Trading up 31%, web traffic up 134%

During 2010 over four million trading transactions were facilitated by ShipServ with an annual value of US$1.7bn, up 31% on 2009. In addition, nearly three quarters of a million visitors came to ShipServ Pages to source goods from over 35,000 suppliers, up 134% on the previous year.

The year saw many major names sign up to trade via ShipServ including ABCmaritime, Alpha Shipmanagement, BW Gas, Chellaram Shipping, Mowinckel Ship Management, OSM Ship Management, Pacific Basin, Prestige Cruise, Reederei F. Laeisz, SeaCor Dubai, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Star Cruises, Tai Chong Cheang Steamship, Tolani Shipping and Wah Kwong.

Customers consistently tell us that they like what they get from ShipServ.

“We see ShipServ as one of many useful tools, to continue our improvement,” said Steinar Sandberg, Group Purchasing Manager, OSM Ship Management AS.

“We foresee considerable potential for our fleet and management operations from this partnership with ShipServ,” said Daniel Wolf, CEO of ABCmaritime Group.

ShipServ’s presence in specific shipping segments also continues to grow, with 24% of the world’s cruise capacity, 40% of the world’s container carrying capacity and 43% of the world’s LNG fleet all now connected to ShipServ TradeNet, the e-commerce trading platform for ship supplies.

“We’re delighted that so many marine and offshore businesses rely on ShipServ in their day-to-day operations,” commented Paul Ostergaard, Founder & CEO, ShipServ. “With our growth in 2010 we can truly say ShipServ is the one place that maritime professionals come to do business.”

87% increase in enquiries and 115% increase in orders for suppliers

The benefits of ShipServ to both buyers and sellers have been well established during 2010. Sellers increase their brand awareness, win new business and manage orders more efficiently. And whilst ShipServ offers free entry-level offerings, suppliers that invest in their ShipServ presence experience an 87% increase in enquiries and a 115% increase in orders, all typically within a period of just six months.

Buyers don’t miss out either. Easy connection to suppliers gets them faster response times, meaning order cycles are reduced and costs go down. On average, purchasing cycle times are reduced by more than 30%, freeing up buyers to spend more time on strategic sourcing and contract management. Research among buyers on ShipServ indicates that a shipmanager with a fleet of 20 ships can save over $600,000 per year.

A year of product innovations

ShipServ completed its acquisition of Mariner’s Annual, integrating high quality ordering data from the MA Ordering Guide into its online directory ShipServ Pages. The company also launched the maritime industry’s first-ever online advertising network, ShipServ Ad Network, giving advertisers the chance to advertise on more than 30 leading maritime industry websites with one consolidated order.

ShipServ developed the use of Social Media in the maritime industry, introducing Amazon.com-style reviews on ShipServ Pages, allowing buyers to submit reviews of suppliers they have traded with on TradeNet. In a December 2010 survey, three out of four buyers stated that they would choose a supplier with the better customer reviews if their products and services were similar.

The number of out-of-the-box integrations between ShipServ and major fleet management software packages also increased during 2010 to over 20. New or updated agreements were signed with ABS Nautical Systems, Danaos, Germanischer Lloyd Maritime Software, R+M Business Software, Teomaki, Tero Marine and Vertex.

For shipmanagement software providers, the ability to link to ShipServ through their M&P systems is a must-have for them to keep a competitive edge.

“Streamlined purchasing is key to realising efficiencies and a closer link with ShipServ is the natural way to help our customers achieve that,” said Karen Hughey, president and COO of ABS Nautical Systems.

Dr Torsten Büssow GL’s head of Maritime Software, said: “As an innovation driver for the industry GL Maritime Software values this kind of co-operation with other strong maritime technology providers, to bring the best benefit to our joint client base.”

2011 will see ShipServ continue to innovate, encouraging the community to be the one to review, rate and validate supplier information on its platform, through the launch of new tools which enable brand owners to verify authorised agents as well as providing buyers with the ability to review and rate the performance of suppliers within the Pages directory.

