News

EcoClipper, a Dutch start-up company working to develop a fleet of zero-emission sail-powered cargo ships, is using 21st-century technology to perfect wind propulsion to provide sustainable transportation for cargo, passengers, and trainees around the world. UK-based engineering consultants Cape Horn Engineering is partnering with EcoClipper to apply its expertise in computational fluid dynamics to advance the design of the modern sailing ships.

Founded in 2018, EcoClipper plans to develop a fleet of ships that will sail on four shipping lines with fixed schedules, thereby creating a new shipping logistics system for sail cargo vessels. The concept calls for three regular routes to be established, starting with the Atlantic sailing from the English Channel to the United States and the Caribbean. The Pacific route would sail from California to China and Japan, and the most ambitious is a traditional route sailing around the world using the westerly wind patterns.

The inspiration and starting point for the design of the modern vessels was based on the design of the Dutch sailing clipper Noach, launched in 1857 and reported to have been the fastest Dutch sailing vessel ever built. The EcoClipper 500 will be built in steel with modern construction techniques. According to the company, each vessel will be able to carry 500 tons of cargo along with a crew of 12, 36 trainees, and up to 12 passengers.

“The historic records of Fop Smit’s Noach are extensive,” says Jorne Langelaan, sail cargo expert and founder and CEO of EcoClipper, nothing that the design of the historic ship was built around cargo carrying capabilities and passenger comfort. He, however, wants to test different hull shapes to ensure the best performance of the modern ship. “With Cape Horn Engineering’s expertise, we are able to fine-tune the ship to make sure it can sail as fast as possible, whilst retaining these necessities.”

CFD simulation for the EcoClipper design (Cape Horn Engineering)

Cape Horn Engineering’s expertise focuses on optimizing the design of many composite vessels using its experience in hydrodynamics and specialization in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The engineers use high-fidelity RANS-based simulation techniques where accurate forces and moments are obtained for the given shape candidates and operating conditions.

For the EcoShip project, Cape Horn explains that an ambitious R&D program was agreed and extensive CFD simulations for four different candidate hulls were performed and compared at different sailing conditions to aid the design process. Dr. Rodrigo Azcueta, managing director of Cape Horn Engineering explained that CFD technology is a crucial support for naval architects to optimize designs for critical elements such as weight saving, performance predictions, reducing emissions, and ship optimization.

One of the main challenges the engineers faced said Azcueta was to compare fairly dissimilar hull shape candidates without the aid of a Velocity Prediction Program, where all hydro and aero forces are balanced. With the complex sail plan for the EcoClipper 500, which consists of three square-rigged masts, a maximum of 29 sails (including stunsails), and the maximum sail area being around 1580m2, the generation of a full aerodynamic model was out of the scope of the project. Therefore, sail coefficients for similar sailing vessels found in literature had to be used, to give a relationship between the driving force, side force, and heeling moment, to enable accurate calculations to be made for the hydrodynamic performance of the hull candidates.

Another detailed investigation was aimed at finding the best possible position to install the hydro-generators that will provide the electricity requirements of the vessel. Velocity maps around the hull were analyzed to find the locations with the most homogeneous and higher speeds for the best performance of the turbines.

Using these advanced engineering capabilities, EcoClipper reports that it is further advancing the sustainability of the project. The company’s previous research showed that the most sustainable way to transport cargo and passengers is using a traditional design of vessels, the Clipper ship, with square-rig sails. EcoClipper previously reported that it is examining the financial market to build its first ship.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/cape-horn-engineering-refines-designs-for-sail-powered-cargo-ships

gemini news — Gruber in front of his good friend Betzy. Photo: Helge Stranden, UNINETT / Sigma2

SINTEF researcher Andrea Gruber crunches numbers – with good help from the supercomputer Betzy. With an infinity of calculations that are linked together, the researchers now provide answers to what is needed for the well-known chemical ammonia to become a climate solution for large parts of shipping.

The chemical has the ability to remain liquid at room temperature at moderate pressure levels, such as in ordinary gas cylinders. The climate-friendly alternative hydrogen, by comparison, requires a temperature lower than minus 253 degrees Celsius to stay liquid.

In addition, we already have both production opportunities and a distribution network ready for ammonia. This makes the solution easy to use for large parts of the world. Ammonia can be produced with completely renewable energy sources, or with carbon capture and storage from natural gas.

Because pure ammonia burns poorly and is difficult to ignite in an engine, the idea of ??the researchers is to use the waste heat from the combustion process to partially decompose the ammonia. Ammonia consists of one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms. After the decomposition, we are left with fuel that consists of ammonia, nitrogen and hydrogen.

