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Aids to Navigation
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Voyager Lights Path for Patrol Boats
19 Nov 2007
UK manufacturer Francis Searchlights Ltd has launched the new ‘Voyager’ searchlight, which is suitable for the patrol craft and other high speed vessels. It features powerful halogen, xenon and metal halide light source options and a sleek, low profile design.
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Fog Signals for UK’s Largest Wind Farm
19 Nov 2007
Tideland Signal's AB-560 fog signals have been chosen to warn shipping in the vicinity of what will be the UK's largest wind farm at Lynn and Inner Dowsing in the Greater Wash, off the Lincolnshire coast.
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Onboard Doppler Docking System Launched
19 Nov 2007
SAM Electronics has introduced SAM 4683, a new IMO and DNV compliant dual-axis doppler log for provision of onboard docking information by calculating a vessel’s transversal speeds at bow and stern. Information is displayed continuously on a large high resolution graphic LCD together with all other relevant navigation data.
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Navaid Reflectors for Collision Protection Systems
19 Nov 2007
UK based Firdell Radar Reflectors Ltd is now offering turnkey solutions for floating object collision protection. The objective is to enhance both the visual and radar visibility of high value maritime floating objects such as Single Point Mooring Buoys, barges and towed payloads.
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Solar Power for Irish Lights
19 Nov 2007
Following a competitive tender process, Drogheda Port Company has awarded Hydrosphere UK Ltd the contract for the upgrade to solar power of all of its seaward and estuarial navigational aids.
Hydrographic Survey by David Goodfellow
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Fugro Harnesses Expertise
15 Nov 2007
Dutch survey and geosciences conglomerate Fugro is to harness its worldwide expertise with establishment of a Global GeoConsulting Service operating in three main geographical areas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US. The company says it will provide specialised consultancy in each region and operate via existing offices of its Geotechnical and Survey Divisions.
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DNV ECDIS Study
15 Nov 2007
If Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) are to become mandatory aboard ships, the number of groundings is likely to be reduced by a third, according to a study commissioned by classification authority Det Norske Veritas (DNV).
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Galileo Under Fire
15 Nov 2007
Galileo, Europe's multi-billion € version of the US global positioning system (GPS), which was originally supposed to become operational next year but is now delayed until around 2014, is a seriously flawed venture, says Professor David Last, President of the Royal Institution of Navigation (RINA).
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Survey Options for New Trinity House Vessel
15 Nov 2007
Described in greater detail elsewhere in this issue of Maritime Journal, Trinity House's new Polish built multi-function tender 'THV Galatea' is equipped with an impressive array of hydrographic equipment, enabling it to carry out detailed survey operations in addition to its other duties on behalf of the General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and the Channel Islands.
Insurance, Legal and Finance
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End of Season Insurance Advice
15 Nov 2007
With the season drawing to a close, the many commercial marine operators who are also leisure boat owners are likely to be planning where and when they are going to lay up their boats to carry out winter maintenance or simply remove from moorings. UK leisure boat insurers Navigators & General has provided advice for boat owners to help them avoid common claims and problems.
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Planning Support for UK Marine Businesses
15 Nov 2007
Marine South East, the regional marine initiative of the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA), has recently expressed support for plans to include specific reference to waterfront sites in the development of a regional spatial strategy, the South East Plan.
Navigation and Communication
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Satcom Upgrade on the Horizon
15 Nov 2007
Reliable communication plays a central part in effective ship management whether by providing essential weather information and chart updates for vessel navigation, supporting crew communication or maintaining connectivity with shore based management.
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RIN President Demands New European Vision of Galileo
15 Nov 2007
Galileo, Europe's answer to GPS, was due to be up and running by 2008 but political and corporate bickering has now pushed its operating date back to approximately 2014. At the launch of NAV07, Britain’s major navigation conference which took place last month, the President of the Royal Institute of Navigation, Professor David Last, launched a broadside at the traditional European ‘vision’ of Galileo’s viability.
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'Napoli' Stern Removal Gets Underway
15 Nov 2007
A wreck removal operation is now underway to remove the stern section of the ill fated container ship 'MSC Napoli' from Lyme Bay on the UK's Devon coast. After much planning and discussion Smit Salvage has been contracted by the underwriters to dismantle the remaining portion of the wreck in a two stage operation.
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Blessey Marine Embraces Workboat Navigator
15 Nov 2007
Louisiana USA based Blessey Marine Services, which operates an inland tank barge and towing vessel fleet in the United States, will deploy the Jeppesen Workboat Navigator information service across its fllet of 50 towboats. The new system from Jeppeson Marine was developed specifically for commercial vessels operating in coastal and inland waterways.
