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This issue of Marine Electronics & Communications Magazine is sponsored by
2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com

“Autonomous shipping is just one aspect of a maritime technology

revolution that has the potential to radically transform the industry”
Chris Grayling, UK secretary of state for transport, see page 8
2nd Quarter 2018
volume 12 issue 2 contents
18

Regulars
06
5 COMMENT
6 ON THE AGENDA
48 FORESIGHT

News focus
8 Autonomous vessels will revolutionise shipping and cargo transportation
9 Study proves that autonomous vessels can follow Colregs

Digitalisation
11 Investment in the digital revolution needs a pay-off in terms of profits and
lower operating costs that could come from virtual arrival technology
15

Special report: Greek shipowners & managers
14 Athens-based shipowners tackle IT and communications challenges to
increase profits and improve cyber security
15 Andriaki Shipping IT manager Dimitris Makris explains his top 10
requirements of maritime software

Automation & control
17 Royal Caribbean upgrades cruise ship automation; Lindblad orders new
automation for polar cruise ship newbuilding
18 Bourbon vice president for innovation Frederic Moulin explains how €75M
33 will be spent to upgrade offshore vessels with DP remote monitoring

E-navigation
21 Partnership will develop AI route planning; Thome overcomes ECDIS challenges
22 Update on the latest efforts to implement IMO’s e-navigation strategy and
harmonise navigation data and ECDIS standards

Remote monitoring & diagnostics
25 Data monitoring can lower fuel and insurance costs
26 How to develop a voyage intelligence platform

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

contents
Cyber security 2nd Quarter 2018
28 Penetration tests underscore shipping security holes volume 12 issue 2
29 The 10 top cyber security hints and tips for shipowners
Editor: Martyn Wingrove
30 Blockchain is not the silver bullet for cyber security t: +44 20 8370 1736
31 Guidance published to help shipowners become cyber compliant e: martyn.wingrove@rivieramm.com

Sales Manager: Paul Dowling

Training systems t: +44 20 8370 7014
e: paul.dowling@rivieramm.com
33 Bridge simulation has been developed for training fishing vessel captains
Sales: Jo Lewis
t: +44 20 8370 7793
Tankers & gas carriers e: jo.lewis@rivieramm.com
34 Diamond S Shipping is replacing voyage data recorders across its entire fleet
Head of Sales – Asia: Kym Tan
35 Teekay is upgrading email services for crew serving on up to 160 vessels t: +65 6809 1278
e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com

Offshore vessels Group Production Manager: Mark Lukmanji
t: +44 20 8370 7019
36 SolstadFarstad, Topaz Energy and Anglo Eastern discuss the benefits of IT
e: mark.lukmanji@rivieramm.com
platforms and communications upgrades
Subscriptions: Sally Church
t: +44 20 8370 7018
Unmanned aerial vehicles e: sally.church@rivieramm.com
38 UAVs are more than just survey drones
Chairman: John Labdon
Managing Director: Steve Labdon

Finance Director: Cathy Labdon
Bridge systems Operations Director: Graham Harman
40 Ship data transmission challenges can be overcome by implementing Head of Content: Edwin Lampert
Executive Editor: Paul Gunton
different networks and protocols
Head of Production: Hamish Dickie
41 Manufacturers reveal new bridge displays, extreme monitors, upgraded
operating software and applications for navigation and system monitoring Published by:
Riviera Maritime Media Ltd
Mitre House
Blockchain 66 Abbey Road
Enfield EN1 2QN
42 Container shipping is entering the blockchain era as owners work with IT UK
companies on software developments

Port digitalisation
45 European ports eye a digital and an autonomous future
www.rivieramm.com

Cargo control
46 A system for integrating tank monitoring, control and automation on tankers ISSN 1756-0373 (Print)
ISSN 2051-0586 (Online)

Next issue ©2018 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd
Main features include: Special report: German shipowners; Crew welfare;
Bridge systems/radar; Wireless & wifi; Vessel monitoring; Vessel tracking; Cyber
security; Ship type: container ships; Supplement: Complete Guide to ECDIS

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Do not ignore warnings that
radar can be cyber breached
N
ightmare scenarios of radar hacking
cannot be ignored for the sake of
ship safety. Ethical hackers have
now proven radar and other bridge
systems are vulnerable.
Contrary to popular belief, no bridge
system is truly safe from hackers. Over the last
few months, I have spoken to several radar
manufacturers, software suppliers and end-users
about the security of radar. Their responses
reverberated like an industry echo chamber;
“radar is cyber secure because it is physically
separated from the internet”.
Martyn Wingrove, Editor While true, this separation does not mean
radar and other bridge systems are protected.
In a recent penetration test, Naval Dome’s
ethical hacking experts demonstrated just how
vulnerable radar and other bridge systems
actually are.
Although some systems required a bit
of determination to break, the Naval Dome
team hacked its way into ECDIS, voyage data
recorders and radar systems in separate,
simulated cyber attacks, all in quick succession.
So how did they breach these systems?
During an initial probe, Naval Dome sent a virus-
laden email over the ship’s satellite link to the
captain’s computer, which is regularly connected
to ECDIS for chart updates. During the very next
chart update, the virus transferred itself to ECDIS
where it immediately installed itself and began
to go to work.
Once in place, the virus altered the vessel’s
position during a night voyage, deceiving the
officer of the watch. Crucial parameters involving
the vessel’s position, heading, depth and speed
“SHIPPING were manipulated subtly enough so as not
to arouse suspicion. Even with the subtlety, if
COMPANIES AND unscrupulous individuals had been behind a similar
REGULATORS attack, they could have easily grounded the vessel,
NEED TO HEED initiated a collision or held the ship to ransom.
Of late, ECDIS vulnerabilities to malware
THE WORK OF and viruses have taken a greater share of
THESE ETHICAL discussions around cyber threats and so-called
‘cyber hygiene’.
HACKERS” Many manufacturers and shipping companies
have sought to counteract the cyber threat
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
COMMENT | 5
by blocking ECDIS ports and introducing
firewalls between ECDIS and other onboard IT.
Nevertheless, as the attack showed, determined
attackers can still get through.
Naval Dome's second cyber attack during
its penetration tests was even more worrying.
In this attack, its experts used the local Ethernet
switch interface that connects radar to ECDIS, the
voyage data recorder and bridge alert system to
successfully enter the radar workstation.
After doing so, Naval Dome succeeded in
deleting radar targets from the vessel’s bridge
radar screen, effectively blindfolding the vessel.
This attack, too, was completed without raising
suspicion from the officer of the watch.
The system display showed the radar to be
working correctly, including detection thresholds,
which were presented as perfectly normal
throughout the duration of the attack.
This is what frightens me most about the attack.
The ship was blindfolded, and no suspicions were
aroused. But why would they be in an industry that
is effectively blind to this cyber threat?
The potential loss of life and environmental
harm that could come if ill-meaning hackers
were in control here instead of an ethical hacker
is, again, devastating to imagine.
Shipmanagers must ensure that precautions
are put in place and shipping companies and
regulators need to heed the work of these
ethical hackers.
The vulnerabilities these groups reveal must
take priority and be addressed in order that
more secure links and better standards can be
applied to protect these vital components and
systems of safe navigation.
And to avoid being blindsided, the same type
of work is needed to assess vulnerabilities on
other bridge systems that may – at first glance –
appear to be cyber safe. MEC
Vulnerabilities of bridge systems will be
discussed at Riviera Maritime Media's European
Maritime Cyber Risk Management Summit, which
will be held in London on 15 June.
For more information on this event go to:
www.shipcybersecurity.com
6 | ON THE AGENDA
IMO IS DIVIDED OVER
GMDSS RECOGNITION
OF IRIDIUM
I
n May, IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee
(MSC) will need to tackle the question of
whether to incorporate Iridium’s mobile
satellite system into discussions about the
future of the Global Maritime Distress and
Safety System (GMDSS).
MSC’s Sub-Committee on Navigation,
Communications and Search and Rescue,
which held its fifth meeting (NCSR 5) in
February, reached a stalemate on the issue.
As submitter of Iridium’s application, the US
authorities deplored what it called a lack of
due process and the inconsistent application
of the required assessment procedures.
These are stipulated in IMO Assembly
Resolution A.1001(25), which effectively
provides the regulatory compliance
framework for recognising and operating
mobile satellite communication systems in
the GMDSS.
The current legacy systems are all
Inmarsat devices (such as Inmarsat-C,
SafetyNet and Fleet77). NCSR 5 completed
its positive consideration of the UK’s
application for the additional incorporation
of Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband maritime safety
data service, Fleet Safety, into GMDSS and
prepared a draft MSC resolution concerning
a statement of recognition for adoption
in May by MSC 99. Recognition will be
limited to the coverage area under the
Inmarsat-4 Middle East and Asia (MEAS)
region satellite that overlaps with other 1-4
constellation satellites.
To address the anticipated future use of
mobile satellite services for the GMDSS,
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
MSC 98, in June 2017, adopted a resolution
recommending generic performance
standards for every ship Earth station
that operates on a future IMO-recognised
mobile satellite service. In addition, MSC
99 is expected to consider for adoption
draft amendments to SOLAS chapter IV,
together with revised equipment certificates.
The committee has the prerogative to
decide on the entry-into-force date of
SOLAS amendments.
There is growing support within IMO
for opening up the GMDSS to additional
service providers on grounds that this
would provide welcome extra protection
for seafarers and passengers at sea. The
assessment of Iridium went ahead following
the decision of MSC 96 in May 2016
that Iridium could be granted recognition,
subject to fulfilment of the Resolution
A.1001(25) requirements.
The International Mobile Satellite
Organization (IMSO) carried out two
assessments and presented its second
report at NCSR 5. Many delegations
expressed their satisfaction with it and
some, including The Marshall Islands and
Norway, stated their outright support for
the US proposal to recommend Iridium’s
recognition to MSC 99 for its approval.
However, NCSR 5 reached an impasse
on Iridium’s recognition as a number of
delegations raised concerns that went beyond
Resolution A.1001(25) that, in their view,
should be addressed first. These included,
among others, type-approval of equipment,
Maritime lawmakers face stiff
challenges in their work on the
future of the Global Maritime
Distress and Safety System,
writes Aline de Bièvre
LEFT: Sub-Committee on Navigation,
Communications and Search and Rescue
discusses GMDSS modernisation
guidance on the provision of maritime safety
information and regulatory protection of
frequency bands under the International
Telecommunication Union’s (ITU’s) Radio
Regulations. NCSR 5 decided to request
guidance from MSC 99 on the next course
of action.
Comprehensive updating of the
GMDSS, first adopted 30 years ago,
represents a mammoth task that goes to
the heart of IMO’s mission to save lives
at sea. It involves the development of
amendments to SOLAS chapters III and
IV and a host of related and consequential
amendments to other existing IMO
instruments. All this work must be
completed by 2022 if the agreed timeline
for entry into force of the modernised
GMDSS in 2024 is to be met.
Additional work concerns the
development of new instruments, guidance,
recommendations or performance standards
related to the amended SOLAS provisions.
There also needs to be alignment of the
GMDSS revision with IMO’s ongoing
e-navigation work as there are implications
for both radio and satellite communications.
IMO established a correspondence
group outside NCSR’s scheduled annual
meetings. The group’s involvement will
also help the necessary liaison work with
ITU by submitting an interim report
to the joint IMO/ITU experts group in
September of this year. The ITU’s next
World Radiocommunication Conference is
scheduled for November 2019. MEC

NEW ARCTIC ENTRY
SHIPPING ROUTES
TO BE ESTABLISHED
I
MO will establish new shipping routes
in the Bering Strait and Bering Sea to
reduce the risks of incidents and protect
the marine environment. Precautionary
areas and six two-way routes will be created
in a region that is a vital approach to the
Arctic Ocean at a time when ship traffic is
expected to rise.
These routes were agreed during the
fifth meeting of IMO’s Sub-Committee
on Navigation, Communications and
Search and Rescue (NCSR 5) in February.
This followed proposals by the Russian
Federation and the US for routes and areas
to avoid in the Bering Sea and between the
Chukotskiy Peninsula, Russia and Alaska.
These would be voluntary and concern
vessels that are more than 400 gt.
NCSR 5 agreed to forward these measures
for adoption at the 99th session of IMO’s
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 99),
which is expected to approve them in May.
The sub-committee members agreed that
vessel traffic through the Bering Strait will
increase as more ships use northern sea routes
across Siberia and around North America.
US and Russian proposals also took into
account forecasts of rising economic activity,
such as fishing and offshore oil and gas
operations, in the Arctic and in the Bering
Sea. NCSR 5 also agreed to establish three
areas to be avoided in the Bering Sea to
protect the fragile marine environment.
These are the first ship routeing
Chukchi Sea
RUSSIA
Bering
Strait
Bering Sea
NCSR 5 approved new vessel traffic routes through the Bering Strait
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
ON THE AGENDA | 7
measures to be agreed at IMO for the
Arctic region since the Polar Code entered
into force on 1 January 2017. This code NEXT IMO
sets additional safety and environment
protection measures for ships trading in the MEETINGS 2018
Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Polar Code was discussed at NCSR Maritime Safety Committee
5, which re-established a correspondence (MSC 99)
group to develop general guidance for 16-25 May
navigation and communication equipment
intended for use on ships operating in
Facilitation Committee (FAL 42)
polar waters.
Other ship routeing systems were also 4-8 June
approved at NCSR 5 for submission to
MSC for adoption. These included a traffic Technical Co-operation
separation scheme and other routeing Committee (TC 68)
measures in Dangan Channel, China, 18-20 June
and a separation scheme in the vicinity of
Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden. IMO Council: 120th session
NCSR 5 also amended an area to be
2-6 July
avoided off the coast of Ghana.
There were also discussions covering
additions to the worldwide ship positioning Sub-Committee on Human
and navigation satellite systems. In Element, Training and
particular, NCSR 5 invited India to Watchkeeping (HTW 5)
submit further information on the Indian 16-20 July
Regional Navigation Satellite System
(IRNSS) so that it could be considered Sub-Committee on Carriage of
for recognition as a component of the Cargoes and Containers (CCC 5)
World-Wide Radionavigation System. 10-14 September
The sub-committee also agreed to submit
draft performance standards for shipborne
IRNSS receiver equipment for adoption at Sub-Committee on
MSC 99. MEC Implementation of IMO
Instruments (III 5)
24-28 September
Marine Environment Protection
Committee (MEPC 73)
22-26 October
ALASKA IMO Council: 121st session
19-23 November
Maritime Safety Committee
(MSC 100)
3-7 December
8 | NEWS FOCUS
Autonomous vessels will
revolutionise shipping
UK transport secretary Chris Grayling
outlined his vision for unmanned
shipping and Kongsberg Maritime
presents its remote control vessels
“PAVING THE
WAY FOR THIS
NEW ERA
OF SHIPPING”
Chris Grayling: “Autonomous
shipping is just one aspect of a
maritime technology revolution”
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
A
utonomous vessels
and artificial
intelligence
are some of
the technologies that will
revolutionise shipping and the
British Government wants to
be at the forefront of these
developments. These are the
thoughts of the UK transport
secretary Chris Grayling, who
outlined his vision for the UK
at a smart shipping conference
in February.
There are a number of
technologies that are shaping
maritime, or will do in the
future. These include:
• Augmented reality.
• Artificial intelligence.
• Hybrid propulsion.
• Autonomous surface vessels.
• Magnetic berthing.
Mr Grayling expects these
will make shipping safer
and more environmentally
friendly. “Autonomous
shipping is just one aspect
of a maritime technology
revolution which has
the potential to radically
transform the industry,
making it safer, cleaner and
faster than ever,” he said,
adding that the UK should be
driving these changes in the
maritime industry.
UK Government ministers
are working with IMO for
“paving the way for this new era
of shipping”, said Mr Grayling,
adding that “we want to work
closely with the industry to
ensure we are doing everything
possible to allow this new
technology to thrive.”
Augmented reality could
be used to train new seafaring
cadets and familiarise them
with vessels operations, which
would improve safety, he said,
while artificial intelligence will
enable navigators to plot more
efficient routes and avoid
severe weather. It could also
be used to highlight disruption
at ports and diagnose
mechanical problems on ships.
Mr Grayling expects
autonomous vessels would
improve safety at sea because
they help reduce the risks
that seafarers can be exposed
to. They could also reduce
the potential for accidents by
partially removing the potential
for human error.
There could also be
national economic reasons
for developing autonomous
shipping as Mr Grayling thinks
there could be a change in
the way freight is transported
around the UK. He envisions
fleets of coastal ships, with
electric or hybrid propulsion,
replacing heavy goods
vehicles, which would reduce
road congestion.
This is part of the UK
Government’s Maritime 2050
project, which was announced
in February. Part of the
voyage towards autonomous
shipping involves developing
class society documentation
and operating them safely.
For the latter, Maritime UK*
published a code of practice
for autonomous vessels in
November 2017.
In that same month,
C-Worker 7 became the first
semi-autonomous vessel to
join the UK ship register. It
is a multipurpose work-class
vessel that was developed by
Autonomous Marine Systems
for a variety of offshore and
coastal engineering work. It
can be used for tasks such as
subsea positioning, surveying
and environmental monitoring.
Remote control fireboat
Another application for an
unmanned and remotely-
controlled vessel would be
fire-fighting in ports or at
sea. With this in mind, naval
architect Robert Allan has
collaborated with Kongsberg
Maritime to develop a
remotely-operated fireboat
that could be used to tackle
dangerous port fires without
putting lives at risk.
Robert Allan is using its
experience of tugboat design
to develop the RALamander
uncrewed fireboat. Kongsberg
would provide the remote
control technology, including
control systems, battery
packs, vessel automation
and navigation systems, said
Kongsberg sales manager
for autonomy and offshore
Sondre Larsson.
RALamander would be
linked to a remote control
centre using Kongsberg’s
maritime broadband radio
communications, he explained.
 NEWS FOCUS | 9

