Bridge Equipment News

Wärtsilä has supplied its latest simulator technology to the prestigious Sharjah Maritime Academy located in Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates.The comprehensive suite of navigation, engineering, communications and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) simulators includes full mission, part task and classroom trainers for all levels of training and research, as well as modelling and content creation tools to enable the highly skilled maritime faculty team to offer a complete range of services…

JRC Iberia delivered a complete bridge concept on board the passenger vessel Amazonas II, built at Drassanes Dalmau shipyard in Barcelona, Spain.The bridge supply is composed of a full JRC navigation and external and internal communication package including VDR, ECDIS, Alphatron BNWAS, AlphaSea pilot and Talk-Back system among others.Amazonas II is the latest passenger catamaran ordered by shipowner Consorcio Fluvial Del Amazonas and will be operating in a remote area of Perú between the towns of Iquitos and Cavallococha at the source of the Amazon River close to the Brazilian frontier…

Sperry Marine and DNV GL signed a strategic agreement to enable vessels to securely share their navigation data for use in DNV GL's digital classification services and obtain real-time class status of the navigation systems.The agreement seeks to improve process efficiency for class surveys covering the core elements of vessel navigation, through co-operation on new digital solutions. It will help to streamline the class survey inspection process by giving DNV GL access to data from the ship’s bridge…

The two major Port State Control regimes – Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU – will focus especially on navigational safety in a so-called Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) is being taken place from 1 September until 30 November 2017, said Danish Maritime Authority. The inspection campaign (CIC) will be carried out over a period of three months as part of routine Port State Control inspections. Thus, all Danish ships that are routinely inspected under the Tokyo MoU and Paris MoU should expect to be covered by the campaign. In 2016, Danish ships were inspected more than 600 times under the Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU. In Denmark, 400-500 foreign ships calling at Danish ports are subjected to Port State Control inspections annually.

The Maritime Authorities of the Tokyo and the Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will launch a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on safety of navigation. The aim of the CIC is to check compliance with the applicable requirements of the SOLAS Convention, the overall status of the vessel’s navigation safety, and the competency of crew involved in navigation operations. This inspection campaign will be held for three months, commencing from September 1, 2017 and ending November 30, 2017.

Alphatron Marine said it has signed a shore based maintenance contract with Singapore’s Unix Line Pte Ltd, supporting all navigation and communication onboard its fleet of 42 vessels. Unix Line is a ship management company specializing in the operation of chemical tankers. For many decades, it has been a customer of marine electronics producer JRC equipment and through the premium service contract, Alphatron will offer response to unexpected interventions and breakdowns. The chemical…

Transas CEO Frank Coles delivered a presentation at 2017 SMART4SEA Conference & Awards, where he voiced his views on “smart shipping”, from big data and cyber security to unmanned ships. We live in a world where we hear the words, smart ships, connected ships, unmanned ships, automated ships, etc. We hear statements about a digital shipping world and a forecast of new business models in shipping. It’s a confusing world, a fast moving world. What is the reality and how do we sift through the hype?

Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd and Radio Holland Singapore have concluded a Service Rate Agreement (SRA) covering the NavCom service and maintenance needs of its entire fleet of more than 200 vessels. Headquartered in Singapore, Thome Ship Management has worked together with Radio Holland for many years. The two companies have now taken a next step to a new format of cooperation with the SRA, which includes everything from annual radio surveys to servicing bridge equipment, to the delivery of spare parts and on-the-spot troubleshooting. Irene Yoong, Radio Holland Sales Manager Services, comments: “Thome Ship Management was looking for cost efficiencies in terms of managing the maintenance and repair of its global fleet.

Frank Coles, Transas CEO, has delivered a keynote speech calling for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to set standards of compliance for the communication connections between ship and shore or else create a significant cyber security risk. The speech on Connected Ships & Cybersecurity was delivered at the Shipping Insight Fleet Optimization Conference which took place in Stamford, CT. on October 18-19. Cybersecurity is without a doubt a highly-debated topic in the maritime industry.

Alphatron Marine has signed a premium member contract with Chemgas Shipping covering eight gas carriers.   The Gas Carriers are fitted mainly with bridge equipment which Alphatron Marine has many years of experience of installing and also supporting these and other high tech navigation and communication equipment onboard. The contract also embraces equipment and services that is subjected to mandatory annual certifications and inspections but also life cycle support and a preferred partner service is included.

INTERSCHALT maritime systems GmbH, a provider of services for communications, navigation and bridge equipment and the maker of voyage data recorder systems, has expanded its service network in South America through the addition of ITEC Electronica Maritima S.A.S, Colombia, and Telnav Telecomunicacoes Navais, Macaé, Brazil. As authorized service partners, ITEC and Telnav Telecom will from now on perform the installation, commissioning, retrofitting and maintenance of INTERSCHALT VDR systems as well as conduct annual VDR performance tests (APT) in accordance with IMO regulations.

Four new fast ferries, owned and managed by Manly Ferries and operating in the busy waters of Sydney Harbour, will use Simrad technology for safe navigation. The owner has specified a range of Simrad bridge equipment for its latest vessels, including an NSO Evo2 quad-core marine processor, a 4G broadband radar with beam sharpening and target separation, an Autopilot AP28, and Simrad MO16T widescreen monitors with sunlight viewable screens and multi-touch capability. The four new vessels, two 24-m fast catamarans and two 33-m fast catamarans, will be operating on several busy routes linking Circular Quay in Sydney Harbour with locations including Darling Harbour, North Sydney, Pyrmont Bay and Harbour Beaches.