The hydrogen content in this fuel helps to kick-start the combustion process well, with good help from large amounts of heated air from the surroundings. It provides movement and propulsion in the engine’s well-known thermal process.

“The fact that the ‘working medium’ in this combustion is air makes it quite simple and cheap to scale up the process, so that it can be adapted to the largest cargo ships. For battery-powered ships or vessels that use power from fuel cells, it is a lot more difficult,” says Gruber. “Unlike the electrochemical process in a fuel cell, which is also an interesting alternative in smaller ships, the internal combustion engine utilizes ‘all’ the air and not just the oxygen content (~ 22 percent),” Gruber adds.

Animation of the flame (red) burning through the turbulent mixture of ammonia, hydrogen and air (green). The calculation is performed in a small (1 cm3) but representative proportion of the entire combustion chamber by solving differential equations of almost 1 billion points. Animation: Andrea Gruber / SINTEF

Billions of calculations and useful waste heat

The supercomputer Betzy is the researchers’ most important tool in the search for the optimal combustion of ammonia. Betzy has five times the existing computing capacity of Norwegian researchers and has a total computing power equivalent to 43,000 “ordinary” laptops. Put another way: With a normal laptop, it would take 1,168 years to perform the simulations in this project.

The researchers have used 80 million computational hours spread over approximately three months from December 2020 to February 2021. The mathematical solution shows in detail how ammonia is burned in a ship’s engine compared to natural gas or pure hydrogen.

There are already natural gas (LNG) engines on the market, and with the simulation job done, the researchers have the exact data needed to redesign existing gas engines to run on climate-friendly ammonia. Thus, these calculations help us on the way to phasing out heavy oil from shipping.

“We have worked a lot with mathematical simulations of internal combustion engines before, but then we have had to collaborate with research environments in the US to be able to use computing power there. Now we have finally got the opportunity here in Norway,” says Gruber.

In practice, the researchers calculate how 19 chemical substances react with each other in 63 different elemental reactions – with different mixing ratios in a turbulent combustion process.

“What we know from before is how a certain mixture of fuel and air is burned without turbulence. But turbulence arises as an inevitable fact in any practical application of the combustion process. Getting more and more accurate information about this is absolutely essential for optimizing engines with regard to the best utilization of fuel and reducing emissions, but it also requires enormous amount of computing power,” says Gruber.

The next step is laboratory experiments

The calculations have given the researchers important details about how the ammonia behaves under different combustion conditions and makes it possible to simulate virtual flames in a small but representative part of a combustion chamber.

Research shows that under normal operating conditions, pure hydrogen has far too high reactivity as a motor fuel and a tendency to ignite prematurely, while pure ammonia ignites and burns poorly.

“Neither of the two fuels is therefore favorable for the internal combustion engines. However, by utilizing waste heat from the ship’s engine, ammonia can be partially decomposed on board. Then we get a fuel mixture of ammonia, hydrogen and nitrogen,” the SINTEF researcher explains.

Such a process will be practical for two reasons: First, the engine’s waste heat is recycled to increase the energy content of the fuel, which improves the overall efficiency of the machine. Secondly, the combustion properties of the new ammonia / hydrogen / nitrogen fuel mixture will be very similar to what can be characterized as standard natural gas.

“This is important, because it means that it will be possible to adapt engines that are already in the current fleet to burn the fuel mixture,” says Gruber.

This article appears courtesy of Gemini News and is reproduced here in an abbreviated form. The original (in Norwegian) may be found here.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/how-lng-fueled-engines-could-be-converted-to-run-on-ammonia

Hurricane Elsa churns towards Hispaniola, July 2 (NOAA / GOES-East)

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port for Key West and Miami has declared port condition Whiskey for the Port of Key West and PortMiami. Tropical Storm Elsa has been upgraded to Hurricane Elsa, making it the first hurricane of the 2021 season, and it is expected to bring gale-force winds to the region within 72 hours’ time.

For now, Key West and PortMiami remain open to all commercial traffic and cargo operations, but sustained winds between 39-54 mph are possible within 72 hours. There are no safe havens from storm conditions in either port, and the Coast Guard reminded shipping interests that ports are safest when they have less vessels.

At Key West, all ocean-going commercial vessels and ocean-going barges of 300 gross tons and above are expected to make plans for departing the port so that they can weather the storm at sea. At Miami, the limit is 500 gross tons and over.

