Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2006)

April 2006 51 drag and drop process. Any cargo item placed inside a crane's operation range can be hooked to the crane by a right click of the crane, followed by selecting the cargo. Dual lift is possible, as long as two cranes can reach the same cargo item.

The cargo deck can be printed to report, showing the deck layout, correct cargo properties, and all cargo details (cargo manifest). Standard cargo shapes like 20- and 40-ft. containers are saved in a cargo shape library. The program user can add any new shapes to this library.

The program has many features that are designed to allow safe crane opera- tion. Once a cargo item is hooked, the crane's operation range will be color coded. Green means that the lift is safe, red means that the crane is overloaded.

In addition, the crane graphical user interface allows the operator to check the feasibility of the crane lift. Conflicts such as clearance to ship's side, height of cargo item versus height of boom, or clearance to any part of the vessel (or any other cargo on deck) are indicated.

Finally, the operator can simulate a break in the crane cable simply by unhooking the crane load. The weight of hooked cargo will be removed, however the weight of the boom in correct posi- tion will be included in the calculation of floating status. The crane sequence window allows the crane operation to be planned in detail, step by step. Each step will record the position of all cargo, the crane(s) position and load, and the bal- last water distribution.

The Autoload crane module handles crane types including telescope, knuckle jib, and A frame cranes.

The 3D Vessel Model

The vessel model, as the basis for all calculations, is 3D. It includes all vol- umes (tanks, holds, empty spaces, wind areas, etc). The 3D model allows first principle mathematical treatment. The result is a true simulation of any floating condition, including real shift of CG for slack tanks, wind heeling moment, and accurate damage simulation (loss of buoyancy method). In addition, with the

Deck Machinery & Cargo Handling Equipment

Circle 261 on Reader Service Card

Circle 212 on Reader Service Card

Stability & Strength Assessment

Cargo Management & Load Planning

Ship Design & Production

World Wide Service and Support creating seaworthy software www.autoship.com

Why go anywhere else?

Autoload 6 screen layout with cargo module, as installed onboard Ulstein BN 271, Normand

Installer, owned by Solstad Shipping. The main screen shows all the important parameters, including alarms. In the upper-right of the screen, the most important margins: to max allowable VCG, bending moment and shear force, are shown as green bars when within lim- its, changing to red when limits are exceeded.

All graphical windows can be edited directly on screen. Release the mouse button and all images automatically update with the correct floating position and margins.

Normand Installer 3D vessel model. The model includes hull & appendages, all tanks, all voids and engine rooms (for damage), superstructure (for wind), cargo deck(s) and cranes.

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