Page 74: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1999)

Electronics Update ? Monitoring BUILD AVONDALE IN THE BEGINNING BOOMTOWN BELLE MINEHUNTER SUPPLY BOATS TUG BOATS LINE BOATS \/\/it:hi Style . . . Avondale Started Out Building Boats Over 50 Years Ago ... And is Still Building Them. Work boats .. . crewboats ... ferry boats . . . fishing boats . . . supply boats ... tug boats ... minehunters ... All types of boats, we'll build them if you need them. In 1938 we started building boats on the Mississippi River across from New Orleans. Today, with boat-building know-how accumulated over those 56 years, we're still building boats . . . better boats ... faster boats ... lighter boats . . . grp boats . . . but, above all ... . . Avondale - built boats. Transas Earns ECDIS Type Approval Transas Marine has become the first company in the world to receive type approval for its NAVI-SAILOR 2400 ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System). The news is consid-ered significant achievement for the com-pany, which has been at the forefront of ECDIS development since the IMO Reso-lution in 1995 that allowed ECDIS to be used as conventional ships bridge equip-ment. Type approval has been given by what many consider to be the most prestigious national authority, the BSH (Bundesamt filer Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie) in Germany. Transas has been working close-ly with the BSH to ensure that all require-ments have been scrupulously checked for compliance with all international standards during the type approval procedure. The Transas Navi-Sailor 2400 ECDIS has already achieved type approval by the Russian Department of Maritime Transport and Russian Maritime Register of Ship-ping. Marine electronic advances such as ECDIS are expected to vastly improve the safety of navigation, reduce the accident rate, and improve the overall efficiency of ships operations. The Navi-Sailor system is designed to perform considerably more functions than those of simply meeting the standard IMO ECDIS specifications. It also provides the navigator with information such as a unique global database of tidal currents, levels, seasonal surface currents, climatic conditions and the resulting prevailing winds and wave heights. These factors allow the navigator to make calculations of ETA far more accurately than previously achievable. The system can also incorporate a Radar Integrator Board (RIB), which allows the radar image to overlay the chart. This enables the operator to assess the accuracy of the GPS or DGPS operation, correct-ness of the electronic chart referencing and the gyro compass operation. A comprehensive set of alarms has been incorporated which provide signals for a wide range of actions and failures includ-ing off-course, approaching danger, guard zone, CPA and TCPA violation, depth and positioning. The ship owner is provided the unique capability of Voyage Data Recording, a standard feature of the Transas NS2400 ECDIS. All ships data, sensor information, alarms and radar image overlay is recorded and can be easily recalled and replayed with the Playback function. To ensure that owners benefit from type approved ECDIS as soon as possible, Transas will launch a comprehensive lease - purchase package at this year's Europort Show in Amsterdam. Circle 344 on Reader Service Card ? the dynamic twist angle with ampli-tude of the total sum ? vibration and amplitude of each sin-gle order ? transient conditions such as shock load or start/stop maneuvers Installing monitoring devices on a ves-sel's couplings is a proactive approach to vessel safety and maintenance ensuring problem free operation. Using the data from the monitoring devices, effective inspection and maintenance programs can be implemented. Any of Vulkan's monitoring systems can be used strictly as a warning or can be tied into the vessel or equipment's master control systems. Depending on the preset parameters and capabilities of the monitoring and control systems, functions such as clutch engagement, engine speed or shaft brakes could be automatically adjusted or applied. Circle 26 on Reader Service Card BELLE OF ORLEANS RIVER I BARGES I Even if you're only thinking about the need for a boat, contact us and let the Boat Division's team talk with you about design and engineering of a boat with Avondale reliability from keel to stack. BELLE OF BATON ROUGE Contact: P. 0. Box 2309 Gulfport, MS 39505 Avondale Boat Division BARRY HEAPS, Vice President CHRIS KELLY, Sales and Marketing Telephone: (601)896-8114 Fax: (601)896-8175