Vessels that wish to remain in port must receive advance permission from the COTP, and inbound vessels headed for South Florida are advised to divert if they will not be able to leave again 24 hours before the storm’s arrival.

Shoreside port facilities are advised to get ready; when the storm gets closer, all regulated facilities are required to submit readiness surveys to the captain of the port.

Small craft are advised to seek safe harbor at inland marinas, and trailerable boats should be pulled out of the water. EPIRBs and lifejackets – which can get blown off unoccupied boats in a hurricane – should be removed in order to avoid false alarms and unneeded rescue operations.

Elsa is not presently expected to strengthen to major hurricane status, according to the National Weather Service, and it is not yet certain whether it will pass near or over Florida.. At present it is generating wind speeds of 65 knots and has not yet formed a persistent eye. It is expected to pass by the south coast of Hispaniola on Sunday, but after that its course is unclear: It could head west-northwest between Cuba and Mexico, or pass over western Cuba and curve north towards to Florida, or head north through the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center suggested. “The latter portion of the track forecast remains low confidence,” NHC said in its forecast discussion.

Elsa is the first hurricane and fifth named tropical storm of the 2021 season. Its formation marked the earliest date on record for the fifth storm of the season, beating last year’s record-setting Tropical Storm Edouard to the starting line by four days.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/coast-guard-prepares-for-hurricane-elsa-at-south-florida-ports

cruise ship assists Florida search and rescue mission — Explorer of the Seas during one of her prior sailing from New Jersey (photo by slgckgc – CC by 2.0 license)

The cruise ship Explorer of the Seas is the latest member of the team assisting in the efforts underway in Florida after a residential high-rise tower collapse. Owners of the cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International, announced that the ship which is currently idled due to the pandemic would provide temporary housing for some of the hundreds of the search and rescue team members working in the town of Surfside, in northern Miami-Dade Country at the site of the collapsed condominium building.

Hundreds of American rescue personnel joined by teams from countries including Mexico and Israel have been working around the clock since a 12-story high-rise condominium building collapsed on June 24. The teams, which are conducting 12-hour shifts and assisted by search and rescue dogs and sophisticated equipment, are picking through the rubble and searching for the more than 150 persons unaccounted for after this disaster.

In collaboration with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), Royal Caribbean Group docked its 137,308 gross ton cruise ship the Explorer of the Seas at PortMiami on July 1. According to the cruise line, the Explorer of the Seas will host approximately 600 emergency workers from around the world, providing a respite from their shifts. Search and rescue teams, including their dogs, will arrive in groups of 80 at a time to the ship. Onboard, they will receive individual staterooms, hot meals, laundry service, and WIFI. The cruise ship has a normal passenger capacity of 3,286 people (double occupancy) and operates with a normal complement of 1,185 crew.

Search team members arriving at the PortMiami cruise terminal (Michael Bayley/Royal Caribbean)

“This incredible act of kindness and generosity from our friends at Royal Caribbean is deeply appreciated by our entire community,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Over the past nine days, our first responders have been working under dangerous, stressful conditions to move our search and rescue mission forward through so many unprecedented challenges. These accommodations will provide them with a much-needed respite and opportunity to rest and recharge for their next shift and are yet another example of how our local and global community has come together in the aftermath of tragedy.”

To accomplish this effort, Royal Caribbean said that its team and the ship’s leadership worked with the Florida governor’s office, Miami-Dade County, FDEM, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The company acknowledged the support of the various agencies, noting it had received the necessary approvals within 24 hours.

“It’s been truly incredible. Our people have worked very hard to get everything organized and coordinated, in just a matter of hours, to be able to house so many workers,” said Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Group’s chairman and CEO.

The cruise ship has recently been shuttling between the Bahamas and Florida while it remained out of service since the March 2020 global suspension of cruising. No date had been set for the vessel’s return to commercial service. Under the current plan, the company says the Explorer of the Seas likely will continue to provide housing for the next month. The ship will be docked at Terminal F at PortMiami.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/royal-caribbean-cruise-ship-assists-florida-search-and-rescue-teams

“The St. Lawrence is central to the success and assets of the Greater Montreal hub. Our sector depends on this vital marine connection with the world. Beyond the direct benefits of Avantage Saint-Laurent to our shipping community, the more than 6,000 businesses operating in logistics and freight transport in the metropolitan area will also benefit from this new vision and the many initiatives that will result from it. Without a doubt, Avantage Saint-Laurent will not only improve existing infrastructures, but also facilitate the implementation of innovative, smart, sustainable and economically viable projects for our supply chain,” said Mathieu Charbonneau, Executive Director of CargoM.

