Electronic Navigation Systems News

Along the 1,600-mile, ice gray arch of the St Lawrence Seaway, the 2020 Great Lakes commercial shipping season will lurch back to life on March 25 when the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. reopen.The ceremonial opening signals a passage with passable ice and the 114th Great Lakes season for its fleet of 45 venerable lakers. Most of these huge self-loading freight haulers are at least 50 years old, rust free, and fit; American steel sailing on a freshwater sea.To handle Great Lakes cargo…

U.S.-flag lakers idled for the winter season will undergo more than $97 million in maintenance and modernization work at multiple Great Lakes shipyards before returning to service in March. The $97 million figure is an increase from $70 million in 2019, according to the Lake Carriers' Association (LCA).After working around the clock for 10 months hauling cargo over more than 70,000 miles per vessel, the ships and their crews are given a brief rest to recoup before the Soo Locks reopen and the next season starts in March…

Even prior to NotPetya, regulatory bodies, insurers, P&I clubs, port authorities, and other segments of the maritime industry started taking steps to minimize the industry’s exposure to cyberattacks.The maritime industry has had an awakening. We have awoken to the fact that digitalization has woven its threads throughout the industry, and we have greatly benefited from being able to operate in an interconnected cyber environment. Likewise, being able to transmit shipboard machinery diagnostic information to shore-side operations centers…

Transas has completed the installation of Scotland's most advanced integrated ship simulator suite in the City of Glasgow College, the country's largest college. The simulation solution from Transas forms a core part of the new Riverside Campus, Phase One of the City of Glasgow College's super campus development. The installed simulator suite includes a full mission engine room simulator and four simulator labs for studying electronic navigation systems, GMDSS, liquid cargo handling and DP operations.

Picture this: A naval vessel is navigating the high seas thousands of nautical miles from land. Suddenly all navigation systems become inoperable. What happens next? What does this mean? The Navy looks to its past to chart its future. With today's technology rapidly advancing, the Navy realized that many basic techniques are still relevant to safe operations at sea. Celestial Navigation (CELNAV) is one skill that has not been formally taught to Navy officers, depending on one's commissioning source, for more than 15 years.

An increasing number of systems on ships and at marine facilities depend on cyber technologies for routine operations. While cyber technology has improved efficiencies in the marine industry and around the world, it has also created potential vulnerabilities. For example, the towboats that move goods through the Western Rivers and along our coasts rely heavily on electronic navigation systems, including Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS), to safely transit around riverbends, capes, and shoals.

Inadequate protection against cyber risks is becoming a major threat to the maritime sector, increasingly interconnected and dependent from automation. Ports and ships have become target of hackers. Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) says that cyber risks a growing concern in shipping sector, particularly around e-navigation. The IT risk is now beginning in this area, but soon ports and ships could become attractive targets for hackers, says Captain Rahul Khanna, Global Head of Alliance Marine Risk Consulting (AGCS). Companies must simulate these potential scenarios and identify the correct strategies of risk mitigation, says Khanna. Dr. Other scenarios can see cybercriminals affecting important ports, close the terminal or interfere with container or confidential data.

Shipping losses continued their long-term downward trend with 75 reported worldwide in 2014, making it the safest year in shipping for 10 years, according to Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE’s (AGCS)  third annual Safety and Shipping Review 2015, which analyzes reported shipping losses of over 100 gross tons. Losses declined by 32% compared with the previous year and were well below the 10-year loss average of 127. Since 2005 shipping losses have declined by 50%. More than a third of 2014’s total losses were in two maritime regions: South China…

The impact of technology on one of the world’s other oldest professions has been nothing short of revolutionary, in some cases forcing the marine industry to finally lay aside centuries of thinking and time-honored, if not always accurate, tools. The digital age has not only transformed almost every aspect of seafaring vessels and the processes undertaken on board, but it has sharpened and strengthened the calculations and equations used to measure, shape, process, speed, track and image the steps involved in creating parts, solving problems and rendering reality-based training.

Electronic navigation systems such as GPS, Electronic Chart Displays (ECDIS) and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) provide great assistance to mariners and significantly contribute to navigational safety. Voyage Data Recorders (VDR) were specifically designed to collect data from these electronic navigation systems and other onboard sensors for use in accident investigation. These systems provide investigators with a wealth of data about a vessel’s movements and status in the moments leading up to an accident.

According to the report "Electronic Cartography Market by Application (Marine - Commercial and Defense, Aviation - Marine - Commercial and Defense), Components (Systems, Charts), Marine Electronic Navigation Systems (ECDIS, ECS), Aviation Electronic Navigation Systems (Very Large Aircrafts, Wide Body Aircrafts, Narrow Body Aircrafts), Marine Electronic Charts Licensing Mode (PAYS, Direct), Geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa) Forecast and Analysis, 2014-2020", published by MarketsandMarkets, the electronic cartography market is expected to reach $20.3 billion, growing with a CAGR of 1.46% from 2014 to 2020. The last few years have witnessed a well paced revolution in the electronic cartographic market.

On March 14, Transas Marine and City of Glasgow College signed a contract to supply a simulation complex. The simulation center in the Riverside campus which is under construction, will be one of the largest, the most up to date and most technically advanced simulation suite in the U.K. Training courses are expected to start in Autumn 2015. The ship simulator suite forms a core part of the new Riverside Campus and the complex nature of the equipment and fit out require a high…

FRC International launched the innovative ‘DYNAV’ dynamic navigation system for high speed craft at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden in October. The DYNAV launch event enabled attendees from Scandinavia and Europe to come together with the objective of improving seafarer safety, operational performance and interoperability on fast craft. Professional sectors organizations included Search & Rescue, Navy, Special Forces, Coast Guard, law enforcement, maritime pilots, maritime legislators, training organisation and boat builders.

