Page 80: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1998)

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Keeping Vessels At Work, In Touch

Today, more than ever before, advances in communication technology are helping vessel owner/operators run more efficient, cost effective, and safe vessels.

The advent of higher technology in the maritime communications services and products niche is owed largely to the ever growing needs of land-based corporations and consumers, which constantly push the technological envelope in terms of speed and size. While the maritime market is often considered conservative — particu- larly in terms of new technology and/or added expense — it is worthy to note that the very core of the industry is changing, moving towards larger fleets. While this trend has ramifications across the board, it means that the price of incorporating new communications technology is viewed more as an investment than an expense.

Consolidation of owners and fleets has touched every aspect of maritime business, from the large oceangoing fleets to the smaller brown-water groups. As compa- nies continue to grow larger, with increased amounts of service affiliations and requirements, it is more critical than ever that entire fleets are outfitted with technology which enable vessel owner/operators to best utilize their assets efficiently and cost effectively.

While satellite and other communica- tion advances have helped to drastically improve the efficiency of fleets, another topic driving change — safety — is equally important in ascertaining a vessel's prod- uct and service needs.

Setting the new standard

On July 23 the IMO's sub-committee on

Safety and Navigation (NAV 44) over- whelmingly approved an amendment to

Well Said... "However, as the Chain of Responsibility clear- ly illustrates, ship and shore are totally depen- dent on one another when vessels are navigat- ing in confined spaces close to shore and whether entering or leaving port. Well timed communication through VTIS systems must ensure the necessary safety of navigation." — Dagfinne Lunde, managing director of

Intertanko, discussing the court proceedings in

Singapore relating to the Orapin Global and

Evoikos incident last October in the Malacca

Straights. existing ECDIS performance standards which will allow ECDIS navigation sys- tems to operate in a RCDS mode.

Under the proposal, national maritime administrations may allow vessels the option of using the RCDS mode of opera- tion until the vector Electronic Navigation

Chart (ENC) coverage required for the nor- mal mode of operation is available. While operating in the RCDS mode, vessels will be required to use an appropriate folio of paper charts, as determined by national administrations.

Raster nautical charts already cover much of the world and the concept of

ECDIS operating in an RCDS mode is seen as a way of letting mariners maximize the use of the system while ENC coverage expands — commonly referred to as the "dual fuel" mode of operations. The impor- tant benefit of the dual fuel approach is that electronic chart navigation based entirely on official and up-to-date charts is available for almost any voyage.

Those questioning why a ruling on elec- tronic charts is at the forefront of a discus- sion of advanced maritime communica- tions can look to the recently completed

ECHO project. The ECHO project, as reported in MR/EN's April 1998 edition, sought to set the electronic chart standard.

While the technical specifications sur- rounding the ECHO project consumes vol- umes, the main thrust of the project revolves around the timely, efficient and cost-effective creation, distribution and use of the ENC's. Crucial to the project's com- mercial prospects is the ability of an owner/operator — onboard the vessel or shoreside — to easily update a given chart using high speed data links. The

ECHO project has addressed this need with a streamlined system of getting new and updated charts funneled quick- ly to the user, while maintaining the highest level of security and data integrity.

The ABC's Of SatCom

While the breadth of satellite commu- nication products and services continues to cause confusion among even the most seasoned industry IT professionals, it's worthy to note the one binding trend: more competition will continue to drive down the price of service and the size of components.

Currently, there are three major Low

Earth Orbit communication networks 62

SAILOR

SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS

ANTILLES (NETHERLANDS)

Radio-Holland Caribbean N.V. • Curacao N.A.

Phone: +599 94 612577 • Fax: +599 94 612723

ARGENTINA

SEN S.R.L. - Buenos Aires

Phone: +541 361 1496 • Fax: +541 361 2606

AUSTRALIA

Rubin Marine - Artarmon NSW

Phone: +61 2 94392333 • Fax: +61 2 94392278 a.m.i. sales • O'Connor, Western Australia

Phone: +61 89 337 3266 • Fax: +61 89 314 2929

BAHRAIN

Aeradio Technical Services • Mina Salman Port

Phone: +973 727790 • Fax: +973 727811

BANGLADESH

Graphics Communications Ltd. • Dhaka

Phone: +880 2 89 2440 • Fax: +880 2 883627

BELGIUM

Antwerp Marine Radio Company N.V. • Antwerp

Phone: +32 3 202 0499 • Fax: +32 3 202 0493

BRAZIL

O.L. Naval Ltda. • Rio de Janeiro

Phone: +55 21 509 8667 • Fax: +55 21 242 7934

BULGARIA

International Marine Technologies Ltd. • Rousse

Phone: +359 82 228216 • Fax: +359 82 822230

CANADA

Radio Holland (Canada) Ltd. • North Vancouver

Phone: +1 604 293 2900 • Fax: +1 604 293 2930

CHILE

Serprotec Ltda. • Valparadiso (Deep Sea)

