As the shipping industry undergoes major transformation, with operations becomingly increasingly automated, maritime companies need to consider more than just efficiency and safety when it comes to operations. The current global situation has resulted in a growing demand for crew communication, for both work and social purposes, alongside the ongoing need for optimization. All of this causes higher levels of traffic on maritime networks, forcing shipping operators to place an increased focus on essential network management to protect business operations.

While on-board IT systems can be complex, they also offer large-scale opportunities for digital technologies to increase communication, reduce costs, boost productivity and ensure higher customer satisfaction. Because of this, investments in network management can have a significant impact on business operations and can also require a great deal of management and undertaking to make them pay off.

Network management

The most significant development for maritime communications has been the integration of standalone technologies into end-to-end solutions to create a manageable network. Gone are the days of shipowners and managers having to juggle boxes of the past, instead this integration offers higher network performance, simplification of operations and a reduction in the total cost of ownership.

With so many fundamental applications and processes, it has become essential for shipping companies to install a smart network management platform. This impacts everything from the seamless transition between shore-based 4G/LTE connectivity, VSAT and L-band satellite, to the operation of on-board information systems. Smart network management platforms also deliver automatic matching of demand of various applications to available networks and the management of traffic, whether that be voice, internet, email or video.

To ensure that the network can support all necessary services, operators need to utilize platforms that maintain the services and applications running on it to deliver value to all stakeholders. The network should be able to support every application required for daily operations while also offering the potential to provide new services to keep up with the ever-increasing changes in the industry.

A Reliable Platform

Having an integrated management service helps to support the whole network to carry out mission critical communications for the smooth running of operations instead of a patchwork approach which could cause potential disruption. This management service will become an integral part of maritime operations – with many aspects reliant on consistent, uninterrupted seamless connectivity. With services and applications running on the platform essential for delivering value to the ship, the business, its crew, and customers, it is critical that the network can support all elements of day-to-day operations.

Having a robust network is key for successful management and operation of the ship, where downtime and delays have no place. If a network becomes disrupted it can cause a multitude of problems for shipowners and business managers whose operations largely rely on having end-to-end network connectivity.

The system must also offer the ability to support new services in the future to adapt to the industry’s changing demands. For instance, being able to support real-time analysis of integrated data from IoT sensors or provide video conferencing, voice or email messaging similar to a traditional corporate network, these applications depend on a reliable network that is capable of handling varying levels of data at the same time.

Security First

With technology playing a pivotal role in maritime operations and with new innovations continually being developed, the reliance on digital applications and communication networks is growing. This presents a challenge for shipping companies as cyber attacks increase in sophistication and present a huge potential for devastating damage to be caused by compromise to a network. Therefore, security must be made a priority when it comes to the integrated management service, with the ability to defend itself from evolving threats.

To ensure security comes top of the list for maritime businesses, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has made it a requirement that from January 2021, cybersecurity best practices are written into Safety Management Systems (SMS). It will be crucial for the shipping sector to think ahead about how to implement these changes ahead of the deadline.

This IMO directive is leaving operators to determine exactly where these vulnerabilities and cybersecurity gaps lie within their SMS. They must then come up with ways to fix these gaps and incorporate these new protocols which are designed to protect maritime systems from attack. This however is challenging due to a worldwide lack of maritime cybersecurity experts, meaning it could leave companies with a large bill to seek support on how best to safeguard themselves and build in these new IMO requirements.

Remote Management

While shipowners and managers are experts at turning the complexities of global business into a profit, they now require greater control and visibility of their networks and services to remain ultra-competitive. On-board systems can be vast and complex, offering huge advantages for maintaining efficiency and boosting customer satisfaction while needing a large amount of oversight which can be challenging.

By utilizing the power of an effective, smart remote management service like Speedcast’s state-of-the-art integrated management and application platform, experts on shore can retain complete control with endless visibility into every ship. This ensures shipping companies can manage every detail of operations and maintain maximum efficiency.

Enabling control of multiple applications and networks, Speedcast’s SIGMA platform provides a seamless insight into business operations and crew welfare services through a flexible ecosystem that can be adapted to a customer’s specific current and future needs, including leveraging the numerous benefits and efficiencies of Virtual Machines.

All of this aids shipping businesses to remain competitive with substantial cost savings, high levels of operational efficiency and a boost in productivity by adopting a solution that manages network, voice and business services along with built-in cybersecurity that contributes to the IMO requirement.

