KVH Videotel Introduces LNG “Respond Level” Bunkering Training Course

30th November 2017Phil Page

Programme based on “Competency and Assessment Guidelines” from SGMF

KVH Videotel has launched an LNG bunkering training course to help crew and port or terminal staff enable a safe bunkering process. The programme, based on guidelines from the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF), has been developed in response to the increased use of LNG as a bunker fuel by operators to help them meet the low sulphur targets required by MARPOL Annex VI. SGMF has defined a “Respond Level” of awareness as vitally important: Personnel in close proximity to bunkering operations must understand the hazards associated with LNG bunkering and be trained in how to respond to emergency situations. KVH Videotel’s “LNG Bunkering – Respond Level Training Course” covers:

Composition and usage of LNG and potential bunkering methods
Hazards and consequences for the individual and ship
Relevant procedures for fighting LNG fires
Emergency procedures for shipping companies and port authorities

Elizabeth Jackson Joins KVH to Direct Global Marketing and Strategy

28th November 2017Phil Page

Experienced executive will lead growth initiatives across key business markets

MIDDLETOWN, RI – November 27, 2017 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), announced today that Elizabeth Jackson has joined the company as chief marketing officer and senior vice president for strategy.

“Elizabeth is an experienced CMO and entrepreneur with proven results at both Fortune 100 and small start-up companies, and we are delighted that she has joined KVH,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH chief executive officer. “Her expertise includes brand building, new product development, corporate and marketing strategy, and market research across many industries.”

Ms. Jackson has worked at a variety of companies including Proctor & Gamble, Campbell Soup Company, Summer Infant, and HookLogic, a Bain Capital Ventures portfolio company in ad tech performance marketing. Most recently, Ms. Jackson was CMO at DOTS Technology Corp, an NEA portfolio company in health tech, building a novel protein detection platform for consumer and industrial use.

“I am very excited to join KVH and direct the marketing efforts for such an innovative company, especially one that is active in so many vital markets,” says Ms. Jackson. “From the mobile technology that provides connectivity to commercial mariners around the globe to the inertial navigation systems that support the emerging world of unmanned and autonomous platforms, KVH is a leader.”

Ms. Jackson has a B.A. from Princeton University and an MBA from INSEAD in France.

Container Ship Load Planning Systems Are Vulnerable Says Ethical Hackers

28th November 201728th November 2017Phil Page

Ethical hackers Pen Test Partners have highlighted a vulnerability in the load planning processes used by container ships.

“Intercepting and modifying the messaging used in bay planning can be relatively straightforward if you know what you’re doing,” said Senior Partner, Ken Munro.

“When asked to investigate this, we noticed a lack of security in the validation of the message’s integrity and a simple phishing attack is all it takes to gain access,” he continued.

By modifying the messages, and therefore the loading plan itself, a hacker could cause a vessel to list by swopping the order that the containers are loaded.

Hackers could also cause environmental damage and incur heavy fines for shipping lines by forcing emergency discharge of ballast water as a result of unexpected out-of-trim situations caused by bay plan manipulation.

Refrigerated containers could be switched off spoiling thousands of pounds worth of perishable food and so the list goes on.

Not only that, but Pen Test Partners have discovered that USB sticks are commonly used to transfer the load plans from ship to port. This poses a major security risk as a USB infected with malware could cause series issues for port authorities.

“Ship security has a long way to go to catch up with the level of security we expect in corporate networks. They are remote, difficult to update, and their IT hardware is often old and not well maintained,” added Munro.

“Ship owners and managers need to have a cyber security plan in place and should review their current IT systems to make sure that any potential weak points open to attack are closed as soon as possible.”

Britannia P&I Hosts European Members’ Forum in Greece

28th November 201728th November 2017Phil Page

The important role that Members from Europe play within the Britannia P&I Club was among the issues discussed at its annual European Members Forum held on 9 November in Athens.

The Forum, now in its 21^st year, which was attended by 52 Members from across Europe, underlined the Club’s commitment to remaining accessible while providing Members with a personalised service.

The Forum coincided with the announcement that Britannia will be opening an office in Greece within 2018.

