Shipping and Marine Issue 112 Early Edition

signals for the futureonce again sMM will welcome the

who's who from all segments of the global maritime industry

Mission criticalthe norwegian navy is making use of integrated resource planning as

part of its counter piracy operations

ISS

UE

112

Ea

rly

iMproved understandingWhy bunkering treasury

departments should consider using automated, cloud-based software

ThE magazInE for marITImE managEmEnT

changeWinds of

The continuing development of offshore renewable energy around the UK coast promises exciting opportunities for UK ports

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The highlight of the maritime calendar, the SMM event, is now rapidly approaching, and once again, promises to be a spectacular sight. This year’s event is highlighting ‘innovation’ and each day of the fair is dedicated to a different theme – Finance, Environmental Protection, Security & Defence, Offshore and Recruitment. As Bernd Aufderheide, CEO and president of Hamburg Messe und

Congress GmbH explained to Shipping & Marine, the preliminary

programme of the exhibition underscores the importance of SMM as

the leading global trade event. He stated: “I’m looking forward to these

theme days. They will cover a full range of subjects, pointing the way to

the industry’s future. Distinguished experts from around the world will be

speaking and discussing at conferences and workshops, giving a whole

range of views.”

I’d love to hear your feedback after the show!

www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 1

editor’s commenteditor’s comment

futureSignals for the signals for the future

once again sMM will welcome the who's who from all segments of the

global maritime industry

Mission criticalthe norwegian navy is making use of integrated resource planning as

part of its counter piracy operations

ISS

UE

112

Ea

rly

iMproved understandingWhy bunkering treasury

departments should consider using automated, cloud-based software

ThE magazInE for marITImE managEmEnT

changeWinds of

The continuing development of offshore renewable energy around the UK coast promises exciting opportunities for UK ports

2 - www.shippingandmarine.co.uk

FEATURES4 NewsUpdates and announcements from the shipping and maritime arena

8 Improved understandingHaving an accurate and real-time understanding of a company’s finances allows treasury departments to understand their cash position

10 The right direction With further technical innovation and improvement, we are guaranteed to see more applications of VTS coming to the fore

8

14

12 Mission criticalIFS technology has been helping the Norwegian Navy fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the horn of Africa

14 Talent competition Businesses need to diversify their recruitment models and rationalise their expectations

16 Winds of change Offshore renewable energy is offering new opportunities to UK ports, as David Varey tells Libbie Hammond

18 The ACCSEAS projectNavigating the North Sea region into the future

12


contentscontents

21 Signals for the futureThis year’s SMM, from 9th Sept – 12th Sept, will welcome the who’s who from all segments of the global maritime industry

26 Pres-Vac

29 NorYards

32 Clean Marine

35 Chiefmar

36 Herose

38 Data Modul

40 Heinen & Hopman

42 Van Aalst Group

44 Scanunit

profiles47 Guntermann and Drunck

51 Spliethoff Group

55 Jenkins Marine

57 LGS Matrix

60 Peel Ports Group

63 PRONAV Ship Management GmbH & Co KG

67 Seehafen Wismar

70 Rotortug

72 Dorian LPG

74 Clorius Controls

76 ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd

78 Port of Frederikshavn

80 Torgem Shipyard

82 Walter Lauk Group

84 Workships Contractors

86 Feederlines

89 MEC Panama

47

26

42

67

Seletar Services (part of Certas Energy and a leading stockist and supplier of lubricants) is re-launching its Great Yarmouth site following an investment of over £250,000 into developing new office and depot facilities.Ross Buckland, head of lubricants at Certas Energy, said: “The investment in the site is testament to our commitment to maintaining a long-term presence at our Great Yarmouth base, in order to provide the best possible service to our customers.”The site hosted an open day in May to show customers, such as Boston Putford, Shell Exploration, Seajacks and Air Products the improvements which have been made since the site was acquired in February 2012.“The open day was a great opportunity to catch up with our customers in person and show them the work we’ve done,” added Ross.The 24-hour facility in Great Yarmouth is the largest stockist of Shell and Castrol Offshore lubricants and is a stockist and delivery agent for air products.

Harkand has been awarded Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd’s 2014 ROVSV inspection services work along with a longer term frame agreement. The contract marks the first piece of work Harkand has undertaken for the operator.The inspection scope covers the Buzzard, Scott, Telford, Ettrick and Rochelle assets in the central North Sea and includes infield

pipelines and structures, export lines as well as some platform inspection.It will see the deployment of the Surf Ranger, which joined the Harkand fleet in May. The multi-purpose ROV, survey and air diving vessel will be equipped with high definition cameras, one work-class and two observation-class ROVs.

New contract

Site re-launch REO is building its first water-cooled resistors for ABB to test converters used in shipping, railway engineering and water power plants. ABB already uses water-cooled systems but this project represented an opportunity for REO to apply knowledge gained in research areas from inductor and resistor construction to entire control boxes.The load unit is comprised of 15 individual resistor groups each dissipating 30,000 kW of power using a coolant distribution system based on the REOhm BWD 330 resistor.

Claiming up to 88 per cent space saving for the BWD 330, the coolant distribution is set up in a Tichelmann Coil configuration, using a dual-pipework fluid transfer method similar in concept to the electrically equivalent ring main circuit typically found in UK homes. “Water-cooled components offer the highest degree of efficiency in cooling and REO offers not only individual components but also complete systems and pre-wired solutions,” claims Steve Hughes of REO UK. “These include water-cooled load banks for test facility use, as well as complete EMV solutions for water-cooled inverters with increased power for wind, solar, and industrial applications.”

Space saver


Photo by David Dodds

The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier was officially named by Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony in Scotland in July.Hundreds of workers who have helped to build the HMS Queen Elizabeth, along with the ship’s company, joined the Prime Minister, Defence Secretary, military Chiefs and dignitaries to witness Her Majesty christen her namesake with a bottle of whisky.

The ceremony, held at Rosyth dockyard near Edinburgh, marks the completion of the flagship which is the largest ship built for the Royal Navy:

• With a height of 56 metres she is taller than Niagara falls; • At 280 metres long she has a flight deck the size of 60 tennis courts; • Four jumbo jets could fit alongside each other on the 70 metre wide deck; • Her range is 10,000 nautical miles and she carries enough fuel to transport a family car to the moon and back 12 times; • She is fitted with a long-range 3D radar that is capable of tracking more than 1000 targets at once or can spot a tennis ball travelling at 2000 miles per hour.

The construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth has sustained around 8000 jobs at more than 100 companies across the UK. Blocks of the ship were manufactured at six yards in Devon, Rosyth, Portsmouth and on the Clyde and Tyne before being assembled in Rosyth.At the ceremony, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord, commented: “The naming of HMS Queen Elizabeth heralds a new dawn, not only for the Royal Navy but for the delivery of our Nation’s security. Her journey ahead will be global, strategic and one of inter-service and international partnership. Powerful, versatile and credible, this ship will be at the heart of the UK’s defence capability for the next 50 years, but she already stands testament to the best of British shipbuilding, engineering and technology.”


Official naming

MARITIME NEWSMARITIME NEWS

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) through the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and in partnership with a number of associations and industry bodies is making £9 million available to support the future of Maritime Autonomous Systems (MAS).Autonomy in Maritime Unmanned Vehicles offers the potential to transform the manner in which many activities are conducted at sea such as the clearance of sea mines and persistent wide area surveillance. This funding for the development of MAS is available through four initiatives each addressing different areas of maritime autonomy.Philip Smith, Affordable Maritime Presence Programme Manager at Dstl says: “The opportunities presented by Maritime Autonomous Systems are very exciting. However if we are to fully exploit these opportunities we need to invest in key areas such as ‘Supervised Autonomy’ and ‘Deployment & Recovery’ in order meet future requirements and position the UK as a world leader in next generation Maritime Mission Systems. The funding we are making available through these four initiatives is a significant step towards achieving this.”For more details on the initiatives, visit: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laboratory

Keep in touch

Globecomm Maritime, a leading provider of maritime communications solutions, has been awarded a contract to provide VSAT connectivity to PBJV Group’s barge Kota Laksamana 101. Globecomm will provide Ku-Band VSAT connectivity with L-band back-up to the specialist vessel during its deployment in waters off Bintulu.The barge, which accommodates up to 300 personnel, was recently chartered to Petronas, a fully integrated energy company based in Malaysia. Under the terms of the deal, PBJV is required to provide a dedicated 512kbps up and down link to Petronas staff working onboard the vessel. Although PBJV specified a pure data solution via a single satellite beam, the below decks equipment is also equipped with a VoIP solution. If Kota Laksamana 101 is awarded future charters in locations outside the current coverage, Globecomm can remotely re-configure the equipment to connect to other VSAT satellite operators.Globecomm Asia regional sales manager Kian Ong, who led the project, says the scope of Globecomm’s solution exceeded PBJV’s expectations, despite intense competition for the contract.“We knew that the client had requested multiple quotes and although we were not the cheapest, PBJV was convinced that we could provide the reliability of service that they need to keep their customer happy. The quality of the Ku-band VSAT connectivity provided a flexible primary service and the unlimited L-Band failover was an added reliability component that gave the Globecomm solution a distinct advantage.”

Taking the initiative

The Royal Navy’s largest ever warship HMS Queen Elizabeth is gently floated out of her dock for the first time in Rosyth, Scotland.

Bolero has confirmed that a full ePresentation involving a container electronic bill of lading (eBL) has been undertaken over its cloud-based platform, reflecting the growing demand for container eBLs among carriers and shippers. BHP Billiton sent a shipment from Australia to China, via the carrier company Pacific International Lines.“Having worked in container carrier operations teams for many years, it’s incredibly pleasing to see the use of eBLs becoming more and more prevalent in container shipments,” said Bolero carrier product manager, Aline Bezerra.“Bolero has listened closely to the container industry and their feedback on transactions carried out in 2012 and 2013. This feedback was incorporated into the Bolero solution. Since then adoption has risen significantly, with multiple carriers now using container eBLs smoothly and with full confidence.”In May, the shipping association BIMCO recognised the rising use of eBLs by adopting a new clause that effectively gives eBLs the same status as paper bills of lading under the terms of charter party agreements. Normal insurance liabilities are covered by the P&I clubs to the same extent when using eBLs as their paper equivalent.


Rising use of eBLs

Marine Oil Transportation Consultants Inc (MarinOIL) and Tuco Group of Denmark have concluded a co-operation agreement that will see the marine projects consultancy market the Tuco-designed and built ProZero workboat range to the offshore oil and gas sector.The agreement includes the ProZero surfer, a lightweight 16m waterjet powered crew boat capable of 23 knots carrying up to 12 passengers. The latest design, based on proven hull lines, has been developed for service in various offshore markets, employing a closed cell polyethylene foam fender for safer personnel transfers.Designed to be fast and efficient, the ProZero is also virtually unsinkable, thanks to its sandwich construction from glass fibre and carbon fibre around a PVC core which acts as a natural buoyancy reserve.MarinOIL director John M Kulukundis, said: “We have been consistently impressed with Tuco’s innovative use of technology in making the ProZero a highly effective surfer design and a quality alternative for offshore operators. Tuco boats deliver Scandinavian levels of quality and are an ideal fit for operators requiring fast, safe and efficient crew supply operations. The offshore industry depends upon continuous innovation and the ProZero range is a step forwards in the evolution of improved solutions for personnel transfer in offshore oil and gas as well as renewables markets.”

Super surfer Warbreck Engineering and Construction, a wholly owned subsidiary of the HS Ocean Group of Companies, has been awarded a key marine contract by BAE Systems, which will see Warbreck Engineering & Construction manufacturing a substantial structural support framework as part of a plan to create a full-size steel replica of the new Successor class submarine’s nuclear reactor compartment. The Successor class is the next generation of British nuclear submarine and will be amongst the stealthiest in the world, with the ability to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing. BAE Systems is the industrial lead for the Successor programme and together with partners Rolls-Royce and Babcock Marine will design the new generation of submarine. Warbeck Engineering and Construction is one of the first contractors to commence work on the project.The support framework will be manufactured and assembled in sections - dimensionally checked at each stage - and then shipped to the BAE Systems site in Barrow, where it will be re-assembled. Its primary use will be to allow personnel to safely access the mock up, carry out design justification reviews and assist in the development of future crew by enabling training activities to be undertaken in a ‘real life’ scenario. The replica will not contain any nuclear materials.

Siren warningChesil Beach has successfully upgraded its Flood Alert Siren with E2S Wide Area Signals. Parts of the beach have been flooded many times and many sea defence systems and flood drainages have been constructed at the Portland end of the Chesil Beach to try to alleviate the overtopping and flooding problems.In addition to sea and flood defences, the Environment Agency replaced their legacy sirens with wide area disaster warning sirens designed and manufactured in the UK by E2S Warning Signals in London. The sirens are sited at intervals through the community.The alarm sirens are intended to warn local residents and individuals present on the beach and nearby towns of a real danger of flooding so that evacuation can take place. In some locations people are advised to stay indoors when they hear the siren as waves come over the beach and sweep through the town. The location is particularly demanding due to the high background noise levels, the extremely exposed position and the high potential for risk to life. In stormy conditions, the noise of the waves, wind and moving shingle is very loud at this location. Responding to these challenges, E2S teams worked closely with the Environment Agency to ensure a suitable solution was found.

Stealth sub


MARITIME NEWSMARITIME NEWS

A photograph of the giant dockside cranes at the new London Gateway Port has come out top in the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) East of England ‘This is Civil Engineering’ photography competition.The photograph ‘London Gateway by Night’ was taken by Andrew Bowen, the Engineering Director of the project.The ICE competition has been running since 2008 with the aim of finding images that illustrate civil engineering and its importance to society and the economy.Alan Bennett of Media Image Solutions, one of the judges, said Andrew’s photo was a worthy winner. “The use of low angle camera position and a diagonal composition makes this a very strong image. Excellent technical skills to capture this with available light and the rain just adds a touch more drama in the form of mist and reflections,” he said.

Award winning photo

Shipowners and operators are reaping the benefits of the Wilhelmsen Ships Service Welding Safety Campaign, which highlights the need for safe equipment and working practices, together with quality training onboard ship.The campaign comprises inspections of onboard equipment to provide help and guidance to shipowners in complying with local and national standards and promoting crew competence.Danny Ingemann, WSS Business Director, Marine Products says: “The strong link that the Unitor brand has with shipowners and seafarers means we can fulfil equipment needs while maintaining a central focus on the safety of welding practices. The safety inspection service provides a means for owners to assess their current outfit, identify where improvements can be made and take steps to invest where needed.”

Top marks

http://www.sevenstar-emt.com

Despite the potential for efficiency savings in an industry where operating conditions are becoming more difficult year-on-year, the uptake of new technologies has so far been slow in the fuel oil and bunkering sector. This is especially true in treasury departments. It is critical that these departments look to adopt new technology, if they are to improve internal processes and reporting, which will in turn saving the company money and improve profit margins.

Selling bunker fuel to shipping operators is a capital-intensive

business. Discounting the ever-increasing cost of the fuel itself, the

process of transporting fuel from the refinery to the port is an expensive

one. However, traders are only paid 30 to 60 days after the fuel is

delivered.

At the risk of stating the obvious, in order to finance this process

traders use extensive revolving credit facilities, borrowing tens of millions

at any one time. Once the borrowed capital has been repaid, the small

difference between the cost of fuel and delivery and the price paid

by the buyer represents the trader’s profit. After the cost of capital

is deducted, the resulting margins are usually slim - especially in the

current economic climate.

For treasury departments in fuel trading companies, this trade

financing model can be a logistical nightmare. Traders might be

borrowing from multiple banks, using multiple credit facilities, operating

with multiple products in multiple currencies and in multiple geographies.

Clearly this represents an extraordinarily complex situation, with

treasury departments finding it difficult to properly track and manage

individual lines of credit or get a clear picture of how much cash the

company has. Cash is the lifeblood of any organisation and it is critical

that management has an accurate and up to date - daily at the very

least - account of the cash status.

This situation is compounded by the fact that many trading

companies are still using basic technology to manage their treasury

functions, including spreadsheets. This is untenable for several reasons.

For one thing, the potential for human error is huge. Manual entry of

data for treasury departments is a big risk, when even a small mistake

could have extremely serious financial ramifications. More prosaically,

failing to properly save a spreadsheet, failing to back it up, or infection

by a computer virus could result in the company losing all of its financial

information. For any company, never mind a multi-million or -billion dollar

fuel oil trading company, this could be fatal.

Spreadsheets are also time-consuming. Manual data entry means a

company never has a real-time view of its finances. Filling spreadsheet

cells with relevant information can take days – even weeks. As a result,

many companies only ever have an outdated view of their cash-flow

status. Even on-premise ERP software, which does a better job of

managing the treasury functions, can lag behind badly. In a truly global

industry that operates 24 hours a day, this isn’t good enough.

It is also important to note that these complex macro driven

spreadsheets are operated by one or two people who may be on leave,

sick or otherwise absent - thereby putting cash related decisions at risk.


Why adoption of new technology by treasury departments is critical to the future of oil trading companies. By Alok Sharma

understandingImproved

enjoyed in the past. Other regulations like The Dodd-Frank Act and

Solvency II are also placing much greater reporting conditions on

oil trading companies. Spreadsheets just aren’t up to the task of the

massive data retrieval and analysis involved in sophisticated financial

reporting.

Having an accurate and real-time understanding of a company’s

finances allows treasury departments to better understand the

company’s real cash position in seconds rather than days. This in

turn cuts the time needed to consolidate cash forecasts and for the

company to fully appreciate its funding needs. In an industry where

risk is inherent, this improved understanding makes for far better risk-

management. n

This out-dated but well-embedded practice also means trading

companies don’t have a complete picture of their borrowing and the

cost of this borrowing. With so much information organised in such a

disparate way, it is impossible for treasury departments to tell whether

borrowing costs are as low as they could be. With hundreds of lines

of credit borrowed on different terms, it is almost impossible to bring

them all together in one place to provide a consolidated picture of true

borrowing costs and identify the most efficient lines of credit. This

means that traders are missing the opportunity to improve their margins

by lowering costs.

Using more sophisticated, automated, cloud-based software is one

way for treasury departments in oil trading companies to avoid all of the

problems associated with spreadsheets and old, on-premise systems,

and stay competitive in increasingly difficult operating conditions.

For example, software that automatically integrates and updates all

credit lines as they are agreed gives traders a complete view of their

borrowing and allows them to better understand their costs. Automatic

comparison of different terms and conditions means borrowing costs

can be optimised. Some oil trading companies who have made the

change from using spreadsheets have achieved significant savings by

improving cash visibility and reducing cost of capital.

New financial reporting regulations are also making the need for

optimised borrowing even more urgent. Basel III for example, a global

standard on capital and liquidity risk, is adding to the cost of borrowing

for many shipping companies as banks try to minimise their own risk

and are therefore less willing to lend on the favourable terms traders


BUNKERINGBUNKERING

Alok Sharma is head of marine at

Inatech, a leading global provider of

intelligent cloud-enabled and on-premise

consulting, ERP implementation,

managed services and marine solutions.

Inatech’s modular portfolio of IT and

ERP products complements its vast

experience of successfully managing

Oracle and Microsoft Implementations.

Clients benefit from an international

delivery model that promotes the

competitive edge needed to thrive in today’s dynamic markets.

For further information visit: www.inatech.com.

With the growing competition and continued innovation by the technology providers VTS systems have become more modular, scalable, agile and affordable than ever before. This – combined with innovation in the sensor technology – makes a whole new range of applications commercially viable, and opens up the technology to a wider base of adopters. The VTS domain rapidly democratises, and evolves into a much wider area of broadly defined Maritime Domain Awareness.

Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) are provided to the vessels navigating

in selected areas, with the prime purpose of enhancing the safety

of navigation. The level of services provided by VTS vary by the

area, starting with provision of information only, and scaling up to

fully-fledged maritime traffic control where required, for example in

especially busy, urban or environmentally sensitive waters.

VTS schemes are operated by the waterway authorities

responsible for the safety of navigation in the area, and are mandated

by national maritime authorities, such as the Maritime Coastguard

Agency in the United Kingdom. These are usually operated by local

authorities such as ports and waterways, or by the national maritime

agencies.

VTS schemes are operated by trained personnel, who actively

monitor the area using a dedicated Vessel Traffic System (sometimes

also called a Vessel Traffic Management Information System, VTMIS).

A Vessel Traffic System is a set of technical tools and components,

which work together to provide a VTS Operator (VTSO) with the

best possible picture of the traffic in the monitored area. The tools

available to the VTSO include a VTS Display System and VHF radio for

communication with the monitored vessels.

In order to provide the VTSO with the picture of the traffic, and

to build his awareness of the navigational situation, a range of

technologies are employed in orchestration. These include the vessel

sensors, the data processing components (including networking and

data base) and VTS Displays.

Sensors are necessary to detect the vessels and report their

positions and behaviours. Processors store and disseminate the data

to displays. The displays overlay the traffic information on Electronic

Navigational Charts (ENCs) and allow the VTSOs to interact with and

understand the traffic information.

Sensors usually include radars, Automatic Identification System

(AIS) base stations, and Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras.

These may be supplemented with other sensors monitoring tide,

waves, currents, and weather. Every type of sensor has its limitations,


Beyond VTS: Maritime Domain Awareness. By Dr Rafal GoralskidirectionThe right

GeoVS Viewer – live 3D VTS display of the marine traffic in the Port of Vancouver

investigation bodies and insurance companies use VTS recordings in

their accident investigation.

