The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has in 2004 adopted the Global Ballast Water Convention, mandating that ballast water must be treated prior to releasing it in another ecological zone.
For the Convention to come into force, it must be ratified by at least 30 countries representing 35 percent of the global fleet's dead weight tonnage. At the moment 30 countries representing 26,4 percent of the dead weight tonnage have ratified the convention, and full ratification is expected to occur in late 2011 or early 2012.
Maris and Seagull have reached an agreement to develop a comprehensive product-specific computer-based training ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) module. New requirements for competence and training have been amended in the STCW convention. As well as including approved ECDIS simulator training, the standard opens up wider delivery sources of training, including onboard instruction.
The Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre (MMWC), a UK based maritime anti-piracy organization, is launching their latest countermeasure, the MMWC Propeller Arresters. This is a non-lethal countermeasure to protect vessels underway regardless of vessel type, speed, cargo, flag state registration and weather conditions.
Kittiwake Developments, provider of condition monitoring and asset protection technology, has announced a significant cost reduction and payment plan for its LinerSCAN product. LinerSCAN - online sensors that safeguard engine liners - can now be purchased for a markedly lower price, with the option to pay a lower up front cost and spread the remaining amount over a three-year period for multiple vessel purchases.
Martin Lucas, managing director at Kittiwake Developments, commented: “Kittiwake is renowned for listening to its customers’ needs and in adapting our pricing template we believe we have ensured LinerSCAN is now more affordable to more customers amid times of austerity. Now more than ever, ship owners and operators need to maintain a clear competitive advantage through reliable, consistent operations and ensuring profitability.
Best-in-Class Performance, Groundbreaking Affordability. Easy to Operate I-series cameras are incredibly easy to use, designed for entry-level users, but outfitted with robust functionality that make them assets in the tool kits of experience thermal professionals as well. From a large LCD screen to the foolproof focus to the intuitive, simple menu navigation, see how i-series is designed for minimum hassle, maximum usability.
Wartsilä Corporation introduced two new low-speed marine diesel engines, of which the cylinder bores are 620 and 720 mm. They will be available as electronically-controlled common-rail engines. The power output covers 8,000 to 28,880 kW, extending the available low-speed engine range from Wärtsilä to higher powers but also to lower revolutions (see Enclosure 1), answering the market need of significantly reducing fuel consumption by improving both engine and propeller efficiency.
Automatic Oil spill Recognition and Geopositioning integrated in a Marine Monitoring Network. Like the mythological dog Argo, who was endowed with hundred eyes, open day and night, ARGOMARINE is intended to develop new technologies capable of constantly monitoring our seas and giving a real-time alert in case of hydrocarbon spill in the Mediterranean, with particular attention given to the more vulnerable areas from an environmental and security point of view.
FLAGSHIP has improved integrated bridge systems with advanced functions for further integration of nautical information. Called FLAGSHIP-Bridge Support these functions provide the officer of the watch with improved navigation information. They integrate NAVTEX messages, radar and AIS targets into a single coherent display, speeding up hazard analysis, improving tracking accuracy and reducing the load on the Duty Officer.
FLAGSHIP has developed software that enables comprehensive suppression of audible warnings in order to avoid large cascades of alarms on the bridge and in the engine room. Called iCAS (intelligent Central Alarm System), the system is designed to provide a precise overview of the situation on board as it develops while freeing up staff to address the situation and follow the vessel’s routines without disturbance.
The FLAGSHIP- iCAS project was led by Kongsberg Maritime AS in Norway and was supported, delivered and trialled in conjunction with MARINTEK, Teekay and Autronica also of Norway, and ASME and Minoan of Greece.
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Sperry Marine business unit is the first manufacturer to enter a cooperation agreement with online training company Safebridge to provide online training for users of Sperry Marine’s advanced VisionMaster FT ship navigation technology. Safebridge software programs allow students to complete online training specific to the navigation products installed on the ships they sail.
Users can log on to the Safebridge server via the Internet to access a range of e-learning modes, a guided tutorial on the live system, self-testing with feedback and free play of the live system. Upon successful completion of the course assessment, students receive a certificate of competence.
Lankhorst Ropes,has announced the rope industry’s first recycling scheme for retired maritime ropes. Developed over the past 12 months, the Lankhorst Ropes scheme takes a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to rope recycling for its maritime customers. New ropes are supplied with a works certificate containing the rope’s unique number and recycling scheme logo. When ropes are returned, a confirmation of receipt for recycling is issued.
Dutch chart distributor Datema has announced it has finally managed to secure the necessary permissions from a significant number of countries to roll-out its ENCTrack distribution system for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs). The member countries of IC-ENC have approved pay-as-you sail licensing in 2010 under strict conditions. Following test and trials, Datema was granted final approval this March, effective from 1 April.
Schoenrock Hydraulik Marine Systems has just received type approval from the classification company Det Norske Veritas (DNV) for its new hydraulically operated Shiptight sliding bulkhead door, as well as for the older variant of the same product. Both models passed the tests, including the practical inspection approvals, with flying colours. They will be principally used for commercial ships and yachts.
‘Our tried and tested Hydraulic Watertight Sliding Door has been further optimised in various ways,’ says Schoenrock Managing Director Dr Volker Behrens. The use of a more rigid frame profile along with the Y sealing ensures a significantly improved balance of the installation tolerances when welding, and so in the last resort means significantly lower commissioning costs.
