Met-ocean data provider for the marine sector Theyr has signed up to the national SPRINT business support programme. Theyr will collaborate with SPRINT partner, the University of Southampton on the development of a marine vessel routing application that will enable a cleaner future for commercial shipping.

Logimatic and MAN Energy Solutions have collaborated to standardise the exchange of Request For Quote (RFQ) and Purchase Order (PO) information between shipping companies and suppliers.

As Stress Awareness month in April coincides with a global pandemic, maritime software provider Hanseaticsoft is urging shipping companies to tackle stress and depression amongst seafarers by ensuring connectivity at sea.

VIKING Safety Academy has addressed a fast-emerging seafarer training issue brought by coronavirus by delivering an e-learning tool that can keep seafarers STCW-compliant until restrictions on movement and social interactions come to an end.

With many countries in lockdown, face to face seafarer training is also being suspended and some flag administrations have responded by granting automatic three-month extensions to the STCW Certificates seafarers must update every five years. However, VIKING Safety Academy has designed a unique training set-up so that seafarers can undergo training for a full certificate renewal even while the crisis persists.

VIKING Safety Academy has worked with Estonia’s Reval Safety Training to offer STCW refresher training on an e-learning basis for Estonian seafarers. The training set-up includes: Personal Survival Techniques, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats, Fast Rescue Boats and Advanced Fire Fighting.

On March 12, Estonia’s Maritime Administration informed the EU that e-learning covering the theoretical part of STCW training would be sufficient to support a certificate extension for Estonian seafarers valid for up to six months.

“Seafarers can now use e-learning to train and renew certificates during these extraordinary times and maintain proof of competence,” said Camilla Runge Nissen, VIKING safety academy product manager, training. “They can secure a longer six months extension and can make good use of the time getting ahead in the compliance process.”

Once the seafarer has completed the e-learning course, whether onboard or at home, he/she is given a provisional STCW certificate extension. Should conditions allow, seafarers can visit a Reval Safety Training center during the six-month period for classroom/practical training and secure a five-year Certificate of Proficiency, or complete once the crisis passes.

While the STCW certificates extension based on e-learning is only available to Estonian residents today, the course could easily be extended to other flag states. “All elements of the temporary package have been approved by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA), we are already talking to other flag states and we can quickly roll this out.”

The Norwegian Maritime Authority recently announced that it will allow seafarers onboard Norwegian vessels to join vessels until July 1st this year, even if they have only completed the theoretical relevant parts of STCW. “Under this guidance, e-learning is part of the picture, demonstrating that the set-up developed for Estonia can be very useful elsewhere.”

Benny Carlsen, VIKING senior vice president, global sales and marketing said that the new e-learning initiative aligns closely with group efforts to keep seafarers and owners compliant, safe, and as hassle and worry free as possible. “In extraordinary times, we need proactive and digitally-powered solutions to ensure that a training headache does not become a lasting issue.”

Wärtsilä has delivered a navigation simulator and specific mathematical models to the Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) in the city of Rauma, Finland.

The Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) has approved the use of RINA’s remote technology for inspections of Liberian flagged vessels. Shipowner d’Amico will take advantage of this facility in a pilot case on his fleet.

OneWeb has announced the successful launch of 34 more satellites onboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Lift-off occurred on March 21st at 17:06 UTC. OneWeb’s satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in nine batches with signal acquisition anticipated in the coming hours.

Computer based training delivers cost-effective solution to augment classroom training and promote continuous learning across industrial practice areas

ABS Group of Companies has launched an eLearning training platform to provide state-of-the-art educational tools and offer a robust catalogue of professional training courses to technical personnel worldwide.

The new training solution will feature on-demand courses to augment classroom training in the practice areas of Cybersecurity, Risk Management, Asset Reliability, Compliance Management and Process Safety, and to support excellence in organisational performance.

"For decades ABS Group has provided world-class training services, administering the highest standards of education and consulting to thousands of professionals in the U.S. and internationally," said Michael Harrington, director of ABS Group Training. "These same award-winning subject matter experts who have been recognised for their contributions to multidisciplinary engineering fields are now sharing technical and regulatory expertise for training at your pace, anytime, anywhere."

Several eLearning courses are specialised to industry’s most pressing operational challenges. The first phase of e-courses focuses on Cybersecurity as an operational imperative and include Business Cybersecurity courses and a Maritime Cybersecurity course. Additional e-courses will focus on Reliability Management and Reliability Centred Maintenance. The e-courses to follow will be tailored to safety, risk and compliance management topics ranging from Root Cause Analysis (RCA), ISO Concepts, Safety Management, Quality, Environment, Risk Management Standards, Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Process Safety Management (PSM), Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Management of Change (MOC) and International and Offshore Oil and Gas Regulations and Standards.

All e-course materials are introductory, with the option of customisation for advanced or industry specific training. Accompanying training solutions are available such as public and private instructor led classroom training. The eLearning training platform will also host a range of learning products, including books, reference materials and Root Cause Maps.

Visit the platform to learn more: https://training.abs-group.com

Passage through Northern shipping routes and Arctic waters has received a boost following the doubling of the connectivity speed of the Iridium CertusTM network, says maritime communications specialist IEC Telecom.

Satcom Global has announced that its flagship high-speed Aura VSAT solution now includes the latest Ku-band hardware from Intellian’s NX series of maritime VSAT antennas, including the v85NX, v100NX and v130NX models.