VTS systems are integrated with port planning systems to optimise

allocation of jetties and management of services such as tugs,

pilotage, bunker, and other supplies. Where required, VTS systems

help to fulfil legally imposed vessel movement reporting regimes.

Tide gauges, meteorological data enabled AIS Aids-to-Navigation

(AtoNs) and dynamic underwater keel clearance systems provide

additional insight and protection to environmentally sensitive areas,

such as the Great Barrier Reef, or to underwater infrastructure such as

pipelines.

Recently, the development of low-cost, self-contained, battery-

powered Identifier-class AIS transponders, which can be deployed

even on the simplest and smallest of vessels – including these lacking

any source of electricity – made monitoring of the national fishing

fleets in all regions of the world technically and economically viable.

The Identifier-class AIS devices have their usual AIS reception

range – which normally would be limited by the line-of-sight, which

depending on the height of the receiver antenna may go up to 60 or

more NM – further extended by the satellite reception technology.

This enables vessels to be monitored in the entire Exclusive Economic

Zone (EEZ) which extends to 200NM from any marine nations’

coastline.

The above list does not exhaust all possible applications of the VTS

technology, and with the further technical innovation and improvement

of availability and affordability of the VTS systems we are guaranteed

to see many more applications coming to the fore in the future. n

and so the widest possible range of sensors is desirable to build the

most integral traffic picture. However there are some – especially

smaller – systems that work with AIS or radar sensors exclusively.

Combining and displaying the information from multiple sensors

in a manner which is easy to comprehend, interpret and act upon by

VTSOs poses a challenge, and hence VTS Displays play an equally

crucial role in any traffic monitoring system.

The ergonomics and clarity of the displayed picture determines

the cognitive ability of the VTSO to build his situational awareness

and respond to the developing navigational situations. The recently

introduced state-of-the-art 3D VTS displays greatly enhance this

ability, supporting faster, more natural, complete and accurate

comprehension while reducing the VTSO’s fatigue.

The description of Vessel Traffic Services provided above focused

on formally mandated and operated VTS schemes. However, VTS

technology is increasingly used and adopted by a wide and diverse

range of organisations that have a need to monitor the marine traffic

in their areas of operations. This is done for a number of reasons,

which include ensuring the safety of operations, improving operational

efficiency and protecting vital infrastructure.

With the growing competition and continued innovation by the

technology providers VTS systems have become more modular,

scalable, agile and affordable than ever before. This – combined with

innovation in the sensor technology – makes a whole new range of

applications commercially viable, and opens up the technology to a

wider base of adopters. The VTS domain rapidly democratises, and

evolves into a much wider area of a broadly defined Maritime Domain

Awareness (MDA).

Smaller ports deploy low-scale VTS systems to monitor and record

traffic in their waters. Offshore energy companies monitor operations

around their oil & gas drilling and production rigs, and around offshore

wind farms. Police departments and coastguards use the systems

to detect illegal vessels and enforce speed limits. Marine incident


vessel trackingvessel tracking

Dr Rafal Goralski is director of technology, SRT Marine System Solutions.

SRT Marine System Solutions, a member of the UK-based SRT plc

group, provides complete AIS-based MDA solutions, scalable from a

single local port to national coverage. SRT provides a full range of high

quality AIS transceivers for vessels and buoys of all sizes and types. Its

GeoVS 3D VTS system offers the ultimate in maritime data display and

situational awareness.

For further information visit: www.srt-marinesystems.com.

Identifier-class AIS device on a fishing boat in Oman

AIS AtoN device on a weather buoy

Operation Ocean Shield is the NATO counter-piracy operation in the

Gulf of Aden and off the horn of Africa. NATO’s role in the region is to

deter and disrupt pirate attacks, ensuring the safety of the hundreds of

vessels that travel through the region every day. This operation began in

August 2009, working alongside US-led maritime forces, EU naval forces

and national figures working against the threat of piracy in the region.

This approach and the Norwegian Navy’s involvement has been

exceptionally successful across the region of two million square miles.

In 2009 there were 45 hijacks and 130 attacks but within three years of

the operation, the number of hijacks had fallen to five and there were 115

fewer attacks. Between 2011 and 2012, attacks fell by 80 per cent. Under

this operation, the Norwegian Navy working within NATO command

conducts intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions to

verify the activity of shipping off the coast of Somalia. Commercial ships

that are transiting the area are monitored and in many cases escorted

to ensure their safe passage. Through the NATO Shipping Centre, pirate

activity can be reported and shared to prevent attacks and enhance

situational awareness of the maritime environment.

Between 6th June and 6th December 2013, Norway was in command

of this operation, led by the Norwegian Flagship Fridtjof Nansen. A key

element of this Norwegian Frigate’s ability to carry out its duties and be

ready for action at a moment’s notice is its Logistics Support solution

developed and supported by IFS.

The Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) has been a customer of IFS

since 2000. It is currently operating IFS Applications in the onshore


Keeping the Norwegian Navy in a state of readiness to support the ‘War on Pirates’

criticalMission

The ‘war on pirates’ continues on a daily basis, with NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield counter-piracy operations having been extended into 2016. The second half of 2013 was Norway’s turn to take command of the operation and below, Espen Olsen, European director for aerospace & defence at IFS, comments on how the Norwegian Navy’s use of integrated resource planning technology is making the ‘war on pirates’ possible, enabling frigates to be ready for action, and with all the information they need on board.

addition the IFS solution helps simplify some 1m work-flow steps, and

manages 17,000 possible configuration options.

So the complexity of the operation demands an integrated approach

and IFS meets that requirement particularly as information relating

to spare parts is a crucial aspect for the Navy, as delivery times can

often be long, with access to parts often extremely difficult. Yet the

assets have to be ready for action at a minute’s notice. Cannibalisation

of parts is also important, but in order for this to be successful, there

must be reliable information as to where parts are, and the status of

replacements.

So the solution, IFS Applications, has to encompass the entire

enterprise resource planning from project management and approval

routing, configuration management, document management and

archiving, to project delivery and warehousing, purchasing, warranty and

change management. No mean task, but essential if the ‘war on pirates’

is to continue to be successful. n

For further information, visit: www.ifsworld.com/ifsdefence.

environment as well as on-board ships and vessels whether they are

deployed into operations outside of Norway or guarding the Norwegian

sovereignty in domestic waters. The solution it operates is a distributed

solution between the ships and the dockyards, which is also integrated

into the Government Finance and HR solution. It meets the Norwegian

Navy’s operational requirement for six months’ operation in autonomous

mode when deployed.

While deployed, the ships can process work as usual and the

solution supports master configuration data, configuration management,

cannibalisation, document management and supply chain management.

It also supports management of valid and allowable configuration,

maintenance planning, fault reporting and purchasing, inventory,

stocktaking and more.

The solution is currently deployed on 18 ships in operation, with plans

for a further 20 or more in the coming months, and the maintenance

plans for the frigates alone equates to 3500 tasks and 7000 spare

parts per ship. It also helps support and inventory some 50,000 parts

with 12,500 in the dockside warehouse and up to 7000 on each ship. In

IFS Applications, has to encompass the entire enterprise resource planning

from project management and approval routing, configuration management, document management and archiving, to project delivery and warehousing, purchasing, warranty and change management. No mean task, but essential if the ‘war on pirates’ is to continue to be successful


TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY

critical ‘‘

Despite many differences, the maritime and oil and gas sectors are grappling with a similar transitional trend when it comes to attracting and retaining staff. Although undoubtedly adversely affected, both sectors remained fairly buoyant through a contracted market. What this means is there isn’t a large pool of candidates awaiting an opportunity to get back on the career ladder now that the market is on the up, pushing the sectors in to an advanced skills gap.

It is nothing new to talk about the engineering skills gap. Engineering

businesses across all sectors have been struggling to recruit

professional engineers for a number of years, and despite various

initiatives, progress is laboriously slow. However the effect that this gap

has on the individual sectors of engineering is not at all common. The

challenge of recruiting in aerospace or motorsport (and there still is one)

is barely comparable to its maritime and oil and gas equivalents.

Matchtech and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and

Technology (IMarEST) published a joint research project earlier this

year, which revealed that 90 per cent of the 500 maritime and oil and

gas employers surveyed are currently struggling to recruit professional

engineers. The report confirmed the skills gap climate had worsened

against improving market conditions, so it is imperative that companies

need to refocus their efforts to attract candidates into their organisation.

The challenge of recruiting in these sectors is exacerbated by the

lack of media representation and wider understanding in the market,

adversely affecting those choosing it as a potential career. It would

appear that many future engineers are simply unaware of the vast

opportunities available within these sectors. The perceived lack of

knowledge about the maritime and oil and gas industries within schools

translates to careers such as ‘naval architect’ or ‘chemical engineer’

being completely omitted from career guidance workshops outside of

UK port cities.

This issue is reinforced by the lack of growth in students graduating

with maritime related degrees. Over the last decade, the number of

individuals graduating in Naval Architecture has increased by an

average of 0.61 per cent year-on-year and maritime technology, by

0.6 per cent. This comes at a time when record numbers of engineers

within maritime and oil and gas are reaching retirement age. Without

transferring this knowledge and bolstering the talent pool, a huge

amount of experience will be lost to the industry within the next

ten years.

The lack of graduates entering the industry is not the only area in

which the maritime and oil and gas market is underrepresented. The

same difficulty exists with increasing its gender diversity. This is an

industry wide issue where only eight per cent of the entire engineering

population is female; an interesting statistic when compared with China


Natalie Desty discusses why maritime companies need to diversify their recruitment strategies in this dynamic market

competitionTalent

the world in both established and emerging markets, meaning that

even when businesses manage to launch a successful recruitment

campaign abroad, the competition for talent may be just as high.

Another key trend, which is arguably more sustainable, is the transfer

of talent from other industries. The oil and gas market, especially the

subsea sector, have been the trailblazers in these initiatives and are

devising ‘Transfer of Learning’ programmes in an effort to close the gap.

The innovative companies have recognised the changing market

dynamics and the need to incorporate sustainable solutions in to their

recruitment strategies. For those businesses who fail to diversify their

recruitment model or rationalise their expectations, the skills gap will

only grow. n

who has rapidly increased engineering diversity over the last five years,

achieving current diversity figures of 33 per cent. Current estimates put

maritime and oil and gas gender diversity at five per cent or lower. With

52 per cent of the population being female, increasing this figure is a

good place for the industry to focus its efforts to combat the gap.

These challenges in recruitment make for a very competitive market,

where in the majority of cases, demand simply outstrips supply,

especially for SMEs. This is creating a trend of competition and in some

instances a ‘recruitment war’ for talent. Structured graduate programmes

are still few and far between in many areas of the industry, meaning

that the graduate-plus-five-year talent pool is fiercely competitive and

in many cases disproportionately remunerated. This trend towards

a candidate-dominated market has intensified further over the last

12 months meaning that salaries and contractor rates are increasing

as companies compete for the best, and more remarkably, available

talent. It also means that your average employee is far more likely to be

poached by a competitor, making employee engagement and talent

retention efforts vitally important.

To combat the challenges of a saturated market place, businesses

are increasingly looking beyond UK shores in an effort to increase the

skills available to them. Despite the apparent availability of engineers

abroad, the UK isn’t the only country fishing in the European talent pool.

Opportunities within maritime and oil and gas are increasing throughout


recruitmentrecruitment

Natalie Desty is head of maritime, oil and gas, at Matchtech. She has

ten years’ experience in recruitment within the engineering sector and

is a member of the Marine Industries Alliance skills group. Desty is the

author of the ‘Mitigating the Skills Gap within the Maritime and Oil &

Gas Industry’ report, published in February 2014. The report came after

an industry roundtable event at London International Shipping Week

which led to 16 key recommendations covering industry perception,

education initiatives and creating opportunities to engage a wider exist-

ing engineering talent base.

To download your copy of the report, visit: http://community.

matchtech.com/news/maritime-oil-gas-paper/

If the offshore renewable sector is to expand as planned, it

appears that there is a great opportunity for ports around the UK to

participate and share this growth. As David Varey, General Manager

Conservancy and Port Development at PD Ports highlighted,

many are already involved in some way. “PD Ports operates at 11

locations around the coast of the UK and to some extent all have

seen activities concerning offshore renewable energy, although

Hartlepool has been the main focus, following a major contract with

EDF,” he said. “This was the port where EDF’s Tees Bay installation

was mobilised from, and this ranged from foundations to transition

pieces, to the wind turbines themselves - 27 full turbine assemblies

were installed from there, over a period of about 18 months. EDF has

also constructed its operation and maintenance (O&M) base there

as well, and for this project we prepared a big lay down area for the

turbines and we put a rock blanket on the harbour floor for MPI jack

up vessels,” said David.

“This is further supported by a cluster of related businesses all

based at Hartlepool, including JDR Cables, who provided cabling

for London Array and Greater Gabbard, and Hereema Offshore

who manufactured topside transformers for London Array as well.

We feel now that we have the track record and the facilities that

enable us to put Hartlepool forward with some credibility for future

renewable projects.”

The Tees Bay project gave PD Ports a valuable insight into

working on offshore renewable installations, and David admitted

it was a learning curve for the company. “To be frank, the early

potential of offshore renewable energy somewhat set the UK ports

industry alight, but over time it has become clear that the industry


The continuing development of offshore renewable energy around the UK coast promises exciting opportunities for UK ports, as David Varey of PD Ports discusses with Libbie Hammond

changeWinds of

According to RenewableUK the total offshore generating capacity in UK waters provides around eight terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, equivalent to the electricity consumption of around two million homes. In addition to the capacity already installed, a further 5.7GW is either in construction or has planning approval, and a further 12.3GW is in the planning system. Furthermore, in 2013, Ernst and Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) confirmed the UK as the number one country in the world for offshore wind investment.

Bank is 150 miles offshore, yet it is still unclear how deep sea O&M

is going to be undertaken,” he said. “As we go this far offshore the

type of vessels that are going to be used to service the turbines will

require deeper water and fairly substantial fixed support facilities in

the ports.

“From PD Ports point of view we are sticking close to the

industry and the turbine manufacturers and getting their ideas on

what type of vessels they are going to require, not just for installation

support, but also for accommodation and transportation – staff

will not be able to return to port each night in a small craft as they

did on the Tees Bay project. I see big opportunities for both Tees

and Hartlepool when it comes to deep sea O&M, and we are also

already bidding on other projects where our experience is of interest

to developers.” n

actually requires some specific attributes - deep water, high load

factors on the quay, and dedicated manufacturing facilities at the

port. I think that is why we have seen Siemens creating its own

dedicated turbine factory in Hull, for example.”

This need for these particular improvements to traditional port

facilities does raise issues. “These are massive projects requiring

huge investments, it’s not something you can invest in speculatively

and hope you win a contract afterwards,” said David. “We wouldn’t

spend tens of millions of pounds increasing the load factors of our

quay to perhaps 20 tonnes a sq mtr, in the hope we will get some

business along the line somewhere. We would only do that if we had

a project under our belt supporting it.”

David also noted that slipping timescales and cancelled projects

have been a blow to the confidence of the ports sector in 2014. “I

think we have to appreciate that this is an industry that might not

see its heyday until 2020, but we can’t afford to sit back and wait, we

have to be highlighting to the renewables sector that we are aware

of what they need now. But that does need to be backed up with

long-term commitments.”

While multi-million pound investments are unlikely to be made

speculatively, David does believe there are many other opportunities

for UK ports that don’t require that kind of financial commitment.

“There are a whole plethora of opportunities in cabling, sub

assembly, manufacture and storage of equipment prior to installation

(in particular monopiles and pin piles) as well as O&M services, and

that is where the UK port industry has a tremendous opportunity for

participation,” he explained.

Going forward PD Ports is keen to utilise the credentials it gained

on the EDF contract, and David believes that Hartlepool now offers

several benefits to installers. “The offshore renewables industry

is learning a lot from the oil and gas market and they’ve seen that

installing in the winter months leads to too much lost time. However,

the manufacturer of components still wants to carry on producing all

year, and so when it comes to storing very large items like monopiles

and jacket piles, they need a port with a large lay down area, as

we have at Hartlepool. It means that the items can be continually

delivered throughout winter, and once that five or six month

installation window opens they can start picking up straight away.”

David also sees opportunities for PD Ports in the O&M of Round

Three projects, which are going much further out to sea. “Dogger


renewable energyrenewable energy

changeBow TerminalBOW Terminal has been fully operational since 2010 and is a logistic provider in the energy market. Its terminals in Vlissingen and IJmuiden are excellently located at the North Sea and full-service 24 hrs, seven days a week. Vlissingen offers a 25 HA storage facility and the availability of permanent heavy lift capacity (upto 1,500 T: Gottwald MK1500 + Liebherr LR1600). Both terminals are perfect for offshore/heavy lift and multi cargo projects. IJmuiden is its full-service port for maintenance. Its services can be divided into: heavy lifting and site transportation, storage, mobilisation/demobilisation of barges/installation vessels, seafasting/pre-rigging/assembly of steel structures, ballast operations during load out, repair works/touch up painting, inland barging, custom formalities, engineering and project management. Next to the permanent heavy lift capacity upto 1,500 T, it offers SPMT’s to transport cargo up to 1,200 T on long-term lease as well as mobile harbour cranes (Gottwald HMK-120-H, Liebherr LHM-100, Liebherr LHM-320, Liebherr LHM-400) and its own pool of 150 riggers and operators. Safety, health and the environment are its priority according to ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 standards. BOW Terminal is a subsidiary of the Kloosterboer Group.

http://www.bowterminal.com

It’s a concept that is widely known and has become a term that can be interpreted to offer a range of solutions. It is designed to make maritime navigation safer and easier, which many see as a revolution in the way of working at sea.

ACCSEAS , an EU Interreg project led by 11 maritime partners is now

ramping up to its final stages, whereby demonstrations are planned and

offers readers the opportunity to engage with the e-navigation solutions it

has developed in this North Sea Region test-bed.

ACCSEAS Project Manager, Dr Alwyn Williams states: “e-navigation is

a technology that is not only key to improving safety and accessibility at

sea, but can reduce the administrative burden for a number of paper-

intensive procedures on the ship.”

IMO are expected to agree on an implementation plan for e-navigation

during this autumn, and e-navigation itself is expected to be implemented

globally during 2018 or 2019. While IMO, IALA and IHO provides a

framework for e-navigation, it is up to national maritime administrations to

develop software, test systems and technical standards that have to play

together.

IMO’s sec-gen Koji Sekimizi was impressed by the output from the

ACCSEAS test-bed at a recent visit to the General Lighthouse Authorities,

UK and Ireland and stated that ACCSEAS is an excellent project.

Supporting the Mariner…Focusing on one of the project partners work, the Danish Maritime

Authority (DMA), have been busy working with e-navigation for several

years.

It is anticipated that e-navigation will become a reality on ship bridges

in a few years. Its aim is to bring together all the important navigation

information in a harmonised, integrated system. Navigators can receive

relevant forecasts for current, wind, waves and water levels, ports,

navigation information and more, directly in the Electronic Chart Display

and Information System (ECDIS) or a dedicated display. As well as

supporting the mariner at sea, e-navigation will also assist the shore-


e-navigation is well on its way!

Navigating the North Sea region into the future

The ACCSEAS project

human errors in the transfer of the position information from existing

services to the paper chart.

Tactical Route Exchange

The idea of this service is that each ship broadcasts their planned route

to other vessels and/or shore-based authorities, with the intention to

minimise the risk of collisions. VTS centres, for example, could see all

the ships planned routes and advise, plan and take action if necessary. It

would also be possible to send a route proposal from an administration

to a ship. The issue of being able to transfer a recommended route

from a VTS centre to a ship’s ECDIS has been an intense discussion

point because there may be doubt about the division of responsibilities.

However, it is recognised that the master of a vessel has ultimate

responsibility for the final decision on whether to accept or decline a

suggested route.

The ability to transfer routes directly to the ECDIS can also be used for

SAR operations where a ship can transfer the search area, and search

patterns directly - with an indication of where the ship will sail. The head

of the operation (OSC) can continuously see all the participating ships

planned search patterns and have an overview of the areas that are

wanted.

based authorities, who will be able to pull information about the ship

directly from the system instead of resource-intensive reporting.

Single SystemThe premise of e-navigation is to gather all the relevant information on-

board a vessel, usually from different sources and separate equipment,

and make it available in a single system. The purpose is to make this

information available on the primary navigation system, so that the

mariner has a complete understanding of the environment surrounding

the vessel and its route.

With so much information potentially available to the mariner, it is critical

that they are not overloaded with too much information, which has the

potential to be confusing. With this in mind, the navigator can set up filters

so that only the information and warnings that are relevant for the route of

ship appears.

e-navigation will also help shore-based organisations, such as national

authorities, shipping companies and ports, by allowing access to the

harmonised set of information about the vessels. Receiving all information

digitally, minimising the usual sources of error, especially the human, is

expected to increase safety and efficiency of navigation. Information

available through the e-navigation system must only be available

by properly secure means to ensure the integrity, and

confidentiality, of the information made available.

“The advantage of such system is that navigators

would be able to provide information about the ship to a

port authority or the country’s authorities at the touch of a

button. All relevant agencies, even across national borders

would have access to information. In other words, there is

substantial simplification of the reporting work that many

today see as a complex, manual and time consuming

process,” explains Thomas Steen Christensen, Project

Manager in the Maritime Technology and Business

Development department at the Danish Maritime Authority.

