Integrated Bridge System Retrofit on Stena Ferries

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit provided a fully networked suite of scalable navigation products from the VisionMaster FT™ series, to form the core of ship's integrated bridge on several Stena Line RoPax ferries.

The Stena Superfast VII and Stena Superfast VIII vessels were upgraded with VisionMaster FT™ navigation radars, a voyage data recorder, and an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) that provides full control on both bridge wings. Meanwhile, the Stena Europe and Stena Adventurer were outfitted with the VisionMaster FT™ ECDIS, which meets the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) regulations for paperless navigation while providing a separate, redundant backup station in case the primary ECDIS navigation station is damaged or disrupted.

"Our highly reliable, flexible navigation solution provides leading edge situational awareness capabilities and improvements in radar performance to enhance the ships' safety at sea," said Alan Dix, managing director of Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine. "Additionally, it ensures compliance with new carriage requirements for greater navigational safety standards as set out by the IMO."

In addition to equipment, Northrop Grumman provided installation and training on the VisionMaster FT™ products. The company's customized, modular solution enables a high level of integration with the ships' current systems.

Sperry Marine is a business unit of Northrop Grumman's Navigation and Maritime Systems Division. Headquartered in New Malden, U.K., with major engineering and support offices both in New Malden and in Hamburg, Germany.