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Shipping’s space age future

 

Looking like a teaser for an upcoming Star Trek movie, a six-minute video posted by Rolls-Royce last month lays out its high-tech vision of unmanned cargo ships and the future of shipping.

At the heart of that vision is a sophisticated, cutting-edge, land-based control center with interactive smart screens, voice recognition systems, and 3D holographic images of the ship and its equipment. An officer sits in a command chair before the “OX global wall,” which provides a worldwide overview of shipping traffic. Flying drones launched from the unmanned ship are the operator’s eyes in the sky to monitor navigation, security, weather and inspect the ship itself.

In the video, Rolls-Royce envisions a small crew of 7 to 14 people that will monitor and control the operation of a fleet of vessels across the world.

Last year, Rolls-Royce announced it would lead the Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative—a new EURO6.6 million project to explore, develop and design autonomous ships.

 

Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, is providing the funding for the project, which will run until the end of 2017.

 

The Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWAI) brings together expertise from academia and industry. The participants include Finnish academic researchers from Tampere University of Technology, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Åbo Akademi University, Aalto University, and the University of Turku. Besides Rolls-Royce, industry participants include NAPA, Deltamarin, DNV GL and Inmarsat.

Iiro Lindborg, Rolls-Royce’s General Manager, Remote & Autonomous Operations, Ship Intelligence, says, “unmanned and remote-controlled transportation systems will become a common feature of human life. They offer unprecedented flexibility and operational efficiency.” Lindborg says the research “aims to understand the human factors involved in monitoring and operating ships remotely. It identifies ways crews ashore can use tools to get a realistic feel for what is happening at sea.”

The video is the final stage of research that will inform the design and construction of a project demonstrator before the end of this decade.

An effective remote operations center is essential to the company’s plans to develop autonomous and remote controlled vessels.

Eija Kaasinen, Principal Scientist at VTT Technical Research Center of Finland Ltd., points out that unmanned ships doesn’t take humans out of the picture totally. “Unmanned ships need to be monitored and controlled and this will require entirely new kinds of work roles, tasks, tools and environments. The future shore control center concept has been designed by emphasizing the user experience of the human operators. By focusing on the operators’ point of view, it is possible to introduce meaningful, pleasurable and engaging new roles for the ships’ shore control center professionals.”

The research was undertaken by VTT and University of Tampere research centre TAUCHI (Tampere Unit for Computer Human Interaction) in collaboration with Rolls-Royce. It explored the lessons learned from other industries where remote operation is commonplace, such as aviation, energy, defense, and space exploration.

It uses the InnoLeap approach, a VTT and Rolls-Royce-developed initiative for concept design and presentation of academic studies in a graphic format that is based on trend and user studies, co-innovation, scenario stories and visualizations.

On April 5, in Helsinki, Finland, Rolls-Royce will reveal separate research findings, which it believes will set the direction for the development of remote and autonomous shipping.

Remote and autonomous ships are one of three elements of the company’s Ship Intelligence strategy, a portfolio of products and services – comprising health management solutions, optimization and decision support, and remote and autonomous operations – which intended to enable customers to transform their operations by harnessing the power of big data.

Rauli Hulkkonen, Tekes, Chief Advisor, thinks the project is a “fantastic opportunity to establish the Finnish maritime cluster as the world leader in maritime remote control technology.”

 

Esa Jokioinen, Head of Rolls-Royce’s Blue Ocean Team, says, “We are excited to be taking the first concrete steps towards making remote controlled and autonomous ship applications a reality.”

 

The Rolls-Royce Blue Ocean team is responsible for R&D of future maritime technologies.

Rolls-Royce is not alone in investigating the feasibility of unmanned ships. The European Commission has just completed work on project MUNIN (Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks) to develop concepts for unmanned ships. The EURO3.8 million MUNIN project focused on a dry bulk carrier concept, which typically carry cargo point-to-point on long, uninterrupted deep-sea voyages.

The goal of the projects is to reduce crew costs, lower environmental impact, and reduce the number of collisions. Human error plays a role in about 80 percent of maritime accidents.

MUNIN says that the issues of cyber attacks and pirates are a cause for concern. “However, software systems as well as ships can be designed and built providing a very high resilience against digital and physical attacks.”

