DIGITAL SHIP WEEKLY NEWSLETTER -
Improving safety, security and efficiency in ship operations
Container shipping security conference – Antwerp Sept 9-10
http://www.thedigitalship.com/virtualbox2003.htm
Digital Ship 2003: Safety, security and efficiency in ship operations -
November 4-6 2003, London
http://www.thedigitalship.com/digitalship2003.htm
First announcement: Digital Ship Limassol in Cyprus, Jan 27-28 2004
http://www.thedigitalship.com/limassol.htm
OECD publishes
free cost benefit study about maritime security
IMO issues
ISPS code clarifications
Lloyds Register
ISPS courses approved by UK
Ship shore
communications
Sperry makes
enhancements to voyage data recorder comms software
SingTel provides
US$4,000 free airtime for new Fleet users
US Coastguard
evaluates Fleet 55
Faith Cohen
director of Globe Wireless European operations
US Shipping
Co-ordinating Committee to discuss maritime comms on August 7
Vector Maritime
expands into satcoms
Next SMDG
meeting planned for Kuala Lumpur, October
Maersk Logistics
alignment with TradeCard
Savi appoints
senior VP for public sector group
Xantic upgrades
AMOS software
More new business
for Autoship
BMT creates "virtual"
marine technology institute
Safety – electronics
Euronav releases
£600 AIS for recreational shipping
e-MLX gets
ISO9002 for ENC production
http://www.thedigitalship.com/digitalship2003.htm
http://www.thedigitalship.com/limassol.htm
Digital Ship will be holding a two day conference and exhibition in Limassol, Cyprus, on January 27-28, in association with the Cyprus Shipping Council ICT Committee, about advanced technology and effective communications onboard vessels.
The event will cover the latest developments on ICT matters, what shipowners and shipmanagers think about satcom and communication providers, learn about proper internet use onboard the vessels, debate the importance of the electronic and internet security systems and discuss the future of IT onboard the vessels.
The program will be produced by Adonis Violaris, communications and public relations manager, Hanseatic Shipping and chairman of the Cyprus Shipping Council ICT working group.
IT managers in the Cyprus Shipping Council will be talking at the conference about their experiences with IT. The event is supported by Inmarsat.
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/63/13/4375896.pdf
The Office for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) directorate for science, technology and industry has published a free study into the cost benefits of maritime security, which is the most comprehensive and useful document Digital Ship has seen about the subject.
It can be downloaded free of charge from the link above, and is strongly advised reading for anyone who needs to work out the company's obligations under the ISPS code, both running ships and ports.
The burden on ship operators of maritime security is estimated to be at least total USD 1280 million initially and USD 730m per year thereafter. This does not include the AIS investment, since the primary reason for fitting AIS is not considered to be security.
The breakdown of the costs of the ISPS code, with the addition of AIS costs, are as follows. $649.3m on AIS, $86.5m on ship alert systems, $21.6m on the ship identification number, $514.6 on company security officers (large companies), $150m for company security officers in small companies, $103.9 on the ship security assessment and $51.9 on the ship security plan.
Then there's $29m on the ship security officer, $16.8m on the ship security training, $304.4m on the vessel security equipment.
The subsequent yearly cost breakdown is $4.3m for ship alert system, $514.6m for training of company security officer (large companies), $150m for training of company security officer (small companies), $29m to train the ship security officer, $16.8m on ship security training/drills, $15.2m on vessel security equipment.
The free report includes detailed cost estimations about how much OECD estimates individual shipping companies will have to pay for each item on the list.
The US Coastguard estimates that each tanker should have one handheld metal detector ($200 capital cost, $10 maintenance per year); 5 handheld radios ($200 capital cost each, $10 maintenance each per year); 10 locks ($300 capital cost each, $15 maintenance each per year), 5 lights ($400 each, plus $20 per year) and 5 auto-intrusion alarms ($500 each, plus $25 per year).
For freight ships, it suggests 2 handheld metal detectors and one portable vapour detector for explosives at $8,000 each, $400 maintenance per year.
http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id=7624/1097.pdf
The IMO has issued a clarification notice about the ISPS code (click on the link above to read in full).
In particular it states that whilst the contents of Part B are considered guidance, they must be taken into consideration when following Part A which is mandatory.
Also, it outlines when a vessel might be considered an "immediate threat" (and hence denied entry to a port) and also when it might have its ship security certificate cancelled.
