maritime it & electronics (august/september 2010)

August/September 2010

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© Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (2010). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (includingphotocopying, storing in any medium by electronic means or transmitting) without the written permission o f the copyright owner except in accordance with theprovisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 6-10 Kirby Street, London, England,EC1N 8TS, website: www.cla.co.uk email: [email protected]. Applications for the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should beaddressed to the publisher.

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CONTENTSEditor: Kevin [email protected]

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

Electronics8 Plug-and-play is far froma realityThe NMEA 2000 standard isbeginning to gain traction, butchallenges remain

Broadband12 FB150 complements 3Gon coastal tradesInmarsatʼs entry-levelbroadband service fills gaps inconnectivity

16 Is maritime satcomsready for the switch to IPv6?The Internet is running out ofaddress space, but doshipowners need to worry?

Navigation18 Cleaner seas with greennavigationECDIS systems could be fedenvironmental data on-the-fly

Vessel tracking24 Exploration of space-based AIS continuesDespite initial scepticism, thetechnology gains newsupporters

Simulators26 Surveyors learn faster onboard virtual shipDNV uses 3D game technologyto shorten inspector trainingtime

Ship design28 Usability is a priorityNumber crunchingperformance is important, butso increasingly is ease-of-use

Data management31 Joining up ship data canpay dividendsStandards are only part of thesolution to informationmanagement needs

Optimisation34 Satcoms telemetry helpssave fuelOil price spike encouragesoperator to take fuel monitoringseriously

36 Trimming fuel costs theintelligent waySoftware to replace an officerʼsinstinct for assessing trim

38 An electronic helpinghand for shipsʼ mastersVoyage data can now bedelivered straight to ECDIS

COMMENTNEWSINNOVATIONSMARKETPLACE

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COMMENT

2 MITE August/September 2010

unlikely that even Inmarsat’sboffins can squeeze much morebandwidth on this frequency.Moreover, competitor VSAT serv-ices (typically offering 1-4Mbpson an all-you-can-eat contract,subject to fair-use) have droppedin price markedly in recentyears, making them an attractiveproposition for ship operatorswith larger data appetites.

Forward visionBut even as it launched Fleet-Broadband, the company wasthinking ahead. It quietly an-nounced the Alphasat I-XL mis-sion to augment the company’sexisting family of BGAN services(of which FleetBroadband is butone). With a mass of 6000kg andsporting a 12m aperture antennareflector, Alphasat will be one ofthe world’s largest telecommuni-cations satellites, costing in theregion of €260m (excluding in-surance). It will feature the latestdigital signal processing circuits,providing increased capacity(more than 750 channels) withimproved quality, particularlyfor satellite phone users.

But these projects pale intocomparison against the com-pany’s latest announcement: a$1.2bn contract with Boeing, theUS aerospace manufacturer, tobuild a trio of satellites for a newworldwide wireless broadbandnetwork to be called InmarsatGlobal Xpress.

Perhaps most significantly,however, is the fact they will op-erate on Ka-band. As reportedpreviously (MITE, May 2010),this super high frequency offersa number of advantages, includ-ing smaller antennas and higherspeeds and greater capacity. In-marsat chief executive with un-derstandable enthusiasm asks usto envisage ships crew getting

Perhaps owing to itsroots as a public serv-ice body created byIMO back in the late

1970s, Inmarsat has traditionallybeen seen as a rather risk-averseoperation. Maybe this was thebest way of gaining the confi-dence and trust of an industry asconservative as shipping.

But since being privatised, ithas become much bolder. Itsonce stuffy persona has disap-peared to be replaced with an in-creasing willingness to innovateand explore new technologies.This change may also stem froma realisation that it cannot hold anear monopoly on maritime (or,for that matter, aeronautical andremote terrestrial) satcoms for-ever. Or to put more simply, ithas to move with the times.

Successful serviceThe most obvious and most suc-cessful outcome to emerge so faris FleetBroadband. Now almostthree years old, the service haslargely lived up to the hype inbringing broadband to the mar-itime masses. Thanks chiefly tothe advanced circuits housed in-side the fourth generation satel-lites, Inmarsat’s engineers havemanaged to deliver an impres-sive 432Kbps (albeit at best-ef-fort) over an L-band link.

It should be rememberedthat before the advent of Fleet-Broadband, officers and crewwanting to send an email whileat sea typically had to do so at9.6kbps. If the message carried alarge attachment, it would proba-bly be quicker – and almost cer-tainly cheaper – to wait until theship reached its next port andpick up a CD sent ‘snail-mail’.

While L-band may be reli-able, it is not without limitations.The rules of physics mean it is

their web-fix at 50Mbps. How-ever, it is not without disadvan-tages, particularly when it comesto serving the maritime market.Wavelengths are shorter andtherefore most susceptible to at-tenuation and weather degrada-tion.

Planning globallyThere are separate considera-tions for the satellite operatorsthemselves, not least the finan-cial viability of delivering high-power beams to low populationdensity areas, which again is par-ticularly relevant to the potentialmaritime market. In this respect,it is worth noting that Inmarsatis planning a global network,rather than the regional ap-proach being taken by other sat-coms players.

According to the official state-ment, each of the three In-marsat-5 (I-5) satellites will carrya payload of 89 Ka-band beams,capable of flexing capacity acrossthe globe and enabling the com-pany to adapt to shifting sub-scriber usage patterns over theirprojected lifetime of 15 years.

Of course, there are stillmany unknowns as to how In-marsat might go about marketinga Ka-band service to the mar-itime sector. For example, will itrequire an L-band back up, as istypically the case with Ku-band?A lot will ultimately depend onhow much the service will costusers. Will Inmarsat bite the bul-let and drop the pay-as-you-gopricing model it so likes infavour of a fixed-price all-you-can-eat plans preferred by end-users?

Inmarsat raises thestakes with Ka-band

Kevin TesterEditor

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Good fleet performance comes in threes with GE Satcom’s Satlynx Maritime solution. Our triple-play satellite network solution easily multiplexes internet access, TV entertainment and an integrated low-priced telephony system into any cabin, technical or recreation room. The Automated Beam Switching (ABS) feature opts for the least-cost route between three options: flat-rate Ku-band satellites, or Inmarsat or Iridium. You can control the system from land, monitoring your entire fleet worldwide - from fuel efficiency to positioning at sea - while keeping ship operations streamlined and crew morale high.

Visit us at SMM 2010, in Hamburg - Hall B6, Stand 572

[email protected]

GESatcom

Triple PlayThree flavours, one perfect package

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NEWS

Inmarsat has agreed a contractwith Boeing for the delivery ofthree state-of-the-art 702HP Ka-band satellites. The Inmarsat-5constellation will enable In-marsat to provide a uniqueglobal high speed mobilebroadband service offering. Themove comes only three yearsafter Inmarsat-4 came into op-eration.

Expected to start in 2014,Inmarsat-5 will support a newglobal service, Global Xpress,which will target an estimated$1.4bn market opportunity inVSAT services in the maritime,energy and government sec-tors.

According to Inmarsat, theservice will deliver ʻseamlessglobal coverage and unprece-dented mobile broadband withspeeds up to 50Mbps, to smallcustomer terminals between

20-60cm in sizeʼ.Inmarsat estimates that the

total cost of Inmarsat-5 andGlobal Xpress will be $1.2bnover 4.5 years, incorporatingthe fixed cost of the satellites, aswell as the cost of additionalground network infrastructure,product development, launchservices and insurance.

Inmarsat chief executiveAndrew Sukawaty said: ʻThis is anew investment for newgrowth. With the Global Xpressnetwork, we will be the first op-erator to offer global mobilebroadband coverage, offeringunparalleled speeds and band-width to customers in remotelocations around the world.

Global Xpress will be fasterand less expensive than currentKu-band market offerings, de-livered to smaller and cheaperterminals and be the first of-fered on a seamless, global, endto end basis with high quality ofservice.

ʻPicture 50Mbps services toa ship or aircraft and 10Mbps to

an antenna the size of an AppleiPad.

ʻInmarsat-5 will also com-plement our existing global L-band services, allowing us tooffer unique hybrid packagesusing both networks, givingusers unprecedented levels ofresilience and reliability in re-mote and harsh environments.ʼ

Inmarsat breaks status-quo in shock Ka-band move

Publisher of this magazine,IMarEST, has become a support-ing organisation to the SeatradeMiddle East Maritime exhibition.Taking place 26-28 October atthe Dubai International Conven-tion and Exhibition Centre, thisgathering is recognised as thelargest commercial maritimeevent in the Middle East cater-ing to all the major shippingmarkets as well as ports and off-

shore marine sectors. Of particular interest to

MITE readers is the ʻTechnologyForum: Europeʼ taking place ondays two and three. Free-to-attend seminars will be show-casing a host of technicalinnovations, ranging from mar-itime communications, naviga-tion and bridge equipment tothe latest in ship propulsion andsafety systems.

IMarEST supports leading Middle East trade show

Vizada is offering shipping companies the opportunity to reduce thecost of shore-ship communications to Inmarsat FleetBroadband ter-minals through a voice over IP (VoIP) connection on its network.

To take advantage of the service, shipping companies that useVizadaʼs Inmarsat FleetBroadband service and make regular voice callsto vessels from their offices will need a VoIP-compatible PABX tele-phone server at their premises.

Vizada can then configure its infrastructure so that calls made viathis server are routed over its network to the terminal on board ship.Once in place, all voice calls to Inmarsat FleetBroadband terminals aretransited via VoIP, significantly reducing costs.

Calls from a fixed line to a FleetBroadband terminal ‒ routed overthe network of a national (or other local) telecoms operator ‒ often at-tract a significant premium. Director Vizada Solutions Reinhold Luep-pen told MITE: ʻIn some cases they can cost up to US$8/min. So it isunsurprising that the main request from our maritime customers is fora reduction in the cost of shore-to-ship calls, while keeping a simple di-alling procedure.ʼ

The cost savings promised by Vizada derive from the fact that callsare channelled through its own voice backbone, therefore bypassingthe national operators and premium charges entirely.

While it is possible to sidestep incumbent national network oper-ators by dialling in a special access code, typically followed by somekind of account number and PIN, this adds a significant inconveniencefactor when making a call. Because outgoing calls are handled on theVoIP infrastructure by Vizada, this manoeuvre is rendered unnecessary.

Continues Leuppen: ʻMany of the major shipping companiesthat use our services make very frequent calls from shore to shipand they stand to benefit a great deal from this. End users also ben-efit as the dialling procedure is exactly the same as with a standardland-based voice call. The only number they dial is that of the satel-lite terminal.ʼ

It is worth noting that the new service is unidirectional insofar itwill not alter how calls are placed from the ship to shore destinations,which will continue to be routed as normal voice transmissions.

� More rockets will beneeded for Inmarsatʼs Ka-band service to take off

Vizada VoIP reduces thecost of shore-to-ship calling

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MITE August/September 2010 5

Cobham Satcom is shipping anew fully stabilised lightweightVSAT antenna. The Sea Tel XX10is specifically designed to de-liver always-on broadband tousers working in maritime envi-ronments.

The antenna is equippedwith an advanced stabilisationsystem, which, according toCobham, will isolate the an-tenna system from shipʼs mo-tion no matter how rough thesea state or weather conditions.

Available in 100cm (40”)and 125cm (50”) reflector sizes,the XX10 is sold both in co-po-larisation mode for global cus-tomers and cross-polarisationmode for regional customers.

The antennas run with SeaTelʼs latest digital antenna con-troller, and as a result, workhappily with remote manage-

Telemar has acquired the Nor-wegian maritime radio andsatellite communications sup-plier Polaris Electronics Norgegiving it a crucial foot in thedoor to the important Scandi-navian market.

Through the acquisition,Polaris ‒ or Telemar Norge asthe business will now becalled ‒ will be able to exploitʻcomplementary strengthssuch as an integrated businessmodel and innovative pack-agesʼ, according to an officialstatement.

Telemarʼs managing direc-tor Bruno Musella explains that

the Norwegian business has awell-established reputation andtrack record within its geo-graphic market.

It will now be able to drawupon the Telemar Groupʼsglobal maintenance and sup-port network in providing theso-called ʻlast-mileʼ connectionfor maritime customers.

It will also have access toTelemarʼs integrated broad-band offerings, including tai-lored hardware packages,turn-key installation and main-tenance, IP networking integra-tion and other value addedservices.

ment devices, thereby allowingremote diagnostics and mainte-nance.

Cobham Satcom vice presi-dent John DeSana says thatfeedback during beta-testingwas overwhelmingly positive.He believes the antenna couldact as a catalyst ʻfor a significantincrease in the uptake of VSATin commercial shipping.ʼ

As such, he is bullish aboutprospects for next year: ʻWe ex-pect very strong growth in themarket in the coming 12months.ʼ

Elsewhere, Thrane & Thranewill shortly unveil its latest VSATantenna system. Vice-presidentfor maritime, Casper Jensen,says the Sailor 900 is an impor-tant addition to the companyʼsmaritime broadband productline-up.

NEWS

Sea Tel XX10 series antennas are purpose-built for maritime use

Telemar acquires Polaris, gainsimportant foothold in Norway

Triton Diving Services is outfitting its fleet of diving support vessels withhigh-speed Internet, data, VoIP, and video capabilities from HughesNetwork Systems in order to provide critical ship-to-shore and diver-to-ship communications.

Louisiana-based Triton provides a host of diving services to oil com-panies, derrick barges, government, and commercial vessels, and otherbusinesses operating in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently the company hasbeen active in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup.

The new VSAT-based network will support this effort, as well as ap-plications such as drilling rig inspections, underwater video feeds fromdivers, vessel tracking and measurement, and WiFi for the boatsʼ on-board Internet cafes.

Because employee safety is a top priority, one of the main applica-tions of the Hughes Maritime Broadband solution will be to providecritical real-time data for Tritonʼs Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)management system.

A reliable, high-speed network is a critical requirement nowadaysas offshore operations become increasingly dependent on real-timedata communications for compliance and crew morale purposes.

Deepwater Horizon clean up vessels stay online with Hughes

Jotron Group, the Norwegian company better known for its safetydevices and emergency beacons, has formally announced the es-tablishment a new business unit dedicated to maritime communica-tions.

Headed by industry veteran Ottar Bjåstad, for the present, thebusiness unit is concentrating its energies on developing and bring-ing to market a new VSAT stabilised antenna.

Bjåstad says members on the R&D team each bring between 10-30 years experience of designing and building such systems. The planis to introduce the finished product later this year and take advan-tage of parent Jotronʼs global distribution network in helping it reachcustomers.

Bjåstadʼs vision is for the Norwegian company to become a majorsatcoms player that will take over where Nera SatCom left off after itwas acquired by Thrane & Thrane in 2006 and subsequently wounddown two years later.

Jotron in satcoms venture bid



German ship manager PhoenixReederei reports that its aver-age monthly satellite expenseshave dropped more than €1000per ship since installing IridiumOpenPort satellite terminals onfive of its vessels.

Iridium OpenPort is an IP-based system that offers a com-bination of up to threeindependent phone lines and aseparate data circuit withspeeds up to 128 kbps.

Service partner Otesat-Maritel provided the OpenPortterminals and service plans forthe Phoenix ships. Nordic-ITMarine was responsible for theinstallation and commissioningof the systems.

