Products & services

Trimline create demonstration galley at Southampton headquarters

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 19 August 2014 19 August 2014

Trimline, Southampton-based marine interior refurbishment specialists, in partnership with MKN and support from Wexiödisk, Porkka, Halton Marine and Marine Systems Technology Ltd, is installing a demonstration galley at its Southampton headquarters. This state-of-the-art facility is being created to enable both suppliers and partners the opportunity to display and use the facilities, test new products and experience how they could work on ships within the replicated galley environment.

The facility will be fitted with the latest technologies and products, helping ship operators understand the environmental benefits and financial savings that can be made by using the most innovative of galley technology. The galley will also function as a training venue for chefs to learn how to use new equipment. Another vital aspect will be the opportunity for chefs to replicate their own recipes within the Trimline galley to test the performance and taste quality of the equipment.

A MKN Flexi Combi Oven and Flexi Chef, both with touch screen control panels, will be accompanied by an induction hob, a Wexiödisk undercounter dishwasher and a refrigerator and a combination fridge freezer from Porkka. A Halton Capture Jet hood with UV light technology and the latest energy saving M.A.R.V.E.L. system will complete the galley. Using infra-red sensors and other intelligent controls, the hood optimises the level of extraction saving operators both energy and money.

Colin Stapley, Business Development Manager – Catering at Trimline, said: “The addition of a demonstration galley to Trimline is a fantastic step towards the company’s commitment towards our customers and suppliers. It is essential for us that we match cost, performance and energy savings with excellent products that produce outstanding food. The galley will allow us to show our clients exactly what these innovative products can do and allow them the opportunity to practise within the kitchen before they make a commitment.”

Gary Oliver, Managing Director at Trimline, said: “This is a very exciting time for Trimline. Ahead of our 50th Anniversary in 2015, we are taking another step towards the progression of the company for the next 50 years. The galley will allow us to understand the catering needs of our client base, something that will be essential to the longevity of the company.”

The demonstration galley is due to be completed at the beginning of October and will be welcoming its first guests at the end of October.

Evac invests in advanced wastewater treatment technology

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 16 August 2014 16 August 2014

Evac Oy has acquired the CleanSea Marine business from Headworks Bio Inc.. Headworks Bio is a fore runner in the field of land based municipal and industrial wastewater treatment as well as in marine wastewater treatment applications. Through this acquisition Evac gains a competitive edge regarding advanced wastewater treatment business and technology within the maritime segment worldwide. Business and license agreements were signed for the CleanSea MBBR technology.

"This move will strengthen our role in the growing market of wastewater treatment and will further enhance our total waste management solution for our main customers," says Tomi Gardemeister, President and CEO of the Evac Group. The acquisition of a competitive technology from a strong partner like Headworks Bio will give us the chance to accelerate our development. This agreement will deliver clear customer benefits by providing a proven alternative wastewater treatment solution, CleanSea MBBR technology, for our marine customers."

"Ideally our cruise customers' environmental needs can now be solved through one single contact point, meaning that communication will be simple and efficient and after sales services are easily available, too. We now have the ability to provide optimal solutions on AWP no matter what vessel type or size," says Mika Karjalainen, COO of Evac Oy.

"Two major players will join forces in product development to deliver innovative high quality solutions to meet demands for our most precious resource, clean water. Through this divestiture Headworks Bio continues its focus on land based applications and Evac on the marine sector. The fit with Evac combined with their excellent existing product line is perfect and we will provide whatever support they require to make this a seamless transition for their customers in the marine sector," notes Michele LaNoue, CEO of Headworks Bio.

A few years ago the Houston-based company acquired Hydroxyl, which had been supplying the maritime industry with advanced wastewater cleaning systems for years. References of the wastewater treatment systems include Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's cruise ships Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Earlier deliveries include the Radiance and Millennium class cruise ships.

"This agreement facilitates a breakthrough to Evac. The CleanSea MBBR technology is already well known in the cruise ship segment having the world's largest cruise ship references. In this deal we combine the excellent technology know-how of Headworks with Evac's know-how on maritime system applications. Headworks Bio has over the years continued to develop and refine their wastewater treatment technology, why I think we now can offer an excellent system for our shipowner clients," adds Karjalainen. "From now on we will consequently also be in charge of the after-sales activities regarding all the cruise ships to which Headworks Bio, and earlier Hydroxyl, have supplied their advanced wastewater cleaning system."