mobilised for tackling maritime

Sondre Larsson (Kongsberg): Remote-control
vessels could be used for offshore emergency
response operations
This vessel “can work with
other unmanned fire-fighting
vessels or alone”, he said at
the annual Offshore Support
Journal Conference in London
in February.
Robert Allan has designed
the vessel to have a FiFi 1 fire-
fighting module with a 2,400
m3/hr capacity, with pump
and monitors supplied by Fire
Fighting Systems. This vessel
could be directed to tackle
marine and port fires involving
containers or petrochemicals,
both on ships and shoreside
structures, said Mr Larsson.
RALamander could operate
in toxic smoke and areas
of explosion risk instead of
sending manned fireboats.
Facilities on board mean it could
also be used for towing vessels
to safe areas or it could be
fires during salvage projects.
Mr Larsson told delegates
that remote-control vessels
could also be used for
standby and emergency
response operations offshore.
“This all depends on the
regulations and market
needs.” A fire-fighting vessel
could be controlled from an
offshore installation or master
vessel using broadband
communications. MEC
*Maritime UK brings together
the UK’s shipping, ports,
services, engineering and
leisure marine industries
to promote the sector,
influence government and
drive growth

Atlas Elektronik’s unmanned

surface vessel, Arcims, was
used for sea trials with the
collision avoidance system

AUTONOMOUS SHIPS
CAN FOLLOW COLREGS

A £1.3M (US$1.85M) research project has demonstrated
that autonomous vessels would comply with the current IMO
collision avoidance Colregs regulations*.
Rolls-Royce led the Machine Executable Collision
Regulations for Marine Autonomous Systems (MAXCMAS)
project, which confirmed that unmanned vessels can even exceed
the existing requirements from manned ships.
Partners in this project developed and tested a collision
avoidance system using algorithms developed by Queen’s
University Belfast, in Northern Ireland, to enable crewless vessels
to comply with existing Colregs.
A key aspect of the research was the use of Warsash Maritime
Academy’s (WMA’s) networked bridge simulators. These were
used to analyse reactions from the crew when faced with a range
of real-world situations and subsequently adapt the MAXCMAS
algorithms accordingly.
Various simulator-based scenarios were enacted with these
algorithms installed in one of WMA’s conventional bridge
simulators at the academy’s base near Southampton in the UK.
These also had Rolls-Royce interfaces and Atlas Elektronik’s
Autonomy Engine mission manager. Collision avoidance
was successfully demonstrated during sea trials in different
environmental conditions on unmanned surface vessel, Arcims,
which was developed by Atlas Elektronik. Sea trial and simulation
testing was witnessed by classification society Lloyd’s Register.
This project demonstrated that unmanned vessels could use
artificial intelligence-based navigation systems to enact the
rules to avoid collisions, even when approaching manned vessels
that were interpreting the rules differently.
*Colregs – Convention on the International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, amended 2007

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

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 DIGITALISATION | 11

INVESTMENT IN THE
DIGITAL REVOLUTION
NEEDS A PAY-OFF
V.Ships is helping to turn the
digital revolution into reality
to deliver higher profits,
writes Craig Jallal from
the Connecticut Maritime
Association conference in
Stamford, USA
D
igitalisation-induced change in
shipping has to be effective and
result in practical benefits and
higher profitability believes V.Ships, which
has adapted its strategy and is using fleet-
wide data to harness this digital revolution.
V.Ships information systems director
Stephen Macfarlane presented this
strategy during this year’s Connecticut
Maritime Association (CMA) exhibition and
conference in Stamford, US, in March.
He said shipping is “in the grip of the
growing pains of a fourth revolution” with
internet of things (IoT) and digital platforms
generating operational benefits.
Satellite connectivity has enabled data
to be transferred from ships managed by
V.Ships to its ShipSure 2.0 digital platform.
Mr Macfarlane said this encompasses
employees, partners, customers and IoT
networks on ships. The aim is to fit V.Ships
and ship operations more closely into the
needs of the supply chain. “Predictability,
traceability and certainty will drive the
design of shipping operations,” he said.
In the process, V.Ships has moved all
its core business functions onto this open
cloud-based platform linked by a common
taxonomy. As part of the digitalisation
strategy, V.Ships gave itself 50 days to
develop an innovation centre into which
staff and clients can send ideas.
According to Mr Macfarlane, V.Ships
currently has 45 initiatives from internal
and external sources under development.
He expected a success rate of 20 ideas or
less from these 45, but sees this as part of
the learning curve required in the digital
revolution. “Learn, improve; learn, improve.
That is the way we have to work as an

Anchorage time = 20%

Sea time = 56%
Voyage Port time = 20%
Pilot time= 4% Anchorage time (%)
profile All voyages Sea time (%)
Port time (%)
100
analysis 90
Pilot time (%)

80

70
60
% time

50

40
30

20
10
Graph shows 20%
of the voyage time 0
is spent waiting 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Voyage #

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

12 | DIGITALISATION
“PREDICTABILITY, TRACEABILITY AND
CERTAINTY WILL DRIVE THE DESIGN OF
SHIPPING OPERATIONS”
organisation,” he said.
Wärtsilä has also developed an
innovation centre, but from a different
angle. Wärtsilä’s business development
manager for merchant ships and
gas carriers in North America, Kevin
Humphreys, described to CMA delegates
the way his company has moved from
being an engineering company into a
technology group. He said its engine
sales now only represent 18% of its
global business.
Wärtsilä was looking for ways to
change its business model to use data
Andreas Stasinopoulos: Virtual arrival
manages the vessel’s passage speed
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
analytics. One approach was to buy
technology instead of investing time and
money in developing internal models and
the purchase of Eniram Mobile in 2017 and
this year’s acquisition of Transas, points to
one direction the company has gone.
“But there are probably solutions that
we have never even heard of before,” said
Mr Humphreys. Wärtsilä has opened digital
acceleration centres in Helsinki, Finland
and in Singapore. He explained that
anyone internally or externally can offer
an idea to these centres and these would
then be presented to a group of managers
who would analyse the concept to see if
it is viable.
Wärtsilä has also hosted a SparkUp
Challenge event in Helsinki where
18,000 start-ups pitched for the €50,000
(US$61,200) prize fund and six-months
development time in the Wärtsilä digital
acceleration centres.
VIRTUAL ARRIVAL
The aim of V.Ships’ innovation centre
and of Wärtsilä’s start-up event and
digital acceleration centres, is to produce
disruptive concepts and products that
deliver tangible profits or savings.
Ultimately, their shareholders need to see
a return for the investment in innovation.
One such concept that seems to
have real-world potential to produce
substantial savings is Virtual Arrival,
which was presented at CMA by Andreas
Stasinopoulos, a student at the State
University of New York Maritime College.
Using actual voyage data, Mr
Stasinopoulos had analysed the activity
of vessels arriving at ports. He noted
that most bulk ports operate a first-come,
first-served policy. This means that often
a bulk carrier arrived at a port and then
had to wait three or four days at anchor
before reaching the head of the queue.
He analysed voyages of different
day lengths and found that the average
anchorage time was consistently around
20% of the voyage, no matter how long
the voyage took.
His virtual arrival concept identifies the
delay at the next port and manages the
vessel’s passage speed to arrive without
having to anchor. He suggested using
digital data to queue ships during their
voyage so that they arrive at port, without
having to wait for a berth. The time spent
from berth to berth (the total voyage
length) would be the same.
Mr Stasinopoulos' analysis shows
that virtual arrival would lower fuel
consumption because, on average, the
vessel would be steaming at a steady rate,
rather than travelling faster to reach the
port, only to wait at anchor. The lower fuel
consumption also reduces CO2 emissions,
by as much as 50% in some cases. Mr
Stasinopoulos presented a case where a
ship saved US$213,000 on a voyage. MEC
MEC COMMENT:
RETURNS AND
PAY-OFF
To reduce the average voyage speed
to say 7-8 knots, as proposed in
Andreas Stasinopoulos’ CMA
presentation (see main article),
would be a challenge for current
engines. Lower cylinder speed affects
lubrication, soot build-up and, with
it, the inherent danger of engineroom
fires. Also, the efficiency of the engine
would be compromised by the lower
energy passing to the turbochargers,
just to mention a few issues.
But these are solutions that could
be found in the innovation centres
of V.Ships, Wärtsilä and others. The
delays in the port and slot availability
is data that has already been
discovered in the digital revolution.
To turn this into fuel and emissions
savings would require a holistic
management of the data from ports,
operators, weather routers, owners,
charterers and the IoT of the vessels.
As a worthy application of the digital
revolution, this would generate the
returns required from the investment
in innovation. That would be the pay-
off, but for change to be effective, it
needs to be done in practice.
14 | SPECIAL REPORT Greek shipowners & managers
SHIPPING TACKLES
IT, CYBER AND
COMMUNICATIONS
CHALLENGES
G Managers from Navios Group and Andriaki Shipping explain
reek shipowners have tackled
challenges in adopting
digitalisation while adapting ship
communications to enable remote IT
management and improve crew welfare
and cyber security.
Navios Group IT director Katerina
Raptaki told Marine Electronics &
Communications that advances in
digitalisation technology had opened new
opportunities to improve operating profits
but shipping companies need to enhance
their cyber security.
Shipmanagement is based on
experience and intuition of operators
but there is also great importance in
data analytics and maintaining onboard
IT systems. “Digital technology rules
everything and data is generated by almost
every system on board,” said Ms Raptaki.
Katerina Raptaki (Navios): “Digital
technology rules everything”
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
their IT challenges, issues and solutions for improving crew
welfare and remote software management
Collecting the correct data and using
data analytics can lead to shipping
companies becoming more competitive,
efficient and safe for seafarers. “Charter
rates during the last six years have
dropped and shipping companies are
searching for new ways of improving
margins and making extra profits,” she
said, adding that “without deep knowledge
of the exact figures, this is not possible.”
Navios is using digitalisation and
data analytics for reducing fuel costs
and improving voyage planning and on
board machinery maintenance. “Even
the slightest deviations on a vessel’s
route can make a huge difference in
bunkers consumption and hull fatigue,”
Ms Raptaki explained. “Modern systems
used in bunkering operations can result to
tremendous savings through the accuracy
in bunker supply and invoicing.”
With a fleet of more than 200 ships,
Navios uses performance and condition
data from its ships’ main engines and
auxiliary systems to prevent failures.
“Use of preventive digital technologies in
planned maintenance systems can save
money from reducing the frequency of
unneeded maintenance of non-critical
systems,” said Ms Raptaki.
Another development for this Greece-
headquartered shipmanager is the
deployment of Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress
hybrid VSAT system across the fleet.
This involves Ka-band VSAT with L-band
terminals for back-up. These systems
“provide seamless connectivity at a
fixed monthly rate, so that the managing
companies can dedicate a large amount
of bandwidth to their crew members,” said
Ms Raptaki.
Providing "effective internet use, not
only at reasonable prices but also at
acceptable speeds, so that seafarers can
use it also for fast browsing, streaming and
entertainment is a challenge,” she said.
“Our IT operators log on remotely
and perform all installations, updates,
troubleshooting and even resolve
security issues, without the need of
physical attendance”
Navios started deploying Fleet Xpress
in 2017 on board tankers that it manages.
This year, it is extending this to container
ships and bulk carriers in its fleet. Ms
Raptaki said Fleet Xpress enables remote
ICT operations without any intervention
by the crew. “Our IT operators log on
remotely and perform all installations,
updates, troubleshooting and even resolve
security issues, without the need of
physical attendance,” she explained.
Having access to faster internet,
messaging and email services is a
boost to crew morale. They also help
Navios exceed requirements of the ILO
Maritime Labour Convention, which
requires shipping companies to provide

