Laptop Computer News

In November 2021, GTMaritime published a white paper: “Maritime Communications - A look over the horizon.” The report, available here, is built around three broad Sections – 1. “Basics of marine Communications;” 2. “The connected ship;” and 3. “Special services.”Then, each Section presents a closer look at various topics. The “Basics” section, for example, covers regulatory issues established by IMO treaties and national agencies. It presents the terms and concepts that define satellite systems and networks…

To operate marine electronics and communication devices, power converters such as inverters, battery chargers and power supplies are often installed to convert available DC or AC to the appropriate power outputs required. Complicating matters, both the power source (DC in varying voltages from battery banks and AC from generators or shore power) and the outputs (voltage, frequency, etc.) can vary for each piece of equipment. So much so, that finding the ideal converter can be difficult and often requires a customized solution.

In the next few years, demand for bandwidth on the high seas will grow, in no small part due to technology that is making operations more efficient and keeping crews and passengers healthy, happy and connected. Just a few years ago, a cruise-going family might have brought a single laptop computer and maybe a cell phone aboard. Today, cruise companies find that the average family shows up with 10 connected devices. And within the commercial maritime sector: crew members, away at sea for months at a time, are hungry for a robust connectivity experience to stay in touch with family and friends.

The captain and first officer of an ocean going tug boat have been found guilty of drug trafficking following the biggest ever U.K. seizure of class A drugs, the country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced. The cocaine, worth an estimated potential street value of £512 million once adulterated, was found hidden aboard the Tanzanian flagged MV Hamal in April 2015. The vessel had been intercepted by the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Somerset and Border Force cutter HMC Valiant in the North Sea approximately 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeenshire.

In examining the deadly collision of tugboat/barge Caribbean Sea/The Resource with Amphibious Passenger Vehicle DUKW 34, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that several faults played a part in the collision. On Wednesday, July 7, 2010, the empty 250-foot-long sludge barge The Resource, being towed alongside the 78.9-foot-long tugboat Caribbean Sea, collided with the anchored 33-foot-long amphibious passenger vehicle DUKW 34 in the Delaware River at Philadelphia, Penn. On board the DUKW 34 were 35 passengers and two crewmembers, while on board the Caribbean Sea were five crewmembers. As a result of the collision…

The leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, today announced that Maersk Tankers, the owner and operator of one of the world’s largest fleets of product tankers, has chosen to install Inmarsat’s Fleet Media maritime entertainment service on 30 of its vessels as part of a pilot scheme. Maersk Tankers Head of Vessel IT, Henning Madsen, said “We have chosen to install the new Fleet Media service as we wish to provide our employees with an entertainment system which is up-to-date, with the most recent content and frequently refreshed. Fleet Media is an innovative maritime entertainment solution, which uses Inmarsat’s satellite connectivity to download the latest in Hollywood movies, international films, sports and TV shows to merchant vessels anywhere in the world.

Royal Caribbean International's first Quantum Class cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas, will feature a crane and observation gondola to lift guests 91 meters above sea level, giving them panoramic views of the ship, sea and ports of call. Supplied by MacGregor, the system, called North Star, includes a 7.1-metric-ton gondola to accommodate 14 guests and one crew member, as well as a stabilizing system to ensure that it remains level with respect to the vessel's deck, and will also damp gondola movements.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has supplied Royal Caribbean International's first Quantum Class cruise ship with a crane and observation gondola called the North Star. It will lift guests 91m above sea level to give them panoramic views of the ship, sea and ports of call. North Star's 7.1-tonne gondola can accommodate 14 guests and one crew member. A stabilising system ensures that it remains level with respect to the vessel's deck, and will also damp gondola movements, providing a comfortable ride. The crane's slewing system allows the gondola to swing out over the sides of the ship at sea. "We are the first crane supplier involved in anything like this for a cruise ship," says Jonas Hägglund, MacGregor Sales Manager.