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Humber VTS Upgrade Completed
15 Nov 2007
Kongsberg Norcontrol IT has completed an extensive £1.1m upgrade to the Humber Estuary VTS in the UK. Associated British Ports (ABP) Hull & Goole commissioned the system to ensure safety of navigation as shipping traffic in the region increases year on year.
News
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RIB Tubes To Go
29 Nov 2007
Avon Inflatables, which has built over 200,000 high Hypalon inflatables and rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) since 1959, has tasked its specialist Military & Professional division with creating a separate tube build facility.
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Reducing Pollution Threat is Salvage Priority
29 Nov 2007
Given the huge volumes of crude oil transported worldwide, the tanker industry has achieved a remarkable reduction in the number of significant oil spills, which has fallen to less than five per year. Nevertheless, industry, governments and the public at large remain aware that a major spill threat can arise at any moment.
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Careers Website to boost Merchant Navy
29 Nov 2007
A campaign to increase the number of Merchant Navy recruits in Scotland has been launched by Scottish Enterprise, with £250,000 initiative aimed at attracting more officer cadets into the industry.
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Sentinel Satisfies In Underwater Warfare Trials
29 Nov 2007
The new Sentinel Diver Detection System from Sonardyne International successfully completed a four-day series of intensive trials at the US Naval Underwater Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island during October. Although full details of the tests cannot be disclosed, the US Navy subjected the system to a variety of threat scenarios. The Sentinel not only met all requirements of the tests, but also exceeded expectations during the challenging appraisal.
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First AHTS Simulator Installed in France
22 Nov 2007
Bourbon Offshore has inaugurated its first training centre in Marseilles, which includes the first Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel (AHTS) Simulator installed in France.
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Oilfield Technology for Offshore Wind
22 Nov 2007
Classification society DNV had granted an approval in principle for a new offshore wind energy concept developed by Dutch offshore design company Sea of Solutions in close cooperation with partner Sparcs Products. The concept, called F2F (Floating to Fixed), is an alternative to current fixed offshore wind installations and reduces the high operational costs related to offshore installation and maintenance. F2F is a flexible concept that is suitable for both shallow water and deepwater installation.
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To Russia with the IHMA
22 Nov 2007
St Petersburg in Russia has been announced as the setting for 2008 Congress of the International Harbour Masters' Association (IHMA). Hosted by the St Petersburg Maritime Port Administration with the support of the Russian Ministry of Transport, the event will take place next year on 12-16 May.
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Oceanology '08 Appears on the Horizon
22 Nov 2007
Leading figures from the marine science and ocean technology community will focus on the key themes of climate change, meeting future energy needs and ensuring environmental and civil security when the Oceanology International conference and exhibition returns to London next year.
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Arnold Witte is New ISU President
19 Nov 2007
Members of the International Salvage Union (ISU), attending their 53rd General Meeting in Cape Town on 30 - 31 October, have elected Arnold Witte, CEO of US salvor Donjon Marine, as president. He succeeds Hans van Rooij of SMIT.
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Big Box Milestone for Drogheda Port
15 Nov 2007
Ireland's Drogheda Port hit the 500,000 TEU container handling mark for the first time last month, with the milestone box carrying nuts and dried fruit from Holland.
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Jobs to Go in MCA Reshuffle
15 Nov 2007
Coastguard services and emergency response capability will not be affected by the loss of up to 25% of staff at Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) headquarters in Southampton UK. That was the Agency's promise after new chief executive Peter Cardy told staff last month of plans to bring all 'customer facing' functions within the Department for Transport under one roof in Swansea.
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Emergency Teams in Thames Training Exercise
15 Nov 2007
A simulated explosion in ship’s engine room put crews from the Port of London Authority, emergency services and Royal National Lifeboat Institution to the test during an exercise on the River Thames last month.
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Rotterdam Targets Box Record
15 Nov 2007
Europe’s biggest universal seaport, Rotterdam, has said it will this year become the world’s first non-Asian port to handle more than 10m TEU containers and will have the capacity to cope with them.
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'Napoli' Stern Removal Gets Underway - By Jack Gaston
15 Nov 2007
A wreck removal operation is now underway to remove the stern section of the ill fated container ship 'MSC Napoli' from Lyme Bay on the UK's Devon coast. After much planning and discussion Smit Salvage has been contracted by the underwriters to dismantle the remaining portion of the wreck in a two stage operation.
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Dubai Yard Launches Dredging MPV
15 Nov 2007
'DN201', a 26m multi-purpose Anchor Handling Vessel constructed by Dubai based Albwardy Marine Engineering has been commissioned from Drydocks World (ex Dubai Ship Dock Yard) for Jan De Nul subsidiary Codralux S.A., which will deploy the vessel for their regional marine civil construction projects.