“Holding the European Forum in Greece was important given that it is the home to many of the world’s major shipowners, a number of whom are Britannia Members. Opening a Britannia office in Greece will mean that we can enhance the personalised service to those and future Greek Members,” said Andrew Cutler, CEO of Tindall Riley (Britannia) Ltd.

Dale Hammond (Director, FD&D and claims director for the Club’s Greek membership) and Simon Williams (Director, Underwriting and who has underwriting oversight for the Club’s Greek membership) will oversee arrangements for establishing the office.

SKY Perfect JSAT and KVH to Deliver Maritime Broadband Services

28th November 201728th November 2017Phil Page

KVH extends its long-standing relationship with SKY Perfect JSAT

MIDDLETOWN, RI – November 20, 2017 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), today announced that it has concluded arrangements with SKY Perfect JSAT (SJC) to work together in delivering next-generation maritime broadband services.

KVH’s advanced mini-VSAT Broadband^sm service will incorporate capacity from SJC’s satellites covering the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, inclusive of unique southern Indian Ocean coverage. This new-generation maritime broadband service is designed to achieve maximum data speeds of 10 Mbps download, and 3 Mbps upload, using the new KVH TracPhone^® V7-HTS, a 60 cm Ku-band maritime satellite antenna system that KVH designed for the advanced network.

In addition, SJC will be marketing and selling the next-generation service in Japan under the name “OceanBB.” According to SJC, entering into these agreements with KVH enables SJC to accelerate its development and provision of next-generation services that will meet the ever-growing demand for maritime broadband.

Britannia P&I Hosts Asian Members’ Forum in Hong Kong

28th November 2017Phil Page

Following Britannia’s P&I European Members’ Forum in Athens earlier this month, the Club also hosted an Asian Members’ Forum on 21st November in Hong Kong.

These regional Forums demonstrate the Club’s strategy of providing Members with a local personalised service, backed by a global presence in the market.

The Asian Members’ Forum outlined Britannia’s strategy, which has included the Club strengthening its presence in the region, with its Managers having recently taken over a longstanding Exclusive Correspondent with offices in both Tokyo and Kobe, Japan (renamed Tindall Riley (Britannia) Japan Ltd).

More announcements will follow in the coming months involving the Club’s initiatives in Hong Kong and Singapore.

“The Asian Members’ Forum is an important event given that half of our membership is based in the region. Enhancing our personalised service to Members by having dedicated Britannia owned local offices in key territories is vital,” said Andrew Cutler, CEO of Britannia and the Managers.

Thome Opens Fleet Operations Hub

28th November 2017Phil Page

The Thome Group has opened a modern operations hub at its offices in Singapore to enhance the quality of its ship management services and reaction times to emergency responses.

The state-of-the-art facilities enables situational awareness for both duty-personnel and Thome’s crisis teams, providing high tech systems allowing remote tracking of individual ships in the fleet, passage planning, security risk assessment, weather routing, video conferencing, integrated vessel management system (NAU) implementation, and individual on-board CCTV remote monitoring by the hub.

“The Operations Hub means that we now have an even closer control of our managed fleet, offering our clients up to date information and even greater improvements in our ship management services. The monitoring capabilities provided by the hub will enable us to direct our managed fleet more efficiently saving time and improving our operational efficiency,” said Claes Eek Thorstensen, President and CCO of the Thome Group.

“Furthermore, in times of emergency we can react much more quickly and get faster and more accurate information about the situation in real time, allowing our crisis teams to make informed decisions on how to resolve any issues,” he continued.

Prevention at Sea Cleans Up with Another Award for its Oil Record Book Software

28th November 201728th November 2017Phil Page

Prevention at Sea has won more industry recognition for its software development work in the maritime industry, by winning the Tanker Shipping & Trade Award for Technical Innovation.

Developed in conjunction with the Liberian Ship Registry, PaSea has once again shown that it is at the vanguard of the drive to minimise risk in the global shipping industry.

This award follows hot on the heels of similar accolades recently presented to the company including:

May 2017 – Winner of the Lloyd’s List Americas 2017 Maritime Services Award
October 2017 – Winner of the Lloyd’s List Intelligence Asia Pacific Innovation Award
October 2017- Winner of the NAMEPA Marine Environment Protection Award for Innovation

It is also a finalist for the Lloyd’s List South Asia, Middle East & Africa Innovation Award on 28th November 2017.

