The maritime industry is preparing for major shifts in navigation, due to the improvements at the Panama Canal. For a longer view of maritime changes, the world is looking northward as well.

The last thirty years have seen a signif- icant retreat in Arctic sea ice, currently allowing for over a month of navigable water through the Arctic Ocean. As Arctic ice recedes, countries are look- ing forward to faster sea routes across the top of the world. A transit between Vladivostok and Rotterdam, using the northern route, can save approxi- mately 10 days and $300,000 per ship. Alternately, the voyage is nearly 11,000 nautical miles through the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans – including transits through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

The reductions in ice coverage, seen over longer periods, have resulted in a doubling of vessel traffic in the Arctic since 2005. Mounting cargo demands, emerging resource development, and the growing popularity of ecotourism add to burgeoning interest in the region.

NOAA is working now, on several fronts, for the new era of Arctic naviga- tion.

U.S. joins Arctic Regional Hydrographic Commission

On October 6, 2010, NOAA led a U.S. delegation that formally established a new Arctic Regional Hydrographic Commission with four other nations. The commission, which also includes Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the Russian Federation, will promote coop- eration in hydrographic surveying and nautical chart making.

The problem is that many Arctic nau- tical charts are out of date or nonexistent. Inadequate charts pose a significant risk to marine safety, and could potentially lead to loss of life or environmental disaster.

NOAA issues draft U.S. Arctic Nautical Charting Plan

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey recently drafted a nautical charting plan devot- ed exclusively to the U.S. Arctic.

NOAA is sharing the draft plan with other government partners, includ- ing the U.S. Navy, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and will solicit comments from both industry and the public. (Send an email to michael.henderson@noaa.gov to get a PDF copy of the draft.) The draft provides detailed plans for additional nautical chart coverage in U.S. Arctic waters and describes the activities neces- sary to produce and maintain the charts. The final plan is slated for completion in May 2011.

The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone includes 568,000 square nautical miles of U.S. Arctic waters. About a third of U.S. Arctic waters are navigationally sig- nificant. The majority of charted Arctic waters were surveyed with obsolete tech- nology dating back to the 1800s. Most of the shoreline along Alaska’s northern and western coasts has not been mapped since 1960, if ever, and confidence in the region’s nautical charts is extremely low.

NOAA surveys high transit areas

Responding to a request from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Maritime Pilots, and the commercial shipping industry, NOAA sent one of its premier surveying vessels, NOAA Ship Fairweather, to detect navigational dangers in critical Arctic waters that have not been charted for more than 50 years. Fairweather, whose homeport is Ketchikan, Alaska, spent July and August examining seafloor features, measuring ocean depths and supplying data for updating NOAA’s nautical charts span- ning 350 square nautical miles in the Bering Straits around Cape Prince of Wales. The data will also support sci- entific research on essential fish habitat and will establish new tidal datums in the region.

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has been a popular topic of discussion here at gCaptain and has been associated with a variety uses ranging from aerial surveillance to hurricane forecasting and even combating piracy.  This time the defence, security and aerospace company BAE Systems is using the software technology deveoloped for UAV’s to help the British sailing team, Skandia Team GBR, get a leg up on competition by accurately predicting local weather patterns.  Here is the announcement from BAE Systems:

The technological breakthrough is part of a five year, £1.5 million technology partnership between BAE Systems and UK Sport, the nation’s high performance sports agency, which is helping British athletes to prepare for sporting success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World and European Championships by giving them access to leading edge technologies and thinking.

For the first time the British Sailing team now have the means to make crucial assessments of local weather patterns, to help them plan their fastest and most competitive route during major sailing competitions at Weymouth Bay.

The special innovation, known as Project DRAKE, applies predictive mathematical modelling used currently in autonomous technologies to give touch-button access to data such as wind speed and wind direction.  Read Full Article.