Prototype Solutions The following solutions are just a couple of examples of the

solutions that have been developed within the ACCSEAS

test-bed. Demonstrations of these can be seen at the

upcoming final ACCSEAS conference 2015 in Rotterdam

chaired by maritime expert Kees Polderman.

Maritime Safety Information (MSI) / Notice to

Mariners

Today, navigation warnings are promulgated using VHF,

Navtex and SafetyNet. There are many warnings issued

and a large part of them are not relevant to the ship’s

position or route. It is noted that positions information is

given to one decimal place, which can be inaccurate when

viewing on, for example, electronic charts.

It is expected that navigation warnings in the future can

be output via various e-navigation channels. This means

that reception can be customised with a filter so that the

warnings are current for each ship on its planned route.

Positions can be given with greater resolution that is more

applicable for display on an ECDIS. The process excludes


accseasaccseas

Route suggestion

Exchange of intended route, inkl. route CPA/TCPA alarm


accseas

Visit the ACCSEAS website to view all of the solutions, watch the ACCSEAS films and download the leaflet www.accseas.eu. Contact: [email protected] , ACCSEAS Communications Officer, or visit ACCSEAS at SMM Hamburg: Hall A1, Stand 520

accseas

No Go Area (see picture below)

The No-go Area solution displays ‘no-go’ areas based on the vessel’s

draft, tides, weather and detailed depth data sent to the ship for viewing

directly on the navigation display that can be seen as depth contours

adapted to each ship.

e-navigation will be an ongoing process where more and more

equipment on-board vessels over the next few years will be ready for

e-navigation. Mariners can therefore start to benefit from the advantages

of e-navigation as it becomes widespread. It is anticipated that the

prototype communications infrastructure for the e-navigation system,

the so-called Maritime Cloud, will be

completed by 2018.

“The most important thing is that the

solutions will actually work on the ships,

particularly that it is suited to the needs

of the navigator, whilst recognising the

need to support other stakeholders in the

maritime and logistics world,” says Mads

Bentzen Billesø, himself a trained Master

Mariner and has been associated with

the development of e-navigation for over

six years. n

http://www.accseas.eu/register

SMM is one of the world’s most important industry events with a

high-level conference programme. In addition, the fair’s industry visitors

from all over the world are sure to benefit from the comprehensive

special-events programme with more than 150 individual events

(workshops, symposia etc.).

As Bernd Aufderheide, CEO and president of Hamburg Messe und

Congress GmbH explained to Shipping & Marine, the preliminary

programme of the exhibition underscores the importance of SMM as

the leading global trade event, and the leitmotiv that the organisers

have chosen for 2014 is ‘Innovation’. “SMM is the meeting place of the

leaders and decision makers of the maritime industry. On more than

90,000 square metres of exhibition space they will showcase their

Once again SMM will welcome the who’s who from all segments of the global maritime industry

future

Signalsfor the

Every two years Hamburg becomes the world capital of the maritime industry for five days. SMM, the leading international maritime trade fair, is a major meeting place for the decision makers of the maritime industry. For this year’s SMM, which will take place from 9 to 12 September and feature more than 2000 exhibitors, there is an anticipated attendance of over 50,000 industry visitors.

SMM 2014SMM 2014



SMM 2014SMM 2014

innovative technologies, products and services, set new trends,

meet up with customers and close business deals. Our fair sets

clear signals for the future and meets the expectations of the

industry as the leading trade fair for the maritime industry. It is a

great place for doing business. With its programme for 2014, SMM

underscores its position as the leading international event for the

entire maritime industry. SMM presents the world’s most advanced

technology and product developments. No other fair of our industry

offers remotely the diversity of international players present at

SMM,” he said.

He went onto explain

why 2014 sees each day

of the Fair dedicated to a

different theme (Finance,

Environmental Protection,

Security & Defence,

Offshore and Recruiting).

“For the first time, an

entire day of the fair will

be dedicated to each one

of our chosen themes,

with distinguished experts

from around the world

speaking in conferences

and workshops,” he noted.

“The SMM Ship Finance

Forum is a special event

held one day ahead of the

fair. Its top-flight international

participants will discuss

global financing challenges,

which are currently

http://www.smm-hamburg.com


troubling the shipbuilding and shipping industry. Environmental

Protection will be the featured topic on 9 September. The 2014 global

maritime environmental congress, or gmec, will be under the motto

‘Setting the Green Course’. The following day will focus on Security

and Defence. MS&D, the international conference on maritime

security and defence Hamburg, will study the security challenges

facing the maritime world. With political crises, piracy and terrorism

as constant threats, the conference will investigate new ways of

protecting sea routes and ports. Day three of the fair will see industry

experts discussing the potential of offshore oil and gas production

as well as offshore wind energy. The SMM Offshore Dialogue offers

representatives of the maritime and energy industries operating

offshore an excellent platform for sharing their views about the

challenges and opportunities they are facing, for assessing potential

synergies and jointly developing new strategies. The final day of SMM

will be dedicated to the topic of recruiting. The general shortage of

skilled workers in Germany is affecting the maritime industry, as well,

prompting many companies to reinforce their training and recruiting

efforts.”

He added: “I’m looking forward to these theme days. They will cover

a full range of subjects, pointing the way to the industry’s future.

Distinguished experts from around the world will be speaking and

discussing at conferences and workshops, giving a whole range of

views.”

Such is the scale of SMM that it takes up the entire space available

at Hamburg’s fair site: 11 exhibition halls (B1 to B7 and A1 to A4) plus

a temporary hall called B8. Bernd said: “Each hall will be dedicated

to one particular field of the shipping world. As mentioned, maritime

security and defence will be another major theme at SMM. The

security equipment section will be prominently represented at the

specially established exhibition space in the Hall B8, with numerous

technological innovations. The Hall B8, which we set up at SMM

this year for the second time, features exhibitors from the Maritime

Security & Defence, Shipyards and Shipbuilding Industry.”

SMM 2014SMM 2014


It is clear that the 2014 event is set up to be a spectacular sight, and

Bernd gave some details about what it is that sets this one event

apart from others in the maritime calendar: “Presenting products,

showcasing innovations, meeting new customers, enhancing

business relationships, closing deals, learning about the latest

research and development achievements of the industries – that is

what SMM is all about,” he said. “This is why the leading companies

and representatives of global maritime industry meet in Hamburg,

whether they hail from the shipbuilding, supply, shipping or marine

segment. Nowhere else can you find such a large, international

audience in such an efficient and perfectly suited environment.”

In addition to the Hamburg event, Hamburg Messe und Congress

GmbH, the company organising SMM, has also established two

international subsidiary fairs, SMM India and SMM Istanbul. “As

a globally leading trade fair we continually work to expand our

portfolio,” said Bernd. “We find it extremely important to go directly

to countries that are of particular interest to this industry. With this

holistic approach and our broad spectrum of international exhibitors

and visitors, SMM again and again demonstrates it is truly the world’s

leading trade fair for the maritime industry.”

He concluded: “I would like to point out that from 23 to 26 September,

just a few days after SMM, the WindEnergy Hamburg fair will open

its gates. The combination of these two events offers fascinating

synergies.” n

For further information please visit: www.smm-hamburg.com

http://www.guidance.eu.com


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the world. With over 200,000 valve solutions installed onto tanker vessels thus far, Pres-Vac today offers its customers the broadest spectrum of valves and venting systems on the maritime market.

Through a strong commitment to providing an unrivalled level of service and support to customers, the quality conscious firm has amassed an impressive customer base, including all of the leading tanker fleets across the globe. With a strategic network of knowledgeable, competent agents and distributors located in all major ship-owning and ship building countries, Pres-Vac can easily work with shipyards, naval architects and partners to deliver a close, transparent and successful relationship.

Previously featured in Shipping and Marine magazine in August 2012, Pres-Vac has spent the last 19 months developing its core products and strengthening strategies for ongoing growth, as Jens Ulrik Nielsen, business unit manager of Marine Nitrogen Gas Systems noted: “We have launched a strategic co-operation with another Danish provider of nitrogen systems, Oxymat, a production and engineering company that manufactures Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) based systems,” he noted.

The two companies are launching a campaign to promote advanced inert gas systems to the world’s largest shipping companies, shipyards and oil extraction companies. The partnership offers new, exciting and cost-saving opportunities for customers.

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Pres-Vac Marine Nitrogen Systems not only provide the onboard capability for generating a safe storage environment for hazardous cargo, preserving perishable goods, and ensuring the safety of crew but also provide significant operational cost-savings through total self-sufficiency and up to 30 per cent energy saving over conventional systems.


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These cost-effective systems utilise the very latest PSA technologies to fulfil stringent Class and IMO requirements in meeting the toughest commercial demands. By using PSA, Pres-Vac produces nitrogen through systems that are designed to meet the specific needs of its customers that operate or own vessels such as product tankers, chemical carriers, LPG carriers, LNG carriers and oil tankers. “We have seen a lot of enquiries from LNG newbuilds, which is related to the incident in Japan two years ago; since then many Japanese power plants were shut down there has been a noticeable increase in demand for LNG. On top of this, we have seen a spike in demand from bulkers carrying (toxic and flammable) chemical cargo, which is hazardous if not carried in an inert atmosphere,” said Jens. l

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Profile: NorYards


Originally operating as Bergen Group Shipyards, the wholly owned shipbuilding division of the Norway based Bergen Group, NorYards AS, was established in September 2013 following a deal with international

firm Calexco. Finalised on May 28th 2014, the transaction means NorYards is now 70 per cent owned by Calexco, which is owned by Ukraine investor Konstantyn Zhevago while the remaining 30 per cent stays within the Bergen Group. The new company will include NorYards Fosen and NorYards BMV shipyards, as well as NorYards Zaliv, to meet the comprehensive needs of the offshore industry, as CEO Johannes D. Neteland discusses: “Calexco is an investor that acquired two outfitting yards from the Bergen Group to merge with its hull yard and Zaliv shipyard in Crimea, Ukraine. In addition to the hull yard, Calexco has an engineering and design department, with approximately 80 highly trained naval engineers.

“As of the 1st March it has been my job to integrate the group of companies to ensure they can take responsibility of the whole value chain, from designing a ship, building a hull and delivering the ships for the offshore sector. This is the plan, however, due to political issues in Crimea it is very difficult for us to sell capacity in the eastern tip of the Crimean peninsular. To overcome this challenge we are buying hulls from other foreign yards, but the long-term

plan is to include the hull yard or even buy a new hull yard to ensure we can offer the whole value chain.”

Formed in 2002, the Laksevag based BMV (now NorYards BMV) boasts more than 100 years of shipbuilding; it has a strong reputation for building seismic vessels and custom-designed ships for the oil and gas industry. Equipped with workshop facilities, such as steel, pipes, a cleaning terminal, test terminal for motors and a steel cutting facility, NorYards BMV also has a flexible crane capacity of five tonne to 14 tonne railbound and up to 130 tonne via floating crane. Furthermore, it has a mobile crane with a 40 tonne capacity, 12,000 tonne floating dock and 600 metres of piers between five metre and 20 metres in depth.

Meanwhile, the modern, Rissa based NorYards Fosen has been involved in ship building, conversion and repair projects since

Bold advances

30- www.shippingandmarine.co.uk

Profile: NorYards

NorYards AS www.bergen-group.no• Seventy per cent owned by Calexco since May 2014• Now offers turnkey shipbuilding services• Major contract with NFDS Offshore

1918; as part of the NorYards Group, it provides exceptional services in outfitting vessels in the seismic, offshore, RoPax, passenger and cruise sectors.

Joining the two yards is JSC Shipyard Zaliv, one of the leading shipyards in East Europe; focused on providing the best possible solutions through investment and technical programmes, the yard not only looks to perfect shipbuilding and ship repair technologies, but to also minimise delivery times and improve quality. The shipyard is constantly looking to broaden its product range and repairs approximately 35 vessels per year.

Through combining the well-established experience of all three shipyards, the company will have enviable expertise in the construction and delivery of advance ships to the international market. Moreover, the merging of Bergen Group and Zaliv Shipyard’s design department with NorYards’ Design & Engineering (NSD), the company will be able to further strengthen its competence in providing a complete package to clients. “By taking control of the whole process we can give more security to our ship owners,” explains Johannes. “This is just one of our strengths; we are also a financially strong group and don’t have to worry about the shipping industry, which can be hard on capital. This is because, if the ship owner is interested, we have a shareholder that can take part of the equity side when we are selling the vessels.”

Despite facing the typical challenges of being a newly set up organisation in a conservative industry, NorYards was awarded its first contract with NFDS 2 Offshore for the outfitting and commissioning of a new anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) on a historical day for the company in May 2014, as Johannes highlights: “The 28th May 2014 was a very special day for NorYards; not only did we sign a contract for ship 84, we also transferred and delivered ship 83 and established ourselves as a

new company.” Following the successful delivery of its sister ship, which was outfitted and delivered earlier this year, the AHTS will be outfitted at the NorYards Fosen yard as of the third quarter of 2014 until delivery in the second quarter of 2015.

“We call this new ship number 84, as it is the sister ship of 83, which we are in the process of delivery right now following a recent naming ceremony. This major newbuilding contract for the outfitting and commissioning of number 84 is valued at NOK650 million; the hull is being built in China and is due for delivery in October, which will give us six months to outfit the vessel.” The AHTS is a VS 491 CD design, with a length of 91 metres, breadth of 22 metres and a minimum bollard pull of 285 tonnes; it will also have an ROV hangar.

With a strong market outlook for the construction of specialised and advanced offshore vessels, NorYards has the integrated experience, skills and financial strength to continue strengthening its position within the shipping and offshore markets, as Johannes concludes: “Throughout the rest of 2014 our focus is to sign new contracts and establish ourselves as a key player in the market. However, our more long-term goal is to build a competitive shipyard group with control over the whole value chain. We also want to build more standardised ships, as solely focusing on the construction of advanced, high-tech ships makes it difficult to progress into the production of more standard designs. Ideally we want to build between five and six ships a year, with a turnover of between three and a half to four billion euros. This is our goal.” l

http://www.noryards.com


ferries and cruise ships have departed with an early adoption of similar technologies, but the commercial industry is holding its breath. As the 11th hour approaches, Shipping and Marine magazine spoke to Pia Meling, sales and marketing manager for Clean Marine: “It is a six months lead-time from signing the

Perched in the starting blocks, Clean Marine waits for a signal. Having been in preparation since in 2006, it knows what is around the corner. There is less than ten months before ship owners operating in northern Europe and the

US will see their fuel bill increase substantially, unless they install an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS), which allows the vessel to run on the cheap and readily available HFO.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Annex VI sulphur regulation calls for a 0.1 per cent sulphur limit in Emission Control Areas (ECA) by 2015, and a worldwide limit of 0.5 per cent by 2020 or 2025. Approved ECAs include Baltic, North Sea, English Channel, US and Canadian coasts and inland waters. Helping ship owners to meet this tough target, the Norwegian company Clean Marine provides a unique, proven EGCS (also called scrubber) technology. Regarded as a pioneer in the EGCS industry the company is fully dedicated to emission cleaning for ships.

Strategic investment is crucial to business, but as ship owners play a waiting game, time does not participate. The passenger

The emission

challenge


Profile: Clean Marine

contract to completing the installation, and the longer the ship owner allows, the easier and cheaper the installation will be.

“We received the first fully commercial contract early in 2013 with Samsung Heavy Industries for two shuttle tankers being built for AET. These tankers are chartered to Statoil on a long contract and will be operating in the North Sea. Statoil’s pre-requisites stated that vessels operating on their contracts needed to conform to new regulations. This pattern we believe will continue to grow, with the upgrade being pushed by the charterers. At the moment there are just 150 contracts industry wide for EGCS installations, but we expect this to total more than 2000 over the next five years.” An understandable reluctance exists for ship owners to invest three million to four million USD without security of receiving a higher rate from the market, but when there is a long-term charter agreement in place already when the vessel is being built it is more likely that rates can be agreed to compensate for the extra cost of installing an EGCS. However, a two tier market will develop and the chartering market will very soon have different rate levels for ships with and without scrubber.

Pia Meling further explains that Clean Marine’s solution is the only proven system currently on the market where all exhaust sources on board, including boilers, can be served by one common EGCS unit without encountering an increase in back pressure: “Our system for AET cleans both sulphur oxides and particulate matters emissions from two main engines, five auxiliary engines and three boilers. In total, a single unit manages ten exhaust sources and cleans 240,000 kg of exhaust per hour.

“Our system is the perfect fit for this kind of vessel. The alternative from other suppliers is the installation of several scrubbers. By having just one scrubber unit, it is more cost

effective, with simple operation and maintenance procedures,” adds Pia. Clean Marine offers a proven hybrid system that can operate in both open and closed loop mode. It differs from other systems in that it uses caustic soda in both modes, which means vessels can operate in all types of water, including low alkaline and saline water, in either mode without loss of efficiency.

Furthermore, the use of caustic soda enables the Clean Marine EGCS to operate with a pH>6 at the outlet, making the effluent compliant with all IMO and regional/local regulations, which stipulate a maximum level of acidity in the effluent back to sea. Alternative open loop scrubbers produce more acidic wash water, promoting Clean Machine’s solution as environmentally beneficial. With regulatory variety in international waters, the system provides a future proof option for ship owners.

Payback on the investment is calculated to be around one year, assuming 100 per cent of operations are completed in an ECA with price difference of $300 per metric tonne between marine gas oil and a high sulphur fuel oil. The bulk carrier MV Balder was in 2013 reported to be the first vessel in the world to operate a full-scale EGCS in the North American ECA. “We have had around 1600 running hours related to testing our unit onboard the Balder. When the new ECA rules are enforced in 2015 the ship will have full commercial use of the system,” says Pia.

Clean Marine is supplying EGCS for various tanker vessels currently under construction at the leading Asian yards for AET, Dorian LPG and Stolt Tankers and is set to be a leading provider of EGCS for cargo ships. “Our latest contract, announced in January 2014, is with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a major shipyard in China. The ship owner, Stolt Tankers, decided to get the scrubbers installed early in the building process, recognising the


Profile: Clean Marine

Clean Marinewww.cleanmarine.no• Patented solution to emission challenge• Growing number of commercial contracts• Vessel in operation with pioneering technology

lead-time limitations. Having signed a contract with Clean Marine for installing EGCS on two of their newbuilds which are due in 2016/17 there is the option to add scrubbers on the rest of the fleet at a later date.

“We are a growing company with a proven and fully certified system. Having established several contracts with major shipyards

we are positioned for significant growth. We are one of only a handful of serious suppliers who have a commercial product ready. The cheapest solution is to install the unit while the vessel is being built, saving the cost of going off-hire. If there is a lack of funding or willingness to install the technology at this stage we urge newbuild ship owners to design the vessel with space to retrofit the technology,” says Pia.

As technology improves, the cost may eventually reduce, but in the short term, coinciding with the enforcement of regulations, the expected rush to install has the potential to drive the cost up, as Pia concludes: “Having invested a lot of time and money in our patented solution we are now building the organisation to meet tomorrow’s demand. We are taking on more project managers, developing an international network of sales- and support agents as well as dedicated site managers to oversee the installation locally for both retrofit and newbuilding. We expect quite a substantial and exponential growth over the next couple of years.” l

http://www.cleanmarine.no


Profile: Chiefmar

Established in 1982, Chiefmar has more than 30 years experience in supplying the highest quality Alfa Laval alternatives on the market. As an unofficial supplier of compatible spare parts for centrifugal separators

within the Alfa Laval range, Chiefmar dedicates a lot of effort to being up-to-date; no easy feat for a company that employs a small selected staff and has a single site in Genoa. However, this only makes the high quality of Chiefmar’s 5000 products, ready for immediate supply on demand, all the more impressive.

With its wholly owned premises located in a prominently industrial part of Genoa, Italy, Chiefmar’s facility consists of 1000 square metres of warehouse space and 250 square metres of office space. It is here that the company retains a complete range of Alfa Laval separators and fresh water generators spare parts for all sizes and models.

Retaining a long tradition for delivering the best possible solutions for clients tailored for each shipment, the ISO 9001

qualified supplier of alternatives has a clear focus on quality to ensure safe operation, low maintenance cost and high efficiency. Readily available components include accessories for separator control systems such as EPC 400 and EPC 41 control boards, solenoid valve groups water and air, flow switches, pressure switches and pneumatic three-way valves.

Having developed a significant presence in the Far East in the last decade, Chiefmar continues to address the needs of the market by maintaining a dedication to supplying products of the highest quality and building on its reputation for excellence. l

Chiefmar Srl www.chiefmar.com

• Premier supplier of Alfa Laval alternatives• Can supply worldwide• Consolidate experience into the main shipping hubs

An alternativesolutionChiefmar is totally focused on supplying high quality products

http://www.chiefmar.com

emissions (nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide) by approx. 90 per cent compared to fuel oil.

Although there are still gaps in the development of an LNG infrastructure with full coverage and there is not yet a sufficient

number of bunkering points for ships, the future belongs to the construction of LNG-operated ships. For

example, two major car ferries were launched by the Norwegian Fjordline shipping company

on the route Bergen-Hirtshals in 2013. In the design of these new constructions

safety topped the agenda - after all, every ship carries up to 600,000 cubic metres of fuel gas.