The Swedish Club Celebrates 35 Years in Hong Kong

17th November 2017Debra Massey

The Swedish Club has celebrated the 35th Anniversary of its office in Hong Kong. Since the office was established, the Club has seen steady and consistent growth in its business in the area – both in terms of its full service product offerings and the tonnage insured.

The Swedish Club is also pleased to announce that Brian Png has been promoted to Deputy Managing Director for The Swedish Club in Hong Kong, as of 1 January 2018. Brian is well known to the Asian shipping community and joined The Swedish Club in 2009.

Lars Rhodin, Managing Director of The Swedish Club said: “When we established The Swedish Club in Hong Kong in 1982 we saw a great opportunity to establish a foothold in Asia. At that time Hong Kong had one of the busiest container ports in the world with sophisticated communications and an advanced banking infrastructure.

Columbia Marlow wins top industry award

15th November 201722nd November 2017Diptesh Chohan

Columbia Marlow has won the Tanker Shipping & Trade Operational Excellence Award for 2017 for its work in pushing the boundaries in innovation and digitalisation in the global maritime industry.

Receiving the award at an Awards Dinner in London’s West End, Mark O’Neil, Columbia Marlow CEO, described the partnership with Lufthansa Industry Solutions as “industry disruptive” and ‘transformational’. He praised the expertise and focus of Lufthansa and Columbia Marlow’s inhouse IT/Digitalisation specialists Blue Dynamics enabling Columbia Marlow to formulate its Digital Vision and Digital Agenda and embark upon its objective to provide the highest standards of information technology and performance monitoring in the industry.

Blue Dynamics – a cutting edge software company previously set up by Columbia and Marlow – and Lufthansa Industry Solutions announced they would work together in partnership with Columbia Marlow in May of this year in what was described as a new era for blue sky thinking in the maritime sector.

The partnership was formed to create a fully digital environment consisting of integrated applications and services which enable clients to be fully integrated into the management and vessel operation process, and render the vessels more employable by being compatible with the digital environment of the big charterers and shippers. Such a new digital environment will not only empower staff with more information to assist them in their decision-making processes, ensure optimisation of vessel maintenance and performance, allow for better monitoring of crew training and pastoral needs, but will also help immeasurably in achieving economies and efficacies of scale. All this tailored to the specific needs of each individual client, large and small.

Mark O’Neil concluded his acceptance speech by confirming that Columbia Marlow considered the digitalisation process as being of “existential importance for shipping” and that Columbia Marlow was determined to take the lead in this process for the benefit of its clients and future clients. “This is Partnership Redefined” he said.

Photo caption: From L-R: Ralf Struckmeier (Lufthansa), Mark O’Neil (Columbia Marlow), Timothy Scheller (Blue Dynamics), Dr. Carsten Boehle (Lufthansa)

CARGO CARE SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES NEW HYDRAULICS WORKSHOP TO SERVE AS EUROPEAN NERVE CENTRE FOR REPAIRS

13th November 201713th November 2017Lisa Jacobs

Cargo Care Solutions (CCS), the hatch cover and Ro-Ro equipment specialists has opened a hydraulics workshop in response to the growing demand by ship owners for maintenance and repair of their hydraulic deck equipment.

The company’s first workshop, which is near its Rotterdam headquarters, will serve as the hydraulic nerve centre for CCS’ European operations, offering specialist services, including repair and service for hatch covers, RoRo-equipment, watertight doors, winches and deck cranes.

Cargo Care Hydraulics also offers its services for port cranes and hydraulic equipment and offshore platforms and workboats. Aside to having facilities for offsite repairs, Cargo Care Hydraulics also offers its clients onsite repairs and troubleshooting. . It can assist clients in the entire process from dismantling the equipment to building it back in and make the hydraulic system operational again.

CCS’ CEO Peter Peltenburg says: “We are delighted to open this hydraulics workshop as part of CCS’ continued commitment to ensuring that vessels are safe and cargo is secure through its transportation. Our close partnership with ship owners has allowed us to directly invest in sustainability initiatives, guaranteeing a vessel’s performance.

