THE SHIP SUPPLIER ISSUE 81

International Shipsuppliers & Services Association

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Publishing & Managing Editor Sean Moloney International Shipsuppliers & Services Association

Published on behalf of The International Shipsuppliers & Services Association by

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Publisher Sean Moloney

ISSA Head of Administration Yvonne Paul

Editor Samantha Giltrow

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Accounts Fiona Crosbie

Production & Design Diptesh Chohan, Clare Parr

The Ship Supplier is published by the International Shipsuppliers & Services Association and is entirely devoted to reporting on the dynamic and diverse Ship Supplying industry.

The worldwide readership includes all members and associate members of ISSA, chief purchasing officers, other senior personnel with purchasing responsibility and most marine and trade related organisations.

Although

© International Shipsuppliers & Services Association 2019

You can keep up to date with the latest news on the ISSA website at www.shipsupply.org and send in your comments and views to the ISSA Secretariat either by phone on +44 (0)1296 682 061; or alternatively email secretariat@shipsupply.org

WForeword

Dear ISSA Members and Maritime Colleagues

elcome to the summer edition of The Ship Supplier. I can’t believe we are already halfway through 2019 and, more importantly, only five months away from the 64th ISSA Convention in the South Korean port city of Busan.

Planning for this year’s event is progressing at a fast pace and it promises to be a Convention to remember.

Exhibition stand sales are going very well and delegate bookings are starting to come in, which is very encouraging. But I am mindful that we still have some of you who haven’t attended Convention for some years, so I am very keen to reach out to all our members – National Associations as well as Associates – to encourage you all to come over to Busan between November 8th and 9th. Networking and debate will be of the highest level and Busan is a beautiful location. You can get more information from the ISSA Convention website by clicking http://issa2019busan.com/2019/ english/main/index_en.asp and I look forward to seeing more of you there.

I am delighted to confirm that we have made significant progress on our need to heighten international awareness of the problems ship suppliers face when accessing some ports around the world. Not only did the Secretariat deliver a verbal submission at the IMO in April, but the document was formally submitted in written form at June’s very important Maritime Safety Committee meeting at the IMO in London. Support from our peer group of international associations and member IMO Member States has been strong on the back of our work at the IMO, and we look forward to working with colleagues in the months ahead to drive action for change.

Working with the other international trade associations is important and myself and the Treasurer, together with the Secretariat, used our time in London recently to meet the leadership of a number of key associations such as BIMCO, the British Ports Association, our colleagues at the British Association of Ship Suppliers as well as the hard-working IMO Secretariat. This followed hot on the heels of previous meetings with our friends at Intercargo. We will be holding many more meetings and will report back to the membership on progress made.

For now, as is the ISSA tradition, I would like to wish you all continuing success in the always exciting world of ship supply.

Saeed Al Malik ISSA President

Singapore Digitalisation is the only way forward

The Singapore ship supply industry remains highly competitive and margin erosion continues to be a challenge, according to Danny Lien, President of the Singapore Association of Shipsuppliers and Services (pictured).

It is also facing increasing operating costs, where labour costs continue to spiral upwards because of poaching amongst competitors due to a tight labour market.

“The ship owners and managers continue to put pressure on the suppliers by demanding lower prices while expecting to maintain quality of products and service,” he said.

“Ship suppliers in Singapore are facing diminishing profits which will adversely affect the industry in the long run. The lack of reasonable profitability to invest in people, technology, infrastructure, standards etcetera will stagnate the progress of the industry instead of continuously innovating. This will mean the industry will continue to be labour intensive as companies will have difficulty investing in technology and new ways to improve productivity.”

However, Mr Lien said there is a window of opportunity for Singapore ship suppliers to digitalise their business with the support from the various Singapore government agencies and SASS. Companies that are able to successfully adopt technology to sharpen their processes and operations will be able to scale quicker and lower operating costs. Using Artificial

Intelligence, these organisations will have the necessary data to manage their businesses effectively. They will be able to capitalise on data as the new currency.

SASS continues to grow its membership at a steady pace as it heads towards its 150 member milestone. SASS also receives strong recognition and support from all the relevant government agencies. SASS currently has ongoing projects with Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Enterprise Singapore and Jurong Port on various technology initiatives. SASS strongly believes that digitalisation of the industry is the only way forward. In this respect SASS is also co-organising a Boston Consulting Group conducted Digitalization Masterclass with A*Star’s SIMTECH in July 2019, which is generously funded by SkillsFuture Singapore and Employment & Employability Institute. u

Philippines Business builds on back of Government infrastructure boom

The ship supply market in the Philippines has seen a steady increase in the supply and demand for various marinerelated items and services, according to Agnes Llanto of Manila-based DONDON Ship Supply & Marine Services.

She said there had been an increase in cargo volumes brought by the country’s high consumption and business opportunities brought about by the Government’s infrastructure. Under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, the Southeast Asian country is experiencing an infrastructure boom unseen since the time of Ferdinand Marcos with its Build Build Build project. Over the next decade, the Government is set to embark

on an ambitious $180 billion infrastructure spending bonanza, set to transform the Philippines’ economy.

However, on the logistics side, from road to port, and port to port via seafreight and airfreight, 2019 might be worse than 2018 due to the increase in the excise tax on petroleum products which will further hike up operational costs.

Although based in Manila, DONDON has a network of supply chains in other major ports in the Philippines and while Manila operations remain the same, there has been an increase in the supply of vessels calling Misamis Oriental.

“ ”

Almost all shipmanagement companies/buyers have their own purchasing platform which speeds up the process of procurement and invoicing for them

Agnes Llanto , Manila-based DONDON Ship Supply & Marine Services.

One of the main developments, Ms Llanto said, was the increased use of e-commerce platforms.

“Almost all shipmanagement companies/buyers have their own purchasing platform which speeds up the process of procurement and invoicing for them. This is good because we also received the payment after the agreed terms of 30 to 45 days or earlier after uploading the invoices in their system/platform. We hope more local companies will invest on their own purchasing platforms.”

She added: “This actually eliminates the cases of missing invoices resulting in late payments and also translates to easier and faster accounting functions.”

Ms Llanto said DONDON was a growing company and, in April this year, acquired the warehousing and distribution of Wilhelmsen products in the Philippines.

Despite the Shipchandlers Philippines Inc (SPI), the national ship supply association, having just five members, Ms Llanto said there was good, friendly competition and camaraderie between them.

“In fact, we will be joining as a group, the 64th ISSA Convention this November in Busan, Korea,” she said. “Hope to see you all!” u

Australia Increase in confidence for Australian ship suppliers

Ship suppliers in Australia are operating with increased confidence, Jim Costalos, Chairman of the Australian Ship Suppliers & Services Association, reported at its Annual General Meeting.

The Association’s 38th AGM was held in Perth at the end of last year with Mr Costalos telling members that 2018 had been “reasonably kind and economically brighter for most ASSA members, thanks to the improvement in the international shipping scene.”

He said: “The past year has been one of continuing change within our industry and the shipping world generally. Thus alleviating the fear of bad debts and allowing us to operate with an increased degree of confidence, although we all should continue to be diligent with our credit terms.”

Mr Costalos said growth was possible, but only if suppliers were competitive, not just in their regional environment but in the international arena and urged members to “vigorously explore” avenues to create competitiveness of services and promote these properly to clients.

He also spoke of the growing trend for ship owners to use third party shipmanagement companies, who were now establishing catering and purchasing facilities on a worldwide

basis, making it more difficult for the everyday lives of smaller ship suppliers.

“For Australian ship suppliers, how well we adjust to these developments could well govern our viability in the near future,” he said.

The developments of the International Ship Suppliers & Services Association (ISSA) were also presented with matters including the new version of the ISSA Catalogue, the succession plan for Geoff Marchant and the ISSA Quality Program, Watchdog which provides a credit information and debt recovery service.

Mr Costalos also thanked the ASSA Secretary/Teasurer, Paul Begg, for his efforts during the year. He has since retired from this position, which is now filled by Shelley Cooper.

Concluding the meeting, Mr Costalos said: “One of our resources is the skill and dedication of our professional men and women. With a stronger sense of self-worth and a more clearly focused direction, we can play an even greater role, to make our association a strength to the mutual benefit of all our members.” u

Have your say on ISSA

ISSA is now on Twitter, giving Members the chance to keep up to date with Association news, and have their say and make suggestions about anything related to the ship supply sector.

@ISSAshipsupply is also the go-to place to increase awareness of your company, communicate with fellow Members and ship suppliers, and take part in discussions on trends and hot topics.

The platform also provides ISSA Members with the chance to take up speaking opportunities at maritime events and a valuable networking experience in the wider maritime industry.

ISSA President Saeed al Malik said: “Any idea or suggestion that could come from a Member is always welcome. We will look into it, and study it, and see if it is going to be an ‘addedvalue’ for all Members of ISSA. Ideas on Convention, ideas on The Ship Supplier magazine, and ideas from ship owners too,

because we are interested in what the ship owners and ship operators want from us in terms of services, products and anything that we could come up with.”

Follow @ISSAshipsupply now and stay ahead of the game! u

From the Buyer’s Desk

Alexandros Aliferopoulos, Business Development Manager, Ship Procurement Services, Greece

How important is it to build relationships with your suppliers and what are you looking for in your suppliers?

We strongly believe that building relationships with our suppliers is extremely important as they are our partners. Ship Procurement Services (SPS) is handling, at the moment, aspects for more than 140 vessels so the qualities we are looking for are honesty, reliability fair pricing, quality, good service and open communication. By achieving these, trust and understanding is built which leads to minimisation of issues and additional costs and enjoyment of mutual benefits. Do you tend to stick with the same suppliers or are you always looking for potential new sources of products and services?

