Surveillance & Maritime News for March 2022

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. announces the launch of ZIM Ecommerce Baltimore Express (ZXB), a new and speedy e-commerce service, in March 2022. ZXB will operate on the following route: Yantian – Cai Mep - Baltimore – New York – Boston – Yantian. The service will commence with a bi-weekly frequency and build up to weekly within a few months. The exact schedule and vessels lineup will be published in the coming days. Customer service offering ZXB will be operate...

Waves Group are pleased to have provided Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) services for the construction of the Hiep Thanh nearshore wind farm project – their third offshore wind contract win in Vietnam. The project nearshore construction is now complete and will be commissioned in the first quarter of the year. Their scope of work included the installation of foundations, WTGs, array cables, and nearshore marine works. The project was managed by the Singapore office with the support of th...

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting out areas of collaboration in weather forecasting and climate research. Director-General NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, and his counterpart from NiMet, Prof Mansur Bako Matazu signed on behalf of both Agencies of government. Meteorological services The MoU is designed as a framework for NiMet to provide meteorological services for...

The southern hemisphere’s first fully electric, carbon fibre commuter ferry has completed its inaugural round trip with a Thordon seawater lubricated propeller shaft arrangement supplied by New Zealand’s Henley Engineering. Ika Rere, Mãori for flying fish, joined the East by West fleet in December operating the company’s Wellington to Eastbourne route. Fast, efficient, and smooth Commenting on the ferry’s first trip, between West Queen’s Wharf and Days B...

Maritime UK is calling upon the sector to #BreaktheBias and commit to gender equality in 2022 and beyond. This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme – ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ recognises the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all. Breaking the gender bias Maritime UK plans to spotlight all the wo...

A.P. Moller - Maersk’s strategy is to offer integrated solutions for smooth and optimised cargo flows that can span across all steps of the supply chain and create value for customers in the form of better supply chain outcomes, increased transparency, and control, and ultimately lower end-to-end costs. This vision is being delivered by combining the broad product and service offering of ‘Logistics & Services’ with the highly reliable and more differentiated ‘Ocean&r...

Babcock International, the aerospace, defence, and security company, has been selected as the platform design provider and technology partner for Poland’s MIECZNIK (Swordfish) new frigate programme, and concluded a set of strategic cooperation agreements with the PGZ-MIECZNIK Consortium, which is responsible for delivery of the project from the Polish side. The Polish Armaments Agency selected Babcock’s Arrowhead 140 (AH140) from three different platform design proposals provided by...

Pacific International Lines (PIL) is pleased to announce the award of a contract to Jiangnan Shipyard (Group), for the construction of four 14,000 TEU container vessels. The vessels will be equipped with dual-fuel engines and auxiliaries that can run on both Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and low sulphur fuel oil. The four vessels will be delivered progressively from the second half of 2024 through to the first half of 2025. When delivered, the vessels will become the largest container vessels...

Brunvoll has secured an important contract, as a result of its strategic and extensive development of azimuth propulsion systems. The contract with a foreign navy includes propulsion systems for four vessels. The dredgers will serve both the naval and civil needs for dredging of ports and other shallow waters. The vessels are 86 metres long and will have a crew of 14 people. All vessels will be built at local shipyards in the customer's home country. Brunvoll azimuth propulsion units Brunvoll...

The Maritime UK, the umbrella body for the maritime sector, celebrates the Tees and Hartlepool Port Users’ Association (THPUA) and North-East maritime businesses committing to shifting the dial on mental health provisions and gender equality across their organisations.  The THPUA, an independent body representing Teesside’s shipping industry, along with members Able UK, AV Dawson, Casper Shipping, and Cockfield Knight, have signed the Pledges to champion diversity and incl...

Britain’s aluminum shipbuilder, The Wight Shipyard Co. has secured the new build of two passenger catamarans for operation on the ever-growing Thames commuting and sightseeing line for Uber Boat by Thames Clippers. Building on the shipyard’s proven technology and sustainability credentials and employing some of the highest-skilled personnel in modern shipbuilding based at the iconic Wight Shipyard in East Cowes, the new contract is a significant coup for both the business and the Is...

Maritime UK today announces its plans to promote the maritime sector during National Careers Week (NCW). The annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships runs from 8 to 14 February 2021. NCW is a celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. The aim is to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar to help support young people leaving education. Maritime UK’s Careers and Outreach Programme exists to ra...

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group company based in Yokohama held a christening and launch ceremony for the SUNFLOWER KURENAI, the first of two large LNG-fueled ferries being built for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL). The ceremony took place at the Enoura Plant at MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The handover is scheduled for December 2022, following the completion of interior work and sea trials. The new v...

Unifeeder is proud to launch a new Track & Trace tool, which allows you to always stay close to your cargo. You can follow your cargo inland and overseas from door to door. The tool is available on myUnifeeder, which is a digital platform for cargo management in Europe. With myUnifeeder, it is faster and more efficient to quote and book. myUnifeeder provides customers with instant quotes and a variety of options to select between different sailing schedules and prices. Supply chain visib...

Babcock International Group (Babcock), the defence, security and aerospace company has successfully delivered conceptual engineering support to provide a design for a combined condensate and LPG gas floating storage and offloading feasibility study for Twinza Oil Limited. Utilising Babcock’s experience in ship design, construction management, mooring and motion analysis, asset support and naval architecture the team undertook the 8-week concept study for new field development in Papua N...

