Ship Emissions: MIT Takes the Lead Toward Net Zero
The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) launched a new research consortium—the Future Energy Systems Center—to address the climate crisis and the role energy systems can play in solving it. Randall Field, Executive Director, discusses current research and the challenges ahead for the maritime sector.The reputation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is such that it can take mammoth issues — such as driving the world to net zero — head-on, and suddenly make the impossible…
Digital Technology Enhances Marine Communications
On a warm summer morning last July, boat owners and passersby were drawn to a craft not often seen in the sleepy harbor of Wickford, Rhode Island. Tied up at the dock was the new, 37-foot, Multi-Mission Interceptor (MMI) recently produced by SAFE Boats International, where it was making a stop along its promotional run down the east coast. The craft features a sleek, state of the art design and is fully equipped with best-of-breed technology and products from a variety leading marine companies, including Mercury Verado outboard engines, Raymarine navigation system, SHOXS Shock Mitigating Seating and FLIR gyro-stabilized multi-sensor imaging systems, to name just a few. For critical communications, SAFE Boats partnered with David Clark Company of Worcester, Massachusetts.
A “Look Under the Hood”
Students glimpse the U.S. On April 25 2013, my family and I went to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), Ship Systems Engineering Station (SSES), for national “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” Most of the people who work there are engineers. Personnel at SSES design and create extremely technological naval ships and submarines, while figuring out new means of power besides oil. Throughout the day, children and parents were put into nine groups, and each group visited nine stations throughout the facility.
Northrop Grumman Receives Coast Guard Type Approval for S-VDR
Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded type approval by the U.S. Coast Guard for the Sperry Marine VoyageMaster II Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR). The Coast Guard type approval certifies that the Sperry Marine S-VDR meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) carriage requirements and International Electrotechnical Commission performance standards for “black box” recording devices on cargo ships. Similar to the cockpit recorders on aircraft, the S-VDR provides a permanent record of data from the ship’s sensors and audio recordings from the bridge for use in post-incident analysis. The S-VDR is a simplified version of the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR), which is currently required for all new ships constructed since 2002.