Even though we have built and maintained close relationships with several suppliers in all expense categories, we are very actively looking for new sources of products and services. Companies that rest on their laurels and do not constantly try to find more efficient ways of doing things are usually the ones that are left behind. We are always willing to take calculated risks, minimise resistance to change and make bold strategic changes through detailed planning. The optimisation of our processes in all parts of our supply chain never stops. What are some of the issues you have with suppliers and how can they help you with these?

Unreliability is the most important problem we usually face – a missed delivery can create a domino effect on the vessel and its operations which sometimes suppliers cannot comprehend. A good and honest communication channel is a must. If there is a problem, we need to be informed as soon as possible in order to take the proper actions. Past issues have been successfully dealt with, with the introduction of a quite detailed control programme which includes on-site supplier audits, questionnaires completed directly from the end users (crew). With the help of KPIs, quality reports, supplier ratings and follow-up of non-conformity cases with in-depth

investigations and subsequently corrective actions we have managed to almost eradicate them. Furthermore, as a way to further strengthen our relationships with our suppliers, we are working together with some of our closest partners on an idea of an in-house supply course where we will invite and present them with our processes and requirements. This way, they better understand our needs and can improve the quality of the service provided. Problems will always occur. The difference is to have a positive mind-set, investigate, and place firewalls that will minimise similar cases.

Is cost still a major factor in who you use or do you place higher importance on others such as quality, business relationships and what do you look for when buying supplies?

Cost is, and will always be, a major factor no matter the size of the business. There are, of course, some exceptions to this – for areas like safety and provisions, quality is the main factor. There are a number of criteria that we take under consideration as we always try to find the optimum balance in all of our purchases. This can be achieved utilising various processes such as contracts and bulk buying.

How has procurement changed in recent times?

Procurement has changed dramatically. Just a few years ago, a lot of shipping companies didn’t even know the identity of the supplier as they were working with agencies. Even though for many that continues, we make it a point of working directly with suppliers. The results have been more than satisfactory. In addition, the boom in technology and the tools we have at our disposal give us an unprecedented power to make strategic decisions. How sophisticated should 21st century ship supply become, and how has technology moved things along?

The reality is that ship supply was lagging in terms of technology compared to other areas in the maritime business. In recent years we have witnessed tremendous changes in this field. Nonetheless, there is still a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction. Furthermore, by being proactive and with focus on planning, we have managed to achieve great savings. u

Trend grows towards healthy eating

Fresh food, balanced diets and the elimination of convenience foods – all are on the menu for Cyprusbased Marine Catering Training Consultancy (MCTC).

In April, MCTC started work on a new contract with Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) in which it will serve as CSM’s exclusive catering management and training provider, starting with 43 ships and rolling out the programme to the entire fleet of more than 200 ships over the next few months.

MCTC will take charge of CSM’s food supply chain ordering as well as professional training and catering competency, including distance learning, mentoring onboard, weekly recipes and onshore courses. This includes food safety management training, guidance and training in nutrition, and creating working schedules.

“We will create projects for each vessel, to provide standardised weekly menus and processes,” said MCTC Managing Director Christian Ioannou.

And at the heart of it all, as with every MCTC service, will be a determined focus on heathy, nutritional food, cooked from scratch.

“We will work with the ships to create a balanced diet menu which ensures crew are taking in the required nutrients during the day, and we will create standardised processes on the ships’ catering. All of this is designed to ensure that crew are well fed.”

The trend towards healthy eating is growing across the world and the shipping industry needs to catch up, he said. That’s particularly true given the younger generations’ focus on work/life balance and healthy lifestyles. Many millennials and GenZs are vegetarians, for example.

That’s in stark contrast with older generation seafarers who for years may have been happily eating food high in fat, sugar and salt, and a high amount of ready and convenience foods, either ignoring or lacking knowledge of the health implications.

“One of our biggest challenges is changing mindsets, particularly amongst those who have surprisingly little understanding of basic nutrition or the affect of too much salt or

sugar on their health,” said Mr Ioannou.

“Eating sausages or other fatty items occasionally should not be a problem – but consuming these and items high in preservatives, chemicals, salt and sugar on a daily basis is clearly a danger to health.”

The MCTC approach is to eliminate convenience foods and ingredients entirely, teaching chefs to cook everything from scratch using fresh, good quality ingredients. The training also includes making use of everything that’s available onboard, and eliminating waste. In both cases, the result is significant cost savings, he said.

In a recent cost analysis, MCTC looked at items such as bakery products, soups and dressings, comparing self-made

products with ready-made versions.

The report showed a huge drop in calories and sugar in the self-made products, said Mr Ioannou.

“And at the same time, ships can expect a 15% improvement to their budget. We teach and encourage chefs in the utilisation and optimisation of what

they have on board – a chef should be able to produce meals with whatever is available.”

Supplying a huge number of ships constantly on the move with the right range of nutritional food –fresh, dry and frozen – is certainly a challenge.

“We are in constant contact with the Captain and owner to ensure we are aware of the schedule of ships,” said Mr Ioannou. “We use reputable, good-quality suppliers to ensure we are going to deliver the produce ships are expecting. This involves a lot of logistics and hard work from our catering management team.”

In addition, as part of its food safety management, MCTC provides advice on food storage and rotation, give tips on using up ingredients so that waste is minimised, and even provides ships with special containers for fresh products – these are designed to ensure air is circulated, extending the shelf life of the food.

Catering for mixed-nationality crews is often highlighted as a challenge, especially as the higher-fat dishes preferred by some something of a dietary disaster. However, Mr Ioannou is firm on this one. “It isn’t national dishes that are the problem – they are not unnecessarily unhealthy in themselves, depending on how they are cooked. It is more that they have been substituted by ready convenience food versions. For example, what was a soup is now a mix with chemicals and sugar in, and the body just can’t metabolise the ingredients.

“Slowly, slowly, we work with ships to change mindsets and to make sure they will be producing food from scratch. Our primary aim is no ready meals, no ready food, to make sure their crew is being well fed.” u

Cost should not compromise quality

In these cost-conscious times, saving money is what most owners, and suppliers, need to focus on but that should not compromise quality when it comes to food provisions.

That’s according to Mohammed Muses, Managing Director of All Supply Mombasa Shipchandlers, based in Mombasa, Kenya, who said: “Saving money is at the heart of what we do, no matter how good our product offering, price is paramount.

“As ship suppliers we don’t have much say on the diets of the crew, nevertheless we make sure that we supply the freshest and best nutritional products onboard.

“We recognise that our products need to have the durability and be able to be consumed many days after supply. Through our logistical chain we don’t procure from local markets, we procure directly from packing houses, making sure what we supply lasts the maximum possible time.”

All Supply Mombasa Shipchandlers Ltd, which is a family business, has been a member of ISSA for many years and is the only dedicated ship supplier in Kenya with the ISSA Quality Mark.

Mr Muses told The Ship Supplier it was important for

suppliers to help customers make the right buying choices – for example, All Supply Mombasa Shipchandlers recently helped a Naval customer by advising them on getting more summer fruit which is in season such as maracuya instead of strawberries. “This became a big hit onboard and was reordered on their follow-up trip, creating a big win-win,” said Mr Muses.

He said, with its partners, his company was always looking for new innovative ways to improve its offering. “With one item in particular – lettuce – we are pleased to be the only supplier able to substitute the popular iceberg lettuce with a contemporary equivalent – Lobello lettuce – which has a much better quality and yield, again assisting on cost-cutting.”

Mr Muses said provenance was still an increasing factor when it came to customers placing their orders, especially for the larger catering clients, which goes hand in hand with the brands offered.

He commented that it was also important to remember that under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), owners are required to provide provisions which are fit for the different ethnicities of crew members.

“In our warehouse we have over 500 lines of products that have been made possible with our bonded warehouse and, of course, our international partners who have really guided and assisted us in order to achieve our vision.”

Mr Muses added: “We are proud to have gained the muchcoveted bonded warehouse status, specifically for ship supply here in East Africa, capable of holding 200 tons plus of both dry and temperature-controlled stores for our vessels, giving us the capability of supplying anything from anywhere in the world. Meats from Europe, cheese from Holland and the all-favourite Mama Sitas products which we were not able to import before.”

He said the bonded facility had opened more opportunities for All Supply Mombasa Shipchandlers for being the preferred partner for new shipping lines that are intending to make East Africa, and particularly Mombasa, their hub ports.

“We have plans as well, in the near future, to have the capability of using a reefer vessel to supply anything anywhere in the Indian Ocean,” said Mr Muses.

Other developments at the company include use of digitalisation, which is increasing competition. As Mr Muses explained: “There has been a lot of Cloud and online purchasing portals that have really beefed up competition. As with portals like Ship Serve, we are now competing with a worldwide market as transparency has increased.”

He said a worldwide ship supply group which had been set up on WhatsApp where group members share intelligence, had also allowed members to informally check on the credit of companies and weed out bad payers.

Internally, the company has also invested heavily on SAP systems which had really helped in all areas of operation from purchasing to intelligence of traceability to forecasting.

“Really, the industry has no choice in the digital revolution,” said Mr Muses. “It is a change that is inevitable, and the ship supply industry has embraced it positively.”

He said there were many challenges currently facing the food supply sector, the biggest being the Non-tariff barrier in the form of the Bureau of Standards making it difficult to plan for a regular importation of specialised ship supply products.

“We have had to wait in some instances for over five months to have shipments cleared, although they are for reexport.”

As well as provisions, All Supply Mombasa Shipchandlers supplies everything from chemicals, gases and fire and other safety items to any spare or replacement deck and engine parts which a ship may require. u

Patience is a virtue – NOT!

By Roger Symes, Director, Marine Debt Management

Children are often taught, “Patience is a virtue”. Another popular proverb is “All things come to those who wait”. Neither of these sayings has any place in debt collection! Yet many ship suppliers hesitate before asking for payment and, consequently, increase the likelihood of not being paid at all.

