Leading marine operations software company Helm Operations has announced that it has surpassed the 4000 vessel mark on its industry-leading maritime asset management and operations platform, Helm CONNECT. Since launching Helm CONNECT in July 2016, more than 1000 vessels have joined the platform each year, with the 4000 vessel mark reached earlier this month.

Petrobras completed ten years of production in the Santos Basin pre-salt cluster in May, with above-average efficiency and productivity indicators in the offshore industry. There are 16 platforms and more than 150 wells operating in that pole alone, which account for 90% of all of the Brazilian pre-salt production. Lifting costs below $7 a barrel and high field productivity rank the pre-salt as one of the most competitive frontiers in the industry.

China’s first seagoing LNG bunker vessel will operate with a comprehensive and integrated package of highly efficient and environmentally sustainable solutions from the technology group Wärtsilä. The ship is being built by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) for an affiliate of the ENN Energy holdings, one of the largest users of LNG in China. It has been designed by China Ship Design & Research Center Co.Ltd. The orders with Wärtsilä were booked in Q1 2019.

Wärtsilä will provide the vessel’s cargo handling system, the Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel main engine, the gearbox, controlled pitch propeller (CPP), shaft generator, two Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines, and the ship’s sewage treatment plant. The integrated gas, propulsion, and waste treatment systems are designed to deliver high efficiency with stable and clean operations. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in early 2020.

“Being the first vessel of its kind built and owned by Chinese companies, makes this an important and exciting project. The experience and well-established track record that Wärtsilä has in LNG shipping applications is again endorsed with this latest order. Our ability as a single-source supplier to offer the full and integrated package of solutions brings real value to both the owners and the yard,” says Scott Oh, Area Sales Director, Middle East & Asia, Wärtsilä Marine.

“This project is China's first LNG bunkering vessel with a C type tank and is another milestone for DSIC in the gas carrier market. It follows the successful delivery of a VLEC with a capacity of 85,000cbm - the world's largest C type tank. These outstanding projects and more than 10 years R&D on large scale LNG Carriers, DSIC is ready for the arrival of the LNG era. We rely on Wärtsilä’s support and expertise, and we look forward to delivering various solutions for our distinguished customer,” says Richard Hu, Marketing Director, DSIC.

The 8500 m3 capacity vessel is the first newbuilding LNG bunkering vessel for ENN Energy Holdings and is part of the Group’s ambition to play an active role in the international marine LNG fuel supplier market. With this bunker vessel, ENN will be capable of supplying fuel to the world’s biggest LNG fueled vessels. 

The new vessel is expected to begin operations in 2020. It will be based at the newly opened ENN Zhoushan LNG receiving & bunkering terminal in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. In addition to providing bunkering supply operations, it will also carry out gas testing services for LNG carriers and other LNG fueled vessels.

Seadrill Limited announces the appointment of Stuart Jackson as Chief Financial Officer, effective upon release from his current employment which is expected by the beginning of August.

The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) has launched a competition to accelerate the development of technologies with the potential to reduce vessel emissions and fuel consumption.

Oceaneering International, Inc. has secured a contract to perform the first-ever deepwater Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) survey in Mexican waters.

The geophysical survey will be performed for BHP at its Trion development. Oceaneering will use the DP-2 Ocean Investigator, equipped with their OS-VI AUV and light geotechnical capabilities.

Deepwater depth is considered between 1,000-3,000 m.

Work is currently underway and will continue for approximately 45 days. Oceaneering will also provide light geotechnical services by acquiring 6 m piston core soil samples.

For more information, visit: oceaneering.com/survey-and-mapping/geoscience-and-auv-surveys

Industry heavyweights will be joined by an internationally recognized leader on global climate change at the opening session of SPE Offshore Europe 2019 in September.

DNV GL and KONGSBERG have signed a memorandum of understanding with the ambition to help bring about digitalization of the maritime industry and greatly enhance customer benefit and ease.

Shell, along with its Joint Venture Partners INPEX, KOGAS and OPIC, announces that the first shipment of Liquefied Natural Gas has sailed from Shell’s Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) facility located 475kms North East of Broome in Western Australia. This shipment will be delivered by the Valencia Knutsen to customers in Asia.

Classification society DNV GL, Kongsberg Maritime and Subsea7 have successfully concluded the pilot testing of Kongsberg Maritime’s (KM) DP Digital Survey (KMDS) application on board the Subsea7 vessel Seven Kestrel. The pilot tested the use of a remote digital verification tool for testing dynamic positioning (DP) systems as part of DNV GL’s D-Class project.

In March 2019, DNV GL rolled out the first fleet-wide remote survey scheme for some inspections in the classification industry. This means that for some surveys, a DNV GL surveyor is not required to travel to the vessel, but instead, input provided by the customer and crew is used to demonstrate compliance. This saves travel costs, waiting time, and reduces vessel downtime. The scheme has been warmly greeted by both customers and flag states.