Phoenix has interfaced theIridium OpenPort terminals toits gate4c IP shipboard gatewayservers, which provide commu-nication optimisation, firewalls,least-cost routeing and com-pression software. mareDataGmbH, a German IT researchand development company,

fine-tuned the gate4c hardwareand software package to matchPhoenixʼs requirements.

ʻWe installed the first Irid-ium OpenPort unit in January2009, and noticed an immedi-ate drop in our monthly satelliteusage costs,ʼ said MartinEhmen, IT manager for Phoenix

Reederei. ʻOur analysis revealsthat we are saving an averageof €1000 per ship each month.This translates into an eight-month return on investment forthe equipment and installationcosts of the Iridium OpenPortand gate4c hardware and soft-ware.ʼ

Ehmen said that each shipis currently using two phonelines and data speeds of 32kbps, which is sufficient forcurrent requirements. ʻWe arevery pleased with the low cap-ital investment and usagecosts of Iridium OpenPort andexpect to install the equip-ment on more ships later thisyear,ʼ he added.

Crew on one hundred BWMaritime vessels includingVLCCs and LPG carriers willsoon benefit from VSAT con-nectivity when equipmentfrom CapRock is deployedthroughout the fleet.

The roll-out follows thecompletion of a nine-monthpilot programme during whichthe capabilities of CapRockʼsSeaAccess VSAT services weretested against the existing pay-as-you-go solution.

BW requires reliable con-nectivity on its vessels for effi-cient fleet operations. Until nowit had relied on a metered solu-tion with limited bandwidthand fluctuating monthly in-voices. However, after upgrad-ing its IT infrastructure, this wasno longer adequate.

ʻWe wanted to implementmore corporate applicationsonboard our vessels. The othermotivation is our desire to at-tract and retain seafarers by of-fering “home comforts” such asInternet broadband services forthem to keep in touch with theirfriends and families onshore,ʼsaid BW IT manager GeraldinePang.

With the deployment of theturnkey SeaAccess solution ‒complete with network design,equipment installation andcommissioning, and aroundclock helpdesk support ‒ BW re-ceives fixed monthly billing andalways-on communicationswith scalable data rates to meetcorporate and crew require-ments.

Under the agreement,CapRock will provide the fleetwith VoIP, access to the corpo-rate network and real-timemonitoring and reporting capa-bilities to sustain communica-tions between vessels and thecompanyʼs Singapore and Oslooffices.

As in most maritime in-stallations, crew welfare serv-ices will be deployed thatinclude dedicated bandwidthfor Internet and prepaid call-ing cards with competitivecalling rates.

In addition, BW will inte-grate SafePass, CapRockʼs webcontent-filtering solution, andAssetTrax, CapRockʼs asset-tracking solution; both serviceswere used on the fleetʼs pilotvessel.

Phoenix Reederei switches provider andsaves money

The German managerhas installed OpenPorton five vessels

BW Maritime avoids fluctuatinginvoices with CapRock VSAT

NEWS

Euronav Ship Management haschosen Seagullʼs electronic tankerofficer training system (TOTS) foruse on all of its very large crudecarriers. Having first been deliv-ered to Euronav offices in August2009, the system is now active onboard 30 ships.

Intertanko introduced theTOTS, which goes beyond STCWrequirements, as a set of volun-tary standards to ensure tankerofficer competence forgeneral and vessel type specificshipboard operations. The hopeis these standards will eventuallybecome the norm.

Developed to meet an Inter-tanko request to create a paper-free training support tool,Seagullʼs e-TOTS allows crewmembers to take a more flexibleapproach to learning, with theability to download informationand tests. .

Euronav's marine managerCapt Jan De Brabanderesaid that in spite of someteething problems, it was theright decision . 'In the beginning,it was a little difficult to workthrough the system, but withthe help of Seagull, we have nocomplaints. Quite a large num-

ber of our officers have com-pleted the whole thing, whileothers have started and are par-tially certified.

ʻAt first there was a resist-ance to change but our Mastersshowed they were willing to gofor it and people are catching onfast.ʼ

Capt De Brabandere addedthat the e-TOTS approach wouldbecome part of the promotionprocess from later this year.

The e-TOTS package in-cludes three detailed electronictraining record books. Eachrecord book incorporates tasksand questions that must besigned off by a senior staff mem-ber.

ʻEach record book is de-signed for a specific level of rankand discipline. A fourth generictraining record book covers timewith company, which must bedefined by each individual.

'We need to know on thespot how familiar officers are withoperational and safety issues,'said Capt. De Brabandere. 'Oftenknowledge can be vague, butthis offers a method to check offagainst, and to verify through aCBT test on a specific item.'

Euronav expands Seagull tankertraining across its fleet


GESatcom

Leaving port doesn’t have to leave your crew disconnected. With GE Satcom’s Satlynx Maritime solution, maritime operators can have full access to a triple-play satellite network solution that easily multiplexes internet access, TV entertainment and an integrated low-priced telephony system into any cabin, technical or recreation room. The Automated Beam Switching (ABS) feature always opts for the least-cost route between three options: flat-rate Ku-band satellites, or usage-based Inmarsat or Iridium. You can control the system from land, keeping crew morale high and ship operations streamlined.


[email protected]

Triple Play


ELECTRONICS


Back in 1983, the Na-tional Marine Elec-tronics Association inthe US developed the

NMEA 0183 data standard. Itwas designed as a method to getonboard electronics to intercom-municate – typically a LORAN orDecca connected to a plotter or aplotter connected to an autopilotfor automatic waypoint to way-point steering.

The communication standardwas based around a single devicetransmitting data (a talker) withconnections to one (or many) re-ceivers which acted as listeners.Data speeds were limited to 4800baud (bps) which equates to amaximum transmission speed ofapproximately 12 messagesevery second.

High speed NMEA 0183 at38400 baud was developed laterfor systems requiring more datathroughput such as AIS, buteven so, with today’s complexsystems combining compass,GPS, instrumentation, AIS andmore data, the NMEA 0183 datastandard quickly ran out ofhorse power.

There was also no standardis-ation of wire colour coding, no

There are, of course, otherdata standards such as Ethernetwhich offer significantly higherbandwidth capability but theCAN data standard was chosen asit consumes less power, is morecost effective for simple sensorssuch as temperature, voltage,speed, depth, wind etc and it canalso be prioritised for real timecontrol applications. BecauseCAN is time determinate and hi-erarchical, it means critical mes-sages such as steering, throttle orother safety critical data can beeffectively prioritised within thesystem.

On a physical level, NMEA2000 was designed to have ade-quate bandwidth to accommo-date future needs, to be costeffective to implement and tooffer failsafe and redundant ca-pability – with a simple plug-and-play connection with definedconnectors and cabling basedaround a backbone and spur sys-tem.

NMEA 2000 specifies cablesand connectors to ensure plugand play capability and is basedaround a standardised, water-proof, thin cable with two wiresfor data, two wires for power and

Despite a slow start, the NMEA 2000standard is beginning to gain traction.But inter-compatibility issues and aprotectionist attitude from somemanufacturers still need to beovercome, argues Nick Heyes*

certification process, no commoncable or connectors and as suchthere were a lot of ambiguitieswithin the NMEA 0183 standardwhich led to inter-operatabilityproblems between different man-ufacturers.

Clearly there was a require-ment for a new higher specifica-tion standard and back in 1994,NMEA 2000 development began.The NMEA 2000 data standardwas developed around CAN bustechnology which is commonlyused in automotive control andengine monitoring applications.

Plug-and-play is stillfar from a reality

The good news is that in the past two years,development and installation of the NMEA2000 systems has become exponential

Nick Heyes, Marine Electronic Services

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every marine electronics installa-tion. Most importantly, buyers ofmodern marine electronic prod-ucts should utilise the expertiseof professional, knowledgeablesuppliers that have previouslyconfigured such systems.

It is frustrating that NMEA2000 is still not a true plug-and-play data standard. Today all sys-tems require a certain amount ofbespoke tinkering and tweakingin terms of interfacing to get thebest possible solution – but that’swhere knowledgeable supplierscan help. There are still inter-compatibility issues betweenproducts and the protectionistapproach by many of the largermanufacturers means that mix-ing equipment across brands canstill cause huge interfacingheadaches.

NMEA 2000 also has compe-tition with the Ethernet methodof inter-connecting with manymanufacturers utilising Etherneton a proprietary basis. Leadingmanufacturers’ includingGarmin, Raymarine, Furuno andLowrance all use a 100MB net-work type connection to sharesonar, radar and charting infor-mation across a range of multi-function displays. These are allproprietary networks with nocommon standard so whilst thecabling and terminations may beidentical, the format of data isdifferent from every manufac-turer. In short, you cannot mixand match displays or sensorsacross manufacturers.

This heavy weight data stan-dard does not lend itself tosmaller systems such as depth,speed, wind etc where the inclu-sion of a costly Ethernet inter-face would add substantially tothe price of an instrument. Sothere is a place for both stan-dards to co-exist and operatewithin the marine environment.

But if I were choosing a ma-rine electronic item today, Iwould like to see an N2K compli-ant sticker on the outside of thebox!

* Nick Heyes is managing director of Marine

Electronic Services, a UK-based specialist re-

seller of maritime electronics.


ground and a common shieldwrapper. The data pair andpower pair are independentlyshielded to minimise interfer-ence and the whole backbonesystem is engineered for service-ability allowing devices to beplugged or unplugged withoutpowering down the network andthat also ensures that if a devicefails, it does not affect the re-maining network.

A basic NMEA 2000 networkconsists of a backbone cable withindividual items connectedthrough spurred T pieces – like aspur running out of the network.Power can be applied centrallythrough a suitable power tap andat each end of the backbone, aterminator is fitted to completethe installation.

The benefits to the user andboat owner are enormous in thatone single cable can providepower and data for every productand any manufacturer’s equip-ment can be connected to thesystem so long as it is NMEA2000 certified – that means noambiguity, with products trulyworking ‘out of the box’ andequipment can be added withease at anytime in the futurebased on the open data standardsof NMEA 2000.

However, as with any datastandard, it does rely on the ‘in-dustry’ as a whole to take up thestandard and over the past 16years, introduction of the NMEA2000 data standard has been slow– in fact painfully slow!

Initially, it was hoped thatboat builders would pre-wireboats for NMEA 2000 – or at leastprovide a backbone so that theboat was future proof. In prac-tice, this hasn’t happened andthat’s primarily due to the cost ofinitially providing the cablingsystem but also due to the domi-nance of a handful of manufac-turers who have promoted theirown data networks and propri-etary systems.

The good news is that in thepast two years, development andinstallation of the NMEA 2000systems has become exponentialwith a sudden drive for greaterinter-compatibility in interfacing

standards. Many of the leadingmanufacturers have adopted itbut some have taken a ratherblinkered (and potentially quitefoolish) approach by referring totheir N2K data system with aproprietary name – for instance,Simnet from Simrad or SeaTalk 2from Raymarine.

These data standards, whilstbased on NMEA 2000, can con-tain some proprietary informa-tion which makes true plug andplay interfacing still problematicand subject to issues. Frustrat-ingly, some systems are evencontinuing to utilise older NMEA0183 data standards to intercon-nect as this is providing an easiermethod of interconnection.

So where do we go for the fu-ture? There’s no doubt that theNMEA 2000 data standard is hereand is progressing sufficientlyfast now to entrench itself into

ACTISENSE IS working with a number of application develop-ers to create software that takes advantage of its new NGT-1NMEA 2000 PC interface, a fully certified device allowingtransmission of data on and off the NMEA 2000 bus.

By incorporating support for the NGT-1, PC-based soft-ware can access, process and display NMEA 2000 data. It isable to accurately transfer messages while enforcing theNMEA 2000 rules, maintaining the integrity of the NMEA 2000bus and preventing any illegal operations.

One of the first applications to reach fruition is Expedition7, a tactical navigation tool that aids participants in maritimeraces from New Zealand software developer Expedition Per-formance Systems Ltd.

Expedition was first created in the early 1990s by veteranVolvo Ocean Race navigator and Whitbread winner, physicistNick White. It has since been used in multiple Volvo Ocean,Americaʼs Cup and Grand Prix events.

The program and related tools have been continually re-fined by a group of world-renowned navigators, includingtwo-time Americaʼs Cup winning navigator Peter Isler. Theend result is a system, which, say its creators, wins more racesand is more advanced and usable than any other tactical soft-ware available.

The Actisense team worked closely with Expedition,among other things providing them with a Software Devel-opment Kit (SDK) that significantly reduced the time neededto implement an NMEA 2000 interface.

Andy Campbell, chief engineer at Active Research (ownerof the Actisense brand), was happy with the outcome of thecollaboration. He said: ʻThe process was both rapid and re-warding.ʼ

NMEA 2000 applied in races

ELECTRONICS

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HARDWARE INNOVATIONS

The experts at Finlandʼs NavisEngineering have been busyputting the final touches on afully revamped autopilot sys-tem in time for this yearʼs SMMtrade fair.

The AP4000 autopilot hasundergone a substantial re-design. The front panel nowsports a 6.5-inch high contrastcolour display with the 150ºviewing angle. The constructionhas been upgraded from IP44to IP67 durability making it suit-able for outdoor installations (atfly-bridge or port/starboardwings). The graphical user in-terface has been redesigned tobe easier to read and use, andcomes with separate colourpalettes for day and night oper-ation.

There have also been signif-icant changes under the hoodin the systemʼs software. A newnetworking function means

control can be switched be-tween up to five different pan-els. Performance fine-tuninghas been simplified with a sin-gle ʻsensitivityʼ setting, in placeof separate controls for yawing,steering and counter rudder ad-justments in previous (andcompetitor) models.

The system has a built-inheading monitor system (HMS)which makes it possible to con-tinuously receive and monitorthe data coming from twoheading data sources (gyro +gyro, gyro + magnetic compass,gyro + fluxgate etc).

The AP4000 is alsoequipped with an ʻAuto Tuneʼalgorithm, designed to auto-matically adjust the autopi-lotʼs performance accordingto the hydrodynamic parame-ters of the vessel regardless ofdisplacement and dimen-sions. This, says Navis, enables

or security breach (suchas piracy and/or hijack-ing).

This is accomplishedby a series of indicationsand alarms (visual andaudible) to alert, first, theOOW and then, if there isno response, the masteror another qualifiedOOW. In addition, theBNWAS may provide theOOW with a means ofcalling for immediate as-sistance if required.

A BNWAS should beoperational wheneverthe shipʼs heading or

track control system is en-gaged, unless inhibited by themaster.

Forthcoming new amend-ments to SOLAS Chapter V,Regulation 19, mandateBNWAS installations on over100 000 ships. Such a systemwill be mandatory for all newships on delivery, while exist-

A bridge navigation watch andalarm system (BNWAS)launched by Martek Marinewith a full suite of type ap-provals from major classifica-tion societies enablesshipowners to fit the IMO-mandated equipment without delay.

The Navgard system offers arelatively low cost and effectivemeans of avoiding operationalnavigational accidents and canalso double as a bridge securitysystem in port.

A BNWAS is designed tomonitor bridge activity anddetect any operator disabilitythat could lead to shipping ac-cidents.

The system monitors theawareness of the Officer of theWatch (OOW) and automati-cally alerts the master or an-other qualified OOW if, for anyreason, the OOW becomes in-capable of performing dutiesthrough an accident, sickness

� The AP4000 sports a 6.5-inchhigh-contrast colour display

Navis launches next-generation autopilot

ing tonnage is required toretrofit the equipment ʻat thefirst surveyʼ.

