Cameras which can help with man overboard searches and make vessels safer when in port are also available in similar versions aimed specifically at port security applications.

Based at Breda in the Netherlands, FLIR Commercial Vision Systems BV has used increasing worldwide demand for its products, including fitment for night vision to certain models of BMW cars, to lower prices and make their cameras available to a wider market.

The recently introduced new versions of the company’s Navigator range of thermal imaging cameras aid night time navigation enhance maritime security with prices as low as €3,950.

The Navigator is now available in three different versions. The static fixed mount version is always looking in the same direction. With the pan model, intuitive joystick operation allows the operator to rotate the Navigator +/-180(DEGREES) horizontally for enhanced situational awareness. The pan/tilt model adds the possibility of tilting to +/-45(DEGREES) through joystick operation, allowing the operator to scan an entire area and look wherever he chooses.

FLIR Systems claims to have lowered its prices without compromising quality in any way. The Navigator provides crisp and clear 320 by 240 pixel thermal images in total darkness and in light smoke and fog, featuring the same technology found in many of FLIR’s more sophisticated maritime systems.

Navigator is excellent fir seeing channel markers, shipping lane traffic, land outcrops, bridge pilings, debris, exposed rocks and other vessels. It can also be used for short to medium range threat detection.

Navigator requires no light to generate an image and features a 19mm wide angle lens which eliminates the need for system stabilisation. Ruggedised construction protects the camera’s core against humidity and water, whilst a built in heater is included to defrost the unit’s protective window, ensuring a clear lens and perfect thermal images even in extremely cold conditions. Images can be displayed on almost any existing multi-function display (such as a chart plotter) that accepts composite video.