Finnish maritime firms improve ships from all angles

Finnlines in June announced its Finnsirius and Finncanopus cargo-passenger ships will feature electronic reporting, fleet monitoring and stability management solutions developed by NAPA, a Helsinki-based provider of intelligent solutions for the maritime industry.

The Finnish shipping company said the electronic logbooks will automate and streamline reporting and record-keeping mandated under flag-state regulations and conventions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). They will also help to reduce the administrative burden of crew, create time savings and limit the risk of errors.

Finnsirius and Finncanopus will be the first ships under the Finnish flag to feature the logbooks with cloud-based fleet intelligence modules, enabling real-time data exchange between onboard crew and the on-shore organisation.

Finnlines also drew attention to the fact that analysing and integrating the operational data could provide additional optimisation opportunities, thus supporting its commitment to operate efficiently and sustainably.

“This partnership is a tangible example of the new opportunities that shipping can unlock with this onboard operational data, with efficiencies that go beyond navigation and route optimisation,” stated Esa Henttinen, director of safety operations at NAPA.

By streamlining reporting on technical, environmental, vessel discharge and waste management, he added, shipping companies can monitor and improve efficiency from safety to fuel consumption and waste management.

“This is why electronic reporting solutions are bound to play a key role in the decarbonisation transition, helping companies harness their data for better decision making.”

The vessels will also feature a stability management solution developed by the company, the same that is used on other vessels operated by Finnlines. The solution enables onboard and on-shore teams to share and view data on factors such as loading conditions, stability margins and watertight door statuses in real time, thus promoting a more proactive approach to safety and planning.

With a capacity of 1 100 passengers and 5 200 lane-metres of cargo, the Superstar-class vessels are being built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing, China. Both are scheduled to be delivered in the second half of this year and operate a route from Naantali, Finland, via Långnäs on Åland to Kapellskär, Sweden.

ALMACO delivers, is recognised for ship facilities

ALMACO Group in May reported that it has delivered guest and crew cabins, as well as public crew areas, for the last of three sister ships operated by Swan Hellenic, SH Diana.

The so-called boutique ship welcomed its first guests in Palermo, Italy, in mid-April, boasting cabins and suites that had been designed, procured and constructed by ALMACO. The suites had received their finishing touches during the transfer voyage from Helsinki Shipyard to Palermo.

Esko Ryyppö, project manager at ALMACO, said it was a delight to collaborate with both Helsinki Shipyard and Swan Hellenic.

“The project got off to a good start already in April 2020 with SH Minerva and continued with SH Vega and now SH Diana. We are expecting challenges due to the unstable market situation and took extra precautions to ensure the project was a success,” he commented.

SH Diana is slightly larger than its older sisters, housing 85 guest cabins and 11 suites.

ALMACO reported last month that it has been recognised for its work on MSC World Europe by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Frédéric Vasseur, head of catering systems at ALMACO, said the recognition showcases the dedication and hard work the team has done to deliver innovative solutions to marine and offshore industries. The company, he added, is grateful especially for the opportunity to supply the laundry areas of the cruise ship, as it marked the first significant laundry-area project in the company’s history.

Wärtsilä making waves

Also Wärtsilä has been recognised recently for its contributions to the maritime industry.

Its ANCS NACOS bridge console system was last month revealed as a winner of the Red Dot 2023 Award. Recognised for product design, the modular console system features touch-screen operation, height-adjustable modules and flexibility that makes control and navigation easy for bridge personnel.

According to the jury, the console sets “new standards” in terms of user friendliness, scalability, flexibility, and hardware and software integration.

Wärtsilä in June reported that it will supply its maritime simulator to the training centre of NSB Group in Buxtehude, Germany. The simulator will feature the latest versions of professional simulator software and the newly awarded bridge systems with multi-pilot workstations, chart ad information systems, radar, and conning applications.

“This upgrade will help us practice ‘what-if’ scenarios to meet our high standards in shipping and our ability to respond and improve in a very personalised way to meet the needs of our customers,” said Tim Ponath, CEO of NSB Group.

“Wärtsilä’s simulator makes it possible to connect different training centres in a way that has never been done before.”

Johan Ekvall, head of project simulation and training at Wärtsilä, highlighted that there is a pressing need to train mariners quickly because of the departure of many qualified professionals during COVID-19.

“Since COVID-19, many have left the industry and new recruits are not coming in fast enough to replace them. It’s clear that we need to be able to get mariners up to speed quickly and ensure they undergo robust training to maintain high standards,” he said.

The Finnish conglomerate was recently named as one of the world’s 100 most influential companies by TIME. The American news magazine said the company’s “flurry” of storage facilities for renewable energy is fixing one of the key questions associated with the green transition: what to do when the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine?