Pole Star have been appointed as an LRIT Authorised Testing Application Service Provider for the UNITED KINGDOM Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Pole Star have over 50 governmental appointments for the testing of shipborne LRIT equipment.

Pole Star is delighted to announce that the Radio Holland Group is to be a global distributor of Pole Star's LRIT (Long Range Identification and Tracking) Conformance Testing service.

At the time of writing Pole Star is an Authorised Testing ASP for 41 Flag administrations and Radio Holland can now offer LRIT Conformance Testing to their customers who have vessels flagged with these Administrations. For an up to date list of Flag Administrations who have appointed Pole Star as a LRIT Conformance Testing ASP please see www.lrit.com.

Pole Star has developed an easy to use, web-based, LRIT Conformance Testing product for the ship operator. The product allows the ship operator to start LRIT Conformance Testing at a time that is convenient to them to fit in with vessels' operations. The operator can view their LRIT test progress and status in real-time via their online LRIT Conformance Testing account.

SOLAS V/19-1 Long-Range Identification and Tracking regulation is now in force and has a compliance date of 31 December 2008.

The regulation applies to ships engaged on international voyages, including all passenger ships, cargo ships of 300 gross tonnes and above and Mobile Offshore Drilling Units.

The Amver system was first put into place in 1958. Ships registered with the system provide a continuous update on their position, which is plotted into a central database. In the case of an emergency, an immediate register of participating vessels in the area is at hand, enabling responders to coordinate response as quickly as possible and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond. The scheme, which is sponsored by the US Coastguard, is simple, effective, and international. “Participation is … vital in the cooperative and humanitarian service which Amver continues to provide selflessly to the world maritime community,” said IMO Secretary General Efthimious Mitropoulos, marking the 50th anniversary of the system earlier this year.

There are currently 17,000 vessels enrolled in the Amver network from over 150 countries. At any one time, up to 3,600 ships are “online”, actively reporting and available to assist in the search and rescue of their fellow mariners. Amver’s success is tied directly to the number of merchant vessels regularly reporting their position. The more ships on their plot, the greater the chance a ship will be identified near the position of a distress.

However, despite all the improvements that modern technology can offer, it has remained manpower intensive. Submitting regular email reports, including sailing plans, daily position reports, deviation reports and final arrival reports can seem just another chore to add to an already heavy administrative burden. As a result, the number of vessels taking part in Amver is still not as high as it could be. Thanks to an innovation from maritime software company Pole Star, however, that could be about to change. Pole Star, amongst other things, tracks ships for owners, operators and charterers using shipboard Inmarsat C terminals. Following a request from Amver, Pole Star were able to design a function within their system that allows shipowners/operators to automatically send position reports into the Amver system, at no cost to themselves or to Amver. The reporting system is activated by ticking a box, with no need for additional hardware, equipment or software downloads.

In the past, one real obstacle to entry was not a commercial one, but came in fact from the ship’s staff, on whom the burden of extra reporting fell. That obstacle has now been removed. Since the launch of the automated system in June this year, some 300 vessels, or 20% of Pole Star’s managed fleet, have joined the AMVER scheme.

“The workload on shipmasters is already high, and this collaboration means the master no longer has to manually send reports to Amver. This achieves both savings on communication costs from the vessel and relieves that administrative burden from the master. Furthermore, the more vessels reporting to Amver, the higher the concentration of vessels available to respond resulting in safer shipping,” said Captain Christopher Hall, United States Coast Guard Chief of Search and Rescue. According to Julie Lithgow, head of marketing and communications at Pole Star: “The last great technological advance for Amver was the ability to receive e-mails and input these directly into their system. This is the next step, by making Amver reporting automated. We believe firmly in Amver, and we have tried to remove any barriers to reporting from shipping companies. This not only increases participation to the Amver programme but I see a real and tangible benefit by taking the burden off the bridge team to make the reports – at a time when our bridge teams are drowning in a sea of paperwork.” Lithgow continues: “Pole Star has developed this service, in cooperation with Amver but at no cost. We see this partnership as part of our obligation, as a member of the maritime industry, to work together using the skills and expertise we have towards safer shipping. All companies within the maritime sector have a corporate social responsibility towards our industry and our seafarers, irrespective of whether we work directly in the operations of vessels or, like us, as a service provider.”