BIMCO advises its mem-bers to consider fitting sys-tems at drydockings beforethe mandatory implementa-tion date, and not to wait untilannual surveys within thecompliance window.

The agreement of theshipʼs flag administration is re-quired to postpone retrofittingbeyond this date.

Fully complying with therelevant IMO resolutions onBNWAS equipment regardingperformance, installation andergonomic criteria, Martek Ma-rineʼs Navgard system providesmovement and physical touchnotification of watchkeeperpresence.

Type approvals have beengained from Lloydʼs Register,ABS, DNV, Bureau Veritas, RINA,the Russian Register, ChinaRegister and Indian Register.

the AP4000 to be used on anycommercial or leisure vesselwith a single rudder, linkedrudder, independent rudderor stern azimuth Z-drives con-figuration

Navgard ready to meet BNWAS demand

� The console mounted version ofthe Navgard control panel

Hardware.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 14:31 Page 10

GESatcom

Triple Playthe perfect mixGood fleet performance comes in threes with GE Satcom’s Satlynx Maritime solution. Our triple-play satellite network solution easily multiplexes internet access, TV entertainment and an integrated low-priced telephony system into any cabin, technical or recreation room. The Automated Beam Switching (ABS) feature opts for the least-cost route between three options: flat-rate Ku-band satellites, or Inmarsat or Iridium. You can control the system from land, monitoring your entire fleet worldwide - from fuel efficiency to positioning at sea - while keeping ship operations streamlined and crew morale high.


[email protected]

011.0910.IT.qxd:IT Dec cover.qxd 18/8/10 16:59 Page 1

BROADBAND


Sandro Delucia at In-marsat was responsi-ble for this MFEwhich was selected to

evaluate the cost effectivenessand operational efficiency levelsthat FB150 can deliver to a smallcommercial vessel operating incoastal waters where shore-basedcommunications were nevermore than a few miles over thehorizon. Working with its distri-bution partner Vizada, Inmarsatwas able to facilitate a range ofadded-value elements to theMFE, to help Marin Ship Manage-ment (MSM) test new ways of re-ducing operating costs.

Commenting on the MFESandro Delucia observed that, ‘ina world that is increasingly domi-nated by internet-based commu-nications and data transfer, shipmanagement companies arelooking for affordable new waysto guarantee uninterrupted datalinks between coastal vessels andthe shore. They need to enhanceoperational efficiency and max-imise the profitability of all com-mercial voyages.’

The Skagern evaluation fo-cused on issues of reliability, in-tegration and cost control. Thereliable always-on connection toshore allowed the captain to getchart and weather updatesquicker and to send pre-arrivalforms and purchase orders atany time and to stay in constanttouch with his shore office. TheVirtek CommBox enabled auto-matic switching between FB150and shore-based 3G to achievethe most cost-effective communi-cations at all time. And, by fine-tuning the FB150 terminal andconnections, use and costs weretightly controlled.

One bonus was the freedomFB150 allowed the Captain to ex-

tively low data rate require-ments, such as single-user inter-net and email access.

The Skagern is typical of themany merchant vessels that plythe coastal waters of the world,carrying goods and raw materi-als. Its main cargo is timber andwood pulp, which are trans-ported between the Baltic andthe ports of north-west Europe.Most voyages will last four daysor less.

Notably, the Skagern is rarelymore than a few miles from shore,so its captain can use land-based3G networks for voice and datacommunications. However, serv-ice interruptions frequently occuras the vessel sails out of range andinto connection blackspots. Theseservice interruptions often last forseveral hours, so reliability is anissue for sending operationalemails or essential communica-tions with shore.

Cost-effective communicationsMonitoring life onboard was, forInmarsat and Marin Ship Man-ager, a perfect opportunity to as-sess the viability of using FB150as a supplement to 3G communi-cations on its small to medium-sized coastal vessels. MSMoperations manager HermanUffen says: ‘Smaller vessels havetight budgets for communica-tions, so it is important that anynew systems are cost-effectiveand that data usage can be tightlycontrolled. The MFE allowed usto look closely at FB150 in a liveoperational environment.’

Radio Holland installed anAddValue Skipper FB150 termi-nal onboard the Skagern and, aswith all standard FleetBroadbandimplementations, installation ofthe lightweight antenna andabove and below-deck units was

Inmarsat regularly puts itsFleetBroadband service throughstringent maritime field evaluation(MFE) and earlier this year FB150 wasput through its paces on boardSkagern, a coaster that found it couldnot depend on 3G connectivity alone

Smaller vessels have tight budgets forcommunications, so it is important that anynew systems are cost-effective and thatdata usage can be tightly controlled.

Herman Uffen, MSM operations manager

FB150 complements3G on coastal trades

periment with the full potentialof MSM’s E-Synergy business in-telligence system. Frequent up-dates over FB150 kept theSkagern synchronised with thecentral database at headquarters,and ensured MSM had a real-time view of resources and sup-plies onboard the vessel.

Launched in 2007, Inmarsat’sFleetBroadband was hailed as thefirst maritime communicationsservice to provide cost-effectivebroadband data and voice, simul-taneously, through a compact an-tenna on a global basis. Fullycompatible with internet proto-col (IP), it also supports the coreISDN data and voice capabilitiesof Inmarsat’s existing maritimeservices.

Two years later FB150 de-signed specifically for small tomedium-sized vessels waslaunched using the same tech-nology as the highly successfulFB250 and FB500. It is ideallysuited to coastal merchant andgovernment vessels with rela-

inmarsat.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 14:46 Page 12

� The FB150antenna wasfitted in a matterof hours


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ality of MSM’s E-Synergy system.This application, from businesssoftware house Exact, is a web-based solution that gives a real-time picture of resources andsupplies across the whole com-pany, allowing widely dispersedemployees to collaborate moreeffectively. The system worksfrom a central database at MSMheadquarters, which is synchro-nised regularly with smallerdatabases at its other offices andonboard its vessels.

Prior to the FB150 MFE, Cap-tain Huizinga used an FTP serv-ice to exchange updated datafiles between the Skagern and thecentral E-Synergy database. Thiscould only happen when the ves-sel was within 3G coverage.However, FB150 allowed him tosynchronise his system quicklyseveral times a day at the touchof a button on his laptop. Her-man Uffen adds: ‘This enablesthe Skagern to maintain an up-to-

straightforward and completed inthree to four hours.

According to MSM superin-tendent Marcel van Veen, theprocess was smooth and did notinterrupt the normal operationsof the vessel. Or to put it moresuccinctly: ‘Everything contin-ued as usual.’

In addition to the FB150, In-marsat installed a Virtek Comm-Box to manage the Inmarsatconnection. The CommBox is apowerful tool for controlling dataconnections and optimising theirefficiency, and has been usedsuccessfully with FB250 andFB500. On the Skagern, it wasconfigured to enable automaticswitching between 3G networksand the FleetBroadband network.In this way, if a 3G link dropped,the CommBox seamlesslyswitched any outgoing or incom-ing data traffic over to the FB150,so no voice or data connectionswere lost. It was also used as anemail relay during the MFE.

The CommBox was con-nected to the ship’s Windows2003 server, and also to thestandalone PC installed by In-marsat. A wireless router was at-tached to the CommBox, whichallowed the captain and crew toaccess the FB150 service fromthree laptops. They used these tobrowse the internet and to sendand receive emails in a virtualenvironment.

The CommBox comes withpowerful data compression capa-bilities, designed to shrink trans-ferred data files by up to 90%.Virtek’s Roger Negård says thisrepresents a significant cost sav-ing for a vessel like the Skagernwhen using a FleetBroadbandconnection. ‘The CommBox canbe configured to filter any un-wanted traffic over the FB150,such as video or music down-loads, and to create a local cacheof commonly used web pages.These features also help users tocontrol costs.’

Efficient operationsFB150 gave the Skagern a guaran-teed data and voice connectionaround the clock. For the firsttime, this allowed the captain

and MSM to experience the oper-ational benefits of uninterruptedcommunications with shore. Theadvantage of always-on connec-tivity was acknowledged by Cap-tain Huizinga: ‘We now have acontinual connection at sea or inport. We use FleetBroadbandevery day for position reports,for updating our weather pro-gramme and for communicationswith charterers and agents in thenext port. Before we had it wewere dependant on being inrange of 3G.’

FB150 also provided CaptainHuizinga the opportunity to ex-periment with the full function-

The CommBox can be configured to filter any unwanted traffic over the FB150, such as video or music downloads, and to create a local cache of commonly used web pages.

Roger Negård, Virtek


BROADBAND


SkyFile, Vizada’s messaging sys-tem for use over Inmarsat andother satellite systems.

SkyFile gave the Skagern aconvenient, flexible and cost-ef-fective method of sending andreceiving emails, e-faxes and textmessages over FB150. However,the most interesting aspect of theprogramme was its implementa-tion in a ‘virtual’ environment.This involved installing a masterSkyFile account on the FB150terminal server, and then settingpermissions on the system toallow wireless access to the pro-gramme from three laptops.

The captain and two crewmembers had access to SkyFileover FB150 in simultaneous butcompletely independent ses-sions. Vizada product managerJudith Villa says: ‘This virtualconfiguration of SkyFile gives theadministrators a high degree ofcontrol over who accesses theprogramme and how they use it.For example, they can use theweb-based remote configurationtool over FB150 to manage the

date version of the central E-Syn-ergy database, so it is alwaysfully integrated with the com-pany’s business processes. Itsaves a lot of traffic over the sys-tem, because previously it wasnecessary to exchange Excelspreadsheets and the like byemail, and to make calls, to keepthe vessel fully in the picture.With FB150 it can happen auto-matically.’

Commercial advantageUffen says there is potential forthe E-Synergy system to be usedfor smart provisioning of vesselslike the Skagern. With frequentupdates over FB150, the ship’soffice would be able to see at aglance when the vessel was run-ning low on supplies. It couldorder them in advance so theywould be ready for loadingwhen she next came into port.Although this lies in the future,the FB150 immediately enabledthe crew to work smarter andfaster. He says: ‘With Fleet-Broadband, we can send out apurchase order at any time ofday. I also have to send pre-ar-rival documents to the nextport, which I used to do beforewe departed. Now FB150 allowsme to do it at any time afterleaving port, and I don’t have toworry about getting out of rangeof 3G coverage.’

Marcel van Veen believes thatFB150 is capable of deliveringreal commercial benefits for avessel like the Skagern. Explainsvan Veen: ‘When chartering thereis often a need for suddenchanges in destination and dur-ing the MFE we were able tocommunicate this to the vesselinstantly. Equally, if a vessel isgetting ahead of schedule, we cantell them to slow down in orderto save fuel. It is a commercialadvantage for us and the ship’sowners to have FB150 onboard.’

Smarter workingVizada contributed a range ofadded-value elements to theMFE, which helped MSM tomake more efficient and cost-ef-fective use of the FB150 termi-nal. The first of these was

sub-accounts, and can even mon-itor the content of emails.’

Vizada also made its SatelliteDirect service available to the Sk-agern during the evaluation. Thismakes incoming calls to theFB150 terminal cheaper by rout-ing them through the Vizada net-work rather than over expensivenational and international publictelephone networks. Users aregiven a unique PIN, which theykey in when they call a toll-freenumber at Vizada. Their calls arethen routed via the DP’s landearth station direct to the FB150terminal. ‘This was used quiteextensively by family and friendsof crew members during theMFE,’ says Villa.

During the testing Radio Hol-land and Vizada used the latter’sSource and Terralink Data Man-ager tools for remote configura-tion of the Skagern’s FB150terminal and to monitor usage.The Source can be used to trackand manage end-user accountsand perform everyday accountmanagement tasks, while DataManager is a powerful adminis-trative tool for controlling IP con-nections and the traffic theycarry.

‘Data Manager would reallycome into its own in a commer-cial implementation of FB150,’says Villa. ‘If it wished, Marincould use it to limit traffic just tothose applications and IP ad-dresses it wanted the crew touse, so they would have ex-tremely fine control over usage.Data Manager works in real time,which would allow Marin tomake changes whenever theywanted through the dedicatedweb portal. They could also useit to analyse how the FB150 wasbeing used – for instance howmuch for email and how muchfor web browsing.’

Commenting on the resultsof the evaluation, Sandro Deluciaemphasises the immediate im-pact of FB150 on the Skagern’soperational efficiency and on thecaptain’s ability to get the bestout of the vessel and his crew.‘We demonstrated conclusivelythat FB150 can be used cost-ef-fectively.’

� FB150 allowsthe E-Synergydatabase to besynchronisedquickly severaltimes a day atthe touch of abutton

When chartering there is often a need forsudden changes in destination and during the MFE we were able to communicate this to the vessel instantly.

Marcel van Veen, MSM superintendent


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SMM - Typ 02 - 148x210 - FBB - b.indd 1 2010-06-28 12:40:56



In the 15 years sinceTim Berners-Lee in-vented the World WideWeb, the life of almost

everyone in the industrialisedworld has been touched by it. Butjust as many of us are getting togrips with its second stage, the mo-bile Internet, very few are pre-pared – or even aware – of thethird and potentially most revolu-tionary phase of all: the Internet ofobjects.

This means that all types of ap-pliance – both consumer-orientedand industrial – may soon requirea unique IP address, in a similarway that computers and websitesare assigned them today, to enablethem to talk to each other. In amaritime context it would not takea great stretch of the imaginationto envisage a day when ships couldbe allocated their own individualIP address. There could also be ad-vantages in allocating addresses tothe control and sensor systems onengines and other equipmenttypes.

There is however a major ob-stacle to wiring everything into theInternet: the present IP addressspace – version 4 (usually calledIPv4) – is facing exhaustion. IPv4was first developed in the 1970sand provides an addressing capa-bility of about 4 billion addresses.This was deemed sufficient in theearly design stages of the Internetwhen the explosive growth andworldwide proliferation of net-works was not anticipated.

However there are still hur-dles that need to be overcome.Most present day satellite com-munications systems were notdesigned with IPv6 in mind –and this creates a significantchallenge since almost all datasent to and from ships is beamedthrough satellites.

Explains Marlink’s senior man-ager for special projects Dr ChrisHenny: ‘It all comes down to howthe data packets are translated be-tween the existing and the newsystems and how that is imple-mented over the different pathsdata can take while transiting overthe satellites.’

But he adds that much of thehyperbole about the switchovershould be taken with a pinch ofsalt. ‘Satellite systems are to a largeextent private networks. Thismeans techniques such as map-ping will continue to be available.This will provide the industry withextra time to make any infrastruc-ture updates as and when these be-come necessary.’

Mapping or network addresstranslation (NAT) is the process ofmodifying the network address in-formation in datagram (IP) packetheaders while in transit. NAT isused in conjunction with networkmasquerading, a technique for hid-ing an entire IP address space, usu-ally consisting of private networkIP addresses, behind a single IP ad-dress in another, often public ad-dress space.

This mechanism is imple-

The IPv6 protocol was developed toaddress an impending shortage inthe IPv4 Internet address space, butthe majority of current satcomssystems serving the maritimeindustry do not adhere to the newstandard. The question is shouldshipowners be worried?

Recognising the impendingshortage of addresses, in 1994 theInternet Engineering Task Force(IETF) started work developing asuite of protocols and standardsnow known as Internet ProtocolVersion 6 (IPv6), which would sup-plant IPv4 over the coming years.

