Isle of Man Steam Packet Company selects safety solutions for flagship ropax

Maritime software, services and data analysis provider NAPA has struck an agreement with shipyard Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, which will build the ferry, and the passenger shipping company to install its software, which will optimise operations and enhance safety on board Manxman on the Heysham-Douglas route.

Under the agreement, NAPA will provide Isle of Man Steam Packet Company with NAPA emergency computer, which assesses the vulnerability of an intact ship as well as its survivability in case of a flooding emergency, and NAPA loading computer, which optimises the vessel load while minimising stress and safety risk.

The 133-m long vessel, which is due to start construction shortly, has also been designed using NAPA’s 3D modelling and design functionalities, with NAPA’s hull form optimisation, stability assessment and initial structural design.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company chief executive Mark Woodward said “We are proud to be recognised as a ferry operator raising standards in the sector. ’As unquiet as the Irish sea’ is a common English proverb, and climate change is increasing the risks of extreme weather events. The addition of NAPA’s software to better monitor conditions, mitigate risk and enhance ship-shore communication will be increasingly important to the safety of our crew and passengers.”

NAPA Safety Solutions sales director Lars Nickel said “We are pleased to have NAPA emergency computer and NAPA loading computer safety securing Manxman on the increasingly turbulent Heysham-Douglas route.”

The software is used by almost all the major cruise lines, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Viking Ocean Cruises, Genting Cruise Lines, Virgin Voyages, Saga Cruises, Hurtigruten, and Lindblad Expeditions.