Straightpoint Launches Subsea Link

Thursday, 31st October 2019

Force measurement equipment manufacturer Straightpoint (SP), a Crosby Group company, has launched the Subsea Link, a standard product for applications up to 2,000m (6,562 feet) beneath the water’s surface.

The product can be rigged with Crosby’s remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) shackles (tested to the same depths) and the company’s Trawlex shackle range, amongst others. The IP68 / NEMA 6P-rated Subsea Link also boasts components from SubConn, a specialist manufacturer of pluggable electrical connectors to the demanding underwater industry.

SP staged a soft launch of the product at this month’s (October) Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference (OEEC) in Amsterdam, where attendees noted its potential in subsea and submersible projects where accurate load monitoring is required. However, the advantages of a standard product where a fully engineered solution has been the only option to date will endear the concept to a much wider audience.

David Ayling, global business development director for load monitoring solutions, said: “There will be existing distributors and end users of SP equipment that will encircle the product but we anticipate interest from specialist equipment and service providers who might not have already considered the benefits of such a solution, based on the technological advancement that we have been able to pioneer in the offshore and subsea sectors.”

He added: “Until now, oceanography and navigation project decision-makers, or aquaculture professionals, might have had to engage in lengthy dialogue with a load monitoring specialist to acquire an engineered solution that might arrive on site many weeks down the road. With the Subsea Link, they can effectively source an ROV load shackle as they would any other standard product in our portfolio.”

Renewable energy and offshore personnel will be among those to note the Subsea Link’s construction from 17-4PH stainless steel and resistance to saltwater, temperature variations and the incredible water pressure experienced at such sea depths. As stated, it can be handled and rigged via an ROV where a location may be inaccessible or it deemed cost-prohibitive to use divers. Several output options are available: mV/V to the SP Handheld plus, 4-20mA or 0-10v analog to a PLC or data-logger; and the multi operation survey system (MOSS), RS485 or an integral data-logger, powered by an internal battery all located with the load cell itself.

SP worked closely with the local Portsmouth University, where a testing laboratory supports diving and underwater engineering courses. Ayling said: “The benefits were twofold in that we were able to utilise the world-class, underwater testing facilities, which principally replicated the extreme water pressures at depth; and students could engage with a real-life product that will add safety and efficiency to the operations that they may one day be responsible for.”

SP’s Subsea Link is available with immediate effect.

The personal touch

Thursday, 31st October 2019

Janine Harris, Head of BOLLFILTER UK Spares Department, is now permanently on the road, focusing on visiting UK customers, for contract proposals, technical enquiries and new sales growth. She’ll be touring the country on a regular basis.

Bollfilter offer a range of marine fuel filtration solutions.

On 1 January 2020 the Maritime Pollution (MARPOL) regulation limiting sulphur oxide emissions from ships will become mandatory. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) cap the sulphur content of fuel to 0,50 percent globally. To comply with the new regulations, ships are required to use low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) more frequently or continuously.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-harris-7a205825/

Crest Pumps are pleased to introduce their new AMF cartridge filler system

Tuesday, 29th October 2019

The Crest AMF is a comprehensive range of filter cartridge systems available in polypropylene for duties from 600 L/hr to 12,000 L/hr and for temperatures up to 70°C. The systems are designed around the proven Assoma AMX range of magnetic drive marine pumps to provide a compact and corrosion-resistant filtration system. If you'd like to know more information then click here https://www.crestpumps.co.uk/range/amf-cartridge-filter-system/ or give us a call on 01425 627700.

BExA Lifetime Achievement Award for UK Exporting

Thursday, 24th October 2019

The winner of the inaugural BExA Lifetime Achievement Award, which seeks to honour a person who has provided exceptional service to the UK exporting community, is Carl Hunter, the CEO of Coltraco Ultrasonics, a high-exporting manufacturer in the shipping, offshore oil and gas, renewables, naval, power and safety engineering sectors.

UKEF CEO Louis Taylor, who presented the award at the BExA Annual Lunch at Mansion House in London on October 8, explained the many ways in which Hunter – who was also awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list earlier this year – has led his company to great triumph over the past few years, noting also that “Carl’s contribution goes far beyond the success of his own business”.

Extract from Louis Taylor’s Mansion House BExA Annual Lunch Award Speech:

And so, in our own centenary year, we wanted to recognise someone who has dedicated their career to exporting with this ‘Lifetime Contribution to Exports Award’.

It honours a person who has provided exceptional service to the UK exporting community, inspiring and developing others to achieve international success, and being a role model to their peers.

And the winner is… Carl Hunter, the CEO Coltraco Ultrasonics – a high-exporting manufacturer in the shipping, offshore oil and gas, renewables, naval, power and safety engineering sectors.

Coltraco exports an impressive 89% of its output to 117 countries around the world – 40% to Asia, 10% to the Middle East, 17% to the USA and 15% to the EU.

Nearly 17% of the world’s merchant fleet – that’s over 10,000 ships – and most leading navies, including our own Royal Navy, use Coltraco’s systems and products, along with over half the world’s offshore energy producers.
Awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list earlier this year, Carl has led his company to great success over the past few years.