IPv6 has a vastly larger addressspace than IPv4. This results fromthe use of a 128-bit address,whereas IPv4 uses only 32-bits.The new address space thus sup-ports 2128 (about 3.4×1038) ad-dresses.

This expansion provides flexi-bility in allocating addresses androuting traffic and eliminates theprimary need for network addresstranslation (NAT), which waswidely deployed as a stop-gapmeasure to alleviate IPv4 addressexhaustion.

Is maritime satcoms ready for the IPv6 switchover?

The evolution towards full IPv6 compliancehas been far slower than initially expected

Sandro Delucia, Inmarsat

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IPVREDNEW.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 14:43 Page 16

marsat is open to receive represen-tations from customers wishing tosupport further development re-quests to this end.

Elsewhere TriaGnoSys, a smallGerman firm whose involvementin maritime has historically fo-cused on providing infrastructurefor GSM mobile phone connectiv-ity for ships, has launched Net-work Crossing via Translation(NeXT), which it claims to be thefirst cost effective solution fortransporting IPv6 data over IPv4satellite links, thereby future proof-ing communication services at sea.

NeXT provides cost savings byreducing the amount of additionalinformation that needs to be trans-mitted, as well as improving the ef-ficiency of bandwidth use.Managing director Dr Axel Jahnexplains: ‘Though estimates varyIPv6 is expected to become main-stream within the next five years.However, because of the lag in up-grading satellite networks, a newprotocol was clearly required tocope in the period before IPv6 istruly ubiquitous.’

He says the technology thatcurrently exists for IPv6 to IPv4communication and vice versa in-curs a significant overhead, due tothe repackaging of data payloadsbetween the two standards. Thissubsequently has an impact oncosts.

Jahn continues: ‘The only realalternative to NeXT is the Layer 2Tunnelling Protocol. The main ad-vantage NeXT has over L2TP is areduction in the satellite segmentcosts of somewhere between 35-50%, depending on the nature ofthe communication. NeXT alsoprovides more efficient use of theavailable bandwidth, meaningfaster downloads of, for example,weather maps and chart updates.’

The cost savings are achievedby reducing the header informa-tion required for each packet ofdata, headers being the instructionmanuals that enable the receivingservers to reconnect the informa-tion in the correct way. UsingNeXT, headers that cover the en-tire session are sent as part of thefirst packet and are therefore notrequired subsequently..


mented in a routing device thatuses translation tables to map the‘hidden’ addresses into a single IPaddress and then re-addresses theoutgoing packets on exit so thatthey appear to originate from therouter. In the reverse communica-tions path, responses are mappedback to the originating IP addressusing the translation tables.

A shortcoming of this tech-nique is that it enables communi-cation through the router onlywhen the conversation originatesin the masqueraded network, sincethis establishes the translation ta-bles. As a result, its usefulness isrestricted to certain types of sat-coms. For example, it would cur-rently appear to work better withSCPC (Single Carrier Per Channel)VSAT installations, where band-width is dedicated to a singlesource and not multiplexed.

The process is somewhat morecomplex over shared access VSATinstallations operating on TDMA(Time Division Multiple Access) orCDMA (Code Division Multiple Ac-cess) architectures, which tend tobe the basis of more affordableservices available on the maritimemarket.

Henny states that becausemany of Marlink’s maritime cus-tomers are using SCPC VSAT, andmost of these use private net-works, the company expects toface fewer challenges than otherplayers in adapting to IPv6, whenit starts becoming more wide-spread.

Furthermore, many satelliteoperators make use of perform-ance enhancing proxies (PEPs) toimprove transmission efficiencyand to counteract the effects of jit-ter etc. MITE understands thesewill experience more trouble cop-ing with native IPv6 traffic becausethey were designed outside thescope of the IPv4 standard. Adapt-ing these systems will inevitablytake time.

Looking ahead, once theteething problems have beenironed out, IPv6 offers a range ofnew features, which could in timeprove beneficial to electronic com-munication at sea, includingstronger encryption for commer-cially sensitive transmissions.

Perhaps more significant how-ever is that having a large numberof addresses allows for muchgreater mobility in the network. Ina satcoms context, this could po-tentially eliminate much of thetechnical complexity involved inmoving between different satellitebeams. It means ships on long voy-ages, passing through the coverageareas of multiple satellites, couldretain the same IP address, andthus Internet session.

While these are significant ad-vantages, they will take time to im-plement because existing satelliteinfrastructure is not set up to copewith IPv6. Such delays howeverare not limited to satcoms: it is esti-mated that at present only 2-3% ofall networks are IPv6-ready.

Inmarsat’s Sandro Delucianotes: ‘The evolution of Internetcommunications towards full IPv6compliance has been far slowerthan initially expected. This is be-cause situations where IPv6 is es-sential for customer requirementsare quite rare. In most instances,requirements can be met using theexisting infrastructure via IPv4 in-cluding de facto compatibility withapplications employing IPv6 ad-dressing.’

While Inmarsat’s BGAN net-work – the technology base for itsFleetBroadband offering – does notfully support IPv6 within its net-work at a native level, Deluciastresses that it does support IPv6via tunnelling on an end-to-endbasis. ‘This allows the BGAN sys-tem to fully support end users witha need to communicate betweenIPv6 networks,’ he says.

To achieve true technical com-pliance, specific elements of BGANwould require upgrading, and In-

Satellite systems are to a large extent private networks, so techniques such asmapping will continue to be available. Thiswill provide the industry with extra time

Dr Chris Henny, Marlink

Estimates vary, but IPv6 is expected to become mainstream within the next five years Dr Axel Jahn, Triagnosys

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� PashaBulker ranaground onNobbys Beach,Newcastle,Australia duringa major storm inJune 2007

NAVIGATION


Awareness and con-cern over the marineenvironment is not arecent phenomenon;

the International HydrographicOrganization (IHO) was set up in1921 with two overriding objec-tives: to support safe navigationand to support the protection ofthe marine environment.

To date, hydrographic officeshave played a significant role inenhancing navigational safetymainly through the publicationof nautical charts. Well-chartedwaters lead to safer navigation,which indirectly helps protectthe marine environment by pre-venting vessel groundings.

However, modern ECDIS sys-tems could be expanded from itscurrent navigational role to di-rectly benefit the marine envi-ronment, because unlike papercharts, an ECDIS could be con-verted from a static to dynamicsystem. To accomplish thiswould require the introduction oftime variable data relating totidal levels, current, and windand waves, together with otherenvironmental information suchas the location of migratory fishspecies, seasonal changes affect-

lective effort by hydrographic of-fices will be necessary in achiev-ing such a development.

This article considers whyand how hydrographic officesshould be actively involved indevelopment of Green ECDISand examines the present levelof knowledge and expertise avail-able that could be employed toturn this into a reality.

New responsibilityThe protection of the marine

environment is a complex issue,covering such things as the man-agement of migratory marine-species; the devastation ofcoastlines after maritime inci-dents; and the impact of rises insea level. From that perspective,it is important that organisationsare aware and are equipped tomeet the challenges by havingall the relevant information tohand. But, as a note of caution,information overload must beavoided as it will, almost cer-tainly, be counter-productive.

Despite growing environ-mental concerns, there is noclear international effort to en-sure that the mariner has thetechnology and relevant informa-

Cleaner seas with green navigation

ing seabed topography or areasof clean water for ballast waterintake. The realisation of such asystem would significantly andusefully increase the environ-mental awareness of seafarers.

‘Green ECDIS’ would also betimely given the impendingmandatory carriage require-ments for conventional systems.By 2018, almost all vessels en-gaged on international voyageswill be equipped with ECDIS andit seems reasonable that thegreen version could be rolled outto other user groups such re-search institutions, fisheries andoceanographers. However, a col-

Enriching ECDIS with dynamicallyupdated environmental data could helpthe shipping industry leave cleaner seasfor future generations. But turning theconcept into a reality would requireconcerted support from the worldʼshydrographic offices, writes Parry Oei,Chief Hydrographer of the Maritime andPort Authority of Singapore

navi.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 15:08 Page 18

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NAVIGATION


On 15 Oct 1997 the oil tankerEvoikos collided with another oiltanker, the Orapin Global. TheEvoikos suffered severe damageto three of its cargo tanks, result-ing in a spill of 28 500t of heavymarine fuel oil. The OrapinGlobal suffered some damage toits bow. Because Singapore’s Mar-itime and Port Authority (MPA)quickly activated its marineemergency plan, all the relevantparties were able to respondswiftly to combat the spill.

In total 16 ministries andagencies, oil terminals, salvagecompanies and oil spill responsecompanies were involved. Some80 craft and 650 personnel weredeployed. A response on thisscale could not have been orches-trated without immediate accessto data on the predicted move-ment of the oil spill. Coupledwith the need to keep the portand its approaches open, therewas also a need to tactically man-age resource deployment, sensi-tive marine areas and generalnavigation of vessels using theport and transiting the Strait.

This kind of integrated infor-mation base could be provided,particularly at sea, by GreenECDIS. National hydrographic of-fices, coordinated by the IHO,are well placed to promote andsupport the concept and couldtherefore take up a more activelyengagement in the protection ofthe marine environment. Theirwork would not depart far fromtheir existing responsibilities inproviding users with data onseabed topography, coastlines,currents, aids to navigation etc.

The IHO standards and speci-fications, such as S-57 and S-52(the latter also adopted by IMO),can accommodate some, if not

tion at sea to help protect thatenvironment. There are an in-creasing number of rules andregulations – but no coordinatedway for the mariner to visualiseand react to those rules in rela-tion to his situation.

Perhaps, if we examine thenumber of major groundings andcollisions at sea that result in ex-tensive oil spills; and the conse-quential massive coastalclean-up, destruction and harmto marine life, then, hydro-graphic offices might be per-suaded to consider the role theycould play.

After a major oil spill, GreenECDIS could immediately dis-play the environmentally vulner-able areas. Because thisinformation would be standard-ised, it would be equally accessi-ble to shore-based authorities aswell as vessel owners, who couldthen be proactive rather than re-active to a developing situation.

Immediate action could betaken by issuing advance warn-ing to vulnerable areas, erectingoil booms based on predictedmovement of the oil spill or tow-ing a vessel to another less sensi-tive location to lessen anypossible impact to the environ-ment. Hydrographic offices couldalso be consulted to recommendalternative shipping routes, basedon underlying hydrographic in-formation. In other words, whereaccidents have occurred, GreenECDIS could be a powerful toolin minimising subsequent dam-age to the marine environment.

Incident responseThe importance of good and

timely information is well illus-trated by an accident that oc-curred in the Singapore Strait.

all of the additional environmen-tal information. The IHO and itsmember state hydrographic of-fices should therefore play a big-ger role in marineenvironmental protection thanthey are at present.

S-100 standardFor time-sensitive hydro-

graphic data, the former IHO –IEC Harmonisation Group onMarine Information Overlays(HGMIO) has examined andworked extensively on the pres-entation of time-variable objectsto improve the situational aware-ness of users. This indicates thatthe technical principles neededto implement Green ECDIS areneither new nor impossible toachieve.

Moreover, under the auspicesof the HGMIO, the Canadian Hy-drographic Service and Canadianindustry embarked on a projectto provide sea-ice information foruse in ECDIS as part of a StLawrence Seaway Test Bed proj-ect. The aim here was to en-hance navigational safety in theseaway in winter months, amajor concern due to the pres-ence of ice sheets.

In protecting the most sensi-tive marine resources, it is neces-sary to identify the most relevantand important assets, includingamong others desalination andpower plants, recreationalbeaches, particularly sensitivesea areas (PSSAs) and fishingareas. As such, it is likely newsymbols for ECDIS will beneeded, however these could beincorporated into the IHO S-100geospatial information standardwhen it is introduced over thenext few years.

S-100 is aligned with the ISO

� SampleGreen ECDISdisplay shown anhour apart,illustrating howthe size of ballastwater intake areachanged due totidal flow


NAVIGATION

tion that could be used. Wherehydrographic offices are hesitantin supporting Green ECDIS, per-haps a wider view is required.Their role would be to collect es-sential data from stakeholdersand distribute it to users.

Some hydrographic officesmay argue that such a role couldencroach into another authority’sarea of responsibility. However,it could be counter-argued thatthis is no different from theirpresent role as a middleman inproviding data for nauticalcharts. For example, some of theinformation shown on nauticalcharts comes from a range of in-cluding port authorities, meteor-ological services, land planningauthorities and operators of ma-rine facilities.

Some HOs already see theirroles as wider than just the pro-vision of navigational informa-tion – but they remain in theminority. Lobbying and explana-tion will be required to overcome

19100 series for geographical in-formation standards and the planis to introduce it progressivelyfrom 2010. This newer standardis ideally suited to meet the chal-lenge of providing a GreenECDIS thanks to its capability todisplay time sensitive spatial ob-jects.

Challenges remainOne of the principal chal-

lenges will be to convince hydro-graphic offices, and hence theIHO, to take a more proactiverole in the provision of addi-tional environmental data. Atpresent, hydrographic officesfocus mostly on charting infor-mation for navigational safety.Furthermore, there is no unani-mous agreement to take a lead-ing role in providing informationthat could helpful from an envi-ronmental perspective.

But this does not mean thatthey lack the capabilities or havenot collected relevant informa-

the hesitance of their counter-parts. More important than con-vincing HOs however will be toconvince governments and otherauthorities, who may need re-minding of the changing attitudetowards the protection of the ma-rine environment and the bene-fits that Green ECDIS has tooffer.

Expanded symbologyAnother challenge concerns

the development of the tools andsymbologies to display marinesensitive areas, and dynamic in-formation relating to such thingsas migratory fish patterns, con-taminated waters affecting bal-last water intake, seasonal effectson current, sand waves, oil spillsand so-called red tides.

These new symbols wouldneed to be capable of presenting,for example, tidal current pat-terns in an area containing a sen-sitive marine asset, so that ships’officers can constantly monitor

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NAVIGATION


lated regulatory and/or sensi-tivity data; endangered species habitat;key habitat sensitivity infor-mation as related to oil spillcontingency plans of theStates bordering the Straits; other marine environmentalprotection best-practices/stewardship infor-mation; andregulatory information re-lated to MARPOL, the OPRCConvention and the OPRC-HNS Protocol, Ballast WaterManagement Convention2004, Antifouling SystemConvention, and related reso-lutions, codes and guidelines.

Another example of how aGreen ECDIS might directly ben-efit vessel operation is in supportof the forthcoming IMO Conven-tion on Ballast Water. Vesselsequipped with a Green ECDIStaking in ballast water could beprovided with the geographiclimits of ‘clean water’, bound-aries that change according tothe season and the tidal flow.This would then eliminate theneed for the vessel to carry outan exchange of ballast water enroute to the next port. The opera-tion of exchanging ballast waterat sea inevitably carries certainrisks to the vessel’s stabilitywhich would also be avoided.

Conflicting usage A third challenge relates to

overlapping data and jurisdic-tions, as unfortunately migratoryfish-stocks or oil spills do not re-spect national boundaries. Based

� SampleGreen ECDISdisplays shownan hour apartillustrating howfish stock mightcross intonavigablechannels,possibly withtrawlers not farbehind

the effects of the current andprovide larger safety marginswhen necessary. This, in turn,would reduce the chances of anavigational mishap and conse-quential damage to the marineenvironment.