Lloyds Register has won approved for its company security officer (CSO) and ship security officer (SSO) training courses from the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Isle of Man Marine Administration (IMMA).
So far over 450 company security officers and 100 ship security officers have been trained by Lloyds Register, on 50 different courses around the world.
Both MCA and IMMA have stated that they want CSOs and SSOs associated with their flagged vessels to attend approved training courses.
The courses are now available in London, Glasgow, Piraeus, Kuwait, Dubai, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Singapore, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, Miami, Toronto and Stamford.
"The lecturers are professional and the material excellent, especially the ISPS Practical Pack. The material and instruction were extremely useful in establishing a ship security plan," says T Inoki of NYK Shipmanagement.
"Lloyd's Register has taken the right approach," says A S Torabizadeh of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. "It has now become clear to us how to begin implementing the Code."
Some shipping companies have asked Lloyds Register to provide in-house courses, and others are sending staff to the public ISPS course.
Several ship operators have chosen Lloyd's Register's in-house training option for SSO training across their fleets, while many others have sent their staff to Lloyd's Register public ISPS Code courses. To date, Lloyd's Register has delivered 50 public ISPS courses in over a dozen countries and trained over 450 CSOs and 100 SSOs.
Sperry Marine has made enhancements to the software which goes with its shipboard voyage data recorder, which allows data to be sent to shore for analysis, benchmarking and optimisation.
The system is geared around using the Inmarsat services (-A, -B, -C, -M, Fleet 77, Fleet 55). The data is sent in packets.
Shoreside personnel can request regular reports (eg every hour), covering navigational location and heading, hull stress, bilge levels, tankage, engine status, watertight doors and other shipboard data.
Shoreside staff can use the data to assess hull, engine and propeller conditions, so they can benchmark ships and shipboard equipment, analysis trends and make sure fuel consumption is optimised.
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) has formally launched its Fleet 77 service.
To encourage customers to switch from Inmarsat -A to Fleet 77, it is offering customers up to $4,000 free airtime if they start using Fleet, from now until March 31, 2004.
For Fleet terminals commissioned through SingTel, it offers $2,000 free Fleet 77 airtime; if terminals commit to a one-year contract under SingTel it offers $3,000 free airtime, and if they commit to two years it offers $4,000 free airtime.
As a bonus, customers also get a free dialler worth US$400 when they sign up for any of the three packages, while stocks last.
The US Coastguard is currently evaluating Fleet 55 onboard its cutter Shearwater, an 87-foot coastal patrol vessel based in Portsmouth, Virginia, as part of Inmarsat's "Maritime Field Evaluation" program.
An EMS Technologies Fleet 55 vessel has been installed on the vessel, and airtime is provided by Telenor Satellite Services.
The US Coastguard has 180 vessels like the Shearwater, used for patrolling waters around the US, including search and rescue, homeland security, law enforcement and environmental monitoring.
It will evaluate how good Fleet 55 is for sending e-mail, shipboard web browsing, shipboard file download (FTP), ship-shore instant messaging, fax, digital image transfer, weather routing and US Coastguard specific data applications.
It will also look at whether ISDN or mobile packet data services are most appropriate, when integrating the system into the vessel's daily operational communication requirements.
"The Coast Guard is migrating all enterprise applications to web-based technology, which will require high-speed data communications access, both underway and in port," says Alan Alto, USCG project manager for the Fleet 55 project.
"The flexibility of voice, high-speed data, and MPDS technology available through the Fleet F55 service can offer the communications alternatives necessary to support the direction toward complete e-Coast Guard".
"In 19 years at sea, I never thought that real time video conferencing, messaging and weather updates would be possible whilst at sea, but here I am actually using it," says Master Chief William James, Officer-in-Charge of USCG Shearwater.
http://www.globewireless.com
Faith Cohen is appointed director of European Operations for Globe Wireless, in Liverpool. The appointment follows a year with Telaurus and several years with TEAMtalk Satellite (then called IMC). Her role will be to help Globe Wireless build its business in Europe.
Alan Leach will continue as general manager and director of Globe Wireless in Europe.
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/pdf/03-18864.pdf
The US Shipping Co-ordinating Committee has announced that it will be holding a meeting in Washington, DC, on August 7, 2003, to prepare for the upcoming session of the IMO subcommittee on Radio Communications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR).