Reasons for not asking for payment are complex and sometimes cultural but if you delivered on time and invoiced on time, you are entitled to be paid on time. Asking for payment or sending a reminder should not cause offence.

By avoiding delay, you will quickly uncover any problems that could be hindering payment. Were invoices received?

Were they sent to the correct email address?

Have they been processed? Are there any queries? If something further is required from your side, for example, proof of delivery, it is always better to know sooner rather than later. Don’t wait to be contacted.

If a customer is making regular payments it can be easy to miss that some invoices are being paid more slowly than others. There may be an expectation that they’ll be included in the next payment run, so no need to worry. Whilst that might be correct most of the time, it is always better to check. Otherwise, if there is a problem, you will remain unaware of it.

In the days of owner-Masters, the same person placed orders and made payments. Pressing such a person for

payment could, potentially, mean future orders going elsewhere. However, such days are long gone. Purchasing and payment functions are entirely separate and may not be in the same building, or even the same continent. Consequently, the accounting department very rarely has any input into purchasing decisions.

If you hesitate before asking for payment, it can be helpful to think how you would act if you were instructed by your manager (imaginary if necessary). Some people find it easier to start with, “My boss has told me to ask…”

If you feel asking for payment is a sensitive issue, it is worth taking a minute to imagine yourself in the position of your customer. If there is a difference of cultures, you can allow for this by asking an indirect question, such as, “Who is responsible for payment?”

Never underestimate pester power. Your account will be one of hundreds, possibly thousands to be paid. If you want your invoices to be treated differently from everyone else’s, then you must act differently from everyone else. That might mean using alternative forms of communication, calling early in the morning or late in the day. Try being friendly, being firm, being ferocious, being frequent. We all have our own style but the last of those four is a good place to start.

That said, learn as you go along and stop actions that don’t get results. We’ve seen messages headed “18th Reminder”. That was never going to work! If the debtor has ignored two or three reminders, they’ll ignore all subsequent ones too.

If you continue to supply whilst overdue invoices remain unpaid, you merely increase your potential losses should the debtor file for bankruptcy. There are plenty of good customers out there. Devote your energies to getting and keeping them, rather than putting time and energy into companies that do not respect you. u

‘will not go away’

Should ship owners and managers be confused over ballast water management (BWM) options and regulations? Even that question prompts mixed messages from the industry.

Bluester and DNV GL Maritime Advisory have teamed up to create an online application to help ship owners and managers find out within minutes which ballast water treatment technology is the most suitable for their operations. The decision to create the App ‘basically underlines the idea that people are confused’, said Bluester Managing Director Christoph Oliver Kiese.

However, Stelios Kyriacou, General Manager of De Nora’s Balpure ballast water management system (BWMS) business unit, said: “If people say at this stage that they are confused and still don’t know what they need to do, then maybe it is more about ‘leave it for another day’. But people have to be realistic now.” He warns that bottlenecks are building up and time is running short.

Meanwhile, classification society ABS says that a series of BWM workshops it has held and a questionnaire completed by ship owners around the globe have found the industry to be ‘broadly trending towards compliance as the regulatory deadlines near, but substantial operating challenges lie ahead’.

De Nora said its USCG type approved Balpure electrolytic disinfection system provides a reliable treatment solution, for new and retrofit requirements, to comply with the most stringent ballast water regulations. A slip stream treatment approach is designed to allow the system to be remotely mounted away from the ballast lines and split into small sub-assemblies to minimise other equipment relocation and additional engineering/ship redesigns. This technology approach allows for operation in low-salinity, lowtemperature water quality environments, said De Nora.

Balpure is IMO type approved for all water conditions –seawater, brackish and fresh – and is particularly advantageous for crude oil tankers, chemical/product tankers, LNG/LPG carriers, bulk carriers and VLOCs.

Dr Kyriacou said that if ship owners and managers don’t know by now what they should be doing, “I don’t know where they have been. Perhaps because of the protracted period for notification and installation, we are suffering from the syndrome that people have got tired of it and been lost on the journey. However, realistically classification societies were stakeholders in the process and many of the flag states were involved. A lot of technical and regulatory information has been shared on multiple outlets; sources of information are out there in the form of publications, webinars, presentations and a whole host of other means of disseminating information, from flag states, class, NGOs and trade organisations, and others. If, on the other hand, they still struggle, many of the makers of systems, like ourselves, frequently publish articles or people talk to us and we share a lot of information with them.”

Dr Kyriacou said there are people out there ‘feeling bruised that the regulation exists’, but he warned: “The regulations will not go away and, if anything, they will become stronger.”

While De Nora has received some very constructive and detailed enquiries from customers, with information about the ship and its operations, seeking what solutions can be offered, he reported some very ‘naïve’ approaches from others: “We have received enquiries from ship owners literally saying ‘I have five ships and these are their names and send me a quotation’. You don’t even buy a cabbage from the supermarket based on that kind of specification. How can you get a technical solution from it?

“If they believe that what you get is a box which you put in the corner of the ship, switch the power on, put the water through and you are done, they are very much mistaken. There are a whole host of technical issues that have to be addressed before making a decision. First and foremost is the kind of technology that fits your ship, your itinerary and your scope of commercial work – from short of long itineraries, large flow or occasional use.”

The other issue highlighted by Dr Kyriacou is time. While the industry was slow to act, De Nora was able to offer 16 to 18 weeks to expedite orders but now there are bottlenecks from various suppliers, he said. “They are now overwhelmed dealing with multiple demands and they are running out of capacity. So you can’t decide that you want to meet compliance requirements by September 2019 and start talking to me today (June, the time of writing).

“You have the requirement for thinking about the technology. Then the ship has to be surveyed and drawings have to be generated for installation. It has to go to the classification society for plan approval. Then you have to find and plan for a dry dock and installation work. This is not going to happen in two months. People don’t realise that and we need to educate them; the projects are long and have technical content which is quite demanding. And ultimately they have to take responsibility for their compliance requirements.”

Supply chain management/maritime digital apps specialist Bluester says the BWTS Advisor is efficient and available free to all. It is also described as easy to use – but users do need to provide real information. Factors taken into account include vessel design, power supply, pump capacity, vessel operation, water temperature, water turbidity, water salinity and regulatory aspects. Once the online questionnaire is completed, the user receives a result online, together with a discussion of the pros and cons of the different technologies suitable.

“The BWTS Advisor was a way to make the expertise of DNV GL in this area available to many people in an easy-to-use way,” said Mr Kiese. “Usually this kind of information would have been requested by ship managers individually at DNV GL. With this tool, it is automised, online and available for everyone.”

He described likely users as wanting guidance on technologies and which are best for different vessels and operations. “It is a good starting point for finding a way through this really complicated topic,” he said. “They would then start to investigate with the manufactures of ballast water treatment systems in detail, and investigate by looking at the specifics and perhaps involving naval architects.”

Usually a shipping company would engage an advisor to help them find a way through and identify which kind of systems are most suitable for their vessels and areas in which they operate, he said: “But they can save this by using our system. There is not only a recommendation but also a brief discussion of the pros and cons of the different technologies. Geography, water temperature, salinity of water – all can have a

huge effect on the kind of systems that can be used. For example, a UV system wouldn’t operate well if the water was very dirty. There are a lot of things to take into account and our app does this automatically; all the different variables and possibilities are in the algorithm.”

Developed together with DNV GL Maritime Advisory, the Advisor tool is also available in the DNV GL VERACITY Store.

Bluester is looking at building another app which would take the user a step further – beyond choosing the technology, to choosing the right system. Later this year it also plans to offer a shipyard ‘matchmaking’ system. This would enable customers requiring retrofit projects to find the right shipyard for installation. “It is challenging and demanding to find the right shipyard for installation of the system,” said Mr Kiese. “Not many shipyards have experience; it is a complicated project which involves a lot of stakeholders, and you need to find the right partner for this.”

Finally, he warned: “You can still comply with the regulations without installing a ballast water treatment system but there will be a time when that is not possible anymore.”

ABS said that its recent questionnaire, which included almost 500 vessels installed with BWM systems, found the proportion of users who considered their systems to be ‘inoperable’ had fallen to 6%, from 14% in a similar survey in late 2017.

However, the number of owner/operators that reported their systems to be ‘operationally problematic’ jumped from 29% to 59% in the same period. “While this is a worrying trend, it also reflects the operational learning curve inherent in operating systems,” said ABS. About 35% of the installed BWM systems on the vessels were deemed to be operational at the time of the survey.

“That said, with compliance requirements already in force for US ballast water discharges and soon to be in force for more of the global fleet, owners and operators are still trying to gain critical experience with assorted BWM systems and the associated technologies.”

ABS examined seven types of BWM systems, and the feedback came from the owners across sectors including bulk, gas, product, heavy lift, vehicle carriers and container ships.

“Results varied between BWM technologies but the feedback broadly revealed growing concerns among ship owners about the operational reliability of the systems, the operating expenses being as expected, the availability of vendor support, the quality of associated control software and adequate levels of crew training,” it said.

The questionnaire showed up some often long periods for full adoption of a system, which underlined the need for owners to start the selection process early ‘and for them to resist the temptation to make cost their sole criterion’.

There were widely varying levels of technical support being offered by some vendors, says ABS – and this is a theme also picked up by Dr Kyriacou at Dr Nora. He said suppliers of BWM systems in the West are losing out to a ‘tremendous war on price’ from suppliers in the Far East, including those that are receiving government subsidies. This is compounded by yards in Asia favouring more local suppliers and adding hefty ‘design change’ costs adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars if a ship owner specifies a system from a Western supplier, he said.