HUNTING SUBS BY DRONE SHIP
Drones have been used effectively on the military side for years for surveillance, reconnaissance, and military strikes. Last month, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) reported that its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program has designed, developed and constructed an entirely new class of ocean-going vessel—one intended to traverse thousands of kilometers over the open seas for months at a time, all without a single crew member aboard.

The ACTUV technology demonstration vessel was recently transferred to water at shipbuilder Vigor Industrial, Portland, OR, and conducted speed tests in which it reached a top speed of 27 knots (31 mph/50 kph).

The ACTUV would be used to track quiet diesel-electric submarines.

The vessel is scheduled to be christened on April 7, 2016, with open-water testing planned to begin in summer 2016 off the California coast.

 

 

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Getting a Handle on Data Usage

 

As ships rely increasingly on broadband connectivity to improve operational efficiency and provide crew welfare, bandwidth management has become a critical need. On vessels today, broadband connectivity is needed for access to critical weather and navigational information as well as secure communications with fleet operations management. Real-time access to sea condition information, fleet and port data, and remote systems support capabilities can enhance crew safety, save fuel, reduce operational expenses, and ensure compliance with an ever-expanding array of regulations. Broadband connectivity is also the lifeline for seafarers — who consider communications with family and access to the Internet as must-haves for life onboard. If vessels want to attract and retain qualified crew, they need to provide connectivity. It all adds up to an emphasis on managing broadband data usage.

KVH has introduced the myKVH web portal to enable ship operators, fleet managers, and vessel officers to effectively manage onboard data usage. The tool is designed to provide the transparency and accountability that is essential for a ship to get the most value from its broadband data plan, which is typically based on a monthly allotment of airtime.

KVH introduced the myKVH web portal in October 2015 at the same time it introduced new airtime plans for its mini-VSAT Broadband service, which provides connectivity to thousands of vessels worldwide. The new airtime plans deliver data at maximum speeds on the mini-VSAT Broadband network at every price point. In some cases, the top downlink speed of 4 Mbps is 15 times faster than previous plans, while the cost has been reduced by one third. The new airtime plans feature monthly allotments of data in a wide range, giving fleet managers the ability to choose a data allotment that fits the vessels’ budget and needs.

With a vessel utilizing a monthly allotment of data, it becomes extremely important to be able have visibility into the amount of data being consumed. The myKVH web portal provides a single secure site with the tools to enable a ship operator to manage network usage by vessel or by individual crew members, allocate operational and crew data, and receive customized usage alerts by email and SMS text message. It is available for no additional cost to every customer using KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband service. With the myKVH web portal, operators have a tool to proactively monitor bandwidth usage so that one runaway user can no longer compromise an entire vessel’s connectivity.

Secure, fleet-wide monitoring with map and grid displays is another benefit of the myKVH tool for onshore staff. The fleet-wide view shows IT managers and ship superintendents at a glance where their vessels are and the status of their mini-VSAT Broadband systems. It also enables them to view support cases across the entire fleet, maximizing the value of their KVH investment.

As the sophistication of maritime broadband communications grows, managing onboard data usage will become ever more important for every vessel. The myKVH web portal is designed for the visibility and accountability that fleet managers need to make the smartest use of connectivity.

DELIVERING RELIABLE HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND
This past December, Inmarsat achieved global commercial service for its high-speed broadband service Global Xpress. The service was formed by three Ka-band high-speed mobile broadband communications satellites launched from Kazakhstan over the last three years. A fourth satellite being built by Boeing in California will provide extra capacity when it launches later this year.

GX operates in the resilient Ka-band, while integrating seamlessly with Inmarsat’s L-band network to allow customers across aviation, maritime, enterprise and government sectors to have reliable and assured access to high-throughput communications.

With Cisco, Inmarsat has also developed the Inmarsat Service Enablement Platform (ISEP) and the Inmarsat Gateway, which will deliver a whole new world of innovative, content-rich applications – developed by our Certified Application Partners – tailored to meet GX users’ needs.

During the course of 2016, Inmarsat will be introducing a series of market-specific, high-speed connectivity services powered by Global Xpress.