Pollution from microplastics poses a threat to the marine environment and synthetic ropes used by maritime vessels are a source of the contamination. Research is ongoing into the specific impact of pollution. Meanwhile, the development of biodegradable fishing gear is one solution, but greater awareness is needed to tackle the problem holistically. The impact of ropes on the ocean The University of Plymouth’s International Marine Litter Research Unit is studying the impact of ropes on ma...

As TPM22 came to a close, our representatives had the newfound opportunity to network and engage in person at what is commonly regarded as the premier conference for the trans-Pacific and global container shipping and logistics community.   Meeting with existing customers and partners, and exploring new business opportunities, our specialists conducted one-to-one meetings to review how MSC’s solutions might be best adapted to answer their most immediate business needs.  St...

Organisers note that “a hunger to meet up again” is driving interest, bookings and excitement for what is being seen as the first major, post-pandemic, international maritime and ocean industry event week. The last Nor-Shipping took place in summer 2019, attracting over 50,000 participants to Oslo and Lillestrøm, with exhibitors drawn from over 60 nations. With the recent removal of all coronavirus restrictions in Norway, in addition to freer international travel, organis...

Prysmian Group, the pioneer in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has been awarded a contract worth around €1.2 billion by NeuConnect Britain Limited and NeuConnect Deutschland GmbH for the turn-key design, manufacturing, installation, testing, and commissioning of a 725 kilometre submarine interconnector that will directly link the German and UK electricity grids for the first time. This 1400 MW submarine and land cable system will connect two of Europe’s largest energy...

TradeLens announced the Costa Rican Customs Authority will integrate with their blockchain underpinned platform to review containerised shipment events and transportation documents, including bills of lading. Important information recorded within specific data fields in transportation documents will be used in risk assessments trials with TradeLens making trade easier for compliant companies doing business in the country while assisting in the identification of fraudulent activities. Access to...

ClassNK has upgraded the data linkage system between its design support software “PrimeShip-HULL” and NAPA’s 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software “NAPA Designer”. As 3D CAD software’s capability improves, the shipbuilding industry has recently been accelerating a transformation of the design process using 3D technology. Application Programming Interface ClassNK has accordingly enhanced the data linkage system between its design support software, PrimeShip...

CMA CGM continues to monitor the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea region. The utmost priorities remain to protect the employees and ensure as much as possible the continuity of the supply chain. In the interest of safety, the Group has decided to suspend all bookings to and from Russia until further notice.  Update from Ukraine All the employees in Ukraine are reported safe and working from home. CMA CGM continues to ensure constant contact with them. It is also taking all necess...

Maersk appoints Aruna Hussain as Managing Director of Sealand – A Maersk Company, Europe & Med. effective 1 March 2022. Aruna started her career at Maersk in 2000 where she worked in Liner and Trade roles in Pakistan and the UK before moving to Damco in Pakistan. After several years with Maersk, Aruna left for Australia in 2010 and worked for a few years in the e-commerce and retail space as Supply Chain and Operations Director for Australia at the US-based e-tailer, Wayfair. In 2016...

The Nigerian Navy has appointed Commodore Aliyu Gaya as the new Maritime Guard Commander of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA. Commodore Aliyu Gaya takes over from Commodore Ezekiel Nyako Lamiri, who has been redeployed to the Nigerian Defence Academy. Until his appointment Commodore Gaya was the Director of ECOWAS Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre Zone E Cotonou Republic of Benin. He has held other military and command postings in various Naval Commands wi...

VERIPOS is proud to expand its proven inertial solution SPAN GNSS+INS technology from NovAtel, also part of Hexagon, to Dynamic Positioning (DP) applications and vessels. SPAN technology delivers a deeply coupled GNSS and Inertial Navigation System (INS) that provides robust, reliable, and continuous centimetre-level positioning for operators to maintain safety and maximise uptime. With a GNSS+INS solution, DP vessels can bridge outages in GNSS tracking through short periods of radio frequenc...

The removal of all national coronavirus restrictions in Norway added to easier international travel, is set to deliver a long-awaited gathering point for top industry leaders at Nor-Shipping’s Ocean Leadership Conference on 4 April. The event, which kickstarts four days of networking, knowledge-sharing, and showcasing innovation at Nor-Shipping 2022, will bring together over 900 executives for the first major ‘post pandemic’ summit of C-level maritime heads. Organisers say tha...

Serco, the international provider of services to Governments and the company’s partner, Strömma Turism & Sjöfart AB (Stromma Group) have been awarded a new contract to continue to operate the Djurgårdsfärjerna in Stockholm, for a further four years. The contract is managed by the company, Djurgårdens Färjetrafik AB, which is jointly owned by Serco and Strömma Turism & Sjöfart AB. Contract for Stockholm’s Djurgårdsfärjerna...

The technology group Wärtsilä will provide technical management for a broad scope of solutions installed on Viking Line’s new climate-smart vessel Viking Glory under a three-year contract. The agreement was signed in December 2021. Minimising climate impact and optimising emissions Viking Glory currently begins its first commercial sailing. It features many cutting-edge technologies intended to minimise climate impact and air pollution. The new agreement covers s...

The UK has shut its borders to Russian ships as part of the ‘unprecedented’ package of sanctions it is developing with international allies. The Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps issued a statement to all UK ports on Monday, February 28 saying the Department for Transport deemed it ‘inappropriate’ for Russian vessels to continue to enter UK ports. Denying ship access UK ports are asked not to provide access to any ship which they have reason to believe is:...

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Maritime Organization (IMO), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued a joint statement asking stakeholders to take action to support the world’s 1.9 million seafarers from being unduly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions. The statement comes in the wake of the Omicron COVID-19 variant of concern (VOC), which has, once again, c...