Month: May 2019

Indian Register of Shipping hosts multi-stakeholder seminar on IMO sulphur limit compliance and GHG emissions strategy

Phil Page

MUMBAI, INDIA, 28 May 2019 – The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), a leading ship classification society, recently hosted a seminar in which industry stakeholders discussed the impending 2020 IMO fuel sulphur regulation and the initial IMO Strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships.

Held at IRClass’ head office in Mumbai, India, the one-day ‘Fuel 2020 & GHG Emission’ session drew participation from ship owners, ship operators, consultants, marine engine suppliers and bunker suppliers.

In his welcome address, Mr Vijay Arora, Joint Managing Director of IRClass, spoke about the rapid advancements in marine fuel technology and the need for both short-term and long-term plans to implement IMO’s GHG emissions strategy. He also mentioned that the industry today faces challenges which are both regulatory and technical in nature which need to be deliberated by all stakeholders to gain insights.

Guest-of-Honour Capt. Ashok Mahapatra, former Director of IMO’s Maritime Safety Division, highlighted in his keynote address the hitherto lack of clarity amongst ship owners, underwriters and charterers in dealing with non-compliant fuel post-sulphur limit.

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KVH Appoints Ken Loke as Vice President for the Asia-Pacific Region

Phil Page

MIDDLETOWN, RI – May 22, 2019 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), is pleased to announce that Ken Loke has been named Vice President – Asia Pacific, to direct all initiatives for KVH in this important region. Mr. Loke has extensive experience in satellite and managed services with top companies active in the telecommunications and maritime industries. KVH provides connectivity solutions for the maritime market, including global mini-VSAT Broadbandsm services used by thousands of vessels worldwide.

“I look forward to leading the KVH team in Asia Pacific at this exciting time, when the maritime industry is rapidly migrating to VSAT services to reap the benefits of digitalization,” says Mr. Loke. “KVH’s end-to-end solution, new HTS products, and AgilePlans® subscription-based offerings enable ship operators to take advantage of the benefits of global connectivity.”

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VIKING Wins Norwegian Police Patrol Boat Contract

Phil Page

Global safety products manufacturer and service provider VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has won a major contract to build and supply a VIKING Norsafe Munin S1200 patrol boat for the Norwegian police force.

The vessel, which will be built in Arendal, Norway and delivered in December this year, will carry out police patrol and rescue missions in the East Police District covering the 38 municipalities from Gardermoen to the Swedish border.

Seeing off competition from five other providers, the company scored high when it came to quality and price in what is seen as a breakthrough order in their police patrol boat market.

The VIKING Norsafe Munin S1200 has a twin waterjet from Alamarin with joystick control and dynamic positioning. It employs a twin installation, 2 x 500 horsepower IVECO FPT N67 engine with a ZF gearbox. Chairs are supplied by Ullman Dynamics.

Benefiting from a large navigation and communications package from Raymarine and Jatronic, its design embraces a new type of cabin with forward-facing windows, skylight and sliding doors.

Shipping Industry Expresses Concern Over Recent Trade Developments

Debra Munford
Major shipowners’ associations also give full support to the World Trade Organization.

A delegation from the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) has, at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, expressed concern over recent increases in protectionist measures. Presenting two position papers to the WTO, the shipping sector has “fully committed to the preservation and promotion of free trade policies and principles around the world.”

This comes at a time when trade barriers are becoming more prevalent and represent a worrying trend for the delivery of sustainable economic growth. The papers highlight that there has been a seven fold increase in import-restrictive trade measures since 2017. This represents an additional USD 588.3 billion of additional costs to global trade. The importance of this representation has been given heightened relevance following the decision by the United States of America to increase import tariffs on certain goods from China. Read more →

KVH Announces the Sale of Videotel for $90 Million to Focus on Core Strategic Initiatives

Phil Page

Plans to increase its investment in photonic integrated chip technology, AgilePlans acceleration, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity

MIDDLETOWN, RI – May 13, 2019 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), today announced that it has sold its maritime training business, the Videotel group of companies, to an affiliate of Oakley Capital for a base purchase price of $90 million, on a cash-free, debt-free basis, subject to working capital adjustments.  The sale was completed immediately upon execution of definitive agreements.

