Shipping and Marine Issue 109 Early Edition

ISSUE 109 early

The magazine for maritime management

The right

coating As regulations regarding copper-based anti-fouling solutions get increasingly stringent, manufacturers of hull coatings will need to be more innovative

reliable supplies

Changes in purchasing and operating strategies have required suppliers to adapt their approach and be more responsive

a new shortcut

One hundred years after it was built, the Panama Canal is having a major facelift, but what impact will this have on the industry?

finishing touches

The market for renovating and refurbishing ship interiors is a buoyant and ever-changing one with new ideas coming into play

If you don’t have the time to read it all, read what you need

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ISSUE 109 Early

Editor’s editor’s comment ThE magazInE for marITImE managEmEnT

The right

coating As regulations regarding copper-based anti-fouling solutions get increasingly stringent, manufacturers of hull coatings will need to be more innovative

reliable supplies

changes in purchasing and operating strategies have required suppliers to adapt their approach and be more responsive

a new shorTcuT

one hundred years after it was built, the Panama canal is having a major facelift, but what impact will this have on the industry?

finishing touches

The market for renovating and refurbishing ship interiors is a buoyant and ever-changing one with new ideas coming into play

Chairman Andrew Schofield Group Managing Director Mike Tulloch Sales Director David Garner Editor Libbie Hammond Art Editor/Design David Howard Staff Writers Matthew High Jo Cooper Andrew Dann Steve Nash Editorial Administrator Emma Harris

Sail away I was pleased to be able to feature a story on the Panama Canal in this issue, as it is somewhere that I would love to see in person. Just the sheer size and scale must be awe-inspiring – or is it a case of when you’ve sailed through a few times, you no longer notice the fact it is an engineering marvel? Have you sailed through and was it as good as I imagine?

Speaking of sailing – the story about MUNIN also makes fascinating reading on page 18. Are autonomous, unmanned ships the way forward? According to project co-ordinator of MUNIN Hans-

Production Manager Fleur Daniels

Christoph Burmeister, although the realisation of operational

Production dhoward @ schofieldpublishing.co.uk studio @ schofieldpublishing.co.uk

autonomous technology can still support an important step forward

unmanned vessels may still be sometime away, the application of

for shipping. What do you think?

Office Manager Tracy Chynoweth Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Laura Thompson Natalie Martin Gavin Watson Mark Cowles Vita Lukauskiene Tarj D’Silva Karl Riseborough Elizabeth Szabo Jeff Goldenburg Jeff Johnson Advertising Sales Tim Eakins Joe Woolsgrove Dave King Darren Jolliffe Finlay Johnson Nick Davies

libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

If you would like a digital version of Shipping & Marine magazine please contact Iain Kidd: ikidd@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

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www.shippingandmarine.co.uk. ©2014 Schofield Publishing Ltd

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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FEATURES 4 News Updates and announcements from the shipping and maritime arena

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8 Patrolling the seas Personal video and audio transmissions for boarding parties are helping to combat piracy

10 Reliable supplies When it comes to maintenance, obtaining the right parts and components quickly can be critical

12 On target Radar technology is meeting the growing navigation demands of the shipping industry

14

14 Panama Canal One hundred years after it was built, the Panama Canal is having a major facelift, but what impact will this have on the industry?

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16 Finishing touches The market for renovating and refurbishing ship interiors is a buoyant and ever-changing one with new ideas and trends constantly coming into play

18 From mythology to technology

20

The importance of autonomous and unmanned vessels in ensuring a sustainable and competitive future for Europe’s shipping market

20 The right coating As regulations regarding copper-based anti-fouling solutions get increasingly stringent, Mike Garside looks at what innovations this will bring from hull coating manufacturers

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contents 35

profiles 2 3 M aat s Tec h Lt d 3 2 N ordhav n 3 5 Fr isia - Of fshore 3 8 We c o Group (D a nnebrog Rederi AS) 41 Stena Line 4 3 S wedish Ma rit im e Adm in istration 4 6 Stolt - Nielsen Lim ited

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5 1 Foorde Reederei Seetou ristik 5 4 ZF Ma rine Kr im pen 5 7 S u ez C a na l C onta iner Terminal ( SCCT) 6 0 B r ø drene Aa 6 2 D FD S Group

23 64 Union M arine M anagement Services 66 Inace 68 Load Line M arine S A 70 M exico Natie 72 Nimbus Boats 74 O rk ney Ferries 76 Q -Shipping 79 PD Ports

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Strengthening services Mega-cranes coming Pentalver has announced the opening of its new container depot to Liverpool2 at the DP World London Gateway. Empty storage, dry repair and reefer services will be provided at the new facility. These important landside services will be up and running within a few days, to coincide with the arrival of the latest shipping services to call at London Gateway.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to offer these services at DP World London Gateway,” said Chris Lawrenson, managing director of Pentalver. “This is an example of Pentalver understanding and investing in our customer requirements, and ensuring the services are available when required in the right location. Pentalver is very happy to develop a long-term relationship at the new London Gateway terminal, which will undoubtedly become one of the largest ports operating in the UK.” The new facility at DP World London Gateway further strengthens Pentalver’s portfolio of ‘off dock’ facilities, and complements its services at the UK ports of Felixstowe, Southampton and Tilbury; as well as its inland depot at Cannock, near Birmingham.

Peel Ports Group has signed a multi-million pound deal with Shanghai-based Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. (ZPMC) for 17 ‘mega cranes’ for its new £300m Liverpool2 container port.

ZPMC will initially supply five ship-to-shore (STS) megamax quay cranes and 12 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs) in phase one of the project and a further three three STS cranes and ten CMRGs in phase two. The contract is a major step forward in the construction of what will be one of Europe’s most advanced container facilities, scheduled to open at the end of 2015.

The combined handling capacity of the five ‘megamax’ STS cranes and 12 CRMGs will dramatically increase the port’s productivity and efficiency, delivering major benefits and costsavings for customers using the Port of Liverpool as their UK gateway.

Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Peel Ports Group said: “These cranes are a vital element in making Liverpool2 among the world’s fastest, most efficient container ports. The fact that we’ll be able to handle 90 per cent of the global fleet at the Port of Liverpool will be a true game-changer for shipping lines. The cranes will help future-proof the UK’s most centrally positioned deep-water port for growth.

“Combined with our recent multi-million pound investment in the world-leading Navis N4 terminal operating system, the facility will dramatically cut transfer time from port to road or rail, maximising our productivity. It’s a significant investment for the long term and the most important development at the Port of Liverpool in the last 20 years.”

£500,000 contract Flexible pipe specialist FlexTech has signed a contract for flexible pipe installation with Ocean Installer in a £500,000 deal.

Aberdeen-based FlexTech will deliver the detailed design of a flexible pipe installation spread as well as installation analysis and project support to Ocean Installer, a subsea contractor specialising in subsea installation and engineering and construction services.

The project will take place offshore Norway during the summer of 2015. FlexTech will also provide engineering support during the fabrication of the equipment, and the subsequent offshore campaign.

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FlexTech engineering director, Craig Keyworth, said: “We’ve had prior experience working with Ocean Installer and I’m pleased to see that this relationship has continued to build based on delivering solid performance in a timely manner. We support our clients from project inception to completion and endeavour to form an integral part of their own team.

“As an authority on flexible pipes, FlexTech is able to provide a complete ‘life of product’ service providing specialised experience from start to finish. We look forward to working with Ocean Installer again on this project, which we hope will pave the way for further collaboration.”

MARITIME NEWS Stable outlook for shipping Moody’s has revised its outlook for the global shipping industry to stable from negative, for the first time since June 2011. “The revision reflects our expectation that the global industry’s aggregate EBITDA will rise by mid-single digits in percentage terms year-over-year in 2014, in line with our -5 per cent to ten per cent growth range for a stable outlook,” says Mariko Semetko, a Moody’s assistant vice president and analyst. “And while overcapacity remains a concern, we believe industry conditions are at a trough and that the supply-demand gap will not worsen materially. In this environment, we expect the supply of vessels will exceed demand by no more than two per cent, or that demand will exceed supply by up to two per cent,” added Semetko.

Moody’s announced the revision in its latest report on the shipping sector titled ‘Change to Stable Outlook for Shipping Sector Reflects EBITDA Growth’. The report further notes that cost reductions - including the effects of lower bunker prices, as well as the application of slower steaming speeds and efficiency savings - have driven the growth in EBITDA. At the same time, market conditions remain tepid, but are not deteriorating, with freight rates for the dry-bulk segment showing some improvement but those for the container segment remaining under pressure.

The sector is also saving on costs through postponing and cancelling deliveries of new vessels, scrapping the oldest and most inefficient vessels, and idling vessels.

Moody’s would consider changing the outlook back to negative if there are signs that the supply-demand gap is likely to widen such that supply exceeds demand by more than two per cent or if the industry’s aggregate EBITDA declines by over five per cent. Moody’s will also consider changing the outlook to positive if the amount of vessel oversupply declines materially and if the industry’s aggregate EBITDA growth exceeds ten per cent.

Landmark methodology AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings business, supplier of International advanced hull coatings and The Gold Standard Foundation have announced a new and unique marine-based methodology to reward the improved fuel efficiency of ships within the international maritime industry. Certification by The Gold Standard for the first of its kind, peer-reviewed methodology will allow ships to generate carbon credits, thus income, for the CO2 emission reductions they achieve.The methodology is based on ship owners and operators converting existing vessels from a biocidal antifouling system to a premium, biocide-free advanced hull coating such as Intersleek. A baseline emission level is determined for the vessel prior to the application of Intersleek with the same data source then used to determine the emission savings after the application of Intersleek. The carbon credits generated are directly related to reduced emissions as a result of reduced fuel consumption.

Using a ‘results based finance’ approach, carbon credits are awarded annually, based on vessel data that is collected, analysed and for Intersleek, administered

by International and submitted to The Gold Standard Foundation for validation.

To ensure rigour and transparency, the fuel savings that are generated are verified by independent UN accredited auditors. Once the carbon credits are issued to International they can be sold at market price and the revenue shared with customers.

“This landmark methodology enables ship owners and operators to benefit twice when they invest in Intersleek technology. Firstly, they can increase operational, environmental and energy efficiencies, which reduces fuel costs and emissions and then they can reap the additional financial benefits of carbon credits, which we will share with them. We will also handle all the administrative requirements, so customers don’t have to invest time, capital or resource in generating the carbon credits,” says Trevor Solomon, Intersleek business manager.

Reducing risk Toxicity tests developed by Aberdeen-based microbiology and chemical analysis specialists NCIMB, have been recommended by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of the preferred approach to the UK’s implementation of a risk based approach (RBA) to testing of produced water discharges from offshore installations.

The recommendation for a RBA, which combines examination of the exposure resulting from produced water discharge and the sensitivity of the environment, was adopted

by OSPAR in 2012, with full implementation to be achieved by 31 December 2018. OSPAR manages international co-operation on the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic.

While companies have already been undertaking chemical analysis as part of the biannual testing programme, toxicity testing is a new requirement. NCIMB’s MARA and LumiMARA bioassays, which include an array of carefully selected microorganisms, have been recommended in preference to single species microbial testing. The microorganisms provide a rapid and cost-effective analysis of produced water toxicity and have been trialled on samples from 15 offshore installations as part of a wider DECC coordinated study to assess the role of whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing.

While DECC does not intend to specify which species should be used for toxicity tests, the preferred scheme for the UK implementation programme would use the MARA and LumiMARA tests.

Terry Dando from NCIMB analysing MARA results

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International contract Fast growing international subsea inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) group Harkand is to position a second dive support vessel in the burgeoning North Sea sector after securing a major contract with CNR International (CNRI).

The contract will see Harkand deliver jacket life extension works, IRM scopes and inspection services in the second quarter of 2014 for CNRI’s Ninian South platform and Lyell field, located approximately 150km north-east of the Shetland Islands.

The award will see the state-of-the-art DP2 multi-purpose diving support vessel the Harkand Da Vinci relocate from South Africa where it was operating throughout 2013 under contract to national oil company PetroSA. “Harkand has performed extensive and varied subsea scopes over the years for CNR. We are delighted to extend our strong relationship with CNRI through the award of this campaign.

Having both the Da Vinci and its sister vessel the Atlantis operating in the North Sea will also provide our customers with the level of flexibility that they demand whilst positioning us for the next stage in building our business in the region,” said David Kerr, managing director of Harkand Europe.

Expanding fleet Bibby Remote Intervention Limited (BRIL), part of Aberdeenbased subsea installation contractor, Bibby Offshore, has further expanded its fleet by signing a charter agreement for an IRM (inspection repair and maintenance) light construction vessel and adding an additional two ROVs (remote operating vehicles) to its operations.

The charter agreement with Olympic Shipping is for a newly built MT6021 vessel for a three year period, with options to extend for an additional two years. The vessel will be mobilised with ROV’s from BRIL and is expected to arrive in Aberdeen in early April 2015.

Mike Arnold, Bibby Offshore’s chief operating officer for the western hemisphere, said: “The business is now in control of a fleet of nine vessels and 15 ROVs. These new additions demonstrate our ongoing commitment to develop our current capabilities and expand our offering of flexible services to clients on a worldwide basis.

“The charter of the MT6021 in particular is a significant investment as we look to build up a comprehensive range of assets, which we can tailor to the specific requirements of our clients.”

Leading the way DFDS Seaways is one of the key organisations taking part in the second round of the new employer-led Trailblazer Apprenticeship Scheme launched in March 2014 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Trailblazers are tasked with testing the new approach to apprenticeships recommended by Entrepreneur Doug Richards in his Apprenticeship Review in November 2012.

DFDS Seaways was the first ferry company to introduce ratings apprenticeships for deck and engine trainees on its cross Channel service to Dunkirk, underlining its commitment to both the British shipping industry, as well as local people from the South East of England looking to enter the important maritime sector.

Gemma Griffin, vice president HR & crewing for DFDS Seaways, and chair of the Employment Committee at the UK Chamber of Shipping, chairs the Maritime Trailblazer Apprenticeship Scheme, which also includes representatives from Princess Cruises, Carnival, P&O, James Fisher and the Royal Navy. She comments: “Employer-led apprenticeships of this kind are not only vital for DFDS Seaways, but also for the maritime sector as a whole. They help us safeguard the future of our industry by ensuring that we have young people entering the industry with the right skills, expertise and support they need to be able to work effectively and safely.

“At DFDS Seaways, we also have a ratings to officer scheme, providing our Able Seafarers with the training and support they need to progress to the top of their chosen field. That means that the apprentices who sign up to our scheme could feasibly become a Captain or Chief Engineer in the space of 15 years or so, if they demonstrate the right aptitude and competence.

And although we might not be able to guarantee a job for life in our particular organisation, we can definitely help our apprentices gain a life-long career in the maritime sector.”

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Ship agency deal Integrated subsea infrastructure services provider N-Sea Offshore Ltd has appointed GAC Shipping UK as its ship agent for vessels supporting its operations for the oil and gas and renewable energy industries in the North Sea. Under the agreement, GAC will provide a package of support services for vessels chartered

by N-Sea calling at UK ports.

GAC’s overall approach to delivering quality ship agency services, strong Code of Ethics, unrivalled attention to DA management, focus on compliance, experienced staff and extensive national and global coverage were all contributing factors in securing the agreement with N-Sea, according to Steve Gibson, GAC UK’s general manager, oil and gas. He adds: “GAC’s range of shipping, logistics and marine services forms a total package of integrated solutions to support N-Sea’s operations, and we shall draw on our extensive oil and gas industry experience to help them achieve their goals in this highly demanding and competitive sector.”

MARITIME NEWS Innovative amphibious vehicle Torqeedo has announced it is powering the semisubmersible amphibious vehicle, the MSV Explorer Mk3. This is a unique marine vehicle that can be driven straight from the beach into the sea – eliminating the need for heavy lifting equipment. It is an electrically powered, dual controlled, surface watercraft with tracks on soft suspension making it extremely easy to drive.

It sits two passengers within an acrylic cockpit, 1.2 metres below the surface of the water, providing a 360-degree panorama of the sub-surface marine environment without the need for scuba gear or any specialist training.

Torqeedo is supplying two of its Cruise 2.0 R electric motors on each vessel.

The high thrust electric outboards have been mechanically altered to sit at a 90-degree angle and the shafts shortened to provide the optimum positioning on the craft.

Chris Garner, inventor of the unique watercraft and managing director at MSV Explorer, says: “We are extremely impressed with the performance of Torqeedo’s engines, not to mention the support of its technical department, which has been invaluable in creating the final product.

Torqeedo’s outboards are perfect for powering the MSV Explorer Mk3 as the engines are silent and do not damage the environment. This is extremely important to us, as we know the vehicle is going to be used for ‘sea safaris’, where protecting the natural sealife and habitat is paramount. We are using two Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 R engines, which will power the vessel beyond normal loads, helping to save energy and achieve greater momentum and manoeuvrability.”

Joint research collaboration The Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) at the University of Southampton has officially launched a joint laboratory in Singapore with the Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) at A*STAR, Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research, to focus on maritime and offshore engineering research and development.

The collaboration draws upon SMMI’s strength in marine research and IHPC’s strength in computational modelling and simulation. The strategic aim of the laboratory is to deepen the understanding of the science and technology deployed in the design, construction and operation of future ships used and new offshore structures, which are utilised for the exploration and extraction of oil, gas and renewable energy sources from deep oceans under extreme harsh environments and translate these insights into impactful industrial applications.

Professor Don Nutbeam, vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton, said: “The SMMI is a world-leading hub for international collaboration, which really has no parallel in terms of its scale and ambition. With Singapore being home to the world’s leading maritime economy and supporting major strengths in marine and maritime engineering, we are very pleased and excited for the SMMI to be working in collaboration with A*STAR. It will deliver a number of projects to develop safer, improved and more efficient offshore and marine structures and ships to produce real and tangible economic and environmental benefits for the future.”

New harbour lease

The Crown Estate and the Lymington Harbour Commissioners have completed a new lease for the tidal stretch of the Lymington River in Hampshire. The lease, which will last for 25 years, will facilitate the ongoing management of some 1600 river moorings, walk-ashore pontoon moorings and enable the Harbour Commissioners to further invest in protection works to secure the long term future of the harbour.

The Lymington Harbour Commissioners were awarded The Crown Estate Coastal Business Award 2013, in recognition of the organisation’s work to regenerate the significant intertidal saltmarsh habitats in the area, as part of its long-term plans to safeguard the harbour’s future. The award also reflected the Commissioners’ extensive engagement with the local community in developing its plans. The Crown Estate provided around £100,000 from its Marine Stewardship Fund towards the Commissioners’ saltmarsh replenishment scheme.

Neil Jacobson, rural and coastal portfolio manager at The Crown Estate, said: “The Crown Estate and The Harbour Commissioners have enjoyed a close working relationship over the last 60 years. We are happy to grant this renewed long-term lease that will enable the Commissioners to secure the investment needed to enhance the harbour’s protection through the expansion of its breakwaters. We look forward to the continued good management of the harbour facilities that provide an essential service to boating enthusiasts as well as an important economic driver for Lymington.”

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Patrolling

the seas A look at personal video and audio transmission for boarding parties

The critical and box office success of the 2013 movie Captain Phillips once again spotlighted the risks of piracy at sea. Whilst the figure for piracy at sea fell in 2013, there were still a reported 264 attacks according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) – one for every working day of the year. More than 300 people were taken hostage at sea in 2013, with Indonesia accounting for more than half of all attacks.

For shipping companies this remains a significant issue. So much so that in November 2013 the United Nations Security Council renewed authorisations for a further year that enable international actions to fight these crimes in co-operation with Government authorities.

Suggested measures included deployment of naval vessels, arms and military aircraft and the seizure of vessels and weapons used in the commission of such crimes.

For those tasked with patrolling the seas to combat piracy, one of the most dangerous aspects of operations is poor situation intelligence. Operational crews often have to enter ships without enough knowledge of what they are facing or detailed information on risk. This does not only apply only to anti-piracy teams, but also to search and rescue crews entering a floundering vessel, or gas and oil workers operating in highly volatile environments.

The boarding of a suspect or damaged vessel will often be carried out by a small team aboard a fast, rigid inflatable (RIB). Approaching, securing and inspecting vessels at sea produce significant challenges for radio communications - especially on or around a large metal ship or platform. Signal fading and re-propagation from large metal structures can cause interference to a video image, limiting real time situation information between boarding parties and commanding officers on a parent vessel and reducing response times or increase the risk to a boarding party.

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New developments in personal communications technology are starting to overcome this issue, particularly as the miniaturisation of technology continued apace. It is now possible to deploy lightweight, digital image transmission systems, incorporating a head or a bodyworn camera with a digital video for moving objects (dVMo) integrated encoder and radio transmitter.