The IHO is already workingtowards some aspects of GreenECDIS, through its involvementwith IMO’s Marine ElectronicHighway (MEH) demonstrationproject for the Singapore andMalacca Straits. The MEH projectseeks, amongst other things, toshow that providing relevant en-vironmental information via anintegrated digital communica-tions system is both feasible andbeneficial.

Represented by its secre-tariat, the IHO has already giventechnical advice and suggestionsto the MEH project on how dy-namic tidal and weather infor-mation and emergency routeinginformation could be integratedwith the baseline chart informa-tion already shown in ECDIS asmarine information overlays(MIOs).

Underlying the MEH projectis the need to reduce the nega-tive environmental impacts ofshipping and coastal activities,and strengthening the conserva-tion and management of neigh-bouring marine and coastalenvironments through the useof MIOs. These layers include:

sensitive habitats that arethreatened by pollution orphysical damage from ma-rine transportation; Marine Protected Areas(MPA), user regimes, and re-

on the experience gained fromthe production of ENCs, it islikely that providing and updat-ing environmental informationin areas of disputed waters couldbe problematic.

The introduction of informa-tion that is both time and spa-tially variable could also result ina conflict of use. For example,publishing the location of migra-tory fish-stocks could show thatfishing grounds straddle naviga-tional channels causing concernsover navigational safety, as wellas encouraging a concentrationof fishers. Similarly, the nearreal-time display of oil spill trackscould expose trans-boundary sen-sitivities. Unless such concernsare identified and resolved in ad-vance, the upshot could be no rel-evant information being providedat all or updates dependent onprevailing political boundaries.

In this regard, hydrographicoffices will need to establish ro-bust mechanisms for the ex-change and use of ENCinformation across borders. Thisshould include real-time ex-change of information such astides, currents and environmen-tally sensitive shore-based assets.

Needed now are championsto drive the concept of GreenECDIS forward. Based on theavailable standards, expertiseand experience, it can be con-cluded that the world’s mostprominent hydrographic offices,through the IHO, and are wellpoised to take on this responsibil-ity and truly realise IHO’s 1921vision of supporting both safernavigation and cleaner seas.



NAVIGATION

Electronic chart supplier Jeppe-sen has further strengthenedits relationship with Brazilʼs Di-rectorate of Hydrography andNavigation (DHN), and in doingso gained access to nauticalcharts of Brazilian waters, whichit can now reproduce for bothcommercial and light marineusers.

With direct access to sover-eign data, Jeppesen says it canensure higher chart quality andintegrity, thereby increasingthe safety of maritime naviga-tion.

In addition, the two organi-sations are in talks on the possi-bility of deploying JeppesenʼsdKart software to digitise andautomate the production ofNotices to Mariners, List ofLights and other aids to naviga-

tion.dKart is employed by the

vast majority of hydrographicoffices worldwide to create hy-drographic products includingENCs and traditional papercharts. It also contains func-tionality for managing chartsand their ongoing mainte-nance.

Not long ago Jeppesen re-leased a new add-on tool forthe suite designed to correct anECDIS presentation faultwhereby shoal soundings aresometimes missing from ECDISdisplays.

The company states thatthe dKart ʻSounding to Ob-structionʼ tool is the first andonly application that rapidlyand securely reviews an entireENC library for soundings that

The United Kingdom Hydro-graphic Office (UKHO) has filledin the gaps of its electronicchart coverage of Chinese wa-ters. The Admiralty Vector ChartService (AVCS) now covers theChinese mainland as far asthe Pearl River, the coastof Hainan Island and someof Chinaʼs busiest ports in-cluding Shanghai, Shen-zhen and Qingdao.

The set of some 375charts came aboutthrough a unique agree-ment between the UKHOand the Chinese NavalGuarantee Department(NGD). They are only avail-able through Admiralty,which according to UKHO,makes AVCS the only ENCservice to provide world-wide coverage.

In total, AVCS nowprovides official berth-to-berth coverage between2165 trading ports world-wide and more than 10613 charts. Individual

charts are available on three-,six-, nine- and 12-month termsand can be instantly accessedvia the Admiralty remote licens-ing facility.

The ENCs for China enable

shipping companies operatingin the region to satisfy carriagerequirements for electroniccharts, a key step in meetingthe changing operational andcompliance requirements

brought about by the tran-sition from paper to digitalnavigation.

China Shipping Devel-opment Tanker Co Ltd isone of the first companiesto trial the new charts.

Senior superintendentZheng Mianshen says he isalready seeing benefits:ʻAny system that helps toimprove safety and, in theface of current economicconditions, provide addi-tional cost savings must beapplauded.

ʻMandatory carriage ofECDIS will be with us from2012, so introducing AVCSnow provides us with thenecessary timeframe toequip, train and test anysystem before the regula-tions are enforced.ʼ

UKHO completes Chinese coverage

may not be displayed, fixesthem and produces a compre-hensive and detailed report ofchanges made.

The International Hydro-graphic Office (IHO) first madeknown the ECDIS presentationfault in April last year. Marinerswere advised to review plannedroutes in an ECDIS to display 'alldata', and hydrographic officeswere urged to review and up-date their source material.

ʻJeppesen has developed asolution that programmaticallyeliminates the ECDIS shoal pres-entation fault for hydrographicoffices and ENC producers,helping them to succeed intheir mission of providing theinformation necessary formariners to operate safely,ʼ saidJeppesen dKart tools product

Safer navigation in Brazilian watersmanager John Klippen.

The dKart Sounding to Ob-struction tool uses an ENC filefeed (including the base file andany update files), and checkseach ENC for sounding clustersthat contain data that shouldappear as an obstruction, not asa sounding.

The appropriate depth ischanged to an obstruction ob-ject type in the depth position,common attributes are trans-ferred automatically and an op-tion is given to set water leveleffect attribute automatically.

In the ECDIS, when marinersupdate the resulting ENC files,the shoals that did not appear instandard mode will now appearas obstructions, and automaticgrounding alarms will detectthem.

� UKHO has added to its portfolioof vector charts

navnews.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 15:11 Page 23

� The cubicsatellitemeasures 20cmon each side andweighs a mere6kg

VESSEL TRACKING


This July a smallcubic satellite wasplaced into orbit by anIndian rocket. Despite

measuring only 20cm on each sideand weighing just 6kg, its Norwe-gian backers have high hopes itwill improve maritime safety inthe waters of the High North.

With a payload developed byKongsberg Seatex among others,AISSat-1 was launched success-fully on 12 July and soon afterbegun transmitting AIS messagesfrom its polar orbit to earth viaKongsberg Satellite Services’ground station at Svalbard.

The experimental satellite isthe latest development in asteady stream of research proj-ects aiming to take AIS into thespace age, as it were.

As most readers will beaware AIS is mandatory forseagoing vessels of 300gt or moreand all passenger vessels. Its pri-mary purpose is to assist the shipnavigational watch to avoid colli-sion with other vessels as well asto allow maritime authorities totrack and monitor ship move-ments through the operation ofland based AIS stations.

However, these land stationscan typically only receive VHFsignals from ships up to 40 nauti-cal miles (75km) off the coast.This means numerous shore-based installations are requiredto provide a complete picture ofvessel traffic in coastal waters.Norway for example operates achain of 39 such stations alongits extensive coastline.

Despite the infrastructuralburden, the system has provedinvaluable in ensuring safe navi-gation and efficient traffic man-agement. However, a reliablemethod of collecting vessel posi-tions from a much wider area –

by the Norwegian Defence Re-search Establishment (FFI) wasmounted on the exterior hull ofISS’s European Columbus mod-ule last year.

The increased altitude alsogives the receiver a significantlygreater range, allowing observa-tions to be made over muchlarger areas. Over the duration ofa single orbit, coverage extendsto 4000km from 70°N to 70°S.

Researchers and engineershave collected and analysed thesignals to improve ‘de-collision’methods. The greatest challengefaced in processing AIS datafrom space is separating out – or‘de-colliding’ – the signals ema-nating from so many ships fromeach other. Perfecting the signalprocessing techniques is there-fore critical to the future practi-cal deployment of S-AIS.

Because FFI was a memberof the consortium behind the re-cently launched cubic satellite,the receiver at its heart sharesmuch in common with the unitaboard the ISS. Other projectmembers were the NorwegianCoastal Administration, the Nor-wegian Space Centre and Kongs-berg Seatex. Financial backingwas provided by the NorwegianMinistry of Trade and Industry.

From its orbit 635km abovesea-level, AISSat-1 processes andbeams back AIS messages fromships, making it easier for theNorwegian authorities to identifyand coordinate vessels in searchand rescue operations as well asassist the monitoring of danger-ous goods and cargo. It is be-lieved that the traffic density inthe region should require only asingle receiver and antennae tohandle the expected volume ofAIS messages. Part of the AISSat-1 mission is to test these pre-

While many in the industry wereinitially sceptical about the usefulnessand reliability of space-based AISreceivers, interest in the conceptcontinues to grow, with maritimetechnology heavyweight Kongsbergnow entering the fray

Exploration of space- based AIS continues

and without the costs associatedwith maintaining land stationsetc – would be attractive to manystakeholders in the maritime in-dustry.

While the horizontal range ofshipboard AIS transponders islimited, they reach much furthervertically. AIS signals have beendetected in experiments on theInternational Space Station (ISS),orbiting 400km above Earth. Thiswas proven when a speciallybuilt VHF-antenna constructed

VESSEL.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 15:21 Page 24


VESSEL TRACKING

Incorporating the satellite-supplied data into AMSA’s com-mercial AIS display tools andAustralia’s in-house maritime do-main awareness tools was astraightforward process. Accord-ing to the report, it was handledidentically to terrestriallysourced data, with the ‘time fromlast update’, ranging between twoseconds and nine minutes, de-pending on the overhead positionof the AIS satellite in relation toan OrbComm ground station.

OrbComm appreciated thatthe role of global AIS data goesbeyond SAR and ensuring safenavigation, noble as those objec-tives might be. It also has com-mercial value, a fact not lost onLloyd’s List Intelligence (previ-ously Lloyd’s MIU), which hasrecently subscribed to Orb-Comm’s S-AIS data feed. Theservice will extend coverage ofvessel reporting beyond coastalareas to deep waters.

‘Our customers will find thatthe integration of this new re-porting source will be of majorbenefit in assisting them withbusiness decisions by providingan even greater understanding ofboth local and global maritimemarkets and supply chains,’ saidLLI commercial director AndrewCooney.

While numerous websiteshave sprung up providing anAIS-based graphical perspectiveon ship movements, after theinitial novelty value wear off, itis difficult to extract meaning-ful trends from this data. Forthis reason, LLI relies on itsglobal network of agents andother contacts, who beef up thequality and volume of vesselmovement data.

sumptions. Meanwhile ExactEarth has

recently published the resultsfrom sea trials of its S-AIS sys-tem. ExactEarth is the spin-offdata services subsidiary of ComDev International, the Canadianfirm that pioneered the conceptof space-based AIS.

During the trials conductedearlier this year near Hawaii Ex-actEarth’s S-AIS technology wasevaluated for its ability to detectAIS signals transmitted from bat-tery-operated AIS-based searchand rescue transponders devices(AIS-SARTs). Because these de-vices have been designed to becarried in life rafts or by individ-uals in distress in the water,transmissions are broadcast at astrength of only 1-watt, com-pared to the 12.5-watts signalgenerated by a standard Class-AAIS equipment used on ships.

ExactEarth reports that itstechnology demonstrator nano-satellite successfully detectedsignals from all five of the sourcedevices. Unique among othersystems being tested, it also cor-rectly determined that one of thetransponders was ‘spoofing’ itssignals by altering its transmittedidentification every few seconds.

Company president PeterMabson was understandablypleased with the results: ‘The AISsignals were less than one-tenthas strong as the ones our satellitesare designed to detect. Further-more the transmitters were bob-bing with the waves at water levelrather than emanating from therelative stability of a large vessel.’

The trials were organised bythe U.S. Coast Guard and the In-ternational Association of MarineAids to Navigation and Light-house Authorities (IALA) inorder to evaluate the use of AISsignals as a complement to othersearch and rescue systems. Akey attraction of AIS is that over70 000 vessels already transmitand receive on this frequency.

The positive outcome fromthe Hawaii trials was no doubt afactor helping sway two undis-closed governmental maritimeagencies to sign up to a paid com-mercial trial of the system. Under

the agreements, ExactEarth willprovide the agencies with S-AISdata feeds and value-added serv-ices for a limited time commenc-ing with the launch of its firstoperational satellite.

ExactEarth is already offeringits services to a limited numberof competent maritime authori-ties around the world. So far, fivecountries have either signed onfor the programme or completedtrials based on the demonstratornano-satellite which has been inorbit since 2008. Mabson addsthat discussions are underwaywith other bodies and he is opti-mistic of announcing moreagreements in the near future.

Another company in the bur-geoning S-AIS market and onewhich also participated in the tri-als off the coast of Hawaii wasOrbComm. Their satellites toowere found capable of detectingthe signals generated by the 1-watt transponders. This was per-haps to be expected given thatthe company’s orbiting receiverswere brought into action duringa real-life SAR scenario to assist ayacht in distress off the northernAustralian coast.

Indeed the Australian Mar-itime Safety Authority (AMSA)went on to highlight the use ofsatellite AIS data during the inci-dent response in a report it latersubmitted to IMO’s Sub-Commit-tee on Radio-communicationsand Search and Rescue (COM-SAR). It stated: ‘Data from Orb-Comm’s satellite AIS receiverswas instrumental in “identifyinga merchant ship not otherwiseknown to the Rescue Coordina-tion Centre”, and subsequentlyused to direct a ship to the yacht,where two people were rescued.’

�The Kongsbergsatellite willexpand the AISmonitoring rangefrom coastalwaters to allmaritime zonescontrolled byNorwegianAuthorities

VESSEL.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 15:27 Page 25

� Manythousands ofimages wereused to create alifelike virtualreplica

SIMULATORS


This spring Norwe-gian class societyDNV took the coversoff a sophisticated

simulation-based tool for teach-ing newly recruited surveyors.The 3D ship hull survey simula-tor was developed on the sameprinciples as those used in com-puter games, with trainees ableto navigate around all parts of avessel.

Notably, in contrast to themajority of simulation systemsdesigned for the maritime indus-try to date, DNV’s creation is notlimited to certain areas such asthe engineroom or bridge. In-spections can be carried outfrom the upper part of the super-structure to the lower part of acargo hold or the ship’s doublebottom. Even a drilling rig can berecreated and surveyed from cy-berspace.

While the system is initiallyaimed at its own surveyors as ameans of improving and acceler-ating their training, the class so-ciety says it eventually plans tomake the technology available toa much wider audience includ-ing ship officers and superin-tendents.

‘It’s important to developtechnologies that will benefit thewhole maritime industry interms of improved safety. I’mproud of what we have achievedand the fact that, after years ofintensive in-house software de-velopment, we are today able topresent a unique tool,’ says OlavNortun, DNV’s chief operatingofficer for global development.

The 3D training system is in-stalled at Gdynia, Poland in anew building opened earlier thisyear. Though the simulator is animportant part of the facility,Nortun stresses the equipment

sure not only to find and train upmore surveyors and inspectors,but to bring them up to speed inthe shortest possible time.

The teaching of surveyorshas always been fraught withpractical challenges. For exam-ple, it is sometimes difficult – ifnot impossible – for a trainee tofollow a qualified surveyor intosome of the more cramped (anddangerous) spaces in a ship’shull.

