Saab Transpondertech News

Early Bird Pricing Extended for SHIPPINGInsight Fleet Optimization Conference; More than 30 Industry Experts to Address Challenges and Solutions for Reducing Costs and Enhancing Efficiency in Ship Operations. The organizers of the SHIPPINGInsight 2012 Fleet Optimization Conference in Stamford, Conn., have extended the deadline for Early Bird registration until Sept. 21st. The $995 Early Bird registration represents a savings of $400 off the full onsite conference fee of $1,395. Taking place at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel Oct.

“The new R5 AIS products from Saab are the first to incorporate software-defined radio (SDR) transceivers together with newly developed high-speed analog-to-digital converters in a type approved Class A system,” says Stefan Karlsson, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Saab TransponderTech. Designed on platforms built to grow with new requirements, the new R5 products feature quick and easy installation of additional units with support for truly redundant/multiple Control and Display Units (CDUs), USB keyboards and flash drives. Sensor information available to R5 transponders can be relayed on the Ethernet interface, and additional CDUs can be used to display and monitor any sensor data available on the network.

Defence and security company Saab has received an order from Rijkswaterstaat for delivery of an AIS (Automatic Identification System that will add to safety on the Dutch waterways. The contract secures Saab to provide the complete technical system solution within the DIAMONIS project (Dutch Inland AIS Monitoring System). Saab has forged a partnership with the local company Tein Telecom, which will be responsible for implementing the project locally, providing 24/7 support and more. The delivery comprises approximately 40 AIS base stations, a network solution and a web-based presentation system. Valued at over SEK 20 million the contract includes a number of future options, such as a possibel expansion of the system.

Saab - a supplier of maritime Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) – has just unveiled its fifth-generation R5 family of products. “Our new R5 AIS products are the first to incorporate software-defined radio (SDR) transceivers together with newly developed high-speed analog-to-digital converters,” says Gunnar Mangs, Vice President Saab TransponderTech. The company plans to roll out the new R5 technology in a wide range of AIS products to meet different market requirements, including inland waterways, coastal fishing, deep-sea shipping, military and coastal surveillance. The products will be brought to market in phases during 2011 and 2012. www.saabgroup.com/transpondertech

Saab TransponderTech AB has been awarded a contract from the Romanian Naval Authority to upgrade and expand the country’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) network along the Black Sea Coast. Under the contract, Saab will deliver, install and commission four new AIS base stations along the Black Sea Coast. The AIS base stations will be integrated with the Vessel Traffic Management and Information System (VTMIS) in the Romanian Naval Authority headquarters in Constanta. The system will exchange AIS data and be integrated with the existing Romanian River Information System (RORIS), which was earlier supplied by Saab. RORIS utilizes AIS and other sensors to provide VTMIS coverage over the Romanian portion of the Danube waterway.

Saab TransponderTech has been awarded a contract to supply a coastal Automatic Identification System (AIS) network for the east coast of the Malaysian peninsula and an integration of all AIS systems in the country. The contract was awarded to Saab by the Marine Department in Malaysia, and the work is being completed in collaboration with Saab’s Malaysian partner, Maicons Technology. Saab was contracted earlier to supply the AIS coastal network for the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula (Straits of Malacca) and the Sarawak installations. The contract has recently been completed and provides a fully integrated AIS-based Monitoring and Control System with complete coverage of the entire Malaysian coastline, stretching over 1,200 Nautical miles from east to west.

Trimble and Saab TransponderTech AB are cooperating to integrate their differential GPS (DGPS) solutions for enhanced marine navigation. Saab and Trimble will integrate their marine navigation solutions to deliver DGPS error correction messages to ships at sea through automatic identification system (AIS) coast stations and networks. The DGPS messages transmitted on AIS frequencies will augment the existing marine DGPS broadcasts from coastal beacon stations. The two companies are collaborating to develop interfaces connecting Saab's AIS and Vessel Tracking Management & Information System (VTMIS) with Trimble DGPS reference station and integrity monitoring software.