SAN FRANCISCO – It took a man-made disaster to topple a celebrity from the top spot on Yahoo Inc.’s annual list of most popular search requests.

BP PLC’s massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast drew the most interest among the tens of millions of people that used Yahoo’s search engine during 2010. The Internet company released its top 10 rankings Tuesday.

Michael Jackson was Yahoo’s most requested subject in 2009, the year that the entertainer’s death stunned the world. Britney Spears, another star-crossed singer, held the No. 1 position on Yahoo’s search list from 2005 through 2008.

After falling to No. 5 last year, Spears dropped to No. 10 on Yahoo’s list this year.

Although Yahoo’s search engine is the second most used on the Web, it’s not the best barometer of people’s online interests. That’s because Google fields billions more search requests than Yahoo, Microsoft Corp.’s Bing and AOL Inc. combined.

Bing and AOL released their top searches earlier this week, with reality TV star Kim Kardashian topping Bing’s list and golfer Tiger Woods leading the pack of celebrities at AOL. Kardashian came in fourth on Yahoo’s list and seventh in AOL’s celebrity rankings; Woods was third on Bing and didn’t appear among Yahoo’s Top 10.

Google doesn’t plan to break down its top searches until later in December so it can get an even better handle on what piqued Web surfers’ curiosity this year.

As usual, pop culture dominated the rest of Yahoo’s Top 10. Other celebrities on Yahoo’s list included teen singer and actress Miley Cyrus (No. 3), singer Lady Gaga (No. 5), actress Megan Fox (No. 7), teen heartthrob Justin Bieber (No. 8) and TV’s top-rated show, the American Idol talent competition (No. 9).

Soccer’s World Cup, which drew huge crowds and television audiences in June, grabbed the second spot on Yahoo’s list while Apple Inc.’s most hot-selling gadget, the iPhone, came in sixth.

–

On The Web:

Yahoo’s list: http://yearinreview.yahoo.com

Bing’s list: http://bit.ly/fqO6jy

AOL’s list: http://about-search.aol.com/hotsearches2010/index.html

We’re sure that there quite a few readers of gCaptain that have fond memories of the T.S. State of Maine (ex USNS Upshur), which is why we wanted to pass along the link to the Facebook page that was recently set up by Captain Larry Wade, Master of the T.S. State of Maine, commemorating the history and memories of the the vessel that served as Maine Maritime training ship for 17 years.  From the “T.V. State of Maine, ak ‘The Grey Ghost’” facebook page:

The last ride of the state of Maine USNS Upshur.  USNS UPSHUR, STATE OF MAINE III is underway to the ship breaker in Brownsville Texas.

Attached is a final photo taken by Carl Castiglioni. Interestingly Carl worked with me on the Harkness final days prior to starting the TANNER conversion into the current STATE OF MAINE IV.

I must say that the Drydock Photo certainly looks better than the Photos while in USCG possession on the beach in Mobile.

Sad day for a grand ship that provided the Merchant Marine with a long string of Licensed Officers.

Larry

For those of you who spent some time on the vessel, be sure to “Like” “T.V. State of Maine, ak ‘The Grey Ghost’” page and share some stories.

[Image courtesy Facebook]

Created as an alternative to the Tradewinds Power 100 list released this summer, where the focus repeatedly falls on big money, ship owners, and corporations, the Portfire 40 is designed to focus on the other side of influence, where the emphasis lies in new ideas, creativity, and improvement of the overall maritime industry.

From shipping podcasts to blogs, the names and notions represented in the Portfire 40 will vary, branching out to evoke the true nature of how vast the maritime world is. These 40 names will include the personalities believed to be making the biggest impact on the industry and their colleagues, through change and new thought, media and alternative press. In as much, the Portfire 40 is to be a list not recognizing those who are currently involved in the status quo, but rather will be a list encompassing the individuals of the future of the maritime industry. Here the significance lies on leadership, innovation, personality, or the ways in which some are enriching society.

One of the judges, Ryan Skinner, of 5956N, was quoted as saying, “The Portfire 40 is a list of those shipping personalities who haven’t inherited a shipping empire but rather carved out a significant change in the industry with passion and pride.”

