Digital Ship America - Sep 10-11 2008

In September this year, Digital Ship will come to the USA for the first time, for our Digital Ship America conference, looking at the technologies and communications systems American shipping companies can use to maintain safety, protect the coastline, maintain morale onboard ships, keep trade running smoothly and earn revenue.

We will cover the latest advances in satellite communications technology; latest best practise in using software tools to help keep ships running safely, well maintained and with all necessary supplies; and we will cover the latest developments in e-Navigation, to minimise the risk of navigation accidents.

Mark September 10th-11th in your diaries, for what promises to be one of Digital Ship's most exciting events, Digital Ship America.

Companies sending delegates include Helix Energy, Teekay, Tidewater Inc, BGT Ltd, Pronav Ship Management, Heidmar, Clipper Marine, Alaska Tanker, OSG Ship Management, Seven Seas Shipping, Rigdon Marine, Eletson Corporation

AGENDA AND TOPICS

DAY ONE MORNING - Vessel communications

Chair - Rob Marjerison, independent satcom consultant

Rob Marjerison, a 20 year veteran of the cruise industry, is a recognized authority on shipboard telecommunications and on-board revenue. He has an MPA from the University of California and a Master of Science in IS from Louisiana State University. A regular contributor to various industry publications, Mr. Marjerison is an Independent Consultant based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

9.20 Welcome and opening remarks. Robert Kunkel, vice president, Connecticut Maritime Association

Robert Kunkel is vice president of Connecticut Maritime Association, one of the most thriving shipping associations in the world, which represents every aspect of shipping and international trade. Mr Kuntel is also an elected member of the American Bureau of Shipping and the National Cargo Bureau. He served as the Chairman of the Federal Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program, the U.S. Maritime Administration public/private partnership from 2003 to 2008 supporting the development of Short Sea Shipping in the United States and representing 63 maritime based industry organizations. After graduating he served as a third assistant engineer with various US flag owners and then joined Leo Berger and Apex Marine Corporation as a marine superintendent in 1983, finishing as Apex Marine's vice president of engineering and operations.

9.30 Captain Jim Pound, director of operations, Seaway Marine Transport with John Brenton, director, information services, Seaway Marine Transport - on experiences installing and using VSAT

Captain Jim Pound is director of operations with Seaway Marine Transport. He is chairman of the Canadian Shipowners Association Committee for communications, and has worked with members of the association and the Lake Carriers Association to implement a broadband solution for the combined fleet of nearly 50 vessels. He is also co-chair of the Great Lakes Marine Forum's Sub Committee on Advanced Technology for Navigation Safety, and worked as the Shipping Industry’s lead during the St. Lawrence Seaway’s implementation of the world’s first fully functional Automatic Identification System (AIS).

John Brenton is responsible for the centralised Information Services department of Seaway Marine Transport, providing network administration, systems analysis and development, and client support for over 60 office staff and 34 ships managed by Seaway Marine Transport. He designed Seaway's Vessel Position Reporting System and Traffic Scheduler, which was awarded the “Best Transportation Solution” by Midrange Systems Achievements in IS Awards. He has served on the Lake Carriers Association / Canadian Shipowners Association working group on communications to evaluate new technology and develop recommendations.

10.00 Experience using Inmarsat - Mike Gagne, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Mike Gagne is senior engineer - marine electronics - ship operations at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a position he has held for 5 years. He was previously an owner of a marine electronics supplier. He is also a former electronics engineering instructor. He is a certified instructor of electronics at Massachusetts Department of Education. He is a certified technician for SeaTel satellite, Furuno Voyage Data Recorders, Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning Systems. He is a member of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System Task Force. He is a FCC GMDSS maintenance license technician. He was honorably discharged from the US Navy, specialising in radar.

10.30 Kartik Sinha, head of maritime marketing, Inmarsat. Inmarsat's FleetBroadband - what it will do, what people will be able to do with it. Report from the launch of the third satellite and what this means for the maritime industry.