Saab TransponderTech has together with its partner Saab Rousemont Marine received orders from Daewoo shipyard in Korea to supply Daewoo Hull Numbers 5178 / 5179 - Oak Maritime 105K TDW Crude Oil Tankers with AIS. These are the first AIS orders for newbuildings in Korea directly placed by a shipyard, and more are to come in the near future. Also, Consilium Marine has ordered five AIS transponders for National Iranian Tanker Company to be built at Dalian New Shipyard in China. These are the first AIS orders for newbuildings in China. Kongsberg Maritime, Nera, STN-Atlas and Kelvin Hughes have also recently placed orders with Saab TransponderTech for AIS transponders to be delivered in November.

True Heading was founded on March 1, 2004, positioned as an exclusive AIS independent consultancy company. The company was founded by a group of former employees of Saab TransponderTech. True Heading will collaborate with its clients to help them become high-performance authorities and businesses.

Saab TransponderTech AB and Navielektro ky, the provider of state of the art VTMS solutions, decided to cooperate in promoting their products for the VTMS and Coastal Surveillance Systems market. The two companies will offer VTMS and Costal Surveillance systems for the Maritime Administration and Port Administrations of the world. The team has had a long co-operation in the field of AIS system Technology and was the first in the market to supply a system for fusion of AIS and radar tracks.

Sweden-based Saab TransponderTech AB has recently received two prestigious orders to China via STN-Atlas. Following an order by STN-Atlas for a VTS system in Kvitsøy, Norway, earlier this year, Saab TransponderTech has now also won an order for several R30 AIS Base Stations for the VTS system in Huangha and Majisuan in China. With these orders, Saab TransponderTech establishes itself as the leading Automatic Identification System (AIS) supplier in the Far East. In Majisuan, the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) system is already under construction and will allow the important ability to identify, track and serve all commercial vessels in the area carrying AIS-equipment.

Saab TransponderTech, Solna Sweden has been awarded a contract for supplying AIS transponders to Port of Oslo. The seven ship born systems meet the international standard ITU 1371-1 adopted by IMO and will be installed onboard passenger vessels in traffic in the Port area. The systems comprise the R3 AIS transponder and Minimal Keyboard and Display (MKD). The system will give the vessels the possibility to keep track of the other commuter ferries in the fjord. The system will also allow for an efficient and secure way for the masters to report the number of passengers on board to the Port Authority.

Saab TransponderTech, Solna Sweden has been awarded a contract for an AIS transponder System to the Shetland Islands. The AIS system comprises two Base Stations to be integrated into the already exsiting Norcontrol IT VTS Centre in Sullom Voe. Saab Transpondertech is the main contractor and is responsible for delivery of equipment as well as integration and commissioning. The system meets the internationally adopted AIS Standard ITU 1371-1.

The events of September 11, 2001 will continue to have lingering effects on the world indefinitely. The most visible remnant in the maritime world is the drastically heightened sense of safety and security, as officials in countries around the globe seek to secure their borders from the threat of attack — either direct or covert — via ship. Many of the issues currently on the legislative fast track were already in the works pre-September 11. False crew documentation, enhanced vessel tracking and beefed-up harbor controls were much-discussed topic in previous years. As is the case more often than not, though, a disaster of some proportion is inevitably the impetus in moving from discussion to action.

World’s first Automatic Identification System (AIS) type approval is given to Saab TransponderTech AB by German test house “Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie” (BSH). AIS, the system made mandatory by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in SOLAS chapter V, regulation 19, has been given its first type approval. AIS is the new system that many see as the most important revolution in maritime safety and security since Radar and GPS were introduced. Saab TransponderTech was given the first type approval by BSH in Germany, on AIS according to the international standards and requirements. BSH is today considered to be the only test house with capacity and competence to test AIS.

