Bridge Navigation News

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract with Ulstein Verft for the supply of an extensive equipment package for four wind farm commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV), two for Bernhard Schulte Offshore and two for J.P. Morgan Asset Management.The 90-meter vessels are being built at Ulstein Verft, to the ULSTEIN SX222 design. Kongsberg Maritime will supply the same range of equipment to all four vessels.Bernhard Schulte Offshore Orders Two Ulstein CSOVsUlstein Inks Deals…

The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel, the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC Cape Newagen (WPB 95318).

Crew fatigue led to an offshore supply vessel striking an oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.The offshore supply vessel (OSV) Elliot Cheramie was on its normal route between Port Fourchon, La. and the oil and gas production platform VR-397A in the Gulf of Mexico on June 25, 2021, with a crew of four and five offshore workers. While transiting, the Elliot Cheramie struck the oil and gas production platform EI-259A.

Two crews not maintaining proper lookouts led to the collision between a yacht and a tank vessel near Nassau, Bahamas, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday. The collision resulted in the sinking of the tank vessel and nearly $7.9 million in damages.The motor yacht Utopia IV and tank vessel Tropic Breeze were transiting the Northeast Providence Channel on Dec. 23, 2021, when the two vessels collided. The Tropic Breeze’s engine room flooded, and the vessel eventually sank. The vessel’s seven crewmembers abandoned ship and were rescued by a Good Samaritan vessel.

Sperry Marine has unveiled NAVIPILOT 4500N, a networked, self-tuning, fully adaptive heading control system. The first in a new series of autopilot systems, NAVIPILOT 4500N is designed to deliver improved course-keeping with reduced fuel consumption and a lower workload on the bridge, the company said.NAVIPILOT 4500N delivers the heading control performance that users expect from Sperry Marine, minimizing unwanted rudder motion and lowering drag, thereby saving fuel and contributing to greater efficiency.

The SafeNav (Safer Navigation) maritime safety project, co-funded by the European Commission and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), was officially launched on September 1.The EUR 8 million project aims to beat a path towards safer and more secure bridge navigation today while moving toward tomorrow’s world of remote operations and autonomous shipping. “The ambition and objective of the project is to develop and test a highly innovative collision-prevention solution that will significantly reduce the probability of collisions and groundings…

Aberdeen, Scotland-based Seall has secured a partnership with global marine electronics and service provider Mackay Marine to distribute Seall’s suite of software solutions and products to the maritime industry, as they expand their worldwide footprint.Mackay Marine, headquartered in North Carolina, USA, has 50 locations in 16 countries, making it Seall’s largest distribution partnership agreement to-date. Seall will work with Mackay to build and scale their offering across their network of partners and customers.

Marlink subsidiary Telemar said it signed a five-year service maintenance deal with Fairplay Towage to deliver bridge maintenance services across 50 of the company’s port and ocean tugs in Germany, Holland and Belgium.The contracts will consolidate service of critical bridge navigation equipment to a single provider, and scheduled service will be planned to agreed timeframes.The contract includes managing GMDSS declarations, annual radio survey, annual radar inspection, exchange of reserve-power batteries for GMDSS and SART/EPIRB/GMDSS handheld batteries.

As we greet 2021, it seems fitting to address a “big” topic - a topic that is ultimately going to change everything, including (and perhaps especially) training. The topic is “big data”. The goal  of today’s Training Tip for Ships is to get us thinking about big data in training. If we understand it, we can lay the groundwork to take advantage of it.We are in the data age – and this is especially important for training. Everything we do can be done more efficiently and more effectively by understanding it more deeply.

Cyber-attacks on the maritime industry’s operational technology (OT) systems have increased by 900% over the last three years with the number of reported incidents set to reach record volumes by year end.Addressing port and terminal operators during an online forum last week, Robert Rizika, Naval Dome’s Boston-based Head of North American Operations, explained that in 2017 there were 50 significant OT hacks reported, increasing to 120 in 2018 and more than 310 last year. He said this year is looking like it will end with more than 500 major cyber security breaches…

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) is advising vessel operators to exercise extra caution and safe navigation practices after multiple instances of significant GPS interference have been reported over the last year by vessels in port and underway in the eastern and central Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Port of Shanghai, China.The incidents have resulted in lost or inaccurate GPS signals affecting bridge navigation, GPS-based timing, and communications equipment…

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan explains why the global trade association is poised to take its work to the next level.While I respect the mantra of cautious optimism, I can’t help feeling genuinely excited that 2019 could prove to be a milestone year in the continuing growth of Interferry’s influence as the global voice of the ferry industry. We’ve come a long way since our US origins in 1976 as what was essentially a networking movement, but developments in recent months already suggest we are on course for yet more enhancement of our present-day worldwide networking and lobbying relationships.

