Products & services

Telenor Maritime to upgrade Anek Lines' Mobile Ecosystem

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 26 June 2019 26 June 2019

Telenor Maritime has entered into an agreement with Anek Lines to upgrade the mobile ecosystem onboard all their passenger ships. A state-of-the-art connectivity platform with Mobile, Premium Wi-Fi, Ka-VSAT and mobile broadband backhaul improves the complete digital value chain with services enhancing operational efficiency and the passenger’s onboard experience.

“This is an important step for Telenor Maritime’s service-expansion into the Mediterranean, and we are delighted to partner up with Anek Lines, the largest passenger shipping company in Greece,” says Lars Erik Lunøe, CEO of Telenor Maritime.

Anek Lines is the first company to install the connectivity platform in Greece, and they will become a digital frontrunner in the Mediterranean. High-speed connectivity is crucial for passenger’s quality of experience, and more so in situations where mobile devices are used for business purposes. The Wi-Fi solution will enable passengers to stream, be updated with their colleagues and friends as well as surfing seamlessly using their social network accounts. Installation of the equipment will commence in the second quarter of 2019, with an expected completion fourth quarter the same year.

“Anek Lines focus on innovation and invest in a passenger-oriented approach, bringing a quality evolution into maritime transport, contributing to the development of the coastal shipping industry and establishing new routes in the Aegean and the Adriatic Sea. We have established our position as the leading power in coastal shipping through more than 50 years. The company is a key driver for economic, tourism, social and cultural development in Crete,” says Yannis S. Vardinoyannis, Managing Director of Anek Lines.

“We are observing the coming technological revolution in the maritime business with its digital transformation, giving us opportunities of additional operational benefits and new revenue streams,” Vardinoyannis continues.

“Mobile operators and technology have, through time, transformed how businesses operate. A state-of-the-art high-speed network will facilitate Anek Lines to carry out more innovation and efficiency improvement, benefitting from high-speed mobile coverage, with improved communications,” Lars Erik Lunøe concludes.

Scanship awarded contract at Chinese shipyard for a leading global cruise ship owner

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 26 June 2019 26 June 2019

Scanship Holding ASA has through its subsidiary Scanship AS, been awarded a contract with a Chinese shipyard to deliver its advanced wastewater purification system for a medium sized cruise ship that will enter service in 2021. The shipowner has currently the intention to build up to six vessels in this new Chinese built series, whereas two vessels are firm, and four vessels are options. The Scanship wastewater purification system will process all wastewater including sewage, accomodation grey and galley water to meet the industry's highest environmental regulations worldwide, and particularly the new regulations now being enforced in the Baltic Sea IMO MARPOL MEPC 227(64) included special area with nutrient removal.

VARD chooses TMC for Viking Cruises compressors

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 21 June 2019 21 June 2019

VARD has awarded TMC Compressors of the Seas to supply the marine compressed air system for two cruise ships the Norwegian shipbuilder is constructing for Viking Cruises.

TMC’s scope of work is to deliver a complete marine compressed air system that consists of instrument air compressors and air dryers, to each of the two newbuild cruise ships. TMC has not disclosed the value of its contract.

“As the international cruise sector increasingly emphasizes reduced energy consumption and lower emissions to air, our compressed air systems are becoming progressively more popular amongst cruise operators and shipbuilders. Simply because we can offer a highly energy efficient system that is also highly reliable, delivering reduced operational expenditure throughout the lifetime of the system. We are very thankful to VARD for this contract,” says Morten Orlien, European sales manager for TMC.

The two new ships are scheduled to be delivered to Viking Cruises in the second quarters of 2021 and 2022, respectively. The vessel are designed by Vard Design in Aalesund, Norway, and will be constructed at VARD’s Norwegian yards. The hulls will be built in Romania.

Viking Cruises also has an option to order two additional vessels from VARD.

TMC Compressors of the Seas is the world’s leading supplier of compressed air systems for marine and offshore use. The company is headquartered in Oslo and has sales and service offices all over the world.

Valmet and Seastema enter a value-added reseller agreement to strengthen their foothold in marine automation

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 26 June 2019 26 June 2019

Valmet and Seastema have entered a value-added reseller (VAR) agreement for marine automation to strengthen their foothold on the marine industry market. By joining forces both companies will be able to make their automation solutions better known and more attractive in this industry sector.

