NEWSLETTER == New life for MarineProvider http://www.marineprovider.com Liquidated maritime e-procurement company MarineProvider has risen from the ashes with new owners, MarineTrans, a specialist freight forwarder of ship spares. MarineTrans has been involved in MarineProvider for some time; it was acquired in 1998 by Tecto Maritime, which was a founder and investor in Marine Provider. Following poor sales at MarineProvider, MarineTrans was subsequently sold back to its founders, Jorgen and Lars Fausko, to generate money to keep MarineProvider going. Now, following MarineProvider's liquidation in March this year, the two Fausko brothers have purchased the company's assets, including its software, technology, domain name, software licenses and staff, without any of MarineProvider's debt. MarineTrans has not released much information about how it intends to make a success out of MarineProvider, apart from saying it will have a "new marketing strategy." "I could not pass up on this technology and the dedicated people who support it," says CEO Jorgen Fausko. "With this deal I see MP as a real potential success, the technology is state of the art and the people are expert within their areas and best of all we can compete." "This wild ride has been uneventful, choosing to pursue new frontiers and new technology for the benefit of our industry is always a risk," comments Jonathan Che Geldard, supplier support manager. "MarineProvider AS, as we are now known, has been battered but we are alive, focused, debt free and clearly more viable today with our state of the art technology," Taking a leaf out of ShipServ's book, Mr Geldard says that the focus is "not to tell the buyer how to purchase or redesign his system; we provide effective tools to allow him to do it better and more effectively. "Our offering is clear, provide low cost connectivity for the maritime industry with no special software or fees to the vendors," he says. MTN signs 3 year VSAT contract with Louis Cruise Lines http://www.mtnsat.com Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN) has signed a three year agreement with Louis Cruise Lines to install VSAT communications onboard its vessel Thomson Spirit. The communications system will be used for shore to ship phone calls, shipboard internet access and faxing. Passengers will have a shipboard internet café. Hernis Scan develops CCTV leakage detector system www.hernis.no Norway based Hernis Scan Systems has developed an optical leakage detector system using closed circuit TV cameras. The camera is pointed at a critical area, such as a fuel oil pump on a main engine. The video motion detection system will detect any possible leakage and trigger an alarm, enabling action to be taken before, for example, the leaking fuel ignites. Images can be stored on hard disk. To reduce false alarms, the camera image can be set to define areas which are not to be analysed for movements or changes in colour. Shortly after the introduction of the new DETEC feature to the HERNIS CCTV cameras, Hernis Scan Systems A/S received orders for 4 LNG-carriers, one super-yacht and one offshore installation. NSSL offers 40 megabits per month free over Inmarsat Fleet 55 http://www.satcom-solutions.com Satcom solutions provider NSSL is offering forty free megabits of data per month, worth around $640 per month, to users of Fleet 55 service, for the first four months. For customers replacing an Inmarsat -A terminal with a Nera Fleet 77, it is offering a $3500 credit. NSSL has also developed specialist software which helps customers choose between ISDN and MPDS services. INTTRA Announces Rapid Reservation http://www.inttra.com Container shipping portal INTTRA has developed "Rapid Reservation," a tool a allow INTTRA shippers and forwarders with a carrier reservation number when they make a booking. INTTRA claims that the reservation number will enable the entire booking process to be completed much more quickly than by the traditional method. As soon as the carrier has confirmed the booking, this number becomes the carrier booking number. "There is no question that there is a demand for Rapid Reservation among our customers," said Philippe Salles, CMA CGM E-Commerce Manager, INTTRA. JRC appoints North America general manager http://www.jrcamerica.com JRC has appointed Toshinori Ameniya as general manager in charge of marine electronic and land communication sales and operations in North and Central America. Mr Amemiya has been with JRC for 22 years. He was most recently involved with sales and marketing in the International Marine Electronics Sales Department in Tokyo, and before that head of sales and operations in Europe for 5 years. DIGITAL SHIP ATHENS - just 20 delegate tickets left http://www.thedigitalship.com/athens.htm Just 20 delegate tickets remain for Digital Ship Athens, Digital Ship's exciting meeting place for shipping company IT managers in May 21-22 this year, to discuss and share experiences about how best value can be drawn from shipboard communications and software equipment. If you are involved in maritime communications and software, you will want to be in Athens in May to make sure you are aware of the most effective uses of technology being developed by shipping companies from Greece and around the world. Nearly all of the members of AMMITEC (Association of Maritime IT managers) will be present, with 15 shipping company IT members in AMMITEC talking about their practical experiences and a further 29 members registered to attend. Other delegates include Interorient Navigation (IT manager), Neptune Shipmanagement Singapore (project engineer), DNV, Globe Wireless, C-MAP and JRC. Nauticast, Broadband Maritime, Vector Informatics, KME, Kongsberg Maritime Ship Systems, Laycan, Saab TransponderTech, Geolink Hellas and Thrane and Thrane will be presenting their latest products in a next door exhibition. A buffet lunch