Kartik Sinha is maritime market manager with Inmarsat, which operates the satellite communications system used by most of the world's merchant shipping fleet which also forms the backbone of global GMDSS provision. In August 2008 Inmarsat launched the 3rd of its next generation Inmarsat-4 satellites, which will provide simultaneous voice and data at speeds of up to 432 kbs. Kartik is a qualified merchant navy officer with over 13 years of maritime experience, specialising on VLCC / ULCC tanker operations, and also with container ships and other tanker vessels. He holds an MBA from Edinburgh University, UK and a BSc in Marine Operations from Northumbria University, UK.

11.00 Break

11.45 Andrew J Michel, Technical Director at Tyco Electronics

General communication solution for Tyco’s vessels
Experience with VSAT/Ship Equip SEVSAT

Andrew is in charge of the communication solutions in Tyco Telecommunications, a business unit of Tyco Electronics and an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology and marine services. Tyco Telecommunications operates 7 vessels. The parent company Tyco Electronics has 220.000 employees and is a world leader in electronics and telecommunication. In over 50 years of operation, the company have delivered more than 80 undersea fiber optic systems around the world. The company delivers integrated solutions and network upgrades, supporting the needs of telecommunications carriers, Internet providers, offshore and scientific research customers worldwide.

12.15 Panel discussion

12.35 Lunch - sponsored by Globe Wireless

DAY ONE AFTERNOON - SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS

2.00 - Frank Coles, president and COO, Globe Wireless. Different satellite communications technology - an independent view.

Inmarsat's domination of the maritime communications industry may be coming to a close. A host of new maritime communications solutions are available such as Iridium Open Port, C-Band and Ku-Band VSAT, Thuraya. Ship owners and managers need to understand the pros and cons of each of these systems in order to make the best decision. Mr. Coles will discuss the benefits, drawbacks, operation and costs of each of these systems from a clear, unbiased viewpoint.

Frank Coles joined Globe Wireless in 1999 as the Chief Operating Officer and became CEO and President in August 2005. He is a Master Mariner and served 13 years as a deck officer. Mr. Coles practiced shipping law in London with Richards Butler and in Hong Kong with Stephenson Harwood & Lo. He moved on to become General Manager of Pacific Basin Bulk Shipping in Hong Kong, and spent three years as CEO of Rydex Industries Corporation, a pioneer company in marine satellite communications. Before joining Globe Wireless, Mr. Coles was with Litton Marine Systems, serving as their Vice President, Business Development and Information Technology.

2.30 Frank August, director business development - Americas, Inmarsat
Today´s crew communications - results of Inmarsat´s 3rd survey
- Results of the Inmarsat Crew Communications Survey for world maritime fleets,
- View of the cost/benefits of communications services for seafarers during this time of severe crew shortages.
Steps Inmarsat has taken to enable better communication to seafarers

Frank August manages various business and market development activities for Inmarsat within the Americas. Over the past twelve years, he has held positions in both the maritime & the land mobile lines of business and in account management, initially at Inmarsat’s London headquarters in 1995, and since 2002 from Inmarsat’s Washington, DC office. Inmarsat which operates the satellite communications system used by most of the world's merchant shipping fleet which also forms the backbone of global GMDSS provision. FleetBroadband is the new service from Inmarsat that was launched in late 2007. FleetBroadband will provide simultaneous voice and data at speeds of up to 432 kbs.

3.00 BREAK

3.30 SPECIAL SESION - SHIP NAVIGATION

Chairman: Captain Sandberg USMS, FNI, Nautical Institute Branch Secretary North East Coast United States Branch and Professor & Director of Nautical Science Simulation U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

3.30 Opening remarks from Captain Sandberg
- Seafarers be trained to operate navigation equipment in S-Mode
- Navigation equipment should have a 'simulation' mode so it can be used for training whilst the vessel is in port
- Training requirements need to be updated to take into account new technology.

Captain George Sandberg is a full professor and director of nautical science simulation at the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York. He has taught at the Merchant Marine Academy since 1990, including ten years as head Department of Marine Transportation. He is also Branch Secretary of the Nautical Institute North East Coast Branch. He has nineteen years seagoing experience, five as master, aboard vessels operated by Chevron Shipping, Marine Transport Lines, El Paso LNG, and Hvide Shipping.

3.50 Capt.Gerry Larsson-Fedde, Director General, Norwegian Hydrographic Service

Report from the NAV 54 meeting of IMO, where there was a clear majority in favour of mandatory ECDIS implementation
Anticipated implementation schedule
Impact it will have on safety at sea
How do we get full global coverage of ENCs?

