Weilbach, the Danish maritime software solutions and products supplier, has achieved certification for its new digital logbook platform. By digitalising logbooks, ship owners can save time spent on administrative tasks and communication between seafarers on board and the office ashore.

The digital platform is called WENDIS OneLog and was launched last year. The software has been developed and tested with shipowners to approve it as an accurate and realistic replacement for paper logbooks. With this, the platform is now approved according to the IMO regulation MEPC.312(74) to be used solely on board in place of paper logbooks.

“The market is looking for digital solutions that can support shipowners and seafarers in simplifying communication between the ships and the office ashore. By digitalising logbooks, all information and communication are available and visible online immediately,” said Martin Mikkelsen, Director of Business Development, Weilbach “This means that shipowners can cut costs by not spending time and money waiting for the right information from the ship and sending logbooks to vessels with a courier. Also, they can report back to their customers and visualise information such as fuel consumption, the route and who is on board because this is part of the data in the logbooks.”

The OneLog software solution closely replicates paper logbooks. This makes it easy to use for seafarers and enables them to get the platform up and running straight away while staying compliant with regulations. “During the last year, digital solutions have become more widely accepted by shipowners. Likewise, the industry is more ready to replace traditional systems on board. With the approval of WENDIS OneLog, we can offer a fully digitalised portfolio, and this also pushes the digital agenda,” added Mikkelsen.

Synergy Marine, a subsidiary of Synergy Group, has signed an agreement to take over Maersk Tankers’ technical management business. This will strengthen Synergy Group’s position within technical management, and Maersk Tankers will become a service company focused on commercial management.

“Maersk Tankers has been transformed from a traditional tanker company into a service company over the past few years. The agreement with Synergy Group marks the next big step on our strategic course, offering both the technical and commercial businesses optimum conditions in which to thrive. Maersk Tankers will become a service company focused on the commercial management market, delivering financially and environmentally viable solutions for shipowners,” said Christian M. Ingerslev, CEO of Maersk Tankers.

The technical management business, which has been part of Maersk Tankers since 1928, maintains vessels to ensure their safe, efficient and cost-competitive operation. It employs close to 3,300 people, of which 140 work onshore. Synergy Group, a leading ship manager founded in 2006 and with 14,000 seafarers and more than 1,000 shore-based employees, has been carefully chosen as the new owner to grow and develop the technical management business.

“At Synergy, we have always strived to provide high-quality services to our ship-owning partners. Being considered the right owner of Maersk Tankers’ technical management business is testament to our beliefs and philosophy of working towards creating a platform for high-quality and technically adept services. The crew’s well-being is paramount, and we are committed to providing sustainably responsible services,” said Captain Rajesh Unni, founder and CEO of Synergy Group.

Under the agreement, Synergy Group will take over the entire technical management business of Maersk Tankers. This includes customer and supplier contracts, as well as the technical management of 82 vessels, including the vessels in Maersk Product Tankers. More vessels mean access to more data, which Synergy Group will use to optimise vessel performance and reduce the environmental impact of shipping.

The vast majority of the employees in Maersk Tankers’ technical management business will become part of the Synergy Group, which will strengthen the company’s presence in Denmark, Singapore and India. Following the takeover, the two companies will work together on the management of the vessels in Maersk Product Tankers.

The takeover is expected to be completed during November 2021.

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has acquired GreenSteam, a marine data intelligence company specialising in improving vessel efficiency through machine learning.  The acquisition will be integrated and managed by i4 Insight, a subsidiary of Lloyd’s Register.

i4 Insight, part of LR’s Maritime Performance Services business, is a digital platform that allows shipowners, operators and charterers to easily access insights on vessel performance and fuel consumption across their fleets.  LR is expanding its portfolio of risk, technical advisory, commercial efficiency, vessel performance and voyage optimisation services to unlock and drive growth for clients, part of its strategy to become the go-to partner and advisor to the maritime industry and broader ocean economy, following the June 2021 divestment of its Business Assurance and Inspection Services division.

