Magnetic Compass News

Mackay Marine said it has completed final electronics commissioning during sea trials aboard the future CCGS John Cabot. Constructed at Seaspan’s Vancouver shipyard, the new ship is the third Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV) built for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCGS) under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.Mackay said it was selected to be part of the team to support Thales Canada in its role as Tier-1 Partner to Seaspan Shipyards and as Electronic Systems Integrator for the construction of these vessels.

Mackay Marine announced the opening of its newest marine electronics service center, in Fujairah, U.A.E., located on the east coast of the Gulf of Oman.Mackay Marine–UAE provides Comm & Nav electronics sales and service to vessels in ports throughout the U.A.E., including Fujairah, Jebel Ali, Dubai, Sharjah, Port Saeed, Khorkakkan, etc., as well as service ships in Dry Dock in Oman and Dubai.Mackay Marine’s Capabilities Include:Complete Comm & Nav services provided by a single cross-trained marine technician…

Mackay Marine has acquired ChartCo’s Compass Services’ comprehensive magnetic compass business, effective October 9, 2019. This includes personnel, field service kits, compass calibration & repair laboratory, tools & equipment, compass & spare parts inventory, customer contracts, and vendor agencies.Mackay currently provides worldwide compass adjusting, audits, and field service through our 36-certified Magnetic Compass Adjusters at numerous ports along major trading routes. The acquisition of ChartCo’s business expands Mackay capabilities to perform in-shop…

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.

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).

Because drone-related technologies are improving at an extremely rapid pace, application in diverse fields is increasingly expected. In the maritime industry as well, efforts aimed at utilization in the field of inspections and surveys are being carried out. At the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), discussions on the use of Remote Inspection Techniques (RIT) including drones in class surveys are already underway, and IACS Rec. 42 (Guidelines for Use of Remote Inspection Technics for Surveys) was revised in June of 2016.

Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) builder ASIS Boats has built and delivered the first of a fleet of 12-meter all weather passenger transport professional RIBs. The intended use of these RIB Boats will be to transport safely up to 23 passengers from main land to islands, daily and continuously, under any weather conditions. With 450-liter under deck stainless steel fuel tanks and powered by twin 250-horsepower Suzuki four stroke outboard engines, this semi-rigid transport RIB can reach speeds of up to 43 knots and speeds of 40 knots with all 23 passengers on board…

German navigation system manufacturer Raytheon Anschütz says it has supplied an advanced gyro compass system for two 25,000 dwt polar class heavy transport vessels for operation north of 70° LAT. The vessels AUDAX and PUGNAX were ordered for Red Box Energy Services and built at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China in accordance with the DNV NAUT-AW and highest ice class notations. Raytheon Anschütz has supplied these high-tech vessels with a comprehensive and advanced dual gyro compass system complete with redundancy in distribution and well as a steering gear control system.

Radio Holland has been appointed by Cassens & Plath to conduct Magnetic Compass replacement services, in all countries where Radio Holland holds office. Before, these services were conducted by Cassens & Plath themselves, and forwarded to an appropriate service agent. Following on successful past collaborations, these services for Cassens & Plath compass types 11, 12 and 21 are now assigned to Radio Holland exclusively for all the related entities. In combination with the REFLECTA, these three compass types make up the largest part of all magnetic compasses sold by Cassens & Plath.

NOAA officials announced today the World Magnetic Model (WMM), a representation of Earth’s large-scale magnetic field and an indispensable complement to GPS devices used by NATO, the United States and United Kingdom militaries, as well as civil applications ranging from mineral exploration to smartphone apps, has been updated. Changes in the Earth's outer core trigger unpredictable changes in its magnetic field, an invisible force that extends from Earth's interior to where it meets a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that six foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during October 2014 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection. During October, there were three new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port. Three vessels remained under detention from previous months, and four vessels were released during October. A total of two vessels remain under detention at the end of October.

Wamalhanha is the final newbuild in a series of six tugs of the Robert Allan Design, RAstar 3200 where her main duties will be terminal activities, escort duties, ship assist, towage duties. She was named on September 24, 2014 at UZMAR Workboat and Tug Factory for delivery. Rio Tinto owns six vessels in this series, these arePilbara Apollo, Kashima, Matsuzaka, Barrura, Gurrgura and Wamalhanha.These vessels have been adapted to requirements for the work in Australian Iron Ore Terminals including power and improved NOx and SOx reduction for the exhaust emissions.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract by Peter Dohle Schiffahrts-KG to supply the Integrated Bridge Systems, including navigation, voyage data recorders and radio systems, to seven new bulk carrier ships. Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine business unit will supply the equipment to Jiangsu Hantong Shipyard in Nantong, Jiangsu, China. The full Integrated Bridge System package will include VisionMaster FT Radars, VisionMaster FT ECDIS, Magnetic Compass System, Echosounder…

