South Africa News

Global Survival Technology provider, Survitec, announces that it has completed the acquisition of Hansen Protection, an European provider of personal protective equipment.   The transaction reinforces Survitec as the global leader for Survival Technology across the Maritime, Defence & Government, Energy, and Aerospace markets. Survitec’s complete portfolio and its wide-reaching footprint creates a single partner for customers across the globe.  Personal protective equi...

On Tuesday, March 23, a 400-meter-long container vessel ran aground and became lodged sideways across the waterway in the Suez Canal. Almost a week in and with a staggering cost of $9 billion a day in lost commerce, everyone took a collective sigh of relief when the vessel was re-floated. However, the relief was short-lived and soon after, shipping lines started to warn about ripple effects. So What Does This Entail? If one vessel is one week delayed and one is on time – they will be sa...

Spire Global, Inc. (Spire), a globally renowned provider of space-based data and analytics solutions, has announced a planned business combination with NavSight Holdings, Inc. (NavSight) and that Mark Dembitz, the former APAC Head of Sales and Operations at Dathena, has re-joined Spire as the APAC Sales Director of Maritime Solutions. “We are excited to welcome Mark Dembitz back to the Spire team. Mark was integral in the development of sales processes for the maritime products and we wil...

Neste, the producer of renewable diesel and largest renewable diesel supplier in California, announced it had opened two new Neste MY Renewable Diesel fueling stations in southern California. The company’s ambition is to create a renewable diesel fueling network across the U.S. West Coast. Benefits of renewable diesel Neste MY Renewable Diesel is a triple win for any fleet operator with vehicles on the road" “Neste MY Renewable Diesel is a triple win for any fleet operator with v...

Satcom Direct (SD) has completed the next phase of terrestrial expansion to its global private network. To strengthen its ground infrastructure and augment redundancy the global satellite solutions provider has enhanced individual Points of Presence (PoPs) and upgraded its global network to support the increasing connectivity needs of its customers. The update includes expansion into the Asia Pacific region to provide additional connectivity options for customers and complements existing PoPs...

Wrist offers fresh Norwegian water in recyclable packaging to customers in Northern Europe, aiming towards expanding the assortment with more and more green alternatives. It is still in the early phase of the sustainability journey, but offer their customers an alternative option to plastic bottles, when sourcing fresh water for those at sea. With recyclable water cartons, made of paper from FSC-certified forests and plant-based polymers from Bonsucro-certified sugar cane, Wrist aims to help re...

When Blue Water and Tekstilfabrikken entered into a dialogue in 2018, the company was using a storage facility which had trouble handling both B2C and B2B shipments at the same time. Also, communication could have been better according to Claus Hauge, Director of Tekstilfabrikken:  Claus Hauge said, “We were looking for a logistics provider able to handle our shipments without any hurdles. My team and I wanted time to focus on what we do best – to produce clothing made of sust...

The aft block of HMS GLASGOW, the first City Class Type 26 frigate, being built for the Royal Navy, has been rolled out of the build hall to join the forward block, at BAE Systems’ shipyard on the River Clyde, in the United Kingdom. HMS GLASGOW ship In a busy period for the HMS GLASGOW ship, the BAE Systems’ teams, working at the Govan Shipyard, successfully prepared and completed a series of complex manoeuvres, to bring the aft block out of the ship block, onto the outfit hall, an...

A leading seismic survey vessel operator selected Optimarin’s 334m3/hour OBS ballast water treatment system for one of its research vessels. Goltens had previously completed two successful retrofits for this owner and was awarded this retrofit as well. The timeline was relatively short with only a 3-month window between project kick-off and completion of the installation. Scope of work Having completed hundreds of ballast water retrofits on systems much larger with greater design challe...

Goltens acquired a “serviced” UG15D governor from a governor repair shop claiming to be Woodward authorised. Physically the governor looked like a UG15D however after further inspection was found to be only partially serviced and rebuilt with incorrect parts and worn parts. Findings Incorrect parts – a smaller pump, incapable of the designed 240 psi output pressure, was used. This meant the governor could not create the required output torque during load transients. This po...