communications facilities to seafarers on
board their ships.
Navios is also deploying better
broadband communications to help retain
its well trained and competent seafarers,
said Ms Raptaki. “From a practical aspect,
a happy crew means better performance
and a more relaxed personality,” she said,
along with “higher retention rate and
a more professional and personalised
approach to the company policies.” She
added that seafarers “tend to consider
the company as family and give their
utmost potential and capacity” if they
have internet access for social media and
remaining in contact with friends ashore.
CYBER THREATS AND
SECURITY ISSUES
Internet access and digitalisation come
with security challenges that shipping
companies need to overcome. Ms Raptaki
thinks that most of the large shipping
companies are aware of the importance of
effectively dealing with cyber threats. This
will be an important topic of discussion at
management level for years.
“However, given the complexity and
diversity of the IT systems on board
vessels, this is not always easy to deploy,”
she said. Some of the issues in deploying
cyber security across fleets include
variations in the IT, bridge and automation
systems on board ships and the minimum
amount of training that seafarers have
been given on these systems and on
cyber security.
Furthermore, the lack of immediate
local support “sometimes results in weak
controls and loose policies to avoid
frequent blocking of IT operations,” said
Ms Raptaki as she sees these weak
controls and loose policies as blockages
to cyber security.
“A vessel’s IT environment is not the
ideal field for deploying very strict cyber
security solutions,” she said. For this
reason, “emphasis is given to the data
availability by ensuring that frequent back-
ups will be intact in case of a cyber attack.”
It is also important that shipping
companies back-up data for critical
operations, such as vessel navigation and
safety systems, “in case some or all of the
vessels ICT systems become unavailable.”
Regular risk assessments are also
required to “ensure that any vessel
operation that strongly depends on IT has
well defined and assessed IT risks and that
remediating actions are also well defined
and frequently tested,” said Ms Raptaki.
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
Greek shipowners & managers SPECIAL REPORT | 15
Dimitris Makris (Andriaki): Maritime
software is a “key factor and differentiator”
Andriaki Shipping IT manager Dimitris
Makris sees cyber security and software
as holding the keys to improving seafarers’
working lives at sea. He told Marine
Electronics & Communications that the
quality of maritime and shipping software
is a “key factor and differentiator” for those
working on board Andriaki’s ships.
“Our need to control operating costs,
the growing complexity of shipping
operations and the constant inflow of
data require the use of flexible and
efficient software,” he explained. Efficient
software is also required for shipping
companies and seafarers to adapt to
“major or minor technological changes
and regulatory frameworks.”
There are IT challenges that seafarers
face in their daily operations, such as
communications between ships and shore
and complexity of onboard computer
systems, said Mr Makris. Shore-based IT
managers also have issues to overcome,
including shore-to-ship communications
and “technical difficulties to providing
remote technical assistance”.
There are also non-IT challenges such
as complexity of seafarer work, time zone
differences between shore bases and
ships, differences in culture, language
and religion. “This all makes up a highly
demanding business environment,”
said Mr Makris. He provided Marine
Electronics & Communications with a
top-10 list of requirements for seaworthy
maritime software. MEC
DIMITRIS MAKRIS:
REQUIREMENTS
OF SEAWORTHY
MARITIME
SOFTWARE
1. The design and functionality of the
software should fully comply with the
requirements and specifications set by
the shipping industry.
2. The software application or
platform should be able to adapt to
the policies and procedures of the
shipping company.
3. Unified user experience: The user
interface of the software should follow
the same rules, modes and logic of
operation throughout all its modules
and submodules.
4. Easy and targeted access to online
help, software documentation,
frequently asked questions and video
tutorials should be in place. Ideally,
the user interface or experience should
be simple and explanatory so that
there is no need to access online help,
documentation or video tutorials.
5. There should be flexibility so that
expanding and modifying the software
does not affect existing processes,
workflow and algorithms. Effective
management of software versions and
customisations on the part of the software
provider is considered as mandatory.
6. Privacy, security and integrity of
processed information should be
embedded into the analysis and
deployment stages.
7. Encryption and data loss prevention
functionalities during processing,
storing and transferring of data are
much appreciated.
8. Centralised information management
between the different departments and
points of presence of the company.
9. Software should promote and adopt
a single-source-of-truth culture, not
allowing multiple entries of the same
information.
10. Maintenance and service contracts
should contain clear terms and
commitments regarding the level of
support provided, services offered,
pricing policy for updates, upgrades and
technical support.
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 AUTOMATION & CONTROL | 17

ROYAL CARIBBEAN TO
UPGRADE CRUISE SHIP
AUTOMATION
M
ariner of the Seas’ will
spend six weeks in
a drydock in Cadiz,
Spain, starting in May this year,
for a major overhaul, which
will include a suite of new
automation, air conditioning and
electronic entertainment systems.
This upgrade will include
new Valmet DNA user
interfaces, data storage and
analytics and reporting tools.
Valmet senior technical
manager for marine automation
applications Per Syvertsen said
the “control room and process
controller parts of the
system will be transformed
to the latest Valmet DNA
technology platform.”
This upgrade will be based
around a new Ethernet-based
communication network that
will link new DNA operator
workstations, including a station
for trend analysis, event archiving
and reporting applications.
There will also be upgraded
Valmet application and control
nodes (ACN), which support
input and output (I/O)
Royal Caribbean International has chosen which crew on board will be
able to use a service called
to upgrade the Damatic XDi automation Valmet DNA Operate Trend
systems on its 2003-built cruise ship, and Event Archive as a
Mariner of the Seas, with Valmet DNA functional extension to the
control room. This provides
users with access to trend and
event history from the DNA
Mariner of the Seas will be upgraded Operate interface.
during a six-week drydocking in Cadiz, “This gives a whole
Spain in May-June new dimension to process
operations, since a user can
utilise collected process history
with trends, replay and alarm
and event analysing tools,” said
Mr Syvertsen.
Mariner of the Seas’
automation controls its
propulsion systems, which
include a diesel-electric
powertrain that uses three
Azipod azimuth thrusters.
units and industrial process benefit of the upgrade is that Each propeller is driven by a
controllers. ACN industrial the I/O side of the Damatic double-wound three-phase
controllers are platforms XDi system will remain synchronous motor with four-
for all the process controls unchanged as this part of bladed fixed pitch propellers.
and connections to external the technology will still be These 14,000 kW motors
computer equipment on board supported for several years. are mounted directly on the
this Voyager-class, 138,279 gt Mariner of the Seas is propeller shaft inside the pod.
and 311 m cruise ship. expected to return to service There are also four 3,000 kW
Mr Syvertsen said a major before the end of June, after Kamewa bow thrusters.

Lindblad orders ABB automation for new polar cruise ship

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings has ordered automation and power
management systems for its new polar exploration cruise ship
from ABB. This contract also involves supplying propulsion and
digital systems. This ship will be constructed by Ulstein Verft in
Norway for delivery in Q1 2020.
Its automation will be based on ABB Ability 800xA, which
integrates power, propulsion and vessel management systems
into one platform. This will display information for both crew and
onshore teams to give them a comprehensive overview of data
for optimal ship operation. There will be workstations with uniform
control and monitoring applications.
In addition, this new passenger ship will be connected to
ABB’s collaborative operations centre, which monitors the
performance of ABB technology on board and remotely connects
operators with ABB experts. There are likely to be more orders
for ABB automation and power control systems as Ulstein holds
options to build two additional ships for Lindblad Expeditions to
the same design. MEC

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

18 | AUTOMATION & CONTROL
Bourbon to invest
€75M to upgrade fleet IT
French shipowner Bourbon plans to upgrade a fleet of
132 offshore support vessels with remotely-monitored
DP and better connectivity
Frederic Moulin (Bourbon):
“We are looking to convert
Bourbon Explorer 508’s 20
sister ships”
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
F
rench offshore support
vessel operator Bourbon
Corp will invest €75M
(US$92M) to upgrade a
fleet of 132 ships into smart
ships, starting this year. This
three-year investment is part
of Bourbon’s strategy to split
its huge fleet into those that
can be improved with better
connectivity and remote
monitoring and a division that
holds 65 vessels that are too old
to have their IT updated.
This corporate strategy will
involve restructuring the entire
organisation into three distinct
affiliates – Bourbon Marine
& Logistics, Bourbon Subsea
Services and Bourbon Mobility.
This will be completed this
year in reaction to falling
demand for ageing platform
supply vessels and growing
requirements for Bourbon
to capitalise on digitalisation
by creating a smart fleet of
modern supply vessels.
Bourbon then expects to
dispose of the oldest 41 non-
smart vessels (leaving 24 still
operating) and expects this will
result in an impairment loss
of around €170M in its 2017
financial statements. The 132
vessels that Bourbon Marine
& Logistics is upgrading will
receive improvements to VSAT
connectivity and bridge systems.
Part of this investment
will involve upgrading vessel
dynamic positioning (DP) for
more automated control and
remote monitoring. Bourbon
vice president of operation
standards and innovation
Frederic Moulin spoke
exclusively to Marine Electronics
& Communications about these
plans and the benefits.
Bourbon worked with
class society Bureau Veritas,
technology supplier Kongsberg
Maritime and Airbus
subsidiary Apsys on a DP
remote monitoring pilot project
using platform supply vessel
(PSV) Bourbon Explorer 508,
Mr Moulin explained. This
“IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THAT THE
PROTOCOLS FOR DATA TRANSMISSION AND
REMOTE ACCESS ARE SECURE”
involved updating Kongsberg
DP systems on this PSV
for remote monitoring and
verifying DP operations.
This pilot project, which
started this year, is being
conducted while the 3,600 dwt
vessel operates on a long-term
charter to BP in Trinidad,
where it is supplying cargo
to gas platforms that supply
the Atlantic LNG production
centre. Mr Moulin said the
“payback from this investment
is at least one year and Bourbon
Explorer 508 is on contract
until 2019.”
This monitoring technology
was developed by Kongsberg
Maritime. It collects data
from the DP system that
can be used on board and
by onshore support teams to
improve DP operations. Mr
Moulin expects this to improve
safety and reduce fuel and DP
maintenance costs, adding
that “remote monitoring will
become an automatic function
of DP.”
Apsys is helping the
partners to identify and
mitigate cyber security risks
linked to data collection and
communication between
Bourbon’s vessels and onshore
infrastructure. “It is important
to ensure that the protocols
for data transmission and
remote access are secure,” said
Mr Moulin. Apsys will also
help Bureau Veritas create
certification and class notations
covering cyber security.
Kongsberg provided a

Master DP2 control system,
which is linked to two 2,000
kW azimuthing Z-drive
thrusters with fixed pitch
propellers and two 1,000 kW
controllable pitch bow thrusters.
Bourbon also invested in
the people that will be using
this upgraded DP to teach
and test them on the new
procedures, said Mr Moulin.
One of the benefits of this
upgrade for remote monitoring
is that Bourbon can train up
bridge officers instead of hiring
specialised DP operators. “Our
bridge engineer goes through
DP training and gains sea
time,” he explained.
Other benefits to Bourbon
from DP monitoring includes
using the collected data as
an advisory tool for DP
management to “optimise DP
configuration for the best fuel
consumption.” Mr Moulin
continued “We have been able
to modify and upgrade bridge
electronics with specialised
systems for one engineer so we
could eventually reduce crew by
one person.”
It is important that DP can
be handled by a bridge officer
as Bourbon Explorer 508 spends
around 8-10 hours, representing
less than about 20% of a cargo
run on DP . The rest of the
time this PSV sails using its
main engines and only does
one or two cargo runs to BP
platforms each week.
Mr Moulin stressed that
DP monitoring is not in real-
time and data transmissions
to shore were in bandwidth-
optimised packages over
Bourbon Explorer 508’s VSAT
BOURBON EXPLORER 508 PARTICULARS
Built: 2014
Type: Medium PSV
Operations: Trinidad
Charterer: BP to 2019
Flag: France
Class: Bureau Veritas
Deadweight: 3,600 dwt
Length oa: 79 m
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
Kongsberg DP was upgraded on
Bourbon Explorer 508 under a
remote monitoring pilot project
satellite communications.
This is managed by Inmarsat
over Ku-band and with
FleetBroadband L-band for
back-up. This provides this
79 m PSV with bandwidth of
512 kbps, which Mr Moulin
said was sufficient to meet data
transmission requirements and
crew welfare services.
Fleet-wide upgrades
With this pilot test underway,
Bourbon is considering how
to replicate this technology on
other vessels. “We are looking
to convert Bourbon Explorer
508’s sister ships,” he said, of
which there are 20, operating
in Africa, Caribbean and
Asia. “Eventually we could
have more vessels with DP
monitoring,” said Mr Moulin.
During the pilot project
and the first of these vessel
upgrades, DP is, and will be,
Depth: 7.8 m
Top speed: 14.2 knots
DP: Kongsberg Master DP2
Sensors: 3 DGPS, 1 radius
Main propulsion: 2x 2,000 kW
azimuth Z-drive FPP
Bow thrusters: 2x 1,000 kW CPP
Cargo deck: 720 m2
AUTOMATION & CONTROL | 19
monitored 24 hours a day
in Kongsberg Maritime’s
offices in Norway. However,
as more vessels are added to
the programme, Bourbon will
“reach a critical size and we
can remotely watch DP on our
vessels ourselves,” he explained.
“We are planning to build a
remote monitoring centre; it is
yet to be decided where.”
Once this facility is built,
Bourbon intends to extend
its remote management
capabilities to monitor
engineroom machinery and
maintain bridge systems. “We
see opportunities to support
crew with task control, advice
and processing and for planned
maintenance monitoring.”
A matter of class
Conversion of the fleet
will involve replacing the
bridge and DP hardware and
reassessing class with perhaps
new notations. “Bureau Veritas
provides us with support and
regulatory analysis as we need
to present to flag states and
clients and ensure that it meets
regulatory requirements,” said
Mr Moulin.
Bureau Veritas global
market leader for tugs and
offshore support vessels Eva
Peño told MEC that the
agreement with Bourbon
was just the beginning of
digitalisation of offshore
support vessels. “The aim of
this smart shipping programme
is to develop and deploy
automation and real-time
fleet monitoring applications,”
she said. This is “to optimise
the safety and reliability of
vessel operations and reduce
operating expenditure.”
Ms Peño believes that
expansion of computerised
control systems and increasing
levels of connectivity is pushing
shipping towards operating
autonomous vessels, including
tugs and fire-fighting vessels.
Bureau Veritas published
guidelines for autonomous
shipping in December 2017*
to support and assist shipyards
and owners to enhance the
autonomy of vessels. It is
probable that autonomous
offshore vessels and tugs
will be developed in the
future. “Tugs are a vessel type
whose function, operational
parameters and cost base may
be well suited to autonomous
operations,” said Ms Peño. “At
Bureau Veritas we are ready to
take it to the next level.” MEC
*To read Bureau Veritas’
guidelines for autonomous
shipping, use this link
bit.ly/MEC_BVauto
UNIQUE
INTEGRATED O P E R A
INFRASTRUCTURE T T
E I
E

O
F L

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PLANNING
DECISION SUPPORT
S I T U AT I O N A L A W A R E N E S S
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
SHIP

