Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2000)

COVER STORY: Maritime 2050

Welcome "Lo Jack" For Ships

Epic proportions of automobile theft in the U.S. led to the creation a few years ago of an innovative product dubbed Lo-Jack, which is essentially a hidden transmitter placed in the vehicle which, when activated by a call of a stolen vehicle to the police, allows them to track the vehicle rather quickly. The same concept was recently rolled out for ships, particularly targeting owners operating vessels in areas of high piracy activity. Piracy is a serious threat to ships and the personnel that crew them.

With pirating activities running rampant in some parts of the globe — particular- ly the Far East - organizations from the

International Maritime Organization (IMO) on down are devising means and methods to keep ship and crew safe.

CLS, a satellite-based company believes it has the product — one that relies on high-tech electronics and satel- lite communications — to help locate and recover ships in the event of a hijacking. The company has therefore

It's no longer enough to remove coatings and rust.

You must contain and collect everything, and that's expensive and time consuming. It's time you take a closer look at FLOW'S latest generation of waterblast equipment—NEW FORCE ".

Our new automated system is the fastest removal and containment system you can buy. It removes, contains and collects everything in one step using only water—no grit, no tarps, no masking, no dust. The entire system is controlled by a single operator. Powered by proven HUSKY pumps,

FLOW NEW FORCE is a full line of waterblasting equipment for any application. To stay competitive tomorrow, call for a NEW FORCE waterblast demonstration today.

Flow International Corporation 800-446-FL0W. F I o w

NOTHING REMOVES & CONTAINS

COATINGS BETTER THAN IM

Diesel HUSKY' created Shiploc, a new device developed in conjunction with the International

Maritime Bureau (1MB), which is a major component in the fight against these acts of violence on the high seas.

This small device, which is the approxi- mate size of a shoebox can easily be hid- den anywhere on a ship. Installed per the vessel's owner, who can track its position at any time via Shiploc, the sys- tem is unbeknownst even to the ship's master and crew for extra precaution.

Since, according to P.K. Mukundun,

IMB's director, "a vessel can move up to 15 positions a day," the owner can track its movement with Shiploc via Internet access on a personal computer.

Available in both normal and crisis mode, Shiploc allows vessel owners to track the positions of their ships through the Web site. When set in normal mode,

Shiploc can also alert owners through both e-mail and the Web site as to whether their vessel arrived safely at its expected destination. If the owner logs on and finds that the vessel has gone off course, he can then kick the system in to crisis mode, which will alert IMB's

Kuala Lumpur headquarters of a possi- ble hijacking. Shiploc includes its own back up for extra protection, in case the vessel's power is cut off during a hijack- ing. Shiploc is designed specifically for the maritime industry, and is available to owners for $280 a month including cost of satellite messages.

Circle 27 on Reader Service Card lnternet@Sea

Barriers to com- munication between ship-to- ship and ship-to- shore are quickly dissolving with the break-neck speed at which the commu- nications industry worldwide is expand- ing capabilities and service. Cruise ships — which cater to millions of individuals who increasingly find taking a full break from the "real" world tough if not impossible — are perfect trying grounds for communications solutions, both as a value-added benefit for communication craving guests and as a revenue genera- tion opportunity for cruise lines. Mar- itime Telecommunications Network (MTN) and Digital Seas International (DSI) have executed a three-year con- tract to provide Renaissance Cruises' entire fleet with Internet Cafes. MTN will supply the cruise line with the high- speed IP satellite network to operate

DSI's Internet services. After a success- ful trial between MTN and DSI on the

R2, Renaissance Cruises decided to offer Internet services fleet wide for their guests.

Circle 26 on Reader Service Card m- 44 Circle 235 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News