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Tidal Surge Threatens Coast and Ports
15 Nov 2007
Fears of coastal flooding in eastern England last week led to evacuations and port closures as the biggest tidal surge in more than 50 years threatened East Anglia, Great Yarmouth, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and other areas.
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Kelvin Hughes in £52m Buyout
15 Nov 2007
Marine navigation equipment manufacturer Kelvin Hughes has been acquired by UK mid-market buyout specialist ECI Partners LLP (ECI) in a £52m transaction out of Smiths Group plc, the UK listed technology company. Kelvin Hughes is a leading supplier of navigation products and services for the naval and commercial marine sectors.
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New SOSREP is Appointed
15 Nov 2007
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has announced the appointment of the new Secretary of State's Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention (SOSREP), after a competitive public recruitment process. Hugh Shaw will take up his post on 1st January 2008 and will replace Robin Middleton, who is retiring after more than eight years in the post.
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Climate Change and the Deep Blue Sea
08 Nov 2007
The UK based Blue Climate and Oceans Project announced a new partnership last week with the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) to inspire and engage greater awareness of seas, shores and wildlife by linking sport with the environment.
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River Friendly Patrol Boats Named
08 Nov 2007
The Port of London Authority’s award winning new patrol boats were officially named at a special ceremony on the Thames last month.
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Seatruck Expands Ferry Fleet
08 Nov 2007
Irish Sea freight only specialists Seatruck Ferries have progressed their fleet expansion plans with the purchase of two ro-ro ferries from Elmira Shipping of Greece.
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Extensive Design Study Prefaces Wind Farm
08 Nov 2007
A metocean design has been completed for the proposed ‘Round 2’ Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm, planned for the southern North Sea off the UK’s North Norfolk coast, just inside the 12 mile territorial limit.
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Big Box Milestone for Drogheda Port
01 Nov 2007
Ireland's Drogheda Port hit the 500,000 TEU container handling mark for the first time last month, with the milestone box carrying nuts and dried fruit from Holland.
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UK Tidal Energy Welcomed in Canada
01 Nov 2007
British company Marine Current Turbines, the developer of SeaGen, the world’s largest and most advanced tidal stream energy system, has signed an agreement with Canada’s Maritime Tidal Energy Corporation to harness the huge tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Emergency Teams in Thames Training Exercise
01 Nov 2007
A simulated explosion in ship’s engine room put crews from the Port of London Authority, emergency services and Royal National Lifeboat Institution to the test during an exercise on the River Thames last month.
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Rail Upgrade for Port of Southampton
01 Nov 2007
The UK Port of Southampton will benefit from a major improvement to the port’s rail freight capabilities, after the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that it would contribute almost £43m from the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) to help implement the Solent Midlands Advancement of Rail Transport (SMART) project, which will provide essential rail gauge enhancement to the line between Southampton and the West Midlands.
Ship & Boat Building
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Largest Shoalbuster Joins DMS Fleet
26 Nov 2007
On 4 October Damen Marine Services BV welcomed the largest Damen Shoalbuster yet. It is the second Damen Shoalbuster 3009, named 'DMS Dunnock' and built by Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld.
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Finns Land Landing Craft Contract
19 Nov 2007
Marine Alutech of Finland has signed a contract with Geliga Slipway Sdn Bhd of Malaysia for supplying the design and parts for ten Watercat M14 high performance landing craft for the Royal Malaysian Police. The boats will be delivered next year and into early 2009.
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Wave Tank Upgrade Aids Hull Design
19 Nov 2007
With marine technology advancing on an almost daily basis, there is a huge demand for model testing facilities capable of running highly accurate and reproducible tests.
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€650m Newbuild Boom for IHC
19 Nov 2007
Having gained new orders to the value of €650m during the summer, Dutch dredger builder IHC Holland Merwede (which announced a name change to IHC Merwede at Europort Maritime this month) has purchased the largest covered slipway in Europe at Krimpen aan den Ijssel, where it will build the world’s largest trailing suction hopper dredger.
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Dubai Yard Launches Dredging MPV
19 Nov 2007
'DN201', a 26m multi-purpose Anchor Handling Vessel constructed by Dubai based Albwardy Marine Engineering has been commissioned from Drydocks World (ex Dubai Ship Dock Yard) for Jan De Nul subsidiary Codralux S.A., which will deploy the vessel for their regional marine civil construction projects.
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'Molly Malone II' Alive in Argyll
19 Nov 2007
Alnmaritec, which designs and builds aluminium workboats on the North East coast of the UK has recently delivered a new mussel harvesting workboat to a shell fish farm on Loch Etive, in Argyll on the West Coast of Scotland.