MANEUVERING
TR

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A
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ON A
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THE SIS | Tran s as Harmoniz ed E co System of Integrated Solutions

info@transas.com | www.transas.com
 E-NAVIGATION | 21

Thome overcomes ECDIS challenges

Singapore-based shipmanagement group
Thome overcame the challenge of having
to update all shipboard ECDIS across the
fleet to the latest International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO) standards.
Thome president and chief commercial
officer Claes Eek Thorstensen told Marine
Electronics & Communications that the
variety of systems on board, the “intense
trading patterns” and schedules of the
ships meant that it was not possible
to update all onboard systems to IHO
standard version 4.0 in time.
IMO required all onboard ECDIS to
be operating with software that complied
with this IHO standard by September 2017,
unless given dispensation. Which is what
Thome had to do.
“ECDIS could not be updated on every
single vessel straightaway so we sought
dispensation from the relevant classification
societies for the few vessels that were not
updated initially, to avoid any issues with port
state control,” Mr Thorstensen explained.
Thome’s fleet has ECDIS supplied by
Furuno Electric, Headway Technology,
Japan Radio Co and Kongsberg Maritime.
Verification was needed to show that
each navigation device was operating
on the latest compliant software, or was
being updated.
“The upgrading process involved physical
attendance from the service technician,”
said Mr Thorstensen. “After the system has
been updated, the master of the vessel was
required to send a screen shot of the ECDIS
screen to confirm the software update.”
For the vessels where an upgrade
was not completed in time, dispensation
was taken and hard copies of Admiralty
navigation charts were supplied “after
carrying out a thorough risk assessment”
he added. Thome had upgraded all ECDIS
across its fleet by the end of 2017.
Training is as important an aspect of
ECDIS operations as having the latest
software installed. Thome did not have a
centralised training centre, but it did have
online and computer-based training (CBT)
tools. It also used accredited training
centres around the world that have
knowledge of different ECDIS systems to
ensure its bridge teams were taught how
to operate these devices.
Mr Thorstensen said the group uses
Safebridge online tools to conduct ECDIS
training as Safebridge has programs
covering the major brands and models and
can be accessed wherever there is internet
connection. He explained that Furuno’s and
Kongsberg’s own CBT programs were used
and some classroom training was provided
in Singapore by Star Centurion.
Thome’s recently opened operations
hub is also used for ECDIS training, and
can be used for extending elements of
e-navigation to the fleet. “Our operations
hub is a state-of-the-art system that
enables situational awareness for both
duty personnel and Thome’s crisis teams,”
Mr Thorstensen explained.
“It provides high-tech systems allowing
remote tracking of individual ships in
the fleet, passage planning, security risk Claes Eek Thorstensen: Thome had
assessment and weather routeing, all upgraded all ECDIS across its fleet by the
essential to help with navigation.” end of 2017

Collaboration will develop AI route planning

Norwegian and Japanese companies have collaborated to
develop intelligent ship routeing services. Norway-headquartered
Navtor and Japanese company Weathernews Inc (WNI) have
started working together to incorporate weather information in
ship voyage planning.
Navtor will start using WNI information within its software on
route planning workstation, NavStation. Navtor said it would also
work with WNI “to develop a ground-breaking artificial intelligence
(AI) routeing service, which could revolutionise route planning,
efficiency and safety within the maritime industry”.
Initially, WNI will provide an enhanced resolution of weather
data to Navtor NavStation users. The next stage is to integrate
WNI’s shipping weather service and fleet management platform
into NavStation.
Navtor said this would offer “a host of benefits including
optimum ship routeing to save fuel and reduce costs, optimise for
route safety and speed, and fleet monitoring with daily analysis of
ship efficiency alongside detailed auditing capabilities”.
Following this, the two companies will work together to develop
an AI route planning service combining weather information,
electronic chart information and navigation knowledge.
This AI system would learn to perceive its environment and
recommend optimal actions that support onboard crew and onshore
control management, said Navtor chief executive Tor Svanes. Navtor
unveiled the prototype of the WNI integrated NavStation at the Sea
Japan exhibition in April and will release this product in June. MEC

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

22 | E-NAVIGATION

E-navigation:
There can be no smart
implementation of
e-navigation without

search for
harmonised standards
that meet user needs,
writes Aline de Bièvre

standardisation
continues

R
egulators and shipping industry
stakeholders still have much to
do to ensure that e-navigation
technology can be adopted
globally to improve ship safety. Rapid
technological advances in maritime
navigation bring new opportunities for
supporting human endeavours to reduce
collisions and groundings, but they can also
hinder them through lack of understanding
of user needs.
These challenges dominated discussions
at this year’s “e-Navigation Underway”
(ENUW) International Conference that
was held in January on board the DFDS
ferry Pearl Seaways for the duration of its
two-day roundtrip between Copenhagen
and Oslo. The general view of the near 150
participants from 29 countries and seven
international organisations was that neither Real-life route exchange display on ECDIS (credit: Sea Traffic Management)
stakeholder nor regulatory responses are
fast enough to ensure that the benefits of
new technology made a real difference for [technological] changes, we will not survive and standards for dealing with cyber
people at sea. beyond the next 15 to 20 years,” he said. threats lag far behind those in place for the
Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) Commenting on ongoing efforts prevention of and response to accidents.
director general Andreas Nordseth was a in Denmark to establish a single,
strong advocate of the efficiency benefits standardised electronic platform (single AUTONOMOUS
of e-navigation. He highlighted the window) at the national level as a smart SYSTEMS’ CHALLENGE
amount of reports that ships still need to and practical solution for relaying ship Discussions also pinpointed the emerging
provide, citing the dismal case of a ship reports, Mr Smedegaard deplored the lack reality of business case-driven autonomous
that had to report the same information of progress as “a nightmare”. Bureaucratic systems. These are becoming operational
158 times while trading between just a few intransigencies and connectivity problems and authorities and organisations must
European ports. meant that the intended enhanced prepare urgently for their emergence in the
DFDS president and chief executive efficiency gains have not been realised. maritime domain. Legal aspects, including
officer Niels Smedegaard warned that “the Both speakers expressed concern over liability implications, have hardly received
exponential speed of digitalisation”, which complacency with regard to cyber security any attention. IMO's planned scoping
had already revolutionised the way people risks, which posed a danger to safety of life exercise is intended to provide direction
lead their daily lives, could overwhelm the at sea. Mr Nordseth, a former ship master, to the regulatory debate on maritime
traditionally conservative maritime industry. said that the danger is comparable to that autonomous surface ships, but its outcome
“Unless a company like ours recognises the posed by marine accidents. Yet procedures is not due until 2020.

Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com


The conference programme benefited
once again from the close co-operation of
the International Association of Marine
Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse
Authorities (IALA), which is concerned
with the, equally important, shore-based
aspects of e-navigation.
IALA secretary-general Francis
Zachariae said that the harmonised
provision of shore-based maritime
information services for shipping, using
a common maritime data structure and
standardised communications, was vital
for the successful implementation of
e-navigation. IALA’s technical development
programme for 2018-2022 includes priority
work on data modelling and on digital
communications technologies, in particular
the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES).
IALA is working closely with the
harmonisation group on data modelling,
a joint initiative of IMO and the
International Hydrographic Organization
(IHO). The group’s work is based on
IHO’s S-100 data exchange standard (also
known as the Universal Hydrographic
Data Model). This is widely recognised as
a baseline standard with inherent flexibility
to support a wide variety of digital data
sources, products and services.
Delegates received updated reports
from several major projects and global test
beds on encouraging results obtained from
ship-based and shore-side VDES prototype
trials that used both terrestrial and satellite
platforms for data transmissions.
A major attraction of the VDES
concerns its ability to cope with increasing
volumes of data and high data transmission
rates required by some of the more-
demanding applications.
Furthermore, it incorporates the
Automatic Identification System (AIS),
protecting the AIS very high frequency data
link from overload and thereby ensuring
that the AIS transmission of critical
safety information, which is a SOLAS
requirement, is not jeopardised.
ECDIS CHANGES
Mr Zachariae said that ECDIS
manufacturers should act fast in ensuring
that their systems can handle increasing
volumes of data. Failure to do so risked
opening the floodgates to external solutions,
with users resorting to smartphones and
other personalised electronic devices. This
would further complicate interoperability
issues and aggravate concerns over lack of
maritime standardisation.
IMO technical officer Sascha Pristrom,
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
a former deck officer, said that seafarers
wished to be able to access easily and fast
any additional information they liked
to have. They regarded user-selectable
information as a welcome element of
ECDIS but were frustrated that the
system’s features to improve safety were
often buried under several layers of data.
Various presentations highlighted
growing collaboration between
e-navigation testbed operators, aided
by the overlap of partners in different
projects. Outstanding examples included
the DMA-co-ordinated EfficienSea2
demonstration project, the Sweden-
led Sea Traffic Management validation
project – which draws on the results of
the European Commission part-funded
MonaLisa testbeds – and South Korea’s
SMART-Navigation initiative.
Project leaders said that sharing of and
building on each other’s results not only
optimised the use of limited resources
but also stimulated the development of
new maritime services, a shared maritime
connectivity infrastructure and common
standards for a globally harmonised
implementation of e-navigation.
ECDIS S-MODE
Representing marine equipment
manufacturers and professional mariners,
respectively, the Comité International
Radio-Maritime (CIRM) and the
Nautical Institute (NI) reported on their
successful collaborative work to develop
a more usable and standardised mode
of operation (S-mode) and display of
information on navigation systems and
equipment, such as ECDIS, integrated
navigation systems and radar.
Australia and South Korea had
provided support by sponsoring workshops
Discussions on Pearl Seaways covered IHO S-100 standard and e-navigation trials
E-NAVIGATION | 23
and input from academic research. In
addition, BIMCO, Intermanager, the
International Association of Institutes
of Navigation and the International
Electrotechnical Commission had made
valuable contributions.
CIRM deputy secretary-general Richard
Doherty explained that the resulting
draft guidelines focused on core functions
that must always be available by a simple
operation – which he described as an
“always-on” form of standardisation.
The original intent to require navigation
equipment to have an inbuilt facility to
revert automatically to a fully standardised
mode of operation had been abandoned.
Instead, a more flexible approach had
been adopted to safeguard technology
innovation, without jeopardising legitimate
user needs to locate and interpret essential
information quickly and react decisively,
which is crucial to safe navigation.
Mr Doherty said he was confident that
the draft guidelines would receive a positive
response at IMO’s Sub-Committee on
Safety of Navigation, Communications, and
Search and Rescue (NCSR).
This met in February 2018 (NCSR 5)
and decided to establish a correspondence
group to continue the development of
the draft guidelines, with the aim to have
them finalised at NCSR 6 next January
and approved by the Maritime Safety
Committee in June 2019 (MSC 101).
NCSR 5 completed updating work on
IMO’s Strategy Implementation Plan for
e-navigation. It also finalised draft interim
guidelines for the harmonised display
of navigation information received via
communications equipment. In December,
MSC 100 is expected to approve both
documents for immediate distribution
through MSC circulars. MEC
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 REMOTE MONITORING & DIAGNOSTICS | 25

Data monitoring “DATA WILL

BECOME A SOURCE

can lower fuel and OF COMPETITIVE

DIFFERENTIATION”

insurance costs
Real-time, data-
driven decision
making will decide
shipping’s winners
and losers
Martin Penney: “Some
shipping companies are starting
to adopt true data-driven
decision-making practices“
S
hipowners can reduce
fuel costs and insurance
premiums by adopting
more vessel performance
technology. They can cut
their decision-making time
by having greater integration
between ships in their fleets
and shore-based managers,
said Marorka director of sales
Martin Penney.
Improvements in ship-to-
shore connectivity through
VSAT, enhancements in vessel
tracking through the automatic
identification system (AIS)
and the installation of more
onboard sensors is enabling
shipping to adopt the internet
Snapshot CV
Martin Penney
Martin Penney joined
Marorka as sales director
in December 2017 after
18 years of experience in
software and company
development. He has
previously held positions
of responsibility at
Eniram, INTTRA, Datix,
Global Freight Exchange
and BMT Smart. He
has a masters’ degree in
industrial engineering from
Cambridge University and
was a director of the board
at the Institute of Directors
in 2015.
of things (IoT). Shipowners’
interest in these innovations
is driven by the need for real-
time performance data.
“Already some shipping
companies are starting
to adopt true data-driven
decision-making practices,” Mr
Penney told Marine Electronics
& Communications. For these
companies, data is a unifier.
“It brings together previously
siloed departments on a single,
holistic platform,” he explained.
In many shipping
companies, the commercial
and operational arms are in
different locations, or could
be in different divisions. In
these instances, shipowners
should consider combining
real-time performance data
with commercial information to
improve their profitability, said
Mr Penney.
IoT and real-time data
monitoring technology go
beyond just vessel operations
as they will also impact logistic
chains. He anticipates that
this will be supported by
blockchain processes “to
ensure the veracity of each and
every transaction.” He added
that trading companies will
use maritime transport “more
as a weapon in their trading
arsenal” as they could combine
real-time and predictive
performance with opportunities
for commodity arbitrage.
“This data will become
a source of competitive
differentiation,” Mr Penney
said, adding that data-driven
companies are overtaking
those that have invested less
in technology in the container
ship sector. He predicts this will
reach all areas of shipping soon.
Mr Penney expects
real-time performance
monitoring, combined with
AIS information, will enable
shipping companies to reduce
their insurance premiums, just
as vehicle owners are able to
do. This is because “real-time
performance data can track
safety as well as fuel issues,”
he said.
For example, Marorka’s
performance team is already
checking that vessels stay
within the scantling draught
and do not suffer damage
from excessive heeling in port
due to asymmetric gantry
crane loading. By using these
types of service, Mr Penney
explained, “shipowners can
gain peace of mind and may
also see their insurance
premiums reduce in the future.”
Marorka provides
predictions to both ship and
shore, for estimated time
of arrival and performance,
based on fuel budgets,
engine revolution settings
and expected weather and
vessel conditions. It provides
real-time alerts on the use of
all consumers on the vessel,
including the main engines,
diesel generators, auxiliary
engines, boilers, lube oil
pumps and cargo pumps. MEC

