Kongsberg Maritime is boosting its K-Bridge systems in the ferry market
Kongsberg Maritime has its sights set on the ferry market with its portfolio of K-Bridge systems and highlights the benefits these systems offer to shipyards, owners and operators in this competitive sector.
Its K-Bridge integrated navigation system (INS) technology provides a single user interface to pull multiple connected systems together.
Kongsberg explains this ‘everything in one place’ ethos enables busy ferry crew to focus on primary navigation tasks without having to switch their attention between different instruments; critical functionality in today’s crowded waterways.
Voyage planning, collision avoidance and route monitoring are the main areas of critical decision making for all vessels. K-Bridge INS takes the concept of functional integration further by regarding other functions as equally important. These include: the autopilot and track pilot, bridge navigational watch alarm system, bridge alarm management system and bridge auxiliaries.
No two K-Bridge stations are the same, according to Kongsberg. They are built with a modular approach, so are delivered with all systems pre-installed and all cables wired to readily accessed terminals.
Kongsberg’s range of bridge equipment solutions cover ARPA radar, ECDIS, a multi-function display, an autopilot, a conning display and a sensor integrator among many other items.
Taking K-Bridge ARPA radar as an example of what is available, the thinking behind the design of its 27-inch flat-panel display and control unit seems clear. “Simply presenting a square radar image results in a larger onscreen coverage area, while providing three colour palettes and a relief background allows users to adjust the picture to suit changing light conditions and detect faint or moving targets,” says Kongsberg.
It can also be viewed as an overlay on the K-Bridge ECDIS, displaying up to 100 ARPA-tracked targets. Fully compliant, the ECDIS system offers users complete route planning and validation functionalities.
Kongsberg points out that a combination of K-Bridge ECDIS, autopilot and conning display constitutes a complete system for automatic track control. Also a positive for ferry operators, the K-Bridge autopilot will operate with either conventional rudders or azimuth propulsion, using artificial intelligence to ‘learn’ during the configuration process how a vessel reacts to rudder commands and subsequently applies this data to optimise steering precision and smoothness.
“As with all vessels, for ferries, precision and smoothness equate to staying on schedule and burning less fuel,” Kongsberg points out.
Kongsberg Maritime product advisor bridge systems Kai Henning Lie says, “Kongsberg’s K-Bridge integrated bridge system is already well proven on product and chemical tankers, container vessels, cruise ships and superyachts, and is the umbrella technology that ties a vast range of possible equipment options together. KM has devised this to be a money-saving, user-friendly, turnkey solution, simplifying and streamlining entire processes from installation to operation. Shipyards love the plug and play installation – vessel operators love the intuitive control systems and the increased safety margin won by improved situational awareness in all vessel manoeuvres.”
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