Likewise, the cabins oncherry picker rigs are often onlylarge enough for a single personto ride, making it hard for quali-fied surveyors to show traineestell-tale signs of potential troublespots on high tank walls.

At other times, it may be nec-essary to explain subtle observa-tions over loud machinery. Theelectronic solution eliminatestime pressure and allows exer-

By harnessing the power of 3Dsimulation, DNV believes it can shortenthe time needed to train newinspectors by up to six months

Surveyors learn fasteron board virtual ship

will soon be made portable sothat surveyors can be trained al-most anywhere.

It was three years ago whenDNV came up with the originalconcept and the class society hasinvested in the region of $1M inthe last 24 months in bringing itto fruition. Despite the blackclouds still hanging over theglobal economy, the world fleet ispredicted to grow by almost athird by 2014 as new vessels or-dered before the downturn aredelivered. Therefore class soci-eties such as DNV are under pres-

simulators.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 15:31 Page 26

carry a virtual torch, which accu-rately reproduces the limitationsof real flashlights. The only thingmissing it seems is a virtual re-placement for the inspector’strusty hammer for testing thethickness of walls.

Of course, the training pro-gramme consists of more thanjust simulator time. The sessionsin the immersive 3D environ-ment are supported by PC-baseddesk work and role-plays inwhich the trainee has to reporthis findings to the ship’s superin-tendent. The dialogues are mod-elled on the typical response aninspector might encounter onboard, where cost conscious shipstaff are sometimes unenthusias-tic about committing to expen-sive repair jobs.

‘Over the past few years, thenumber of ships in operation hasincreased a lot. Recruiting skilledprofessionals to all parts of theindustry has become a challenge.And though nothing can replaceonboard training when it comesto gaining hands-on experience,the 3D simulator is the closestwe can come on shore,’ Nortunconcludes.

� Instructorscan adjust localenvironmentalconditions, suchas the degree ofcorrosion andlighting


cises to be repeated as necessary.By cutting waiting times for ac-cess to actual ships, this ap-proach allows the trainees – andclass society as a whole – to buildup competence in less time.

The survey simulator allowstrainees to conduct inspectionson virtual vessels, identify non-compliances and safety issuesand optimise workflow processesin a controlled, interactive andguided environment. Usingmany thousands of images takenfrom existing vessels of differentages and quality, the 3D-enabledsoftware replicates onboard con-ditions with remarkable fidelity –even down to the pitting in metalsurfaces. As a result, trainees canbecome adept at pinpointingproblems before they step ondeck of a real vessel.

Nortun notes that in recentyears not only has technologychanged, but so surveyors havetoo: ‘Younger surveyors haveused computers as a more inte-grated part of their education. Itis no surprise that this demo-graphic is often referred to as thePlayStation generation.’ As such,he believes, they will quickly

feel at home using the system. The software has been devel-

oped to make the simulator flexi-ble. Numerous different findingscan be included so that survey-ors can visualise what they willface in a real situation. Traineesor instructors can adjust condi-tions, such as the degree of cor-rosion and weather and lightconditions, to fit different pur-poses. Safety conflicts are alsobuilt into the program to encour-age trainees to be more aware ofpotential hazards while inspect-ing.

Defects are continually ran-domised to prevent traineesmemorising them on later visits.In addition to becoming accus-tomed with frequently occurringdeficiencies, a key objective is inlearning how to carry out an in-spection systematically.

The simulation is not a pas-sive environment. Besides beingable to move around the ship,trainees are armed with a virtualcamera to take photos for theirreports and a virtual palmtop de-vice, which can bring up on thespot information on key featuresin the view finder. They also

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SHIP DESIGN


scheduling database mainte-nance operations including thecleanup of unused data, com-pacting of database files, and there-building of database indexes.

Information regarding eachpart’s Global Unique Identifier(GUID) is now more accessiblewhich makes it easier to inte-grate the ShipConstructor prod-uct model with other softwaresuch as enterprise resource plan-ning (ERP) and finite elementanalysis (FEA) applications. Ac-cessible GUIDs can also make re-porting and macro creationeasier, thereby allowing ship-yards to customise the software

for their own unique require-ments.

Additionally, based on cus-tomer feedback, ShipConstructor2011 has expanded its profileendcut definition capabilities. Anaddition to the software’s para-metric features allows users tocreate a variety of new types ofendcuts being used in today’s off-shore and shipbuilding indus-tries.

Following shortly after theupgrade announcement, one ofBrazil’s largest marine engineer-ing firms – Kromav Engeharia –announced it had adopted Ship-Constructor as its primary designtool for shipbuilding and offshoreprojects.

In Brazil, as in other markets,ShipConstructor has won popu-larity due to its ease of use. Be-cause it is based on Autodesk,the foremost CAD/CAM solutionused across all industrial sectors,many of the engineers enteringBrazil’s revitalised shipbuildingbusiness are already familiar

� EstalieroAtlântico Sul andother Brazilianshipyards valueease-of-use inCAD systems

Input from ship-builders from aroundthe world was instru-mental in definingwhat improvements

and new functionalities wereneeded in the latest version ofShipConstructor, the flagship Au-toCAD-based CAD/CAM applica-tion from Victoria, Canada-basedShipConstructor Software Inc.(SSI).

The new release incorporatesseveral enhancements that arebased upon input to SSI’s productmanagement team memberswho collected feedback andanalysed needs from ship-builders around the world.

‘ShipConstructor 2011 hasseveral of the new features intro-duced in AutoCAD 2011 to im-prove the ease of editing,’ saidproduct development managerDenis Morais. For instance theso-called Product Hierarchy Mod-ule has been improved to bringgreater flexibility in project or-ganisation. Multiple hierarchiescan now be used to generate pro-duction output as well as foranalysis. In practical terms, thismeans shipbuilders can generatemultiple build strategies for con-struction of vessels at differentlocations.

The Project Revisions man-ager has also been enhanced tomake it easier to localise and ex-amine project revision history,which the company says will aidusers in analysing progress andin tracking potential sources oferrors.

Elsewhere, the Project Split& Merge product for multi-sitecollaboration has been re-engi-neered under the hood to boostperformance. Merge and refreshspeed at distributed locations hasbeen improved by as much as10%.

To ensure that the masterdatabase is always operating effi-ciently, the package now pro-vides a simple method for

Usability is a priorityWhile the creators of shipbuildingCAD/CAM solutions are always lookingto boost the power of their offerings,ease-of-use is also high on the agenda,especially when it comes to cateringfor yards in emerging nations

e

data.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 15:42 Page 28

gineering staff has been evenmore acute. EAS has had to scourthe country to find their team of194 engineers, designers anddraftsmen. Therefore, it was crit-ical that the chosen design plat-form was shipbuilding specific,while also easily learned andused. (For the full story, see sis-ter publication Shipping World &Shipbuilder, June 2010)


SHIP DESIGN

An increase in vesselcomplexity over recentyears has created many

challenges for the design and in-tegration of electrical systems.

Traditional methods for plan-ning onboard electrical systemsare struggling to keep pace withthe sophistication of modern ves-sels and, as a result, engineersare being forced to rethink howthey approach this task. Thank-fully, the next generation of soft-ware-based design tools areready to bear the brunt of thisworkload.

The extensive use of auto-mated computer control sys-tems for machinery, navigationand passenger/crew safety sys-tems, along with the return toelectric propulsion systems caneasily result in byzantine elec-trical and cabling layouts,therefore driving the require-ment for integration manage-ment onboard.

Most vessels now need someform of electrical integration, theextent of which is broadly deter-mined by vessel size. But regard-less of size, it is unlikely that allthe equipment will be sourcedfrom a single manufacturer. Con-sequently there will be manyelectrical and electronic productsworking to different standardsthat need to communicate – andbe connected together – in a logi-cal manner.

The increase in electricalpower required to feed all theseapplications has also broughtabout a rise in higher voltagesbeing transported around the

with its operation.‘A steep learning curve is not

viable when the workforce is stilldeveloping as in the rapidly ex-panding Brazilian market,’stresses Darren Larkins, SSIdeputy chief executive.

One of ShipConstructor’sbiggest successes in Brazil is Es-taliero Atlântico Sul (EAS), a newBrazilian shipyard which has an

vessel, which in turn, requirescabling that performs to the high-est of safety standards. In addi-tion the compatibility andconsistency required by newtechnology has given rise to in-ternational standards, which callfor full traceability and docu-mentation of electrical systems.

There are some common is-sues faced when designing elec-trical cabling networks onboard,such as defining the requiredcable gauge (ie, the external di-ameter of the cable related tothe copper conductor width)and length needed. Possibleelectromagnetic interferencealso needs to be taken into ac-count as it could result in unin-tentional signals beingtransmitted or commands beingperformed.

The ECAD software suite,E³.series, can be integratedwithin the design process toovercome many of these electri-cal system integration problems.This software – from Zuken – hasbeen built from the ground upfor the design and documenta-tion of electrical control systemsand is used by a number of lead-ing names across the transportsector, from marine through toaerospace, automotive and railmanufacturers.

E³.cable allows engineers tocreate block diagrams andschematics using so-called ‘ob-ject-oriented’ design techniques,that allow changes made any-where in the design to be care-fully controlled. With blockdiagrams defined, the user can

Simpler wiring for sophisticated shipsgo on to connect all the func-tional modules using the cable ofchoice. It will automatically se-lect the correct connectors, iden-tify collisions and deal withsusceptible wires. Zuken also of-fers E³.panel, a related packagefor the placement and wiring ofdevices in panels and on mount-ing plates.

The type of cable used in dif-ferent environments and situa-tions can be simply managedwithin E³.cable. For example, inan engine bay, cables that canwithstand higher temperaturesare essential. When choosing acable within E³.series, the usercan specify the name, diameterand gauge, or pick from a prede-fined drop down list of industry-standard cables.

There are day-to-day effi-ciency and productivity gains tobe had when using E³.series orany CAD solution for that matter,but one of the most significantbenefits not yet covered here, isthe ability to deal with thechanging technology and clientrequirements at any stage withinthe development and buildprocess.

For instance, the introductionof a new navigation system twoyears into the design of a largecomplex vessel would normallyresult in extensive rework of theelectrical cable design. WithE³.cable, however, this can be ac-complished by updating a singlesheet; other areas within theelectrical system will automati-cally be modified to reflect thechanges.

order book in the region of$3.4bn, for 14 Suezmax tankers,eight Aframax tankers as well asthe hull of a P55 semi-sub-mersible platform. At full capac-ity, the shipyard will employover 5000 workers, the majorityof whom are locally trained andwho lack any shipbuilding expe-rience.

The challenge of finding en-


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not, this was based on historicaldata, such as data sheets anddrawings stored in design officearchives, since obtaining accu-rate data from suppliers wastime-consuming, if not impossi-ble, until contracts were signed.

And even when the final doc-umentation was delivered by thesuppliers, the shipyard wouldoften not have the time or the re-sources to fully verify the qualityof such a massive paper moun-tain before handing it over to theship owners. The owners, in

The relationship be-tween shipbuildersand their customersis changing as ships

become ever more complex, andowners themselves become in-creasingly sophisticated in theirasset management practices.Where once the purchase priceand delivery date of a new vesselwere the principal criterion,today, total lifecycle cost playsan increasingly important part inspecification and procurement.

Several factors have con-tributed to this, not least thecosts of crewing. Fuel price infla-tion and the increased costs ofin-service maintenance and re-pair also serve to make lifecyclecost a complex and uncertain cal-culation.

As in other capital engineer-ing industries, the key to max-imising whole-of-life return oninvestment (ROI) lies in informa-tion. Just as bridge crews needclear information displays forcritical systems such as naviga-tion and propulsion so, too, doengineers and operators needclear and detailed visibility of theperformance of their complex as-sets. The good news is that ma-ture information technology nowexists which enables this throughevery phase of a ship's lifecycle.But for maximum value, youneed to use it from the outset.

Getting it right from thebeginning

In the days of paper docu-mentation, shipbuilding engi-neers and procurementspecialists customarily devotedhuge amounts of time and effortto finding the equipment docu-mentation and drawings requiredto do their jobs. More often than

turn, could not effectively exploitthe information buried in all thisdocumentation. The end result,of course, was often incompleteor poor-quality informationbeing provided to the crew mem-bers tasked with operating andmaintaining the ship.

This problem has promptedmany commercial endeavours toimprove the process, mostly byproducing some sort of onlinedatabase of shipbuilding materi-als and equipment. However,these web databases were fre-quently outdated by the timethey were implemented, mostlydue to suppliers quickly takingon the challenge of creating andmaintaining their own individualwebsites and retaining their tech-nical know-how. Their existencenevertheless accelerated marineequipment suppliers' progress to-wards electronic documentation,and provided an example stan-dard for the marine industry forthe exchange of data, both com-mercial and technical.

Today, equipment suppliersreadily offer electronicdatasheets, 2D drawings and, in-creasingly, 3D CAD models, en-abling engineers to requestdocumentation via email and re-ceive the latest drawings,datasheets or other technicaldocumentation in a few hoursand to pass this on to the ownerat handover.

Unfortunately, electronicdocumentation suffers many ofthe disadvantages of its paperpredecessors, such as being outof date as soon as it is committedto an electronic file, or aggregat-ing complex data into one singleentity, thereby making it difficultto locate or track changes to indi-vidual information items within

� Datatransparencyduring designand build


DATA MANAGEMENT

Joining up ship data can pay dividends

While document management ‒ andthe Shipdex standard ‒ is a big stepforward for the marine industry, itrepresents only a partial solution to itsfull information managementrequirements, explains DavidThomson*


DATA MANAGEMENT


section, whilst a maintenanceengineer, upon selecting anequipment item, might first beshown service procedures andspare parts lists.

The preparation of Shipdexdata does require some addi-tional effort from equipmentsuppliers and can entail signifi-cant cultural change, but thelarger suppliers are finding thatthis work can form the basis ofbetter document and data man-agement.

Integration of dataWhilst Shipdex is clearly a

promising way to manage thedata embodied in electronic doc-uments, the industry still facesthe challenge of providing crewmembers with easy access to theentire information asset embod-ied in a ship, which comprisesmuch more than just equipmentdocumentation.

As a result of this, the in-dustry is increasingly recognis-ing the value of the ‘digitalship’ asset – not only all of theinformation created and gath-ered by the shipyard, (3D mod-els, CAD drawings, schematicsdiagrams, suppliers' datasheets,etc.) but also the informationgenerated by day-to-day vesseloperations. This all-encompass-ing approach to the manage-ment of information assets isalready widely used in othercapital engineering industries,such as offshore oil and gas,

documents. It also creates newchallenges, such as the inabilityto view the many disparate typesof documentation using a single,unified method.

Industry initiativesThere are several industry

initiatives striving to improvecommunication and data trans-parency in the industry. Onlinedatabases of suppliers' products,and information exchange stan-dards such as STEP, cater for theCAD model requirements ofshipbuilders, whilst the Shipdexprotocol is gaining traction forcommunication between equip-ment suppliers and shipowner/operators. For the mainte-nance of hull structures, themajor classification societieshave collaborated to create theOPEN HCM format to facilitatedata exchange between shipyard,class society and ship operator.

