NKT signs service contract on the East West Interconnector

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January 20, 2020

EirGrid awarded NKT a service contract for the interconnector connecting Ireland and Great Britain.

NKT has been awarded a five-year service agreement by the Irish power grid operator EirGrid for cable related services including repair works for the East West Interconnector. The 200 kV HVDC power cable with capacity of 500 MW between Ireland and Great Britain is connecting the countries power grid ensuring the high transmission security needed to power modern life.

For NKT, the agreement marks the first contract including the company’s recently launched 10 days vessel mobilization guarantee. The guarantee is a central part of the overall preparedness plan and removes uncertainty from the repair timeline which is crucial for minimizing the outage duration.

Oliver Schlodder, Executive Vice President and Head of Applications, Service and Accessories in NKT, says:

"It is a pleasure to see our vessel mobilization guarantee being well-received in the market where we see a growing demand for service agreements as the focus on uptime is increasing. The level of preparedness makes a critical difference for the potential downtime of a power cable and we are happy to support EirGrid with our service expertise to ensure maximum uptime of the East West Interconnector."

The service work will be carried out in accordance with a tailored preparedness plan designed by NKT to reduce the potential outage time in case of unexpected damages to both the onshore and offshore parts of the East West Interconnector.

For EirGrid the contract with NKT is a natural step in the ongoing focus to integrate renewable energy in the transmission system.

Michael Mahon, Director of Grid Development and Interconnection in EirGrid, says:

"We are focused on optimising the availability of the East West Interconnector to facilitate the integration of renewable energy onto the Irish and European transmission systems. This new agreement with NKT supports this goal and is another step towards transforming the power system for future generations."

NKT will be providing highly experienced jointing technicians as well as tailored vessels, equipment and specially designed tools for efficient service operations. Furthermore, the agreement includes inspection and spare part maintenance, fault locating, vessel preparedness guarantee, offshore cable handling, off- and onshore cable jointing work, engineering and monitoring analysis. By providing power cable jointing services to EirGrid, NKT continues to support the ongoing transition to renewable energy across Europe.

Research expedition conducts a scientific survey in the North Atlantic

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January 20, 2020

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On 19 January an international research expedition led by scientists from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) sailed from Fort Lauderdale in the USA to conduct a high precision scientific survey along 24.5°N of the North Atlantic.

The expedition team on board the NOC's RRS James Cook – due to finish in Tenerife, Spain in early March – will document physical and chemical changes occurring in the ocean. These changes are critical in revealing the extent to which subtropical waters have warmed and become more acidic through the absorption of anthropogenic heat and carbon from the atmosphere. The North Atlantic Ocean is one of the world’s most effective regions at sequestering heat and carbon, storing approximately a quarter of all anthropogenic carbon despite accounting for only 15% of total global volume.

The expedition forms part of the GO-SHIP programme, an international collaboration that coordinates and sustains a network of hydrographic sections as part of the global ocean/climate observing system. GO-SHIP cruises take place every decade and typically covers ocean basins from coast to coast and sampling the full water column from top to bottom along the way. This allows for changes in inventories of heat, freshwater, carbon, oxygen, nutrients and transient tracers to be identified. This cruise will be the sixth expedition, in addition to cruises in 2015, 2010, 2004, 1998 and 1992.

Principal Scientist Dr Alejandra Sanchez-Franks, said:

“The outcome of this expedition will be key to understanding how the North Atlantic is responding to a changing climate, while also continuing to absorb atmospheric heat and carbon. Ship-based hydrography is essential for documenting ocean changes throughout the water column, in particular for the deep ocean below 2 km where over half of the global ocean volume resides. Ship-based hydrography also continues to provide a critical reference for emerging autonomous technologies that monitor the oceans.”

The expedition forms part of the UK’s contribution to the global GO-SHIP programme, and is funded through the NERC’s CLASS programme (Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science).

TerraSond awarded NOAA contract to provide hydrographic surveying services

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January 20, 2020

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TerraSond, an Acteon company, has been awarded a five-year IDIQ contract by the Hydrographic Surveys Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey, to provide hydrographic surveying services in the USA.