Under his leadership it won the Queen’s Award for International Trade, recognising 6 Continuous Years of Growth and was named as one of the top 100 Best of British Innovators by Innovate UK.

Yet Carl’s contribution goes far beyond the success of his own business – he has also become one of the Department for International Trade’s Export Champions and dedicated significant time and resources to facilitating dialogue between the government and SMEs.

He has supported four UK-USA SME dialogues, was appointed the 37th Commonwealth Business Mentor, and supports the UK diplomatic community to help increase bilateral trade as well as seven think tanks, including the Adam Smith Institute, the Centre for Social Justice and the Institute for International and Strategic Studies.

His belief that increasing UK exports is of vital importance as the UK prepares to leave the European Union is one shared by the government.

Carl’s tireless efforts speaking at conferences, supporting think tanks and engaging stakeholders over many years is the reason why we are giving him this award for lifetime contribution to exports.

Carl, please come up to receive your award!

We recognise, like Carl, that exporting is the fuel in the engine of the UK economy. It transforms lives, providing jobs in our communities and giving people throughout the world the ability to benefit from world-class British goods and services. It powers the ideas, the innovations, the new products and services that point the way to our future.

Exporters like you all here will be key to our future success in cracking new markets, deepening existing trade links and making the UK an exporting superpower following our exit from the European Union.

Again, thank you for all you do, and let’s do lots more!

PSMâ€™s Total Tank Gauging for Turquoise Yachts in Turkey

Wednesday, 23rd October 2019

PSM Instrument is delighted to have recently been awarded an order from Turquoise Yachts in Turkey for a complete vessel-wide monitoring system. PSM’s VPM display and APT1000 transmitters are recognised across the industry for their flexibility and ease of installation, and this was well illustrated with this luxury yacht project.

A total of four PSM VPM display units are to be fitted, interconnected via an ethernet network and sharing date on all monitored tanks. PSM APT1000 tank gauging system transmitters will be installed in all tanks and connected directly to the nearest VPM unit via a multi-drop RS485 network. This bespoke arrangement minimises the use of system cabling, whilst still providing the possibility to display all tanks at all locations.

In addition, one of the VPM’s will connect to the vessels alarm monitoring system via a direct RS485 link and so provide continually updated tank status.

Completing the Tank Gauging package, PSM Series 600 Self-Powered Content Gauges fitted to all tanks will provide an independent local content indication. Also level alarm switches fitted to critical tanks will provide low / high alarm warnings.

PSM is delighted to have this opportunity to work with Turquoise Yachts and the complete system will be delivered pre-configured with all tank table data and display requirements providing a plug and play solution, meaning very little time will be required for installation and commissioning of the system.

Please visit www.psmmarine.com or contact Mark Jones, Sales & Marketing Manager at PSM Instrumentation, by e-mail: mark.jones@psmmarine.com
or telephone: +44 (0)144 410 040 for more information on the products.

Oceanographic Vessel Win for PSM 260 Sensors in the United States

Friday, 18th October 2019

PSM Instrumentation has a long and successful history working with Modern Engineered Products Inc (MEP) in Mandeville, LA. PSM is delighted to continue their work with MEP in 2019 with a new project win for the Ocean Evolution offshore vessel. The Ocean Evolution has 60 tanks, and as part of this order needed 2 x sensors supplying per tank. MEP worked closely with the customer to provide a suitable solution and in total 120 of PSM 260 sensors were required for this order. The customer wanted reliable marine approved products, backed up by local support, and PSM’s partnership with MEP offered Ocean Evolution both.

The 260 sensors are fully compliant with the latest IEC and Marine Industry standards and its rugged construction provide reliable and accurate monitoring of liquid levels in the harsh environments of shipboard tanks.

MEP has distributed and supplied PSM tank gauging system products to automation and marine companies in North America for over 25 years, and similarly, MEP has supplied PSM with their bilge level switches. Together they can supply level and pressure monitoring solutions to the US marine industry. Today they have a large share of this market sector with many different applications ranging from oilfield service vessels to passenger vessels.

Commercial Ribs Fleet News

Wednesday, 16th October 2019

CRC Vanguard, our 12.5 m multi role cabin Rib joined our fleet in July and was built by Ribcraft and fitted out by Seacraft Marine.

Although she joined us late in the season CRC Vanguard has already been super busy on projects and received lots of positive feedback from both clients and skippers.

CRC Gladiator had a busy summer working on Crew Transfer projects. On her return CRC Gladiator was rigged up and fitted out ready to support on an international filming project, demonstrating her versatility.

Pictures shows off her impressive adaptions to ensure our clients requirements were met and the perfect shots were captured.

Motive Offshore Announces Landmark Spooling & Inspection Win

Wednesday, 16th October 2019

Motive Offshore Group, specialist in marine equipment fabrication and rental, continues to consolidate its position as the leading provider of back-deck services, announcing a major contract win.

