Products & services

Galley equipment makers Hobart and Elro join forces

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 05 March 2018 05 March 2018

Galley equipment makers Hobart and Elro join forces so that the Hobart marine team, mainly known as world market leader for its equipment, solutions and programmes in warewash onboard cruise ships – will collaborate with Elro, the companies said in a joint statement.

Elro is a recognised manufacturer of cooking equipment and enjoys an equally strong reputation in the cruise industry as well. Both strong brands have been part of the ITW Food Equipment Group, which facilitates their ability to now offer a coordinated approach with a single face to the customer for sales activities, while continuing to support project management, after sales and service within their own structures.

Elro will benefit by utilising the Hobart Global Marine worldwide organization, such as service team and parts supply chain solutions, to address the various needs of the cruise industry. Together the two manufacturers supply to almost 100 % of cruise industry operators – a very significant customer base.

Dennis Firchau, Hobart Business Unit Manager Global Marine and longterm expert in the cruise business is looking forward to his additional responsibility for Elro.

Speedcast expands relationship with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 14 February 2018 14 February 2018

Speedcast International Limited has extended its relationship with the largest consumer of satellite bandwidth in the cruise industry, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), which will be further increasing the bandwidth delivered across 37 ships.

“Speedcast has been an integral part of our long-standing efforts to implement the latest connectivity solutions that allow us to provide enhanced communications for everyone, from our guests onboard to our employees onshore,” said Guillermo Muniz, director, Network and Satellite Engineering, Royal Caribbean. “We are consistently raising the bar on ship innovation and increasing requirements, and Speedcast is right there with us, collaborating to make sure that we have the infrastructure and support to deliver the best experience.”

Speedcast’s experience with Royal Caribbean dates back to 2006, when the company installed RCCL’s first Ku-Band VSAT antenna on board a vessel to satisfy peak seasonal communication demand in the Brazil region. The Speedcast network now delivers fully managed communications solutions and value-added services to 37 Royal Caribbean brand ships for shipboard administration, and guest and crew usage. Multiple antennas on each ship with seamless automatic failover between Ku-Band and C-Band ensures high availability and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

“We have a true partnership approach to our relationship with Royal Caribbean,” said PJ Beylier, CEO, Speedcast. “As one of the largest cruise line brands in the world and one of our largest customers, we are proud that they continue to trust our expertise in designing and deploying reliable solutions that connect their ships to shore and provide a premier onboard guest experience. Over the past 11 years, we have seen tremendous growth in Royal Caribbean’s business, and we look forward to helping them continue to develop their brands as they introduce new ships and look for innovative ways to enhance guest and crew experiences.”

Viking Cruises and Simwave agree on simulator training

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 26 January 2018 26 January 2018

Viking Cruises and the Simwave maritime simulation centre have concluded an intensive, multi-year, cooperation deal. In the 5,000-square-metre centre in Barendrecht, captains and officers from the river cruise division of the Swiss company, and candidates for those positions, will receive the best possible training for real-life situations and working with safety procedures.

The extensive training programme will be known as the 'Viking Maritime College'. In seven weeks, 220 captains from the river-cruise division complete a five-day training programme. 'Thanks to the cooperation with Simwave, we will be able to practice demanding day-to-day situations to increase the professional skills of our captains and officers’, says Jos Seinen, the Viking Cruises Nautical director.

Sustainable learning program

The program is tailored entirely to the specific requirements and procedures of Viking. It is created and introduced as a sustainable program, meaning that the first sessions form the base of a long term training cycle. ‘The inspiring learning-envrionment with state-of-the-art equipment, instructors and peers maximises the learning experience, adds Martin Gasser, the Learning & Development Director at Viking Cruises.

240 degrees

'We are very pleased that Viking Cruises has opted for Simwave', says Joost van Ree, the commercial director and co-founder of Simwave. ‘Our highly advanced range of simulators includes specific bridges for inland waterway vessels. These provide a 240-degree horizontal image on nine screens and delivers the student experience for Viking Maritime College very efficiently and realistically.'

Aboa Mare celebrates 200 years and publishes chronicle

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 30 January 2018 30 January 2018

Aboa Mare, the Finnish nautical academy, recently celebrated its 200^th anniversary and it has just published a chronicle to celebrate the event.

The chronicle, titled “Aboa Mare 200 år”, is a documentation of Finland’s oldest vocational training, master training in Turku. The maritime training started in 1813. After this, the academy has changed its name often, but the training has been ongoing ever since.

The chronicle, consisting of some 500 pages, presents many signi cant people such as teachers, students and principals from the entire period of the academy’s operation. The reader is given an indication of how the maritime sector and training have been developed during the various phases of the academy.

The book also showcases the buildings where training has been held during these two hundred years, e.g. the observatory on Vartiovuori hill in Turku, where the maritime school operated for over 130 years. The book was funded by Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi and it was written by maritime journalist and editor of Sjöfartstidningen magazine, Pär-Henrik Sjöström.

The book was published on 12.1.2018, and it is written in Swedish. The English edition will come out during the spring 2018.The book publishing event attracted many attendees from the maritime industry

The Shanty Singers choir started the event by singing songs from the sailboat era to some hundred attendees in Aboa Mare on January 12, 2018. After that the current Head of Maritime Academy and Training Center, Per-Olof Karlsson, made a welcoming speech and soon writer Pär-Henrik Sjöström and former principal Bo Gyllenberg were also given the floor.

The speeches showed that principals at any era have had to work hard to acquire sufficient funding for maritime training, for example, the first principal August Hannibal Hagelstam had ordered too many pencils for his students, so he had to pay the excess from his own salary. Since then, funding has grown despite di cult economic times.

“Today, the Academy is doing well due to the external course offering and simulator training, Sjöström said.Maritime training in Turku is nowadays marketed with the name Aboa Mare, which is known both in Finland and abroad. Now, Aboa Mare has more than 400 students and some 1700 course participants annually. The academy is also active in many research and development projects.

Trimline completes six day Seabourn Sojourn refit in Freeport

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 23 January 2018 23 January 2018

The UK based marine interior refurbishment specialist Trimline said it has completed a six day refit of Seabourn Sojourn in Freeport.

The ship belongs to Seabourn, which is part of the Holland America Group unit of Carnival Corporation & plc. Holland America Group’s Sr. Interior Operations Specialist, Linh Nguyen said in a statement: “Seabourn Sojourn’s last drydock in Freeport was no small feat. With challenges such as weather, dock location, and logistical constraints, Trimline’s flexibility and team-oriented focus lent to another timely and successful drydock”.

The team of more than 150 Trimline tradespeople worked closely with the client and other contractors onboard to ensure the sophistication and luxury were maintained throughout the ship, including:

Suites including bathrooms
The Colonnade
Panoramic Observation Bar
The Club
Grand Salon
General maintenance around the ship

Trimline’s Key Account Manager, Simon Dawkins commented “The Trimline team were delighted to work with Seabourn on their latest dry dock refit for Seabourn Sojourn. Our understanding of the Seabourn brand has been key to us being able to deliver a quality result and meet the client’s expectations. This has, in no small part, been helped by the support given by the ship’s crew and office staff, who take great pride in their ship. We look forward to working with Seabourn on their next dry dock later this year”.