The list will be determined by votes and a panel of judges, with those involved in the maritime industry nominating and submitting names to make the list.

Backers for the Portfire40 include John Konrad of gCaptain, Ryan Skinner of 5956N, James Tweed of Coracle Online, the ClayMaitland.com team, Peter Mello of Sea-fever, Bob Coutie of Maritime Accident Casebook, Humphrey Hill and Sam Ignarski of After Office Hours, Steven Jones of Shiptalk, Ken E. Beck of Kennebeck Captain. and Ben Strong from Amver.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as the list begins to take shape and to hear what others are saying about it, check out the links above.

Do you have a recomendation for the list? Let us know! Leave a comment below or send an email with your candidate’s name, employer and why you think he/she belongs among the Portfire40.

They’re both about localisation, but that doesn’t make them apples and apples

By Ryan Skinner (email)

You probably already know AIS. The short-range coastal tracking system identifies vessels near coastlines all over the world’s oceans, with information about the vessel’s name, speed, destination, heading, etc.

You probably don’t know Foursquare. It’s one of those facebook-like social networks, except this one makes a big deal of location. It’s all about where you’re at, where you’re going, where your friends/girlfriend/mother are, etc. These social location services are one of the four big tech trends of 2010, along with mobile web, iPad and toilet-training cats.

There are many ways that AIS and Foursquare are alike:

• Marketers are gonzo for the data, so they can target buyers (in shipping’s case, agents target ships calling in ports)
• They’re all about location; without it, they’re pretty much pointless (so many examples of AIS position faults)
• With both, you know who’s around you, so you can arrange serendipitous meetings (Foursquare), or avoid them (shipping)
• Both can give away too much information (to house burglars, or pirates)
• Both provide a basic platform that service providers are rushing to build valuable products and services on top of
• People are known to fudge both of them to hide their true location
• Both enable overzealous stalkers; in shipping’s case, this would be a charterer wondering why the ship is idling outside port

But they’ve got at least a few salient differences that prevent too close a comparison:

• Foursquare users opt in. AIS is required by the IMO, at least for most classes of ships
• If you go somewhere in Foursquare, you get a badge. If you go somewhere in shipping, you get money
• Foursquare requires you to check-in at its web-site, or through compatible web services. AIS signals are sent automatically
• Foursquare only gives you access to your friends’ location; any inquisitive person can check out AIS-powered ship positions online
• Foursquare makes location a game; AIS has, as yet, few fun-loving sides

At its root, Foursquare only works if those people whose position it reports, like it. AIS, on the other hand, is just there. You ignore it at your peril. Nonetheless, anyone developing AIS-related services would be wise to look carefully at developments on Foursquare. You always want to be working towards the market’s wants and needs.

So here’s a list of articles about business uses for Foursquare. AIS business developers, dig in:

The NY Times bits blog describes how businesses are using Foursquare statistics.

PBS interviews Foursquare’s chief business development officer, on use of the platform.

Location Meme ran an article about how a restaurant guide (shippers, imagine an agent) uses Foursquare.

Inc.com gives a guide to success on the Foursquare platform.

And lest I forget my friends in marine media, here’s an article about how the big media brands are using Foursquare, to inspire your creative use of AIS.

Some may want to laugh this off, but the Foursquare/AIS analogies are not so far-fetched. For better or worse, fewer and fewer of us are lost under the great blue sky and it’s time to find the costs and benefits of this findability, and manage them.

–

Ryan Skinner is a Senior Advisor at Say PR & Communications in Oslo, Norway and blogs at 59° 56′ N. Innovation, technology, media and ideas in the marine realm are his beat.

For those of you on Facebook, check out the new Fan Page, Master of Towing Vessels Association, started by gCaptain.com Forum Super Moderator, Doug Pine. Become a Fan

The Master of Towing Vessels Association represents the interests of U.S. Coast Guard licensed masters, mates and pilots of towing vessels (Oceans, Near Coastal, Great Lakes/Inland & Western Rivers), with a focus on safety issues.