The software was originally developed to create innovative command and control capabilities for a number of products including warships and Unmanned Air Vehicles and, according to the article, will allow coaches and yachtsmen to accurately forecast detailed weather patterns up to six to eight hours ahead of race time.

[Via BAE Systems]

Regulators and suppliers are going full steam for ECDIS; But are shipowners and officers onboard?

Today and tomorrow hundreds of the ECDIS faithful are gathering in London to take status and plan for the future. Since 2007, when DNV delivered a definitive study establishing the safety benefits of ECDIS, the course was staked out and the adoption of ECDIS was as certain as, well, celestial navigation.

En route, some have noted an alarming disconnect between this ECDIS-powered bright and safe future, and the facts at hand in shipping companies and on ships’ bridges. There is no doubt that the world’s shipping fleet will install ECDIS on their ships; but will they successfully install ECDIS in officers’ and managers’ mind-sets?

Now IMO is taking the next natural step. It’s called e-Navigation, and it aims to push a single window concept, whereby more and more information and situational awareness comes from one screen – the ECDIS. Fortunately, the wardens of e-Navigation are building its foundations on the needs of the end-user.

This won’t be enough, however. As those pushing ECDIS and e-Navigation have made clear time and again, the successful implementation of these technologies depends on information, discussion, consensus and steady refinement.

The only way to bring about fruitful discussion is via openness. For that reason, two companies in the field of ECDIS – Jeppesen and ECDIS Ltd – are working to facilitate greater discussion. They’ve started a discussion right here at the gCaptain.com discussion forum to foment greater sharing and debate.

The hope is that greater discussion will lead to greater discovery, and improve the final result of the adoption of ECDIS and e-Navigation’s. Other places to discuss the topics include the e-Navigation group in LinkedIn, the Nautical Institute ECDIS forum, the e-Navigation.com site or the twitter feeds @enavigation and @ECDISltd.

The impression is that authorities at all levels are open to input from the buyers and users of bridge technologies. This input just needs to be made public, organized and directed. Are you onboard to talk about one of the biggest topics in tomorrow’s ship operations?

Recently, the USCG issued a Marine Safety Alert warning operators to have policies in place on the use of cells phones and other devices that may distract crew members from performing their job functions to the best of their ability.  In fact, the alert brings to mind a popular discussion on the gCaptain forum regarding playing music in the bridge, something that most members consider acceptable.  But while music is not directly addressed in the alert, I think that it could technically be classified as a “distraction”.  Even so, the USCG makes abundantly clear their stance on use of cell phones: Don’t let it be you!

Continues reading the full alert below:

Throughout the United States, and across all transportation modes, safety initiatives are being established to address issues related to Distracted Operations. The Coast Guard recognizes the importance of this issue, understands the potential consequences caused by increased operational risk in marine operations, and is supportive of the goals and objectives of the U.S. Department of Transportation and other distracted driving safety initiatives.

With respect to vessel operations, the bridge team management approach to safe navigation is an essential element of risk management and safe vessel operations. The team approach to safe navigation requires the clear, frequent and accurate exchange of information between all crewmembers relative to the safe operation of the vessel. In other evolutions, such as discharging cargo, loading fuels, etc., full attention is required by all involved in order to prevent casualties or pollution incidents. Additionally, when mariners are navigating or working alone, the use of cellular or other devices unrelated to the operation at hand could impede the exchange of vital operational information, delay reaction time, or cause attention lapses of those involved which could result in unwanted circumstances having very serious consequences causing injuries and fatalities, material damage, and environmental impact.

NTSB findings in investigations involving other transportation modes have found that the use of cellular telephones and other wireless devices can degrade performance, slow response times, and increase attention lapses of those in safety-sensitive positions. A recent executive order signed by President Obama prohibits text messaging by federal employees, including contractors, when driving government vehicles or their privately owned vehicles on government business. Most states and the District of Columbia (DOC) have recognized the risk and banned texting while driving. Nine states and the DOC have banned the use of handheld cellular telephones while driving. Lastly, the United States Department of Transportation has established a national initiative focusing on Driving Distracted. (More information is available at http://distraction.gov.)