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

26 | REMOTE MONITORING & DIAGNOSTICS
Predictive models
can be adapted for
route planning
Machine learning is being adopted for
voyage planning and anti-piracy to reduce
risks and improve vessel performance
S
tratumFive has developed machine-
learning for its ship online tracking
and information system (OTIS)
to improve data analytics for voyage
planning. This is ahead of the company
introducing a voyage intelligence platform.
OTIS provides weather, security and
navigational data to more than 9,000
vessels. Its shore centre also receives
data about these ship locations every day.
This data is sent to owners, operators
and shore crew to provide them with an
“accurate picture of where their ship is,
and what it is doing”, said StratumFive
chief operating officer Ross Martin.
“This minimises the risk to ships
and crew from adverse situations, such
as weather or piracy, and makes sure
the voyage is as efficient and safe
as possible,” he explained to Marine
Electronics & Communications.
However, StratumFive wanted to go
further with its voyage information by
introducing machine-learning techniques
to build predictive models that are based
on analysis of data from past voyages.
“We can already see the examples of this
analytical ability in the field of security,”
“IF A PIRATE ATTACK
OCCURS ON A FRIDAY,
IT IS MORE LIKELY TO
RESULT IN A HIJACKING”
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
said Mr Martin, who offered by example
an interactive heat map that highlights the
relative risks of piracy in different areas.
Many of the influential factors to piracy
risk are included in this heat map, such as
wind speed, direction and wave height,
swell direction and light levels. However,
Mr Martin also thinks the day of the week
has a role in piracy risk. “On the face of it,
this may seem illogical,” he said. “Why is a
risk of piracy really worse on a given day
of the week?”
The answer is that there is evidence
that the day of the week is important in
both risk of attack and the experience
of one. This insight can be learned from
experience and data analytics.
“In Somalia, Fridays are days of prayer,”
said Mr Martin, and pirates can be divided
into two groups – the less experienced,
opportunistic part-time’ pirates, and the
hardened ‘professional’ pirates. The
former group will observe their holy days,
while the latter will venture out regardless,
he continued. Because of this, “if a pirate
attack occurs on a Friday, it is more likely
to result in a hijacking”.
This demonstrates the “kind of insights
that are available when we use machine
learning to help identify causes and
effects,” he said. It would help shipowners
“to avoid some of the pitfalls that can
emerge when they rely on conventional
wisdom and assumption.”
These machine learning techniques are
being developed as groundwork for the
expected launch of StratumFive’s voyage
intelligence platform later this year, Mr
Martin said. This platform will combine
varied datasets from different sources “to
provide our customers with a scalable
range of voyage monitoring applications.”
These will include insights into vessel
performance and efficiencies and this
intelligence platform will “generate
informed predictions based on advanced
data analysis of every aspect of a
voyage, powered by machine learning,”
he explained.
It will be scalable with human-machine
interfaces and the ability to share
knowledge between teams. “At the same
time it must be flexible, searchable, and
powerful enough to answer the questions
that owners, operators and seafarers want
answering,” said Mr Martin.
He expects shipowners and operators
will gain more value from the data
analytics “to give users the biggest bang-
for-their-buck”. He added that much of
the current digitalisation trend has been
focused on improving ship performance
through accurate monitoring and analysis.
However, he thinks owners should not
ignore the voyage performance.
“In the grand scheme of things, no
matter how well optimised a vessel’s
engine or trim might be, if it cannot avoid
adverse weather then this just becomes
obsolete,” Mr Martin explained to MEC.
“Digitalisation is like a strong tide, which
shipping should use to its advantage by
focusing on the big-ticket datasets that will
make the most difference in keeping ships
safe, secure and efficient.”
He thinks ship operators can use data
analytics as “something that can augment
good seamanship” to prioritise the factors
that will have the greatest and most
positive impact on the voyage. MEC
Heatmap shows the risk of ships being
attacked by pirates in the Middle East
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28 | CYBER SECURITY
Penetration tests underscore
shipping security holes
Naval Dome has
demonstrated cyber
vulnerabilities with
penetration tests on
systems in common
use aboard tankers,
container ships and
cruise ships
Asaf Shefi (Naval Dome):
“During the attack, the
system’s display looked
normal, but it was deceiving
the officer of the watch”
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
C
yber security flaws
were demonstrated
through penetration
tests conducted by Naval
Dome in 2017 on a number of
ship systems. These results
revealed the ease with which
hackers can access and
override ship-critical systems,
including those controlling
navigation, radar, engines,
pumps and machinery.
For example, Naval Dome
experts were able to shift a
vessel’s reported position
and mislead the radar display,
disable machinery, manipulate
steering gear controls and
override signals to fuel and
ballast pumps.
During the first wave of
penetration tests, a ship’s
ECDIS was infiltrated through
an email sent to the captain’s
computer. Naval Dome’s chief
technical officer Asaf Shefi
said this hack was designed
to “alter the vessel’s position
at a critical point during an
intended voyage,” which was
during a night passage through
a narrow canal.
“During the attack, the
system’s display looked normal,
but it was deceiving the officer
of the watch,” said Mr Shefi.
“The actual situation was
completely different to the one
on screen. If the vessel had
been operational, it would have
almost certainly run aground.”
Naval Dome was able
to alter draught and water
depth details in line with
the spurious position data
displayed on screen. “The
vessel’s crucial parameters of
position, heading, depth and
speed were manipulated in a
way that the navigation picture
made sense and did not
arouse suspicion,” he said.
This was possible because
the master’s computer was
regularly connected to the
internet through a satellite link,
which was used for electronic
navigational chart updates.
Naval Dome’s attacking file
was transferred to ECDIS
during a chart update so once
the watch officer updated
ECDIS, Naval Dome’s attack
file immediately installed itself
on to the system.
A second cyber
penetration test affected
the ship’s radar, which was
considered an impregnable
and standalone system. Mr
Shefi said Naval Dome used
the local Ethernet switch
interface that connects the
radar to the ECDIS, bridge
alert system and voyage data
recorder to hack the system.
“We succeeded in
eliminating radar targets
by deleting them from the
screen,” Mr Shefi said. “At the
same time, the system display
showed that the radar was
working perfectly, including
detection thresholds, which
were presented on the radar
as perfectly normal.”
Naval Dome’s third
penetration test was
performed on the machinery
control system (MCS) by using
an infected USB memory stick
placed in an input socket. A
virus was transferred to the
MCS, which started to change
the functionality of auxiliary
engineroom systems.
This virus attacked the
ballast system so that the
display was presented as
normal although the valves
and pumps were disrupted
and stopped working. “We
could have misled all the
auxiliary systems controlled
by the MCS, including air-
conditioning, generators and
fuel systems,” said Mr Shefi.
These penetration tests
demonstrated how shipboard
systems can be infected by
hackers using online tools,
or using seafarers or service
engineers to unwittingly
transfer viruses. To counter
these security risks, Naval
Dome developed a maritime
cyber protection system
(MCPS). This integrates
with existing systems and
software, providing real-time
cyber alerts and blocking
malicious files to prevent
unauthorised access to critical
systems and data.
MCPS software prevented
hackers from penetrating
these same shipboard systems
during a second phase of tests.
Naval Dome won the Marine
Intelligence award at Riviera
Maritime Media’s 2018 Marine
Propulsion Awards, which
were presented during a gala
dinner on the first evening
of the Sulphur Cap 2020
conference and exhibition,
which took place on 17-18 April
in Amsterdam. MEC
For more details visit
www.sulphurcap2020.com
01101110 01100111 00100000 01110010 01101001 01110011 01101011 01110011 00100000 01100110 01110010 01101111 0110110
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CYBER SECURITY | 29
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TACTICAL TIPS TO
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REDUCE THE RISKS OF

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CYBER HACKING
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With increasing risks from hackers here are 10 top tips that shipowners,
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and operators can follow01010100 01101000
to reduce the 01100101
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becoming the next victims of a successful cyber attack. These are the GET A SIMPLE
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suggestions 01100101
from Pen Test Partners00100000 01110011
senior partner 01110101
Ken Munro, who has 01100111 01100111 01100101
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provided cyber security consultancy for a decade. “Developing a security AUDIT CARRIED OUT
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policy, following IMO, 00100000 01100110
ISO and/or National 01110010
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Technology frameworks is important,” he said. “But it can take a long
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time for companies to 01110100 00100000where
implement particularly 01010000
process01100001 01110010 01110100
and mindset 01101110
MAKE 01100101 01110010 0111001
TECHNOLOGY
changes are required.” However, these tactical tips can be put into practice SUPPLIERS PROVE
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by shipowners 01101110
and fleet managers 01101001 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110000
straightaway…. 01100001
THAT THEY 01110010 01110100 0110111
ARE SECURE
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TRAIN 01110000 01110010 01101111 0111011
CREW ABOUT
CYBER SECURITY
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CHECK THAT SATELLITE01100100 00100000 01100011 01111001 01100010 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110011 0110010
COMMUNICATIONS
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HAVE PASSWORDS DO NOT RELY01101111
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CHANGED FROM THE BRIDGE TECHNOLOGY
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MANUFACTURER’S DEFAULT
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CHECK THAT BRIDGE,
ENGINEROOM, CREW,
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FOR ACCURATE SHIP
POSITIONING

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WIFI AND BUSINESS
NETWORKS ON BOARD
ARE LOGICALLY
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SEPARATED

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MAKE SURE 01101001 01110100 01111001 00100000 01110000 01101111 01101100 01101001 01100011 01111001 0010110
SATELLITE
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COMMUNICATIONS
ARE NOT ON THE REGULARLY
01001111 00101100 00100000 01001001UPDATE
PUBLIC INTERNET
01010011 01001111 00100000 01100001
SATELLITE CHECK ALL 01101110 01100100 00101111 01101111 0111001
COMMUNICATIONS ONBOARD WIFI
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01101001 01101111 01101110 01100001
SOFTWARE
NETWORKS 01101100 00100000 01001001 01101110 0111001

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SECURE USB 01101110 01100100 00100000 01010100 0110010
PORTS ON
01100011 01101000 01101110 01101111 01101100 01101111 01100111 01111001 00100000 01100110 01110010 01100001 0110110
ALL SHIPS
SYSTEMS

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01100001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 0110011
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01110000 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101001 01100011 01110101 01101100 01100001 01110010 01101100 01111001 0010000
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

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30 | CYBER SECURITY
Blockchain is not the silver
bullet for cyber security
Blockchain processes
could be hacked by
experts who have
demonstrated ways
to compromise
this transaction
technology’s security
Five ways to hack a blockchain
They are not as secure as people think
Private key compromise – hacking your wallet
Broken cryptography in future
Smart contracts
Mining nodes
Scalability
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
B
lockchain technology
is not as secure as
people anticipate
and can be hacked,
believes Pen Test Partners
senior partner Ken Munro.
Blockchain is an online trading
system that enables several
companies and organisations
to track and enact financial
transactions in shipping. It is
thought to be a ‘silver bullet’
for secure transactions but Mr
Munro thinks there are ways to
hack it.
“Blockchain solves some
security issues but also opens
up new and concerning
security problems,” he
told Marine Electronics &
Communications. Its security
is assumed because of
consensus algorithms, “which
most people probably do not
understand” he explained. To
demonstrate this, Mr Munro
described some hacking
methods that might be used
to break into a maritime
transaction blockchain.
Private key compromise
This is also known as
hacking an organisation’s
'wallet'. Permissions to use
a blockchain are governed
by each user’s private key
address, more commonly
known as their wallet, he
explained. Therefore, if
someone gains access to
a user’s private key, they
would control their wallet and
transactions. These wallets are
protected with a password,
which may not be secure.
“Consider someone in
your supply chain using a
tablet to manage container
movements at a terminal,” Mr
Munro suggested. “Have they
set a strong password for their
wallet?” If the tablet is stolen
and the password is easily
cracked, then there would
be a problem. “Even though
blockchain may be secured
by consensus, if a genuine
account is compromised there
is no stopping illegitimate use,”
Mr Munro warned.
Broken cryptography
Cryptography can be, and
has been in the past, broken
because of computing
advances. A next-generation
technology in computing, also
known as quantum computing,
has the potential processing
power to crack cryptography
that secures a blockchain.
“Once cracked, all trust in
the blockchain is lost,” said
Mr Munro. “If cracked, an

“ONCE CRACKED, ALL TRUST IN
THE BLOCKCHAIN IS LOST”
immediate switch to stronger
encryption would be required.”
All old transactions and wallets
would be frozen and the new
blockchain would begin from
the last frozen block.
“The cost of such a
change could be enormous,
potentially eclipsing the cost
savings from the blockchain
itself,” he added.
Mining nodes
Miners are the security of a
network. They implement the
blockchain by supplying the
ledger and work together
to ensure consensus. “The
amount of mining nodes you
have on a network determines
how secure the network will
be,” Mr Munro explained.
The design of a maritime
blockchain is important in this
respect. If one organisation
controls the majority of the
miners, they control the
whole network.
“If an attacker can gain
control of 51% of all mining
nodes, they can control the
network and can change
historical data,” he explained.
Another vulnerability of the
scale of 2017 cyber attacks
that involved WannaCry
or NotPetya and affected
shipping companies, “could
be the one that destroys a
blockchain by deleting the
ledger on all nodes, thus
deleting all historical data for
shipping,” Mr Munro explained.
As an example of where
blockchain technology could
be useful, he referred to the
global stock of more than
40M shipping containers.
Keeping track of all their
movements is going to
significantly increase the scale
of blockchain in maritime “and
the amount of disk space
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
needed for a miner to keep
the ledger could become so
large that it would become
unmanageable,” he said.
If a miner is not under
constant supervision, hard
disk space could be filled
and prevent the ledger being
updated, he said. “Hard drive
space of this scale will be
expensive” so “one might
decide to have fewer miners
on the blockchain to keep
down hard disc storage costs.
Fewer miners leads to less
consensus, less distribution
and less security.”
Smart contracts
Some blockchains support
smart contracts, also
known as decentralised
applications, which are
coded programs that can be
run within the blockchain.
“This brings a whole new
chapter of vulnerabilities
into the mix,” said Mr Munro.
“Already blockchain applications
have had flaws abused.” For
example in one 2017 hack, an
attacker ran a coded function
before a transaction should
Ken Munroe (Pen Test
Partners): “Already blockchain
applications have had flaws
abused by hackers"
CYBER SECURITY | 31
have been executed “and 100% right first time. He said
ended up stealing millions of that more thought needs to
dollars by becoming the very be given to the structure of
wallets which the program was maritime blockchains and the
in the process of creating”. interfaces with other systems.
“They effectively jumped “It is clear to us that
the gun,” he continued. “This blockchain has a purpose
type of hack is just as real in in the maritime industry and
the maritime environment. could generate significant cost
Many blockchain exchanges savings,” said Mr Munro “But it
and wallets have been hacked is not a silver bullet for security
in a similar fashion.” – your security problems will
With these security flaws in not go away if you implement a
mind, Mr Munro asks whether blockchain; they will just be very
the maritime industry will get different and potentially rather
security of the blockchain more complex,” he concluded.
GUIDANCE ENSURES SHIPS
ARE CYBER COMPLIANT
Guidance has been published that will ensure shipowners can meet
IMO’s cyber risk management requirements. Flag state, Republic of
Marshall Islands (RMI), has issued guidance notes for owners of its
flagged vessels to appropriately address cyber security elements of
safety management systems.
Owners must be in compliance with IMO resolution
MSC.428 (98) that covers having maritime cyber risk
management in safety management systems after 1 January 2021.
RMI provides guidance for identifying information sources to
assist shipowners in establishing policies, procedures and actions
to maintain the security of cyber systems on board their ships.
These sources can include IMO circular MSC-FAL.1/Circ.3,
which contains recommendations and functional elements for
effective maritime cyber risk management.
RMI also recommended that shipowners should consult
Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships, published in 2017
by a consortium of shipping industry associations. These are
aligned to IMO guidelines and address managing ship-to-shore
interfaces, network segregation, port risks and maritime cyber
insurance coverage.
In addition, RMI has included a maritime cyber risk
management resources list compiled from different sources which
will be updated on a regular basis. RMI is one of the sponsors
of Riviera Maritime Media’s European Cyber Risk Management
Summit, which will be held in association with Norton Rose
Fulbright in London on 15 June.
Other sponsors of this event are currently class societies ABS,
DNV GL and Lloyd's Register and cyber security experts Naval
Dome, Darktrace Industrial and ENSCO-RA.
Key speakers already lined up for this seminar include DNV
GL maritime cyber security service manager Patrick Rossi,
Lloyd's Register product manager for cyber security in marine
and offshore Elisa Cassi, Naval Dome chief executive Itai Sela
and Norton Rose Fulbright partner Philip Roche. MEC
For more information on the European Maritime Cyber Risk
Management Summit go to: www.shipcybersecurity.com

