. IMSARC will undertake a 25 week study involving a countrywide assessment to determine the overall Operational Requirement for Oman, followed by a 78-week project implementation period during which time IMSARC will provide project supervision services. ________________________ Online ship-shore video demonstration http://www.gmi.as Color Line, "Vi Menn" magazine, Telenor Satelite Services and computer networking company GMI plan to broadcast the election of Miss "Vi Menn" (9.30pm) and a lecture from polar adventurer Boerge Ousland (3am) from onboard the Kiel ferry Prinsesse Ragnhild onto the internet, on May 4 this year. Color Line is running the demonstration to show clients and others how it can bring video transmissions to and from ferries. The transmission can be viewed on the website www.gmi.as; users will need a soundcard, speakers, version 7.01 or later of Microsoft Media Player and an internet connection of 100 kbps or above to watch it. ________________________ Rydex sells e-mail systems to Barber International http://www.rydex.com Ship-shore communications company Rydex has won a deal with shipmanagers Barber International, to use its rmx2 product to manage its ship-shore e-mail and data communications. "We know that there was an intense competition to win this contract and Barber's decision confirms Rydex' as a provider of high value, high end solutions to large fleets," Rydex says. Rydex has also opened an office in Singapore, to provide support to customers in the Asia Pacific. A public rmx2 e-mail hub will be installed in Singapore in connection with the new office. ________________________ Telesis works with Fuji Trading for ship-shore e-mail http://www.telesis.ca Maritime stores and technology supplier Fuji Trading has added the Telesis Intersite Accelerator to its portfolio of Telesis ship-shore messaging products. The Accelerator reduces network connect time between different servers operating Microsoft Exchange e-mail, for example a server onboard the ship connecting to several PCs around the vessel in a network, and a server in a corporate office. ________________________ Geolink launches in Greece http://www.geolink.gr Satellite communications service provider Geolink has opened an office in Greece. The agency will cover services to the Balkans, Near East and CIS countries. It is the only official Iridium and Telenor service provider in Greece, the company claims. ________________________ Easylink's new website http://www.easylink.com Maritime messaging and data communications company Easylink (owners of messaging company GN Comtext), has put up a new website. The new site has separate sections for customers in different geographic market. The online support section has also been expanded. ________________________ ***** MARITIME OPERATIONS ***** Ship Analytics International on CNBC http://www.shipanalytics.com Maritime simulator company Ship Analytics International reports that it has been featured on US based cable network station CNBC' s SquawkBox program, for its software which prompts emergency responders as to what to do if a tanker spills oil. The software is used by the National Response Center in Washington DC (for the US Coast Guard) and the state of South Carolina's Homeland Defense Agency; it was also recently demonstrated at a critical infrastructures conference at Princeton University. The company first got the idea for making emergency response simulators, says spokesperson Rachael Harasimowicz, several years ago after watching people enjoy crashing tankers and creating oil spills while training on the ship simulators. "We thought, wow, what a great way to train people in how to handle an emergency," she says. The system covers all steps in handling an emergency (who has to be alerted, organising equipment and hospitals, briefing the press, etc.). The company has made many more simulations of various manmade and natural disasters which can be loaded onto the system. More importantly, the system was designed to be used in a real emergency, the company says, with real data replacing the simulation, but using exactly the same software and hardware. ________________________ Fuji launches shipboard computer network system http://www.fujitrading.co.jp Maritime supplier and software company Fuji Trading has launched an onboard computer network system. The system uses existing shipboard phone lines and exchange board, with either a 1 MB or 16 Mb speed switching hub. It means that vessels can have high-speed computer networks onboard without needing to put in special computer cables. The network can also use a special shipboard server geared to provide high compression, full duplex (two way communication) and error correction for ship-shore communications. ________________________ Ulysses signs joint marketing agreement with O'Brien Oil Pollution Service http://www.ulysses-systems.com Maritime software company Ulysses Systems has signed a marketing agreement with O'Brien Oil Pollution Service, which claims to be the "largest qualified individual and spill response management provider in North America," providing a range of maritime safety and environmental protection consulting services. Under the terms of the agreement, O'Brien and Ulysses will jointly market each other's services; Ulysses will market O'Brien's maritime consulting services and O'Brien will market the Ulysses task assistant software. Ulysses recently announced that O'Brien would itself use the Ulysses Task Assistant software in its own operations. O'Brien works to develop vessel management plans, procedures and best practises to enhance quality, environmental and safety operations onboard. "From our perspective, Ulysses' technical solutions will assist our clients in becoming more efficient and productive in managing the large amount of information necessary to meet today's regulatory requirements for vessel operations," says Jim O'Brien, president of OOPS. ________________________ STAR Center models Mexican port http://www.star-center.com Maritime training centre STAR Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has won an unusual contract to perform a simulator-based study on the port of Cozumel, Mexico. This is an interesting twist on maritime simulators; rather than use simulators to train seafarers how to manoeuvre ships into various ports around the world, the same technology is used to model how easy it is to manoeuvre ships into the ports; this information can then be used in ship and port planning. The study is commissioned by Mexican shipping line Transportacion Maritima Mexicana (TMM), in co-operation with a number of cruise lines. It will investigate how both conventionally propelled vessels and AZIPOD propelled vessels can utilise the docking facilities now and planned at Cozumel. STAR Center developed a geographical model of the port which depicts piers, shoreline, aids to navigation and other features. Current and wind were modelled to represent worst case conditions. STAR Center possesses visual databases of over 150 ports, canals, rivers and entrances. ________________________ Shipshooter.com has photographs of satellite communications terminals http://www.shipshooter.com Jonathan Atkin, a New York based maritime photographer, has a large number of photographs o shipboard satellite communications terminals in his portfolio, he says, as well as other maritime images, available for license to companies for inclusion in promotional material. "They are never ending architectural wonders," he says. "Dancers, children and of course the setting sun all contribute to new ways to look at these unique structures. Satellite terminals are dramatic parts of the shipboard landscape and often overlooked as gorgeous design shapes for brochures, advertising and corporate media." ________________________ Spinnaker and Enigma co-operation http://www.shippingjobs.com Maritime recruitment consultant Spinnaker Consulting, operator of Shippingjobs.com, has formed a co-operation with Enigma International Resourcing, a recruitment company specialising in logistics, supply chain and liner shipping. Darin Watts, director of Enigma, will co-ordinate the set-up of an office in Australia to serve both Spinnaker and Enigma in the Far East and Australia. ________________________ Furuno launches NavNet radar / chart plotters http://www.furuno.com Maritime electronics company Furuno has launched an addition to its range of radar / chart plotters, the 1953C and 1953C/NT. It presents radar images on a 10.4-inch colour screen. The screen has different colours to indicate the strength of the radar echoes, which can be used to determine if the object on the display is a ship or land, or just rain, cloud or birds. Digital Ship Ltd 213 Marsh Wall London E14 9FJ Tel (+44 207) 510 0015 Fax (+44 207) 510 2344 http://www.thedigitalship.com