Phone: +56 32 232780 • Fax: +56 32 212215

Simrad S.A. • Santiago (Fishing)

Phone: +56 2 235 1068 • Fax: +56 2 235 8732

COLOMBIA

Electronica Maritimar Ltda.- Cartagena

Phone: +575 663 3789 • Fax: +575 663 3643

CROATIA

BELAM-Zastupstvo i Servis • Rijeka

Phone: +385 51 672343 • Fax: +385 51 672179

CYPRUS

A. P. Hadjipieros Ltd. • Limassol

Phone: +357 5 345972 • Fax: +357 5 345973

ECUADOR

Nautical del Ecuador - Manta

Phone: +593 5 628900 • Fax: +593 5 628910

EGYPT

Suez Electronics Free Zone S.A.E. • Alexandria

Phone: +20 3 4806899 • Fax: +20 3 4804196

Suez Electronics Engineering & Trading Ltd. • Cairo

Phone: +20 2 2742911 • Fax: +20 2 2745219

ESTONIA

A/S RSTA • Tallinn

Phone: +372 6 312082 • Fax: +372 6 312082

FAROE ISLANDS

S.P. Radio A/S • Denmark

Phone: +45 96 34 61 00 • Fax: +45 96 34 61 01 (for further information)

FINLAND

ASPO Systems Oy • Espoo

Phone: +358 9 422155 • Fax: +358 9 422908

Navidec Oy - Helsinki

Phone: +358 9 7001 7780 • Fax: +358 9 179 830

FRANCE

Geolink • Roquevaire

Phone: +33 4 42 32 99 00 • Fax: +33 4 42 32 94 95

SDM Electronique • Sartrouville Cedex

Phone: +33 1 39146833 • Fax: +33 1 39 133022

GERMANY

Elna GmbH • Rellingen/Hamburg

Phone: +49 4101 30100 • Fax: +49 4101 301214

GIBRALTAR

Electro Med • Marina Bay

Phone: +350 77077 • Fax: +350 72051

GREECE

Marac Electronics S.A. • Perama - Piraeus

Phone: +30 1 43 14361 • Fax: +301 43 14234

GREENLAND

S.P. Radio A/S • Denmark

Phone: +45 96 34 61 00 • Fax: +45 96 34 61 01 (for further information)

HOLLAND

Radio-Holland Marine B.V. • Rotterdam

Phone: +31 10 4283344 • Fax: +31 10 4281498

Sailtron B.V. • Utrecht

Phone: +31 30 2944741 • Fax: +31 30 2937642

HONG KONG

Radio Holland B.V. • Kwai Chung N.T.

Phone: +852 24239007 • Fax: +852 24805898

Hoi Tung Communication & Navigation Co. Ltd

Phone: +852 25421262 • Fax: +852 25431137

ICELAND

Radiomidun Ltd. • Reykjavik

Phone: +354 511 1010 • Fax: +354 511 1020

INDIA

Elcome Marine Services Pvt. Ltd. • New Bombay

Phone: +91 22 763 23 48 • Fax: +91 22 763 23 51

INDONESIA

PT Panorama Timur Jaya • Jakarta

Phone: +62 21 475 6788 • Fax: +62 21 475 1688

IRAN

Kaman Hormozgan Marine Engineering - Tehran

Phone: +98 21 222 8020 • Fax: +98 21 222 4502

ISRAEL

Alhout-Yam Ltd. • Haifa

Phone: +972 4 86 20804 • Fax: +972 4 8627404

ITALY

Compagnia Generale Telemar • Roma

Phone: +39 6 3221800 • Fax: +39 6 3240148

Generalmare est S.R.L. • Chiavari

Phone: +39 185 32 33 56 • Fax: +39185 32 27 31

IVORY COAST

Optim Afrique • Abidjan

Phone: +225 251843 • Fax: +225 257937

Nautical Afrique • Abidjan

Phone: +225 250136 • Fax: +225 250137

JAPAN

Kaigai Gijyutsu K.K. • Yokohama

Phone: +81 45 6647318 • Fax: +81 45 6647320

KOREA

Samyang Radio Co. Ltd. • Pusan

Phone: +82 51 413 5000 • Fax: +82 51 413 5002

KUWAIT

Elcome International • Safat

Phone: +965 2406822 • Fax: +965 2406833

Commercial Co-Ordination Centre W.L.L. • Safat

Phone: +965 2462347 • Fax: +965 2454350

LATVIA / LITHUANIA

Transas Baltia • Riga

Phone: +371 7286585 • Fax: +371 7821202

MALTA

Medcomms Ltd. • Gzira

Phone: +356 335521 • Fax: +356 310820

MEXICO

Nautica, S.A. de C.V. • Mexico D.F.