FRC International is launching the innovative DYNAV (DYnamic NAVigation) system for high speed craft at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, October 29-30. All individuals and organizations operating planing craft from SAR, navy, special forces, coast guard, law enforcement, renewables and the commercial sector are invited to attend the DYNAV launch event. This will be an excellent opportunity for international RIB & HSC professionals, boat builders, equipment manufacturers and industry to come together with the objective of improving sefarer safety on fast craft.

122 ships, including Coast Guard vessels and a passenger vessel, have reported malfunctions in their navigation systems since the apparent jamming of satellite signals by North Korea last week, reported 'Safety4Sea'. According to the Coast Guard in Incheon, west of Seoul, a total of 122 ships were affected by the disruption to Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. Among the vessels were eight patrol boats belonging to the Coast Guard, a passenger liner carrying 387 people and a petrol products carrier. Fishing boats operating near the tense western maritime border with North Korea also reported errors in their navigation systems, although none of them led to accidents, Coast Guard officials said.

The Alliance for Safe Navigation, whose mission is to raise awareness about the importance of up-to-date navigational information, today released a list of resources recreational boaters should turn to as part of their spring commissioning. The list stresses the importance of having accurate navigational tools onboard and reminds the boating public that getting chart updates is critical and a very real component of boating safety. The alliance points to its annual survey as evidence of the fact that boaters do get themselves into trouble. Its 2011 survey found that over 25 percent of respondents experienced a grounding within the last five years, with some damage as high as $10,000. One proactive measure boaters can take is to carry accurate and up-to-date navigational tools.

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has supplied the electronic navigation systems for the Greek cruise ship MV Aegean Odyssey, which has recently completed a major refurbishment. The ship's bridge has been refitted with a complete navigation package based on Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT(TM) technology. The scope of supply includes radars, electronic chart display and information system, gyrocompass, autopilot, ship steering system and other sensors. SRH Marine Electronics S.A., Northrop Grumman's sales and service agent in Greece, was responsible for installation, commissioning, testing and technical support, as well as operator training.

Providers in the communications and IT in shipping sector have been short-listed for innovation honors in the CITIS 2002 Awards. Winners will be announced at a gala dinner during the sixth CITIS event -hosted and sponsored by Inmarsat in London from March 18-22 - which also features a conference, seminars and an exhibition. The dinner will take place on March 19 at the Underglobe in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. In addition to awards in four commercial categories, International Maritime Organization secretary general William O’Neil is to receive a lifetime achievement award for steering the introduction of the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has received orders to supply electronic navigation systems for 13 new ships under construction at shipyards in Turkey. Sperry Marine, a business unit of Northrop Grumman, won the orders, which include nine chemical tankers at Marmara Shipyard (Yilak Group) and four new dry cargo and oil tankers at Yardimci and Turkter Shipyards (Yardimci Group). The ships will be fitted with Sperry Marine radars, autopilots, speed and heading sensors and other components. STT Deniz Ticaret ve Servis Ltd, Sperry Marine’s sales and service representative in Turkey, will install and commission the systems on the ships. Sperry Marine…

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Sperry Marine business unit is supplying a complete suite of electronic navigation systems for a new megayacht being constructed in Italy. The 142-foot (43-meter) motoryacht, which is being built for a private owner at the Baglietto Shipyard in La Spezia, will be equipped with an integrated bridge system (IBS) based on Sperry Marine’s new-generation VisionMaster FT™ technology. The scope of supply will include X- and S-band radars, electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS), TotalWatch™ multi-function workstation, gyrocompass, autopilot, steering system and other navigation sensors.

The Navy's Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) certified a significant milestone in the submarine force's transition to electronic charting by approving version 8.3 of the Voyage Management System (VMS) for use aboard attack and guided-missile submarines June 9. For submarine installations VMS is tested and certified by engineers from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Port Hueneme, Virginia Beach detachment. This latest software version enhances submarines' abilities to navigate in extreme northern latitudes and conduct under-the-ice operations.

Modern electronic navigation systems have the potential to improve vessel navigation safety and ruce accidents. The potential of these new systems is unlikely to be realiz, however, if the officers keeping the navigation watch are not fully train and properly qualifi in their use. Thus, fully realizing the potential in electronic navigation will require improv training, a wider spectrum of knowlge across the industry and better procures by vessel owners and managers to assess qualification and proper use. At the same time, as incidents relat to the use of AIS or ECDIS occur, courts are putting owners and managers on notice that such training and monitoring is requir to avoid or limit their liability for accidents.

Modern electronic navigation systems have the potential to improve vessel navigation safety and ruce accidents. The potential of these new systems is unlikely to be realiz, however, if the officers keeping the navigation watch are not fully train and properly qualifi in their use. Thus, fully realizing the potential in electronic navigation will require improv training, a wider spectrum of knowlge across the industry and better procures by vessel owners and managers to assess qualification and proper use. At the same time, as incidents relat to the use of AIS or ECDIS occur, courts are putting owners and managers on notice that such training and monitoring is requir to avoid or limit their liability for accidents.