From 1 January 2015, drastically reduced emission limits will apply for shipping in certain special zones. For example, in the entire Baltic, parts of the North Sea including the English Channel, as well as in front of

the coasts of North America, the proportion of sulphur in marine fuels must not exceed 0.1 per cent - which corresponds to a tenth of the limit which applies at present.

One way to comply with these limits is to operate ships with LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). LNG contains neither sulphur nor heavy metals and reduces the CO emissions by 20 to 30 per cent and the NOX

will drive the future LNG


Cryogenic LNG-valves from HEROSE are tight even under extreme conditions according to EN ISO 10497


Profile: HEROSE

A major contribution was provided by the valves of the HEROSE company in Bad Oldesloe. With its safety and globe valves HEROSE is a globally leading supplier in the field of LNG. Pneumatically actuated valves fitted with an additional hand wheel for emergency control, for example, the filling of the tanks in the new ships of Fjordline, and HEROSE safety valves are fitted to all gas pipes, one between every two globe valves. The HEROSE globe and control valves are also available in a fire-safe design with the unique design feature of soft seat for increased performance during day to day operation.

As a leading manufacturer of fittings for cryogenic technology and pressure vessel construction, HEROSE has dealt with the safe handling of technical gases, vapours and liquids for more than 140 years. Certificates from classification societies such as ‘Det Norske Veritas’, for example, confirm the adherence to the most stringent standards. In 2007, TÜV approval in accordance with EN 12567 was obtained for the stainless steel cryogenic valves. This standard defines the general requirements for the suitability of globe valves used in the manufacture, storage and transportation of liquid natural gas. Special attention was paid to the standard reference to the fire resistance test in accordance with EN ISO 10497 which must be performed upon customer request. This international standard defines the requirements and methods for the evaluation of the functionality of valves exposed to a fire under defined conditions. The fire duration was defined as the maximum time required for extinguishing most fires.

HEROSEwww.herose.com• Leading supplier in LNG field• Adheres to the most stringent standards• Will exhibiting at SMM 2014

HEROSE currently views the market as divided into two sections: On the one hand, fittings with fireproof approval are generally required for ships and LNG terminals, i.e. the valves must have been approved in accordance with EN 12567 and EN ISO 10497. On the other hand, the valves only need to have EN12567 approval for the remaining on-shore installations. Dependent on the operator's safety concept, shut off valves with fire-safe approval are, however, also used.

As a consequence there must be a smooth transition between the two requirements (EN 12567 approval or EN ISO 10497 approval) and a clear separation is not possible! l

Visitors to the Hamburg SMM exhibition (Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology) from 9 to 12 September, long established as the leading exhibition for representatives of the ship building industry, can obtain information on all LNG-relevant valves from the Bad Oldesloe company at the HEROSE exhibition stand.

http://www.herose.com

As a result of its strong presence in the market and the rapid advancement of display technology, the business focuses its efforts in the development of new products, from the earliest stages through to the final construction. “Our approach to the marine market is different to our competitors’ in that we are only working as a distributor and original equipment manufacturer (DOEM), so we do not provide products under our own brand to the end user. Our customers include marine equipment suppliers and with our knowledge and access to the latest technology, we can

really support and advise those clients effectively,” points out Joern. As such, the global reach of its products is large, albeit understated.

The introduction of the wide screen displays in 2006 was one of the significant milestones for the business, grounding its position in the marine field. The strategic

expansion of its business is

The history of Data Modul begins in 1972 when it was founded as a distributor and manufacturer for flat panel displays and subsystems, today holding the position as a leader in display technology. In 1998

the business acquired Conrac GmbH, a manufacturer of flat panel monitors in LCD technology for the marine and other very specialised industries. “The marriage of both these companies has proved a perfect combination, both for the business and for providing the best solutions to the marine industry,” says Joern Wittig, Head of Product Marketing for industrial solutions.

With state-of-the-art electronics, a long experience in the market and a large modern production facility in Germany, the company has a fundamental understanding of all aspects of the market. “The marine market is one of our core businesses, and has been for many years. We know how to handle the marine market, and recognise early the trends and demands. As such we have been able to bring many industry firsts to the market, such as the introduction of the first high-resolution CRT monitor, and also the first wide-screen monitor,” explains Joern. Recognised for launching such products, the business continues to grow on its position as an industry leader, renowned for its innovative style.

Displayed to perfection


Profile: Data Modul


carried out through targeted activities in both Germany and abroad, adhering to its goal of holding its position as the market leader in display technology, delivering the right product at the right time, in both quality and at a competitive price. Driving its sales forward, a team will be attending the SMM fair in Hamburg in September 2014, where it will introduce the next generation of ship monitors, which includes LED backlit displays, multi-touch functionality and automated optical bonding capabilities amongst other innovative technologies and possibilities.

“A growing feature of integration is our embedded boards, of course, designed and developed by Data Modul’s designated design team. The demand for panel computers within the marine sector is very high at the moment. Customers are attracted to the service we provide, because we really focus on what they require. The modular concept on which our systems are based provides a platform that keeps cost down, and eliminates any features that are not required by the client,” says Joern.

As the company looks to develop new working relationships, Joern explains that long-term production contracts are of key interest, hugely benefiting the customer in the service it provides: “Clients today are looking to receive a long-term solution and, despite the shorter life-cycle trend of the individual components, we are able to offer stability of the final product for a long time. We are also able to operate on a project basis as required, supporting our partners in this field.” From its modern production site, with a total area of more than 18,000 square metres the business is able to process several hundred units each day, meeting the highest quality and traceability standards. With a high degree of flexibility it is able to cope with all requirements from the market by accommodating a varying production volume and a growing product range.

Holding its strong position in a very stable market, the company’s market share continues to grow based on its innovative concepts. Commenting on the success over the past years Joern explains: “The merger of the two businesses brought two very strong sales forces together, a wealth of important contacts in the marine field, and a talented design team. The result is that we are able to offer complete solutions to the market, and ultimately this has led to the continued growth of our market share.”

Looking towards the future, Joern highlights the technologies that will ultimately lead the way: “Over the next 12 months we see embedded solutions, low power and green technology as the main features which are already being demanded from the market. Our own products and solutions provide quality and reliability, and we are driven to offer long-term solutions to our customers, an aspect of our service we believe is very much appreciated. Further ahead we expect to grow within navigation systems, as well as focusing on new applications such as PCAP technology, multi touch functionality, and the development of embedded boards into OEM products. The goal and focus in the marine industry is to have a vertical integration of application in the marine market.” l

Data Modulwww.data-modul.com• Display technology manufacturer• Leader in innovative design• Attending SMM Hamburg 2014

http://www.data-modul.com/eu/home.html

up a very respected name for itself over the past 49 years in all the market sectors where it is present, but as its fifth decade in business approaches, the organisation has taken the decision to step up its marketing and communications strategy.

It believes that the challenge for companies today is to ensure that their brands are recognisable and memorable - seen as lifestyle experiences and choices, not products. As a result, Heinen & Hopman aims to reinforce its worldwide brand with a uniform, consistent identity and communication style across its global subsidiaries. This involves creating a single strong global brand, modernisation of communication items and logo, and the creation of a green label and manifesto. The results will be a uniform logo and style across subsidiaries, and the establishment of a single global website linking the local offices.

The beginning of this process required the board of directors and management team of Heinen & Hopman to classify the company’s identity, and after much deliberation, they created the following definition: ‘a reliable partner in the global maritime sector, offering top quality products and service in the field of climate control.’

They also created a mission statement: “It is our number one priority to dedicate ourselves to our customers with top service, high-quality products and sustainable, innovative technology.”

And finally, spelled out a forward vision: “To provide the best HVAC services in the world, by continuously expanding our global network and by offering more innovative and sustainable solutions.”

ResultsHeinen & Hopman’s new brand and communication strategy is based on this mission and vision. “Enrolling the new branding programme throughout the whole Heinen & Hopman group is our main focus for 2014,” confirmed Eric. “But we will also be

Heinen & Hopman Engineering B.V. was founded in 1965 as a family business, and its main activity at that time was to carry out heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) installation and contracting

work in buildings. Within a short period, shipyards had begun to invite the company to quote for complete packages in more specialised fields, and as a result, Heinen & Hopman started developing its own products for marine applications. Today it has become a financially healthy multinational with over 1100 enthusiastic and capable employees worldwide and representation in North America, South America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia. It works with all the major shipbuilding industries and is proud of its well-filled order portfolio.

As Eric Stoffelsen, sales manager noted, Heinen & Hopman works very closely with its main customers. “These are both ship-owners and shipyards,” he said. “I think our close working relationships are what keeps our clients returning to us.”

He continued with some further benefits that the company offers to its clients: “Being a family-owned business means that decisions are made on a long-term basis and the human factor is kept in mind,” he said. “We also have a dedicated research and development (R&D) department that continuously adds innovation to existing products, and stimulates the development of new products and systems. We also have a programme to improve our already high level of health, safety and environmental standards, and furthermore, our 24/7 global service network means we are always reachable for our clients.”

Out of the industries and sectors in which Heinen & Hopman operates, the company has seen the biggest increase in demand for its superyachts and offshore products, and Eric credits the company’s knowledge, know-how, value for money and good service for its steadily growing order book.

Indeed, there is little doubt that Heinen & Hopman has built

Strong identity


strengthening our current market position, as well as constantly searching for better methods to service our customers in the best way possible and give them value for money.”

A crucial aspect of Heinen & Hopman’s new philosophy is its focus on sustainable innovation, which is reflected by its green manifesto. This aims to increase awareness within the industry of the importance of environmentally sound solutions. The green manifesto logo will appear on Heinen & Hopman’s sustainable products and systems and relevant information materials. Its green beliefs will be shared across all communication platforms, including the website, advertisements and brochures. This will further increase awareness of how Heinen & Hopman is investing in a better and more efficient tomorrow.

Eric highlighted some examples of eco-friendly solutions from the company: “Our Turbocor compressor is the world’s first totally oil-free, energy efficient and lightweight compressor,” he said, “and we also utilise jet fans in engine rooms, and offer annual check-up of systems to ensure they are running at their most efficient.”

The new brand strategy will be displayed at the SMM Exhibition in Hamburg, Germany. “From 9th to 12th September, Heinen & Hopman will be present at the Show,” explained Eric. “To involve visitors with its new announcements, the company has created a Tradeshow App and visitors are encouraged to visit booth B5.112 to find out more details,” he concluded. l


Profile: Heinen & Hopman

Heinen & Hopman www.heinenhopman.com• Leading specialist for marine HVAC & R systems• Fitted over 10,000 systems worldwide• New brand strategy being unveiled at SMM

http://www.heinenhopman.com

The family owned business Van Aalst Group began in the 1950’s, and is today fronted by the third generation of the family. Today the company specialises in the pneumatic cargo handling of machinery, equipment and its development for transport and distribution to the marine, offshore and

construction industry. Initially in the market of cement handling from its location in Holland it subsequently became involved in the import of cement, working at shipyards. Recognising that the concepts behind the products it developed to move the cement from ship to shore could be used in other industries, its scope of work began to diversify.

In a period of restructuring and focus the business entered the offshore industry, developing products for installation on supply vessels and expanding its capabilities. “The cement industry is a relatively small market in comparison with the scale of the offshore industry. We wanted to develop a different type of product, which can handle multiple cargos. It was in 2007 that we developed the CargoMaxx division, which has ultimately led to more than 50 orders in supply vessels, witnessing a growing demand from the drilling market, picking up orders for large drilling rigs,” says Jeroen Van Lakerveld, commercial director.

The core business is the engineering and enhancement of cargo handling systems aiming for ultimate operational safety, maximised availability and efficiency, at minimum cost. Driven to achieving a more effective use of vessel and cargo capacity, reduced berthing times, plus faster, easier and safer cargo loading/discharging procedures it has saved operators time and money while performing substantially more environmental-friendly procedures. The demand for its products has grown from the requirement to move waste products with a higher degree of safety and flexibility.

Suprememarine



Profile: Van Aalst Group

Research and development (R&D) is the backbone of CargoMaxx and Van Aalst’s continuous growth and success. Its highly skilled, field experienced engineers have tailored the products to the specific demands of clients. From the R&D centre, based at Van Aalst’s headquarters in the Netherlands, it works on a variety of products and innovations, including state-of-the-art sustainable machinery and equipment that requires less complicated maintenance cycles. With this in focus, the business constantly monitors the machineries and liquid and dry cargo systems, striving to optimise the performance and endurance in harsh or even arctic environmental conditions.

“We have been able to utilise our knowledge to develop innovative products for different markets. Our focus is on providing solutions to oil companies and ship owners, offering a product that is environmentally friendly and safe,” points out Jeroen. Through an operational history that has encompassed Europe, Asia, the US and Brazil, the business has seen varying trends. “The thriving market in China is currently pushing cost down, and as a European company labour expenses are higher than those competitors so we have to remain very cost efficient whilst ensuring that the products we supply are of a higher quality.

“In 2012 we established an office in Houston, which resulted in picking up contracts from the large oil companies and rig owners with offices located in the region. These companies also have technical offices in Singapore, China and Korea. On the back of the contracts we had won in the Asian region we took the decision to open up an office in Singapore,” he adds. For several years the business has traded in Singapore, recognising the important position in serving the offshore market. As a hub for many supply vessels, ship owners and shipyards, it is a base from which a lot of engineering work is carried out. As well as these benefits the move brings ease of communication, and brings the shipyards into direct contact with the trade that enters the region, complementing the service it provides from its office in Shanghai.

Continuing the global growth of the business, Van Aalst has expanded its agency network into Turkey on the back of a very good relationship with Norwegian ship owners undertaking fabrication work in Turkey. “The Turkish market is upcoming and we need to be there on the front line. We expect that in the next couple of years Turkey will begin manufacturing its own vessels,” says Jeroen. The Korean market too is very important for the business with fabrication of large vessels, FPSOs and drilling rigs in the region particularly high. “We see a lot of potential in the area, but it takes time to establish good relationships and develop enquiries into orders. We are operating in a very niche market, but our strength comes from being an innovative company, delivering products that the client requires. Our latest development is the drill cutting system and this is picking up particularly well. In 2007 we were asked by Statoil and Petrobras to come up with a solution for

Van Aalst Groupwww.vanaalstmarine.com• Developed the CargoMaxx division in 2007• Expanded agency network in Turkey• Looking to divesify with existing clients

moving and transporting waste material such as drill cuttings from the rig back to shore,” he points out.

Drill cuttings are a waste product that needs to be recycled within strict guidelines. The material contains different chemicals and materials and as such it is a very difficult material to pump. In normal operation this would be emptied into a skip and hoisted from the rig to a supply vessel. With safety implications relating to the use of the crane, Van Aalst developed its new solution. The pumped solution removes material quickly and in a safe manner. Eliminating manual handling and the use of the crane not only significantly improves the safety aspect, but the speed of the operation means the supply vessel does not have to stay on location for as long.

Promoting its innovative approach to the demands of the industry, the business will later this year be at ONS in Norway highlighting the benefits of it products, capable of storing and pumping high-density solids. Looking ahead to the future, the business is set to maintain its worldwide focus, and continue to develop an array of products. “Our focus remains on driving innovation, developing new technologies and establishing ways of implementing these into new markets. Additionally we are looking to diversify with our existing clients and addressing demands of the continuously growing Asian market. However, the market in Europe is also picking up, and as a result for the next two years we expect to be very busy on a global scale,” concludes Jeroen. l

present in all Scandinavian markets. Today the ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 accredited company boasts a turnover of £14 million, employs 75 permanent staff as well as 150 temporary employees on an annual basis, who all work to the same values and level of quality.

Since his last discussion with Shipping & Marine magazine in February 2013, managing director Per Ekelund notes how these recent developments have progressed over the last 18 months: “The office in Denmark is progressing very well, showing an increase in turnover of 90 per cent, while Norway is still in its beginning stages and operating in a market that is currently a little slow; the new office in Stockholm is also turning out quite well for us as it enables us to be closer to our customers. Since the last we spoke, Scanunit has gained several large orders for the installation of GRE pipes to scrubbers onboard cargo ships; these contracts are with DFDS Seaways and Color Lines.”

The major contract, worth 12 million SEK, follows the company’s previous project on board DFDS Seaways Ficaria, and involves the installation of GRE (glass reinforced epoxy) from Future Pipe Industries, the company Scanunit has been representing in Sweden and Denmark since 2009. Elaborating further on the project with DFDS Seaways, Per continues: “We will deliver all involved material such as bulkhead penetration, valves, supports, pipes and flanges. Because we are not only doing the installation at both shipyards, but also during the vessel’s normal trading operations, this is a challenge for us as it puts a lot of strain on logistics to keep the schedule. We use GRE pipes because they are low maintenance, lighter than steel, minimise hotwork on board and offer a longer life-span when compared to most other materials.”

However, with such a diverse service offering, the company is also taking on projects in other areas, as Per states: “We are in the market for more scrubber projects, but also for the installation of ballast water treatment units, as well as welding and repair work. In addition, we are involved in a lot of blasting and painting projects that involve putting on Bimagrip, an anti-slip compound.”

Although the company is riding a wave of demand for its services, Scanunit AB is also facing the challenges of sourcing highly skilled and flexible personnel; despite these difficulties, it has strengthened its project department with three highly competent and experienced members of staff who will further enable the flexible firm to grow. l

As Scandinavia’s leading supplier of comprehensive lifting and maintenance solutions, Scanunit AB has enhanced its services within the maritime and industrial sectors over the last 26 years to become a

total solutions provider to major companies within the shipping industry. Indeed, following relatively humble beginnings as a firm with just five staff members and a turnover of £160,000, the company has made strategic developments to ensure success in a challenging and turbulent market. Focused on company progression, founder Per Ekelund acquired the majority share of Scanunit AB in 1995; in line with this development the organisation was moved to larger premises in Helsingborg, where it remains to this day. Following further business transactions, Per Ekelund today retains 33 per cent shares, while Martin Nilsson, another original founder, holds three per cent and Ahlmark Lines retains the majority share with 64 per cent.

With a long-term approach to projects, the fast-growing firm uses the best people in their respective fields and works with customers to provide the best possible solution; it is core values such as these that have led to high customer retention rates and high demand for Scanunit’s services. By operating in four key business areas - onboard marine services, surveys and classification, products and workshop facilities - the company can not only provide services such as rigging, lashing and lifting, surveying and testing as well as maintenance and repair, but can also offer benefits such as environmental impact reduction, shorter lead times and enhanced cost efficiency as a total solutions supplier.

Having witnessed steady growth and achieved increases of up to 20 per cent per annum over the last decade, Scanunit AB has also expanded outside of its traditional home market through the establishment of subsidiaries in surrounding areas. In early 2012 the company opened a site in Copenhagen, which specialised in the production of lifeboat and pilot ladders and installation and servicing of fall arrests. By the end of the year the firm had also established an office and workshop in Federicia, Denmark and rebranded the Danish subsidiary as Scanunit Danmark ApS. As the two subsidiaries provide the same services as in Sweden, this development allowed the company to focus on the shipping and marine industry in one of the biggest and ever-growing markets in the world; meanwhile, its branch in Jutland enabled it to cover major ports such as Ebsjerg, the centre of the Danish offshore industry, and Aarhus, the largest container port in Denmark.

As customers and fleet began to disappear from the Swedish market, the company made a strategic decision to open Scanunit Norge AS in early 2013; this development not only gave Scanunit the opportunity to develop a stronger presence in Norway and closer relationships with customers, but also aided its plan to be

A complete solution


Profile: Scanunit

Scanunit BVwww.scanunit.se• Celebrated 25th anniversary in 2013• Provide complete marine solutions• New subsidiaries


http://www.scanunit.se

http://www.gdsys.de

footing to develop the first of the company’s modern range. The resulting Multi-PC Control (MPC) switch was designed to allow the control of up to ten PCs from a single console and would form the base from which G&D would go on to develop a comprehensive range of KVM units and accessories.

Today G&D is a well-established brand operating in broad spectrum of applications including media broadcast, industrial and air control sectors where its products are supplied to end users via integrators. The company has developed its presence within the maritime industry over the course of almost 20 years, beginning with initial collaborations with the Dutch

Established in 1985, Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) has close to three decades of experience in delivering keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) interfacing and distribution services. Today G&D continues to deliver

KVM equipment that enables users to control multiple computers from a single workstation or several computers from several workstations. Furthermore the equipment also offers extenders that bridge distances between the user and the computer up to 10,000 metres, which provides far greater flexibility when considering the design and layout of remote access terminals and administrative systems.

Udo Guntermann and Martin Drunck founded the company through the development of the pioneering Video-Net system, which provided hardware support in software training. Video-Net proved to be an early triumph for the company and enjoyed great success through its distribution by Philips. In the wake of its initial success, G&D went on to deliver its next landmark product, the VN-32 Plus in 1987. The VN-32 Plus acted as a multifunctional PC network capable of transmitting both keystrokes and video signals and numerous spinoffs. From this basic design across a host of applications provided further success as well as the financial


Profile: Guntermann and Drunck

Extending success


firm Van Oord to solve workspace issues. With its initial success in the maritime market and the widely established presence enjoyed by the company in other areas, the decision was taken in recent years to established G&D as a leading partner to businesses operation within the marine environment.