Wastewater cleaning market growing

According to industry estimates, the advanced wastewater treatment market will continue to grow in coming years. This is due to both a rebound in the cruise business, after years of slow demand, and also due to ever tightening environmental regulations.

There are three main wastewater treatment technologies in use on the maritime market today. There is the ‘flotation technology’, also used by Headworks Bio, the Membrane Bioreactor 'flat sheet membrane' system, and the external submerged membrane system. The technology developed by Headworks Bio, and now acquired by Evac for maritime applications, is an advanced system based on flotation. This type of technology is the most popular on big cruise ships today.
Evac can now offer two technologies for advanced wastewater treatment system portfolio. The Evac Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) has proven popular for smaller to medium size cruise ships and other types of vessels, and has also proven popular for river cruise ships. The latest reference cruise vessel cleaning its waste with Evac's MBR is M/S Europa 2, the five star luxury cruise ship newbuilding owned by NYK.

The acquired Cleansea MBBR wastewater cleaning technology is applicable for the latest international environmental regulations, the International Maritime Organisation IMO MEPC.227(64) Resolution as well as the IMO MEPC.200(62) Baltic Sea rules.

In February this year Evac received thee type approval certificates for its Evac Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) advanced wastewater treatment system for these regulations, as well as the type certification for using this system on the Rhine River.

Evac's total scope of supply

Through the acquisition of Headwork's maritime wastewater treatment technology, Evac can now supply the entire scope of waste handling. These include grey and black water waste and now two types of wastewater treatment technologies for ships, handling of galley waste and waste from showers and sanitary units using Evac's advanced vacuum technology, the handling, compacting and incineration of dry waste using Evac's specially developed incinerators. "I think a benefit of being able to supply a total scope like this is that the shipyard does not have to use its resources on system integration. Evac handles that part," says Karjalainen.

Technical description

The advanced wastewater treatment plants used in maritime applications are all based on biological treatment. In short, in the Evac Membrane Bioreactor, the solids, down to bacteria size, are extracted using a membrane through ultra-filtration, quite like in an osmosis process. In the Flotation System the solids are extracted through a flotation process, where small polyethylene modules help advance the biological treatment process. In this system the particles lighter than water are extracted from the surface and the heavier are extracted from the bottom of the tank. A mechanical filter is used in the end of the process and ultra-violet light is used to handle the bacteria.

In the CleanSea MBBR all the wastewater is collected into a mixing tank. The solids are initially removed by coarse screening. The water then enters a three stage biological reactor using a moving bed biological technology using small highly efficient polyethylene modules to attract and grow bacteria culture, fed with oxygen pumped into the tanks. The bacteria consume the organics in the water. The secondary solids are removed using a dissolved air floatation unit, and the last step is to polish the water using a fine filter. After the final filtration stage, the water is pumped through an ultraviolet system which disinfects the water and is then either discharged overboard or stored in storage tanks for later discharge. All solids are stored in holding tanks for later treatment through dewatered and incineration, or taken to wastewater treatment facilities ashore.

The system has an advanced control system automating the wastewater treatment process. It is designed to be as user friendly as possible. With the exception of the bioreactor, everything in the system is redundant. The control system, comprising some 14 individual units, is designed so that if one unit goes offline it automatically switches to the other. The big system supplied for Oasis and Allure of the Seas are capable to handle 3,000cu.m. per day, more capacity than the wastewater plants in some cities.

Both the MBR and the CleanSea MBBR technology now acquired from Headworks Bio are protected by patents.

Sance designs the passenger staircases for AIDAprima

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 09 August 2014 09 August 2014

Sance-Sandelin Consulting and Engineering Ltd announced that the company has started participation in AIDAprima cruise ship project. The company is the main provider of engineering drawings for passenger staircases. The staircase project covers approx. 4000 m2 and 4 passenger main staircases. The work is carried out in collaboration between Sance and NIT. NIT Naval Interior Team, designs and carries out versatile projects in the marine and construction industry. The projects concerns high quality standard public and technical areas, for example, restaurants, theatres, AC
rooms, spas and outer deck and outdoor areas.