While you’re there, be sure to check out gCaptain.coms’ Fan Page, gCaptain.com – A Maritime Blog About Ships, and the gCaptain group as well.

Admiral Thad Allen, USCG

Last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Admiral Thad Allen, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. We discussed a wide range of topics from the state of the US Flag to the growth of the offshore sector but a common thread in the discussion was the evolving role of the industry and government organizations in the digital age.

For the past few years the Coast Guard has embraced new social media and publishing technology from within the organization starting with improving the availability of information, through the development of internet resources like Homeport, to interacting through the use of social media sites, like gCaptain, Facebook and iCommandant. While this is certainly the most visible aspect of the CG’s digital initiative the manner in which the guard interacts with information, both today and in the future, is more complicated and touches operations as diverse as the organization itself.

The following is part one of my interview Admiral Thad Allen:

gCaptain: Your office has been a proponent of Web 2.0 initiatives. At the most fundamental level Web 2.0 companies either facilitate communication (facebook, twitter) or provides timely access to relevant information (google, digg, yahoo news). On the information side it seems that homeport was the first step and blogs like iCommandant the second, where are we heading?

Admiral Allen: The ultimate goal as I see it is mission execution which is the focus of everything we do here. Social media, being able to align people and create better transparency, allows us to focus the organization to be more effective. The more we can make information transparent, not only to our own people but the American public, the better everyone will understand what the organization is trying to do and assist in moving all of us in the same direction.

The real issue we have right now is an inter-generational issue inside the Coast Guard where not everyone is a digital native like our young kids coming. There is a certain level of socialization that needs to occur and the same applies to dealing with the American public.

I don’t think there is any limit to the potential application for information in creating greater transparency and access to information. For example, today you can view a map of all airlines flying around the country. There is no reason the Coast Guard could not make AIS information available in a similar manner, it’s just a matter of having the right data collection centers and distribution points. It’s not a technology issue, there just hasn’t been enough demand for it. In the future this information could be made available by the Coast Guard leading us to better uses for Web 2.0 and beyond.

gCaptain: The intergenerational issue is interesting. In a recent article for The Maritime Executive Podcast, Editor Joe Keefe tells us of a recent trip with his daughter when, immediately upon boarding a plane, her Nintendo DS connected with the other kids who were able to share files, chat and discuss the trip. Do you foresee a time when a vessel pulls into port and has a similar ability to communicate with VTS, pilots and other vessels?

Admiral Allen: I do and have already had people ask me why, if in cell phone or wireless range, they can not use services like Twitter or email to share information and pictures to increase situational awareness for our operational  commanders. There is a difference between getting VHF updates from an on-scene coxswain in a SAR case and receiving pictures from an iPhone along with real time updates via Twitter. There are some issues with security and the types of equipment used but this is all within the realm of the possible.

gCaptain: Who do you see building this type of system?

There are a couple of issues surrounding this question. From within the .mil domain there will always be security issues that require the use of a firewall. Most of the stakeholders and people we deal with, however, live outside in the .gov or .com domains and we need to find a way to crossover and securely move back and forth between these secure and public domains. The threshold is between what needs to be secure and what doesn’t, what’s internal operations and what isn’t. The greater extent to which we can make information completely visible for use by the developers and the public, the greater off we’ll be in the future.

The Homeport website has served us very well but it needs to continue evolving as we move data off the firewall and make it accessible to everybody.

gCaptain: I remember just getting into shipping when daily information between vessels and ship owners was limited to one phone call via Inmarsat-B. The nature of information exchange is rapidly changing with shoreside having access to real time information and access to the vessel. This is new to the maritime industry but the Coast Guard has much experience with this level of connectivity. I would like to ask how real time information and communication has changed the dynamic between Coast Guard Vessels and headquarters?