“We discovered over time that G&D was gaining experience in vessels and offshore platforms as a result of our partnerships,” comments CEO of sales and marketing Roland Ollek. “Because we are also expanding into markets beyond Germany the reach of the maritime industry was very appealing to us. Furthermore there is some comparability between the maritime and air traffic markets in terms of quality, reliability and durability expended by end users.”

During October 2013 Van Oord launched its first shallow water pipelay vessel the Stingray. The vessel is a sizable ship with an overall length of 120 metres and a breadth of 40 metres. Its design incorporates accommodation for up to 300 persons, free deck area of 2000 sq m and a 250 tonne Kobelco 2500 CE crawler crane with a 42-metre boom. Such a complex vessel requires a sophisticated and effective control solution to link all of its internal systems, such as the hardware package supplied by G&D. “Onboard the Stingray vessel the pipeman uses the DVICenter for monitoring all computer processes in tandem with the pipe laying. Onboard, multiple computers control and monitor the processes of the precision work,” says Annette Haebel, press officer at G&D. “They are installed in a safe technical equipment room via G&D’s KVM matrix DVICenter,

the dual graphic card consoles of the KVM matrix onboard are operated by the surveyor and the chief officer.”

As the company continues to develop its presence

within the marine market it is currently focused on several

projects in the marine environment with a particular focus on control

rooms, as Annette elaborates: “Because operating and monitoring processes in control

rooms requires fast reactions. The interaction between humans and machines has to run smoothly and has to relieve the staff instead of adding to their workload. Therefore, KVM systems from G&D provide ergonomic user interfaces guaranteeing intuitive operation. Comprehensive monitoring functions and firmware expansions offer various ways to considerably expand the functional range of equipment.

“For customers in mission-critical areas, we have especially implemented proactive monitoring functions in our devices. Therefore KVM monitoring can be easily implemented into the global network. The monitoring of G&D devices is an all-round solution, the devices monitor themselves internally and their peripherals over their interfaces are shared. If any operating values are exceeded and hence deviate from their defined values, or if a status changes the system alerts the administrator. On top of that users can define their own operating values. These functions include the monitoring of device statuses and sending messages over SNMP and Syslog as KVM devices stay in contact with each other over the network. Users can immediately recognise critical values in the KVM’s web interface where they are highlighted in red. Over time the transported management

team, it is important to count on motivated and passionate staff and I am happy to have such staff to help the company continue forward. One of our visions is to help develop our staff to lead us into an increasingly ‘digital’ future.”

As G&D continues to look to markets outside of its native Germany it plans to attend several trade shows and events to raise the profile of the company and further demonstrate the effectiveness of its products to clients old and new. During 2014 G&D will exhibit its products for the first time in Australia at the Integrate 2014 trade event. “Australia is a huge and prosperous country,” Annette begins. “On the mainland our products are perfectly suited to the broadcast and post production industries as well as the industrial the process control and air traffic control (ATC) markets. It is a country that needs to deal with great distances so air traffic control plays an important role.

“The country itself is surrounded by water and it has strong business activities within the Asian region, so it is a great gateway into that market as well. Additionally Australian business and culture is quite similar to our European experience,” she concludes. “All of these reasons make Australia a great market for us and all of our expertise.” l


Profile: Guntermann and Drunck

Guntermann and Drunckwww.gdsys.de• Leading manufacturer of digital and analogue KVM solutions• Strong market position from expansive KVM portfolio• Aims to be number one option for the airtraffic control and marine sectors

information and status messages are helpful in generating statistics, so that the operator is always one step ahead in the instance that a failure occurs.”

In constantly developing its product portfolio, G&D technology was recently declared compliant with the international standard IEC-60945 indicating that it is suitable for operation in the marine environment, while a percentage of G&D’s KVM switches are Tempest certified and meet the quality and security standards required for use in public safety and the military.

“An independent testing laboratory issued certification of G&D product’s compliance with the IEC-60945. This specification includes numerous tests regarding the environment including heat, cold and vibration as well as security and electromagnetic compatibility at a level that meets an international standard. We carefully selected specific products from our portfolio to have them tested according to specification IEC-60945. Complying to this norm, G&D KVM products are now ready to be applied in engine rooms and even on ship bridges. This means that acquiring G&D products allows freedom for ship builders, because of the flexibility of the KVM and IT equipment onboard,” Annette says.

“Our DL-MUX-MC2 is a KVM switch for switching over four computers across a single keyboard, two monitors and mouse. As a high-quality safety switch the device fulfils the demanding standards imposed by use in military and public safety applications,” she continues. “The certification according to SDIP 27 Level B (ER) indicates that the switch can be used in a Zone 1 environment, meaning it is tap-proof from attacks within 20 to 100 metres from the installation. With the DL-MUX4-MC2, sensitive and confidential data transmitted in public safety and military organisations is protected from interception because electro-magnetic radiations from devices can be tapped, reconstructed and evaluated through hacker attacks when not protected.”

Although the company has enjoyed strong growth and innovative product development throughout its history, it remains focused on the future as a continuing source of inspiration. “‘If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else’, Mark Twain once said,” Roland begins. “We are happy with what we have achieved so far and our company has had strong and healthy growth. For me as part of the management


http://www.vivar.nl

BigLift Shipping is one of the world’s leading heavy lift ship management companies, specialising in worldwide ocean transportation of heavy lift and project cargoes, with a history dating back to 1973. Its modern fleet of 14 specialised heavy lift vessels transports a great variety of heavy and over-sized cargoes for long-standing clients in the oil & gas, mining and power generating industries.

Transfennica is a European shipping company with fast scheduled liner services. Its fleet comprises 15 advanced multi-purpose Ro-Ro vessels, and with a speed of 20+ knots. The vessels allow weekly turnarounds between the biggest European ports and Finland. Their advantage lies in the fastest total lead times coupled with extensive information technology back-up plus fast cargo handling, flexibility and safety.

Sevenstar Yacht Transport was founded in 1985 to serve the North European market. Acquired by Spliethoff in 2000, it expanded to become a worldwide network with offices in the United States, the UK, Australia and Turkey, and agents in Monaco, Germany, Russia and New Zealand.

Today Sevenstar is the world's leading provider of yacht transportation services on a lift-on, lift-off basis. It arranges the transport of around 1400 yachts annually and is expanding in

The Spliethoff Group is one of the largest ship management companies in the Netherlands. It manages more than 100 multi-purpose tween-deck cargo vessels, heavy-lift and ro-ro vessels, trading

worldwide. Transportation of forest products, such as paper, pulp and sawn timber is a core activity next to project cargoes, generals, containers and bulk.

Today managing some of the largest vessels in the world, over the years since it was established Spliethoff has grown both organically and by acquisition. Today the Group consists of Spliethoff and its subsidiaries: BigLift Shipping, Transfennica, Sevenstar Yacht Transport and Wijnne Barends.


Profile: Spliethoff Group

Across the oceans

Visser v/h I. van Raalte B.V. is a Rotterdam based, globally supplying wholesaler in ships’ supplies. Cutting its customer’s costs is, and always has been its cutting edge. It has been a supplier to Spliethoff’s Bevrachtingskantoor for over 50 years now and this relationship has always been based on mutual trust. There is no order, big or small that the company cannot handle. It supplies without back-orders, at the right quality and always on time. The highest service possible is normal for Visser. Trust the company and you’ll see for yourself.

Visser v/h I. van Raalte


the developing economies of Asia, South America and Africa.Wijnne Barends is the Netherlands’ oldest active shipping

company. It offers a combination of the right vessels with excellent maritime management, experienced personnel with knowledge of the cargo and the navigation area, an extensive network of road, sea and inland waterway transport and outstanding storage and transhipment facilities at strategic locations.

This combination of subsidiaries and expertise has created in Spliethoff a reliable, resourceful and dedicated shipping partner with a wealth of experience and a vast range of ships in its fleet. Indeed, to ensure its customers have access to the latest technology in shipping the fleet is constantly being renewed. Recently four F-type vessels and six M-type vessels were added and a new ship was recently delivered to Big Lift. The Happy Star was launched successfully by Ouhua Shipyard

in Zhousan, China, in January 2014, and further outfitting and commissioning has taken place since. Two 900 mt heavy mast cranes were fitted at the Huisman factory in Zhangzhou and she entered management by BigLift shipping at the beginning of August.

Maintaining a young fleet helps to keep Spliethoff at the forefront of innovation and this is even more valuable when considering the latest focus in the shipping market on emissions.

VMSWith over 25 years of experience and knowledge of fibre ropes VMS is able to tend to your every need. Its central location in the Rotterdam Harbour, extensive and balanced stock and its own means of transport will ensure fast and on the spot delivery of our quality products.VMS carries all types of fibre ropes in any construction and can provide from full coils to tailor-made solutions. Its well trained and expert staff is also at your service for splicing, inspection and repair of all types of fibre ropes.

http://www.vmsropes.com


Profile: Spliethoff Group

Spliethoff Groupwww.spliethoff.com• Global provider of ocean transport

• Operates some of the world’s largest vessels

• Owns Big Lift, Transfennica, Sevenstar and Wijnne Barends

Spliethoff endeavours to minimise its vessels’ environmental impact by limiting their emissions of SOx, NOx, soot (fine particles) and CO2, by cleaning waste and ballast water, by doing the utmost to prevent oil spills and by following a strict waste management plan. Furthermore, the Spliethoff Group not only has high standards for the design, maintenance and operation of its vessels, but also for the training of its crews, which guarantees a minimal environmental impact.

The highly trained personnel that staff the Group’s global network offices, work onboard its ships and operate in ports all over the world, are dedicated to maintaining these high standards. In fact, its port captains are experts in cargo and port operations. They keep in close contact with cargo owners and take care of the planning and cargo operations of a voyage from beginning to end. Their expertise is vital in the pre-planning phase, which is carried out in a professional and efficient manner, thus saving time and avoiding complications on the day cargo is loaded or discharged. Apart from preparing the stowage plans, the port captains also attend the vessel during cargo operations to co-ordinate and supervise loading and discharging operations. Because Spliethoff port captains have sailed as captains of the vessels for many years, they are a perfect liaison between ship and shore. With their expertise and experience in handling similar cargoes when they were at sea, they can speed up loading and discharging operations considerably whilst minimising the chance of damage.

It is thanks to its dedication to all the areas of excellence referenced above that Spliethoff was able to win a significant new contract, signed in December 2013. In April 2014, the first cargo was shipped from Antwerp on the new Spliethoff liner service to the Port of Cleveland in America.

The route, dubbed the ‘Cleveland-Europe Express’ (CEE), opened slightly late for the season, due to the cold winter conditions in North America. The Fortunagracht, one of the modern multi-purpose vessels managed by Spliethoff, loaded its first containers and project cargo at the port of Antwerp for its 12 day journey arriving in mid-April. The route took the vessel from the Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence Seaway, a system of locks, canals and channels to the Port of Cleveland in the Great Lakes.

‘Through Bills of Lading’ are offered from door to door using Spliethoff’s rapid European logistics network between Antwerp and Russia, Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, UK and Spain. In the US it is Spliethoff Cleveland that takes care of the onward connections to and from Cleveland and Midwestern America. Spliethoff will operate a year round service on this route, and cargo will vary from containers, to project cargoes, yachts, windmill equipment, heavy lifts, break-bulk cargo, various steel cargoes and dry bulk.

Spliethoff has vast experience with sailings to the Great Lakes and sees great potential in this new contract. The Dutch ice-classed ships that can sail through the seaway will operate a fast direct monthly scheduled service between Cleveland and Antwerp. The partnership will mean that more European businesses can reach Midwestern American markets and vice versa, and Spliethoff looks forward to creating even more successful partnerships as it highlights its exemplary service across the world. l

http://www.tbu.nl


http://www.pirtek.co.uk

http://www.sykeshydromaster.com/

http://www.specialised-diving.co.uk

http://www.vmplanthire.com

multi-cat to our fleet, with a deposit already paid on this vessel, which will be the sister-ship to the Avon.”

Furthermore in 2013 the company also acquired the 37-metre salvage vessel Crossness from the Port of London Authority. “We extensively modified the vessel, including reducing the length to 25 metres and building a new bow, reorganisation of deck equipment to increase free deck area and installing a set of spud legs,” Dan explains.

Presently the Jenkins Marine fleet of vessels sits at more than 20 workboats, which allow the company to be ready with the right tools whenever it is needed. “We pride ourselves in our ability to rapidly respond to our clients needs,” Dan says. “I was personally called to attend storm damage to the 100-metre long concrete breakwater pontoons for the Port of Poole Marina on Christmas Eve 2013 and assisted in damage control to prevent further damage, works continued over the next few weeks and months to make repairs, culminating in the re-piling of the breakwater. We constantly maintain our fleet of vessels, keeping them ready for deployment. This together with a 24 hour, seven day manned telephone service, enables us to respond rapidly to our clients’ needs.”

Indeed Jenkins Marine has been on-call throughout 2013 and 2014 to attend and address damage caused throughout the country by the winter’s bad weather and storms. Following its emergency attendance and damage control actions, the company has worked on several timber jetties to repair storm damage, including the complete re-piling and re-decking of a 75-metre long residential timber jetty. Flood damage repairs are still on-going including works on the River Severn near Gloucester for the Environment Agency, which involves rock placement to stabilise river banks affected by floodwaters as part of David Cameron’s pledge to improve flood defences in the wake of the bad weather.

Since 2013, the newly arrived Avon has wasted no time in

Previously featured in Shipping and Marine magazine during December 2012, Jenkins Marine continues to service the local and national maritime market with specialised boats from its base in Poole as it has done

for the past 30 years. Over past three decades Jenkins Marine has provided workboats, split hopper barges, and other general-purpose vessels to undertake dredging, maintenance and logistical operations. Presently the company is focused on expanding its fleet and it capabilities to ensure that Jenkins Marine will always be on hand with the necessary solution to meet the needs of its clients. This has spurred the acquisition of several new vessels since 2012, as managing director Dan Jenkins elaborates: “Our aim is to maintain a modern fleet of vessels to support our diverse operations. 2013 saw the acquisition of the 25 metre multi-cat Avon and 2015 will see a further addition of another 25-metre


Profile: Jenkins Marine

Rapid solutions

Commercial and Specialised Diving Ltd Commercial and Specialised Diving Ltd (CSD) has been working with Jenkins Marine for over a decade and in that time the two companies have established a mutually beneficial relationship. Jenkins Marine has provided CSD with specialised workboats, barges and plant for a diverse array of contracts including civil engineering and shipping works. During a recent two month inspection contract Jenkins Marine provided Commercial and Specialised Diving with a work platform and transport barge. Jenkins liaised with CSD regarding the initial logistics prior to the works being carried out to ensure the project was completed within timescales and to the client’s satisfaction.

WM Plant HireWM Plant Hire specialise in long reach excavators for marine applications such as dredging, cable excavation and burial operations, underwater construction and demolition and the team has worked on many high profile projects. Its recent involvement with Jenkins Marine has included the Isle of Wight power supply cable project, the excavation of rock as part of a new linkspan bridge in the Channel Islands at the port of St Helier and has enjoyed a long-term relationship for many years.


Profile: Jenkins Marine

proving itself to be a vital component in the Jenkins Marine fleet. During May 2014 the vessel assisted Bam Nuttall by providing support services to the contractor in the Port of Dover in on-going maintenance and improvement of the port’s existing berths and docking facilities. The Avon was called on to assist in the on-site movement of an 18 metre by 18 metre jack-up barge. Equipped with push bows, a ten tonne triple drum deck winch and powerful 375bhp Caterpillar engines, the Avon was well suited to the task and completed the move without incident. In addition to movement and lifting operations, the Avon will make use of its 100m2 deck and 120mt deck crane to deliver and collect materials from the deck barge over a deployment set to last around eight weeks.

Also, during June 2014 Jenkins Marine began work on a vital role in bringing a state-of-the-art power solution to the Isle of Wight from the UK mainland. The multi-role vessel Doreen Dorward, operating on charter to the Dutch firm Visser Smit Marine Contractors (VSMC) is currently aiding in the renewal of a subsea cable running between the UK mainland to the Isle of Wight at a distance of some 5.6 kilometres. Once the project is completed the new and two existing high voltage cables will be buried to ensure a continuous and efficient supply of power to the island. Of the three cables currently supplying power to the island, one has become badly damaged. It was first installed during 1972 directly onto the seabed and has over the years, suffered from multiple vessel and anchor strikes.

Doreen Dorwood has been providing a working platform for full dive spread and a long reach 65 tonne excavator supplied by WM Plant Hire to install the new cable. This will run alongside the existing subsea cable running from Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight to Lepe near Beaulieu. Incorporating three 15-metre spud legs, the Doreen Dorwood has provided an invaluable solution in enabling the 65 tonne excavator compete the challenging job of excavating a 20-metre wide, two metre deep launch pit at Thorness Bay into which the cable burial tool is lowered to start burial operations. In ensuring that the operation runs smoothly and efficiently, John Garsden, master of Doreen Dorwood has played a key role in organising critical operations for both the vessel and

its crew. Additionally Jenkins Marine employed 24 tonne and 35 tonne excavators with operators working 24 hours a day on the foreshore at Lepe to assist with cable reception and burial operations.

In responding quickly to areas affected by floodwaters and working in co-operation with contractors on high profile projects such the cable renewal with VSMC, Jenkins Marine has shown itself to be a reliable partner in a variety of roles. Commenting on the strengths that have allowed the company to define itself in such a way Dan says: “We own 100 per cent of our vessels and therefore do not have the financial pressures of finance companies forcing us to raise our prices. We are able to keep our prices competitive, which is important to maintain a good relationship with our clients. Also as a family-owned business we are able to make quick decisions, without having to keep any shareholders happy, or pay out annual dividends, which enables us to continually invest our profits into maintaining a modern fleet of vessels.”

Moving forward, Jenkins Marine is always looking to improve and enhance its service offering. It is currently in the process of gaining ISO9001 and ISO14001 accreditation and also intends to complete ISO18001 in 2015. “I hope that these improvements will open more customers’ doors and demonstrate to clients our high standards. We will also be focusing on our maintenance dredging activities over the coming winter season,” Dan concludes. l

Jenkins Marinewww.jenkinsmarine.co.uk

• Dredging contractors• Growing fleet of specialised workboats and barges• Flexible and reliable

http://www.penzancedrydock.com


Profile: LGS Matrix

LGS Matrix provides security services to its clients all over the world, wherever demanded, with operations supported by offices in the UK, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Offering expert professional services

from maritime security, asset and personal security to facilities management, the business specialises in the provision of embarked security teams and close protection vessels (CPVs) for merchant ships transiting through high-risk areas of the world’s oceans.

From its strategically placed headquarters in Dubai, the business maintains a global hub from which it can monitor and track all of its operations, vehicles and vessels from the world-class operations centre. With specific expertise in the protection of its client’s ships in East and West African waters the company has an ongoing proven operational track record since 2006, providing consultancy and armed maritime security teams supported by integrated intelligence analysis, 24/7 monitoring and tracking. The business has a well-established network of expert consultants and highly trained operational staff offering first class security and other support services to businesses and individual clients. Frequently calling upon the fundamental strengths on which the business was built, the company is able to identify and deliver the right mix of services to meet its clients’ needs together with a steadfast commitment to quality of delivery and value for money. Through the bank of experts and the support of the UK based operational support team the company is able to train local staff to deliver services to the high standards that its clients have come to appreciate.

Code of conduct

All consultants working within the company are hand picked former British Royal Marines, Royal Navy personnel, Special Forces and former heads of security for Commonwealth and Foreign Office (FCO) Diplomatic missions providing close protection for British and Foreign Heads of States. Consultants have comprehensive experience in defensive maritime measures and can man dedicated and fully equipped support vessels for satellite patrolling of static installations or mobile maritime assets. This network of highly skilled consultants and independently owned and operated delivery companies provide high quality security and other services to corporate and individual clients across the world. Working as either heads of security for FCO diplomatic missions, team leaders for European Union protection teams, project managers for corporate businesses and as managers in government organisations, the business has gained extensive experience in high threat environments such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Columbia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda.

In January 2013, following a rigorous assessment process, LGS Matrix successfully achieved Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) STAGE 1 accreditation, applicable to the group’s maritime operations worldwide. The announcement that the company had completed and passed the stage demonstrates its commitment to operating at the highest level within the maritime security industry. SAMI has an important role in assisting the development and reputation of the sector, and accreditation with

http://www.piscesoffshore.com

the association further confirms that LGS Matrix is a reputable organisation based on sound financial and managerial principles.

At the time of the announcement, company CEO Steve Hodson, said: “STAGE 1 certification proves that we are a reliable and credible organisation focused on delivering services of the highest possible standards. We value our reputation and recognise that to maintain it we have to guarantee that our clients receive maritime security services in a professional fashion and in accordance with international laws and conventions,” adding: “We invest a considerable amount in choosing and training our operators so it’s a great satisfaction to see this recognised by SAMI. The accreditation process should be tied into a company’s due-diligence process when evaluating the services of a potential maritime security provider, by choosing a company that has been accredited by SAMI, a part of this important process has already been answered.”