“There is no way you can get a fair hearing or fair opportunity to be on the makers’ list – there are very few opportunities, and it is only if there is very strong support from the ship owner. What ship owners need to comprehend is that price isn’t the only thing. If a supplier has taken on 2,000 contracts, has anyone asked if they can support this downstream? Installation is only one part of this – there is also the lifecycle costs and the availability of technical support, spare parts and after sales.”

ABS said the findings of its survey should encourage ship owners to assign at least one company engineer to participate in the installation process, and to operate it as much as possible before the compliance deadline to build corporate and crew familiarity. u

Auramarine secures milestone 15,000th order as ship owners prepare for global sulphur cap

Auramarine, the provider of fuel supply systems for the marine and power industries, has announced a milestone 15,000th order for its pioneering fuel supply and management auxiliary units, a reflection of the rapid increase in the uptake of technologies that will ensure effective compliance and fuel system management ahead of the implementation of the global sulphur cap on 1st January 2020.

With little time remaining before the regulation comes into force, now more than ever it is crucial that ship owners and operators look beyond their chosen route to compliance to ensure their vessels are fully prepared for safe and efficient operations in a post-2020 environment.

Many of the main and auxiliary engines of vessels currently in operation will originally have been designed to run on fuels that have different properties from the new low sulphur products that are compliant with the pending regulations; and the fuel supply system needs to be able to deliver the fuel at the engine inlet as specified by the engine maker in order to guarantee efficient combustion and mitigate the risk of costly engine damage.

Auramarine’s auxiliary units enable ship owners to effectively manage the health of the vessel to avoid costly damage, unplanned downtime and associated safety issues. Auramarine’s auxiliary units comprise cooling and chilling units which maintain the correct viscosity of the fuel, emergency pump units which ensure a rapid and reliable fuel supply in the event of a blackout scenario, feeder units which supply fuel oil to HFO/MGO booster units, HT-water preheating units which are typically used

to keep the engine block warm for easy start-ups and to avoid heat tension in the engine, and lubrication units which pump, filter and cool lubrication oil.

Ole Skatka Jensen, CEO, Auramarine, said: “The 2020 sulphur cap is arguably the greatest challenge the industry has faced for decades since moving from coal power. While identifying a compliance solution is critical, protecting your vessel against the operational challenges of using and switching to new fuels is just as important. With six months to go, time is now of the essence.”

Earlier this year, Auramarine launched its ‘Get ready for 2020’ initiative, issuing a call to action for owners and operators to drive and encourage them to implement strategic forward planning to protect the future of their vessels and operations. As part of this initiative, the company’s FuelSafe changeover system offers a customised, cost-efficient and rapid method for enabling a vessel to use different fuel types and comply with sulphur emissions requirements while optimising the vessel’s fuel economy. It is compatible for both newbuilds and retrofits, and crucially, given the short window to ensure compliance, can be quickly installed and operational. u

Unlocking Green Marine ROI with Safer SOP LED Lighting

The tremendous energy savings of LED lighting has already led to its widespread adoption at homes, offices, factories and city streets. As the marine industry pushes full steam ahead on the drive towards sustainability leaving no stones unturned, vessels’ eventual conversion to LED is almost a certainty. But there were recent safety concerns after the US Coast Guard warned about radio frequency interference (RFI) from some LEDs on board that caused poor reception on the marine VHF and affected crucial communication systems like marine radiotelephone, AIS and DSC. A port rescue coordination center lost contact with a ship on VHF radio due to poor reception caused by LED interference is a case in point.

This poses a challenge for green marine operators who adopt LED lighting, but the solution has not eluded them. The marine-focused SOP LED brand has carefully engineered LED luminaires that comply to the IEC 60533 standard for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in ships. These

Bureau Veritas test lab certified SOP LEDs emit significantly lower electromagnetic noise in the 156-165MHz marine VHF band to prevent interference with ship’s VHF equipment and ensure navigational safety. The IEC 60533 EMC standard is specially defined for marine application while other EMC standards for land-based consumer or industrial LEDs do not offer the same level of compatibility with ship’s unique VHF environment.

Apart from marine EMC, the SOP marine LEDs are robustly built with seawater resistant materials and are vibration resistant for higher operating reliability. They are over 80% more energy efficient than halogen lamps to help vessels burn less fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With at least 50,000hrs of LED lifespan, 25 times longer than a halogen light bulb, ship owners can save huge resources and money on consumables and maintenance. The significantly lower OPEX pays back the initial CAPEX investment on SOP LED quickly to provide ROI within 2 years.

Combining SOP LED technology with other energy efficient measures can do wonders for the ship’s fuel efficiency, help protect the earth, navigate safely and save a lot of money.

Visit SOP’s website at: www.sop-led.com u

VIKING’s 2018 shaped by renewed growth and a major acquisition

After two years of slightly declining revenue, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is seeing growth once more. In 2018, VIKING acquired the Norwegian manufacturer of lifeboats Norsafe. Adjusting for the costs of integrating this business and the impact on revenue in the last quarter of the year, the results show growth in both revenue and earnings.

“We were able to deliver growth in activities and earnings in the original VIKING business, and we expect that the picture will remain the same for both areas of business in 2019,” said CEO Henrik Uhd Christensen.

Norsafe’s lifeboat sales are included in the figures for the last three months of the year and have helped VIKING surpass DKK 2 billion in revenue for the first time in the company’s history. Profit before tax amounted to DKK 155.4 million on revenue of DKK 2,015.6 million, which given the one-off costs of acquisition and integration of Norsafe is considered satisfactory.

In recent years, VIKING has carried out a number of smaller acquisitions to build a more complete range of safety solutions. With Norsafe, which develops and manufactures high-quality lifeboats and cranes for the global market, the company is taking yet another major step in this direction.

“We have long been in the market for potential acquisitions that complement our business model and meet our customers’ needs, both in terms of a broad product range and high quality. I am completely certain that we’ve found just that in Norsafe. The product is a good fit, and our approach to quality, design, core function and global presence are all very similar. Integrating the two businesses is proceeding very well, and the logic we saw in the joining of forces is being confirmed by the response we’ve seen in the market,” said Henrik Uhd Christensen.

The market for maritime safety equipment remains highly competitive. For several years, VIKING has successfully navigated

competitive challenges by bundling the sale of new products with multi-year service concepts, such as VIKING Shipowner Agreement (SOA), which continues to show double-digit.

The markets in VIKING’s biggest segments – Cargo, Passenger and Offshore – have developed in very different directions. As Cargo remains fluctuating due to uncertainties related to global trade agreements, the newbuild market, while still under pressure, is gradually normalising and general market conditions stable.

Meanwhile, the Offshore segment is recovering after the sharp fall in oil prices in 2014. Parts of the industry are now growing, and the company is seeing signs of growing demand. The cruise ship market remains extremely strong, and has been consistently so for many years running, says Henrik Uhd Christensen.

The PPE business, which includes personal protective equipment such as immersion and work suits, has shown extraordinarily strong growth. Military markets, fire departments and other professional users in many countries are being supplied with custom solutions, and the market for renting aviation suits to the offshore industry is also gaining momentum.

The launch of LifeCraft, the groundbreaking evacuation solution for the cruise ship market, is imminent after years of development and a highly complex approval process. The successful completion of the critical heavy weather sea trial in November 2018 means the hybrid - between a liferaft and a lifeboat - will be market-ready as soon as the final regulatory approvals are issued. u

The journey to automated shipping

By Felicity Landon

The world has become an ever more complex place – and navigation is no exception to that, said Howard Stevens, Chief Commercial Officer at ChartCo. “When it comes to navigation and generally staying in compliance as you navigate around the world, there are more and more regulations you have to take into account, these are changing more and more frequently, and it is harder and harder for ship owners, managers and mariner to stay on top of it all,” he said. “Principle among these are environmental regulations. They are changing at such a rapid pace, and the dates for compliance are different from country to country – and they often change.”

Against this background, ChartCo’s own evolution is mirroring the drive towards digitalisation and automation. A handful of years ago, ChartCo was, to use Mr Stevens’ words, “essentially a distribution and logistics business moving enormous amounts of packages containing A3 charts and books to thousands of moving targets”. Now, he said, ChartCo can be defined as between twothirds and three-quarters a software house.

“The world of navigation has changed principally from paper to digital and we are very much a digital software-based company. We absolutely have retained our ability to supply paper charts and books but we are seeing a significant year-onyear decrease of that side of our business.”

However, digitalisation doesn’t take away the levels of complexity around all the components within navigation, he pointed out.

Having made a series of acquisitions over the past five years which added to its PassageManager core navigation platform,

ChartCo launched its OneOcean platform last year to bring functionalities together. PassageManager was rebuilt ‘from the ground up’, and is now overlaid by environmental compliance, regulations management, safety & quality compliance, operational reporting and real-time monitoring and control functions.

“OneOcean means that the mariner, as they start to passage plan, can overlay other elements, from whether they are in a whaling area to the weather. So they can see everything before they start journey optimisation, without having to go into different systems.”

The question is: will that mariner’s job exist at all in years to come? As Mr Stevens said – we are all on the journey towards automated/unmanned ocean shipping, and the evidence is clearly there in the inexorable shift from ship to shore.

“We do have a long way to go before we see a bulker or tanker at sea unmanned – I think 15 to 20 years – but it is coming. Shoreside, our customers want to see more and more

about what is happening on the vessel.

A couple of customers are saying they want to reduce, maybe even eliminate, the role of navigation officer and do all the passage planning, optimisation, weather, etc., in the office and push out the passage plan to ECDIS, which the master will then look at and sign off.”

ChartCo is being asked all the time to enable the flow of ‘decision grade’ information back to shore, he said. “Power is moving away from the master, whose role will be eroded slowly but surely as people do more and more on shore.”