Items on the agenda include marine safety information for GMDSS; recognition of mobile satellite systems; performance standards for NAVTEX equipment; maritime security; and long range tracking. Source: HK Law
Maritime software company Vector Maritime Systems has made a move into the satcoms market, forming partnerships with France Telecom and Broadband Maritime and appointing d Claire Mercer as director of airtime sales.
The partnership agreement with France Telecom is for provision of all Inmarsat Services, and the partnership with Broadband Maritime is to supply VSAT communications to ships. Broadband Maritime provides VSAT for a single all-inclusive flat rate per month.
Claire Mercer, appointed director of airtime sales, will be responsible for both the new Inmarsat and VSAT business. Ms Mercer was previously airtime sales manager with Xantic and has also been employed with Nera and Marconi.
The move follows a strong industry trend for both shipboard software and airtime to come from the same supplier, with satcom providers Xantic, Marlink, Stratos, OTESAT and France Telecom all providing shipboard software, either produced themselves or through partnership agreements.
The next meeting of the Shipplanning Message Development Group (SMDG), which is working on creating global EDI standards for data exchange between shipping liens and container terminals, will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 14-16 2003.
The meeting is hosted by Malaysian Shipping LIne (MISC) and at least 50/60 shipping lines and terminals will join.
A new maritime software company, Esoware, will be presented at the meeting. Esoware is a joint venture between Galozzi Group, owners of Salerno Container Terminal, and Italian software company Metoda.
Maersk Logistics has formed a "strategic alliance" with TradeCard, the online financial supply chain management company, to offer TradeCard services to Maersk Logistics customers.
Cargo receipts from Maersk Logistics' systems can go directly into the Trade Card platform. Wolverine World Wide, International Playthings, and Staples are already using both systems.
Savi Technology, which provides container security monitoring systems, has appointed David P Stephens as senior VP public sector.
Mr Stephens will drive Savi's efforts to produce systems for the public sector, such as its container tracking and management system which is used by the US Military.
Xantic has released an upgrade to its AMOS Maintenance and Purchase software, probably the leading maritime maintenance and purchase system, and its shipboard version AMOS Express.
The software has a new accounting module to provide more detailed finance reporting, with account codes and cost centres module.
There is a stock optimiser module, to analyse stock usage and provide recommendations about the minimum stock quantities required.
There is a workflow maintenance module allowing users to customise their way of processing maintenance management to keep it in line with their business processes.
Autoship Systems has announced the following new customers so far for 2003:
United Ship Design of Taiwan, using Autohydro and Autopower for design and construction of large steel vessels
Bluemarlin International of Singapore, using Autoship, Autohydro, Autopower and Autoplate for design and construction of high speed aluminium craft
Diverse Designs, USA, using the Autoship software for design contracts for the US Navy
Black Line Designs, South Africa, purchased
Autoship and Autohydro for use in small craft design.
Korea Maritime University - located in Pusan City, South Korea, using
Autoship, Autopower and Autohydro to train naval architects in the Maritime Sciences Department.
An online maritime technology institute "EVIMAR", has been created, supported by the European Commission covering areas such as design, risk management, hydrodynamics, ship production and ship operation services.
Shareholders in Evimar are British Maritime Technology, CETENA, Force Technology, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Licentia (on behalf of VTT Industrial Systems), Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute (MARINTEK), Maritime Development Center of Europe (MDCE), Maritime Research Institute Netherlands, SAI Sjöfartens Analys Institut, Societé d'Ingeniérie de Recherches et d'Etudes en Hydrodynamique Navale SA, SSPA Sweden AB,
Euronav has released a receive-only AIS system for non-SOLAS ships priced at around GBP 600 (eur/$ 1000).
Small boats, including recreational boats, workboats, fishing and military vessels, can use the system to monitor the locations and intentions of big vessels in the vicinity, so they can keep out of the way.
Euronav also expects there will be a fair amount of interest in the product for land based use, people wishing to monitor the vessels passing near the coastline, eg so passengers waiting for ferries can see how far away their ship is.
Euronav also has an AIS software module for its electronic chart display software ECS. By using the AIS system and the chart software together, boaters can see the position of big ships around on an electronic chart.
South Korean electronic chart systems company e-MLX has been awarded ISO 9001 and KSA9001 standards for its electronic navigation chart (ENC) production, distribution and application services.
Digital Ship Ltd, 213 Marsh Wall,
London E14 9FJ, UK
http://www.thedigitalship.com Tel (+44
207) 510 4935