“The workshop will offer unique inspection, service and repair facilities for hydraulic equipment such as cylinders, pumps, motors and valves. It is designed to make full and efficient use of modern technologies, as even minor problems with a hydraulic system can trigger a chain reaction through the entire system. By using this facility our customers can be sure of the level of service they expect from us.”

ICS encouraged by EU faith in UN IMO to further reduce shipping’s carbon emissions

9th November 2017Debra Massey

Speaking from the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, ICS Director of Policy, Simon Bennett, has commented on the provisional decision by the European Union not to include shipping within the full scope of the regional EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

“We think that this demonstrates confidence within the EU institutions in the current progress being made at the UN IMO to develop an ambitious strategy that will deliver additional CO2 reduction measures, consistent with the shipping industry’s own vision of zero emissions, as soon as possible.”

Mr Bennett added: “We understand that the date which the EU has agreed for when the European Commission will next closely examine the progress that has been made globally is consistent with those time lines agreed by all IMO Member States.”

ICS – the global trade association for shipowners – believes the decision also shows a welcome recognition within the EU, including the European Commission, that ETS, is an inappropriate tool for application to an industry like shipping. This is because of the huge risk of creating serious market distortions and the administrative challenge of incorporating tens of thousands of ships operated by thousands of SMEs into a discredited system which the EU is already struggling to reform.

Hill Dickinson announces new partner appointment for Singapore office

9th November 2017Catherine Varney

International law firm Hill Dickinson is pleased to announce that partner Sumeet Malhotra has joined its Singapore office.

Sumeet is qualified as an advocate in India and as a solicitor in England & Wales. He began his career as an advocate at the Mumbai Bar, practicing at a Chambers which specialised in shipping and commodity trading matters.

He went on to occupy an in-house position at Bernhard Schulte Shipping in Hong Kong, where he dealt with charterparty disputes, marine casualties, crew compensation claims, piracy matters and ship manager’s liability claims.

More recently, Sumeet has worked at senior in-house positions at Cargill, and at Noble Group in Singapore, where he has dealt with dry shipping matters, commodity trade disputes and transactional matters involving commodity trading and commodity-backed structured trade finance.

Commenting on Sumeet’s appointment Tony Goldsmith, partner, master mariner and Singapore office head, said: “Given his affiliation with the region, Sumeet will be working with our dry shipping and trade sub-team to build our commodity trading and trade finance advisory and disputes practice across Singapore and South/South-East Asia.”

The sub-team now comprises six senior lawyers including Andrew Lee (partner) and Shanna Ghose (legal director) as well as a growing team of associates.

-ENDS-

KVH Videotel SVP Urges Maritime Industry to Aim for Excellence, not Minimum Training Standards

7th November 2017Phil Page

Mark Woodhead, KVH Videotel senior vice president (SVP) EMEA, speaks at CrewConnect Global, in Manila, a leading forum for seafarer recruitment and training

Ship owners, managers, and operators should aim for training excellence, rather than just attaining the minimum standards required, and use training as a key tool for attracting and retaining high-calibre seafarers in a competitive market, according to Mark Woodhead, KVH Videotel senior vice president EMEA, who spoke at CrewConnect Global, in Manila, today.

“Training needs to be part of a shipping company’s DNA,” Mr. Woodhead said, “and as our seafarers embrace the shift towards continuous learning, we need to develop cultures that support and demand it.”

In the ever-changing and highly regulated shipping industry, continuous learning is needed to avoid incidents and accidents that could lead to costly delays, fines for non-compliance, asset damage, or, more seriously, loss of life. “Talk is cheap but accidents aren’t,” Mr. Woodhead said. “With new training techniques and technologies, seafarers are engaged and motivated to learn.”