A shore-based version of OneOcean enables those in the office to see where a ship is, spot if it has strayed from its passage plan and overlay environment and weather information in real time.

The next stage in EnviroManager and other parts is to add companyspecific layers of functionality –essentially, some companies are looking to implement policies that are more stringent that required by regulation, to ensure that vessels stay well within designated areas and don’t breach any environmental or other regulations, said Mr Stevens.

“You can overwrite the international regulations with something stronger. That is the next trend. Ship owners want to be good corporate environmental citizens; they say ‘we want to do everything we can do’.

“They want to be able to say that they have taken every available opportunity to minimise the risk [of breaching the regulations]. Having all the systems in place doesn’t absolve you if something goes wrong, but it does demonstrate you have the procedures and systems and have tried your best.” u

AIS spurs data revolution

AIS (Automatic Identification Systems) analytics is spurring a data processing revolution, said the UK Hydrographic Office.

“In today’s digital maritime industry, the amount of data at our fingertips has never been greater. From operational data and supply chain calculations, to weather information and tidal predictions, we now have a veritable ocean of information at our disposal – all with the promise of unlocking great benefits if utilised properly,” said UKHO innovation manager Jonathan Lewis.

“But, as the maritime digitalisation push continues, it is worth examining exactly how we can make the most out of this data – the core of which lies in proper handling and processing. In tandem with the world’s data growth, we are continuously looking for new ways of processing the data we hold as we work to further our understanding of the world’s oceans.”

Among the big data sets UKHO holds that has provided real value is AIS. The peer-to-peer system in which all vessels broadcast their position, speed and direction, and identifying information, is primarily used for collision prevention. However, it can also be received by satellites and terrestrial stations, where it can be stored, collated and transformed into a data source that can be analysed for other purposes, said Mr Lewis.

“AIS offers valuable information which can help us to improve safety for mariners and vessels – as well as potentially have a real impact on things like port and infrastructure development.”

UKHO’s portfolio of Admiralty maritime data solutions contains more than 15,750 electronic navigational charts (ENCs) which inform mariners on where to anchor when transiting to a particular port. “By analysing AIS data, we can gain an immediate understanding of how many ships are using these anchorages. In turn, this information can spur the development of whole new anchorages in areas of high demand, or allow port operators to sensibly manage their assets and land if a particular terminal is seeing less use because of wider macroeconomic movements,” said Mr Lewis.

“AIS also provides us with a unique insight into how our products are being used – influencing new product developments and improvements for our end users. For the new edition of our ADMIRALTY Ocean Passages for the World published last year, we used an in-depth analysis of AIS tracking data to identify changing patterns in shipping routes, including those emerging due to shifting global macroeconomic trends. These updates have been instrumental in helping us to support mariners in the planning of deepsea voyages along major trade routes.”

From June this year, UKHO’s Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) became available online to support shore-based decision-making. The new service supports shore-based users with vessel tracking and voyage planning, giving shore-based users and planning teams access to more than 15,000 ENCs, updated weekly. u

LR collaborates on autonamous navigation system

Lloyd’s Register is collaborating with ICT provider ST Engineering and Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. in the development of an ocean-going autonomous navigation system.

This project is a world first for the deployment of an autonomous navigational technology to an ocean-going vessel for commercial operations, said LR.

“There are projects looking into autonomous navigation systems in coastal areas, such as ferries and tugboats, and near oil and gas fields, but they do tend to stay in territorial waters,” said Andrew Watt, LR’s SAMEA M&O naval business centre of excellence manager.

“This system will be ocean-going. We will test it going through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific, in the Indian Ocean, the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. As a system, it should match the endurance of the vessel.”

The first stage will be finalising the

system design ready for installation onboard the 200-metre-long car carrier Themis; built in 2016, flagged in Singapore and owned by Mitsui & Co., the vessel carries up to 8,000 cars and is chartered to Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

The system will be tested and finetuned as it gathers data for a six-month period. It will not be remote controlled and it isn’t intended to reduce seafarer numbers, Mr Watt emphasised: “The intention is that the vessel will be fully crewed so that the systems supports the crew. It won’t be controlling the vessel at this stage – it will be grabbing all the information, making the decisions, plotting courses and navigational routes, so we can see how it performs.”

The aim is to ‘flick the switch’ in two years to take control of the vessel once it is deemed to be suitable and performing well – although the date could come earlier, depending on the results of testing.

“When they flick the switch, it will not be a leap of faith,” he said. “It will be when we have gathered up enough information and refined its capability, so it will be a smooth transition.”

He sees the system as an ideal option for a long ocean crossing – while it would be supervised by the crew, it could take a lot of the burden off those on the bridge. “There are multiple functions on the bridge – AIS, visual elements, navigational lights, and so on. You have to be able to build up a picture on the bridge from multiple sources. This system can process many elements of information to give you situational awareness – you can verify it, and you can obviously intervene if needed.”

Heading in and out of port would still likely require direct operations by the bridge crew – “we are still looking into that, it is a very tricky process”, said Mr Watt. “It is the art of the possible and the art of the practical.” u

Poseidon

As we are living in the digital era, we have certainly noticed a change from paper to digital products,” said Thomas Gunn, managing director of Poseidon Navigation Services. “Increasingly our customer demands revolve more around ADP, ENP and E-charts. That’s not to say that paper products have ceased as we still receive these requests, especially for charts, but we can definitely see the preference to digital happening.”

Poseidon’s Challenger product is proving to be popular in the global market, he said. “We have provided a simple solution to an overcomplicated market. The software is very user friendly and we also take pride in the fact that we listen to our customers and request

feedback from the users in order to develop Challenger and to meet their requirements. Development is the key to keeping it a top player and we are heavily invested in that.”

Poseidon is now in its fifth year of business – it welcomed HapagLloyd on to its services last year and says business is continuing to grow at a steady pace.

“In terms of challenges, we feel that the downturn that hit the industry a couple of years ago is finally starting to turn around,” said Mr Gunn. “Many of our customers have had several vessels coming out of lay-up and there are quite a lot of newbuilds that we have kitted out navigationally. 2018 and 2019 have been much brighter than previous years.” u

Tidetech Commercial Marine, which provides metocean data to the maritime industry, has joined Veracity, the web services portal hosted by DNV GL. Tidetech says it will make its data available to Veracity users as data or via an API, enabling ship owners and managers to optimise their fleet operations, save fuel and increase vessel efficiency. u

Maritime technology company GNS has announced that it will sell all digital and paper nautical charts and publications at cost price, as part of its Voyager Navigation as a Service (VNaaS) solution. u

ISSA steps up its engagement with Members

Engaging with Members is a key priority for the ISSA Executive Board, as the Association looks to modernise and innovate to support the ship supply industry.

The Ship Supplier caught up with the ISSA Executives on their recent visit to Elaborate Communications, the new home of the ISSA Secretariat and asked them what their hopes and aspirations were for the Association moving forward.

Saeed al Malik, ISSA President and Chairman of the United Arab Emirates Ship Suppliers Association (UNSSA) said: “The whole idea of coming to Elaborate to do the administration and secretarial work for ISSA was to basically get more communications from Members, ideas, and any ways that we could basically improve the services of ISSA to its members.

“We plan to use social media more to communicate with our Members and we have opened new channels of communication to our customer base, and through our Members.

“Through these ways of communication – the emails, social media, and The Ship Supplier magazine, we are reaching them, and we want them to start participating in these communications with us. A one-way communication is not going to work. There has to be feedback from Members and customers.”

He said the Association was moving in the right direction of more engagement and this would definitely benefit and add value to Members.

He also talked about bringing back regional meetings, a topic which was discussed at the recent ISSA Executive meeting, visiting different regional areas once a year, which could aid with the setting up of more national associations.

Adbul Hameed Hajah, Senior Executive Vice President, said: “ISSA continues to welcome new members from all over the world and as we streamline and broaden our scope of operations, we have every reason to believe we are ready to tackle new activities and challenges head on and forge closer integration with our Members.”

Looking at the important issues of quality, Mr Hajah added: “As ship owners increasingly recognise the importance of ISSA’s quality assurance certification programme, not only do we aspire to have even more quality members joining us, but we also hope to have established, an industry-wide recognised mark of excellence for ship suppliers and related service providers that we can all strive towards. Perhaps most importantly, we invite our younger generation to step up and take up leadership positions so we can ensure that the good

work done by our ISSA team, past and present, will continue well into the future.”

Mr Hajah is responsible for overseeing the coming together of the all-important ISSA Convention such as Busan from November 8th-9th. “Building on the success of the Conventions in recent years and considering ISSA’s willingness to try new things, I believe ISSA has set the stage for healthy development of the ISSA Convention in the future,” he stressed.

George Saris, Executive Vice President and Treasurer, and President of Turkey Ship Suppliers Association, said: “With Elaborate, we are looking forward to the future because Elaborate is involved in shipping in general. They know a lot of things about us, and know about the ship supply sector. We would also like to increase the number of Members and this is something we will expect from our Secretariat. We want them to involve the Members and explain what we are doing.

“We also want to connect with our Members and find out what they expect from their Association. We will try to see what we can do better for our members. Social media is very important and we cannot overlook it. “

Mr Saris said ISSA was also trying to make the Association more attractive through Conventions, the ISSA Catalogue and the connections that have been established with other shipping associations such as BIMCO and Intercargo, as well as representation at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Rafael Fernandez, Executive Vice President and ISSA Representative for Spain, said: “We are moving forward and as well as the Conventions we hold all over the world, we are also doing regional meetings to promote countries.

“We are improving, and we are getting more and more Members and we are trying to support those who feel a little bit alone in their areas.”

He said national associations were also working hard to address problems such as access to ports and ISSA was doing good work in representing its Members at the IMO.

Kouame Aduo Luc, Executive Vice President and President of Ivory Coast Ship Suppliers Association, recently hosted a successful regional meeting in Ghana to aid with setting up a national association there.