Providing encoding and transmission of a single video input, two audio inputs and a high speed data stream, dVMo is fast enough to supply a live and high quality transmission of video and audio back to a main patrol vessel. The patrol vessel can then deploy a widely-spaced diversity antenna system. The diversity antenna uses sophisticated Maximum Ratio Combining techniques to extract the best data possible from poor or intermittent signals, ensuring excellent reception for boarding and deck inspections at distances up to two km from the main patrol vessel.

The ruggedness and reliability of the link can be further enhanced through the use of digital error correction. Using these combined techniques enables reflection and re-propagation to actually add to the signal strength, improving, as opposed to decreasing the quality of transmission when operating in complicated or structurally crowded environments.

The range of the system can further be enhanced by deploying a small rugged repeater unit with simple magnet mounted antennas to the deck. Extensive tests on a range of naval vessels and other ships have identified frequency bands that give maximum penetration in steel vessels. This enables live images and audio to be relayed from the team inside a suspect or floundering ship, despite the presence of stairs and thick bulkheads.

Transmission can also be encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standards (AES) with 256-bit keys. This is a worldwide standard for encryption that has been widely adopted. Receivers can have

new vessel technology

‘‘

The video element provides a clear evidence trail to both ensure compliance with international rules and provide video for any legal cases that are later brought against pirates

auto-search and lock for pre-selected channels and encryption keys for different operational tasks, ensuring the boarding team’s activity can only be viewed and directed by friendly parties.

For boarding parties this technology offers significant advantages. They can be kept in touch with the bigger picture from a control vessel whist on operations and have the ability to transmit high quality voice video and data simultaneously. For control vessels the video element provides a clear evidence trail to both ensure compliance with international rules and provide video for any legal cases that are later brought against pirates.

The applications of this kind of technology are wide. Customs officers could deploy it for evidence gathering. It enables search and rescue teams to remain in constant contact with support vessels. For hostile environments such as oil and gas exploration it provides increased communications and security.

And of course for boarding parties tasked with combating piracy it delivers reassurance and communications during critical operations. Because the technology is body worn, operatives using it are not encumbered with carrying additional equipment during operations.

Whilst it is laudable that international co-operation to combat piracy has reduced the number of incidents in recent years, the problem has not gone away. For those tasked with seizing ships and apprehending pirates any technology that provides advantage is welcome. This kind of body worn kit can have a real and significant impact on the well being of those tasked with some of the most challenging roles at sea. n Wood & Douglas. Wood & Douglas is widely regarded as the leading UK designer and manufacturer of high quality customised wireless products and services. The company was founded in 1977 and rapidly expanded to create wireless based solutions for voice, data and video applications that deliver a high level of quality and reliability to industrial, commercial, municipal, national and global organisations. For further information visit: www.woodanddouglas.co.uk

In hold

Platform to RIB

Ship to RIB

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Reliable

supplies When it comes to maintenance, obtaining the right parts and components quickly can be critical

For ship owners and operators, having a reliable vessel, whether that is a small fishing boat or a large container ship, is essential. This means they must be able to find the right component parts and have a supplier they can count on. Trends are continually changing in the market, but as we emerge from the market turbulence of the last few years there have been some changes in purchasing and operating strategies, and these have had a knock-on effect on how suppliers need to operate.

Tom Edwards is sales manager at A.S.A.P. Supplies Ltd, a one-stopshop that services all sectors of the market, from commercial and leisure boat builders, fleet operators, commercial fishermen and wind farm operators, right through to small leisure boat owners. He highlighted some changes that his company has seen: “With the current economic climate, more and more people are keen to service their equipment rather than replace,” he said. “We are seeing many companies investing in their service time and equipment to prolong the life of items, and this has changed their operational approach. Part of this drive for efficiency means customers have lower stock levels, and that means they rely on us to carry the stock they need to ensure the upkeep of the vessel, thereby reducing down time. This has meant A.S.A.P needed to invest more in the right kind of products so that we are always a reliable port

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of call. We also have to offer very quick delivery options to our clients, as they simply do not want to hold items as stock any more, but might urgently need an important part. We want them to know that they can rely on us to be able to supply it.”

He continued with an example: “Any systems that are used regularly, from toilets to raw water pumps, will need to be kept to a high standard, as this prevents vessels being out of service. Hose is often a key part of our offering to commercial boat operators – therefore we hold almost every different type of hose in stock and are able to supply it per metre or in coils, which suits all requirements. But no matter which of our products, speed of delivery seems to be a key issue with any clients that need to maintain their vessels. Crucially this enables them to meet their own deadlines and not face costly down time.”

Tom also explained that the way that orders are placed has changed.

“Internet sales have risen dramatically over the last few years,” he said.

“For many of our customers, this enables them to order at a time and place that suits them. Nevertheless, many still prefer the ‘human touch’ and of course we assist on the phone or by email wherever needed.”

Going forward, vessel operators will face several new issues, including fuel emission legislation and Tom reported that A.S.A.P is already seeing changes in purchasing as a result: “People are investing more into better quality fuel filtration as the quality of some diesel has reduced. Good quality fuel is needed due to engines now having common rail injection

maintenance

‘‘

With the current economic climate, more and more people are keen to service their equipment rather than replace.

We are seeing many companies investing in their service time and equipment to prolong the life of items, and this has changed their operational approach

systems, which are designed to meet low emissions.

Having good quality fuel filtration protects the injectors and thereby reduces time and money on maintenance and can prolong the life of the engine,” he said. A.S.A.P has also seen growing demand from the developing wind farm sector and is constantly adapting its range to ensure it can meet the needs of any client: “Wind farm operators have now formed a good portion of our business,” he said. “As we find bigger and bigger boats are needed with farms going further offshore, this means larger vessels and therefore more heavy duty, larger products. As we are a direct link from the customer to the manufacturer, we can pass this feedback straight on and work closely with our suppliers to adapt our ranges to suit requirements and ensure relevant stock is available on demand. As a distributor for many world recognised brands, we can get new products straight away and streamline the process as well,” he said.

These new products include DZR fittings, which are low cost, corrosion resistant fittings for below the water line and have recently

been added to A.S.A.P’s range. “Also new to our shelves are the Whisper Power products – offering complete power electronic systems. We are constantly looking at what we offer and adapting to keep up with requirements of the times, and this means increasing our range of engine spares aimed to cover more of the current leisure and commercial requirements, including Volvo Penta & Yanmar additions to stock.

Plus, any others required can often be obtained as we work closely with manufacturers, and our close relationships benefit not only us but our customers as well.” n A.S.A.P. Supplies Ltd is a mail order distribution company, founded in 1989 by Mark Reynolds and Peter Edwards, and celebrating 25 years in business in 2014. Since it was established the company has grown to be an industry leader in delivering marine equipment and spares worldwide for leisure and commercial marine industries, with over 12,000 stock lines. The team of experts at A.S.A.P Supplies offer free technical support to customers in their projects for maintenance, repair or overhaul. For further information, visit: www.asap-supplies.com.

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On

target Radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) expert Alan Watson tells Jo Cooper how Radar technology is meeting the growing navigation demands of the shipping industry as it faces ever-increasing traffic volumes and safety and security threats A critical instrument in the prevention of marine accidents and casualties over the last six decades, radar is the key electronic device of choice for the shipping industry as it determines and displays the location of radar transponders and other surface vessels; in addition, it also reveals other objects such as obstructions, buoys, navigational marks and shorelines to aid navigation and prevent collisions.

With more than 30 years of experience in electronic radar communications, Alan has followed the developments of radar technology and today provides expert advice to renowned marine electronics manufacturers such as Raymarine and its customers.

“As an ex merchant navy electronics officer I have worked with radar all of my career; at 59 I now split my time between offering radar training, mainly for Raymarine, as well as providing consultancy work for other radar manufacturers. This involves testing new equipment and appraising it before it goes out onto the market. For many manufacturers developing radar technology isn’t their core business, which is why they bring in radars from third parties, however Raymarine create their own products and equipment,” explains Alan. “A lot of time and effort goes into this; people may be under the impression that radar technology hasn’t moved on much in recent years, but it is actually progressing a great deal. Generally what is coming into the market is coming from the military sector and Raymarine benefits from having a parent company with a foothold in both

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camps. This is one reason why the company’s software and processing capabilities really excel in this sector.”

Made compulsory by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), ship tracking devices (AIS) have been developed over the years to not only include larger vessels, but to also be installed on boats; a move that means owners of small vessels can now feel an increased level of safety and security at sea. Aware that vessels operate in extreme weather conditions all year round, with deep-sea exploration becoming increasingly more common, Raymarine benefits from having its very own test boat, the ‘Raymariner’; a pioneering vessel that enables a dedicated team of testers to conduct rigorous year-round testing under various sea conditions. “The Raymariner is where testers really put new products through their paces, the treatment they subject the equipment to before it is sent to the market place is incredible. They bake it and freeze it and shake it to pieces; you can’t contrast the time and effort they put in with the bottom end manufacturers who just assemble products and put them into the market,” highlights Alan.

When building a Raymarine Radar System, clients can choose between an Open Array or Closed Radome scanner. Although both are wholly compatible with all multifunction displays and deliver unrivalled performance, there are major difference between the two pieces of equipment, as Alan discusses: “Essentially both products are operating the same way internally, in the sense that they are sending out a pulse of energy and detecting the echo of transmitted energy from an object,

radar

however the Radome’s rotating area is enclosed completely inside of the equipment, which means there are no moving parts to get tangled up with ropes and other bits and pieces found on vessels such as sailing boats.

Meanwhile, the Open Array tends to be a much larger radar scanner, with Raymarine’s Open Array equipment coming in models of four foot to six foot, compared to its Radome models that tend to measure 45 centimetres to 61 centimetres. The Open Arrays are much larger and therefore offer a sharper picture, this offers real clarity compared to a smaller scanner that could potentially illuminate two vessels in close proximity at the same time and view them as one target. In this case it is definitely a case of bigger being best.”

For those operating in the competitive marine electronics market, organisations must adhere to demanding performance requirements in various environmental conditions while also focusing on strategically marketing their equipment to generate customer attention and thus increase their own market share. “One hot topic within the marine technologies sector right now is the broadband radar, which offers low power consumption and low emissions; it is really a marketing term for a frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar and it is the first time this equipment has been used for recreational marine use,” says Alan. “There has been a lot of hype surrounding this technology and the marketing strategy has really turned into a competition of numbers against more traditional pulse radar, however when you research these statistics they actually sound promising but mean very little. I spend a lot of time explaining to people the difference between the reality and the marketing.

Broadband is ideal for tiny vessels such as RIBS, but on larger vessels pulse radar wins.”

With a wealth of equipment available to customers and new innovations

appearing on the market, it can be difficult for ship owners to know what product will deliver optimum safety to their vessel. For example, a regular question from civilian ship owners is whether they should operate their vessel with traditional radar or AIS, a fashionable piece of equipment in the civilian shipping sector that is mandatory for vessels over 300 tonnes.

Showing all vessels that transmit an AIS signal, the equipment provides data such as size course and speed. “AIS transmits information about your boat and also gives you information on what other vessels are doing; it is a wonderful development but I disagree with people who say radar is not needed any more when AIS is an option. The AIS only shows transmitters of AIS and may or may not show anything under 300 tonnes, whereas a radar will show you everything out there, from land, buoys and all targets, whether they have AIS or not. On this basis, if I had to choose between the two, radar gets my vote,” says Alan.

Looking ahead, as new shipping regulations permit the operation of radar equipment with low transmit power, a rise of inexpensive technologies and semiconductor components is anticipated to enter the civilian shipping navigation market in the future. “If you look at the military industry, there has been a move from radar transmitters that utilise a magnetron to solid state transmitters; these are smaller, have less consumption and are more reliable. This is the way the industry is going generally, which is also due to advanced techniques and software that allow customers to get the performance of a pulse radar on a low power. In this respect there is potential for great leaps in the world of radar performance,” concludes Alan. n For further information on Raymarine’s products, please visit: www.raymarine.co.uk.

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A new

shortcut One hundred years after it was built, the Panama Canal is having a major facelift, but what impact will this have on the industry?

As well as being the country’s biggest source of income, the Panama Canal plays a huge part in the world’s shipping industry and was an engineering masterpiece when it was created back in 1914. The Canal is no stranger to John Good Shipping, founded in 1833. In November 2013, the company announced its appointment as the UK representative of BOYD Steamship Corporation, the Panama Canal’s oldest and largest shipping agent.

Providing clients with the most up-to-date information about the canal’s traffic status and conditions, along with an experienced team of staff who are on duty 24-hours-a-day, BOYD Steamship Corporation has forged a reputation as one of South America’s leading shipping agents. The company arranges booking slots and helps with transit calculations on a whole host of vessels, including general cargo, dry bulk, full container, vehicle carriers, refrigerated cargo carriers, tankers, chemical tankers and liquefied petroleum gas tankers.

Having positioned itself as the main agent for vessels transiting the Panama Canal, BOYD Steamship Corporation, along with John Good Shipping, will undoubtedly be affected by the changes to the canal.

The Panama Canal expansion programme includes the construction of two new sets of locks – one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the Canal. Each lock will have three chambers and each chamber will have three water reutilisation basins.

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Due to be completed in December 2015, the programme also entails the widening and deepening of existing navigational channels in Gatun Lake and the deepening of Culebra Cut. In order to open a new 6.1kmlong access channel to connect the Pacific locks and the Culebra Cut, four dry excavation projects will be executed.

With container ships paying up to $250,000 to use it, the Panama Canal is the country’s biggest source of income, and the addition of the new locks is sure to have a positive impact on the economy.

The canal has been set up with a constitutional law, which gives it separation and independence from the government, but after regular expenses, maintenance and capital investments, profits must be paid out every year to the government as dividends.

“The most important change will be the increase in income,” said Robert J. Boyd III, Chairman of BOYD Steamship Corporation. “It is suggested that the overall amount could reach $1billion, or possibly $2billion, more than what the canal contributes to the economy already, as different markets will be using the waterway. The profits will then be distributed as dividends to the Government for their public works.

“Businesses in Panama will also reap the benefits of the expansion, as they will serve a larger volume of customers with more ships and more tonnage crossing the canal.”

Due to the expansion of the Panama Canal, new industries will be able to utilise the waterway. Agencies will be able to enlist the services

Panama canal Canal panama

of new container lines, using larger container ships, so materials such as natural gas, iron ore, coal and oil will be able to be transported via the canal for the first time.

At the moment, the maximum overall length is 965ft for passenger and container vessels. Following the expansion, this will increase to 1,200ft. These locks will allow for post Panama container vessels, passenger vessels, suezmax liquid bulk tankers, capesize dry-bulk carriers, large liquefied natural gas-carriers, and other vessels falling within the established dimensions to use the canal.

“This will be very positive and we may experience new industries setting up to take advantage of the bigger vessels, like hubs for coal, iron ore, natural gas and chemical storage,” said Alan Platt, managing director of John Good Shipping.

“Many shipping experts are suggesting that the canal may be full in ten years after its opening, due to the natural gas that the United States will export to Japan, Korea and China, which can only be a good thing for its future prospects.

“In the past couple of years, the Panama Canal has lost a number of services to the Suez Canal, in Egypt, simply because of its size.

Companies like MOL, Maersk and MSC, to name a few, have opted to transport goods via the Suez to the east coast of the United States, as it can cope with heavier volumes of traffic, as well as larger vessels.

“Once work has finished on the Panama Canal’s expansion, trading routes around the world will again change to take advantage of the

new size of vessels that can use it. It will also provide a better service to users, as waiting times will decrease.”

Shipping agencies and their clients will also see the impact of the new shortcut, as it will affect daily rates, especially in the large bulk carriers. This is because fewer ships will be needed to carry the same amount of products, thus resulting in cost savings.

Robert added: “The canal industry as a whole will increase for tug boats, ports, bunkers, canal workers, shipyards, railroads, repairs, crew changes, tourism (passenger vessels) and construction.

“Throughout the expansion work and afterwards, BOYD Steamship will keep servicing all activities, keeping a leading role and an active participation with the old and new clients, servicing all their needs as a one-stop shop. We will make sure our clients benefit form the best prices, most efficient service and the latest technology in communications and forecasting.” n

Founded in Hull in 1833 and still under the ownership of the Good family, the John Good Group includes established companies from across the Humber region. Companies include John Good Shipping, Trans European Port Services Warehousing & Distribution, DAN Shipping & Chartering, as well as business travel specialists Good Travel Management.

For further information, visit: www.johngood.co.uk.

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Finishing

touches

The market for renovating and refurbishing ship interiors is a buoyant and ever-changing one with new ideas and trends constantly coming into play. Here, Cliff Grainger examines the sector

Some ship and passenger ferries in operation today are many years old but, while they may be mechanically sound, their interiors can start to look worn after constant use. This means there is a massive market for interior retrofit work on ships and, in particular, passenger ferries.

Comfort is the key and customers have become more discerning, often looking at matters away from just simply ticket prices and seeing which operators can offer the best passenger experience.

The competition between the ferry operators is fierce, particularly for the cross-Channel routes to France, which remains the most popular destination for UK passengers, according to the latest ‘Sea Passenger Statistics’ report. Published by the UK Government in February, it said 15.3 million passengers travelled between the UK and France in 2013 via ferry, representing 75 per cent of all short sea international journeys to and from the UK. Overall, 20.5 million short sea international ferry journeys took place in 2013, a four per cent rise on 2012 which follows two years of decline, pointing towards an improving market and increased interest from passengers. More passengers travelled via the Channel Tunnel than ferries for the first time in 2012 but this trend was reversed last year, with ferries accounting for 1.7 million more international journeys than the Tunnel.

Fares are being driven down by demand so ferry operators have been forced to come up with new ways to drive revenue and one of these is to make facilities more attractive. Fares may be cheaper but operators are able to claw back the revenue through other methods such as smart cafés, bars and restaurants, better entertainment in more comfortable surroundings and well-lit and enticing retail units. A tired looking ship is likely to lose out on attracting customers when competing with other operators offering the same price in a nicer environment.

This is where companies such as MPE Interiors can help. A lot of its

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work is done based on customers’ designs and wishes, it listens to what they want and makes suggestions, but it can also design ship interiors from scratch using computer aided design. Much of the company’s work is done in the passenger ferry sector and over the past year it has completed projects for companies such as Western Ferries, through a sub-contract with Cammell Laird, and Stena Line.

For Stena, it worked on the ‘Mersey, ‘Lagan’ and A ‘ dventurer’ vessels on a trio of similar projects. On the Mersey and Lagan ships, MPE redeveloped the crews’ and officers’ mess areas on both of the 980-passenger ships. The ferries, which are housed near MPE’s base on Merseyside and run the Birkenhead to Belfast route, gave the company a great chance to showcase the range of projects it could undertake.

MPE drew up a detailed concept design, manufactured the furniture and structures and then installed them and has carried out maintenance since.

The Mersey vessel project required a complete reimaging and reworking of the whole mess area to suit the crews’ needs better. The project, which included laying new floor coverings, was about making the mess areas as comfortable and space efficient as possible.

More recently, MPE has worked on Stena Adventurer vessel, which runs the Holyhead to Dublin route. It carried out refurbishment work at the forward end of passenger decks seven, eight and nine and made the shop more spacious on the 1500-passenger vessel. The company has an exclusive lounge area called ‘Stena Plus’, an interesting add on to entice customers in who are looking for that extra level of comfort. The lounge costs a little extra to access but in return customers receive more comfort, privacy and waiter service.

MPE installed improved seating and reduced the amount of places in the ‘Plus’ lounge, thereby increasing the room per passenger. This trend of giving customers the luxury of that bit extra is becoming very prevalent in the passenger ferry sector. Improvements in Stena Plus included new lounge seating, tables, dining chairs, deck covering

ship interiors

Cliff Grainger and glazed screens to create quiet areas to improve privacy.

This concept of improved public areas on ferries does not just apply to lounges where customers are paying that bit extra. On the Deck 7 Met Bar seating and dining areas of the Stena Adventurer, MPE created a more spacious arrangement in the lounge and dining areas with new and more comfortable seats, new tables and deck covering. The forward lounge seating was renewed and reconfigured and the servery was upgraded with a new faรงade and additional equipment.

Not all ferry journeys are short hops across the channel so it is vital operators have welcoming and customer friendly dining areas for longer trips. New finishes to linings and partitions, deck covering and seating can give a sophisticated and classy look without breaking the bank. In terms of materials used today, vinyl wall coverings are very popular as they save weight and are easily applied, when compared to alternatives such as veneered boards and laminates. Like all transport companies, ferry operators have obligations to be as green as possible so switching standard light bulbs to LEDs is commonplace and this also reduces heat output which allows the air conditioning systems to work more efficiently.

The field of retrofitting projects on older ships is becoming very popular as operators look to cut costs by renovating their existing fleet. These touches can be the difference between a customer coming back, and crucially recommending an operator to someone, or just jumping ship to a competitor for their next journey. n Cliff Grainger is co-founder and director of Birkenhead-based MPE Interiors, one of the leading interior outfitters in the North West of England.