Canada's Island Tug and Barge (ITB) christened the second of two new ATB tugs, the Island Regent, at its headquarters in Burnaby.The Island Regent was designed by acclaimed Robert Allan Ltd. naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Reliant, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB), said a press release from the subsidiary of Tidewater Canada.Bob Curcio, Tidewater President and CEO said: “The first ATB, the Island Raider and ITB Resolution, has performed exceptionally well in its first year of service. We are excited to have the Island Regent and ITB Reliant joining it soon.

Hatteland Display released a new 43 inch premium quality display as part of its Series X MVD product family. Hatteland Display’s latest UHD system features the same 4K panel technology as existing Series X MVD variants, all of which are designed to deliver the brightest, clearest picture for the safe and effective operation of bridge navigation and control systems.With 3840 × 2160 pixels compared to 1920 x 1080 on Full High Definition (FHD) displays, UHD is a significant technology improvement that empowers maritime technology manufacturers to develop new…

Island Raider, the newest articulating tug in Island Tug and Barge’s (ITB) fleet, was christened September 28, during an afternoon ceremony at ITB’s headquarters in Burnaby, B.C.The new vessel is first of two in a series built by on-site at ITB’s Annacis Island facility along the Fraser River. The Island Raider, along with its sister the Island Regent (delivery February, 2019), was designed by renown Robert Allan Limited naval architects and marine engineers of Vancouver, B.C. to be paired with ITB’s double-hulled oil tank barge, the ITB Resolution, as an articulated tug and barge (ATB).

Wärtsilä will provide an integrated cargo handling and fuel gas system for two new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers for Belgium-based owner Exmar. The 80,000m³ very large gas carriers are being built at HHIC-Philippines (Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Philippines) in Subic Bay, and will be the first vessels capable of running on LPG, according to Wärtsilä, who secured the order in July 2018.Wärtsilä, which offers ‘LPG as fuel’ as a fully integrated part of the cargo handling system…

Raytheon Anschütz has unveiled a new suite of navigational software, designed for intuitive operation and enhanced with smart functionality at SMM 2018. The new Radar NX and ECDIS NX software complete the Synapsis NX series of innovative bridge navigation systems.Visitors to the Raytheon Anschütz stand at SMM will see the new design introduced with Synapsis NX at glance. Modern, consistent and fancy user interfaces, together with a lean and ergonomic bridge design, dominate the…

The SMM 2018 scheduled to take place September 4-7, 2018, in Hamburg, Germany, is held every two years and is the traditional launching platform for a variety of commercial shipping and shipbuilding technologies. Five new marine technologies to look for in Hamburg include:Company: Radio HollandBooth: B6.301Product: Radar, Service, BWTRadio Holland, known for its global service network, shows its network at SMM as well as newdevelopments and innovations in its network. Most important…

Raytheon Anschütz offers a new navigational radar and chart radar software. It is designed with an intuitive user interface and a smart range of scalable functionality characterize the new Synapsis Radar NX application. With the new radar and chart radar application, Raytheon Anschütz completes the Synapsis NX series of innovative bridge navigation systems.“Radar NX was developed in accordance with human-centered design principles," said Björn Schröder, product manager for radar and ECDIS.

The SMM 2018 scheduled to take place September 4-7, 2018, in Hamburg, Germany, is held every two years and is the traditional launching platform for a variety of commercial shipping and shipbuilding technologies. Five new marine technologies to look for in Hamburg include:Company: CM Technologies GmbHBooth: A3.204Product: New Performance Indicator to save fuelThe PREMET X measuring device presented by CM Technologies GmbH makes it possible to precisely determine the cylinder pressure at every cylinder position…

Seastreak’s newest vessel, Seastreak Commodore, has been developed in response to significant passenger volume growth and brings the operator’s fleet of Incat Crowther-designed vessels to a total of eight.The 45m-long, 600-passenger ferry built at the Gulf Craft shipyard in Louisiana is the highest capacity UCSG k-Class fast ferry ever built. Incat Crowther said it worked closely with Seastreak to develop the vessel’s layout and styling to allow 600 people to safely and comfortably undertake their daily commute.

Harvey Gulf International Marine’s CEO Shane Guidry announced today the formation of new marine transportation company, Quality Liquefied Natural Gas Transport, LLC (“Q-LNG”), owned 70% by Shane Guidry and 30% by Harvey Gulf. Q-LNG will own and operate assets providing marine transportation of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”), a critical component of U.S. LNG infrastructure, commencing with a long-term contract with Shell Trading (U.S.) Company (“Shell”) to deliver LNG as a fuel source to various ports in Florida and the Caribbean. Mr. Guidry commented, “I’m very appreciative that Shell has the confidence in me and my team to service their LNG transport needs. Mr.

Maritime cyber security specialist Naval Dome has signed a contract with Piraeus-based Stamco Ship Management to install its maritime cyber defense system aboard 55 Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC).Stamco Ship Management provides technical and commercial ship management services to various companies like NYK, MOL, K-Line, China Shipping, Höegh Autoliners, WWL, Eukor and Glovis.Naval Dome will install the security system onboard the vessels’ bridge, navigation, communication and machinery control systems to deliver maximum…