He said: “We have a good organisation now, and a good team.”

He said the use of social media would help with reaching out to Members as “when you are doing something, you don’t know if it’s good or not.”

Jim Costalos, Executive Vice President and Chairman of the Australian Ship Suppliers & Services Association, said: “I think the Association is getting stronger. Since the Conventions in Singapore, Dubai, Athens and then Istanbul support is coming back and people are attending. People are booking space for advertising, attendances are growing and the interest is growing, so I think the Association has turned. It was on a downward spiral but now I think it is up. I think it is time to look at younger ideas, and get even more support, but I think it is heading in the right direction.”

He said if companies wanted to raise their profile and get their profile known to purchasers they should consider getting involved with the Association’s quarterly publication, The Ship Supplier magazine, as well as through the ISSA Register.

“You have to be proactive,” said Mr Costalos, “and image definitely helps.”

John Davey, Executive Vice President, said: “I’m quite excited about the relationship with Elaborate because we have a lot of added value now such as the social interface and the PR and communications. All of that is going to add value to the Members. What we’ve got to do is get that message out to the Members so they feel part of it.

“We have got to create this two-way dialogue. It’s going to take time because the very nature of being a ship supplier is it’s a very responsive business with short time frames. Hopefully when it’s quiet they will start reacting and interact. That is what we want.” He said that ISSA had also been discussing having regional Ambassadors to host

regional meetings such as the recent one conducted in Ghana.

Fabio Rodrigues, ISSA Representative for the Brazilian Ship Suppliers Association, was elected onto the ISSA Executive as the new Executive Vice President for Central and South America at Convention in Istanbul last November.

He said he had been trying to keep Members in his region abreast of ISSA news.

“Whatever we discuss, and whatever we agree here, I am forwarding to our local Members in Brazil and South America so I can tell them what we are doing,” he said. “Sometimes the Members give us feedback but most of the time they don’t.

“As an Executive Member, I am not just thinking of South America but the world. I am trying to put solutions on the table that would help the market globally, not just in South America. I think there is a lot to do for all markets.”

Alfredo

Tosato, Executive Vice President and ISSA

Representative for Italy had seen many changes within the Association since he went to his first Convention in 1975.

He believes the Association is moving in the right direction: “Times have changed, and we are now running very fast,” he said.

“I am from the old generation, but I think this new technology is improving our field and our daily job.”

However, he said it was important to keep up good relationships with customers as it was easy to lose that with technology.

Keijo Hitunen, Executive Vice President and Chairman of the Swedish Shipsuppliers Association, said: “We are going in the right way but we still have many things to do. Of course, the market has changed and is not the same as it was 20 years ago.

“Ship owners are also changing the way they buy and are making more agreements. I guess we need to have more connection with the ship owners and we also need to cooperate with the other ship suppliers.” u

Namibia Ship Chandlers and the port expansion of Walvis Bay

The latest expansion of the Walvis Bay Port with the construction of a new container terminal will undoubtedly result in higher traffic and subsequent demand for ship chandling and supply services. It is imperative that the ship supply industry is prepared and ready to provide quality and cost effective services to the increased number of vessels using the port of Walvis Bay. These are the sentiments of Alexander Kirov who is the General Manager at Namibia Ship Chandlers.

Established in 1960’s, the company operates as a ship chandler in the Namibian ports of Walvis Bay and Luderitz. Namibia Ship Chandlers (Pty) Ltd is the largest ship chandler in Namibia, offering competitive and efficient ship supply services with vast experience and well established supply chain infrastructure.

The company services most of the shipping lines calling Walvis Bay as well as clients from the off-shore supply industry and the local fishing industry.

Alexander is positive that with the latest investment in port as well as roads and rail infrastructure, Namibia is positioning itself as a logistical hub for the Southern African Development Community region. This will require ship suppliers to also invest in the necessary supply chain

and human resources capacity required to meet the needs of clients.

He is confident that Namibia Ship Chandlers (Pty) Ltd has a sufficient warehousing capacity for dry, chilled and frozen goods, enabling the company to satisfy the needs of customers at the shortest notice. The established network of quality suppliers allows the company to provide wide range of products at competitive prices while around the clock deliveries ensure that clients receive their orders in time and vessels can receive service any time of the day.

Namibia Ship Chandlers is also investing in additional delivery vehicles, offshore reefer containers and other equipment and infrastructure needed to meet the demands of increased port traffic.

With the envisaged growth and higher turnover one can also expect improved availability of various foods and technical supplies as well as overall downward pressure on prices. This will make the port of Walvis Bay more attractive to vessel owners and operators as a point of order and allow for improved convenience in a traditionally difficult region such as Africa. u

ISSA and Ship Supply News

BASS cruises along with AGM

The British Association of Ship Suppliers (BASS) ventured from its usual venue of the HQS Wellington for its Annual General Meeting and Lunch this year, opting instead to hold it on a river cruise on the Golden Salamander on the Thames in London.

Opening the meeting on 12th June, Chairman Bob Blake paid tribute to Spencer Eade, who is retiring from the role of ISSA Secretary and a presentation was made to him at the following lunch.

“He has been a great friend to us all down the years, and a great support,” he told BASS members.

The ISSA President, Saeed al Malik, along with some of the ISSA Executive members also attended the lunch which followed the AGM, along with more BASS members, enjoying a three-course meal and entertainment from a jazz musician.

Treasurer Geoff Marchant was happy to report that the BASS accounts had been turned from a deficit in 2018 into a surplus. Since last year’s AGM, the membership has stayed the same at 50.

“I think 50 is quite strong and it’s good to see that this is so stable,” said Mr Marchant.

This, BASS’s ISSA representative John Davey said, was in contrast to the ISSA membership which had fallen by around 100 to 1,640 members last year, due to amalgamation and consolidation of companies. He said the BASS numbers were also “quite strong” compared to other national associations within Europe.

Mr Davey, who had just come from a two-day Executive meeting of ISSA, said the Association was working on

incentives to attract new members and, with the retirement of Mr Eade, had moved the secretariat to Elaborate Communications, publisher of The Ship Supplier. With the industry experience and knowledge offered by Elaborate’s team, such as PR, along with an increased use of tools such as social media, this would bring added value to the role, and enable ISSA to engage more with its members, he said. Mr Eade will continue as the ISSA Database Manager.

Mr Davey also talked about the 64th annual ISSA Convention which takes place in Busan, Republic of Korea on 8th and 9th November. He said it was somewhere ISSA had not been to before but with all the shipping activity there, it was the ideal place to hold it.

As the BASS representative for OCEAN (of which he is Vice Chair), he also reported on the OCEAN board meeting held in Windsor in March. It was agreed that BASS would remain a full member of OCEAN for this year due to the UK not yet leaving the EU. He invited BASS members to come forward with any clarification they need on UK and European Customs and Mr Blake also said several members of the BASS Council have had meetings with HMRC.

BASS Duty Free Specialist Andrew Hunter also spoke about the ‘Track and Trace’ system which impacts on all cigarettes and tobacco across the EU. Legislation went live in May and retailers must now have unique codes in order to store and sell tobacco products under the new laws that came into force in May.

Douglas Inch also raised the point of BASS members enquiring about collective credit insurance which would mean lower premiums for members.

“If we have the will to do so, there is the potential to operate together as a trade association,” he said.

None of the Council Members were up for re-election this year but three are due to retire next year. Stanley Morrice, of Strachans, has moved to a new position within his company and so his slot has been filled by Stuart Donaldson, who has taken over as Managing Director of Strachans. u

German ship suppliers eye up growing cruise business

Members of the German Shipsuppliers Association foresee the growing cruise ship business as in increasingly important market area.

This expectation was formulated by Jens Pfeiffer, Chairman, in his annual report during the course of the Association’s recent general assembly in Hamburg. He also went into detail in his report on the previously conducted in-house survey on the general market situation.

Among other things, Mr Pfeiffer said that general ship supply in 2018 was considered to be “very challenging” among members, above all because of the persisting ‘competitive pressure and consolidation on the ship owner’s side”.

In the area of technical ship supply, the sales of new equipment had declined, but on the other hand, the after-sales business is being enforced further by companies.

Mr Pfeiffer said more growth was expected in the cruise sector, however it was not a self-propelled business and “a tight calculation is necessary due to the expectations of the customers

and the intense competition.” In addition, he said clients usually expect additional services from ship suppliers on top of the pure delivery of products.

Among the special challenges of the industry, he included “the increasingly complex administrative requirements for manufacturing and trading companies”. These companies complained, for example, that the implementation of additional national and EU regulations went hand in hand with growing efforts.

Mr Pfeiffer said he was firmly convinced that, despite pronounced cost awareness among the clients, ship suppliers are seen as an important system partner for ship owners because they are an extremely crucial link in the complex supply chain of a vessel.

Despite continuing digitisation and consolidation, “reliable ship suppliers who can offer that extra service are a key success factor in a time and price driven and flexible business such as maritime shipping,” noted Mr Pfeiffer.

New elections were not necessary at this year’s AGM as

the 2017 elected board remain in office until 2020 – Jens Pfeiffer as Chairman, Wolfgang Sump as Deputy, Mathias Overhaus as Treasurer and other members from Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel and Rostock. The Association counted 129 members at the end of the year.

Guest speaker at the event was Dr. Ing. Hermann J. Klein, Managing Director of Carnival Maritime who gave a presentation on the state of the cruise industry.

This year’s Annual General Meeting also concluded with a well-proven custom – an on-site fundraiser in support of the German Society for the Salvation of Shipwrecked Persons (DGzRS). Mr Pfeiffer said: “This is something of a matter of the heart to us. The DGzRS is also a shipping partner.”

