Container developed for offshore asset safety and surveillance

Raytheon Anschütz has introduced a containerised version of its SmartBlue surveillance system for offshore and maritime assets. It all fits into a standard offshore shipping container for safe areas (as per industry standard DNV 2.7-1 A60) and can be mobilised to offshore installations such as floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, drilling rigs and production platforms. The ready-to-deploy surveillance system comes complete with radar, AIS and long-range surveillance cameras.

It can be purchased or rented for offshore and maritime asset protection and could also be used to provide early warning of collisions for vessel traffic management systems. Raytheon Anschütz said the container’s deployment could reduce operational risk and help decision-makers during an incident, or it could support daily offshore operations, such as logistics co-ordination. The SmartBlue system was successfully tested onshore in Texas at the end of 2012.

“With the SmartBlue container solution, we can provide the maritime and offshore industry with a low-risk and cost-effective safety, security and surveillance solution,” said Raytheon Anschütz’s business development manager, James Norwood. “The container can be delivered ready to connect. When operational needs change, the system can be easily upgraded to a fully integrated surveillance system.”

The external features include extendable radar and camera masts, which simplify the container’s transport and installation, as well as fully wired network architecture. Inside there is a fully equipped command and control (C2) operator workstation, which combines marine surveillance radar with CCTV cameras, with AIS and a communication system, to one user interface.

Raytheon Anschütz said the C2 allows the operator to use a variety of sensors to detect, track and identify targets entering the vicinity of a vessel or other maritime and offshore asset. Internal data links facilitate the sharing of information between a number of users located on different maritime assets. This helps co-ordinate operations between multiple assists.

The C2 has situation assessment displays, sensor controls and alarm zones. The system can be upgraded by adding satellite communications and oil spill detection capabilities, which can predict the track of a spill based on meteorological and oceanographic information. Other additions could include ice detection, search and rescue co-ordination and weather monitoring.

Raytheon Anschütz said its series of SmartBlue surveillance systems can be deployed to perform surveillance and management of ports, commercial and leisure traffic, fisheries, coastal infrastructure, offshore and subsea assets, pipelines, and environmental issues. MEC