“As part of our long-term strategic roadmap, we are focusing on the large and growing markets of our core mobile connectivity and inertial navigation businesses,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, chief executive officer of KVH.  “We intend to use the net proceeds of the sale to invest in three key growth initiatives that we expect will drive significant value creation, as well as to reduce our debt.  Specifically, we plan to invest in the development and commercialization of our photonic integrated chip technology for use in autonomous vehicles and other commercial and military platforms, to support the further acceleration of our AgilePlans (Connectivity as a Service) program, and also to finalize the development and launch of our IoT connectivity solution.  Videotel helped us to penetrate the commercial maritime markets initially, but our strategic approach has evolved to focus on faster growing markets that we believe will produce greater long-term shareholder value.”

To maintain continuity for KVH’s AgilePlans customers, KVH has retained certain rights to continue including the Videotel training content with the AgilePlans program. Management expects to issue revised financial guidance for the second quarter and full fiscal year of 2019 reflecting the sale of Videotel, along with select pro forma disclosures, on or about May 15, followed by an investor conference call.  In light of the anticipated financial impact of the transaction, investors should no longer rely on the guidance previously issued by KVH, which included anticipated revenues and expenses of the Videotel business.

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VIKING and Kongsberg collaborate to create innovative USV Sounder System

Phil Page

A collaboration between Kongsberg and the VIKING Norsafe boats and davits division has resulted in an innovatively designed unmanned surface vessel (USV).

The Sounder USV System is a multipurpose platform designed to work across different market segments, including survey and fishery duties. VIKING Norsafe, was chosen by Kongsberg as its project partner for its years of experience in constructing tough and durable craft for use in extreme environments.

The Sounder USV System has been designed specifically for military and commercial maritime uses, deploying maximum stability with minimal vibration on the water, and optimized for low air disturbance under the hull.  These features are essential in providing minimal disturbance to the data collection equipment onboard.

Equipped with large hatches on deck for fast and easy equipment exchange, the vessel’s long operating range gives it the possibility to reach a large area without the need for external power or fuel supply.

It has a diverse range of applications from seabed mapping, fish finding and search operations to reconnaissance and exploration. The vessel has a high dynamic stability to provide a secure working platform.

It can fit into a 40 ft standard container and is easily transportable by air, road and sea. The USV has a rigid lifting point, verified for safe operation and as a way of optimizing the hull shape, Computational Fluid Dynamics are completed during the design face. This provides for low fuel consumption, minimized air disturbance under the hull as well as optimised stability.

Indian Register of Shipping and Dassault Systèmes co-host conference on noise-reduction design solutions for defence and commercial ships

Phil Page

MUMBAI, INDIA, 7 May 2019 – The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), a leading ship classification society, and Dassault Systèmes co-hosted an international conference on design solutions for noise reduction in defence and commercial ships.

Held at IRClass’ head office in Mumbai, India, the one-day ‘Design Solutions for Noise Reduction in Defence and Commercial Ships’ conference drew participants from various sectors including the Indian Navy, shipyards, designers, consultants and ship operators.

Mr Vijay Arora, Joint Managing Director of IRClass, inaugurated the conference by highlighting the importance of noise prediction and its evolving techniques in view of present IMO noise code.

The conference deliberated on possible design and software solutions for conventional passenger and cargo ships to meet regulatory requirements outlined in International Maritime Organization’s Code on noise levels on board ships – IMO Resolution MSC.337 (91) – which requires the measurement of noise levels and recommends limits on acceptable maximum noise levels for all spaces to which seafarers normally have access to.

To comply with the IMO Resolution, the conference noted that noise prediction is required right from the initial design stage and discussed the methods for noise prediction ranging from empirical methods such as IRClass’ proprietary noise prediction software to advanced methods based on statistical energy analysis (SEA), boundary element method (BEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The effects of insulation and alternative arrangements to keep noise levels within specified limits through such predictions were also discussed.

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