Tugboat to test ship monitoring and diagnostics

Software aids management of engines, generators, thrusters and critical systems

The tugboat Guide – operated by Crowley Maritime Corporation out of Seattle, USA - is being fitted with a custom vessel monitoring and diagnostics solution which will keep watch over its main engines, generators, thrusters and critical systems.
The Cat Asset Intelligence software will be supported by the Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence team which will provide advisory and management reports including recommendations for individual equipment, as well as recommending additional ways in which Crowley can save money and improve operations.
“It’s a robust system that does all the key monitoring and analysis we need,” said Bill Metcalf, vice president of strategic engineering for Crowley Maritime. “We’re looking at it as the next level of management and optimisation. We want to see how it can help us increase reliability, safety and efficiency on board our vessels.
"Unlike technologies that only monitor engine performance, Cat Asset Intelligence services provide monitoring and diagnostics for an entire vessel, including many of its critical operating systems.
"Cat Asset Intelligence will monitor and analyse anything—not just Cat products. That was a big selling point as we, like many others, have a wide variety of equipment that is critical to our success.”
With the software monitoring and analysing Guide’s key systems, Crowley Maritime expects to see value in a number of areas.
"It can give us early warning of a catastrophic failure so we can schedule maintenance. It can save us time and money during the inspection process. It can help us keep our vessels and people out of harm’s way,” Metcalf said.
“We’re also looking at fuel savings. That’s not likely to be a big issue on Guide, because of its size and application, but it could be huge for our larger vessels.”
On smaller vessels like Guide, which operate with a limited crew, Cat Asset Intelligence’s remote monitoring capabilities play a critical role.

Tugboat Guide is fitted with Cat Asset Intelligence software
Caterpillar

“Guide is a four-man boat, which means the chief engineer also serves as a deckhand when he’s on duty,” Metcalf said. “This technology will make his job easier. And as it is accessible for our engineering staff, adding another set of eyes on the vessel, another level of comfort for the captain and operations team.”
Crowley Maritime has established a governance committee to analyse the software’s performance on board Guide and, if it proves valuable, hopes to expand vessel monitoring and diagnostics to other ships in its fleet.
Metcalf said: “Caterpillar has been a good partner with Crowley for many years, and they’ve been at this for a long time. This process is in place in mines and factories. It’s the next logical step in marine technology and we want to be early adopters if it adds value.
“It’s very scalable and customizable. That’s one of the things we liked about this technology.”
Source:
http://www.cat.com/en_US/news/engine-press-releases/crowley-maritime-testing-caterpillar-technology-for-vessel-monitoring-diagnostics.htm

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Seals to be connected to the Internet of Things

New technology telemetry will track movements of marine mammals

Harbour seals off the island of Orkney, Scotland, are to be connected to the ‘Internet of Things’ as part of a programme to investigate the sharp decline in their population. It is said to be the first time this has been done anywhere in the world.
The three-year project is being funded by the Scottish government and is being undertaken by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) which is based at the Gatty Marine Laboratory at the University of St Andrews.Marine scientists at SMRU will attach marine telemetry tags harmlessly to the fur at the back of the heads of a number of seals. The marine tags are small and lightweight and simply drop off when the seal moults.
The tags, which work much in the same way as smartphones, will use Vodafone’s latest machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to send information from the seal when it surfaces or beaches directly back to SMRU for analysis. M2M technology is now a standard feature in new cars, heart monitors and smart meters but has never before been used to help monitor the well-being of marine mammals.
SMRU developed the world’s first data capture and relay tags in 1982 and has progressively improved their design and functionality for its own use in the UK and by similar research establishments elsewhere in the world. These latest marine smart tags are lightweight, no larger than a mobile phone and can withstand depths of up to 200 metres. They are connected to Vodafone’s global M2M platform and third-party satellite services.
Vodafone’s M2M dedicated network significantly improves data gathering on a seals’ location, dive behaviour and oceanic environment since it works across multiple mobile technologies. Among other benefits, it allows marine scientists to control directly the active state of every SIM card in each marine tag from a single PC.
The study by SMRU is being carried out at the request of the Scottish government and Scottish Natural Heritage which have great concerns for the future survival of harbour seals in areas of Scotland. They are one of two seal species in the UK but since 2000 have declined in numbers by up to 90 per cent in some areas in and around the North and East coast of Scotland, including Orkney.
The data collected and analysed by SMRU will be used to provide advice to Scottish ministers across a range of marine policy areas. These include the impact of marine renewables such as offshore wind and wave turbines and interactions with salmon fisheries.
Professor John Baxter, principal marine adviser at Scottish Natural Heritage, said: “This exciting, collaborative study is vital to help us to better understand the drivers of population change in Scottish harbour seals and to evaluate the potential conservation and management options open to us.”

