Page 41: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2002)

Marine Electronics j Integrated Bridge Systems

Safer Sea Passages

A new system, developed to reduce risk for cargo and hull damage, has proven to secure safer and more effi- cient sea passages for ships and cargo.

Seaware Onboard is designed as a user friendly sea keeping guidance system with the intention to give ample warning when risk occurs for cargo and hull damage. The system is designed for on-line use during sea passages, and can also be used during pre-voyage route planning.

Seaware Onboard was developed by Sweden's Sea- ware AB, formed by a group of postgraduate researchers from the Institution of Naval Architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. A joint project regarding further development of the sys- tem for reefer vessels was started together with Cool

Carriers, nowadays LauritzenCool, in 1998.

After extensive demo testing, a decision was taken to proceed with full-scale test during three voyages on board the reefer vessel M/V Ivory Dawn. The test was carried out in the first months of 2001. The outcome of the test can be regarded as positive.

The Seaware Onboard system can assist to secure the safe and efficient passage for ship and cargo. The Mas- ter and Navigation Officers involved in operation of the system during the test runs were given questionnaires upon ending the trail period.

Seaware Onboard is a computer based decision sup- port system for rationally based risk assessment and route planning, providing support on sea keeping: • Automatic, continuous information on sea state and various wave-induced effects • Warning functionality based on forecasts; • Advice on heavy weather maneuvering; • Route planning facility; • Continuous recording of ships dynamic behavior and performance.

A built in weather routing tool gives a unique possi- bility to greatly reduce the operating cost and improve time efficiency for the vessel based on weather prog- nosis from a weather bureau. The ship's command has the possibility to investigate the implications on ship performance and dynamics resulting from alternative routes and/or engine settings.

During sea passages, the system continuously evalu- ates the present sea condition based on measurements of the motions of the vessel. This is followed by pre- dictions of the resulting dynamic effects for the near future. The system will detect undesired or dangerous situations well in advance. The Master/Navigation

Officer can also investigate the implications of altering course and/or speed.

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Thrane & Thrane A/S

Launches eCTrack

Thrane & Thrane received type approval from Inmarsat for the world's first Mini-C * product, eCTrack. A full C v integrated Inmarsat

Mini-C product, offering high reliability, quality and service, as well as benefits of lower cost and high performance, eCTrack integrates trans- ceiver, antenna, power supply, and a 12 channel GPS receiver in one single unit, thus providing a significant cost reduc- tion as well as simplified installation.

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Kelvin Hughes: Safety Job 1

Kelvin Hughes has developed a soft- ware package that assists in the risk assessment process required to operate

ECDIS in the Raster Chart Display Sys- tem (RCDS) mode. The U.K. Maritime

Coastguard Agency (MCA) requires a risk assessment to be undertaken before authorizing a vessel's use of ECDIS in the RCDS mode of navigation.

The easy-to-follow, step-by-step pro- 38 gram from Kelvin Hughes is designed to make it easier to determine the optimum level of paper charts required to comple- ment the ECDIS.

Thus, the risk assessment software is designed to significantly help ship's operators to develop instructions and procedures for shipboard personnel on the safe and efficient use of any elec- tronic chart system.

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Towards the "Paperless" Bridge

Maptech was chosen as the official raster chart of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The contract calls for Maptech to supply

Digital ChartKit Professional to the

USCG on a fleet-wide basis. Along with the official digital NOAA charts, the USCG uses Maptech's exclusive

Notice to Mariners weekly Internet E-

Mail automatic update service.

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Consilium Navigation Acquires

BSH Approval

Consilium Navigation AB has recently acquired BSH (Bundesamt fur Seeschif- fahrt und Hydrographie) type approval for its voyage data recorder system,

VDR M2.

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Navy Orders OSI System

Offshore Systems International Ltd. (OSI). said that the Canadian Navy placed a new order for ECPINS Systems worth more than S300.000 to Offshore to support urgent operational require- ments on board Navy ships deploying as part of Canada's contribution to the international war on terrorism.

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Kittiwake Offers New

Oil Test Kits dition of your machine oils. Kittiwake

Developments Ltd., a specialist in oil test kits, is aiming its new product launch at both ends of this crucial mar- ket sector, with its new DIGITest Kits for the multiple parameter users of machinery and the ECONTest cells for single parameter, entry level user. Kitti- wake's latest offering incorporates both 'water in oil' and the TBN test in one cell. The DIGITest cell, made from rugged machined aluminum with pre- programmed proprietary software. The new duel purpose test cell can be switched from water to TBN testing with a swift wipe of a paper towel and a press of a button. It is designed with non-slip twist grips at either end, and a clear scratch resistant LED display. For ease of use, the display also features step by step instructions. Clearly a key advantage is the reduction in cost, which is passed on to the enduser. Being virtu- ally indestructible, even in the often harsh 24/7 conditions of an offshore oil- rig, a ships engine room, or a remotely located power station, the DIGITest cell casing and display comes with a lifetime guarantee.

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Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

Undetected ingress of water or degra- dation of the Total Base Number (TBN) of engine oil could easily end as the most expensive bill of the year. Regular sampling is the only foolproof way of monitoring the con-