Text provided by: the Baltic September 2008 www.thebaltic.com

The Marshall Islands flagged vessels M/T Port Louis, M/T Altius and M/V Port Melbourne, managed by International Tanker Management (ITM), have become the first vessels in the world to be officially issued with Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) Conformance Test Report Certification.

The certification was granted following the successful shipborne equipment conformance testing of the vessels’ Inmarsat-C equipment.

The tests were conducted by Pole Star Applications, under an agreement between the company and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administration.

Pole Star first commenced operational trials of a MarVTS National Data Centre (NDC) solution for the administration during 2006, was appointed as its NDC/Authorised Service Provider (ASP) for LRIT in 2007.

Through the IMO LRIT Working Group meetings in 2008, the Marshall Islands Maritime Administration initiated the drafting of the LRIT Conformance Test specifications resulting in MSC.1/Circ.1257, which provides ‘Guidance on the Survey and Certification of Compliance of Ships with the Requirement to Transmit LRIT Information’.

Capt. Thomas F. Heinan, Marshall Islands Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, stated: "We are extremely pleased to be the first flag administration to commence the issuance of LRIT Conformance Test Report Certification."

"As a reflection of the quality of our owners and operators, we are already tracking the Marshall Islands flagged vessels that must be compliant with LRIT."

"With Pole Star, our recognised ASP, we are now well positioned to respond to the demands of our shipowners, operators and managers and to support their drive for LRIT compliance.”

Lars Modin, managing director of ITM, added: "We are extremely pleased to be the first operator to be tested and certified under this new legislation. We are now well placed to respond to the demands of our clients and their requirements for LRIT compliance.”

“Being able to test our equipment early meant we were able to resolve any issues with terminals early. With 100,000 terminals to be tested between now and December, we knew we couldn't afford to wait.”

IMO LRIT regulations, which came into force on January 1st this year, require designated vessels to carry a terminal capable of transmitting an Automatic Position Report (APR).

The closing date for the first category of vessels is the first radio survey of that ship carried out after 31 December 2008.

Text provided by: www.thedigitalship.com

Announced today, Marshall Islands flagged vessels M/T PORT LOUIS, M/T ALTIUS and M/V PORT MELBOURNE are the first vessels in the world to be officially issued Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) Conformance Test Report Certification following the successful shipborne equipment conformance testing of the vessels’ Inmarsat C equipment. All three vessels are managed by International Tanker Management (ITM).

The event marks a milestone in the development of LRIT and the relationship between the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administration and Pole Star Space Applications Limited (Pole Star). Both parties have been at the forefront of the development of LRIT with the Marshall Islands Maritime Administration having first commenced operational trials of Pole Star’s MarVTS National Data Centre (NDC) solution during 2006 and officially notifying the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of its nomination of Pole Star as its appointed NDC/ Authorized Service Provider (ASP) for LRIT in 2007. Through the IMO LRIT Working Group meetings in 2008, the Marshall Islands Maritime Administration initiated the drafting of the LRIT Conformance Test specifications resulting in MSC.1/Circ.1257 which provides Guidance on the Survey and Certification of Compliance of Ships with the Requirement to Transmit LRIT Information. The completion of the first LRIT Conformance Test Report Certification represents the culmination of several years of intense effort and confirms the Marshall Islands position as a flag of high quality and operational innovation.

Capt. Thomas F. Heinan, Marshall Islands Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, stated, "We are extremely pleased to be the first flag administration to commence the issuance of LRIT Conformance Test Report Certification. As a reflection of the quality of our owners and operators, we are already tracking the Marshall Islands flagged vessels that must be compliant with LRIT. With Pole Star, our recognised ASP, we are now well positioned to respond to the demands of our shipowners, operators and managers and to support their drive for LRIT compliance.” Capt. Heinan also recognized the added benefits of using Pole Star’s solution well in advance of the implementation deadline. “In addition to ensuring that the Marshall Islands fulfils its SOLAS LRIT obligations, our early adoption of the MarVTS-NDC system has brought significant operational benefits, particularly with regard to the planning of safety inspections and management of high-interest vessels, all of which contribute to our compliance with the Code for the Implementation of Mandatory IMO Instruments and in maintaining a quality fleet.”

