Page 112: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1998)

NAV/COM UPDATES

Sperry Provides IBS for CVN 75

The U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier, USS

Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) is equipped with a highly automated integrated bridge system (IBS) that will permit its crew to navigate more safely and efficiently with fewer watchstanders on the bridge. The IBS provided by Sperry

Marine, Inc. included a computerized Voyage

Management System (VMS) with ECDIS. The

VMS integrates input from GPS sensors, navi- gation radars, depth sounder, speed log, gyro- compass and other systems through an ether- net fiber optic network, and provides a con- stantly updated picture showing the ship's pre- cise position and movement, together with sur- face radar contacts and other data, superim- posed on an electronic nautical chart display.

The Harry S. Truman is the first Navy ship to be fitted with Litton's new direct chart read- er, which permits the ECDIS to utilize electron- ic charts taken directly from the digital carto- graphic database of the national Imagery and

Mapping Agency (NIMA). The ship will be one of the first to meet draft standards for the

Navy's new ECDIS-N program, under which the entire U.S. fleet will transition from paper

Inmarsat Sets Date For Privatization

Inmarsat's assembly of member governments, meet- ing in Greece, agreed by con- sensus that Inmarsat, an internationally-owned coop- erative, will become a public limited company on April 1, 1999.

The new structure com- prises two entities: a public limited company that will seek an initial public offering (IPO) within approximately two years of formation, and an intergovernmental body to ensure that Inmarsat meets its public service obligations, including the GMDSS.

The new company, which will be headquartered in

London, will be governed by a 15 member fiduciary Board of

Directors consisting of the

CEO and 14 non-executive directors, three of which will represent developing coun- tries. charts to electronic over the next 10 years.

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Touch-Screen GMDSS System

Launched

ICS Electronics Ltd. has announced the launch of its new GMDSS area A2/A3 commu- nication system, the ICS TOUCHCOMM TC2.

The TC2 uses ICS's touch screen technology which allows control of both the VHF and

MF/HF radios via one control panel. The sys- tem is enclosed in a rugged steel case mounted on shock absorbers, and is designed for use within A2 areas by any vessel required to com- ply with IMO requirements. It is also suitable for use in A3 areas by smaller vessels which are not required to fully comply with IMO carriage requirements, such as large yachts, fishing ves- sels and the smaller naval vessels.

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New Furuno Sensor

Furuno's PG1000 Integrated Heading Sensor combines a three-axis magnetometer, incli-

Vanuatu Warns Against "Crying Wolf"

Vanuatu has appealed to shipowners to cut down on the rising number of false EPIRB alerts as the administration believes many are caused by human error. Vanuatu is not alone in its concern as globally false EPIRB alarms are so high that the International Maritime

Organization's COMSAR sub-committee regu- larly debates this issue. It aims to find ways to reduce the proliferation of false EPIRB and

DSC alerts around the world.

Vanuatu supports this work as so far in 1998,

Vanuatu Maritime Services Ltd. (VMSL) the company administering the country's registry has reported 17 false alarms and in the past 21 months a total of 39 — as many alerts as in the previous three years. "If this progression continues, we could expect the number of alerts to double again by the end of 1999," warned Don Sheetz, execu- tive vice-president of New York-based VMSL. "This increase must be stopped, but we can only achieve this if we get the help of shipowners."

The concern is twofold added Mr. Sheetz: Not only is this costly to shipowners and adminis- tration but it leads to complacency on the part of administrations and rescue co-ordination centers." And he added: "I still remember the fable about the 'boy who cried wolf.' After lis- tening to his false cries for so long, the village folk suffered the consequences when they turned a deaf ear to his cries when a wolf did appear. The more alerts we respond to which turn out to be false, the more we become com- placent. We begin to think all the alerts are false."

Mr. Sheetz explained that the main reasons for false alerts include: radio surveyors or other ships' personnel failure to secure the unit; water washdown; failed equipment due to age, weather or sun conditions and improved satel- lite monitoring. Ten of the alerts were from vessels deleted from the registry that had not re-coded their EPIRBs, or from unidentifiable vessels whose EPIRBs were improperly coded to begin with.

Mr. Sheetz estimates the cost of each alert at $1,000 excluding the dispatch of search and res- cue resources. "Each false alert means the waste of time, manpower and communications costs," he warned. nometer and integral vibrating gyrosensor to provide a highly accu- rate and stable readout of a ship's heading.

These sophisticated components are con- tained within a durable, compact, waterproof case that protects against the elements at sea.

The Furuno PG1000 sensor is designed for maintenance-free operation and ease of instal- lation. The PG1000 detects terrestrial magnet- ism and produces compass data that can be uti- lized in serial formats such as NMEA 0183 and

Furuno AD-10. Typical applications include

True Radar Echo Trail and True Motion, video plotters, scanning sonars and more.

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Koden's MD-3441 Radar

The Koden MD-3441 radar provides the power of a four kW, 19.9-in. slotted waveguide radome antenna providing 15 ranges from 1/8 to 32 nautical miles. It offers breakthrough refinements for smooth radar operation, includ- ing programmable function keys.

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New Option for Marine Satellite

Antenna

KVH Industries,

Inc., is now offering a new option — Secure

Telephone Unit-Type

III — for use with its

Tracphone marine satellite antenna. The antenna and option, part of American

Mobile Satellite Corp.'s

Skycell service, which provides secure end-to-end voice communica- tions throughout North America, will encrypt voice and data to ensure secure communica- tions over public telephone networks.

The new STU-III capabilities enable

Tracphone to meet demanding security needs of

U.S. Government agencies, by providing end-to- end security over a public switched telephone network.

Circle 94 on Reader Service Card 112 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News