Since being founded in 2001, it has grown rapidly, working extensively in the maritime industry as well as commercial and residential property sectors. MPE prides itself on being able to offering a complete solution for the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of all aspects of accommodation.

For further information, visit: www.mpeinteriors.com.

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From mythology to

technology Andrew Dann talks to project co-ordinator of MUNIN Hans-Christoph Burmeister, about the importance of autonomous and unmanned vessels in ensuring a sustainable and competitive future for Europe’s shipping market

Europe’s shipping and associated maritime industries have had to endure a volatile and often uncertain market in the face of the global economic downturn and although market conditions have become more settled, maritime transport within the EU still faces significant challenges. MUNIN was founded as a co-funded collaborative research project under the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to address the challenges brought on by a significant increase in transport volumes, growing environmental requirements and a potential shortage of seafarers in the future.

“The motivation behind the project is that the automated vessel has been identified as one of the key outcomes for maritime development within Europe during the next few years,” Christoph elaborates. “This was forwarded by the Waterborne TP platform, which is a maritime technology platform within Europe comprised of several maritime manufacturers and technology developers providing a strategic outlook for what we need in Europe to ensure sustainability and growth within the maritime business.”

Standing for Maritime Unmanned Navigation Through Intelligence In Networks, MUNIN was formally established in September 2012 with a project lead time of 36 months. The project operates a consortium of companies led by Fraunhofer CML joined by MARINTEK, Chalmers University, Hochschule Wismar, Aptomar, MarineSoft, MARORKA and University College Cork. In terms of funding the project has a budget of EUR 3.8 million, EUR 2.9 million of which is provided publically via the EU. MUNIN also borrows from Nordic mythology, where Munin is the raven of the god Odin. The name Munin means ‘mind’ in the Norse

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language and the raven would be sent by Odin to fly around the world and later in the evening Munin would return with all of the information that he had independently gathered during his travels. Like the Raven, an unmanned vessel must act independently to deliver its cargo safely and in this respect the MUNIN acronym is an important signifier in explaining the goals of the project. Although automated vessels require a high level of autonomy to sail effectively, they are not intended to function as fully independent ‘robots.’ Neither is the MUNIN project aiming to develop ‘drone’ ships that require constant remote control 100 per cent of the time. “Many people use the term ‘drone ship’ but this is actually a little misleading,” says Christoph. “When you consider air drones they are actually remotely controlled 100 per cent of the time by a pilot via camera link, whereas we are aiming for much more autonomous operating vessels. This means that much more of the operating decisions will be made by the vessel, so if there is a collision situation or if harsh weather conditions are on the horizon the ship itself will be able to change its voyage plan within a certain degree of freedom. It is not feasible to operate remote control of a vessel all of the time because the communication costs of this are very high and there are also problems with connectivity to satellites, which could cause a loss of control of the vessel all together.”

As well as being the most operationally viable method for operating unmanned vessels, automated ships can also improve the competitiveness of seagoing operations. For example, for a typical medium-sized bulk carrier a 30 per cent reduction in speed would result in a fuel saving of around 50 per cent even while accounting for additional voyage days. Normally the increase would prove to be irksome and deeply onerous on the sailors, however automated vessels counter this problem without eliminating the role of a human crew in

automated vessels

Above: An un-manned bridge

marine transport. “It is important to observe that we are not looking to make the human element redundant,” Cristoph explains.

“There will be still be a need to monitor and track the vessels and to do this there will naturally be a need to understand the operation of the ships so we certainly do not want to lose this capability.”

In terms of operation, autonomy always leads to more uncertainty and this uncertainty needs to be limited to reduce the complexity of the inherent sensor and control systems. MUNIN is therefore not designed to facilitate unmanned voyages from berth to berth, but rather from pilot point to pilot point.

The intention is that approaching and berthing will still be carried out by a conventional crew. Operating in this way requires four new modes of thinking made up of autonomous operation, autonomous problemsolving, remote operation and fail-to-safe systems. These operating modes account for the many eventualities that may occur during marine transport. Fail-to-safe systems will avoid damage to vessels even in the event of an emergency; while remote systems will give mariners based ashore control of the vessels as required.

“We don’t aim for unmanned vessels from berth to berth, so from the portside the pilot point there will still be a crew aboard ship,” Christoph says. “If you take Hamburg for example, you would take the manned vessel up the River Elbe maybe even through the North Sea and through the English Channel and only then would we offload the crew.

So it is only the intercontinental operation of the vessel that would be automated, traversing the Atlantic or Pacific oceans for example. Before that point it would be normal operation of the ship with personnel aboard and during the intercontinental voyage there will be shore control centres to track and monitor the voyage. This will presumably be operated by the ship owner or possibly through a control management company as a new business.

“We are aiming for a more autonomous system so the vessel can make some of its own decisions based on the logic of how it should behave, but the control station will constantly monitor it,” he continues.

“They will be able track the vessel and monitor the decisions it has made rather than making the decisions for it. Of course there is the

option to take control of the ship and this will be set up exactly like the simulation bridges in use today on real ships but this will not be the normal operating mode.”

The mission for MUNIN is to explore the feasibility of unmanned vessels and a core part of this is naturally to consider the technical applications and requirements of automated shipping. “We think that most of the technology is currently available, but of there is a lot of work to be done in terms of integration,” Christoph says. “Particularly on the bridge and in navigation systems where there is a lot of data, which is not presently integrated into a system. At present radar, GPS and even persons looking out of the window all provide data so we need to fuse the information from these sources into some kind of perceived environment model and this can then be used as the basis of decisionmaking. One of our key challenges on the bridge at least, is to get all of these integrated but this is something that we certainly think is possible.

There is also a need to develop some technologies such as fuel for sensors but this is not something that we feel is far into the future.”

Although the realisation of operational unmanned vessels may still be sometime away, the application of autonomous technology can still support an important step forward for shipping. Investigations indicate that close to 75 per cent of maritime accidents are caused by human error and that a significant proportion of these can be attributed to fatigue and attention deficit. Automation technology developed for unmanned ships can also be used to relieve crews of the tedious tasks such as watchkeeping at sea and monitoring machine performance.

“Most of the time when people think about unmanned vessels they think about mid to long-term results and I think that it is correct and that it will be some time before we see a fully unmanned vessel. However, there a lot of results from this project that might have applications to current operations such as lookout systems, collision avoidance systems and predictive maintenance concepts, which can also be applied to manned vessels. So we are looking at showing the shortterm benefits and applications of these systems,” Christoph explains.

Whether it be the realisation of fully unmanned vessels or the short to mid-term implementation of automated technology on crewed vessels, the results of the research carried out by MUNIN will undoubtedly have a marked impact on shipping within Europe and beyond. MUNIN will be in attendance at Hamburg’s Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology (SSN) international trade fair in September 2014 where it will demonstrate the immediate benefits of automation technology directly to the industry. “We had our mid-term meeting in March so the focus for the next six months will be to ready for SSN and to develop the integration between all of the systems we are working with,” Christoph concludes. “We will also be focused on our large-scale simulation runs, which are scheduled for the end of the year. In terms of 2015, that will be the last nine months of the project and that will likely be focused on the legal framework. So the technology we have promised will be ready by then and we will be looking at how we can implement it.” n For further information visit: www.unmanned-ship.org/munin/

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The right

coating As regulations regarding copper-based anti-fouling solutions get increasingly stringent, Mike Garside looks at what innovations this will bring from hull coating manufacturers

The affluent seaside community of Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles County is an unlikely place for revolution. Surprisingly, it could now be the first battleground in a new war on hull coatings, which could ultimately have a big impact on world shipping.

Marina del Ray is the world’s largest man-made harbor for small craft, and home to 6300 boats. As with commercial shipping, copper-based anti-fouling has been their default hull paint since tin-based anti-fouling was banned in 2008.

But copper is now under threat. New Californian environmental legislation (California AB 425, Antifouling Paint Registration and Mitigation) is starting to bite, and Marina Del Ray could be the first domino to fall. The plan under this legislation allows 11 years to reduce copper discharge from boats by 85 per cent. Before long, commercial shipping too might have to think about alternative ways to keep hulls clean.

Water analyses at Marina Del Ray showed that copper concentrations in the water surpassed regional standards, leading the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board to unanimously pass programmes that would reduce copper concentrations in the water by more than 70 per cent by 2024.

Nearby San Diego is already conducting water cleaning projects.

Travis Pritchard, programme director of the San Diego Coastkeeper organisation, strongly believes that coastal areas need to get their copper concentrations in order. “Copper is used as an antifouling paint specifically because it is so toxic,” he said. “Other options exist, we should be using them.”

Although small boat harbours might seem to be a different world to commercial shipping, there are signs within the industry that copper might have a limited future.

Ship-owners, private and commercial, have never really been satisfied with the performance of copper-based anti-fouling, but after the ban on tin it was the strongest biocide available. All the main hull paint manufacturers still lead their product lines with copper-based antifouling, usually combined with other biocides such as zinc and various herbicides. But recent product releases suggest that they are taking the threat seriously and preparing fall-back positions.

An outright ban on copper-based anti-fouling, at least on commercial shipping, may seem a distant threat. Tighter restrictions may, however, render it even more impotent in the eyes of ship owners. Restrictions already exist in Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and California. The US Environmental Protection Authority is reviewing its use, and restrictions are in place for US Government vessels.

Sigma/PPG recently released a new line of products, the Nexeon

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copper-free antifouling range, which relies on zinc as its main active biocide. They are open about the reason: “With this important innovation, PPG shows that it is taking the lead in preparing for a copperfree antifouling future.”

Similarly HEMPEL released a new range of anti-foulings last September. Hempaguard X5 and Hempaguard combine biocidal anti-fouling with silicone hydrogel in a new technology they are calling ActiGuard. A major claim for the new coatings is that they use 95 per cent less biocides than conventional anti-fouling coatings.

coatings

International Paints are so far sticking with copper for commercial shipping, but in February they released a range of copper-free coatings for the leisure and small boat market. Their Interlux Micron CF (Copper Free) is claimed to offer similar longevity and performance to copper.

The paint companies’ customers would probably only mount a halfhearted defence of copper. If anyone speaks for the shipping industry it is Maersk, who famously started, and then reversed a fleet programme of converting ships from anti-fouling to silicone foul-release coatings.

Although no reason was ever publicly offered, the fragility of silicone coatings seems the most likely reason.

Jorn Kahle, head of paint/oil & underwater services, Maersk Maritime Technology says: “Maersk has had a performance evaluation system continually running, since long before the TBT ban. We collect our own data for all the different types of coatings, including the newer low-friction products on the market. By now of course we have a very extensive database of information of different coatings on different types of ships, in different types of waters, and at different types of speeds.

“I would have to say that in respect of effectiveness and performance the manufacturers still have room to improve the products on the market. From the perspective of reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, which we take very seriously, we are still waiting for coatings, which can match the TBT coatings.

“We have not ruled out the silicone-based coatings, but we would say that we hope the manufacturers are able to produce these in a form which is sufficiently durable to withstand the use they will inevitably receive in use.”

If an international ban on copper ever arrived, it would come from the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, which issued the ban on TBT. This year sees the appointment of the MEPC’s new chairman, Arsenio Dominguez of Panama.

Dominguez says: “For the MEPC to address any new requirements in relation to coatings and anti-fouling systems in accordance to the

AFS Convention for the protection of the marine environment, a Party to the Convention would have to make a proposal, together with the appropriate justification as required in Annexes 2 and 3 of the Convention.

“To this date, no such proposal has been presented to the committee and in accordance with its procedures and method of work, in addition to the requirements embedded within the AFS Convention, the MEPC cannot start any work on the issue or set a priority.” Nevertheless, Harmful anti-fouling systems for ships’ remains an item on the MEPC meeting agenda and pressure from environmental groups is growing.

If copper does fall foul of legislation, or even customer satisfaction, alternative approaches are making ground. Silicone ‘foul-release’ systems made good initial headway and have an established share of the market. If the fragility concerns could be overcome, silicone coatings would benefit from moves away from copper.

The third approach, hard coatings that can last the lifetime of the vessel, are already popular for ice-going vessels. Ecospeed, the leader in this category, has also won friends in the cruise industry: a hard coating combined with regular cleaning provides an aesthetic hull for passengers, as well as saving fuel.

Other ideas are attractive but still only on the fringes: Duke University engineers recently announced a polymer that would prevent fouling growth by twitching like living skin. Another approach, Thorn-D, uses micro-fibres to prevent growth. Attempts to mimic sharkskin (sharks, unlike whales, do not attract growths) are also still ongoing.

As environmentalists ramp up the pressure on copper, any other biocidal replacements could only expect similar attention sooner or later. l

Mike Garside writes on marine coatings.

For further information, email Mike at: mikegarside@fastmail.net.

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Profiles There are thousands of ships sailing the oceans today, transporting every kind of cargo.

The global fleet is manned by over a million seafarers of virtually every nationality and the companies involved in this sector are among the most technologically sophisticated of any in the world.

The prominent and successful companies that are highlighted in the next pages of Shipping & Marine provide real world examples of how state-of-the-art technology, best practices and modern innovations are put into practice in the maritime sector.

Maats Tech Ltd Nordhavn Frisia-Offshore Weco Group (Dannebrog Rederi AS) Stena Line Swedish Maritime Administration Stolt-Nielsen Limited Foorde Reederei Seetouristik ZF Marine Krimpen Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) Brødrene Aa DFDS Group Union Marine Management Services Inace Load Line marine S a Mexico Natie Nimbus Boats Orkney Ferries Q-Shipping PD Ports

Profile: MAATS Tech Ltd

Installing bedplates

Matter of

design

M

AATS Tech Ltd was founded on a history of engineering and offshore construction. Over the past 25 years it has developed into a major player in the offshore engineering industry, securing contracts with most of the world’s leading offshore installation and oil field development companies such as Subsea7, Technip, J. Ray McDermott, Odebrecht, Sapura, Aker Solutions, EMAS and Gran Energia.

From the collision of wind farm development and its requirements for heavy cable and the offshore oil development in deeper water with the upward demand for flexible pipe and storage systems the business has doubled its 2012 turnover. With a continuing strong order book it looks to be doing that again

through 2015. “The company’s roots were in naval architecture and equipment development for specialist DP vessels in the offshore industry and diving vessels. These vessels ranged from new buildings to conversions, with the new buildings acting as

Goodwin Steel Castings

Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd were approached by Maats Tech to provide technical input on a material grade for their 5,000T Kingpost casting, which required a high yield with good weld-ability, achieving this on thick sectioned castings without alloying can cause some foundries problems. However Goodwin have an experienced technical team with excellent foundry facilities at their disposal, including Magmasoft simulation software, AOD refining and a NORSOK approved Water Quench facility.

They were able to assist MAATS to achieve their goal and come within their budget.

Bedplate and rollers Seven Waves www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 25

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Profile: MAATS Tech Ltd

GS-Hydro

GS-Hydro is the original provider of non-welded piping systems with numerous benefits for a wide variety of demanding applications. The company operates globally in more than twentyfive countries through own companies and partners. GS-Hydro’s technology is based on flange connections to provide a durable leak-free piping system: GS-37° Flare Flange, GS-90° Flare Flange and the GS-Retain Ring. GS-Hydro supplies complete piping systems with engineering, products, prefabrication, services and documentation.

Shepcote Engineering Shepcote Engineering enjoy a long standing relationship with MAATS working closely on many projects, providing full engineering and manufacturing support for their spooling and tensioning equipment. We provide MAATS with a comprehensive range of services ranging from the design and manufacture of special purpose duty hydraulic cylinders, machined components such as horizontal rollers, pins, machined fabrications through to the complete supply of assemblies.

Shepcote Engineering work extensively throughout the oil, gas and renewable where its specialist deep hole boring, honing and turning capacity is the largest of its type in the UK.

design support and on site project management of some seven diving vessels and one semi-submersible.

“The emphasis at this time was also on conversion of vessels to improve their capabilities. Our business was involved with these in the design and project management of several major conversions, including cutting vessels in half, adding mid body sections, sponsons, additional crane, additional generation and thrusters,” says John Holt, founder and managing director.

With many of these conversions incorporating the installation of a bespoke flexible pipe storage system, the requirement for these systems has grown whilst the requirement for conversions has subsided. Trading as a marine engineering consultancy MAATS has experience in special ship design for new building or conversion. Its core competencies are centred on dynamically positioned special purpose vessels for diverse operations in subsea construction, diving, cable laying and flexible and rigid pipe laying.

Its services include the total project management of special ship projects to owners and operators. Offering a clean paper concept design and build of bespoke flexible pipe and cable handling and storage systems, its experience is demanded as the industry explores in deeper water and the offshore wind farm industry grows. As it does so, MAATS retains its naval architecture capability alongside a growing marine engineering design www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 27

Photo: Herald M.Valderhaug

Specialists in the manufacture of structures and equipment used in the renewable energy and offshore oil & gas industries, primarily for pipe, umbilical and cable laying.

We are pleased to have been associated with MAATS Tech Ltd for the last 16 years.

‘LEWEK CONNECTOR’ 3000te capacity Carousel (under deck) 6000te capacity deck Carousel Including deck equipment, tensioners, loading arms and a horizontal lay system.

2000te of equipment all manufactured and installed in 2011.

Marine Fabricators Ltd Bays 1 - 7, Unit 1, Haverton Hill Shipyard, Haverton Hill, Stockton-on-Tees TS23 1PZ Tel: +44 (0) 1642 565646 – Fax: +44 (0) 1642 565687 www.marinefabricators.co.uk

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Profile: MAATS Tech Ltd

Cyrus RW

Cyrus RW are proud to be a key supplier to MAATS and have an extensive history providing a variety of pipe handling components including rubber & polyurethane coated tensioner track pads and spooling rollers. Recent projects include the rubber covering of newly designed spooling rollers and the manufacture of 1,678 rubber moulded cast steel track pads for installation on MAATS tensioner systems. These services are provided by the Cyrus RW polymer division, which is supported by a complete engineering service that encompasses precision machining, fabrication, cylinder, transmissions & gearbox manufacture and repair, along with extensive electrical engineering expertise. With 6 locations nationwide and facilities in the Middle East, Cyrus is strategically located to provide a one stop solution to a wide range of industries.

FE modelling of 2000te carousel

consultancy team. “The emphasis is now on engineering rather than naval architecture and we have seen an increase in demand for our finite element team within the engineering,” points out John.

Noting that most of the contracts today are for new buildings and contracts are sometimes assigned to the shipyard building the vessel, John expands: “In addition to marine engineering and naval architectural services, we also design and build carousel, tensioner and overboarding systems for the deployment of flexible pipe, umbilicals and power cables. We are the world’s largest supplier of underdeck flexpipe and carousel storage systems having delivered over 20 carousel systems to date.”

Holding such a strong position in the market, John sheds some light on the strengths of the business: “The reason for the shipyards coming directly to MAATS is driven by a fundamental change in the way the operators and vessel owners approach vessel acquisition. Previously all operators part financed their vessel, supplying mission equipment and providing the shipyard with a design. This has now changed with the operator/owner presenting an overall functional specification of what he is looking for to the shipyard, including the mission equipment. The yard then seeks to create a design, procure all the equipment and finance the project.

It is at this stage that the shipyards contact businesses such as us.

“What has given MAATS an edge is that we have had this type of equipment on vessels working in Brazil for instance for over ten years with little or no down time. Combined with this most OSV designers who are in the PLSV design business know MAATS and its equipment and often put it on the drawing that they submit to the yards. If we have an edge we like to think it is the depth of our engineering.”

In the summer of 2013 Petrobras ordered a further six pipe laying support vessels from the international market with MAATS Tech subsequently being awarded the contract to supply carousel systems for each of the vessels. Commenting on the company’s success in this role, John says: “We have a considerable experience with Petrobras, often helping and advising some of our clients on the particular Petrobras requirements for product handling and vessel DP capabilities. In the summer of 2013 Petrobras awarded contracts for six additional PLSVs, three from Subsea7 and three from Sapura Crest.”

The six vessels come on the back of an offer from Petrobras in 2012 for five PLSVs one to Subsea7, two to Technip/Odebrecht partnership and two to Sapura. MAATS underdeck carousel systems were chosen for these also. “The contracts entail the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of the carousel system mainly 1500Te and 2500Te capacity. The shipbuilders are IHC Merwede and DSME Korea and the detail design was carried out by our Gloucester based engineering office supported where necessary by our naval architects in Sunderland.

“The finer production detail is contracted out to Dalton Farrow in Wolverhampton and fabrication and shipment is taken care of at Marine Fabricators in Middlesbrough. These companies and our other contractors on the power and control

2500t carousel with spooler

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Profile: MAATS Tech Ltd

systems, hydraulics and rolling gear have been with us from the beginning.” Offering a full installation and commissioning service and supervision of these two activities it has completed installation in Croatia, Durban SA, Holland, Norway and Korea.