BRIDGE SIMULATOR
UNVEILED FOR
FISHING VESSELS
K
ongsberg Digital has developed a
simulator to help train the growing
number of professional fishermen
in vessel operations and fish finding. The
fishermen will be taught to use navigation
devices including radar and electronic charts.
It teamed up with another Norwegian
company, Kongsberg Maritime, for the
installation and training on Simrad fishery
equipment, including echo sounders, sonar
and trawl monitoring systems.
This simulator package is based on
Kongsberg Digital’s K-Sim technology
and integrates the key operations on board
the latest fishing vessels. It fulfils DNV
GL’s certification standards, and course
models and hardware follow the new
standards for training, certification and
watchkeeping for advanced fish finding
and catching, STCW-F.
K-Sim Fishery is designed as a fishing
vessel bridge with different vessel models
and sizes available. It has all necessary
bridge and navigation equipment for vessel
voyages, shiphandling and fish catching.
This includes controls for winches used for
handling fishing equipment such as purse
seine, trawl and long line.
Kongsberg Digital said both the vessel
and equipment will behave as in real-life
due to the simulator's advanced physical
engine. Students will practice fishery
exercises where they will learn to use the
vessel's equipment and optimise working
hours and fuel consumption. They can
choose the best routes and vessel position,
and carry out appropriate manoeuvres to
control the fishing gear to ensure quantity
and quality of the catch.
Lofoten Vocational School, Norway, was
the first to order a K-Sim fishing simulator
when it signed the contract on 29 January
this year. This marine school is upgrading its
existing Kongsberg Polaris bridge simulator
with K-Sim technology as it moves to a new
location and opens modern training facilities
in Leknes, Lofoten in 2019.
Visual systems of a K-Sim fishery
simulator include a forward bridge with
135° of displays and an aft bridge with 40°
of visualisation using light emitting diode
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
Simulator hardware
follows new standards
for training, certification
and watchkeeping for
advanced fish finding and
catching – STCW-F
and liquid crystal display screens. Other
main components are:
• K-Sim navigation instructor station.
• K-Sim navigation server and student station.
• Simrad fish school simulation server.
• Simrad beam echo sounder.
• Simrad omnidirectional sonar.
• Simrad catch monitor.
• K-Sim offshore generic winch unit.
• Simulation software.
• Ship models and exercise areas.
Kongsberg Digital has won a contract
to provide simulation services involving
cloud-based training from the British
Columbia Institute of Technology, offering
simulation-as-a-service by integrating
K-Sim modules with Kongsberg’s Kognifai
digital platform.
This will involve training engineroom
operations using the Kognifai cloud
environment. Students will be able to access
this simulation program using their own
devices. Instructors can assign exercises
Kongsberg‘s K-Sim Fishery simulator includes a forward bridge with 135° of visualisation
TRAINING SYSTEMS | 33
to students who can complete training in
self-study time. Kognifai enables portfolios
of exercises to be downloaded and shared
within the training organisation.
ONBOARD E-LEARNING
Simulation-as-a-service could be extended
to seafarers when they are operating on
ships. This could be similar to the existing
e-learning and computer-based training
already used extensively on ships, with the
addition of desktop simulation.
Seagull Maritime has expanded its
ability to provide e-learning courses
on ships through a partnership with
satellite communications provider
Marlink, by installing Seagull software
on Marlink’s XChange centralised IT and
communications management platform on
vessels. This would host Seagull’s training
programs and qualification software.
Updates and new e-learning courses
would be downloaded on to XChange
devices on ships using Marlink’s Sealink
VSAT services.
In March, Seagull also started
collaborating with Sea Health & Welfare,
which is responsible for ensuring that
content of e-learning modules and practical
tasks fulfil Danish Maritime Authority’s
legislative requirements. Together they
have created an occupational health and
safety e-learning course with 14 modules
for onboard safety representatives and
supervisors on Danish-flagged ships. MEC
34 | TANKERS & GAS CARRIERS
Retrofitting VDRs across
a whole tanker fleet
Tanker operators may need to follow Diamond S Shipping’s
lead and replace voyage data recorders that have exceeded
their service life, writes Craig Jallal
D
iamond S Shipping is replacing
voyage data recorders (VDRs)
across its fleet of product tankers
after routine maintenance revealed that
existing data recorders were operating
beyond their service life. This tanker
group appointed Mackay World Service,
a division of Mackay Communications, to
rectify the situation.
During regular bridge equipment
servicing, engineers identified that the
original VDRs on 30 of these tankers were
reaching the end of their service lives and
therefore it would not be possible to fix
Danelec Marine supplies fully-
integrated, data transferrable VDRs
Anemometer Bridge audio
Inclinometer Main alarms
Gyro compass GPS
Radar AIS
ECDIS VHF
Hull openings Engine/propeller
Rudder Watertight & fire doors
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
problems they might have.
One challenge was finding a suitable
replacement system and retrofit Diamond
S Shipping’s fleet with minimal loss of sea
time. Mackay decided to install Danelec
Marine’s DM100 VDRs on the ships as
replacements for the existing ones.
Danelec Marine chief executive Hans
Ottosen said that other tanker operators
may also need to consider replacing VDRs
that were installed to meet the original IMO
carriage requirements that came into force
in 2002. “VDRs may have met or exceeded
their design service life,” he explained to
Radar
Echo sounder Thrusters
Speed log
Marine Electronics and Communications.
“They are becoming expensive to
maintain and service. Many of these
products are no longer supported by their
manufacturers, and in some cases the
supplier is no longer in business.”
When replacing an older VDR, the
new installation must meet the new IMO
specification, which came into effect in
July 2014. Danelec Marine’s DM100 VDR is
fully type-approved to this 2014 standard.
Mr Ottosen said a type-approved
DM100 VDR exceeds the regulatory
requirements and incorporates new
features that were not previously available
in marine VDR systems. It has Danelec’s
exclusive SoftWare Advanced Protection
(SWAP) technology, which is built into the
system architecture for serviceability, and
the DanelecConnect remote data gateway
for ship-to-shore transfer.
“All system programming and
 TANKERS & GAS CARRIERS | 35

“We have been able to accelerate the installation process with zero
equipment failures, ensuring that ships’ schedules were not disrupted”
configurations are stored on a hot-
swappable memory card,” he explained.
When the unit requires servicing, a
technician removes this card and re-inserts
it into a new VDR unit. “Instantly, the
replacement unit is fully functional and the
technician can take the old one away for
repair ashore without delaying the ship’s
departure,” said Mr Ottosen.
By the beginning of April, 26 of
the 30 tankers had been retrofitted
by Mackay Marine India in Mumbai.
Mr Ottosen described the process:
“Normally, removing an obsolete VDR
and replacing it with a new unit would
involve many hours of labour for the
installing technician, since the existing
Hans Ottosen (Danelec): New installations
must meet the new IMO specifications
components are often not compatible
with the new technology."
To solve this problem, Danelec Marine
developed a range of conversion kits to
replace more than 45 different models
of VDRs and simplified VDRs (S-VDRs),
including all major existing and legacy
brands. “The conversion kits provide
specific sets of hardware, software and
data interfaces tailored to each VDR
model,” he said.
The mechanical kits include pre-drilled
adaptor plates and mounting brackets for
the main unit, memory capsule and bridge
microphones. They also include remote
data interfaces for serial, analogue and
digital connections and a software tool for
converting old configuration files. In many
cases, existing sensor modules and cables
can be reused, saving extensive time and
effort on the part of installing technicians.
“By conducting pre-install site surveys on
each class of vessel and using the Danelec
Marine conversion kits, we have been
able to accelerate the installation process
with zero equipment failures, ensuring that
ships’ schedules were not disrupted,” said
Mackay Marine India managing director Ram
Sitaraman. “The typical installation time was
18-24 hours per ship.”
According to Danelec Marine, this
is a reduction in installation time of
25-50%, compared with conventional VDR
installations, saving time and money and
minimising downtime for the ship.
By streamlining a fleet-wide VDR
retrofit, Diamond S Shipping has been
able to minimise downtime and gain
significantly enhanced features and
operational efficiencies, said Mr Ottosen.
Teekay deploys
email platform
on 160 ships
Teekay Shipping is upgrading email
services for crew serving on up to 160
vessels worldwide with a platform
developed by Dualog. During Q1 2018,
these email platforms were installed on
more than 100 ships in that fleet.
With more than three-fifths of the
installation project completed, Teekay
has seen improvements in cyber
security and uptime from these ships’
email communications, said Dualog
international sales manager Thomas
Heide. By the end of Q2 2018, all of
Teekay’s ships will have this updated
email platform.
Mr Heide said that planning and
pilot trials of Dualog’s email system
enabled quicker upgrades on the
rest of the ships. “Teekay ships are
starting to see strong operational
benefits from what is a web-based
email system,” he said.
Teekay regional and vessel systems
IT manager Stuart Mackenzie said “a
lot of planning was carried out across
a number of our network of offices.”
These included Glasgow, Scotland,
Manila in the Philippines, Vancouver,
Canada and Singapore.
“After some fine-tuning of the
systems following the results of the
pilot project, we began the process
of upgrading the email systems on
the fleet,” Mr Mackenzie said. “We
saw the need for a more modern and
proven maritime email solution, which
included a file transfer solution built in.”

Diamond S Shipping operates US$1.1Bn fleet

According to VesselsValue, the total value of the Diamond S
Shipping fleet is US$1.1Bn, and the average age is eight years old.
Diamond S Shipping burst onto the product tanker scene in 2010
when its founder, Craig Stevenson, raised US$1Bn through equity
capital and a further US$1Bn of debt financing to purchase 30
recently-delivered product tankers en bloc from Hong Kong owner
Cido Shipping.
Among the investors was WL Ross & Co, the private equity fund
that is managed by the famed distressed assets investor, Wilbur Ross,
who is currently US president Donald Trump’s commerce secretary.
Fast-forward to 2012 and the fleet had grown to 33 tankers,
with an average age of three years, with thoughts of retrofitting
communications equipment a distant cell on a spreadsheet. The
group’s fleet has grown to 45 vessels this year, with the purchase
of two more product tankers and the addition of a fleet of crude
oil tankers. MEC

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

36 | OFFSHORE VESSELS
OFFSHORE VESSEL
OPERATORS PREPARE THEIR
IT FOR A MARKET UPTURN
Lars Peder Solstad addressed the Offshore
Support Journal conference in February
O
ffshore support vessel
markets have been in the
worst downturn for 30
years and owners need to
embrace technology changes to survive.
As the market begins to recover, which
is expected to happen in 2018, vessel
owners need to be prepared to use IT,
communications and online technology to
create competitive advantages.
With this in mind, SolstadFarstad
has used IT and software to reduce
administration and operational costs across
its fleet of offshore support vessels. The
company was formed in 2017 by the merger
of four Norwegian family-run vessel owners
– Solstad Offshore, Farstad Shipping,
Deep Sea Supply and REM Offshore. This
created one of the world’s largest owners
of advanced vessels in the supply, anchor
handling, subsea construction and renewable
segments, with 147 vessels in total.
Consolidation of this scale has led
to synergies in fleet management and
administrative resources. However, there
is “huge potential for more cost savings,”
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
SolstadFarstad, Topaz Energy & Marine and Anglo Eastern
discussed the benefits of IT platforms and communications at
this year’s Offshore Support Journal conference
SolstadFarstad chief executive Lars Peder
Solstad said at the annual Offshore Support
Journal (OSJ) conference in London in
February. The new structure included
centralising key management functions and
reducing the number of offices from 17 to
11, he added.
SolstadFarstad has reduced annual costs
by around 15% through centralising fleet
and crew management, renegotiating terms
with suppliers and improving procurement
and Mr Solstad expects more will come
from introducing new IT and fleet
management software. He told delegates
that this puts the vessel operating group in
a better position as offshore support vessel
markets begin to recover.
“Activity will start to pick up in 2018,”
he said. “Oil companies are starting to invest
again. We have seen large contract awards for
subsea work, which is positive.” However, Mr
Solstad said this was from “the worst market
downturn for 30 years” and that charter rates
for offshore vessels are unsustainable. “As the
market recovers, we have to make sure we get
rates back to sustainable levels,” he said.
To improve sustainability of fleet
operations, SolstadFarstad worked with
Yxney Maritime on reducing fuel costs
and emissions. This involved using the
Yxney fuel efficiency software MarESS,
which enables charterers to track each
vessel working under contract and
monitor fuel consumption. MarESS also
enables charterers to communicate with
shipmanagers to suggest methods of
reducing fuel costs.
Yxney can also use MarESS to identify
efficiency gaps and recommend ways to
achieve lower consumption and emission
levels, said Yxney chief executive Gjord
Simen Sanna. “We can recommend
targeted fuel saving measures related to
vessel positioning,” he explained.
This project with Yxney is part of
SolstadFarstad’s green operations campaign
on reducing emissions, said SolstadFarstad
chief operating officer Tor Inge Dale.
“MarESS also reduces emissions, helping
us contribute to reaching UN sustainable
development goals 12 and 13,” he said,
adding that this covers responsible energy
production and consumption.
SolstadFarstad completed a MarESS
pilot project in 2017, with finance from
Innovation Norway, and this led to a contract
announced in February 2018 for deploying
this software across the fleet and introducing
it to charterers. It expects to identify the best
performing ships across the fleet and transfer
their practice to other vessels. Mr Dale
wants to achieve fuel consumption savings of
between 8.7% and 11.4%.
Topaz Energy & Marine has introduced
digitalisation and offshore communications
technology on its vessels to improve
business operations. This involved providing
all vessel masters with mobile devices
for digital reporting, data analytics and
communication with shore managers, said
Topaz chief executive René Kofod-Olsen.
He highlighted how this type of
IT initiative helped vessel operations
and achieve cost efficiencies at the OSJ
conference. He told Marine Electronics
& Communications that vessel crew use
onboard wifi and VSAT to communicate
with the office. This is through Orange
Business Services’ Maritime Connect digital
platform that connects vessels in the Topaz
 OFFSHORE VESSELS | 37

fleet using Ku-band when available. It also
uses L-band satellite communications and
any accessible coastal cellular networks for
routeing voice and data transmissions.
Mr Kofod-Olsen, who was awarded
this year’s OSJ Industry Leader award,
explained that Topaz’s investment in
IT demonstrates how offshore vessel
operators need to “embrace technology
advances that are coming”. By enhancing
the communications capabilities on Topaz
vessels, “we are able to synchronise and
manage our integrated business operations
more effectively and ensure our crew
can easily access the internet for all their
business communication needs,” he said.
Topaz is able to integrate ships into
its corporate network and use the digital
platform to distribute business-critical and
fleet management applications on mobile
devices. It means managers and vessel
captains can detect ships that are deviating
from the average standard in terms of fuel
consumption and speed and warn of any
maintenance issues.
Maritime Connect manages satellite
communications bandwidth, voice, video and
data transmissions and prevents cyber attacks
through an integrated suite of security
features. Topaz operates its fleet in the
Caspian, the Middle East and West Africa.
Predictive maintenance
Anglo-Eastern Group is developing processes
for monitoring onboard equipment and
predictive maintenance on offshore vessels as
part of its technical management services. It
René Kofod-Olsen (Topaz) was awarded
this year’s OSJ Industry Leader award
is looking to work with classification societies
and equipment manufacturers to ensure that
a condition-based maintenance strategy is
correct for its own processes.
Anglo-Eastern managing director
for offshore Douglas Lang told Marine
Electronics & Communications at the
OSJ conference that manufacturers have
condition information on enough systems
“to have a proper sample size”, but his
organisation does not yet have enough
data to replace existing maintenance
programmes, which are based on the
calendar and running hours.
“Although I would like to do more
[predictive maintenance] and do this in
an intuitive way, I cannot do it sufficiently
and vigorously enough that I can say to my
engineers to substitute my process for what
they do at present,” he said. “It is difficult
to argue that my inventories will be any less
because my sample size is not big enough
to do that.”
Mr Lang expects equipment monitoring
and data analytics technology will evolve
rapidly, led by manufacturers and class, which
“have their toolbox of toys and are plugging
these in now, but they do not quite see where
it will all lead to.” He added that any move
towards manufacturer-controlled diagnostics,
maintenance and repair “requires a
re-evaluation of the roles and responsibilities”
of onboard and shore-based staff.
This is where technical managers can
help, he added, by being “part of their
decision making process so that we remain
in control and driving this process, not just
allowing them to wash over us.”
Technology advancements are leading to
greater levels of digitalisation, more remote
access and diagnostics, said Mr Lang. “The
impact of artificial intelligence and robotics
will largely determine the speed of change.”
This will lead to seafarers becoming more
than just operations monitors, while
decisions are made ashore and based on
manufacturers’ diagnostics information. MEC

Changing onboard and onshore

operational trends
Anglo-Eastern managing director for offshore Douglas Lang listed changing
trends on board vessels and in shipmanagement offices as:

ONBOARD
• Navigation/collision avoidance/routeing can all be automated.
• Blackboxes and fault reporting is replacing intervention.
• Electronics and control system technicians are becoming essential.
• Moving to first-line maintenance only strategies.
• Reducing onboard manpower.