The potential risk associated with improper use of cellular telephones and other devices in the marine environment while navigating or performing other vessel functions should be apparent to vessel owners and operators.

Consequently, the Coast Guard strongly recommends vessel owners and operators to develop and implement effective operational policies outlining when the use of cellular telephones and other devices is appropriate or prohibited.

This advisory is for informational purposes only and does not relieve any domestic or international safety, operational or material requirement. Developed by the Headquarters Office of Investigations and Analysis. Questions may be forwarded to HQS-PF-fldr-G-PCA@uscg.mil.

From the gCaptain archives…

Here at gCaptain, we are a big fan of maps and when you came across this one, we couldn’t help but to post here on the blog.

The above map, created by researchers at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, and the World Bank, plots the remotest places on Earth (shown in darker shades of red).

The maps are based on a model which calculated how long it would take to travel to the nearest city of 50,000 or more people by land or water. The model combines information on terrain and access to road, rail and river networks. It also considers how factors such as altitude, steepness of terrain and hold-ups like border crossings slow travel.

While the map is pretty typical to what one would expect, there are some unexpected surprises.

In the Amazon, for example, extensive river networks and an increasing number of roads mean that only 20 per cent of the land is more than two days from a city – around the same proportion as Canada’s Quebec province.

You can read the full article at NewScientist.com and be sure to let us know what struck you in the comments section.  Of course, click on the map above for a larger image.

Answer: 22:24 to 23:45

There are three watches aboard ship 00-04 (i.e. 0000 to 0400 and 1600 to 2200) is often stood by the Second Mate. 04-08 is often stood by the Chief Mate. 08-12 is stood by the Third Mate.

The C/M stands the 04-08 so he’s up and ready for the day workers to start work at 0800 and the Third Mate is given the 08-12 because the Captain is usually awake from 0600 to 2200 and is available to help the most junior watch officer.

But… from the time the Captain goes to bed till the Second Mate arrives for watch (at around 23:30) the Third Mate is the only deck officer that is awake. Not a problem if the Third has experiance but when green mates meet in restricted waters two ships passing in the night is anything but poetic.

U.S. Coast Survey cartographers traveled with Union forces to produce battlefield maps during the Civil War (Map of the Battlefield of Chickamauga). Credit: NOAA

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War next year, NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey has released “Charting a More Perfect Union”, an extensive collection of Civil War-era maps, nautical charts, and documents that were prepared by the U.S. Coast Survey during war  years (1861-1865).  A statement issued by NOAA tell us:

Coast Survey’s collection includes 394 Civil War-era maps, including nautical charts used for naval campaigns, and maps of troop movements and battlefields. Rarely seen publications include Notes on the Coast, prepared by Coast Survey to help Union forces plan naval blockades against the Confederacy, and the annual report summaries by Superintendent Bache as he detailed the trials and tribulations of producing the maps and charts needed to meet growing military demands.

In the nation’s early years, the United States lost more ships to accidents than to war. In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson established the Survey of the Coast to produce the nautical charts necessary for maritime safety, defense and the establishment of national boundaries. By 1861, Coast Survey was the government’s leading scientific agency, charting coastlines and determining land elevations for the nation. Today, the Office of Coast Survey still meets its maritime responsibilities as a part of NOAA, surveying America’s coasts and producing the nation’s nautical charts. Keep Reading

In addition to maps and nautical charts, the collection features U.S. Coast Survey supervisor Alexander Dallas Bache’s annual Notes on the Coast of the United States, a series of secret reports used by the Union Army covering the Delaware Bay to the Mississippi Sound that contributed to the success of the Union blockading squadrons.

The entire Civil War collection, with over 400 documents, can be viewed at the Office of Coast Survey website.