The cargo ship SE Cerulean suffered a major crankshaft failure on its port side main engine. As the maximum allowable undersize for this crankshaft was only 2.0mm, the owner decided to replace the crankshaft rather than try to salvage it by machining. Planning & preparation After surveying the vessel for rigging logistics, Goltens prepared all required lifting brackets and rigging gear at its workshop and reviewed the repair schedule and timeline with the customer. Goltens then mobilised t...

The crew of a nine year-old container ship, which is equipped with a Wartsila 6RT-FLEX82C main engine, observed exhaust gas blow-by on cylinder no.5, during normal operation and could not increase the load above 35%. The cylinder liner had 22,452 running hours and the crew suspected the cylinder liner was excessively worn and needed to be replaced. Liner replacement on cylinder no.5 The customer requested Goltens to attend and replace the liner with an onboard spare The customer requested G...

Having completed successful ballast water retrofitting of one of its LNG Carriers, Goltens was once again contracted by one of the world’s largest LNG owners and operators to complete similar turnkey retrofits on two 15-year old, 83,000 DWT LNG carriers. Retrofit on large vessels While Goltens is a globally renowned company in ballast water retrofits, having completed well over 850 retrofit projects, however, designing and executing the retrofit on such large vessels, with one of the wor...

From April 29 to 30, 2021, a group of three members from the China Classification Society conducted an annual audit on the DOC of Shanghai Haifeng Ship Management Co., Ltd.  By the requirements of the International Ship Safety Management and Pollution Prevention Code (ISM Code), the audit team comprehensively reviewed the company's document operation and ship and shore management, and highly praised the company's management personnel for the continuo...

Satcom Global has announced a significant enhancement to its Ku-band Aura VSAT network, with the addition of the Eutelsat 174A (E174A) North Pacific and South Pacific satellite beams. The new coverage will strengthen and extend the Aura network, across the North Pacific and Oceania regions, supporting the high-quality connectivity demands of a diverse range of maritime sectors, including shipping, commercial fishing, workboat, offshore supply and leisure. E174A North and South Pacific beams T...

TruWeather Solutions (TruWeather), a globally renowned micro weather data and analytics company, and Spire Global, Inc. (Spire), a global provider of space-based data and analytics solutions, have announced that they have signed a letter of commitment, to support TruWeather’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant with NASA. This commitment enhances previous agreements that align the strengths of both companies, with the goal of enabling safer and more reliable Unmanned Aerial Sy...

Ocean Network Express (ONE) announces the successful completion of a second trial of sustainable marine biofuel onboard the M/V MOL Experience. The specifications of the second trial were different from the first trial, with the mixing ratio three times higher in biofuel content, taking ONE another step closer to reducing its carbon footprint. Bunkering and testing M/V MOL Experience was refueled with marine biofuel during bunkering at the Port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 7th March 2021....

Satcom Global announces a significant enhancement to its Ku-band Aura VSAT network, with the addition of the Eutelsat 174A (E174A) North Pacific and South Pacific satellite beams. The new coverage will strengthen and extend the Aura network across the North Pacific and Oceania regions, supporting the high-quality connectivity demands of a diverse range of maritime sectors including shipping, commercial fishing, workboat, offshore supply and leisure. Futureproofing emerging requirements The E1...

AG EMS (German AKTIEN-GESELLSCHAFT ‘EMS’), has announced the imminent entry into service of its new, high-speed catamaran ferry, the 450-seat ‘Nordlicht II’. The newbuilding vessel features two highly-efficient MAN 16V175D-MM engines with a power output of 2 × 2,960 kW, giving a maximum speed of 35 knots. Nordlicht II vessel The vessel was constructed in Indonesia, by the Penguin Shipyard Group (Penguin International Limited), where it was already largely complete...

Spire Global, Inc. (Spire), a globally renowned provider of space-based data and analytics solutions, has announced the launch of a new platform and a new analytics product for the maritime industry. Spire Bridge and Spire Analytics will allow customers to create their own dashboards and alerts customised to their specific use cases. Spire Analytics Through the Spire Bridge portal, customers can now access the company’s new product, Spire Analytics, to monitor data usage, get support, do...

