Maritime Network Members

Russia, a major hub for seafarers, has now recognised seafarers as keyworkers and begun giving them Covid-19 vaccinations as a priority group – a move welcomed by Danica Crewing Services, a leading supplier Russian seafarers.

Danica Managing Director Henrik Jensen reports that Danica crew members are among the first to receive the vaccination in Saint Petersburg.

He commented: “We are delighted to have the first seafarers vaccinated. It is a major step forward to a return to normality for our industry. Vaccination eliminates the risks of our seafarers becoming infected  by Covid-19 which will enable our seafarers to travel freely and cross borders.”

Of the about 1500 seafarers deployed by Danica, some 500 are from Russia. Danica first established in Russia in 2015 and now has offices in Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok and Nakhodka, specialising in the supply of crew to Russian bulk carriers, tankers and LNG vessels.

Mr Jensen advised that all seafarers joining through Danica will be vaccinated – the next group of vaccinations will be carried out this Monday (March 1st).

All stakeholders in the offshore energy sector are urged to play their part in implementing the principles set out in the Neptune Declaration

The International Support Vessel Owners’ Association (ISOA) which represents owners and operators of support vessels in the offshore energy sector, has signed the Neptune Declaration committing its members to play their part in promoting the important principles set out in the declaration. These are:

• Recognize seafarers as key workers and treat them accordingly by giving them early access to COVID-19 vaccinations
• Implement high quality health protocols
• Increase collaboration between ship operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes
• Ensure airline connectivity between key maritime hubs

In a statement, ISOA says:

“The objective of solving the crew change crisis and ensuring the wellbeing of our seafarers cannot be achieved without committed action from other parties. In particular, we urge that:

• Governments recognise seafarers as key workers and facilitate the transfer of seafarers between their vessels and their home countries, in line with internationally agreed, high-quality health protocols.
• Governments should also work with the maritime industry to ensure that at an appropriate time, seafarers, irrespective of their nationality, can get priority access to COVID-19 vaccines alongside other key workers and health care professionals.
• Charterers should co-operate with owners to ensure that crew changes can take place, agreeing to deviations to operating schedules where needed, and contributing to the additional costs being incurred to ensure the continued safe operation of the vessel during the ongoing pandemic

“The offshore energy sector plays an important part in ensuring that the global economy can continue to prosper during the pandemic, and it is vital that the role played by our seafarers is recognised, and that their health and wellbeing is protected.”

About the Neptune Declaration
The Neptune Declaration, signed by more than 600 organisations, outlines the main actions that need to be taken to resolve the crew change crisis.

Further details can be found at https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/neptune-declaration

International leading catering management and training provider, MCTC has underlined its commitment to the important Greek and northern European markets by strengthening its teams in those regions with the appointment of two new Business Development Directors.

Vasiliki Stamati (Vicky) will head up the business in the Greek market while Sven Schröder, based at MCTC Germany office in Hamburg, will spearhead operations across Germany, Benelux and the Scandinavian markets.

Sven brings over 20 years’ experience in shipping, towage and offshore energy. He said: “MCTC is playing an important role in helping to change the shipping industry’s mindset towards nutrition and healthy eating onboard ship. The company’s commitment to wanting to improve catering for the benefit of seafarers’ health inspired me. It made me want to join Christian Ioannou and his MCTC team because I am absolutely convinced there are a lot of shipping companies who could benefit from their catering, training and consultancy services. I’m very excited to be leading the business from MCTC’s office in Germany.”

Vicky Stamati was previously Business Development Manager at Prevention at Sea and brings with her a wealth of customer-facing experience to the new role.

She said: “Now more than ever, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the maritime industry understands the vital role seafarers play in our lives. Vessels would be nothing without their crew and it is our duty to care for them. If we want them to live and work safely and effectively, then it is paramount we fuel them with wholesome nutritious food to support them both physically and mentally.

Welcoming news of the appointments, Christian Ioannou, Managing Director at MCTC, said: “Vicky and Sven bring a wealth of expertise to the table. I am delighted to welcome them to the team as the company expands.