When consumers get cornered into buying from one supplier, they’re gonna get soaked, then pissed

By Ryan Skinner (email)

Through my work, I’ve become intimately acquainted with what feels like a scandal in the making. Right now, it’s only a big deal in the small hydrographic community, but – as mandatory ECDIS drives more attention to the market – it may explode into headlines.

The gist is this: Mandatory ECDIS will require shipowners to get ENCs (the official Electronic Navigational Charts proscribed by the IMO and IHO), or risk port state detention. Contrary to its own intentions to make ENCs widely available to a non-profit, central and independent organisation, the UKHO is withholding hundreds of ENCs. They’ve basically betrayed their multilateral intentions and gone bilateral, using governmental muscle. Think this will be good for competition or good for shipowners in the long run? Doubt it.

It didn’t have to be like this. A principle called WEND stated that hydrographic offices would make all ENCs available through non-commercial entities called RENCs (Regional ENC coordinating centres). Today, there are two: the Primar RENC in Norway and the UK’s IC-ENC; the UKHO actually runs the latter. These non-profit entities make the full database of ENCs available to distributors.

The beauty of the RENCs is this: They provide a quality-controlled and professional channel for hydrographic offices to make charts available to the market. Without RENCs, shipowners and distributors would need to patch together dozens of agreements with individual hydrographic offices. Most hydrographic offices, distributors and owners are not prepared for the complications such a situation would create.

Thus it’s disturbing that the UKHO has quietly neglected to make hundreds of ENCs available to the RENCs. On the face of it, this is a cynical play to grab as much market share as possible, based on access to charts. Both hydrographic offices and distributors have complained that this move compromises safety and innovation. As one insider so eloquently put it: “Chart suppliers should not compete on access to charts, but on the price, the service and the value they add to delivery.”

This issue pops up frequently within the hydrographic community, most recently at Digital Ship Oslo and in the ECDIS Yahoo! group. Usually, the ENC distributor community, some of the savvier owners and operators and some hydrographic offices express a great amount of consternation; the UKHO stays mum. Then, nothing happens. It’s a fait accompli.

Why has the UKHO ventured into these murky waters? The UKHO possesses two conflicting missions, one as governmental regulator and another as market actor. Unfortunately, the latter role, which is exposed to competition, is leveraging the former, which is granted by the queen. The result bends any definition of fairness.

Anyone doubting the UKHO’s profit motives need only go to their own web-site. I quote their vision: “To become the world leader in the supply of digital hydrographic information and services.” Sounds like Google, right? But these guys are supposed to be the government…

Time will tell if the UKHO’s move blows up in their face. As more and more shipowners scrutinise this market, they will start screaming. After all, we all know what monopolies do to prices, and if there’s anyone in the world who’s price conscious it’s shipowners.

For more on the WEND principles, see the IHO web-site here.

For the IC-ENC co-operation agreement (establishing a RENC), see this page.

For an example of how the UKHO is using exclusive ENC access to win market share, see this story.

[via 59° 56' N]

Russian authorities are said to have given this project their first-ever approval for a foreign flagged vessel to ship a cargo in transit from a foreign port to a foreign port through Russian waters.

The international shipping industry is excited and optimistic about this new development in the maritime industry. Behind this transit voyage is a strong Nordic-Russian partnership between Norwegian Tschudi Shipping Company, Danish Nordic Bulk Carriers, and Russian Rosatomflot.

This development signifies great strides between the Nordic countries and Russia, hopefully opening doors to new shipping, mining, and trade opportunities as well as to Nordic Bulk Carriers in this crucial region.

Felix H. Tschudi, Chairman of the Norwegian Tschudi Shipping Company, explains, “The Northern Sea Route can be of great importance for the companies in northern Scandinavia and on the Kola Peninsula, which ship oil, gas, minerals, and other raw materials to the increasingly important Asian markets.”