Captain Gerry Larsson-Fedde was appointed Director General of the Norwegian Hydrographic Service in February 2008. The Norwegian Hydrographic Service is responsible for surveying the Norwegian coast, and preparing and updating charts. Captain Larsson-Fedde was previously a captain on two of the world's largest cruise ships, Marine of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean Cruises. Before that he served as director of nautical operations with Royal Caribbean, and also superintendent for audits and training. From 1997 to 2000 he served in the Norwegian Coastal Administration, initiating a project for pilots to carry portable laptops with electronic charts; today all pilots in Norway and Sweden are using portable laptops with electronic charts.

4.20 - Luc Boisclair, corporate engineering manager - electrical, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation - A system to provide vessels with visual information about how far they are away from their berth - a countdown to the specified mooring position - why St Lawrence seaway chose this system instead of relying on DGPS / AIS -

Luc Boisclair is Corporate Engineering Manager - Electrical for the St-Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, which manages and operates locks, bridges and traffic on channels connecting Montreal to Lake Erie of behalf of the Canadian federal government. Mr. Boisclair manages the development of controls, networking, communications and other electronic systems used across the corporation. He has a B. Eng. Electrical (90) from Ottawa University.

4.35 Panel discussion - how does navigation technology, legislation, and electronic charts need to be improved?

5.00 Cocktails

7.00pm - Evening dinner function sponsored by Inmarsat

Location: Royal Green at Sterling Farm
Bus transportation will be provided.

Dinner sponsor:

DAY TWO - DEVELOPMENTS WITH MARITIME SOFTWARE

(Parallel - training session on Inmarsat FleetBroadband, led by Inmarsat staff from London)

Chairman: Barry Parker, BDP1 Consulting

Barry Parker, based in New York, is the Principal of bdp1 Consulting Ltd, launched just as the 1990's dotcom boom was gathering steam. These days, his client work is concentrated on maritime finance and shipping market analysis, serving hedge funds, private equity / infrastructure players and banks. His past assignments have included work on maritime security and communications, subjects that he continues to write about. Mr Parker has an MBA from Wharton School and has maritime consulting experience with Booz Allen and Marsoft. He has also been a consultant writer with Digital Ship magazine since the company was founded, and has written for sister publications Tanker Operator and LNG Shipping Review. He grew up in New York, where he monitored maritime communications on VHF and 4, 8 and 16 mHZ- long before the C and K bands came on the scene.

9.20 Jack Kitchura, CEO, ABS Nautical Systems . How shipping companies and software companies can work best together, to maximise benefits

Jack Kitchura has been president, COO and director of maritime software company ABS Nautical Systems since the company was formed in 1998. Before that he was general manager of Aurora Tankers, a commercial shipping company, and Wawasan Bulk Shipping, a technical operating company, both subsidiary companies of IMC Pan Asian Alliance Group of Singapore. Before that he was general manager of Sun Refining and Marketing Company's worldwide chartering and operations division. He served in the US Navy from 1966 to 1970.

9.50 A new approach to technical ship information - making it electronic rather than on paper. Giampiero Soncini, CEO, SpecTec

Giampiero Soncini is CEO of software company SpecTec, the world's largest maritime software company. He has led the development of Shipdex, a new standard protocol for ship technical information, which should avoid the need to use paper manuals and drawings on ships. He spent 14 years in the Italian Navy and 12 years at NATO, where he acted as a technical manager for research vessels, one of which was the first vessel with GPS and an INS.

10.20 Kevin Reid, director quality systems, Algoma Central Corporation - move to a new software to help meet TMSA requirements - experience with VSAT

Kevin Reid is director quality systems with Algoma Central Corporation, the largest Canadian-flag ship owner on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Waterway. Algoma employs approximately 1,400 people and has assets of approx $534m. It operates vessels throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Waterway from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, through all five Great Lakes. It owns 19 Canadian-flag dry-bulk vessels, four Canadian-flag tanker vessels, one foreign-flag tanker and two ocean-going self-unloaders. It also provides diversified ship repair, diesel engine repair services and fabrication services to ship-owners and industrial customers throughout the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Waterway.