As maritime industry digitalization continues to advance due to the increasing capabilities of emerging applications and communications technology, it is critical that operators have access to solutions that can maintain the smooth running of operations along with seamless, high-quality connectivity. To this end, the sector has a bright future as network management systems continue to serve the existing and future needs of shipping companies.

Source: maritimeprofessional

Hong Kong and Oslo-listed dry bulk specialist, Jinhui Shipping is looking to increased demand from China to scoop it out of a deepening pool of red ink created during the second quarter of 2020.

The net loss for Q2 2020 surged to US$5.285m compared to a loss of US$1.147m in the second quarter of 2019. The worsening loss came off reduced revenue for the period, which fell 39% to US$8.51m from the earnings of its fleet of 16 supramax and 2 post-panamax vessels.

Revenue for the first half of 2020 fell 34% to US$17.724m, compared to US$26.784m for H1 2019. Jinhui attributed the loss to a drop in the average daily TCE earned by the Group’s owned vessels falling 36% to US$5,293 during the period compared to H1 earnings of US$8,277.

In July 2020 Jinhui acquired a secondhand 50,259 dwt supramax for US$3.95m.

Looking to the immediate future the company said: “China is the biggest importer of raw materials by far given its important role in the global manufacturing supply chain.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that business and industrial activity will continue to pick up in China. We continue to see people heading back to work in orderly batches, with exceptionally high alert in public hygiene and the necessary protocols in place at work places. We hope this resumption to work in an orderly fashion will continue without too much new negative surprises, and hence global trade will begin to revert to normal albeit we wish at a higher speed.”

NATO is looking at ways to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean while supporting German diplomatic efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources there, the alliance’s chief said on Thursday.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters the Western alliance was considering so-called deconfliction measures to prevent naval accidents in an increasingly congested region, although he did not go into details.

“I am also exploring the possibilities of NATO developing mechanisms to prevent incidents and accidents, a set of deconfliction mechanisms,” Stoltenberg said in an interview, after meeting with European Union defence ministers.

“The fact that there are so many ships, so many military capabilities in a quite limited area, that in itself is a reason for concern,” Stoltenberg said.

NATO allies Turkey and Greece vehemently disagree over natural gas reserves off Cyprus and the extent of their continental shelves.

They have drawn the European Union and nearby countries into the dispute, which earlier this month flared into a light collision between Turkish and Greek frigates.

Turkey and Greece, which were joined by NATO allies France and Italy, meanwhile held rival military drills in the same area of the Mediterranean.

‘Deconfliction’ in military parlance can mean setting up communications links between rival militaries in the same theatre, as the United States has done with Russia in Syria.

In late 2015, NATO also began using its Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar planes near Syria to avoid accidents, after Turkish fighters downed a Russian bomber that strayed into its airspace from Syria.

Stoltenberg said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ whirlwind meetings this week in Athens and Ankara should be supported to allow Greece and Turkey to calm tensions.

“What I think is important now is to support the German efforts to try to establish a platform for dialogue, for talks between two NATO allies, Turkey and Greece,” Stoltenberg said.

(Writing by Robin Emmott; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

The armed guard who held the crew of the Eagle Bulk controlled Jaeger supramax last month has done it again.

The Ukrainian, who worked for private maritime security company (PMSC) Alphard, this week broke into the armoury onboard the Golden Palm, operated by Spain’s Palm Charters, and took the crew hostage again in his fight over back pay.

Splash understands that the tense standoff between the guard and the crew onboard the Golden Palm, which serves as a floating armoury and is currently in the Red Sea, has now been resolved.

Splash reported how the same man had taken over an Eagle Bulk ship for three days last month. He was one of three men who had been employed as security for a Red Sea transit.

The Jaeger case prompted James Wilkes from Grey Page to write a column for Splash earlier this month about the dire financial situation of many PMSCs.

“At the micro-level, an armed-guard, ostensibly driven out of his mind by desperation, lost the plot and hijacked a ship for three days,” Wilkes wrote of last month’s hostage taking, adding: “In mitigation perhaps, five months-plus stuck at sea, without pay and no prospect of relief can evidently drive a person beyond the edge.”

In 2017 the downward trend of large shipping losses continued, according to a new survey, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s (AGCS) Safety & Shipping Review.

Looking at the past decade the decline was 38% globally.

There were 94 total losses reported around the shipping world in 2017, down 4% year-on-year (98) — the second lowest in 10 years after 2014. Bad weather, such as typhoons and storms in Asia and the U.S., contributed to the loss of more than 20 vessels, according to the annual review, which analyzes reported shipping losses over 100 gross tons (GT).