will be served from the middle of the exhibition floor. To register, contact Nadia Soldo in London on (+44 207) 510 4938, soldo@thedigitalship.com, or follow the booking instructions on the website. DIGITAL SHIP CONTAINER SHIPPING SECURITY CONFERENCE September 2-3, Rotterdam http://www.thedigitalship.com/virtualbox2003.htm Organised once again by container shipping industry expert Tim Power, we look at the initiatives so far to improve container shipping security, reducing the threat of theft and terrorism. We find out if there are any benefits to the investment in terms of improved efficiency, who is most willing to pay, how much pressure the US government is exerting to improve security, how the ISPS code is being applied in ports. The agenda is currently being put together Digital Ship 2003 - London Nov 4-6 2003 http://www.thedigitalship.com/digitalship2003.htm Our 3 day event in London this year will be examining how information technology is creating value in new sectors of the maritime industry. Of particular interest this year will be the information charterers would like to have about vessels they charter and whether having this information would make the shipping company more likely to find a cargo. We will also be examining how port agents around the world are steadily becoming connected and how this completely changes how port agents operate and the services they provide. We have sketched out some outline plans on our website, if you think this is something you might be able to contribute to then please let us know. Presentations from Infoport 2003 free online http://www.thedigitalship.com/presentations.htm Most of the presentations from Infoport 2003, our conference about information technology in ports in Amsterdam April 15-16, Greek Coastguard Patrol boats equipped with Transas charts http://www.transas.com The Hellenic Coast Guard (Greece) has fitted a Transas Navi-Sailor 2500 electronic chart system on 16 fast patrol boats, as well as a further system in the Coast Guard laboratories for service purposes. The systems have 20 inch flat screen (TFT) displays, with a radar integrator board, Transas Navtex receiver, and a complete Transas Mediterranean chart folio with a two year subscription for the corrections. Transas will also be supplying chart systems for the vessel. The agreement includes installation of all the electronic equipment and training of the crew and technical staff on Eline's own ECDIS simulator, which is in operation in their office. Hong Kong International Terminals launches Phase II of its online customer service system, Customer Plus. Phase I was about creating a direct, real-time link between HIT and the shipping lines. Phase II extends the scope of the interface to provide all users o the terminal with access to the terminal information system. Public users to access general terminal information, as well as specific information including container details, vessel schedule, empty container pick-up and return location There are also various barge functions. Barge operators are now able to access estimated barge schedules, Barge ID information and other useful resources. Germanischer Lloyd has trained 250 company security officers http://www.gl-group.com Maritime class society Germanischer Lloyd has completed training of 250 company security officers, under the terms of the ISPS code. The training was being carried out in conjunction with InterNational Maritime Security (IMS), GL's UK-based partner in the security field. GL is now embarking on a programme of training Ship Security Officers, the responsible persons for security measures on board ships. GL has also been appointed by the Liberian ship register (LISCR) as a "Recognised Security Organization" (RSO) to carry out security verification and certification on its behalf, making up to now a total of ten flag states that had appointed the society. Jiangmen terminal installs x-ray container inspection system http://www.hph.com.hk/business/ports/china/delta_ports/jiangmen.htm Jiangmen International Container Terminal, a river port in the Pearl River Delta, China, has installed an X-ray container inspection system. "The electronic system eliminates the physical Customs inspection procedure and effectively shortens Customs inspection lead time from one hour to just ten minutes," claims the terminal. "Thereby customers of JMCT can benefit from faster Customs clearance procedures and lower costs." Horizon Mobile appoints joint managing director http://www.horizon-mobile.com Bangkok based maritime communications company Horizon Mobile has appointed Philip Adkins as joint managing director. Mr Adkins was previously senior vice president with Seamico Securities in its corporate finance department in April 1998, working on mergers and acquisition, capital raising, public company listing and corporate valuation/strategy reviews. He has worked in the shipping industry for P & O Plc (UK) and Jebsens Rederi (Norway) and is qualified as a Chief Engineer (First Class). Offshore Systems and Kelvin Hughes work together on military electronic navigation systems http://www.osl.com Vancouver based electronic chart company Offshore Systems is working together with UK based Kelvin Hughes to "jointly pursue opportunities" in electronic navigation systems for military customers. With an initial focus on the UK, the companies will offer navigation systems compliant to the NATO Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System standard, referred to in the industry as "WECDIS". Rydex launches disaster recovery system http://www.rydex.com Ship shore communications technology company Rydex has launched RecoveryHub, a Disaster Recovery solution for Rydex private e-mail hub customers. The tool ensures that if anything goes wrong with the hub, a fleet's e-mail and data communications systems can be restored in minutes. BV proposes technology to