“The resilience and dynamism of our sector, paired with this strategy being implemented by our government, will position marine transportation as a cornerstone in the green economic recovery. Through these three major thrusts, Avantage Saint-Laurent will increase Quebec’s potential in this sector as well as the collective wealth, while taking into account the social and environmental aspects of this important shipping corridor,” said Ms. Madeleine Paquin, President and CEO of Logistec Corporation and Chair of the Board of Directors of CargoM.

CargoM looks forward to actively collaborating in projects stemming from Avantage Saint-Laurent, especially in relation to the workforce, so that every actor in our great logistics community can participate and benefit from it.

Source: newswire

Maturity and innovation have proved a winning combination as the world’s most technologically inventive ship registry has been elevated to the Paris MoU Grey List from June 2021.

Palau International Ship Registry (PISR) has been recognised for its digitally based services and growth in just three short years. This is a remarkable progression for a new registry and is attributed to the commitment to digital services and the recruitment of experienced and knowledgeable staff across the maritime sector. Now the combination of its own unique technology and human resources has seen it record some of the lowest detention figures for its growing fleet in the past 12 months.

Panos Kirnidis, CEO of PISR, is also celebrating the fifth anniversary of the registry’s European office based in Piraeus in Greece and believes the registry’s inclusion in the 2021 Paris MoU Grey List is a testament to the maturity and determination of its global network.

“This is not a surprise to anyone associated with Palau International Ship Registry. We were determined to lift ourselves into the white list and this will be achieved through our innovative and unique technology combined with the recruitment of experts in every aspect of ship registry services.

“Detentions by Port State Control and the increasing environmental regulations have put ship owners and operators under great stress in the past few years. The global pandemic has added to their worries and yet, we have proved that by investing in online services, finding the right people across our global network and offering our unique Deficiency Prevention System (DPS), we can assist them in avoiding these financially damaging detentions.

“It is this combination that is unique to PISR. It is our own in-house developed software systems that have seen our fleet detentions plummet. It is simple to use, highly effective and available from a desktop PC or even a smartphone. This is the reason PISR has been able to reduce detentions and allow us to claim our place in the Grey List. But we are not stopping our drive and we will see even further improvements in our listing into 2022 and beyond.”

After just five years PISR has been recognised as one of the world’s fastest growing and most inventive ship registries according to Panos Kirnidis.

“When I talk to ship owners, they tell me they want reliable and dependable services. They want information in real time enabling them to make the decisions that keep them sailing without penalties. We developed our Deficiency Prevention System (DPS) to do just that, and it has been an outstanding success. This is a process of maturity for any new ship registry, but we began life by examining the mistakes other established registries had made and then avoided them. Our combination of technology and the human element is the basis for our proactive services. “We recently hosted an online event for our Deputy Registrars and Flag State Inspectors and recognised their contributions to our success. Finding the right people is as painstaking as developing the technology but ship owners tell us it is paying dividends. We have been saying we are trailblazers in an established industry. We have been telling the maritime and shipping world that Palau International Ship Registry is here to stay. Well, we have proved that, and we make no apologies for saying the Grey List is a great reward for our faith and determination to be the best at what we do. As a flag of confidence, PISR will continue to innovate, operate and generate, the right combinations of services, fees, knowledge and customer service that we are known for. This year the Grey List and our targets for the coming years include an even larger fleet and the White List is in our sights.”

Source: palaureg

1. Data Processing and Data Processing Purposes

1.1 The Company “CITY UNITY Maritime Training Center” (hereinafter: «the Company») processes, in the context of your employment, personal data collected by you and/or third parties (such as recruiters, job-posting websites and/or your previous employer), in accordance with Regulation (ΕU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (hereinafter: «GDPR») and Greek legislation. More specifically, the Company processes personal, passport/ID and communication information, banking, social security and tax data, information about your education and previous and current employment, photo, your marital status and family information, travel information, your communications with the Company, information about your next of kin, health data, information about your entry/exit from the Company, e-mails that you send from and receive in your corporate e-mail account, calls you make and receive in your corporate mobile phone and work phone, your corporate mobile phone bill and any other personal data that may be necessary to achieve the below purposes of personal data processing.

1.2 The Company processes your personal data during your employment, while such processing will extend after the completion of such employment, and to the extent required in order for the Company to comply with its legal obligations towards the authorities and/or third parties, to comply to any applicable provisions on the obligatory data retention periods or in order for the Company to support its claims or rights.