10.50 - Coffee Break - sponsored by:

11.20 Onboard computer based training for seafarers on LNG tankers to meet SIGTTO competency standards Eric Linsner, senior vice president, Pronav Ship Management

- Pronvav Ship Management's computer based training system for seafarers, used on its fleet of 12 LNG tankers, to reach SIGTTO standards
- Development, certification and potential efficiencies of this type of training
- Outline of the Society of Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) syllabus for recommended skills of officers employed on LNG carriers, which exceeds the requirements of STCW 95, but does not have a system of certification
- Efforts to obtain third party certification of the computer based training system as meeting SIGTTO standards

Eric Linsner is senior vice president of Pronav Ship Management, responsible for the operation of 12 LNG carriers, a position he has held since 1998. He is based in Stamford, Connecticut. From 1989 to 1998 he was with Energy Transportation Corporation of New York, taking the positions of manager, vessel support and later vice president, with responsibility for maritime labour relations, P+I claims, operating policy, administration of time charters, day to day operation and implementation of operating policies, budgets and vessel maintenance.

11.45 - Getting On top of environmental compliance issues: Using IT to capture, analyze and report on shipboard environmental performance. Dale Neef, managing director, DNA Maritime

Environmental reporting systems - what information port authorities and other regulators might shortly be requiring to be sent automatically from vessels - emissions information, record book data.
Building shipboard database systems so they can be interrogated from shore by authorities and shipowners - How it might be set up and what the purpose might be.

Dale Neef is managing director of DNA Maritime LLC, a specialist consultancy that advises companies on maritime corporate responsibility strategies and electronic shipboard environmental monitoring and reporting technologies. He is author of several books on the use of technologies to ensure good corporate governance. He has a Phd from Cambridge University, and is a veteran of strategy and IT projects with more than 40 companies world-wide. He was previously a fellow at Ernst & Young’s Center for Business Innovation.

12.10 Russell Gise, network manager, Torm USA. Building the best IT vessel support in the world

TORM is one of the world’s leading carriers of refined oil products as well as being a significant participant in the dry bulk market. It runs a fleet of over 130 modern vessels, principally through a pooling corporation with other shipping companies. Mr Gise started at OMI in 1996 on the helpdesk and designing onboard systems and local area networks, where he has experienced with Novell, NT, Exchange, Citrix, Terminal services, Firewalls, and backup software. He was introduced to Palantir following the acquisition of part of OMI Corporation by Torm.

12.35 - Panel discussion - using software to improve ship operations - what is the 'low hanging fruit'?

1.00 - Lunch

Lunch sponsored by ABS Nautical Systems.

2.00 - Technology showcase - 10 min presentations of the most exciting new technology

2.00 - Albert Carbone, CEO, Stelvio Inc. ShipDecision, A web based system for the structured communication of maritime information - between vessels, operations, chartering, P&I Clubs, surveyors, shipowners, inspectors, class societies, bunker suppliers, ship suppliers, port agents and other actors

Mr. Carbone founded Stelvio Inc. in 1990 and continues to lead the company’s international growth and diversification. Prior to Stelvio he held professional engineering positions with several Canadian companies with responsibilities in systems engineering, project engineering and product management. Mr. Carbone holds a B. Eng. (81) and M. Eng. (84) from Concordia University and is a member of the Order of Engineers of Quebec.

2.10 - Chris Courard, OnWaves Technology to enable seafarers to use GSM mobile phones onboard ships

2.20- Carl Hausheer, Applied Weather Technology New developments in providing weather information to ships

2.30- Ted O'Brien, vice president and general manager, Americas, Iridium The new Iridium OpenPort Service for the maritime industry

2.40- Michael Johnson, principal, Management Systems Consulting. Union contribution software, which deals with the largest portion of the crewing cost for US crews

2.50- Ian Taylor, Xynetix Technology to enable seafarers to communicate with friends via their GSM phones

3.00 - Close

Exhibition enquiries: Ria Kontogeorgou, on ria@thedigitalship.com Tel +44 207 510 4931

Delegates enquiries: Theo Albanis, on theo@thedigitalship.com

Speaker enquiries: Karl Jeffery on jeffery@thedigitalship.com