SharpEye keeps a lookout for pirates
Piracy is a major concern for many vessel operators at present, following a number of high profile incidents. The logical response is to ensure vessels have an adequate anti-piracy plan in place to manage and respond to these incidents.
Such plans are based around rapid and effective communication between the vessel and its land based emergency response team. However, the performance of current radar systems can make it difficult to detect small high speed craft in time to give any chance of taking action to prevent a piracy attack.In the case of AHTS vessels slowly towing an oil rig, rapid detection of potential piracy attacks could give them a significant time advantage in communicating the risk to shore and receiving support. While traditional radar systems are notoriously poor at detecting small craft, particularly in bad weather, solid state radar is now available to the maritime industry and provides greatly improved visibility, safety and security.
In the past, solid state radar technology was extremely costly and therefore only employed in expensive military systems. This technology is now affordable and available for commercial users with the SharpEye solid state radar system and MantaDigital display system developed by equipment supplier, Kelvin Hughes. This new radar is ideal for tugs and AHTS vessels as it incorporates the most advanced technologies available to the civilian sector with the added benefit of custom maritime features. In addition to providing an overall reduced through life cost, these radar systems exceed the requirements of the latest International Maritime Organizations (IMO) standards which were implemented in 2008.
SharpEye was developed as the world’s first new technology navigation and surveillance radar, incorporating the latest in pulse doppler signal processing technologies. The SharpEye/ MantaDigital combination can be a stand alone radar or can provide multi-function capability when integrated into a bridge system.
In terms of security, this solid state system is capable of detecting small, high speed craft at a far greater distance than traditional radar and in all weather conditions. This vastly improved source of data gives vessels a greater awareness of the obstacles and threats around them. The captain and shore support team can then communicate earlier and make faster decisions to protect the vessel.
