Navtek Naval Technologies has launched its vessel power management and condition monitoring system following successful trials on the world’s first all-electric tug
Turkish naval architects developed the Smart Tug Energy Management System (STEMS) software to optimise power consumption on its Zeetug electric-powered vessel range.
STEMS is both a browser-based and a mobile software, providing information to tugboat operators, captains and fleet operation centres. It combines vessel speed with power consumption, parameters of onboard electric power systems and weather information.
Tug operators can use this information to optimise the performance of an electric vessel and onboard systems and assist in their operational decisions. Information stored in fleet control centres can be viewed in real time by managers for operational updates or analysed for performance trends.
STEMS has been used on the first all-electric harbour tug, Gisas Power, which was built by TK Tuzla Shipyard for Turkish owner GISAS Shipbuilding Industry in 2019 to a Navtek Zeetug-30 design.
This 18.7-m harbour tug has two 1,450-kW lithium-ion battery packs supplied by Corvus Energy, providing enough power for 32 tonnes of bollard pull.
STEMS enables the operator to manage the batteries’ charging and power distribution.
Navtek general manager Ferhat Acuner said STEMS uses data from vessel systems and its operating environment to provide information to managers.
“STEMS processes all this data,” he said during Riviera’s Tug Technology Webinar Week at the beginning of September. “Data is transferred to a shore data centre through a virtual private network (VPN),” Mr Acuner explained.
Data is also transmitted to tablets with Android operating systems for crew and managers to visualise tug performance.
STEMS collects data on tug speed, motor speed, power consumption, battery motor temperature and state of charge, ambient conditions and weather information.
“STEMS is both a browser-based and a mobile software, which has a lot of capabilities for fleet control and tugboat operators,” said Mr Acuner. “With its flexible structure, it can be adapted to any fleet.”
Data is collected from the tug’s integrated automation, energy management and propulsion control systems through Modbus TCP/IP links to the VPN router. This transmits data over wireless communications, such as 3G/4G mobile networks, to a shore data centre which collates Automatic Identification System information, weather reports and shore radar data and integrates this within STEMS.
More details of STEMS and its deployment on Gisas Power, will be presented during the upcoming issue of Tug Technology & Business, set to be published in November 2020
Development of technology for electric-powered vessels will be presented and discussed during Riviera Maritime Media’s upcoming Maritime Hybrid & Electric, Europe, Virtual Conference on 9-11 December 2020 - use this link for more details and to register for this three-day virtual event
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