Douglas Lang (Anglo-Eastern):
Manufacturers “have their toolbox of toys
and are plugging these in now”
ONSHORE
• Superintendent role is diminishing as ability to intervene is reduced.
• Data streamed to manufacturer rather than to vessel supremo.
• Logistics planning for manufacturers' service technicians increasing.
• Port call maintenance planning and scheduling increasing.
• Replacement rather than onboard overhaul.

www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018

ClassNK has started using
drones for surveys on tankers
UAVs are more than
just survey drones
F
lying drones are
being introduced by
classification societies for
surveying ships as a method of
accessing areas of vessels that
are difficult for surveyors to
get to. Several class societies
have tested unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) as remote
inspection devices and have
started introducing them
into surveying fuel and cargo
tanks and cargo holds on bulk
carriers and container ships.
The International
Association of Classification
Societies (IACS) has revised
its Guidelines for Use of Remote
Inspection Techniques for Surveys
and completed its related
unified requirements, which
are scheduled to take effect in
January 2019.
In January 2017, Japanese
society ClassNK began a full-
scale study of the use of drones
in class surveys and conducted
various types of verifications by
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com
Unmanned aerial vehicles are used sensors (which typically rely on
GPS and a magnetic compass)
for class surveys and are now being which are closely related to
considered for offshore parcel supply, flight stability.
oil spill response and towline transfer
OIL SPILL RESPONSE
There are also other potential
uses for drones in maritime
operations. For example, they
could be used for surveying
and tackling oil pollution.
IMarEST’s chairman of
carrying out basic performance for drone service suppliers. a marine pollution group,
experiments including test Using drones for ship Matthew Sommerville,
flights inside ship tanks surveys does have challenges, summarised the latest
and cargo holds. It released such as training surveyors to developments in pollution
Guidelines for Use of Drones in pilot these remote inspection control at the International
Class Surveys in March 2018, units in tight spaces and Salvage Union conference
which address the sort of use optimising the balance in London in March. He
that it had tested. between battery life and explained that UAVs with
They combine the weight. ClassNK’s guidelines cameras can be used for
technical knowledge of drones also take into consideration counter pollution surveys and
accumulated by these efforts the possibility that the drone to provide advanced imagery
– such as the applicable range may not function properly of spills.
and procedures for applying due to being in a closed space “They can land on moving
them to class surveys – along surrounded by magnetic platforms and operate in cold
with considerations for safe material, which may interfere and hot conditions,” said Mr
operation and the requirements with some of the drone’s Sommerville. He also outlined

how balloons that are tethered
to vessels and have multiple
cameras on board are being
used to provide imagery of
spillages. “They provide a live
feed of oil recovery operations,”
he said, “but they are not ahead
of a vessel.”
Suppliers of oil spill
response equipment have
started to develop drones for
surveillance of oil pollution
and to transfer a device to help
burn it off. DESMI is testing
a UAV that can do both: it
could have a camera for remote
imagery of an oil slick or carry
an ignition source, said sales
manager Mehdi Banisi.
Oil can be burnt as a
method of removing it from
the sea. For this approach,
DESMI’s drone could be
flown remotely up to 1 km
from a vessel responding
to the pollution, Mr Banisi
told Marine Electronics
& Communications. “By
administering an igniter, a
person does not need to be
in a dangerous position,”
he explained.
The same UAV could
be used for watching the
progress of the oil burn from
further away, or provide the
camera feed to managers and
clients on shore. Autonomous
surface vessels can also be used
for surveying oil pollution,
deploying booms or fire ignition.
TUG OPERATIONS
Drones could be used for
transferring towing lines
between tugs and ships. This
is an application that tug
operator Kotug International
is considering. It plans to
become the first company to
use drone technology to assist
in towage operations.
Kotug has applied for a
patent to use UAV technology
in its tug operations for what
it expects will lead to safer
and more efficient working
conditions. It will test remote-
controlled flying devices to
connect the towline to an
assisted vessel by delivering
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
a messenger line to a
predetermined location using
object recognition software.
The tug’s messenger line is
then brought to the assisted
ship in a controlled process.
The crew on the assisted
ship can heave in the heavy duty
mooring line instead of the tug
having to sail close to the ship
to deliver the heavy mooring
line. This will allow the tug to
safely sail beside the assisted
ship instead of in front of it.
In current operations, a
tugboat crew has the challenge
of keeping a tug out of danger
when delivering a towline to
a ship that is arriving into
a port. The tug needs to be
positioned in front of and
close to the assisted vessel in
order for deck crew to grab the
heaving line by hand.
By doing so, the tug and
crew position themselves in
the danger zone, close and
even under the flared bow
of a vessel. Any minor flaw
in the operation can result
in major injuries to the deck
crew and/or damage to the
tug and the assisted vessel.
OFFSHORE SURVEY
UAVs can also be used for
delivering cargo to offshore
vessels and platforms. Four
Norwegian companies are
Kotug intends to use a drone to deliver a messenger line from a tug to an assisted vessel for towing operations
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES | 39
collaborating to investigate the
use of unmanned aerial vehicles
or drones to transport cargo
between offshore vessels and
offshore installations.
Partners in the Safer
Logistics from Unmanned
Logistics Helicopter research
project include offshore
support vessel operator
Olympic Subsea, Griff
Aviation, Norut (the Northern
Research Institute) and Stable,
which specialises in motion-
compensation technology.
Norut is leading the
project and has experience
in developing autonomous
control systems for unmanned
air vehicles and of operating
them in challenging weather
conditions in northern waters.
Griff Aviation develops and
manufactures drones that have
capacity to carry heavy cargo.
The project is drawing on
expertise from the research
community at the faculty of
engineering and technology
at the Arctic University of
Norway in Narvik, which
has extensive experience in
automated drone operations.
Stable’s role is to develop a
control system so that drones
can operate from a moving
platform. To begin this, it is
developing a stable platform
for take-off and landing of the
drone. The platform would
be placed in a container on a
ship’s deck, which would also
act as a hangar for the drone.
Olympic Subsea is an active
development partner in the
project, which is supported
financially by the Research
Council of Norway.
Another drone application
has been to remotely inspect
offshore facilities. This
happened in the North Sea in
March when Fletcher Group
was contracted by Spirit
Energy to provide visual and
thermographic surveys of
Spirit’s ST-1 platform.
Fletcher used its platform
supply vessel, Standard Supplier,
to transfer the UAV and two
Inspect Hire technicians
to survey the platform,
which is being prepared for
decommissioning.
Spirit Energy needed to
confirm there were no gas
leaks and it would be safe to
plug the associated wells. It
decided to confirm this by
visual inspection – meaning
the inspection either had to be
carried out using a handheld
camera or by a drone. A Skyeye
UAV was used for the project,
flown from the dynamic
positioning class 2 vessel, which
was able to work safely within
the 500 m zone. MEC
40 | BRIDGE SYSTEMS
Ship data transmission
challenges can be overcome
Commercial ship networks
should be based on NMEA
OneNet, which standardises
the method of transmitting and
receiving NMEA 2000 protocol
messages over Ethernet
Snapshot CV
Phil Whitehurst
Phil Whitehurst sits on the NMEA OneNet
steering committee and is a member of the
International Marine Electronics Alliance, which
works to improve marine electronics interface
standards and other marine safety initiatives.
He is chief executive of Actisense, which
manufactures NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000
network components and devices, including
engine monitoring units, multiplexers,
conversion gateways, controller interfaces and
network blocks and software.
Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 a 12 V power source
L
imitations in the types of data that
can be transmitted around an
integrated bridge system can be
overcome by using the National Marine
Electronics Association’s (NMEA’s) OneNet
data packet standard.
Network standards and software
commonly found on commercial ships
can be based on 40-year-old technology
that can limit the types of information
transmissions. This can prevent feeds from
engineroom and cargo control systems
from being viewed on ship bridges.
On merchant ships, the main
specification for communicating marine
electronics data is the NMEA 0183*
protocol. NMEA component manufacturer
Actisense’s chief executive, Phil Whitehurst,
said this “allows good navigation of the
ship, but a considerable amount of data
simply cannot be sent over this standard.”
This includes video, audio, security
data, radar and sonar data. “It is also
rather complex to transfer measurements
of quantities such as cargo tank levels,
temperatures and pressures,” he told
Marine Electronics & Communications.
To gather this data successfully, an
additional supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA) system is needed.
This means a ship can easily navigate
using NMEA 0183 but, “for full situational
awareness, additional systems are
required that may or may not work well
together,” said Mr Whitehurst.
These issues can partially be overcome
by using the NMEA 2000** protocol for
sending much of the information that
cannot be sent over NMEA 0183. However,
this has not been widely adopted on
commercial ships because it has a
maximum practical backbone length of
200 m and bandwidth of 250 kbps.
“This is great for small boats, but not
enough for a system with many sensors,”
said Mr Whitehurst. NMEA 2000 also has
no standard mode of redundancy, which
can pose security concerns.
To overcome these shortcomings,
NMEA 2000 can be used in conjunction
with OneNet, which standardises the
method of transmitting and receiving
NMEA 2000 messages over Ethernet.
Smaller networks can be created with
just a few nodes that are connected to
a OneNet gateway. “This means that
small subnets of self-powered units can
gather data from IP68 waterproof-certified
NMEA 2000 sensors and interfaces,” Mr
Whitehurst explained.
This makes the data available over
the ship-wide Ethernet system as OneNet
data and means video, audio, radar and
high-speed feeds may be transported in a
standard format as NMEA 2000 encoded
data packets.
“This standard format will simplify the
software used for bridge systems and
allow for additional integration of common
reusable code between the leisure and
commercial market,” said Mr Whitehurst.
There are additional advantages, as an
Ethernet network can have many layers
of redundancy and internet level security
applied to it.
OneNet is based on the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.3
Ethernet standard to complement existing
onboard NMEA 2000 networks. It enables
bandwidth to be increased to hundreds
of Mbps, which is needed for transferring
unprocessed sensor data and video. MEC
*NMEA 0183 was the first marine
electronics protocol to be created
that is still widely in use. Since its
inception in 1987 there have been
many updates.
**NMEA 2000 is based on a CAN
Bus system built with DeviceNet
standard cables and connectors.
Unlike NMEA 0183, devices cannot
be connected directly together.
Instead, each network must be built
around a ‘backbone’ which is the
main trunking cable that devices
then plug in to. A minimum NMEA
2000 network requires at least two
NMEA 2000-certified devices, two
T-pieces, two terminating resistors,
and one
www.marinemec.com
power tap.

Next level of bridge
electronics unveiled
E
uropean manufacturers have
introduced new bridge electronics,
software and applications for
commercial shipping, workboats, naval
and leisure vessels since the start of this
year. The latest announcement came
in April from Hatteland Display, which
unveiled a new suite of bridge displays
for multifunctional workstations and
navigation planning tables on ships.
Its most recent addition is an extreme
rugged marine display (XRD) with a 20-in
screen. HM 20T22 XRD can withstand
shock to levels required for use on naval
vessels, has a touchscreen that enables
multiple-touch controls, can be calibrated
for ECDIS and can come with optical
bonding for a longer service life.
These displays can be installed in
a console or can be rack-mounted and
ordered with foldable or fixed handles,
depending on user requirements.
Hatteland also introduced ultra-high
definition Series X monitors for route
planning tables, ECDIS and radar. These
come in two sizes, 55-in and 32-in. Series
X 55-in displays are for voyage planning
on commercial ships and tactical tables on
naval vessels.
They have 40-point touchscreen
controls, brightness and contrast controls
that enable multiple data types to be
easily viewed under all conditions,
according to Hatteland.
Series X 32-in multi vision display also
has a touchscreen that can be visually
split to allow users to monitor and control
different aspects of onboard equipment,
including navigation, automation and
strategic systems.
Beijer Electronics started rolling out
its new X2 extreme family of rugged
human-machine interfaces for tough
environments in January. These panels
are designed to perform in rugged
environments and in hazardous areas
where gases, vapours and dust are
present. Extended environmental
capabilities include operating
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
BRIDGE SYSTEMS | 41
Manufacturers reveal new bridge
displays, extreme monitors,
upgraded operating software and
applications for navigation and
system monitoring
temperatures from -30°C to +70°C, high charts for those needing full global chart
vibrations and high-pressure washdowns. coverage or those interested in small
X2 extreme panels are available in marine areas.
7-in, 12-in and 15-in sizes in standard, high- For offshore vessels, Dutch start-up
performance and fully-sealed versions. MO4 has developed a vessel motion
They are certified by classification forecasting tool. This includes an onboard
societies DNV GL, Lloyd’s Register, motion monitoring device and weather
ABS and Korean Register. X2 extreme forecast software. MO4 accurately and
panels are certified to meet two EU clearly shows how the incoming weather
directives about explosive atmospheres will impact an offshore operation. MEC
(atmosphères explosibles, or ATEX Zone
2 and Zone 22), and are verified by the *GRIB is GRIdded Binary or General
International Electrotechnical Commission Regularly-distributed Information in Binary
to operate in extreme environments. form. It is a concise data format commonly
For workboats and leisure vessels, used in meteorology to store historical and
Flir Systems subsidiary Raymarine has forecast weather data.
introduced new applications in its Axiom
line of multifunction navigation displays
(MFD). Together with Axiom Innovations,
Raymarine has developed the LightHouse
3 operating software for Axiom MFDs
with a series of applications for vessel
navigation and remote monitoring.
These include Raymarine’s
own Android-compatible mobile
applications and those developed by
other companies for the MFDs. This
incorporate access to the Theyr GRIB*
global weather forecast and tide apps
for route planning. Another LightHouse
application enables vessel users to
stream onboard entertainment, such as
films and music.
Some of the third-party applications
available include the Seakeeper gyro
stabiliser control and Mazu mSeries
global satellite communications, which
allows users to send messages, receive
weather forecasts, and monitor their
vessel from anywhere in the world.
For workboats and leisure vessels,
SevenCs released an online tile map
service, ChartServer, as a software tool.
This can be used by fleet monitoring,
vessel tracking and surveying applications
on mobile devices to display maritime
navigation charts of International
Hydrographic Organization standards Hatteland’s HM 20T22 XRD has a 20-in
S-57 and S-63. It has access to maritime screen for radar display
42 | BLOCKCHAIN