The Shipdex protocol fo-cuses on the technical manualstraditionally handed over to shipowners to provide equipmentservice and maintenance infor-mation. Interestingly, it takesthe concept of electronic docu-ments a step further and breaksdocument content down into itscomponent parts. These compo-nent parts, also known as infor-mation sets, are themselvesbroken down into data modules,each of these being a manage-able, communicable entity, ex-pressed in a highly reusableXML format.

Breaking down informationinto sets and data modules recog-nises the true granularity of in-formation management, directlyexpressing the level at which asupplier would wish to make achange and have the changemade transparent to a data con-sumer. It also permits configura-bility of end-user applications;information can be recombinedor reordered in ways relevant toa consumer’s needs. For exam-ple, Shipdex could help a user re-sponding to an emergencysituation, by reorganising equip-ment documentation to presentthe emergency shutdown proce-dures before, say, the warranty

and corresponding benefitsmay be gained in the marinesector.

Aveva has recently broad-ened its solution for shipbuilderswith the acquisition of Logi-matic’s MARS solution, makingAveva Marine the predominantsolution for the generation ofcomplete and accurate designand materials data for the digitalship. When Aveva’s informationintegration platform, Aveva NET,is used for managing project in-formation, all parties involved inthe design and production of avessel have intuitive, single-pointaccess to all types of informa-tion, not only Shipdex datasets.

Because Aveva NET inte-grates every type of information,regardless of type or source,when the ship is commissionedthe new owner can be providedwith the best possible as-designedand as-built documentation. Thiscan certainly include Shipdexdatasets for supplied equipment,but it can also include, for exam-ple, a navigable 3D model of theentire vessel, intelligentschematic diagrams and draw-ings, a complete list of equip-ment assets and their associatedattributes, an idealised hullmodel for hull condition monitor-ing, and even 3D photogrammet-ric or laser scans of the as-builtvessel. Equally importantly, be-cause Aveva NET maintains crossreferences between informationitems, inconsistencies are auto-matically identified and a usercan navigate the digital ship in anintuitive manner, not unlike webbrowsing.

A shipbuilder amasses a hugeamount of information duringthe shipbuilding process, butonly a subset of this is handedover to the owner – the ‘owner’smanual’, as it were. Using AvevaNET, once this data asset isadopted by the ship owner, it be-comes the basis of the completedigital ship, able to support allaspects of lifecycle management,either as an individual onboardsystem or, in an integrated shore-to-ship replication mode, forfleet-wide information manage-ment. The ability to manage

� Closed loopasset lifecyclemanagement.


it represents only a partial solu-tion to its full information man-agement requirements. WithAveva Marine now augmentedwith MARS, and Aveva NET pro-viding a backbone for managingevery type of informationthroughout every stage of thevessel's lifecycle and across en-tire fleets, the digital ship can bea reality, delivering value to ship-


DATA MANAGEMENT

every type of disparate informa-tion, including even real-timedata from ships' systems, opensup many opportunities for inno-vative use.

In day-to-day operations, theability to access the entire digitalship from any convenient loca-tion brings significant economicbenefits, particularly in optimis-ing maintenance work and re-sponding to unforeseenproblems. A pump showingsymptoms of premature deterio-ration, for example, may bequickly identified in Aveva NETby intuitive means, such as click-ing on a hotspot in a 3D modelview or on a schematic.

This then enables a user toquickly collate all available infor-mation, which might include thecomplete system schematic, real-time performance data, the shut-down procedure, the sparesinventory, repair procedures,and so on. Fleet wide, an ownermight review the performanceand reliability records of all suchpumps to determine whether theindividual failure is an isolatedincident or whether there is acase for carrying out a plannedreplacement programme to pre-empt costly in-service failures.

At end of lifeJust as ship owners are tak-

ing lifecycle costs more seri-ously, so are they also underincreasing pressure to manageend-of-life recycling responsibly.With the Green Passport initia-tive gathering worldwide sup-port, and the human andenvironmental costs of beachbreaking becoming increasinglyunacceptable, there is consider-able incentive for the efficientmanagement of recycling. Prop-erly used, the digital ship infor-mation asset can deliver valueeven at this final stage of the life-cycle, enabling safe and efficientdismantling procedures, maxi-mum recovery of residual value,and compliance with increas-ingly stringent regulatory re-quirements.

It is clear that, while docu-ment management is a big stepforward for the marine industry,

builder and ship owner alike.This technology is unlikely to su-persede Shipdex, which will re-main a powerful and effectivesolution. What it can do, how-ever, is enable Shipdex to play itsfull part in the entire lifecycle ofthe digital ship.

* David Thomson is Principal Consultant at

Aveva


� Flow sensorsare installed onboth port andstarboard sideengines

OPTIMISATION


Encouraging vesselcrews to be more ef-ficient while beingable to monitor how

much fuel is in the tanks haslong been the holy grail of theshipping industry. Over theyears many approaches havebeen put to the test, but nonehave caught on in a big way.

However, outcomes ob-served during an initial imple-mentation of the latestcontender by a leading shippingservices and logistics headquar-tered in Australia suggest that acorner is about to be turned. In-deed, the company is reportinga reduction in fuel costs by upto thirty percent.

For Toll Global Resources(Toll Global) the cost of fuel ac-counts for 60% of the monthlyoperational budget for its fleetof 49 merchant vessels. In 2008when oil prices broke throughthe US$100 a barrel, Toll Globalneeded to reduce operationalcosts in order to be competitive,reduce fuel surcharges andmaintain margins.

‘We in fact started looking

els once the vessel was at sea. To find an alternate solu-

tion, Toll Global turned to theirprovider of vessel security sys-tems. Based in Singapore, 3iTechnologies (3i) had beenworking with Toll Global since2004. ‘As an integrator andprovider of global asset moni-toring services, 3i has built con-siderable experience indeveloping technologies fortracking and monitoring landand maritime assets’ said Ken-neth Tan, the company’s man-aging director. ‘Therefore wewere keen to develop a solutionthat would not only assist TollGlobal but also integrate intoour existing vessel monitoringsolutions so we could providesimilar benefits to our othermaritime customers.’

The technology companyeventually came up with the 3iVessel RPM and Fuel MonitoringSystem (FMS). The main compo-nents of the FMS system are flowand level sensors, whose peri-odic readings are used to calcu-late fuel consumption.

To ensure utmost accuracy,

The fuel price spike of 2008 spurred anAustralian shipping company to assessthe cost-saving potential of the latestin fuel monitoring systems. It has beenimpressed with the results

Satcoms telemetryhelps save fuel

for ways to save fuel over tenyears ago’, said Weng OonLeong, marine logistics man-ager at Toll Global. ‘While somesolutions we looked at only pro-vided manual fuel meter read-ings, others were asking a pricebeyond our expectations —somewhere around 20-30%more.’

Their original fuel-monitor-ing solution was a fuel metergauge which required mainte-nance staff to physically collectthe data on a daily basis. Theprocess was time consumingand did not allow Toll Global tomonitor sudden changes in fuellevels in real-time or over con-sumption due to improper ves-sel usage. The system also didnot allow for polling of fuel lev-

skywave.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:02 Page 34

computer in various file for-mats, such as Microsoft Excel sothat further analysis and com-parison can be made easily.

According to Tan, with all thelogging information available justa click away, the crew can easilyfind out how much fuel theyneed to load for a specific voy-age. Both management and thecrew can also know exactly howmuch fuel is being consumed bythe ship, and such transparencyhas greatly motivated the crew towork more efficiently, especiallysince Toll Global has committedto invest the fuel savings backinto their fleet.

The return on investmentfor the system is simple to cal-culate. According to Tan, TollGlobal recovered the costs ofthe system within months.Since the system uses the Sky-Wave IsatM2M satellite commu-nication service, monthlyair-time costs are minimal com-pared to that of competing solu-tions.

The system is already prov-ing to save Toll Global man-hours. ‘Before we had to goonboard to do soundings threetimes a week,’ said Leong, ‘andeach time it took over two hoursincluding travel time. Now weonly do soundings once a week,which saves us 16 man-hours amonth per vessel.’

Moving forward, 3i is devel-oping a mapping module whichwill be an add-on feature to itsfuel monitoring solution.Weather conditions have signifi-cant impact on a ship’s fuel con-sumption even for the sameroute – 2000 litres can easily be-come 3000 – depending onweather conditions. Just as ad-vanced GPS systems can calcu-late the best route forland-based vehicles, 3i’s inte-grated mapping system will beable to provide an optimisedroute at sea based on compre-hensive elements includingweather conditions, tidal cur-rents, wind directions, sea gapand water drift. According toTan, this could translate intoeven greater value and savingsfor the customer.


OPTIMISATION

flow sensors are installed oneach engine to monitor theamount of fuel flowing into theengine, while calculating the un-used fuel that flows back throughthe return lines. This providesaccurate readings of the amountof fuel used by the vessel’s en-gine. In addition, level sensorsare installed in tanks to measurefuel level, which are designed tohelp automate fuel bunkeringoperations.

Data from the fuel and levelsensors is aggregated by amicro-controller and along withGPS information sent at pre-de-termined intervals in near real-time using a SkyWave MobileCommunications DMR-800IsatM2M satcoms terminal in-stalled on each vessel. Reportsare also sent when specialevents are detected like whenthe engine is turned on/off orwhen an unusual change in fuellevel is recorded.

All information from the 3i

FMS is sent to the 3i VesselMonitoring System (VMS)which uses the data to calculateactual fuel usage while the ves-sel is on voyage. Since the 3iFMS system uses a two-waysatellite-based communicationterminal, vessel owners and op-erators can change the report-ing frequency or poll fuelconsumption data from eachvessel at any time.

In addition to fuel consump-tion levels, the 3i FMS alsorecords engine RPM and eachthrottle made. These are veryuseful for analysing vessel ac-tivities at sea and ensuring thatthe engine is operating at peakefficiency. All the data can bestored on the fleet manager’s

Now we only do soundings once a week, which saves us 16 man-hours a month per vessel

Weng Oon Leong, Toll Global

THE RORVIK Safety Centre in Norway has introduced a new training programme, which ithopes will increase environmental awareness among officers. Notably, the courses will involvea specially designed simulator for monitoring fuel consumption and emissions.

A key objective of the EcoShip courses is to ʻopen officersʼ eyesʼ to the extent they caninfluence the carbon footprint of the vesselsʼ in their charge. Specifically, they have been de-veloped to provide participants with the necessary knowledge, skills and competence toplan and carry out ʻfuel economicʼ runs of shuttle ferries in order to minimise emissions ofgreenhouse gases and other pollutants. Students will be required to understand the connec-tion between fuel efficient and safe piloting, particularly when it comes to manoeuvres com-ing into and leaving berth.

The simulator, supplied by Transas, serves as a practical tool to help highlight the correla-tion between different types of vesselhandling and discharge of emissions tothe atmosphere. Capable of simulatingvarious vessel types including shuttleand high-speed ferries, the system willkeep track and display ship speed andfuel consumption (in real-time, as atotal and as an average), as well asemissions of NOx, SOx, carbon dioxideand other hydrocarbons. All data isrecorded to allow trainers to give com-prehensive debriefs.

To create realistic conditions forlearning and to meet the requirementsof STCW-95, the system also simulates abridge ECDIS, radar and other communi-cations equipment.

Eco-friendly ferry operation in focus

The interface highlights the correlation between vesselhandling and emissions

skywave.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:02 Page 35

OPTIMISATION


Fuel represents thelargest operationalcost to shippingcompanies. It is

therefore uppermost in theminds of all ship owners andmanagers to find ways of de-creasing consumption. More re-cently, environmentalregulations are pushing thesecosts higher still, owing to thefact that emissions levels areused for determining fairwayfees and harbour charges. It fol-lows that operators reducingemissions will benefit furtherfrom reduced tariffs.

Furthermore, sustainabilityis now an important differentia-

environmental stewardship iscertain to make headlines andundermine reputations.

Eniram provides advanceddecision support systems to theowners and operators of largecommercial vessels, includingcruise ships, containerships andtankers. These tools are designedto enable fuel efficiency, envi-ronmental protection initiativesand intelligent reporting of ves-sel and fleet performance, deliv-ering cost efficiencies on boardand on shore.

The company’s DynamicTrimming Assistant (DTA) is – asits name suggests – an onboardsystem for dynamically monitor-

While shipsʼ masters have long knownthat a vesselʼs trim affects propulsiveand therefore fuel efficiency, finding areliable and accurate way of measuringthis parameter has proven a challenge.But one company now thinks it has theanswer

Trimming fuel coststhe intelligent way

tor, with the commitment andquality of environmentally re-sponsible activities by cruiseand freight carriers already in-fluencing stakeholders’ deci-sions. In contrast, poor

ENIRAMʼS TECHNOLOGY has al-ready proven popular in the passen-ger ship market. Installed on eightNorwegian Cruise Line (NCL) cruiseliners, Eniramʼs Dynamic TrimmingAssistant has contributed to a 5%reduction in fuel consumption.

Prior to the Eniram solution,NCL knew that the position of itsships in the water had a big impacton fuel consumption and wanted tobetter monitor the drag and trim ofits vessels, but had no reliablemethod of accounting for it, withhome-grown solutions failing to de-liver the precision required.

Captain Bjorn Ove Hansen,NCLʼs director of nautical operationsexplains: ʻDuring day time it is possi-ble for experienced vessel officers todetermine if the trim is close to cor-rect by watching the wake and pro-peller wash. However, for less

Case 1: Norwegian Cruise Line sees 5% drop in fuel consumptionexperienced officers, judging thetrim with eyes only is a difficult task.We were therefore looking for waysto dynamically measure and opti-mise the trim. We even went as faras using garden hoses to build levelgauges that helped us see when thetrim was right.ʼ

NCL initially deployed DTA onNorwegian Jewel, where crew mem-bers quickly got to grips with the

system thanks to the self-explana-tory user interface: when the indica-tor lies in the green band on the DTAscreen, crew members know thatthe trim is right; outside the greenband, corrections need to be made.

Use of DTA on the NorwegianJewel enabled NCL to reduce its fuelconsumption and its operating costsby up 5%. However, the reduction infuel doesnʼt just save money for thecompany. ʻIt also helps us to reduceits CO2 emissions. The savings have adirect effect on air emissions, forwhich the cruise industry will bemore and more under scrutiny in thecoming years,ʼ Hansen says.

NCL has now rolled out the solu-tion to a further seven cruise ships.Over time, it plans to make DTA astandard piece of equipment in all ofits current and future luxury cruiseliners.

� Crewquickly got togrips withEniramʼs trimmonitoringsystem

eniram.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:08 Page 36

helps reduce drag and keep oper-ational costs down, dry dockingvessels for maintenance is ex-pensive. Monitoring andanalysing tools help fine tunewhen to dock vessels and whichtreatments to use for optimal im-pact on fleet performance.’

Actual performance data al-lows shipping companies to setbenchmark levels for each vesseltype, helping to find perform-ance deviations early and makecorrective actions promptly. Thecomparison of performance databefore and after structuralchanges and maintenance opera-tions provides intelligence togauge the benefits gained andapply the findings to other ves-sels in the fleet.

In fleet-wide use, OAS canprovide shipping companieswith aggregated vessel perform-ance data for more efficient fleetmanagement. The analyticsservices are available in severaldifferent packages, providingvarious over time graphs andsnapshot analyses. Typical re-ports include energy and powerdecomposition graphs, engineutilisation rates and trim-to-opti-mum comparisons.

‘Expanding into deeper fleet-wide analytics services is a verynatural next step,’ continued Pad-field. ‘While DTA determines theoptimal trim for each situation inreal time, the new analytics toolsstore data for later analysis andcomparison.’