Julian Longson, Director of Business Development at Pole Star stated, “This is certainly an extremely demanding period for all maritime administrations and shipowners. For the Marshall Islands to be the first maritime administration with the first LRIT compliant vessels sends out a clear signal that they are very serious about their international obligations and the interests of their shipowners. It has been a privilege teaming with the Marshall Islands over the years in this regard.” He went on to say, “Many of our owners and operators prefer to utilise the testing services of just one ASP in order to simplify and standardize the testing procedures for their entire fleet which invariably will be flagged with multiple registries. To this end, Pole Star has been appointed by several flag administrations as an Authorised Testing ASP.”

Fifty years ago, Amver was launched with a very rudimentary computer able to provide a workable dead reckoning plot from the positions of vessels sent to the Center in New York by radio from vessels in the Atlantic, writes Michael Grey.


Times change. IT and communications have advanced on every front and today it is possible for rescue co-ordination centres around the world to obtain from the US Coast Guard an “instant” surface picture
of Amver participating ships able to aid in an emergency. This real time feature, which was introduced last October by Amver is considered to be a very useful tool for search and rescue services around the world, saving time and enabling a more effective response.

Communication, which was once the preserve of shipborne radio officers, is today facilitated by compressed message software and communications ship management software packages.

At the end of May this year a link between Amver and the maritime software ship tracking system Pole Star was established to enable all vessels registered to the latter company to automatically report to the Amver system at no cost to the operator or to Amver. The development is a function of Amver’s ability to receive position reports by email and input these straight into the system.

Pole Star currently tracks and monitors more than 12,000 vessels and will now be able to forward position reports to the Amver Center.

The arrangement , welcomed by shipowners’ organisations, will reduce burdens on masters who will no longer have to send manual reports, while adding substantially to the number of reporting ships, to the benefit of all.

The Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System is a computer-based voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea.

“Participation is…vital in the cooperative and humanitarian service which Amver continues to provide selflessly to the world maritime community”. - IMO Secretary General Mitropoulos, 2008.

We at Pole Star are proud to announce that, in addition to being an active supporter of Amver, we will become an integral participant in the Amver system.

From May 6th 2008, all vessels registered on our Fleet Management service will be able to automatically report to the Amver system at no cost to the operator or to Amver.

There are currently 17,000 vessels enrolled in the Amver network from over 150 countries. At this very moment over 3,200 ships are actively reporting and are available to assist in the search and rescue of their fellow mariners.

Amver's success is tied directly to the number of merchant vessels regularly reporting their position. The more ships on their plot, the greater the chance a ship will be identified near the position of a distress.

Ships participating in the Amver system incur no additional obligation to respond to a vessel in distress than already exists under International Maritime Law. Before requesting a vessel's assistance Amver will first identify the best vessel to respond and other vessels will be able to continue their voyage.

This new feature will be added to any Pole Star Fleet Management account seamlessly and will require no additional hardware or software. All our ship owners will be asked to do is, in their fleet list, check either the ‘Select All’ button or check the individual vessels you wish to participate in the Amver programme. Reporting to Amver in this way will cost no extra Fleet Management ‘credits’ and, by automating the Amver reports, ship owners can take the burden of reporting away from your captains as no daily position reporting or sailing plans need to be sent to Amver.

Pole Star has 12,000 vessels currently reporting through 3 key services. We are committed to extending this functionality beyond users of our Fleet Management system, to users of all our systems. Pole Star has developed this service, in cooperation with Amver but at no cost to Amver. We see this partnership as part of our obligation, as a member of the maritime industry, to work together using the skills and specialities we have, for safer shipping and cleaner seas.