The company was successfully awarded the contract to design and build the below deck 7000Te carousel system, on the heavy construction vessel Subsea7 HCV. The construction forms part of the platforms overall capability, from which many tasks can be carried out. The importance of the below deck design is that it leaves the main deck clear for other activities. “MAATS start point for engineering design of the carousel is the vessel’s motion characteristics in particular acceleration in pitch and roll. Through communication with the vessel designer, in this case Wärtsilä Ship Design, we were able to assess the vessel’s survival accelerations and then marry the scantlings of the carousel basket and foundation to the vessel’s double bottom,” explains John.

This was carried out through finite element analysis between the two companies Wärtsilä and MAATS. In this case, the double bottom height and structure, although it was to class approved minimums, proved inadequate to support the 7000Te Carousel system. This resulted in raising of the double bottom and modification of this structure at a very early stage. Its engineers have worked closely with several clients across the world completing a broad range of finite element analysis with the business investing in the latest analytical software to simulate behaviour. “Our finite element group is continuing to grow and offer services outside the offshore and marine environment. As such it is currently consulting for the mining, military and medical industries and looking to expand in this region,” says John.

As the company continues to grow, MAATS is reviewing the feasibility of extending its base equipment design and build portfolio, REEL Drive Systems and Vertical Lay Tower amongst others. Further research and design activity to support its growth is planned, although not staffed at this stage. As well as experiencing a successful period in Brazil, the business expanded elsewhere, as John points out: “Outside Brazil there has been steady growth in the cable laying market and general large PSVs with the capability of carrying a large carousel below deck. MAATS presently has three vessels outfitting in Norway and is bidding on two more and employs a permanent engineer/project manager in Norway.”

Faced with the ongoing challenge of resourcing staff, the business has been developing its recruitment process, aimed at attracting a new employee level. “As we continue to look for additional capable staff at all levels throughout the business the challenge and quest does not get easier. Since 2012 we have increased our staff numbers by 13 from graduate to experienced qualified engineers. We are still looking for mid-career engineers

to provide the company with further core strength to take the consultancy to the next level.

“The company is extremely mindful of training and exploring its engineering staff to a variety of ‘coal face’ experiences at the manufacturing plant and during installation and commissioning.

Graduates are offered coaching and mentoring for membership of the societies and C. Eng,” highlights John. MAATS key personnel are engineers from the offshore environment. This ensures that it is able to provide quality management and design services, supported by comprehensive operational experience.

“Future growth remains in the subsea offshore sector with planned and on-going deep water developments. We have targeted to meet this growth by consolidating our engineering consultancy/ capability and making it more attractive to our existing and possible new clients as a reliable partner in subsea design and development. As our technical director pointed out - we are about to cross the river, best make sure we can climb the bank on the other side of 2015,” concludes John. l

MAATS Tech Ltd www.maats.co.uk • Engineering and offshore construction • Turnkey carousel projects • Finite Element Analysis team

Red Rooster

As a leading supplier of lifting equipment Red Rooster have worked closely with Maats Tech on various contracts supplying a range of powered winches.

Red Rooster sell, hire, service & repair pneumatic hoists, electric chain hoists, wire rope hoists, manual chain hoists, load cells, load shackles, lever hoists, powered winches, wire rope spoolers & snatch blocks.

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A marine

propellant

N

ordhavn A/S is a Danish owned company with over 70 years of experience in project management, sales and aftersales of diesel engines, generator sets, propulsion systems and several engine applications.

Nordhavn delivers to the marine market as well as to industrial customers within the Danish market and to export markets across the globe, which it has served since 1944. During 1959 Nordhavn became the first distributor of Scania engines outside of Sweden marking an important milestone for the company as service director, Søren Rasmussen elaborates: “Since that time the company has grown stronger each year through closer cooperation with different engine brands and manufacturers, this has allowed Nordhavn to meet its clients strict demands in diesel engine application.”

A recent development in the company’s history has been the change of its name and logo to Nordhavn Marine & Offshore in order to better market the company’s commitment to the marine and offshore business sector. “Within the last decade the maritime sector has radically changed its relationship with the offshore market,” Søren says. “Since its earliest days Nordhavn has provided solutions to clients operating within both the maritime and offshore sectors. With a newly branded name and logo we aim to demonstrate to our clients that we are the obvious choice in solutions for their requirements. Likewise the company’s industrial customers can be assured by the high level of quality we offer within the maritime sector and know that we are able

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of supply the same level of quality in both onshore and offshore applications.”

Nordhavn Marine & Offshore is proud to provide the right technical solution to its clients needs. These include diesel engines that drive pumps, generators, crew boats, compressors and so on.

In addressing its clients’ requirements the company offers many years of experience in providing the right solutions to meet special

Profile: Nordhavn emission demands, classification rules, low fuel consumption and high service hours.

An exciting project for Nordhavn in recent years was the delivery of four complete propulsion packages to World Marine Offshore for the company’s WindServer 25 vessels. Each craft contains four engines, meaning that in total 16 engines were supplied for the vessels. The WindServer 25 variant is designed to operate as a multi-role crew vessel, combining crew and cargo transportation with inspection, guard and rescue, chase support and diving operations. As such the design calls for reliant and efficient engine to power the vessel to its top speed of 25 knots.

The four Scania DI 13 368 kW engines provided by Nordhavn were the ideal solution and the four-engine setup delivers excellent reliability and redundancy, which allows the vessels able to operate with only three of their engines. Further to the delivery of the engines for the WindServer 25 fleet in 2012, Nordhavn has also received orders for propulsion packages for World Marine Offshore’s upcoming addition of two WindServer 30 vessels in the near future. The craft are of a similar design to the WindServer 25 class except that they are slightly larger and designed to accommodate 24 crewmembers rather than 12. The design will also incorporate the four-engine setup resulting in an over all order for eight engines from Nordhavn.

To ensure that the company continues to deliver the very best services to its clients, Nordhavn has recently invested in a new staff building, renovations and new equipment to bolster its in-house engineering capability. “We have just purchased turnkey machinery

that allows us to undertake engine overhauls in-house,” Søren explains. “This includes the overhaul of cylinder heads, engine blocks and so on as the customer requires. This move was taken to remove the company’s dependence on suppliers and to build a dedicated in-house supply of exchanged and reconditioned engine parts. The company’s engineers are currently being trained in the

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Profile: Nordhavn use of the state-of-the-art machinery that has been purchased so we are able to meet our customers’ standards as well as those of the industry’s classification societies.”

Of course the investment in new facilities and equipment is a moot point without the necessary industry know-how and experience to drive the business forward. With more than seven decades of experience to its name Nordhavn is fully able to anticipate and meets its clients’ needs. “When embarking on a project with customers we are able to offer the right solution for our clients first time,” Søren outlines. “This means providing the solution that best suits our customers and as such, we are specialised in offering tailor-made applications. We know our customers and we know the business. In this way we are able to assist our clients in the fastest way possible. In 90 per cent of cases we are able to help the customer at the very first visit.”

As the company continues through the rest of 2014 and beyond it will focus of developing its key strengths and ensuring that it maintains close relationships with its main customers as Søren concludes: “We are not looking for new investments to expand radically as we are well placed as a mid-large business that continuously develops its core competencies in order to offer the best solution to the customer.” l

Nordhavn A/S

www.nordhavn.dk • Diesel engines, generator sets and propulsion systems • Global export market • Seventy years of experience

SPECIALIST IN

marine/offshore sector As a distributor of reliable, high end engine and genset controllers, speed governing systems, level sensors and starting systems from ComAp a.s., Governors America Corp. (GAC), Bedia Motorentechnik and IPU Group: Ptech are happy to be a supplier to innovative and reliable companies like Nordhavn A/S. We are able to supply approved components as well as complete engine starting system for marine use and for oil, gas and hazardous areas applications.

ComAp Marine Controller

IPU-Group Starting Systems

GAC Speed Control Unit

Bedia Marine Level Sensors

Ptech ApS · Egeskovvej 6A · 3490 Kvistgård tel: +45 7070 1094 · email: info@ptech.dk · www.ptech.dk

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Profile: Frisia-Offshore

Wind

swept

F

risia-Offshore emerged from the umbrella of its mother company as details on wind farming contracts in German waters began to unfold. With a background of over 140 years of experience ferrying tourists in the surrounding waters, its personnel were equipped with the right aptitude to participate in the first tenders in 2008.

Its first successful tender for the Alpha Ventus project covered guard vessel duties, crew transfer services (CTS) and marine co-ordination works. “For this contract we built a catamaran, the Wind Force I, based on an Australian design, which has been in service since July 2009. We also bought a former buoy-laying vessel for the guard vessel duties, the Otto Treplin, which is still in service performing the same duties on a similar project. A few months later we acquired another similar vessel, the Beaufort, winning another guard-vessel and marine co-ordination contract at the end of 2011 for the Borkum West II project,” says Stefan Goldbach, project leader.

Picking up contracts at the early stage of this offshore movement proved to be effective for future business, winning another CTS contract for the Riffgat project in 2012. It was at this stage the decision was taken to build its second catamaran, the Wind Force II, of similar design to its sister vessel.

Subsequently in a string of successful bids, the company won guard vessel contracts for the Amrumbank West and DONG Riffgrund projects.

Across the industry there are temporary operation and maintenance contracts with the largest projects in the UK, and as Stefan points out: “If demand over the summer period for vessels in the UK grows, companies will inevitably follow the market, which would leave the German or Dutch projects empty. This is the reason we are looking towards the construction of another vessel, Wind Force III. “We have a special feature on our two existing Wind Force vessels which separates us from competitors, and that is our 24

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passenger capacity.” In a market where standard vessel design limits passenger numbers to 12, Frisia-Offshore has been able to secure this certification through working closely with DNV on the classification and constructing to designs approved for the construction of Wind Force I. The vessels also have an impressive load carrying capability with space on the aft deck for a 20’ container and the capability to transport up to ten tonnes. Each is also equipped with a crane, able to lift 2.2 tonnes, meaning it may carry and deploy smaller research tools or load smaller cargo parts from the quayside, eliminating the requirement of the harbour crane.

“We were one of the first service providers in the German

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Profile: Frisia-Offshore

offshore market, and have the longest track record of a German company within the German offshore wind industry. As a result we have provided a lot of consultancy services in the past assisting in projects undertaking technical evaluation of CTS and guard vessel tenders, as well as providing logistical concepts for supply. We recently provided harbour logistics and consultancy services for cable laying companies operating on the Riffgat project. The Alpha Ventus project, first won in 2009, ended in April 2014. Following a competitive tender, we were able to again secure a long-term deal and continue to provide our services for another three years,” explains Stefan.

One of the major challenges for the business is to be in a position to provide the appropriate vessel on demand. With its previous two vessels built under contract the company has reached a position where it now looks to constructing its third vessel on speculation. With building programmes for such a vessel around 12 months it is important for clients to put out tenders early in order to secure the right vessel.

As the business parts further from its mother company, FrisiaOffshore is currently looking into the expansion of its crew and shore based personnel, compiling a strong team of specialists including technical and nautical inspectors, as well as HSEQ and crewing officers. “At the moment we employ local crew on our CTS vessels because they know the shallow waters and the

tides, vital to operations out of our base harbour in Norddeich.

Training of the crew is significantly important, particularly as German regulations are very strict,” points out Stefan.

The future for the business over the next few years is particularly busy, attributable to the flurry of activity across the North Sea. With projects ongoing in UK, Danish and Dutch waters, France has also recently commenced the construction of its first projects. “There will be a lot of work to do surrounding these activities over the next two to three years. We are hopeful that we can progress with the build of the third vessel, already detailed in plan. There is a very high demand for crew transfer vessels and at present we are lucky with all the construction projects in the local area. However, the wind farms have an operational lifecycle of 25 years and throughout this time there will be operation and maintenance campaigns requiring vessels able to carry a large capacity of service technicians, and we are very well prepared for this demand,” concludes Stefan. l

Frisia-Offshore

www.frisia-offshore.de • Crew transfer and construction support • Large passenger capacity • Lifting ability and cargo transfer

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Ship shape N

amed after the legendary Danish flag ‘Dannebrog’, that fell from the sky on June 15th 1219, Dannebrog Rederi AS was established more than 120 years ago and taken over by the WedellWedellsborg family in the 1980s. Operating as a subsidiary of Rungsted headquarted Weco Group, which is also the parent company of Nordana Line, a premier multi-purpose roro liner carrier, and Weco Bulk, a one-stop-shop for its clients logistical needs, Dannebrog Rederi provides a broad range of high quality ship management services to internal and external clients.

With a vision to be the preferred choice for businesses within the dry cargo vessel and tanker markets, Dannebrog Rederi is committed to remaining innovative in a competitive and changeable industry. As a provider of services such as technical management, technical support, vetting and audit inspection as well as dry-docking, special surveys, cost control, preventative technical maintenance and crewing services, the company has the knowledge, passion and experience to thrive on challenges during the most demanding of contracts. Furthermore, the subsidiary encourages close working relationships with customers to ensure all unique, individual needs are met, or even surpassed through open discussions on all technical and personnel issues.

Safety focused, the company’s ship management team of

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well-organised and skilled technical personnel man, equip, maintain, insure and manage vessels to ensure they meet and maintain international and statutory safety and operational classifications and certifications; this is done not only through a commitment to quality but also through close co-operation with regulatory bodies and unions. The technical management division delivers services such as maintenance, technical support and ship refurbishment, while crew management is provided through Dannebrog Rederi’s in-house crewing office. Aware that cost control is a necessary part of any ship management contract, the company’s very own highly skilled and dedicated crew members assist owners and managers through the preparing and maintaining of a crucial, realistic technical budget that also meets the unique operational requirements of each vessel.

Having developed a reputation for operational excellence, the company provides these high quality services to a fleet of approximately 12 owned chemical and oil tankers, cargo and multi-purpose vessels; additionally, the firm has more than 50 vessels on charter and ten part-owned vessels across the Weco Group. With more than 40 years expertise behind it, Dannebrog Rederi has cultivated a proven track record in the liner shipping and chemical tanker segments; to further strengthen growth in the tanker market, the company took the strategic decision to

Profile: Weco Group (Dannebrog Rederi AS)

enter into a joint venture with world leading tanker shipping firm Stena Bulk in 2011.

Known as Stena Weco, the joint venture operates the Weco Shipping tanker business that was previously managed by Dannebrog Rederi and currently operates 61 vessels with an average age of three years. Aiming to become the marketleading operator in the MR tanker segment, the global firm has access to Stena Bulk’s long-term expertise in the MR-segment and petroleum products as well as its ten ultra-modern P-MAX tankers. Furthermore, Stena Weco benefits from the experience of Dannebrog as a market leader in the transportation of products such as edible oils, palm oils and caustic soda, thus enabling it to have an equally strong background in a range of products.

The merging of the two companies has so far proven fruitful, with Stena Weco witnessing strong growth throughout 2013 and anticipating more of the same in 2014.

With the product tanker market conquered by the diverse company, Dannebrog made the strategic decision to enter the dry-bulk sector through a newly established venture in 2013.

The Rungsted based Weco Bulk, which has no affiliation with Stena Bulk, will target the handymax and supramax segments as a provider of maritime transport and logistical services for a comprehensive range of bulk goods; these include steel, scrap, cement, agricultural, coal, iron, petcoke and wood pellets.

Meanwhile, available services comprise of technical management, preventative technical maintenance, cost control, crewing and technical support.

Currently in the midst of a fundamental shift in the shipping industry, which has been caused by the development of cutting edge technology to tackle key issues such as skyrocketing bunker fuel prices and concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, Dannebrog Rederi is focusing on retaining its tried and tested core values to ensure ongoing reliability and sustainability.

These values include operating in a responsible, creative and team-orientated environment, which inspires innovation and continuous improvement for personnel in all areas of the organisation.

This commitment to quality and innovation was proven in March 2012, when the company made a deal with DK Group the creators of the pioneering Air Cavity System (ACS) - to install its technology on a 12,580 deadweight tonne multi-purpose ship. Representing notable progression in the utilisation of clean technology within the shipping industry, the groundbreaking contract marked the first time DK Group’s air-lubricated technology was installed on an international commercial vessel.

Guaranteeing an improvement in fuel efficiency of up to ten per cent through the use of air bubbles within the boundary layer of the vessel, which thus minimises frictional resistance between

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Profile: Weco Group (Dannebrog Rederi AS)

its presence in a challenging and changeable industry. Indeed, by remaining dedicated to delivering a quality service in all operations and paying attention to market developments, the highly efficient firm will continue to guarantee its customers and suppliers a reliable, safe and efficient shipping solution. l

Weco Group (Dannebrog Rederi AS)

www.dannebrog.com • Comprised of three main operating firms • Entered joint venture with Stena Bulk in 2011 • Major newbuild programme underway

the hull’s surface and the water, the ACS was retrofitted onto the heavy-lift multi-purpose vessel before sea tests were conducted by HSVA. A landmark moment for the mainstream shipping market, the contract also reflected Dannebrog Rederi’s commitment to delivering sustainable and cost-effective solutions that meet regulations, minimise fuel consumption and reduce the company’s impact on the environment. Furthermore, this partnership with DK Group looks set to continue, with the option of further vessels being retrofitted in the future.

Looking ahead, the future looks positive for Dannebrog Rederi as it continues to diversify its service offering and strengthen

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Star Group (Star Trading Co., Ltd, Shanghai is part of the Star Group) Star Group (STS) has worked with Dannebrog (GoldenStenaWeco) on several projects.

These include the inspection of vessels in China and Korea in connection with purchase options, and undertaking one of the first direct sales of a vessel to a foreign (joint venture GoldenStenaWeco) owner via auction in China. This deal included commercial contact with the local bank that owned the vessels.

Star Group (STS) has also delivered spare parts and sourced uncommon parts for Dannebrog, as well as carried out ship repairs and emergency response services in China including agency business.

Furthermore, the Star Group (STS) participated in a project for buying two uncompleted vessels from a local Chinese bank and then afterwards finishing them in China with assistance from Star Group (STS) performing the technical supervision. Unfortunately, this project failed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Profile: Stena Line

Serious

shipping

C

ommencing operations in 1962, the Swedish business Stena Line is today an international transport and travel company. Through modest beginnings the European business, based in Gothenburg, has expanded operations from the Baltic Sea to the North, Irish and now the Celtic Seas. Today the business has the most comprehensive route network in Europe with 23 routes and 39 ferries, and additionally owns and operates five ports, employing 5600 personnel.

The strong position is a result of strategic company acquisitions combined with a reputation for service, product development and innovation in both freight and passenger travel. In the last two years the emphasis in the business increased focus on freight services. Although its passenger services remain important, handling over three million cars and 14.6 million passengers each year, freight has seen a dramatic rise, shipping over two million freight units.

“We have a continuous investment programme with ongoing renewal, reflecting the continuously evolving nature of the business. In 2011 we acquired diagonal routes across the Irish Sea, departing from Belfast travel to Liverpool, Heysham and Cairnryan. Each has put freight transfer emphasis on the Irish Sea,” says Richard Horswill, Head of Freight UK and Ireland.

The route saw the introduction of two new superfast vessels, with a recent extension to the original three-year contract to 2019 providing stability for the service. In the last five years the development of routes on the Irish Sea and the introduction of new ships on the Hook to Harwich service have been significant. These

Stena Lagan, dusk arrival at Belfast, Northern Ireland

vessels, the Stena Britannica and the Stena Hollandica are the largest ferries in the world.

“There is a very strong philosophy running through the business, stemming from the owner himself with key values such as care, innovation and performance and these are at the heart of everything we do. Innovation and development within the business are important with everyone encouraged to make at least one suggestion each year,” explains Richard. The company has an innovative culture, promoting a sense of involvement.

The employees have come up with a total of 1500 ideas for improvements since 2006. “All ideas are reviewed and considered and some are taken through to fruition.

“As a business we operate an extensive training programme for staff, conducted in house with ongoing training for professional qualifications relating to the maritime side of the business. Care and performance relating to safety and customer service are areas of great focus, whether travel or freight customers, achieved through the management of ports, efficient freight handling and managing cost,” he continues.

Predicting a rise in RORO ferries and more freight orientated services, in early 2014 Stena Line acquired rights to the Celtic link route, complementing the network and providing a link between Ireland and France. Commenting, Richard says: “It’s a freightorientated route and we have already seen some of the benefits of that coming through in the last month. We have been busy setting up the new service, forming new agreements with customers and integrating the acquired vessel, the Stena Horizon, into the

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Profile: Stena Line Stena Performer

MJM - Bucking the trend...

Having reported their biggest year ever in 2013 marine outfitting specialist MJM Group look set to go one better this year.

In addition to expanding their own Newry based operation they are working tirelessly to re-establish Mivan, their once close competitor who recently became part of the MJM Group.

With two fully operational facilities the MJM Group boasts one of the largest manufacturing output capacities in the industry and having already secured contracts globally with many of the main players in the Cruise & Ferry Industries it’s clear that all this capacity will be put to good use in 2014.