JRC and Alphatron Marine has announced that Greek based company Almi Tankers have signed an all-encompassing maintenance contract supporting all yearly inspections and surveys as well as any required services, for a total of 11 vessels. Alphatron Marine, together with local partner in Greece, Nova Electronics, will support the Almi Tankers fleet worldwide, including service, upkeep, and preventive maintenance services to secure the overall smooth running of bridge equipment.

Following a cooperation sealed between Alphatron Marine and Green Award Foundation at Posidonia in Athens, Greece, Alphatron Marine will reward Green Award certified ships with a discount of 10 percent that applies to a range of products and services for both seagoing and inland navigation ships. Green Award certificate implies that a ship’s performance is of such high standards of safety and quality that the ship qualifies for the Green Award requirements. Ships certified by Green Award are sustainable…

Alphatron Marine opened Alphatron Marine Iberia in Madrid, a strategic location serving Spain and Portugal. Alphatron Marine Iberia will have as priority the promotion of JRC and Alphatron Marine products, including the  AlphaBridge. Operating from a 850 square meter premises, the new office provides storage, service, and maintenance facilities for bridge equipment for all types of IMO vessels plus mega yachts, fishing vessels and workboats. First level technical support to our…

A three-year EU-funded project, CASCADe, has developed new methodologies in which information is shared and displayed on a ship’s bridge, helping to improve efficiency on board and contribute toward the prevention of accidents at sea. Drawing directly from the experience of seafarers, CASCADe has developed a new adaptive bridge design methodology that treats both human agents and electronic equipment as parts of a cooperative system. This allows for the sharing of information to be optimized. In addition, CASCADe has developed a set of adaptive bridge displays.

Alphatron Marine has signed a three-year global maintenance agreement with Van Oord to maintain and support all navigation and communication equipment on its entire fleet of more than 80 vessels. Van Oord, a world company specializing in dredging, offshore oil and gas and offshore wind, operates internationally and requires that each and every vessel could be put to work effectively at any time.

Holland America Line’s cruise ship MS Noordam recently underwent a 10-day dry-dock period, during which it was fit with a customized bridge from Radio Holland. The work on Netherlands-flagged MS Noordam included refitting the navigation and bridge systems to improve working conditions in line with HAL’s Bridge Resource Management concept. Radio Holland, a supplier, installer and maintainer of maritime electronics, also provided additional equipment including an upgrade of the autopilot interface with the propulsion systems to deliver fuel savings.

Detyens Shipyards, Inc. has been awarded a $15,812,647 firm-fixed-price contract from the U. S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command for a 75-calendar day shipyard availability for the regular overhaul and drydocking of USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1). Work will include bridge equipment annual service, main diesel generator overhaul, life raft annual certification, drydocking, propeller shaft inspection, underwater hull cleaning and painting, freeboard cleaning and painting, overhaul sea valves, blast and coat tanks and renew flight deck non-skid.

In a timespan of one month, three types of VSTEP Dynamic Positioning Simulators have been officially certified and accredited by the Nautical Institute and Det Norske Veritas (DNV-GL) certification bodies. The accreditation means the new NAUTIS Dynamic Positioning simulators from VSTEP are fully certified and approved to be used for official DP training courses. The accredited Dynamic Positioning Simulators were based on different DP control types and included both Class A and Class B type DP simulators.

In a anticipation of the growing need for deck officers and masters experienced in operating in ice covered waters and as evidenced by the relatively rapid increase in vessel traffic in areas of the Arctic Ocean due to the receding ice coverage, the Alaska’s Institute of Technology (AVTEC) in Seward, Alaska has developed a comprehensive course of instruction in Ice Navigation. This two week course is directed toward masters and mates without or with minimal experience in ice covered waters. The course of instruction is a combination of classroom lectures, case studies and simulation exercises, operating various vessel models in a myriad of ice conditions. The AVTEC Ice Navigation course of instruction is U.S.

Radio Holland in Singapore has signed a Managed Service Agreement (MSA) with Thome Ship Management that will cover nine vessels for four years. Thome Ship Management, headquartered in Singapore, has worked for many years with Radio Holland, which is part of Imtech Marine, but until now this has largely been on an ad hoc basis. Officially signed on June 1, the agreement covers a pool of nine chemical oil tankers of around 45,000-50,000 dwt on a 24/7 basis. The MSA covers the maintenance of marine electronic equipment including navigation, communication, automation and IT equipment.

Radio Holland in Singapore has signed a Managed Service Agreement (MSA) with Thome Ship Management that will cover nine vessels for four years. Thome Ship Management, headquartered in Singapore, has worked for many years with Radio Holland, which is part of Imtech Marine, but until now this has largely been on an ad hoc basis. Officially signed on June 1, the agreement covers a pool of nine chemical oil tankers of around 45,000-50,000 dwt on a 24/7 basis. The MSA covers the maintenance of marine electronic equipment including navigation, communication, automation and IT equipment. The contract includes everything from annual radio surveys to servicing bridge equipment, to the delivery of spare parts and on-the-spot troubleshooting.