Navigation Gear

Northrop Grumman Nav Systems for Brazil Navy

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Sperry Marine business unit has been awarded contracts to supply state-of-the-art navigation systems for two new 500-ton patrol boats for the Brazil navy. Sperry Marine will supply a complete integrated bridge system based on its new-generation VisionMaster FT navigation technology, tailored to meet the unique space constraints and operational requirements of these coastal patrol boats. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The system includes Sperry Marine’s electronic chart display and information system, gyrocompass, echo-sounder, speed log, navigation radars, steering controls, steering gear, mission data recorder and other sensors and subsystems. The Ethernet-based VisionMaster FT network processes data from all these systems into a completely integrated solution for route planning, navigation and piloting. The two NAPA 500-class patrol boats are being constructed at the Indústria Naval do Ceará SA (INACE) shipyard in Fortaleza and are scheduled for delivery in 2009. Four additional ships of the same class have been approved. The Brazil navy has plans to order a total of eight such vessels in 2009. Similar bridge systems are also being installed on offshore patrol vessels for the Chile and Mexico navies.

Wärtsilä Extends Range of Marine Reduction Gears

Wärtsilä will extend its range of marine reduction gears and begin manufacturing these products in Khopoli, India. Production will start on the same site as Wärtsilä's existing factory. The value of the investment is approximately EUR 1 million. Wärtsilä has designed and manufactured reduction gears since 1990 in Rubbestadsneset, Norway. The new unit in Khopol will have 20 employees and it will operate in parallel with the reduction gear factory in Norway.

Kongsberg Maritime offers Generic ECDIS Training

Training division expands course offering as new requirements approach. Kongsberg Maritime is gearing up to offer a new generic ECDIS training course in order to meet the high demand for navigation officer training prior to the new STCW convention requirements on 1st January 2012. The new five day courses start in August 2011 and have already received preliminary approval from Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Kongsberg Maritime's training division, which benefits from facilities in Norway

Built to Fit

When Foss Maritime Company decided to regear tug Iver Foss, the choice to go with Lufkin paid off, as the company's replacement gears had been designed to fit perfectly in the space vacated by the gears being replaced. Marine owners and operators, like Foss Maritime Company, have always faced steadily rising repair costs and replacement problems, as a result of aging propulsion drives. In fact, some manufacturers' units are no longer in production, and are not commercially available

Big Value in Small Packages

Military appetite for powerful and agile smaller platforms heats up.   The use of small craft by terrorist organizations and domestic terrorist cells is a worldwide threat as demonstrated by the bombing of the USS COLE. The attack on Mumbai, India, in November of 2008, brought the danger to the forefront. Nations realized that to combat this asymmetrical small craft threat, a similar small craft defense – not replacing

International Coast Guards Geared up For Training

Senior Central American and U.S. Coast Guard officials met in Panama Thursday to discuss the outcome of the first-ever 82-ft. Patrol Boat Round-Up that had been taking place at the old Rodman Naval Base near Panama City. U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. James D. Hull, Commander Atlantic Area, Portsmouth, Va., as well as the coast guard commandants from Panama, Venezuela, Columbia, and Costa Rica discussed the maintenance, repairs and training that each patrol boat and its crew received during the

PortVision: A Helping Hand in the Deepwater Horizon Response

By Raina Clark, from the January edition of MarineNews MarineNews spoke with Dean Rosenberg, CEO of PortVision, about the company’s role in the coordination of the Deepwater Horizon spill response in the Gulf of Mexico. PortVision is a web-based service that uses data from the Automated Identification System (AIS), mandated by the IMO and the U.S. Coast Guard, to provide shore-side users with real-time vessel tracking as well as historical reporting.

Raytheon Anschütz Steering Gear Control for Carnival

Germany’s Raytheon Anschütz won a contract to supply NautoSteer Advanced Steering Gear Control Systems to two prototype cruise ships being built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard for Carnival Corporation. The new ships will operate under their Princess Cruises brand, and at 141,000 gt and with a capacity of 3,600 passengers, the ships will be the flagships in the Princess fleet and the largest ships ever built at Fincantieri

Pilot Boat Repower in Savannah Georgia

The Savannah Pilots Association have been operating their 57 by 16 aluminum pilot boat since 1984. Built at Louisiana's Breaux Bay Craft the boat has served them well. When they recently decided to replace the boat's engines they chose a pair of Cummins KTA19 M4 engines producing 700 HP each at 2100 RPM in a medium continuous duty rating. The change out of engines presented some unique challenges. The Cummins engines are narrower

European Global Navigation Satellite System

The UK Department for Transport summarized the Department’s work on the European Global Navigation Satellite System programs Galileo and EGNOS. Galileo is the European Union’s global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and will be fully interoperable with the US GPS system. The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is the first pan-European satellite navigation system. It augments GPS, making it more suitable for safety-critical applications