Owner & founder Brian McConville states: “We are very proud to be achieving significant growth & creating jobs at the current time.

We constantly strive to perfect the delivery of these refit projects and this focus has resulted in a considerable increase in our level of activity for existing and indeed, new clients.”

business. It has been running as a Stena Line service with upgraded onboard services since the beginning of April. We have had a great response from the customers and we are delighted with the way that is going.”

As the business looks towards the future Richard shares his forecast on the coming months: “We have seen the market strengthening on the Irish Sea as the UK and Irish economies start to emerge from recession. Two years ago it was clear that some of our freight customers were short of business and there was a lot of capacity in the system. This has now been absorbed and we have started to see a strengthening position, particularly on the Irish Sea. The market in Europe is still slightly behind but in terms of the total market the position is neutral. As we continue to improve our services and focus on our customers and their requirements one of our big developments is in Europe, linking our routes with rail. We see this as a complementary way of developing volumes and also working with customers to add service that they might require.”

Although the business remains an independent ferry company, the concept is that the rail network acts almost like a landside ferry. It is a system that is operational in Sweden with a rail spine running down the heart of the country feeding in from various termini down to ports in the southeast region with strong links to Poland and the east European network. “There is a movement in the business towards a lower cost operation. On a global scale the development of Stena International Freight, a new company within the group, has at present, two routes, with one on the Black Sea operating between Turkey and the Ukraine. Despite the current problems in the region the volumes are steady. Additionally there is a route running from South Korea to Russian ports,” Richard announces.

As the 2015 emission rules near, Richard explains that the business is in the process of talking to its customers about ways that this will effect normal operations and cost structures: “On the 1st January 2015 we will be switching to marine gas oil (MGO) and there will be a cost in freight charges with routes affected. However, the legislation doesn’t apply to the Irish Sea until 2020 so for the next few years adhering to this challenge will be in the Baltic Sea and North Sea. On our recently acquired Rosslare-Cherbourg route, MGO will be required to be used for a proportion of the journey and this statutory requirement will have to be reflected in our freight costs from Jan 2015.”

In the strong and growing position of the company today, the emphasis is on developing the network. “In the past when the

Richard Horswill, Head of Freight UK and Ireland

company was smaller the emphasis was on a route by route basis but we see the strength in the business now as being our extended networks and we are promoting the advantages of working with Stena Line to our freight customers, particularly with the international haulers. Our freight systems are quite sophisticated with a strong online system and methods of communication and administration, keeping costs down to a minimum and supporting the growth of the business. Our customers appreciate what we have developed and recognise the support and advantages it brings,” concludes Richard. l

Stena Line

www.stenaline.com • Operational across 23 routes • Growing focus on freight transfer • Modern superfast fleet

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Flying high

T

he Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) (Swedish: Sjöfartsverket) is the Swedish government agency that provides services to the transport sector by keeping sea-lanes open and safe. Noomi Eriksson is deputy director general/head of search & rescue at the SMA, and she explained how the organisation has progressed over the past 24 months since it was last featured in Shipping and Marine. “Our main objective is still to provide professional and high quality services to merchant shipping,” she began. “A central part of the main strategy of the SMA is to create close partnerships with other organisations, as a way of combining a strong customer focus with cost-effective operations. A good example borne out of this strategy is the ‘Gothenburg Approach’ concept, through which we ensure a more effective approach and a higher level of customer satisfaction. This is achieved by having the SMA’s VTS service working side-by-side with the Port of Gothenburg port control.

Another example is the co-operation between the SMA and the Finnish Transport Agency regarding icebreaking, which most likely will be further enhanced in the near future.”

Noomi continued with examples of more projects: “Beside the MONALISA project, which is one of our flagship schemes [covered in SMA’s previous feature in Shipping and Marine] the SMA has participated in a number of high profile EU-financed projects for the past few years, such as Chemsea and Winmos. This is a way of finding a wider use of the high level of competence that is built into the organisation, thus being able to make a difference for shipping and for society, as well as providing an opportunity for more effective operations for the SMA.” The main services provided by the administration include pilotage, fairway services, maritime traffic information, icebreaking, hydrography, maritime and aeronautical search and

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rescue, and services for seamen. “Our activities focus primarily on merchant shipping, but also take pleasure boating and fishing interests into account,” explained Noomi. “The SMA also provides expert knowledge to the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise and Communications in our fields of services.” Covering this range of operations is a fleet of over 100 vessels: “The icebreaker fleet is managed and maintained by an external shipping company,” Noomi highlighted. “The other SOLAS vessels are managed and maintained by the SMA Ship management department, while the remaining vessels are managed by other business areas within the Swedish Maritime Administration. The responsibility to maintain the vessels is carried out by the manager with support from a technical superintendent from the ship management department.”

Noomi had highlighted search and rescue (SAR) among SMA’s services, and this is one of her specialist areas. She discussed the work that goes into maintaining it and the new developments SMA has seen: “The SAR services of the SMA have been going through a transition for the past five years, involving all the vital parts of the SAR operation. The process started with the merger of the ARCC with the MRCC to a joint rescue co-ordination centre, JRCC, where the aeronautical SAR leaders also assist in maritime SAR cases and vice versa. This merger has created an opportunity for more effective co-ordination of SAR cases, especially during extensive or lengthy rescue operations.

“In November 2011 the Swedish parliament decided that the SMA should acquire Norrlandsflyg, the company that had provided the helicopter SAR services since 2002. The acquisition was a vital part in securing the SAR operation long term. Since the acquisition, the operation has been merged into the SMA. On January 22, 2014, a new organisation was effectuated and by March 1, 2014, the merger was completed.

Profile: Swedish Maritime Administration

“The new SAR helicopters that are currently being implemented in the Swedish operation provide a good base for the further development of our capability,” Noomi continued. “The areas that are seeing continuing progress include enhanced abilities to perform rescue operations during harsh weather conditions and enhanced capabilities for emergency medical assistance.”

The new helicopters are Agusta Westland AW139s, and the SMA team has been working closely with the representatives from Agusta Westland during the entire process from order to delivery. “The AW139 will be operating from five SAR bases at strategic locations in Sweden,” said Noomi. “Compared to the Sikorsky S-76, the AW139 is based on more modern technology and avionics. It’s a bit bigger, a bit faster and provides a higher level of safety solutions and overall work conditions for the crew.

As the AW139s are equipped with FIPS – full ice protection system – they can also be operated in ice-building conditions. The FIPS system makes the operation more independent of weather during the winter, which in some parts of Sweden at times involves harsh conditions.”

She continued: “Following the first delivery, the test and evaluation (T&E) process started immediately at Skavsta Airport, south of Stockholm. The T&E team involved two full SAR crews with two pilots, a hoist operator and a rescue swimmer in each crew. The main objective of the T&E team has been to test and evaluate the helicopter as well as all the necessary procedures and also preparing for the further education of all the SAR crews. After type rating and training of the first four SAR crews, for a total time period of 4.5 months, the first two AW139s entered into the search

and rescue operation at the Umeå base in northern Sweden on April 15 2014. The implementation process will be fully completed

by September 2015, at which point all five Swedish SAR bases will be operating the AW139,” noted Noomi.

Going into the second half of 2014, alongside the implementation of its new helicopter fleet, the SMA is focusing on continuing to deliver its high quality services, as well as a few new objectives as Noomi explained: “One of the most important objectives is to create a higher degree of financial strength as well as a stronger focus on social and ecological sustainability,” she said. “Recent actions towards obtaining these objectives include developing a strong technological strategy, but also a distinct focus on environmental issues.”

Achieving these ambitions will be sustained by the company’s core strengths, which as Noomi concluded, have remained the basis of the Administration’s success: “The main advantage of the SMA is its high capability level, which encompasses extraordinary heights of nautical competence as well as technological expertise.

In combination with challenging goals and objectives and a clear strategy, this will provide an effective foundation for great achievements in the SMA’s field of expertise.” l

Swedish Maritime Administration

www.sjofartsverket.se • New fleet of AW139 helicopters • Provides wide variety of services • New focus on environmental issues

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Safety and

service F

ounded in 1959, Stolt-Nielsen Limited (SNL) is the world’s largest provider of integrated transportation and storage solutions for specialty and bulk liquid chemicals and other liquid products. The company, which has achieved success in a number of industry sectors worldwide, prides itself on its sustained focus on innovation, quality, safety and service. These guiding principles are present through its 42 offices around the world and are practiced every day by its more than 5000 dedicated and skilled personnel.

SNL operates globally through a number of subsidiaries focused on specific industry areas: • Stolt Tankers – operates the world’s largest and most sophisticated fleet of tankers, serving manufacturers of chemicals and other bulk liquids.

• Stolthaven Terminals – operates a global network of terminals providing storage and distribution services.

• Stolt Tank Containers – operates the world’s largest fleet of stainless steel ISO tank containers.

• Stolt Bitumen Services – Focuses on the distribution of bitumen using bitumen tankers.

• Stolt-Nielsen Gas – transports liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

• Stolt Sea Farm – one of the globe’s most advanced and high-tech aquaculture businesses.

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Stolt Tankers, the shipping arm of SNL is a leading player worldwide in the shipment of chemicals and bulk liquids. The business operates a fleet of state-of-the-art tanker vessels that includes deep-sea, regional, coastal and inland parcel tankers that provide safe, reliable, high quality transportation services. As part of the SNL group, Stolt Tankers works closely with the other subsidiaries. For example, the business works closely with the network of terminals operated by Stolthaven Terminals to ensure success across the entire supply chain of its customers.

Operating the European inland tanker fleet of Stolt Tankers is Stolt-Nielsen Inland Tanker Service (SNITS), which was last featured in Shipping & Marine in November 2013. “SNITS operates in the ARA area, the Rhine River and adjacent canals, thus covering the entire north-west European waterway network,” explained Frank Maerckaert, general manager of SNITS, at the time. “Our main focus is on the chemical market, with products that require special handling expertise and knowledge.”

During the previous article SNITS was strengthening its fleet and experiencing growth in its business, and as Frank recently explained, this trend has continued. “After the delivery of our last new builds SNITS decided to then divest one of our older vessels

Profile: Stolt-Nielsen Limited

for recycling, and during the last six months we have focused on the dry-dockings of our owned fleet, which was successfully completed in May 2014.”

As ever, being a part of the larger SNL group of companies has ensures that SNITS has remained dedicated to its core principles.

“One of our main objectives is to always deliver our customers a professional service, whereby quality and safety is the main focus,” said Frank. “As part of the larger SNL organisation we can learn from the procedures that are applicable for the deepsea and coastal tanker fleets and apply them to our business.”

Indeed, this focus on safety and quality is a core aspect of all SNL subsidiaries, with SNITS investing a significant amount of money and manpower into the constant training of its crew, with safety awareness, knowledge and expertise being its trademarks in the industry.

However, as with many sectors of the offshore industry, sourcing well trained or experienced crew is becoming a key challenge, not just for SNITS, but the wider Stolt Tankers business. “The whole industry is facing a challenge in the availability of qualified crew,” Frank highlighted. “Our focus will remain on training and development of our crew to allow younger crew to gain promotions, which will assure our customer that the quality and knowledge that we are renowned for will remain in place in the future.”

Despite these challenges the company is able to maintain the high quality of service expected by clients. “The balance of vessels and contracts allows us to offer our customers the maximum flexibility,” Frank explained. “As the majority of our vessels have stainless steel cargo tanks and are largely equipped with sophisticated cleaning equipment, last minute changes or any special requests can always be met by us.”

With this level of service, supported by the worldwide reputation of SNL, there is little doubt that there will be future success for SNITS. “Looking at the market, the inland shipping sector is in general struggling with an overcapacity of coated vessels that are mainly built to replace the single hulled vessels that are operating in the CPP market. As by 2018 no single hulled vessels will be allowed to operate in the inland tanker market, many coated vessels have already been delivered, with quite a few more on order. This overcapacity of coated vessels has already had an impact on the chemical market as some are easily capable of carrying chemicals. Even though the vessels can be operated in the chemical market, the knowledge of the crew on board is not always sufficient to be operating in the chemical market.

“Therefore our focus on crew training and development is of utmost importance and we are proud to say that we can rely on a committed team. Our focus for the next few years will also be on maintaining a balanced fleet to be able to offer the best service with a sustainable fleet in a market struggling with an overcapacity of tonnage,” he concludes. l

Stolt-Nielsen Limited

www.stolt-nielsen.com • World’s largest provider of transportation and storage for bulk chemicals

• Operates through a number of subsidiaries • Stolt Tankers has the world’s largest and most sophisticated fleet

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Designing

success By working closely with its clients, The Kooiman Group can ensure the vessels its designs are absolutely fit for purpose

The Kooiman Group is a group of qualified companies involved in ship design, shipbuilding and repairs. One hundred per cent family-owned, the Group has been in existence for almost 130 years. Over the course of these years, within The Kooiman Group substantial experience has been obtained in the design and construction of a wide variety of ships.

Unlike other shipyards, Kooiman does not focus on standard types of ships to be built on stock and sold to owners. Instead, it builds according to the client’s wishes and each project design is made in close consultation with the owner. The aim is to implement an owner’s requirements to the maximum extent possible, which results in optimum operation capabilities of the vessel concerned, without compromising as in the case of a standard design.

Castor and Pollux Two vessels that perfectly illustrate the capabilities of Kooiman Group are the self-propelled split hopper barges Castor and Pollux. Named after the Greek gods who helped shipwrecked sailors and who provided favourable winds, these ships will be used in the oil and gas infrastructure works in waters north of Russia for MRTS JSC, one of the largest Russian companies performing turnkey construction of subsea oil and gas pipeline infrastructures. Their main tasks will be to deposit a protective layer of

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sand and stones on top of newly laid gas pipelines on the seafloor and for underwater trench backfilling.

Each of the vessels consists mainly of three pieces: a superstructure and two almost perfectly symmetrical half-hulls. The hulls are joined at main deck level by hinges forward and aft of the hopper. Near the hinge on the main deck, but also in the bottom plating, a male/female tooth connection ensures a strong longitudinal connection between both halves. Located a few metres below either hinge, in a recess outside of the hopper, are the submerged hydraulic rams which give the open/close action to the hull.

The ship’s hull parts are about 15 centimetres apart over the entire length, but a U-shaped rubber tongue-and-groove connection around the hopper ensures that the load stays in the hopper and is not lost while sailing. At the bow, the starboard hull overlaps the - slightly shorter - portside hull. Besides the esthetical benefit, this feature will also reduce spray on deck in head seas.

The accommodation on board these vessels is also noteworthy. The ships have an office, a captain’s cabin and a chief engineer’s cabin with private bathrooms on the officer’s deck and three double crew cabins on the main deck. In addition, there is an extra double cabin on main deck for two guests, such as supervisors of the client. Forward on the main deck are a large storeroom, a spacious galley and a mess room. The entire accommodation is provided with air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation.

To enhance crew comfort, the wheelhouse on the top deck features electrical floor heating, as do all sanitary spaces, the mess and the galley.

A pilot seat is mounted on a sliding track between two consoles, resulting in an unrestricted view through the full-height bridge windows facing forward.

The navigation and communication equipment consists of a complete Alphatron package, including Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm System.

Innovative design One of the main benefits of these vessels is the attention to detail and careful thought that has gone into every aspect of their design. For example, the 1500 cubic metre hopper is equipped with a load monitoring system to determine hopper volume and weight. Two fire monitors are positioned on the coamings to clean the hopper of remaining sand. The fuel tanks are located in the engine rooms and forward of the hopper, which gives a means to trim the vessel with fuel. Practically the only non-mirrored item in both of the engine rooms is the fresh water installation. While the portside hull houses the sewage treatment plant for the sanitary discharges, the starboard hull houses the watermaker and water heating equipment. From each of the engine rooms, an emergency escape trunk leads from the lowest level directly to the outside deck.

The superstructure is mounted on two conventional hinges on the starboard side, but two hinges with an intermediate shaft on port side.

This connection not only allows for the changing distance between port and starboard deck supports when the hopper opens or closes, but also adds some flexibility accounting for the flexing of each hull half when the hopper is filled with a heavy load. It is normal for the hulls to ‘bulge out’ a bit amidships, as there is a lot of transverse pressure of the cargo and the two halves are only held together at the ship’s extremities.

Furthermore, the ships have an ice class notation of 1C, which extends the season for working at high latitudes. They are certified for operation in icy waters. Visible consequences of the ice class notation are the increased propeller shaft diameters and the size of the gearbox, which should be able to cope with impacts of the propellers with ice. The propellers have a diameter of 1800 millimetres.

Each hull houses a Mitsubishi main engine of 940 kW at 1600 rpm and a MAN generator set of 280 kVA. The exhausts pass through a dry damper and go upward through the deck aft of the accommodation, through

casings, which are fixed to the hulls. These casings are also used for the supply and return air of the engine room ventilation. The electrical installation was undertaken by Technisch Bureau Mous, the in-house electrical contractor in The Kooiman Group. Castor and Pollux were built under Bureau Veritas class and both sail under the flag of Cyprus.

For the past few decades, The Kooiman Group has only designed and built ships that meet IACS class standards, as well as national marine requirements, depending on the flag state applicable. Alongside its expertise in hopper barge construction, the Group also excels in the design and build of tug boats of various powers, workboats, fishing boats, mooring boats, inland waterway vessels, dredgers, tankers, barges of various types and applications, and so forth.

In short, a wide range of designs developed by The Kooiman Group is available, that have been built, tested and delivered. These proven designs easily may be incorporated with owner’s specific requirements, without influencing the performance characteristics of the vessel itself. l

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Profile: Forde Reederei Seetouristik

An eye on the

market

F

ounded in Flensburg as a short route ferry operator in 1866, Forde Reederei Seetouristik GmbH (FRS Group) has since diversified and expanded its services in line with market opportunities to become the leading international ferry specialist in Europe. Today comprised of 13 subsidiaries that are operating in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, FRS has developed from its roots as a regional steamboat passenger ferry operator into a widely successful organisation with a fleet of more than 40 vessels and a broad portfolio of services in the maritime, offshore, bus and ferry business sectors.

Highlighting some of the major milestones of FRS, which transports more than 5.6 million passengers and 1.3 million vehicles annually, business development director Jan Philip Eckmann begins: “FRS was previously two separate companies, the first being Forde Reederei and the second being Seetouristik, which merged in 1991 to found FRS Group and acquire Weiße Flotte GmbH the same year. Today Weiße Flotte is operating over 17 vessels of various sizes, including water taxis and car ferries, for inner water transportation.” Complementing its inner water transportation service, the group’s subsidiary Reederei Hiddensee provides scheduled services and day trips to Hiddensee, an island based in the Baltic Sea. Using passenger ferries, water taxis and car ferries, FRS provides transportation to 3.3 million passengers and 920,000 cars annually in this business segment.

Originally a ferry service provider with a duty free license, the

group was forced to diversify its markets when regulations came into effect in 2000, as Jan elaborates further: “At our peak time we had 34 day vessels and were transporting 30,000 people per day, and this was just for shopping at sea! However when this service stopped in 2000 we began a ferry connection with activities in Spain and Morocco. Starting with one vessel on this service we are now one of the leading operators between Spain and Morocco with 1.7 million passengers and 450,000 cars travelling with us every year; we operate our fleet of three HSC and two RoPax ferry in the strait of Gibraltar and have Morroccan crew members on board all vessels.” The cargo service is provided by vessels RoPax Ferry MV ‘Tanger Express’, which began operations in December 2011, and the MV ‘Kattegat’, which began operations in 2014.

As a market leader for passenger and car crossings to and from Tangier, FRS offers a broad range of organised land excursions in and around the Moroccan town’s coast. Keen to maintain its reputation for high quality standards, the group has a local training centre for international and local staff to learn and follow the stringent implemented safety management systems that FRS has in place.

Following the success of its Mediterranean Sea – Strait of Gibraltar services, the group progressed into the Middle East in 2008 with the operation and management of a maximum of five high-speed crafts for the Sultanate of Oman. Today operating three routes and up to ten ports, the group is the primary contractor

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Profile: Forde Reederei Seetouristik

to the government of the Sultanate of Oman and established a new route, Shannah to Maseriah, in 2014. “We have a long term contract in Oman to provide services, crewing operations and education that will enable the Omani people to operate the ferries for themselves,” says Jan. “In the future we anticipate a ferry connection from Oman to Iraq; this is a complex area but the new Iranian government is open to trading with Oman when the sanctions will be cancelled so it will be an interesting development for us.”

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With a keen eye for finding market opportunities, the group broke new ground when it added four different solar and electronic propulsion vessels to its fleet in 2014. Together with the yard Formstaal FRS developed the new type of solar passenger ferry. Providing four different transportation routes for passengers on the river Spree and lakes around Berlin, the German classified and registered vessels operate 365 days a year and will operate solely on solar energy, as Jan highlights: “We operate the vessels only via solar energy and an accumulator; no diesel is used and when they are running it is possible to recharge batteries by the solar panels.”

