On 14^th January, Gentium and Damen Shipyards Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Industry of Bangladesh in Dhaka. Also present at the signing ceremony were representatives of the Netherlands Embassy in Bangladesh, who are supporting Gentium-Damen in their undertaking.

The Montrose Port Authority (MPA), a leading support and service hub for the energy industry, has announced that it has signed a seven-year extension to its contract with Baker Hughes for the provision of internal and external storage facilities.

The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded Lloyd’s Register (LR) system-level cyber certification for its network architecture relating to Wärtsilä’s integrated main and auxiliary machinery. The LR’s ShipRight SAFE AL2 certification, which is with Wärtsilä’s Data Collection Unit (WDCU), gives Approval-in-Principle (AiP) for the entire Wärtsilä integrated system network, rather than for any individual component. The certification is one of the first of its kind to be awarded globally.

Marlink has introduced a new online portal designed to give its Inmarsat Fleet Xpress (FX) customers deeper control and service status awareness. The Marlink FX Portal is a unique development that can share network data vital to service quality, availability and efficiency on board and remotely – anywhere in the world.

KONGSBERG and DNV GL have signed an agreement to enable customers of KONGSBERG’s Vessel Insight data infrastructure solution to share their data for use in DNV GL's digital class and assurance services.

Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a leading developer of autonomous marine systems, announces that the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) have approved the company’s SM200 commercial wireless helm for installation aboard a class of U.S.-flag tugboats that support articulated tug-barge (ATB) sets.

Damen Shipyards Group has delivered two vessels to RAK Ports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deliveries took place on 5^th December at the Ras Al Khaimah Cruise Terminal. The vessels in question were a Damen Multi Cat 1908 and a Stan Tug 1907.

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment - a global safety solutions and service provider, has announced its acquisition of Drew Marine’s Fire Safety and Rescue (FSR) division this month.

TMC Compressors of the Seas (TMC) is launching a range of marine compressors for use in combination with air lubrication systems (ALS) to help ships further reduce fuel consumption and emissions to air.

As of January 1, Arnout Damen will become the new CEO of Damen Shipyards Group. At the same time, the shipbuilding company is switching to a divisional structure to serve the market more effectively and efficiently.

Damen’s new Ultra Shallow Shoalbuster 3815 SD has successfully completed sea trials and bollard pull testing. The newly designed vessel achieved 18.6 tonnes of bollard pull, while still being able to operate in extreme shallow waters. Despite this impressive show of power, noise levels inside all the cabins did not exceed 53dB.

Kongsberg Maritime has signed an agreement with the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue to develop new and innovative maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) technologies. The duo’s collaboration will cover five concept development areas for SAR: maritime operations, rescue operations, search on the surface of the sea, underwater search and digital solutions.

Mammoet confirms that as of January 8, 2020, the acquisition of ALE has been completed, and the businesses will now operate as one company under the Mammoet brand.

A recent report by the Ghana Ports and Harbor Authority states, “Total cargo traffic for both ports (Tema and Takoradi) grew from 19,459,834 tonnes in 2016 to 22,086,626 tonnes in 2017, registering a 13 per cent increase.

OneOcean – the maritime industry’s largest digital solutions provider – has been selected to supply Thome Group, the Singapore-based ship management service provider, with its integrated OneOcean platform.

Wärtsilä has signed a strategic development agreement with Chinese state-owned shipbuilder CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company Limited Huangpu Wenchong. The five-year agreement is aimed at the joint development of a hybrid powered dredger, but could possibly extend to other hybrid vessels as well. The agreement was signed on December 3 at the Marintec conference and exhibition in Shanghai.