Awarded by TechnipFMC, a global leader in subsea, onshore/offshore, and surface projects, the contract represents the largest win to date for the Motive’s Spooling and Inspection division. With a workscope comprising global offshore inspection and wire rope services, the initial three-year contract includes the option for two, one-year extensions.

Division Managing Director, Ally Forbes explains the strategic importance of this latest award: “Since launching in late 2016, Motive Spooling and Inspection has consistently grown in reputation and activity.

“This contract reflects not only our expert inspection and wire rope services, but also our fundamental aim to continually internationalise our business.”
Motive Offshore Group Chief Operating Officer, James Gregg continues: “Our track record and continuous investment in capabilities via personnel and facilities has inspired industry confidence on a global basis.

“Working across 16 vessels world wide during this contract, our existing Spooling and Inspection team is now set to increase, with at least eight additional roles being created.”

Motive is a leading global solutions provider for the back-deck and beyond, specialising inâ€¯the manufacture and rental ofâ€¯high-capacity winches, umbilical deployment, specialised subsea equipment and associated services to the onshore and offshore oil and gas and marine industries.

Launched in 2010 by James Gregg and Dave Acton, Motive Offshore Group is headquartered in Boyndie, Banff, Scotland, with additional offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Norway and the Middle East.

Associated Listing:

GTR-BEXA celebrates ‘Young Exporter’ 2019 Award for Clare Hunter

Wednesday, 16th October 2019

The winner of the GTR-BExA Young Exporter Award is Clare Hunter from Coltraco Ultrasonics. Hunter leads Coltraco’s marketing and communications strategy and coordinates its global network.

She has been working for Coltraco for eight years and has participated in helping it achieve a double in turnover in six years.

Presenting Hunter with her award at the BExA Annual Lunch, BExA co-Chair Geoff de Mowbray noted that the judges had been impressed with the hard work that she has undertaken to drive forward Coltraco’s export strategy. “With her vast knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to developing Coltraco’s export business, it’s evident that her role goes far beyond her marketing and communications title. She is a terrific all-rounder with a true passion for export,” he said.

This fantastic accolade follows Coltraco Ultrasonics’ Queen’s Awards for International Trade 2019. Overcoming barriers to enable their customers to buy wherever they are in the world, Coltraco Ultrasonics are proud to export to 120 countries as of 2019. Clare is part of the team dedicated to supporting their international customer base through a global network of strategic partners and ODA service stations as well as a digital presence, to ensure that their customers benefit from lifetime customer care commitment.

Coltraco Ultrasonics are committed to innovation, proud to design and manufacture in Britain. They are honoured to be partners with the GREAT campaign and supporting Government Departments such as BEIS, DIT, DfT and more. Connect with Clare on LinkedIn.

Learn more the British Exporters Association and read the full article on the award winners and lunch speeches click here.

Tackling the rising Tide of Plastic Pollution

Monday, 14th October 2019

UK based workboat specialists Water Witch are leading designers in specialist trash retrieval and waterway cleanup craft for Ports and Marinas. Designed to be manoeuvrable in hard to reach areas, these ‘Versi-Cat’ shallow draft boats feature a removable catchment basket which collects and filters debris and plastics through it’s inverted ‘mouth’ in the same way as a plankton feeder would do in the natural world.

The Versi-Cat’s range from 6.0m to 8.0m LOA and are specifically designed to efficiently collect smaller plastic items such as coffee cups, plastic bottles, food wrappers, styrofoam and plastic bags.

Drinks bottles are one of the most common types of plastics found in our marine environment – some 480 billion plastic bottles are sold globally, and it is estimated that about 10 million tonnes of plastic currently ends up in the oceans every year.

Marine life is facing “irreparable damage” from the millions of tonnes of plastic waste which ends up in the oceans each year, the United Nations has warned.

For sea birds and larger marine creatures such as dolphins and turtles, plastic is incredibly harmful – either by becoming entangled in it or mistaking it for food. A recent investigation of a whale death in Norway found 30 plastic bags in it’stomach.

Plastics are designed to last a very long time, and unfortunately, nearly all the plastic ever created still exists in some form. Plastic ends up as tiny fragments which appear to hang suspended below the surface – often referred to as plastic soup. This ends up in the food chain, and research by Plymouth University in the UK found plastic in a third of UK caught fish.

Director of Water Witch, Jackie Caddick said, “Floating and suspended plastics and man-made debris is so easy to retrieve with our specialist collection vessels and relatively low cost. Eighty per cent of ocean plastics originate from inland, so cleaning our lakes, rivers, harbours and ports needs to be a priority if we are to tackle the problem. Our system is simple but highly efficient and has been time tested, with over 200 specialist vessels in operation world-wide.

Port and Harbour operators should be keen to demonstrate a commitment to keeping our marine environment clean and safe, not just for their own immediate benefit, but for the world as a whole.

Liverpool Water Witch
Osprey House, 2-6 Lightbody Street, Liverpool L5 9UZ

Contact: Jackie Caddick 0151 207 4874
sales@waterwitch.com

Month: October 2019

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