Inmarsat has signed up several manufacturers and value-added resellers to distribute its Global Xpress services. Among the manufacturers on the maritime and offshore sector are Cobham, Intellian, JRC, and RigNet.

At last year’s International Workboat Show in New Orleans, Intellian displayed its GX60, a compact maritime stabilized terminal designed to use Inmarsat’s GX broadband service. Built and supplied with an Integrated GX modem, the GX60 installs easily and quickly delivers high-speed connectivity.

A real benefit of the GX60, explains Paul Comyns, Intellian’s Vice President Global Marketing, is its small size, integrated design, and intuitive user interface. It means operators can install and commission the terminal in relatively the same amount of time as a FleetBroadband system. It can also deliver speeds of up to 50 Mbps. The radome dimension is 90 cm x 103 cm and the antenna weighs about 132 lbs.

Also on display at the Workboat Show was Cobham SATCOM’s SAILOR 60 GX, a new super-light and compact Ka-band VSAT antenna. The new 60cm antenna system is designed for Inmarsat’s new Fleet Xpress service.

Weighing just 82 lbs/37 kg, the SAILOR 60 GX user terminal features one of the lightest Ka-band antennas and boasts leading radio performance to ensure a reliable link to the satellite and more availability of communication services. For workboats and offshore vessels with space restrictions a new SAILOR 60 GX combined with a SAILOR FleetBroadband system is the perfect on board hardware platform for Inmarsat’s game-changing new maritime multi-band satcom service.

A key advantage of SAILOR 60 GX’s small size and low weight is the ability to reduce installation time and costs, which could lead to better value monthly service subscriptions. It is also likely that vessels with existing FleetBroadband antennas will experience more value as they already have a core component of Fleet Xpress on board, making SAILOR the ideal companion for workboat operators aiming to achieve optimal ROI on maritime broadband.

SAILOR 60 GX will enable more workboats to operate smarter through harnessing the power of Inmarsat Fleet Xpress, by enabling significant data sharing capabilities and the drive towards smart operations. The optimal size/performance balance of SAILOR 60 GX is possible because Inmarsat Global Xpress satellites use spot beams instead of wide beams, so with advanced engineering and software design, antenna size is becoming less relevant and they can operate anywhere in the satellite footprint and provide a strong link.

The lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum SAILOR 60 GX comes pre-configured for Fleet Xpress and features ‘one touch commissioning’, meaning that during installation it can be online in seconds with no requirement to contact the Network Operations Center (NOC).

At 1,297 feet long, the MSC Zoe, along with her sister ships MSC Oliver and MSC Oscar are some of the largest container ships in the world. When she set sail this past summer on her inaugural voyage, the MSC Zoe was equipped with high-speed Marlink Maritime VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) on board. Marlink VSAT services provide reliable connectivity for operational and crew communications on MSC Zoe and 130 other MSC ships. MSC uses a suite of integrated IT solutions designed to reduce network administration on board and provide easy access to communication services for crew, all enabled by the XChange communications management platform from Marlink.

Recently added to MSC Zoe’s communications solutions and being rolled-out across the MSC fleet is XChange Universal Remote Access (URA), a unique system that provides secure remote access to computers on board from the shore office. MSC is already experiencing higher uptime for IT systems across the fleet due to the improved remote maintenance and troubleshooting capabilities provided by URA. The system differs from standard remote access solutions, which are designed for specific terminals or protocols and require their own IP address. Since it is a universal access solution, MSC can use the same tool to access IT systems on MSC Zoe, its largest ship, as on any other ship regardless of age or type across its entire fleet.

XChange as standard also provides communication lines for MSC crews to easily stay in contact with their families and friends via email, internet and social media, while giving full control of access and costs to administrators on shore. For MSC, this functionality has been extended by XChange BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), a ready-to-use Wi-Fi solution and accompanying apps that provide voice and data access for crew using their own smartphones, tablets or laptops. By ensuring straightforward account administration and streamlining payment using pre-paid cards, XChange BYOD helps MSC to meet the requirement of its maritime professionals to access the Internet via Wi-Fi using their own devices.