"We’re excited to be able to provide our engineering and design skills in AIDAprima project. As we all know, cruise ship staircase projects have their own challenges from the point of view of engineering and design, and this project is no exception. For example, the wall structures are complex and very impressive. Because of our strong knowledge in the field it’s great to be able to show our capabilities by carrying out this project. We’re glad to collaborate with NIT in this project," states Kalle Sandelin, CEO of Sance.

AIDAprima is a cruise ship which is now under construction at the Nagasaki Shipyard, Japan. Nagasaki shipyard is one of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries yards. AIDAprima is scheduled to be delivered to the Owner in 2015.

Maritime Communications Partner appoints new CEO

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 13 August 2014 13 August 2014

MCP’s Board of Directors have appointed Frode Støldal as new CEO for the Telenor subsidiary. Under his leadership, MCP will strengthen its position as a preferred global supplier of the most innovative maritime communications solutions.

Støldal replaces MCPs founder, Knut Fjellheim, who has served as interim-CEO and now returns to his previous role as COO/CTO. Frode Støldal has vast management experience from across the Telenor-Group. Prior to his role as CTO in Telenor Norway where he was responsible for deploying a new LTE (4G) network, Støldal served as Head of Technology for Telenor in Asia, responsible for industrialization and common technology projects across Telenor Group. He has also worked as CTO/CIO in Grameenphone, in addition to several IT roles in Norway from when he joined in 2001. Støldal holds a Master of Technology Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Science from Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH).

Støldal assumes his position Monday August 18th.

"MCP is a growth company with value-adding innovations that appeals to our customers and partners within the cruise-, ferry- and offshore market. These markets face huge changes with customers demanding the same level of service offshore as onshore, and it is a fantastic opportunity to lead a company that can deliver on all of these needs and wants. MCP are uniquely positioned in an area where there will be great demand after technology platforms likes the ones we offer today, and the ones we develop going forward," said Støldal.

"I have previously visited MCP’s offices and have been impressed by the quality the company brings to the market through the staffs cutting-edge skills. Engineering innovations and a desire to always do better have ensured that MCP have assumed a leading position in a growing market where huge business value will be created with communications solutions. MCP’s latest innovations are the value adding business empowerment platform VAVE for cruise and ferry, and our groundbreaking solutions for oil- and gas companies in the offshore-market," said Støldal.

ABB to maintain all turbochargers in Prestige Cruise Holdings fleet

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 06 August 2014 06 August 2014

ABB announced that it has signed a five-year maintenance agreement with Prestige Cruise Holdings (PCH) to provide services, parts and support for all turbochargers installed on its fleet of eight cruise ships. The contract provides global access to maintenance services for the turbochargers to ensure their continued safe and reliable operation.

Prestige Cruise Holdings is the parent company of Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, which serve the upper-premium and luxury segments of the cruise industry with over 6,400 berths. Under the agreement, PCH vessels will be serviced throughout ABB’s network of turbocharger service stations, located in every major port around the world. The contract is valued at $5.6 million.

Fast and easy access to maintenance services at any ABB service station will also help lower operating costs by keeping installed turbochargers operating at their peak performance.

"This agreement will help us to proactively maintain all turbochargers on our ships; and ensure that we have the highest quality and most reliable services for this equipment anywhere in the world. It will help us to minimize equipment downtime while improving overall turbocharger performance, to keep our fleet engines in top operating condition," said Paolo Mele, SVP, Marine & Technical Operations, Prestige Cruise Holdings.

ABB’s turbocharger applications in the marine industry help reduce fuel consumption and emissions while increasing efficiency and reliability. In service, ABB’s turbocharging solutions enable customers to save significantly on service costs and spare parts and to extend the lifetime of their applications.

Approximately 200,000 ABB turbochargers are in operation across the globe on ships, power stations, gen-sets, diesel locomotives and large, off-highway vehicles. ABB is the world leader in the manufacture and maintenance of turbochargers for 500 kW to 80+ MW diesel and gas engines. The company offers Original Parts and Original Service at over 100 Turbocharging Service Stations in more than 50 countries.