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The main target of DSP in respect of Contship Italia Group, is to address the IT strategies of the various companies to guarantee an harmonious development respecting the peculiarity and the autonomy of the single realities. In the last years DSP, using the acquired know-how in the IT problems of shipping, port management and intermodal transportation has enlarged is portfolio of activities offering to the market professional services in terminal operations processes and systems deployment and optimisiation. In 2007 DSP became partner of NAVIS (part of Cargotec Corporation) and certified its staff as SPARCS 3.7 and SPARCS N4 senior consultants, carrying out various international projects. DSP has recently developed for Contship Italia Group an innovative and flexible system for automatic invoicing (Fatteuro) for container and general cargo terminals interfaced with other systems in order to manage all the necessary information to calculate and register the invoices. It is currently is use at CICT (Cagliari), EGT(Tangier), LSCT(La Spezia) and at the General Cargo Terminal SPETER of La Spezia. DSP is also tightly linked with the new University of Applied Science of Southern Switzerland. In his team a professor of this university is leading analysis and design activities and most part of his personnel has a degree in Computer Science and where recruited there. This also gives the chance to DSP to participate to research projects on the transport and IT area and to remain always skilled with the newest technology

Ship strikes of whales are a growing concern around the world and especially along the U.S. West Coast, home to some of busiest ports in the world and where ship strikes on a number of species including blue, fin, and humpback whales have been documented. This trial program examined the feasibility, logistics, industry cooperation, and effectiveness of placing an observer on board a commercial ship. An experienced marine mammal observer went on five voyages, spanning over 8 days on ships operating between U.S. West Coast ports. Daylight observations were conducted over 68 h and covered over 1300 nm as ships transited between three ports [Seattle, Oakland, and LA/Long Beach (LA/LB)]. Sightings of large whales were reported on all (n = 42), totaling an estimated 57 individuals that included humpback, blue, fin, and beaked whales. Close encounters of large whales occurred (on one occasion a near miss, estimated at 40 m, of two humpbacks), and on another, a ship chose to alter course to avoid whale sightings in its path identified by the observer. All ships personnel cooperated and voluntarily aided in the observations even after initial skepticism by some crew about the program. While most effort on mitigating ship strikes along the U.S. West Coast has focused on shipping lanes, the vast majority of these sightings occurred outside these lanes and on the transit routes, emphasizing the need for added attention to these areas. This experiment demonstrates the effectiveness and promise of observations from ships providing critical information on whale locations at risk to ship strikes.

Crew members aboard international voyage ships are susceptible to imported acute respiratory infections, leading to clusters of outbreaks that pose challenges to the health of crew members. The aim of the proposed study was to optimize a plan for the quarantine process and rescue measures in response to a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak at sea to provide policy guidance for the prevention and control of severe infectious diseases on international voyage ships. Here, we described the baseline characteristics of international voyage ships and crew members entering Zhoushan Port from 2020 to 2022 and analyzed the factors influencing the incidence rate of COVID-19 among crew members. There were 161 COVID-19 cases among cargo ships entering Zhoushan Port by sea, with an average incidence rate of 16.00% (95% CI: 13.73%-18.27%). The incidence rate of COVID-19 was significantly higher among crew members with replacement, long voyage, and those who stayed at multiple anchorages or stayed for a long time. The risk of COVID-19 infection for crew members staying at more than 4 anchorage was the highest, which was 2.667 (95% CI: 1.857-3.830) times that of crew members staying at less than 4 anchorage. We developed and refined the workflow for a public health assistance plan for outbreaks at sea on the basis of our experience with several COVID-19 outbreaks on international voyage ships. The workflow includes fundamental requirements, sampling and testing methods, personnel transfer procedures, medical waste disposal guidelines, and disinfection procedures for affected ships. Our public health assistance plan can be applied to other international voyage ships for which urgent public health assistance is needed during sudden infectious disease outbreaks.

Nigerian Navy gets new patrol vessel to control resources in Gulf of Guinea.

South Africa: Are Merchant Shippers Hiring Pirates To Kill Pirates?' - The Regulation Of Private Maritime Security Companies Operating In The Gulf Of Aden.

Nigeria, Others Lose $2bn to Pirates' Attacks Annually, Says Naval Chief.

Scottish fishers receive additional safety funding.