“We have seen the expertise that Valmet has in automation systems for the marine industry. Valmet continuously develops its solutions to better meet the challenging environments on many types of vessels. SEASTEMA can leverage this expertise to fuel the expansion in the Cruise market, widening the offer and better capturing Client needs”, says Alessandro Concialini, CEO, Seastema.

“We are pleased to cooperate with Seastema who are true professionals in the demanding marine technology industry. Our companies complement each other perfectly, and our cooperation will greatly benefit the end customers in the marine industry as they will now have access to a well-functioning combination of Seastema’s technology and our automation know-how,” adds John Weierud, Director, Marine Automation, Valmet.

Multi-party study examines hybrid power solution’s efficiency

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 20 June 2019 20 June 2019

Speaking at the CIMAC conference in Vancouver recently, Dr Alexander Knafl, MAN Energy Solutions, presented the results of a new study, which examines the potential of hybrid power solutions in light of tightening regulations on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The result of a cooperation between MAN Energy Solutions, Corvus Energy, and DNV GL, HYCAS examines the cost effectiveness of hybrid power solutions in a 1,700 TEU container feeder vessel.

The pressure is on for the world to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to avert a climate crisis. The IMO has set the maritime industry the ambitious task of reducing shipping emissions 50% by 2050, as compared to 2008. To work towards this challenge, MAN Energy Solutions, Corvus Energy and DNV GL studied the potential of using batteries in a container feeder vessel, to assess if it is possible to both reduce emissions and save operational costs.

“There were several factors that went into the selection of a container feeder vessel for the study,” said Hans Anton Tvete, DNV GL. “We were looking at where hybrid systems could offer significant efficiency gains, which pointed to operational states with fluctuating power demand. This typically occurs with large consumers such as cranes, pumps, ventilation fans, or manoeuvring equipment, especially in port. Container feeders, with their frequent port stays and increased time in port, are ripe for efficiency gains through the use of hybrid solutions. Also, as this fleet is aging, new tonnage is likely to be on order in the near future,” Tvete said.

“Focusing on a container feeder vessel we were able to generate a typical propulsion power profile from vessel speed data, as well as an artificial time-resolved electrical load profile from the according electrical load table. These are the most important inputs for the MAN simulation tool ECO-ESS. Together with the specific battery and engine characteristics, it is possible to optimize the size of a battery in a hybrid propulsion system for the 2020 and 2030 scenario as an optimum of additional CAPEX and OPEX savings.” says Carina Kern, MAN Energy Solutions.

The study explored two main scenarios, a vessel built in 2020 with a 500kWh battery system replacing one genset used for peak shaving and as a spinning reserve, and a vessel built in 2030, using a much larger 11MWh hybrid system for zero emission port entry and exit. Under the first scenario, with the hybrid power train resulting in an approximately 13% total cost for the vessel, payback times are as low as two to three years. However, the larger system increases the costs of the vessel significantly, meaning that only with a combination of lower prices for the battery system and higher fuel costs than today would the system be economically attractive.

“It is our hope that these study results will increase cargo shipowner confidence in seeking out new energy solutions, as a good economic rationale already exists for supporting auxiliary loads with a hybrid configuration,” said Sean Puchalski, Corvus Energy. “As for the future propulsion scenario, perhaps we will not have to wait until 2030. We are already seeing strong demand for high capacity energy storage systems in passenger vessels. With the right leadership from cargo owners, we may see this translate to the merchant sector sooner than later.”

“Energy storage has proven to be a highly successful way to reduce emissions for several categories of ships,” said Tommy Sletten, Corvus Energy. “If we speed up the adoption of green technology for vessels transporting goods, then we will really get results! Container vessels are often ‘low cost’ vessels and there is a reluctance to invest in green technology without other initiatives in place,” continued Sletten. “To reach the global goal of 50% carbon emission reduction by 2050, strict regulations and various governmental initiatives are required. Initiatives such as funding for new buildings, slot priority in harbors and reduced port fees for vessels with improved environmental systems will help greatly.”