Phone: +52 5 6519740 • Fax: +52 5 6512825

MOROCCO

Soremar • Casablanca

Phone: +212 2 442802 - Fax: +212 2 305385

NEW ZEALAND

Electronic Navigation Ltd. • Auckland

Phone: +64 9 3735595 • Fax: +64 9 3795655

Wrights Ltd. • Wellington

Phone: +64 4 568 8975 • Fax: +64 4 568 8361

NIGERIA

Netarcomms Nigeria Ltd. • Lagos State

Phone: +234 1 871662 • Fax: +234 1 264 6083

NORWAY

AEG Norge A/S • Oslo

Phone: +47 22 89 78 00 • Fax: +47 22 89 78 04

PAKISTAN

International Aeradio Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd. • Karachi

Phone: +92 21 5837800 • Fax: +92 21 5870331

REPUBLIC OF PANAMA

Proveedora Tecnica, S.A. • Panama

Phone: +507 227 3533 • Fax: +507 227 1053

POLAND

EPA Ltd. • Szczecin

Phone: +48 914 874 885 • Fax: +48 914 875 014

PORTUGAL

Nautel - Electronica Maritima, Lda. • Lisbon

Phone: +351 1 39 20 940 • Fax: +351 1 39 20 949

QATAR

Eastern Technical Services Co. • Doha

Phone: +974 477412 • Fax: +974 478282

RUMANIA

Imsat Maritime SA Constanta • Constanta

Phone: +40 41 639038 • Fax: +40 41 674356

RUSSIA

Transas Marine Ltd. • St. Petersburg

Phone: +7 812 567 2090 • Fax: +7 812 567 1901

Moretron Ltd • Murmansk

Phone: +47 8510144 • Fax: +47 85 10144

SAUDI ARABIA

Key Communication Development Ltd. • Dammam

Phone: +966 3 8336940 • Fax: +966 3 8330728

SENEGAL

Optim Senegal • Dakar

Phone: +221 8234930 • Fax: +221 8229676

SINGAPORE

Radio Holland Singapore • Singapore

Phone: +65 8622218 • Fax: +65 8622430

SOUTH AFRICA

Cape Maritime Electronics (Pty.) Ltd. • Cape Town

Phone: +27 21 551 3204 • Fax: +27 21 551 3206

Radio Holland Group • Paarden Eiland (Cape Town

Phone: +27 21 511 0864 • Fax: +27 21 511 7577

SPAIN

Nautical • San Sebastian de los Reyes (Madrid)

Phone: +34 91 6549411 • Fax: +34 91 6549600

SWEDEN

Vingtor Marine AB • Askim/Goteborg

Phone: +46 31 668400 • Fax: +46 31 683660

Litton Marine Systems B.V. • Vastra Frolunda (Gote- borg)

Phone: +46 31 292100 • Fax: +46 31 292109

TAIWAN R.O.C.

Unimax Electric & Co., Ltd. • Kaohsiung

Phone: +886 7 815 9775 • Fax: +886 7 815 1775

TUNISIA

Alcatel Tunisie • Tunis Cedex

Phone: +2161 717177 • Fax: +216 1 719888

TURKEY

Elektro-Deniz Ltd. • Istanbul

Phone: +90 216 392 77 29 • Fax: +90 216 392 80 18

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Elcome International L.L.C. • Dubai

Phone: +971 4 342333 • Fax: +971 4 342465

UNITED KINGDOM

Ships Electronic Services Ltd. • Rochester (Kent)

Phone: +44 1634 295500 • Fax: +44 1634 295536

URUGUAY

Electromaritima Uruguaya Ltda. • Montevideo

Phone: +598 2 924 77 89 • Fax: +598 2 924 71 38

USA

Radio-Holland USA, B.V. • Houston (Texas)

Phone: +1 713 943 3?25 • Fax: +1 713 943 3802