The group has also diversified its services by providing terminal and port facility management in Albania since 2013. Operating 365 days a year, services at the terminal include the loading and unloading of RoRo units, check in services, passenger hospitality and heavy cargo handling.

“We began managing the ferry terminal in Albania in 2013. We are training Albanian locals in areas such as quality, health and safety to get them on the right track for when they potentially join the EU,” explains Jan. Furthermore, the group has also progressed into the offshore business by transporting personnel and materials via specialised crew transfer vessels (CTVs) while also

providing consultation services for logistic solutions and services at sea. Working with partner Windcat Workboats, the group began operating CTVs between Rostock/Warnemunde to Windpark Baltic One in October 2012, Sassnitz to Windpark Baltic Two and Havneby to Windpark Butendiek in May 2014.

For guaranteeing the high reliability of the FRS lines within the range of the Fast Ferries and CTVs, FRS is using service and spare parts supplied by SDT. SDT stocks necessary customised spare parts for drive lines and generators concerning MTU, Volvo and ZF constructions. SDT will provide qualified service teams rapidly if required.

With a broad portfolio of services in booming geographical markets, the future looks bright for FRS as it looks to expand its presence in areas it has already developed a strong foothold, as Jan concludes: “Spain is a major focus for us; we are looking forward to increase our business there, while also developing our services in Oman and finding new business opportunities outside of Germany and Europe. So far we have three workboats operating on the German coast as part of our partnership with Windcat Workboats; with more wind farms being developed we are looking to gain more contracts in this industry.” l

Forde Reederei Seetouristik GmbH www.frs.de/en/home.html • Europe’s leading international ferry specialist • Carries 5.4 million passengers annually • Comprised of 13 subsidiaries

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Profile: ZF Marine Krimpen

Cool

manoeuvres Z

F Marine Krimpen BV is a leading manufacturer and supplier of marine thrusters and thruster control systems, which are developed to maximise a ship’s manoeuvrability in demanding conditions. The company predominantly serves clients in the commercial shipping sector, although its systems are suitable for a wide range of applications, from pleasure cruising craft through to defense and naval vessels.

The company can trace its roots back to 1973, when it was initially formed as Holland Roer Propeller (HRP). Today it is part of the larger parent business ZF, having been acquired in 2009 and fully integrated into the ZF organisation by 2010.

Since this time ZF Marine Krimpen has been focused largely on applying its skills and customer-driven approach to every aspect of its activity in order to further grow in terms of both strength and reputation.

At the same time it has used its integration into the ZF Group to improve its operations, implementing the ZF production system to bring higher levels of standardisation and operational efficiency. ZF itself is a leading name in global industry. Formed in 1915 for the development and production of transmissions for airships and vehicles, today ZF has 122 production companies in 26 countries, employs 72,643 individuals, and in 2013 achieved a sales figure of 16.8 billion euros placing it among the top ten companies on the ranking list of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide. Alongside the already mentioned automotive and marine sectors, ZF companies provide solutions for industries including construction vehicles, agricultural machinery, wind power, lift trucks, rail vehicles, test systems, aviation, and special driveline technology.

ZF Marine Krimpen itself is primarily responsible for the production and development of the aforementioned thrusters and thruster systems, and this product range includes azimuth thrusters and transverse tunnel thrusters up to more than 2MW.

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In the field of azimuth thrusters ZF Marine Krimpen produces a range of solutions such as well-mounted, retractable, deckmounted and shallow draught thrusters. These can be fitted with twin propellers, rotating in counter directions, which can provide an increase of thrust in all operational ranges. The company’s tunnel thrusters can also be supplied with controllable pitch propellers.

All of these units can be supplied with electric, diesel and hydraulic drive systems, while the steering controls are advanced and can be interfaced with GPS systems as well as a range of dynamic positioning systems.

Commercial vessels represent ZF Marine Krimpen’s largest market sector, and as ZF marine transmissions are rated up to 14,000 kW and available in many configurations, the company can provide all kinds of vessels with a complete line of heavyduty transmissions. To withstand the rigours of commercial shipping the gearbox housings in these products are highly resistant to torsional stresses and are generously sized so that they may safely transmit the thrust loads to the ship’s foundation.

In order to match modern medium-speed diesel engines ZF provides a wide range of ratios, and for commercial, ocean-going vessels the company offers heavy-duty transmissions with various PTOs and PTIs. Alongside this, the business offers high-performance transmissions for large motor yachts, naval, customs and coastguard vessels, as well as fast ferries – all of which require transmissions to be compact as well as high-performance.

These particular products are manufactured with high-tensile aluminium alloy gear housings and can be rigged with special optional equipment like monitoring systems. This helps them to meet the latest and most demanding environmental and technical specifications, and to ensure maximum safety, availability and reliability. Reliability is actually a key aspect of ZF’s service offering, with the company using the highest quality standards,

intelligent design concepts and ease of maintenance to provide minimum downtime and lifecycle costs.

For its thruster systems ZF has developed a complete remote control system that is a standard item in its scope of supply. This development is based on years of experience in the marine industry, and has interfaces that can be made to dynamic positioning, autopilot, single joystick systems and VCR units. As standard the ZF remote control system contains wheelhouse panel, electronic control unit in the machining room and steering hydraulics.

Known for these types of developments, the company has addressed growing market needs by designing a series of hybrid-ready transmissions for numerous marine industries and for applications such as ferries, offshore supply vessels and luxury yachts. Thanks to their power take-in (PTI) configuration and the use of standard components, the hybrid propulsion solutions are highly efficient, flexible and ideal for custom installations.

A key factor that underpins ZF Marine Krimpen’s work is its dedication to providing the highest standards of quality and service. This means that the business works hard to provide a flexible service that takes care of individual customers, looks after its workforce and supplies the best possible product for an application. With these strong motivating factors behind it, combined with the strong network and experience of the ZF group, there is little doubt that the future looks bright for ZF Marine Krimpen. l

ZF Marine Krimpen

www.zf.com/marine • Leading manufacturer of marine thrusters • Systems are suitable for a wide range of applications • Group achieved sales figures of 16.8 billion euros in 2013

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Profile: Suez Canal Container Terminal

More than a

phase E

stablished in 1999 and operational since 2004, the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) has focused on continuous improvement and the expansion of facilities to meet its vision of becoming the biggest container terminal in Egypt by 2014 and largest container hub in the Mediterranean by 2015. Located at the mouth of the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean sea, the terminal’s advantageous location is just one reason for it becoming a crucial transhipment hub for the Eastern Mediterranean region and gateway port for local cargoes in Egypt. “SCCT has always had the natural advantage of being located at the meeting point of East and West, making it a natural hub for international shipping routes. What we at SCCT have done is taken this natural advantage of location and coupled it with the two main things that international shipping lines look for when it comes to deciding which terminal to use – international standards in terms of capabilities and a very high degree of efficiency when it comes to service,” says Lars Koch-Soelyst, chief commercial officer at SCCT.

Indeed, with APM Terminals, one of the largest container terminal operators in the world, as the majority shareholder, SCCT has undergone major investment to become a state-of-theart facility that is capable of providing customers with a superior level of service. “We have invested more than USD 800 million in this facility, not only on equipment, but in the development of the skills of our workers,” highlights Koch-Soelyst. “Our success stems from the hard work of all personnel operating at SCCT, from the management that works on business development plans to each worker at the terminal. Competitiveness is another reason; we offer clients a world-class standard of efficiency and strive to remain one step ahead of international trends because our growth

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depends on knowing what the clients will want even before they do.”

Previously featured in Shipping & Marine magazine in August 2013, the terminal has continued with the completion of Phase II, part of a multi-million dollar investment programme to further expand and develop the terminal in line with market developments, as Koch-Soelyst discusses: “Big ships are the way of the future – actually they are the present. What we know is that these vessels

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are going to get bigger and bigger.

We have always been ahead of that trend. When we made the investment needed to be able to accommodate 15,500 TEU-plus vessels, we were anticipating that that these vessels will need a home in Egypt. This has been the focus of our growth plan and that was why we conducted our first trials with these large vessels in October 2012, when the 15,500 TEU Eleonora Maersk completed the 180 degree turnaround maneuver with the assistance of three tug-boats,” says Koch-Soelyst.

Viewed as a significant moment in Egyptian maritime history, the Suez Canal Container Terminal successfully handled two of the world’s largest vessels in October 2012, one being the aforementioned Elanora Maersk and the 397 metre Edith Maersk, which also completed a 180 degree maneuver in the turning basin. Further discussing the terminal’s strategic plan to meet the upcoming needs of the shipping industry, Koch-Soelyst continues: “In order to lower the cost of products to the consumer, more and more shipping lines are depending on larger and larger vessels. So, we are prioritising our expansion of the facility to be able to meet this growth. SCCT is now approved to handle some of the largest container vessels in the trade; in fact, the port is approved to handle the 18,000 TEU vessels pending only a physical trial. Today, our goal is to continue to expand our infrastructure and our ability to efficiently serve these vessels in order to be the largest and most efficient terminal in the Mediterranean region.”

Committed to offering its customers the very best service, SCCT’s programme includes such enhancements as increasing the terminal’s draft to 16 metres, enable 24x7 access to the berth and increasing the number of quay cranes to 24.“There are 18 SuperPost Panamax cranes that are up and running at the terminal, with Cranes number 19 and 20 being delivered in the first quarter of 2015. These latest crane types have the capability of handling vessels of up 18,000 TEUs and will provide the ability to handle ten tier high vessels. Moreover, this investment will provide 24-row outreach,” says Koch-Soelyst. “This equipment means that SCCT will have some the best and most efficient equipment in the world.

Profile: Suez Canal Container Terminal

Also, additionally, 44 trucks and 12 trailers will be delivered by the second quarter of 2014. As per the plan, there were 21 additional RTGs that have already been delivered.”

The strategic developments that have taken place so far have already proven fruitful, with SCCT announcing a nine per cent growth increase in throughput during 2013 (3.12 million TEUs), compared to 2.86 million TEUs in 2012. Furthermore, the terminal witnessed a 15 per cent increase in the number of vessels received during 2013, with 2,335 ships docking last year, in comparison to 2,045 in 2012. “SCCT had one of its most successful years in 2013. Our volume stood at 3.1 million TEU in 2013, nine per cent growth compared to 2012. We are now running at full capacity,

SCCT trusts FABRISEM

The trust between SCCT and FDT, the Spanish manufacturer of port equipment brand FABRISEM, is continuing to grow.

The last awarded order was for two 45´ ready to load containers with liquid leaks. The delivery date is planned for the end of July.

As usual the equipment is being designed to meet all customer requirements: Leaking trailers for 20´, 40´ and 45´, with a volume capacity of ten m3. It will be finished with a protective coating that comes with a painting warranty of three years. Also the equipment features an ATEX certified pump. A protector net just outside of the pump avoids future blockage problems as well as spare parts costs.

These two units will join with others delivered in different terminals worldwide, including Tangier, Valencia, Algeciras and Tarragona among others.

which is determined by the navigational access from the Suez Canal convoy system. The key to further success at SCCT is to open up for more calls through an improved access to the port,” explains Koch-Soelyst. Right now, the actual depth of the canal is a challenge, as is the convoy system in place that allows vessels to enter or exit the terminal.”

With the Egyptian government recently announcing plans to implement a large Suez Canal Development Project, Koch-Soelyst anticipates the rise of a bigger and more efficient canal, which in turn will result in increased competitiveness for the port and terminal as a whole. Furthermore, as SCCT reaches it tenth anniversary this year, it appears there is much to celebrate for the efficient and dedicated workers of the terminal, as SCCT looks to expand its international customer base, take on the largest vessels in the industry and continue contributing to the development of the port community and Egypt as a whole. l

Suez Canal Container Terminal

www.scct.com.eg • The biggest container terminal in Egypt • Multi-million dollar investment in progress • Celebrates its ten year anniversary in 2014

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History of

innovation

O

perating from its shipyard located in Hyen on the west coast of Norway, Brødrene Aa is a world leader in the construction of fast ferries made of carbon fibre composites. The company was founded in 1947 by brothers Olav Aa and Bertel Aa, building leisure craft in mahogany. Gradually larger passenger ferries were designed and built in wood, but by the 1970s Brødrene switched to construction with composite building materials, which would lead to the first ever GRP-Sandwich vessel approved by DNV. By the 1980s Brødrene applied innovative air cushion technology to passenger vessels, producing surface efficient ships that could reach speeds of 50 knots for the international market.

During the 1990s the company moved away from passenger craft and into the construction of luxury mega yachts, as well as focusing on other composite products such as train-fuselages and subsea protective covers.

Through its comprehensive composite production expertise Brødrene re-entered the fast-ferry market in the early 2000s, building commercial passenger vessels in carbon fibre. While the company continued to develop lines such as subsea covers, train-ploughs and hydromill wings in reinforced plastic materials, this technology-breakthrough led to an exciting new era of shipbuilding for the company.

Today Brødrene continues to build market-leading commercial

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passenger vessels in composite carbon fibre from its 3000 square metre indoor facility. The yard production space is fully moisture and temperature controlled and operated by a workforce of 110 skilled workers with expertise covering all of the disciplines required to deliver complete turnkey vessels. The craft produced at the Hyen facility are of the highest quality and the sturdy carbon fibre construction delivers excellent strength and rigidity as well as extremely low weight resulting in impressive fuel efficiency.

Throughout the construction process quality is of paramount importance and as such Brødrene maintains a quality management system in accordance to ISO 9001:2008, which is revised and certified independently by Meyer Certification Services Inc. Business remains strong for Brødrene and the company has maintained a strong portfolio of orders and deliveries. During 2014 for example it delivered the M/S Terningen, a 275 capacity carbon fibre catamaran to the Norwegian operator Kystekspressen ANS. The craft is specially designed for rough sea conditions and is powered by two MTU 16V2000 M72 engines, equipped with water jets from Marine Jet Power (MJP). At 40.8 metres long, 10.8 metres across with a gross register tonnage of 492 register tons (GRT), the Terningen is a nimble vessel that has cut fuel consumption by 40 per cent compared to the vessel that it replaced.

Brødrene has also enjoyed a favourable relationship with Norled

Profile: Brødrene Aa

AS, which also operates within the company’s native Norway. The M/S Fjordbris was delivered in Q1 2014 and is a 240 passenger craft powered by four MTU 10V2000 M72 engines, equipped with CPP propellers from Servogear. The result is a vessel that is able to travel at an impressive service speed of 35 knots. In terms of performance the M/S Fjordbris has surpassed expectations relating to speed and efficiency. Such is the success of the vessel that Norland, having recently won tender to operate high-speed vessels in Rogaland, has ordered a further carbon fibre catamaran to be named M/S Fjordlys. Prior to these orders, Brødrene delivered the Tjelden 47 passenger, multipurpose carbon fibre catamaran to Norland in 2013. The Tjelden is powered by two Volvo Penta D13B-L MP 513kW engines and operates at service speed of 25 knots.

While ferries still represent the majority of the company’s business, Brødrene has also delivered vessels for other roles including supersport craft and emergency ambulances. Each of these applications requires world-class design that incorporates sturdy construction and speed. During 2013 it delivered the carbon fibre structure for the Palmer Johnson 48 metre supersport yacht.

Once the construction was completed the structure was shipped to the Palmer Johnson yard in the United States for outfitting and finishing.

During 2012 Brødrene delivered the Eyr Myken, a carbon fibre monohull ambulance for the Norwegian operator,

Redningsselskapet. The vessel was the third of three identical craft delivered to Redningsselskapet and is powered by two Volvo Penta D13B-C engines that are capable of powering the craft to an impressive top speed of 40 knots. Brødrene also delivered an ambulance craft to Norwegian operator, Rødne Ambulanse during 2011. Named the Rygervakt, the vessel is a carbon fibre ambulance catamaran powered by the same Volvo engines as would later be employed of the Redningsselskapet vessels, giving the Rygervakt a top speed of 30 knots.

Through a combination of its many years of experience, innovative design and market-leading construction, Brødrene nurtures a strong reputation as a world-class supplier of lightweight, high-speed craft. In recent years it has delivered turnkey vessels and carbon fibre structures within its native Norway as well as the United States, Croatia and Sweden.

As 2014 draws on the company is in an excellent position to continue to do so in both its current and new markets for many years to come. l

Brødrene Aa

www.braa.no • World leader in the construction of catamaran ferries • Carbon fibre composite construction • Sixty years of experience

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Part of history F

ounded in 1866 when CF Tietgen merged the three largest steamship firms of the day, DFDS has been a part of Denmark’s industrial and maritime history since its inception. Involved in domestic and international trade from the start, DFDS (Det forenede Dampskibs-Selskab) has over almost 150 years experience in transporting both freight and passengers around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Developing its network further, the company expanded into the Mediterranean and also established routes in the US and South America as the 19th Century came to a close.

Following a short-lived cruise ferry concept between New York and Miami in 1982 and 1983, a corporate restructure of DFDS took place in mid 1980s; this resulted in routes to the US, South America and Mediterranean being sold and the group enhancing its focus on shipping services within northern Europe through strategic acquisitions and organic growth. Critical investments for DFDS include Tor Line, the Swedish passenger and freight shipping firm, which the group acquired in the early 1980s; LISCO, the Lithuanian freight and passenger shipping firm, in 2001 and Norwegian freight shipping organisation Lys-Line in 2003.

Further investments were made in 2004 when the company acquired six ro-ro newbuilds from Flensburg Shipyard; a strategic move that increased the group’s freight capacity and sparked organic growth. Not a group to rest on its laurels, DFDS continued enhancing its operations with the appointment of new management and a new growth strategy in 2007. Following a period of consolidation DFDS pushed forward to fulfil its strategic goals by signing its most historically important contract with AP Moller-Maersk, which involved the acquisition of its shipping and logistics firm Norfolkline in the final quarter of 2009. Once completed in July 2010, the development cemented DFDS’s place as the leading integrated shipping and logistics organisation in northern Europe, with a bustling network of 26 routes and 43 ships operating in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and the English Channel. Moreover, the group’s logistic division provides transportation services to most of Europe.

Today the NASDAQ OMX listed DFDS operates under a

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business structure of two divisions and two corporate service functions. It has a shipping division under the title DFDS Seaways that operates the group’s route network over five business areas; the first of which is the North Sea, which takes a 41 per cent share of the shipping division’s revenue and uses 19 ro-ro vessels and one ro-pax to serve nine routes including Gothenburg to Tilbury and Rotterdam to Immingham. With a 22 per cent share, the Passenger business segment operates one ro-pax and four passenger ships to locations such as Copenhagen to Oslo and Amsterdam to Newcastle, while the Baltic business segment takes an 18 per cent share and operates two ro-ro and seven ro-pax vessels on routes such as Klaipeda to Karlshamn. Taking 17 per cent of the shipping division’s revenue, Channel, provides route services such as Dover to Dunkirk via its three short sea ferries and five ro-pax vessels. Finally, France & Mediterranean takes a one per cent share with its Marseille to Tunis line, for which one ro-ro vessel is in operation.

The company also has a logistics division that is in charge of DFDS’s logistics activities over three business divisions, BU Continent, BU Nordic and BU UK and Ireland. Meanwhile, the group’s two corporate service functions include People & Ships, which involves the provision of HR services for the group on top of crewing and ship maintenance in addition to Finance services, which includes IT, procurement, financial and legal services for DFDS. In control of the DFDS route network, shipping division DFDS Seaways integrates freight and passenger services through different activities such as freight route ro-ro services, freight route lo-lo services, passenger and freight routes and ro-pax services through the utilisation of ships with a balanced freight and passenger capacity as well as passenger and freight routes for cruise ferry services. With more than 550 weekly departures, the group’s network covers 20 countries and over 42 destinations, with customers benefiting from high quality onboard accommodation standards and leisure activities.

Furthermore, the division is also involved in handling cargo and passengers at port terminals, transport and logistic services and

Profile: DFDS Group

sales. Offering a fast and simple gate-to-gate solution, customers of DFDS need only one account number and one contact number for all bookings, while its simple IT system ensures booking procedures are fast and efficient. Access to cargo from the terminals has been enhanced to ensure drivers maximise their time, while all units arriving and departing through its gates are digitally photographed or manually checked to ensure all units are returned in the same condition they are received. Terminal facility services include 24 hour operations, maintenance facilities, access to rail facilities at most terminals, transhipment/cross-docking facilities and secure terminal parking with CCTV surveillance.

Committed to developing a European shipping and logistics network, the group focuses on enhancing customer satisfaction through offering integrated value-added solutions and reliability through its own independent logistic and shipping operations.

Routes from the UK include Newcastle to Amsterdam, Harwich to Esbjerg (Denmark), Dover to Dunkirk and Calais, Newhaven to Dieppe and Portsmouth to Le Havre. With one of the largest ferry route networks in Europe, the group has additional routes from Kiel and Karlshamin to Klaipeda, Kapellskar to Paldiski and Oslo to Copenhagen that enable passengers to travel to less accessible locations.