Amver usually requests that vessels participating in their system first register basic vessel details on their website before starting their position reporting. This requirement has been relaxed for reporting to Amver via the Pole Star Fleet Management system and position reporting can start straight away. However, operators are requested to register their participating vessels’ details with Amver at the earliest opportunity. See www.Amver.com.

All information sent to Amver through Pole Star’s Fleet Management service is kept secure and will be used only in a bona fide maritime emergency.

The Isle of Man Government has signed a contract with Pole Star Space Applications Limited for the provision of a dedicated ‘National Data Centre’ for Long-Range Tracking and Identification, for vessels registered in the Isle of Man.

Dick Welsh, Director of the Ship Registry said

‘We are proud to have taken this proactive step of being one of the first Governments to make a firm financial commitment to LRIT. We believe that Pole Star Space Applications Limited are market leaders for the provision of LRIT services, they have a proven track record and we are confident that they will provide us and our clients the services required by the deadlines imposed by IMO.

Many of our clients already subscribe to their ‘Purplefinder’ product, so we are hoping that most of their vessel’s equipment will be compatible, minimising the cost to them. The cost of setting up the Data Centre and the daily position reports will be paid for by the Isle of Man Government.

Testing will commence shortly and it is our intention to have all vessels registered in the Isle of Man fully compliant by 1 January 2009, ahead of the deadline set by IMO.’

Pole Star has led the way in the provision of ship tracking and telematics systems to the shipping industry over the last decade. The company’s portfolio of products was, until recently, designed primarily to assist ship operators: mainly ship owners and 3rd party ship managers. Pole Star’s has now turned its attention to providing tools and systems for the commercial managers and operators of today's global fleets. Creating strategic partnerships with leading sector specialists has allowed us to create high specification solutions to enable global, real-time monitoring and exception-based reporting for a range of operations-critical applications.

Powered by Purplefinder™, RCM Marine Limited’s RCM Voyager product is the first system to provide real time, exception-based condition monitoring for rotating marine machinery. The system monitors operational and safety-critical machinery, such as turbochargers, inert gas fans and cargo machinery. Through vibration analysis, early pre-alarm and main-alarm warnings are triggered indicating possible or even imminent failure.

By integrating advanced satellite communications, alarms indicating the potential failure type are given to the crew on the vessel, and also transmitted via satellite links to an RCM Voyager web-based notification system configurable to be accessible to the owner, superintendent or RCM-engineer as desired.

The RCM Voyager system has application across a range of vessels and associated equipment types. Utilisation of RCM Voyager will significantly increase critical equipment uptime and so reduce operational delays and consequential damages, reduce emergency equipment maintenance costs, and allow the adaptation of planned maintenance schedules. Typical examples include the reduction of:

• Severe delays or re-routing due to a failed main engine turbocharger
• Loading delays or schedule disruptions due to a damaged ballast or other critical pump
• The inability for a tanker to unload at the terminal because of a failed Inert Gas fan
• The inspection, failure and repair of equipment that was already in good working order
  

For further information on how RCM Voyager can benefit you, please contact RCM at:

Email: stephen.evans@rcmmarine.com
Website: www.rcmmarine.com

MISC Bhd’s Fleet Management Services Division, managing a modern and diversified fleet of ships, has chosen the Pole Star FM Service as their preferred Global Fleet Tracking solution.

Being the largest Owner/Operator of LNG Carriers in the world and managing its own substantial fleet of Container Ships, Chemical Tankers, LPG Carriers and a Dry Bulk Carrier, MISC delivers an impressive portfolio of Maritime Transportation and Logistics solutions to its customers.

Pole Star is pleased to be working alongside MISC, providing a service for their operational requirements to meet and exceed the demands and expectations of MISCs growing clientele.

For more information on how Fleet Management can benefit your organisation, or for further information on any of Pole Star’s products and their feature, please contact sales@polestarglobal.com

Inmarsat has been made aware that there may be two potential issues with ship’s equipment that receives an input from older GPS receivers (either integral or external input).

