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As digitalization is becoming an integral part of the shipping industry, more and more operators can benefit from its use. An interesting new technology that aspires to move maritime forward, is the digital twin concept. Digital twins provide a virtual model of a physical ship, producing valuable insights from data. So, what exactly is a digital twin ship?

The North P&I Club shared an insight discussing autonomous cargo systems as a means to address the oft-blamed 'human error' in accident reports. The Club suggests that linked ESD systems should be used for oil and chemical transfers, including ship-to-ship transfers.

Warning for negligence of first principles It is a sad fact that virtually every new advance in navigation has brought with it a number of accidents which have been contributed to by inappropriate use of the new equipment, usually because of the neglect of first principles.The term "radar assisted collision" became well-known in the early days of commercial radar and in more recent years, the facility of inter-ship VHF, automated radar plotting aids and sophisticated integrated navigation systems involving computers have all contributed to expensive mistakes, often because of either complacency or inadequate training in the new equipment, which have permitted bad habits to form! The emergence of the Automated Identification System is, without doubt, a great advance, but here too, there is some evidence that its availability to provide useful information on the "other ship" can, like other equipment, lead to complacency. It is also a fact that while it may be a mandatory fixture aboard larger vessels, there are many small leisure and fishing craft which are not so fitted. A fatal accident in the North Sea last year, recently the subject of a report by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch, provides a salutary warning on the...

Offshore Technology Conference Severn Trent De Nora, a leading provider of electrolytic seawater disinfection systems, will showcase its line of water and wastewater treatment systems at theOffshore Technology Conference to be held May 2-5, 2011, at Reliant Park in Houston, Texas.The following products will be featured during the conference: The OMNIPURETM Series 55 marine sewage treatment system utilizes a unique electrolytic treatment process combined with electrocoagulation to provide safe and effective treatment of black and gray water.The certified treatment process provides wastewater effluent quality well below MEPC.159(55) requirements while eliminating the need to handle waste solids from raw, untreated influent.Along with a unique solids management system that removes concentrated solids automatically, in situ, the light-weight systems feature a small footprint and are easy to install and maintain. With an individual unit capacity ranging up to 17,280 gal/day (65 m3/day), OMNIPURE 55 systems can be combined for increased capacity.The systems have Bureau Veritas certification and USCG certification to IMO Resolution MEPC.159(55). A scale model of the OMNIPURE Series 55 will be at the booth for technology demonstrations.The SANILEC?electrochlorination system generates hypochlorite from seawater and has demonstrated reliable, economic and low-maintenance operation in installations throughout the world.When injected into the cooling water...

Intends to reduce costs associated with US shipbuilding and ship repair The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), co-sponsored by the US Navy, issued news release stating that it has awarded funding valued at approximately $14.6 million for six new research and development (R&D) projects intended to reduce costs associated with US shipbuilding and ship repair.To view the news release please click hereSource: National Shipbuilding Research Program

A&P Tyne says that it is building on its success in a new business sector A&P Tyne says that it is building on its success in a new business sector with the completion of another subsea structure for an offshore oil and gas field.The Mid Water Arch - used to support control cables as they rise from the seabed to the surface - has left the ship repair and fabrication yard at Hebburn, UK, bound for a North Sea oil field. According to the yard, for the last six months, 50 men have worked daily on the project to cut, shape and weld the shell-like structures wrapped around two pressurised buoyancy cylinders. The entire structure is built in steel and the yard built the gravity base, clump weights and piles that will secure it to the seabed, weighing a total of 600tonnes.A 1000 ton crane was needed to lift the yellow-painted structure - which is 17m long, 15m wide and 7m high - onto a barge to sail to the final assembly location. The base, clump weights and piles followed onboard a coaster. The subsea arch is headed for the Athena development in the Outer Moray Firth, which will be...

Easier to see how routeing and weather affect vessel safety and fuel-economy A fleet management system has incorporated Google Earth technology to make it easier for owners to see at a glance how routeing and weather affect crew and vessel safety and fuel-economy.Applied Weather Technology (AWT),a specialist software developer has announced the launch of GlobalView, a fleet-management system that combines ship-routeing services and software with Google Earth technology.The combination, AWT said,can provide fleet managers with a more visual, easy-to-use system and in so doing can enhance vessel and crew safety, reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) joined the blockchain ‘TradeLens’ platform in an effort to modernize the shipping processes and create greater transparency within the operations. In fact, this collaboration boosts the country's effort to promote trading and economic stability by facilitating ease of doing business. By adopting TradeLens, we hope it will enable us to fulfill our mission to facilitate legitimate trade, help combat smuggling and modernize the national logistics systems in support of Malaysia’s digital economy aspirations. ....Dato’ Sri Abdul Latif bin Abdul Kadir, Director-General of Royal Malaysian Customs Department, stated. In addition, TradeLens from its side, will provide RMCD with an automatic and immutable tracking tool, which will lead to a more highly secure, transparent, efficient and simpler workflow, with near real-time information sharing from a diverse network of ecosystem members. To remind, the TradeLens platform, jointly developed by A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM, digitizes the voluminous, time consuming paper-based shipping processes. In fact, through the platform, authorities will be able to receive shipping data as soon as containers leave the port of origin. By joining TradeLens, we aim to boost the efficiency, transparency and collaboration across supply chains. TradeLens will help us bring further visibility in...

Agreement with Carnival Corp to construct two 125,000-ton vessels In a huge fillip for Japan's shipbuilding industry Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said that it has reached agreement with global cruise ship giant Carnival Corp to construct two 125,000-ton vessels, becoming the first Asian yard to build cruiseships for more than seven years.The firms will next work on such details as the contract price and technical specifications, targeting an official agreement before the end of the year.The two 3,250-passenger ships will be constructed at Mitsubishi Heavy'sNagasaki shipyard with delivery dates scheduled for March 2015 and March 2016. Mitsubishi Heavy is said to be anticipating the order to total around 80 billion yen, but a strong yen could reduce the figure.The shipbuilding order will be Mitsubishi Heavy's first for a cruiseline since a fire broke out on the Diamond Princess ship during construction in October 2002 .Source: Seatrade Asia

Do shipping organizations have digitalization initiatives currently underway? This article presents five technologies that have entered the shipping industry lately and they are about to reshape it in the years to come!