“While COVID has brought the industry some challenging times, it has also shone a light on the importance of leading a healthy wholesome lifestyle, something MCTC strongly believes in because health can’t be bought. We need to fuel our bodies with the right nutrients for it to function to its optimum level both physically and mentally. I am pleased to have both Vicky Stamati and Sven Schröder onboard to strengthen and promote our message to the industry.”

MCTC offers a full Catering Management Programme covering the vessel’s entire catering management needs such as ordering supplies, recipe planning, menu management, health and nutrition – all of which reduce vessel running costs. It also provides a Catering Competency Development Programme designed to increase standards in the galley through a safe food handling and nutrition course; onshore upgrading culinary course; trade tests, briefings, on board visits and also crew conferences.

Stream Marine Training (SMT) and global recruitment provider Stellamar have formed a strategic partnership to improve seafarers’ career prospects and training needs.
 
Southampton based Stellamar has close links with the maritime industry, especially in the cruise, port operations and super yacht sectors, and has an in-depth knowledge of the specialist skills and attributes required by crew to fill many of the technical roles in these areas.  It has a rigorous selection process and recommends SMT as its preferred provider of MCA STCW approved training courses to candidates that need to update their mandatory safety critical training to ensure they can carry out their roles in a professional and competent manner.
 
“’Maritime skills and training is a key agenda across the industry and we recognise the importance in selecting the right partner in this area, to ensure maximum levels of safety onboard our clients vessels,” said Alasdair MacMillan, CEO of Stellamar.
 
“Having worked closely with SMT over a number of years, as well as other major players in this space, it is clear to us that SMT is paving the way for ensuring the safety of vessels and crew in the modern world. We are delighted to announce our strategic alliance with SMT to assist in their substantial and continued growth in the coming years.”
 
SMT now employs a blended learning approach with online training for the theory parts of its courses and on-site practical sessions at its COVID-safe facilities in Glasgow. This means that trainees’ travel and accommodation costs are reduced as well as having the flexibility of taking the theory sections of their courses wherever they are based in the world, provided there is  reliable  internet access.
 
“SMT is growing rapidly and we’ve had to make some senior appointments recently to keep pace with our ambitious plans. Stellamar is the first recruiter we turn to when seeking candidates for senior roles as we know that the staff fully understands our requirements and has unrivalled maritime recruiting experience,” said Colin McMurray, SMT’s Group Managing Director.
 
“Stellamar’s  CEO Alasdair is very hands-on and is great to work with as he understands exactly what we need and recently found us the perfect person for our Business Development Manager vacancy,” he added.
 
Both companies will continue to work together to promote the maritime industry as a great option for talented individuals that want a structured career path backed with comprehensive training and knowledge support.

CARRIER TRANSICOLD TRIPLINKTM INTEGRATED WITH WIRELESS MARITIME SERVICES (WMS) IOT AT SEA VESSEL NETWORK ENABLES UNINTERRUPTED, TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED TRANSPORTATION OF PERISHABLE GOODS AT SEA

MIRAMAR, Fla., Feb. 16, 2021 – Through an integration with Carrier Transicold’s TripLINK(TM) platform, Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) IoT at Sea vessel network offers enhanced benefits to seafarers and onshore teams by providing uninterrupted, temperature-controlled transport and storage of frozen and perishable goods from producer to consumer.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Carrier Transicold to help drive a healthier, safer, more sustainable cold chain. Our combined solution brings unique capabilities at a critical time when the COVID-19 global pandemic is showing the world the importance of maritime trade for life’s necessities including perishable food and medicine,” said Lee Mabie, Vice President Strategy, Product Development and Marketing for Wireless Maritime Services (WMS).

Willy Yeo, Director of Marketing, Global Container Refrigeration, Carrier Transicold added, “Integrating TripLINK with WMS IoT vessel network will deliver greater visibility, efficiency and 24/7 monitoring at sea. For onshore teams using the TripLINK application, they can now have global visibility of the exact location of their fleet and remotely manage TripLINK-enabled containers at sea, thereby giving asset operators and owners alike greater ease of mind, transparency and control over their refrigerated containers.”

Seafarers (crew members) are empowered with a more efficient, easier and safer container management solution at sea. “Seafarers are the heart of maritime shipping. They work tirelessly at sea moving ninety percent of global trade so the world can live, work and play. Today they also face COVID-19 restrictions extending their time at sea, impeding crew changes and limiting access to ports for respite. We are committed to empower seafarers with capabilities to increase efficiency and safety for easier container management at sea,” Mabie noted.