In addition to its ferry routes, the group combines comfort, entertainment and adventure on its mini cruises; ideal for families, couples and groups, DFDS Seaways provides two nights onboard its suitably equipped ferries to ensure passengers return home from European countries such as France, Sweden and Poland feeling relaxed and refreshed. Keen to continue improving its services, the group has diversified its portfolio with a range of lively entertainment ideas on board, such as themed mini cruises that include Halloween parties and school discos. It also launched its sixth annual wildlife-spotting season alongside marine conservation charity, ORCA, which will travel on the Newcastle to Amsterdam route. Merging excitement with education, the twonight mini cruise allows passengers to learn about the wildlife that lives in the North Sea; activities include wine and whale seminars and will run from April to September.

Pursuing its vision to deliver high performance and superior reliability, DFDS has accumulated a 6000 strong team of dedicated and knowledgeable personnel who are wholly capable of meeting a customers needs, whatever their cargo or passenger requirements. Keen to develop long-term relationships with clients, the group focuses on reliability, a high frequency network and efficient communication through fast response times. Aware that success will ensure further growth and network expansion, DFDS strives to continue boosting turnover to drive staff investment, network developments and environmental initiatives as well as the provision of a strong monetary return to its shareholders.

Indeed, the group’s financial aims include achieving approximately ten per cent return on invested capital, to pay out approximately 30 per cent of profit for the year post tax, with a focus on future investments and a solid capital structure. Finally, the group aims for a minimum 40 per cent equity ratio.

To meet these targets, the group remains acutely aware of market conditions and makes changes to its services where it deems necessary; the most recent example of this being its closure of the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry route. Challenged by a loss of passengers and freight switching to road transportation, the

route can not cope with the additional costs caused by the new environmental regulations coming into effect from January 1st 2015. Despite this loss to the group’s services DFDS will continue to grow through reducing costs and increasing flexibility, strengths that have cemented the group’s success story since 1866 and will hold it in good stead over the coming years. l

DFDS Group

www.dfdsgroup.com • Leading integrated shipping and logistics firm • Operate 43 ships on 26 routes • Comprised of two divisions and two corporate services

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Vinay Gupta, founder and managing director

Man

managers

E

stablished in 2012, a time of economic turbulence for the shipping industry, Union Marine Management Service Pvt Ltd (UMMS) took the strategic decision to bring a unique service to a competitive market, as founder and managing director Vinay Gupta begins: “There are of course many ship management firms out there, so we decided to create a unique philosophy where we view ourselves as ‘man managers’ rather than ship managers. The crew onboard are the real ship managers; we provide them with support and empower them to manage the ships well. This is what we have been doing since operations began in April 2012 when we took over our first ship and it has been the reason for our growth. Over two years we have taken on 21 ships, which is not only due to our mission strategy, but also stems from our dedication to developing close, positive, long-term relationships with customers and crew alike.”

With previous experience of working for large ship management firms, Vinay was keen for UMMS to bring back dignity, pride and glory to the ship management business through the delivery of clean, safe ships with happy personnel that operate with impeccable ethical standards. “Our vision is to run clean, safe and happy ships,” affirms Vinay. “We believe a happy

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ship is a safe ship; this view in itself sets us apart from the ship management industry. One way to do this is to remain a medium sized company that can focus on the customers that we have.”

Complementing UMMS’ vision and mission for honesty, trust, integrity and diligence, as well as the running of clean, safe and happy ships is DNV GL’s own purpose, vision and values; this mutual interest resulted in a partnership that has been in operation since UMMS’ inception in 2012. Discussing this positive and successful relationship, business development director of DNV GL Tony Linden highlights: “DNV GL is the world’s leading classification society and a recognised advisor for the maritime industry. We enhance safety, quality, energy efficiency and environmental performance of the global shipping industry – across all vessel types.”

He continues: “Since the beginning, a mutual trust and understanding has been established, which has seen the business between our respective companies grow ever since. Today we handle DOC, SMC/ ISSC/ MLC audits for UMMS and have eight of their managed vessels under DNV GL class. Working together with UMMS, we help them to maintain a safe and efficient fleet and in turn achieve their goals of zero incidents and zero spills.

Profile: Union Marine Management Services

In future we hope to see more DNV GL classed vessels under their management and certification of their Quality Management System to ISO 9001 under DNV GL accreditation.

“We look forward to continuing as a key partner to UMMS and participating in their growth story, through the provision of quality classification, advisory and certification services.”

Striving to bring customer satisfaction through quality assured ship management services, the company adheres to statutory and classification rules and regulations that ensure the ships transporting cargo are operated with efficiency and full regard to safe practices. This way of working not only ensures the protection of owners’ assets, but also ensures a commitment to safe, cost-efficient and socially efficient services. Dedicated to providing a close and honourable approach in all business agreements and contracts, the company has earned the trust of leading shipyard Tsuneishi Group and will maintain and operate the group’s existing fleet and new builds.

Aware that innovative thinking and continuous improvement leads to success in a competitive and turbulent industry, UMMS set up a training centre in the Philippines in 2013. With a vision towards future and understanding the need to switch over to paperless navigation, it was decided to install ECDIS on its ships and train its staff for safe operation much before the regulatory compliance kicks-in. With this in mind, UMMS collaborated with Chartworld, a leading ECDIS manufacturer to develop in-house trainers and training facility in Manila. This process evolved into a strategic partnership with Chartworld whereby they have now endorsed UMMS training centre in Manila as their only authorised Type Approved training facility for their ECDIS equipment in Philippines.

Established in a time of economic struggle, the company has grown its fleet of 18 bulk carriers and three car carriers through cautious investments and attention to detail. “A major challenge is to provide ship management services at a cost value,” states Vinay. “To do this we have a large outfit running from India where we have transferred our Quality, Operations and IT department. Further, going ahead with our man-management to the next level and utilising them to provide high quality service to the ship owner, we realised that the need is to capitalise and tap into their core competencies. We have therefore, taken away the routine clerical follow ups from our key personnel and passed this responsibility to a non-technical team in India. This is a concept of the future and opens a new door to BPO in the Ship Management industry. The corporate social responsibility has not been ignored during our growth right from inception and addition of such people only adds strength to our vision of human touch in shipping.”

Boasting rapid growth since its inception, the company has its 22nd ship arriving in June 2013, with an additional two to three vessels due by the end of this year. However, despite this impressive accumulation, Vinay remains cautiously optimistic.

“As a ship management company our main business relies on ship owners, so when the shipping industry is positive, we too do well and flourish. Because we have grown so quickly over the last two years we have concentrated on further consolidation of our systems and procedures over the last few months. Now that this time is over, we are ready to progress with further contracts and agreements with ship owners. We are already in discussions with a number of owners and are only approaching like-minded owners and are willing to support us as we provide a unique and

valuable service. Our legacy is by no means great; two years is such a short period of time, but with the support of ship owners and a strong team behind us, we will have a very strong and successful company in future,” he concludes. l

Union Marine Management Services www.unimarships.com • Operate 21 vessels • View themselves as ‘man managers’ • Brought a new concept in Ship Management business – Happy Ships!

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The whole nine

yards O

riginally founded in 1965 to take advantage of the demand for lobster, shrimp and snapper boats in the fishing industry, Brazilian firm INACE (Industrial Naval do Ceara) has since expanded its services to become the leading mid-size regional shipyard in the Northeast. Elaborating on the company’s formation, commercial director Robert Gil begins: “A young economist, Gil Bezerra, founded INACE and focused on the boom of lobster, shrimp and snapper fishing as well as the offshore and military shipbuilding opportunities in the region. Today INACE still belongs to the Brazilian founder, who has turned it into a family run business with three generations working at the yard.”

Based in a coastal area close to the city piers of Fortaleza since its inception, the company’s early years were spent building only fishing vessels, with more than 600 ships built by the late 1980s.

However, when INACE noticed opportunities in growing markets it made the strategic decision to diversify its shipbuilding services and has since constructed more than 800 vessels of all types.

These include workboats, tugboats, ferries, OSVs, DSVs, FSVs, crew boats, motor yachts, and patrol boats. Having developed a strong reputation for high quality shipbuilding in a broad range of markets, INACE divided its shipyard into four segments: INACE yachts, INACE military, INACE offshore/workboat and INACE repair/refit.

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“INACE yachts has delivered more than 40 motor boats to clients all over the world, such as Europeans, North Americans and South Americans; the latter includes the Formula 1 and Formula Indy world champion Emerson Fittipaldi,” boasts Flavia Barros, planning director at INACE. “Meanwhile, INACE military has built more than 20 vessels for the Brazilian Navy and three for the Namibian Navy; this division was responsible for the first patrol boat of 200 tonnes (NPa 200) and 500 tonnes (NPa 500) to be built in a local private shipyard for the Navy of Brazil. To work for the Navy we need our own specialised people to meet their internal standards with an intense supervision and strict testing methodology of developing, reports and studies.”

Robert continues: “We are currently involved in another landmark project, a Hydro-Oceanographic River Ship (NHoFlu, 47 metre), which is currently under construction. Due for delivery in the final quarter of 2014, this vessel will give support for mapping the Amazon river and will be responsible for four 30 metre river vessels; these too was also built by INACE.” Although INACE is showing positive growth in the aforementioned segments, it is the company’s offshore/workboat division that has witnessed the most demand over recent years.

With growth opportunities significantly increasing as of 2007 from light oil discoveries found in the ‘pre-salt’ layer, Brazil’s oil and gas industry is benefiting from a period of major development

Profile: INACE

of five tonnes and ten tonnes in each shed. In addition, INACE acquired the ShipConstructor software around ten years ago, which makes the whole thus optimises the Nesting and production process.”

While it continues to process more than 300 tonnes of steel and aluminium a month and works on completing the 16 vessels it has under construction, INACE benefits from 180 thousand square metres of land, which puts it in a coveted position to take on more and more projects in line with ongoing demand. “This is a key strength for INACE; we always have enough slots for new buildings and expansion due to the size of our land. Over the coming years we will be focusing on increasing our presence in other countries with a strong offshore/workboat market, which will raise the orders and stabilise the routine of our yard. We have delivered many motor yachts to clients in North America and Europe; this expertise can definitely migrate to our offshore/ workboat division, which would also diversify our shipyard’s portfolio from local clients,” concludes Robert. l

INACE

www.inace.com.br • Family run business for three generations • Shipyard divided into four segments • Wants to increase presence in other countries

as it rests on approximately 14 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

“The oil and gas industry has definitely boosted the shipbuilding industry in Brazil in recent years,” says Flavia. “The offshore division has built more than 20 vessels for offshore customers; these include tugboat, supply vessels, crew boats and ferries. We are currently working on three main projects in this segment, which are two DSVs, two 500 pax ferry boats, and five research vessels with design and construction 100 per cent done by INACE. In addition, there are two tugboats with 60 tonnes of BP (RAMPART 2400) being built for TugBrasil, an important and old client, with the design coming from Robert Allan Ltd.” In addition, the company is also witnessing significant demand in its repair/refit division, which is due to the lack of repair shipyards in Brazil, as Flavia discusses: “INACE has become a reference for these routine repairs in the region due to our Syncrollift with capacity of approximately 1800 tonnes and dimensions of 70mx16m. A notable contract in this division was a special refit we developed on the motor yacht of three times Formula 1 champion, Nelson Piquet. The vessel was initially a mono-hull and the refit turned the vessel into a trimaran, with the state-of-the-art capabilities of a mega-yacht.”

With a strong technical body, which includes more than 60 engineers operating in segments such as electrical, mechanical, chemical, industrial and operation, as well as naval architects and marine engineers, INACE has the skills and facilities to meet the needs of the most stringently regulated and demanding of customers, as Robert highlights: “INACE has a mechanical turning workshop that helps to fix shaft lines and propellers, especially for the repair/refit division besides our three CNC cutting machines, two cranes of 70 tonnes lifting capacity, small cranes for support and the manoeuvring of blocks, as well as small gantry cranes www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 67

Positive attitude

F

ounded in 2009 Load Line Marine S A is only five years old, but the team at the helm of this flexible and innovative company is anything but naïve. Holding extensive experience in the areas of ship and project management, founder George Souravlas and co-founder Costis Calfoglou combined their expertise in order to be able to deliver the best service possible under Load Line Marine’s banner. The company has decided to focus on newbuilding ecotype geared bulk carriers from Handysize to Ultramax equipped with greener and economic engines and an innovative design. The company intends to focus on these kinds of bulk carriers as they are capable of carrying a wide variety of cargoes and are most suitable for a continuous changing economic environment.

Load Line Marine started managing its first vessel in January 2010 and by 2013 had acquired two Handysize 34,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) newbuild dry bulk carriers and a third large Supramax 64,000 DWT also newbuild. The company currently manages M/V Charlie and sister vessel M/V Delta, M/V Copenship Eco, M/V Foxtrot, M/V Horizon and is expecting to take over the management of another Handysize vessel, sister vessel to M/V Foxtrot, by the end of June.

The Ultramax M/V Copenship Eco was added in October 2013, and this vessel’s fuel-efficient and eco design offers huge benefits, carrying 15 per cent more cargo and consuming 17 per cent less fuel compared to an average Supramax vessel. That means a combined advantage of 25 per cent of reduction of fuel costs is gained per tonne. In a previous article in Shipping and Marine, founder and managing director George Souravlas discussed the M/V Copenship Eco in more detail: “We placed an order for the design based on the relative merits of its lower consumption capability and eco-friendliness. This was important because of the number of days such large vessels spend at sea, giving it a competitive advantage against other Supramaxes built during the

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last five years.” This year he comments that: “So far the vessel has responded to everyone’s expectations by demonstrating the highest technological standards for economy, reliability and durability and this is partly a result of choosing the best possible equipment makers available.”

He also predicted the arrival of a two-tier market for vessels: eco and non-eco ships. “Charterers will differentiate between these two types in a great way because, as bunker cost grows higher and higher, the gap in cost of hiring between the two will continue to grow,” he said. The company’s commitment to modern, fuel efficient and technologically advanced vessels means that it is able to boast a competitive advantage that makes Load Line Marine the preferred ship management solution for charterers compared to vessels of similar carrying capacity. The M/V Copenship Eco for example, has already generated a lot of interest with Copenship A/S of Denmark offering the vessel a long-term charter with superior terms compared to current market rates.

Load Line’s dedication to environmentally friendly ships also extends throughout the company as part of its Quality, Safety and Environmental Protection policy. This is designed (alongside other relevant areas) to avoid incidents that could cause human injury, loss of life or damage to the environment, or the property and assets under its management; and to protect the environment by implementing safe and pollution free operations.

This also ties into all relevant aspects of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and requires the establishment of safeguards against identified risks, the preparation and training of shore based and sea going personnel for handling emergency situations; the provision of safe practices in ship operation and a safe working environment and the continual improvement of safety management skills of personnel ashore and onboard ships. All of these requirements have been designed in order for Load Line Marine to be able to provide quality services which

Profile: Load Line Marine S A

hard work, strong focus and by investing in skillful human resource management and advanced technology. Our vision is to continue to expand by keeping our eyes open, taking advantage of business opportunities that come along the way and forming strong and long lasting relations with first class charterers.” l

Load Line Marine S A www.loadlinemarine.com

• Two new additions on the fleet • Predicting market improvements in 2015 • Focusing on environmentally friendly vessels consistently and continuously meet the requirements of its customers.

These services are delivered by the five ships that Load Line Marine manages, which transport a diverse range of dry bulk cargos including grain, coal, fertilizers, minerals, steel products, sugar and cement. Among the first class charterers that the company has worked with, further to Copenship A/S of Denmark are: Bunge Latinamerica LLC of USA, Ultrabulk S A of Chile and Germany, Oldendorff Carriers of Germany, D/S Norden A/S of Denmark, Agriculture & Energy Carriers (AEC) Ltd of Bahamas, Trafigura Beheer BV of Switzerland and D’Amico Dry Limited of Ireland.

In the years since its foundation Load Line Marine has proven itself to be an expansive and dynamic player within the dry bulk sector. Despite some challenging market conditions, the company has remained buoyant and dynamic and under the guidance of Mr Souravlas, it has continued to grow and evolve into a world-class ship management provider. Commenting on the current market Mr Souravlas said: “At present we are facing a poor dry cargo market for a variety of reasons, such as the economic growth slowdown of China, delayed corps, poor demand of US soyabean mills, export ban of Nikel Ore from Indonesia and shrinking of the American Economy by one per cent on the first quarter of 2014 due to bad weather effect. We are expecting that all these negative variables will positive reverse themselves in the second half of the year, thus we are optimistic that the market will improve significantly in the first quarter of 2015.”

As Load Line Marine continues to develop, it is committed to expand its fleet of modern, eco efficient and technologically advanced vessels. Regarding the positive attitude that drives the company forward, George concluded: “Load Line Marine was built on strong foundations and though we faced several adversities along the way, we managed to overcome them with www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 69

Ready for the

M

exico Natie is a Belgian company that works mainly at the Port of Antwerp offering services such as storage, warehousing, loading and unloading of ships, as well as inland storage for local waterways.

For the most part, the company handles general cargo, containers and some Ro-Ro deliveries, and utilises local transport and logistics companies and links via trucks for delivery within a 400-500 km radius of its operations. The company offers various modes of transport to connect to sea going vessels, including its own freight traffic, inland navigation and railways.

Mexico Natie was established in 1871 with a memorandum of association, and was housed at the Oude Steenweg 15 in the heart of Antwerp, where it remained until 1980, when a relocation to Luithagen occurred. At this time Mexico Natie exclusively handled wood and related products, and the company took this opportunity to use the move as a launch pad into diversification in cargo handling, and it moved into FOB on quay and the handling of steel and chemicals.

Six years of success followed, and the company then broke ground on another site in Altamira, with 7200 m2 of closed storage and transhipment space. After a strong start, just a year later, the decision was taken to expand the Altamira site, with another 6300 m2 and another diversification – this time into IMDG products (dangerous goods).

Altamira continued to be expanded, with the years 1990-1992

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future seeing an addition of 12,500 m2, creating a total surface of 26,000 m2. These years and those following also witnessed the start of stevedoring on quay 132-136 with the main activities of loading and unloading steel products transferred to quay 9.

Today Warehouse Altamira has a total surface of 32,500 m2 of which 15,000 m2 is allocated to IMDG and 17,500 m2 for non-dangerous goods. The facility is fully burglar proof, and is equipped with sprinklers and divided into compartments separated by firewalls in order to provide a safe storage environment. It features compartments for dangerous goods, and the floors are equipped with clay mats to prevent penetration of dangerous products into the soil. Further benefits of the warehouse include fluid-tight tanks and storage tanks, covered loading docks, a variety of forklift sizes and capabilities, silo storage, bag filling and installation palletisation machines.

In 2009 Mexico Natie purchased the buildings at Transcontinentaalweg 6 adjacent to its Altamira warehouse, and this opened up new avenues of opportunity for the organisation.

New offices, warehouses, open grounds and silos for storing PVC and polyethylene grains were all added to its facilities.

Construction of a new quay 301-321 at the 5th dock began in 2010, and since March 2011 the NV Mexico Natie has been permanently located at Transcontinentaalweg 6 in 2030 Antwerp, with a renewed co-ordination and administration centre next to the Altamira complex.

At the same time as developing Warehouse Altamira, Mexico

Profile: Mexico Natie Warehouse Tijl is slightly larger, with a surface of 26,000m2. It has 12 loading docks and can handle general cargo, steel, nondangerous chemicals and stuffing/stripping containers.

The most recent exciting development for Mexico Natie occurred in September 2013, when it passed the AEO audit with positive results. The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certificate is an internationally recognised quality mark, which indicates that Mexico Natie’s role in the international supply chain is secure, and that its customs controls and procedures are efficient and compliant.

After 140 years, Mexico Natie is more motivated than ever to utilise its current facilities to guarantee an ever better service and be armed for the future. The organisation is always looking to expand its offering with further shipping lines and extra services, and the next few years should be filled with as many exciting developments as those that have already passed. l

Mexico Natie

www.mexiconatie.be • Been in business for over a century • Mainly handle general cargo, containers and some Ro-Ro • Always looking to expand

Steel Trans Nederland

Steel Trans Nederland BV is a leading transport company specialising in the transport of steel in all shapes and sizes. Mexico Natie is using Steel Trans Nederland to transport coils, steelplates and tubes to their clients all over Europe. Furthermore it is working on a good and succesful basis with Mexico Natie to meet their needs (tautliners, flatbeds or coilcarriers).

Natie began stevedoring activities at Scheldekaai 9 and 1995 saw the start of the co-operation with the shipping companies Grimaldi, European Caribbean Line, Frota Amazonica, Sloman Neptune, Bro intermed, company Maritime du Congo, Van Uden and CNAN. The relationship with Grimaldi has been particularly successful, and in 2000 this was extended into a joint venture and the construction of the Antwerp Euro Terminal (AET) on the left bank of the river Scheldt for the loading and unloading of vehicles for the car industry.