ensure single hull tankers are safe www.bureauveritas.com Class society Bureau Veritas is proposing that the maritime industry uses the latest technology tools to make sure that single hull tankers are safe, rather than rushing headlong into double hull tankers to keep politicians happy. "We all know that double-hulls are not a panacea and they have pros and cons," says BV's Bernard Anne. "Single-hull bulk carriers can be just as robust, and there are many good robust ships out there today with a useful life. "I would much rather see a single-hull ship built to high standards and then well maintained by a quality owner, than have a double-hull ship built down to shipyard minimums, then maintained at minimum levels." "We as an industry should be able to propose new techniques and methods including FEM calculations and fatigue analysis for assessing the capacity of these ships to operate in safe conditions up to their normal lifespan. "What makes the real differences between the strength of ships is much more often a matter of build quality and maintenance than a matter of design. "We simply don't believe that you can design every problem out of a ship's structure, as maintenance will always be the key factor in how safe a ship is as it grows older." BASS releases new version of crew management system http://www.bassnet.no Malaysian maritime software company BASS has re-engineered its CrewNet crew / human resource management system. With the new system, customers can communicate with other business applications through an integration engine called BASS Integrator. Clients can develop their own modules which can be plugged into the engine permitting sharing, retrieval and updating of data. The product is ready for Electronic Submission of Passenger and Crew Manifests, which will be introduced by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Marlink signs 3 year satcoms agreement with Kyma Ship Management http://www.marlink.com Marlink has signed a 3 year agreement to supply its Sealink VSAT satellite communications system for TSS The Topaz, a vessel managed by Kyma Ship management of Miami. The vessel will be under charter for three years to Peaceboat, a Japanese Non-Governmental organization. Marlink will provide Sealink voice and high-speed data services. Operating at speeds up to 2 Megabits per second, the Sealink solution allows guests and crew to enjoy greater access to e-mail, fax services, and telephone service. The system will also accept the JCB card (a popular Japanese credit card) that makes billing easy to understand and efficient for passengers onboard the TSS The Topaz," Katsoufis said. NSSL offers Fleet 55 package www.satcom-solutions.com Satcom service provider NSSL has put together a Fleet 55 package in the UK, incorporating the EMS Fleet 55 satcom terminal and Xantic airtime. "Not everyone needs premium services on a global basis, with the introduction of the Fleet 55 system to our portfolio, NSSL is able to offer wider choice to our customers," says NSSL. Marine Terminals Corporation joins SST http://www.scst.info Marine Terminals Corporation (MTC) has jointed the Smart and Secure Tradelanes initiative. SST infrastructure has already been installed at terminals in Seattle and Long Beach operated by Total Terminals International, a joint venture between MTC and Hanjin Shipping. More than 100 containers originating from ports in Hong Kong and Singapore and arriving at the company's terminal operations in Seattle and Long Beach have already been monitored using the infrastructure. More monitoring infrastructure will be installed at the company's container handling operations as SST-related shipments continue to grow. Primar to handover security scheme to IHO http://www.primar.org Electronic chart distribution service Primar has made arrangements to hand over its security scheme to the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO). The chart security scheme is a mechanism for ensuring that the chart data is not tampered with between the hydrographic office and the vessel, and also ensuring that only shipping companies who have paid are able to access the data. Crucially, if the security scheme is operated by the IHO, rather than Primar, it should eventually be possible to bundle together electronic charts from the two rival chart distribution services, Primar and IC-ENC. This will enabling shipping companies to obtain electronic charts for the different countries representated by the different distribution centres from a single source. Star Information Systems signs software contract with Color Line http://www.sisys.com Norwegian maritime software company Star Information Systems has signed a retrofit and newbuild software contract with Color Line, to install shipboard fleet management software onboard 9 vessels. Application and database server software are installed at Color Line`s computer centre in Oslo with on line direct access from the vessels through a terminal server and VSAT satellite communication. The contract includes the world's largest cruise ferry, which will replace "Prinsesse Ragnhild" on the Oslo-Kiel service as of December 2004. Color Line's vessels sail from Norway to Denmark, Germany and Sweden. The vessels must coordinate many tasks, including planned maintenance, documents, budgeting and cost control, purchasing /requisition, and, as well as, insurance and claim handling. The Star IPS system gives each ship and shore-based control an accurate picture of where time and money is being lost or saved and helps target areas where efforts should be focused. Accurate information on equipment to be maintained, its components and ongoing production or workload requirements are vital to a successful shipboard maintenance program. Parts and supplies must be procured in advance, in a well-planned fashion to complete maintenance tasks and operational responsibilities on schedule.