Saab TransponderTech has been awarded a contract to provide Orkney Island Harbor Authorities with an ARS system that includes AIS functionality. The system boasts a base station implemented into the VTS system delivered by Navtek from Norway and mobile transponders to the pilot boats and tug boats in that region. The mobile transponders also hold special applications with alarm functionality for emergencies as well as administrative functionality for piloting.

Saab TransponderTech introduced a new type-approved GPS as an integrated part of the R4 ship AIS transponder system. Gunnar Mangs, business director for mobile systems, said, “This fully compliant GPS receiver is intended to provide a fully qualified backup to the SOLAS class ship’s main DGPS, and adds GPS navigation functionality to the AIS transponder. The GPS receiver is embedded inside the R4 transponder. It provides the necessary GPS outputs to the AIS, and also provides navigation functions on the R4 display unit.

Foss Maritime is equipping its fleet of 43 tugs with Saab TransponderTech R4 Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) transponders. The installations are being performed by Pacific Radar. The Saab R4 was introduced to the marine market in 2003. This year, Saab announced a major upgrade to the R4 AIS product with the addition of an embedded IMO-compliant GPS receiver. The company has also introduced an airborne AIS solution for use in coastal surveillance and search and rescue applications. Foss Maritime, based in Seattle, Washington, is the largest tug and barge operator on the U.S. West Coast.

Saab TransponderTech won a major order to supply shipboard Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to the Canadian Coast Guard. Under the contract, Saab’s licensed integrator/reseller ICAN Ltd will supply 105 Saab R4 AIS transponders for installation on a wide range of ice breakers, buoy tenders, fisheries patrol vessels and search-and-rescue cutters. The installations will be completed during 2005.

Last week in Oslo at Nor-Shipping 2005, Saab TransponderTech introduced a new family of integrated DGPS and AIS solutions based on Saab’s highly successful R4 technology. The redundant DGPS package, aimed at high-end non-SOLAS applications, consists of two R4 control and display units and two DGPS sensors. Waypoints, routes and other navigation information is replicated between the two units. Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) status is constantly output from each unit, and the second DGPS will take over immediately if the main unit fails or delivers incorrect position information. The combined AIS/DGPS package comprises an R4AIS transponder, R4 DGPS sensor and a shared R4 control and display unit.

Saab TransponderTech will supply Warship Automatic Identification Systems (W-AIS) to OSI Geospatial Inc. (OSI) as a part of their contract with the U.K. Royal Navy. In November 2006, the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a prime contract valued at approximately $29m to OSI to deliver and install the W-AIS systems on up to 77 ships. OSI is also supplying its Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System (ECPINS) as the standard fleet software for the MoD’s Warship Electronic Chart Display and Information System (WECDIS). The W-AIS will be installed in the ship’s platform operations and control room and integrated into the WECDIS installed on the bridge. The W-AIS will be based on Saab’s proven fourth-generation R4 shipboard AIS transponder.

On October, 23-27 Transas Europe GmbH will take part in Euronaval 2006 exhibition, which is now one of the leading international trade fairs for naval defense. During the show Transas will demonstrate its up-to-date Navi-Sailor 3100 ECDIS, the first one in the world to have been adapted to naval needs. This product results from Transas’ long standing experience in the field of marine navigational systems, software and electronic vector cartography, and is capable of meeting the demands and requirements of the professional navigator. Last year Transas Europe GmbH became the part of the winning team to supply a new suite of Navigation systems to the entire German Navy fleet.

C&C Technologies has signed an agreement to become an OEM supplier of differential GPS (DGPS) products for Saab TransponderTech. Under the agreement, C&C Technologies will distribute Saab R4 DGPS systems through its worldwide network of dealers. The Saab R4 DGPS products meet all IMO carriage requirements and IEC specifications for ships subject to the SOLAS regulations. They are type approved and wheelmarked by the German certification authority BSH.