Pictured, left to right, are: Frank Engellandt (Board), Lennart Claasen (Board), Thorsten Repenning (Board), Michael Overhaus (Board, Treasurer), Wolfgang Sump (Board, Vice Chairman), Jens Pfeiffer (Board, Chairman), Dr Hermann J. Klein (CEO Carnival Maritime, Guest Speaker), Nadine Kloska (Board), Thorsten Harms (Secretary), Ulrich Wrage (Board). u

ISSA calls on IMO Member States to act over unfair port access practices

The battle over unfair port access practices has been taken to the international stage with ISSA Secretary Sean Moloney delivering a verbal intervention on the issue at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Addressing delegates at the 43rd session of the Facilitation Committee (FAL43) he said Association members were continuing to experience unwarranted delays, obstructions and unfair charges when they wish to enter ports to deliver stores to ships.

“When the ISPS (International Ship and Port Facility Security) Code was devised and passed into IMO law, we worked hard to ensure that the role of the ship supplier was highlighted, recognised and incorporated into the legislation,” said Mr Moloney.

“Supplies to ships are governed and driven by the ship owners and ship managers. Full documentation is required and is to be found with every ship supply delivery made to a vessel. Ship suppliers do not just arrive at the dock gate without clear orders and documentation.

He went on: “In 2016 when legislation was updated, we again produced a detailed booklet highlighting the agreed operational parameters with which ship suppliers would operate to ensure both the spirit and letter of the law were observed during ship supply operations.

“Now we come before distinguished delegates once again to respectfully draw to the Committee’s attention the lack of co-operation by Port Authorities in many places with ship suppliers. Daily, our members – and we are sure non-members also suffer similar obstruction – encounter unwarranted delays, unworkable time slots for store deliveries and absurdly high charges by some ports simply to allow a stores truck to enter and go about its lawful business.”

Quoting three examples of unfair port access practices, ISSA reminded delegates at the IMO that detailed examination of these port rules show they fly in the face of what is set out in the ISPS Code.

“In addition, they are having an adverse impact on ship operations because, trite though the phrase might be, ships can’t sail without stores,” said Mr Moloney.

“We much appreciate the previous messages sent to Member States reminding them of the need for port operations to be conducted in accordance with the ISPS Code and reminding them that ship supply forms an integral part of port operations globally and should not be impeded unnecessarily.

“We would respectfully ask that another reminder is sent to Member States that ship supply has to be treated properly as our Members have a right to go about their business serving the global fleet within the terms set out in the ISPS Code.

“Furthermore, we ask that Member States remind their relevant departments that the ISPS Code is not to be considered as a money-making venture but a co-ordinated legal framework which has very successfully protected ports and ships globally from any harm as a result of security breaches,” he concluded. u

ISSA President Saeed Al Malik and Treasurer George Saris at the IMO

ChartCo appoints new Head of Procurement

Tom Edwards has been named as ChartCo’s new Head of Procurement, and takes on the responsibility for global purchasing on behalf of ChartCo and its associated offices in this newly created role.

Mr Edwards has a strong procurement, purchasing and project management background both within consultancy and industry with Rolls Royce and the BT Group. He will help deliver traceability and responsible sourcing while working in partnership with suppliers to reduce costs, mitigate risks, drive innovation and growth, and strengthen business relationships.

As a result of the growth of ChartCo’s OneOcean platform, there is an increase in demand for broader and more innovative sets of digital data, and Mr Edwards will also be reviewing the key elements of the ChartCo supply chain to ensure competitiveness and resilience whilst mitigating any risks to its customers.

Commenting on Mr Edward’s appointment, Sam Samra,

Chief Financial Officer for ChartCo said: “I’m delighted to welcome Tom to the senior team at ChartCo. Through the market-leading OneOcean platform we are providing an everbroader range of data, solutions and value-added proprietary intelligence to our growing customer base. Tom’s wealth of procurement expertise will ensure we can provide our customers with supply chain competitiveness and resilience, which is particularly important against the current backdrop of increasing economic and political uncertainty.”

ChartCo is a global leader in digital navigation services and voyage compliance providing market-leading solutions that reduce the cost of ship operations, improve situational awareness to owners and crew and assist with the everincreasing levels of regulatory compliance. u

Tom Edwards Head of Procurement

Wilhelmsen’s latest rope technology pulls industry towards new, safer era of vessel mooring Market News

Despite the industry’s best intentions, such as designating hazardous snap-back zones on mooring decks, or the drawing up of detailed line management and mooring plans, mooring remains an incredibly high risk task.

Serious, often fatal, accidents continue to happen with depressing regularity.

Proving impossible to accurately calculate or predict just how fibre ropes will behave when they fail and snap, Wilhelmsen Ships Service has instead developed a unique solution which dramatically reduces a rope’s recoil, or snap-back potential.

The Snap Back Arrestor (SBA) is an energy absorbing core which sits within the company’s Timm Master 12-strand plaited, mixed polymer rope. With the appearance of a rope, held within the heart of a 12-strand mooring line, if the outer, load-bearing construction breaks, the SBA absorbs the snapback forces, transforming them from a potentially deadly snap, to a much safer, slump.

In development for close to seven years, the Timm Snap Back Arrestor, is said to be a genuine market first. The result of a laborious process of trial and error, 25 different variants of the system were put through their paces in more than 120 different tests. Finally identifying a viable alternative in early 2016, DNV GL verified Wilhelmsen’s SBA solution in May 2016. Since then the Timm Master 12 SBA has been exhaustively tested, passing both TCLL testing and OCIMF MEG4 tests, in both dry and wet conditions.

Veronika Aspelund, Business Manager, Ropes, Wilhelmsen Ships Service, said: “The Snap Back Arrestor is a massive step

forward in maritime rope safety, significantly mitigating the considerable risks personnel are exposed to during mooring.

“Using the same material composition as our best-selling premium Timm Master 8 rope, Timm Master 12 SBA is buoyant, light, reliable, features anti-twist colours and offers one of the best strength-to-weigh ratios on the market. These are all of course great selling points, but the safety element hidden within its core is truly unique and could quite literally be a life-saver.”

Tried, tested and recently type-approved by DNV GL the Timm Master 12 SBA is produced according to ISO 9554:2010 and ISO 10556:2009 and tested according to ISO 2307:2010. It has also been tested according to the latest 4th Edition of the OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines.

The Snap Back Arrestor technology used in the Timm Master 12 will be rolled out across Timm’s entire 12-strand range. u

Jotun unveils next generation coatings

Jotun has unveiled the next generation of its popular SeaForce biocidal antifouling range, with three new products featuring breakthrough Hydractive technology. Developed in-house at the global marine protective coatings company, the new solution provides predictable, long-term performance for diverse vessel needs.

Jotun originally launched its SeaForce range in 2004 and there have since been some 27,000 vessel applications worldwide.

However, according to Dr Erik Risberg, Global Marketing Director, Jotun Marine Coatings, evolving customer needs have spurred Jotun to develop an innovative new solution to satisfy industry demands today, and far into the future.

“SeaForce is a cornerstone portfolio in our marine coating range but we felt the time was right to push its performance further, providing next level protection for our customers while consolidating its position within the marketplace,” he said.

“Shipping has changed over the past decade and a half, creating a different customer need, and we want to evolve with that demand to keep delivering optimal solutions. That, in essence, led to the idea for Hydractive technology.”

Hydractive technology is unique. It effectively slows down the water uptake of the antifouling, meaning that biocides are released in a more predictable pattern over the lifetime of the coating. This results in stable, high quality performance for the long-term, with SeaForce keeping customers’ vessel hulls cleaner, for longer.

The range features three core products: SeaForce Shield, offering effective protection; SeaForce Active, actively working to safeguard hulls even when vessels are not is use; and SeaForce Active Plus, delivering premium protection at an affordable price.

SeaForce Active and SeaForce Active Plus also feature a triple biocide package, one of which is the same market leading biocide combination used in the top of the range SeaQuantum product portfolio.

“There is no ‘standard’ ship owner, so there is no one size fits all coating solution,” stated Dr Risberg. “At Jotun it’s our commitment to provide our customers with a variety of solutions to meet their individual requirements, budgets and performance needs. The SeaForce range is living proof of that ambition.” u

Survitec expands portfolio with introduction of new high-end davit range

Anew range of davits designed to increase safety and reduce corrosion of critical parts has been introduced to the market by safety solutions specialist Survitec.

Presented to the maritime industry for the first time at the recent Nor-Shipping in Oslo, the Survitec range includes different davit types suitable for liferafts, rescue boats and fast rescue craft.

Designed and manufactured in Europe, to European standards and with many elements made using European marine grade stainless steel, the davits have been created to withstand the harsh environments in which they operate.

Marine grade stainless steel is known for its resistance to corrosion, which is why key elements have been made from the alloy, including the remote-control function, shackles, securing wires and cover plate. Further protection against corrosion is by way of a three-layer paint system that can adheres to Norway’s stringent NORSOK standards developed for the petroleum industry.

A grooved drum guides the fall into the correct position and packs it tightly within the drum as the fall is wound up and down during the lifting and lowering of the raft or boat. This ensures that the top layers of the fall wires do not force themselves into

the lower layers, avoiding abrasion and possible bights of the wire, thus eliminating any jerking or snatching motions when the liferaft or rescue boat is lowered.

The davits are supplied as a fully tested and assembled unit, which can be installed in or out of drydock. Providing the pedestals have been installed and tested, a Survitec technician can assemble and commission the davit when the ship is in port, reducing the ship’s downtime and costs.

All of Survitec’s products are designed according to IMO (International Maritime Organization) SOLAS, MED and LSA rules and its service centres have been approved by all relevant class societies and port states.