The new contract was effective January 1, 2020, with a maximum value of $250 million over 5 years, subject to appropriation by Congress. Under previous contracts with NOAA, TerraSond has surveyed more than 7,120 square nautical miles of US waters in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico since 1998, providing data for use in creating and maintaining NOAA nautical charts. During this period, it carried out task orders for NOAA in every year with a total value of about $90 million; almost 200 individual survey areas have been completed to date during 28 separate projects in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

Thomas Newman, President, TerraSond, said:

“We are delighted that NOAA continues to value our services, which we provide from facilities in three states including Washington and Texas. In Alaska, we have particularly strong capabilities and extensive experience.”

TerraSond has deployed new or emerging technologies for NOAA that have led to significant improvements in data quality, efficiency and safety to overcome unique challenges of scale and remote operations. In 2015, it became the first company to acquire data from an unmanned survey vessel that was used to update US nautical charts; 5% of TerraSond’s survey line mileage for NOAA was produced by unmanned survey vessels in 2015, increasing to almost 60% in 2019. In 2017, TerraSond was the first to complete NOAA shoreline verification with unmanned aerial systems.

Newman adds:

“Through our NOAA contracts, we have been performing comprehensive site characterization for safety of navigation purposes for over 20 years. As part of the Acteon Group, we are now offering this experience alongside Benthic’s geotechnical and UTEC’s survey and positioning services. Acteon provides customers with a comprehensive site characterization solution for large work scopes. Using a single provider enables the early integration of geophysical and geotechnical surveys, which can help to reduce costs, enhance efficiency, develop a more accurate ground model, and unlock maximum value from acquired data.”

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OneWeb and PDI to bring high-speed Internet to the Arctic region

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January 19, 2020

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OneWeb, the global communications company whose goal is to connect everyone everywhere, announces a new distributor partnership with Pacific Dataport Inc. (PDI), a company founded by Microcom – the leading supplier of satellite communication systems in Alaska.

The collaboration will enable delivery of OneWeb’s high speed, low latency, communications services across Alaska. This agreement marks a key milestone in service-readiness for OneWeb’s Network and its commitment to bring high-speed internet to the Arctic region.

PDI’s distribution agreement with OneWeb ensures that customers in the Arctic will enjoy OneWeb services as early as Q4 2020. Alaska’s unique qualities mean that it is a center for economic growth, and OneWeb’s seamless global network will be a key enabler of regional initiatives such as the collection of climate data, and the growth of a digital economy.

Campbell Macfarlane, President OneWeb Enterprise, said:

“Working with PDI has been a fabulous collaborative experience.Their knowledge, deep customer relationships and prominence in Arctic commercial regions make it a natural fit to accelerate take-up of OneWeb’s Enterprise propositions. PDI immediately recognized the potential of OneWeb’s solutions to deliver high throughput, low latency services to customers in a broad range of markets.”

Chuck Schumann, CEO Pacific Dataport Inc., said:

“PDI is proud to sign Alaska’s first significant LEO service agreement with OneWeb as a network service provider. PDI is at the forefront of the satellite industry, continually looking ahead and implementing the very latest technologies available in the market for our customers. We are delighted to be working with OneWeb, who will provide us with high-speed broadband coverage to serve our customers in Alaska and the Arctic.

PDI now has the advantage of being one of the first to be able to demo OneWeb’s service in Alaska and in the Arctic region from the end of this year, and already the enthusiasm from our customers to test and trial OneWeb services has been significant.”

Torqeedo and ZF join forces to deliver electric mobility systems for passenger vessels

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January 19, 2020

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Torqeedo and ZF are taking electric mobility on the water to a new level by announcing a cooperation between the two companies to integrate ZF’s steerable saildrives into Torqeedo’s revolutionary Deep Blue system.

These 50 kW and 100 kW electric propulsion systems will not only offer excellent manoeuvrability and joystick docking, but highly effective hydro-generation performance, allowing sailing yachts to generate their own clean, renewable power. The companies also expect the new drives to make an impact in urban mobility.

