Page 14 - Navigator 20

‘The whole package only weighs about 2.5 kilos and
pilots can fit it in
a backpack when boarding’
ment must offer all the functionalities that the pilot requires on an everyday basis to perform his job on board. At the same time, it is a platform for the future as well. By making it easy to exchange predic- tive information about the moment of mooring, the time a pilot will board a ship etc. with other systems, the conditions are created for further cooperation in the nautical chain. In the realisation of the new navigational support tools, we only use truly new technology. The starting point is that the new system must suffice for twenty years, just like its predecessor. Bearing this in mind, you cannot utilise a technolo- gical development that is halfway through its lifecycle; you have to go for the very latest. The new software is already suited for standards that are currently still under development.”
FROM TRUNK TO BACKPACK
The update of the hardware is at least as revolutionary. Whereas the navigational support equipment once had the size of a trunk, the
new generation has been reduced to the dimensions of an iPad with three small pods for connecting to the satellites. Klerx: “The whole thing only weighs about 2.5 kilos and pilots can fit it in a backpack when boarding.” The hardware may be compact, but it still meets
the highest requirements. “The equipment has to work in all possible lighting conditions, outside in the rain, and must be able to function on the bridge without external power for five hours.” Huge advances have been made in this respect, also in combination with the use of the software. “A lot of time and energy has been invested in creating a visually attractive, intuitive total package that enables pilots to optimal- ly navigate.”
FAILURES UNACCEPTABLE
The light weight is extra ingenious in consideration of the fact that all the components in the hardware have redundancy. Donselaar: “You want to be absolutely certain that the system will always continue to operate. This is why we for example make contact with not just one satellite navigation system, but really with all conceivable ones. Every- thing has redundancy, down to the modem and battery level. Failures are absolutely unacceptable. Every part is extensively tested and ultimately certified.”
ROLLOUT AT THE END OF Q1 2021
In terms of hardware, the development of the new navigational support tools has now been finalised. The software has reached the stage in which an initial group of about ten pilots is testing it in practice. Donse- laar: “We expect to roll out the new equipment to all pilots by the end of the first quarter of 2021.”
Klerx: “The new navigational support tools fit in with the strategy of the Dutch Maritime Pilots’ Organisation to achieve the highest level
of professionalism and quality. This is 100 percent a tool for that. They are the crown jewels of our organisation. It truly is business technology: data and the use thereof for optimally carrying out the job. Also from an IT point of view, contributing to this offers the greatest degree of job satisfaction.”
Since the start of the 21st century, Dutch and Flemish pilots have carried with them a laptop with navigation-supporting software when boarding ships. Through satellite communication, these Portable Pilot Units help them to achieve situational awareness and to also navigate the very largest ships with utmost precision. On his display, the pilot can see where he is sailing according to the chart, what the surroun- ding shipping traffic is doing, what the local draught is, what the impact is of a bend he is about to take etc. etc. Valuable help to this day, but due for replacement given the tremendous development IT has seen over the last twenty years. Donselaar: “This is still technology from the nineties. Nowadays, so much more is possible.”
INTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The process for renewing the navigational support was set in motion three years ago. Following an extensive market orientation, the deci- sion was taken to carry out the further development together with the existing software partner QPS; AD Navigation was selected to supply the sensors required for satellite communication. A project group com- prising eight pilots from the Netherlands and Flanders provides the indispensable, practice-based know-how. In this way, new software for the Navigator Marginal Ships (for the precision navigation of marginal ships) and pilot laptop (for situational awareness aboard all other ships) are being jointly developed.
PLATFORM FOR THE FUTURE
Donselaar: “It goes without saying that the new generation of equip-
14 NAVIGATOR NL 2020 N°20