Products & services
The Republic of the Marshall Islands Registry now world's 2nd largest
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Products & services Products & services
- Published: 21 March 2017 21 March 2017
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) fleet now stands at 223,262,177 deadweight tons (DWT), making it the second largest registry in the world in terms of DWT.
International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI) have provided administrative and technical support to the RMI Registry since 1990.
"This is a very significant milestone for the RMI Registry," said Bill Gallagher, President, IRI.
"A strong legislative framework, customer driven service ethos, and a commitment to quality have all been key to our continued success," he continued.
"From long-standing traditional shipowners, particularly our standing as the number one flag for Greek owners, to a new wave of Chinese leasing companies, the RMI Registry is the registry of choice for owners looking for an innovative and quality driven partner," he stated.
The RMI is not only the world's second largest registry, but the Greek shipping industry's leading flag as well. The RMI has been gaining market share year-on-year and the flag today has 791 ships totaling 62,190,301 DWT (over 18.9% of total DWT of the Greek owned fleet) in its registry, making it the largest flag used by Greek controlled ships.
"Our office in Piraeus is the second largest of the RMI Registry's 27 worldwide offices," said Theo Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations and Managing Director of the Piraeus office.
"Prior to registration, we vet the owner, operator and vessel before acceptance in the RMI Registry and during the vessel's time in the Registry we continue to conduct risk assessments and work with our owners and operators to ensure their vessels meet the Registry's quality standards," continued Xenakoudis.
"This process along with our service oriented philosophy has ensured the RMI Registry has maintained its excellent reputation and as such has attracted quality owners, including the Greek owners to the RMI flag," he said.
"We are delighted that our Greek owners and operators continue to hold the RMI Registry in such high regard which has been reflected in the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee's March 2017 Greek Controlled Shipping Report which shows the RMI as the number one choice of flag for Greek owners and operators," he continued.
In another late breaking development, the RMI Registry has received preliminary confirmation that it will continue its United States (US) Coast Guard (USCG) Qualship 21 status for 2017. The announcement was made during Intertanko's North American Panel meeting, which meets prior to the beginning of the Connecticut Maritime Association's (CMA's) Shipping 2017 conference in Stamford.
"This is the 13th year in a row that the RMI Registry has held its Qualship 21 status," said Bill Gallagher.
"It's significant because this achievement is no easy undertaking for a major registry, whose ships make thousands of US port calls, to maintain less than a 1% detention rate on a three-year rolling average basis," he continued.
"The Qualship 21 designation means that ships flying the RMI flag are less likely to be detained in US ports, which assists owners and operators in keeping their ships moving," he concluded.
Marlink acquires long-term vessel IT management partner Palantir
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Products & services Products & services
- Published: 20 March 2017 20 March 2017
Marlink has acquired Palantir AS, a Norway-based maritime IT company specialising in remote IT management solutions. The Share Purchase Agreement whereby Marlink acquired 100% of Palantir AS shares was completed on March 17 2017.
Palantir provides IT managers on shore with easy access to individual vessels or entire fleets for remote support and management of on board IT networks. Marlink and Palantir already enjoy a close working relationship through a strategic partnership agreement started in September 2014, which has enabled Marlink to deliver integrated IT management services to its Sealink multi-band communications service customers, including Stolt Tankers and CMA CGM.
Palantir’s maritime IT solutions enable shipowners and operators to significantly improve fleet efficiency whilst reducing maintenance costs through standardisation, automation and remote management. Palantir is the company behind the sophisticated KeepUp@Sea managed IT service, which monitors all IT networks on board a vessel and across a fleet, providing significant savings by enabling IT staff on shore to detect and address issues remotely. Ship owners globally benefit from increased uptime and reduced burden on officers on board, in addition to less requirement for travel and physical interventions on IT issues, which supports cost reductions while lowering carbon footprint.
KeepUp@Sea is the ideal complement to Marlink’s Sealink multi-band communications services. It has enabled Marlink to expand its offering to shipping companies, providing fleet-wide control of IT network changes and upgrades from shore, ensuring more stability of PCs and equipment on board vessels. The system delivers more IT network uptime on board, providing high availability for diverse ‘smart shipping’ applications that are helping the industry to operate more effectively, which is especially vital in today’s challenging markets.
“Together, Marlink, Telemar and Palantir will offer an incredibly diverse service portfolio, supporting the shipping industry with state-of-the art communications, IT and electronics solutions from a single global and highly experienced organisation" said Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink.
“As the shipping industry is becoming increasingly more focused on data solutions further integration of IT and communications services is a must,” said Arvid Dregelid, President at Palantir AS. “Working as part of the same organisation, we bring the ability for Marlink to support the shipping industry with both the satcom and IT side, ensuring that the availability of networks on board matches the reliability of the link between ship and shore.”
WE Tech Solutions sells Permanent Magnet Shaft Generator solution to Swedish shipping company
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- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Products & services Products & services
- Published: 14 March 2017 14 March 2017
WE Tech Solutions, a leading Finland based energy efficiency solution provider, said it has received an order to deliver its Permanent Magnet Shaft Generator solution to two new 18600 dwt chemical tankers with an option for another two.