Owners of yachts up to 120 feet long can experience the peace-of-mind that comes from being fully self-reliant at sea. ZF’s steerable saildrive is reversed while the yacht is under sail, allowing the spinning propeller to rotate the motor which generates electricity to charge the vessel’s high-capacity batteries. This renewable power is then managed and distributed for propulsion and onboard power needs by the Deep Blue system. The role of the diesel generator is reduced to being a backup needed only for extended motoring or long-term mooring outside marinas.

Electric mobility is an important emerging trend in passenger transport due to climate change and declining air quality. Combustion engines currently employed in urban ferries and water taxis are heavily polluting, with harmful emissions up to 100 times the levels permitted from the diesel engines used in buses and land transport. Electric-powered urban ferries and water taxis completely eliminate these harmful local emissions and reduce the operation’s climate impact from between 30% to 90%.

Switching to electric is also a smart business choice for most commercial operations because fuel and engine maintenance costs are vastly reduced, lowering the total cost of ownership.

Federico Decio, Vice President ZF Marine Pleasure Craft, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, said:

“ZF Group strategy supports transition towards electric mobility in all market segments, from automotive to off-road applications. Accordingly, ZF is continuing to expand its portfolio of environment-friendly marine propulsion solutions; the new fully electric propulsion system will combine ZF’s Steerable Pod Propulsion system (SPP) and Torqeedo technology to literally steer skippers into a cleaner, more sustainable future. The system will make docking not only intuitive and relaxed, but also emission and noise-free.”

Dr. Christoph Ballin, CEO and co-founder of Torqeedo GmbH, said:

“Sailing yachts, water taxis and ferries are marine segments with compelling reasons to convert from combustion engines towards cleaner electric solutions. The products stemming from this cooperation of ZF and Torqeedo will be an important milestone in this transition.”

The cooperation agreement was recently signed, and the companies plan to launch their first products by the end of this year.

Maritime cybersecurity and threats in January 2020

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January 19, 2020

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Dryad Global’s cyber security partners, Red Sky Alliance, perform weekly queries of backend databases, identifying all new data containing Motor Vessel (MV) and Motor Tanker (MT) in the subject line of malicious emails.

Email subject line Motor Vessel (MV) or Motor Tanker (MT) keyword usage is a common lure to entice users in the maritime industry to open emails containing malicious attachments. With its cyber security partner company is providing a weekly list of Motor Vessels where it is observed that the vessel is being impersonated, with associated malicious emails.

The identified emails attempted to deliver malware or phishing links to compromise the vessels and/or parent companies. Having seen a significant decrease in vessel impersonation traffic at the turn of the new year, Red Sky Alliance observed an increase this week. The reason for this fluctuation in vessel impersonation traffic is unknown.

Malicious actors attempt to use vessel names to try to spoof companies in the maritime supply chain. The names observed include: “MV OCEAN INTEGRITY”, “MSC RANIA”, “MV BRENDA”, “MV CHLOE”, and a repeat appearance of “MV ROSCO LEMON” which was mentioned in one of Red Sky Alliance’s December reports.

This week, an email was again observed attempting to impersonate “MV ROSCO LEMON” This vessel is currently at anchorage in the East China Sea near Shanghai, China.

Analysis reveals that a malicious email was sent to an unreported target domain. The message contains the subject line “MV ROSCO LEMON DRAFT SHIPPING DOCUMENTS” and an attachment identified by Microsoft as the Trojan:Win32/Wacatac.B!ml malware. According to Fortinet, this malware exploits an IT automation product, known as AutoIT, to provide a wide range of capabilities to an attacker such as: remote access, key logging, upload and download of files, running or terminating processes, and performing denial-of-service attacks.

The message body invites the user to check the attached document for details about “CI, PL, Draft HBL, Draft COO Draft Insurance for this shipment”. However, opening the attachment could activate the malware.Having seen a significant decrease in vessel impersonation traffic at the turn of the new year, Red Sky Alliance observed an increase this week. The reason for this fluctuation in vessel impersonation traffic is unknown.

