Main Bridge News

Captain Morgan McManus will serve as the Ship’s Master on the Empire State VII, the first in a series of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), which at press time was getting its post-sea trial finishing touches at Philly Shipyard. The project to design, build and deliver the NSMV series is one of the most exciting shipbuilding programs in the U.S. – a government shipbuilding project leveraging commercial shipbuilding efficiencies. For insights, we visited with Captain McManus to discuss the ship, it’s technology suite and its role in helping to educate a new generation of U.S.

NSB GROUP will work with Wärtsilä on the technical upgrade of the simulator of its NSBacademy. Since 2007 NSB is training Nautical Officers in its own Maritime Training Center. The retrofit for the technical update began in June and is expected to last three months.The NSBacademy has two ship‐handling simulators with a field of view of 270° and 180° respectively. Both units are being completely overhauled. The new Wärtsilä Simulators will include the new version of Navi‐Trainer professional simulation software…

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which manages the 82 kilometers long Panama Canal that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, has awarded Kongsberg Digital a contract to upgrade and extend the K-Sim Navigation simulators based in SIDMAR; the Center for Simulation, Research and Maritime Development of the Panama Canal Authority. Equipped with the new technology, the Panama City-based center will be able to include multiple vessels in training scenarios and extend the realism of the simulator training provided for pilots and tug masters…

Damen Marine Components (DMC) signed its first order with a Turkish Shipyard. The client is TERSAN Tersanecilik San. Tic. Aṣ., based at Yalova City on the Sea of Marmara, and the equipment will be installed on a 108-meter Factory Freezer Trawler vessel. Designed by Skipsteknisk AS, design number STL191L, it is currently in build for the Russian fishing fleet operator JSC PT Okeanrybflot.The order is for a single, customised Barke rudder with a surface area of 16 m² and a Commander rotary vane steering gear that delivers a torque of up to 430 kNm.

Instructors and students from the Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU) and Mokpo National Maritime University (MMU) will be the first to engage with a unique new approach to maritime simulation and training with the delivery of a full suite of Kongsberg Digital simulator systems to the T/S SEGERO and T/S HANNARA, two identical training ships with a length of 133m and a beam of 19m.KDI’s K-Sim simulator technology has set the benchmark for comprehensive instruction on a broad range of maritime workstations, procedures and scenarios via immersively lifelike exercises under safe and controlled conditions; and in this instance the K-Sim Navigation…

No two oil spill response operations are the same. Each can present new and even tougher challenges for spill responders as they detect, contain and recover spilled oil. Diverse aspects affecting oil spill response operations can be the physical environment, spill monitoring, use of chemical dispersants, and the availability of proper technology for the situation.Some challenges have been met through research and technology development of techniques for dealing with spills. However…

When talk turns to ‘Maritime Simulation’ visions of high-tech bridge simulators with seamless graphics and interwoven component simulators – engine room, DP systems, cargo loading – come to mind. But modern simulation is so much more, a wholistic visual, audio, tactile and cereberal experience that prepares mariners to deal with a bevy of real-world situations. Modern maritime simulation has evolved rapidly, driven by exponential leaps in computer and graphic display power, a…

For more than 100 years the U.S. has depended on State Maritime Academies (SMA) to produce USCG licensed merchant officers. The SMA’s have also been an important source of U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard officers, as well as trained personnel for the maritime industry and electric power industries ashore. Key to training these future deck officers and engineers has been the annual sea cruise on dedicated training vessels. The current SMA training ships, all of which were built for other purposes and later converted to be training ships, are getting old.

Step into MPT’s new state-of-the-art S.M.A.R.T. simulation center in Fort Lauderdale and Captain Ted Morley lights up. While the center is packed with the very latest in maritime simulation software and hardware, his eagerness to usher us through the new building transcends any new technology, because at MPT mariner training is personal; it always has been, and if Captain Morley has his way it always will be. It is clear to see that MPT’s new simulation center in Fort Lauderdale is a source of pride for Captain Ted Morley.

The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility has been an integral part of the spill response community for more than three and a half decades. Tucked away on the shores of the Sandy Hook Bay in central New Jersey resides Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility. It has been an integral part of the spill response community for more than three and a half decades. Government agencies, private industry, and oil spill response organizations from around the world have visited the facility for testing, research and training.

Wärtsilä has been awarded the contract to supply a broad range of integrated automation, navigation and dynamic positioning equipment, as well as the complete uninterruptable power systems (UPS) for four new cruise ships. Two of the vessels are being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, while the other two vessels are to be built at Meyer Turku in Finland. The contract with Wärtsilä was signed in the second quarter of 2016. The Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum system comprises 12 multifunction workstations for combined displays of ARPA radar, ECDIS conning and dynamic positioning operations, in addition to those for automatic steering and voyage planning.

Thales, a major system integrator in Canada, has chosen Raytheon Anschütz as the supplier of the Integrated Navigation System (INS) for the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) new Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV). As part of the OFSV program, three new vessels are being built for the CCG at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards. The 63-metre vessels are designed to operate in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Their mission profile is to conduct fishing and acoustic surveys and collect oceanographic data to monitor changes in the ecosystem.