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Ulstein Moves on Sea of Solutions
19 Nov 2007
The Ulstein Group looks set to acquire a majority stake in Netherlands based Sea of Solutions as of January 2008. The deal is subject to a positive outcome of the due diligence process. Both Ulstein and Sea of Solutions are well known in the international offshore industries for their innovative ship design concepts.
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New Class of Z-Techs for US Navy
19 Nov 2007
Seattle USA based Robert Allan Ltd has won a contract to design a Class of new Z-Tech tugs for the US Navy Pilots. To be designated the Z-Tech 4500 Class, the new tugs will be similar to the current Z-Tech 6000 Class, of which more than 20 have already been built.
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'We're Here' is There at Lymington
19 Nov 2007
Isle of Wight based catamaran builders Cheetah Marine are well known for their multi-purpose workboats, designed and built to the specialised requirements of each client. Builds to date include hydrographic survey, harbour patrol, commercial fishing, passenger/load carrying and diving workboats.
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River Friendly Patrol Boats Named
19 Nov 2007
The Port of London Authority’s award winning new patrol boats were officially named at a special ceremony on the Thames last month.
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Aluminium Pilot Boat for Tyne
19 Nov 2007
The Port of Tyne Authority in the UK has contracted Pembroke Dock based Mustang Marine to build a new 16m aluminium pilot cutter. The design and build contract heralds Mustang's first award under the auspices of an exclusive cooperation alliance for production alloy and steel pilot boats it has entered into with internationally known designers Camarc Ltd.
Tugs & Towing by Jack Gaston
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TOWLINES
19 Nov 2007
J P Knight (Caledonian) Ltd has taken delivery of all three of their recent purchases from Japan. Based in Invergordon, the company now operates a four tug fleet comprising the original purpose built ASD tug 'Kincraig' and the new acquisitions 'Kintore', 'Keverne' and 'Kindeace'. All of the latter are modern Japanese built ASDs in almost new condition. (A more complete description of this considerably enhanced fleet will appear in a later issue).
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First RAscal Line Handling Tugs Delivered to UAE
19 Nov 2007
One problem for any journalist specialising in the towage business at present is how to present any news feature without giving the impression that it is a Robert Allan newsletter. The Canadian designer is currently so successful and prolific in producing new products for the towage market that his efforts cannot be ignored.
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Fairplay XIV is Sold to Greece
19 Nov 2007
Hamburg based Fairplay Towage has sold its deepsea tug 'Fairplay XIV' to Greece. The tug is well known throughout the towage industry, having worked reliably and economically worldwide, with its running mate 'Fairplay IX', for many years.
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US Operator Introduces the ‘Handysize’ Tug
19 Nov 2007
United States tug operator TUGZ International, LLC, well known as owner and charterer of the 4,000 hp multipurpose ‘Z class’ series of ASD tugs operating in a number of US ports, is introducing a new small tug design.
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'Union Grizzly' and 'Union Kodiak' Reinforce the URS Antwerp Fleet.
19 Nov 2007
URS, the Belgian Towage and Salvage Union has added two new tugs to its fleet in the Port of Antwerp. Named 'Union Grizzly' and 'Union Kodiak', the tugs were formally named in Antwerp on 25 October.
Vessel Launch 'Galatea' by Jack Gaston
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Galatea Goes On Show
15 Nov 2007
For a week in mid-October the brand new Trinity House Vessel 'Galatea' was host to a wide variety of visitors from the world of shipping and the maritime press. Among the visitors were Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip, who are by no means strangers to the Trinity House fleet.
Vessel Repair and Maintenance
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RINA Launches Corrosion Prevention and Coatings Programme
19 Nov 2007
International classification society RINA has joined forces with UK based coatings testing company Bodycote to launch a global Corrosion Prevention and Coatings (CPC) programme. The heart of the programme will be a CPC training course for shipyard and ship owner staff, and testing facilities for type approval of coatings according to the new IMO requirements.
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Ship Recycling Association Forms
19 Nov 2007
Representatives of the shipping industry founded a global association on ship recycling last month. The International Ship Recycling Association (I.S.R.A.) launched with two Chinese, six Turkish, a Dutch and an American yard, together with the national Ship Association of Turkey having applied for membership.
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Electric Anchor Windlass for 'Joides Resolution' Refit
19 Nov 2007
Seattle USA based Markey Machinery has supplied a the Type WES-32 electric anchor windlass to the Transocean owned drill ship 'Joides Resolution' as part of a major overhaul and conversion the vessel is undergoing in Singapore.
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Uncertainty Over Pod-Plagued Research Ship
19 Nov 2007
It is uncertain just when Germany’s most modern research ship Maria S. Merian will go back into service now that a series of propulsor problems has left it laid-up and without power in Kiel.