1. The maximum possible duration of the date data – day/month/year (format may differ) – from the GPS is 19.6 years, after which the date will roll-over to the original start date of that GPS chip-set. After the roll-over, the actual date displayed will be incorrect. The time display and output will not be affected, and the positioning function should operate normally, though may temporarily be interrupted, taking a longer time or fail to fix the position after the date rolls over.

2. Additionally, the U.S. military has announced that GPS satellite SVN23 is now transmitting L-band code as PRN32 (pseudo-random noise) that may not be recognised by older GPS receivers. Each GPS satellite broadcasts a signal that has an embedded PRN code for receiver processing and some GPS receivers initially are able to accommodate only satellite signals 0-31. Therefore, PRN with number 32 cannot be tracked by some manufacturers' GPSs that can recognise only PRNs numbered 0 through 31.

Both phenomena can potentially affect ship’s communications and/or navigation equipment in terms of incorrect generation and display of some data and ships should check with manufacturers or service representatives for communications and/or navigation equipment on board that may rely on GPS feeds from older GPS chip-sets, to see if the GPS roll-over and/or PRN32 signal may affect operation of the relevant equipment.

One of the icons of adventure cruising sank in November 2007. The aptly named MV Explorer, built in 1969 and operated by GAP Shipping Co Ltd, is one of the best-known specialist cruise ships in the world. It pioneered the tourist market for Antarctic tours, taking in South Atlantic highlights such as the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

The ship was on a 19-day circuit of Antarctica and the Falklands on a cruise that included observing penguins, whales and other regional wildlife, with 100 passengers and 54 crew aboard.

By hitting an iceberg, just 75 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula, the ship sustained damage to the hull and started to take on water. Whilst the captain and crew attempted to pump out the vessel, the alarm was raised, and in temperatures below freezing, the ship's passengers and crew were evacuated onto another vessel, the cruise ship Nord Norge.

GAP Shipping has been using Pole Star’s services for many years and M/S Explorer was being tracked for GAP Shipping by Pole Star. Technical manager for GAP shipping Peter Burman was grateful for this service. “The operations and technical team here in Sweden used the Pole Star tracking system via the web, so we could follow the drifting of the ship on an on-line chart. By polling the vessel before she sank, the last position data was recorded and saved in the Pole Star system, along with the track history reports.”

Whilst the rescue of the passengers and crew went smoothly, the ship herself could not be saved. The M/S Explorer sank in the Bransfield Strait, 62 degrees 24 minute South and 57 degrees 16 minutes west, between South Shetlands and Grahams Land, in waters estimated to be 2,000 feet deep. A sad fate to befall such a great lady of the sea, known as the 'little red ship' to her fans.

Peter Burman continues “We watched with great sadness the remainder of her voyage, but using the Pole Star system gave those of us here in the office a chance to continue to watch over her, until she sank.”

DOF ASA in Norway, the leading international offshore supply fleet, has signed up for the Pole Star Fleet Management system.

DOF ASA has one of the most technically advanced fleets in the global market. Their fleet currently consist of 67 vessels including newbuildings, comprising 23 PSV’s, 19 AHTS vessels and 25 special/multi-purpose vessels.

DOF ASA recognise the benefits of the Fleet Management system can offer in aiding with the operational demands of some of newest and most modern vessels in the market. DOF ASA describe their vessels as innovative, environmentally friendly and specialised for their purpose, and Pole Star are pleased to announce this agreement with a forward looking, high quality ship owner and operator.

For more information on how Fleet Management can benefit your organisation, or for further information on any of Pole Star’s products and their feature, please contact sales@polestarglobal.com

Pole Star is pleased to be working with the Grimaldi Group; one of the world’s largest privately owned shipping companies. As one of the leading operators of specialist liner services, Pole Star will be working alongside Grimaldi with its Fleet Management service to monitor and manage their cruise ships.

A spokesman for Grimaldi commented: “We are pleased to start this new cooperation with FM which should generate tangible benefits to both companies, especially in view of the delivery to our Group of four cruise ships in the next two years”.

For further information on Pole Star's Fleet Management service, or for further information on any of the Pole Star suite of products, please contact sales@polestarglobal.com