The first upgraded Wärtsilä RT-flex68-D engine equipped with a Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) turbocharger was successfully tested at Doosan Engine Co Ltd in South Korea. It is fully compliant with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Tier II regulations.
The engine has a slimmer outline to better suit installation requirements for container ships. Moreover, the engine provides extended flexibility over a broader load range when equipped with a VTG turbocharger. The tested engine is the first of eight for installation in eight ships for a Chinese owner at a Chinese shipyard. The engine has a contracted maximum continuous power of 21,910 kW at 95 rpm.
BMT ARGOSS, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has announced that Jersey Coastguard will be the first place in the world to use version 4 of its internationally recognised Search and Rescue Information System (SARIS). This technology is designed to help pinpoint anybody or anything lost at sea.
FLAGSHIP, a part EU-funded maritime transport project, has successfully delivered the first advanced emergency situation management tool for fire and flooding with integrated ship to shore real time reporting: FLAGSHIP-DSS (Decision Support System). The system delivers an accurate, early prediction of how a fire or flooding may impact on a ship at any given time, enabling efficient decision-making in distress situations.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has in 2004 adopted the Global Ballast Water Convention, mandating that ballast water must be treated prior to releasing it in another ecological zone.
Maris and Seagull have reached an agreement to develop a comprehensive product-specific computer-based training ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) module. New requirements for competence and training have been amended in the STCW convention. As well as including approved ECDIS simulator training, the standard opens up wider delivery sources of training, including onboard instruction.
The Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre (MMWC), a UK based maritime anti-piracy organization, is launching their latest countermeasure, the MMWC Propeller Arresters. 
Kittiwake Developments, provider of condition monitoring and asset protection technology, has announced a significant cost reduction and payment plan for its LinerSCAN product. LinerSCAN - online sensors that safeguard engine liners - can now be purchased for a markedly lower price, with the option to pay a lower up front cost and spread the remaining amount over a three-year period for multiple vessel purchases.
Best-in-Class Performance, Groundbreaking Affordability. Easy to Operate
Wartsilä Corporation introduced two new low-speed marine diesel engines, of which the cylinder bores are 620 and 720 mm. They will be available as electronically-controlled common-rail engines. The power output covers 8,000 to 28,880 kW, extending the available low-speed engine range from Wärtsilä to higher powers but also to lower revolutions (see Enclosure 1), answering the market need of significantly reducing fuel consumption by improving both engine and propeller efficiency.
Automatic Oil spill Recognition and Geopositioning integrated in a Marine Monitoring Network.
FLAGSHIP has improved integrated bridge systems with advanced functions for further integration of nautical information. Called FLAGSHIP-Bridge Support these functions provide the officer of the watch with improved navigation information. They integrate NAVTEX messages, radar and AIS targets into a single coherent display, speeding up hazard analysis, improving tracking accuracy and reducing the load on the Duty Officer.
FLAGSHIP has developed software that enables comprehensive suppression of audible warnings in order to avoid large cascades of alarms on the bridge and in the engine room. Called iCAS (intelligent Central Alarm System), the system is designed to provide a precise overview of the situation on board as it develops while freeing up staff to address the situation and follow the vessel’s routines without disturbance.
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Sperry Marine business unit is the first manufacturer to enter a cooperation agreement with online training company Safebridge to provide online training for users of Sperry Marine’s advanced VisionMaster FT ship navigation technology. Safebridge software programs allow students to complete online training specific to the navigation products installed on the ships they sail.
Lankhorst Ropes,has announced the rope industry’s first recycling scheme for retired maritime ropes. Developed over the past 12 months, the Lankhorst Ropes scheme takes a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to rope recycling for its maritime customers. New ropes are supplied with a works certificate containing the rope’s unique number and recycling scheme logo. When ropes are returned, a confirmation of receipt for recycling is issued.
Dutch chart distributor Datema has announced it has finally managed to secure the necessary permissions from a significant number of countries to roll-out its ENCTrack distribution system for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs). The member countries of IC-ENC have approved pay-as-you sail licensing in 2010 under strict conditions. Following test and trials, Datema was granted final approval this March, effective from 1 April.
Schoenrock Hydraulik Marine Systems has just received type approval from the classification company Det Norske Veritas (DNV) for its new hydraulically operated Shiptight sliding bulkhead door, as well as for the older variant of the same product. Both models passed the tests, including the practical inspection approvals, with flying colours. 
The first upgraded Wärtsilä RT-flex68-D engine equipped with a Variable Turbine Geometry (VTG) turbocharger was successfully tested at Doosan Engine Co Ltd in South Korea. It is fully compliant with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Tier II regulations. 
BMT ARGOSS, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has announced that Jersey Coastguard will be the first place in the world to use version 4 of its internationally recognised Search and Rescue Information System (SARIS). This technology is designed to help pinpoint anybody or anything lost at sea.
FLAGSHIP, a part EU-funded maritime transport project, has successfully delivered the first advanced emergency situation management tool for fire and flooding with integrated ship to shore real time reporting: FLAGSHIP-DSS (Decision Support System). The system delivers an accurate, early prediction of how a fire or flooding may impact on a ship at any given time, enabling efficient decision-making in distress situations.