Digital transformation - News

Maritime technology company Yara Marine Technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) application developers Molflow, and the Chalmers University of Technology and social science specialists from Halmstad University and Gothenburg University have collaborated for over 3 years to develop and trial an AI-based semi-autonomous voyage planning system. Initiated in August 2020, the Via Kaizen project explores how AI and machine learning can enable more energy-efficient voyage planning for ship operator...

Babcock has successfully completed maintenance works for the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Sir David Attenborough at their Rosyth facilities. They welcomed the RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) to Rosyth in early June with works to the ship including upgrades to the vessel’s gas detection system, helideck netting, draft sensor vent pipework as well as assistance with planned maintenance, defect rectification and general logistics support. Maintenance works on RRS Sir David Attenborough The m...

Crowley has acquired Tamarind Consolidated, a logistics services company serving the U.S. to the British Virgin Islands in a merger enhancing end-to-end supply chain capabilities for the Caribbean region. The acquisition will transition Tamarind’s operations and services, including warehousing and non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) services, to Crowley. Crowley acquires Tamarind Consolidated The expansion complements U.S.-based Crowley’s existing maritime and logistics so...

Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) have agreed to perform engineering of conventional vessels other than LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers on consignment from Nihon Shipyard Co., Ltd. at MI LNG Company, Ltd. (MI LNG), their jointly operated LNG carrier engineering firm, augmenting MI LNG’s earlier business relating to LNG carriers. The new business arrangement will get underway starting in July. The agreed engineering business is to include funct...

ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for an ammonia and liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carrier which has been jointly developed by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line). Ammonia is projected to be widely used as a source of clean energy for decarbonisation since it does not emit CO2 when combusted, and is expected to be increasingly transported by sea. On the other hand, efforts toward carbon dioxide capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), a pro...

The beleaguered carrier industry took another major hit in June, with the latest data from Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI®) showing a decline of 9.4% in global long-term shipping rates. Following on the heels of a 27.5% collapse in May, and a 10.3% fall in April, contracted rates have now shed 47.2% of their value in the last three months alone, and 51.7% over the course of 2023. Xeneta’s real-time data, crowd-sourced from pioneering global shippers, shows falls in the prices of...

ClassNK has received approval from the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) to accept HermAce developed by FURUNO ELECTRIC CO., LTD (FURUNO) as an alternative for the onboard Annual Performance Test (APT) of the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR). It is now possible to conduct VDR APT remotely for Panamanian-flagged vessels registered with ClassNK.  Checking remote diagnosis SOLAS requires a VDR to have an APT with a qualified engineer visiting the vessel annually to check the operation and record vo...

Åkerblå Group provides clients with knowledge-based advice and verification through interdisciplinary expertise in fish health, biodiversity and technical services, to use for sustainable practices and operations in the ocean. The Group has offices and laboratories in Norway, UK, Iceland and Lithuania. Author's quote “This deal is a major vote of confidence by DNV in the future of aquaculture, and specifically in knowledge-driven solutions that balance ocean wealth with ocean...

Babcock International Group (Babcock) is delighted to have launched their new Shadow Executive Committee (Shadow ExCo), bringing together a group of non-executive employees from across the business to work together on key strategic initiatives, alongside their Executive Committee (ExCo). Not only will their Shadow ExCo bring more diverse and new ways of thinking to their ExCo, it will also enable them to elevate talent and empower their employees to spark change from the top. Shadow Executive...

Major international ship owners and charterers will play a significant role in the Headline Conference at this year’s London International Shipping Week 2023 (LISW23), which takes place at the Thames-side headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in London, United Kingdom (UK), on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Environmental matters will be central to discussions, particularly following next week’s pivotal IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (MEP...

RGB Spectrum’s video wall processor drives the Terminal Pacífico Sur Valparaíso massive video wall for 24/7 monitoring of operations. RGB Spectrum, an industry pioneer in mission-critical video for real-time decision support, announced that its video wall processor has been installed for the command and control centre at the Port of Valparaiso, Chile’s second busiest port. Technical AV services of Convergint An upsurge in cruise and freight activity made it imperative that the...

Resolve Marine, a pioneer in ship and vessel salvage, rescue, emergency response, and specialised marine services, announces two executive appointments: Randy Moreau joins the company as Chief Financial Officer and Patrick Porter, Chief Human Resources Officer. Mr. Moreau oversees approximately 30 employees across financial planning and analysis, accounting, tax, purchasing, legal and project coordination. Mr. Porter leads a team of seven across talent development, recruiting, human resource b...

Babcock announced that Andrew Cridland has been appointed as Babcock Australasia Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1 July, 2023. He succeeds David Ruff who is retiring at the end of July with the Group. Mr. Cridland is currently Babcock Australasia’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and enters the top job in the region, following an extensive internal and external recruitment process. Having joined Babcock in 2015, his career spans more than 20 years in Australia and the United Kingdo...

Technological innovation driven by a skilled workforce that is ‘fit for the future’ is critical to the future growth of the UK’s £116 billion maritime sector. That was the overall message delivered by speakers at the fifth annual Mersey Maritime Exchange conference in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Organised by Mersey Maritime, the event brought together industry and Government leaders in the industry. Mersey Maritime Exchange 2023 The Exchange used the Government’s...

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (the Hong Kong Convention) is set to enter into force within 24 months, after Bangladesh and Liberia became Contracting States to the Convention. The Hong Kong Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives, do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and to the environment. Combined merchant shipping The Hong Kong Co...