DNV has joined with leading the Flag States and Classification Societies to launch the Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF). The MTF will provide technical and regulatory research, expertise, and leadership to assist the shipping sector and its regulators address technology challenges. Safety of people, assets, and environment MTF will support the shipping industry and the International Maritime Organization to navigate The regulatory framework for the development and use of new technology must...

Finnish cosmetics company - Lumene introduces Neste MY Non-Road Diesel™ at its factory in Kauklahti, Espoo, Finland, during this spring. The renewable fuel oil replaces the fossil fuel oil previously used at the factory. By switching to a new renewable solution launched by Neste in early 2021, Lumene is able to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of process steam needed in product manufacturing by up to 90% compared to using fossil fuel oil. Renewable raw materials &...

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., a global container liner shipping company, announces the establishment of ZIMARK, a technology-based company formed in collaboration with the Israeli startup Sodyo Ltd., to provide next-generation scanning solutions for the logistics and supply chain sectors. In addition to the joint venture with Sodyo in the establishment of ZIMARK, ZIM will also make a direct equity investment in Sodyo. ZIMARK will provide its customers innovative scanning solutions usin...

The first containers coming from Asia on this new regular service arrived at the largest Russian port of Vostochny on Sealand vessels. On 22nd April, the containers were dispatched by train from the Russian VSC terminal (part of Global Ports Inc.) to the NUTEP terminal (part of Delo Ports) at the port of Novorossiysk, also on Russian soil. From Novorossiysk, the cargo now resumes by sea to destinations in Ukraine and Turkey. New route alternative AE77 is an important milestone in Maersk's exp...

FESCO Transportation Group and TLK Globus have signed a cooperation agreement within the TransRussia exhibition and agreed to cooperate in the transportation of containerised timber from Siberia and the Far East to China. FESCO and Globus are going to develop timber transportation from Siberia and the Far East to China using their experience and expertise and developing FESCO’s services for cargo transportation from Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk to different cities in China via the Commercia...

Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel - HMS Medway underwent a successful planned maintenance period, delivered by BAE Systems and Royal Navy Ship Staff in Naval Station - Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, from December 2020 through January 2021. BAE Systems' maintenance support Repairs and maintenance are delivered wherever in the world they are operationally required Under the Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) contract, BAE Systems provides whole ship availability management service, to all of...

The Wilhelmsen Thyssenkrupp AM fulfillment platform currently serves more than 3,000 vessels from key locations worldwide, addressing and solving some of the biggest pain points such as long lead time, part obsolescence, poor part performance and high carbon footprint, through on-demand manufacturing. Cooperating with several Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), the venture is empowering OEMs to reduce their supply chain costs and improve customer experience, through increased serviceabilit...

Wan Hai Lines will expand further on its already extensive South East - Asia network by launching a new weekly service between Taiwan – Thailand – Vietnam (Taiwan - Thailand - Vietnam service). The service will be operated by two container vessels with a capacity of 1,050 TEU.  Port rotation of the service is as follows- TAIPEI- KAOHSIUNG- LAEM CHABANG- CAT LAI- KAOHSIUNG- TAIPEI The first voyage is scheduled from TAIPEI on May 2nd, 2021. The TVT2 service, which connects South...

The Seafarers’ Charity awards grants to new online services to support seafarers who have experienced sexual violence, and to help tackle loneliness and suicide. Actioning their new strategic approach, The Seafarers’ Charity awarded a total of £844,760 to 17 organisations in its first meeting of this year’s grant programme. The charity recently launched its strategy ‘Thrive’, which focuses on achieving five strategic outcomes for seafarers (enhanced financial...

Foundation Det Norske Veritas – which owns DNV Group – has teamed up with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and five other industry leaders to establish a maritime decarbonisation centre in Singapore. The centre’s stated mission is to catalyse and facilitate decarbonisation in the maritime sector and will be supported by contributions from the founding members totalling S$120 million. Its creation follows the release of a recommendation by the International Ad...