Monitoring seal movements at SMRU
Vodafone

SMRU’s Deputy Director Dr Bernie McConnell said: “Over the last 15 years, many of the harbour seal populations in the Northern Isles and on the north and east coasts of Scotland have been declining. Marine data collected during this project on Orkney will help to assess the causes, management and mitigation options in relation to the harbour seals decline and to prioritise future research directions.”
Vodafone UK’s corporate and external affairs director Helen Lamprell added: “The first mobile call was made on our network more than thirty years ago. We will now be the first company to help transmit valuable information from seals.

“This project is proof that collaborations between government, science and the private sector can work to improve better informed policy decisions on the environment. We are delighted to be able to provide Bernie and his team with access to our technology and consultancy.”
Sources:
http://mediacentre.vodafone.co.uk/pressrelease/harbour-seals-orkney-receive-marine-smartphones/
http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/26272/internet-of-things-tags-will-monitor-orkney-seals-population

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World T20 semi-final: Simmons 82* puts West Indies in final

Highlights

1. West Indies stunned India with a seven-wicket win with two balls remaining.
2. Simmons's first appearance of the tournament produced a match-winning 82 not out off 51 balls.
3. This was somewhat difficult to comprehend after Kohli's innings had powered India to 192/2.

World T20 semi-final: Simmons 82* puts West Indies in final

MUMBAI: Two days ago, Chris Gayle joked that he wouldn't mind another fifty to Virat Kohli so long as it came in a losing cause. Twenty overs into the semi-final between India and West Indies on Thursday, it appeared that India had done plenty right on the back of - who else? - but the red-hot Kohli, whose unbeaten 89 from 47 balls helped them to 192/2. At the end of a high-octane match, it was Gayle who was part of a raucous West Indian celebrations near the boundary line after the underdogs stunned India with a seven-wicket win with two balls remaining.

Taking them over the line was Lendl Simmons, whose first appearance of the tournament produced a match-winning 82 not out off 51 balls. Who writes this man's scripts?

When Gayle missed a full toss and was bowled for five in the first ball of the second over, India were overjoyed. Moment later Marlon Samuels spooned Ashish Nehra to extra cover and West Indies were 19/2. That this game was not extinguished owed to Johnson Charles and Simmons. Charles heaved and thrashed during a 36-ball 52 that held seven fours and two sixes and Simmons, who was reprieved off an R Ashwin no-ball on 18, used the first of several lives to punish India.

Both batsmen attacked India's spinners, driving and cutting with panache. Hardik Pandya's decision to bounce Charles proving costly, with the batsman top-edging six to third man and hammering four to fine leg with stunning fluency. With Simmons tucking into the wayward Ravindra Jadeja, the stand surged to 97 in ten overs when Dhoni tossed the ball to Kohli. Immediately the man of the moment had a wicket, as Charles miscued to long-off.

Enter Russell, who smoked Pandya past mid-off and deposited a six into the stands. Bumrah had two overs left when Dhoni beckoned him to bowl the 16th. Barring the third and sixth deliveries, which went to third man for four and into the sight screen for six off Simmon's bat, the youngster conceded three singles. Nehra kept his wits to bowl a good 17th over that cost ten, meaning he bowled out with a very respectable 1/25 in four.

The crucial over was the 18th, bowled by Bumrah. Three dots balls were followed by a chance to deep midwicket, except replays showed that Jadeja touched the boundary line as he attempted to parry the ball inside. Simmons had another life.

With luck on his side, he took four off the last ball off Bumrah to move to 81, and then looked on as Russell swatted Jadeja into the front of the media centre for six. That left the batsmen to get eight from six balls, and two big hits by Russell (43*) off Kohli cleared the West Indies dug out and sparked mad scenes of celebration.

This was somewhat difficult to comprehend after Kohli's innings had powered India to 192/2.

Flipped into the role of laying a platform rather than chasing a target, Kohli finished what Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane started - both made pretty forties - with his seventh T20I fifty of the year. Rohit and Rahane, playing in place of Shikhar Dhawan, gave India a platform from where Kohli could launch: a stand of 62 in 7.2 overs, India's highest T20I opening stand in 11 games.

When Kohli walked out from the dugout twirling his bat above his head, Rahane was 17 off 14 balls. When Rahane fell for 40 off 35 balls after adding 66 runs in 49 balls, Kohli had sped to 41 off 29 balls with typical smart cricket. From here, he launched seven fours and a six in his next 18 balls faced to finish on 89, scoring 48 out of the 79 that came when Dhoni (15) was with him. West Indies had two chances to him out with a single run on the board, but Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo missed the stumps off the same delivery. Kohli ended the over by slashing Bravo wide of short third man for four and was away.