Under a contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, the sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT will equip submarines of the Norwegian 'Ula' class with new periscopes and optronic mast systems. The contract value is more than EUR 40 million.  With the upgrade order, HENSOLDT is ensuring an extension of the service life of the boats, which are more than 30 years old.  First-class vision systems "HENSOLDT equipped all Ula-class boats in the late 1980s and early 1990s with optics t...

ClassNK has released 'Guidelines for Direct Load Analysis and Strength Assessment (Edition 3.0)'. Following the revision of IACS Recommendation No. 34, these guidelines specify the requirements for conducting hull strength assessments based on the latest wave data. Strength assessments ClassNK’s Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships and IACS CSR stipulate that hull strength assessments based on finite element analysis should be conducted as part of the classi...

Damen, DNV, and NAPA are taking a major step forward in ship design processes by using the new Open Class 3D Exchange (OCX) standard to streamline classification involvement in the early phase of a project. 3D model exchange and approval With increasing pressure to deliver vessel designs quickly, the early engagement of classification societies can increase designer and owner confidence in the concept design and ensure smooth project execution. Responding to market expectations, Damen Engineer...

The urgent need to protect the world’s oceans and the habitats within them is, nowadays, well understood. So, too, is the need for a sustainable shipping industry to ensure the essential transportation of goods and commodities across the globe, and of passengers. Hundreds of thousands of seafarers bear witness every day to changes in the marine environment due to human activity – including from shipping. Seafarers’ contribution in marine environment security Seafarers’...

The UK’s future Type 26 frigates are being manufactured by BAE Systems’ site in Govan, Scotland, but also incorporate blocks built from across the country. The Type 26 programme will deliver a total of eight anti-submarine warfare frigates to the Royal Navy, which will replace, in part, the ageing Type 23 fleet. UK’s Type 26 frigates The Type 26 will be comparable in size to the Type 45 air defence destroyers currently in service Expected to displace around 7,000 tonnes at...

Waters around the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland have been classified as experiencing a category 4 (extreme) marine heatwave, as the North Atlantic Ocean continues to see extraordinary warmth. Ocean waters around the UK and Ireland are in the grip of one of the most severe marine heatwaves on Earth at the moment, with meteorologists warning temperatures are up to 4°C above normal for the time of year in some places. North Atlantic Ocean sees record-breaking temperatures Much of the heat...

Prysmian Group, a pioneer in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, together with Giancarlo Pedote, solo ocean sailor and skipper aboard of the Prysmian Group IMOCA, announces the launch of the Sailing4Ocean project, in partnership with the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC) to monitor the state of the oceans' health using the Group’s proprietary PRY-CAM technology. Developed primarily for electric power applications, the PRY-CAM technology is based on AI algorithm...

ABB introduces a new operational planner module for its ABB Ability™ OCTOPUS – Marine Advisory System to help offshore fleet managers plan and optimise the maintenance of offshore wind farm operations. Offshore support vessels typically operate close to their shore base with frequent trips to fixed assets, such as wind turbines at sea, which sets specific requirements for their ability to perform in demanding conditions. Moreover, as the vessels perform time-sensitive and deman...

DNV, the risk management and quality assurance provider, will fully acquire Helsinki-headquartered cybersecurity services firm Nixu following a public tender offer that resulted in DNV taking ownership of more than 93% of Nixu’s shares. DNV will combine its cybersecurity businesses with Nixu following a process to acquire the remaining shares in Nixu and de-list the company from the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange. The 98-million-euro deal will create one of Europe’s fastest-growing...

The classification society DNV and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the shipbuilding group, have established a Future Ship Joint Innovation Centre in Shanghai. The Centre will allow both companies to cooperate on the ship and offshore field technical innovation, advance in decarbonisation and digitalisation transformation, and provide technical support and solutions to the maritime industry. Cooperation agreement CSSC’s Vice President Sheng Jigang and DNV Maritime CEO Knut &...

Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, has reached an agreement with long-standing customer Atlantic Offshore to implement Fleet LTE across the Norwegian offshore service provider’s multifunctional fleet. The commitment will ensure vessels maintain continuous access to high-speed, low-latency connectivity in the North Sea during their offshore supply, seismic support and oil recovery duties. As an all-in-one solution, Fleet LTE will allow the vessels to connect to 4G offshore fibre network...

ABS and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) kicked off a batch of new, funded research projects with the signing of a research agreement at the Zachry Engineering Education Complex on the Texas A&M University campus. Ammonia as fuel, ship electrification, carbon capture, and sequestration, trusted artificial intelligence, and safety of industrial wearable visualisation technologies are just a few of the topics funded by ABS and to be investigated in partnership with TEE...

OceanWise has announced its support for the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) in exploring Anguilla’s marine environment through geospatial data. The OceanWise team proudly undertook an installation recently for the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. The successful trip formed part of the Marine Environmental Monitoring Systems (MEMS) – A 3-year Framework Agreement that OceanWise have been contracted to complete, which includes...

Maritime UK National Chair, Robin Mortimer, and UK Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper MP, opened the inaugural meeting of the Maritime Council. The Department for Transport (DfT) set up the Maritime Council in May 2023 to oversee the delivery of recommendations outlined in the Maritime 2050 strategy, which was launched more than four years ago. The Maritime Council The Maritime Council will bring government departments face-to-face with industry stakeholders The Maritime Council w...

The Port of Rotterdam Authority, Invest International, Gasunie and Hyphen and the Namibian Implementation Authority Office, Namport, and Nampower announced that they have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding). The organisations confirm their intent to work together to develop a cooperation agreement for green hydrogen related infrastructure that will lead to new hydrogen supply chains from Luderiz to Rotterdam and its hinterland. The signing took place during Prime Minister Rutte's visit t...