“Globally, the decline in frequency and severity of total losses over the past year continues the positive trend of the past decade. Insurance claims have been relatively benign, reflecting improved ship design and the positive effects of risk management and safety regulation over time,” says Baptiste Ossena, global product leader, hull & marine liabilities, AGCS.

Dangerous Seas and Territorial Disputes

Political tensions around major Asian shipping routes are leading to disruption and a potentially heightened risk of collision. Already a key route for east-west trade from China, South Korea and Japan and accounting for one-third of global shipping trade, the South China Sea is also the cause of territorial disputes between several countries.

These disputes have resulted in increasing military presence in the South China Sea, with the U.S. and China conducting naval exercises. Last year saw two major collisions between U.S. naval ships and commercial vessels. The U.S.-guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan while the USS John S. McCain struck an oil tanker off Singapore.

“The territorial claims and disputes may have larger implications long-term and threaten the freedom of the seas in South East Asia, with implications for trade with Asia. A growing concentration of trade and political tensions increases volatility in the region creating safety issues,” says Andrew Kinsley, senior marine risk consultant with AGCS.

Losses in Asia rose year-on-year with incidents in South China, Indochina, Indonesia and Philippine maritime regions rising 25% making it the top area worldwide for major shipping incidents in the past decade, leading it to be dubbed the “new Bermuda Triangle.”

Across Asia and Africa, the threat of piracy remains high with regional waters accounting for 74% of all incidents worldwide despite record-lows globally. In 2017, incidents in Southeast Asia increased 11% (68) while Indonesia continues to be leading hotspot with 43. Attacks in the Philippines more than doubled from 10 in 2016 to 22 in 2017.

Emerging Risks Lead to Losses

There are multiple new risk exposures for the shipping sector: Ever-larger container ships — longer than the length of four football fields — pose fire containment and salvage issues, while climate change is impacting ice hazards, freeing up new trade routes in some areas but increasing the risk of collisions with ice in others. China is planning an “Arctic Silk Road” from new shipping lanes opened up by global warming and will conduct commercial voyages in Arctic waters to build its first polar expedition cruise ship by 2019.

Environmental scrutiny is also growing as the industry seeks to cut emissions, bringing new technical risks and the threat of machinery damage incidents. Other challenges are balancing the benefits and risks of increasing automation on board. The recent NotPetya malware on harbor logistics causing cargo delays and congestion at nearly 80 ports underlines the emerging risks that the sector faces, in addition to traditional ones.

Human Error a Big Issue

Despite decades of safety improvements, the shipping industry has no room for complacency. Fatal accidents such as the “Sanchi” tanker sinking off Shanghai waters in January and the two collisions involving U.S. Navy ships in Asia persist with human behavior often a factor. Estimates indicate that 75% to 96% of accidents involve human error. It is also behind 75% of 15,000 marine liability insurance claims analyzed by AGCS — costing $1.6 billion.

“Human error continues to be a major driver of incidents,” says Captain Rahul Khanna, global head of marine risk consulting, AGCS. “Inadequate shore-side support and commercial pressures have an important role to play in maritime safety and risk exposure. Tight schedules can have a detrimental impact on safety culture and decision-making.

“By analyzing data 24/7 we can gain insights from crew behavior and near-misses that can identify trends. The shipping industry has learned from losses in the past but predictive analysis could be the difference between a safe voyage and a disaster.”

Source: mhlnews

Japanese company e5 Lab has begun development of a standard model electrically powered vessel called the ROBOSHIP, with an integrated digital system called the ROBOSHIP BOX incorporating communications, Internet of Things (IoT) equipment and software.

The team is developing two types of electric vessels for ROBOSHIP Ver. 1.0, with standard gross tonnage specifications — 499 tons and 749 tons.

e5 Lab says that these craft will be able to achieve the same speed and sailing range as vessels currently in service, while achieving zero-emission operations in port by using large-capacity storage batteries in combination with a diesel-powered generator.

The onboard motors are powered only by electricity, and the current target is to maintain construction costs within 5% of the cost of comparable traditional vessels. ROBOSHIP Ver. 1.0 is slated for delivery in 2022.

As the technology matures, e5 Lab and its partners say they will look to offer the ROBOSHIP BOX and its EV powertrain as a commercial product to shipyards and shipowners.

Source: smartmaritimenetwork

SEJONG, South Korea

The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) is hosting a virtual e-Navigation Underway Conference (ENUW) from September 8th to 9th under the theme of ‘Collaborating to harmonize maritime digitalization’. The Conference will be held using a virtual platform, and is being co-organized with the Danish Maritime Administration (DMA) and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200818005422/en/

The series of ENUW Conferences, which were respectively held by the DMA for the European region from 2012, the US Coast Guard for the North American region from 2014, and the MOF for the Asia Pacific region from 2017, have been the catalyst facilitating the global development and implementation of e-Navigation.

This Conference will focus on initiating the ‘Digital@Sea Initiative’ as a global cooperation framework on maritime digitalization. Building on the IMO-led e-Navigation initiative, this Conference will explore future, digital maritime services and communication networks, challenges with maritime digitalization, and international cooperation.

DMA Director General, Mr. Andreas Nordseth, stressed that as well as increasing international cooperation on maritime digitalization in a comprehensive way, the Digital@Sea Initiative will lead to the practical implementation of many digitalization initiatives.

“International, Global harmonization of Standards is absolutely necessary for a successful implementation of the ambitious digital maritime agenda. The ENUW and Digital@Sea series of Conferences are a perfect step in that direction” IALA Secretary General, Mr. Francis Zachariae says.

At the Conference the MOF and Navelink will showcase the Maritime Connectivity Platform (MCP), demonstrating its use for the delivery of maritime digital services. The MCP is a platform that realizes global maritime digital services including the IMO’s e-Navigation maritime services. Mr. Sunbae Hong from the MOF says, “It is expected that more maritime communities will get most of their benefits and solutions from e-Navigation and through the MCP.”

This year’s Conference and official showcase will use real-time video in an online platform that allows more than 500 people to join in the discussion, and it will be livestreamed on YouTube. The Conference is free to attend. More information and the ability to register for the Conference is available on the Conference website (https://e-navap.org).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200818005422/en/

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries
ENUW AP 2020 Secretariat
Eunice Kim
+82-70-7688-3161
secretariat@e-navap.org

© Business Wire, Inc.

Synergy Group and D.S. NORDEN have formed a new joint venture to handle the technical management of NORDEN’s owned tanker vessels effective as of today.

Norden Synergy Ship Management (NSSM) is a 50/50 joint venture between NORDEN and Synergy and will be headed by Henrik Christensen who previously managed NORDEN’s Technical Department.

“NORDEN is a quality, historic and renowned shipping brand with an organisation that truly lives up to its motto ‘Smarter Global Trade’,” said Captain Rajesh Unni, CEO & Founder of Synergy Group.

“We see great alignment when we have partnered previously and we expect that to lead to more mutual wins in the future through NSSM.”

The formation of NSSM further cements the partnership between Synergy Group, one of the world’s leading ship managers with a fleet of over 300 vessels, and NORDEN, the globally renowned independent shipping company founded in 1871 and listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange.

Last year, NORDEN appointed Synergy Group to manage its fleet of owned bulk carriers, with management services provided from Synergy’s head office in Singapore and its technical office in Chennai, India.

NSSM will manage NORDEN’s current fleet of Medium Range (MR) and handysize product carriers from its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, with additional technical support provided by a 100%-owned subsidiary based in India.

Seafarers currently employed directly by NORDEN will be transferred to the joint venture where they will continue their employment on NORDEN-owned vessels under the same terms and conditions as before. All other seafarers will be offered new contracts through Synergy.

“Both teams are conscious about opportunities to make a difference in the industry,” added Captain Unni. “Culturally the teams have much in common and that to me is the key to this partnership.

“The joint venture will also take advantage of Synergy’s new generation digital ship offering – SMARTShip, an Internet of Things platform that enables improvement of vessel and fleet efficiency by bringing cutting edge computing to the high seas.”

Mr Christensen said he expected NSSM to benefit from Synergy Group’s longstanding reputation for excellence in all areas of shipmanagement. “Synergy has shown time and again that it is uniquely equipped to take on the most demanding technical and commercial shipmanagement challenges while also embracing the progressive core values of NORDEN on issues such as gender diversification, crew welfare and sustainability,” he said.

“Both organisations are fully aligned on these core values and in our shared view that digitalisation, smart shipping and the deployment of cutting-edge technology are critical to the successful management of vessels in the modern age.

“Together as NSSM, we will be able to deliver the full range of technical, crewing, training and technological service excellence required by NORDEN.”

Source: shipmanagementinternational