His aggressive approach was what India needed, because though his urgency between the wickets - the pair collected nine doubles - was superb, Rahane could not find the boundaries.

With five-and-a-half overs to go, Dhoni sauntered in and paddled his second ball for four, but it was Kohli who had the fans swooning when he collected ten runs in three balls: a wristy pull followed by a sprinted two and which edge to third man. Two more fours of a hapless Bravo in the 18th over - a flat-batted pull and a gorgeous drive wide of mid-off - had the stadium chanting and then Russell conceded 19 from the 19th, with Kohli hitting a six and two fours. Bravo closed out the innings with a decent last over, but more excellence between the wickets got India to a big total.  source  :timesofindia

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Tata Steel exit: UK ‘doing everything it can’ to save jobs, David Cameron says

Tata Steel exit: UK ‘doing everything it can’ to save jobs, David Cameron says

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday assured the nation that his government is "doing everything it can" to save some 20,000 jobs at Tata Steel, but warned there were "no guarantees of success" after India's steel giant decided to sell its loss-making UK businesses.

Cameron, who cut short his Easter break in Spain and rushed to London to chair a crisis meeting of the cabinet following Tata Steel's decision, said nationalisation was not the answer but the government was "not ruling anything out".

Cameron said the threat of thousands of job losses was "very difficult" and that his government would do "everything it can" but warned there were "no guarantees of success".

"This industry is in difficulty right across the world. There's been a collapse in prices, there's massive overcapacity," he told reporters aft

Tata Steel, which operates Britain's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in south Wales, is losing 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) a day in its UK operations. A sale or restructuring would likely involve heavy job losses.

Tata Steel, one of the flagships of the over $100 billion Indian conglomerate Tata Group, said it has decided to "explore all options for for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts" amid a "deteriorating financial performance of the UK subsidiary in the last 12 months".

The Board of Tata Steel decided on Tuesday to decide on the future course of action in a bid to steer its embattled operations in Europe out of the rut, which face supply glut, increase in cheap imports from China amidst a continued weakness in demand in the European markets.



Cameron defended the government's handling of the crisis after opposition Labour said it was "missing in action".

Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said "the danger signs have been flashing red but have been largely ignored by the government" and accused the PM of having "failed to show any leadership".

Cameron said the situation at Port Talbot, the country's biggest steel factory, was of deep "concern" and said the steel jobs were "vital" to workers' families and the communities.

"The government will do everything it can working with the company to try and secure the future of steelmaking in Port Talbot and across our country. It's a vital industry," he said. source:.indiatimes

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Lendl Simmons, Johnson Charles shatter India as West Indies make it to ICC T20 World Cup 2016 final

Lendl Simmons played a charmed innings to score 83 not out off 51 balls © AFP

Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles powered West Indies into the final of ICC T20 World Cup 2016, defeating India by 7 wickets with 2 balls remaining. India had only themselves to blame for the defeat; Simmons could have been out at least three times but for no-balls and catches being taken over the boundary. Before the match began experts had predicted that Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels would be the key batsmen for West Indies, but both men were dismissed early. Gayle was cleaned up off Jasprit Bumrah’s first ball with a swinging yorker, getting dismissed for 5 from 6 balls. In the next over, an Ashish Nehra slower ball made Samuels play early and offer a simple catch to Ajinkya Rahane for 8 from 7 balls. Anyone who thought it would be an easy win for India after that was sorely mistaken, as Charles and Simmons showed after the two big guns were dismissed. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs West Indies, ICC World T20 2016, 2nd Semi-Final match at Mumbai

