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52 st / March 2014 www.sea-technology.com Radar Enhances Safety of Life At Sea Kelvin Hughes Marine Systems's (London, England) SharpEye radar is now in continuous use on the world's fast- est ferry, operating between Argentina and Uruguay. The ferry, named Francisco after the Argentinian-born Pope Francis, carries up to 1,024 passengers and crew together with 150 cars on a daily basis between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay. It makes the 116-nautical-mile journey along the River Plate estuary in about two hours and 12 minutes. Francisco is 99 meters in length and features catamaran technology. Powered by gas turbine engines using LNG as the primary fuel, the vessel has a service speed in excess of 50 knots. TRACE International, DA-Desk Form Alliance TRACE International (Annapolis, Maryland) and DA- Desk FZ-LLC (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) announced a partnership to create greater transparency in the shipping industry. The partnership pairs TRACE, which calls itself the worldwide leader in setting the standard for global compli- ance due diligence, with DA-Desk, the largest independent provider of port cost management services. The alliance en- ables port agents and suppliers registered with DA-Desk to receive preferential pricing for TRACEcertifcation and pro- mote their commitment to compliance. KVH Ships 4,000th TracPhone System KVH Industries Inc. (Middletown, Rhode Island) shipped its 4,000th TracPhone terminal for the mini-VSAT broad- band network, adding more than 1,000 units in the past year and extending the company's market share lead in maritime VSAT service. In 2013, the network delivered 370 terabytes of data and 23 million voice minutes to an extensive ar- ray of vessels, such as tankers and containerships traveling the world's major shipping routes, feets in remote fshing grounds, offshore supply vessels in major oil and gas re- gions, Coast Guard cutters patrolling the U.S. coastline, and luxury yachts on coastal and offshore voyages. Ingalls Shipbuilding Purchases Former 84 Lumber Property Huntington Ingalls Industries's (Newport News, Virginia) Ingalls Shipbuilding division has purchased property in Moss Point where the former 84 Lumber was located. The 12.26-acre property will be used mainly for ware- housing. Two large buildings built in 2007 offer more than 58,000 square feet of storage, and there are three storage sheds, each with 12,000 square feet of space. Modifcations will be incorporated into the current layout, and the plan is to have the area functional by the fall. Sea-Bird Scientifc, Laurel Technologies Expand Relationship Sea-Bird Scientifc (Halifax, Canada) announced that Laurel Technologies (Beijing, China) will represent the Sea- Bird Scientifc product line in China. "Laurel Technologies has successfully represented Sea-Bird Electronics in China for many years," said Dr. Tom Mitchell, Sea-Bird Scientifc ocean research business director. "Their depth of technical expertise has been instrumental in our clients in China get- ting world class data quality from Sea-Bird Scientifc instru- ments. The ocean research community in China will now BioSonics Appoints Global Sales Agency BioSonics Inc. (Seattle, Washington) appointed SUBSEA 20/20 Inc. (Seattle) as their exclusive worldwide sales and marketing agency. SUBSEA 20/20 was recently founded by Eric Munday, former BioSonics director of sales and market- ing. The equipment catalog for SUBSEA 20/20 will also rep- resent select manufacturers of related and complementary underwater monitoring equipment. Equipment integration will be a primary area of focus for BioSonics and SUBSEA 20/20. Panama Canal New Lock Project to Resume The Panama Canal Authority sent Grupo Unidos por el Canal S.A. (GUPC), based in Panama, Panama, a coun- terproposal that will enable the continuation of work in the new locks project. The proposal does not increase the contract price or accept any of the claims, which must be presented following the mechanisms established in the contract. It is based on the parties contributing fnancial re- sources to resume work as soon as possible. This proposal, subject to the revision and approval of the parties, sets specifc dates for GUPC's delivery of the lock gates and the completion of the works. Alliance to Support Nontank Vessels The Marine Spill Response Corp. (MSRC), based in Herndon, Virginia, and Alaska Maritime Prevention and Re- sponse Network announced a "strategic alliance" to sup- port nontank vessels in meeting new federal regulations and enhancing oil spill response in western Alaska and Prince William Sound. As a part of the alliance, the Network will join the Marine Preservation Association (MPA). Through its membership in MPA, the Network and its participants will have access to MSRC's resources. AEP River Operations Start Liquids Transport AEP River Operations (St. Louis, Missouri) began opera- tions of its liquids division with receipt of the frst of 20 tank barges. The addition of tank barges to the company's feet will allow AEP River Operations to transport liquid com- modities, including petrochemicals and agricultural chemi- cals. AEP River Operations's liquid barge feet is being con- structed by Jeffboat (Jeffersonville, Indiana). Each barge will have a capacity of 11,000 barrels and measure 200 feet long and 35 feet wide. Vigor Set to Buy Seward Ship's Drydock The owner of Seward Ship's Drydock (Seward, Alaska) has signed a letter of intent to sell the assets of the shipyard company to Vigor Industrial (Portland, Oregon). The compa- nies are currently negotiating the terms of the potential sale and expect it to be fnalized after completion of environ- mental, fnancial and business due diligence. Seward Ship's Drydock operates as a full service shipyard and drydock facility. Under the terms of the tentative deal, the Seward shipyard would join Vigor as a subsidiary of the company's Vigor Alaska subsidiary. ocean business MarBook.indd 52 3/10/14 5:33 PM