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Europort Debut for Shallow Water Buoys
01 Dec 2003
The Europort exhibition last month in Amsterdam saw a variety of new products unveiled across the maritime spectrum. In the field of Navaids, a significant product launch from Tideland Signal was the new SB-98P shallow water polyethylene multi-purpose buoy which is particularly suited to shallow water areas, rivers and estuaries.
The SB-98P's rugged lightweight construction and permanently self coloured hull make it virtually maintenance free while its mould and fill manufacturing process prevents significant ingress of water in the event of a puncture. The new buoy is designed to accommodate Tideland's self-powered MLED-120SC lantern system, which has an effective range of 4Nm and a 10m2 radar reflector can be installed within the top daymark section.
Available in red, green, yellow, white, black, orange and bi-form colours, Tideland's new buoy is offered with a full range of IALA recommended topmarks rotationally moulded in the same polyethylene material as the hull.
Daymark wings are also supplied for can or conical identification.
The rotational moulding process ensures a seamless body, using a mould which provides increased thickness of polyethylene at major stress points in the structure. Before moulding, the polymer is compounded with UV inhibitors and pigment so that the wall thickness is evenly UV stabilised and colour is uniform throughout. In addition, the buoy is unsinkable, corrosion resistant and repels marine growth.
At Europort Tideland Signal was also celebrating the award of a contract worth more than $1 million to supply lighthouse monitoring systems to the US Coast Guard. The contract covers a total of 100 units for delivery by the end of 2004.
The monitoring system (NavLink) comprises remote monitoring units sited at lighthouses in order to transmit operational data back to NavTerm, Tideland's Windows based software.
The remote unit is connected to sensors on the navaids and monitors items such as battery and solar voltage, number of lamps left, flash characters and sun switch status. Remote controls permit the operator to change the flash character or override the sun switch, while warning and alarm parameters can be adjusted to provide automatic notification in the event of malfunction.
A variety of communications methods will be employed, including VHF radio, cellular telephone and direct dial modems.
Similar systems are also operating using Immarsat-C. For long-range sites, the remote unit can also act as a repeater for a number of other remote sites.
At the operations centre, the NavLink software displays an S57 chart indicating the position and health of all navaids being monitored. By clicking on any icon, the health and settings of a particular navaid are displayed.
Warnings and exception reports appear as flashing alarms with optional audio.
MJ Information No: 18937
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