Strainstall Marine U.K. announced the award of a contract for the supply of an Integrated Marine Monitoring System (IMMS), from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of Korea. The IMMS is for the Moho Nord Tension Leg Platform (TLP), of which HHI is the constructor and Total Oil the principal operator. The Moho Nord platform is to be located offshore Congo, West Africa. The multi-million dollar project is one of the largest contracts of this type awarded to Strainstall Marine, and is an example of the ever-developing integration capabilities of the company. The project has a wide brief with many integrated systems providing critical monitoring data to the platform operating team.

Royal Caribbean International's first Quantum Class cruise ship will feature a unique crane and viewing gondola supplied by MacGregor; the North Star will lift guests 91m above sea level to give them panoramic views of the sea and surrounding ports of call. MacGregor has won the contract to deliver North Star, an engineering marvel that takes guests to new heights with a jewel-shaped, glass capsule, transporting them on a spectacular journey more than 91 m (300 feet) above the…

A short-sea trade RoRo passenger ship built by Western Marine Shipyard Ltd., is the most advanced built in the yard so far. This is the first time Bangladesh has exported a passenger ship to the European market, in compliance with the highest standards of  modern technology & safety. Isefjord waas built for Danish owner Hundested Rorvig Faergefart to carry 147 passengers & 28 units of vehicle on a Danish coastal route. She is a fully-automated vessel constructed under class Bureau Veritas rules…

A number of archaeological groups and marine service companies are acquiring boat-towed metal detectors to assist in locating shipwrecks and to perform geophysical surveys. These devices can locate a variety of targets including the piles of magnetic ballast stones found on many old wrecks, gold and silver bars, cannons, anchors, pipelines, cables, and various metal debris which must be removed from an area before dredging. The two primary pieces of equipment used in these operations are a magnetometer and pulse induction (PI) metal detectors.

DRD Towing Company, LLC., a marine company located in Harvey, La., pled guilty in federal court on Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to a felony violation of Ports and Waterways Safety Act and a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, Randall Dantin, age 46, a resident of Marrero, La. and co-owner of DRD Towing also pled guilty to a separate charge of obstruction of justice. According to the court documents, DRD Towing Company, LLC. pled guilty to creating hazardous conditions by (1) assigning employees without proper Coast Guard licenses to operate certain vessels…

DRD Towing Company, LLC., a marine company located in Harvey, Louisiana, was sentenced in federal court by U. S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to two years probation for violation of Ports and Waterways Safety Act and a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act and a $200,000 fine, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, Randall Dantin, age 46, a resident of Marrero, Louisiana and co-owner of DRD Towing, was sentenced to twenty-one months imprisonment in a separate charge of obstruction of justice. Dantin was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and serve two years supervised release during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release.

3e Technologies International Inc. (3eTI announced that the U.S. Navy has deployed its 3e-520N Wireless Gateway on USS HOWARD to improve productivity and operating efficiencies. USS HOWARD (DDG-83), an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer, has implemented a ship-wide wireless network using forty 3e-520N Wireless Gateways, allowing personnel to use wireless devices to access crucial network resources and conduct video applications. This Gateway is powered by National Semiconductor's (NYSE:NSM) Geode(TM) solution to achieve high performance and expandability. "It is becoming increasingly important, during day-to-day operations, to reach the last 100 ft. onboard ship with key technical resources.

One can only be troubled by the fact that there was at least one confirmed American fighting for the Al Qaeda. This young American, John Walker, was attending an Islamic school in or near Saudi Arabia when he became embroiled in the Al Qaeda (probably with his classmates). This means the extremist Islamic teachings that build terrorist mentality are not just in the Madrasus of poor Pakistan but are located in middle and upper class locales of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Islamic world. The arrest in October of Armed Farid Rizk in a well appointed intermodal container bound for Canada must give one pause. The container was equipped with satellite phone, laptop computer and all the comforts of home. He had credentials giving access to airports in Canada, Egypt and Thailand.