The acquisition will see GreenSteam’s vast array of machine learning services, from fouling analysis and trim planning to their dynamic trim and speed optimisers, fully integrated with the i4 Insight platform. This move expands on LR’s vision of solving complex problems with integrated software solutions further driving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs.

Nick Brown, LR CEO, said, “We want to help clients drive growth and solve complex problems through human expertise, integrated software solutions and the right insights from data. When certainty is scarce, a trusted advisor is vital, which is why Lloyd’s Register is expanding its portfolio of fleet management and fleet optimisation services. Our i4 Insight platform, now enhanced with the acquisition of GreenSteam, will enable our customers to optimise their operational efficiency and vessel performance, making their businesses more sustainable in an increasingly competitive world.”

Shaun Gray, Executive Chairman of GreenSteam, said, “Our experience with i4 Insight as one of its inaugural Alliance Partners is positive proof that this acquisition is the right thing for our company.  Lloyd’s Register is an ambitious organisation with a long history in shipping and outstanding relationships with its customers. This, combined with i4 Insight’s innovative spirit to give the shipping industry the tools to make truly informed decisions about fuel consumption, is a win-win.  Together we will support shipowners in optimising vessel operations while also delivering on emissions targets.”

Joel Meltzner, Chief Executive Officer of i4 Insight, said, “GreenSteam is a leader in vessel-based machine learning for hull and improved vessel performance and as a current i4 Insight alliance partner, it has already enhanced the digital capabilities of the platform. GreenSteam was one of the first companies to apply machine learning to vessel performance data and its system can analyse data from thousands of vessels, continually learning, adapting, and updating what it knows about each vessel. The acquisition of GreenSteam supports our aim to provide our customers with a single source of information to solve key operational challenges and make significant operational cost savings.”

German communications specialist SnakeWays has announced a major upgrade to its growing portfolio of cloud based ship-to-shore connectivity services with the release of SnakeWays v2.0. The upgrade employs machine learning algorithms to dramatically simplify firewall management.

The new release incorporates two innovative new services –

• SNAKEWALL – a shipboard firewall service deploying AI techniques to control connectivity.
• SNAKEDOOR – a cloud based tool simplifying remote access to the shipboard network

Both new modules are hosted in the cloud and on the shipboard SnakeBox. Each can stand alone or be combined with existing modules such as SnakeMail and SnakeSwitch. SnakeWall dovetails with the existing SnakeSwitch to allow each and every WAN/LAN combination on board the vessel to have its own individual firewall rules. For example, the required rules for crew communications over LTE/4G can be very different from M2M connectivity over a backup L-band network.

The volume of electronic data being transferred shore to ship is growing rapidly, much of it key content such as e-navigation and routing data. At the same time a growing proportion of that key data is being delivered via cached servers on a Content Distribution Network (CDN). These two trends combined are making it increasingly difficult for companies to manage the shipboard firewalls using the standard IP addresses, ports and other network settings. The point at which that content is being delivered has to be constantly monitored and changes to the firewall rules added as the ship moves around the globe (see graphic attached). One also has to be very careful when using traditional firewall techniques that opening the firewall for one specific service does not mean opening the ship to third party content providers that share the same CDN.

SnakeWall is designed to eliminate the manpower needed to maintain those firewalls using traditional techniques whilst simplifying cyber integrity and usability on board. Hosted on the SnakeBox, independent of the existing shipboard IT networks, SnakeWall deploys machine learning techniques to identify, then actively monitor and control, access to any internet service. All that is needed from the IT support staff (or the ship’s crew) is to identify the domain name of that service and indicate whether they want it enabled or want it blocked. From that point on SnakeWall takes care of the rest, dynamically adjusting the firewall rules as and when required.

“This release is a significant stride forward in the development of the SnakeWays portfolio,” said Gregor Ross, CCO of SnakeWays. “These two ground-breaking services have been developed not just on the back of the SnakeWays team’s experience but on current feedback from our end customers and our global distribution partners in particular. They significantly broaden the addressable market for the SnakeWays services, and we look forward to them contributing strongly to SnakeWays growth as we enter our second year of operation”