1.3 The Company processes your data in order to ensure its proper operation in accordance with its employee-related procedures, to fulfill its staffing needs, to comply with its legal and contractual obligations, to identify its employees and to ensure the safety of its staff and of its premises.

2. Transfer of personal data to third parties

2.1 Your data may be made accessible to the Company’s personnel, as well as to third parties, such as the competent authorities, technical contractors, investigators, accountants, auditors, lawyers and legal counsels, IT companies providing technical or cloud services or i-storage platforms and banks.

2.2 The Company may also transfer some or all your data for the above purposes to persons located in countries that are not members of the European Economic Area (EEA). Where such countries have not been granted with an adequacy decision by the European Commission, any transfer shall take place under the appropriate safeguards in accordance with the GDPR, such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the Commission or by the competent national authority.

3. Your rights

In accordance with the GDPR, you have the right to: (a) request access to your data and to information relating to the processing thereof by the Company, (b) request corrections and/or the completion of your data, (c) request the Company to delete your data, (d) request the restriction of the scope of processing, the way that the Company is processing your data, as well as the purposes for which the Company is processing them, (e) receive the personal data you provide to the Company and to transmit them and/or request the Company to transmit them to another data controller, (f) object to the processing of your personal data, (g) file a complaint before the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, and (h) so far as the processing relies upon your consent, to withdraw such consent at any time. To exercise your rights, please contact the Company as illustrated below at 5.

4. Legal basis for the processing of personal data

The Company processes your personal data because the processing is necessary, in order for the Company to:

(a) comply with its legal obligations, including among others obligations in the field of employment or social security law,

(b) fulfill its obligations and/ or satisfy its rights deriving from your employment agreement,

(c) satisfy its legitimate interests, such as its proper operation in accordance with its employee-related procedures, to fulfill its staffing needs, to comply with its legal and contractual obligations, to identify its employees and to ensure the safety of its staff and of its premises and the fitness to work of its employees,

(d) establish, exercise or defend legal claims, and/or

(e) process your personal data pursuant to your consent.

The above processing is required by law or due to a contract executed between you and the Company. Therefore, if you do not provide us with your data, the execution of your employment agreement may not be possible.

Source: maritimecareer

In the wake of the Petya cyber-attack, which disrupted a host of industries around the world, including the shipping sector, Captain Rahul Khanna (RK), Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting, AGCS, Captain Andrew Kinsey (AK), Senior Marine Risk Consultant, AGCS and Emy Donavan (ED), Global Head of Cyber, AGCS discuss the growing threat cyber risk poses to the maritime sector and what companies can do about it.

How much of a threat is cyber risk to the shipping sector? Which parts of the industry are exposed?

AK: The digital era is opening up new possibilities for the maritime industry but its growing reliance on computer and software and increasing interconnectivity within the sector, also makes it highly vulnerable to cyber incidents. The shore-based offices of shipping companies are often the target of hackers. However, cyber poses a threat to all parts of the shipping sector, as recent examples testify. The risk of an attack or incident occurring is significant but ship-owners are often reluctant to share information for fear of being identified. This is a big problem and there are efforts underway to form an anonymous incident reporting platform.

Other common vulnerabilities include: lack of awareness, ineffective policies and procedures and an undeveloped cyber risk management culture. To date, the vast majority of attacks have been aimed at breaching corporate security, resulting in loss of critical data, financial loss or IT problems, rather than taking control of a vessel itself. In addition to this threat, it is estimated that as many as 80% of offshore security breaches could be the result of human error.

How would you describe the awareness of the shipping industry when it comes to cyber risk?

RK: The good news is that there is a growing awareness about the risk of maritime cyber-attacks. However, the sector as a whole still doesn’t have a particularly heightened risk awareness. As no major incident involving a vessel has been reported to date, many in the industry remain complacent about the risks involved, with cyber incidents largely regarded as onshore affairs, even though the number of incidents impacting the shipping industry has been increasing in recent years.

A changing geopolitical scenario could transpose cyber risk into a real threat and if cyber risks are not appropriately addressed, it is only a matter of time before the maritime sector suffers a major cyber-attack on a vessel. The potential for a cyber disruption or a cyber-attack could catastrophically impact the safe navigation of a vessel, both in terms of its position and in terms of its stability and cargo operations. Just imagine if hackers were able to take control of a large container ship on a strategically-important route. They could block transits for a long period of time, causing significant economic damage

What should shipping companies do to best mitigate cyber risk. How can they best protect themselves?

