Engine Control Systems News

Marlink and research institute Fraunhofer CML (Center for Maritime Logistics and Services) annonced a partnership to identify Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data to accelerate digitalization and define the ROI scenarios for operational efficiency.Marlink will leverage its BridgeLink solution to deliver data from core engine room and bridge systems including VDR, ECDIS, Radar, AIS, AMS, engine control systems, cargo systems, propulsion and sensors. Fraunhofer CML develops and optimizes processes and systems for the maritime supply chain.

Maritime communications specialist Marlink signed an agreement with research institute Fraunhofer CML (Center for Maritime Logistics and Services) to identify Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data to accelerate digitalization and define the Return on Investment (ROI) scenarios for long term operational efficiency.Within this agreement, Marlink will leverage its BridgeLink solution to deliver data from core engine room and bridge systems including VDR, ECDIS, Radar, AIS, AMS, engine control systems, cargo systems, propulsion, and sensors.

One of the world's most advanced polar research vessels is equipped with Atlas Copco marine-duty compressors.The RRS Sir David Attenborough, commissioned by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), built by Cammell Laird and operated by British Antarctic Survey, is a research platform engineered to transform how shipborne science is conducted in the Polar Regions. Its commissioning is part of a significant government polar infrastructure investment program designed to keep Britain at the forefront of world-leading research in Antarctica and the Arctic.

At Norshipping in Oslo, Wärtsilä introduced the Wärtsilä 31, self-described by the company as a transcendent power plant in terms of fuel efficiency and economy, a claim validated by the Guinness World Records which has stamped it as the most efficient four-stroke diesel engine in the world. Björn Rosengren, President and CEO of Wärtsilä, sat with Maritime Reporter to lend perspective and insight to this development and the maritime market as a whole. Wärtsilä President & CEO Björn Rosengren was beaming at the introduction of the Wärtsilä 31 to the world at last month’s Norshipping…

Beier Radio was established in 1945 as a family business in a garage workshop. In 1945, two-way radios were the most technologically advanced electronics on the market, hence the name Beier Radio. As the technology has evolved, so has the company, and although Beier Radio continues to sell and service radios, this is only a small part of its business today. The company has remained on the cutting edge of technology, and today it manufactures, sells and services vessel control systems…

UK's A&P Falmouth completes a multi-million pound refit of Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) 'Argus' as part of the company’s through life support “cluster” contract with the Ministry of Defence. The Italian-built ship was originally a container ship and was requisitioned in 1982 for service in the Falklands War. This summer RFA Argus can be seen playing a starring role in the Brad Pitt zombie blockbuster World War Z, parts of which were filmed aboard in Falmouth in 2011. RFA Argus is a Primary Casualty Receiving Facility…

Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen held a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction work on a new R&D test facility at Plant 1. The company plans to invest more than €60 million in the project by 2015. In the future, technicians will be able to run function tests on newly developed engines on the new, cutting-edge test stands with work including areas such as the development of new combustion processes, engine control systems, engine-specific exhaust gas aftertreatment plants and gas engines.

Switzerland's Hoerbiger technology group & Germany's L’ Orange GmbH establish a new company, D'Blue, to serve the Asian market. Hoerbiger and L’Orange GmbH, Stuttgart, a subsidiary of the Tognum Group, are working together to enhance their product portfolio for the equipping of two- and four-stroke engines in the power class of 100 kW per cylinder and higher. Under the name D’Blue, the two companies will be acting as a system supplier for injection and control technology for large engines with compression ignition—e.g. for ships and locomotives. Hoerbiger and L’Orange say they are using their position as technology leaders to meet growing…

User interface is the most visible system component when it comes to equipment operation. From the steering wheel and instrument cluster on your vehicle’s dashboard to the most complex industrial control system, the purpose is the same; it must allow human interface into a system. The interface must provide the user a means to control the equipment, provide feedback from the equipment to show operational conditions and alert us when something is wrong. And it should do these things efficiently, be easy to use, and visually and ergonomically pleasing.

Following on the success of the Dreama Klaiber, launched in late 1999, Blessey Marine’s latest boat is an evolution of that concept. While the Dreama dimensions are 95x30x12.6, the new boat will be 110 x 32 x 11.5-feet. This allows for the same power with a shallower draft. The new boat will also be powered by a pair of 16-cylinder Cummins KTA50 M2 engines, delivering a total of 3200 hp (2,388 kW) for continuous duty at 1800 RPM. the engines are equipped with Cummins’ optional CENTRY electronic engine control systems and drive through Reintjes WAF 772 marine gears with a reduction of 7:1 turning 88- x 68-inch four-blade stainless steel propellers on eight-inch diameter shafts. The vessel is equipped with four flanking and two steering rudders, as are all of Blessey's towboats.

Demonstrating a long-term commitment to its U.K. industrial base, Vosper Thornycroft is scheduled to start production next spring at a new, £40-million ($60-million) shipbuilding facility being created within the Portsmouth Naval Base. The technologically advanced, undercover yard will cut its teeth on the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyer program, constructing pre-outfitted blocks of up to 700-ton steelweight for ship assembly elsewhere in the U.K. at yards controlled by BAE Systems. Described as a shipbuilding factory, in keeping with investments in state-of-the-art production machinery and a layout and logistic arrangements conducive to high productivity…

As a resounding endorsement of its long-term commitment to shipbuilding in the U.K., Vosper Thornycroft (VT) has created a state-of-the-art ship production facility within Portsmouth Naval Base. Having recently attained preliminary operational status through steel cutting on 295-ft. (90-m) transport barge, the 33-acre naval shipbuilding yard is set to play a key role in the construction of the Royal Navy's next generation of destroyers while extending VT's overall build capabilities and market reach. It has been some decades since Britain last saw the opening of a new yard of any significant size, and VT's initiative ensures a future for the industry in southern England.

While they continue to grow their fleet with the February delivery of a 1,600 hp retractable wheelhouse towboat, Blessy Marine also now have their most powerful tug under construction at Kody Marine. With the conventional shallow water draft of the river wheelhouse towboat, it will have an adjustable air draft. To meet requirements of the Upper Mississippi and other small and bridged rivers where she will work, she was designed by Design Associates of New Orleans, with a telescoping three stage hydraulic ram to lift the wheelhouse from a low position with a clearance over the wheelhouse once the antenna has been retracted, of just 18 ft. Fully extended the top of the wheelhouse has an eye level view of 32 ft.