Testing the dynamic positioning (DP) systems on vessels in operation has also traditionally required a surveyor visit, often alongside DP failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA) consultants and equipment vendor experts, to witness verification trials. Coordinating and conducting these tests with multiple partners can result in a vessel being taken out of operation for several days.

“The digital survey is an opportunity to deliver on our DP verification focus areas by capturing data from what are currently seen as routine events, enabling us to use these recordings as verification of our asset performance. This technology also gives us a higher data quality than we currently receive through manual trials and gives us a permanent tamper proof recording of the event. The test methodology used within the application also empowers the crew to take ownership of the system and give them greater confidence in the DP system setup onboard their vessel. This will provide us with a more robust survey and we see this as a lead into greater safety through familiarization within our fleet,” said Bryce Heslop, Marine Technical Manager at Subsea 7.

To try and reduce the burden of verifying DP systems on its customers, by enhancing efficiency while maintaining effectiveness and safety standards, DNV GL launched the Data Smart Classification or D-Class Project in 2017. It is designed to evaluate and work toward the acceptance of new methods and technology for the verification of DP systems.

“We have been involved in the D-Class project from the beginning. It offered a way for us to see how we can be more innovative in our approach to DP verification, and to improve the efficiency of our DP verification programs without compromising the safety of our asset while maintaining the integrity of the traditional survey. At Subsea 7 we pride ourselves in our open and collaborative approach with our suppliers and classification societies, so we saw this as an opportunity to strengthen ties, improve performance, and lead by example in the DP industry,” said Graeme Lorenson, DP/Electrical and Controls Team Lead at Subsea 7.

As part of the D-Class project, DNV GL initiated a pilot to examine the possibility of using Kongsberg Maritime’s DP Digital Survey tool in annual verification trials. The pilot used the tool on board Subsea7’s diving support vessel Seven Kestrel and covered both class survey requirements and standard international industry tests. The tool takes data directly from a vessel’s control systems and transmits this to a secure cloud, where it is available for assessment by expert verifiers, class, and vendors.

“The KM-DPDS application offers our customers a tool that will potentially reduce their OPEX for each DP vessel and increase the vessel’s uptime, as the individual DP trial tests can be executed during non-productive time. The competence of DP key personnel is enhanced as well,” said Eivind Alling, Vice-President of Digital Performance at Kongsberg Maritime. “The collaboration with DNV GL and Subsea7 has been of paramount importance to develop criteria for the digitalization of the Annual DP trial program, based on IMO MSC/Circ.1580, the DNV GL DP class notation and IMCA M 190 guidance document. The successful completion of the pilot paves the way for an application of a DNV GL Approval in Principal for the KM-DPDS solution.”

“With this pilot, we have proof-of-concept for using the KMDS application for verification of DP systems. This technology has the potential to provide secure and tamper-proof collection of system-generated data, which can be used as evidence for performing objective remote office assessment by class. The data collected will also form a significantly improved body of evidence for documenting test results, which can help to increase confidence in DP systems,” said Aleks Karlsen, DNV GL Senior Principal Specialist DP systems.

“This is another step forward in the wider application of remote verification technologies. The experience we have gained from working on this pilot has provided valuable experience and input to our D-Class rules and standard development. We plan to launch the results of this development by the end of this year,” added Jan van Tiggelen, DNV GL Project Manager for D-Class.

Damen Shipyards Group has delivered a Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 500 and a Multi Cat 1506 to Maritime Constructions of Port Adelaide, Australia. The two vessels have been put to use on a port extension project in Onslow, Western Australia.

Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd. announce that they have signed a contract to supply a 200Te Multi-Mode Pre Lay Plough to leading marine service provider Boskalis N.V.

High Speed Transfers (HST), the recent new entry into the crew transfer sector, has placed its fourth order for a Damen next-generation Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710, to be named HST Euan.

CORTEC, a leading manufacturer of high-quality API valves, has been audited and approved as an API 6D licensed manufacturer.

The specification defines the requirements for the design, manufacturing, assembly, testing and documentation of ball, check, gate and plug valves for application in pipeline and piping systems for the petroleum and natural gas industries. 

This license will enable CORTEC to utilize its considerable upstream, critical service, valve manufacturing experience towards new applications in the downstream market. CORTEC’s API 6D valve line features models up to 14 in. full port and pressure classes up to 2500CL service.

Stephen Corte, vice president of marketing and business development, CORTEC, said, “Our extensive track record with critical service designs featuring technology such as metal to metal sealing and highly corrosive resistant materials is ideally suited for many specialized applications within the API 6D marketplace. We have already received multiple orders for this new valve line and are eager to further expand the range of applications in which we can serve our customer base. “

Dataran Elektra is appointed as the first PETRONAS-licensed agent for FUELTRAX in Malaysia.

Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) updates investors on the company’s strategy, setting out a compelling financial outlook to 2025 and building on a strong foundation that will enable it to thrive through the transition to a lower-carbon energy system.