Page 53: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2017)

workboat review iversi? ed Marine of Portland, ? rst vessel in North America to feature to a pair of MTA 524-T azimuth thrust- efforts on the project, helping re? ne the

Ore. christened the tug Dr. Hank a complete Cat Marine propulsion sys- ers. The new Cat MTA 524-T azimuth spec and eventually supporting the in- dKaplan, a boat which marks a tem with both Cat power and Cat azi- thruster is the latest iteration of Caterpil- stallation and service of these systems. milestone for workboat supplier Cat- muth drives. The tug is equipped with lar Propulsion’s thruster line, optimized Cat Financial provided construction and erpillar as the Harley Marine Service two 3516C marine propulsion engines, for the unique operation pro? le of a tug. term ? nancing, and the boat was de- owned 80 x 36 x 13.5 ft. tugboat is the each delivering 2,675 hp (1,995 kW) Peterson Power of Portland, Ore., led the signed by Robert Allen Limited.

workboat autonomy

Rolls-Royce, Svitzer Team for Test

As the marine industry increasingly knowledge and our technological exper- eyes autonomous solutions, Rolls-Royce tise, we have made that vision a reality and Svitzer earlier this year put some of much sooner than we anticipated.” the technology to the test in Copenha- The Robert Allan designed Svitzer gen Harbor when the 92-ft.tug Svitzer Hermod was built in Turkey at the San-

Hermod berthed alongside the quay, un- mar yard in 2016 and is equipped with docked, turned 360 degrees and sailed a Rolls-Royce Dynamic Positioning back to Svitzer headquarters before dock- (DP) system, the key link to the remote ing again, all under remote operation controlled system. The vessel features a while the captain was stationed quayside range of sensors which combine differ- at the vessel’s remote base at Svitzer HQ. ent data inputs using advanced software

Though a captain and crew remained to give the captain an enhanced under- on board throughout to ensure safe oper- standing of the vessel and its surround- ation in the event of a system failure, the ings. The data is transmitted to a Remote remotely controlled maneuvers demon- Operating Center (ROC) from where the strated a “world ? rst” for a commercial captain controls the vessel.

vessel, according to the project partners. “Disruption through innovation is This is “a genuinely historic moment happening in almost every industry and for the maritime industry,” said Mikael sector and technology will also be trans-

Makinen, Rolls-Royce, President – Ma- forming the maritime industry,” said rine. “We’ve been saying for a couple Kristian Brauner, Svitzer CTO.. “Svitzer of years that a remotely operated com- is actively engaging in projects that allow mercial vessel would be in operation by us to explore innovative ways to improve the end of the decade. Thanks to a unique the safety and ef? ciency of towage op- combination of Svitzer’s operational erations.”

Photo: Rolls-Royce www.marinelink.com 53

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