Up to 10 units can be operated for display of navigation and engine control data in six selectable sections. NDD units are currently being retrofitted as an extension to existing NACOS bridge assemblies aboard Princess Cruises' Grand Princess and Cunard's Queen Victoria cruiseliners. SAM is also engaged in upgrading more than 20 NACOS configurations aboard other world cruiseliners, over 70 percent of which are equipped with systems which functionally integrate radar-controlled trackpilots and other sensors for both standard and one-man bridge operation. Recent prestige launches featuring NACOS 65-5 installations include the largest cruise vessel so far been built in Germany, Celebrity Cruises' 122,000-gt Celebrity Solstice. Its bridge assembly incorporates no less than five interswitchable radar consoles, built by Meyer Werft. Meanwhile, the largest (133,000gt) cruise ship to have been commissioned by a European owner, MSC Fantasia, has also recently entered service with a similar system on its bridge, built by Aker Yards of St. Nazaire, France. Furuno maintains a strong presence in the global marine industry with its Voy-
ager Integrated Navigation System, a system comprising ECDIS, Radar/ARPA, conning display, steering system, radionavigation equipment and Track Control System. Voyager was designed to achieve total integration of bridge equipment and information handling, and it ensure compatibility in that all equipment comes from a single source: Furuno.
Sperry Marine believes that the future lies in highly integrated systems with multi-function displays replacing the dedicated single-function consoles and displays for radar, AIS, ECDIS, conning, steering and alarms. This is concept behind the company's new-generation VisionMaster FT navigation systems. According to Sperry Marine's marketing director Frank Soccoli, the process is similar to the evolution that has takenk place in the aviation industry over the last two decades. Soccoli notes that the cockpit of a typical B727 in the 1980s was a mass of analog gauges and dials. In contrast, the pilot of a modern B767 or 777 has one or two bright color multifunction display screens to present all the pertinent information needed.
Transas Calling for Clarity on EC Issue
Transas Marine recently called for chart distributors to unify their message to consumers. The company, whose data service; Transas Admiralty Data Service (TADS) was developed in partnership with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), believes that there is some confusion surrounding the licensing of official and unofficial data. "Having recently hosted the TADS road shows around the world, we have seen that customers are quite unsure about how the licensing of chart data works," said Peter Mantel, Deputy Managing Director for Transas. "Customers believe that licensing periods for official data are far more flexible than they actually are." Government Hydrographic Offices which control the sale of official data have fixed licensing periods of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Navigating using official data incurs a minimum 3 month fee, but the data is comprehensive, official and fully-compliant for use in ECDIS. "Chart Distributors are coming up with some very innovative solutions but all of them, our selves included, are operating within the same set of rules and regulations - Official data has fixed license periods," Mantel said. Carriage requirement for ECDIS are due in 2012. To comply with the IMO carriage requirement for ECDIS, all vessels must sail on official ENC charts. Where ENC coverage is not available, unofficial data can be used along with the appropriate paper charts in ECS mode and as an 'aid to navigation.' Clipper Group with its fleet including handymax and panamax bulkcarriers, chemical tankers and VLCC's, was looking for such a solution and during the last six months has installed TADS across its fleet.
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