For the next eight years the AET was expanded from an initial 20 ha to its current 100 ha. It has an impressive quay length of 1.7 km (the capacity to handle more than six oceangoing ships simultaneously) and has two warehouses with 8000 m2 each. It has four railway connections, two Gottwald cranes with a capacity in excess of 100 tonnes; five reach stackers, a 60 metre wide wharf, parking for 25,000 vehicles and a pre-delivery inspection centre.

Alongside the AET and Warehouse Altamira, Mexico Natie also operates Warehouse Mexico and Warehouse Tijl. Warehouse Mexico has a surface area of 20,000 m2 and a height of 6.5 metres. It has a dry, all weather covered loading dock and features a variety of equipment, including ten forklifts of varying capabilities, a container stacker and has a railway connection. It can handle general cargo, steel, paper and wood products, grouped shipments, stuffing/stripping containers, and storage follow up and info (AS 400). www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 71

Nova 230 R

Triumphant

N

imbus Boats AB has established itself as a leading boat builder for vessels designed for sport and cruising throughout Scandinavia and Europe. The company has survived volatile market conditions to endure as a defining name in the construction of leisure boats and yachts. The company was established during 1968 when Volvo Penta was looking for a new type of vessel for its newly developed engine. The result was the birth of the Nimbus 26 and the company that would go on to define world-class leisure craft design for over 40 years.

Since the company was last featured in Shipping and Marine magazine in November 2013, it has continued to innovate in the design of leisure craft of the highest quality after surviving a challenging period in the company’s history. Prior to 2012 a private company owned the business, however negative market conditions led to the bankruptcy of the Nimbus Boats in June 2012. Currently the Swedish holding company R12 AB is the majority shareholder of the Nimbus Group, which is comprised of the Nimbus Boats and Paragon Yachts brand names. Fortunately Nimbus had no outstanding debts with its clients and the newly developed Coupe 335 and 365 models finished late in the company’s life, which allowed the business to make a triumphant return. Since it was re-launched the Nimbus brand has retained all of the prestige associated with its name and courted keen interest in its new range of vessels. Commenting on the re-launch of the company during 2013 Jonas Gothberg says: “The Coupe model segment was launched at the last boat show we participated in and the interest in Nimbus and our brands has been very high since. We have been a new firm for a year now and we are already showing black figures, which is fantastic for a shipping firm in the current economy.”

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return

The Coupe range of craft was first unveiled at the Nimbus Boats Open House in Långedrag between 22 and 24 August, 2008.

The new generation of Nimbus Coupes is based on the successful ‘sidewalk’ concept, which is a deck layout that maximises the available space on the side of the vessel resulting in simple deck communications and accommodating greater cockpit and cabin space. The first boat in the Coupe range was the Coupe 365, which incorporates modern style and several innovative design features.

These include glued windows, with a large curved window at the front of the boat and a flush-mounted sliding door located on the starboard side. The design also features a large opening glass roof allowing for warm bright interiors and impressive views of the surrounding environment.

So well received was the release of the Coupe range of vessels, that the Coupe 365 won the European Power Boat of the Year award at the Düsseldorf Boat Show in January 2012. The award is presented and adjudicated by seven of Europe’s leading boating magazines and some of the regions most experienced test drivers.

The Nimbus 365 Coupe took first place in the 35-45 foot class of the competition despite impressive offerings from the British Princess V39 and Sealine SC 42, the Polish Galeon 420 and the Bavaria Sport 43 HT of Germany. “We are thrilled and proud to have won the finest award in the pleasure boat business. This shows we are in the forefront of new thinking, smart functions and good design,” says Magnus Andersson, commercial director, Nimbus Boats. “Our Coupe boats have attracted a lot of attention throughout Europe and in countries in which we have not been active previously.”

Following in the wake of this impressive achievement, Nimbus Boats has continued to release new boats that reach new heights in size and style. The Nimbus 405 Coupe was unveiled at the

Profile: Nimbus Boats Nimbus 365 Coupe

Nova 21

leisure craft designer and builder. The accolades that its vessels have earned are representative of the thought and time that goes into every boat that the company produces and having wholly refit its shipyard during 2013 the company it better positioned to produce world-class boats than ever before. l

Nimbus Boast AS

www.nimbus.se • One of the most respected boat builders in Europe • Launching its largest vessel • Modern factory/shipyard facility Nimbus Coupe 405

Düsseldorf Boat Show 2014 and arrived as the flagship of the Nimbus range. It is the largest boat that Nimbus offers at present and like the rest of the Nimbus Coupe series the 405 is designed to be the perfect boat for customers who enjoys social activities, comfortable living, easy handling and excellent long distance cruising properties. The design features all of the distinctive touches of the wider Coupe series as well as a re-modelled helm with an instrument panel fitted with two Simrad 12 inch touch plotters and smart storage. The arrangement of the helm champions exemplary visibility with uncluttered surfaces, matte finish and anti-reflecting materials. When it comes to comfort the 405 Coupe boasts three two-berth cabins, one master cabin with ensuite bathroom and two further cabins sharing a shower. Light flows in through the master cabin’s large skylight providing a relaxing feeling of space.

The Nimbus portfolio of leisure craft also includes the Nova series of boats that encompasses quick and efficient transport properties and excellent seaworthiness. The Nova range offers open design, easy-maintenance and a ‘walk-around’ layout for excellent functionality. Nimbus recently unveiled its latest boat, the Nimbus 21 Nova at the 2014 Göteborg Boat Show. Again the boat encompasses all of the trademark features of its sister vessels within the range, but with the added advantage that is fitted with Suzuki outboard engines with a range between 150 to 300 horsepower. The Nova 21 is based on the same stepped, airlubricated hull as the Nova 230 R and is entirely vacuum injected with Divinycells and also features a wholly-glued inner liner. The result is a well-built and rigid boat that feels safe and solid at sea.

With a rich history and an exciting fleet of craft that is designed to maximise both performance and comfort, Nimbus Design will continue to work to further enhance its reputation as a leading www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 73

A community

lifeline

O

perating from mainland Orkney, Orkney Ferries is vital transport link for passengers and cargo between the Orkney mainland and its surrounding islands. Although the company has existed in various incarnations since the 1800s its most recent history can be traced back to the formation of the Orkney Shipping Company, which was founded during 1960 and has continued to manage the company following the decision to change the company name to Orkney Ferries Ltd in 1995.

Today Orkney Ferries continues to serve the local community, transporting people and cargo through out the islands as ferry operations manager, captain Alistair Wylie elaborates: “We serve the 13 smaller islands from The Orkney mainland, which are; Eday, Stronsay, Sanday, Westray, Papa Westray, North Ronaldsay, Shapinsay, Rousay, Egilsay, Wyre, Hoy, Flotta and Graemsay. In terms of carrying capacity, during the last financial year we carried 328,305 passengers and 85,023 vehicles, which was made up of both cars and heavy goods vehicles.

“We are the lifeline service to the internal islands of Orkney and that has always been the base from which we operate. We have always delivered services between mainland Orkney and the surrounding islands rather than to mainland Scotland. The main centres consist of the city of Kirkwall and the town of Stromness and several outlying villages, so our services are provided to the island communities within the county.”

Although Orkney Ferries operates as a limited company it is a public, council-owned company. This enables close co-operation between the company’s management and local authorities in ensuring that the vital service remains in place, which is facilitated

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through twice-annual forums that are held in February and September to discuss changes to timetables and other key issues surrounding the operation of the company. The council also owns all of the company’s vessels and is responsible for providing funds that subsidises the repair and acquisition of tonnage.

At present Orkney Ferries operates a fleet of nine ferries, which ranges from between an age of 41 years for the company’s oldest vessel to 19 years for its youngest ship. The fleet is comprised of EU Class B and C passenger ships that offer different levels of operation and capacity as Alistair explains: “We have three seagoing vessels; the MV Varagen, MV Earl Sigurd and Earl Thorfinn.

They are slightly bigger vessels compared to our other ships and are Class B passenger ships and during the summertime the two Earls can carry up to 190 passengers each, while the Varagen can carry up to 141 passengers. The other vessels serve in what is called categorised water, which is more internal rather then reaching out to the outer islands. These vessels are not officially sea-going vessels and are European Class C ships.”

Despite their remote location, the Orkney Islands have felt the impact of the global recession meaning that passengers are less inclined to travel then they may have been previously. However, several factors have contributed to enable Orkney Ferries to carry its current peak volumes of around 328,000 passengers.

Presently the global economy is beginning to recover from the general downturn, resulting in greater consumer confidence and an increase in a willingness to travel. In tandem with this the Orkney community is experiencing a shift from its traditional industries to areas like tourism as Alistair observes: “As the connecting service from the mainland island of Orkney we do see a lot of tourism,

Profile: Orkney Ferries

isles, the Eynhallow was the first (Ro-Ro) vessel that we brought into operation in the North Isles.”

Moving forward Orkney Ferries will focus on continuing its role as a vital link between the Orkney mainland and the surrounding islands. As the tourism market continues to evolve the company will seek to work with the local council authority to increase the tonnage that it has available, which will necessitate further investment in the region’s port facilities. Through the crucial service that it provides and its close collaboration with local authorities, Orkney Ferries will be remain trusted community partners for many years to come. l

Orkney Ferries

www.orkneyferries.co.uk • Fleet of nine inter-island ferries • Routes to 13 islands around Orkney • Vital community transport link

Tyne Electro Diesel Tyne Electro Diesel Ltd in Newcastle proudly possesses the best-equipped, independent, marine fuel shop in Europe, if not globally. With a comprehensive all makes capability Tyne is also a specialist centre for Wartsila, MAN B&W & Caterpillar. Agencies include Delphi & Woodward Diesel Systems Ltd. Using the latest equipment from Merlin, Tyne Electro Diesel can overhaul the latest generation of Common Rail pumps & injectors now being introduced into the marine industry.

which obviously drives our business. Throughout the Orkney Islands we perceive a move away from farming and fishing to become more or a tourism based community. Plus the fact that Orkney as a whole is becoming one of the largest cruise liner ports in Britain; we’ve actually got 79 cruise ship calls here this summer.”

The increasing popularity of the Orkney Islands as a tourist destination, coupled with the important role played by the company in ensuring that the islands remain accessible to the local population as well as visitors has proven to be a deciding factor in Orkney Ferries’ continued strategy of seeking to increase its cargo capacity in line with consistent demand. The Council has made several investments in lengthening its vessels to allow for higher levels of cargo capacity and greater numbers of cars. During 2013 for example, Orkney Ferries increased the deck space of the MV Hoyhead: “The vessel delivered to Birkenhead where we had her deck space extended by 13.4 metres enabling us to carry ten more cars taking us to 24 cars,” Alistair says. “This also increased the cargo capacity of the ship up to 140 tonnes. The MV Hoyhead is around 20 years old and this upgrade was implemented to address capacity problems. As part of the lengthening process the MV Hoyhead was also re-engined.

“The MV Shapinsay has also been lengthened by nine meters, the MV Graemsay, was extended from 16 to 21 metres,” he continues. “The MV Eynhallow was lengthened by five metres 13 years ago because she was quite a small vessel when she arrived with us. Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels started to replace conventional shipping in 1983 with the arrival of the Lyrawa Bay which was later replaced by the Hoyhead that serves the South www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 75

Front of the

queue Q

-Shipping was founded with the vision of offering ship management services but with a twist – Erdal Gedikoglu, company managing director explained the principle: “Q-Shipping originally started in ship management with a view of providing management functions within a scheme called ‘captain-owners’, whereby a captain would be a shareholder of a small size vessel. This started in 1997, and continued till 2004 when Q-Shipping started to offer management services as a third party ship manager,” he stated.

“Until 2010, the company continued to give management services to those vessels in what it refers to as ‘short sea’, which were mainly operating in the northwest European region.

“Then in 2010, the company opened a segment for worldwide operating vessels, and it called this ‘deep sea’. Presently both the short sea and deep sea segments are active and the functions are the same for both - Q-Shipping undertakes technical, safety/ compliance, operations, purchase, crewing and finance/accounting management.”

In addition to commercial ships, Q-Shipping gives full management services to superyachts, and provides crewing solutions through and directly with its own subsidiary company based in Odessa and through the external overseas agencies.

The services on offer from Q-Shipping attract a range of different customers, including shipowners from the Netherlands,

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Iceland and Italy. “One of the short sea customers, Samskip Group, operates the container vessels,” added Erdal. “Other customers both in the short sea and deep sea segments operate the dry cargo vessels and bulk carriers, with Zealand Group being one of them. They own 11 dry cargoes and bulk carriers of varying capacities between 13,000 DTW and 57,000 DWT.” He continued: “In the yacht management segment, there are customers both from North America and from Europe, owning three super yachts.”

These customers have historically been attracted to Q-Shipping’s high quality services, but as Erdal pointed out, the company has recently undergone a business transformation to make it even more competitive: “Q-Shipping has been re-designed with a view of providing a really cost-effective and solution oriented management philosophy,” he said. “As long as the company obtains worldwide operating vessels into its management, re-organisation will be needed to provide higher performance levels for the vessels and clients.”

This re-design is still ongoing, and can be seen as a continuous improvement process. It is further enhanced by a very experienced team of staff, which Erdal credits as a major part of Q-Shipping’s success: “The staff of the company hold a very wide range of experience, from ex. masters, ex. chief engineers, naval architects and marine engineers to crew operators and purchasers. The

Profile: Q-Shipping

possibilities of investing in crewing activities in Filipinas, maybe by opening an owned crewing agency company in Manila, and we have already established a branch office in Istanbul, Turkey, and activated a flying repair/maintenance team within this location, giving cost-effective and proper technical repairs/maintenance services to managed vessels. We are also trying to conclude a supervision contract for two new building Suezmax vessels, to be realised in the Far East.”

Erdal’s plans are both medium- and long-term, to ensure Q-Shipping has a solid future. “One of my medium-term targets is to bring the company to a position within the top five well known third party ship management companies in Europe, and having more offices in different locations Europe,” Erdal added.

“To this end, different ship types will be added to the company’s managed fleets and continuous internal and external training will be established within the company and its subsidiaries. Apart from the present in-house and external solutions, alternative solutions will be created to fulfil the future needs of crewing activities.” l

Q-Shipping

www.q-shipping.nl • Turnkey ship management company • 17 fully managed and 18 technically managed vessels • Plan to expand services in future

employees are the best in their fields in the Netherlands,” he stated.

“Furthermore, the management team is formed by professional individuals who have really huge experience in shipping. So for example, I personally hold a total experience of 25 years in shipbuilding, ship repairs, classification and statutory conventions/ certifications, as well as the management activities of very large ship type segments.”

Another change in the business that has helped to increase its efficiency was the implementation of the GL Shipmanager Software Solution (GLSM); as Erdal explained, this connects the entire company: “The GLSM programme is a great tool designed to manage all ship management activities online between the vessel and office. It gives both the crew members onboard and the onshore staff an accurate and easy means of keeping control of every aspect of ship management.”

It is clear that Erdal has ambitious plans for Q-Shipping going forward – he only joined the company in March 2014 and has impressive strategies for the future, as he explained: “I intend to introduce new know-how to the company and add new vessels into management. Actually, I am already busy with the addition of ro-ro and tanker vessels into our managed fleet.

“I am also establishing a continuous and effective training system for the staff, giving due regard to the fact that today the most effective power is knowledge. We intend to assess the www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 77

Profile: PD Ports

Port ability

P

D Ports is an award-winning ports and logistics business based in northeast England with locations throughout the UK. Employing around 1250 members of staff, the organisation owns and operates the ports of Teesport and Hartlepool as well as the short sea ports of Howden, Keadby and Medina Wharf on the Isle of Wight. Hull Container Terminal is operated by PD Ports and it is also the largest stevedore and warehousing company within the Port of Immingham. Furthermore, it also offers customer solutions at a number of other key locations such as Felixstowe and the Humber Estuary, with a further two million square feet of warehousing available.

Teesport could be described as the jewel in the crown of PD Ports’ operations – it is the second largest container port in the north of the UK, and handles 38 million tonnes of throughput per annum and around 5000 vessel calls each year. PD Ports is the statutory harbour authority at Teesport and is responsible for managing the river traffic for the ports of Tees and Hartlepool, ensuring safe navigation and maintaining the required channel depth.

With over 20 vessel calls a week connecting the port to the major hub ports of Europe, Teesport is the UK’s best connected feeder port and this was improved further when it became the first feeder port to be served by the recently opened London Gateway. As Geoff Lippitt, PD Ports’ business development

director, commented in January 2014: “We are really pleased to see that the first feeder vessel to sail from London Gateway made Teesport its first port of call. One of the strengths of Teesport is the range and coverage of feeder services and we will continue to build on this and expand in the future.”

When PD Ports was last featured in Shipping & Marine magazine in 2013, Jerry Hopkinson, the company’s managing director for Bulks and Port Services, noted that the re-opening of the blast furnace at Redcar by SSI and the consequent resumption of steel making on the River Tees was one of the major drivers of success for Teesport. The two organisations have continued working together and in March 2014 SSI UK celebrated the export of five million tonnes of steel slab through the port. Jerry noted: “The relationship between PD Ports and SSI UK has grown stronger which enables milestones like this to be achieved.

We will continue to support SSI UK and deliver an outstanding and first class performance.”

Working alongside its port operations and also playing a major role at Teesport, is PD Ports dedicated logistics function (PD Portcentric Logistics), which aims to save time and money, reduce environmental impact and change the way customers think about logistics.

The company’s reasoning behind the portcentric concept is logical – why import goods destined for the north of the UK via ports located in the south of the country? “To that end a number www.shippingandmarine.co.uk - 79

Profile: PD Ports

of major retailers and logistics services providers, such as Asda Walmart, Tesco, Taylors of Harrogate and Clipper Logistics, have established large scale facilities either in Teesport itself or in very close proximity to Teesport, from which the concept can be put into practice. So the containers that come into these distribution centres are literally coming in through Teesport, where formerly they were coming in through the southern ports and being trucked or railed up to the north,” commented Jerry previously.

The development of the portcentric concept is an on-going process for PD Ports, and it is working very hard on both expanding it and refining it. “This is in terms of the scope, extent and relative depth of the services we are providing, and we see that as quite critical to our continued growth in that sector,” Jerry added.

A perfect illustration of this continual development is the joint agreement PD Ports undertook with Gazeley in April 2014. The agreement is for the potential development of up to 1.6 million sq ft of build-to-suit sustainable portcentric logistics warehousing in the next phase of development at Teesport. Commenting on the announcement, Geoff said: “Working with Gazeley is a step in the right direction for Teesport. The experience they bring to this project is invaluable and combining this with our portcentric logistics knowledge will make this a great success.”

With these developments, and also a £27m quay reconstruction project underway at Teesport, it would be easy to think that this location is where PD is seeing all of its success. However, the other locations owned and operated by PD are also flourishing, with major new contracts arriving in both the Port of Howden and the Port of Hartlepool in 2014.

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In January Helm Fertilizer Great Britain Ltd (Helm) signed a ten-year agreement with PD Ports to operate a blending and bagging facility for its fertiliser imports at the Port of Howden.

PD Ports will also provide the stevedore service for this new agreement. The arrival of Helm at the port saw an initial investment of over £500,000 spent refurbishing one of PD Ports’ existing on site warehouses, covering some 68,000 sq ft. With anticipated volumes of over 50,000 tonnes per annum, the Port of Howden will become the central UK hub for Helm which has previously used multiple ports of entry to import fertiliser.

In April Hartlepool also saw a new contract signing, which highlights PD Ports’ focus on new and emerging business areas. In the 2013 feature Jerry noted that the energy sector was somewhere the company saw real opportunities for its ports business, and he pointed out that Hartlepool’s location could be attractive for new clients - it offers open access to the North Sea. This has proven to be the case for McDermott, which in April 2014 took an option on a site to operate as a pipe spool base at the Port.

The site of approximately 30 acres will allow McDermott to assemble long pipe stalks that will be spooled to its pipelaying vessel for offshore oil and gas work. The facility, which is expected to be fully operational in 2015, will form an important part of McDermott’s portfolio enabling it to expand into new markets.

Jerry added: “The establishment of a permanent spool base at Hartlepool consolidates the port’s position as the home to a thriving cluster of offshore related businesses and adds to the existing successes of Heerema Offshore and JDR Cables already located within the Port of Hartlepool. We will seek to give McDermott every support as they grow their business in the North Sea.” l

PD Ports

www.pdports.co.uk www.pdportcentriclogistics.co.uk • New contracts in 2014 • Focusing on new and emerging business areas • £27 million quay reconstruction at Teesport

Shipping &MARINE

The magazine for maritime management

www.shippingandmarine.co.uk

Editor: Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Sales manager: Rob Wagner rwagner@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

Schofield Publishing Schofield Publishing Limited Unit 10, Cringleford Business Centre, Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1603 274130 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 274131