Box industry enters

After all the publicity
surrounding blockchain
technology, it could soon
become a reality in the

the blockchain era container shipping market,

writes Rebecca Moore

T
here has been
plenty of talk about
blockchain in the
industry but until recently
little sign that any fully-
formed concrete solution has
been applied.
Alphaliner highlighted that
while a number of blockchain
initiatives involving container
shipping were launched in
2017, “the actual application
of this new technology
remains limited.” It added
“while several potential
blockchain applications have
been identified, none of these
products has been released
so far.
Marine Electronics &
Communications spoke to the
vice president of marketing
of the business software
company Infor, Greg Kefer,
who also highlighted that
blockchain had not properly
entered the container shipping
market yet. He said that
blockchain is something that
Infor is focused on but pointed
out the ‘hype’ surrounding it.
“Blockchain is white-hot
Maersk is working with IBM to develop a blockchain platform for
container trade
and everybody is talking about
it,” he said. “We think it has
great potential in the supply
chain and are investing in it.”
Infor is working with cloud-
based platform GT Nexus
Commerce Network to provide
blockchain processes to
container liners.
Mr Kefer explained “We
believe that blockchain is not a
fad and it will be part of supply
chain innovation in some form,
the question is, what form?”
He thinks there are interesting
innovation opportunities in
the areas of trade finance,
traceability and visibility.
Looking at the impact it
might have on the container
shipping industry, he said
“What we will see over the
next five or six years are
new-use cases around how
blockchain is fused into global
logistics management. I don’t
see companies dumping
current technology and just
moving to blockchain.”
However, this is changing
in 2018. In January, Maersk
and IBM announced a joint
venture that will provide
more efficient and secure
methods for conducting
global trade using blockchain
technology. This could open
the doors to the widespread
use of blockchain in box
shipping because the global
trade digitisation platform
that Maersk and IBM are
developing is being developed
for the whole container
shipping industry.
“What we will see over the next five or six years
are new-use cases around how blockchain is
fused into global logistics management”
As Maersk explained,
the aim is to offer a jointly-
developed global platform
that will address the need to
provide more transparency
and simplicity in the movement
of goods across borders and
trading zones.
Maersk and IBM will use
blockchain technology to power
the new platform alongside
other cloud-based open source
technologies including artificial
intelligence (AI), internet of
things and analytics. This will
be delivered via IBM Services
to help companies move and
track goods.
“The potential from
offering a neutral, open
digital platform for safe and
easy ways of exchanging
information is huge and all
players across the supply
chain stand to benefit,” said
Maersk chief commercial
officer and future chairman
of the board of the new joint
venture Vincent Clerc.
The new company initially
plans to commercialise two
core capabilities aimed at
digitalising the global supply
chain from end-to-end:
• A shipping information
pipeline will provide end-to-
end supply chain visibility to
enable all actors involved in
managing a supply chain to
exchange information about
shipment events in real time.
• Paperless trade will digitise
and automate paperwork
filings by enabling end-users to
securely submit, validate and
approve documents across
organisational boundaries.
Upon regulatory clearance,
solutions from the joint venture
are expected to become
available within six months.
Another company that also
has a concrete plan to roll
out its blockchain solution is
300cubits, a start-up company
launched in July 2017. It
will be the first to roll out a
blockchain solution for the
container shipping market with
a booking deposit system that
is due to start 15 June 2018.
This system will deploy
blockchain technology
and a crypto-currency to
address the problem of cargo
‘no-shows’ and ‘rollovers’
that 300cubits said are key
challenges in the container
shipping industry. MEC

Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com

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5 sept gmec, global maritime environmental congress

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European Marine
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Port of Rotterdam Authority is working on a digital and renewables future
European ports eye digital
and autonomous future
P
ort of Rotterdam Authority
and IBM have announced their
collaboration on a multi-year
digitalisation initiative to transform the
port’s operational environment using
internet of things (IoT) technologies in
the cloud.
The initiative will also prepare the Port
of Rotterdam’s entire site to host connected
ships in the future. The port said that this
would begin with the development of a
centralised dashboard application that will
collect and process real-time water and
weather sensor and communications data,
analysed through the IBM IoT platform.
“Here in Rotterdam, we are taking
action to become the smartest port in the
world,” said chief financial officer of the
Port of Rotterdam Authority Paul Smits.
“Speed and efficiency is essential to our
business and requires us to use all of the
data available to us. Thanks to real-time
information about infrastructure, water, air,
etc, we can enormously improve the service
we provide to everyone who uses the port,
and prepare to embrace the connected,
autonomous shipping of the future.”
Previously the port relied on traditional
radio and radar communication between
captains, pilots, terminal operators, tugboats
and more to make key decision on port
operations. Now, as the Port of Rotterdam
begins its digital transformation, sensors are
being installed across 42 km of land and
sea – spanning from the City of Rotterdam
into the North Sea – along the Port’s quay
walls, mooring posts and roads. These
sensors will gather multiple data streams
including water and weather data about
tides and currents, temperature, wind speed
and direction, water levels, berth availability
and visibility.
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
European ports are preparing
for a digital and semi-
autonomous future with
technology development
programmes that tackle the
technical challenges of the
future, writes Rebecca Moore
This data will be analysed by IBM’s
cloud-based IoT technologies and turned
into information that the Port of Rotterdam
can use to make decisions that reduce wait
times, determine optimal times for ships
to dock, load and unload, and enable more
ships into the available space. For example,
the Port of Rotterdam will now be able to
predict the best time based on water level
to have a ship arrive and depart Rotterdam,
ensuring that the maximum amount of cargo
is loaded on board.
With the new initiative, Port of
Rotterdam operators will also be able to
view the operations of all the different
parties at the same time, making that
process more efficient. In fact, shipping
companies and the port stand to save up
to one hour in berthing time which can
amount to about US$80,000 in savings.
The Port of Rotterdam’s digital
transformation project is enabled by IBM’s
cloud-based IoT technologies and will
see that Port of Rotterdam and IBM are
working together long term to uncover
other innovative applications of IoT and
artificial intelligence. Cisco and Axians are
PORT DIGITALISATION | 45
also involved in the project.
Rotterdam is not the only authority
thinking about technology of the future.
British Ports Association (BPA) has
announced a new Port Futures project to
examine emerging threats and opportunities
for British ports. The rolling programme of
activity – labelled Horizon – will address
key issues for ports over the next 50 years,
including infrastructure and skills, grouped
around four key drivers of change:
• Technology and automation.
• Climate change and the environment.
• Politics, regulation and the law.
• Social and economic change.
Individual projects around key
emerging challenges for ports will be
launched under each theme, drawing in
experts from industry and academia. The
outcome will be a rolling programme of
recommendations for government, feeding
into initiatives such as Maritime 2050 and
the Industrial Strategy.
British Ports Association policy manager
Mark Simmonds said “Today’s world is
marked by rapid and at times unpredictable
change, and as an industry we are keen to
play our part in shaping that change as
much as possible and being ready to meet
tomorrow’s challenges.
“This exciting programme will focus
minds across industry and government on
key long-term challenges, such as what port
infrastructure will be needed to accommodate
the vessels of the future. Will the current
trend towards ever-larger ships continue? Or
will autonomous vessels herald more but more
numerous traffic into our ports?”
Maritime UK, an umbrella group
representing industry, recently launched its
own futures plan and will be closely tied in
with the BPA’s Port Horizon programme. MEC
46 | CARGO CONTROL

Integrating tank monitoring,

control and automation
Scanjet’s ITAMA system is an integrated cargo tank monitoring and
automated control system for chemical, product and crude oil tankers

S
canjet developed the intelligent
tank management system,
ITAMA, with integrated cargo
ITAMA is an integrated tank monitoring and control
tank monitoring and automated
controls, in 2017. It is intended for tankers
with complex cargo tank configurations.
A new addition, introduced this year, is a
wireless tank monitoring and alarm unit
that is certified to meet two EU directives
about explosive atmospheres (atmosphères Electropneumatic Tank pressure
explosibles, or ATEX) that crew can use to gauging Oil discharge monitoring Line pressure
and control system Pump pressure
keep track of tank levels and operations. Sensor with enclosure
Managing director Niklas Falkmer
explained to Marine Electronics &
Communications that ITAMA was
required because shipowners were
under greater pressures than before to
protect high-value cargoes and comply
with increasingly stringent safety and
environmental regulations.
Uninterruptible
He said ITAMA was scalable and could power supply
be adapted by shipyards for different
owner requirements, reducing newbuilding
costs. For tanker owners, he said “the
synergies among the related products are
key to achieving operating economies and
maintaining vessel compliance with new
regulations as they emerge.”
ITAMA incorporates automatic and real-
time tank monitoring alarm and control
and remote valve and pump controls.
These are linked to:
• Fixed and portable tank cleaners.
• Pressure valves.
• Gas-freeing equipment.
• Inert gas system. Temperature Microwave radar
Draft gauging Various tanks
• Oil-discharge monitor. compensated hydrostatic level gauging
pressure sensor
• Vapour emission control.
ITAMA has been designed as a modular
platform, said Mr Falkmer. This brings Electric pressure sensors
together “embedded proprietary software,
an operating system and hardware in
an integrated system.” It has flexibility

Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com


in input and output (I/O) connections for
different tanker configurations. ITAMA
can “accommodate virtually unlimited
numbers and types of instruments with
more than 3,000 I/O connections,” he said.
It can also communicate with non-Scanjet
equipment and can be “upgraded to meet
new standards, regulations and changing
requirements,” he added.
Scanjet has avoided multiplexing signals
to simplify installation, commissioning
and diagnostics. It incorporated multiple
workstations with touchscreens that display
tank levels and a link to a tanker’s satellite
communications network so managers can
provide crew with remote support.
system that connects a whole ship‘s network
Inert gas system Portable tank
cleaning
NEW
Vapour emission control SCANVENT P/V valves
www.marinemec.com Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018
“ITAMA can accommodate virtually unlimited
numbers and types of instruments with
more than 3,000 I/O connections”
ITAMA has its own power supply,
voltage, cabling and sensors. There is also
redundancy as it can switch to alternate
power supplies and system settings are kept
in multiple locations within the electronics.
There is no hard disc or moving parts
Tank cleaning
Gas freeing fan
Air driven
Anti-pirate
water cannon
Independent overfill alarms
Temperature element
CARGO CONTROL | 47
and battery-powered memory backup
ensures data preservation. “Critical
settings protection, local and remote
trouble-shooting and watchdog functions
have been built into the system for
absolute reliability,” said Mr Falkmer.
ITAMA tank level and liquid density
measurement technology is based on
high-frequency radar and temperature-
compensated absolute pressure sensors.
“Proprietary mathematical algorithms filter
out instrument fluctuations and compensate
for the effects of tank liquid movement
arising from pitch and roll, additionally
avoiding false alarms,” said Mr Falkmer.
Temperatures are measured at multiple
points, with readings used to recalculate
the specific gravity of a liquid automatically
as a function of the temperature. ITAMA
can also have an electro-pneumatic
system for tank level gauging and
submersed pressure sensors.
There is a system control panel with
a digital readout of each measuring point
and user-defined visual and audible
alarms. This can be connected to other
onboard monitoring and alarm systems
and the tanker’s loading computer through
serial line communications.
ITAMA continuously corrects level
readings to compensate for the vessel’s
trim and list. It automatically monitors oil
discharge and controls the overboard
and slop tank valves. It has a single- or
dual-point high-level and overfill alarm that
displays on the alarm panel and is linked
to external lights and siren.
Scanjet has also included a sensor pack
for measuring volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), such as liquefied petroleum gases,
and controlling pressure release valves.
“This ensures ullage space pressure does
not drop below the VOC valve’s opening
pressure,” said Mr Falkmer.
“During loading, the main valve opens
to provide full capacity but during a voyage
it is only the thermal variations valve
that works,” he explained. This improves
VOC handling and optimises use of inert
gas plant. All this is integrated with tank
management and cleaning controls. MEC
48 | FORESIGHT

IT and communications
trends to impact shipping
Thuraya chief
commercial officer
Rashid Baba lists the
trending technology
that will have an effect
on maritime industries
in the long-term
Rashid Baba:
“Shipping has joined the era
of the IT platform”
“AR COMBINES
THE PRACTICAL
BENEFIT OF BETTER
COMMUNICATIONS
WITH THE NEED TO
PROVIDE SUPPORT TO
REMOTE WORKERS”
S
ome of the biggest technical trends
in IT, communications and remote
monitoring will have considerable
impact on maritime industries. Some
are already being deployed with success,
such as container monitoring and tracking and
advanced condition-based monitoring. Others
are still to be introduced to shipping, in more
than just test projects.
For example, 3D printing will increasingly
find its way into vessel component manufacture,
onboard repairs and spare parts, Thuraya chief
commercial officer Rashid Baba told Marine
Electronics & Communications. However, the
milestones to date have been about proof of
concept rather than any business case.
“3D printing is neither quick nor cheap at
present, but we will see a continued trickle
down of the technology until it is both,” he said.
Unlike 3D printing, artificial intelligence (AI) is
a concept that has already had an impact in
shipping. Industrial users are taking advantage
of learning algorithms, automated reporting
systems and more risk-based predictive
operations, said Mr Baba.
“In the shipping industry, applications are
planned or already in operation that use AI to
analyse behaviours in the logistic chain and
risk scenarios, enabling better planning and
contingency measures,” he explained.
Augmented reality (AR) will also have
positive impact on maritime industries, sooner
than 3D printing. “Because AR combines the
practical benefit of better communications
with the need to provide support to remote
workers,” that can benefit directly from the
input of specialists in tackling complex technical
challenges said Mr Baba.
Likewise, IT platforms and blockchain
technology is being developed for shipping and
maritime logistics chains. “Shipping has joined
the era of the IT platform,” said Mr Baba. “Those
already established include the many vessel
tracking services, class society initiatives and the
numerous blockchain partnerships.”
He added that blockchain provides a means
of securing digital information flow “in an
industry that is still awash with paper shipping
documents”. However, blockchain technology
still has challenges to overcome, including
issues with using crypto-currencies and the
computing power it requires.
Another technology that poses practical
challenges in shipping is big data analytics
because of the “issues of gathering and working
successfully with large data volumes,” Mr Baba
said. He thinks data that could potentially be
collected on vessel performance would be
“more than enough to overwhelm the recipient.”
A solution could be to just “focus on the outliers
and exceptions” within the data.
He noted that many software vendors have
begun to capitalise on the need for regulatory
reporting and performance data analysis. This
has its benefits to shipping as analysis “enables
owners to concentrate on the issues that need
most attention rather than wade through lakes
of data in the hope of catching something,” Mr
Baba explained.
One example of how this can improve ship
operations is condition monitoring. It is already
being used by manufacturers to assess hull and
machinery, but it is now being extended to other
areas of technology across the whole ship.
Mr Baba expects the digital twin concept –
which uses a digital model of a ship to assess
situations and remedies – to “radically alter the
process of shipmanagement and operations,
with data streaming to dashboards that enable a
more holistic analysis of the vessel’s condition.”
Another application of data processing is
container monitoring and tracking. Maersk Line,
for example, is tracking 270,000 refrigerated
containers fitted with sensors and transceivers
for two-way communications through cellular
and satellite networks.
“Maersk set up the project for its own needs
and used it to monitor the temperature of each
box, make adjustments depending on the vessel
schedule, track maintenance and schedule
repairs,” said Mr Baba.
“It saved millions of dollars in cargo claims,
despite the data required being comparatively
small, relying as it does on a hybrid shipboard
network and satellite connectivity.” Mr Baba
said this technical concept demonstrates
that “the simplest ideas can have the biggest
impact” on shipping. MEC

Marine Electronics & Communications | 2nd Quarter 2018 www.marinemec.com

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