News 2008

CMA-CGM order for complete newbuilding program
(34 vessels until 2010).

French CMA CGM, world?s #3 in container shipping, has placed the order for 34 OCTOPUS-ONBOARD systems with the primary purpose of warning against resonance. The ordered installations represent CMA CGM's complete newbuilding program for container vessels until 2010. Amongst these ships are eight 13300 TEU carriers which are currently being build at DSME in Korea.

CMA CGM already operates 13 vessels with OCTOPUS-ONBOARD. The success story started with a first installation in 2006 onboard the RIGOLETTO. OCTOPUS-ONBOARD is connected with the onboard loading computer, the weather forecast system and the ship's GPS and gyro. The system also features a roll/pitch motion sensor (which is optional). OCTOPUS-ONBOARD monitors and combines this data into easy-to-understand information, which help the CMA CGM navigator to recognize the risk for (parametric) roll resonance and other responses like pitch, slamming, water on deck, accelerations, wave bending moments or stresses.

"It's a great step forward in safely navigate a vessel", as the Master of CMA CGM White Shark reported after having used the system onboard a 5200 TEU carrier. The new order for CMA CGM's complete newbuilding program follows after an extensive evaluation of the performance of the system by the CMA CGM Masters, the newbuilding department and fleet management.

This new order again demonstrates how OCTOPUS-ONBOARD fits in the philosophy of world's leading ship operators with focus on quality, safety and economy of shipping.

FLEX LNG is a niche player in a strong growth market. The objective of FLEX LNG is to commercialize the world's first floating natural gas liquefaction units and to become a leading global player within small and medium scale floating LNG production.
FLEX LNG is working with world class companies to put to work advanced, but proven and qualified technology to achieve the above goal.

Amarcon received the order to supply the Korean ship builder Samsung Heavy Industries with the OCTOPUS-ONBOARD system for the three FLEX LNG tankers for delivery 2009 onwards. The configuration comprises the full OCTOPUS-functionality, including heavy weather decision support functions, wave radar and forecast options.

Amarcon received the order to supply Samsung Heavy Industries with the OCTOPUS-ONBOARD system for Teekay's four (4) new shuttle tankers.

With this order OCTOPUS-ONBOARD systems are now applied onboard container vessels, heavy lift and transport vessels, pipe laying vessels, crane vessels, roro vessels, LNG-tankers and regas-vessels and shuttle tankers.

The image to the left shows the Navion Marita, another Teekay shuttle tanker built at Samsung (1999).

Dockwise Shipping B.V. has purchased the OCTOPUS-Onboard monitoring & routing system for the world's largest heavy transport carrier Blue Marlin. OCTOPUS-Onboard will be configured for immediate and mid-term decisison support by using weather forecast, a ship response prediction model and a three-sensor motion measurement system. Using the on X-sens technology based measurement system, motions and accelerations can be monitored in any virtual location on the vessel or cargo. Amarcon will provide the turn-key system including hardware, software and sensors.

Dockwise Shipping B.V. will also start using the new OCTOPUS-Online service by Amarcon. OCTOPUS-Online allows cargo- and ship-owners to be informed about the current location and status of their property. Daily reports from the vessel are sent to a central database server, which is accessible from the internet. Users have to log-in to gain access to their own part of the protected website. After the voyage, the recorded data is evaluated and the impact to the cargo can be analyzed.

This is the seventh permanent OCTOPUS-installation for Dockwise Shipping B.V.

Following the existing OCTOPUS installations onboard the open-deck vessels Mighty Servant 1 and Transshelf, Dockwise Shipping B.V. has ordered additional installations for use onboard the new T-class vessels, which are conversions from single hull tankers to heavy lift vessels. The Transporter and the Target have already been delivered to the owners in 2007. The remaining vessels are currently in the process of conversion

OCTOPUS will also be installed on the Mighty Servant 3, when repairs on the vessel have finished.The configuration of OCTOPUS on all these vessels will consist of weather forecast by Meteo Consult´s SPOS and multiple X-Sens motion sensors per vessel. 

At the Malta Shipyards, the Heavy-lift vessel Fjord has been equipped with OCTOPUS as part of the Imtech bridge.
OCTOPUS has an interface with Kongsberg MRU, CPC Loading Computer and SPOS weather forecast.

Installation onboard Fjell will follow later this year.

Both Fairstar?s Heavy Transport vessels, the Fjord and Fjell were originally semi-submersible barges and are being converted to self-propelled heavy-lift transport vessels. The vessels will be primarily employed in the transport of offshore equipment such as jack-up and semi-submersible drilling rigs, and floating production units for the offshore oil and gas industry.

During the transport of a reactor of ConocoPhilips, OCTOPUS was used to assist the surveyor onboard to avoid the critical seastates for the seafastenings of the reactor.

Terra Navtica, specialist in heavy lifting operations, was surveyor for this transport. The transport was carried out with the Condock V.

The "Surveyor-box" contains a laptop with OCTOPUS and weather forecast software SPOS, a GPS and a motion sensor.
A "Surveyor-box" can be leased and is the ideal equipment for surveyors.

CMA CGM places the order for four more OCTOPUS-ONBOARD systems with the primary purpose of warning against resonance. The vessels will be equipped with the latest OCTOPUS-ONBOARD system including a roll/pitch motion sensor. OCTOPUS-ONBOARD is connected with the onboard loading computer (EASEACON), the weather forecast system (BRIDGE) and the ship's GPS. The installation is carried out by the owner's own IT department.

Names of the vessels are: CMA CGM Georgia, CMA CGM New Jersey, CMA CGM Florida and CMA CGM Virginia.

OCTOPUS-ONBOARD has been installed on one of the trainingsimulators of SMS, the Ship Manoeuvring Simulator Centre in Trondheim, Norway. The simulator is a full scale, full mission simulator with complete bridge and a state of the art visual system. The simulator will be used to train crews navigation and shiphandling in waves, and to make them familiar with OCTOPUS-ONBOARD as decision support system in heavy weather conditions. The setup is in combination with a wave radar and hull stress monitoring system.

Courses will start in March 2008.

All users of OCTOPUS Office and OCTOPUS Onboard have received a free trial of a full functional version of OCTOPUS Office 6.
This version can be used for free till 1 March.
All users with a service agreement get a discount, for fast decision makers we have an extra discount.