Maritime

Jotun announces revolution in proactive hull cleaning with ground breaking Hull Skating Solutions

Published

1 week ago

May 15, 2020

Jotun Group

Jotun announces revolution in proactive hull cleaning with ground breaking Hull Skating Solutions. Image: Jotun Group

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Jotun, a world leading provider of marine coatings, announces the launch of Hull Skating Solutions (HSS), a break-through in proactive cleaning, offering shipowners an always clean hull in the most challenging operations.

Jotun has developed a revolutionary proactive cleaning solution for the most challenging operations. Jotun Hull Skating Solutions is offering high performance antifouling, proactive condition monitoring, inspection and proactive cleaning, high end technical service, and performance and service level guarantees. HSS is the first solution of its kind within the maritime industry. It provides individual proactive condition monitoring services tailored for each vessel, using a proprietary algorithm and big data to accurately predict fouling development and cleaning schedules.

With a comprehensive range of guarantees and service level agreements available, HSS solves the problem of biofouling once and for all, helping shipowners steer a more profitable and sustainable path into the future. If all ships in challenging operations converted to HSS, this would result in a CO₂ emissions reduction of at least 40 million tons per year.

A primary component of Jotun Hull Skating Solutions is the ground breaking, onboard Jotun HullSkater, the first robotic technology that has been purposely designed for proactive cleaning. In combination with the premium SeaQuantum Skate antifouling and a set of services, the Jotun Hull Skating Solutions will help ship operators combat early stages of fouling, significantly reduce fuel costs,CO₂ emissionsand the spread of invasive species.

The HullSkater

The HullSkater removes individual bacteria and biofilm before macro-fouling takes hold. This not only delivers peak performance, and unlimited idle days for shipowners, but minimizes the need for reactive cleaning, cutting costs, environmental risk and optimizing fleet flexibility.The HullSkater stays on the hull by the force of its magnetic wheels, each equipped with electric motors for propulsion and steering. The vehicle has several cameras and sensors, supporting the operator with data for navigation and documenting fouling on the ship hull. The specially designed motorized brush keeps the hull free from fouling without causing erosion or damage to the hull coating. The vehicle is connected to the operator’s control center trough an umbilical and can be operated remotely for vessels anywhere in the world with 4G coverage. Inspection and proactive cleaning of a hull will normally take around 2 to 8 hours depending on size and condition.

Proactive prevention

“Bio-fouling is a big challenge for the shipping industry,” comments Geir Axel Oftedahl, Business Development Director in Jotun. “It increases frictional resistance leading to speed loss and greater fuel consumption, while at the same time increasing the risk of the transfer of aquatic invasive species. It is a burden to the industry, and our planet, and demands decisive action.”

“That was our starting point in the conception of HSS – a desire to create a definitive solution to this pressing issue, one that wouldn’t just deal with the problem, but rather prevent it. That is what hull skating achieves.”

Business critical

“We believe this is a landmark development for shipowners worldwide,” Oftedahl adds. “Vessels are often faced with unpredictable operations, with erratic idling periods and varied operational profiles that make the selection of antifouling problematic, even for the best coatings. And once fouling grows the impacts are immediate, and damaging, with poor hull and propeller performance accounting for around one tenth of the world fleet’s energy consumption. This can make a massive impact on any owner’s bottom line.

“So, make no mistake, proactive inspections, hull cleaning and management isn’t just an operational matter, it’s a business critical decision. As such, HSS is an essential business investment.” The unique technology has been developed over several years, with comprehensive testing taking place on vessels and at selected ports. Jotun is now in the final verification stage and is currently recruiting new selected owners to be the first to benefit from this “game-changing” solution. The shipping partners’ dedicated involvement and their input to requirements, design as well as providing vessels for piloting, have been key in the development and testing of the solution.

Maritime

Malta Freeport Terminals upgrades to Navis N4 3.7 via remote assistance

Published

22 hours ago

May 23, 2020

Navis

Malta Freeport Terminals upgrades to Navis N4 3.7 via remote assistance. Image: Navis

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Navis, part of Cargotec Corporation, the provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for leading organizations throughout the global shipping industry, announced that Malta Freeport Terminals upgraded to N4 3.7 with 100% remote assistance from Navis.

Despite COVID-19 forcing travel restrictions around the world, Malta Freeport Terminals was determined to proceed with its business plan and achieve its set goals amidst the pandemic and leveraged remote support from Navis to stick to their timeline.

Strategically located at the center of the Mediterranean, Malta Freeport Terminals is one of the busiest container terminals in Europe, handling a trade volume of nearly 3 million TEU annually.