Admiral Allen: The Coast Guard has always had a command and control system where any unit is available on a frequency and continuously available 7-24, so we have never had the issue of periodic updates. For us the question is moving from analog voice communication to VOIP and data systems that exchange both business information and a common operating picture. This is all being done right now. The real challenge, in my mind, is taking a wider range of systems/business data and the speed/bandwidth in which to move it. As far as command and control we are already there in the Coast Guard.

gCaptain: In the commercial sector this is new technology. Shoreside managers want to use information to support the vessel and this is well received but there is a fine line between providing support and micro-manging individual vessels. Do you have any advice for the maritime community on this topic?

Admiral Allen:  I have a lot of conversations about this, especially on the security side, and what I try to do is compare and contrast the aviation community with the sea-going community. The aviation industry is a product of the 20th century. Because there was such a premium placed on safety, with many passenger and cargo flight incidents early on,  our air traffic control system is now one of the safest and most transparent operations that you will see anywhere. Pilots are use to being given commands to go from point A to point B and cleared for a specific altitude  then cleared for final and cleared to land. That type of control in the maritime environment is something no one has ever seen and will probably take some getting use to.

For a thousand years we have operated on the water where anonymity was a proprietary advantage, you didn’t want anyone to know where you were going based on what goods you were carrying or what the markets were doing. The fact is that modern economics is driving us in a direction, not solely because of safety and security, but as a profit motive for visibility of the supply chain. Business managers want to know, anywhere in the world, the location of a container and this information is not possible without knowing the location of the vessel carrying it.

So I think we are being pressed this way for economics but on the safety and security side the automation of our vessels and its sensors makes it possible to be anywhere on the ship and understand the entire operation. The days of wipers, oilers and engineering officers making rounds is rapidly disappearing. For example, I’ve made the comment that our new national security cutter, the Bertholf, is really a computer with a ship attached.

I am not sure it’s a matter of everyone having to change, I think it’s a new environment and operators have to realize this or be overtaken.

CONTINUED: Click HERE to read Part II of our interview with Admiral Thad Allen.

Coracle Online was one of (if not the first) company in the maritime and shipping industry to get into iPhone and iPod Touch application development.  Their first application, The Maritime Glossary, provides instant access to over 9,000 nautical terms and abbreviations for anyone with an interest in international trade and the maritime world.  The Maritime Glossary is currently available in the iTunes App Store for $4.99 (link to download).

But Coracle is not stopping with just one.  Available next week in the iTunes App Store is Ship It!, a fun game that lets players load cargo and, well, ship it, before time runs out. In the video above, you can see a sneak preview that Coracle recently posted on YouTube.

Also in development from Coracle Online is a third application called Ports Information.  While details on this app have yet to be released, according to their website, the app provides “comprehensive Port Information on your iPhone and iPod Touch”.

And finally for those of you wondering, YES, gCaptain is in the process of developing its own iPhone and iPod Touch application.  While I can’t release the details just yet, stay tuned as we will be doing an official unveiling in coming weeks!

Today we look at SARSAT information embedded to Google Earth. Ryan Erickson at the Unofficial CG Blog tells us:

Part of my job as a LANT SAR controller is to monitor our SARSAT system watching for 406MHZ “hits” around the world. And in doing so it never really dawned on me where the satellites were in the atmosphere picking up the signals for such distresses, that was until a co-worker of mine sent a Google overlay (Google Earth .kmz file below) to all of the SAR controllers in an effort to help visualize where the COSPAS, SARTSAT, and GEOS Search and Rescue satellites are orbiting at any given moment. Well after looking a combo of their trajectory and range (equaling blind spots) it’s easy to see why the times vary so much when trying to get such a satellite to pick up you 406MHZ EPIRB. And even if they can’t pick up your signal, it’ll be nice to know when they will.

SAR Satellites (27)
All Satellites (14)

We decided to take this one step further by including the map. Take a look:

Many thanks Eric! For more google earth goodies visit our Google Maps Topic or find the maps in our Maritime Tools Section.

Geoholm Fourchon Sunset

The above photo is from Flickr user whink27‘s photostream.  Click on the image for some more really great pictures of various workoats in the GOM from whink27′s.

Thanks to gCaptain member studbuzzer for bringing it to our attention on this thread of the forum.