Raytheon Anschütz, a German-based navigation system supplier, delivers its 15,000th Standard 22 Gyro Compass in June 2014. Onboard the superyacht Esmeralda the jubilee compass will replace an old Anschütz Standard 4 Gyro Compass which has been in operation for more than 30 years. The new generation of the Anschütz Gyro Compass – Standard 22 – was presented 10 years ago at SMM in Hamburg. Today, approximately 1,800 Standard 22 compasses are sold per year. The jubilee compass was sold through Aegean Electronics S.A.…

The U.S. Navy, and the aeronautic field in general, has benefited enormously from the genius of more than one Sperry. Lawrence Burst Sperry, the second son and third child of gyrocompass inventor Elmer A. Sperry was a pioneer in instrumental flight and famous inventor in his own right, launching the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Co. at 26, and earning 23 patents before his untimely death at the age of 31 in 1923. It was no exaggeration. Like his father before him, Sperry’s engineering brilliance more than made up for his lack of a college degree…

Elmer A. Sperry casts a long shadow over the history of modern naval, nautical and aeronautical technology, one few people know much about, but should, for a man crowned both the “father of modern navigational technology” and “the father of automatic feedback and control systems,” as well as a pioneer of rocket and missile technology. “It is safe to say that no one American has contributed so much to our naval technical progress,” eulogized Charles Francis Adams III, Secretary of the Navy from 1929-1933, on the death of engineering genius Elmer Ambrose Sperry, June 16, 1930, at 69.

Under agreement with the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation is proposing to amend the joint Practices and Procedures (known as "regulations" within the SLSDC). Gyro compass error greater than 2 degrees must be serviced prior to transiting the Seaway, if noted during a Seaway transit, it must be reported to the nearest Seaway station and the gyro compass must be serviced at first opportunity. When magnetic compass error is greater than 5 degrees…

The club’s publications highlight best practice, good seamanship and sensible practical operational procedures in order to help reduce the incidence of property and vessel damage by raising operating standards. The new booklets with their simple, concise and clear text and diagrams are an essential tool for small vessel operators trading in coastal waters and harbors and are designed to complement the usual statutory safe navigation rules documentation. According to the Shipowners’ Club, the purpose of this booklet is to allow the seafarer to have a better understanding of how to undertake tidal calculations. Hari Subramaniam, Shipowners' Deputy Loss Prevention Manager explained…

THOR is the brain-child of CTruk’s Military and Security team, who between them have amassed approximately 200 years of military experience, skills and knowledge. Realizing that new designs must be right the first time, the company has established a Military Design Advisory Panel (MDAP), which acts as an advisory body, steering design to ensure that vessels are fit for task. The result of all this expertise, not to mention CTruk’s proven offshore support vessel designs, is THOR…

Raytheon Anschütz do Brasil reports a number of contract awards for the supply of gyro compass and autopilot systems to new offshore platform supply vessels built at Brazilian shipyards. The largest contract covers four shipsets, each with a fully equipped triple Standard 22 gyro compass system, repeater compasses and Anschütz PilotStar D autopilot system, for four newbuilt Platform Supply Vessels, followed by various contracts for DP2-classed gyro systems, dual gyro systems and various autopilot systems.

With the new Horizon MF the German navigation system manufacturer Raytheon Anschütz launches a new generation gyro compass which can be operated free of maintenance. Horizon MF is Raytheon Anschütz’ new strap down compass system which uses Hemispherical Resonator Gyros (HRG) to measure angular rates for heading calculation. In a strapped-down system angular rate gyros and accelerometers are not gimballed but mounted stationary in a housing. The sensor measures angular rates and accelerations in three axes.

With the new Horizon MF the German navigation system manufacturer Raytheon Anschütz launches a new generation gyro compass which can be operated free of maintenance. Horizon MF is Raytheon Anschütz’ new strap down compass system which uses Hemispherical Resonator Gyros (HRG) to measure angular rates for heading calculation. In a strapped-down system angular rate gyros and accelerometers are not gimballed but mounted stationary in a housing. The sensor measures angular rates and accelerations in three axes.

Quality Maritime Training (QMT) partners with Educational Systems & Technologies on the River and the Sea; (acronym STORM) to provice simulator & training technolgies. Quality Maritime Training (QMT) of St. Petersburg, Florida has partnered with Educational Systems and Technologies on the River and the Sea; STORM Ltd., to provide STORM's marine simulators, computer based training (CBT) programs and crew knowledge assessment systems to U.S. mariners. STORM is headquartered in Moscow, Russia  and also has a second location in Saint Quentin, France - STORM SIM SARL.