Page 28: of Marine News Magazine (April 2022)

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Feature

Electronics

Vane Brothers

New Routines on the Bridge in the Digital World

By Barry Parker ike every sector of cargo and passenger shipping, with external sources), which leads to real time monitoring “digitalization”—where computerized processes and enhanced and “optimized” performance. are replacing onboard routines previously han- Newbuild tugs have a diverse complement of equipment dled manually— is an ongoing trend coastwise, in the wheelhouse. Vane Brothers, the large towboat operator on the waterways and harbors. Regulatory com- barging oil products as well as bunker fuel, has recently com-

L pliance, especially with Subchapter M for towing vessels, pleted four Salisbury Class 3,000 horsepower pusher tugs; has also driven choices of onboard equipment with digital the last vessel in the series, Charles Hughes, was delivered interfaces to software and online platforms for record-keep- from builder Chesapeake Shipbuilding, in January, 2022. ing and for generating inputs for forms and documents. The speci? cations for the newest tug reveal the comple-

Improved performance has also shaped the capabilities of ment of equipment, sourced from multiple manufacturers. equipment in the wheelhouse and the view from the bridge. Radar, AIS and Autopilot units are sourced from Simrad,

Remote monitoring of hard to access equipment aboard ves- with additional electronics from Furuno, Icom and oth- sels, and for operations such as tank gauging on barges, has ers. Captain Jim Demske, Vane’s Port Captain, told Ma- long been in practice. With COVID came a big push to- rine News, “The new electronics we have used in the four ward remote surveys and inspections. The direction now is Salisbury Class push tugs delivered since 2019 were selected beyond simple connectivity, toward digital platforms where based on the newest Subchapter M guidelines. Nearly ev- data from multiple onboard devices is combined (sometimes erything is redundant or on battery backup systems, includ- 28 | MN April 2022