AK: There are a growing number of resources available to help mariners learn about common vulnerabilities. Just one example is the internationally-recognized United States Maritime Resource Center, which assists the industry in cyber awareness, safety and security through evidence-based research.

Then there are an increasing number of cyber security guidelines which can be followed. Last year, the United Nations’ global shipping regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), approved interim guidelines on maritime cyber risk management, which provide high level recommendations on cyber security (see below). Meanwhile, guidelines have also been issued by other important organizations such as BIMCO, CLIA, Intercargo and Intertanko.

There are standard practices that can be implemented to reduce cyber risk, such as defining personnel roles and responsibilities for cyber risk management and identifying the systems, assets and data that, when disrupted, pose risks to ship operations. Ship-owners also need to implement risk control processes and contingency planning, developing and implementing activities necessary to quickly detect a cyber event. Identifying measures to back up and restore cyber systems impacted by a cyber event is obviously crucial.

These are challenging times for the shipping industry. Budgets are tight and there is pressure to delay maintenance and reduce crew levels and training. However, IT security cannot be put on the backburner. It is vital that investment in cyber risk education and security is not neglected at this time, despite economic pressures, as this risk has the potential to have catastrophic consequences, given the right confluence of events.

What role can regulation play?

RK: Earlier this month (June 16) the IMO made the decision to incorporate cyber risk management on a more permanent footing with the adoption of cyber risk management requirements into the International Safety Management Code (ISM Code). Owners will need to comply with this by the start of 2021 and this means that there will now be a lot of impetus on ship-owners to create a concrete cyber risk management plan. The largely self-regulated tanker industry is expected to take such steps much before 2021. Many companies are looking at employing a cyber risk officer, with part of the role being to carry out regular stress testing.

How does cyber risk insurance work in the maritime sector? What is covered?

ED: Typically, hull policies would exclude coverage against cyber-attack or any loss arising from a malicious act involving the use of a computer system. Shippers would be encouraged to purchase standalone cyber insurance coverage. Most of the risks for shippers would be similar in nature to other non-marine businesses (ransomware, hacker / privacy breach, etc). In general, marine, as well as general liability (GL) and property, policies expressly exclude cyber. We absolutely recommend that shippers, like other businesses, purchase a standalone cyber policy for these types of risks.

Source: agcs

The shipping industry continues to be the target of cybercriminals, with South Korea’s HMM becoming the latest major carrier to report an attack on its systems. HMM, however, reports that it has so far been able to limit the scope of the attack to its email servers.

The unidentified security breach was detected on June 12, HMM said in its announcement, and it led to limited access to the carrier’s email outlook system in certain areas. They are reporting that on the fourth day after the virus was discovered that the email system is gradually resuming. HMM is also emphasizing that no information or data leak has been found.

“Except for email, the other system networks and functions are fully operational as usual, attributed to the independent cloud-based system,” reported HMM. “In this context, our e-business platforms, including booking and documentation functionality, are properly running without disruptions.”

Source: hstoday

A company we worked with recently on cyber resilience found that our work also improved their ability to recover from general technical failures. We identified areas that they had previously not considered – vulnerabilities that they did not know were vulnerabilities.

We asked them what their process was for recovering from a complete ECDIS failure and how long they expected it would take them to recover.

We listened and found that there were areas that could be improved. We worked with them to give them the ability to rebuild their bridge systems from the ground up if they needed to. Our team worked with the vendors to get them the software they needed and arranged for the crew to be trained to implement the recovery plan. It turned out it was quite simple to put in place but they had never before asked the “what if” question, they had never considered there could be a better way of doing things. They now have in place a far quicker, cheaper and simpler system of recovery than flying a specialist software engineer out to the vessel location or downloading a massive file over a VSAT connection.

That’s a typical situation that we come across. By working on cyber resilience, asking the right questions, my team identified operational improvements.

It’s about looking at the world through a different prism. About identifying problems and coming up with practical solutions that cause the minimum of disruption and ensure that, if any losses our outages do occur, they remain minimal. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.

Simply asking the question “Have we considered the cyber risk for X” brings it into the conversation. You don’t need to know the answer, you just need to make sure that someone else does.

Similarly, we work with some of the world’s leading insurance brokers and that is because we make their risks less risky. That’s good for them because it reduces the level of claims and good for us because we get more business. But the main beneficiary is the end client. They get cheaper insurance cover, less exposure to risk and enhanced operational resilience. It’s a virtuous circle.

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