Local Area Networks News

Inmarsat was chosen to provide connectivity through Fleet Xpress for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic’s new adventure cruise ship, National Geographic Venture.The expedition ship, designed to explore the coastal waters, shallow coves and fast-moving channels where wildlife congregates, completed its first cruise around the Galapagos Islands in December 2018 before moving to Baja California. It is also destined for the Pacific North West coast and Alaskan cruising in the next few months.Built by Nichols Brothers…

Being used to the challenges of ship-borne communications has been an asset to delivering flexible and capable communications networks ashore as Australian Navy sailors are finding in the Middle East. On her first deployment to the  region Able Seaman Communication and Information Systems Bree-ann Garner, worked as part of team developing and enhancing local area network infrastructure. Lieutenant Colonel David Jenkins, was in charge of the team and and said they had spent most of their deployment laying the foundation for updating the Australian Defence Force's communications and information systems. "We spent a great deal of time laying the ground work for the new enhanced Deployable Local Area Network Systems that will be introduced shortly," Lieutenant Colonel Jenkins said.

Marlink announced it has completed the roll-out of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) connectivity across the entire Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) fleet of 26 tankers, during a three month project started in March 2015. The final vessel, Mutriba, was completed and fully online by mid-June 2015. Marlink was awarded the contract to deliver VSAT to KOTC’s fleet in January 2015. With easier and more cost-effective access to data and voice communication through Marlink’s Sealink VSAT services, KOTC now is able to enhance its global logistics operations, i.e.

Helm Marine Software’s product team leads burdened brown water workboat operators out of the wilderness – and confidently into compliance. Four to six forms a day and that’s before Subchapter M rules take effect. That is how many forms Helm Marine Software’s product team figures a typical inland vessel must deal with, every day. Their research shows that OSV companies have around 100 different forms to complete and Dry Bulk companies have around 70. Skip the forms, and under Subchapter M, vessels without Certificates of Inspection (COIs) won’t be fined. They will also be tied up at the dock.

Serco Inc wins production & engineering services contract in support of United States Navy's Automated Digital Network Systems (ADNS). The five year contract exercises a one-year base period and four one-year option periods, with a total value of $68 million, if all options are exercised. Under the contract, Serco will perform hardware integration and testing to deliver the Navy's newest ADNS configuration in support of Shore, Ship and Submarine installations. Deployment of the system first began in 1997 to combine Internet Protocol (IP) traffic from different sources across a single radio path. This newest deployment will provide enhancements…

Carrying an estimated 90% of world trade and billions of passengers every year, international shipping represents the life blood of the global economy. Safety, always a major concern for seafarers, has made huge advances in the last century. However, the massive increase in traffic in recent decades requires, among other things, new or better global communication and navigation solutions resting on internationally-agreed standards to maintain and improve safety levels. Shipping was among the very first industries to adopt widely implemented international safety standards.

Machinery plant maintenance represents a major expense for ship operators. In addition to normal maintenance expenditures, unexpected breakdowns have a significant cost impact. Recognizing the importance of preventing equipment failures, companies continue to adopt automation for machinery monitoring at a rapid pace. Continual improvements in the price/performance ratio of automation systems have also fueled their increased use in shipboard machinery plant monitoring. As a result, more ships with automated machinery plants exist today than ever before. However, just as a typical Internet search can easily create "information overload", so too can process automation create a "data overload" situation for the engineering crews responsible for equipment operation and maintenance.

Kongsberg Maritime Ship Systems (KMSS) has won the contract to supply its integrated monitoring and control system to two Suezmax tankers currently under construction at Split Shipyard, Croatia. The tankers are owned by Tankerska Plovidba d.d., of Zadar in Croatia. The delivery will include the KMSS AutroCargo GL-100 radar based cargo level gauging system. The GL-100 level gauge consists of the GLA100 Level Sensing Unit located on the tank connected to a GLK-100 Signal Processing Unit normally located in the Cargo Control Room. Dedicated signal processing ensures normal system operation on the rest of the system if a malfunction occurs on one of the units. Ballast and Service tank level gauging will be monitored by the KMSS GT302/303 pressure transmitters.