One area that really requires specialist knowledge is Nigeria, and LGS Matrix hosts a permanent British Operations Manager and British team in the country. This team utilise the services of a locally registered Nigerian company and personnel to operate fast support vessels, ensuring safe and cost effective protection. The LGS Matrix team orchestrates and trains the local personnel to operate to their standards as it is illegal for foreign private maritime security companies to carry firearms in any of the West African territorial waters such as Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana, and any armed security personnel must be serving members of the National Armed Forces. As a solution to this problem the business utilises the knowledge of its experienced team to orchestrate armed local security teams onboard, without compromising the LGS Matrix corporate standards. With an operational license (MOU) held between the local delivery partner and the Nigerian Navy it is able to deploy highly trained teams, delivering guidance on the International Code of Conduct as well as understanding what is required when operating on a commercial vessel. By providing a liaison between the Master of the vessel and the local armed forces, the experience gives the master and the crew confidence to enter troubled waters.

Operating round the clock, the response centre is at the heart of the company’s operations, providing the best professional capabilities to its customers, utilising the global network to provide accurate information. Under the management of the global maritime manager, the operations team provides 24/7

Profile: LGS Matrix


incident response and vessel tracking. The vigilance of the personnel ensures that high levels of operational support are provided to both clients and deployed teams, across the globe. The constant monitoring of its clients' vessels coupled with the advice from the intelligence analysts, enables the company to advise vessel masters on any developing threats and offer advice to counteract such incidences, whilst transiting high risk areas.

Understanding the challenges facing the maritime industry, LGS Matrix expertise is the result of hundreds of successful operations and furthermore the business guarantees the security of the crew and assets that it secures. With a string of satisfied customers such as SBM Offshore who recognise that LGS Matrix have been fundamental in ensuring a zero security incident rating over that past seven years, the Wallem Group, Glaxo Smith Kline, Stena Drilling, The Universal American School Kuwait, BSM Ship Management, Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, BAE Systems and PPI, the business moves into 2015 focused on building on its successful reputation.

More recently, as piracy hots up in the South East Asian waters around Singapore, Malacca Strait and Indonesia, LGS Matrix is maximising the benefits of its strategically placed Singapore, Shanghai and Hong-Kong offices to support its clients in providing offshore security solutions in these busy shipping channels. With reported armed pirates attacks on the rapid increase in this area, LGS Matrix is advising any ship owners operating in this region to heighten their security measures in order to mitigate the ever increasing risks.

Through the continued provision of both armed and unarmed security teams, the primary mission remains to deter pirates’ attack, utilising its internationally compliant rules of use of force. l

LGS Matrixwww.lgsmatrix.com• Specialist in maritime security• Globally active business• Proven operational track record


“Liverpool2 essentially adds to the UK’s first ‘green logistics hub’ in an effort to reduce the three Cs in cargo owners’ supply chains: cost, congestion and carbon footprint,” explains David. Today, many imported and manufactured goods enter and exit the UK through southeast ports in and around the London area, yet 65 per cent of the UK population is 150 miles from Liverpool. “Whilst Peel Ports Liverpool does not

have the infrastructure to

The Peel Ports Group is an ambitious business operating a strategic networks of ports, terminals and hubs that connect major population areas across England, Scotland and Ireland. Committed to

investing in its future the business uses the flexibility of its assets to offer environmentally sustainable solutions. Differentiated by its diverse offering of agility, efficiency, and promotion of progressive partnerships, the complete solution was further enhanced in January 2014 when the company announced the introduction of the latest Navis N4 TOS (Terminal Operation System), allowing it to streamline operations and align customer experience at its eight terminal sites.

“The Navis N4 TOS provides a single operating platform to deliver a fully integrated solution which is user friendly from a customer perspective. It is ‘one IT complex’,” says David Huck, port director. The driving force of this investment is the £300 million development of Liverpool2, which remains on track for completion in Q4 2015. When it opens it will help round out the connected infrastructure by providing shippers the ability to bring larger vessels closer to the UK’s industrial manufacturing heartland than any other UK port, while also offering access to Belfast, Dublin and Glasgow via a short-sea feeder crossing way, making the port a central gateway for the UK and Ireland. “Liverpool2 will not only double the Port of Liverpool’s container capacity, but will also connect directly to a number of port-centric logistics hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal and serve as a major transhipment hub to Peel Ports terminals in the Irish Sea in Dublin and Belfast, and Glasgow.

Logistical leader

enabler to delivering business success and is underpinned by our values. We are committed to the enhancement of maritime skills through the development of our staff, optimising their skills as the business changes to meet the needs of our customers. Our future growth depends on our people and developing the engineering, management development and apprenticeship schemes.”

Liverpool2 is expected to create 500 direct jobs at the Port and related sectors and for every one direct job; five incremental indirect jobs are created in associated industries, sectors and services, such as haulage, distribution and warehousing. This will be a major contributor to the North West UK economy providing jobs opportunities and exciting career options for local people. The skills agenda is supported by an integrated approach to learning and development with vocational courses designed to align industry needs with skills training, apprenticeship programmes and graduate development schemes. “We are committed to a sustainable future and investing in initiatives to redefine the organisational structure and steer away from the ‘Old Port’ mind set, engaging with the workforce to flex capacity to demand and undertaking grass roots development with a focus on ‘in context’ training. By enhancing the understanding and roles in the logistics chain, recruiting the right people and instilling a sense of culture, mind-set and behaviour we can effectively reduce the skills gap,” David points out.

As the business looks forward, focus will ultimately remain on its customers, designing sustainable solutions for the short, medium and long term, continuing to bring transformational


Profile: Peel Ports Group

handle post panamax vessels today, Liverpool2 (a deep water in river container terminal) means that we can address the demand while also working on the value-added aspects our customers’ require, such as port centric and hinterland warehousing in the central UK corridor of Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds,” he highlights.

Despite the numerous challenges posed by the weather and undertaking a major project of this scale the company has successfully ensured a low environmental impact construction remains on track. “In fact on the AutoGate project we are ten months ahead of plan,” announces David. The AutoGate technology will ensure faster turnaround times for vehicles

and minimise administration for drivers and operators. As well focusing on construction activities, the group

has entered into a partnership with Liverpool Universities, Colleges and Training Centres

to build the foundations for University Technical College, and the Liverpool

Global Maritime Knowledge Hub, ensuring sustainable investment

for the future, as David explains: “The People

agenda is one of our core business

pillars and a significant


Profile: Peel Ports Group

leading edge solutions to the market, and concluding the implementation of Navis N4 TOS and AutoGates at Liverpool Container Terminal. “We are more than a group of UK ports and we offer a unique innovative network supported by a superior infrastructure, facilities and services. We pride ourselves on being forward thinking and ambitious, operating at the centre of the supply chain to offer flexible, agile and cost effective solutions to our customers. You can have the best equipment, process and technology but if you don’t have the right people and people development

programmes you will not realise the business and customer benefits from the investments. Our ambition is to lead and inspire partners to grow through game changing logistics solutions.” l

Peel Ports Groupwww.peelports.com• Undertaking massive investment project• Supporter of local employment• Well positioned to serve industries

DeloitteDeloitte in the North West have worked alongside Peel Ports over a sustained period, delivering audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance advice, helping Peel Ports to grow and have an enduring, visible impact on the local economy. We are delighted to have played a small part in Peel Ports’ ongoing success, and look forward to partnering with them for many years to come as the group continues to develop and expand.

Carmet Tug Company Ltd are a small and successful family run company and since 1989 have been the sole towage contractors for the Manchester Ship Canal. Over the last 25 years they have managed and operated the four tugs which are owned by Peel Ports, and the exceptional 24/7 towage service is a credit to the loyal crews on board. Hopefully the strong relationship between Carmet Tugs and Peel Ports will continue for many years to come.

Carmet Tug Company

http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/index.htm

http://www.carmettugs.co.uk


Profile: PRONAV Ship Management GmbH & Co KG

Founded as part of PRONAV Group alongside crew management arm PRONAV Schiffahrtsberatung (PSB) in 1995, PRONAV Ship Management (PSM) has been focused on the LNG carrier business and management

of LNG carriers since its inception. With specialist expertise in the development, construction and operation of LNG carriers under long-term contracts, the company has established itself as a reliable, high quality partner for major companies within the energy and utilities industries. To complement this dedication to the LNG market, a number of the company’s employees have over 30 years worth of expertise in LNG operations.

Today the Hamburg-based company is among the world’s largest privately owned LNG carrier operators, with nine currently under operation, four of which are partly owned. Its success stems from its forward thinking approach in focusing on an unusual sector during the mid 1990s; as a pioneer, the company developed strong long-term partnerships in a market that has grown in importance over the last decade. Indeed, as PSM enters its 20th year

Expert service

in operation in 2015, the firm has earned itself a spotless record while managing complex projects and delivering highly integrated technical solutions; a record that stems from an unwavering commitment to health and safety, environmental protection and quality.

Managing director Karl-W Braun talks more about PSM’s fleet at present: “There are currently nine LNG carriers as a mixture of older steam-propelled and newer diesel-driven ships. Steam has proven to be very reliable since the first LNG vessels, built more than 30 years ago, were steam ships continue to operate today but the demands on costs and fuel efficiency mean it has become increasingly difficult to maintain. In 2004, QatarGas awarded us a contract for four Q-Flex vessels that included design, new


http://www.gtl.com.sg

http://www.uniservice.de



building supervision, plan approval, commissioning, and vessel management tasks. All of this was carried out in-house; external resources aren’t often used because we have a lot of expertise within the company. The Q-Flex ships are two-stroke diesel propelled ships ftted with five four-stroke generator sets for aux. power generation.”

Involved in steam-propelled ships from the start, PSM’s commitment to the long-term is proven in the age of three of its steam vessels, which were built in 1978/1979. However, despite being conservative to new technologies, the company has remained at the forefront of changes surrounding increasing fuel prices by participating in the development of two-stroke diesel engines that can be retrofitted to utilise LNG as a fuel source. Current technology converts four-stroke diesel engines into highly efficient dual-fuel propulsion systems, with results of the conversion proving highly beneficial. However, PSM continues with the research and development of two-stroke conversions through engaging with engine manufacturer MAN and its charterers.

“We are constantly looking for the latest developments and

technologies in order to improve our efficiency and reliability. We are not a manufacturing company with a laboratory or R&D department but we are monitoring these developments through participation in meetings, exhibitions, panels and so on. SMM, the world’s biggest ship component and supplier exhibition in Hamburg, is coming up and this is always a good showcase to find opportunities for the further improvement and adaptation of our fleet,” highlights Karl. In addition to networking with peers at events, the company also takes advantage of its SIGGTO membership, which enables it to follow up on gas developments and exchange knowledge with other companies in the sector.

With the upcoming SECA regulations coming into effect in January 2015, Karl notes that these ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency and reliability are not only a focal point of PSM, but the shipping industry as a whole: “Since PSM was last featured in Shipping & Marine magazine in September 2013 I can safely say that fuel consumption remains the hot topic in the industry; everything is aimed towards gaining the best possible efficiency and the lowest possible consumption figures. With regards to innovative developments, all aspects of the industry - from the engineers to the propeller and paint manufacturers – are all working towards the same goal to boosting efficiency and lowering fuel consumption. It isn’t just about the operations of PSM, we are the integrating part of all of these areas of operation.”

Already in an advantageous position from its three decades of experience within an increasingly important sector, PSM also benefits from its focus on long-term contracts as an influx of LNG carriers have entered the market. “Over the last 12 months we have witnessed growth in Germany’s shipping industry, which is great because there will be a piece of cake for everybody and we will be looking to take our portion of that. However, alongside this growth there has also been an over-tonnage situation, with an over-capacity of LNG carriers that have been ordered on speculation without long-term employment. Because we only deal with long-term contracts we haven’t been affected by this,” explains Karl.



In addition to this, the company remains competitive through ongoing collaborations with crew management segment PSB; as both business segments are operating under the same umbrella, the two benefit from the same impressive technical expertise that ensures customers are provided with a highly efficient, reliable and punctual service, as Karl highlights: “The nature of the LNG business is worldwide and despite being German, we have gained clients from the US, Middle East, and in the past Japan. In a segment where safety and reliability are the core concerns, the fact we can offer that much experience for a comparatively reasonable price base has promoted the PRONAV name worldwide. A day

PRONAV Ship Management GmbH & Co KGwww.pronav.com/ship-management

• World’s largest privately owned LNG carrier operator• Part of Pronav Group• Focused on improving fuel efficiency and service

of downtime on an LNG carrier has far more effect than just the charter rate and the consequential damages are substantial, so we work very closely with our customers to reassure them. We have an open, trustworthy, and amicable approach that achieves the best from both ship and client.”

Still focused on its goal to partner with customers that share its values, PSM and PSB will continue to achieve stability in a rapidly expanding sector that is receiving new competitors every day. Looking further ahead, Karl anticipates LNG may become a bunker fuel, which will not only expand PSM’s operations through increased demand, but will benefit the sector as a whole. In preparation for this, the company aims to steadily grow its fleet with more modern and new-build tonnage.

“We want to improve operational fuel efficiency, which means looking at everything from the consumer onboard to the propulsion efficiency; there isn’t one piece of the puzzle to be solved, there are multiple challenges that we face. However, it is our target to participate in the expanding market, on a long-term basis, and to optimise the efficient transportation of LNG for many years to come,” concludes Karl. l

http://www.iss-shipping.com

http://www.oceanfair.com

the remaining ten per cent is owned by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. During 2004 the organisation celebrated reaching the three million tonne mark in goods handling and today this figure has increased to approximately eight million tonnes annual handling volume.

Throughout its history, innovation, growth and expansion have been at the forefront of the Seehafen Wismar operational approach. Its determination and ambition have led to continuing investment and development of the port’s facilities and as such the port today offers a comprehensive service portfolio to clients operating in a broad scope of industries. The port itself offers bunkering, IT and process support, intermodal transport and customised logistics concepts to clients operating in agricultural products; chemicals, salt and fertilizer; disposal and recycling; plant and machinery; wood and forest products; aggregates; cruise shipping; metal and renewable sources of energy. Furthermore, the port maintains an expansive fleet of equipment that ensures that whatever the needs of its clients, it is on hand with the best solution to keep goods moving in and out of the area. Cranes with lifting capabilities of between 6.3 tonnes and 104 tonnes and ground carrying vehicles with capacities of up to 45 tonnes ensure that the day-to-day running of the business is carried out effectively, while external transport links secure the link between cargo and final destination.

The German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has a long maritime tradition dating back over 800 years, forming the roots that have allowed Seehafen Wismar GmbH to become a dynamic, modern logistics

company with a reputation as a trusted partner both locally and internationally. The port was first referenced in an official document by German emperor Otto IV during 1211 and became the nucleus from which the town of Wismar developed and a strong contributor to the growth of the future Hanseatic city. Following the Second World War the port was characterised by potash and timber handling, while the construction of a grain quay and fully automatic handling facilities during the 1950s made Wismar an increasingly efficient port. Following the political changes of the 1980s and 1990s Seehafen Wismar has grown into a modern logistics hub and is currently home to a variety of industrial business operating predominantly in wood, metal and chemistry.

Located in the Bay of Wismar, Seehafen Wismar GmbH represents Germany’s southernmost Baltic Sea port and provides an ideal gateway for goods between the Baltic, Germany and the rest of Europe. North-south traffic between Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Russia and Central Europe meets with excellent transport links via road rail and sea at Wismar, making the port a vital transport hub between Germany and the Baltic region. Today the Port is 90 per cent owned by Hanseatic City of Wismar, while


Profile: Seehafen Wismar

&historyInnovation


http://www.bifgmbh.de

Profile: Seehafen Wismar

Additionally the bulk terminal facilitates the loading and unloading of weather-sensitive bulk goods and includes continuous handling equipment with transfer rates of between 200 tonnes per hour and 600 tonnes per hour. Wagon unloading and ship loading systems are integrated directly with terminal equipment. The port’s liquid goods division represents a specially designed terminal for dangerous cargos. Here wagons are unloaded and tank trucks loaded, tankers are discharged via a special vessel unloaded and their cargo is then pumped on to tanks farms supplying local businesses.

In order to maintain a leading position, Seehafen Wismar works continuously to enhance the port’s capabilities. Measures to build up a new pier of 300 m length and an operational area of 45,000 m² are planned for 2015, as well as a fairway extension up to 11.50 m, planned to provide a safe access for vessels of a permissible draught up to 10.50 m. This will allow Panamax-size vessels to load or unload at the port of Wismar in the future.

The importance of renewable energies is also growing. Therefore Seehafen Wismar has increased its focus in this area, especially on the logistics of wind power plants and biomass products.

Overall, innovation is a central key driver at the port of Wismar. By the use of modern IT systems and the performance of environmentally friendly procedures, the company contributes to the automation of the operations and steering processes as well as to green logistics.

An example of innovation in progress occurred during February 2014, when Seehafen Wismar distinguished itself by loading the single largest tonnage onto a vessel in its history. Due to the severe winter weather experienced in the US, snow and heavy

storms created an urgent need for de-icing salt for road clearance. The largest European salt producer, Esco was able to respond at incredibly short notice and provide a shipload of approximately 26,000 tonnes in a matter of days. The MV Kiwi Trader arrived from the Danish port of Grenaa and was commissioned within hours to make the journey to the US east coast via the port of Newark. Following its arrival at the port of Wismar on 15th February, loading of the vessel commenced right away and was completed on the 17th. By using the maximum permitted draught of 8.50 metres, the port was able to set a new record of 25,680 tonnes loaded onto a single vessel. Furthermore, a short amount of time later, two more super-size vessels followed to load

another 55,000 t. Thus all in all over 80,000 t of salt have been transhipped to the US East Coast.

Similarly, 2014 has seen the port break several other records with the lifting of two Siemens transformers with individual weights of 100 tonnes each. Previously the heaviest cargos handled by Seehafen Wismar were transhipped; however port operators were able to load the heavy units directly from truck onto the transport ship to Hammerfest. Furthermore, the longest cargo to be handled by Seehafen Wismar; rotor blades with a total length of 58.7 metres, were transported by truck through the port’s barrier-free access route to and from the site. These projects demonstrate the increasing capabilities of the port, which are set to be further enhanced by a second round of port expansion designed to meet the continuing needs of its clients. The completion of this latest round of investment is expected in 2017.

Seehafen Wismar remains an effective transport terminal with a deeply rooted sense of tradition coupled with an ambitious drive to innovate. During the 1950s wood was one of the port’s key cargos and during 2013 the port remained a market-leader in this area transhipping 1.4 million tonnes of wood product throughout Europe. With its increasing presence in a host of markets and development of state-of-the-art facilities Wismar will remain a vital transport hub for years to come. l


Seehafen Wismar www.hafen-wismar.de• Part of Germany’s long trade history• Southernmost German Baltic port• Dedicated to modern yet proven logistical solutions

ART 80-32 has successfully completed its trials recently. As of January 2014, KST underwent a successful rebranding

operation to further cement its move away from shipbuilding and further into marketing and consultancy. Discussing the decision with Shipping and Marine magazine during January 2014, Evan said: “Under its new name, Rotortug BV will continue its focus on the marketing and development of the Rotortug as an established brand as well as other towage related solutions. Now that the shipbuilding aspect of the business is gone, it’s the perfect opportunity for us to rebrand.”

“We reviewed existing designs and explored what defines a good tugboat?” adds Marinus Jansen, technical innovations manager at Rotortug. “Within that scope we moved to a much more conceptual level reflecting on why do tugboats even exist? What is their purpose? How are they deployed and how does that relate to their service? We decided to use a system-based approach on tugboats as risk management tools. This was basically a much more academic exercise where we re-defined key performance criteria for tugboats. How do you define performance in a tugboat? And how does it relate to its operability and usability? Does it relate at all? And how does that affect the uptime of your terminal facility, whether that is a liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal onshore or an offshore floating liquid natural gas (FLNG) facility? Our partnership with Robert Allan Ltd enabled us to free up resources. They handle the design work, while we looked at how tugboats are used and deployed and look to guide the design in an operational sense.”

Presently Rotortug markets the Rotor tug concept and provides second to none design as well as expert training to the towage

Rotortug BV has an established history at the forefront of the innovative Rotor tug design that was first constructed by Mr Ton Kooren in Spain during 1999. The company was founded over 20 years ago as Kooren Shipbuilding and Trading BV

and was preeminent in the construction of the first generation of Rotor tugs, which were originally built exclusively for use by the international maritime service provider Kotug. With the increase in demand for specialised towage services, the strategic decision was made to extend the sale of the design to third parties. “Our turnkey Rotor tugs were sold to Smit, Urag, Bugsier and Kotug,” says Evan Willemsen, managing director of Rotortug. “Throughout this time period we co-operated with the Canadian naval architect Robert Allan Ltd on a number of the custom design projects that featured extensive model tests, confirming the added value of the Rotortug for towage operations and established the demand for custom designed (Rotortug) solutions.”

Initially the KST BV service portfolio included a shipbuilding arm, however as the company developed its efforts increasingly focused on design and newbuilding consultancy, marketing and training solutions. During 2012 a contract was signed between KST BV and Robert Allan that established an exclusive design agreement that provides prospects the opportunity to contact either firm for a license to construct a Rotor tug. “Each potential client can buy a design and license to build a Rotor tug at their preferred yard with their preferred equipment, incorporating their own ideas and securing the main working principles into the design with Robert Allan Ltd,” Mr Willemsen explains. The first vessel to emerge from the agreement, the third generation

Pulling forward


forward


Profile: Rotortug

sector. Since it was introduced the Rotor tug system has been accepted as a leading tug concept in the towage industry and boasts several advantages that provide added value over ASD and tractor tugs. For example, the triple Z-drive propulsion configuration offers increased redundancy at all times and unequalled safety in towing and escort operations. Expanding a pilot’s options during maritime operations makes the Rotortug a real game-changer.

