CAE Wins Navy, Commercial Contracts

CAE's marine controls division has won contracts worth around C$5 million to supply its automation systems for installation on a number of commercial ships, two French naval ships and a U.K. Royal Navy research/support vessel.

For the French navy, CAE Valmarine will build integrated safety management systems (ISMS) for French shipyard Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN), which will install the equipment on the two Mistral-class landing helicopter docks (LHD), being built to commercial standards. The first vessel (Mistral) is to be fitted in March 2005. Installation on the Tonnerre is to be completed in December 2005. CAE has already supplied the integrated automation system and emergency shutdown system for the two vessels. The Royal Navy's HMS Endurance, which is designed to conduct research in the Arctic, is to be refitted by June with an advanced human-machine interface. The CAE Damatic(tm) DNA automation system has also been selected to upgrade Carnival Cruise Lines' MS Holiday, the first in a series of three Holiday cruise liners to be refitted. M/S Birka Princess, owned by Finland's Birka Line ABP; M/V Bebedouro, owned by Switzerland's Cargill International S.A; and M/S Tove Knutsen, owned by Norway's Knutsen OAS Shipping, will all have their alarm, and monitoring and control systems upgraded with CAE Damatic(tm) DNA. All upgrades are expected to be completed this year. CAE Damatic(tm) systems enable a single crewman to have full control of all shipboard machinery and equipment. They are highly reliable, guaranteeing uninterrupted operations even in the event of system failure. These new contracts call for the same technology used on the Queen Mary 2, the world's largest cruise liner, which has just completed its maiden voyage.