The MV NORDIC BARENTS is an ice-class 1a ship, the highest conventional ice-class, and was the only ship classification that Russian authorities would allow for the transit. Not all ships are equipped for such a route, leaving only a few select vessels capable of handling the task.

The northern sea route to China is a historic transit across the Arctic, and is shorter than traditional shipping routes generally sailing through the Suez Canal. Through the use of this waterway ships will save on time, fuel, and co2. According to partners, the route has the potential to generate significant savings for both cargo and ship owners with no threat of piracy.

“The Northern Sea Route shortens the distance to China by about one third,” Managing director in Nordic Bulk, Christian Bonfils, explains. “We are pleased that parties from three traditional seafaring nations made the transit possible through extraordinary commitment from all involved parties.”

Two Russian icebreakers, operated by Rosatomflot, will escort the ship on its voyage.

The Tschudi Shipping Company, through its subsidiary Tschudi Arctic Transit and Nordic Bulk Carriers, who work closely with Russian maritime authorities, are the leading pioneers behind the Nordic-Russian partnership and the historic Northern Route.

Nordic Bulk Carriers A/S is a Danish, privately controlled, shipping company, operating bulk carriers worldwide. The company is specialized in operating ice class ships, as well as operating cargoes such as cement, steel scrap, and fertilizers.

Rosatomflot, the atomic icebreaking fleet, has been providing regular shipping of Russian and foreign cargoes along the Northern Sea Route since 1959, possessing the full spectrum of industrial means necessary for complex repairs and vessel maintenance.

The Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) is an international non-profit organization focusing on developing transport solutions for the High North.

Edited by Miranda Max, gCaptain staff

[Photo courtesy Nordic Bulk Carriers]

High-speed Internet connectivity on merchant ships and unintended consequences

By Ryan Skinner (email)

Since early this year, ships running at least one make of ECDIS can download navigational charts and chart updates at sea, via Internet download. OK, last year’s wreck won’t show up on ENC updates from hydrographic offices for another two or three years yet anyway, but this is progress, damnit. Don’t question it.

DNV’s OK’d it, as well. They will type-approve an ECDIS that uses Internet connections for updates, provided a) there is a firewall, b) there is an anti-virus strategy, and c) there is an electrical Internet kill switch. Of course, all of this assumes that the greatest threat is from outside.

I’ve heard from more than one source that this is not the case. One major shipping company had an ECDIS crash because the officers were using it to surf the Internet while en route (perhaps they were studying the company’s HSE policy online). The fuming manager said that they would fix this by allowing the machine to access only one url, that of the chart update provider.

Is it a shock to imagine an officer bored out of his mind jimmying the ECDIS to serve him YouTube videos? To me it wouldn’t even be a shock to hear that the flight crew of an airliner overflew their destination because they were tweeting about Justin Bieber. Better that than arguing about airline policy.

There’s a fear of technology at work here. It’s the same kind of thing that led employers ten years ago to hesitate to give their office workers Internet access. It’s alive today when they cut off access to YouTube, Facebook or Skype (I was told by one executive that his company wouldn’t let him use the last one because “it’s free and it works, unlike our enterprise solution.”)

Hell, give seafarers Internet connections broader than the New Jersey turnpike, if they want. If they can’t pull it up on the ECDIS, you can be sure they’re going to pipe it into their iPhones or Androids. The fact is this: They might be looking at porn and strike a bridge. They might also access countless tools to make them even better and more accountable officers. The Internet doesn’t kill people (OK, sometimes it does).

The fellow running the IMO’s e-Navigation working groups told me they’re putting the focus on what they call a “single window”. Let’s not split hairs here; that’s the ECDIS. This window’s going to be full of good stuff, and soon. And it’ll be up to every mariner to use it as he likes. In fact, I hope that seafarers come equipped with their own system in the future (like Norwegian pilots).

Imagine when a master can just show up with her ECDIS under her arm, plug into any ship and she has everything in the digital and physical world she needs, right there. A reality, you think?