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NTSB issues new update on El Faro investigation

On February 13, 2015, El Faro successfully completed the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) class and statutory surveys, meeting all rules and regulations as applicable. All deficiencies identified were rectified prior to completion of the surveys. None of the deficiencies were associated with El Faro’s main propulsion systems.

The annual inspection of El Faro, required by the United States Coast Guard (USCG), was completed by qualified USCG inspectors in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 6, 2015.

In June 2015, a qualified ABS surveyor examined and tested the main, auxiliary and emergency systems as part of the continuous machinery survey program and found them to be satisfactory.

TOTE told investigators that El Faro was scheduled to be removed from the route between Jacksonville and San Juan and redeployed to the U.S. West Coast where it would operate between Washington State and Alaska. In August, in order to prepare for this operational change, TOTE began to make modifications to the vessel while underway under the supervision of an additional chief engineer. Work on these modifications was performed by welders and machinists over many voyages, including during the accident voyage.

On September 11, 2015, TOTE received permission from the Coast Guard to shut down one of the ship’s two boilers so it could be inspected by an independent boiler service company during a voyage between San Juan and Jacksonville. As a result of the inspection, the boiler service company recommended service to both boilers during an upcoming drydock period that had already been scheduled for November 6, 2015. The boiler was returned to service following the inspection.
Interviews of relief crew and company management indicated that onboard safety drills were consistently conducted on a weekly basis. These included lifeboat drills for all crewmembers to ensure that all on board understood their responsibilities in an emergency.

Investigators interviewed two pilots that had guided El Faro in and out of the Port of Jacksonville; both reported that the vessel handled similarly to other vessels of its size and type.

The vessel’s terminal manager reported that El Faro met stability criteria when it left Jacksonville.The company’s procedures called for some cargo on the ship to be “double lashed” regardless of the weather expected to be encountered during the voyage. The vessel stevedores reported that prior to El Faro’s departure on the accident voyage, the cargo was secured in accordance with those procedures.

Before El Faro departed Jacksonville, Tropical Storm Joaquin was predicted to become a hurricane and a marine hurricane warning was issued by the National Hurricane Center’s Advisory #8 at 5:00 pm EDT on Sept. 29.

At about 8:15 pm EDT on Sept. 29, El Faro departed Jacksonville, Fla., for San Juan, Puerto Rico.

At 1:12 pm EDT on Sept. 30, the captain emailed a company safety official that he intended to take a route south of the predicted path of the hurricane and would pass about 65 miles from its center.

In an advisory issued at 2:00 am EDT on Oct. 1, the National Hurricane Center predicted seas of 30 feet with sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph), increasing to 105 knots (121 mph) as the El Faro approached the wall of the eye of the hurricane.

In a recorded satellite phone call to the company’s emergency call center at 7:00 am EDT, the captain told the call center operator that he had a marine emergency. He reported that there was a hull breach, a scuttle had blown open, and that there was water in hold number 3. He also said that the ship had lost its main propulsion unit and the engineers could not get it going. The operator then connected the captain with the Designated Person Ashore (DPA). The DPA told investigators that the captain had communicated similar information to him that was provided to the call center operator, and also that the captain had estimated the height of the seas that El Faro was encountering to be 10 to 12 feet.

The USCG received electronic distress alerts from three separate sources on El Faro: the Ship’s Security Alert System (SSAS), the Inmarsat-C Alert, and the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).

According to electronic alert system data sent by the vessel at 7:17 am EDT on Oct. 1, its last reported position was about 20 miles from the edge of the eye of the hurricane.

The USCG did not have direct voice communications with El Faro, only electronic distress alerts.

The NTSB investigators that traveled to Florida have returned to continue work on the investigation from NTSB headquarters in Washington.

The NTSB contracted with the U.S. Navy to locate the ship, document the wreckage on the sea floor and recover the voyage data recorder.

The USNS Apache, a fleet ocean tug, was outfitted with specialized equipment for this mission, and departed Little Creek, Virginia, at about 4:30 pm EDT on October 19. In addition to the Navy crew, the NTSB investigator-in-Charge, Tom Roth-Roffy, is on Apache with representatives from the USCG, TOTE and ABS, all parties to the NTSB investigation.