In Q4 of 2019, MFT initiated an upgrade project with Navis to implement the latest Equipment Control and RTG Optimization solutions to help move the terminal towards semi-automation operations through N4 3.7.Due to the dedication of both the MFT and Navis teams, the remote upgrade was successfully completed on May 1, 2020, which was right on schedule.

“With the flow of trade being more important than ever, we are constantly looking to invest in cutting-edge ways to improve our services and scale our business. Upgrading to N4 3.7 enables MFT to utilize the new generation of RTG optimization with semi automation features.,” said Jesmond Baldacchino, Head of IT at Malta Freeport Terminals.

“Ahead of the remote go-live, our team completed a risk assessment to mitigate any potential issues that could arise, and along with the Navis team, determined it was the right course of action to move forward. We are thrilled with the outcome and appreciate the level of support Navis provided us throughout the complete process.”

“This is a strategic shift for Navis as a company and proud moment for our team. As a partner to our customers, we want to support them to manage their business more efficiently under any circumstances,” said Chuck Schneider, Chief Customer Officer at Navis.

“Being able to pivot our go-live strategy while still meeting the customer’s deadline for implementation, is a true testament to the dedication of both teams. The success of Malta Freeport has paved the way for other terminals with remote upgrades in these unprecedented times and beyond.”

Container Terminal

Global Ports introduces a new mobile harbour crane to PLP

Published

1 day ago

May 22, 2020

Global Ports Investments plc

Global Ports introduces a new mobile harbour crane to PLP. Image: Global Ports

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Global Ports Investments PLC announces that a new LIEBHERR LHM 550 mobile harbour crane was put into operation at the Petrolesport terminal in the Greater Port of Saint Petersburg. The equipment was purchased as part of the Global Ports facility development and upgrade programme in Russia.

The crane, which has a capacity of 144 tonnes, was manufactured for the Group at LIEBHERR’s facility in Rostock (Germany) and was delivered pre-assembled to PLP by sea.

A LIEBHERR LHM 550 crane is capable of operating in hook, crossbeam, spreader and tipping modes and has high mobility and manoeuvring ability. Its ergonomic tower crane cab offers excellent visibility and safe control of all operating crane movements.

PLP is one of the leaders in the transshipment of heavy and oversized equipment in the Northwest Basin. The commissioning of the new crane will allow the terminal to increase the throughput and the cargo handling efficiency, to optimize the costs of equipment repair and maintenance, while maintaining high quality of service for customers.

The acquisition of a second similar crane is expected in late 2020 — early 2021 as part of the development and upgrade programme. The presence of two modern mobile cranes with increased lifting capacity, which can work synchronously, will expand the capabilities of PLP in handling heavy, oversized and project cargoes, in particular for the oil and power industries. In synchronous mode, the cranes can handle cargoes weighing up to 270 tonnes.

Heavy Lift

Hydro Deck’s one-of-its-kind design enables efficiency for offshore windfarm project

Published

1 day ago

May 22, 2020

Mammoet

Hydro Deck’s one-of-its-kind design enables efficiency for offshore windfarm project. Image: Mammoet

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Its task was to transport a 5,000t offshore substation topside and a 1,500t reaction compensation station topside from Batam, Indonesia to Singapore.

Hydro Deck’s large cargo surface area (5,600m²) allowed Mammoet to hold the two topsides and transport them in a single trip. This reduced the necessity to perform operational work more than once.

Combining Hydro Deck’s rapid ballasting system capacity with the flexibility of having roll-on/roll-off ramps on both the bow and stern of the barge, Mammoet minimized movement and rotation of the Hydro Deck. This was crucial because the operational period saw high sea traffic at both Batam and Singapore shipyards.

For this project, Mammoet redesigned the mooring arrangement by installing four additional mooring winches and eight roller fairleads on the Hydro Deck. This meant the barge did not need to be rotated, with load-in and load-out performed from either the bow or stern side.

Using a minimal number of maneuvers, the team was able to perform the load-in and load-out efficiently, maintaining the high safety standards required by the shipyard, while accommodating the reduced space available due to high sea traffic. A close eye was always kept on safety; by ensuring the rapid ballast system capacity met standards, and through maintenance on the system taking place on a regular basis, sharing updates with the client.

Besides the use of Hydro Deck as an interim barge, Mammoet supplied many services as a single point of contact. These included barging, weighing, mooring, ballasting, towing, tug management, plus load-out and load-in using 200 axle lines of SPMT.

Mammoet’s complete solution enabled the transportation of the topsides in one single journey.

The Hydro Deck is a floating pontoon developed in collaboration with AG&P for a range of operational needs in locations with extreme tidal variations. It increases the efficiency of operations where port facilities are less available or – as here – rapid ballasting is a key consideration.