Voyager Fishing Company, Ltd., based in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland, has ordered a new trawler/purse seiner, designed by Salt Ship Design in Norway and to be built at Karstensens Skipsværft in Skagen, Denmark. The newbuilding will be powered by a propulsion package comprising a MAN 12V32/44CR main engine, a 4,400-mm ø MAN Alpha VBS 1100 propeller, a two-speed RENK Type RSVL1000 gearbox, and an Alphatronic AT3000 remote control system. Vessel delivery is scheduled for August 2017.

Rotterdam-based dredging and marine contractor Van Oord has recently ordered two trailing-suction hopper dredgers as part of its continuous investment program. The vessels will be constructed at CNN LaNaval Shipyard in Sestao, Spain with delivery dates scheduled for 2017. Each vessel will feature a complete MAN Diesel & Turbo propulsion package with MAN 6L48/60CR engines, RENK gearboxes with PTO, MAN Alpha CP Propeller systems, AHT (Alpha High Thrust) Propeller nozzles and MAN Alpha AT3000 propulsion-control systems.

Wavelink Maritime Institute has launched a new maritime simulation center in May powered by Transas simulators. The Wavelink Maritime Simulation Center is a training arm of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU) and one of the first few maritime institutes in Singapore to house four different types of simulators in one location. The center, which costs $4 million, has a class of 16 workstations to train ECDIS operations. The main bridge with 240° visualisation and secondary…

To better support marine customers in South America, Rolls-Royce has opened a new training center in Brazil, to cater for customers operating the large number of vessels with Rolls-Royce systems that work in country’s deep water oil and gas fields. The center is located at the existing Rolls-Royce Marine Services site in Niteroi, just outside of Rio de Janeiro. It will provide a wide range of training programs, initially in support of winch and dynamic positioning (DP) operations…

Transas has completed a project to supply the navigational and GMDSS simulators to Girne American University (GAU), a high school in Northern Cyprus. The configuration includes two navigational bridges based on the latest Transas Navi-Trainer Professional (NTPRO) software. The main bridge with five projector visualization channels is equipped with reduced set of dedicated hardware controls. It will enable training in various shiphandling operations including bridge team management. Secondary bridge with one visualization channel will be used for familiarization and basic tasks.

Transas Marine installed a training complex for Estonian Maritime Academy in Tallinn. The contract was won through the competitive tender procedure. This extensive training facility is situated across three floors and includes more than 140 computers in configuration. The simulation complex was established to meet the latest regulatory requirements and the growing demand in training. As a result of the project, the Estonian Maritime Academy increases its capacity in ship handling training with DNV Class A main bridge simulator with 270 degrees visualization; three secondary bridges with 120 degrees visualization each, all equipped with conventional and Azimuth controls. One of the secondary bridges will be used for DP operator training (DP class 2).

The final section of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of two new aircraft carriers being built for the U.K. Royal Navy, has left BAE Systems’ shipyard at Scotstoun today to embark on a 600 mile journey to Rosyth. The Aft Island, also known as Upper Block 14, is the air traffic control tower of the ship and the center of all flight operations. Travelling around the north coast of Scotland, the block is scheduled to arrive into Rosyth on Thursday 20 June. Once the island has arrived all sections of the first of class HMS Queen Elizabeth will have been delivered. Angus Holt, Queen Elizabeth Class Block Delivery Director for BAE Systems, said, “The delivery of the Aft Island is a huge milestone for the aircraft carrier program and we are extremely proud to have achieved this.

Abu Dhabi-based Adyard has delivered two AHTS vessels equipped with MAN L27/38 propulsion packages. The two Topaz Energy & Marine 67-metre (80-ton bollard pull) vessels are ready for anchor handling tug supply services and the transportation of dry and liquid cargo to and from pipe-laying barges, drilling platforms and production platforms for offshore operations. The Topaz Dignity will operate on behalf of BP, the oil and gas major, on a long-term-contract basis in the Caspian Sea – whilst Topaz Triumph may remain in the Middle East and be operated by Topaz Marine MENA.

MAN Diesel & Turbo’s medium-speed propulsion packages have gained another foothold in Middle Eastern offshore operations. After successfully completed seatrials, Abu Dhabi-based Adyard has earlier delivered the ‘Topaz Dignity’ – which is now followed by the ‘Topaz Triumph’ AHTS. Topaz Energy and Marine, a subsidiary of Oman-based Renaissance Services SAOG and a regional leader in providing offshore support vessels and engineering services, has passed yet another milestone in its 35-year history by building two Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels.

The BAE Systems built Forward Island for 'HMS Queen Elizabeth' to transit by barge for mounting in Rosyth shipyard. The iconic Forward Island, known as Upper Block 07, is the hub of the ship as it contains the main bridge and approximately 100 vital mission systems compartments. Weighing 680 tonnes, this is the first block to depart with her final paint colours applied, all windows fitted and consoles installed, along with 43km of cables and 3,101 pipes. It also proudly displays the HMS Queen Elizabeth crest.

Transas Marine has upgraded training complex at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy (Varna, Bulgaria), including full mission bridge simulator upgrade to the latest Transas NTPRO 5000 software and new version of the GMDSS simulator TGS 5000. The Transas – Naval Academy partnership started in 2002 when Transas Marine supplied its Navigational, later Engine Room and GMDSS simulators to the Academy. In July 2012, Transas Marine has signed a contract with the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy for the extension and upgrade of the Transas Navigational and GMDSS simulators, and a long-term update/upgrade, service, support and maintenance program for the next 3 years.