Through the competitive advantages of the Rotor tug system and the bespoke design options afforded by the company’s relationship with Robert Allan, Rotortug is able to meet both the needs of individual ship owners and operating companies as well as the business interests of terminal operators seeking to ensure that their facilities operate as efficiently and with as little down time as possible. “Terminal operators naturally want to make sure their facility has a safe, reasonable and practicable maritime operation” Marinus observes. “They want maximum uptime and having a traditional tugboat that is out of action because a thruster is down could potentially shut down their entire terminal operation. We find that customers have their own preferences on how they want to run their ship and we work with them to see how we can help with that.”

As such Rotortug continues to market the benefits of the Rotor tug design and win clients across the globe. In an impressive display of industry acceptance of the Rotor tug system, Shell Australia recently awarded a contract for the design and operation of three infield support vessels for its Prelude FLNG

Rotortugwww.rotortug.com• Designs and markets the patented Rotor Tug• Exclusive design contract with Robert Allan Ltd• Rebranded company in January 2014

Project to a Kotug and Teekay joint-venture. That a major energy company has embraced the Rotor tug system on its first entry into the FLNG market is a significant endorsement of the technology and an indicator that Rotortug believes signals a strong presence for the system on the world’s oceans for many years to come. l

http://www.rotortug.com

a strong environment with increased production of shale oil and gas exports from the US, due to growth from production. Demand from India and China, in addition to traditional Asian markets, has also driven the requirement for LPG shipping and created a tighter shipping market.

Export infrastructure and fractionation capacity in the US has grown, and both Targa Resources and Sunoco / Energy Transfer Partners have been opening additional capacity during the second half of 2014. Coupled with production rates of LPG averaging two million barrels a day, the US is at the top of the LPG supply chain and continues to enjoy a price advantage over LPG sourced from the Middle East, ultimately creating more demand for US LPG in the important Asian markets.

Liquefied gases are primarily used for industrial and domestic heating, as a chemical and refinery feedstock, as a transportation fuel and in agriculture. The liquefied gas carrier market is typically stronger in the spring and summer months in anticipation of increased consumption of propane and butane for heating during the winter months. In addition, unpredictable weather patterns in these months tend to disrupt vessel scheduling and the supply of certain commodities. As a result, demand for the company’s vessels tends to be stronger in quarters ending in June and September and relatively weaker during quarters ending December and March, although 12 month time charter rates tend to smooth these short‑term fluctuations. With the potential of the varying market demands, the business has a well‑established and adaptable in‑house technical, commercial and operations department that is a key element allowing a quick response to the request of its charterers.

The ECO class vessel is of the type demanded by clients, who are ultimately the driving force of the industry, and throughout its operational history the company has worked closely with companies such as Statoil, Vitol, Stasco and Petredec in the pressurised and VLGC sectors. With offices in Connecticut ‑ US, London ‑ UK

The history of Dorian LPG dates back to 1906 when the Hadjipateras family purchased its first steamship. Over the next 70 years the business worked hard to establish itself within the tanker, and ultimately the

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) markets. Today, with over a century of experience, Dorian LPG exists as a pure‑play LPG shipping company and a leading owner and operator of modern fuel‑efficient Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs), operating the newest generation of vessels to meet the requirements of the most demanding counterparties in the industry. In 2013, Dorian LPG entered an agreement to take over a fleet of 11 VLGC newbuildings and two VLGC options from the US company Scorpio Tankers. Commenting at the time, company CEO John Lycouris confirmed: “As we move into 2014 we plan to work on the integration of the newly acquired VLGCs into our highly experienced commercial and technical management team.”

The company currently has an operating fleet that consists of five LPG carriers, including one fuel‑efficient 84,000 cbm VLGC, three modern 82,000 cbm VLGCs and one pressurised 5000 cbm vessel. Additionally it has another 18 fuel‑efficient 84,000 cbm ECO VLGC newbuildings due for delivery in 2014, 2015 and early 2016 from Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipping and Marine Engineering Ltd, which includes the 13 it acquired from Scorpio Tankers. Each of the newbuildings promotes an ECO‑design that reduces technologies. Upon completion of the programme in January 2016, Dorian’s VLGC fleet of 22 vessels will have an average age of just 1.6 years, significantly less than the current average age of the worldwide fleet of approximately 11 years.

During the first half of 2014 the spot charter rates reached all‑time high levels, followed by the delivery of nine vessels into the global VLGC fleet in the latter quarters of 2014, ready to target the strong LPG seaborne trade. The LPG shipping market has enjoyed


Greek odyssey

Trans-it is a privately owned company specialised in creative ship spares logistics services worldwide.Since 1998 Trans-it has pioneered the business remarkably - and been one of the most innovative companies seen from a conceptual point of view.It is smoothly controlling onboard deliveries (cost-wise and communication-wise) in many difficult areas such as South America and Western Africa - to mention a few.Trans-it today represents a large number of vessel operators (owners/managers) with different profiles - covering more than 2000 vessels.

Trans-it AS


Profile: Dorian LPG

and Piraeus - Greece, the business continues to develop through the contacts it has established throughout its many years trading. With the new vessels due for staged delivery between 2014 and 2015 Dorian aims to secure period employment through first class charterers. The new vessels have been designed to comply with the new regulations, and two of the newbuilds are to be equipped

Dorian LPGwww.dorianlpg.com• LPG shipping company• Fleet of modern fuel-efficient VLGCs• 18 VLGS newbuildings on order

with scrubbers utilising seawater to neutralise the sulphur oxide contained in the exhaust gas, permitting them to burn heavy fuel oil in emission control areas. The ECO design of the vessels is aimed at reducing air pollution and, through a modified hull form and engine, saving bunker consumption.

Continuing in line with its commitment to health, safety and the environment the business aims to offer the best possible service to its clients by providing environmentally friendly ships and operations, maintaining safe working environments and realising a sound return for shareholders. Over the last 30 years Dorian LPG has consistently demonstrated its strengths, successfully securing growth through vessel acqusitions and newbuildings, while never sacrificing quality operations and will continue strive to achieve ongoing positive results as it moves forward. l

odyssey

http://www.transit-dk.com

Founded by a pair of Danish brothers in 1902, Clorius Controls immediately began developing and producing a range of self-acting temperature controllers; 111 years later, this product line is still going strong, alongside the company’s passion for

delivering reliable, economically friendly applications that meet the needs of an evolving industry. In fact, over the last century the company has continuously developed its knowledge on the monitoring, control and regulation of heat and ventilation to create a dynamic range of up-to-date products that match customer demands for technological advances, reliability and user-friendliness.

Since it was previously featured in Shipping & Marine magazine in September 2011, Clorius Controls has witnessed steady growth,

with a sales increase of more than 40 per cent above the previous year in 2014. Discussing these positive developments, business unit director

Anders Haugard begins: “During the financial crisis Clorius Controls was able to grow its market share to approximately 40 per cent in China despite increased competition. Our dedication and core market remains with in the commercial marine business, with its gravity centre in the Far East. Moreover we have secure orders in the offshore sector and have witnessed huge growth in the South East Asian region. To further accelerate our sales and better serve our client in the SEA region, we opened an office in Singapore in July 2014 and signed a new partner agreement in Vietnam.”

Having taken on the role of managing director in 2012, Anders has focused on strengthening the business through the consistent delivery of a high quality, reliable and flexible service. “Positive teamwork has been key to my business strategy. We spend more time with our customers now than we have ever done before, to seek answers on what their needs are and how we can further improve our service to them. We have initiated an ambitious product innovation programme with added R&D resources, to secure a continuous flow of new innovative solutions.”

The most recent example of the company’s newly strengthened tradition for innovation is the large capacity three-way control valve G3CM-T with grooved joints. Designed for the regulation of cooling water, sea water and lubrication oil in an integrated temperature control loop, the valve’s ability to handle large liquid flows makes it an ideal application for the marine industry; it is also lighter and slimmer than valve solutions in the same DN range. This is partly down to the replacement of flanges with grooved joints, which delivers a further weight reduction of up to 25 per cent. However, connecting with grooved joints

and couplings not only offers the benefit of weight reduction, it also minimises the vibration, noise and stress level within the pipe system and ensures easy construction. Created with ISO top flange and square drive bush, the nodular cast iron G3CM-T valve has a robust and simple design, with very few moving parts, which thus limits risk of wear and virtually eliminates the need to repair or maintain the product.“Clorius Controls’ rotating three-way control valves down to DN150 is a

very simple product, which only contains three main pars – Cone, Controlling Slide and cover. The grooved in O-ring on the slide secures the lowest leakage rate on

the market, which comes on top of competitive linear valves being 70 per cent heavier. In times where weight reductions and power consumption are important criterias, this product offers unique benefits. We will launch this maintenance free, EU manufactured product in DN100 and DN125 later in the year,” explains Anders. “This product has generated

a great deal of interest in the market. The ease of installation, combined with the reliability and control characteristics has made a lot of shipyards and

shipowners shift from traditional control valves to our rotating type.”

Setting the standard



Profile: Clorius Controls

Clorius Controlswww.cloriuscontrols.com• Specialise in temperature and pressure control• Recently launched new products• Over 100 years of experience

its temperature and pressure control products for the shipping industry. “In November 2013 Michael Paschal, head of Clorius Controls in India Operations, met the Danish minister of Trade and European Affairs; the meeting took place at the Danish embassy in Mumbai, and was of a very positive nature and the Minister expressed his support to our effort in India,” highlights Anders. “It is my experience that persistence and time is your friend at the Indian market, as well as good relations can open new doors.”

Having developed its innovative product range and R&D resources, enhanced its customer service capabilities and expanded its presence in burgeoning markets, this highly adaptable company is fully in control. l

NomoClorious Controls rotary valves were designed with PTFE coated sliding bearings for high performance in harsh environments.To ensure industry leading performance and reliability Clorius Controls source their bearings from Nomo, a leading supplier of bearings and related components in the Nordic region.Nomo, founded in 1948, today serves the Nordic industry in a large number of sectors including shipping and offshore.The region’s largest stock and an unparalleled supplier network enables Nomo to respond quickly to urgent demands, as well as serving major OEM customers with scheduled demands.

Other recent products to be launched are the self-acting differential pressure controls, which come in types TD56-2G (PN 25) and TD56-2M (PN 16). Self acting and easy to install and use, this unit controls the differential pressure in the circuits and sub-mains of individual users in a large distribution network. “Our newly developed range of pressure reduction and pressure differential valves is an example of how we try to enlarge our portfolio to offer solutions rather than products. The pressure reducers are design to maintain the pressure downstream of the valve to an adjusted set point value. The

product is self-acting and extremely easy to install and use. The products come in PN25 (Cast Iron) and PN40 (Cast steel),” states Anders.

Keen to continue developing its presence in the southeast, the company has remained focused on potential growth opportunities in India, which has a plan to gain a share of 7.5 per cent in the shipbuilding market by 2017. Although India has proven a difficult market to penetrate over recent years, Clorius Controls is certain that, with time and the development of positive relations, it can build a strong export market for

http://www.nomo.com

added one of the largest Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co. to our client list, which includes BP, Shell, Statoil and RasGas.”

While other companies may be facing challenges from the over-supply of new LNG vessels hitting the water, ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd benefits from its ships being in medium to long-term contracts with first-class charterers. Already benefiting from the financial strength and expertise of its parent company, the subsidiary is keen to further enhance services within the whole group through shared values on quality and the sharing of knowledge and experience, as Yuzuru notes: “In London we don’t really have a huge hub; we have 30 people based in our office and eight ships. However, when you look at ‘K’ Line as a whole, it makes sense for the group to share its 30 years operational experience within the LNG market among its subsidiaries. There is another in-house ship management company set up in Tokyo, ‘K’ Line Ship Management Co., Ltd, which is working with our customers in Japan and the wider Pacific region; we are not only trying to enhance our knowledge but also share our experience with these entities so we can mutually learn from one another and improve our quality of services as an organisation. There is a definite value in integrating the strengths of ‘K’ Line Group.”

Not only looking to create a synergy between ‘K’ Line headquarters, ‘K’ Line Ship Management Co., Ltd and itself, the company’s interest in continuous improvement stems from a concern for safety standards within the LNG shipping market. “Despite it supposedly being one of the safest sectors in the history of shipping, it seems there is an increase in incidents

Due to celebrate its centennial year in 2019, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, otherwise known as ‘K’ Line, is a longstanding, global Japanese shipping and logistics group with three decades of experience

in the LNG market. Operating as a marine transporter of LNG from its Tokyo headquarters since the late 1970s, the company focused its attentions on the import of this fossil fuel into Japan before making a strategic decision to expand activities into the Atlantic region ten years ago. Keen to provide services in closer proximity to its developing client base in Europe and the wider Atlantic region, the group established ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, in 2005.

Headquartered in London, ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd operates as a ship manager, owner and regional agent in support of the group’s business activities in this targeted area. Over the last ten years, the office has accumulated a fleet of eight LNG carriers, which it now manages in the market; the fleet includes Celestine River, which is 100 per cent owned by the subsidiary, while ‘K’ Line and its joint venture partners are the owners of the remaining seven ships.

Since it was previously featured in Shipping & Marine magazine in November 2012, the company has continued to enjoy steady growth, while focusing on continuous improvement, as managing director Yuzuru Goto discusses: “In terms of developments within ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd, there have been no major changes in our set up. We still manage the same eight ships, but now we have some new-build projects coming up. As far as our customer base is concerned, we have

Preferred partner



Profile: ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd

‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltdwww.klinelnguk.com • www.kline.co.jp• Part of ‘K’ Line Group• Serves the international LNG shipping industry• Focused on safety and continuous improvement

within the LNG shipping market. This incident frequency could have a potentially large impact on the whole LNG value chain, which is why we are re-focusing our attention on safe operations and continuous improvement by going back to basics as a ship manager,” says Yuzuru.

“One way we are improving safety is by making sure our retention rate is high to prevent dilution in experience. In addition, we will enhance our culture for safety to ensure everyone in the company, from employees in the office to all seafarers on our ships, is fully aware of the importance of safe operation. The message has to come from me with a strong commitment, which I believe in, and needs to be shared and appreciated throughout the company, ideally without any dilution. We all need to work together to improve our safety culture and show that we all share the same vision.”

This vision will not only help prevent a negative impact on the LNG value chain, but will also ensure staff at ‘K’ Line LNG Shipping (UK) Ltd are fully prepared for their employer’s plans for steady and controlled growth over the upcoming years. With controlled fleet expansion creeping forward in time for the group’s 100-year anniversary in 2019, the customer-orientated firm aims to grow alongside its clients in the region while providing superior services for new contracts in areas such as the great developments arising from the US shale gas revolution. “The new projects we are currently looking into are mainly export related contracts in the US that will start in 2018-2019, when our new vessels will be due for delivery. This gives us time to prepare and increase our resources while maintaining our personnel to ensure we have sufficient experience in house.

“We don’t want to double the size of our fleet in a short amount of time, as this could lead to poor quality services. For us, quality is more important than quantity and the goal is to safely deliver valuable cargoes for our customers and get these items from A to B in a safe, reliable and cost competitive manner. By providing our customers with the best possible service they will appreciate our work and hopefully see us as their preferred shipping partner for future projects,” concludes Yuzuru. l

http://www.ventis.com.ph/

railway ferry berth and three Ro-Ro berths in a harbour basin of between seven to eight metres the busy port receives in the region of 4550 ships each year, employing more than 3000 people. With 100 private companies operating in the area, the port enjoys full support from the local community.

The 80 tonne lifting capacity of the harbour crane with 40 metre extension makes it possible to handle containers, wind-turbine blades, and ship engines amongst various other project cargos, enabling the process of various bulk commodities at the port. As well as over 5000 sqm of warehousing space, the site also benefits from two repair shipyards. At the Orskov yard is a repair shipyard with two dry docks and two wet docks at its disposal, both equipped with fixed and mobile cranes. On the MAN Diesel PrimeServ, situated in Nordhavnen, the shipyard has a bedding, which can accommodate ships up to 600 tonnes, 60m long, 12m wide and with a 5m draught.

As an ideal commercial harbour, due to its central location the port has more than 100,000 sqm of vacant areas, which the port leases for the storing of goods or business activity. As more and more companies are discovering the advantages of establishing their businesses at the Port of Frederikshavn, the port is making a targeted effort to consolidate its position as a maritime hub and transportation corridor between Norway, Sweden and the European continent. The Port of Frederikshavn is a key partner in the Danish network Offshore Base Scandinavia. The network offers custom-made complete solutions within service, repair and support for the offshore oil and gas industry. With a vision to create Northern Europe’s strongest maritime

In 2012, the Port of Frederikshavn launched a project aimed at enlarging the port, ultimately generating substantial new business opportunities for both the port itself, and more than 100 companies already positioned within. The port is

one of the ten biggest in Denmark and one of the most important commercial harbours in Denmark today. With a traffic harbour, ferry harbour and a versatile service industry, the port is modern and centrally located, with good facilities and a service set up which ensures fast, efficient handling of ships and cargos. The ambitious investment plan and clear strategy to further improve these facilities will position the port in an enviable position as it moves into the future.

The port links continental Europe to Scandinavia and is one of the busiest ferry harbours and ferry traffic hubs to and from Gothenburg, Oslo and the Danish island of Læsø. Stemming from the landside of the port, the modern and efficient infrastructure allows the port’s users and their customers to directly enjoy access to Europe’s motorway and railway networks. With six kilometres of wharves, five ferry berths, one

Location is quay



Profile: Port of Frederikshavn

cluster within service, repair and support for the offshore oil and gas industry, the network takes pride in understanding the customers’ challenges and needs and strives to help customers achieve success by always providing the best solution. The well-functioning co-operation between the parties of the network is the key to providing maximum value for customers.

In 2005 the Maritime Network Frederikshavn was founded. Frederikshavn has always provided a complete range of services to the maritime industry, based on the town’s historical shipbuilding background, with two shipbuilding yards and an engine factory. The network was set up to highlight this and make it easier to locate the various services. The network is made up of some 40 different companies providing a complete spectrum of maritime services for Danish and foreign companies, most of whom operate in the shipping or offshore industry. This means that any company, which chooses the Port of Frederikshavn, can get repairs and services in one and the same place. The numerous companies collaborate in a closely co-ordinated working relationship whenever a wide variety of

Port of Frederikshavnwww.fhhavn.dk• Undertaking a port enlargement project • Positioned on busy shipping route• Modern, efficient infrastructure

skill-sets are required. This optimises the procedures and ensures that all output is delivered on time, in the right quality and at the right price.

Both the Port and the many private companies operating at the port have experienced great success in recent years and are therefore demanding bigger and better harbour facilities. The requirement for increased capacity needs was confirmed in a survey involving 12 of the biggest maritime service companies at the port and as a result this led to the major steps being taken in 2012 to plan and design a large-scale enlargement of the port leading up to early 2017. With increasingly bigger ships arriving at the port, the depth of the harbour basin becomes more important, as does the width in which vessels up to Panamax category can manoeuvre. The port’s future in servicing offshore installations also prompted a need for being able to receive both jack-up platforms and semi-submersible platforms.

The future for the port will ultimately include more and deeper harbour basins, more wharves, wider entrances and significant extended hinterland areas. The planned enlargement redefines the concept of the ‘one-stop shop’. It will also be possible to strengthen business areas such as the offshore industry, offshore wind turbine industry, and environmentally correct scrapping of ships and oil rigs. l

http://www.nordmark-maskinfabrik.dk

diversified its services further and noticed opportunities in the port and oil and gas industries, as Mustafa Kemal Torlak, chairman and fifth generation member of the family business, discusses: “In the past we were very much focused on chemical tankers and bulk carriers, but after the global crisis we made the strategic decision to step away from ship owners and to instead move our customer base more towards port operators/managers and oil and gas operators as we believe they are more inclined to invest money in vessels.”

Indeed, this adaptability has proven fruitful for the flexible company, as Mustafa discusses further: “We have been successful in developing our customer portfolio and have grown a very small share in the Middle East Market where there is demand for tug boats, private boats and offshore security boats between 45-70 metres to be built. In 2012 we were awarded a contract in Saudi Arabia from ATCO to send 19 boats to their owner, Saudi Sea Port Authority. These boats are of various sizes and types, and include six tugboats, four pilot boats, two oil recovery vessels, garbage collection and dive boats.” Designed by Macduff Ship Design and built by Torgem, the seven initial newbuilds within the contract have completed successful trials and been delivered to their owners, while the remaining 12 ships are currently at different design/production stages.

“At the moment we are concentrating on the construction of

With its origins dating as far back as the 1880s, family-owned and operated Tor Group began as a small wooden boat manufacturer in the Rize provence of the Eastern Black Sea region. With

Mustafa ‘the carpenter’ Torlak at the helm, the group slowly grew from its humble beginnings into a major international shipbuilding and maintenance group that delivers a diverse range of services to both Turkish and global clients. Within the organisation is Tor Marine, the business segment that focuses on the manufacture of vessels such as OSV’s PSV’s AHTS’, cargo ships, mega yachts and tankers, Lemmar, which carries out ship conversions, maintenance and repairs; Tor Construction, the segment that plans and executes offshore projects, and finally Torgem, which owns and operates shipyards, group offices and workshops that are used by the associated firms Tor Marine and Lemmar.