Imagine being able to take something as a simple as a barge, and convert it into a highly sophisticated dynamically positioned vessel. Now, imagine this conversion being done dockside, in the water, in a week's time. Thrustmaster's deck-mounted Portable Dynamic Positioning System (PDPS) eliminates the need for dry-docking, structural changes to the vessel, and only takes a minimal amount of deck space, so a vessel can be ready to go with a minimal amount of down time. The Arctic Discoverer was the first vessel on which a Thrustmaster portable DP system was installed in 1988, and the Thrustmaster 4 x 500-hp portable DP system was used by Nippon Salvage on its 270 x 85 x 17-ft. (82.2 x 25.9 x 5.1-m) deck barge, which has been outfitted for reel pipelay.

THE London P&I Club has warned that improvements in telecommunications technology on board ships can create unwelcome distractions, leading to casualties. In its StopLoss Bulletin, the club notes that an alleged causative factor in a recent pollution incident involved the duty officer attempting to make a Skype call on his laptop during his watch. A VDR playback revealed that the officer of the watch (OOW) was listening to a news bulletin from his home country which was being streamed through a laptop computer. The officer appears to have missed a radar target and a VHF warning call while listening to the breaking news from home. The club says…

Scheduled for a September 2003 release, the next major revision of the 3-D product modeling software for shipbuilding and offshore platforms from Albacore Research Ltd., ShipConstructor2004, will include a full Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning module (HVAC). HVAC is a fully integrated member of the ShipConstructor suite of Structure, Automatic and Manual Nest, NC Code generation, Outfit, Pipe, Fairing, and Lofting tools. To facilitate automatic report generation, HVAC makes full use of ShipConstructor's SQL Server product database. As with all ShipConstructor modules, HVAC is a full 3-D modeling package; this reduces drafting errors and time-to-production. With ShipConstructor, HVAC ducts are full-featured AutoCAD entities.

Over the past year a number of Asian companies and government agencies have acquired underwater search equipment to aid in the location of lost objects and assist in performing survey operations. In China, Guangzhou Advanced Maritime Academy has added a remote operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to their program. Reforms and opening to the outside world have paved the way for development of the country’s shipping industry. The throughput of cargo and containers at China’s ports has been the largest in the world for the past five years with an annual growth rate of 35%.

The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) gets assistance from a tugboat as she prepares to moor at her new homeport of Naval Station Norfolk, Va. As the first in her class, San Antonio represents a key element of the Navy’s sea base transformation. The San Antonio-class will functionally replace over 41 ships (LPD 4, LSD 36, LKA 113 and LST 1179 classes of amphibious ships) providing the Navy and Marine Corps with modern sea-based platforms. U.S. the amphibious transport dock USS San Antonio (LPD 17) arrived at its homeport, Naval Station Norfolk, Jan. 25. San Antonio was commissioned Jan. 14 at Naval Station Ingleside, Texas, and will be permanently homeported in Norfolk.

Argonaut Computer announced the first marine laptop computer certified by the American Bureau of Shipping and compliant with International Marine Organization standards. The new Ranger model1500T/TXL is a rugged, sunlight readable, high performance PentiumM laptop computer certified for use aboard naval and commercial vessels worldwide. The Ranger has been designed for durability, compatibility and safety for marine, military and industrial environments. On January 24, the Argonaut Ranger 1500T/TXL received the Product Design Assessment (PDA) certification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). A series of tests were employed for the PDA…

China’s state owned Guangdong Construction Engineering Group (GCEG) has purchased JW Fishers side scan sonar system. The sonar is being used to the map the bottom of various waterways before and after construction projects. It is providing engineers with information on the make up of the bottom (mud, sand, rock, etc.), as well as helping to locate and identify debris or any obstructions. Using Fishers side scan sonar and Sonar View software, GCEG engineers are able to produce detailed maps of the bottoms of rivers, lakes, and the ocean. The sonar images can be displayed on a standard laptop computer or Fishers Splashproof PC with ultrabright LCD display.