Rob Wallace, Global Technical Sales Manager –Lifeboats, Survitec, said: “The upcoming amendments to SOLAS rules relating to davit-launched safety equipment enters into force in January 2020. We see this as an opportunity for owners and operators to harmonise their inspection and certification regimes, to minimise downturn and reduce costs. Survitec has created SOLAS 360, a complete care package to support this.” u

UAE Shipping Association looks to branch out

The UAE Shipping Association (UAESA), which was founded 12 years ago, says it is looking to branch out.

Tahir Lakhani, UAESA Vice-Chairman, said that since it was formed, the UAE has been much more conducive to foreign companies than domestic ones, owing to a lack of options for ship finance.

“We are trying to promote the UAE as a shipping hub, but there are not many ship owners here,” said Mr Lakhani. “There is a lack of funding, and people do not understand ship finance in this part of the world. This is one of the reasons we’re facing a problem attracting new ship owners, who can do their business in a way where funding is available.”

Mr Lakhani pointed out that this is a bewildering state of affairs when some two thirds of all ship cargo passes through the Middle East on its way from Asia to Europe. But the local banking establishment is risk-averse, he said, and not as willing to take a chance on shipping as in other countries.

“Shipowning would help the economy here, but in the UAE it’s mainly related to property and small trading. We tell the banks that it’s a lot easier to arrest a ship than a property.

There are many investors and banks in Norway and other European countries, and we would like to invite them here, where they can do business, and help them set up their offices.

“Almost $60bn circulates throughout the shipping industry, by only $0.5bn ever stays here in this country, because we don’t have shipping banks, shipping firms,” Mr Lakhani said. “This is why the most important thing we can do is raise awareness of what we do here, in the international arena.

He said there were many opportunities to bring business to the UAE, with a number of new oil and gas projects underway.

“There will be a lot of government contracts and opportunities coming up. Big oil and gas projects coming up. It will explode. Many expansions in the oil and gas business will take place in the coming months, particularly in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait. It would be a great investment opportunity. u

Lighting the way

R.STAHL TRANBERG, a provider of marine lighting and electrical heating services and part of the R.STAHL GROUP, has launched the TRANBERG BlueLine Lighting Series – a portfolio of high quality, cost-effective and next generation lighting for the maritime sector.

The BlueLine Series, which consists of navigation lights, searchlights, floodlights and deck lights for all kinds of vessels, has been designed to provide marine operators with a world-class quality standard in marine lighting. The series provides the very latest safety, sustainability and connectivity standards required for today’s modern ship designs, including autonomous ships.

Thomas Linkenheil, Managing Director of Norwaybased R.STAHL TRANBERG said: “The TRANBERG BlueLine Lighting Series is a real milestone for R.STAHL TRANBERG. Not only are we giving operators complete peace of mind on safety and a world quality standard in marine lighting, but we are also meeting the growing demand for remote control and sustainable systems, which are crucial

to the autonomous ships of the future.

“Building on the work we are currently doing in supporting autonomous ships and our 118-year history reputation for quality maritime solutions, we see the BlueLine Lighting Series as representing the very best in cost-effective and exceptional marine lighting now and for many years to come.”

The latest innovations in LED-based marine lighting within the TRANBERG BlueLine Series ensures easy installation, a small footprint (light weight design), high availability, no maintenance, and compatibility with existing infrastructure.

It also offers increased functionalities and greater flexibility and resolution in searchlight operations, with the ability to move faster and incorporate both vertical and horizontal movements when following objects on the water – vital for improved safety.

In addition, R.STAHL TRANBERG has also two patents pending based around its navigation and searchlights. u

Launch of first integrated maritime eCommerce platform

What is claimed to be the world’s first integrated maritime eCommerce platform has been launched by Marine Online.

The platform –www.eMarineOnline.com – is said to have two revolutionary features that cater to the buyer’s preference when trading on the platform – AI-powered Request for Quotation (RFQ) and award-winning M-DAQ support to reduce transaction and forex risk. Currently, more than 10,000 product listings and 4,000 service providers have already started using the platform to provide over 10 essential

marine services including chartering, bunkering, port agency, ship supply, crewing and ship S&P.

Stephen Qi, Chief Operating Officer at Marine Online, said: “Ship owners form the core of the shipping industry and is the

source of business for all marine suppliers. However, recent global economic uncertainties place tremendous strain on ship owners to maintain their operations and this vicious cycle continues downstream to their suppliers.

“Marine Online spent three years developing eMarineOnline. com, with great ambitions to cut operational costs, improve efficiency and promote transparency within the maritime ecosystem, and eventually to bring sustainable profitability back to the industry. This one-stop shop integrated maritime platform, accessible via online and through its mobile app, enables sellers from all over the world to list their products and services.”

Ship owners can either request for multiple quotations at a click of a button or simply checkout from the eStore. With the RFQ tool, they can reduce the time and cost spent on searching for the right supplier allowing easy comparison of products and quotations, overcoming time, language and cultural differences.

All transactions and evaluation data will be reflected in the sellers’ overall credit system in eMarineOnline.com – crucial information which will aid in the ship owner’s decision-making process. This function addresses an important aspect of purchasing in the maritime industry as transaction values tend to be in hundreds and thousands of dollars range and carry a higher transactional risk.

Marine Online has partnered with award-winning fintech company, M-DAQ, in developing the online payment system, which is funded by Alibaba’s VC arm, Ant Financial

Services Group and licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), adding an additional layer of assurance to its customers when transacting on eMarineOnline.com

M-DAQ also helps Marine Online’s customers to save on foreign exchange costs when transacting globally as the FX rates are guaranteed and more attractive compared to the open market. The guarantee payment is similar to Alipay and provides an escrow service, operating as a stand-alone payment portal, protecting the interests of both buyer and seller.

“In this aspect, every supplier in Marine Online has an equal opportunity to take their business to the next level on the platform by gaining access to potential clients and providing excellent services to their customers,” said Tiger Cai, Vice President of Marine Online.

“Additionally, credit has been the cornerstone in the marine industry for centuries. We hope to be able to develop a robust system and database leveraging on data science to support a holistic financing system that helps business development, especially for small-medium businesses in the industry.”

Bruno Bai, also Vice President of Marine Online, said in the next three to six months the company intends to unlock even more features and functions for customers as more suppliers and ship owners join the platform. These include a credit evaluation scheme, 3PL logistic support, review and rating as well as financing services. u

Play

Stylish spinning

This beautiful turntable is built in the US and crafted from sustainably sourced rift walnut.

The Orbit Special not only looks great, it delivers an equally good sound with a clear acrylic platter that provides detailed playback and an external belt drive that eliminates motor noise and ensures speed consistency. It also comes with a two-year warranty.

U-Turn Orbit Special Walnut Turntable

$459

uturnaudio.com

Rock solid sound

American actor, producer, and semi-retired professional wrestler Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has backed these wireless workout earbuds from Under Armour, and they proved so popular they initially sold out. The Bluetooth headphones are aimed to take on Apple’s PowerBeats Pro and boast a five-hour battery life with an extra 20 hours in the logostamped gold carrying case.

UA True Wireless Flash Project Rock Edition Headphones

$199

underarmour.com

Bruce Springsteen

‘The Boss’ is back with his first new studio album in five years, but it is a departure from his usual sound. Springsteen says the album was influenced by the Southern pop records of the Sixties and Seventies and artists such as Glen Campbell and Burt Bacharach. He called it ‘a return to my solo recordings featuring character-driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements.

Western Stars Columbia

Madonna

This is the 14th studio album from the Queen of Pop and, as always, she has reinvented herself – this time influenced by living in Lisbon, Portugal. The collection of 15 tracks celebrates her career-long affair with Latin music and culture with songs sung in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The album’s lead single, Medellín, was released in April, and is a duet with Colombian reggaeton singer and songwriter Maluma.

Madame X Interscope Records

After Hours

After Hours

Prized portraits

The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious portrait painting competition in the world and represents the very best in contemporary portrait painting. With a first prize of £35,000, and a total prize fund of £74,000, the Award is aimed at encouraging artists to focus upon and develop portraiture in their work. Over the years, this has attracted over 40,000 entries from more than 100 countries.

In its 40th year at the National Portrait Gallery and 30th year of sponsorship by BP it continues to be an unmissable highlight of the annual art calendar. This year, the prestigious first prize was won by Brighton-based artist Charlie Schaffer for Imara in her Winter Coat (pictured), a portrait of his close friend.

The BP Portrait Award 2019 will tour to Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh and Ulster Museum, Belfast.

BP Portrait Award 2019

Showing now until 20th October 2019 www.npg.org.uk

Beautiful dining

Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney is set in a beautiful dining room in the City Mutual Building – an American style art deco skyscraper. The simple menu boasts, among other things, wood fire grilled meats and seafood from the country’s best producers. Signature dishes include lobster with herb butter, Cape Grim dry aged 36-month-old grass fed rib eye, and warm rhubarb and strawberry pudding with vanilla sauce. The adjoining bar is the perfect spot for pre or post lunch and dinner drinks, or a more relaxed dining experience.

66 Hunter Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

Tale of betrayal and espionage

A terrorist attack has just hit a busy railway station. Jake Winter was the British intelligence officer in charge of stopping the attack and now his career, and his conscience, are in freefall… Jake’s next anti-terror operation has to be a success. He has got himself a new source - a young British Asian man, Rashid, recently returned, apparently disillusioned, from battle, who he hopes is the key to foiling the next attack and to getting Jake to the leader of the network. But is Rashid really working for British intelligence, or has Jake put his faith in the wrong man once again?

A Fatal Game is the story of an organisation, and a single man, in a state of panic. And panic is the last thing you need when you’re playing a game like this . . .

Nicholas Searle is the author of three novels. His first novel,The Good Liar, was a Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for the best debut crime novel.

A Fatal Game

Nicholas Searle

£14.99

Demy Octavo