PDMS Targets Maritime Industry with £1m Deal
Maritime software engineering specialists PDMS Ltd. have announced an agreement for its U.K. subsidiary, Professional Data Management Services (U.K.) Ltd., to acquire certain parts of the business and assets of Maxima Information Group Limited, a subsidiary company within the Castleton Technology group of companies. In a deal worth close to £1 million, the acquisition relates to the ERP, payroll software and ferry ticketing business.
Exercise KAKADU War Games at Sea Kick Off
More than 1,200 mariners from the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions have completed the first sea phase of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest maritime warfare exercise, KAKADU 2014. Occurring off the coast of Darwin from August 25 to September 12, 2014, eight ships and 26 aircraft from Australia, Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand and the Philippines have been divided into two fleets for a fictitious battle over disputed maritime territory.
St. Lawrence Seaway Cargos up 3% over 2013
Total cargo shipments on the St. Lawrence Seaway have surpassed 2013 levels despite one of the most difficult starts to the shipping season in years due to ice coverage. According to Seaway figures, total cargo tonnage from March 25 to August 31 reached 20 million metric tons, up 3 percent over the same period last year. Vanta Coda, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said, “It’s…
Today in U.S. Naval History: September 4
Today in U.S. 1941 - German submarine, U-652, attacks USS Greer, which was tracking the submarine southeast of Iceland. Greer is not damaged, but drops depth charges, damaging U-652. 1954 - Icebreakers, USS Burton Island (AGB-1) and USCG Northwind, complete first transit of Northwest passage through McClure Strait. 1960 - USS Bushnell and Penguin begin relief operations in Marathon, Fla., after Hurricane Donna.
Greek Owner Docks Three with Gibdock
Piraeus-based Aegean Maritime Petroleum Network Inc. (AMPNI) has recently contracted Gibraltar yard Gibdock to carry out repairs to three of its vessels. The Aegean Princess, Halki and Nisyrus were all docked within the space of just over a month, underlining the yard’s growing success in attracting business from the Greek shipowner sector, based on quality of service, redelivery time and its location.
BP Says US Court Yet to Determine Penalty
Oil major BP said on Thursday it will appeal a U.S. court decision that found it grossly negligent with respect to the Gulf of Mexico 2010 oil spill and added the court will hold additional proceedings due to begin next January. BP said it will immediately appeal to the United States Court of Appeals as it believes the findings of the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana were not supported by the evidence at trial.
IMO Joins International Ebola Task Force
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has joined the international ad hoc Ebola Travel and Transport Task Force and is working with other United Nations…
Hapag-Lloyd, ABB Turbocharging Extend Maintenance Contract
Hapag-Lloyd has extended its longstanding maintenance agreement with ABB Turbocharging in Germany for a further year. The agreement extends a relationship that has existed since 2005.
Raytheon Anschütz Bags SMARTBLUE Order
Raytheon Anschütz announced the recent contract award for its SMARTBLUE maritime situational awareness system on board two vessels being built in South Korea for a major oil and gas company. The two vessels will operate on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. For each vessel, Raytheon Anschütz will provide two 12ft X-band radars integrated with AIS to a SMARTBLUE sensor management pack. The pack will correlate…
Gladding-Hearn Delivers Fast Response Boat
Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered the first multi-purpose, fast response pilot boat in North America with firefighting capabilities and equipped with Volvo Penta’s Dynamic Positioning System. The all-aluminum vessel, designed jointly by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard and C. Raymond Hunt Associates, has a deep-V hull, measuring 64.11 feet overall, with a 21.4-foot beam and a 6-foot draft.
France Sets Terms for Warship Delivery to Russia
French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that a ceasefire and a political settlement in Ukraine were conditions for France to deliver a warship it has built for Russia.
Report Examines Dutch Banks’ Approach to Shipbreaking
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a global coalition of human rights, labor rights and environmental organizations working to prevent dangerous and dirty ship recycling practices worldwide, has made available a report titled Case study: Dutch banking groups and shipbreaking on its website. This is the English version of a report initially published by the Dutch consultancy Profundo, on behalf of the Eerlijke Bankwijzer (Fair Bank Guide)…
Ocean Rig Orders Kongsberg Offshore Simulator
Ocean Rig UDW Inc. has chosen Kongsberg Maritime to supply an extensive offshore and navigation simulator package for a brand new training center. With a sophisticated integrated simulator suite, enabling specific operations and vessel team training, Ocean Rig’s new facility, is shaping up to become one of the world’s most advanced offshore training centers, Kongsberg Maritime said. Ocean Rig owns…
BP Shares Hit by US Ruling on 2010 Oil Spill
Shares in BP fell sharply on Thursday after a judge in the United States said the oil major had been negligent in events leading up to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
A Heavyweight on Display at SMM
On Thursday morning a huge mobile crane placed the five-blade ship propeller in front of the main entrance of Hamburg's fair center, Hamburg Messe. The propeller is a head-turner at this year's SMM, the leading international trade fair of the maritime industry. Weighing in at around 80 metric tons, with a diameter greater than nine meters and a total blade surface area of 42 square meters, the ship…
ABS Adds First Japanese-flagged Carrier to its Classed Fleet
ABS has added the first Japanese-flagged vessel to its classed fleet after having been awarded the status of a 'Recognized Organization' (RO) by the Japanese government.
SSI Releases ShipConstructor 2015, PublisherLT
SSI announced the launch of two new offerings: ShipConstructor 2015 and PublisherLT for the EnterprisePlatform. The release of ShipConstructor 2015 CAD/CAM software is a key part of SSI's new plan to increase flexibility, security, convenience and simplicity for its clients in the shipbuilding and offshore markets, the company said. According to SSI, ShipConstructor 2015 contains a significant augmentation that will immediately be of benefit: the addition of several new catalogs.
Former ONR Deputy Director Ng Joins NCE
Marine acoustics company Noise Control Engineering, LLC (NCE) announced that it has hired Dr. Kam W. Ng, formerly the Deputy Director of Research at the Office of Naval Research, as its new Director of Business Development. Dr. Ng will bring his technical and managerial skills to NCE which includes expertise in the areas of Acoustics and Noise Control, Signal Processing and Fault Detection, Smart Materials, Active Nonlinear Control and Science and Technology Management. Dr.
French Ferry Firm Loses State Aid Appeal
Cash-strapped ferry operator SNCM looks set to seek legal protection from its creditors after Europe's highest court ruled on Thursday it must pay back 220 million euros ($289 million) of French state aid. SNCM, owned 66 percent by transport group Transdev, has racked up losses as low-cost competitors have eaten away its market share and is fast running out of funds. Transdev - itself a joint venture…
MES Retrofits Hybrid System to RTGs in Thailand
Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES), its subsidiary, MES Technoservice Co., Ltd. (STS) have retrofitted latest hybrid system to the existing five units of RTGs with two months erection period at site and successfully handed over to Leam Chabang International Terminal Co., Ltd. in Leam Chabang Thailand in this August. This retrofitting job has been ordered followed by the successful energy saving performance on one unit of RTG retrofitting…