The tankers are built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Chengxi Shipyard for the Swedish ship owner Ektank AB in Sweden. WE Tech’s equipment delivery to Hudong Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. will commence in October 2017.
“The solution from WE Tech is important for us to build the next generation chemical tankers, in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability. These vessels will meet all known future demands from governments, the industry and from our customers”, says Jörgen Johnsson, Managing Director of Ektank AB.
WE Tech’s solution is based on variable frequency drive technology (WE DriveTM) and the direct drive Permanent Magnet Shaft Generator. The solution allows the main engine to run at variable speed while the electrical network is generated by the Shaft Generator. Therefore, there is no need to run the auxiliary engines or generators when sailing. This creates tons of fuel savings and reduces operational and maintenance costs. In case the Main Engine is out of operation, the solution uses the Shaft Generator as motor – a reliable and cost-effective Auxiliary Propulsion Drive (APD) to ensure the vessels’ safe return to port.
This solution also brings an efficient method to distribute power to bow thrusters and cargo handling system of the tankers. The method is to connect these large electrical consumers’ inverter units to the common DC link of WE DriveTM. Furthermore, when the tankers are in the harbour, the solution allows the use of cleaner shore power. This versatile and flexible solution will save tons of fuel and reduce emissions both at sea and harbour environment.
“WE Tech is proud to be a pioneer to supply the most energy efficient solutions. We, as well as our customers, strongly believe that our innovative technology and reliable solutions are the future for the marine industry”, says Martin Andtfolk, Sales Manager of WE Tech.
Marioff releases the upgraded version of the new HI-FOG Electric Pump Unit
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- Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä
- Category: Products & services Products & services
- Published: 18 March 2017 18 March 2017
Marioff the company known for its HI-FOG water mist fire protection systems, announces an upgraded version of the new HI-FOG Electric Pump Unit. With this upgrade, the HI-FOG Electric Pump Unit has the capability to house up to eight electric motors in a single pump skid, which is ideal for marine and industrial applications, or any location requiring larger flow capacities, such as large commercial buildings. Marioff, a leading developer of water mist fire protection technology, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
“The upgraded version of the HI-FOG EPU is an important and natural extension of the HI-FOG product family. Customers looking for fire safety solutions for larger applications now have the option to protect their space with additional water flow, without having to install multiple pump units,” said Markku Vuorisalo, director of engineering for Marioff Corporation Oy.
The upgraded EPU pump unit skid will have an additional “tower” of electric motors, but will use the same control cabinet as the original HI-FOG EPU product.
The upgraded HI-FOG Electric Pump Unit will be available at the end of March.
Global Eagle unveils entertainment and WiFi portal for cruise ships
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- Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen
- Category: Products & services Products & services
- Published: 14 March 2017 14 March 2017
Global Eagle Entertainment Inc., a US company, said it is unveiling its new Airtime Portal for cruise ships at Seatrade Cruise Global 2017 this week.
The Airtime Portal platform enables cruise ship operators to deliver Wi-Fi, instant messaging, social media, live TV, movies, games, news and more directly to passengers’ own mobile devices anywhere on the ship. Guests can access and post to their favorite social media sites, send “selfies” to their friends and families back home and keep up with the latest news at sea.
The Airtime Portal is derived from Global Eagle’s highly successful and proven platform which has been deployed on hundreds of commercial airlines. The company will transition its existing cruise ship portals to the new technology over the next 12 months in a way that minimizes disruption for ship operators.
When coupled with Global Eagle’s patented SpeedNet™ web browsing technology, the new portal will give passengers a high-speed Wi-Fi experience similar to what they get on shore. With Global Eagle’s extensive entertainment offerings, passengers can also enjoy a rich selection of fully licensed award-winning movies, destination guides, port information, scheduled activities, special promotions, ship tracking, near-real-time news and sports clips and televised events. Content is available in multiple languages and can be tailored to passenger demographics. The Airtime web user interface provides an electronic program guide that mimics an in-home entertainment center allowing passengers to see what is up next on live TV through the comfort of their own device. It is fully customizable to maximize brand engagement and create special promotions.
Global Eagle’s Airview reporting dashboard is a suite of data-rich back-office tools to monitor and analyze portal performance. Payments, performance data and logs are offloaded, and fresh content is uploaded, via a Wi-Fi connection when the ship is in port.
The flexible Airtime Portal also provides a host of opportunities for cruise operators to generate incremental revenue by monetizing passenger interactions with engaging content, enabling real-time transactions with built-in security and exploiting digital ads and sponsorships. It enables payments to be made to credit and debit cards or to the folio. It also integrates with the company’s loyalty programs to deliver customized pricing depending on the passenger’s loyalty status.
“With the launch of the Airtime Portal, we can now offer our customers a fully integrated package of connectivity services, live TV programming and content browsing, all merged together with a highly flexible front-end that supports the optimal onboard guest experience aligned with the cruise line’s profitability,” said Ole Kristian Sivertsen, president of Global Eagle’s cruise, ferry and yacht services.
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