Charles, who threatened to break free for much of the tournament, finally found a pitch that fully suited his game. The ball was skidding on to the bat, and Charles was able to target the mid-wicket area with great success. The dew was making it hard to grip the ball, and as a direct result of that the effectiveness of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were blunted. Both spinners were expensive in their first couple of overs, both men going for over 10 runs per over. FULL CRICKET UPDATES: India vs West Indies, ICC World T20 2016, 2nd Semi-Final match at Mumbai
Meanwhile, Ashwin did himself no favours at all when he had Simmons brilliantly caught at short third man by Bumrah only for the third-umpire to call it a no-ball. Replays showed that Ashwin had over-stepped by a long margin. Simmons survived, and his partnership with Charles made India’s total look smaller and smaller. The duo put on 97 runs before — of all people — Kohli dismissed Charles for 52 off 36 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes. READ: India vs West Indies, ICC T20 World Cup 2016, 2nd Semi-Final at Mumbai: Highlights from India’s innings
Having been caught off a no-ball when on 18, Simmons went on to complete his half-century in 35 balls. His luck seemed to have run out when he hit a full toss from Hardik Pandya to Ashwin at cover. India’s celebrations soon turned to sorrow, as replays showed that Pandya too had bowled a massive no-ball. Once again Simmons got a life, and he made Pandya pay by hitting a huge six off the free hit. New man Andre Russell played his role well, getting a couple of big hits while also churning over the strike. READ: Virat Kohli’s top 5 ODI chases
The equation came down to 32 runs needed off 18 balls. Bumrah, bowling his final over, started with 3 dot balls to Simmons. The batsman then played one to deep midwicket where the catch was taken by Ravindra Jadeja, who saw he was going over the ropes and threw the ball back to Kohli. Unfortunately, Jadeja’s foot had touched the boundary rope so it was six instead of out. Simmons managed to get 12 runs off the over, which meant that West Indies needed 20 off the last two overs. READ: Virat Kohli’s top 5 T20I chases
All eyes were now on Dhoni. With Nehra and Bumrah having bowled out and Jadeja and Ashwin proving expensive, the question was who would bowl the final two crucial overs. Dhoni threw the ball to Jadeja, who started off with a dot ball. The next ball was a single to long on. The third was heaved to deep midwicket for another single. The fourth ball was hit back to Jadeja, who ensured there were no runs scored off it. Russell then made up for the quiet over with a six straight back down the ground. The last ball was slapped over cover for another boundary, which meant West Indies now needed 8 off the final over.
Dhoni threw another curve ball by giving the final over to his golden man, Kohli. Simmons got the first ball away for a single. The next ball was a dot to Russell, who missed a big slog. Russell tried to slog the next ball and got an inside edge, but it was in the gap for a boundary. With 3 needed off 3 balls, Russell smacked a massive six to take West Indies into the final.
Earlier, Virat Kohli hammered a belligerent 89 not out off 47 balls to lead India to a commanding 192 for 2 against West Indies in the second semi-final of ICC T20 World Cup 2016 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. India, who have been unchanged throughout the tournament, made two changes to their line-up in the all-important semi-final. One was forced, with the injured Yuvraj Singh being replaced by Manish Pandey. The other change was a deliberate one, with the misfiring Shikhar Dhawan replaced by Ajinkya Rahane as opener. The latter change was an instant success. India’s openers put on a fifty-plus stand for the first time in the T20 World Cup 2016. Rohit got the ball rolling early, laying into the lacklustre bowling to hit 3 fours and 3 sixes in a 31-ball 43. India were 62 when Rohit was dismissed in the eighth over.
That brought in India’s talismanic No. 3 Virat Kohli. Unlike his last few innings, Kohli did not look in complete control early on. He was nearly run out three times in 2 balls early in his innings, but Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo missed the chances though, and Kohli soon calmed down. After that it Kohli settled into his innings and started bringing out the trademark drives and flicks. 
At the other end, Rahane was batting serenely. His role seemed to be to churn the strike around to let the more fluent batsmen get the runs, and he performed the role with aplomb. Rahane did not bat quickly, but his innings was vital in setting up India’s total. He scored 40 off 35 balls with 2 fours, adding 62 and 66 with Rohit and Kohli respectively. His dismissal, caught in the deep by Dwayne Bravo off Andre Russell, brought in MS Dhoni. 
The Indian skipper promoted himself up to No. 4 ahead of both Suresh Raina and Manish Pandey. Dhoni showed his intent off the second ball he faced, moving outside off stump to paddle the ball to the fine leg boundary. But with Kohli batting wonderfully at the other end, Dhoni did his best to give him the strike. The duo ran like demons, converting singles to doubles and — in one insane instance — a 2 into 3. Kohli started finding the fence with regularity, hitting Carlos Brathwaite and Dwayne Bravo for two boundaries each in the 17th and 18th overs. 
Russell, bowling the penultimate over of the innings, was clubbed for a six over long-on, a four over extra cover, and another four to long on. Dwayne Bravo bowled an excellent final over, but even then he conceded 12 as Kohli and Dhoni ran wonderfully. Kohli managed to find a boundary as well, and India ended at a commanding 192 for 2.
Brief scores:
India 192 for 2 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 43, Ajinkya Rahane 40, Virat Kohli 89*; Samuel Badree 1 for 26) lost to West Indies 196 for 3 in 19.4 overs (Johnson Charles 52, Lendl Simmons 83*, Andre Russell 43*; Ashish Nehra 1 for 25) by 7 wickets.

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