KVH TracPhone V7-HTS System Delivers Maritime Broadband at Triple Previous Speeds for a New Era of Digital Life at Sea

1st November 20171st November 2017Phil Page

The new 60 cm, Ku-band satellite antenna system enables leisure boaters and commercial mariners to stream HD content and conduct video calls at sea while simultaneously supporting a free, unlimited use data channel

MIDDLETOWN, RI – October 31, 2017 – An advanced, 60 cm marine satellite antenna system designed to consistently deliver the fastest data speeds globally to the maritime market will be unveiled tomorrow by KVH Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI), at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, in Florida. The TracPhone^® V7-HTS achieves data download speeds of up to 10 Mbps, three times faster than current 60 cm models on the market, including KVH’s own system, and fast enough to enable the streaming of HD-quality content at sea. In addition, to further meet the demands of increased data usage at sea, KVH is offering the TracPhone V7-HTS with new hybrid airtime plans that deliver a free, lower-speed unlimited use data channel that runs at the same time as the high-speed data channel. The faster data speeds of the TracPhone V7-HTS are accomplished by a combination of KVH’s proprietary antenna system design and industry-leading mini-VSAT Broadband^sm network, which recently began using advanced Intelsat Epic satellites for high throughput satellite (HTS) capabilities, and additional capacity from SKY Perfect JSAT satellites. With the HTS network, KVH added 25 million square miles to its global maritime Ku-band high-speed connectivity footprint. With the combination of fast data streaming and global coverage, the TracPhone V7-HTS is poised to transform the use of broadband at sea. For the leisure market, the system is designed to enable yacht owners and their guests to enjoy HD streaming, popular social apps, and other benefits of connectivity for a new era of digital life at sea. The captain of a 44.8-meter superyacht, who is one of the first to use the system, reports: “We just voyaged from Florida to Panama with the new TracPhone V7-HTS onboard, and enjoyed excellent speeds of 10 Mbps. This is a great service for a superyacht demanding higher data speeds than a traditional VSAT can provide,” says Bryan Antill, captain of the M/Y Surina.

For the commercial maritime market, the TracPhone V7-HTS is designed to enable merchant fleets to take advantage of cloud-based software programs, remote system monitoring, and data analytics in the pursuit of digitalization. With applications such as remote system monitoring requiring frequent data uploads, the TracPhone V7-HTS provides upload speeds of up to 3 Mbps, six times faster than KVH’s current 60 cm system. “We are thrilled to offer the streaming fast TracPhone V7-HTS to boaters and mariners around the world, so they can experience the benefits of connectivity even while at sea. Ship managers can improve their operational efficiency by taking advantage of data-driven tools and decision-making, while yacht captains can offer guests onboard the faster connectivity they desire,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, co-founder and chief executive officer of KVH. “We continue to bring innovative solutions to the marine market, including a network configuration able to provide high-speed data as well as unlimited use data all from the same system. What other services are offering as their airtime plans is a free value-added bonus from KVH.”

KVH Launches New High-speed Maritime Network on Intelsat EpicNG Satellites

1st November 20171st November 2017Phil Page

Teams with leading satellite operator Intelsat to deliver expanded global Ku-band coverage

MIDDLETOWN, RI, and LUXEMBOURG, October 31, 2017 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), today announced the launch of its next-generation, advanced maritime broadband network, joined by service partner, Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I). Slated for commercial availability next month, KVH’s high-speed overlay to its current mini-VSAT Broadband^SM service is expected to triple, and in some cases increase by a multiple of six, the data speeds for its maritime customers. At the core of its capabilities, KVH’s advanced maritime broadband network will incorporate Intelsat Epic satellite services and the award-winning IntelsatOne Flex platform, a global managed service designed to optimize bandwidth allocations and provide flexible coverage where it is needed. KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband network is also expected to benefit from increased Asian satellite capacity from SKY Perfect JSAT.

At launch, KVH will have the largest maritime Ku-band network offering speeds as fast as 10 Mbps to each terminal. Each Intelsat Epic satellite has 25-60 Gbps of capacity, which is expected to deliver a major performance enhancement for KVH subscribers. KVH’s enhanced service is designed to enable significant improvements in business productivity in the commercial maritime world, and enrich the onboard experience for superyachts and recreational boats.

“Intelsat has been instrumental in helping us develop the advances to our mini-VSAT Broadband service, continuing the positive working relationship we’ve had for many years,” says Brent Bruun, KVH chief operating officer. “We expect to provide our maritime customers with increased data speeds at the same price points as our current service, while offering unparalleled coverage on a global basis. We just celebrated the 10^th anniversary of our market-leading VSAT solution, and, with this new evolution of our mini-VSAT Broadband network, we believe KVH is continuing to set the pace for maritime satellite communications.”