The Apache is estimated to arrive at the last known position of El Faro on Saturday, October 24, to begin the search for the ship and to recover the voyage data recorder. Once the search operation begins, it is expected to take at least two weeks.

The length of the operation will depend on the circumstances encountered.Updates on the search for the vessel and the accident investigation will be issued as circumstances warrant.

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Update: Coast Guard finds life ring from El Faro

The El Faro, a 790-foot roll on, roll off, cargo ship, departed Jacksonville, Florida, Sept. 29, en route to San Juan.

At about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, VA, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion, and had a 15-degree list. The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained.

No further communications have been received from the vessel

A Coast Guard HC-130 search and rescue crew from Air Station Clearwater, Florida, spotted the life ring 120 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas. A Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter crew recovered the life ring and confirmed it belonged to the missing ship.

Search and rescue crews have searched more than 30,000 square-miles since Thursday.

Sea conditions in the search area yesterday were reported to be 20 to 40-feet with winds in excess to 100 knots. Visibility for search and rescue flying between 500 and 1,000 feet was reported to be less than one nautical mile at times.

Tim Nolan, President of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, issued the following statement regarding ongoing efforts to locate and communicate with the El Faro and her crew:

“This morning TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s second ship, the El Yunque, and a contracted tugboat reached the area between the last known vicinity of the El Faro and the location that the Coast Guard recovered a life ring yesterday and carried out a visual survey.

“The two vessels discovered a container, which appears to be from the El Faro, and observed what appears to be an oil sheen.

“At this time there has been no sighting of the El Faro or any life boats.

“TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico and the Coast Guard remain focused on the continuing  search for the crew.  The contracted tugs as well as other vessels transiting the area are also keeping a lookout for any sign of the ship.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the 33 individuals aboard the ship and their families.  They are our number one priority.”

A Coast Guard pilot searching for the missing containership, near the eye of hurricane Joaquin, recounts the weather conditions Oct. 3, 2015. The Coast Guard has been searching since Oct. 1, after losing communications with the El Faro.

U.S. Coast Guard video

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USCG searches for TOTE ship caught by Hurricane Joaquin

 

The El Faro, a 735-foot TOTE Maritime RO/RO cargo ship, was en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, FL. At about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area command center in Portsmouth, VA, received an Inmarsat satellite notification stating the El Faro was beset by Hurricane Joaquin, had lost propulsion, and had a 15-degree list.

The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flooding had been contained.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 7th District command center in Miami launched an HC-130 aircrew out of Clearwater, FL, to search for the El Faro.

As of this afternoon, Coast Guard watchstanders and rescue crews had still been been unable to reestablish communications with the El Faro crew.

Two Air Force C-130 Hurricane Hunter aircrews attempted to locate and reestablish communications with the El Faro unsuccessfully Thursday. Coast Guard crews remained on scene and continue search efforts today by both air and sea.

At a press conference today Coast Guard Captain Mark Fedor said the Coast Guard was pushing its assets to their operational limits in the search for the vessel and the 33 people on board.

Tim Nolan, President of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico issued the following statement on the incident:

On September 29, the El Faro, one of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s two ships departed Jacksonville en-route to San Juan Puerto Rico.

At the time of the El Faro’s departure, the vessel’s officers and crew were monitoring what was then Tropical Storm Joaquin. As of 720am EST on Thursday October 1, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico lost all communication with the El Faro. The US Coast Guard was immediately notified and since then we have been unable to reestablish communication.

There are a number of possible reasons for the loss of communications among them the increasing severity of Hurricane Joaquin.

TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s primary concern is for the safety and well-being of the 33 individuals on board.

We are working to ensure clear and frequent communications with their families and loved ones as we learn more.We have reached out to the families of those impacted and have established open lines of communication to provide them with timely updates. Our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and their families.

TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico is working closely with the US Coast Guard and all available resources to establish communication by whatever means possible.

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And soon, the self-driving ship?

JULY 2, 2015 — Google is developing a self-driving car. So are GM, Mercedes and other auto makers. Now Rolls-Royce is to lead a new EUR 6.6 million project that could do