First, crew members will be able to access the TripLINK application centrally on the vessel to manage containers wirelessly reducing, or eliminating, the need for manual inspections thus improving safety – especially in rough seas.

Second, equipped with mobile handsets, crew manage container alerts from anywhere on the ship, making the process more efficient. These mobile handsets receive container alarms, allowing the crew to acknowledge the alarm and rectify any potential issues. With TripLINK’s bay load plan file integration, simple text alarms include the exact container location on the ship and a summary of the alarm, resulting in quicker response time and ultimately minimizing potential cargo loss.

Finally, in the event of satellite outage, continuity of service is maintained on the vessel so crew members can still manage TripLINK-enabled containers at sea and receive container alerts on their mobile handsets. Druid Software’s RAEMIS platform is integrated with WMS vessel network providing this capability.

This solution by Carrier Transicold and WMS complies with IoT standards for vessel networks.

For more information about the integrated Carrier Transicold TripLINK and WMS IoT at Sea solution, please visit wmsatsea.com.

About Wireless Maritime Services (WMS)

Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) enabled digital transformation shaping the future of maritime connecting people, data and things through IoT, cellular and Wi-Fi networks at sea. WMS has been a pioneer in wireless maritime network and cellular roaming since 2004 leading in radio frequency (RF) and satellite engineering for some of the most prestigious maritime brands in the world. WMS is headquartered in Miramar, Florida, USA. Additional information about WMS is available at wmsatsea.com. Follow WMS on LinkedIn at Wireless Maritime Services (WMS).

About Druid Software

Druid Software is a core cellular network software company based in Ireland. Established in 2001 Druid has evolved into one of the world’s leaders in Private 5G & 4G Cellular technology over the last 20 years. Druids Raemis^TM platform is a mature 3GPP compliant 4G/5G core network, with unique features designed specifically for business and mission critical use.

Druids mature Raemis^TM platform is in use today by ISPs and Enterprises for mission critical environments in the U.S, Asia and Europe. Druid technology enables solutions in different areas including enterprise communications, IoT, mobile edge computing, and public safety. For more information, please visit https://www.druidsoftware.com

Jumbo Shipping raised the bar with the recent shipment of a 1435t shiploader, measuring 135 x 25 x 43 metres, from Vietnam to Canada for the machine’s manufacturer Tenova.

After almost two years of engineering, the Jumbo Shipping team saw their hard work come to life when the Jumbo Kinetic was captured on film lifting and shipping this gigantic 1435t shiploader from Phu My Port, Vietnam to Vancouver, Canada.

Heavy Lifting

Having conducted a final loading simulation, the time had come for the engineers to put MV Jumbo Kinetic, a K-class vessel with 3,000t dual lifting capacity, to the real test by loading this super-heavy shiploader onboard.

Lift On

Based on the size of the unit and the length of its boom, loading this shiploader at Phu My Port, Vietnam was a formidable task, but the dual lift went without a hitch.

With stage one of the lifting operation complete, the next step was to temporarily suspend the unit above the deck so that the boom could be retracted to change the centre of gravity position. This enabled the vessel’s team to re-rig and then perform a single lift to shift the shiploader to its final stowage position where it could be secured for the sea voyage to Vancouver.

This video shows the spectacular sight of the Jumbo Kinetic arriving in Vancouver with the shiploader stowed on deck as well as the masterful loading and discharge operations:

Lift Off

After a 20 day ocean voyage the Jumbo Kinetic arrived safe and sound at the Neptune terminal in Vancouver and discharge operations got underway. If the engineering work at Phu My Port was not already impressive enough, our client raised the bar even further for the offloading operations with the team needing to discharge the shiploader while it was half suspended over the water.

The shiploader was then steadily manoeuvred onto the pivot point at the quayside and onto the semi-circle shaped rails above the water. Now in its final position at the Neptune Bulk Terminals in North Vancouver, this shiploader is reshaping the landscape of the port.

Thanks to strong team work and cooperation between all parties involved, a journey of two years has come to a successful completion.