OPTIMISATION

ing and optimising the trim,where even small adjustmentswill have a substantial impact onvessel performance.

Traditionally, the calculationof optimal trim is complicated bya host of continually changingfactors, including vessel speed,draft, depth and internal weightdistribution and alterations. DTAcollects prevailing trim, propul-sion power and vessel movementdata and incorporates informa-tion on current conditions – suchas weather and speed – to calcu-late and display the optimumtrim. The results are then pre-sented in an intuitive graphicaluser interface, guiding the crewto make appropriate ballast ad-justments.

In March this year, the com-pany unveiled additional analytictools for deeper understanding ofship performance, with a particu-lar focus on hull resistance. Anti-fouling coatings are of course anestablished method of reducingthe power needed to maintainspeed, thereby decreasing fuelconsumption and environmentalemissions. The resulting savingsare typically in the range of 3-5%.

With Eniram Onshore Ana-lytics Services (OAS), shippingcompanies can manage hull per-formance by optimising the tim-ing of vessel maintenanceoperations and assessing the im-pact of different anti-foulingtreatments and structuralchanges.

The new analytics servicesare based on Eniram’s onboardvessel management system,which collects real-time perform-ance data from several sourceson board the vessel using sensornetwork technology. By exclud-ing the effects of weather condi-tions, the system provides aholistic view of the performanceof each individual ship. Addi-tional analyses allow for easycomparison of sister vessels.

‘Adding intelligence to seafar-ing provides an express route todecreased environmental emis-sions and lower bunker costs’,said chief executive Philip Pad-field. ‘While it is clear that keep-ing hulls as smooth as possible

Case 2: Carnival Cruise Lines saves $1m/year

CARNIVAL CRUISE Lines is another convert, attracted bythe prospect of reducing its carbon footprint. By rollingout DTA across its fleet of cruise ships, Carnival CruiseLines is both saving money and reducing its carbon foot-print.

After successful trials, CCL is currently using DTA onfour vessels: the Carnival Legend, Carnival Pride, CarnivalSpirit and Carnival Miracle, with five further implementa-tions in the pipeline.

The operatorʼs vice president of energy conservationRobert C. Spicer says: ʻWe expect to save more than 200tof carbon fuel per year, per ship, which could represent fi-nancial savings of more than $100 000 per ship, depend-ing on the cost of fuel.ʼ When all ten vessels are using DTA,the company will have the potential to save around $1Mannually.

DTA also helps CCL to achieve its environmental goalsand lessen its carbon footprint, says Spicer. ʻIt is one itemin an arsenal of tools that helps us to continually improveour environmental performance. Every ton of fuel con-sumed equates to about 3.16t of CO2 emissions, so, on av-erage, we are reducing our emissions by more than 600tper vessel per year.ʼ

CCL expects to derive even greater advantage from itsuse of DTA in the months and years ahead. This is becauseDTA collects data from each journey that the vessel makesand uses this to constantly fine tune its statistical modelsand give crew members the best possible information.ʻLike a fine wine, DTA gets better with age,ʼ Spicer con-cludes. ʻAs more data is collected over the years for a par-ticular ship and hull form, the statistical model in DTAlearns. This learning helps to refine the visual feedback toofficers, and we expect DTA to continue to add value toour operation for many years to comeʼ

� Carnival is reducing emissions by600t per vessel per year

eniram.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:08 Page 37

� An active sea-keeping modulewill provideguidance on howbest to avoidheavy weatherand rogue waves

OPTIMISATION


The Voyage DecisionSupport (VDS) tool isthe outcome of ajoint research under-

taking spearheaded by the Nor-wegian ECDIS manufacturerMaris and supported by TeekayCorp and Innovation Norway.

In addition to voyage plan-ning and weather routeing, VDSwill incorporate modules for ac-tive sea-keeping, regulatory andcommercial elements and fleetmanagement. Notably, thesefunctionalities will be deliveredby Maris’ home-grown MaritimeDigital Services (MDS) platform,which the UKHO selected as thebasis for its e-Navigator offering.

The fundamental principleunderpinning the VDS concept isthat navigators themselvesshould be able to take the deci-sions necessary to ensure effi-cient vessel operation, minimisefuel consumption and thus limitgreenhouse gas emissions.

Although this kind of systemmay sound familiar to many,

in one system: it incorporatesbetter current/weatherdata, performance monitoringand reporting, fleet coordinationand an analysis element. ‘Sev-eral companies are individuallygoing down one of these routesin developing management deci-sion tools, but they do not in-clude sufficiently accurateinformation about climate,’ de-clares Solaas.

‘Another advantage is thatthe decision support informationis actually presented on thescreen from where the navigatorwill make decisions.’

Maris states the informationfeeding the VDS comes from avariety of providers, includingscientific research communities,classification societies, formermilitary personnel, industrydatabases, ship owners, charter-ers and authorities. There arealso contributions from the ma-rine insurance world.

As well as its main threepartners, the VDS project haddrawn on input from the Maris’parent company Grieg Star Ship-ping, and the vetting depart-ments of the oil majors, key flagstates and environmental organi-sations.

The result, says Solaas, is asystem whose base technologyoffers a 1000nm forecast windowfollowing the vessel as it sailsthat is updated at regular inter-vals, but also a prediction gridthat can be as accurate as1/32nm.

Initial trials took place onboard the 160 000dwt Teekaytanker Pinnacle Spirit, with sys-tem installed on the vessel’sMaris ECDIS-900 unit. It uses lat-est available weather and currentforecasts to offer guidance on theoptimal route available in terms

A voyage decision support tool thatcan be operated from an ECDISconsole will allow real-time voyageoptimisation and can, say its creators,deliver around 5% fuel savings

An electronic helpinghand for shipsʼ masters

Maris is keen to draw a distinc-tion between its approach andthat found in competing voyageoptimisation products: ‘Mostproducts on the market today aresoftware packages for use onboard, or offer remote advice onvoyage planning and optimisa-tion from shore-based organisa-tions,’ said Arne Solaas, thecompany’s director of specialprojects. In his view they provideonly part of the answer: ‘Whatwe are developing is unique be-cause it can be used directly bynavigators without them havingto receive advice from shore.’

VDS combines several ap-proaches to energy optimisation

maris.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:14 Page 38

for a five year period onboard.With data collected from sensorsand voyage data recorder inputs,this system will replicate andcommunicate selected data tothe shore fleet management sys-tem for further processing andanalysis.

Gundersen says that (withinthe constraints of safe operation)it was commercial reality thathad driven the development ofthe VDS. Individual operatorshad therefore been offered theopportunity to provide input, inorder that each package can betailor-made to their needs.

Shore-based fleet managerscould therefore factor in require-ments set by the charter party,such as speed, lay day com-mencement and cancellation,cargo rotation, port congestion,lightering, coastal navigation anddemurrage. Other operator de-fined parameters might includeinformation on ‘no-go’ areas, orplanned bunker ports.


OPTIMISATION

of both time and fuel consump-tion. Technical data on the ves-sel’s performance such as fuelflow, torque, vessel load, waveheight, and propeller perform-ance is also recorded, and placedin the context of prevailing envi-ronmental factors such as tide,current, wave height andweather.

According to Maris deputychief executive Steinar Gunder-sen, the installation on-boardPinnacle Spirit has alreadyproven its value. On test, an av-erage speed gain potential ofaround 0.8 knots was estab-lished by using active currentnavigation, for example. ‘Initialresults show an average reduc-tion in fuel consumption of5.7% over a period of sixmonths,’ he says.

Unsurprisingly, then, otherwell known ‘high end’ ownersare said to be interested in un-dertaking trials of the system. Inaddition to two Teekay test ves-

sels, Maris says it is presentlycommissioning test installationswith several other shipownersand expects to have up to seventest ships operable within thenext three months.

The first full ‘ship versions’of VDS are imminent, with the‘shore version’ to follow, and soft-ware for third parties due by theend of the year. There will subse-quently be a period when revi-sions based on user feedback andother functionalities are addedbefore the system is fully com-mercialised by summer 2011.

A module covering activesea-keeping is already undergo-ing development. This will offerthe Master guidance on how bestto avoid heavy weather, take ac-tion to avoid ship squat, drift androgue waves, how best to operatein shallow waters, and on ballastwater and fuel management.

Maris is also looking to devel-opment a storage facility withthe capacity to log voyage data

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maris.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:15 Page 39


by a home-grown plannedmaintenance and procure-ment system. Amos, he says,will provide a more friendlyfront-end. ʻWe are confidentthat the end result will becomea valuable business toolʼ.

The Thenamaris contract isthe latest in a string of contractsuccesses for SpecTec this year.In the first five months it hadsecured 315 new licences and272 upgrades, with a goodshare for Amos 2, which wasonly launched last year. Chiefexecutive Giampiero Soncinisays the company has so farmanaged to weather the pre-vailing economic climate. In-deed, it has just opened twooffices in South America, in Ar-gentina and Brazil respec-tively. By year end, it expectsto have increased its workforceby 10% to more than 300.

With the company cele-brating its 25th anniversarythis year, such growth, saysSoncini, bodes well for the fu-ture.

As a direct result of strong and growing sales of its ECDIS 4000 system,Swedish OEM Adveto is seeking to expand its worldwide sales andservice network. The company has recently agreed for Australian Mar-itime Systems Ltd (AMS) to serve the Oceania market.

ʻIn addition to meeting core functionalities specified by IMO, theECDIS 4000 offers some unique featuresʼ says AMSʼ Brian Johnson. Theability to order and download electronic charts directly from the con-sole via the Internet directly from the ECDIS (MITE, May 2010) is an in-novation that Johnson believes will attract safety conscious users.

Advetoʼs Magnus Karlsson notes that Australia is one of the mostdensely populated fast ferry regions in the world, a sector in which thecompanyʼs hardware has traditionally been popular.

MARKET PLACE

scope of supply includesradars, electronic chart dis-play and information system,gyrocompass, autopilot, shipsteering system and othersensors. Local agent SRH Ma-rine Electronics was responsi-ble for installation,commissioning, testing andtechnical support, as well asoperator training.

Northrop Grumman has sup-plied the electronic navigationsystems for the Greek cruiseship Aegean Odyssey, whichhas recently completed a majorrefurbishment.

The shipʼs bridge has beenrefitted with a complete navi-gation package based onNorthrop Grummanʼs SperryMarine VisionMaster FT. The

New heavy lifter to get heavy-duty VSAT

Adveto sets sights on Australian fast ferries

Thenamaris is the latest shipmanagement company toenter the SpecTec fold, follow-ing a decision to roll-out theItalian software companyʼsAmos fleet management sys-tem across its 50-vessel fleet,consisting mainly of tankersand bulk carriers.

The software will initiallybe deployed on a limited num-ber of ships. Once the systemhas been bedded in and prop-erly configured, Thenamarisintends to expand the installa-tion to cover the whole fleet.In addition to the software,SpecTec will be involved increating the maintenancedatabase, implementation andtraining.

Project manager for theGreek shipping concern Kon-stantinos Petrocheilos is un-derstandably enthusiasticabout the undertaking, asAmos Business Suite is capableof handling the sometimes in-tricate operational proceduresthat until now were managed

Greek shipmanager signs withSpecTec for fleet-wide Amos

committed information rates(CIRs) with the ability to burst tohigher rates as needed to ac-commodate surge requirements.

After evaluating the firstship installation, Beluga mayconsider installing the MTNVSAT solution aboard additionalvessels, according to Stolberg.

Cruise ship refit results in bridgehardware order for Sperry

to select the optimum communi-cation pathway.

Belugaʼs initial service plancalls for 128 kbps guaranteed

�Beluga may roll out MTNʼs VSATto other vessels, such as the Beluga Houston

around the world. The ship willalso be equipped with InmarsatFleet Broadband 500 satelliteterminals, which will be used asa secondary satellite connec-tion with automatic switchoverwhen out of Ku-band coveragearea. The MTN software will in-clude least-cost routing analysis

German project- and heavy-liftcarrier Beluga Shipping is to in-stall a broadband VSAT systemfrom MTN Satellite Communica-tions on the Beluga Shanghai, anew super heavy-lift vessel,which offers crane capacities of800-1400t and loading capaci-ties of up to 20 00dwt.

ʻMTN offered excellent Ku-band coverage with a guaranteeof uncontended bandwidth andbuilt-in ability to upgrade to ad-ditional bandwidth as needed,ʼnoted Beluga chief executiveNiels Stolberg. ̒ The provider alsohas excellent references in inte-grating high-bandwidth satelliteconnectivity with shipboard andshore-side IT systems.ʼ

The shipboard VSATʼs willuse MTNʼs Ku-band network,which provides coverage overmost of the major sea lanes

market.qxp:Layout 1 19/8/10 16:21 Page 40

IMarEST Events presents

Tuesday28 and Wednesday29 September 2010

IMarEST Headquarters, 80 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ

Condition Based Maintenance

Conference Optimised maintenance for improved

value and return on investment

This conference

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31 August 2010

Preferential rates for IMarEST members and

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THIS CONFERENCE WILL PROVIDE KEY INSIGHTS INTO■ Maintenance costs ■ Establishing a successful CBM programme –

maximizing value and return on investment■ Criticality assessments – their importance in the

maintenance process■ Benefi ts of a risk based approach – more control to

achieve better value■ Advantages of planning a CBM strategy and installing

CM into new builds – an owner’s perspective■ Addressing the lack of maintenance specialists –

from cadet to boardroom, why is industry not investing?■ Cutting edge CM technology for the offshore environment■ DEMONSTRATION of a remote CM system ■ Class requirements and key considerations■ Consequences of deviations from OEM ■ Maintenance and emission controlCASE STUDIES■ Cruise ships: risk based approach to maintenance■ Naval experience of integrating a fl eet-wide

condition monitoring strategy■ A new approach to engine performance analysis

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND IMarEST’s Conference on CBM will deliver new insights into how ship owners and operators can take full advantage of an optimised maintenance programme and boost profi ts.

CHAIRMEN AND SPEAKERS INCLUDE■ Chairman Day One:

Capt Kuba Szymanski, Secretary General Elect, InterManager■ Chairman Day Two:

Bob Hargreaves, Technical Director, RCM Marine■ Keynote:

Richard Greiner, Shipping Partner, Moore Stephens LLP ■ Michael Petersen, MAN Diesel & Turbo■ Gerald Rolfe, SKF (UK) Limited ■ Roy Chenery, Marine Asset Reliability Ltd■ Dr Michael B Kennedy, Hellespont Steamship Company■ Trevor Gatley, Carnival UK■ Lt Cdr Harry Lijzenga, Royal Netherlands Navy ■ Cdre David Squire CBE, Merchant Navy Training Board■ Käthe Bø-James, DNV■ Robert Conachey, ABS■ James Henton, Lloyd’s Register EMEA■ Dr M Abdul Rahim, ClassNK■ Debasis Mazumdar, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, UK■ Alan Carney, Nexus Maritime Consultants Ltd■ David Wiseman, Nexen Petroleum UK■ David Beech and Howard Harper, VCI Consultancy Limited■ Mark Pedersen, Pixel Thermographics■ Johan Pellas, Wärtsilä Corporation■ Danny Shorten, Lloyd’s Register EMEA ■ Erik Ellingsen, Kongsberg Maritime■ Toni de Sousa, Yellotec

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