Strategically based in Tuzla Bay, Istanbul, the 19.186 m2 facility is protected by a waterbreak against challenging weather conditions and boasts modern facilities and technology in line with the demands of the market. Today the shipyard has the capacity to handle the building, repair, maintenance and conversion of up to 20 vessels per year, which includes cargo ships, mega-yachts, chemical tankers and tug boats. However, when the economic crisis hit the shipping industry, the company

One hull of a ship



Profile: Torgem Shipyard

an offshore security vessel, which we aim to launch in September 2014,” says Mustafa. “This security boat is very unique in the market because it is also a speed boat, with a displacement of 360 tonnes, a steel hull of 45 metres and a speed of 35 knots; I have researched other companies, including the navy, and no other vessel of this type has this speed.” The innovative, high-speed patrol vessel was designed in Aberdeen, tested in Poland and built in Turkey for operations in the Middle East, where it will patrol offshore installations in Arabian waters. Advanced features include a quadruple engine installation and four fixed pitch propeller systems, which will be supplied by Kort Propulsion.

Due for launch in September 2014, the unique vessel is certain to generate attention as a game-changer in the industry and further cement the future of Tor Group following the economic crisis. “We have an excellent reputation as Turkish ship builders but we can’t compete with foreign markets any more; this is why we searched for another source of income as a way to continue building high quality vessels without the cut throat competition from shipyards in areas such as China,” says Mustafa. “Although we are launching the vessel in four to five weeks, we are much more interested in publicising the vessel during sea trials and after name day. We may also have a special guest come on board and have a small tour, which will allow them to see the

Torgem Shipyardwww.tor-group.net/torgem• New-build, repair and maintenance specialist• Expanded into the port and oil & gas markets• Currently building a unique security boat

high tech equipment and quality of the boat.”Having worked with Macduff Ship Design for approximately

six years, Torgem has developed a close and mutually beneficial relationship with the company over this period that feels more like a partnership. In addition to the security boat, the two organisations are working together on the second batch of vessels in the ATCO contract, as Mustafa discusses: “Right now we are building some more tug boats; these types of ships aren’t particularly unique but we are using the Macduff design on all of our vessels, which in our opinion is superior to other tug designs and gives us a competitive edge over other shipbuilders.”

Known for its tailor-made design and production services, Torgem looks to have a prosperous future ahead as it continues with its ATCO contract and develops a stronger presence in the oil and gas industry. “We have between five to ten years of experience in the tug boat market and two to three years in the offshore industry; we aim to spend the next decade gaining more experience in this area, which will enable us to survive in a challenging market,” concludes Mustafa. l

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quickly with good flexibility when organising the transport. Commenting, Volker says: “Without the large overheads that many other companies have, we start at an advantage in terms of cost. We also have very short communication links between the owners and the people who are doing the daily business, so if they come up with questions the process to conclude on how best to address the issues is very short.” Transporting project cargos and containers, the Walter Lauk Group has established a fine reputation over the last few years for its high degree of flexibility and commitment.

Working regularly with some of the largest organisations in the Hamburg region, the business looks to ongoing investment to maintain its strength, as Volker explains: “We are actively researching the feasibility of further investments into the fleet, but it is important to balance the cost and the benefits of the new equipment on the market. We have a very clear understanding of what business we are running, and focusing on future opportunities will ultimately determine what equipment we invest in to increase our capabilities. During the history of our business, operational demands have changed dramatically. This is why it is so important to remain at the forefront of the technology used.

“Today we are heavily involved in the transport of containers and flat racks and the barges that we have used since the beginning of our business were not designed for this purpose.

In 1982 the business was founded by its namesake, Mr Walter Lauk, who began port barging activities and the transport of cargo utilising its own barges in the Port of Hamburg, navigating the waterways using river barges for

international forwarding and transportation. Delivering a diverse range of services, the Group works with numerous companies involved in goods packing for export all over the world. “We also have clients involved in project forwarding who are specialised in the transport of project cargo worldwide,” says Volker Jäger, senior manager.

Offering an environmentally friendly transport alternative for large-volume project cargo, heavy weight cargo and containers, the Group is renowned for its cost competitive service, whilst also delivering on performance and quality. The significantly sized fleet is operated using the skilled staff it has worked hard to train and develop. “All our staff have a lot of experience within the industry and this enables us to provide a well organised service at a good price,” Volker points out. The variety of different sizes of vessels ensures that the business can react to all loading and discharge requirements of the shipping industry, as well as offering ancillary services within inland waterway transportation such as cargo controls.

As a privately owned company, the organisation benefits from a tight communication procedure that ensures decisions are made

Waterway works



Profile: Walter Lauk Group

Over the years we have purchased bigger barges and if a new business opportunity arises, we ensure that the relevant investment is made to undertake the work in the most efficient way,” says Volker. The crisis between 2008 and 2009 proved to be a big challenge for the business but during this time the benefits of being a privately owned company were really highlighted. “The combination of being a small company with the experts we employ gave us the chance to survive the difficult period. We look to the future with optimism because the container handling industry here in Hamburg has been growing continuously and we are participating heavily in that,” he adds.

The company has recently extended its services to include the Börde Container Feeder (BCF). Commenting on the development, Volker points out: “The BCF is a joint venture and under the arrangement Walter Lauk is a part of this feeder service. It is a transportation solution using river barges servicing a number of areas, and we are continuing to extend that service.” There are a number of environmental and cost benefits to running this service, but as a relatively slow method of transportation in comparison to hauling the loads by truck, it is not always the first consideration. With cargo destined for locations such as Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony it is sometimes essential to use a combination of river barge and truck solutions to ensure the most efficient option.

Walter Lauk Groupwww.walterlauk.de• Port barging and transport• International forwarding and transportation• Large fleet catering for range of cargo

Responding to this requirement and demonstrating its commitment to providing a complete service, the group has developed a long distance transport ‘container trucking’ department offering several fast track routes throughout Germany. “The demand for transport using the port barges has slowly declined due to the fact that a greater amount of cargo was being moved into containers. Being able to participate in this business is one of the reasons we established this division. As a business that is always looking to the next step, our strategy is to develop in a way that we remain both at the leading edge of the market as well as retaining our competitive advantage. We have a number of competitors so growth over the coming years will be piece by piece,” concludes Volker. l

http://www.thoemen.de

in August 2014. The vessel is currently being finalised at the Damen Den Helder shipyard before she is delivered to Van Oord for deployment at the Dutch offshore wind farm (OWF) Eneco Luchterduinen.

Following the acquisition of its first multipurpose/diving support vessel, the Offshore Beaver, in May 2014, the company has made a strategic step in diversifying its fleet of CTVs. Having previously supported projects in the North Sea for an oil major, Offshore Beaver is currently using her 32 pax accommodation capacity and four-point mooring system on a wind farm project based in German waters. She is also capable of laying her own anchor pattern, providing solutions to oil spills, acting as a mother ship to daughter crafts and providing offshore craning services.

Not only is the company investing in high quality vessels, to completely ensure client satisfaction and zero accidents, OWS will also be focused on continuous improvement in all areas of the business throughout 2014. For example, it is implementing crew training and health and safety awareness while also installing BMO Offshore VesselBlackBox measurement systems on all of its vessels. Because the system provides automated daily reporting on vessel movements and automatic video recording of accidents/near misses, as well as comfort measurement in accordance with the DNV high speed craft code, the effectiveness of CTV operations is aimed at being drastically improved as it creates an easy framework for the optimisation of crew planning, fuel consumption, passenger comfort and safety.

Indeed, these developments have not only paved the way for the ongoing growth of Workships Contractors and its


With 25 years of experience as a leading international vessel management company, Workships Contractors BV has developed a global reputation for providing competent

and reliable services to the offshore oil & gas and renewables sectors.

Bringing over two decades of offshore expertise into the operation of its subsidiary Offshore Wind Services BV’s (OWS) fleet of 12 vessels, Workships Contractors has cemented its reputation as a provider of more than 390,000 safe transfers.

Workships’ ambition to continue growing OWS and its services to a total vessel solution provider while meeting the demand of its clients in the North Sea market has been progressing successfully. Next to many safety enhancing activities, OWS has increased its fleet of dedicated crew transfer vessels (CTVs) in two years from one to 11, as well as added in May this year a multipurpose/diving support vessel.

Two new builds from Damen Shipyards are also to be delivered this year. Boasting an improved accommodation layout, modified bow thrusters and gear boxes, on top of a unique cargo handling system, next generation Twin Axe FCS 2610 vessel ‘Offshore Wielingen’ will provide OWS with complete confidence when transferring crew in more extreme weather conditions. Not only will this vessel ensure safe transfer and vast cargo capacity further out to sea, her additional enhancements and add-ons will also further cement Workships’ reputation for having a proactive approach in meeting the demand of its clients while incorporating its experience.

The launch of ‘Offshore Waddanzee’, the smaller version of Offshore Wielingen, a DAMEN Twin Axe FCS 2008, will be

Safetransfers

Profile: Workships Contractors BV


associated companies, but have also ensured optimum delivery of all services within the organisation as a whole.

BackgroundWith 25 years of experience as a leading international vessel management company, Workships Contractors BV has developed a global reputation for providing competent and reliable services to the offshore oil & gas and renewables sectors. Specifically tailored for the owner, these services include offshore vessel projects, managing drilling and service platforms, crewing, vessel audits and concept development. Proud to provide customers and stakeholders with a high quality, innovative service, the distinguished Dutch ship and project management firm has operated its vessels in strategic locations across the globe. This includes semi-submersible drilling rigs in the North Sea and Brazil, dynamic positioned accommodation vessels in Mexico and the Arabian Gulf, as well as mobile offshore production platforms in Thailand.

Seeing an opportunity to expand into the burgeoning wind market in 2006, Workships Contractors made the strategic decision to operate as an asset manager for the offshore wind industry via its subsidiary Offshore Wind Services BV (OWS). Bringing over two decades of offshore expertise into the operation of OWS’ fleet of 12 dedicated crew transfer vessels, Workships Contractors has cemented its subsidiaries reputation as a provider of more than 390,000 safe transfers. Furthermore, OWS’ commitment to continuous improvement through the evaluation and enhancement of its fleet - with regards to crew and passenger facilities, operational capacity, safety levels and passenger facilities – has also aided OWS’ strategic aim of becoming a leading provider of quality crew transfer.

In 2012 OWS increased its presence within the offshore wind market with the acquisition of Offshore Wind Power Marine Services (OWPMS); a pioneer in the safe transfer of crew to offshore wind farms based in the UK, OWPMS has earned a leading reputation in the offshore wind crew transfer

Workships Contractors BV www.workships.nl• Marine asset manager and vessel operator• New vessels Offshore Wielingen and Offshore Waddenzee to be delivered to OWS this year• Acquisition of a diving support/multipurpose vessel• Strong partnership with Frisia Offshore

industry since its early start in 2006. To complement this strategic development, Workships Contractors strengthened its services and presence within the Dutch and German offshore wind markets further by establishing a partnership with Frisia Offshore in 2013.

The mutually beneficial co-operation between OWS and Frisia Offshore has enabled the companies involved to share knowledge, experience and assets to ensure customer satisfaction, while also allowing OWS to expand into Germany and Frisia Offshore to gain a strong partner outside the country. l

Pearson MarinePearson Marine is currently growing and maintaining a network of customers within the renewable energy sector offering technical expertise on all installa-tions and maintenance of HSSV to minimise any downtime.It recently moved into larger premises which are situated within easy access to all the Docks in Hull. It has a dedicated staff offering the highest quality in the design build and installation of all services to the specialist marine environment along with all industrial and hazardous areas.

still struggling, at the moment the smaller sized short sea, up to 10,000 dwt is almost impossible. So what we have focused on in the meantime is to provide the highest quality service at the lowest price possible with a lot of support and trust from our major suppliers. We have also upgraded our quality systems to succeed in being recognised as a high performance company in the market.

“We could only do that because we got rid of a huge part of our fleet, which wasn’t performing to our level; laying up a number of vessels is also a major step that we undertook a

number of years ago because sailing vessels under OPEX is not a very wise strategy in my opinion. In August 2014 I sold the last vessel in my fleet that was a loss-bringer; by saying goodbye to approximately 25 per cent of my fleet we have further enabled Feederlines to service the needs of the current market.”


Founded in 1995 by Captain Alfred Hartmann, of German firm Hartmann Shipping Group, Feederlines BV was established with the intention of owning and operating vessels in the Netherlands’ fast-growing short

sea sector. Over the years the subsidiary’s fleet of 2500 to 9000 DWT dry cargo vessels and 290 TEU and 750 TEU container feeder vessels has grown at a respectable level, at one point reaching a total fleet of 52 multi-purpose vessels. However, like many shipping companies at the time, Feederlines BV was hit hard by the economic crisis and has since adapted its fleet and services in accordance to market demand.

Indeed, since it was previously featured in Shipping & Marine magazine in November 2010, the company has become leaner and more quality conscious to ensure customers receive a superior service, as managing director Jan van der Laan explains: “The market is

Hunger forsuccess

reached a milestone when it was officially certified to ISO 9001:2008 standard by Lloyds Register in May 2014. However, despite reaching this highly regarded standard, the company is keen to continue with its ongoing process of improvement to become an organisation that is renowned for quality, as Jan notes: “Currently we are happy with the way we are performing; we set out on a journey to become a high performance company and slowly and surely we are getting there. We are getting towards operating with as few deficiencies as is possible. Furthermore, to ensure we provide high quality at a low cost, we have established a lot of procedures and software systems internally; these have allowed us to plan in advance when certain repairs needed to be done, which thus limits the downtime of our vessels. In 2012 we created our own technical support team, which enables us even better to react quickly to incidents. And enables us to cut down on expensive external support. And last but not least our own service team also trains our own engineers on board to become more self-supporting.”

With these developments completed at a time when freight rates are increasing, the company is in an excellent position to


Profile: Feederlines

This strengthening of Feederlines’ fleet is complemented by the company’s 19 years of experience in responding to the demands of charterers and operators in an efficient and accurate manner; values that have only been enhanced by its focus on quality over the last few years. “It is well known that when I took over the position as managing director in 2010 we were under strict supervision of the Holland Shipping Inspectorate because of elements from the past, which clearly showed that internal procedures and standards where not up to par,” says Jan. “That was my main focus point when I took over, it was not acceptable to be in that position. So we expanded our office staff with a lot of quality people and have been fighting ever since to focus our attention on the vessel because at the end of the day; that’s where we make our money. So we don’t cut back on expenses on repairs because in the end you will only end up with less quality vessels.”

Following continuous efforts to improve quality, the company


Profile: Feederlines

take advantage of market demand. Although this is a positive step towards recovery in the industry and the company’s future growth, Jan is aware that Feederlines’ operational locations will lead to further challenges. “We are mainly operating in the Baltic region and the Mediterranean; of course as ship owners we have to take into consideration the impact of the SECA regulations that will come into effect during 2015,” he says. “However, as the affected area only accounts for 25 per cent of our time and the solutions for emissions on the market are so costly, for us it doesn’t make much sense to install scrubbers and so on. We will have to sail with gas oil in that area.”

Moving forward, the company’s strategy is to gain a positive reputation with banks to ensure funding can be gained for new-builds over the coming years. “Our fleet isn’t getting any younger so it is important we can receive funding to develop new-builds,” says Jan. “In addition to these plans, we recently gave a local design company a project to develop a new 12,000 tonne design for the underwater part of a vessel. Because designers have focused more on the front of the ship, we feel this is an area that has the potential to deliver more cost-efficient shipping. Ultimately, we are now set for the recovery of the market and when that happens we will be able to bring in new builds,” concludes Jan. l

Feederlineswww.feederlines.nl/en• Ship management specialist• Own dry cargo and container feeder vessels• Achieved the ISO 9001:2008 standard in May 2014

http://www.tbsgroup.nl

Over the following three years the company promoted its recently developed services and became firmly established as a key ship repair firm in Central America. Furthermore, in 2005 it began working with its first international organisation, the Braswell Shipyard; owned by the Panamanian Government and managed by the Braswell family. Throughout 2005 and 2007 the company became the main contractor of Braswell Shipyard, where it gained valuable experience, however, by the final quarter of 2007 MEC Panama made the strategic decision to become an independent shipyard; an ambitious goal that came into fruition in 2010 when the company acquired the Veracruz facility and began operations in the new shipyard on March 15 2010.

Based in the advantageous position of the Pacific Entrance of the Panama Canal, the 16,301 metre square Veracruz facility is located within 15 minutes of the Balboa Port Terminal and MEC headquarters. The facility consists of a slipway, with cradles

Originally a pollution control services provider when first established in 1999, the Panama based MEC, under the name Marine Pollution Prevention & Consulting Services (MARPOL) soon noticed a gap

in the market for cost-effective and superior ship repair services in the country. Aware of the urgent need for ship repair solutions for vessels transiting the Panama Canal, MEC diversified its services accordingly and changed its name to Marine Engineers Corporation (Panama) Inc, otherwise known as MEC.

“We began as a small consultancy firm, which had no relation to shipyards at all, but following an aggressive marketing plan from our current CEO and founder, Mr Marvin Castillo, we evolved from a very small to relatively large business. The growth stemmed from Mr Castillo going to Europe, mainly Germany and Greece, where we gained our first international customers,” begins Jose Borrero, vice president of MEC.


Profile: MEC Panama

The whole nine

yards


http://www.grupokativo.com


Profile: MEC Panama

MEC Panamawww.mecpanama.com• Only Panamax Shipyard in Panama

• Full order books into 2015

• Invested more than £10 million in new yard

capacity of up to 100 metres in length and 25 metres in beam, while the winch has a bollard pull certified up to 37 tonnes and has been tested for up to 42 tonnes. Furthermore, the yard has up to 12 positions for vessels of different beams and lengths, as well as a transfer system to locate ships on the yard area. The types of vessels to attend the yard include pleasure, passenger, tug boat, bunker barges, fishing vessels, megayachts and deck barges.

“For the shipyard itself, some of our main clients include Tsakos Columbia Management in Greece, which has already sent four vessels to dry dock; we also have Chronos Shipping from Greece, who has sent two ships in the last month. We benefit from our location, right here on the entrance of the Canal, because we are perfectly placed to service the 14,000 transits that pass in front of us, which is something very few shipyards can say. Another strength that gives MEC Panama a competitive edge is the fact that, as part of the MEC Group, we are a complete service provider that operates as a one-stop-shop. For example, we can provide customers with cleaning services from our diving company, which offers faster and more cost effective results than providing this service in a shipyard,” highlights Jose.

“We also offer ship chandlering services, which has

knowledgeable and experienced shipyard and ship repair staff available to source what is needed for vessels, With almost 4000 items in stock, we have everything a vessel requires at a 30 per cent discount than the local market cost. Essentially, we clean repair and supply vessels to ensure they are fully serviced,” he adds.

Today the company’s facilities include seven dry docks at Veracruz and, most recently, Balboa Shipyard, where it provides expert services such as afloat ship repairs, permanent dry ship repairs, ship bow thruster repairs, temporary underwater repairs, permanent underwater repairs, crane repairs, dry docking repairs and mechanical ship repairs. Elaborating on the acquisition of Balboa, Jose states: “Every port and shipyard in Panama is owned by the government; they give the facilities to you in concessions, which is how we were awarded the Balboa yard for 20 years. However, in the two years that passed from us being awarded the concession and the end of the previous concession the facility had been completely abandoned and a great deal of equipment had rapidly deteriorated from being located next to the sea.”

The MEC shipyard, formerly Braswell Shipyard, is the largest on the Pacific coast from San Diego to Chile, and was reopened after the end of the drydock concession in 2011. Awarded the 20-year concession in July 2012, MEC Panama first entered the facility in January 2013 has since spent more than £10 million on equipment and the modernisation of the abandoned facility. So far this has included such investments as three tower cranes of 12 tonnes capacity and one 30-tonne RTG. “Some of the work carried out was highly critical for the functionality of the yard, for example it was necessary for the pumps in the dry docks to be renewed. Another major investment was in cranes; we had no cranes for almost a year and we now have five in operation. On top of that we have worked on the little things that people expect now, such as Wi-Fi all over the facility,” explains Jose. “These developments have enabled us to improve our service greatly, which has been reflected in the time it takes to complete ships. The first vessel from South America to come to us took 21 days to complete, but now we are taking nine to ten days to finish operations on panamax vessels.”

Having invested a huge amount of time, effort and money into the enhancement of its facilities, the company is now focusing its attentions on the production side of the business and has a goal to complete all projects within ten days, as Jose notes: “Our average statistic for getting vessels sent back out is nine to ten days, but sometimes it is 15. It has to be ten days every time for us; this is what we aim for so we can have this place running with first-class operations.” To further strengthen this goal, the company is looking to expand the pier and develop two additional piers, which will thus give it the capacity to take on larger vessels. “This is more of a necessity than an option because vessels of this size don’t fit here or anywhere else in Panama; our aim is to complete these developments over the next five to seven years,” concludes Jose. l

Pintuco Central America is the leader in the region in the production and commercialisation of world-class paints, and is the authorised distributor of the International Paint, Devoe and Wasser brands through its trading Centro de Pinturas Glidden and KCI Export Trading. Since 2012, the company has been a strategic business partner of MEC Shipyards Panama, supplying the products used in the painting projects for boats and industrial type. The company has a specialised team, offering technical and commercial support to the MEC, providing coating systems tailored to the customer needs and projects.

Pintuco Central America

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Shipping and Marine Issue 112 Early Edition

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