VIDEO: Expansion of onshore power supply in the Port of Hamburg

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January 19, 2020

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The air quality is to be improved. In order to achieve the goals of the Luftreinhalteplan (Clean Air Plan) for Hamburg, the use of shore-side electricity in the Port of Hamburg is an important factor. Pollutant emissions occur during the berthing times of ships – these are to be sustainably reduced.

The use of shore-side electricity reduces the pollution of nitrogen and sulphur oxides as well as particulate matter and CO2 emissions. A positive side effect is that noise pollution is also reduced.

Shore power has already been available at the Cruise Center Altona since 2016. This will be followed by further shore power plants at various terminals for cruise and container ships.

Eni starts production in the angolan offshore

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January 18, 2020

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Eni reports the start-up of its offshore Agogo oilfield, situated in the 15/06 Block in the Angolan waters. The start-up takes place just nine months after its discovery thanks to the operational synergies facilitated by the Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) Ngoma, West Hub production centre, situated 15km from the oilfield.

The start-up was carried out with the drilling of the Agogo-1 well at a water depth of around 1700 meters. Current production is around 10,000 barrels of oil per day, and is set to reach 20,000 barrels per day during the next weeks.

According to preliminary estimates, the field holds over 650 million barrels of oil in place, with a further potential that will be verified after the drilling of new delineation wells.

The record time set for the field to become operational, nine months after its discovery last March, confirms Eni’s successful endorsement of the fast track model in the development of its discoveries, a strategy based on operational synergies with already existing infrastructure that maximises projects value. The strategy is enabled by a phased field setup, which include an early production stage and, after the completion of the appraisal campaign, the subsequent development of the full potential through a new development hub.

The discoveries occurred in the Block 15/06 during the exploration periods 2006-2011 and 2011-2014 led to the execution of two projects, the West Hub and East Hub, with the installation of two floating FPSO platforms, which started production in 2014 and 2017, respectively. The two production hubs comprise 8 fields developed through 42 underwater wells and the total production exceeded 180 million oil barrels by the end of 2019.

From the second half of 2018, Eni Angola and the JV partners (Sonangol and SSI Fifteen) have launched a new exploration campaign in the Block 15/06 that led to the discovery of 5 new fields that, according to preliminary estimates, contain about 2 billion barrels of oil in place, which is doubles the figures of the fields previously discovered and developed by the West Hub and East Hub installations.

Florida ports innovate with use of alternative fuels

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January 18, 2020

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A report released this week by the Florida Ports Council shows Florida’s seaports and industry partners are investing in innovations to be more efficient and effective, including the implementation of environmentally friendly, less costly, domestically-produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an alternative fuel.

JAXPORT CEO Eric Green said:

“With more than a billion dollars in LNG investments in Jacksonville alone, there is no doubt that Florida is the state for LNG, as both a fuel and a cargo type. The opportunity is just beginning and it’s an exciting time for our industry and our community.”

As more stringent air quality regulations for port operations and maritime vessels are required by the International Maritime Organization and implemented across the world, there is increased demand for alternative fuels in the national and global transportation industry, according to the Alternative Fuels Study.

In shipping and rail industries, LNG has proven the most cost effective and beneficial alternative fuel source.

JAXPORT has the largest LNG bunkering operation at a U.S. port, which includes JAX LNG and Eagle LNG facilities. Crowley Maritime Corp. brought its second LNG-powered ship online at JAXPORT’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal in 2019. Combined with the LNG-powered ships operated by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, four LNG-powered ships are homeported at JAXPORT.

Doug Wheeler, Florida Ports Council President and CEO, said:

“The rapid expansion of the natural gas industry and the alternative fuel market provides an exciting opportunity for Florida seaports to expand their use of natural gas, creating economic and environmental benefits for the state.”

Northeast Florida is well positioned to take advantage of export opportunities as the use of LNG expands globally. Currently, three LNG facilities are operating in Northeast Florida and a fourth is planned with construction set to begin later this year.

VIDEO: New turning basin at the Itajaí Port Complex

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January 18, 2020

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On January 16, the first test maneuver was successfully held in the new Turning Basin of the Itajaí Port Complex.

A historic moment not only for Itajaí, but for Brazil.